Engineers and designers are using glass in increasingly demanding applications such as stairs, floors, and bridges, large minimally supported facades and overhead glazing.  The use of laminated glass in structural applications has become more recognized and preferred as safer choice to monolithic tempered or heat strengthen glass. Structural interlayers are stiff interlayers that increase the strength of the laminated glass enabling the glass structure to handle higher loads with thinner glass.  The use of structural interlayers enables laminated glass use in the most demanding applications giving architects and engineers greater design freedom. Today engineers and designers have options when choosing a structural interlayer for their application, Stiff PVB or ionoplast interlayer.  Both interlayers provide improved post breakage strength and structural benefits; however, some significant differences in properties that affect the final laminate performance exist.  Applications that require higher temperatures above 30⁰C and/or long load duration, ionoplast interlayers perform the best.   When the load duration or design temperatures are lower stiff PVB is a good choice.  From the laminators perspective properties such as yield and final laminate quality are important considerations as well.   There are differences between the structural interlayers seen during the lamination process that can influence lamination quality and yields.  Stiff PVB process similar to standard PVB while standard ionoplast interlayers require some special processing.   This may present a challenge for the laminators.  Recent improvements in ionoplast interlayer technology now enable ionoplast to be laminated more similar to PVB giving laminators and engineers the best of both.


Objective: To review outcomes of upper cervical chiropractic care on a patient with fibromyalgia. Clinical Features: The patient was a 64 year old woman with the chief complaint of fibromyalgia diagnosed 6 years before presentation. She also had complaints of sleep apnea, loss of coordination, glaucoma, degenerative disc disease, and changes in bowel habits. After a thorough examination was done, it was determined that the patient had an upper cervical subluxation of C1. This was determined by cervical radiographs, paraspinal thermography, prone leg length analysis, and postural assessment. Intervention and Outcome: The patient received Knee Chest Upper Cervical care for three months and at the time of this study had 80 percent relief of symptoms and an improvement in energy level. Conclusions: Although no definite conclusions can be drawn from one single case study, this study does show improvement of a patient presenting with fibromyalgia syndrome. This study does warrant the need for a larger study such as a randomized controlled clinical trial to further understand the benefits of chiropractic on those with fibromyalgia.


There appears to be a potential dichotomy in clean technology or cleantech entrepreneurship, business-oriented and social entrepreneurship. This dichotomy is studied using two representative case studies. One case is Verdant Power, which is a world leader in the development of marine renewable energy technology and project development. The other case is Green Map Systems, which is a not-for-profit organization that develops "Green Maps" that employ icons to indicate sustainability and related sites on its maps. The study compares these two organizations along three dimensions: technology regimes, decision-making types and kinds of overarching entrepreneurial goals. The study concludes that the cleantech entrepreneurial venue is too complex for using a simple business-versus-social dichotomy. Instead, a more contingent and a multifaceted set of dimensions have emerged to better characterize cleantech entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the diverse constellation and evolutionary dynamics of cleantech entrepreneurship initiatives, which the study uncovered, needs to be recognized, better understood and nourished in order for modern entrepreneurship to play fully its varied roles in launching and sustaining a robust and powerful clean technology sector.


We examine a new class of volumetric metamaterials based on two-dimensional (2D) transmission-line layers that exhibit a negative refractive index (NRI). The dispersion characteristics of a single 2D layer are revealed through a periodic analysis, and the effective-medium response of the volumetric layered topology is predicted by an intuitive equivalent circuit model. Dispersion and transmission characteristics are also obtained for various designs by using full-wave finite-element method (FEM) simulations, including one design meeting the requirements of Veselago's slab lens in free space, and suggest an isotropic NRI over bandwidths anywhere from 25% to 45%. Finally, the potential to implement these metamaterials from terahertz to near-infrared and optical frequencies is discussed.


In this thesis we study Wiener's lemma. The classical version of the lemma, whose realm is a Banach algebra, asserts that the pointwise inverse of a nonzero function with absolutely convergent Fourier expansion, also possesses an absolutely convergent Fourier expansion. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the validity in algebras endowed with a quasi-norm or a p-norm. As a warmup, we prove the classical version of Wiener's lemma using elementary analysis. Furthermore, we establish results in Banach algebras concerning spectral theory, maximal ideals and multiplicative linear functionals and present a proof Wiener's lemma using Banach algebra techniques. Let ν be a submultiplicative weight function satisfying the Gelfand-Raikov-Shilov condition. We show that if a nonzero function f has a ν-weighted absolutely convergent Fourier series in a p-normed algebra A. Then 1/f also has a ν-weighted absolutely convergent Fourier series in A.


The functionality of web 2.0 technologies has caused academics to rethink their development of teaching and learning methods and approaches. The editable, open access nature of web 2.0 encourages the innovative collaboration of ideas, the creation of equitable visual and tactile learning environments, and opportunity for academics to develop contemporary assessment tasks. In reviewing an example of a teaching tool based on Google SketchUp 3D Warehouse, we have had to consider social and cultural changes required by academics adopting and adapting such technology. In using open source and collaborative knowledge technology there is a risk of work – including the work of students and others – being seen to be plagiarised, and this coming into conflict with established rules of academic behaviour. We conclude that universities must not only be willing to invest in the educational infrastructure to avoid communication, ownership, and authority issues, but, more importantly, be prepared to examine cultural change regarding values and beliefs around ownership of knowledge and the roles of collaborative knowledge generation.


