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Purpose of Review: Despite highly effective biomedical HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options, suboptimal PrEP uptake impedes progress towards ending the epidemic in the United States of America (USA). Implementation science bridges what we know works in controlled clinical trial settings to the context and environment in which efficacious tools are intended to be deployed. In this review, we focus on strategies that target PrEP use barriers at the system or structural level, exploring the implications and opportunities in the context of the fragmented USA healthcare system. Recent Findings: Task shifting could increase PrEP prescribers, but effectiveness evidence is scarce in the USA, and generally focused in urban settings. Integration of PrEP within existing healthcare infrastructure concentrates related resources, but demonstration projects rarely present the resource implications of redirecting staff. Changing the site of service via expanded telehealth could improve access to more rural populations, though internet connectivity, technology access, and challenges associated with determining biomedical eligibility remain logistical barriers for some of the highest burden communities in the USA. Finally, a tailored care navigation and coordination approach has emerged as a highly effective component of PrEP service provision, attempting to directly modify the system-level determinants of PrEP use experienced by the individual. Summary: We highlight recent advances and evidence surrounding task shifting, integration, service delivery, and tailoring. With the exception of tailored care navigation, evidence is mixed, and the downstream impact and sustainability of task shifting and care integration require further attention. To maximize PrEP outcomes, research will need to continue to examine the interplay between individuals, clinics, and the healthcare system and associated policies within which they operate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and timely rice crop mapping is important to address the challenges of food security, water management, disease transmission, and land use change. However, accurate rice crop mapping is difficult due to the presence of mixed pixels in small and fragmented rice fields as well as cloud cover. In this paper, a phenology-based method using Sentinel-2 time series images is presented to solve these problems. First, the improved rice phenology curve is extracted based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Land Surface Water Index time series data of rice fields. Then, correlation was taken between rice phenology curve and time series data of each pixel. The correlation result of each pixel shows the similarity of its time series behavior with the proposed rice phenology curve. In the next step, the maximum correlation value and its occurrence time are used as the feature vectors of each pixel to classification. Since correlation measurement provides data with better separability than its input data, training the classifier can be done with fewer samples and the classification is more accurate. The implementation of the proposed correlation-based algorithm can be done in a parallel computing. All the processes were performed on the Google Earth Engine cloud platform on the time series images of the Sentinel 2. The implementations show the high accuracy of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a known fact that gender-based violence is an infringement on human rights. Gender-based violence takes place all over the world in almost every place. It is experienced in homes, workplaces, communities, and in the Church as well. Today, church members, as well as pastors are wounded, fragmented, and hurting as they suffer serious abuses in silence. Christian children have fallen victim to sexual abuse that is perpetrated by their parents. Parents too, have become victims of violence; sometimes maimed by children who have become violent enough to kill their Christian parents in their homes. Furthermore, many Christian couples have continued to experience intra gender violence in their families that is often attributed to marital infidelity. Beyond that, there is also a common secretive kind of abuse in the form of marital sexual violence which is a serious form of violence against women. This is a hidden type of abuse that has been perpetrated behind closed doors for too long by members of the body of Christ. Due to its prevalence sometimes the victims themselves, often pretend that the problem in not present by keeping a deafening silence. This article, therefore, makes an in-depth investigation into the causes of the pervasive forms of gender-based violence that occur in some Zambian Christian homes, with particular emphasis on the ways in which this multifaceted phenomenon is very much hidden. This article expounds on how Christian couples have continued to suffer silently as their voices are suppressed due to fear and shame. In the conclusion of the article, it is suggested that, unless the church, in its pastoral care role, awakens from its slumber and begins to address issues of gender-based violence in the church with sincerity, honesty, and openness by admitting that indeed, the body of Christ is yearning to be healed, gender-based violence shall remain a perennial occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Implementing innovative health service models in existing service systems is complicated and context dependent. Flexible assertive community treatment (FACT) is a multidisciplinary service model aimed at providing integrated care for people with severe mental illness. The model was developed in the Netherlands and is now used in several countries, such as Norway. The Norwegian service system is complex and fragmented, with challenges in collaboration. Limited research has been performed on FACT teams and other new integrative health service models as part of such systems. However, such knowledge is important for future adjustments of innovation processes and service systems. Our aim was to explore how FACT teams are integrated into the existing formal public service system, how they function and affect the system, and describe some influencing factors to this. We sought to address how service providers in the existing service system experience the functioning of FACT teams in the system. Methods Five focus group interviews were undertaken 3 years after the FACT teams were implemented. Forty service providers representing different services from both levels of administration (primary and specialist healthcare) from different Norwegian regions participated in this study. Team leaders of the FACT teams also participated. Service providers were recruited through purposeful sampling. Interviews were analysed using thematic text analysis. Results The analysis revealed five main themes regarding FACT teams: (1) They form a bridge between different services; (2) They collaborate with other services; (3) They undertake responsibility and reassure other services; (4) They do not close all gaps in service systems; and (5) They are part of a service system that hampers their functioning. Conclusions The FACT teams in this study contributed to positive changes in the existing service system. They largely contributed to less complex and fragmented systems by forming a bridge and undertaking responsibility in the system and by collaborating with and reassuring other services; this has reduced some gaps in the system. The way FACT teams function and needs of the existing system appear to have contributed positively to these findings. However, complexity and fragmentation of the system partly hamper functioning of the FACT teams.

