As Soones and colleagues discuss in this issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, many older individuals at one or more points in their lives take an involuntary journey through the criminal justice system. This lamentable experience often includes a stay in a county or municipal jail. Not surprisingly, Soones and colleagues document that legal professionals who interact with older criminal justice clients are poorly prepared to recognize and address many of the clients' aging-related needs, especially when (as is often the situation) significant cognitive impairment or mental illness is present. The authors' proposal for better education and training of legal professionals who work in this context is highly advisable if the legal, health, and social needs of older legal clients are to be served in a way that prevents them from falling through the cracks in the uncoordinated conglomeration of aging services we generously call a system. Although the knowledge and skills deficits found in the referenced study are not startling, nor are the resulting recommendations likely to be controversial, this study provides a useful opportunity for pondering several facets of the fate of older persons caught (quite literally) in jails. First, although some (but certainly not enough) academic and public policy attention has been devoted already to the plight of older prison inmates, little has been written before the current study about older people in jail. The distinction between prison and jail, and thus the deficiency of serious attention to the latter, is important. Prisons are total institutions operated directly by individual states or the federal government or operated on behalf of those governmental entities by private contractors to incarcerate adults who have already been found guilty of a criminal offense and sentenced to a period of confinement, usually in excess of 1 year. Prisoners are transferred from local jails, where they have been detained pending resolution of their criminal charges, once a court has definitively resolved their legal situation (with the exception of prisoners who still may have active appeals of their convictions or sentences pending). Prisoners age while in prison. By contrast, jails are local facilities (ranging from five to several thousand beds) operated by city or county governments and whose primary population consists of people who are involuntarily detained while awaiting trial and whose presence in the community pending trial has been deemed to pose a danger to themselves or others. Thus, a panoply of crucial legal questions (e.g., mental competence to stand trial and responsibility or culpability for one's acts) often remain open for the detainee at this point in the life of someone who has been drawn into the jail environment. Because these legal questions often remain open, legal professionals, such as those that Soones and colleagues studied, occupy a central role. Second, the Soones and colleagues study should inspire contemplation of potential mechanisms for diverting at least some arrested older individuals away from the traditional criminal justice system, with its lack of gerontological sensitivity and competence and its reliance on jails as places of detention. One alternative would be the creation of local specialized elder courts that marshal the particular set of aging-related resources, experience, and expertise desirable for addressing a range of legal problems involving older parties. Functioning properly, elder courts may be able to negotiate temporary or permanent resolution of cases involving older criminal defendants in a manner that obviates the need for jail involvement. This innovation could be modeled on other successful criminal justice diversion initiatives already in operation in a number of places across the United States, such as specialized drugs courts or mental health courts. Whether operating through the context of a specialized elder court or the general criminal justice system, a medical–legal partnership (MLP) program devoted specifically to identifying and addressing the needs of older persons in jails could be beneficial. Although its programmatic embodiment might take a myriad of forms, the basic MLP paradigm is to unite healthcare and legal professionals (or their student counterparts) as co-owners and would-be collaborative solvers of problems experienced by individuals—such as older jail detainees—where health and legal aspects are closely bound together. Unlike ordinary referral or consultative models of professional interaction, the MLP is a true partnership, in which the health and legal professional partners jointly serve the needs of the client. An MLP program concentrating on the specific challenges of older jail detainees could help overcome the knowledge and skills deficits of legal professionals that Soones and colleagues document. Finally, and most profoundly, there is something wrong when so many older individuals with severe mental health challenges are at risk of becoming jailed criminal justice system participants in any situation. The prevalence of this population is an indictment of the continuing combined shortcomings of the deinstitutionalization and community mental health movements (movements that, in practice, have largely resulted in transinstitutionalization of mentally ill individuals to jails and prisons), coupled with broader discrimination against older persons in services provided and paid for within the mental healthcare DOI: 10.1111/jgs.12755


Provided are an antireflective hardmask composition which can be applied by using spin-on application technique, is useful for lithographic process of short wavelength, and retains a minimum amount of remaining acid, and a method for patterning a back material layer on substrate by using the composition. The composition contains (A) an aromatic ring-having polymer of the formula(3); (B) a crosslinking component; and (C) an acidic catalyst. In the formula(3), n is 1<=n<=190, each R1 and R2 is hydrogen, -OH, C1-C10 alkyl group, C6-C10 aryl group, allyl group, or halogen atom, and each R3 and R4 is hydrogen, or comprises a chromophore moiety or reactive moiety reacting with the crosslinking component. The method for patterning a back material layer comprises the steps of (i) preparing a material layer on substrate; (ii) forming an antireflective hardmask layer on the material layer by using the composition; (iii) forming a radiation-sensitive imaging layer on the imaging layer; (iv) exposing the imaging layer to radiation in patterned type, so as to forming a pattern of radiation-exposed area in the imaging layer; (v) selectively removing a part of the imaging layer and the antireflective layer; and (vi) etching an exposed part of the material layer to form a configuration of patterned material.


Rotational angiography (RA) is widely used clinically to obtain 3D data. In many procedures, e.g., neurovascular interventions, the imaged field of view (FOV) is much larger than the region of interest (ROI), thereby subjecting the patient to unnecessary x-ray dose. To reduce the dose in these procedures, we have proposed placing an x-ray attenuating filter with an open aperture (ROI) in the x-ray beam (called filtered region of interest (FROI) RA. We have shown that this approach yields high quality data for centered objects of interest (OoIs). In this study, we investigate the noise behavior of the FROI approach for off-center OoIs. Using filter-specific attenuation and noise characteristics, simulated FROI projection images were generated. The intensities in the peripheral region were equalized, and the 3D data reconstructed. For each reconstructed voxel, the intersections with the full intensity beam (ROI) were determined for each projection, and noise properties were evaluated. Off-center OoIs intersect the high intensity beam in more than 60% of the projections (ROI having 40% FOV area), with intersection frequency increasing with increasing ROI area and OoI proximity to the central region. The noise increases with distance from the central region up to a factor of two. Integral dose reductions range between 40% and 85%, depending on ROI area and filter thickness. Substantial dose reductions (40-85%) are achieved with less than a factor of two increase in noise for OoIs peripheral to the central region, indicating the FROI approach might be an alternative for reducing dose during standard procedures.


Background: Plant-plant facilitation provides benefits to the protected species since the host species reduces the intensity of stressful physical conditions. However, it has been hypothesized that the outcome of the interaction could be regulated by the characteristics of the interacting species and that herbivores could counteract the benefits of protective plants.
Question: Can cactus size and identity of neighboring plants influence the herbivory of the columnar cactus P. leucocephalus?
Studied species / Mathematical model: Pilosocereus leucocephalus (Poselg.) Byles & G.D. Rowley /One-way ANOVA, Repeated measures ANOVA, Analysis of covariance and linear regression.
Study site and dates: San Ignacio, Veracruz, Mexico. April to May 2019.
Methods: We randomly selected 60 P. leucocephalus plants growing underneath the canopy of seven species of shrubs and P. leucocephalus plants growing ≥ 3 m away from other species and exposed to full sunlight conditions. We obtained the size of the P. leucocephalus plants (size of main stem from ground to apex) and determined the intensity (number of bites on the stem) of vertebrate herbivory.
Results: The number of bite scars by small vertebrate species was significantly higher on the stems of cacti established in open spaces than on those underneath the canopy of seven shrub species and increased significantly with the stem size of the protected species.
Conclusions: We conclude that herbivory damage by rodents on a giant cactus in a dry tropical forest depends on cactus size and the identity, but not the shade, of the nearest neighbor.


Introduction: Benign and malignant diseases of the breast are surgically dealt often with the solitary aim of complete disease removal with little concern to the cosmesis of the breast and subsequent psychological morbidity following tumor surgery. A concept of Oncoplastic Breast Surgery (OBS) has thus emerged as a new generation subspecialty, which utilizes the intelligent and simultaneous use of, oncological and plastic surgical principles ensuring complete disease removal with acceptable cosmesis. Aim: To assesses the satisfaction level and quality of life (QOL) of the patients after OBS for either benign or malignant breast disease. Sample: Total 46 patients (19- Operable benign breast lumps (OBBL); 12- Carcinoma breast with OBS; 15- Carcinoma breast without OBS) at CSM Medical University, Lucknow, from August 2006-July 2007. A tool utilizing EORTC-QOL C-30 and 5-points Likert scale was used to assess the four basic aspects of quality of life (Physical, Social, Emotional and Functional). Observation: This prospective case series analysis of only one-year follow-up of 46 patients has precluded any hard statistical analysis. Perception of body deformity, shape and symmetry of the breasts, sexual life, self-confidence, feminity and functional QOL were rated significantly lower by the patients without OBS than the patients who underwent OBS. Further studies are however required to gain higher level of evidence and expertise in oncoplastic breast surgery. Nevertheless, it can be said that concept of oncoplastic breast surgery is very appealing one and it has a high scope for wider applicability in India.


