The structure of body measurements for the determination of garment system for young Croatian men

The determination and promotion of garment size systems require a knowledge of the proportions of the human body i.e. of anthropometric measures of a certain population. In order to create and promote a garment size system it is necessary to establish a correct relationship between the body parts or body measures. Possible interregional body differences are often neglected in the process, although they can be considerable even in cases of sex- and age- limited populations. This has been confirmed by an investigation of body measures for determining garment sizes carried out on a randomly selected sample of 4,268 healthy and normally developed men aged 18-22. The investigation was performed in 1993 on five locations each one representing a definite region of the Republic of Croatia: Jastrebarsko (central), Koprivnica (northwest), Pula (southwest), Sinj (south) and Pozega (northeast). The survey instruments were 50 body measures chosen according to ISO standards for garment sizes. Interregional differences were considerable in all body measures. The role of those measures and their contribution to the differences was confirmed by discriminative analysis with regions as a priori defined samples. Besides the differences in body size, significant differences in body build were established, mostly in the northeast region of Croatia and partly also in the northwest region. It is the difference in body build (besides the high number of necessary measurements) that makes the determination of garment size systems so complex. In order to establish an appropriate and purposeful garment size standard it is necessary to collect more information and also introduce the entity of target-population into previously determined categories in terms of chest circumference and body height.     

Evaluation of existing sustainable infrastructure rating systems for their application in developing countries

Several sustainable building rating systems were created worldwide during the last decades due to economic growth and the significance of environmental impact associated with the building industry. Similar infrastructure rating tools have started to be developed and implemented, being highly necessary to promote its development. Even though the existing sustainable infrastructure rating systems are focused on advanced economies, growing environmental concerns are increasing the need for new systems in the Developing World. This research analyses some of the mainstream infrastructure rating frameworks such as Envision (USA), Civil Engineering Environmental Quality (CEEQUAL) assessment (UK) and Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Rating Tool (Australia) from the perspective of the Triple Bottom Line (economy, environment and society), in order to determine the effectiveness of their application in the context of the least developed countries. The analysis revealed that the three tools are biased towards the environmental dimension and are mainly oriented to developed countries. Consequently, the foundations on which these systems are based need to be further developed and enhanced to be of real relevance in poorer nations by balancing the weight of sustainable pillars, incorporating effective management guidelines and development goals set by United Nations declarations, and considering impacts beyond the single project framework.     

Biosafety and risk assessment framework for selectable marker genes in transgenic crop plants: a case of the science not supporting the politics

Selectable marker gene systems are vital for the development of transgenic crops. Since the creation of the first transgenic plants in the early 1980s and their subsequent commercialization worldwide over almost an entire decade, antibiotic and herbicide resistance selectable marker gene systems have been an integral feature of plant genetic modification. Without them, creating transgenic crops is not feasible on purely economic and practical terms. These systems allow the relatively straightforward identification and selection of plants that have stably incorporated not only the marker genes but also genes of interest, for example herbicide tolerance and pest resistance. Bacterial antibiotic resistance genes are also crucial in molecular biology manipulations in the laboratory. An unprecedented debate has accompanied the development and commercialization of transgenic crops. Divergent policies and their implementation in the European Union on one hand and the rest of the world on the other (industrialized and developing countries alike), have resulted in disputes with serious consequences on agricultural policy, world trade and food security. A lot of research effort has been directed towards the development of marker-free transformation or systems to remove selectable markers. Such research has been in a large part motivated by perceived problems with antibiotic resistance selectable markers; however, it is not justified from a safety point of view. The aim of this review is to discuss in some detail the currently available scientific evidence that overwhelmingly argues for the safety of these marker gene systems. Our conclusion, supported by numerous studies, most of which are commissioned by some of the very parties that have taken a position against the use of antibiotic selectable marker gene systems, is that there is no scientific basis to argue against the use and presence of selectable marker genes as a class in transgenic plants.     