Jaishree Misra had earned a special status of being a successful Indian writer, through her thought provoking writing style. She uses her work as an intermediate to break the dominant ideologies that suppress women even in this contemporary society, though women today are educated and independent, still there are some hurdles that stagnate the growth of a women to transform into an individual being. Misra's work pinpoints the facts that if men when commits mistakes are given a second chance to rectify it, but if it comes to an women she is being viewed as a stigma and sin. Misra wants to break such a bias state being prevailing in the society and she wants women to be a self identified being rather than being passive and inferior. The present study focuses on the aspect of how women are being easily victimized by the cruel injustice enforced by men and it depicts how the major protagonist Neha Chaturvedi becomes a voiceless victim and made an easy prey in order to satisfy the sexual urge of the victimizer, though life provides her with second opportunity she leads a hopeless life as she is infused with an untold secret of her past life within her, which creates a deep intense wound and at last she takes a toughest decision to confess her untold secret in order to break the inner pangs of frustration which had resulted her into a fragmented being. The study further focuses on how a women being inferior later recognizes her worth as a individually identified being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The threat of microplastic (MP) pollution to our ecosystem is well established. The presence of natural, regenerated, and synthetic fragmented fibres (FF) and their abundance in terrestrial and aquatic environments has been extensively reported. All textiles release FF during their lifecycle, not limited to plastics, which find their way to the environment through different dispersal pathways. Beyond the nature of the polymer, the FF can also can be a carrier of hazardous chemicals. The ubiquitous nature of MPs (and FF) has widely placed them as one of the most enduring and pervasive anthropogenic pollutants. This review is focused on FFs generated and released from textiles during wet (predominantly laundering) and dry exposure conditions. A summary and critical analysis of the current methods to generate, collect, measure, and characterise FF from textile laundry effluent is presented. The impact of key parameters on the release of FF is summarised; including washing equipment/conditions, filtration procedures, characterisation techniques, and the effect of textile materials and structure. The results from key publications are tabulated for direct comparisons, this includes estimated number of FF released per washing cycle and length distribution profile. Though the wet route of release has gained more attention, the release through dry routes is also significant. Hence, a detailed overview of the collection and characterisation of FF from dry routes (atmospheric deposition and textile abrasion) was important. Finally, a comprehensive overview of latest research and industrially-applied mitigation strategies to limit the release of FF from textile sources during laundry is included. The impact of MPs (and FF) is briefly outlined covering the environment, human health and degradation. Improved plastics with reduced environmental impact, plastic recycling and reduced consumption are vital. Still, the release of FFs from textiles remains a challenge since their production is unintentional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to define the role of extended pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), posterior wall isolation, and mitral isthmus lines to eliminate electrograms exhibiting fractionation pattern during stepwise ablation on acute atrial fibrillation (AF) termination rate in patients with long-standing persistent AF (LSPAF). Methods: Twelve patients with LSPAF underwent ablation during AF. Using the fractionation mapping tool of the Ensite™ (Abbott Medical, Chicago, USA) system, sites exhibiting discrete atrial complexes and consistent activation sequence were mapped. The areas with a fractionation score above 4 were accepted as potential drivers for AF. During stepwise ablation consisting of circumferential PVI, roof and floor lines for posterior wall isolation, and mitral isthmus lines, ablation lines were extended toward potential AF drivers on the fractionation map as much as possible until sinus was achieved by ablation. Results: Fractionation-guided ablation caused acute AF termination in 8 of 12 patients. In 6 of 12 cases, AF returned to sinus rhythm during the extended ablation. In 2 patients, AF shifted to sinus after cavotricuspid isthmus ablation. Sinus was achieved by cardioversion in 3 of cases. Procedural failure was seen in one case with significant scar tissue. During a mean follow-up of 31.5 ± 11 months, overall arrhythmia-free survival was 92% with 2 procedures. