We are faced with a very serious environmental crisis. Resource depletion, air pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change, etc., accompany each another, resulting largely from our current way of life. Manufacturing of nature-friendly products is far from being able to protect the environment; technologies can and should be made to change people's environmental behavior. However, designing and implementing such technologies tend to provoke ethical and political concerns about human freedom and autonomy. Determining how to take advantage of behavior-steering technology without causing worries, therefore, is unavoidably a key challenge to practitioners as well as theorists. This dissertation takes on this challenge by answering four research questions: 1) Why is behavior-steering technology necessary for mitigating environmental problems? 2) What kind of behavior-steering technology is most helpful and why is that? 3) How can we respond to ethical concerns about the design and implementation of behavior-steering technology? 4) What would a political framework that can accommodate the practice of behavior-steering technology look like? By synthesizing philosophical insights about human-technology interactions, psychological explanations for the nature of human behavior, and political theories concerning democracy and social reform, this dissertation not only offers a conceptual basis in arguing for the necessity and feasibility of behavior-steering technology, but also suggests a piecemeal-behavioral approach to realizing this goal. Through the chapters of this dissertation, it becomes clear that, above all, to address the environmental crisis eventually requires us to conceive of a more realistic image of human beings and to rebuild contemporary ethical and political frameworks based upon it.


The use of multiple computer systems by a single user makes data transfer a necessity. Cloud storage solutions provide synchronisation features and file accessibility across systems but the exact location and type of storage varies between services. Many systems rely on a client-server architecture where the data is held at the data centers of the service provider. This leads to several difficulties for the end user, for example with regard to privacy or data security. This is countered by the convenience of highly available servers. If the user wants to minimise exposure to the challenges of Cloud-based services, then he is required to either host a server infrastructure himself or to rely on inconvenient on-demand synchronisation by means of file transport protocols or even physical storage devices. The approach presented here tries to harvest the positive aspects of using Cloud-based services while keeping the user in control of his data. To this end, we focus on a hybrid system of a client-server and a peer-to-peer architecture which expands the Cloud to the user's system giving him full control over which data he selects to be stored on a server in the Cloud and which data he prefers to keep private on personal computing devices while ensuring unified access to both types of storage over the network.


OBJECTIVES: To describe the baseline characteristics and the time course of changes in lung function in workers accidentally inhaling high concentrations of chlorine in a prospective study. METHODS: Baseline spirometry and methacholine challenge test were performed in a cohort of 278 workers at risk of accidental inhalation of chlorine. Workers in whom accidental inhalation led to intervention in a first aid unit were reassessed five to 25 days after the accident and serially thereafter when there where notable changes. RESULTS: During a four year follow up period, 13 workers were seen at the first aid unit after a symptomatic accidental inhalation. Three of them experienced notable functional changes: one worker experienced a 10% fall in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and the other two had a notable fall in the concentration of methacholine that caused a 20% fall in FEV1 (PC20). Two workers were smokers and one had a personal history of atopy. Baseline assessment was within the normal range in these three workers. Recovery was complete three months after the accidental inhalation. CONCLUSION: Transient but notable decreases in airway function or increases in bronchial responsiveness can occur after an accidental inhalation of high concentrations of chlorine in workers at risk.


This article aims to give an insight to the role of religion in Sudanese history through the centuries before the birth of Christ to the present time by discussing; (a) Impact of Ancient Egyptian religions. (b) Judaism and its influence on Sudanese social transformation. (c) Entry of Christianity and its role in dividing the Nubian society into three kingdoms between two denominations Catholic and Orthodox. (d) Entry of Islam and its role in conflicts which led to the separation of South Sudan in 2011.

 Key words: Religion, Ancient Egyptian gods, Judaism, Christianity/Missions, Islam, African Beliefs Ethnicity/tribes, British, Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan, Turkey.


Sodium cromoglicate (cromolyn sodium) is a very well-known medicine that has been used for many years for various allergic conditions. The topical use of this medicine is less known, and there are no commercial medicines of cream, gel, or lotion in most of the world. This article summarizes the clinical data accumulated from seventeen trials that checked the topical efficacy and safety of sodium cromoglicate and analyzes the clinical implementations of this medicine in the topical treatment of atopic dermatitis and other skin allergies. In addition, this article analyzes the various formulations that have been used in the clinical trials in an attempt to find the optimal formulation. The topical use of sodium cromoglicate seemed to have a promising potential, and implementing the data of this article can allow the compounding pharmacist a very interesting professional activity in very common and widespread allergic pathologies.


Morphometric studies using a laser retinal thickness showed great differences in the impact of hydromonitoring phacofragmentation and ultrasound phacoemulsification on the thickness of the central retinal region. Unlike ultrasound phacoemulsification, hydromonitoring phacofragmentation caused no transient increase in the thickness of the central retinal area. The performed studies revealed no correlation between the equivalent time of ultrasound and ultrasound phacoemulsification and the changes in the thickness of the central retinal region and fovea.


The use of the auditory-vocal digit span test in clinical examination procedures is based on the assumption that it usefully reflects the status of an important area of intellectual functioning. When defective performance on this immediate memory task is observed, the most frequent diagnostic inferences are those of anxiety-induced interference or of impairment associated with a cerebral disorder. This study concerns itself with the latter inference. The findings of many studies would support the use of a digit span task for the diagnosis of brain damage (BD) in adult nonpsychotic patients. 1-3,6-14 Only one study in which the digit span test could be independently evaluated showed a failure to discriminate between BD Ss and non-BD Ss. 5 Despite the rather convincing evidence that digit span performance permits some degree of prediction, a clinician wishing to utilize this test needs more specific information. None of the studies cited above has addressed


This paper analyses the behavior of two hybrid time-code division multiple-access (T/CDMA) architectures on the up-link of a macrocellular mobile radio system. For the examined schemes two categories of users-voice and data-share the domain of available resources, made up of time slots and codewords, through two alternative assignment strategies. Both solutions attribute voice users one single resource pair, i.e., one time slot and a single code to employ on that time slot, but differ in the way data users requests are accommodated: they are either simultaneously granted several codes over the same time slot or are assigned a single code over several distinct time slots. Call admission control is performed by a channel assignment algorithm which dynamically attributes resources only if specified levels of transmission quality are met on the radio channels. The blocking and the outage probability of the two classes of users are determined and compared, showing that one of the proposed schemes exhibits better performance and allows to satisfyingly serve a significant percentage of data users.


An important yet perplexing result from work in the 1990s and 2000s is the near-unity value of the ratio of fluctuations in the vacuum energy density of quantum fields to the mean in a collection of generic spacetimes. This was carried out by way of calculating the noise kernels which are the correlators of the stress-energy tensor of quantum fields. In this paper, we revisit this issue via a quantum thermodynamics approach, by calculating two quintessential thermodynamic quantities: the heat capacity and the quantum compressibility of some model geometries filled with a quantum field at high and low temperatures. This is because heat capacity at constant volume gives a measure of the fluctuations of the energy density to the mean. When this ratio approaches or exceeds unity, the validity of the canonical distribution is called into question. Likewise, a system's compressibility at constant pressure is a criterion for the validity of grand canonical ensemble. We derive the free energy density and, from it, obtain the expressions for these two thermodynamic quantities for thermal and quantum fields in 2d Casimir space, 2d Einstein cylinder and 4d (S1×S3 ) Einstein universe. To examine the dependence on the dimensionality of space, for completeness, we have also derived these thermodynamic quantities for the Einstein universes with even-spatial dimensions: S1×S2 and S1×S4. With this array of spacetimes we can investigate the thermodynamic stability of quantum matter fields in them and make some qualitative observations on the compatibility condition for the co-existence between quantum fields and spacetimes, a fundamental issue in the quantum and gravitation conundrum.


Objectives: Previous studies have suggested that head circumference (HC) is less dependent of shape of head and other fetal factor than biparietal diameter (BPD) when used for fetal biometry and age assessment. Since this assumption has not been tested prospectively, the present study aimed to do that. Methods: Prospective study including 4179 women attending the second-trimester routine ultrasound examination consecutively at 17–20 weeks of gestation. Twins were excluded. Outer-outer BPD and HC were determined as the average of three repeated measurements. Time of delivery was noted, the differences were found between this and the predicted date of delivery calculated with HC and BPD (based on a pregnancy duration of 282 days), and the two methods were compared using Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Results: For the entire group, the median difference between actual and predicted delivery based on HC and BPD was 0.9 and 1.2 days, respectively. For deliveries with a spontaneous onset of labor (N = 3336) the corresponding differences were 0.9 and 1.4 days. The difference between the HC and BPD methods was significant (p < 0.0001). In the group of spontaneous onset of labor, there were 5.6% post-term pregnancies (> 296 days) according to HC and 5.7% according to BPD. Conclusion: Given an expected pregnancy duration of 282 days, both HC and BPD predicted spontaneous birth with a mean accuracy of one day, HC being significantly better than BPD. The study confirms the assumption that HC is a more robust method of assessing gestational age and time of confinement. P13.06 The effect of second-trimester fetal morphometry on duration of pregnancy