A method is outlined whereby the energy depth, ∊, of the traps for the initially trapped electrons in latent-image formation can be determined from measurements of reciprocity-law failure at two different temperatures, T1 and T2. The analysis leads to the equation for determining ∊, logt2t1=0.434∊k(1T1-1T2),where t1 and t2 are the exposure times of two low intensity exposures of equal density and equal efficiency made at the two temperatures, and k is the Boltzmann constant.Experimental reciprocity-law failure curves for different temperatures are given for a series of emulsions, including results obtained with surface, internal, and total development. The average value of ∊ found from several commercial emulsions using total development is 0.77 ev, and for one experimental emulsion using internal development, 0.65 ev.A theoretical study of low intensity reciprocity-law failure is carried out by probability equations derived by L. Silberstein. These equations are used to calculate the fractions of grains that acquire a just-stable sublatent-image speck under the conditions that its establishment requires the absorption of 1, 2, or 3 quanta within a critical time, τ. It is found from this analysis that the reciprocity-failure curves approach the limiting slopes of 0, 1, or 2 at low intensities for the respective cases of singlet, doublet, or triplet hits in time, τ. This gives a sharp criterion for distinguishing between these cases, and comparison of experimental and theoretical curves indicates that the absorption of 2 effective quanta within a time, τ, is required to form the stable subimage speck.Experimental reciprocity-failure curves at different temperatures indicate that the curves at different temperatures have the same shape but are shifted in the direction of lower intensity with lowered temperature. An explanation of this phenomenon is obtained from the theoretical treatment of the reciprocity-failure curves in terms of the critical time, τ.Finally, the reciprocity-failure characteristic of the developable latent-image is derived from the curve for the stable subimage by assuming that the subimage is formed by 2 quanta within a time, τ, and then brought to developable size by the addition of 6 more quanta. This procedure yields a reciprocity curve that is in good agreement with experimental measurements carried out here and that is also of the generally correct shape to represent the reciprocity-failure characteristic at low intensities.


Background The evidence supporting the benefit of femoral nerve block (FNB) for positioning before spinal anesthesia (SA) in patients suffering from a femur fracture remains inconclusive. In the present study, the authors intended to determine the efficacy and safety of FNB versus an intravenous analgesic (IVA) for positioning before SA in patients with a femur fracture. Method PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Scopus databases were searched up to January 2018. We included randomized controlled studies (RCTs) and observational studies that compared FNB versus IVA for the positioning of patients with femur fracture receiving SA. The primary outcome was pain scores during positioning within 30 min before SA. Secondary outcomes were the time for SA, additional analgesic requirements, anesthesiologist's satisfaction with the quality of positioning for SA, participant acceptance, and hemodynamic changes. A random-effects model was used to synthesize the data. We registered the study at PROSPERO with an ID of CRD42018091450. Results Ten studies with 584 patients were eligible for inclusion. FNB achieved significantly lower pain scores than IVA during positioning within 30 min before SA (pooled standardized mean deviation (SMD): -1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.84 to -0.70, p < 0.05). A subgroup analysis showed that the analgesic effect was larger in patients in the sitting position for SA than a non-sitting position (sitting position vs non-sitting: pooled SMD: -1.75 (p < 0.05) vs -0.61 (not significant). A multivariate regression showed that the analgesic effect was also associated with age and the total equivalent amount as lidocaine after adjusting for gender (age: coefficient 0.048, p < 0.05; total equivalent amount as lidocaine: coefficient 0.005, p < 0.05). Patients receiving FNB also had a significantly shorter time for SA, greater anesthesiologist satisfaction, and higher patient acceptance than patients receiving IVA. The use of local anesthetics did not produce significant clinical hemodynamic change. Conclusion Compared to IVA, FNB was an effective and safe strategy for the positioning of femur fracture patients for a spinal block, particularly patients who received SA in the sitting position.


The R package blm provides functions for fitting a family of additive regression models to binary data. The included models are the binomial linear model, in which all covariates have additive effects, and the linear-expit (lexpit) model, which allows some covariates to have additive effects and other covariates to have logisitc effects. Additive binomial regression is a model of event probability, and the coefficients of linear terms estimate covariate-adjusted risk differences. Thus, in contrast to logistic regression, additive binomial regression puts focus on absolute risk and risk differences. In this paper, we give an overview of the methodology we have developed to fit the binomial linear and lexpit models to binary outcomes from cohort and population-based case-control studies. We illustrate the blm package's methods for additive model estimation, diagnostics, and inference with risk association analyses of a bladder cancer nested case-control study in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.


We study the problem of sampling an approximately uniformly random satisfying assignment for atomic constraint satisfaction problems i.e. where each constraint is violated by only one assignment to its variables. Let $p$ denote the maximum probability of violation of any constraint and let $\Delta$ denote the maximum degree of the line graph of the constraints. Our main result is a nearly-linear (in the number of variables) time algorithm for this problem, which is valid in a Lov\'asz local lemma type regime that is considerably less restrictive compared to previous works. In particular, we provide sampling algorithms for the uniform distribution on: (1) $q$-colorings of $k$-uniform hypergraphs with $\Delta \lesssim q^{(k-4)/3 + o_{q}(1)}.$ The exponent $1/3$ improves the previously best-known $1/7$ in the case $q, \Delta = O(1)$ [Jain, Pham, Vuong; arXiv, 2020] and $1/9$ in the general case [Feng, He, Yin; STOC 2021]. (2) Satisfying assignments of Boolean $k$-CNF formulas with $\Delta \lesssim 2^{k/5.741}.$ The constant $5.741$ in the exponent improves the previously best-known $7$ in the case $k = O(1)$ [Jain, Pham, Vuong; arXiv, 2020] and $13$ in the general case [Feng, He, Yin; STOC 2021]. (3) Satisfying assignments of general atomic constraint satisfaction problems with $p\cdot \Delta^{7.043} \lesssim 1.$ The constant $7.043$ improves upon the previously best-known constant of $350$ [Feng, He, Yin; STOC 2021]. At the heart of our analysis is a novel information-percolation type argument for showing the rapid mixing of the Glauber dynamics for a carefully constructed projection of the uniform distribution on satisfying assignments. Notably, there is no natural partial order on the space, and we believe that the techniques developed for the analysis may be of independent interest.


