Background. The American legal system includes features of the two dominant legal systems in each of which the legal doctrine has its place and is endowed with certain traits. Research of a role of the legal doctrine in the American law allows us to consider this legal phenomenon from different perspectives, identify features of the doctrine as a source of law. The research aim is to explore the major mechanisms and ways of influence of the legal doctrine on the American legislation and systematization of the U.S. law. Materials and methods. Implementation of the research objectives was achieved by the analysis of the legislative process, the process of model codes development, activities of the American Law Institutions. The methodology includes the methods of comparative and historical analysis. Results. The result of this study is to identify the main ways of influencing the legal doctrine on the U.S. legislation and systematization of the American law. Conclusions. The role of the legal doctrine in the U.S. legal system has significantly expanded in comparison with the classical common law by participating in the legislative process and systematization of the law. Importance of the legal doctrine consists in creation of abstract statutory norms, generalization of the statutory law, drafting of model legislation and generalization norms of the statutory and case law.


In this talk, we discuss the role of quantum statistics in twisted Poincare invariant theories. It is shown that, in order to have twisted Poincare group as the symmetry of a quantum theory, statistics must be twisted. It is also confirmed that the removal of UV‐IR mixing (in the absence of gauge fields) in such theories is a natural consequence.


A novel bio-affinitive, photocuring, and membrane-forming gelatin derivative was synthesized in this study. This process was based on the amide formation between carboxylic acid and the amine in methanol–water media using dicyclohexyl-carbodiimide (DCC) as a condenser. Gelatin and glycine were the sources of amine in the model reaction. Since there were two anhydride groups in each 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenone tetra-carboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) molecule, two 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) molecules were used to induce the ring-opening reaction of BTDA and release two carboxylic acid groups. The resulting photoreactive gelatin was called GE-BTHE, of which the photoreactive component was the ketone groups of BTDA and HEMA that played the role of double bond supplier. This photoreactive gelatin could be converted from the transparent liquid phase into swollen membrane by a 6-min irradiation of high pressure mercury lamp. The most efficient irradiation was at 267 nm and the highest degree of swelling of the cured GE-BTHE membrane could reach 5.9. The elongation from the dried gel remained 5–10%, i.e., relatively elastic. The properties of this gelatin derivative were investigated using amide formation analysis, calculation of the gel content and the swelling ratio, and monitoring of the photocuring process. The GE-BTHE synthesized in this study should be very potential in applications such as protective wound dressings and hemostatic absorbents for minimally invasive surgery. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008


The purpose of this project was to pursue a different method of theatre than I had ever experienced, namely being entirely responsible for the conception, development, and production of an original play. In the process, I wanted to ask fundamental questions about the nature and limits of theatre and, through potential answers, come to a more realized understanding of why I am so drawn to the medium and how I wish to pursue its potential in the future. Through the help of my advisor Casey Sams, priceless input from professors and fellow students, and liberal inspiration from some of my creative idols, I executed this project successfully over the past year. The apex of the project came with three performances between November 16-18, 2012 that resulted in a fantastic response from those in attendance and many new revelations and questions from my own experience. Through a step-by-step summary of my experience, I hope to convey the progression of the project from beginning to end, exploring my process as a theatrical artist, and provide insight into the struggles and joys of creating


Abstract DIPG is an aggressive paediatric brainstem tumour, with a median survival of less than 1 year. Polyamines are intracellular polycations that control important aspects of cell growth and are often upregulated in cancer. Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) is an FDA-approved inhibitor of the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC1) which is a key driver of polyamine synthesis. We investigated the efficacy of polyamine pathway inhibitors as a therapeutic strategy against DIPG. We found high expression levels of synthetic enzymes in the polyamine pathway in primary patient samples and cultures. Using cytotoxicity and clonogenic assays, we found that DFMO inhibited the proliferation of DIPG neurospheres. However, DIPG cells compensated for DFMO inhibition by increasing expression of the polyamine transporter SLC3A2. Gene expression analysis showed that the polyamine transporter, SLC3A2, was significantly overexpressed in DIPG compared with all other high-risk childhood cancers. Addition of polyamine transporter inhibitor AMXT 1501 to DFMO led to synergistic inhibition of DIPG proliferation. Consistent with the in vitro results, the combination treatment significantly prolonged the survival of mice bearing 3 different DIPG orthografts with 2/3 of the animals surviving up to 160 days. Addition of irradiation further improved the survival of mice treated with DFMO and AMXT 1501. Our results suggest that DIPG tumours are exquisitely sensitive to polyamine inhibitors and that dual blockade of polyamine synthesis and transport is a promising novel therapeutic strategy. AMXT 1501 is currently in clinical development for adult cancers (NCT03536728). A clinical trial for DIPG patients is planned through the CONNECT consortium.


Surgical resection (SR) is a potentially curative treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) hampered by high rates of recurrence. New drugs are tested in the adjuvant setting, but standardised risk stratification tools of HCC recurrence are lacking.


Comet 73P/Schwassmann‐Wachmann 3 split in 1995. One of its fragments was not found during the return of the comet in 2001. The next return, in 2006, was characterized by several cascading splitting events of the remaining fragments. About one month before perihelion the fragments approached Earth at distances less than 0.1 AU. We present analysis of the fragmentation events and address the question "Could some of the dust particles, released during the fragmentation, cross the orbit of Earth?"


A number of Escherichia coli strains isolated from patients suffering from diarrhea were characterized and isolated. They were classified according to their activity of recognition of specific glycosphingolipid-receptors separated on thin-layer chromatogram (TLC) and those incorporated into liposomes. Our finding revealed that 20% of tested strains (group 1) bound Galα1-4Gal-containing glycosphingolipids found in total natural fractions of human meconium and human stomach as well as reference glycosphingolipids. The majority of EPEC strains (group 2) recognized clearly GalNAcβ4Gal-containing receptors within these fractions. Using lipid extracts from total natural fractions of the stomach and meconium, group 1 bound an actively large number of glycosphingolipid receptors demonstrated by intensified black bands, whereas two positive bindings in the 2and 4-sugar-regions were only detected when EPEC group 2 was used. Application of liposomeaggregation binding assay, the two selected strains EPEC 37 and EPEC 57, representing group 1 and group 2, respectively, recognized well Galα1-4Gal and GalNAcβ4Gal-containing glycosphingolipids incorporated into liposomes receptors. In the present study, lactosylceramideglycosphingolipid (Galβ4Glcβ1Cer) with nonhydroxylated ceramide showed no binding activity in both assay-systems, whereas the same receptorcontaining hydroxylated fatty acid of ceramide was bound by both strain groups.


From ancient times, the saffron Crocus sativus L. is widely used as drug to promote health and fight disease, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Saffron is cultivated in different parts of the world, but currently mainly in Iran. In view of its wide range of medical uses, the saffron has under gone extensive phytochemical and biochemical studies and variety of biologically active ingredients isolated. Characteristic components of saffron are crocin – responsible of the colour, picrocrocin – responsible of the bitter taste and safranal – responsible odour and aroma. Saffron is non toxic in animal studies (LD50 – 20,7 g/kg), non cytotoxic in vitro studies (LD50 – 200mkg/ml). During the last decade from different laboratories of the world were reported data on the effect of saffron on coronary artery diseases; on learning behaviour; on ocular blood flow and retinal function; on blood pressure; on contraceptive, antiinflammatory and antiatherosclerosis activities; antigenotoxic and cytotoxic activities. The goal of this presentation is to summarise and discuss the scientific data on biomedical properties of saffron and main its ingredients, especially on anticancer and antitumor activities. It should be borne in mind that health benefits of saffron may be also from additive and synergistic combinations of phytochemicals. With natural agents, such as saffron, the hope is that their availability, lack of obvious toxicity at effective dose and ability to act against different human health conditions by various mechanism, will be allow their introduction as potential medical drug in clinical trials INTRODUCTION The scientific name for saffron is Crocus sativus L. and belongs to the family of Iridaceas, the line of liliaceas. Among the 85 species belonging to the Crocus genus, saffron is the most fascinating and intriguing species. The word "saffron" is derived from the Arabic word za'faran, which translates to "yellow." Commercial saffron is made from the dried stigmas of the saffron flower, a triploid sterile plant and has a unique and distinctively pungent, honey-like flavour and aroma. Existed different theories concerning the origin and spread of the saffron. Some of scientists believe that the saffron plant is native to the Orient, other in Greece. No other flower has a more venerable documented history than saffron crocus. Saffron crocus is mainly cultivated in several countries of mild and dry climate. World-wide, 190 tons of saffron are produced each year, for a total of about $190 million (Table 1). The saffron stigma has a distinct and unique color, flavor and smell and some of the groups of chemical compounds responsible for this: Color: principal coloring pigments is crocin. Smell: The main aroma factor in saffron is safranal Flavor: The special "bitter" flavor is the glycoside picrocrocin.. Molecular structures of the four most important carotenoid secondary metabolites of saffron. Saffron was more active with parental administration than with oral. Oral administration may be improved by liposome encapsulation of the drug. Liposome encapsulation of saffron produced significant inhibitory effect on the growth of transplanted tumor cells in mice. Animal studies have found that oral administration 100 mg/kg body wt of saffron was more effective against soft tissue sarcomas in mice (Nadkarni, 1976). Usually saffron recognazed as a safe natural spice. The toxicity of saffron has been found to be quite low. The oral LD50 of saffron was 20, 7 g/kg administrated as a decoction. The oral administration of saffron extract at concentrations from 0.1 to 5 g/kg was non-toxic in mice (Abdullaev, 2002). MEDICINAL AND PHARMACEPTICAL PROPERTIES Effect on Learning Behavior and Long-term Potentiation The saffron extract and two of its main ingredients crocin and crocetin, improved memory and learning skills in ethanol-induced learning behavior impairments in mice and rats. Oral administration of saffron may be useful as treatment for neurodegenerative disorders and related memory impairment. (Abe and Saito, 2000; Abe., 1994; Sigura et al., 1995). Effects on Ocular Blood Flow and Retinal Function Crocin analogs isolated from saffron significantly increased the blood flow in the retina and choroid as well as facilitated retinal function recovery and it could be used to treat ischemic retinopathy and/or age-related macular degeneration (Xuan et al., 1999). Effect on Coronary Artery Disease Fifty milligrams of saffron dissolved in 100ml of milk was administered twice a day to human subjects and the significant decrease in lipoprotein oxidation susceptibility O O O O O