Effect of reconfiguration costs on planning for capacity scalability in reconfigurable manufacturing systems

In a globally competitive market for products, manufacturers are faced with an increasing need to improve their flexibility, reliability, and responsiveness to meet the demands of their customers. Reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS) have become an important manufacturing paradigm, because they broadly encompass the ability to react efficiently to this environment by providing the exact capacity and functionality needed when needed. This paper studies how such new systems can manage their capacity scalability planning in a cost effective manner. An approach for modeling capacity scalability planning is proposed. The development of the model is based on set theory and the regeneration point theorem which is mapped to the reconfigurable manufacturing paradigm as the capacity scalability points of that system. The cost function of the model incorporates both the physical capacity cost based on capacity size and costs associated with the reconfiguration process which referred to as the scalability penalty cost and scalability effort cost. A dynamic programming (DP) approach is manipulated for the development of optimal capacity scalability plans. The effect of the reconfiguration costs on the capacity scalability planning horizon and overall cost is investigated. The results showed the relation between deciding on the optimal capacity scalability planning horizon and the different reconfiguration costs. Results also highlighted the fact that decreasing costs of reconfiguration will lead to cost effective implementation of reconfigurable manufacturing systems.     

Economics of wildlife management—an overview

This study makes an explorative overview on two main research topics in economics of wildlife management: determination of population sizes and policy design. The results point out a large and comprehensive research on each of these issues, in particular on the estimation of values and costs of wildlife, where this information is necessary for the determination of population size. A drawback is that most of the value and cost studies do not relate their estimates to wildlife population size, which limits their usability for efficient policy design. Most valuation studies estimate the recreational value of hunting, which can range between 13 and 545 USD/hunting day (in 2013 prices), and two thirds of the included studies have been applied to wildlife in the USA. A majority of the studies on the costs of wildlife management calculate losses from carnivore predation on livestock and ungulate damage to crops, while a few consider dispersal of diseases and the cost of traffic collisions. Unlike valuation studies, several of the cost estimates apply to wildlife in developing and emerging economies. With respect to policy design the literature, which is mainly theoretical, suggests economic incentives for conflict resolution, where those suffering from wildlife damages are compensated for their losses. However, there are some issues which remain to be addressed by economists: relating costs and benefits to wildlife populations; estimating values and costs of wildlife in developing countries; evaluating wildlife policies in practice; addressing implications of uncertainty in population size, costs, and benefits for policy design; and estimating transaction costs for implementation and enforcement of wildlife policies.     

Optimierung und ökonomisierung im kontext von evolutionstheorie und phylogenetischer rekonstruktion

The meaning of optimality and economy in phylogenetics and evolutionary biology is discussed. It can be shown that the prevailing concepts of optimality and economy are equivocal as they are not based on strict theoretical positions and as they have a variable meaning in different theoretical contexts. The ideas of optimality and economy can be considered to be identical with the expectation of a relatively simple order in a particular field of study. Although there exists no way of inferring one or several methods of solving scientific problems from the presupposed idea of economy and optimality, a lack of motivation for scientific investigations would result if the concepts of economy and optimality in nature were dropped. By reference to several examples, it is shown that the concepts of optimality and economy are only useful against the background of indispensable theories. If there is a shift from one theory to another, a restriction on the use of these concepts is necessary. Optimality and economy in the sense of operations research in engineering or economical sciences depend on the principle of minimum costs. Both theoretical concepts: technical efficiency in relation to the energy required to run a machine and profit maximation in an economical framework must be shown to be realistic assumptions. In the field of biology processes of optimization and economization are normally discussed under two different views:

1. The concept of economy is used in cases of functional adaptation when the organism makes good use of the building material which is available to fulfill one (or more) functions. The theoretical background must be seen in the energy-consuming aspect of the organism.
2. In evolutionary change and phylogeny ‘economization’ and ‘optimization’ are deduced from the evolutionary theory, and evolution is shown to produce a special kind of biological economy in biological systems (Bock & von Wahlert, 1965). The ‘Okonomie-Prinzip’ or ‘Lesrichtungskriterium’ points out the arguments needed to state a phylogenetic theory and to construct a dendrogram (Peters & Gutmann, 1971).