In parasitoid species devoid of polydnaviruses and virus‐like particles, venom appears to play a major role in suppression of host immunity. Venom from the pupal endoparasitoid Pimpla turionellae L. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) has previously been shown to contain a mixture of biologically active components, which display potent paralytic, cytotoxic, and cytolytic effects toward lepidopteran and dipteran hosts. The current study was undertaken to investigate if parasitism and/or envenomation by P. turionellae affects the frequency of apoptotic and necrotic hemocytes, hemocyte viability and mitotic indices in Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) pupae and larvae. Our study indicates that parasitism and experimental envenomation of G. mellonella by P. turionellae resulted in markedly different effects on the ratio of apoptotic hemocytes circulating in hemolymph depending on the host developmental stages. The ratio of early and late apoptotic hemocytes increased in G. mellonella pupae and larvae upon parasitization and at high doses of venom when compared to untreated, null and Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) injected controls. In contrast, an increase in necrotic hemocytes was only observed in parasitized pupae at 24 h and no difference was observed in larvae. The lowest hemocyte viability values were observed with pupae as 69.87%, 69.80%, and 72.47% at 4, 8, and 24 h post‐parasitism. The ratio of mitotic hemocytes also decreased in pupae and larvae upon parasitization and at high doses of venom. Staining of hemocytes with annexin V‐FITC revealed green fluorescent 'halos' along the plasma membranes of venom treated cells within 15 min following exposure to venom. By 1 h post‐venom – treatment, the majority of hemocytes displayed binding of this probe, indicative of early stage apoptosis. These same hemocytes also displayed a loss of plasma membrane integrity at the same time points as evidenced by accumulation of propidium iodide in nuclei.


Background. Self-directed learning (SDL) is the essential mechanism of lifelong learning, which, in turn, is required for medical professionals to maintain competency because of advancing technology and constantly evolving disease care and contexts. Yet, most Nigerian medical schools do not actively promote SDL skills for medical students. Objective. To evaluate the status of SDL behaviour among final-year students, and the perceptions of faculty leadership towards SDL in a Nigerian medical school. Methods. A mixed research method was used, with a survey consisting of a validated Likert-based self-rating scale for SDL (SRSSDL) to assess students' SDL behaviour. Focus group discussions with selected faculty leaders were thematically analysed to assess their perceptions of SDL. Results. The medical students reported moderate SDL behaviour, contrary to faculty, who considered their students' SDL behaviour to be low. Faculty leadership further defined SDL as the self-motivated student demonstrating initiative in learning under the guidance of teachers, who use interactive forums for teaching. Furthermore, teachers and students should partner towards the goal of ensuring that student learning takes place. Teachers expressed concerns about SDL methods in medical schools owing to the fear that this will require medical students to teach themselves medicine without expert guidance from teachers. Conclusion. This study suggests that final-year students have a low to moderate level of SDL behaviour. The index faculty are willing to develop teacherguided self-motivated learning for their students, rather than strict SDL. Faculty should be concerned about this behaviour and should encourage SDL in such a way that students realise its benefits to become lifelong learners. Further study of the perceptions about self-regulated learning are recommended.


Six patients who presented cerebrovascular disease during puerperium or pregnancy were studied. One of them presented hemorrhagic stroke caused by intracerebral bleeding due to pre-eclampsia. Three patients presented ischemic stroke, they all had positive serologic reactions for Chagas' disease, but only two of them had clinical cardiopathy; one of these patients had anticardiolipin antibody. The other two patients presented cerebral venous thrombosis of sagittal sinus. Both were smokers and one of them used oral contraceptive. We emphasize the importance of clinical investigation to seek for the common causes of cerebrovascular disease in young people, with special attention to Chagas disease in Brazil.


Although morphological variation may have an effect on behaviour, there are only a few studies on julid millipedes in which the influence of the variability of some morphological traits on mating success has been explored. Hence, objectives of this study were to investigate mating behaviour in laboratory conditions and identify traits that could possibly be the target of pre-copulatory selection in the julid species Megaphyllum unilineatum. Behavioural sequences were quantified in three types of tests: a mating arena test, a female choice test, and a male choice test. Although the number of contacts with the first chosen partner (from the mating arena test) was greater than with newly offered individuals in choice tests, values of the sexual selection coefficient did not statistically confirm this preference. In addition, analyses of linear measurements (trunk height and width, length of the whole body, antennae, walking legs, and gonopod flagella) in individuals of different mating status were also conducted, as well as geometric morphometric analyses of size and shape of the antennae, heads, walking legs, and gonopod promeres and opisthomeres in such individuals. Antennal length and shape, head shape, and the walking legs shape, differed significantly, depending on the mating status of females. In males of different mating status, statistical significance was established only in the promere centroid size. The differences in certain behavioural sequences in M. unilineatum are similar to those previously reported in M. bosniense, while such similarity is not detected with respect to morphological variation in the mentioned species.


The goal of Wireless Sensor Networks is to extract useful global information from individual sensor readings, which are typically collected and aggregated over a spanning tree. However, the spanning tree structure is not robust against communication errors; a low-quality (i.e., high-error-rate) wireless link close to the tree root may result in a high rate of global information loss. Therefore, many schemes have been proposed to achieve fault-tolerant aggregation. Intuitively, using timely link-quality information, which is gathered by continuous monitoring and error-rate measurement of network links, improves the performance of fault-tolerant aggregation schemes.

In this paper, we show that this intuition is not always true. In particular, we show that using link-quality information in an intuitive but wrong way results in degraded performance in some schemes, and therefore, care should be taken in using link-quality information. We also show that some schemes make better usage of link-quality information than others, and some schemes are more robust to errors in link-quality estimation than others. We support our findings by an extensive simulation study, and we focus on the (more general) class of fault-tolerant duplicate-sensitive aggregation schemes.


© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Association for Clinical and Translational Science. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. Steps towards equity in research


In this study, the author uses a novel nanofluid synthesis system to fabricate a TiO2 nanofluid. The improvement of the proposed nanofluid synthesis system focuses mainly on the pressure control system, coolant circulation system, parameter control system and the machine dimension of the original submerged arc nanofluid synthesis system. This helps to achieve an experimental machine with a fabrication condition to produce more stable and finer TiO2 nanofluids with a particle size of good reproducibility. Experiment is proceeded towards 15 sets of TiO2 nanofluid fabricated by the proposed system are tested under the experimental conditions of 250 V, 6 A of peak current, 2μs of discharge pause off time and 15 days of settling time. The experimental results show that the average Zeta potential of TiO2 nanofluids are -54.2 mv, and the difference between the data and the average value of each set is less than 7%. Furthermore, the average particle size is 45.3nm, and the difference between the data and the average value of each set is less than 6%. The fabricated TiO2 particles have an Anatase structure, and in the aspect of roundness measurement, the produced TiO2 has a good roundness of 0.3 nm. Experiment proves that the roundness of the fabricated TiO2 nanoparticles are much better than those fabricated by aerosol methods. Also, the fabricated nanofluid has a high suspension stability.


To efficiently develop power generation and solve downstream ecological health protection in Qingjiang basin, multi-objective ecological operation for cascade reservoirs (MOEOCR) model is established in contrast to conventional models that set ecological water requirement as constraint. The basic, suitable and ideal ecological water requirements in Geheyan and Gaobazhou sections are calculated using a requirement level index. Instead of the traditional evolution mode based on population, we introduce a shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA) which evolves independently in sub-populations. Moreover, the SFLA is converted into a modified multi-objective algorithm (MMOSFLA) with strategies including chaotic population initialization, renewed frog grouping method and local search method, and elite frog set evolution based on cloud model. The water level corridor is used to help effectively handle complex constraints. The IGD and GD indexes are used to evaluate quality of solutions acquired by each method. In terms of normal year, the mean IGD and GD of MMOSFLA are 1.2 × 10–1 and 2.75 × 10–2, respectively. The scheduling results verify efficient search ability and convergence performance in solution diversity and distribution in comparison with other methods. Therefore, MMOSFLA is verified to provide an effective way to fulfill hydropower and ecological benefits facing the MOEOCR problem.


In this paper, we study stability analysis and stabilization problems for a class of nonlinear two-dimensional (2-D) discrete systems with time-varying state delays, described by local state-space (LSS) Fornasini-Marchesini (FM) second model. The upper and lower bounds of time-varying state delays are positive integers and the nonlinearity satisfies Lipschitz condition. First, a stability criteria is proposed through introducing a new Lyapunov function. Then a dynamic output feedback controller is designed to assure the stability of nonlinear 2-D time-varying systems. Moreover, the output feedback system matrices can be obtained by solving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of our results.


Primary graft dysfunction (PGD), a form of acute lung injury occurring within 72 h following lung transplantation, is characterized by pulmonary edema and diffuse alveolar damage. We hypothesized that higher concentrations of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) would be associated with the occurrence of PGD. A total of 128 lung transplant recipients among 7 lung transplant centers were enrolled in a multicenter, prospective, cohort study. Blood specimens were collected preoperatively and at 6, 24, 48 and 72 h following lung transplantation. The primary outcome was Grade 3 PGD at 72 h after transplant. Logistic regression and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to analyze plasma ICAM‐1 and vWF. At each postoperative timepoint, mean plasma ICAM‐1 concentrations were higher for patients with PGD versus no PGD. The GEE contrast estimate for the association of plasma ICAM‐1 with PGD was 107.5 ng/mL (95% CI 38.7, 176.3), p = 0.002. In the multivariate analyses, this finding was independent of all clinical variables except pulmonary artery pressures prior to transplant. There was no association between plasma vWF levels and PGD. We conclude that higher levels of plasma ICAM‐1 are associated with PGD following lung transplantation.