Recently, advanced cyber attacks, which consist of a sequence of steps that involve many vulnerabilities and hosts, compromise the security of many well-protected businesses. This has led to the solutions that ubiquitously monitor system activities in each host (big data) as a series of events, and search for anomalies (abnormal behaviors) for triaging risky events. Since fighting against these attacks is a time-critical mission to prevent further damage, these solutions face challenges in incorporating expert knowledge to perform timely anomaly detection over the large-scale provenance data.
To address these challenges, we propose a novel stream-based query system that takes as input, a real-time event feed aggregated from multiple hosts in an enterprise, and provides an anomaly query engine that queries the event feed to identify abnormal behaviors based on the specified anomalies. To facilitate the task of expressing anomalies based on expert knowledge, our system provides a domain-specific query language, SAQL, which allows analysts to express models for (1) rule-based anomalies, (2) time-series anomalies, (3) invariant-based anomalies, and (4) outlier-based anomalies. We deployed our system in NEC Labs America comprising 150 hosts and evaluated it using 1.1TB of real system monitoring data (containing 3.3 billion events). Our evaluations on a broad set of attack behaviors and micro-benchmarks show that our system has a low detection latency (<2s) and a high system throughput (110,000 events/s; supporting ~4000 hosts), and is more efficient in memory utilization than the existing stream-based complex event processing systems.


The association between speed and road safety outcomes is well documented, yet reductions in speed limits continue to meet with resistance from the public. This paper outlines the findings of a review of speed education resources undertaken in order to identify those that may be used to increase public acceptance of reduced speed limits. Relevant agencies throughout Australia were contacted and web searches were conducted in order to find speed education resources. Public media campaigns were excluded from the review. An initial search identified 203 potential resources; of these 70 were included in the study. All were evidence-based drawing on one or more of 27 central arguments. Based on consideration of the use of evidence, ease of understanding, potential to influence the general public, and the extent to which the resource supported the speed management principles of the National Road Safety Strategy, nine resources were identified as providing the best examples of speed education. In general the speed education resources were found to adopt predominantly safety-based arguments for reduced speed limits. It is suggested that the efficacy of these materials may be improved further by addressing the ways in which drivers rationalise their speeding behaviour.


In comparison to other African countries, Ethiopia has a low urbanization rate. According to the World Bank World Development Report (WDR) 2009, Sub-Sahara Africa is 30% urbanized, whereas Ethiopia is only 10.9% urbanized. Urbanization rates differ according to methodologies and data base utilized: the United Nations classifies Ethiopia as 14.9% urban, while the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia reports a 16% urbanization rate. In an effort to standardize and measure Ethiopian urbanization over time, we use the WDR agglomeration index methodology which incorporates a series of GIS data and analyses including: travel time rasters, population density (namely GRUMP and LandScan gridded population), and other nationally collected biophysical and infrastructure variables. We spatially allocate urban versus non-urban areas by creating specific thresholds following two criteria whereby locations are categorized as urban if populations have: a population density greater than 150 people per km2; and are located within 1 hour travel time from a city of at least 50,000 people. Utilizing road and population data from different years between 1984 and 2006, we are able to model growth in urbanization and reductions in remoteness over time. Using the agglomeration index methodology, we find that the overall share of urban population increased from 3.7 percent in 1984 to 14.2 percent in 2007. The results indicate substantial improvements in travel time between urban centers over the past two decades, though a large share of the population still resides more than 10 hours travel time from an urban center.


What happens next? This irksome little question is key to story-telling. Whether ancient bards or trendy filmmakers, narrators have to keep us guessing. Yet, we often forget that life itself is a chain of unpredictable instants - each with its unique character. Even when seconds apart, experiences can be distinctly different. You never know what's around the corner; until it hits you in the face! Change often does come all at once. Who better to grapple with this constant conundrum than Elliott Erwitt? Over a notable career, he's established himself as master of the unembellished moment. As you'd expect from Erwitt, these sequences are often comic - sometimes heart-rending - and always compelling.


The availability of Piero Sraffa's unpublished manuscripts and correspondence at Trinity College Library, Cambridge, has made it possible to begin to set out a more complete account of Sraffa's philosophical thinking than previously could be done with only his published materials and the few comments and suggestions made by others about his ideas, especially in connection with their possible impact on Ludwig Wittgenstein's later thinking. This makes a direct rather than indirect examination of Sraffa's philosophical thinking possible, and also shifts the focus from his relationship to Wittgenstein to his own thinking per se. I suggest that the previous focus, necessary as it may have been prior to the availability of the unpublished materials, involved some distortion of Sraffa's thinking by virtue of its framing in terms of Wittgenstein's concerns as reflected in the concerns of scholars primarily interested in the change in the his thinking. This paper seeks to locate these early convictions in this historical context, and then go on to treat the development of Sraffa's philosophical thinking as a process beginning from this point, arguing that his thinking underwent one significant shift around 1931, but still retained its early key assumptions. Thus the approach I will take to Sraffa's philosophical thinking is to explain it as a process of development largely within a single framework defined by his view of how modern science determines the scope and limits upon economic theorizing.


Group B saponins, the predominant form of saponins in heat-treated soy products, have been shown to possess hypocholesterolemic, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenic properties. Previous studies have evaluated crude mixtures of soyasaponins, but studies evaluating a single purified soyasaponin as an anticarcinogenic agent are limited. The goal of this study is to examine the effects of purified soyasaponins I and III as well as their aglycone form, soyasapogenol B, as anticarcinogenic agents on the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line (Caco-2). Experiments were conducted to examine the effects of purified soyasaponins on cell proliferation, Protein Kinase C (PKC) activity, and cell morphology in Caco-2 cell cultures. Treatment of cells with soyasaponins I and III at concentrations of 0.3-0.9 mg/ml significantly reduced viable cell numbers after 48 and 72 hours of exposure by 8.6-65.3% (p < 0.05). Soyasapogenol B at a concentration of 0.15 mg/ml significantly reduced viable cell numbers after 24 hours by 62.4% (p < 0.05). Cell morphology changes demonstrated that as concentrations and lipophilicity of soyasaponins increased, cell membranes became rougher and more irregular. Treatment of cells for 72 hours significantly reduced the amount of PKC activity by 9-40% (p < 0.05). Results indicate that purified soyasaponins I, III and soyasapogenol B can suppress Caco-2 colon cancer cell proliferation. These findings suggest that purified group B soyasaponins and their final metabolite soyasapogenol B may be a colon-cancer suppressive component of soy that warrants further examination as a potential nutraceutical or functional food.


Suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3) is thought to be involved in the development of central leptin resistance and obesity by inhibiting STAT3 pathway. Because phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway plays an important role in transducing leptin action in the hypothalamus, we examined whether SOCS3 exerted an inhibition on this pathway. We first determined whether leptin sensitivity in the hypothalamic PI3K pathway was increased in brain-specific Socs3-deficient (NesKO) mice. In NesKO mice, hypothalamic insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS1)-associated PI3K activity was significantly increased at 30 min and remained elevated up to 2 h after leptin intraperitoneal injection, but in wild-type (WT) littermates, the significant increase was only at 30 min. Hypothalamic p-STAT3 levels were increased up to 5 h in NesKO as opposed to 2 h in WT mice. In food-restricted WT mice with reduced body weight, leptin increased hypothalamic PI3K activity only at 30 min, and p-STAT3 levels at 30-120 min postinjection. These results suggest increased leptin sensitivity in both PI3K and STAT3 pathways in the hypothalamus of NesKO mice, which was not due to a lean phenotype. In the next experiment with a clonal hypothalamic neuronal cell line expressing proopiomelanocortin, we observed that whereas leptin significantly increased IRS1-associated PI3K activity and p-JAK2 levels in cells transfected with control vector, it failed to do so in SOCS3-overexpressed cells. Altogether, these results imply a SOCS3 inhibition of the PI3K pathway of leptin signaling in the hypothalamus, which may be one of the mechanisms behind the development of central leptin resistance and obesity.


Recently, U.S. households have committed a rising share of disposable personal income to required principal and interest payments on household debt. Studies of the direct link between the household debt service ratio (DSR) and consumption show mixed results—perhaps because debt may instead alter the relationship between consumption and income. We explore this possibility by comparing the consumption smoothing behavior of households over the DSR distribution. We find that a high DSR alone does not indicate higher sensitivity of consumption to a change in income. However, we find evidence that the DSR may help identify borrowing constrained households. In particular, the consumption of households with low liquid assets and high DSRs is more sensitive than the consumption of other low liquid asset households. Although this effect of high DSR is not precisely estimated, it is large and robust to changes in the specification, suggesting that more work is warranted.


We demonstrate the controlled and reversible telescopic extension of multiwall carbon nanotubes, thus realizing ultralow-friction nanoscale linear bearings and constant-force nanosprings. Measurements performed in situ on individual custom-engineered nanotubes inside a high-resolution transmission electron microscope demonstrated the anticipated van der Waals energy-based retraction force and enabled us to place quantitative limits on the static and dynamic interwall frictional forces between nested nanotubes. Repeated extension and retraction of telescoping nanotube segments revealed no wear or fatigue on the atomic scale. Hence, these nanotubes may constitute near perfect, wear-free surfaces.


The extreme profitability of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ in 2004 came as a great surprise to the Hollywood establishment, particularly considering its failure to find production funding through a major studio. Since this time, the Biblical epic, primarily film and television features adapting stories from both the Old and New Testaments, long thought dead in terms of widespread marketability, has become a viable product, both inside and outside of Hollywood with regards to seeking both profits and critical acclaim, as well as outlets for auteurist 'passion projects' such as Gibson's film, Darren Aronofsky's Noah (2014), and Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014). With 2016 seeing two new fiction films featuring depictions of Jesus, the crucifixion, and resurrection [Risen (dir. Kevin Reynolds) and Ben-Hur (dir. Timur Bekmambetov)], academic consideration of the modern Biblical epic is both timely and highly relevant, and this proposed collection aims to be a starting point for filling this scholarly gap.


We report a case of an X;1 translocation in a 9‐month‐old female infant with mild dysmorphic features and developmental delay. High‐resolution chromosome analysis revealed a de novo, unbalanced translocation between chromosomes X and 1 [46,X,der(X),t(X;1)(q28;q32.1)]. Breakpoints on the derivative X and the size of the translocated segment have been defined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with Xq and 1q specific probes. The rearrangement in this patient results in monosomy for Xq28‐qter and trisomy for 1q32.1‐qter. Replication studies demonstrated late replication of the derivative X in 80% of the observed cells, with the exception of 20% of the cells where X inactivation failed to spread into the translocated 1q segment. Patients with pure trisomy for the distal segment of 1q present a considerably more severe phenotype compared to that seen in our patient, including facial dysmorphisms, urogenital and cardiac anomalies. We suggest that the absence of many of the characteristic features for trisomy 1q in our patient, may reflect a mosaic pattern of inactivation of the translocated autosomal segment on the derivative X chromosome. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Transnational corporations are at the center of extraordinary and complex governance systems that are developing outside the state and international public organizations and beyond the conventionally legitimating framework of the forms of domestic or international hard law. Though these systems are sometimes recognized as autonomous and authoritative among its members, they are neither isolated from each other nor from the states with which they come into contact. Together these systems may begin to suggest a new template for networked governance beyond the state, but one in which public and private actors are integrated stakeholders. This provides the source of the questions explored in this article: Is it possible to detect this new template for transnational governance of economic activity (in general) and corporations (in particular) developing through principles of transnational private governance? Is public governance in the twenty-first century taking on the characteristics of transnational corporate governance? The questions suggest three objectives. The first is to examine the organization of communities of states through the normative lens of private transnational governance. A secondary objective is to suggest the importance of communication—structural coupling—between developing private governance systems and emerging transnational public governance systems. That communication suggests the development of the institutional intermeshing of both autonomous systems of governing communities of private actors and communities of states. The third objective is to consider whether emerging governance frameworks, public and private, might be arranged together in a way that credibly suggests a system of coordinated metagovernance. After an introduction, Section I of this article examines the governance constitutions of multinational economic actors. Section II then turns to a consideration of corporate constitutionalism within a metagovernance framework. The focus is the governance framework of the G-20's Financial Stability Board (FSB). The G-20-FSB framework points to the future of governance systems in which the state participates in a collaborative governance structure, but in which states share rulemaking power with public and private nonstate actors. The FSB template points to the organization of governance as a collegial enterprise in which states and traditional law-based systems interact with nonstate actors and their norm-based systems to develop integrated governance with global reach. Thus reconstituted, a new set of arrangements might well arise, one in which amalgamations of the most powerful states and private regulatory bodies assert authority once reserved to states alone.


