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This article discusses non-conventional diplomatic tools. It does so by focussing on the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) and the Multilateral Balanced Force Reduction (MBFR) talks and suggests that individuals and individual creativity to make use of non-conventional tools, in combination with attention to working conditions, impact the outcome. CSCE ventured in entirely new territory and promoted such novel concepts as the indivisibility of security, and the free flow of individuals, information, and ideas. As such it appealed to negotiatiors' creativity; by contrast, MBFR was about reducing conventional forces in the given constellation of a divided Europe -- it treated this division as a fact of life; as such it may have offered far less opportunities for individual diplomats' creativity to fully blossom. Taken together a discussion of these tools also contribute to the structure -- agency debate: they provide additional evidence that individual diplomats -- though often simply seen as tools of their respective governments and merely acting within a certain constellation -- and close attention to the conditions they have to work in, do matter, even when, of course, it is governments, not diplomats, that will have to sanction the results they achieve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the System Usability Scale (SUS) is probably one of the most widely used questionnaires to measure the perceived ease of use of interactive systems, there is currently no scientific valid translation in French. This article describes the translation and statistical validation of the French version of the SUS, called F-SUS. On the basis of two translations carried out by a committee of bilingual experts, the various psychometric analyses made it possible to select only one translation. Fidelity measurement, factor analysis and sensitivity measurement obtained results very close or similar to the original version of the SUS. Thus, the F-SUS can be used with confidence by French-speaking usability researchers and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, the objective of reducing public spending combined with the introduction of New Public Management reforms have led to changes in the territorial organization of public services and to a withdrawal of public facilities in many places. Our hypothesis is that in France, this territorial process has not occurred in the same way in all cities. We assume that while medium-sized cities are seeing a reduction in some public service facilities, their disappearance usually occurs in small cities. Larger metropolitan areas have not been affected by such territorial retrenchment of public services facilities. These differences could lead to increased territorial inequalities at the level of urban systems and to a marginalization of some small cities. This paper examines these processes through a quantitative analysis of changes in the location of justice courts and hospital beds from 2000 to 2016, within French Functional Urban Areas. It shows that the decrease in the number of justice and hospital facilities was significant and has affected small cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents new geochemical and mineralogical data collected on 13 drill holes across the South Australian part of the Eromanga Basin, with a focus on the Lower Cretaceous Cadna-owie Formation, Bulldog Shale, Coorikiana Sandstone and Oodnadatta Formation. Mineralogical and geochemical data are used to determine the provenance of the sediments along with the paleoenvironments at the time of deposition. The dominant clay species across the formations are kaolinite and montmorillonite, although each drill hole shows individual mineralogical assemblages. The Cadna-owie Formation is mainly composed of quartz and kaolinite; montmorillonite is the dominant clay species in the other formations. Differences in major-element chemistry are best shown on the K–Na–Ca ternary diagram and display a strong relationship with mineralogy. Trace and rare earth elements are preserved at similar average concentrations between formations and are depleted relative to the upper continental crust. The signature of the sediments is interpreted to be derived from a mix of felsic and mafic igneous rocks with almost no sedimentary recycling. Sources of the sediments are likely to be from exposed basement packages surrounding the study area such as the Gawler Range Volcanics, the Musgrave Province, the Benagerie Volcanic Suite, the Mount Painter Inlier and the Arunta Block. The variations in dominant clay species between the formations could have been driven by an increase in temperature and a decrease in rainfall during the Early Cretaceous along with seasonal variations, and/or by the input in volcanogenic sediments from the active volcanoes located along the eastern margin of Australia. Lower Cretaceous formations in the South Australian Eromanga Basin show limited regional lateral and vertical geochemical and mineralogical variations. Sediments are a mix of mafic through felsic igneous rocks derived from basement terranes exposed in the Early Cretaceous. The paleoclimate during deposition evolved from cold and humid to warm and arid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses scholarly views on the rise of the human rights paradigm. Based on a case study of the Netherlands it argues that the appeal of human rights cannot simply be attributed to the memory of the Holocaust, or the rise of post-war generations disillusioned with traditional ideologies in the 1960s and especially, the 1970s. Instead, it proposes that human rights primarily owe their popularity to the ideological contest of the Early Cold War, even though means to convey the message all over the world were only available in the decades that followed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Despite the apparent lack of clinical interest in the inlet patches of heterotopic gastric mucosa (HGM) in the upper esophagus, the literature contains reports of complications associated with HGM. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and clinical importance of HGM in patients referred for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGE). Material and methods. A total of 1033 consecutive outpatients referred for UGE were prospectively evaluated. Clinical, endoscopic and histologic findings were analyzed and 24-h double-channel pH-metry was performed on 20 patients with HGM. Results. Fifty-three patients (5.1%) had HGM lesions. Dysphagia was significantly more frequent in HGM patients (21% versus 4%; p<0.001). Five of the 20 patients who underwent pH-metry presented with acid secretion from HGMs. These five patients had inlet patches of greater size. Conclusions. HGMs of the upper esophagus are not infrequent, although generally small and asymptomatic. In cases of large HGMs, acid secretion capacity may cause upper esophageal disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsubstituted aromatic, heterocyclic and perfluoroalkylic sulfonamides possessing the general formula RSO 2 NH 2 act as powerful inhibitors of the zinc enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA). Unsaturated primary/substituted sulfonamides have never been investigated for their interaction with the enzyme. Here it is shown that such compounds, and more precisely allyl-sulfonamide and trans -styrene sulfonamide possessing the above general formula (with R=CH 2 =CH-CH 2 - and C 6 H 5 -CH=CH-, respectively) behave as nanomolar inhibitors of the physiologically relevant isozymes CA I and CA II. Some other derivatives of these two leads (incorporating Si(IV), Ge(IV) and B(III) moieties among others) were also synthesized and investigated for their interaction with CA, but showed decreased affinity for both isozymes. The structure-activity relationship for this class of CA inhibitors is discussed. Furthermore, it was observed that allylsulfonyl chloride is a strong CA inactivator, probably by reacting with amino acid residues critical for the catalytic cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigates the prototyping and design of a system for the quantification of ankle spasticity. The study used angular and torque sensor to quantify the passive moments and spasticity at the ankle joint during movement. Study reveals the higher average elastic stiffness in spastic subjects than in the non-spastic subjects.