Ulipristal acetate (UPA) is used to treat leiomyomas, and its effect on the endometrium has been studied in biopsy material. Reversible histologic modifications were found, named progesterone receptor modulators–associated endometrial changes (PAEC). However, hysterectomies from patients treated with UPA have not been analyzed. For the first time, we examined surgical specimens from 100 leiomyoma-treated patients for UPA-related endometrial changes. We analyzed the distribution of lesions, involution after treatment, and the relationship between type and extent of lesions and dosage. Clinically, 72 patients were treated with 1 cycle of UPA; 23 patients with 2 cycles, and 5 with 3 cycles. A total of 66 patients underwent surgery in the first 4 wk after treatment, 24 were operated between 5 and 12 wk after discontinuation of UPA, and 10 after more than 12 wk after the last cycle, up to a maximum of 32 wk. Histologically normal endometria were found in 41 cases and PAEC in 59 cases. PAEC consisted of irregular, cystic glands showing a flattened secretory-like epithelium with vacuolation, coexisting mitoses and apoptosis, and were found focally within cyclic endometria in 51 cases. Only in 8 cases did diffuse PAEC involve the whole endometrium, transforming it into a thick spongy cushion. PAEC also occurred in adenomyosis. There was no relationship between dosage and type and extent of lesions. Diffuse PAEC, which usually presents differential diagnoses with hyperplasia, occurred in only 8 cases, being only present during the first 4 wk after discontinuation of treatment and was independent of the number of cycles administered.


Objective: To provide a comparative overview of explicit criteria that have been developed since 2003 for inappropriate prescribing in older adults and to contrast these newer criteria with the most recent Beers criteria, published in 2003. Data Sources: MEDLINE and Google Scholar searches were performed from 2003 through July 2010. Within MEDLINE. MeSH terms included aged, drug prescriptions, medication errors, and polypharmacy. Free-text search terms included elderly, guideline adherence, inappropriate prescribing, and medications. Related articles, as identified by MEDLINE, were used as well. Free-text search was performed on Google Scholar, using "potentially inappropriate prescribing elderly." Additional articles were identified in reference lists of key articles, Study Selection and Data Extraction: Studies were selected if they were published after the most recent revision of the Beers criteria in 2003 and addressed the development and application of explicit criteria for the elderly. We independently reviewed pertinent literature to extract key information. Data Synthesis: The first explicit criteria published were the Beers criteria, and most research regarding inappropriate medication use applied these criteria. Criteria developed subsequent to the Beers criteria include the French Consensus Panel list, STOPP (Screening Tool of Older Persons' Prescription) and START (Screening Tool to Alert doctors to Right Treatment), the Australian Prescribing Indicators tool, and the Norwegian General Practice Criteria. Newer criteria offer several improvements on the Beers criteria, namely drug-drug interactions, omission of potentially beneficial therapy, and more broadly applicable criteria across international borders. Conclusions: Although no criteria may ever be globally applicable, STOPP and START make significant advances. Regional drug availability, economic considerations, and clinical practice patterns impact criteria selection. Research to validate the several newer criteria in various practice settings and to explore the effect of adhering to the guidelines on patient outcomes is warranted. Data from such research will aid practitioners in identifying preferred criteria.


The spherical nano-sized bioactive particles in the system of CaO-P2O5-SiO2 were bio-mimetically synthesized using micro-emulsion method. The microstructures and properties of the bio- mimetic nano-materials were characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM/EDAX and TEM techniques. It was indicated that the nano-particles possessed glassy structural characteristics. The porous composite for bone tissue reconstruction was prepared by compounding poly (hydroxybutyrate-2-co-2-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and the nano-particles of bio-mimetic bioactive glasses (BMBG). Bone-like hydroxyl- carbonate-apatite (HCA) could formed on the surface of porous composite by immersing the composite in simulated body fluid (SBF) at 37°C for 8 hours. With increase of immersion time, the morphology of HCA changed from spherical into flake-like crystals. The study on cells attachment of the porous PHBV/BMBG composite proved that the material possessed satisfactory bioactivity, bio-mineralization function and cells biocompatibility.


A data acquisition and signal processing system is being developed for a 2-micron airborne wind profiling coherent Doppler lidar system. This lidar, called the Doppler Aerosol Wind Lidar (DAWN), is based on a Ho:Tm:LuLiF laser transmitter and 15-cm diameter telescope. It is being packaged for flights onboard the NASA DC-8, with the first flights in the summer of 2010 in support of the NASA Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) campaign for the study of hurricanes. The data acquisition and processing system is housed in a compact PCI chassis and consists of four components such as a digitizer, a digital signal processing (DSP) module, a video controller, and a serial port controller. The data acquisition and processing software (DAPS) is also being developed to control the system including real-time data analysis and display. The system detects an external 10 Hz trigger pulse and initiates the data acquisition and processing process, and displays selected wind profile parameters such as Doppler shift, power distribution, wind directions and velocities. Doppler shift created by aircraft motion is measured by an inertial navigation/GPS sensor and fed to the signal processing system for real-time removal of aircraft effects from wind measurements. A general overview of the system and the DAPS as well as the coherent Doppler lidar system is presented in this paper.


This work is motivated by the increasing importance and business value of data in the fields of business process management, scientific workflows as a field in eScience, and Internet of Things, all of which profiting from the recent advances in data science and Big data. We introduce a management life cycle that renders data as first-class citizen in service choreographies and defines the functions and artifacts necessary for enabling transparent and efficient data exchange among choreography participants. The inherent goal of the life cycle, functions and artifacts is to help decouple the data flow, data exchange and management from the control flow in service compositions and choreographies. This decoupling enables peer-to-peer data exchange in choreographies and provides the means for more sophisticated data management and exchange, as well as data exchange and provisioning optimization.


Some changes are required to improve the characteristics of power system to implement the developing smart grid technology. For distribution system, DC mode is a very good complementation of AC techniques. The control strategies and dynamic performance of DC distribution system are studied to investigate the feasibility of the DC distribution mode. A novel prototype of distribution system is provided. Three different control strategies are applied in different converters for the demand of corresponding functions. The simulation results show the advantages of DC distribution system: the converters can provide accurate active power transaction and balance reactive power in the stable situation, while provide the ability to mitigate the voltage sags during the faults in AC distribution system and improve the power quality in transient situation.


We propose a novel measure of the amount of arbitrage capital allocated to the momentum strategy to test whether arbitrageurs can have a destabilizing effect in the stock market. Our measure, which we dub comomentum, aims to capture the extent to which momentum trades by arbitrageurs become crowded. Specifically, we define comomentum as the highfrequency abnormal return correlation among stocks that a typical momentum strategy would speculate on. We show that during periods of low comomentum, momentum strategies are profitable and stabilizing, reflecting an underreaction phenomenon that arbitrageurs correct. In contrast, during periods of high comomentum, these strategies become unprofitable and tend to crash, reflecting prior overreaction due to the momentum crowd pushing prices away from fundamentals. Moreover, both firm-level and international versions of comomentum forecast returns in a manner consistent with our interpretation. JEL classification: G12, N22


OBJECTIVE
Many algorithms for clinical decision making rely on assessment of the CT number (expressed as Hounsfield units); however, to our knowledge, few, if any, studies have addressed how CT numbers change as a function of patient positioning within the scanner.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
An anthropomorphic phantom underwent imaging with varying amounts of vertical orientation misalignment with respect to isocenter. CT number and noise were measured using ROIs in the upper thorax, mid thorax, and abdomen. The degree of noise nonuniformity and changes in the CT number were assessed by comparing values obtained in the anterior versus posterior ROIs. To add clinical relevance, data on vertical mispositioning were collected from 20,316 clinical abdominal CT scans. Box-and-whisker plot analysis was used to identify the range of patient positioning.

RESULTS
Absolute CT number changes of more than 20 HU were observed for some ROIs at phantom positions of 10 cm from isocenter, with important differences noted between the thoracic and abdominal regions. Noise uniformity varied by more than twofold for all regions at 10 cm below isocenter. On clinical CT examinations, off-centering of more than 1, 2, 4, and 6 cm occurred for 41%, 19%, 1.9%, and 0.3% of patients, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Radiologists should treat CT number measurements with caution when patients are grossly mispositioned in the scanner. The substantial changes in attenuation values shown in the present study are large enough to warrant further investigation.


Aloe vera extracts were obtained from the fresh leaves of the plant(Aloe vera bardenesis) through sequential extraction involving soaking in a the solvent ethanol for a period of 48hours.Various concentrations of 2ml. 4ml, 6ml, 8ml and 10mls were prepared from the extract. Samples of palm oil and palm kernel oil were obtained fresh from the source and their physicochemical properties determined. The results obtained were kept as references. The oil samples were then blended with the various concentrations of the plant extract and times varied from 24hours to 120hours.Results obtained from the physicochemical analysis of blended oil samples showed that the effects of the plant extract at various concentrations was distinctively noticed after a period of 72hours of treatment. Results obtained from acid value analysis of the blended oil increased from 7.6mg/KOH/g to a constant value of 8.5mg/KOH/g at 72hours.Peroxide value of 1.6mmol/kg increased steadily to a constant value of 2.1mmol/kg.Value of free fatty acids of 4.1 in the control was steady at the value of 4.7 after 72hours.Iodine value of 58.4mg/g in the control increased steadily to a constant value of 58.4mg/g in the bend after 72hours.Saponification value of 147 increased to a steady value of 151 in the blend even after 48hours.These results indicated that the concentrations of the extract used has some degree of significance and points to the plausibility of using natural sources as antioxidants. Foods, oils and other allied industries may be potential beneficiaries of this botanical resource.