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates that fractionation mapping–guided ablation may provide an adjunctive benefit in terms of acute AF termination in patients with LSPAF. These results should be confirmed by larger, randomized, comparison studies between linear ablation and extended ablation without elimination of electrograms (EGMs) with fractionation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Implementing innovative health service models in existing service systems is complicated and context dependent. Flexible assertive community treatment (FACT) is a multidisciplinary service model aimed at providing integrated care for people with severe mental illness. The model was developed in the Netherlands and is now used in several countries, such as Norway. The Norwegian service system is complex and fragmented, with challenges in collaboration. Limited research has been performed on FACT teams and other new integrative health service models as part of such systems. However, such knowledge is important for future adjustments of innovation processes and service systems. Our aim was to explore how FACT teams are integrated into the existing formal public service system, how they function and affect the system, and describe some influencing factors to this. We sought to address how service providers in the existing service system experience the functioning of FACT teams in the system. Methods: Five focus group interviews were undertaken 3 years after the FACT teams were implemented. Forty service providers representing different services from both levels of administration (primary and specialist healthcare) from different Norwegian regions participated in this study. Team leaders of the FACT teams also participated. Service providers were recruited through purposeful sampling. Interviews were analysed using thematic text analysis. Results: The analysis revealed five main themes regarding FACT teams: (1) They form a bridge between different services; (2) They collaborate with other services; (3) They undertake responsibility and reassure other services; (4) They do not close all gaps in service systems; and (5) They are part of a service system that hampers their functioning. Conclusions: The FACT teams in this study contributed to positive changes in the existing service system. They largely contributed to less complex and fragmented systems by forming a bridge and undertaking responsibility in the system and by collaborating with and reassuring other services; this has reduced some gaps in the system. The way FACT teams function and needs of the existing system appear to have contributed positively to these findings. However, complexity and fragmentation of the system partly hamper functioning of the FACT teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel microstrip reflectarray antenna constructed by elements of random fragmented patches with square loops attached to the edge is proposed in this paper. The fragmented patch is gridded into 2 N × 2 N pixels, each of which is randomly assigned either conducting or non-conducting property. In this case, a variety of different reflection phases can be obtained due to the structural differences between the elements. To suppress the mutual coupling between elements, each fragmented unit is integrated with a metal square loop, and the reduction of the mutual coupling is indirectly analyzed across the frequency characteristics of the reflection phase for the combined elements. A prototype antenna with 7 × 7 elements was designed, fabricated, and measured. Both the simulation and measurement results show that the microstrip reflectarray antenna possesses a high gain of 19.7 dBi at its working frequency of 5.8 GHz, which is 2 dB higher than that of the reflectarray elements without square loops. Meanwhile, this antenna achieves an impedance bandwidth (|S| < − 10 dB) of 5.6%, side-lobes 13.1 dB below the main lobe, and with the cross-polarization level less than −18 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inserting Double-j ureteral stent is one of the most popular procedures in urology field. There are different indications for indwelling the stent. For some reasons, it could be neglected for a long time despite its importance. We present a case of 52-year-old patient who had a missed fragment of stent in the urinary bladder for two years with stone formation on one end. We successfully removed the stent and the stone. Such a case is considered rare to deal with during urology practice.

With an annual population growth rate currently estimated at about 5 %, Virginia presents an ideal case study for anthropogenic environmental disturbances. Urbanization as a result of increasing human activities has led to fragmentation of many crucial habitats, especially forests. Analysis of the extent to which forest fragmentation and connectivity have occurred in Virginia and corresponding changes associated with these processes, is relevant for conserving forest habitats and the biodiversity that they support. This study applies FRAGSTATS, a software system developed to assess forest fragmentation and connectivity, in combination with ArcGIS, to identify changes in forest patch metrics for Virginia over a ten-year interval (2001, 2006 and 2011) using National Land Cover Datasets (NLCD) maps as data source. Results show that, over ten years, forest patches have significantly declined in size, while the number of forest patches and total length of edge areas have increased over time. Results of this study show that road density in Virginia has no significant effect on forest fragmentation between 2001 and 2011. Analysis using ArcGIS revealed that sizes of core forest areas in Virginia are declining, and that these reductions match local topographic slope. This is because the steepness of the slope of an area dictates the degree of human activities in that area. These results suggest that urban sprawl associated with areas with gentler slopes, may have significant, long-term consequences for natural forest ecosystems and ultimately, biodiversity conservation.