The aim of this study was to estimate ovarian changes in 7,12 dimethylbenz (α) anthracene (DMBA) induced rat mammary carcinomas. The study was carried out on female virgin albino Wistar rats (n=35, age=35-37days, body mass 120-140g), divided into control (n=10) and experimental group (n=25). Anesthetised animals of experimental group were inoculated with 2 mg mixture (1 mg of DMBA and 1 mg of cholesterol-buffer) into the fifth left mammary gland. The animals were sacrificed 90 days after implantation, and ovaries and mammary glands were investigated. Mammary gland carcinomas (in situ and/or invasive) were pathohistologically verified in 19 experimental animals. Histological, histochemical, and immunohistochemical (cytokeratin AE1/AE3 and PCNA ) studies of ovaries were performed. Besides non-neoplastic changes, such as decrease in ovary's volume, reduction in the rate of follicular development and numerous corpora lutea formation were found in the vicinity of preneoplastic changes: papillomatous epithelial hyperplasia and inclusion cysts, microglandular formations with dysplasia and seromucinous microcystic formation. Intensive diffuse PCNA expression was present in the epithelium of glandlike structures, follicular and inclusion cysts. These morphological changes confirmed that DMBA is a pluripotent carcinogen capable to induce a wide spectrum of preneoplastic lesions in the ovaries. The present dilemma is whether the changes described are the consequence of the direct effects of DMBA or of hormonal activity of the induced breast carcinomas, or both. Acta Medica Medianae 2013;52(1):25-32.


The key features of the 'Prayer for the Potato Crop', a painting by Jean Francois Millet are discussed. The painting commissioned by an American was never collected; which led Millet to add a church steeple, rename it as 'The Angelus' and then resell it.


The selective surface activation induced by laser (SSAIL) for electroless copper deposition on PC-ABS blend is one of promoising technique of electric circuit formation on free-form dielectric surfaces, which broadens capabilities of 3D microscopic integrated devices (3D-MID). The process consists of laser excitation, chemical activation of laser-excited areas by dipping in a liquid and electroless copper deposition of laser-treated areas. The limiting factor to increase throughput of the technology is a laser activation step. Laser writing is performed by modern galvanometric scanners which reach the scanning speed of several meters per second. However, adverse thermal effects on PC-ABS polymer surface abridge the high-speed laser writing. In this work, an advantageous laser beam scanning technique by shifted pulse is used to overcome mentioned problems.


A woman with a clinical presentations of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) has been presented. Tension pneumothorax has been rarely reported; however, it is a life‐threatening condition. Surgical intervention may be required in GPA patients who do not respond to chest tube insertion. Timely management can reduce the complication and mortality.


This article examines some of the contributions of subjugated peoples' knowledges to 'western' social science, particularly focusing on the development of analyses of race, class, and gender as interlocking spheres in which domination occurs. Often work on race, class, and gender intersectionality is taught and is understood as an outgrowth of academic western feminist inquiry that is attempting to acknowledge and embrace difference and eschew essentializing women's experiences. While feminist discourse has been an important site for the development of the intersectional framework, I argue that an important historical basis for social scientific thinking that addresses the intersection of race, class, and gender lies in activism and scholarship as exemplified by that of Anna Julia Cooper, Ida Wells Barnett, W.E.B. Du Bois, Amy Jacques Garvey, Cheikh Anta Diop, Audre Lorde, Kwame Toure, and others whose thinking about the social world has been shaped by their own western and non-western political and cultural experiences and research.


Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is emerging as a leading cause of death worldwide. It is a disease of old age but genetics and exposure to smoke and fumes of various kinds also make one prone for the development of this disease. In modern medicine various treatment protocols are mentioned but they often have serious side effects. Moreover, this disease has a heterogeneous pattern which means that there are different presentations and different responses to the therapies. So, it is a matter of concern to the scientific world to carry out research works to understand this disease fully and to devise better treatment protocols for the disease. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is having similar signs and symptomatology as Shwasa roga (Bronchial Asthma) described in the Ayurvedic texts. A clinical trial was conducted on 20 patients at R.G.G.P.G. Ayurvedic College Paprola by using classic Ayurvedic formulations namely Kantakari avaleha, Shringyadi churna, Guduchyadi kwatha and Kulathadi kwatha in syrup form. Patients were alternatively divided into two groups of 10 patients each. The Ayurvedic formulations have shown beneficial effects by virtue of their bronchodilator, mucolytic, anti-inflammatory actions for the alleviation of symptoms in the patients of COPD with no untoward effects.


There were a lot of characteristics of elderly type 2 diabetes patients in Tibet such as low awareness,long course,lots of chronic complications and lots of other relative diseases,etc.It was valuable for glucose management to pay attention to diabetic education,diet,rational drugs,treatment of relative diseases and individual therapy.


The systemic inflammatory response to heat stroke (HS) has been well‐characterized, but the effect of passive heat exposure on local inflammation in skeletal muscle is unknown. We hypothesized that passive HS would induce an inflammatory response in skeletal muscle independent of histological damage. The time course of heat shock proteins (HSP‐27, ‐70), toll‐like receptors (TLR‐2, ‐4), myokines (IL‐6, IL‐10, TNF), and a transcription factor (c‐Jun) were measured in the diaphragm of passive HS C57BL/6 mice at maximum core temperature (Tcmax, 42.7ºC), ~3h and 24h of recovery. Histopathology did not show damage to the diaphragm through 24h of recovery. HSP27 decreased at Tcmax, but remained similar to controls from 3–24h of recovery. Conversely, HSP70 increased 40.8% above controls at 24h. TLR2 was not affected by HS but TLR4 showed a 60.3% decrease at Tcmax that returned to baseline by 3h. Remarkable changes were observed in c‐Jun and IL‐10, which increased 55.8% and 73.1% from Tcmax through 3h, respectively. IL‐6 and TNF were similar to controls through 24h. Our results demonstrate a local inflammatory response in skeletal muscle during HS recovery in the absence of tissue damage. IL‐10 may provide protection through HSP stimulation, IL‐6 and TNF inhibition, and induction of cell survival signaling pathways. Research supported by MRMC. Author views not official US Army or DOD policy.


This paper analyses the European Court of Justice ruling in Nintendo Co Ltd v PC Box Srl (C-355/12) on whether the protections for technological protection measures (TPMs) under Directive 2001/29 art. 6 extended to devices in games consoles that prevented users from playing other manufacturers' games. Assesses how art. 6 should be applied to devices that circumvented TPMs but also served other commercial purposes. Considers whether videogames fell within the scope of Directive 2009/24 (Software Directive).


The paper presents complete process and steps involved in FPGA based Computer Aided Diagnosis of cardiac abnormalities. Quality of the recorded heart beats is likely to be affected as the signal would be corrupted with noise. To overcome this problem Adaptive Line Enhancers (ALE) are used to eliminate the wide band noise and ALE, an adaptive noise cancellation technique is implemented with Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm. The computation speed and noise rejection capability of DSPs do not serve the purpose. Since the FPGA is highly flexible, recursive algorithms are implemented in this device. The paper presents all the design steps involved in design of FPGA based phonocardiograph.


DICOM is an international standard of medical image storage and transmission.The read and display to DICOM is the foundation of other medical image processing.However,the image file based on this standard is usually not be supported by existing image processing software at present.Introducing a kind of new method to read and display medical image and implement the real-time display of adjustment of window width and window leveling happened frequently in the processing of medical image through the interpretation of the format of DICOM file and the application of OpenGL.Finally,the Bresenham algorithm is proposed to improve the LUT generation algorithm.A good result is got and an affirm ation from doctors is made in practice.


This paper fleshes out the arguments given in a 20 minute talk at the Phenomenology 2005 meeting at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Wisconsin on Monday, May 2, 2005. The argument goes as follow: A hidden dimension is useful for explaining the phase velocity of quantum waves. The hidden dimension corresponds to the proper time parameter of standard relativity. This theory has been developed into a full gravitational theory, "Euclidean Relativity" by other authors. Euclidean relativity matches the results of Einstein's gravitation theory. This article outlines a compatible theory for elementary particles. The massless Dirac equation can be generalized from an equation of matrix operators operating on vectors to an equation of matrix operators operating on matrices. This allows the Dirac equation to model four particles simultaneously. We then examine the natural quantum numbers of the gamma matrices of the Dirac equation, and generalize this result to arbitrary complexified Clifford algebras. Fitting this "spectral decomposition" to the usual elementary particles, we find that one hidden dimension is needed as was similarly needed by Euclidean relativity, and that we need a set of eight subparticles to make up the elementary fermions. These elementary particles will be called "binons", and each comes in three possible subcolors. The details of the binding force between binons will be given as a paper associated with a talk by the author at the APSNW 2005 meeting at the University of Victoria, at British Columbia, Canada on May 15, 2005. After an abbreviated introduction, this paper will concentrate on the phenomenological aspects of the binons, particularly as applied to the Centauro type cosmic rays, and gamma-ray bursts.


The article analyzes the concept of terrorism and identifies the reasons for the ambiguity and number of approaches to the essence of the term. The essence of the concept of "terrorism" is considered from different positions, namely: as a type of organized crime of sociopolitical nature, as a sociopolitical phenomenon, as a threat to national and global economies, as a result of social, political, economic and territorial conflicts. Subjective and objective causes and signs of terrorism are identified. An information model of terrorism as a threat to national and global security has been developed. The symptoms of the problem of preventing and counteracting the financing of terrorism and the consequences it causes have been studied. Peculiarities of public administration in the field of prevention and counteraction to terrorist financing are determined.
Keywords: terrorism, threat, national security, counteraction to terrorism.


Application and development of the high speed steels were summarized.Effect of aluminium of alloying element on the red hardness of the high speed steels was discussed.The red hardness of high speed steels will be further enhanced when modest and cheaper aluminium is added to the steels.The development of the economic and high-performance high speed steels with aluminium will expand the application of high speed steels.