In every phylogenetic theory concerning the adaptational change in the evolving biological system an explanation for the function of all stages is required. Only those statements should be accepted as phylogenetic theories which are characterized by the demonstration of the process of economization in the functional relations of the evolving organism. The process of adaptation can be determined by the improved chance of some mutants to propagate their genetical information. In this process all functional systems in their interrelations — i.a. mutual dependence — and their relation with the environment add their functional efficiency to the information to be delivered to their progeny, because the more economical biological system in a certain environment will have a better chance to produce offspring. This outcome is affirmed by natural selection which works on all levels of the evolving biological systems (Gutmann & Peters 1973). Nevertheless a judgment about adaptation cannot be taken as a scale of measurement in the phylogenetic process. The conditions in the organism itself and in the environment or in the organic system alone can change in so profound a manner that the marginal conditions of the earlier stages of the process of adaptation are not the same as in the derived ones. During phylogenetic change of the evolving organism the selective strains are also continuously changing. As a consequence no state or invariant concept of economy can cover the different stages of the phylogenetic process. The pragmatical meaning of the theoretical consideration is substantiated by the example of the hydrostatic skeleton theory in which the chordates are derived from metameric worms with a fluid skeleton. Herrn Professor Dr. P. Dullemeijer sind die Verfasser für kritische Lektüre und wertovolle Hinweise zu Dank verpflichtet.     

生物多样性研究及其问题

围绕生物多样性主要有3个理论问题需要进一步深入研究,（1）生物多样性与生态系统稳定性的关系：本世纪70年代以前,生态学家普遍认为,稳定性随生物多样性增加而提高;自70年代初一些理论生态学家向这一普遍看法提出挑战以来,在物种多样性层次出现了观点截然不同的两大阵营;（2）生物多样性和土地生产力的关系：达尔文（1872）的研究表明,生物多样性有利于土地生产力的提高,这一结论已被许多国家运用于指导农业实践;然而,本世纪70年代以来,一些生态学家向达尔文的这一观点提出了异议;（3）生物多样性与景观连通性：本世纪90年代以来,一些景观生态学家认为,景观连通性与生物多样性有正相关关系,但目前为数不多的研究还不能肯定这一结论的正确性。通过总结生物多样性的研究历史,发现,以上的急诊和结论基于27种不同的分析模型;并且这些模型中的大多数在理论上是不完善的,认为,运用理论上合理的模型、有关概念的统一正确定义和全面系统的实验对以上急诊和结论进行更进一步的论证与实证是必要的。     

基于“无废理念”的纺织服装工业区绿色化改造模式研究

通过对中国工业区,特别是纺织服装工业区"产废"情况的梳理,明确针对污染严重,经济效益不高的工业区进行改造的必要性。为实现对纺织服装工业区绿色化改造,从"无废理念"出发,重点研究纺织服装工业区绿色化改造的可实施路径。在研究方法上将纺织服装工业区作为研究整体,基于可持续发展思想,构建纺织服装工业区经济、社会、环境复合生态系统,运用层次分析法,选取对于该类工业园区具有代表性的经济、社会、环境指标进行评价,通过评价后总的分值,结合生命周期规律,将需要改造的纺织服装工业区进行初步筛选。同时,利用经济、社会、环境各子系统的分值,对具体改造模式加以判别。文章通过对纺织服装工业区不可持续性的内涵挖掘,将工业区绿色化改造模式与改造内容建立关联,可以通过产业绿色化改造和建成空间绿色化改造,来实现工业园区的升级与转型,进而实现可持续发展。最后,根据模式判别结果,针对不同模式在产业与建成空间的不同特征,提出相应的绿色化改造方法和政策建议。在结论中总结基于"无废理念"纺织服装工业区绿色化改造与可持续发展的辩证关系。此方法适用于其他类型的工业区改造模式判别,以促进工业区的可持续发展。     

The socio-economic landscape of biotechnology in Spain. A comparative study using the innovation system concept