Medicinal plants have been proposed as rich yet unexploited potential sources for anti-diabetic drugs, even though used since ancient times for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Many of the synthetic drugs were discovered either directly or indirectly from the plant source. The present study reviews of plants having anti diabetic property. Although many plants are recommendation, further pharmacological and chemical research should be done to elucidate the exact mechanism of hypoglycaemic activity.


To investigate the impacts of future climate change on agriculture In Europe and to aid the development of agricultural adaptation strategies, several scenarios of climate change were constructed a n d provided a s input to crop-climate models at both broad and s i te-spec~f~c scales. These scenarios were based on results from a number of global climate model (GCM) experiments, including both equilibrium and transient climate change experiments. All GCMs provide 'internally consistent' scenarios of climate change, but a t coarse horizontal spatial resolutions. Results from equilibrium experiments give no indication of the rate of climate change, whereas transient experiments simulate time-dependent chmate change. Broad-scale climate change scenarios for Europe were constructed at 0.5" latitude/longitude resolution using a Gaussian space-filtering routine. Site-specific scenarios at the dally trinascale required by crop-growth simulation models were constructed using a stochastlc weather generator in conjunction with GCM-derived information about possible future climate change. A regression technique to downscale broad-scale changes in temperature and precipitation means to specific sites was carried out at 2 European s ~ t e s , Rothamsted. UK, and Seville. Spain. At other European sites, where crop-climate n~odels were being run, the GCM-derived grid-box changes were used w~thou t downscaling Use of a weather generator also enabled GCM-derived changes in climate variability to be incorporated into the scenarios by using the gnd-box changes in the means and variances of the climate variables to perturb the parameters of the stochastic weather generator directly. The implications of using these different methods of climate change scenario construction for the resulting scenarios a re discussed.


OBJECTIVES
While healthy eating patterns are of high importance in adolescence, most adolescents portray quite unhealthy eating behaviour. One reason for this may be that social norms among peers tend to be unsupportive of healthy eating. The current study investigates whether communicating health-promoting descriptive and injunctive norms influences adolescents' intended and actual fruit consumption.

DESIGN
The study employed an experimental prospective design.

METHODS
A norm message manipulation (descriptive vs. injunctive vs. no-norm control) was administered to high school students, after which fruit intake intention (N = 96) was assessed. At follow-up, actual fruit intake over 2 days (N = 80) was recorded.

RESULTS
Adolescents receiving the descriptive norm did not report higher fruit intake intentions than the control group, but did consume (borderline, p = .057) significantly more fruit in the following 2 days (2.3 portions per day) than the control condition (1.7 portion per day). Adolescents receiving the injunctive norm reported lower fruit intake intentions than the other two groups, but actual fruit consumption (1.5 portions per day) was similar to that of the control group.

CONCLUSIONS
Health-promoting injunctive norms not only had no positive effects on fruit intake but actually caused a decrease in fruit intake intentions, indicating that injunctive norms may be vulnerable to reactance. A health-promoting descriptive norm was found to positively affect fruit intake in adolescents. No effect on fruit intake intention was found. Results show that simple single-sentence norm messages hold the potential to substantially influence health behaviour.


In this paper theoretical investigation of steady state characteristics of finite hydrodynamic porous oil journal bearing under turbulent regime has been conducted. Governing equation is solved numerically by using finite difference technique. Constantinescu's turbulent lubrication theory is used for this analysis. The steady state characteristics such as load carrying capacity, friction variable, end flow rate and attitude angle have been investigated over a broad span of variables like Reynolds's number, eccentricity ratio, slenderness ratio and bearing speed parameter. These characteristics are numerically evaluated using Borland C++ software for windows 7 operating system. The results are denoted by graphs which can be convenient for the analysis of such bearings.


Summary

1. High densities of vertebrate herbivores can be a significant barrier to ecological restoration in many parts of the world because of their impact on vegetation biomass. A common method for managing vertebrate herbivores is the use of exclosure fences, but very few studies have examined how small-scale structural refugia (e.g. logs) can mitigate grazing impacts. We examined how beetles responded to experimentally manipulated kangaroo Macropus giganteus grazing levels using both exclosure fences and addition of logs over a 16-month period.

2. We analysed beetle responses across (a) one-hectare sites, by focusing on the interaction between grazing level and log volume, and (b) microhabitats, by focusing on the interaction between grazing level and microhabitat structure (in open ground or at experimental logs).

3. At the site scale, we detected significant negative effects of grazing and positive effects of logs on beetle abundance and species richness. Beetle trophic groups responded in the same direction across grazing levels with herbivores, detritivores and predators all having higher abundance and species richness at low grazing levels. Logs applied at 20 t ha−1 in clumped arrangements had the largest positive effect on beetles at low grazing levels. At the microhabitat scale, beetles sampled adjacent to experimental logs showed an increase in abundance and species richness compared with beetles sampled from open ground, indicating logs are acting as microhabitat buffers from grazing.

4. Synthesis and applications. A reduction in grazing level had benefits for the abundance and species richness of beetles at the site scale. Further benefits were achieved at both site and microhabitat scales when logs are used in combination with exclosure fencing. For ecological restoration, exclosure fences and logs can be used to manage the impacts of vertebrate herbivores at different spatial scales. The rapid response of beetles suggests there may be potential for cascading effects on other biota as a consequence of reduced grazing, including increased food availability for insectivorous vertebrates.


The acute effects of ethanol on total (bound + free) pyridine dinucleotides were determined in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes. Pyridine dinucleotides and adenine nucleotides were determined by highperformance liquid chromatography. Exposure of the hepatocytes to 8 mmol/L ethanol resulted in a decrease in NAD+ and an increase in NADP+ after 2 min incubation. There were no significant changes in NADH and NADPH. Ethanol decreased ATP and increased AMP after 2 min, whereas an increase in ADP was only apparent after 15 min of incubation. Ethanol 8 mmol/L and 100 mmol/L resulted in an increased incorporation of [32P] into NADP+ from [32P]‐prelabeled NAD+ and ATP. Ethanol increased hepatocyte NAD+ kinase activity; this effect was blocked by 4‐methylpyrazole but reproduced by 10 μmol acetaldehyde. These observations indicate that ethanol increases the synthesis of NADP+ and that this effect is most likely the result of increased NAD+ kinase activity. The ethanol‐induced decrease of NAD+ may limit ADP ribosylation of nuclear proteins, whereas increases in NADP+ may stimulate the pentose phosphate cycle. (HEPATOLOGY 1991;13:509–14.)


The sky view factor (SVF) is a commonly used indicator in research fields of urban microclimate such as the urban heat island (UHI). Analytical methods have been widely adapted in SVF estimation with the development of accurate three dimensional (3D) data, in which, however, the sky radiance is usually assumed to be isotropic. In this study, we discuss the sky temperature distribution and its influence on the SVF calculation based on its definition and differential geometry, and then according to the nocturnal net outgoing radiation ratio of cloudy skies to that of clear skies, the effective SVF (ESVF) is presented and defined to explain UHI intensity variance. The results of numerical computation combined with calculations from true 3D building data for Adelaide, Australia, demonstrate that the sky temperature variance has little effect on SVF estimation. While for totally overcast or cloudy sky conditions, Ts is less different from the sky temperature than for clear skies, the proposed ESVF is sensitive to the sky temperature distribution and cloud cover fraction, providing the potential ability to analyse UHI intensity for various cloudy conditions. Copyright © 2013 Royal Meteorological Society


Recent progress in the understanding of the complex magnetic properties of the family of rare-earth strontium oxides, SrLn2O4, is reviewed. These compounds consisting of hexagons and triangles are affected by geometrical frustration and therefore exhibit its characteristic features, such as a significant reduction of magnetic ordering temperatures and complex phase diagrams in an applied field. Some of the observed features appear to be rather remarkable even in the context of the unusual behavior associated with geometrically frustrated magnetic systems. Of particular interest is the coexistence at the lowest temperature of different magnetic structures (exhibiting either long or short-range order) characterized by different propagation vectors in materials without significant chemical or structural disorder.


Practically all programming languages used in software engineering allow to split a program into several modules. For fully declarative and nonmonotonic logic programming languages, however, the modular structure of programs is hard to realise, since the output of an entire program cannot in general be composed from the output of its component programs in a direct manner. In this paper, we consider these aspects for the stable-model semantics of disjunctive logic programs (DLPs). We define the notion of a DLP-function, where a welldefined input/output interface is provided, and establish a novel module theorem enabling a suitable compositional semantics for modules. The module theorem extends the well-known splitting-set theorem and allows also a generalisation of a shifting technique for splitting shared disjunctive rules among components.