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Habitat loss and fragmentation threaten the survival of koalas in Queensland. In rural landscapes, remaining koala habitat is often in the form of scattered paddock trees, patches of vegetation and roadside vegetation. The aims of this study were to (1) quantify the use of these three habitat types; (2) determine whether there is an increased use of scattered trees during the breeding season; and (3) describe the movement characteristics (daily step-length and turning angle) of koalas in different habitat types. To do this, koalas were caught and fitted with global positioning system (GPS) loggers that recorded their daily locations. We found koalas utilised all three habitat types in both breeding and non-breeding seasons, but roadside vegetation and scattered trees were utilised significantly more than expected based on their availability within the landscape. We found no significant difference in step-length or turning angles in scattered trees compared with patches of vegetation. We conclude that scattered trees are a critical element of habitat in this rural landscape. This work provides evidence that retaining or planting scattered trees within the rural landscape would likely complement or possibly enhance the conservation value of rural landscapes for koalas. We tracked koalas using GPS collars in a rural landscape to examine which habitat types were used: patches of habitat, roadside vegetation or scattered paddock trees. We found koalas used all three habitat types, with paddock trees and roadside vegetation used extensively. We believe planting or retaining paddock trees and roadside vegetation may supplement habitat for koalas in agricultural landscapes, potentially providing a practical means for landowners to increase the conservation value of their land for koalas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DJ stents are widely used in urological procedures and interventions. One of the main problems associated with DJ stent is encrustation and stone formation. The main risk factor for Forgotten, encrusted and calcified (FECal) stent is duration of the stent placement. In addition to high index of suspicion, Imaging like U/S and CT scan are important diagnostic modality. Multiple endourologic and open procedure may be needed for management of fecal stent. This case report is to discuss a 23 years old female patient with a neglected stent after right pyelolithotomy was done 6 years back. The presence of the stent was identified incidentally after she visited local health facility for recurrent LUTS. The CT scan shows fragmented and encrusted stent with in the bladder and pelvis, stones in stent coils and isolated lower pole stone. She was managed by a procedure of cystolithotomy and right PCNL in separate sessions. Common complication of DJ stent placement especially if left for long duration is encrustation, stent migration, fragmentation and stone formation. Patient or relatives unawareness about the stent placement is the most important cause for neglecting stent. Multiple Endourologic procedures may be needed for the management of FECal stent. However some resource limited settings do combination of endourologic and open surgery. Minimizing the duration of the stent especially for patient with risk factors is advised to decrease encrustation. Since management of FECal stent is challenging both for patient and urologists, prevention is the way to tackle it. Multiple procedures may be required to manage FECal stent. • Neglected stent is a rare occurrence but carries huge challenges in urology practices. • Due to delayed diagnosis and management FECal stents are troublesome and may cause irreversible kidney damage. • The diagnosis solely relies on detailed patient evaluation and computed tomographic imaging studies. • Multiple procedures involving both open and endoscopic interventions are needed to manage the condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the potential importance of corridors has been acknowledged for both native and non-native species, little is known about how corridors actually function in developed and fragmented landscapes. Transportation corridors, such as roads and freeways, provide fairly consistent habitat conditions traversing nearly all man-made developments, including cropland, suburbs, reserves, and cities, and connect them with undeveloped areas. The combination of the particular conditions along road and freeway verges and the characteristics of the plants that reach these corridors will ultimately determine which species, native or not, will be able to move within cities and developed areas, as well as to and from cities and surrounding undeveloped areas. This study will advance ecological understanding of the plant species that are able to move through existing corridors in arid and semi-arid urban areas. Urban areas, including freeway corridors, are intensively managed. This study will consider human management and urban development as integral and natural parts of the ecosystem under study. Understanding the similarities and differences in traits that affect movement of plant species along corridors will provide evidence as to whether native and non-native or functional groupings of species actually move differently in corridors. It will contribute to the literature on assessing the potential for particular plant species to invade new areas. Linking local plant processes to the larger landscape scale of movement between cities and undeveloped areas will have important implications for conservation planning in both environments. Twenty sites were selected along the four major freeways in the cardinal directions around the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Beginning in March 2004, vegetation surveys have been performed seasonally at each site. In