Biotechnology is becoming a crucial factor for the innovation strategies of the industrialised countries. Thus, the analysis of the sector is gaining relevance for the identification of the technological strength and potential of a country (or region) in a context of globalisation. A specific national case study may serve for more general comparative analyses. We have selected the case of Spain as illustrative of the complexity and differences existing in Europe. By using the analytical framework of the "national systems of innovation" concept, we have performed a multistep analysis of the biotechnology sector in Spain, focussing first on regions of Madrid and Catalu?a which together account for more than 50% of the sector in Spain. The firms in both regions have followed a common strategy based on diversification and investment in R&D and innovation, so as to be able to compete in an international and competitive environment. There are, however, some interesting differences between the two subsectors; the one from Catalu?a being more based on industrial traditions, and the one from Madrid characterised by the emergence of more specialised firms. The study has been extended to the remainder of Spanish firms for comparative purposes. The case of Spain is illustrative of the divergences existing in the biotechnology sector in Europe. A comparison is made with the structural and organisational characteristics of the biotechnology sector in several European countries. It shows that there is diversity in the pattern of commercialisation between countries and within regions of countries. Understanding these differences may assist the design of appropriate policies to promote the development of biotechnology in Europe.     

Computational investigation of the Laplace law in compression therapy

This study aims to use computational methods for elucidating the effect of limb shape on subgarment and subcutaneous pressures, stresses and strains. A framework was built that generates computational models from 3D arm scans using a depth sensing camera. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed on the scans taken from 23 lymphoedema patients. Subgarment pressures were calculated based on local curvature for each patient and showed a large variability of pressure across each arm. Across the cohort an average maximum subgarment pressure of 5100 Pa was found as opposed to an intended garment pressure of 2500 Pa. Subcutaneous results show that stresses/strains in the adipose tissues more closely follow the subgarment pressures than in the stiffer skin tissues. Another novel finding was that a negative axial gradient in subgarment pressure (from wrist to elbow) consistently led to positive axial gradients for the Von Mises stresses in the adipose tissues; a phenomenon caused by a combination of arm shape and the stiffness ratio between skin and adipose tissues. In conclusion, this work fills a knowledge gap in compression therapy in clinical practice and can inform garment design or lead to optimal treatment strategies.     

核糖核酸调节子的构建与即时检测中的应用*

合成生物学专注于可重复利用模块和元件的工程化设计,并在生物系统中表现出良好的行为和功能。在无细胞蛋白表达系统中,核糖核酸调节子作为即时检测中的重要传感元件,通过靶标分子的诱导使其自身结构发生变化,进而调控下游基因的表达。系统介绍不同类型的核糖核酸调节子及其作用原理,包括一代核糖核酸调节子、toehold开关、功能拓展的核糖核酸调节子和核糖开关。详细阐明构建核糖核酸调节子的设计-测试-分析过程:计算机辅助设计、基因表达测试和结构功能化分析。汇总基于核糖核酸调节子的体外即时检测应用,重点总结toehold开关介导的病原菌核酸检测和核糖开关参与的小分子检测。讨论当前无细胞即时检测的特点、挑战和发展趋势,为开发新型核糖核酸调节子和即时检测工具提供思路和参考。     

Nano-bio interactions: the implication of size-dependent biological effects of nanomaterials

Due to their many advantageous properties, nanomaterials(NMs) have been utilized in diverse consumer goods, industrial products, and for therapeutic purposes. This situation leads to a constant risk of exposure and uptake by the human body, which are highly dependent on nanomaterial size. Consequently, an improved understanding of the interactions between different sizes of nanomaterials and biological systems is needed to design safer and more clinically relevant nano systems. We discuss the sizedependent effects of nanomaterials in living organisms. Upon entry into biological systems, nanomaterials can translocate biological barriers, distribute to various tissues and elicit different toxic effects on organs, based on their size and location. The association of nanomaterial size with physiological structures within organs determines the site of accumulation of nanoparticles.In general, nanomaterials smaller than 20 nm tend to accumulate in the kidney while nanomaterials between 20 and 100 nm preferentially deposit in the liver. After accumulating in organs, nanomaterials can induce inflammation, damage structural integrity and ultimately result in organ dysfunction, which helps better understand the size-dependent dynamic processes and toxicity of nanomaterials in organisms. The enhanced permeability and retention effect of nanomaterials and the utility of this phenomenon in tumor therapy are also highlighted.     