Path planning methods based on discrete graph searches are highly effective in dealing with large-scale environments, arbitrarily shaped obstacles, frequent map updates and complex cost functions. When it comes to planning for teams of coupled agents however, typical graph searchbased planning techniques quickly become infeasible due to the exponential growth of the dimensionality of the joint state-space. In this paper, we study the problem of path planning for teams of agents coupled with timeparameterized constraints on the distances from each other, the problem that often arises in planning for multi-agent robotic systems with limited communication range. We first pose this problem as searching N (the number of agents) graphs for cost-minimal paths that satisfy the distance constraints. We then show how the solution to this problem path consensus can be achieved in distributed fashion. Our theoretical analysis gives the conditions under which the algorithm converges to an optimal solution. Our experimental analysis shows that the algorithm converges fast for teams of up to six agents navigating cluttered environments.


industrial application of solid acid base catalysts a statistical survey of industrial processes using solid acid base catalysts is presented the number of processes such as alkylation isomerization amination, catalyst design for dry reforming of methane analysis the performance of catalysts used for the dry reforming of methane can strongly depend on the selection of active metals supports and promoters, research projects iitb monash research academy research projects research will be conducted in a team based approach research in the academy will be truly multi disciplinary which will allow discoveries to be, synthesis of metal organic frameworks mofs routes to synthesis of metal organic frameworks mofs routes to various mof topologies morphologies and composites, home scale up systems scale up suite is the world s leading suite of drug substance process development and scale up software for scientists and engineers working in the pharmaceutical, acs applied materials interfaces acs publications flexible hydrogel electrolyte with superior mechanical properties based on poly vinyl alcohol and bacterial cellulose for the solid state zinc air batteries, dac ous ac jp , rsc j mater chem a latest articles jinrui huang nan li laihui xiao haiqin liu yigang wang jie chen xiaoan nie yutian zhu conductive epoxy composites are of great interest in industrial applications, school of engineering the university of kansas facilities engineering faculty members and graduate students are major users of the facilities and services of many research laboratories and centers across campus, chemistry conferences chemistry conference 2019 chemistry conferences chemistry events chemistry conferences 2019 chemistry meetings 2019 chemistry conferences organic chemistry conferences inorganic chemistry, dr tao chen university of surrey biography i received the b eng 2000 and m eng 2002 degrees both from department of automation tsinghua university china and the phd chemical engineering, company list complete list alphabetical company location s description company info past job details bachem torrance ca bachem is involved in the process development and manufacture of apis, online exhibitor planner pittcon all exhibitors 939 expo hours tuesday thursday march 19 march 21 2019 9 00 am 5 00 pm exhibitor list click on exhibitor name for more details, stony brook undergraduate bulletin fall 2019 aas 118 introduction to asian studies provides students with information on subjects of common concern to people in both asia and america including education


The authors consider a high-speed ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) bus, which can serve a small number of stations (<or=16). The bus is slotted and each slot is long enough to contain one ATM cell. Transmission on the bus is controlled by an arbitrator. Each station sends it status information to the arbitrator at regular intervals. Based on this information the arbitrator makes polling decisions. Due to transmission and processing delays the arbitrator makes decisions based on status information which is a few bus slots old. Adaptive polling assuming bursty arrivals is proposed. The schemes take into account both the cell loss probability and the mean waiting times. The polling policies focus on equalizing the mean waiting time (delay) in the buffers before a cell gets transmitted on the bus. The advantage of these schemes over ordinary polling is demonstrated.<<ETX>>


UMKM Roman Indah is a manufacturing company engaged in the production of bags. Based on preliminary observation reports, there are still many production process activities whose work processes do not have workmanship standards which can cause the product to have less than optimal quality. FMEA and FTA methods to find the root causes of defective products found. FMEA and Fta are a systematic approach to identify and minimize defective products that occur in companies. This identification process uses a Risk Priority Number (RPN) assessment, while the search for the root cause of defective products uses a fishbone diagram. From the identification results of the FMEA and FTA methods, there are 4 types of defects, namely, Improper Linkages, Unsuitable Pattern Cut, and Non-Smooth Zippers. To find out the cause of the biggest problem in defective products using the calculation of the RPN value, the biggest failure was obtained, namely the untidy linkage caused by not setting the steps on the sewing machine with an RPN value of 420. Based on the root cause of the problem, the proposed improvement is in the form of instructions. work on every issue.


[Objective]To know about the eutrophic condition of present Fenhe Second reservoir.[Methods]The eutrophic level of Fenhe Second reservoir was evaluated through measuring transparence,total nitrogen(TN)concentration,total phosphorus(TP)concentration,chlorophyll-a(Chla) level,total amount of the algal cells and caculating water trofic state index(TSI).[Results]Water transparence in low water period and common water period was lower than the Ⅳ transparence standard of GHZBI-1999《Surface Water Environment Quality Standard》;TN concentration in low water period was more than that in common water period,and they were lower than the Ⅳ TN standard of GB3838-2002《Surface Water Environment Quality Standard》;TP concentration in two period was less than the Ⅳ TP standard of GB3838-2002《Surface Water Environment Quality Standard》;Chla level did not exceed the Ⅳ chlorophyll-a standard of GHZBI-1999《Surface Water Environment Quality Standard》;TSI(SD) and TSI(TP) was both more than 50,TSI(chla) was less than 50;Total amount of the algal cells was 5.9×105/L,which was much more than that(2.5×104/L)in common water period.[Conclusion]Fenhe Second reservoir has not been formed the eutrophication.


According to typology theory,Dai,Chinese and English are SVO languages,sharing common points,but also having differences on word order.This paper contrasts and analyzes some types of modifier-noun constructions in the three languages,finding that Dai language is accordance to universal and implicational principles invented by J.Greenberg,while in Chinese,all above modifiers are preposed;For English,there are both prepositive and postpositive attributes in it.For the Dai students who are fluent speakers of both Dai and Chinese,knowing the similarities and differences from the contrast and analysis of the Modifier-noun Constructions among the three languages is not only significant in their English Learning,but their English acquisition would be promoted as well.


The paper on the topic: "Comparison of online teaching using IT technologies and the classic form of teaching in classrooms" presents the results of a survey that proves: which is the most practical form of teaching for respondents to acquire knowledge; in relation to the classical form of teaching, in which subjects the classic form of teaching is better (in the classroom) for easier acquisition of knowledge in relation to the online form, whether the respondents used LMS systems (learning management systems) in certain subjects, which LMS systems were used by respondents during online classes, did respondents work in classes with LMS systems during the classic way of teaching, what is the opinion of respondents about which are more practical systems for teaching, whether it is easier and more practical to participate (according to in their opinion) in online teaching (during online teaching) from general education subjects or vocational subjects, which online teaching tool respondents used most often, whether respondents use further tools ("use tools today") that were intended for online teaching (during COVID) in the teaching process to facilitate acquisition knowledge and easier access to materials in digital form and what is the opinion of the respondents on the objectivity of assessment according to their experience, taking into account the time of online teaching and the time of the classic form of teaching.


The paper analyzes the structure of the mining policy system of nonferrous metal. It discusses the following aspects: comprehensive utilization policy for resources conservation; policy of development for priority areas; going global policy; nonferrous metal minerals strategic reserve policy; mineral production import and export policy; and nonferrous metal mine environmental protection policy.


(CCs) are taken together in this brief because their roles regarding anti-corruption measures often overlap. CCs and BAs have the general characteristic of working groups and are not usually governing bodies or umbrella organizations. This means that they cannot make decisions on behalf of their members, nor can they enforce compliance amongst their members. Members are free to decide which recommendations or commitments to accept and put into practice. Often businesses and corporations leave their October 2006 Volume 5 No.1


This project consists of a collaborative effort between the Games+Learning+Society Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Microsoft Research to create an online community to engage girls in computer programming and game design. The goals of this community are threefold: 1) to support initial interest in computer science among young women and then build on that interest through increasingly involved participation within the community; 2) to foster the learning of programming specifically, and computational and design thinking more broadly; and 3) to provide support to the young women within the community at the critical engagement and learning points. At SIGCSE 2014 we will present the first major phase of the project-an updated version of our team's Studio K curriculum for teaching game design and computational thinking to middle and high school students. We will also report on early research findings from the first all-girl cohorts to complete the curriculum.


People have begun to accept technology as a matter of course in the day-to-day areas of their lives. As a result, the development and proliferation of social software has enjoyed exponential growth in the past several years. In this paper we argue that as researchers and practitioners who create social technologies, we must take a "social engineering" approach, actively designing social applications to help users achieve their social goals. We then review current trends in innovation in social technologies, and discuss some of the hard problems that need to be addressed by the field in the next several years. We expect that as social technologies continue to innovate in areas such as social networks, social navigation, lightweight authoring, and mobile and ubiquitous computing, we must increasingly envision an integrated social computing experience: that is, a social computing platform.