This document discusses the feasibility of using CD19 CAR T-cell therapy in patients with cardiac lymphoma. The article highlights that cardiac non-Hodgkin lymphoma is not well-represented in medical literature, and the exact incidence is unknown. The authors present three cases of patients with cardiac lymphoma who received CAR T-cell therapy. The first two patients had successful outcomes with no significant cardiac events, while the third patient experienced severe cardiotoxicity after CAR T infusion. The authors suggest that a multidisciplinary approach and preventive measures for severe cytokine release syndrome are important in optimizing the safety and efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy in patients with cardiac lymphoma. [Extracted from the article]

Since the 1990s, many countries have implemented healthcare reforms underlined by New Public Management principles and technological transformations. Although studies have examined these reforms from different viewpoints, the spatial implications of healthcare reforms have received limited attention. Scholarship focused predominantly on regional variations of healthcare provision overlooking the sharp contrasts between cities where most healthcare facilities are de facto located. Addressing this research gap, we investigate the long-term dynamics of healthcare provision on the urban level, tracing the differences (if any) between cities of different sizes and administrative statuses. The study adopts a comparative approach. We draw our data from two countries: France and Russia (mainland France and European Russia). Findings indicate that, despite some variations, healthcare reforms in both countries follow similar paths, resulting in fewer hospital beds that have been partially replaced by places in day hospitals. At the same time, we also observe diverging country-specific trends in terms of redistribution of healthcare provision. In France, some cities completely lost their hospital equipment but those cities that remained equipped tend to a uniform distribution. In European Russia, on the contrary, all cities remain equipped but there is a drastic polarization depending on size and administrative status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A first pass workflow for placing cover sequence materials into four broad lithological groups using A-CNK-FM (Al2O3-CaOþNa2OþK2O-Fe2O3þMgO) and A-CN-K (Al2O3-CaOþNa2O-K2O) ternary diagrams in conjunction with the SiO2 vs Al2O3, Fe2O3 and CaO plus the Ca versus Sr XY diagrams has been derived from lithological logging and laboratory whole-rock geochemistry of 2346 samples. These lithological groups include siliciclastics (quartz sands and clays), weathered material, carbonate lithologies (marine limestone, pedogenic carbonate and compositions intermediate between the two end members) and ferruginous lithologies (including ferricrete and ferruginous sediments). Depositional, weathering and groundwater processes influence sample geochemistry during or after the formation of the material and will influence where the sample will plot on the geochemical diagrams used in this study. Geochemical data for discrete lithologies targeted during sampling (e.g. carbonate lithologies) clusters on diagrams used in the geochemical workflow, whereas data from targeted stratigraphic horizons (e.g. basement-cover interface) are more variable. The ability to characterise rock types that are texturally defined using the geochemical workflow is limited. For instance, the geochemistry of diamictite/conglomerate samples is dependent on the matrix versus clast content and composition as well as the source rock and catchment area. This workflow has the potential to be applied in a mineral exploration environment for rapid interpretation of real-time geochemical (e.g. portable XRF) data to gain an understanding of background geochemistry and geochemical signatures that may be related to underlying mineralisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the pharyngo-esophageal motility abnormalities with myotonic dystrophy (MD). Correlation between manometric abnormalities and esophageal symptoms; Assessment of pharyngo-esophageal symptoms; Effect of visceral neuropathy in MD patients.

In this paper a strategy for controlling error when calculating model parameter values from low-resolution low-accuracy data (LRLA-data) is presented. The basic principle of the proposed strategy is that the error in the model output can be reduced by output aggregation. By comparing the output from LRLA input data and high-resolution, high-accuracy input data (HRHA-data) at various aggregation levels, the error due to a decrease in accuracy and resolution of the input data can be assessed. An aggregation level can then be chosen so that an output is generated with the desired level of error and sufficient spatial detail. The method may also be used to evaluate the information loss when simplified models are used. The calculation of the topographic factors in an erosion model is taken here as an example application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ligation of CD47 triggers caspase-independent programmed cell death (PCD) in normal and leukemic cells. Here, we characterize the morphological and biochemical features of this type of death and show that it displays the hallmarks of type III PCD. A molecular and biochemical approach has led us to identify a key mediator of this type of death, dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1). CD47 ligation induces Drp1 translocation from cytosol to mitochondria, a process controlled by chymotrypsin-like serine proteases. Once in mitochondria, Drp1 provokes an impairment of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, which results in dissipation of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, reactive oxygen species generation, and a drop in ATP levels. Surprisingly, neither the activation of the most representative proapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family, such as Bax or Bak, nor the release of apoptogenic proteins AIF (apoptosis-inducing factor), cytochrome c, endonuclease G (EndoG), Omi/HtrA2, or Smac/DIABLO from mitochondria to cytosol is observed. Responsiveness of cells to CD47 ligation increases following Drp1 overexpression, while Drp1 downregulation confers resistance to CD47-mediated death. Importantly, in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, mRNA levels of Drp1 strongly correlate with death sensitivity. Thus, this previously unknown mechanism controlling caspase-independent type III PCD may provide the basis for novel therapeutic approaches to overcome apoptotic avoidance in malignant cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]