Objective To explore the cognitive changes of patients with MCI using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MOCA) for elderly preliminarily.Methods 85 normal controls (NC),117 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 73 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were assessed with the MOCA.Results There were significant differences among the three groups in all items of MOCA(F=258.66,P<0.01).Significant differences were observed in almost all the sub-tests between MCI group and NC group or MCI group and AD group(visuopatial F=54.86,P<0.01;naming F=17.30,P<0.01;attention F=82.50,P<0.01;language F=25,88,P<0.01;abstraction F=15.00 ,P<0.01;delayed recall F=130.49,P<0.01;orientation F=176.09,P<0.01.).The most significant differences were found in delayed recall and orientation among three groups(F=176.09,P<0.01;F=130.49,P<0.01.).At 26 cut-point,The results of screening of the MOCA agree with the gold standard of clinical diagnose for the patient with MCI.The agreement rate for observation was 0.93.The agreement rate by chance was 0.61.The Kappa was 0.85.Conclusions The MOCA appropriately define MCI,NC and AD in their cognitive function,it has good discriminant validity.The test of delayed recall and orientation may be more sensitive in the detection of the older people.The MOCA is a useful screening instrument for the patient with MCI.

Key words:
Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MOCA); Mild cognitive impairment


In this review we shall describe the most typical and conventional transducers used in the acoustic echo cancellation systems and the effect of the transducer characteristics on achieving echo cancellation. We shall also discuss the typical design issues found in the literature that often lead to failures in achieving echo cancellation. That is, it is not just a question of achieving good echo cancellation, but instead it can be a question of achieving the echo cancellation at all. The transducers used to capture and produce the sounds are a part of the enclosure and therefore form a part of echo cancellation system. We shall also look at some testing issues designers should consider when implementing an echo canceller.


Wheat is a strategic food for many developing countries. Algeria, despite its high potential, is still unable to provide food
security from grains, mainly related to a lack of a culture of competent government bodies accompanying farmers to help
increase grain production while focusing on agricultural sustainability. First, comparisons are made between investments
that apply these techniques and extension services on farms to bridge grain production gaps, and second, the development of
sustainable agricultures is investigated. The research is based on official statistical data, and a field study with a questionnaire
distributed to farmers and their families regarding agricultural development.


When, in the winter of 1993, the gay magazine 10 Percent criti? cized the use ofthe pink triangle as an emblem of gay identity, it touched a nerve.1 "As a symbol of shared victimization, it is indefensible," wrote Sara Hart, a senior editor ofthe magazine. "To equate the discrimination and harassment ofthe present with the savagery inflicted upon the lesbians and gay men ofthe Holocaust trivializes their suffering."2 Readers disagreed, however, and the letters in the following two issues underscored the relevance of the pink triangle to the gay and lesbian community. One reader stated, "You editorialize about how the wearing of this symbol 'trivializes' the suffering of concentration camp victims. . . . Are the deaths of tens of thousands of people (as a result ofthe Reagan administration's inaction on AIDS) trivial?"3 Another argued that the pink triangle raised the political consciousness of gays and lesbians and "compels us to take action against homophobic trends, such as current attempts to pass antigay initiatives throughout the country."4 A third reader, even though she deplored the


The technology of three-dimensional geological modeling is one of the most important technologies in the development of oil field. This paper selected three well groups in VII lower unit of Shuanghe Oilfield for the study area. And the model has the grid size of 5 × 5m in the plane, vertical to the flow unit as a unit. Using the Petrel software which has been developed by the Schlumberger Company established the fine geological models, including the level models, the porosity models and permeability models, and then calculated the reserves. These provide the geological basis for the next program of development and adjusted of the oil field.


Abstract The study evaluates the direct and moderating influence of Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) regulation in deterring corporate tax avoidance of multinational corporation listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. The Indonesian CbCR stated in the regulations enacted by government of Indonesia namely Ministry of Finance Regulation no. 213/PMK/2016 (MoFR 213/PMK/2016) and Directorate General of Taxes Regulation no. 29/2017 (DGTR-29/2017). We use panel data in this study. Data is collected from the financial statements of 166 multinational companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2019, resulting in final sample of 1315 observations. Pooled OLS regression is used to test the hypotheses. The results show that the CbCR regulation issued by the government has significant negative impact on corporate tax avoidance measured by abnormal related party transaction. Thus, it effectively deterred multinational companies' corporate tax avoidance. Furthermore, we examine the influence of tax haven affiliation on corporate tax avoidance which provides evidence that companies with tax haven affiliation have higher level of corporate tax avoidance. However, the regulation is not significant in moderating the relationship between tax haven affiliation and corporate tax avoidance. The finding gives necessary information for policymakers to formulate a specific policy for the companies that own tax haven affiliation in order to prevent profit shifting by practicing dysfunctional intra-company transaction. Furthermore, this study enriches the literature on the importance of government regulation as external monitoring tool that support tax avoidance theory.


In this paper, we focus on synthetic aperture radar automatic target recognition for ships, and modify the Simple Siamese (SimSiam) framework, a contrastive self-supervised representation learning method, to improve ship classification accuracy. We design a novel sampling method that takes polarization information into account, in addition to the image augmentation based positive pair sampling method that is commonly used in contrastive learning approaches. The results of the experiments show that positive pairs of VH and VV polarized images can provide complementary information about ship targets to strengthen the classifiers. Besides, different similarity measurement functions are analyzed in the experiments.


The transfer of very accurate time information over long distances has numerous applications in modern society, including navigation, synchronization of critical infrastructure and state-of-the-art scientific research. Satellite-based links have typically been used so far, but their accuracy is limited to the nanosecond level and their availability can be compromised by natural or man-made factors. Fiber-optical signals can transfer time with increased precision and resiliency and such systems are being widely researched, mostly in the context of stand-alone time and frequency transfer. In this paper, a novel method that combines picosecond-level time transfer with conventional optical data transmission is proposed and its key functionality is demonstrated. The method is based on cross-correlating two-way high-speed data streams and determining the time delay in the link between the clocks that need to be synchronized. The cross correlation technique itself is here demonstrated to be capable of determining (instrument) delays with a resolution of a few hundred femtoseconds. Techniques that estimate and remove the impact of accuracy-limiting effects such as the presence of unequal path lengths and asymmetric propagation times of different wavelengths in the fiber link have been developed. The accuracy of the method is limited by systematic uncertainties and has been calculated to be 4 ps. An experimental test-bed to evaluate the proposed method has been built, consisting of a bidirectional optically amplified fiber link operating at 10 Gb/s bit rates. The measured timed delays over different link lengths (25, 50 and 75 km) are in very good agreement with the estimated ones, corroborating the calculated accuracy of the proposed technique. As the method is fast (4 ps accuracy is achieved using a single burst of


Rock salt has been regarded as a suitable medium for the permanent disposal of high and medium level radioactive wastes since the National Academy of Sciences recommended it in 1957. As a result of detained site-specific studies conducted for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) project in New Mexico, however, several potential problems which are unique to bedded salt deposits have emerged. These include 1) the need to delineate the extent and rate of past dissolution and projections for the future, 2) the origin and significance of brines often found underlying the salt beds, 3) the rate and volume of migration of brine from the salt crystals towards the heat producing waste canisters, 4) the creep rates and implications for retrievability, and 5) the existence of potash and oil and gas resources with implications of human intrusion in the future. These questions will also be faced for sites in salt domes with added complications due to more complex structure and hydrology. The experience at WIPP shows that the site characterization process for high level waste repositories in bedded or dome salt should aim at identifying the important issues of site suitability early in the process and a clear program shouldmore » be established to address these issues.« less


Many physics measurements in CMS will rely on the precise reconstruction of Jets. Correction of the raw jet energy measured by the CMS detector will be a fundamental step for most of the analysis where hadron activity is investigated. Jet correction plans in CMS have been widely studied for different conditions: at stat-up simulation tuned on test-beam data will be used. Then data-driven methods will be available and finally, simulation tuned on collision data will give us the ultimate procedure for calculating jet corrections. Jet transverse energy is corrected first for pile-up and noise offset; correction for the response of the calorimeter as a function of jet pseudorapidity relative to the barrel comes afterwards and correction for the absolute response as a function of transverse momentum in the barrel is the final standard sub-correction applied. Other effects like flavour and parton correction will be optionally applied on the Jet ET depending on the measurement requests. In this paper we discuss the actual status of the complete CMS correction procedure with a particular focus on the data-driven methods applied to calorimeter jets: the main backgrounds and potential biases are discussed together with initial estimates of the systematic uncertainties.


Abstract : The purpose of this paper is to establish the state-of-the-art of simulation languages and to describe an attempt to carry this trend to the analysis of biological systems.


The rural development mutual fund is the important measure of China 's rural poverty alleviation. It is a form of poverty alleviation based on farmer's self management, self organization and self development. Based on the investigation of several representative villages, this article will analyze the operation and function of the rural development mutual fund. In the process of the development, farmers have high cognition, participation motivation and satisfied with the management. However, their ability and level of actual participation is so low that the utility of the mutual fund is limited. Mutual fund, however, is currently the effective ways to satisfy the fund demands of the rural poverty people. It also plays an important role in enhancing the villagers ' contact and cooperation, improving villagers' relationship, and improving poor villagers' ability of self development and so on.