We describe an outbreak of mucormycosis in a pediatric oncology hospital during December 2010 and the measures taken to stop it. The outbreak began with two consecutive cases of laboratory‐documented mucormycosis infections within 1 week. Investigations to track the source were conducted immediately. Air plate cultures from machines and ducts supplying patients' rooms revealed the growth of Rhizomucor. Of five affected patients, all had acute leukemia and three were histopathologically proven. All patients were treated with liposomal amphotericin B after mucormycosis was diagnosed. Posaconazole was used as a secondary prophylaxis in one case. Three patients died. Pediatr Blood Cancer © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Objective: To determine the correlation between C‐telopeptide with osteoporosis risk by using Osteoporosis Self Assessment Tools for Asian (OSTA) in postmenopausal women.


Some time ago a physicist friend told me of a research paper with the title "I spin, U spin, V spin".


A method of extracting recovering oil from vegetable material in which oil bearing material is heated and subjected to sonication at least one frequency above 400 kHz, removing a first yield of oil by decanting and subjecting the retained material to centrifugal separation to separate out a second yield of oil. Preferably the raw vegetable material is passed through a screw press and the obtained material is heated and subjected to the ultrasonic treatment and then allowed to settle for a predetermined period before decanting the oil layer. Preferably two frequencies above 400 kHz are used, one below 1 MHz and the second from 1 MHz. There are many potential transducers arrangements possible for producing standing waves.


Object recognition is one in each of the foremost fascinating skills that humans simply possess since childhood. With a straightforward look of degree object, humans unit of measure able to tell its identity or class despite of the looks variation as a result of modification in manufacture, illumination, texture, deformation, and to a lower place occlusion. Moreover,


Once Prince & Smolensky (1993) set the theoretical underpinnings of Optimality Theory (OT), the organization and structure of the collection of universal constraints CON soon became a topic of some debate. One of the points that has received some attention has been the possibility to extend CON with complex constraints constructed out of the combination of two or more simple constraints.1 A first idea in this direction was a proposal by Smolensky (1993, 1995), who suggested a mechanism of constraint combination that he called 'Local Conjunction' (henceforth LC). LC was intended as a device to refine the notion of markedness. Essentially the idea was to capture the fact that certain properties are more marked (and hence should incur in worse violations) in certain domains than in others. Smolensky (1995) illustrates this with the words tab.da and tad.ba. Both violate the constraints *PL/LAB and NOCODA, but the first one violates them in the same location, as indicated by the double underlining. Thus, given that there are languages with labials and codas, but the option of having labials in coda positions is the marked one, we want tad.ba to be better than tab.da. As the violation of two constraints is worse when occurring in the same location, LC yields the desired effect by combining the two simple constraints into a complex one. Smolensky explicitly stated that a representation violates a complex constraint L made up of two locally conjoined constraints 1 and 2 if, and only if, it violates both 1 and 2 in L, but not if it violates only one of them. The desired result only follows, however, if CON incorporates the additional condition that L outranks 1 and 2.


Propagation of an ultra-short lasers pulses in a linear optical medium consisting of free space, dispersive media. However, analytical methods have the limitations of not being able to handle arbitrary pulse profiles. Also, closed form solutions are often obtained after certain levels of approximations. This has motive a few studies based on the use of numerical simulation techniques in the analysis of pulse propagation. In view of the recent advance in ultra-short pulse propagation, a strong need is felt for developing a numerical formalism capable of performing such a complete analysis of the issues involved in pulse propagation.
This allows us to analyze the pulse in the time-frequency domain at any arbitrary plane. With this tool, we investigate the spectral and temporal evolution of ultra-short pulses at any arbitrary propagation distance.


Adopting a holistic view of disruptive innovation, we take a broad view of disruption at the level of innovation ecosystems. By applying the lens of effectuation to disruptive innovation, we examine how firms enter into an ecosystem and contribute to disruption. Using empirical evidence from the emerging 3D printing ecosystem, we build a conceptual model that illustrates three main themes of a process model on disruption at the level of innovation ecosystems: Level of disruption, (core, peripheral and/or support); ecosystem behavior, (integration, collaboration) and means and ends (products as means, capabilities as means). Our conceptual model can guide managers in identifying factors that influence the process of disruption.


Distinction is made between true and spurious vendor loyalty of farmers based on two dimensions. Hypotheses are proposed describing the relationships between the two types of vendor loyalty and product-related characteristics, farm enterprise characteristics, farmer characteristics and buying variables. On the basis of an extended set of data, the existence of various types of vendor loyalty is determined (cluster analysis) and the proposed hypotheses are tested (multiple discriminant analysis). Three groups of farmers are determined with distinct types of vendor loyalty. Some interesting relationships between observed vendor loyalty and product-related characteristics, farm enterprise characteristics, farmer characteristics, and buying variables are shown. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.


A Review of On Complexity written by Edgar Morin edited by Alfonso Montuori reviewed by Jennifer L. Wells published by Hampton Press ISBN 9781572738010 (2008) Introduction On Complexity is a beautifully written synopsis by one of Europe's most influential intellectuals today, Edgar Morin, of his treatise on complexity theories. For six decades Morin has been highly influential in French, Italian and Spanish-speaking countries. For those who have been reading Morin in other languages for decades, it is a monumental event to see this major complexity scholar's work finally published in English. Morin's chef d'oeuvre is a six-volume work on transdisciplinary complexity, the first and only of such scope, entitled The Method, the first volume published in 1977, the last volume in 2002, and it seems that it remains the largest and one of the most significant works in the complexity field. There have been dozens of monographs and dissertations dedicated to Morin's work, and at least five graduate programs focused on The Method, located in Italy, Mexico, Peru, France, and the United States. Yet, only one volume of The Method and a handful of Morin's other books have previously been published in English. On Complexity is a smooth, readable synopsis of a major thinker's most compelling theories, synthesizing his greatest insights in a short, highly readable narrative, including a long and masterful introduction to this maddeningly multidisciplinary and fascinating thinker. Having read many introductions to Morin in other languages, I find this volume the best to date, perhaps naturally, as this is the latest synthesis of the key ideas in a long and variegated career. On Complexity' in Context Morin's work provides a long-awaited compliment to the assiduous work of the natural science complexity research centers in the United States. While scientists at the Santa Fe Institute and other natural science research centers remain skeptical of this perspective of complexity theories writ large, or what Morin calls Generalized Complexity Theories, this seemingly unavoidable gap in understanding of complexity between natural scientists and social scientists need not persist, at least not in its present, pernicious form. Forthe amenable natural scientists, Morin provides a major contribution to the dissolution of the natural-social science divide in complexity studies, offering a much-needed, in-depth analysis of complexity's truly transdisciplinary capacity. Moreover, Morin provides an elaborate treatment of complexity both ontologically and epistemologically. Indeed, the presentation of complexity as epistemologica! lens is one of Morin's greatest contributions. Morin argues that any theories adequate to the treatment of transdisciplinary phenomena require us to face interconnectedness among phenomena, fogginess, uncertainty, and contradiction. However, critically, we can elaborate conceptual tools and principles for approaching complexity more effectively, and we can begin to perceive the face of the new paradigm of complexity that should emerge. Thus Morin transforms a deficit view of uncertainty and ambiguity into a generative, creative, if always somewhat problematic, dimension of knowledge, particularly applied knowledge. At the current time of coalescing global crises and rapid change, Morin's view of complexity as a rich resource for application in realms such as business, economics, politics, and the environment is particularly poignant. Born in 1921, Morin has been integrally involved in the history of complexity theories throughout six decades, a major participant in the field when the nascent fields of cybernetics, systems studies, and systems biology were first converging into complexity studies. In fact, Morin is arguably one of the founders of complexity theories, though he would humbly note the earlier works of contemporaries and predecessors such as Bertalanffy, von Neumann, and more recent French theorists such as Henri Atlan. …


This paper investigates automatic testing of medium voltage drive controller using OPC server interface. OPC is a standard software interface that allows Windows program to communicate with industrial hardware devices. The control board of medium voltage drive consists of digital input signals, which are used to control the drive e.g. drive start, stop and analog signals for giving speed or torque reference to the motor. In field these signals are given through another controller e.g. PLC that serve as a master. These signals can also be generated manually using control panel. In automatic testing of the drive application software, these control signals are to be accessed by Automatic Testing Framework. Using OPC server interface in Visual Studio solution it is possible to access the PLC symbol variables and control the drive for application software functionality testing. PLC symbol variables are accessed by Automatic Testing Framework through OPC gateway server. This paper describes the hardware setup, environment used for MV drive under test and automatic testing of control software using OPC Server Interface. Test results provided here proves the advantage of using OPC interface over conventional way of testing.


A three-dimensional (3D) imaging system using multi-cameras is presented. Perspectives of a 3D object are taken by the multi-cameras located randomly on a circle. The 3D object can be reconstructed numerically by waveform reconstruction with an angle correction function. The angle correction function is introduced to correct the angle of camera at each pixel in the projected image and at each 3D reconstructed position. Numerical results show that point sources can be reconstructed successfully. Experimental results of two 3D objects are also presented.iminates defocused areas. The depth of a three-dimensional object can be accurately detected from a blur measure and the resolution and quality of reconstructed plane images are slightly enhanced by adaptive erosion operation. Therefore, we qualitatively expect this scheme to work well in the specific task such as a part of the system for object detection and recognition in integral imaging.