BACKGROUND--In fibrotic diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis there is evidence suggesting enhanced synthesis and degradation of lung connective tissue components, including collagen. It has therefore been hypothesised that products of collagen degradation may have a role in the promotion of collagen deposition. In support of this hypothesis, it has recently been shown that intravenous injection of lung collagen degradation products in experimental animals stimulated collagen synthesis leading to increased collagen deposition and diffuse interstitial lung disease. METHODS--Rabbit and human fibroblast cultures from lung and skin were used as an in vitro model to study the responses of these cells to rabbit collagen degradation products. The effects of an acute exposure to collagen degradation products on synthesis of collagen and noncollagenous protein have been studied in confluent cultures by [3H]-proline incorporation. The effects of collagen degradation products on fibroblast proliferation and production of genetic types of collagen have also been investigated. RESULTS--The acute exposure of rabbit lung fibroblast cultures to collagen degradation products significantly increased collagen synthesis without affecting non-collagenous protein synthesis. This effect was dose related, specific for lung fibroblasts, and species specific. Collagen degradation products altered the rate of synthesis of genetic types of collagen with a consequent decrease of type III/I+III collagen ratio (0.26 (0.04) treated with collagen degradation products; 0.45 (0.02) controls). These effects occurred without the intervention of serum factors. In addition, collagen degradation products neither affected fibroblast proliferation nor selected specific clones emphasising one type of collagen. CONCLUSIONS--These results suggest that collagen degradation products can influence lung collagen metabolism by stimulating collagen synthesis. The regulation of collagen mass by collagen degradation products may be of importance in lung collagen homeostasis in vivo.


Background: Although unquestionable evidence has been provided that high-sensitive (HS) cardiac troponin (cTn) immunoassay outperform the former contemporary-sensitive techniques, some clinicians are still hesitant to implement HS methods in routine clinical practice. This study was hence planned to evaluate the impact of replacing a contemporary-sensitive with HS cTnI immunoassay on hospital and laboratory workload. Methods: Information on the total number of cTnI tests ordered, total number of blood samples collected, total number of CK-MB tests ordered, number of patients with the first HS-cTnI value below the limit of detection (LoD) and cumulative HS-cTnI values was extracted from the local hospital information system for the semesters before and after the HS method was introduced. Results: Although the total emergency department (ED) visits modestly increased after introducing HS-cTnI, the number of total cTnI tests declined by over 10%. A substantial reduction of single-sample test requests was noted, accompanied by a considerable decline of 3- and 4-sample collections (i.e., -61% and -73%, respectively). A high percentage of patients (27.5%) displayed HS-cTnI values <LoD at admission, thus allowing safe discharge. The introduction of HS cTnI immunoassay was effective to collapse the number of CK-MB test requested and also generated favorable return of investment for the part of laboratory budget concerning cTnI testing (-3.2% of total costs for cTnI and -99.8% of total costs for CK-MB). Conclusion: The results of this study show substantial organizational and economic benefits by replacing contemporary-sensitive with HS cTnI immunoassays. (www.actabiomedica.it)


We examined the relationship between trait measures of general appraisal and test anxiety, state measures of stress appraisals, affect, and intrusive cognition, andper-formance measures on two cognitive tests (mental math and Raven matrices). Participants were randomly assigned to threat, challenge, or control conditions that were created by manipulating both primary and secondary appraisals. We predicted that the threat condition would lead to more negative affect, stress appraisals, intrusive cognitions, and more errors. While our manipulated conditions led to inconsistent effects, path analyses tended to confirm predictions that negative task appraisals and trait test anxiety lead to negative affect and to intrusive cognitions, and that for mental math test performance a path from intrusive cognitions to test errors was established. Theimportance of understanding dispositional and situational variables and their interactions during stress encounters are discussed, as is future research involving the general appraisal dimension. this study. for


Oxynitride glasses are a branch of high performance glasses, obtained by incorporation of nitrogen atoms into oxide glass network. [1-3]Oxynitride glasses have superior mechanical, rheological and optical properties as compared to their oxide glass counter partner [2-5]. Properties of these glasses can be tailored by changes in nitrogen content and additions of various alkaline-earth and or rare-earth elements. Ca- Si-O-N glasses containing high amount of nitrogen and modifiers have been prepared by melting the mixture of CaH2, SiO2 and Si3N4 powder in nitrogen atmosphere. The glasses were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, differential thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained glasses were found to be homogenous, and having colour opaque black[3]. These glasses show high values of glass transition temperature (1050°C), and crystallization temperatures (1150°C) measured by differential thermal analysis. Generally the Ca-Si-O-N glasses thermal properties evolve approximately linearly with the nitrogen content. The viscosity increases significantly with the nitrogen content and reaches viscosity values close to reported values for rare-earth silica oxynitride glasses. The apparent viscosity activation energies are very high, ranging from 855 to 2170 kJ/mole. These nitrogen rich glasses can accordingly be classified as being both very refractory and very fragile.