Since fatal cases of paratyphoid fever of the "A" type are apparently of rare occurrence, while because of this the pathologic anatomy is founded on a very few cases, and since the differentiation of this disease from true typhoid is of considerable importance, it would seem that anything which might contribute to the clinical history, bacteriologic findings or pathologic anatomy of this infection is of value. With this in mind, the present study was undertaken. REPORT OF CASE Patient. —A teamster, aged 34, American, widower, was admitted to the Hospital of the Good Shepherd, Oct. 30, 1913, complaining of a "general weakness" which had existed for three or four weeks prior to his admission. Previous History. —The patient's family history is unimportant. He had had the usual diseases of childhood. When a young lad, as a result of a blow on the head from a large iron bar, his skull


We study, both numerically and experimentally, the synchronization of uncoupled excitable systems due to a common noise. We consider two identical FitzHugh–Nagumo systems, which display both spiking and non-spiking behaviours in chaotic or periodic regimes. An electronic circuit provides a laboratory implementation of these dynamics. Synchronization is tested with both white and coloured noise, showing that coloured noise is more effective in inducing synchronization of the systems. We also study the effects on the synchronization of parameter mismatch and of the presence of intrinsic (not common) noise, and we conclude that the best performance of coloured noise is robust under these distortions.


The human role in the overall system design and the key human characteristics that must be considered by the designers of teleoperated systems are discussed. Control and feedback in teleoperation differ considerably from typical manufacturing robotic systems. Human-in-the-loop operation incorporates the human element in the control loop from two key perspectives. Information about the robots interaction with its work environment is presented to the operator for cognitive processing and decisions. Additionally, human processing time for the information and the subsequent reaction time to direct the robot are critical control considerations


This is the second of two special journal issues on Rasch measurement in educational contexts. Most of the articles compiled in these two issues originate from a symposium of the same title held in...


David Healy and colleagues review several sources of data which suggest an association in a small number of cases between antidepressant treatment and aggression and violence.


We report the results of our monitoring of the NWC transmitter from Khukurdaha (∼ 80 km away from Kolkata) during the partial solar eclipse (75%) of 15th January, 2010. The receiving station and the transmitter were on two opposite sides of the annular eclipse belt. We got clear depression in the data during the period of partial eclipse. However, most extraordinarily, there was a solar flare (spot no. 1040) on that day during the time when the eclipse was near maximum. The flare started from B type, reaching maximum to C1.3 (as observed by GOES 14 satellite). We saw the occultation of this flare by the moon's limb. To our knowledge this is the first such incident where the solar flare was observed through lunar occultation.


BACKGROUND
The number of reported cases of Legionnaires' disease, a severe pneumonia caused by the bacterium Legionella, is increasing in the United States. During 2000-2014, the rate of reported legionellosis cases increased from 0.42 to 1.62 per 100,000 persons; 4% of reported cases were outbreak-associated. Legionella is transmitted through aerosolization of contaminated water. A new industry standard for prevention of Legionella growth and transmission in water systems in buildings was published in 2015. CDC investigated outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease to identify gaps in building water system maintenance and guide prevention efforts.

METHODS
Information from summaries of CDC Legionnaires' disease outbreak investigations during 2000-2014 was systematically abstracted, and water system maintenance deficiencies from land-based investigations were categorized as process failures, human errors, equipment failures, or unmanaged external changes.

RESULTS
During 2000-2014, CDC participated in 38 field investigations of Legionnaires' disease. Among 27 land-based outbreaks, the median number of cases was 10 (range = 3-82) and median outbreak case fatality rate was 7% (range = 0%-80%). Sufficient information to evaluate maintenance deficiencies was available for 23 (85%) investigations. Of these, all had at least one deficiency; 11 (48%) had deficiencies in ≥2 categories. Fifteen cases (65%) were linked to process failures, 12 (52%) to human errors, eight (35%) to equipment failures, and eight (35%) to unmanaged external changes.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE
Multiple common preventable maintenance deficiencies were identified in association with disease outbreaks, highlighting the importance of comprehensive water management programs for water systems in buildings. Properly implemented programs, as described in the new industry standard, could reduce Legionella growth and transmission, preventing Legionnaires' disease outbreaks and reducing disease.


This article describes how an acute care organization in Texas, a peer review mandated state, created a nonpunitive peer feedback structure and process for nursing staff. Strategies were targeted to improve patient outcomes. A peer feedback committee designed, implemented, and evaluated the feedback model to coexist with the state-required formal peer review committee structure. Peer feedback provided opportunities to advance skill development, enhance quality improvement, improve patient outcomes, and support a culture of safety within the healthcare environment.


Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Fibre (UHMWPE) is one of the most versatile materials that have been introduced in dentistry.They are thin, strong, aesthetic, easy to manipulate and exhibit excellent bonding with composite resin. The aim of this article is to review the current applications of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene fibre is various discilplines of dentistry.


Measuring frequency by phase is demonstrated practically to be greater than a hundred times faster than direct frequency measurement. Even on remote off-air radio frequency standards affected by radio propagation variations, microhertz accuracy can be achieved in hours rather than weeks. And this at low cost by using readily available SDR techniques. The novelty is the use of a large (21 bit) high precision (24 bit) FFT on a signal translated to IFs at about 70 to100 Hz and with FFT window lengths of a few minutes. These first results indicate that this novel technique could in the future compute Allan Variances perhaps a hundred times faster than the longest stated 'observation-time'. This frequency-by-phase fast measurement technique is also compared with a frequency-bin-interpolation technique.


The present thesis deals with the utilization of small organic molecules, majorly solvents like dimethylformamide, tetrahydrofuron, acetone and dichloroethane in cross coupling chemistry. The entire work focuses on the use of copper or TBAI catalysts in oxidative cross coupling reactions of small organic molecules with various organic functional groups leading to the formation of new C-N and C-O bonds. In this thesis, construction of C-N bond was achieved with copper catalyst, whereas construction of C-O bond was achieved with TBAI catalyst under oxidative reaction conditions.


Beauty-salt (BS, Mi-salt) is a type of food additive mainly used in Korea. It is composed of solar salt and Impatiens balsamina L. extracts. Here, the present study reports the immunomodulatory efficacy and underlying mechanisms of BS and its active components, ferulic acid (FA) and magnesium (Mg), on the human mast cell line HMC-1. BS significantly suppressed the production and mRNA expression of the proinflammatory cytokines, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 in activated HMC-1 cells without cytotoxicity. FA or Mg significantly decreased the production of TSLP and IL-1β but not IL-6 and IL-8. In activated mast cells, the pathways of caspase-1, nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and receptor-interacting protein 2 (RIP2) were blocked by treatment with BS, FA, or Mg. Furthermore, BS suppressed the activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. The present findings provide new scientific evidence that BS has good immunomodulatory efficacy by down-regulating caspase-1/NF-κB/RIP2/MAP kinase pathways.

Practical applications
Beauty-salt (BS, Mi-salt) is a type of food additive mainly used in Korea. BS inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines via the blockade of caspase-1, NF-κB, and MAPK pathways. Therefore, these results suggest that BS has immunomodulatory efficacy that can play a beneficial role in strategies to prevent and treat inflammatory disorders.


As the title of the book suggests, Online Gravity: The Digital Giants Driving the Way you live, Earn and Learn is about the digital world and how the way people operate is influenced by the leading companies within the digital world. The main title of the book ("Online Gravity") is a play on words since the book is not about physics. However, the use of the word "gravity" (which is a phenomenon whereby things that contains energy are brought together) signals that "online" is a "force" beyond our control. The title of the book is also connected with the name of the business that the book's author, Paul McCarthy, owns and operates (Online Gravity Consulting).


A quantitative analysis method of iodiconazole concentrations in human stratum corneum was established. Human superficial skin samples were obtained by tape stripping technique and iodiconazole concentrations were determined by LC-MS method after extraction. Ketoconazole was used as the internal standard( IS). The analytes were chromatographically separated on a Shim-pack VP-ODS C 18 column with the mobile phase consisting of methanol and 0. 01% formic acid aqueous solution( 65 ∶ 35). Mass spectrometer was operated in positive ion and selective ion monitoring( SIM) mode using electrospray ionization( ESI) technique. The method showed excellent linearity over the concentration range of 0. 6-1 800 ng/mL. The recovery and the intra-and inter-batch precisions met the requirements for the determination of biological samples. The dynamic process of intradermal drug concentrations in 10 healthy volunteers after topical application of iodiconazole cream was investigated using this method. The method proved to be selective and sensitive,and suitable for the determination of iodiconazole concentration in human stratum corneum and the pharmacokinetic study after topical application of iodiconazole cream.


This study aims to determine how Islamic parenting is applied to special intelligent and gifted children.  A special intelligent child is a child who has intelligence above the average of his peers.  They are children who have high independence, have self-taught behavior, cannot be detected by other people and can create ideas spontaneously.  Special intelligent children have intelligence above 130 (Waschler scale), they have high-order thinking patterns and cannot be equated with their peers who only have normal intelligence.  The pattern of education and parenting applied by parents to their children can use various methods that have been taught by the Prophet in Islamic religious teachings.  These methods include modeling methods and noble ethics, situational and conditional methods, questioning methods, analogical methods, and dialogical interaction methods.  This research was conducted to provide information about proper parenting in Islam through the methods taught by the Prophet.