ABSTRACT Question: Do regional species pools, landscape isolation or on-site constraints cause plants from different guilds to vary in their ability to colonize restored wetlands? Location: Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, USA. Methods: Floristic surveys of 41 restored wetlands were made three and 12 years after reflooding to determine changes in local species pools for eight plant guilds. The effect of landscape isolation on colonization efficiency was evaluated for each guild by plotting local species pools against distance to nearby natural wetlands, and the relative importance of dispersal vs. on-site constraints in limiting colonization was explored by comparing the local species pools of restored and natural wetlands within the region. Results: Of the 517 wetland plant taxa occurring in the region, 50% have established within 12 years. The proportion of the regional species pool represented in local species pools differed among guilds, with sedge-meadow perennials, emergent perennials and floating/submersed aquatics least represented (33–36%) and annual guilds most represented (74–94%). Colonization-to-extinction ratios suggest that floating/submersed aquatics have already reached a species equilibrium while sedge-meadow and emergent perennials are still accumulating species. Increasing distance to nearest wetlands decreased the proportion of the regional species pool present in local pools for all guilds except native annuals and woody plants. The maximum proportion predicted, assuming no distance constraint, was comparable to the lowest-diversity natural wetlands for most perennial guilds, and also lower than what was achieved in a planted, weeded restoration. Conclusions: Abiotic constraints seem to limit the colonization of floating/submersed aquatics into natural or restored wetlands, whereas all other guilds are potentially constrained by dispersal or biotic factors (i.e. competition from invasive species). Using species pools to evaluate restoration progress revealed that immigration potential varies considerably among guilds, that local species richness does not necessarily correspond to immigration limitations, and that some guilds (e.g. sedge-meadow perennials) will likely benefit more than others from being planted at restoration sites. Nomenclature: Anon. (2004).


This list, covering dissertations in the social sciences and humanities, was compiled through systematic searching in Dissertation Abstracts Online and OCLC WorldCat, which are part of the FirstSearch/OCLC (Online Computer Library Center, Inc.) databases, as well as other university library catalogs. The current list for 1999 contains 218 titles from 89 universities and covers titles that were available for electronic database searching from September through December 1999 and from January through June 2000, in addition to 5 dissertations from 1998 not included in last year's list. A list of dissertations, through 1959, can be found in Jesse J. Dossick's Doctoral Research on Russia and the Soviet Union (New York, 1960) and, through 1975, in the accompanying volume, Doctoral Research on Russia and the Soviet Union, 1960-1975 (New York, 1976). The second volume contains more than three thousand titles that have appeared in the Slavic Review's annual list since 1964 (the 1964 list also included dissertations accepted from 1960 to 1963), as well as items not previously included in the first volume. In addition, the second volume offers some critical and statistical analysis, more than thirty major classifications, numerous subclassifications and sub-subclassifications, cross-references, an index of Russian and Soviet names, and an index of authors. A list of dissertations from 1976 to 1991 may be found in the winter issues of the Slavic Revieiu through the year 1992.


We present a detailed analysis of the high angular resolution (0.″037, corresponding to 5 au) observations of the 1.25 mm continuum and 12CO 2 − 1 emission from the disk around the T Tauri star AS 209. AS 209 hosts one of the most unusual disks from the Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project sample, the first high angular resolution Atacama Large Millimeter Array survey of disks, as nearly all of the emission can be explained with concentric Gaussian rings. In particular, the dust emission consists of a series of narrow and closely spaced rings in the inner ∼60 au, two well-separated bright rings in the outer disk, centered at 74 and 120 au, and at least two fainter emission features at 90 and 130 au. We model the visibilities with a parametric representation of the radial surface brightness profile, consisting of a central core and seven concentric Gaussian rings. Recent hydrodynamical simulations of low-viscosity disks show that super-Earth planets can produce the multiple gaps seen in AS 209 millimeter continuum emission. The 12CO line emission is centrally peaked and extends out to ∼300 au, much farther than the millimeter dust emission. We find axisymmetric, localized deficits of CO emission around four distinct radii, near 45, 75, 120, and 210 au. The outermost gap is located well beyond the edge of the millimeter dust emission, and therefore cannot be due to dust opacity and must be caused by a genuine CO surface density reduction, due either to chemical effects or depletion of the overall gas content.


SIR,-The comments by Drs R F A Logan and M J S Longman (23 February, p 637) on our paper (12 January, p 103) serve to show just how vexed the question of time trends can become. We too looked at the population increase and the relative age distribution but refrained from the statistical guestimates they advocate. Such calculations beg the question as the incidence figures are based on all cases reported irrespective of their level of documentation. Dr 0 P Galpin (p 637) suggests that the higher histological diagnostic activity in recent years should have led to an increase in the number of histologically confirmed cases, unless the actual number of cases in the population had in fact declined. An alternative would be that the expected increase with increasing age of the population has been balanced by the exclusion of differential diagnoses that would otherwise have passed unnoticed. Our figures for colonic carcinoma will soon be ready for publication. Drs L G Gordon and W S Lawry (p 637) can rest assured that these too will be based on histologically confirmed cases. We are fortunate in this respect to be able to rely on our cancer registry figures for histologically confirmed cases and to be able to double check the cases from Hordaland from our own records.


Motivated by the stereological problem of volume estimation from parallel section profiles, the so-called Newton-Cotes integral estimators based on random sampling nodes are analyzed. These estimators generalize the classical Cavalieri estimator and its variant for non-equidistant sampling nodes, the generalized Cavalieri estimator, and have typically a substantially smaller variance than the latter. The present paper focuses on the following points in relation to Newton-Cotes estimators: the treatment of dropouts, the construction of variance estimators, and, finally, their application in volume estimation of convex bodies. Dropouts are eliminated points in the initial stationary point process of sampling nodes, modeled by independent thinning. Among other things, exact representations of the variance are given in terms of the thinning probability and increments of the initial points under two practically relevant sampling models. The paper presents a general estimation procedure for the variance of Newton-Cotes estimators based on the sampling nodes in a bounded interval. Finally, the findings are illustrated in an application of volume estimation for three-dimensional convex bodies with sufficiently smooth boundaries.


An Internet-based survey was posted on the Twitter feed of a retired female athlete to ascertain the demographics, uses, and gratifications of her feed's followers. Analysis of the data revealed that followers were predominantly White, affluent, educated, and older than prior research into online audiences has shown. The perception of the athlete as being an expert at her sport was the most salient reason reported to follow the Twitter feed, followed by affinity for the athlete's writing style. Analysis of variance uncovered 5 significant differences in item salience between male and female followers, with women more likely to use this Twitter feed because of affinity for the athlete and men more likely to use it because of perception of the athlete as physically attractive. Factor analysis uncovered 3 dimensions of gratification: an organic fandom factor, a functional fandom factor, and an interactivity factor.


In 2006, the Virginia Office of the Attorney General issued an erroneous official opinion stating that a living wage "is not related to the goods or services sought to be procured" and thus is not a permissible factor in determining "best value" under the Virginia Public Procurement Act.

Another 2002 official opinion applied the same reasoning to find that the Act also bars political subdivisions from requiring contractors to pay a living wage. Several local governments have defied the Attorney General's interpretation of the Procurement Act and expressed the values of their constituents by imposing living wage requirements in their procurement contracts. Despite the enactment of these local ordinances, uncertainty about the legality of such measures remains. And although the University of Virginia was able to negotiate higher wages without directly challenging the 2006 opinion, public universities can still only wonder whether they have legal authority to include living wage provisions in procurement contracts.

This report shows that nothing limits the otherwise lawful public purposes that universities and localities may pursue through their contracting authority. The Procurement Act gives them "broad flexibility" to structure the competitive bidding process, and the "best value" provision's very purpose is to deliver "the overall combination of quality, price, and various elements of required services that in total are optimal relative to a public body's needs." Contrary to the Attorney General's assertions, an ever-growing body of empirical evidence shows that employee wages affect the quality of services rendered. Numerous studies have found that higher pay reduces turnover, improves productivity, lowers operating costs, increases customer satisfaction, and even makes the public procurement process more competitive.

Because the Attorney General's opinions still cast a pall over public bodies' efforts to ensure that workers receive a living wage, we call on the General Assembly to enact legislation that would expressly authorize minimum employee wage requirements. When drafting the Procurement Act, the General Assembly quite properly believed that public bodies themselves could best weigh competing considerations of quality and cost for procurement contracts. The proposed bill would restore that understanding, and it rests firmly on the large body of empirical evidence linking living wage provisions to better public services and a more competitive public procurement process.


This article addresses the role of asymmetry in the interaction between intellectual fields in Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By focusing on the spatial and temporal hierarchies implicit in the ways intellectuals from the Nordic countries perceived and made use of marginality and backwardness, the article brings a peripheral perspective to the discussion of transnational intellectual history. This is important as the discussion on transnational history tends to stress notions like reciprocity and hybridity, which reproduce the ideal of a borderless and equal republic of letters, and paints a too harmonious picture of global cultural space.