This thesis presents the Brisk Machine, a machine for executing functional languages, designed to be simple and flexible to support a number of run-time execution models for the Brisk compiler. Design considerations have been made to support dynamic loading, deterministic concurrency, distribution, debugging tools and logic programming. To achieve this, the compiler''s intermediate language, the Brisk Kernel Language BKL is simpler than the STG language, as evaluation, extension and optimisation issues are relegated to special built-in functions. Moreover, function calls are saturated, as any function has an known arity and in every call to it, is applied to the right number of arguments, which makes the machine dynamic and supports dynamic loading. To incorporate deterministic concurrency in Brisk, we present the Brisk monadic framework. Its main innovation is to allow actions on state components. This is a key issue which enables state splitting, a technique which assigns to each new thread a part of the state, a substate, to act upon. Distinct concurrent threads are restricted to access disjoint substates. Thus, non-deterministic effects that arise when threads mutate the same state are avoided. To extend the expressiveness of deterministic concurrency, a deterministic form of communications has been introduced, where input from several threads is merged deterministically. The merging is based on hierarchical timestamping on messages from different sources and allows messages to be merged in a consistent temporal order. A model of distribution is presented, as incorporated in the Brisk run-time system, as a natural consequence of deterministic concurrency. The abstract model of this distributed system uses a uniform access memory model to provide a global memory view. This, combined with explicit thread based concurrency and explicit representation of demand enables the trustable distribution of reactive systems across different systems. Since referential transparency is preserved, any pattern of distribution has no effect on the semantics of the functional program. Computation, including both code and data, can be moved in response to demand.


The rules of procedure that govern proceedings concerning discovery, disclosure, and admissibility have to be flexibly applied to fit each technology that produces the evidence being dealt with because technology cannot be made to change its nature to suit rules of procedure. That is particularly important for those sources of very frequently used kinds of evidence such as, electronic records management systems (records now being the most frequently used kind of evidence), mobile phone tracking evidence, breathalyzer/intoxilyzer devices, and, TAR (technology assisted review) software programs that are used to conduct the "records review stage" of electronic discovery proceedings. Motivations to limit the time and cost of legal proceedings by limiting the issues to be decided are now outmoded because the more complex the sources of evidence become, the greater are the number and complexity of issues of law and fact that must be decided to determine the reliability of such evidence and adequacy of its production. And, the more complex a technology, the more ways it has to break down. And so, a motor vehicle has more ways, and therefore a greater probability to perform inadequately than does a bicycle. As a result, when society becomes dependent upon a more complex technology, legal proceedings must be expected to take longer and cost more. And so, mass transportation based upon motor vehicles, has imposed a vastly greater burden upon the justice system than did mass transportation based upon horses.
But technology is constantly changing and so lawyers' education has to change accordingly so that they can challenge the reliability of complex technology's sources of evidence. Specialist legal research lawyers, able to advise all lawyers as to the nature and vulnerabilities of such technology will have to be formally recognized by law societies, and made available in law society-sponsored centralized legal research support services, operated at cost, per case so serviced. How else to provide the legal profession at large with such complex and ever-changing information with which to compose its cross-examinations and arguments adequately? That includes arguments as to why and how the rules of procedure must be flexibly applied so as to know, for example, the exact point at which the onus of proof can in fairness be transferred to the opposing party to provide "evidence to the contrary."
Given that technology is a constantly evolving, moving target, how to teach lawyers and law students about such factors as, software errors rates and architecture, the strengths and vulnerabilities of particular technologies, its national and international standards, and the requirements for its adequate manufacture, usage, and maintenance? Very little of that has an adequate legal infrastructure. Manufacturing motor vehicles allegedly does. Nevertheless, every year its manufacturers must recall millions of automobiles that they have inadequately made.
Technology that produces such evidence raises issues as to the reliability of software. The technical literature warns repeatedly, we trust software far too much. And so knowledge of technology is essential to "doing justice." Otherwise, by default lawyers treat its sources of evidence as being infallible. It is far from that. And therefore, so are the rules of procedure that govern the use of such evidence. Blame lawyers; not judges. Judges must decide cases using only the evidence and argument provided by lawyers. Their purpose is to decide disputes; not to educate lawyers. The legal profession is just another industry that must keep up with technology in law and practice, or be bypassed by technology.


Abstract Neck-collars are commonly used to identify geese and swans, but possible adverse effects of collars have been investigated in few species. We evaluated the effects of plastic neck-collars on the behaviour and condition of Black Swans (Cygnus atratus.) We fitted 67 individuals with rigid, plastic neck-collars between July and November 2007, and three months later compared the behaviour of a sample of 16 collared Swans with that of 16 uncollared birds. There were no differences between collared and uncollared Swans in the percentage time spent resting, swimming or preening. Collared Swans tended to spend less time upending and more time dabbling than uncollared Swans, but the overall proportion of time spent foraging was similar, and the difference in preferred foraging mode did not result in differences in body condition. We suggest that neck-collars are suitable for identification of Black Swans.