COPYRIGHT © 2022 Smits, Iop and Chester. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Editorial: Vascular and valvular tissue engineering: Treating and modeling vasculopathies and valvulopathies


The authors present an optimum design approach for a 136-MHz coherent phase-locked synchronous oscillator (CPSO). They show the amplitude and phase characteristics measured with a network analyzer. A -17-dBm sweep signal was applied to the CPSO and a 5-MHz tracking bandwidth was observed. Within the tracking bandwidth, the output amplitude of the CPSO remained flat, the phase error was minimized, and the CPSO operated at its maximum noise rejection level.<<ETX>>


1. INTRODUCTION With the expansion of social networks, city dwellers today are more and more interested in communal spaces, a place to meet, talk, and share same simple activities such as walking, sitting, and watching. If such spaces had historical and cultural identity, they would be more welcome due to the sense of belonging, a feeling that forms in a successful urban space after years and causes public interest to the space. Not only should such places be considered as a trophy, but also their possible defects must be detected and resolved. The place-making approach can be effective in this regard. This approach tries to formulate strategies for the improvement and development of a space by discovering the needs and desires of the people who use the space. In fact, place-making takes shaping the public arena into consideration in order to maximize the common values. The aim of this research was to investigate the place-making approach in a space with historical and cultural identity. In the next steps, how to use this potential to improve quality of a space and create a proper place for people to connect with would be discussed. The research question is to search the reason of the charm of an existing urban space due to its historical and cultural features. Thus, reasons such as greenery and freshness, peace and quiet, good access, communication with surrounding context, and feeling safe are examined; activities that give quality improvement to the existing urban space, are also searched. It was said that the first step is to discover the needs and desires of people. This, in addition to a detailed observation of the environment, mandates questioning people who use the space and recognizing the way they use it. This will be reviewed in the methodology section.. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Among experts, David Canter has written a book called Space Psychology (1977), which is considered one of the most important resources in this field. In his book he has mentioned: The sense of place not only creates coordination and proper functioning of the human and architectural environment but also provides a sense of security, fun, and emotional awareness for the individuals. It is certainly a sense of place to help the identity and belonging sense of people to place (Canter, 1971). From Christian Norberg-Schultz, the famous phenomenologist who has studied the topic of genius loci, the Space in Western Architecture (1975), and from the Canadian geographer, Edward Relph, the Place and Placelessness (2008) have been used. In addition to these classics, in the topics of space and genius loci, articles from Shamay, Simon, Tuan, and Falahat have been considered. Some definitions in other papers have been explained as follows: When certain place meanings appear to be more prevalent toward an individual, the conception that a person has toward a place will eventually shape their emotions, behaviors, and attachment to that place. In the context of urban research, numerous studies examine and discuss the role of place attachment and sense of place in understanding the value of place to people (Zakaria, et al., 2015). The meaning of places derives from both physical and experiential attributes. Saar and Palang (2009) found several factors that can make places to become meaningful, such as through the experience and relationships that people have with other people. Some places hold past memories for people to recollect and reconnect with their histories. There are also places that acquire their meaning through certain activities that people do or engage. The spatial and experiential attributes that shape the meaning also create memories. Mowla (2004) suggested that 'memories have a context and place form, while place acts as a structure to reinforce or aid the recollection of memories'. However, when these qualities start to disconnect with the individual and places become less familiar through change, memories might also diminish (Sumaiyah, et al. …


A computer simulation is important for the analysis geometry of freeways and urban streets systems.Transportation specialists can study the formation and removal of congestion on roadways. Theintersection is one major cause that has a significant effect on travel time, delay, level of service, queues,stop, performance index, degree of saturation and capacity. The target of this paper research is toanalysis the geometry and intersection classification of traffic flow to provide useful information forengineers to design the roads with the shortest travel time and enhance the capacity of road networksand relieve the congestion in cities.The data required for the study were mainly collected from through video filming technique also thecalculation and evaluation are constructed with the aaSIDRA software in the 2011.


If the Frederiks transition and the electroconvective instability in smectic C or C is treated more realistically, i.e. if the assumption of xed layers has been relaxed, it is obvious that layer undulations come into play. Not only is there a competition between Frederiks, electroconvection and electro-buckling instability, all of these three distinct instability types will acquire some features of the others showing ow, layer undulation and static director reorientation. Work on special aspects of such systems is in progress. 5 Acknowledgement It is a pleasure to thank H.R. Brand and W. Zimmermann with whom the theories of sections 3.1 and 3.2 have been developed. note 1: This is a thermodynamic instability, where the positional order breaks down on very large length scales due to the divergence of undulational uctuations, cf. de Gennes and Prost 1993]. note 2: In the thermal case the mechanism is more complicated involving dissipative processes as well.


A generally applicable and robust regio- and stereoselective cross-dehydrogenative-coupling of enamides with ethers or alkanes via transition-metal-free photoredox-catalysis under environmentally benign and atom economic conditions is demonstrated. The visible-light-induced transformations...


Black holes can amplify incoming bosonic waves via rotational superradiance, inducing bound states of ultralight bosons around them. This phenomenon has the potential to confine the parameter spaces of new bosons. Axions and axion-like particles (ALPs) are candidate beyond-standard-model particles that can form such clouds around supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and impact the polarization signal in a similar fashion to Faraday rotation via axion-photon coupling. Prior efforts have used polarized images from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) M87 2017 observations to limit the dimensionless axion-photon coupling to previously unexplored regions. However, with the novel calibration-insensitive quantities, closure traces and conjugate closure trace products, it is possible to constrain the existence of axion clouds while avoiding the dominant sources of systematic uncertainties, e.g., station gains and polarization leakages. We utilize a simple geometric model for the polarization map of M87* to fit the model parameters with both simulated and real data sets and reach a comparable level of constraint in the accuracy with which an axion cloud may be excluded in M87. Future applications of our approach include subsequent M87* and Sgr A* observations by EHT and next-generation EHT (ngEHT) are expected to produce stronger constraints across a wider range of axion and ALP masses. Because it does not require imaging, closure trace analyses may be applied to target AGN for which imaging is marginal, extending the number of SMBHs from which axion limits may be obtained significantly.


Differential conductance of tunnel diodes, prepared by alloying arsenic doped germanium, was measured at low temperatures (1.6∼30 K). Zero bias anomaly (Z.B.A) is a conductance maximum type, characteristic to the magnetic Kondo scattering. Using Nagaoka's result the Kondo temperature T k is determined; T k =4.4±0.5 K for N d =5×10 18 cm -3 and 9.5±1.3 K for N d =1.5×10 19 cm -3 . Introduction of Mn atoms into the junction increased the Z.B.A, indicating that Mn is magnetic in germanium, and the antiferromagnetic coupling constant J (<0) seems to be smaller than that for the localized magnetic moment regarded as the origin of the negative magnetoresistance in heavily doped germanium.


ASTM Standard Practice D 2777-86 provides simplified numerical methods for the statistical analysis of collaborative tests of chemical assays. Herein, we discuss the critical assumptions underlying the statistical methods in the standard practice. Further statistical analyses are discussed to indicate additional information which may be obtained through a more rigorous statistical treatment.


New aza crowns (lariats) bearing palmitoyl, octanoyl and acetyl side chains were prepared from the reaction of corresponding aza crowns and palmitoyl chloride (or octanoyl chloride or acetyl chloride) in excellent yield. Dinaphthosulfideaza crown of 2-naphthol were prepared from the reaction of diester and diethylenetriamine. Diester was prepared from the reaction of 1,1ÂÂ'-thiobis (2-hydroxy naphthalene) and methylchloroacetate. Diester of 1-naphthol was prepared from the reaction of 2,2ÂÂ'- thiobis (1- hydroxy naphthalene) and methylchloroacetate. The reaction of resulting diester and diethylenetriamine afforded aza crown of 1-naphthol derivative.


Background

An Integrated Care Pathway (ICP), also known as Care or Clinical or Critical Pathway is a multidisciplinary care plans which detail the essential steps of a specific clinical problem. The introduction of ICPs in healthcare organizations should provide better healthcare to patients and reduce unnecessary variations in practice. While there is a huge literature on definition, design and managing of an ICP, criteria to select the health problems are lacking. Therefore we aimed to define …


networks have emerged as the next evolution in wireless network technology. The primary reason for this sudden emergence emanates from the advantages provided by the mesh networking technology. Wireless mesh networks provides ease of installation, cost effective deployments, high level of scalability in a coverage area and capacity, network flexibility and self-configuration capabilities. Furthermore, wireless mesh networks are expected to provide seamless and ubiquitous wireless communication. However, despite all these advantages, many research challenges still remain in wireless mesh networks. One such challenge is the support of real time applications such as video streaming. This paper presents a mechanism for the transport of real-time video using a cross-layer optimization technique. In this mechanism, rate adaptation is implemented in the data link layer for channel error control, link stability and reliability. In the network layer, the routing protocol is optimized for congestion control and optimal route selection by using congestion information from the data link layer and link quality metric from the network layer. Simulation results show that the proposed mechanism improves the performance of multihop wireless mesh networks when UDP is used as the transport protocol.


This report examines two of the action research projects in the larger Wanganui Literacy and Employment project, namely 'Stepping through the looking glass: action research at Training for You' and 'Family learning at Castlecliff School in Wanganui'. It examines the outcomes of cycle two of each program and the future of each project.


We examine the impact of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) power on the variability of firm value under an exogenous financial crisis. We apply our analysis to 298 financial service firms and find that financial service firms with more powerful CEOs influence higher firm value under the financial crisis by developing sophisticated measures of CEO power. Our interpretation is that firms with powerful CEOs invest more efficiently, and thus generate greater profitability when firms are exposed to the harsh shock and need sophisticated decision making of CEOs. Finally, powerful CEOs are likely to connect the government for TARP funding under the crisis and increase more positive impact on firm value for TARP firms than non-TARP firms. Our study contribute to the discussion about the importance of powerful CEOs with individual decision-making power in a post-crisis period where policy makers, analysts, and investors are concerned.