This thesis examines Depero futurista 1913–1927, the so-called 'bolted book' created in 1927 by Futurist artist Fortunato Depero (1892-1960). Although Depero and his book have already been the subject of artistic re-evaluation, the literature relating to this work neglects a number of key aspects pertaining to the figure of the artist, still failing to provide a detailed account of Depero futurista 1913–1927.
In order to address these gaps, this study is divided into two distinct parts: the first, composed of chapters 2, 3 and 4, takes an analytical approach intended to give a detailed description of the book and its context. Chapter 2 examines the graphic and artistic context in order to understand the circumstances in which Depero futurista 1913–1927 was published. Chapter 3 analyses Depero's correspondence with the publisher Azari and the professional relationship between Depero and the Mercurio printing works, in order to understand the design methodologies adopted by Depero during the process of creating the book. In chapter 4, the analysis moves onto the book as an object, focusing on its content and formal features – its structure, layout and typefaces.
The second part of this research, comprising chapters 5, 6 and 7, uses Depero futurista 1913–1927 as an index from which to extrapolate areas of research related to Fortunato Depero, highlighting pages that refer to certain themes and presenting critical discussion of them. Chapter 5 analyses the political context in which the book was created and how it is inextricably linked with the institutions of the Italian Fascist regime. Given Depero futurista 1913–1927's function as a self-promotional tool, chapter 6 examines Fortunato Depero's interest in the field of advertising. Finally, chapter 7 reflects on Depero futurista 1913–1927 as a particular kind of book object and the extent to which it can be considered a work of art in terms of the discourse on artists' books.


SIR,-In a recent paper Dr Julia Lowe and her colleagues (11 August, p 360) concluded that the most common adverse reaction to frusemide is a reduction of the volume of extracellular fluid "manifested clinically or as a raised blood urea concentration." This assumes that the association between frusemide and a raised urea is one of cause and effect. The most common cause of a raised plasma urea concentration in hospital patients is heart failure.' In a recent study2 we confirmed the suggestion of Domenet and Evans3 that this rise in plasma urea was often due to an increased production of urea rather than a reduction in glomerular filtration rate. We do not underestimate the potential seriousness of volume depletion. However, we suggest that increased production of urea has been largely ignored as a feature of heart failure, that it is a major factor in the rise in plasma urea in heart failure, and that it may explain the relation between plasma urea and prognosis in heart failure.3 R D THOMAS BRIAN MORGAN


Division 11C of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth) was introduced in 1979 and imposes a withholding tax currently at the rate of 4 per cent on payments made in respect of mining on indigenous land. It was introduced by the Coalition Federal Government as a result of the enactment of land rights legislation in the Northern Territory. Although commentators in the areas of anthropology, economics and indigenous land rights have written extensively about this tax no one has analysed it from an income tax policy perspective. Many reviews of the Australian tax system including the most recent the Review of Australia's Future Tax System (the Henry Review) state that for a tax system to be considered 'good' it should be simple, efficient, equitable, sustainable and be consistent with policy objectives. However there are often tensions between each of these goals particularly in the balance between simplicity and equity. This paper analyses the current withholding tax regime found in Division 11C from the tax policy perspectives of simplicity and equity. It suggests that the current regime is simple however it imposes many indirect inequities. Further, it argues that the mining withholding tax is potentially inconsistent with income tax principles and other income tax laws. It should be noted that this tax regime is very different to the proposed Minerals Resource Rent Tax and will not be replaced by this tax. A discussion of the proposed Minerals Resource Rent Tax is therefore outside the scope of the paper.


Erythroid differentiation is a dynamic process leading to the production of mature red blood cells. Even small variations in this process may result in severe disease phenotype. To study this process, we used a three-phase erythroid expansion system to expand homogeneous erythroid progenitors (EPs) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB-MNCs) (Bruchova H. et al, 2007, Exp. Hematology, in press). We then characterized the expanded EPs from polycythemia vera (PV) patients and healthy donors at various points of maturation comparing cell proliferation and differentiation stage. EPs from PV patients outgrew controls up to day 14 (∼12 fold for PV and ∼4 fold for control compared to day 1). Differentiation was analyzed using both FACS analysis (with CD71/CD235a staining) and morphological evaluation (Wright-Giemsa staining), and demonstrated a more rapid differentiation of PV EPs when compared to controls up to day 14. We then evaluated apoptosis/cell cycle analysis by propidium iodide staining. Although PV EPs contained larger S phase population (45%) than controls (34%) at day 11, the apoptosis proportion of PV EPs was increased ∼2 fold to control from day 14. To understand the molecular mechanism of these differences between PV and controls, we analyzed the gene expression of several known regulators in erythropoiesis - BCL2 , EPOR, cMYB, p27 . Two transcripts ( EPOR and cMYB) showed unique profiles on PV EPs. The EPOR transcript increased earlier in PV; i.e. from day 7 until day 21 and reached a plateau at day 11, compared to day 9 until day 19 and plateau at day 14 in controls. In addition, PV EPs contained higher levels of EPOR transcripts than control on most of timepoints. Interestingly, cMYB , which is known to augment early progenitor proliferation, was highly expressed from day 7 in PV, through day 11. Control EPs also expressed cMYB from day 9 through day 11; however, c MYB levels from any stages of control EPs were markedly lower than PV EPs at day 7. In this study, we demonstrate that PV erythropoiesis has unique features of hyperproliferation and an accelerated differentiation. These features are associated with earlier and higher expressions of cMYB and EPOR at the early stage of erythropoiesis.


Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) has been characterised by the World Health Organization as a new entity. This report describes an unusual case of PBL in a 3-year-old HIV-infected patient showing a cutaneous vulvar lesion with 9 months of evolution and prolapsed vulvovaginal mucosa. Histopathological examination of a biopsy sample showed diffuse submucosal infiltration by large cells with a cohesive growth pattern, and round and vesicular nuclei with fine chromatin centrally or eccentrically placed with one or more prominent nucleoli. Immunohistochemical staining in neoplastic cells was positive for multiple melanoma oncogene (MUM1), CD138, CD45 and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). The diagnosis was PBL, stage III. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) expression was positive by EBV encoded RNAs in situ hybridisation. This is believed to be the third case of paediatric HIV-associated PBL reported in the literature, and the first with vulvar localisation, which is a new anatomical location for this entity.


Partial Replicas have been used to parallelize access to regions of large spatial data sets on geographically distributed machines, saving network bandwidth and improving data availability. In this paper, we present the Globus Toolkit R-tree, (GTR-tree) to efficiently select partial replicas using the Globus Toolkit Replica Location Service (RLS) middleware. First, the limitations inherent in the Globus RLS service for spatial data are analyzed, motivating the usefulness of the GTR-tree for solving the partial replica selection problem. We then describe our implementation of the R-tree data structure on top of an unmodified Globus RLS. The R-tree is an important data structure for spatial computation, and results in very significant performance gains. Our performance results and evaluation demonstrate enormous improvements for spatial replica selection over a plain RLS.


For over six years Raytheon's Missile Systems Division, Information Processing Systems Organization has used a successful approach in developing and maintaining business software. The approach centers on the fact that 60 percent of all business application designs and code are redundant and can be standardized and reused. This approach has resulted in significant gains in productivity and reliability and improved end-user relations, while providing better utilization of data processing personnel, primarily in the maintenance phase of the software life cycle.


Within the framework of a phenomenological approach a set of multi-axial creep damage constitutive equations for 0.5Cr0.5Mo0.25V ferritic steel at 590°C is developed in which a new formulation is employed. The deficiency of the previous formulation and the need for improvement became apparent after a critical review of the development of creep damage constitutive equations for 316 stainless steel(1). The need for improvement was further underpinned by a call for modification of the constitutive equations(36). Recently, a specific formulation was proposed and validated(2)-(4). This paper reports the latest developments of the multi-axial creep constitutive equations for 0.5Cr0.5Mo0.25V ferritic steel at 590°C including: 1) the fundamental requirement; 2) formulation; 3) validation; and 4) conclusion. It systematically shows the suitability of this new set of constitutive equations and the incapability of the previous ones. Furthermore, it contributes knowledge to the methodology.


This work focuses on the behavior of Aluminum (AP50) reinforced with Titanium Carbide Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) during machining in Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) process. While machining a MMC through conventional machining process poor surface finish and lower metal removal rate are experienced.   Hence the nonconventional machining technique EDM is the best alternate to machine intricate shape in MMC.   The material used in this study is Aluminum (AP 50) with 3 proportions of TiC (i.e., 2.5%, 5% and 7.5%).  The machining is performed by varying the Pulse On time, Pulse Off time  and  Peak Current  while other parameters such as Dielectric flushing pressure, Electrode feed rate and Applied voltage are kept unchanged. The parameter optimization is performed using Taguchi techniques. It is found that increase in Metal removal rate and reduction in surface roughness is achieved with the 2.5% percentage TiC reinforcement. It is also found that the metal removal rates as well as surface roughness are more influenced by the parameters Peak Current and Pulse on Time. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.24.1.18951


In a shared-memory multiprocessor system, it may be more efficient to schedule a task on one processor than on another if relevant data already reside in a particular processor's cache. The effects of this type of processor affinity are examined. It is observed that tasks continuously alternate between executing at a processor and releasing this processor due to I/O, synchronization, quantum expiration, or preemption. Queuing network models of different abstract scheduling policies are formulated, spanning the range from ignoring affinity to fixing tasks on processors. These models are solved via mean value analysis, where possible, and by simulation otherwise. An analytic cache model is developed and used in these scheduling models to include the effects of an initial burst of cache misses experienced by tasks when they return to a processor for execution. A mean-value technique is also developed and used in the scheduling models to include the effects of increased bus traffic due to these bursts of cache misses. Only a small amount of affinity information needs to be maintained for each task. The importance of having a policy that adapts its behavior to changes in system load is demonstrated. >


Experiments with rats resuscitated after clinical death compatible with a complete and relatively rapid recovery of the neurologic status proved that prolonged (a follow-up of up to 9 months) and varying in time changes in a number of parameters of the higher nervous activity and behaviour occur in the postresuscitation period. Postresuscitation changes in behaviour correlate with the data on the degenerative changes in a number of cerebral structures of resuscitated rats progressing over 9 to 12 months. The available data of functional and morphological studies indicate the possibility of development of latent slowly progressing degenerative changes in the CNS of the organisms surviving clinical death and resuscitation. These changes reflect the development of postresuscitation disease and may become the cause of delayed encephalopathies. The problem of the possible mechanisms of development of progressive postresuscitation degeneration of the central nervous system and approaches to studies there of is discussed.