addition, seedbank samples and bulk-soil samples were collected at each site. The seed-bank samples are germinating in the greenhouse to determine the seed-bank composition; analysis of physical soil characteristics and available and total levels of soil nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) is nearly complete. Initial soil-chemistry results show that levels of plant-extractable nitrate are significantly increased in the surface soil located directly adjacent to the asphalt (ANOVA using log surface soil concentration; F = 5.556, P = 0.005). There were also significant differences between sites located adjacent to different land uses, with the sites located in the more densely developed city areas having higher nitrate levels than those at the edges of developed areas. The urban residential sites had the highest levels, followed by croplands, then lower density “fringe” development, and desert sites had the lowest levels of extractable nitrate (ANOVA using log surface soil concentration, F = 123.67, P < 0.001; Fisher’s multiple comparison, all combos P < 0.001). The plant community composition and seed-bank composition at these sites will be compared with nutrient levels to determine whether similar patterns emerge. It is likely that in the typically nitrogen-limited Sonoran Desert, the addition of nitrogen as a result of exhaust from combustion engines is significantly impacting which plant species are most likely to grow along the roadsides. This raises the question of whether heavily traveled roadsides in naturally nutrient-limited ecosystems should be considered as potential vegetation reserves, since intense maintenance would likely be needed to maintain a native community. Perhaps these areas are best landscaped with species unlikely to move along the highway corridors, whether native or not. The results of this research will advance ecological understanding in several ways. I will elucidate the suite of plant traits that allow effective dispersal in fragmented landscapes with well-defined corridors, clarifying whether these corridors favor plants with particular traits, rather than native or non-native species. This study will increase understanding of the connection between urban and extra-urban environments and will have important implications for conservation planning in both types of environments. Finally, this research specifically incorporates humans into ecological theory, including human management and urban development as an integral and natural part of the ecosystem under study. The project results will also be useful to highway and road managers, particularly in arid areas. The results will illuminate potential management techniques that will enhance or prevent plant migration along transportation corridors, as well as providing information on how management of transportation verges for objectives other than plant dispersal is likely to affect plant community composition.

In West European countries natural habitats are often fragmented. In those countries fragmentation is both characterized by an increase in the number of habitat fragments and a decrease in their size, leading to animal population isolation. The geometry of linear infrastructures (e.g., roads, railways) is not so much a cause of destruction of animal habitats, but rather it acts more as a barrier between fragments. If we consider linear infrastructure as a barrier in landscapes, it is important to study biological fluxes between landscape features before deciding the final route of such infrastructures. OptiFlux development is based on the “resistance concept,” developed by G. Pain for his Ph.D. (2001) for SCETAUROUTE and the French Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Transport. OptiFlux is an automatic GIS space analysis device. It is designed for the prediction and identification of the effects of linear infrastructure on the territorial occupation and viability of the animal populations concerned. OptiFlux can also be used to assess the relevance of fauna passages and, consequently, to optimize their final location and quantities. OptiFlux is crossing land use and environmental data, correlated with the ecological requirements of the species studied. OptiFlux is based on a population viability analysis, applying the SCETAUROUTE Arc View GIS standard. The innovative aspect of OptiFlux is its automated diagnostic approach, with the cross-relation of space and biological data. There are three direct applications for the tool: • Identification of routes having least impact on wild animal population flows • Optimization of the number/location of fauna passages for the benefit of wild animals • Simulation of the positive effect of the fauna passages proposed OptiFlux provides a preliminary approach for a quick identification of the critical areas to be taken into account for design and estimation of the infrastructure. However, it does not eliminate the need for expertise and verification of the results obtained by a field biologist. OptiFlux is a project optimization instrument, helping with the decision making process, concerning the necessity and relevance of the improvements retained. It is also a tool that provides images of future scenarios once the project is realized. OptiFlux has been tested on many species, such as Mustela lutreola, Osmoderma eremita, species of major importance in terms of the European wildlife heritage (threatened species), and Capreolus capreolus, Cervus elaphus, Sus scrofa, species encountered in the majority of projects. Several organizations have already expressed interest in this tool, such as the ONCFS (French National Hunting and Wildlife Authority), various French motorway companies, the IAURIF (Ile de France Regional Urban Planning and Development Institute), and the Direction Régionale de l’Equipement du Nord Pas de Calais.