The invention relates to an anti-theft spring lock cylinder and a key. The spring lock cylinder comprises an outer lock cylinder and an inner lock cylinder which are connected through a mortise and tenon joint. An inner key hole of the key is bent. The key comprises a rigid piece matched with an outer key slot in the outer lock cylinder in shape and a flexible tooth-shaped piece arranged on the rigid piece and capable of being inserted in an inner key slot. The spring lock cylinder utilizes the outer lock cylinder to drive the inner lock cylinder to rotate, so that the lock cylinder is anti-theft.


Critical-sized bone defects (CSDs) have a multi-factorial etiology including high-energy trauma, infection, and revision surgery. CSDs are a major clinical dilemma, as reliable, evidenced-based solutions do not exist. The purpose of this study is to develop a healing patch for the CSDs, investigating the best outcome of formulation developed from Cissus qudrangularis and to reduce the side effects of corticosteroids, chemotherapeutic agents, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antibiotics, and anticoagulants in the patient suffering from CSDs. The primary objective of the study was to estimate the potential of Cissus qudrangularis for fracture healing. The transdermal patch containing ethanolic extract of Cissus qudrangularis was developed by solvent casting method. The formulated patch was further studied for thickness of the patch, moisture content, moisture re-absorption, SEM analysis, drug content, In-vitro drug-release and in-vivo animal activity. Male Wister rats weighing 250-350 gm. was selected for the study. The fracture was induced by using triple point pressure method. The formulated patch then applied to the fractured bone and immobilized with silica cast. X-ray imaging was performed for assessment of Fracture healing capacity of Cissus qudrangulris with comparison to control group. The silica cast with herbal patch show better potential of fracture healing in comparison to control group. The results of this study led to the validation of the potential of Cissus qudrangularis as fracture healing agent that have been used for decades to treat the fracture traditionally in India.


N ORTH America has a vast tremendous amount of wood ends up in system of hardwood and the North American municipal and consoftwood forests, and the struction and demolition (CD this products industries for fuel, pulpwood may be accounted for in future esti and feedstock for products such as partimates, especially given the frequency cleboard (Smith and others 2009, Table and intensity of storms that are gener 1). In addition to this wood residue, a ating this wood waste stream.)


Objective:To evaluate the functional change of concentric and eccentric contraction of quadriceps and hamstrings in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The special attention was paid to the function of eccentric contraction. Method: Biodex System-3 isokinetic test system was used to assess concentric and eccentric contraction of quadriceps and hamstring of involved and uninvolved limbs in 42 cases suffered from osteoarthritis. Result: In concentric contraction of both sides′ quadriceps and uninvolved sides′ hamstring,the peak torque tended to diminish as the angle velocity increasing,while peak torque leveled off in eccentric contraction. The eccentric contraction of both sides′ quadriceps and hamstring produced significantly higher torques than concentric contraction did in same speed. The significant deficits in muscle strength of quadriceps were seen in involved limbs during maximal voluntary concentric and eccentric contraction(P0.05),percentage deficits were greater than 10%,while significant deficits of hamstring were seen during low velocity concentric contraction(P0.05), percentage deficits were 14.33%. Eccentric/concentric ratio of quadriceps in patients with knee osteoarthritis was lower than that of hamstring. Eccentric/concentric ratio of quadriceps significantly increased as the angle velocity increased. Eccentric/concentric ratio of 60°/s of quadriceps of involved limbs was significantly higher than that of uninvolved limbs.Conclusion:Patients with knee OA have deficits in concentric and eccentric strength of quadriceps, which suggests that the muscle function test of patients with knee OA should include eccentric contraction test, and that patients with knee OA should enhance eccentric exercise of quadriceps.


Submitted for the MAR05 Meeting of The American Physical Society Resonant Soft X-Ray Emission (SXE) and Resonant Inelastic XRay Scattering (RIXS) study of the Electronic Structure of Thin Film Vanadium Oxide Phthalocyanine (VO-Pc).1 KEVIN E. SMITH, YUFENG ZHANG, LUKASZ PLUCINSKI, SHANCAI WANG, SARAH BERNARDIS, TIMOTHY LEARMONTH, Department of Physics, Boston University, JAMES DOWNES, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington, NZ — We report a synchrotron radiation-excited resonant soft x-ray emission (SXE) spectroscopy study of the electronic structure of thin films of the organic semiconductor vanadium oxide phthalocyanine (VO-Pc). SXE measures directly the element-resolved partial density of states (PDOS) in materials. The VO-Pc films were grown in-situ on Si(100) substrates at beamline X1B at the National Synchrotron Light Source. We present measurement of the V, O, N, and C PDOS in VO-Pc, as well as the observation of dipole forbidden V 3d – V 3d excitations and O 2p V 3d charge transfer excitations. The relationship of these excitations to those observed in bulk vanadium oxide crystals will be explored, and our data will be compared to our earlier study of Cu-Pc ( J.E. Downes, C. McGuinness, P.-A. Glans, T. Learmonth, D. Fu, P. Sheridan, and K.E. Smith, Chem. Phys. Lett. 390, 203 (2004)) 1Supported in part by the Petroleum Research Fund. Experiments were performed at the NSLS which is supported by the U.S. DOE, Divisions of Materials and Chemical Sciences. Kevin E. Smith Boston University Date submitted: 30 Nov 2004 Electronic form version 1.4


The research on the behavior of the information utilization of mobile users becomes a must,because of various opportunities and challenges in the era of Internet. Based on the analysis of the information behavior of the users home and broad,this paper built a model of the information utilization of mobile users. Through a statistical research,the authors of this article make an analysis of the impact of different factors from the four aspects: the acquisition,communication,entertainment and e-commerce transaction of information.


Micro and smart devices and systems are small, interconnected devices and systems that are designed to be highly functional, efficient, and convenient [...].


What can one infer about labor market °ows from matched employer-employee panel data? The purpose of this paper is to sketch possible answers to this question. Ageneral but simple labor market equilibrium model of hire and separation °ows is developed in the paper. The model embodies the hypothesis that worker productivity di®ers across employers and that worker and employer °ows re°ect responses to these di®erences in a labor market char- acterized by friction. In the modeled market, each agent acts optimally taking as given the wage o®er distribution and market tightness and these in turn are determined by their collective action. The existence of a labor market equilib- rium is established under twodi®erent wagedetermination models: rent sharing and wageposting. Ademonstrationthat market °ow parameters, searchand re- cruiting e®ort functions, andtheequilibrium wagedistribution can beestimated with matched job-work °ow data is the principal contribution of the paper.


The present invention relates to spinal support and a means for support and alignment for the neck in the side, supine or semi prone or prone positions comprising; supporting the user's head and/or neck in a first user position with a first adjustable support means adapted to locate the user's head and/or neck at a first height relative to a supporting surface for the user; supporting the user's head and/or neck in a second user position with a second adjustable support means adapted to locate the user's head and/or neck at a second height relative to a supporting surface for the user; wherein the first and second heights relative to the supporting surface for the user are substantially different such that substantially constant cervical spinal alignment for the user is maintained in both positions.


The aim of the research was to evaluate crustacean forage resources for fish in five shallow lakes varied in respect to species richness and coverage of submerged macrophytes, and thus representing different alternative stable states. The results revealed that lakes with a high or moderate abundance of macrophytes and moderate visibility (macrophyte-dominated Lake Rotcze, phytoplankton-macrophyte dominated lakes Sumin and Głębokie) displayed reach crustacean forage base for fish. Poor feeding conditions were found in two extremely different lakes: turbid phytoplankton-dominated Lake Syczyńskie devoid of macrophytes, and heavily vegetated, clear-water macrophyte-dominated Lake Kleszczów. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed.


The advanced optical measurement system used in the eye-safety 1.5-/spl mu/m wavelength range requires high-sensitivity photodiodes with a large detecting area. For this purpose, we have developed large-area InAlGaAs-InAlAs superlattice avalanche photodiodes (SL-APD's) integrated with a monolithic microlens. By optimizing the superlattice multiplication layer as well as using a monolithically integrated microlens, a low multiplied dark current of 5 nA and a large detecting area of 200 /spl mu/m in diameter have been achieved for 100-/spl mu/m-mesa-diameter SL-APD's.


This paper reviews 66 papers on English listening strategies in English core journals from 1994 to 2008,and generalizes the characteristics of research method,research style and research subject.The results reveal that the research on English listening strategy increases steadily;empirical research,especially the quantitative research is widely applied;the main research style is investigating the major strategies adopted by teachers and students;the research subjects are mainly undergraduates.Based on the above analysis,the article probes into the problems in research and predicts the trend of listening strategies.


OBJECTIVE
In our previous study, multivariate analysis showed that body mass index (BMI), triglycerides (TG) levels, and systolic blood pressure (SBP), in addition to fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, significantly correlated with homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Our aim was to develop a predictive tool for HOMA-IR using tests of the specific health examinations.

METHODS
We enrolled 7,248 Japanese adults (3,793 men, and 3,455 women) in this cross-sectional study. A multiple regression model for predicting HOMA-IR was created using laboratory tests and lifestyle habits in the specific health examination.

RESULTS
HOMA-IR prediction index was developed using routinely measured parameters (BMI; levels of FPG, TG, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; BP; exercise; and physical activity), and did not require measurement of immunoreactive insulin levels. The prediction accuracy of the model was considered good, as indicated by R2 values (men, 0.465; women, 0.405).

CONCLUSION
The predictive tool for HOMA-IR using specific health examination tests allows healthcare professionals to estimate an individual's overall risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). We propose that this tool can be used as an aid in health guidance for MetS.