To understand electronic angular momentum polarization phenomena of atomic photofragments in diatomic photodissociations, Wigner-Witmer correlation rules should be augmented to treat these problems quantitatively. The essential step to achieve this goal is to find the transformation relationships between basis functions of Hund's coupling cases (a) (or (b)) and (c). Because the partition of a united electronic configuration into two separated electronic configurations is undertaken, in general no analytical transformation can be established. To illustrate the present scheme in acquiring the transformation relationships, the direct photodissociation of O 2 (B 3 Σ - n )into O( 1 D) + O( 3 P) is explicitly considered. The electronic angular momentum polarization of oxygen atoms in ‖ 1 D, J = 2, M J = 0> observed in the recent experiment on O 2 photodissociation can be rationalized by this quantitative correlation rule.


This work aimed to determine qualification levels of overweight in the young adult population of the parish San Carlos de las Minas. The methodology used was descriptive, cross-sectional field, prospective and retrospective bibliographic. The sample comprised 160 young adults. The technique used was the survey questionnaire with his instrument which consists of closed questions; plus an array was used to record the weight gain, size and the assessment of body mass index (BMI). He then proceeded to review the medical records of each patient, home visits were planned for taking blood pressure and reported for laboratory. The results were analyzed and interpreted, showing a high percentage of overweight I grade with 76.88% overweight and grade II with 23.12% could meet a high intake of carbohydrates with 35,25% and 42, 5% fat. It also showed that 8.12% of young adults have high blood pressure and diabetes 6.88% have more hypertension. It was determined that the cause of higher incidence of overweight in the population are lack of physical activity and excessive consumption of carbohydrates and fats, the most common side effects reported were hypertension and diabetes, for which an action plan was designed the same which consisted of strategic policies and preventive measures to reduce overweight and prevent future complications


Long periodic transport channels are frequently used in accelerator complexes and suggested for using in high-energy ERLs for electron-hadron colliders. Without proper chromaticity compensation, such transport channels exhibit high sensitivity to the random orbit errors causing significant emittance growth. Such emittance growth can come from both the correlated and the uncorrelated energy spread. In this paper we present results of our theoretical and numerical studies of such effects and develop a criteria for acceptable chromaticity in such channels.


As you can see from Fig. 1 the resolution achieved with it can be enough for most applications while reducing costs and keeping a high-speed operation available. Now, lets take a closer look at the pipeline architecture, basically it has multiple sequential stages that make the conversion more precise by chaining the voltage comparisons, then taking off the residue of the signal and comparing it again, this process is better visualized in the next figure (Fig. 2).


Background: Reproduction in animals requires development of distinct neurons in each sex. In C. elegans, most ventral cord neurons (VCNs) are present in both sexes, with the exception of six hermaphrodite‐specific neurons (VCs) and nine pairs of male‐specific neurons (CAs and CPs) that arise from analogous precursor cells. How are the activities of sexual regulators and mediators of neuronal survival, division, and fate coordinated to generate sex‐specificity in VCNs? Results: To address this, we have developed a toolkit of VCN markers that allows us to examine sex‐specific neurogenesis, asymmetric fates of daughters of a neuroblast division, and regional specification on the anteroposterior axis. Here, we describe the roles of the Hox transcription factors LIN‐39 and MAB‐5 in promoting survival, differentiation, and regionalization of VCNs. We also find that the TALE class homeodomain proteins CEH‐20 and UNC‐62 contribute to specification of neurotransmitter fate in males. Furthermore, we identify that VCN sex is determined during the L1 larval stage. Conclusions: These findings, combined with future analyses made possible by the suite of VCN markers described here, will elucidate how Hox‐mediated cell fate decisions and sex determination intersect to influence development of neuronal sex differences. Developmental Dynamics 243:159–171, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


[Objective] To determine the content of quercetin-rhamnoside in different medicinal parts of Acanthopanax senticosus(Rupr.et Maxim.) Harms and compare them,so as to provide scientific basis for rational utilization and quality evaluation of A.senticosus.[Method] HPLC was used to determine the contents of quercetin-rhamnoside in root,stem,leaf,flower and fruit.HPLC analysis was performed on Dalian Jiangshen Nucleosil C18 column(4.6 mm×150 mm,5 μm) with mobile phase of methyl alcohol-water(V/V,40∶ 60) and flow rate of 1.1 ml/min.The other conditions were: detection wavelength of 370 nm,column temperature of 30 ℃,sampling amount of 10 μl.[Result] Different medicinal parts of A.senticosus were arranged in order of quercetin-rhamnoside content: flower bud leaf fruit stem root.Content of quercetin-rhamnoside was the highest in flower bud(4.43%),followed by leaf(0.61%),and the least in root(0.01%).[Conclusion] This method was simple,quick and accurate,and can be used for analysis of quercetin-rhamnoside in different medicinal parts of A.senticosus.


The purpose of this presentation is to share the results and some of the thinking of the Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing - Strategic Initiative Group (ECM-SIG) at the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS). NCMS is a consortium of more than 185 North American Manufacturing organizations comprised of about 75 percent for profit manufacturing companies and about 25 percent nonprofit organizations that support manufacturing activities. NCMS conducts collaborative R&D programs designed to improve global competitiveness of its members and other North American manufacturers to address common issues that are important to manufacturing industries. NCMS is an industry driven organization whose agenda is established by industry with input from appropriate government agencies.


An eclipse of the sun was to occur on April 16, 1874, which would be total throughout Little Namaqualand. I made arrangements for a visit to this country to observe the eclipse. The country is one rarely visited. I was not aware that any determinations of the magnetic elements had been made there, except a few of the variation by the Admiralty surveyors at one or two points along the coast. It appeared to me desirable that the opportunity afforded by my visit to observe the eclipse should not be lost of securing magnetical observations at several stations in Namaqualand.


Evidence of 2 : 1 and 1 : 1 complexing has been obtained for mixtures of hexamethylbenzene and fluoranil in carbon tetrachloride solution, and association constants have been evaluated.


OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association of the estrogen and progestin potency of combined oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) with epithelial ovarian carcinoma risk. METHODS: This population-based case–control study included 745 women with incident, histologically confirmed epithelial ovarian carcinoma and 943 controls, matched on age and ethnicity. Data were collected using a standard questionnaire, picture albums, and calendars. The association of OCP potency with epithelial ovarian carcinoma risk was modeled using unconditional logistic regression. RESULTS: When compared with women who never used hormonal contraception, users of OCPs with low estrogen (equal to or less than 0.035 mg ethinyl estradiol) and low progestin (less than 0.3 mg norgestrel) were at significantly reduced risk of ovarian carcinoma (odds ratio 0.19; 95% confidence interval 0.05–0.75). The risk among these women was lower than among users of estrogen or progestin of high potency, but the difference was not statistically significant. However, in a subset of 205 women who reported exclusive use of norethindrone, users of 0.5 mg or less, had a significantly reduced risk of ovarian cancer compared with women using 10 mg of this progestin. Increased norethindrone dose resulted in a significant increase in ovarian carcinoma risk, indicating a dose–response association. CONCLUSION: Combined OCPs were effective at decreasing the risk of epithelial ovarian carcinoma, with the strongest risk reduction associated with low-potency formulations. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II


Water induced loess landslides are closely related to the rise of the groundwater level. Therefore, research on the response of the groundwater level to irrigation water holds promise for revealing the mechanism of water-induced loess landslide. Taking Heitai, Gansu Province, as the research area, a coupling model o unsaturated-saturated water movement is established using the HYDRUS-MODFLOW software. The parameters of the model are calibrated and verified by the Bayesian parameter inversion method combined with field observations of the groundwater level. Finally, the change in the groundwater level under different irrigation amounts is predicted using the optimized model. It is found that a reasonable reduction of the irrigation amount can effectively slow the rise of the groundwater level. This research provides a scientific reference for the development of reasonable irrigation measures.


Dignity, security, and liberty -- fundamental principles enshrined in the constitution which, thanks to the founding fathers, essentially provide American citizens with a guarantee of basic human rights. Yet for citizens of countries ruled by military despots, corrupt demagogues, and authoritarian juntas, human rights are anything but guaranteed. As far away as China and Rwanda, and as close by as Cuba, foreign governments have spurned attempts by the international community to expand the basic rights of individuals. In recent years, the promotion of human rights has become a prominent goal of American foreign policy, a goal that in principle enjoys widespread support form the American public, but which nonetheless encounters stiff resistance in abroad. What forces are generating human rights abuses in today's world? How can the U.S. best promote human rights? More centrally, how should the promotion of human rights figure in American foreign policy? In this episode, host Peter Krogh sits down with Pauline Baker, President of the Fund for Peace, and John Shattuck, Assistant Secretary of state for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, to discuss the role of human rights in American foreign policy.


In this paper, we propose an efficient algorithm-hardware co-design framework to realize radar-based fall detection with limited resources. We first design a compact neural network model named MB-Net with multi-branch convolutions for feature extraction of radar time series data combined with multi-scale wavelet transform. After that, an FPGA-based neural network (NN) accelerator tailored for the proposed network is designed. The proposed NN accelerator replaces the general multipliers with non-exact multipliers to reduce the hardware cost. For the multi-branch convolution layer, a novel layer computing sequence is introduced to improve the efficiency of the processing element (PE) array and reduce the memory footprint. In addition, the average pooling operation in the proposed network is folded into the quantization factors to reduce hardware cost. The experimental findings show that the MB-Net can maintain competitive performance in comparison to state-of-the-art methods while the hardware cost is significantly lower. The proposed network model is implemented in Zynq ZC702 board using only 3615 LUTs, 1843 FFs, 11.5 BRAMs, and 8 DSPs with 0.234 W power consumption. Through algorithm and hardware co-optimization, the fall detection accelerator can achieve 95% PE efficiency and takes 0.346 ms latency for a radar sample interference with only 80.96 uJ energy consumption.