The cost of specialized scientific equipment can be high and with limited funding resources, researchers and students are often unable to access or purchase the ideal equipment for their projects. In the fields of materials science and mechanical engineering, fundamental equipment such as tensile testing devices can cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. While a research lab often has access to a large-scale testing machine suitable for conventional samples, loading devices for meso- and micro-scale samples for in-situ testing with the myriad of microscopy tools are often hard to source and cost prohibitive. Open-source software has allowed for great strides in the reduction of costs associated with software development and open-source hardware and additive manufacturing have the potential to similarly reduce the costs of scientific equipment and increase the accessibility of scientific research. To investigate the feasibility of open-source hardware, a micro-tensile tester was designed with a freely accessible computer-aided design package and manufactured with a desktop 3D-printer and off-the-shelf components. To our knowledge this is one of the first demonstrations of a tensile tester with additively manufactured components for scientific research. The capabilities of the tensile tester were demonstrated by investigating the mechanical properties of Graphene Oxide (GO) paper and thin films. A 3D printed tensile tester was successfully used in conjunction with an atomic force microscope to provide one of the first quantitative measurements of GO thin film buckling under compression. The tensile tester was also used in conjunction with an atomic force microscope to observe the change in surface topology of a GO paper in response to increasing tensile strain. No significant change in surface topology was observed in contrast to prior hypotheses from the literature. Based on this result obtained with the new open source tensile stage we propose an alternative hypothesis we term 'superlamellae consolidation' to explain the initial deformation of GO paper. The additively manufactured tensile tester tested represents cost savings of >99% compared to commercial solutions in its class and offers simple customization. However, continued development is needed for the tensile tester presented here to approach the technical specifications achievable with commercial solutions.


We demonstrate that two-dimensional chiral superconductors on curved surfaces spontaneously develop magnetic flux. This geometric Meissner effect provides an unequivocal signature of chiral superconductivity, which could be observed in layered materials under stress. We also employ the effect to explain some puzzling questions related to the location of zero-energy Majorana modes.


Arab youth seek ways to subvert authority and redefine identity in the somewhat less supervised spaces of online humor. As Arab states tighten their grip on youth for fear of dissent, their youth are exploring other means for social change at the murky boundaries between jokes and insults, seriousness and frivolity. This study argues that the interplay between parental and political authorities complicates their attempts at political change and demands an analysis of resistance at both the cultural and political levels. With a focus on Egypt and Jordan, this study uses a qualitative thematic analysis of satirical online videos to examine instances of disguised dissent and consciousness-raising among youth away from closed-off public spaces.


The intellectual Huguenot Refuge is one of the most important movements in Early modern Europe. This volume provides new information about one of its centres: about Berlin, and on the extremely important role Huguenot scholars played disseminating Enlightened thought.


Objective: To determine the reliability of trans-abdominal ultrasonographical localization of placenta in cases of placenta previa major, by taking peroperative finding as gold standard. Study Design: Validation study. Place and Duration of Study: Maternity ward, Obstetrics and Gynecology department, Military Hospital Rawalpindi from 2007 to 2008. Patients and Methods: A total of 100 patients fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited for the study. These patients were admitted to the maternity ward, where trans-abdominal ultrasound was performed, site of the placenta and its relation to the internal os was documented. These patients under went elective cesarean section, during which the site and relation of the placenta to the internal os was confirmed. Results: The mean age of patients was 34.23 ± 6.76 years. Transabdominal ultrasound had a sensitivity of 93.4% in localizing major placenta praevia while the specificity was 83%. Positive predictive value was 94.7%, negative predictive value was 80% and accuracy 91%. Conclusion: Trans-abdominal ultrasound was found highly effective in diagnosing and localizing placenta previa.


When addressing the foundations of education, it is important to answer three key questions: Who is the learner? How do they learn?, and What, when and how do we evaluate? Distance education is primarily geared towards a vast and heterogeneous population. However, we can also highlight that adults form the largest sector that visits "virtual" classrooms. Self-training is the basis of distance learning; it adapts itself to the framework of constructivist principles that underlie current education. This training method assumes that the initiative and management of the learning process are in the hands of the learner, without excluding external support from the professor/tutor. Distance evaluation is no longer a "pending task" within the non-traditional modality since virtual environments facilitate online and synchronous activities, as well as authorship within a virtual environment.


This paper is the first chapter of the third edition of The Anatomy of Corporate Law: A Comparative and Functional Approach, by Reinier Kraakman, John Armour, Paul Davies, Luca Enriques, Henry Hansmann, Gerard Hertig, Klaus Hopt, Hideki Kanda Mariana Pargendler, Georg Ringe, and Edward Rock (Oxford University Press, 2017). The book as a whole provides a functional analysis of corporate (or company) law in Europe, the U.S., and Japan. Its organization reflects the structure of corporate law across all jurisdictions, while individual chapters explore the diversity of jurisdictional approaches to the common problems of corporate law. In its third edition, the book has been significantly revised and expanded. As the introductory chapter to the book, this paper introduces the book's analytic framework, which focuses on the common structure of corporate law across different jurisdictions as a response to fundamentally similar legal and economic problems. It first details the economic importance of the corporate form's hallmark features: legal personality, limited liability, transferable shares, delegated management, and investor ownership. The major agency problems that attend the corporate form and that, therefore, must be addressed, are identified. The chapter next considers the role of law and contract in structuring corporate affairs, including the function of mandatory and default rules, standard forms, and choice of law, as well the debate about the proper role of corporate law in promoting overall social welfare. While almost all legal systems retain the core features of the corporate form, individual jurisdictions have made distinct choices regarding many other aspects of their corporate laws. The forces shaping the development of corporate law, including evolving patterns of share ownership, are examined.


Existence of cracks in industrial structures is one of the important causes of their failure, especially when they are subjected to important axial compressive forces that might lead to buckling. Therefore, it must be considered in stress analysis and designing and loading of such structures. In this paper, the buckling and post-buckling behaviors of stainless-steel cracked plates under axial compression load were investigated both experimentally and numerically and effects of the geometrical and mechanical parameters, such as crack length, crack angle, crack position, plate imperfection, load band, and plate thickness on the critical buckling load were studied. In the experimental study, mechanical properties and plastic behavior of stainless steel plates were determined for the subsequent numerical study. Numerical modeling was carried out by ABAQUS finite element software. Numerical predictions were compared with the experimental results and the reliability of the numerical solution was proven. Results demonstrated the considerable effects of the mentioned parameters on the critical buckling load of plate.