In many fragmented agricultural regions of south-eastern Australia, roadside vegetation provides important refuges for threatened native fauna and isolated populations of plant species. However, as roads are transport corridors for humans and their vehicles, species survival is affected through destruction and modification of remaining habitat by human activity. The effects of soil disturbance from roadworks on the structural dynamics and spatial patterning of roadside Acacia populations was investigated in the Lockhart Shire study area, NSW, Australia. Classification and ordination of size structures of Acacia pycnantha, A. montana and A. decora showed distinct groups of colonising, stable and senescent populations. Soil disturbance from previous roadworks was recorded in 88 percent of populations, and there was a significant relationship between major recruitment pulses and roadworks events in Acacia populations. Spatial pattern analysis using the Network K-function showed significant clustering of older senescent populations, and Discriminant Function Analyses revealed that road verge width, road category, disturbance intensity, and distance to nearest town were highly significant variables in relation to disturbance regimes from roadworks activities. These results have highlighted the importance of understanding human logic regarding roadworks activities, in ongoing management of roadside vegetation, and has important consequences regarding conservation of these unique environments.

Various theories attempt to provide generalized solutions to the challenges arising out of plurality but no unanimous mechanism has been developed so far. Many questions related to cultural diversity can be addressed if theories are complemented by empirical research. This paper is an attempt in that direction. It evaluates the attitudes of cultural groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan, towards culture and the strategies for the management of plurality by conducting a field survey for collecting data through 2977 questionnaires and 80 personal interviews from 9 religio-linguistic groups. The paper makes Douglas Hartmann and Joseph Gerteis’s model of difference (2005) a theoretical classification and investigates which vision is appreciated most by the people of KP. The paper shows that the majority of the people in KP has a negative attitude towards assimilationism, cosmopolitanism and fragmented pluralism but a positive attitude towards interactive pluralism. After this research it was found that KP society is more tolerant and liberal than it was thought to be.

Miniature and fragmentary objects are both eye-catching and yet easily dismissed. Tiny scale entices users with visions of Lilliputian worlds. The ambiguity of fragments intrigues us, offering tactile reminders of reality's transience. Yet, the standard scholarly approach to such objects has been to see them as secondary, incomplete things, whose principal purpose was to refer to a complete and often life-size whole.

The story unfolds chronologically and each sequence has a specific 'time quality' according to who appears on-screen. The death of the grandmother evokes the past, while most of the story takes place in the present as told by the omniscient camera. The future brings a paradoxical sense of closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroalgae species of the genus Ulva are widely distributed in the wild, many species of this genus has been used as food as an attractive material for the study of materials, fuels, food etc. In this paper, we are focusing on nutrient method for cultivation of Ulva papenfussii and A nutrient source for cultivation of U. papenfussii was also investigated with the perspective of utilizing the produced biomass for feed. U. papenfussii is fragmented into 1 × 1 cm size, then it keep in Ulva extract of 0.1 g/l concentrate for 7 days. Then continue to keep fragments in the following conditions: 20 ml/l of PES medium, 700 µmol photon/m²/s of light, 25oC of temperature, 3% of salinity, 28 days of time. Under this condition the productivity U. papenfussii was 17.8 g/l of weight and its growth rate was 4.3-6.5% day. Nutritional cultivation is successful for U. papenfussii speceies, which is of great importance to study the potential of producing seaweed varieties like blades for commercial application of seaweed species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Usage of ureteral DJ stent is very common in urology practise. There are some complications according to the increased usage of ureteral DJ stent in the literature. Stent fragmentation is a rare complication of ureteral DJ stent. In this study we present a 53-year-old male patient who had previous stone surgery and a ureteral DJ stent applied to our polyclinic with complaint of 3-months-long right side pain. In the radiologic examination we observed that DJ stent was fragmented from the upper end on the right kidney. We extracted the fragmentated part of ureteral DJ stent with flexible ureterorenoscopy.

Danièle Hervieu-Léger gives an account of religion as a chain of memory, that is, a form of collective memory and imagination based on the sanctity of tradition. According to her theory, in the postmodern world the continuity of religious memory has been broken and all that remains are isolated fragments guarded by religious groups. This twofold study aims at showing, firstly, in what sense religion can be conceived of as memory which produces collective meanings (Part One) and, secondly, what may happen when individualised and absolutised memories alienate themselves from a continuity of tradition, thus beginning to function as a sort of private religion (Part Two). Being the first part of the study in question, this article is dedicated to a historical-theological analysis of religious memory as a source of collective meanings, as seen from a Christian perspective. Firstly, it situates Hervieu-Léger’s definition of religion against the background of the most topical religious contexts in which the notion of memory appears today. Secondly, the dialectics of individual and collective memory is discussed, notably through the lens of Ricoeur’s original proposal. This is followed by an overview of the traditional functions of memory in Christianity. Lastly, the interpretation of the way in which Christian tradition, in its premodern continuity, served as a source of collective cultural meanings, is recapitulated. What underlies this analysis is the conviction that to comprehend, and even more so to challenge mechanisms based on which the dominant purveyors of meaning (such as economic and information market) function in our day, one should have a clear understanding of what they attempt to substitute for. In brief, before exploring how memories become religion, one ought to be able to conceive of religion as memory.