Fast and reliable reset of a qubit is a key prerequisite for any quantum technology. For real world open quantum systems undergoing non-Markovian dynamics, reset implies not only purification, but in particular erasure of initial correlations between qubit and environment. Here, we derive optimal reset protocols using a combination of geometric and numerical control theory. For factorizing initial states, we find a lower limit for the entropy reduction of the qubit as well as a speed limit. The time-optimal solution is determined by the maximum coupling strength. Initial correlations, remarkably, allow for faster reset and smaller errors. Entanglement is not necessary.


ABSTRACT This study estimates hedonic house price models for an inland city of Seoul and a coastal city of Pusan using spatial regression with successful bidding price data of court auction during the period from January 2006 to December 2014. Among hedonic attributes such as floor area, building age, total floor level, living floor level, direction of the window of the living room, proximity to natural environment, scenic views and others employed in this study, our main focus is on scenic views. As a result of our empirical analysis, the most preferred view turns out to be a water-related view such as a broad river view in Seoul or an ocean view in Pusan. A mountain view, affecting negatively in a coastal city like Pusan which is adjacent to the beautiful ocean, has positive influence in Seoul, since it is an inland city with no ocean in sight with only a river running across the heart of the city which is surrounded by mountains serving as its boundary. While a building view in Seoul has negative effect on the price, it affects positively in Pusan.


Objective: Hepatoprotective activity of Punica granatum Linn. (Family: Punicaceae) was evaluated by in vitro and in vivo model. HepG2 cell lines were used for in vitro study and D-Galactosamine (D-GalN) induced hepatic damage model for in vivo evaluation. Methods: Hepatoprotective potential was assessed by measuring serum level of glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, glutamate pyruvate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, and albumin. Enzymatic antioxidant parameters like TBARs (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), GSH (glutathione), SOD (superoxide dismutase) and CAT (catalase) also evaluated in this study. Results: Rats treated with D-GalN showed a significant increase in serum levels of SGOT (serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase), SGPT (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase), ALP (alkaline phosphatase), bilirubin and TBARs, reflecting liver damage. The in vitro study indicates a beneficial effect of aqueous extract of P. granatum in comparison with methanolic extract, on D-GalN induced toxicity to HepG2 cells. On the basis of in vitro study, aqueous extract was selected for in vivo evaluation. The aqueous extract of P. granatum significantly reduced the elevated serum biomarkers, indicating the recovery of hepatocellular injury. It was also observed that D-GalN induced a significant decrease in GSH, SOD, CAT, protein, and albumin level were increased on the treatment of the rats with aqueous extract of P. granatum . The findings were also confirmed by histopathological studies. Periportal area and extensive hepatocyte damage and haemorrhage are seen in D-GalN treated group. The portal triad with less degree of inflammatory cell infiltration around the bile duct is seen in P. granatum (500 mg/kg)+(D-GalN) treated group. Conclusion: Results of this study revealed that P. granatum fruit could afford a significant protection for the alleviation of hepatic toxicity. Possible mechanism may involve its action against oxidative stress.


Objective: To observe the clinical effect of Yiqi Huoxue Decoction in treatment of silicosis patients. Methods: 52 silicosis patients in our hospital from 2011 to 2012 were randomly divided into TCM group and control group. In the basis of the conventional treatment,the TCM group used the Yiqihuoxue Decoction,3 months for a course of treatment,a total of 2 courses. Results: After treatment,the chest tightness,cyanotic lips and nails were obviously improved. FEV1 and DLCO were relieved. PaO2 and SaO2were notable increased in TCM group. The total effective rate of TCM group was enhanced than that of the control group,which was statistically significant between the two groups( P 0. 05). But cough and FVC and PaCO2 had no change. Conclusion:Yiqi Huoxue Decoction has a good therapeutic effect on silicosis fibrosis.


INCONSISTENCIES in the identification of Pinto projectile point types, as used in Great Basin and Mojave Desert archaeology, have created chronological as well as typological problems (Warren 1980). Thomas' (1981:22) attempt to "clarify the situation" by as signing the type name "Gatecliff Split-stem" to the class of points that formerly had been included under the Pinto rubric in the western and central Great Basin, reflects the need for an adequate definition of Pinto points. We have assumed that the Pinto designation should be retained in the Mojave Desert where it was first used (Amsden 1935), unless it can be shown no longer to have a viable application. The viable appli cation of any type is in part dependent upon its intended analytical function. The Pinto point type traditionally has been used pri marily as a temporal type, or time marker. The Pinto point type, as defined here, is assumed to be a temporal type and the pur pose of this paper is to take the initial step in testing the validity of that assumption. The validity of a temporal type is dependent upon two criteria: 1) a definable temporal distribution of the type; and 2) the consis tent occurrence of a set or sets of physical attributes. In this paper we address only the second criterion: the physical attributes of the Pinto points in the Mojave Desert. The longstanding argument regarding whether archaeologists discover their types in the data or impose their types on the data (Ford 1952, 1954a, 1954b, 1954c; Spaulding 1953a, 1953b, 1954a, 1954b) is irrelevant to the definition of temporal types, or time markers. The necessary qual ity for a temporal type is the correlation of physical attribute(s) with a unit of time. It matters not if the attribute(s) results from a change of cultural preference or a change in the availability of a lithic source. We need not know whether the forms we observe re sult from patterned resharpening of reoccurring fractures patterned by use, from the intractability of the preferred raw material, or from the "mental template" of the pre historic craftsman. The only necessary qual ities are reoccurring attribute(s) that are restricted to a definable period of time. The temporal type is the archaeologist's tool for constructing chronological units, not cultural units. It need reflect the cultural behavior of the prehistoric people no more than does the charcoal used in radiocarbon dating.


Among the satellite technologies, special attention is paid to the development of satellite communication technologies based on VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal). Small ground station VSAT, a terminal with a very small antenna diameter (0.9 … 3.5 m), allows the use of VSAT stations antennas. This makes it possible to significantly reduce the size and cost of ground stations, the power of their transmitters and make their use widespread. VSAT equipment makes it possible to build multiservice networks that provide all modern communication services: Internet access; telephone connection; transmission of audio and video information; reservation of existing communication channels; data collection, monitoring and remote control of industrial facilities, etc. Satellite signals, especially high-frequency bands Ku and Ka, are subject to attenuation during rain, fog, clouds. But this shortcoming is easily overcome when properly designing the network, choosing the technology and location of antennas. The scientific article is devoted to the study of the influence of the speed of digital information transmission in satellite networks based on VSAT – a small satellite ground station, at the appropriate signal-to-noise ratio at the input of the receiver of the subscriber satellite station on the probability of bit error. The technical characteristics of subscriber satellite stations operating in the Ku-frequency band 11/14 GHz with an artificial satellite of the Earth in geostationary orbit are given. The dynamic range of signal power change at the input of the VSAT-based satellite ground receiver at different data rates is determined, which provides a given signal-to-noise ratio and bit error probability in the range of 10-7 – 10-4 for the required communication quality.


This article presents an outline of a method of planning an experiment developed by Taguchi for the optimisation of processes and as an example of its application in the optimisation of parameters of a ball-cratering method. Abrasive wear tests were performed on chosen antiwear physical vapour deposition coatings with the optimum work parameters of friction node. (The test friction node is created by the rotating ball and the immobile sample disc that is pressed against it and an abrasive slurry is drip fed into the contact zone.) Then the factor of resistance to abrasive wear was calculated based on the evaluation of their resistance to abrasive wear. The Taguchi optimisation method was used in order to devise and verify the methodology of the abrasive wear research of physical vapour deposition coatings deposited using cathodic arc evaporation on two differently prepared substrates. A series of resistance tests to abrasive wear performed using ball-cratering method was conducted in accordance with the test plan based on the Taguchi design. The variable test parameters were load, the speed of ball rotation and sliding distance. A measuring device, an optical microscope, was used to take pictures and measure the diameters of the wear traces visible in the form of craters received after the performance of tribological tests. The purpose of this research was to devise a method for testing the resistance of antiwear physical vapour deposition coatings deposited on tools and machine parts to abrasive wear (performed using the ball-cratering method) by applying the Taguchi optimisation method. The experiments were carried out using the combination of tribological test parameters based on the nine experiments (L9) using Taguchi orthogonal design with variable three test parameters of load, the speed of ball rotation and sliding distance. The results of the abrasive wear test performed using ball-cratering method on duplex and non-duplex coatings were successfully verified using the Taguchi optimisation program. Optimisation of the tribological test parameters based on the Taguchi method has been found to be very efficient and convenient for the investigation of the abrasive wear rate of the duplex and non-duplex coatings.


Popular resistance in the Stalinist 1930s : soliloquy of a devil's advocate / Lynne Viola -- A workers' strike in Stalin's Russia : the Vichuga Uprising of April 1932 / Jeffrey J. Rossman -- A peasant rebellion in Stalin's Russia : the Pitelinskii Uprising, Riazan 1930 / Tracy McDonald -- Subaltern dialogues : subversion and resistance in Soviet Uzbek family law / Douglas Northrop -- Sexual and gender dissent : homosexuality as resistance in Stalin's Russia / Dan Healey -- Economic disobedience under Stalin / Elena A. Osokina -- Resisting the plan in the Urals, 1928-1956, or, Why regional officials needed "wreckers" and "saboteurs" / James Harris .