This study investigated the contribution of African Indigenous Leafy Vegetables (AILVs) to the welfare of smallholder farmers in Kisii County. AILVs have recently been attracting research attention not only in terms of their inherent nutrition quality and healing properties but also for their economic potential that is brought about by increased consumer demand of these vegetables. Despite having multiple benefits and positive promise towards contributing to household food dietary quality and income, utilization of African indigenous Leafy Vegetables (AILVs) by farming households is still low as indicated by a constant deficit in supply. Based on the claimed benefits in the face of low volumes in terms of utilization, this study sought to examine the socioeconomic characteristics of AILVs smallholders and factors that influence production of these vegetables in Bomachoge Borabu Sub-County, Kisii County Kenya. A Multistage sampling method was used to obtain a sample of 150 AILV farmers. Questionnaires were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the socio-economic characteristics while Tobit model was utilized in analyzing the factors that influence production of AILVs. The Tobit regression results indicated that age, gender, education, value awareness, occupation and household income significantly influenced AILV production. The study concluded that engagement in AILVs utilization brings along unmatched benefits. The study recommends a long term campaign majorly targeting the young and the non-growing communities in creation of value awareness to improve on the utilization of the vegetables. The study also recommends a similar study in regions of the Country that record low levels of utilization.


The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) at age 20 is by far the smallest and youngest among sister evaluation offices in major international financial institutions (Table 5.1). Its evolution over the last two decades has been mostly inward looking, driven by its own experience and the changes undergone by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and largely uninfluenced by developments in other evaluation offices and the evaluation community at large. Thus, this anniversary is a good opportunity to reflect not only on the IEO's own experience, but to seek to learn from the experience of larger, older siblings. While neither systematic nor exhaustive, this chapter analyzes the IEO's similarities and, more importantly, differences with evaluation offices in other international financial institutions. It also explores the possibility of the IEO incorporating strategic approaches or aspects of evaluation work that seem to have yielded good results elsewhere.


In order to fabricate ultra-shallow junction (USJ) for 20nm IC node application, a low energy (400eV) ion implantation and a novel microwave annealing technique with two steps for the solid phase epitaxy regrowth and activation of boron dopants in silicon were used in this study. In the first step annealing, a 2.4 kWatt(~500°C) high power microwave annealing was used to regrowth the amorphous layer with PAI treatment of Ge (20keV @5e14 atoms/cm2) into crystal silicon. The activation energy (2.3 eV) to attain rapid lattice restoration for the solid phase epitaxy regrowth by microwave annealing is lower than that by the conventional RTP. In the second step annealing, since the crystalline silicon has high absorption efficiency to microwave, a 0.6 kWatt(~250°C) low power microwave annealing is able to activate implanted boron in silicon (400eV @1e15 atoms/cm2), and decrease the resistance to 436 ohm. / sq without diffusion. We have successfully demonstrated that the novel ultra low temperature microwave annealing technique is promising for improvement on P-MOS performance. The on/off current ratio (Ion/off) of the P-MOS is more than 2×106 (VDS = -0.05 V). The low resistance of 436 ohm./sq after activating by 250°C microwave annealing is reflected to the high performance of P-MOS with a lower S.S.(-92.59mV), and a high hole mobility 27.5cm2/V-S.


Objective To investigate the clinical auxiliary diagnosis significance of lung-specific X gene(Lunx) mRNA detection in plasma and peripheral mononuclear cells in patients with lung cancer.Methods Lunx mRNA in plasma and peripheral mononuclear cells was detected by fluorescence quantitation polymerase chain reaction(PCR) in patients with lung cancer,benign lung disease,extrapulmonary tumor and healthy subjects.Results The positive rate of Lunx mRNA from plasma in lung cancer group was significantly higher than those in benign lung disease group(χ2=113.10,P0.01),extrapulmonary tumor group(χ2=125.34,P0.01) and healthy subjects(χ2=100.33,P0.01).The positive rate of Lunx mRNA in plasma in patients with Ⅲ-Ⅳ stages of lung cancer was significantly higher than that in patients with Ⅰ-Ⅱ stages of lung cancer(χ2=7.07,P0.05).The positive rate of Lunx mRNA in peripheral mononuclear cells in lung cancer group was significantly higher than those in benign lung disease group(χ2=32.79,P0.01),extrapulmonary tumor group(χ2=44.44,P0.01) and healthy subjects(χ2=44.44,P0.01).The positive rate of Lunx mRNA in peripheral mononuclear cells in patients with Ⅲ-Ⅳ stages of lung cancer was significantly higher than that in patients with Ⅰ-Ⅱ stages of lung cancer(χ2=24.52,P0.01).For the auxiliary diagnosis of lung cancer,the sensitivity of Lunx mRNA detection in plasma was higher than that in mononuclear cells(χ2=36.46,P0.01).The negative predictive value of the Lunx mRNA detection in plasma was higher than that in mononuclear cells(χ2=16.37,P0.01).Conclusions The detection of Lunx mRNA in plasma and peripheral mononuclear cells can be used for the auxiliary diagnosis of lung cancer.The sensitivity in plasma is higher than that in mononuclear cells.


Conceived out of collaboration between Kenyan and American universities and the technology sector in Nairobi, Digital Matatus shows how to leverage the ubiquitous nature of cellphone technology to collect missing data for essential infrastructure - including those with high levels of informality. The project captured transit data in standardized form for Nairobi's semi-formal bus system, developed the first public transit map for such a system and made the map and data free to the public, spurring innovation and improved services for citizens.While most cities develop sophisticated IT projects to make their organization smarter, the Digital Matatus case suggests the value of a much more modest and bottom-up approach: it encourages reliance on common technologies like cellphones to understand and improve existing urban services – that often involve informality – in emerging countries. By developing the first-ever high quality data set and map of the Matatu network (very common semi-informal mini-buses in Kenya), the projects promotes a new, low-cost and more practical vision of smart and transit-oriented cities.


We analyzed the similarity of structural and functional characteristics of temperate grassland and shrubland ecosystems of North and South America. We based our analyses on correlative models that describe the climatic controls of grassland and shrubland structure and functioning at regional scales. We evaluated models that describe the regional distribution of plant functional types (C 3 and C4 grasses and shrubs), soil organic carbon (SOC), and aboveground net primary production (ANPP) and its seasonality. To evaluate the predictive power of the models, we compared their estimates against observed data. We derived data sets, independent from those used to generate the models in North America, from climatically similar areas in South America. Our results support the notion that, in climatically similar regions, structural and func- tional attributes such as plant functional type composition, SOC, ANPP, and ANPP sea- sonality have similar environmental controls, independent of the evolutionary history of the regions. The study suggests the existence of an important degree of convergence at regional scales in both functional and structural attributes. It also points out differences in the regional patterns of some attributes that require further analyses.


With the popularity of digital products,mobile smart devices and storage devices big data era has arrived.It has became an urgent problem needed to solve both in research and commercial areas that how to organize manage and storage massive data which induced the research work of image data mining in which image annotation classification is a popular direction currently.In the work of using machine learning method to find hidden law in massive data we need to achieve the mapping from visual data to concepts properly.If we use the whole image as basic unit there will be the problem of ambiguity and difficult to express the contained semantic labels correctly.In this kind of situation multi-instance leaning methods emerged.Image annotation is indeed a multi-label problem and in traditionally it has been divided into several single label problem to deal with.In this kind of methods correlation between labels has been ignored,so we introduce label correlation into construction of model and it has achieved better results


Objective The aim of the study was to explore how the term patient safety is understood by healthcare professionals (nurses, educators, doctors, ward managers, senior managers, and health assistants), all of whom are responsible for promoting the patient safety agenda in the Bhutanese healthcare system. Methods The study was conducted as a naturalistic inquiry using qualitative exploratory descriptive inquiry. A purposeful sample of 94 healthcare professionals and managers was recruited from three different hospitals, a training institute, and the Ministry of Health. Data were collected via in-depth individual interviews. All data were subsequently analyzed using thematic analysis strategies. Results Data analysis revealed variation in the understanding of patient safety among healthcare professionals. Although most participants understood patient safety as fundamentally concerning "doing no harm" or "reducing the risk of harm or injuries" to patients, some understood patient safety as simply having sturdy infrastructure/buildings with sufficient space to manage public health emergencies such as earthquakes, floods, and epidemics. Some confused patient safety with quality of care and patient rights. Conclusions Inadequate understanding of the term patient safety has potential to hinder improvement of patient safety processes and practices in the Bhutanese healthcare system. To improve patient safety in Bhutan's healthcare system, patient safety training and education need to be provided to all categories of healthcare professionals.