The decapod assemblage associated with a Posidonia oceanica meadow located near its western limit of biogeographic distribution was studied over an annual cycle. Fauna samples were taken seasonally over a year (five replicates per season) in two sites located 7 km apart, using a non-destructive sampling method (airlift sampler) for the seagrass. The dominant species of the assemblage, Pisidia longimana, Pilumnus hirtellus and Athanas nitescens, were associated with the protective rhizome stratum, which is mainly used as a nursery. The correlations between decapod assemblage structure and some phenological parameters of the seagrass shoots and wave height were negative or null, which reflects that species associated with the rhizome had a higher importance than those associated with the leaf stratum. The abundance and composition of the decapod assemblage as well as the ecological indexes displayed a seasonality trend with maximum values in summer-autumn and minimum in winter-spring, which were related to the seawater temperature and the recruitment periods of the dominant species. The spatial differences found in the structure and dynamics of the assemblages may be due to variations in the recruitment of the dominant species, probably as a result of the influence of local factors ( e.g. temperature, currents) and the high dispersal ability of decapods, together with the patchy configuration and the surrounding habitats. The studied meadows are fragmented and are integrated within a mosaic of habitats ( Cymodocea nodosa patches, algal meadows, rocky and sandy bottoms), which promotes the movement of individuals and species among them, maintaining a high species richness and evenness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 28-year-old woman presented with a malpositioned intrauterine device (IUD) that was fragmented and significantly entrenched within the cervical canal and myometrium. IUD malposition with concomitant device fragmentation and embedded segments, albeit rare, should be a consideration given the device's prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minced articular cartilage techniques are viable one-stage, off-the-shelf cartilage repair procedures for treatment of focal chondral defects in the knee. In the United States, DeNovo natural tissue (NT) is the only particulated juvenile allograft one-stage articular cartilage technique currently available that does not violate the subchondral bone. DeNovo NT is composed of 1mm3 fragments of juvenile (donor age is less than 13 years) articular cartilage, embedded within fibrin adhesive at the time of implantation. DeNovo NT is a chondroconductive, chondroinductive, and chondrogenic product. Given that it is “minimally manipulated,” it does not require US Food and Drug Administration premarket approval. DeNovo NT has been available in the United States since May 2007, and approximately 7500 cases have been performed to date. The basic science and clinical outcome literature supporting minced articular cartilage techniques in treatment of focal chondral defects of the knee is early and short term, but nonetheless promising. Juvenile cells are advantageous over adult cells in that they have a greater migration and proliferation capacity without immunogenicity. Clinical outcomes, at up to 2.5 years of follow-up, have demonstrated a significant improvement in validated cartilage outcome scores, reductions in pain, and improvements in function and activity in patients with both patellofemoral and tibiofemoral lesions treated with DeNovo NT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Urban space is considered simultaneously as fragmented, articulated, social product, social condition, symbolic field, struggle field.