OBJECTIVE
The World Health Organization has urged member states to develop preparedness plans for infant and young child feeding (IYCF) during emergencies. Ireland has no such plan. We aimed to identify the needs of caregivers in Ireland with regards IYCF during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN
Online survey conducted in May-June 2020.

SETTING
Ireland, during the first period of severely restricted movement due to COVID-19 (lockdown).

PARTICIPANTS
Respondents (n=745) were primary caregivers of a child under 2 years; they were primarily well educated, and likely of higher socio-economic status.

RESULTS
Among those who breastfed, being unable to access breastfeeding support groups and being unable to access in-person, one-to-one breastfeeding assistance were the biggest challenges reported. Nearly three quarters of those who had their babies during lockdown reported these challenges: 72.8% and 68.8%, respectively. For those using formula, the main challenges were structural in nature; approximately two thirds of those who had their baby prior to lockdown feared there would be formula shortages and a third were unable to purchase formula due to shortages.

CONCLUSIONS
Regardless of how their babies were fed, parents in Ireland experienced multiple challenges with infant feeding during the COVID-19 crisis. Breastfeeding should be protected, supported, and promoted, particularly during an infectious disease pandemic. Additionally, assurances around supply of infant formula could reduce parental stress during a pandemic or emergency. An IYCF in emergencies plan would clearly set out how we could best support and protect the nutrition of the most vulnerable members of our population.


The aim of this paper is to draw on those aspects of European experience of intercity passenger services that may be of relevance in the U.S. context. We first consider the policy background in Europe. We then discuss factors affecting the demand for intercity travel, with particular reference to high speed trains. Finally, we examine privatisation, concentrating on the experience in Britain which is the one country in Europe actually to have privatised its intercity trains, before reaching our conclusions.


Principal Topic Innovation goes hand in hand with creativity and freedom. Yet, with separation of ownership and governance, too much freedom might invoke a host of issues associated with the agency ...


This essay discusses the process of re-forming the handwritten manuscripts held in Royal Holloway's Papers of Elizabeth Jesser Reid into a digital archive, Elizabeth Jesser Reid's Correspondence Networks. The letters and the digital archive map complex networks of reform in which Reid was a lynchpin, and show how the work of founding and running Bedford College, a pioneering women's education institution, was enmeshed in a wider culture of reform. I employ Sara Ahmed's idea of 'queer use' to examine connections between this nineteenth-century reform work, the digitization process, and forms of labour (administration, housekeeping, community building, and others) that are devalued in the twenty-first-century university, even as they are essential to knowledge production. I argue that digitization as a 'queer use' of manuscripts can illuminate the university politics of use, then and now, through analysing a letter in which Bedford's education mission conflicted with Reid's antislavery activism.


So many prominent surgeons have adopted my suggestions for the preparation of catgut 1 that I wish to describe methods which make the procedure vastly simpler in its application, and which at the same time remove any element of uncertainty regarding the results likely to be attained. Catgut prepared according to this formula has been used by the Mayo brothers in almost 5,000 operations and has been adopted by such well-known surgeons as Drs. Burrell, Collins, Cushing, Deaver, Finney, Frazier, Meyer and Murphy, as well as the men on the staff of the Massachusetts General Hospital and on that of the Pennsylvania Hospital and many others. This is a sufficient testimonial to the worth of the procedure, and I am more than certain that the present[ill]modification of it here described can not fail to attract new users. As at present recommended very little time or trouble need be expended in


By means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), we performed the direct imaging of DNA molecules (200, 500, 1000 bp) in a Tris‐borate buffer solution, and measured the contour length and the end‐to‐end distance of DNA. Processing the data according to the worm‐like chain model, we calculated the persistence length of the double‐stranded DNA. Based on the analysis of the contour length and the persistence length, we discussed the interactions between DNA and an intercalating fluorescence dye (YO‐PRO‐1). YO‐PRO‐1 stacks between the base pairs and extends the contour length of DNA, changing the electric charge and the persistence length of DNA. From AFM measurement, we investigated directly the relationship between the persistence length and the number of the YO‐PRO‐1 intercalating to DNA. We will discuss on the relationship between the effect of an intercalating dye on the electrophoretic behavior and the conformational changes of DNA with an intercalating dye.


Combind forecast method compared with individual forecast methods can improve the precision and stability of forecast results,and it is widely used in practice.First,the basic idea of combined forecast is summarized.Then,combined-forecast model based on BP neural network is introduced and a calculation example of highway cargo volume in Jilin Province is presented.The forecasting result is very ideal and the applicability of this combined model is proved by mathematical statistics,the feasibility and applicability of this combined model are proved by statistical analysis and practice.This model for forecasting highway transportation volume is effective and feasible.


The Roma people have historically been marginalised in the Swedish society. Ex-cluded from the majority and differentiated by their lifestyle many today are with-out work. In this essay it's the Roma women, "romni", in the relation to their work situation who are main area of interest. Using Carol Lee Bacchis problem analysis "What's the problem represented to be?" and a post-colonial feminist theory, based primarily on Paulina de los Reyes and Diana Mulinari, and the concept of "the Other, the essay attempts to answer the posed question concerning how the Roma women's relation to work and unemployment are represented. The analysis con-cludes that there are both overt and subtle signs of two discourses. These discourses are based on an understanding of the Roma as different from the majority in Sweden and the other are based on a willingness to attempt to uphold the Roma's right to work. The analysis ultimately shows that the apparent solution - in the form of en-trepreneurship – is a quick fix rather than an endeavour to work antidiscrimination in the form of social connection into the solution. (Less)


Abstract The importance of prototyping is unanimous with numerous studies into the media, types, roles and properties of prototypes. However, no recent papers have sought to examine and characterise industry practice and if and how this has changed since the early 2000s. To address this, a snapshot of industrial prototyping practice with particular attention to the what, when, why, how, and by whom is reported. The study involved five small-medium sized design companies based in the South-West of the UK and validation of the findings by two independent practitioners. The snapshot revealed that 3D printing and virtual prototyping tools have reached widespread adoption in SMEs,that their design processes are highly agile and iterative and are difficult to fit to any extant design process model. Rather, the approaches appear to implicitly comprise of three levels of design convergence: macro, meso, and micro, which correspond to finer/more detailed changes. The results also reveal the frequent transitions between digital and physical media and the need to manage these transitions to ensure the product representations in different media are appropriately up-to-date.


PURPOSE: A system for generating a real animation character in a wireless communication device and a method therefor are provided to transmit a personal photo obtained from the wireless communication device, automatically generate a face character similar with the personal photo in real time using a character face generation method, correct the face character, and transmit the correct face character with a voice to an other person, store the face character in a background window, or add the face character to personal information to use the face character as a termination character. CONSTITUTION: A mobile communication terminal(100) connects to a wireless Internet, embeds a camera(110), and has an image data storing unit. A wireless Internet service network(200) provides a wireless Internet service to the mobile communication terminal(100). A service server(300) replaces a face image obtained through the camera(110) with a similar character to generate a face character image, and maps an other character with the generated face character image to generate a character image. The service server(300) has a user information DB(310) for storing user information, a user confirming unit(320) for extracting user information from a user terminal connected to the wireless Internet service network(200), and an image storing unit(330) for receiving an image photographed by the camera(110) and storing the received image. The service server(300) includes a character image generating unit(340) for extracting a feature from the image, replacing the extracted feature with a character, and generating a character image, and a character image storing unit(350) for storing the generated character image. The service server(300) has a character image transmitting unit(360) for transmitting the character image to the mobile communication terminal(100), a menu service providing unit(370) for providing a service menu to the mobile communication terminal(100), and a server operating unit(380) for operating and managing each composition unit.


Research on Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) began in the 1970s and has increased in volume and diversified significantly since then. Today BCI is widely used for applications like assistive devices for physically challenged users, mental state monitoring, input devices for hands-free applications, marketing, education, security, games and entertainment. This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of invasive and non-invasive BCI technologies and focuses on use cases of several non-invasive technologies, namely electroencephalogram (EEG), functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRs) and hybrid systems.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the long-term healthcare costs and health outcomes in association with the access to new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), during the first year of the National Strategic Plan for Chronic Hepatitis C (SPCHC) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in Spain.

METHODS
A decision tree and a lifetime Markov model were developed to simulate the natural history, morbidity, and mortality of a cohort of 51,900 patients with CHC before (pre-DAA strategy) and after (post-DAA strategy) access to DAAs, following SPCHC approval. The percentage of patients treated, transition probabilities, disease management costs, health state utility values, sustained virologic response rates and treatment costs were obtained from the literature and published data from Spain. The results were expressed in terms of costs (€, 2016), quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and prevention of clinical events, with an annual discount rate of 3%.

RESULTS
The post-DAA strategy would prevent 8,667 cases of decompensated cirrhosis, 5,471 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, 1,137 liver transplants and 9,608 liver-related deaths. The cohort of 51,900 patients would require investments of 1,606 and 1,230 million euros with the post-DAA and pre-DAA strategies, respectively. This would produce 819,674 and 665,703 QALYs.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of new DAA-based treatments in CHC patients during the first year after the implementation of the SPCHC significantly reduced long-term morbidity and mortality and increased quality of life; demonstrating that this plan is an efficient use of public health resources.