Automation of in-silico data analysis processes through workflow management systems

Data integration is needed in order to cope with the huge amounts of biological information now available and to perform data mining effectively. Current data integration systems have strict limitations, mainly due to the number of resources, their size and frequency of updates, their heterogeneity and distribution on the Internet. Integration must therefore be achieved by accessing network services through flexible and extensible data integration and analysis network tools. EXtensible Markup Language (XML), Web Services and Workflow Management Systems (WMS) can support the creation and deployment of such systems. Many XML languages and Web Services for bioinformatics have already been designed and implemented and some WMS have been proposed. In this article, we review a methodology for data integration in biomedical research that is based on these technologies. We also briefly describe some of the available WMS and discuss the current limitations of this methodology and the ways in which they can be overcome.     

Assessing the Effect of Sequencing Depth and Sample Size in Population Genetics Inferences

Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies have dramatically revolutionised research in many fields of genetics. The ability to sequence many individuals from one or multiple populations at a genomic scale has greatly enhanced population genetics studies and made it a data-driven discipline. Recently, researchers have proposed statistical modelling to address genotyping uncertainty associated with NGS data. However, an ongoing debate is whether it is more beneficial to increase the number of sequenced individuals or the per-sample sequencing depth for estimating genetic variation. Through extensive simulations, I assessed the accuracy of estimating nucleotide diversity, detecting polymorphic sites, and predicting population structure under different experimental scenarios. Results show that the greatest accuracy for estimating population genetics parameters is achieved by employing a large sample size, despite single individuals being sequenced at low depth. Under some circumstances, the minimum sequencing depth for obtaining accurate estimates of allele frequencies and to identify polymorphic sites is , where both alleles are more likely to have been sequenced. On the other hand, inferences of population structure are more accurate at very large sample sizes, even with extremely low sequencing depth. This all points to the conclusion that under various experimental scenarios, in cost-limited population genetics studies, large sample sizes at low sequencing depth are desirable to achieve high accuracy. These findings will help researchers design their experimental set-ups and guide further investigation on the effect of protocol design for genetic research.     

The Dynamics of Democracy,Development and Cultural Values

Over the past decades many countries have experienced rapid changes in their economies, their democratic institutions and the values of their citizens. Comprehensive data measuring these changes across very different countries has recently become openly available. Between country similarities suggest common underlying dynamics in how countries develop in terms of economy, democracy and cultural values. We apply a novel Bayesian dynamical systems approach to identify the model which best captures the complex, mainly non-linear dynamics that underlie these changes. We show that the level of Human Development Index (HDI) in a country drives first democracy and then higher emancipation of citizens. This change occurs once the countries pass a certain threshold in HDI. The data also suggests that there is a limit to the growth of wealth, set by higher emancipation. Having reached a high level of democracy and emancipation, societies tend towards equilibrium that does not support further economic growth. Our findings give strong empirical evidence against a popular political science theory, known as the Human Development Sequence. Contrary to this theory, we find that implementation of human-rights and democratisation precede increases in emancipative values.     

An approach to human work systems development under the circumstances of an aging society and international business operations

At least three serious aspects of problems exist as obstacles for the national economy in Japan to grow or even to maintain its present level: the lack of natural resources, the trends of a decreasing young labor force, and an increase in the shift of domestic business operations to foreign countries. Although top managers make the decisions of product or service planning, or both, work systems designers are also responsible for conserving the resources. An action against the decrease of the young work force is needed to maintain work systems in an operable condition. The business shifts to foreign countries affect all the people, who are losing job opportunities. The present paper presents an approach to reorienting human work systems within the scope of the work systems designers' roles under the circumstance of these social environments. The following discussion is based on the assumptions that work organizations be productive for themselves and the world, effective and efficient for themselves, and contributive to their communities and the world. In essence, an approach to human work systems development should be fair to managers and workers alike. Presented are cases of these work systems as developed along the perspectives mentioned.     