We study the implementation of dense linear algebra computations, such as matrix multiplication and linear system solvers, on two-dimensional (2D) grids of heterogeneous processors. For these operations, 2D-grids are the key to scalability and efficiency. The uniform block-cyclic data distribution scheme commonly used for homogeneous collections of processors limits the performance of these operations on heterogeneous grids to the speed of the slowest processor. We present and study more sophisticated data allocation strategies that balance the load on heterogeneous 2D-grids with respect to the performance of the processors. The practical usefulness of these strategies is fully demonstrated by experimental data for a heterogeneous network of workstations.


Narrative Units: The Language of Form in British Fiction, 1749-1819 Michael Paulson "Narrative Units" traces the development of a unique perspective on narrative form in the theory and practice of the early British novel. From Aristotle's Poetics through twentiethcentury formalism, structuralism, and narratology, major theories of narrative have approached narrative form as a unified whole, whether that whole is defined as plot, structure, or discourse. By contrast, early British novelists tended to conceive of narrative as a looser accretion of individual parts, identified with terms such as "adventure," "episode," "incident," "accident," "situation," "moment," "scene," "period," and "crisis," as well as temporal spans such as hours, days, weeks, and years. This dissertation examines the social, philosophical, and technical implications of viewing narrative through this lens of narrative parts, or what I call "narrative units." The project begins by comparing the emphasis on narrative units in the early British novel with dominant traditions in narrative theory, which tend to prioritize narrative totalities. It then proceeds to analyze the functioning of narrative units in the novels of three key innovators of the tradition: Henry Fielding, Ann Radcliffe, and Jane Austen. In each of these case studies I identify the key units deployed by the author, considering the dialogic relationship between them and the unique narrative dynamics that they bring about. Ultimately, I show that the unusual emphasis on narrative units in the long eighteenth century emerges in response to a series of major social and intellectual crises of the eighteenth century: in Fielding, the epistemological opacity of cities and institutions; in Radcliffe, the fragmentation of self in the sentimental subject; in Austen, the breakdown of community in a rapidly accelerating society. I conclude that by prioritizing and emphasizing narrative parts over narrative wholes, these authors deformed and disrupted prevailing models of narrative, from Aristotelian plot and Enlightenment progress to the sentimental flow of feelings, and along the way developed a new poetics of uncertainty, stasis, and fragmentation. In identifying and analyzing the historical vocabulary deployed by authors themselves to articulate the fundamental structure of their narratives, "Narrative Units" develops a new methodology for the study of narrative, offers a new approach to the history of the novel, and contributes to current critical efforts to synthesize formalist and historicist methods of literary study.


This short piece, prepared for a symposium revisiting Richard Weisberg's 'The Failure of the Word', focuses on the structure of claims that are often made about law's relationship to literature. These claims purport to contrast literature, portrayed as textured, nuanced, and emotionally resonant, with law, portrayed as a dessicated, abstract world composed mainly of rules. Rhetorically, this contrast constructs and entrenches a highly contestable definition of law's boundaries even as it purports to describe them. Worse, by assuming that law is an independent space mostly bounded by rules, and that literature is a separate and contrasting space, the strategy suggests a rather impoverished view of interdisciplinarity. In this view, interdisciplinary work is work that crosses borders; if what is inside the realm of literature were already inside law, there would be nothing interdisciplinarity could accomplish. Although Weisberg inverts the usual rhetoric of opposition, and instead draws parallels between law and literature, his work is nonetheless reminiscent of that part of law/literature rhetoric that associates almost everything worth having - emotions, sensitivity to context, respect for variety and otherness in human nature - outside of law, while associating law itself with abstraction, cerebration, blindness, and moral indifference. Despite this problem, I argue, Weisberg's project exemplifies one of the more admirable ambitions of the law/literature enterprise, the ambition to make lawyers and judges explicitly aware of, and accountable for, the ethical dimensions of their conduct. Whether right or wrong, Weisberg's infamous analysis of Billy Budd suggests that moral values inhere in the law itself and therefore do not have to be hijacked from a separate domain located "outside" of law.


We present in this paper a spectral method for solving a problem governed by Navier-Stokes and heat equations. The Fourier-Chebyshev technique in the azimuthal direction leads to a system of Helmholtz equations. The Collocation-Chebyshev method in the radial direction has been used for the simulation of these equations. The Crank-Nicholson scheme is employed to solve the Helmholtz systems obtained for wide ranges of parameters, and its efficiency is considerably improved by diagonalization of the obtained operators. The results are in a very good agreement with the experimental data available in the literature.


The Water-Energy-Food Nexus has emerged over the past decade as a useful concept to reduce trade-offs and increase synergies in promoting goals of water, energy and food securities. While WEF scholarship substantiates the biophysical interlinkages and calls for increased and effective coordination across sectors and levels, knowledge on conditions for effective coordination is still lacking. Analysing WEF nexus governance from a polycentricity perspective may contribute to better understanding coordination. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework for analysing WEF nexus governance based on the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework and the concept of Networks of Adjacent Action Situations (NAAS). The interdependence among transactions for pursuing WEF securities by actors in different action situations generates the need for coordination for changing or sustaining institutions, policy goals and policy instruments that guide actions leading to sustainable outcomes. Coordination is attained through arrangements based on cooperation, coercion or competition. Coordination in complex social-ecological systems is unlikely to be achieved by a single governance mode but rather by synergistic combinations of governance modes. Particular coordination arrangements that emerge in a context depend on the distribution of authority, information and resources within and across interlinked decision-making centres. Further, integrating the political ecology based conceptualisations of power into the analytical framework extends the governance analysis to include the influence of power relations on coordination. Methodological innovation in delineating action situations and identifying the unit of analysis as well as integrating different sources and types of data is required to operationalise the conceptual framework.


Rent control was introduced in the Philippines in 1971 to stabilize the prices of basic commodities during periods of calamities and macroeconomic instability. It has been adopted in succeeding years despite the country's exit from the highly inflationary environment. Rent control-related policies, however, have had adverse impacts on the rental market. Consequently, the Philippine government has made changes to the original rent control setup; there was a move from the first to the second generation rent control. This study specifically determines whether second generation rent control is indeed free of the adverse impacts of its predecessor. It uses the 2014 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey to have an estimation of the net benefit of tenants under rent control.


Rom2p is a GDP/GTP exchange factor for Rho1p and Rho2p GTPases; Rho proteins have been implicated in control of actin cytoskeletal rearrangements. ROM2 and RHO2 were identified in a screen for high-copy number suppressors of cik1 delta, a mutant defective in microtubule-based processes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A Rom2p::3XHA fusion protein localizes to sites of polarized cell growth, including incipient bud sites, tips of small buds, and tips of mating projections. Disruption of ROM2 results in temperature-sensitive growth defects at 11 degrees C and 37 degrees C. rom2 delta cells exhibit morphological defects. At permissive temperatures, rom2 delta cells often form elongated buds and fail to form normal mating projections after exposure to pheromone; at the restrictive temperature, small budded cells accumulate. High-copy number plasmids containing either ROM2 or RHO2 suppress the temperature-sensitive growth defects of cik1 delta and kar3 delta strains. KAR3 encodes a kinesin-related protein that interacts with Cik1p. Furthermore, rom2 delta strains exhibit increased sensitivity to the microtubule depolymerizing drug benomyl. These results suggest a role for Rom2p in both polarized morphogenesis and functions of the microtubule cytoskeleton.


Material flow‐based indicators play an important role in measuring green and resource‐efficient growth. This article examines the global flows of materials and the amounts of materials directly and indirectly necessary to satisfy domestic final demand in different countries world‐wide. We calculate the indicator Raw Material Consumption (RMC), also referred to as material footprint (MF), by applying a global, multiregional input‐output model based on the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database and extended by material extraction data. We examine world‐wide patterns of material extraction and materials embodied in trade and consumption, investigating changes between 1997 and 2007. We find that flows of materials related to international trade have increased by almost 60% between 1997 and 2007. We show that the differences in MFs per capita are huge, ranging from up to 100 tonnes in the rich, oil‐exporting countries to values as low as 1.5 to 2.0 tonnes in some developing countries. We also quantify the differences between the indicators Domestic Material Consumption (DMC) and RMC, illustrating that net material exporters generally have a DMC larger than RMC, whereas the reverse is observed for net importers. Finally, we confirm the fact that most countries with stable or declining DMCs actually show increasing RMCs, indicating the occurrence of leakage effects, which are not fully captured by DMC. This challenges the world‐wide use of DMC as a headline indicator for national material consumption and calls for the consideration of upstream material requirements of international trade flows.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the face and content validity of the CMA's counselling guidelines for HIV serologic testing in order to prepare a revised edition.