[Abstract] Object : Clinical features of chronic pancreatitis (CP) and the accuracy of the various inspection methods were analyzed retrospectively to improve the diagnosis and treatment of CP. Method : The clinical data of CP patients hospitalized from February 1999 to August 2011 was collected by following the CP diagnostic criteria for assessment proposed during chronic pancreatitis meeting in Guilin in 1987. Logestic regression was applied to analyze the clinical symptoms and signs for diagnosis suggestions; χ 2 test was performed to compare the sensitivity of the imaging examinations. Result : a total of 165 cases of patient were collected, of which 131 cases met the diagnostic criteria, 97 cases of male, female 34 cases (male to female ratio 2.85:1), with average age 49.4. Abdominal pain was the main symptom, which is related to the CP diagnosis. The sensitivity of BT-PABA experiment and its corrective experiment was 94.4%. The sensitivities of abdominal plain film, B ultrasound, CT, MR and ERCP were 62.5%, 69.1%, 88.3%, 83.9% and 86.4%. CT, MR and ERCP were superior to abdominal plain film and B ultrasound (P = 0.010, 0.035), but there was no statistical significance for the difference among the three. Conclusion: The main clinical symptom of CP was abdominal pain, without specificity. The diagnosis should combine clinical, laboratory tests, imaging studies and pathology for comprehensive consideration.


Venipunctures and heel lancing are common procedures in Paediatric Care and may bea source of pain, discomfort, and distress for children, parents and health...


Abstract The emergence of new broomrape populations (races) has been observed in the past 20 years in several countries (Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain, Serbia, and China) where sunflower is frequently grown in the same sites without applying traditional crop rotations. Differential lines for sunflower broomrape races A to F have been secured. The new broomrape races have been identified by researchers as races G and H. The question of whether the same broomrape mutations can occur in one year and affect the same countries remains unsolved. Several results of new broоmrape population emergences in some of the affected will be presented in the paper. A total of 390 genotypes were studied at four Romanian localities (Cuza Voda, Crucea-Stupina, Braila-Valea Canepii, and Tulcea-Agighiol) in 2014. At all four localities, a certain degree of sunflower broomrape infestation was observed in control hybrids and lines (Performer, LC-1093, LG-5661, and PR64LE20), which indicated the emergence of new populations higher than race H. The 390 studied genotypes had different reactions in all four localities. In 2015, 10 hybrids and controls were studied at five Romanian localities (Ciresu-Braila, Iazu-Ialomita, Stupina-Constanta, Topolog-Tulcea, and Viziru-Braila) and, according to the results, only hybrid Hy-7 was resistant in all localities. The results obtained from the three studied localities showed the emergence of new sunflower broomrape populations not controlled by gene for race H. Self-fertilization of hybrid Hy-7 produced the F2 generation in 2016. In 2017, broomrape resistance was studied at the infested (contaminated) plot at the All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops by the name of Pustovoit V.S. – VNIIMK in Rostov on Don. The plot was found to be infested by new broomrape populations originating from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Turkey, and Spain. The obtained results showed an infestation degree in 17.1% plants of hybrid Hy-7, 35% in the F2 generation of Hy-7, control hybrids PR64LE25, LG-5580 and Donskoy-22 showed 19.4, 23, and 100% broomrape infestation, respectively. In conclusion, the plot contained broomrape populations which cannot be controlled by race H gene. According to the obtained results, a permanent change in variability of broomrape populations can be confirmed practically year after year. At present, new broomrape populations found at several localities are locally dispersed. Geneticists and breeders have to make joint efforts in further detailed studies of broomrape variability.


Accelerated first order methods, also called fast gradient methods, are popular optimization methods in the field of convex optimization. However, they are prone to suffer from oscillatory behaviour that slows their convergence when medium to high accuracy is desired. In order to address this, restart schemes have been proposed in the literature, which seek to improve the practical convergence by suppressing the oscillatory behaviour. This paper presents a restart scheme applicable to a broad class of accelerated first order methods. Under a quadratic functional growth condition, linear convergence rate is proved for a large class of non-strongly convex functions. Moreover, the worst-case convergence rate is comparable to the one obtained using a (generally non-implementable) optimal fixed-rate restart strategy. We show numerical results comparing the proposed algorithm with other restart schemes.


Penetrating brain injury is a rare pathology generally requiring emergency surgical intervention. We discuss a case of penetrating brain injury by the umbrella in which surgical intervention was performed 14 days after the injury, and obtained good clinical results.


The paper presents a framework based on reusability It adopts the enh anced cleanroom model to guide reliability software development, and thus provid es a strong support in methodology and practice This paper introduces the stru cture of the reusable database model in the framework and its support for fault -tolerant development


Using LISREL for covariance structure analysis, this paper is to explore the temple stay as a leisure and tourism program and to examine the structural relations of the cognitive experience, the emotional experience and the overall satisfaction. The findings show that the emotional experience of participants in the temple stay depends on how they perceive the cognitive factors in their experience. In turn, the emotional experience was found influencing on overall satisfaction. As for emotional experiences, adaptation to nature and self-development have significant effects on relaxation and pleasure. Social interaction also has significant effects on pleasure, but no significant effect on relaxation. Finally authors found a significant relation between relaxation and pleasure , both of which influence the satisfaction of the temple stay.


Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) have been established for 76 analogues of 1-[(2-hydroxyethoxy) methyl]-6-(phenylthio)thymine (HEPT) a potent inhibitor of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT). The activity of these compounds was investigated by mean of multiple linear regression (MLR) technique. Considering the relevant descriptors obtained by stepwise procedure in multiple linear regression technique. a correlation coefficient of 0.96 was obtained with a standard deviation of 0.32.The contribution of each descriptor to the structure-activity relationships was evaluated. The results obtained indicate that the anti-HIV-1 activity of HEPT derivatives is strongly dependent on hydrophobic character as expressed by logP(R1) and logP(R3) and also steric factors of substituent R4 MR(R4) and WM(R4).


Objective To observe the effects of operation on the emotional changes of the aged patients before,heart intervention operation.Methods To carry out an investigation on 105 cases before heart intervention operation aged adopting HAMA,HAND measure forms and clinic self-edited questionnaire .To record heart rates and blood pressures before,during and after operation .Results Among 105 aged cases the HAMA marks of the patients were 2-28, the average was (15.68±7.58), 74 cases of them had total≥14 marks, accounted for 70%. The HAMD marks of the patients were 3-27, the average was (16.87±8.56), 38 cases of them had total≥17 marks ,accounted for 36%. HAMD scores in the normal coronary arteries were lower than those in the coronary heart diseases. Heart rates and systolic pressures during and after operation were higher than before operation.in the self-edited questionnaire, the cases with emotional changes ,the happening rate of psychological questions were exceed 50%.Conclusion The old patients before heart intervention operation had various degrees of worrying and depressed emotion.They had the effects on process of operation and the patients, recovery. Psychological treatment before operation is beneficial to the patients, recovery and the improvement of ill-emotion.


A compact printed wideband antenna with circular polarization is analyzed in this work. A basic structure of rectangular monopole is converted into a trapezoidal shape with tapered step ground. Different iterations of radiating element as well as defected ground structures are examined in this work to analyze the circular polarization characteristics of the antenna. A peak realized gain of 4.3dB and peak directivity of 3.8dB is attained from the current designed models. The design models are simulated on HFSS tool and the optimized dimensions are prototyped on FR4 substrate for measurement validation. By incorporating Split ring resonator (SRR) notch band characteristics are attained in the proposed wideband antenna.


This article describes a hybrid standard setting method that combines characteristics of the Angoff (1971) and Bookmark (Mitzel, Lewis, Patz&Green, 2001) methods. The proposed approach utilizes strengths of each method while addressing weaknesses. An ordered item booklet, with items sorted based on item difficulty, is used in combination with individual item ratings rather than a bookmark placement. The ordered item booklet attempts to make individual item ratings more palatable by providing some amount of information about item difficulty to the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) participating in the standard setting. Allowing for individual item ratings attempts to addresses the issue of SMEs disagreeing with the order of items in the booklet in a Bookmark standard setting. This article illustrates the method as it was applied to a healthcare examination used for state licensure, comparing it with a more traditional Angoff approach. Results suggest that the proposed method has promise for future use pending further exploration.


The effect of RE and Cu elements on the performance of industrial aluminum was investigated in this paper.The strength and conductivity of the alloys were tested.The results show that the element Cu and RE can improve the strength of aluminium,but decrease its conductivity.When element RE and Cu were added simultaneously,the strength and conductivity of the alloys higher than Cu was added only,and conductivity is lower than RE was added only.The content of element should be controlled.The performance of alloys is best when the content of RE is among 0.15%~0.35%.The effect mechanism of RE and Cu on industrial aluminium was also discussed.