Induction of chronic oxidative stress by hepatitis C (HCV) and B (HBV) virus is one of the molecular events leading to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. Telomeres are prone to oxidative modifications, that induce a progressive telomere shortening and a consequent chromosomal instability. Telomerase activity plays a crucial role in telomeres maintenance and cell immortalization. TERT, the rate limiting factor for telomerase transcription, is regulated by epigenetic mechanism and under oxidative stress migrates to mitochondria, where it ameliorates the membrane stability and exerts an anti-apoptotic role. The aim of the study was to investigate the complexmolecular networkunderlying virus-related liver carcinogenesis, evaluating: 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a marker of oxidative DNA damage, and OGG1 gene, telomere length, telomerase activity, TERT promoter methylation and mitochondrial TERT translocation.
One hundred sixty-two patients were investigated: 21with HCC (bothtumor and peritumoral tissue samples), 71 with chronic hepatitis HCV-related and 35 with chronic hepatitis HBV-related and 15 controls. Eight-OHdG was quantified through HPLC-EC, telomerase activity and telomeres length by Real Time PCR, TERT promoter methylation status by Quantitative Methylation Specific PCR and mitochondrial TERT translocation by western blotting. Overall, 8-OHdG levels were significantly higher in tumor tissues than in controls (p=0.02), telomeres were significantly shorter in HCC compared to the less advanced stages of disease (p=0.01), whereas telomerase activity was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in controls (p=0.01). Eight-OHdG levels inversely correlated with telomere length in HCC. Overall, TERT promoter was hypermethylated in HCC and peritumoral tissue samples (p=0.0001). When the patients were subgrouped on the basis of etiology, HBV-related liver damage progression was characterized by later 8-OHdG accumulation and a pronounced telomerase activation limited to HCC tissue. TERT was localized in mitochondria in all the investigated HCC samples and, in mitochondria DNA, 8-OHdG levels were significantly lower than in genomic DNA (p=0.0003).
These data describe a complex network in which oxidative DNA damage is linked to changes in telomeres length, extent of telomerase activation and higher methylation of TERT promoter in HBV/HCV related carcinogenesis. The role of mitochondrial TERT in HCC is open to debate, but an intriguing work hypothesis is that it could down-regulate apoptosis.


Cold cathodes for CO 2 lasers should possess a very low sputtering rate, have a minimum of negative ions in the sputtering products, and consume no oxygen. These conditions can be satisfied by selecting cathode materials from those elements of group I in the periodic table which form semiconducting oxide layers and then exposing these elements to a reducing gas mixture. Experimental results show that silver, internally oxidized silver-copper alloys, and pure copper satisfy most of these requirements in He-CO 2 -CO-Xe gas mixtures. Infrared CO and CO 2 gas analysis performed on simple gas discharge tubes using such cathodes indicate that laser lives of 10 000 h can be expected. In our laboratory a 1-W sealed-off CO 2 laser using a gas volume of only 50 cm3had an initial power output of 0.72 W which rose to 1.1 W after 3000 h and still gave 0.7 W after 12 000 hours; the laser used an internally oxidized silver-copper alloy cathode.


EOS7C is a TOUGH2 module for multicomponent gas mixtures in the systems methane-carbon dioxide (CH{sub 4}-CO{sub 2}) or methane-nitrogen (CH{sub 4}-N{sub 2}) with or without an aqueous phase and H{sub 2}O vapor. EOS7C uses a cubic equation of state and an accurate solubility formulation along with a multiphase Darcy's Law to model flow and transport of gas and aqueous phase mixtures over a wide range of pressures and temperatures appropriate to subsurface geologic carbon sequestration sites and natural gas reservoirs. EOS7C models supercritical CO{sub 2{ and subcritical CO{sub 2} as a non-condensible gas, hence EOS7C does not model the transitions to liquid or solid CO{sub 2} conditions. The components modeled in EOS7C are water, brine, non-condensible gas, gas tracer, methane, and optional heat. The non-condensible gas (NCG) can be selected by the user to be CO{sub 2} or N{sub 2}. The real gas properties module has options for Peng-Robinson, Redlich-Kwong, or Soave-Redlich-Kwong equations of state to calculate gas mixture density, enthalpy departure, and viscosity. Partitioning of the NCG and CH{sub 4} between the aqueous and gas phases is calculated using a very accurate chemical equilibrium approach. Transport of the gaseous and dissolved components is by advection and Fickian molecular diffusion.more » EOS7C is written in FORTAN77.« less


A study focuses on the close relationship during crisis between family and the community. In rural areas, the community is the expression of social link as well as a dimension of its materialisation measure. Communication in emergency situations is important and the state can help by setting up some administrative or legal programs like compensation, unemployment insurance, lease cancellation and helping people understand these.


Climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions. As a consequence, in the temperate zone and specifically in the Mediterranean basin, hot summer periods are more frequent and last longer. Living in big cities is less comfortable than countryside, especially in hot summer periods. Because of human infrastructure and urban structure in general (buildings, roads, cement, asphalt etc) urban climate is quite different and causes discomfort to people, especially during the summer. The major factor that can regulate the urban climate and reduce its' negative effects on the people in a city is the urban vegetation. Today due to the problem of climate change the ecological role of urban greenery for controlling the temperature in the cities, is clearer than ever. According to this the main question is how can urban vegetation regulate the climate conditions and which is the appropriate management regime to achieve the benefits. The present work deals with the effects of the composition and structure of an urban forest on the Mediterranean urban climate, and specifically on air temperature, solar radiation (PAR), and UVB radiation. A wide range of measurement points was established in urban forests in the center of the city of Athens, Greece. The measurement points cover all the types of urban vegetation composition and structure and were carried out the summer period of 2011 and 2012. On each measurement point the vegetation and structure characteristics were calculated and estimated are: tree diameter (Dbh), total tree height, crown base height, crown length, crown diameter, crown ratio, crown density, species composition and canopy closure. The preliminary results showed significant differences of the PAR and UVB values between the canopy closure classes as well as the vegetation composition.


1 Ahmad Majdi bin Abdul Rani, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia, email@example.com Abstract  The purpose of this research is firstly to develop an improved method for implementing reverse engineering by integrating engineering analysis within the reverse engineering framework. Secondly, the literature publication of this research will expose mechanical engineering students taking Mechanical Design Technology course to the larger perspective of reverse engineering. Instead of creating just the CAD model, a FEA model complete with nodes and meshes, loading and boundary conditions is generated allowing for critical part performance information to be predicted. Costly and time consuming destructive or non-destructive testing on the part is eliminated. The results of this study will make the task of reverse engineering an existing part and producing an improved part greatly simplified and structured. A significant benefit that is provided by the new RES is the total cost savings due to more efficient manufacturing and prototype testing of the clone part, thus improving productivity.


In this paper we present a lightweight abstract framework to help developers to integrate tools into a learning environment. This approach is based on an abstract declarative layer and an integration library. The proposal follows the cloud computing paradigm, defining and storing the different integration models remotely. Finally, the proposed integration framework has been successfully used for integrating a tool called JBraindead into a real educational web environment. This integration showed how developers reduced the coding time, due to the fact that they did not have to deal with e-Learning standards and techniques and could focus on coding the own tool.


IgG4-related disease is a fibroinflammatory condition that mimics many malignant, infectious, and inflammatory disorders. Histopathology is key to diagnosis and is hallmarked by tumor like infiltration of IgG4 positive plasma cells in tissues, with dense lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate, storiform fibrosis and oblierative phlebitis. Disease has been reported in virtually every organ system1-4. Though the underlying pathophysiology is still unclear, untreated disease ultimately leads to irreversible fibrosis. We describe the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and relevant features of IgG4-related disease and discuss current evidence regarding treatment.


The article considers the problem of sound insulation with a cylindrical shell. Field studied sound arising from an external source of acoustic waves in a confined space. The expressions for calculating the pressure of sound fields inside and outside of a cylindrical shell, and the shell insulation value. A simplified formula for the calculation of the practical application of insulation.


Figurative language use is not limited to poetry or literature but is a ubiquitous part of speech. Studies that looked at figurative language comprehension have shown that some cognitive mechanisms, such as working memory, may be involved in figurative language comprehension. For example, individuals with high working memory span tend to produce deeper metaphor interpretations. The current work was interested in how working memory is involved in a particular figure of speech comprehension: idioms. An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be simply deduced from the literal meanings of the words that comprise that idiom. Idioms can vary according to their compositionality, which refers to the extent with which meanings of the idiom constituents provide cues for the idiom's idiomatic meaning. A number of researchers agreed upon certain idioms being decomposable and other idioms being fixed. The two different types were used in the Main Study. Models of idiom comprehension also vary from traditional "lexical look-up" models that consider idioms as multi-word lexical units stored as such in speakers' mental lexicons to "nonlexical" models, such as the Configuration Hypothesis, that states that an idiom as a whole does not have a separate lexical representation in the mental lexicon. Both models are considered in this work. Finally, understanding idiomatic expressions may require inhibiting irrelevant literal information. For example, literal meanings of the words dogs and cats in an idiom it is raining cats and dogs have to be inhibited in order to gather the figurative meaning of the expression. Thus, the main objective of the current work was to assess the role of working memory in idiom comprehension, as well as to explore whether idiom compositionality had an effect on how fast idioms were interpreted, while also considering implications for the two main models of idiom comprehension. A Preliminary Study narrowed down the list of idioms to the 26 that were used in the Main study, ensuring that both types of idioms did not differ in familiarity or length. The Main Study consisted of four tasks: working memory (Operation span task), inhibition (reading with distractions), idiom comprehension, and familiarity. Seventy-three general psychology students participated in the Main Study. The data were analyzed by several regression analyses and ttests. The main finding was that there seems to be a difference in a way the two accepted types of idioms are interpreted: fixed idioms were interpreted faster than decomposable idioms. This is consistent with the lexical lookup hypothesis but only for fixed idioms and suggests that readers may not have to analyze the literal word meanings of fixed idioms when interpreting them, thus making their interpretation faster, since retrieving is faster than computing. Neither familiarity nor idiom length could account for this difference. On the other hand, neither operation span nor the number of critical errors committed by participants on the inhibition task predicted how long it took participants to interpret either type of idioms. Several possible explanations for such results are discussed, as well as the limitations and future directions.


The clinical case of a patient aged 49, who was hospitalized at the Internal Medicine Service and referred to Genera l Surgery Service, having a mediastina...