DESIGN
Qualitative evaluation by structured focus groups in September and October 1994 to assess the relevance, clarity and practicality of the guidelines, followed by content analysis of the discussions.

SETTING
Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City and St. John's.

PARTICIPANTS
Primary care physicians randomly selected from the CMA database and nonrandomly selected from the Canadian Medical Directory who had limited experience with HIV testing and counselling and who provided an appropriate mix of characteristics in terms of practice type (solo and group), setting (urban and rural), age and sex. A total of 1247 physicians were approached for the study; a convenience sample of 68 were recruited, of whom 56 participated. The average size of each focus group was eight physicians.

OUTCOME MEASURES
Clinical experience and information sources with respect to HIV testing, reactions to the counselling guidelines, and suggestions for revisions and improvements to the guidelines.

RESULTS
Most (96% [54/56] of the participants had ordered HIV serologic testing for patients in the 6 months preceding the focus groups, and about half of them (52% [28/54]) had at least one patient with a positive test result. Many (59% [33/56]) of the participants had a copy of the guidelines at the time of recruitment; 19 (58%) of them had used the guidelines in the months before the focus groups. The parts of the guidelines most often read were the checklists and inset boxes. Recommendations for revisions in content were for more information on legal and ethical issues, information on new issues (e.g., rapid testing) and guidelines on how best to tell a patient about a positive test result; recommendations for revisions in format included more tables, algorithms, bulleted points and white space, less text, larger type and plainer language.

CONCLUSIONS
The focus groups provided detailed, credible and consistent information about the face and content validity of the HIV counselling guidelines. They are a useful qualitative method for evaluating the relevance, clarity and practicality of clinical practice guidelines at the inception or revision stage.


Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) and Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) are two important technologies used as solutions to the last mile access network. EPON consists of an OLT (Optical Line Terminal) and a set of ONUs (Optical Network Units) connected through star topology. RPR networks use a dual ring topology to establish the communication between end users and the central office. EPON networks are characterized for their simplicity and strong dependency on the bandwidth allocation algorithm while RPR for robustness. In this paper, based on simulation, we compare the performance of EPON using CCS-DBA algorithm with that of RPR in an end user environment.


Bugscope is a free online microscopy outreach program that offers K–12 classrooms anywhere in the world the ability to remotely operate a high-resolution scanning electron microscope, collect images of insects and other similar arthropods, and chat simultaneously with a team of scientists. It was conceived and implemented in the late 1990s when K–12 schools were beginning to gain broadband Internet access, many as a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. One of several projects that took advantage of this opportunity to use the Internet to bring the laboratory into the classroom, Bugscope began as an NSF grant to purchase a field-emission scanning electron microscope and develop sophisticated client and server software to control it via a standard web browser. Inspired by the success of and lessons learned from the Chickscope remote magnetic resonance imaging project and from having successfully established remote web-based control of a transmission electron microscope, Clint Potter and Bridget Carragher created the Bugscope project with the goal of developing a remote microscopy educational outreach project that would be sustainable over the long term. This goal led to two significant design decisions. First, the software involved in setting up and running the live outreach sessions was purpose-built to ensure that only one staff member, if necessary, would be required at the instrument (as opposed to Chickscope, which required staff at the remote location as well as at the instrument). Second, students from a local high school would be employed as a renewable resource to help with pre-session sample preparation and to participate in live chat, answering questions from the remote classrooms. Although we now operate with permanent staff at the instrument, these efficiencies in the original concept/design have allowed Bugscope to operate continuously since March 1999, long after the original funding was exhausted.


In competitive market dairy production will shift to the regions with the best conditions. In the Soviet paradigm dairy production was evenly distributed throughout the country, what was caused by extremely low transportation prices and by differentiated by regions procurement prices. Thus, there was no specialized zones of dairy production. The start of economic liberalization in Russia was followed by the process of disintegration of the country's common economic space. Reforms entailed an increase in transportation costs and regional specialization based on comparative advantages of a certain commodity production. Specialized dairy producing zones started to emerge. This paper attempts to determine these zones in Russia in the nearest future. The analysis is based on an interregional comparison of comparative advantages in milk production. The research involves the study of raw milk production, dairy processing and consumption of dairy commodities in 51 regions of the European part of Russia. A system of indices to estimate specialization and comparative advantages in milk production is constructed.


Context. The stellar abundances observed in globular clusters show complex structures, currently not yet understood. Aims. The aim of this work is to investigate the relations between the abundances of different elements in the globular cluster M 4, selected for its uniform deficiency of iron, to explore the best models explaining the pattern of these observed abundances. Moreover, in turnoff stars, the abundances of the elements are not suspected to be affected by internal mixing. Methods. In M 4, using low and moderate resolution spectra obtained for 91 turnoff (and subgiant) stars with the ESO FLAMES-Giraffe spectrograph, we have extended previous measurements of abundances (of Li, C and Na) to other elements (C, Si, Ca, Sr and Ba), using model atmosphere analysis. We have also studied the influence of the choice of the microturbulent velocity. Results. Firstly, the peculiar turnoff star found to be very Li-rich in a previous paper does not show any other abundance anomalies relative to the other turnoff stars in M 4. Secondly, an anti-correlation between C and Na has been detected, the slope being significative at more than 3 σ . This relation between C and Na is in perfect agreement with the relation found in giant stars selected below the RGB bump. Thirdly, the strong enrichment of Si and of the neutron-capture elements Sr and Ba, already observed in the giants in M 4, is confirmed. Finally, the relations between Li, C, Na, Sr and Ba constrain the enrichment processes of the observed stars. Conclusions. The abundances of the elements in the turnoff stars appear to be compatible with production processes by massive AGBs, but are also compatible with the production of second generation elements (like Na) and low Li produced by, for example, fast rotating massive stars.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of innovative teaching methods and share a four-step model, to promote the use of co-production in mental health practice.

Design/methodology/approach
The case study approach highlights three real-life examples of day to day experiences in mental health nurse education with innovative approaches to sharing and developing co-production skills and attitudes in mental health student nurses.

Findings
The case studies highlight three settings where undergraduate mental health nurses experience co-production through a world café event and dialogical community development. Common themes include setting the environment, developing a common aim and relationship building.

Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this paper is that only three case studies are provided, further examples would provide a greater pool of exemplars for others to draw on. However, by focusing upon student nurse education in learning environment, these examples are transferable to other settings.

Practical implications
The practical applications are summarised in a four-step model that can help develop co-productive teaching methods; enable educators to set the climate and generate an understanding of co-production that empowers students and service users.

Social implications
The emphasis and relevance of promoting co-productive working habits early on in nurses' mental health nursing careers will enable them to raise awareness of future social implications for a range of client groups.

Originality/value
This paper focuses upon mental health student nurses whilst providing an innovative model to facilitate co-production experiences applicable in a range of settings.


Mangrove and saltmarsh wetlands generally occur at the interface of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Prior to the 1980's, coastal wetlands, including those in urban areas, were regarded as wastelands of little value; however, since then the ecosystem services they provide have been recognised. Urban wetlands face a range of challenges, most often reclamation for coastal development and poor ecosystem health. The Badu Wetland in Sydney Olympic Park, NSW, Australia, has been impacted by multiple pressures associated with wetlands in urban environments. This study aims to identify the relationship between coastal wetland health and distribution, and water levels. Particular emphasis was given to the effect of previous management interventions on current health and distribution, and the projected influence of sea-level rise in the 21st century. This was achieved by 1) collating information about past and present vegetation changes, policies to ameliorate vegetation change, and future threats to vegetation health; 2) mapping the current wetland distribution, and establishing the degree of change from previous mapping; 3) modelling the relationship between wetland vegetation distribution and elevation using digital elevation models; 4) establishing the vertical accretion and surface elevation trends using an established network of surface elevation tables and marker horizons; and 5) exploring the relationship between elevation and accretion trends and environmental variables, such as elevation, distance from the channel and hydroperiod. It was found that the Badu Wetland had poor mangrove health, including mangrove dieback, and this is linked to poor tidal flushing, either through long flow lengths or slight depressions within the landscape causing pooling of tidal waters. Vegetation distribution of mangrove and saltmarsh has remained relatively stable since 2002, and surface elevation and accretion trends over this period within both the mangrove and saltmarsh exceeds current rates of sea level rise. However, these rates may lag behind projected rates of sea level rise for the 21st century.


Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), an index of large artery stiffness, is a good proxy of arterial aging and also an independent marker of cardiovascular disease. A consistently growing number of studies has shown a significant inverse association of arterial aging and cognitive function: the greater the PWV, the lower the cognitive performance (and the greater its decline over time)-regardless of heterogeneity in study populations, sample size, and measure of cognitive functions adopted in each study. Therefore the epidemiological evidence and the biological plausibility require adoption of strategies to foster the routine measurement of PWV and cognitive function measurements in each and every older subject, particularly those at higher cardiovascular risk. Consistently, limited available healthcare resources should be progressively shifted from a sterile differential diagnosis between Alzheimer-type and vascular dementia to interventions aimed to reduce PWV and, thus, to prevent dementia before its onset or to decrease its rate of progression.