Over the past two decades UNICEF has been the most visible advocate of birth registration globally. In 2015 the world community launched the Sustainable Development Agenda, which includes targets to achieve a legal identity for all, including birth registration, and targets to achieve universal birth registration (targets 16.9, and 17.19.2(b) which also includes a target for death registration). In December 2019 UNICEF issued a brochure meant to provide the status of birth registration 'today', and the prospect for change along the journey to 2030. In this technical report we review the publication. We identify quite a number of problems with the brochure, as UNICEF coins it. We are disappointed by the veracity of the data used, and find its recommendations lacking an evidence-base. The global birth registration coverage estimate in the publication is imprecise, but also pertains to years ago. But the publication is also a blow to the collaboration that is expected from UN organisations and the World Bank Group. The Deputy Secretary General has corralled them together into the United Nations Legal Identity Taskforce, but that does not appear to work. This review includes an impression of how various important actors in the identity management field pull in different directions, while their track records do not reveal much if any success. This is tragic. The people pay for the United Nations (including the Bretton Woods organisations), to deliver results for the people. Resources are wasted while staff produces bland reports, travel, meet and talk. The identity management field shows that it is better left to the people.<br>


Obesity is a metabolic condition characterized by excess adipose tissue and chronic inflammation. It is associated with deficits in balance and motor control leading to an increased risk of falling and fall‐related injuries. These balance deficits may be partially due to alterations in the muscle stretch reflex, which helps correct motor movements and adapt to uncertain terrain. Muscle stretch is sensed by muscle spindle afferents, which then excite alpha motor neurons to cause a reflex contraction. We tested the hypothesis that spinal cord integration of sensory information from muscle spindle afferents is altered in a mouse model of diet‐induced obesity. Changes in spinal cord integration were measured using the Hoffman's or H‐reflex, the electrical analog of the muscle stretch reflex. Following electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve, two waves of muscle contraction were recorded: the M wave caused by direct excitation of motor neuron axons and the longer latency H wave caused by reflex activation of motor neurons by muscle spindle afferents. Adult mice of both sexes were fed either a control diet (CD, 10% kcal fat; n=16 M, 8 F) or high‐fat diet (HFD, 60% kcal fat; n=15 M, 9 F) for 10 weeks. We measured three properties of the H‐reflex as indicators of excitability: (1) H latency, the time from stimulus to the peak of the H wave; (2) Hmax/Mmax, the percentage of motor neurons recruited from the stimulus of Group Ia afferents; and (3) rate‐dependent depression (RDD), the decrease in H‐reflex amplitude following high‐frequency stimulation (20 stimuli, 5 Hz). After 10 weeks, there were no significant differences in H latency (p=0.558) between groups. However, the 10‐week HFD group showed a significant increase in Hmax/Mmax (p=0.013; sex x diet p=0.570). 10 weeks of high‐fat feeding also decreased the degree of RDD (p=0.001; sex x diet p=0.797). These results suggest that obesity increases spinal cord sensitivity to sensory input from the muscle spindle afferents. A preliminary sample of male mice fed the HFD for 5‐weeks showed similar decreases in RDD (n=6 per group, p=0.033), but no changes in Hmax/Mmax (p=0.485). We are currently increasing this sample size and testing whether more severe increases in excitability are seen following longer exposures to the HFD. Future studies will also determine whether these changes in spinal cord excitability translate into changes in the strength of the muscle stretch reflex and/or balance.


The paper is focused on the design of the electrode for needleless coaxial electrospinning. This method allows to produce core/shell nanofibers from the free surface of a polymeric two-layer. The geometry of the designed model of electrode was analyzed using the software Autodesk Simulation Multiphysics. The results of electrostatic field simulation indicate the sharp edges of the electrode as the source of high electric intensity. These sharp edges lead to the loss of the electric energy during the electrospinning process. Based on that, the new cylindrical geometry of the electrode was developed. The results of carried out experiments clearly demonstrate the enhancement of the electrospinning process stability.


In this paper we outline the considerations required in order to select a target star system for the Icarus interstellar mission. It is considered that the maximum likely range for the Icarus vehicle will be 15 light-years, and a list is provided of all known stars within this distance range. As the scientific objectives of Icarus are weighted towards planetary science and astrobiology, a final choice of target star(s) cannot be made until we have a clearer understanding of the prevalence of planetary systems within 15 light-years of the Sun, and we summarize what is currently known regarding planetary systems within this volume. We stress that by the time an interstellar mission such as Icarus is actually undertaken, astronomical observations from the solar system will have provided this information. Finally, given the high proportion of multiple star systems within 15 light-years (including the closest of all stars to the Sun in the {\alpha} Centauri system), we stress that a flexible mission architecture, able to visit stars and accompanying planets within multiple systems, is desirable. This paper is a submission of the Project Icarus Study Group.


Waveform correlation method with time-domain waveform cannot estimate the responsibility of every harmonic current. When the emission level of harmonic current is low, Waveform correlation method is insensitive to identify harmonic sources. In order to solve the problem above, a phase-free harmonic source identification method combined with waveform correlation is proposed. The method is based on correlation coefficient combined with the harmonic coefficient. Current and voltage amplitudes are the only information needed for this mathematical model rather than the time-domain waveform, or harmonic phase. This method can not only reflect the nonlinear degree of load sensitively, but also quantitatively express the relationship between the nonlinear degree of load and harmonic current. To a certain extent, the harmonic responsibility of every harmonic component can be assessed by using this method. The validated of the proposed method is verified through simulation study and field test.


A computer program was developed to simulate surface movement of aircraft in an airport. This program can automatically select the shortest route, taking account of the delay caused by the approach between aircraft. The following results were clarified by the use of the program: (1) Surface movement times calculated for the simulated automatic surface guidance system are not very different from those measured in a real system. The automatic surface guidance system operates as efficiently as a real system operating in the daytime and in good visibility, if block section composition and route selection method are good. (2) When traffic density is light , the majority of the average aircraft deceleration events in the automatic surface guidance system occur at the taxi holding positions. However, aircraft deceleration occurs frequently even at the stop bar positions other than the taxi holding positions and the total number of aircraft decelerations increases, as traffic density increases. Therefore, availability of stop bar will extend to all areas of airport surface , as traffic density increases.


A quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) is a polynomial-time approximate optimization algorithm used to solve combinatorial optimization problems. However, the existing QAOA algorithms have poor generalization performance in finding an optimal solution from a feasible solution set of combinatorial problems. In order to solve this problem, a quantum approximate optimization algorithm with metalearning for the MaxCut problem (MetaQAOA) is proposed. Specifically, a quantum neural network (QNN) is constructed in the form of the parameterized quantum circuit to detect different topological phases of matter, and a classical long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network is used as a black-box optimizer, which can quickly assist QNN to find the approximate optimal QAOA parameters. The experiment simulation via TensorFlow Quantum (TFQ) shows that MetaQAOA requires fewer iterations to reach the threshold of the loss function, and the threshold of the loss value after training is smaller than comparison methods. In addition, our algorithm can learn parameter update heuristics which can generalize to larger system sizes and still outperform other initialization strategies of this scale.


Objective
To understand the readiness for hospital discharge of the elderly patients who have underwent the penectomy and discuss the affecting factors.

Method
From January 2017 to may 2018, in the Department of Urology, Cancer Center, sun Yat-sen university, the Chinese Version of the General Information Questionnaire, the Scale of Quality of Guidance for Hospital Discharge and the Scale of Readiness for Hospital Discharge were used to conduct surveys and researches on the 76 patients who underwent the penectomy in the Department Urology of our hospital at an age of 65 years or older.

Results
The elderly patients who underwent the penectomy had total score of (91±14) points on their readiness for hospital discharge. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that way of surgery, complications, subsequent treatments, marital status, residence after hospital discharge and family monthly income were all the major factors affecting the readiness for hospital discharge of the elderly patients who underwent the penectomy.

Conclusion
The readiness for hospital discharge of the patients who underwent the penectomy is at a moderate level. Medical staff should, commence to formulate a personalized rehabilitation training plan for the patients based on their specific physical conditions, so as to improve to reduce the occurrence of post-surgery complications and the hospital readmission rate.

Key words:
Elderly; Penile cancer; Readiness for hospital discharge


The 4th International Conference on the Parental Brain was held in Edinburgh from 1st to 4th September 2010. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the recent developments in the neurobiological and behavioural adaptations occurring in preparation for parenthood, the interactions between parents and new offspring (before and after birth) and the impact of sub-optimal conditions (e.g. maternal stress) on offspring quality of life. The meeting had four main themes: maternal adaptations in pregnancy and lactation, parental behaviour, early-life programming and perinatal influences on mental health. The latter two topics will be the focus of this themed issue of Stress. The contributions include a collection of review articles and original research reports from delegates who presented their work at the 4th International Conference on the Parental Brain and encompass research from both basic and clinical perspectives. The perinatal period is a time of enhanced plasticity and as such adverse experiences in early life can induce long-lasting or permanent changes in the physiology and behaviour of the offspring. It is becoming increasingly clear that the way in which an individual responds to stress is dependent upon several factors, including experience in early life, and, moreover, that an organism's phenotype depends not solely on their inherited genes or environmental influences but rather on an interaction between the genes and the environment. Postnatal adversity or stress is often associated with a hyperactive hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, causing elevated circulating glucocorticoids throughout life. It is the deleterious consequence of the raised glucocorticoids that has been hypothesised to underpin observed abnormalities in mood and cognition in later life. The review by Murgatroyd and Spengler (2011) describes the role of elevated arginine vasopressin (AVP) in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, which appears causal to HPA axis hyperactivity in mice subjected to postnatal stress. In an elegant series of experiments, they describe changes in epigenetic marks on the AVP promoter enhancer, which underpin the altered expression levels of AVP, namely the promoter region of the AVP gene is less methylated in mice that have experienced early-life adversity (separation from mother) resulting from decreased binding of MeCP2 to this region (MeCP2 binding couples DNA methylation with transcriptional repression). The work of these authors is reviewed alongside other studies on glucocorticoid programming and the potential role of the epigenome mediating the longlasting programming of the HPA axis and the behaviour in both rodent models and humans subjected to developmental stress. Although the concept of developmental origins of adult disease was generated from human epidemiological evidence, the mechanisms underpinning effects of stress and glucocorticoid programming have mostly been studied in animal models. However, recently, Raikkonen and colleagues (2011) have taken advantage of the popularity of eating liquorice in