Characterization of arabinoxylan/cellulose nanocrystals gels to investigate fluorescent probes mobility in bioinspired models of plant secondary cell wall

Biomass from lignocellulose (LC) is a highly complex network of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, which is considered to be a sustainable source of fuels, chemicals and materials. To achieve an environmental friendly and efficient LC upgrading, a better understanding of the LC architecture is necessary. We have devised some LC bioinspired model systems, based on arabinoxylan gels, in which mobility of dextrans and BSA grafted with FITC has been studied by FRAP. Our results indicate that the probes diffusion is more influenced by their hydrodynamic radius than by the gel mesh size. The addition of some cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) decreases polymer chain mobility and has low effect on the probes diffusion, suggesting that the gels are better organized in the presence of CNCs, as shown by rheological measurements and scanning electronic microscopy observations. This demonstrates that the FRAP analysis can be a powerful tool to screen the architecture of LC model systems.     

Aggregate Measures of Complex Economic Structure and Evolution

It is perhaps in the nature of complex systems that they call for aggregate measures that enable analysts to grasp their structure and evolution without being overwhelmed by their very complexity. Complex interindustry theory and models are a typical case, where the underlying database—an input−output table—routinely contains thousands of data points for a single year. Within input−output analysis, quantitative measures have been developed that describe and characterize interindustry interactions and that have been used to compare economies, both in a static taxonomy and through their evolution over time. First, we review and critically discuss a number of concepts that have been proposed and applied to interindustry systems, such as interconnectedness, interrelatedness, linkages, and economic landscapes. Second, we apply these concepts to a case study of the Australian economy between 1975 and 1999 in terms of environmental headline indicators. Our results enable the reader to judge the usefulness and ability of the measures in capturing the key structural elements and evolutionary processes governing the interaction between the economy and the environment. For the Australian case study, the measures showed a diversifying economy occurring together with a specialization of environmental flows.     

Epidemiology of snake envenomation from Mato Grosso do Sul,Brazil

Snake envenomation is considered a public health problem in tropical countries, where they occur in a high incidence. The present study reports the snake envenomation that occurred in Mato Grosso do Sul state (Brazil) between 2007 and 2017. Epidemiological data were obtained from the online platform of the Notification Disease Information System and were analyzed according to biome. A total of 5568 cases of snake envenomations were recorded during the study period, where the highest frequency was registered between October and April. The majority of envenomations occurred in working-age males (20 to 39 years), caused mainly by Bothrops snakes, and the duration of care after the envenomation in most cases took three hours. The municipalities that showed the highest snake envenomations case per 100,000 inhabitants presents low population density, and have their economy based on agricultural activity, which is a risk factor to snake envenomations. To the Mato Grosso do Sul state, the total number of snake envenomations had a positive relationship with the size of the municipality. Since this, larger areas usually have a mosaic of environments, which may harbor higher richness and abundance of snakes, and can cause more snake encounters with the population, resulting in more snake envenomations.     

How does doxorubicin interfere with actin polymerization?

It is well known that doxorubicin (adriamycin), an antibiotic with an antitumoral action, has some undesirable side effects. Among these, the most serious is, undoubtedly, damage to myocardial tissue (progressive cardiomyopathy). We have for some time focused our attention on the effect of this drug on cellular contractile systems and, more specifically, on the process of actin polymerization, which we consider to be an extremely delicate key point for the economy of most cellular motor manifestations. In the present study, using capillary viscometry, spectrofluorometry and electron microscopy, we have shown a negative action of doxorubicin on various important chemical events which contribute to the transformation of G-actin into F-actin. Specifically, we found that the drug mainly acts by reducing the polymer size. A possible action mechanism of the antibiotic is proposed and a plausible correlation among the events described in vitro and those observed in vivo is advanced.