Abstract: The use of biodiversity surrogates is inevitable in conservation planning due to the frequent lack of consistent data on biodiversity patterns and processes. Top-down environmental classifications (coarse-filter surrogates) are the most common approach to defining surrogates. Their use relies on the assumption that priority areas identified using surrogates will adequately represent biodiversity. There remains no clear understanding about how the combination of different factors might affect the surrogacy value of these classifications. Here, we evaluate the role of three factors that could affect the effectiveness of coarse-filter surrogates: (a) thematic resolution (number of classes), (b) species’ prevalence, and (c) the ability of classifications to portray homogeneous communities (classification strength). We explore the role of direct and indirect effects of these factors with a simulated dataset of 10,000 planning units and 96 species and structural equation modelling (SEM). The surrogacy value of coarse-filter surrogates depended on the relative match between the extent of classes and species’ distributions and the capacity of classifications to portray patterns in species composition (classification strength). Both determine the likelihood of erroneous selection of areas within a class where certain species do not occur. Common species were represented better than random only at high classification strength values (>0.5), while rare species never did. Finer classifications tended to be better surrogates although, when rare species were incorporated, the proportion of species that achieved the target level never exceeded 68%, even for the finest classification. This compromises the suitability of coarse-filter surrogates in areas where biodiversity is patchily distributed or with many rare species. We recommend using composite data sets containing environmental classes and biological data when a high effectiveness for all the species cannot be achieved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To be sure, all the industries try to be involved in globalization with a constant trend to find out ways to increase productivity across different functions within an organization to maintain competitive advantage world. Pharmaceutical industries are not exceptional and further are based on fragmentation. So these kind of companies need to cope with several barriers such as silo mentality that may affect efficiency of their business activity. Due to eliminate a part of resources such as raw materials, new molecule developed, financial and human resources and so on, companies can gradually loss their competitive potentials in the market and increase their expenses. Furthermore, to avoid any business disturbances in financially connected companies due to silo effect, they should arrange their management to integrated organization form. Otherwise, actions taken by one business member of the chain can influence the profitability of all the other members in the chain. That is why recently supply chain has generated much interest in many business units. In this paper, it has been tried to investigate the different aspects of silo effect which can affect integrate supply chain. Finally, a fluent communication, high level of information exchange, fragmentation management, cross-functional control in a supply chain management format are needed to reduce or control silo effect within entire chain of the holding company by Supply chain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant populations of Irish red grouse ( Lagopus lagopus hibernicus) are both small and fragmented, and as such may have an increased risk of extinction through the effects of inbreeding depression and compromised adaptive potential. Here we used 19 microsatellite markers to assay genetic diversity across 89 georeferenced samples from putatively semi-isolated areas throughout the Republic of Ireland and we also genotyped 27 red grouse from Scotland using the same markers. The genetic variation within Ireland was low in comparison to previously published data from Britain and the sample of Scottish red grouse, and comparable to threatened European grouse populations of related species. Irish and Scottish grouse were significantly genetically differentiated (F = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.04-0.10). There was evidence for weak population structure within Ireland with indications of four distinct genetic clusters. These correspond approximately to grouse populations inhabiting suitable habitat patches in the North West, Wicklow Mountains, Munster and Cork, respectively, although some admixture was detected. Pair-wise F values among these populations ranged from 0.02 to 0.04 and the overall mean allelic richness was 5.5. Effective population size in the Munster area was estimated to be 62 individuals (95% CI = 33.6-248.8). Wicklow was the most variable population with an AR value of 5.4 alleles/locus. Local (Munster) neighbourhood size was estimated to 31 individuals corresponding to an average dispersal distance of 31 km. In order to manage and preserve Irish grouse we recommend that further fragmentation and destruction of habitats need to be prevented in conjunction with population management, including protection of the integrity of the existing population by refraining from augmenting it with individuals from mainland Britain to maximise population size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this competitive age, knowledge is continuously being identified by both scholars and practitioners as the most competitive asset. Numerous organisations in today's knowledge-intensive economy are keen not only to determine knowledge-sharing but to also introduce strategies to adopt as well as implement knowledge management (KM) so that knowledge coming from workers are transformed into organisational knowledge. In spite of this, businesses find it a challenge to leverage knowledge due to their workers' intentional and unintentional practice of knowledge hoarding. For that reason, the purpose of this paper is to further understand and explore the co-existence of two influential elements in knowledge sharing, namely, 'culture' and 'trust' in inculcating a culture that shares. A review of literature managed to highlight and examined the need for organisations to extend a deeper understanding of the interactions between these two elements, which are often regarded as crucial factors that supports the tradition to share knowledge (both tacit and explicit) originating from organisations' valuable assets - workers. The paper discusses and reveals 'sociability' and 'solidarity' with the different essentials of culture as well as elaborating on 'benevolence trust' and 'competence trust' that facilitate sharing. At the same time, this paper had further investigated the main pre-conditions to foster knowledge-sharing in a culture of organisations, which identifies the levels of trust and solidarity in explaining the four types of cultures i.e. networked, communal, fragmented, and mercenary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2011, an amelanistic Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus, was discovered in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This is the second amelanistic Eastern Red-backed Salamander that has been documented from the Halifax area. Albino and leucistic individuals have also been identified from Nova Scotia. These aberrant conditions, including the two amelanistic individals, were discovered in isolated, fragmented, and disturbed habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]