Aim and Objective : Solubility is the important physicochemical factors which affect the absorption of drug and therapeutic effectiveness. The poor solubility of drug substance in water and low absorption in aqueous GIT fluid leads to insufficient bioavailability. The purpose of present research work is to increase the aqueous solubility and dissolution rate of poorly water soluble drug. Materials and Methods : Solubility of diflunisal enhanced by solid dispersion (kneading method) method using beta cyclodextrin as a carrier (also act as taste masking agent). Fast dissolving tablet of diflunisal was prepared by direct compression method using crospovidone as a superdisintigrant from optimized solid dispersion complexes. Prepared tablets were evaluated for various parameters: weight variation, hardness, friability, modified dispersion time, disintegration test, drug content and drug release. Results and conclusion: From the results obtained it has been concluded that prepared tablets from formulation F3 which contain 5% crospovidone as a superdisintigrant showed high dissolution rate and good flow property than other tablet prepared from solid dispersion. Key words: Fast dissolving tablet, Diflunisal, Solid dispersion, β cyclodextrin, Direct compression, Crospovidone.


AIM: To determine the presence and nature of amyloid in prostatic corpora amylacea using immunohistological studies. METHODS: Prostatic tissue from 18 transurethral and two open resection specimens was studied. Paraffin wax embedded tissue sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin and the alkaline Congo red method with and without previous treatment with potassium permanganate. Sections were also stained with antibodies to amyloid A, beta 2 microglobulin, lambda and kappa light chains, prealbumin IgA, G, M, S100 protein, prostatic specific antigen, amyloid P component and CAM 5.2 (control and blocking studies were performed). RESULTS: The prostatic corpora amylacea universally showed the presence of amyloid. In all instances this contained beta 2 microglobulin. CONCLUSION: Prostatic corpora amylacea represents a localised amyloidosis of beta 2 microglobulin origin that is unrelated to chronic renal failure and haemodialysis.


The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides federal funding for the education of children with disabilities and requires, as a condition for the receipt of such funds, the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The statute also contains detailed due process provisions to ensure the provision of FAPE. On December 1, 2008, the Department of Education (ED) issued a final regulation to "clarify and strengthen current regulations" promulgated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The regulations take effect on December 31, 2008. This report looks at the issues raised by changes from the regulations.


Objective: To compile evidence from randomized controlled trials, case series, and case reports to identify the effectiveness of various therapeutic agents for the treatment and prevention of dermatologie effects secondary to epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor (EGFRI) administration. Data Sources: Literature was accessed through PubMed (2002–May 2009) and Scopus (2002–March 2009), using the terms epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor, cetuximab, erlotinib, gefilinib, panitumumab, management, skin toxicity, and cutaneous effects. In addition, reference citations from publications identified were reviewed. Study Selection and Data Extraction: An evaluation of published clinical trials, case series, case reports, and clinical management guidelines that studied the treatment options for EGFRI-induced skin toxicities was performed. Studies that reported dosing regimens and treatment outcomes were included in this review. Data Synthesis: Management of EGFRI-induced skin toxicities has been documented in 2 randomized controlled trials, 3 case series, and 10 case reports in a total of 156 patients. There is strong evidence for the use of topical antibiotics to manage EGFRI skin toxicities. Controversy exists regarding the use of corticosteroids and retinoids for the management of EGFRI-induced rash. Several variables are noted among the number of case series and case reports, such as follow-up duration of the intervention, making any comparisons difficult. Conclusions: Overall, antibiotics are the most common treatment option and have the potential to reduce the severity of skin rash. Well-designed clinical studies with proper recording of relevant data on the management of EGFRI-induced dermatologie effects are needed to properly evaluate the use of various therapeutic agents. Apart from randomized controlled trials, comprehensive case reports are also important for clinical evaluation on a case-by-case basis.


Background/Aims: Recent studies suggest that vitamin D metabolites may be important for preserving cognitive function via specific neuroprotective effects. No large studies have examined the association between vitamin D status and cognition. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test scores of 225 older outpatients who were diagnosed as having probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). In addition to the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels, we analyzed the serum vitamin B1, B6 and B12 levels. Results: An association was found between MMSE test scores and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels, with a β-coefficient of 0.05 (p = 0.01). Vitamin-D-sufficient patients had significantly higher MMSE scores as compared to vitamin-D-insufficient ones. No association was found with the other serum vitamin levels. Conclusions: These data support the idea that a relationship exists between vitamin D status and cognition in patients with probable AD. However, given the cross-sectional design of this study, no causality can be concluded. Further prospective studies are needed to specify the contribution of vitamin D status to the onset and course of cognitive decline and AD.


A novel technique for digital image correlation (DIC) targeting structural health monitoring (SHM) applications is presented. The method uses multispectral imaging enabling simultaneous data acquisition at variable fields of view (FOV). In general, for a given FOV, appropriate speckle sizes have to be a priori defined, limiting the capability of acquiring viable DIC data from variable working distances or with variable accuracy. Furthermore, straightforward application of multiscale DIC patterns that can be seen in the same wavelength of light can cause measurement errors, forcing the use of larger subset sizes and thus reducing the spatial resolution of the deformation measurements. To overcome such limitations, a patterning technique accounting for camera resolution, distance to target, metric-based optimization and variable wavelength is developed. Specifically, patterns are created for two length scales and applied onto a structure. A black on white speckle pattern for far field measurements in addition to an ultraviolet pattern for near field measurements. The patterns were shown to optimally perform at the a priori calculated working distances. The potential of this method for use in SHM applications is discussed.


Asparagus officinalis L. is typically classified as a dioecious species. However, in all-male hybrid cultivars, a percentage of individuals within a population exhibit a persistent perfect flowering (hermaphrodite) phenotype. Floral meristem development was divided into eight distinct stages of development and those developmental stages were compared in UC157 male, UC157 female, and 32/83 hermaphrodite individuals using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In females, anthers abort between stages five and six. In males, style development is halted at stage eight. Hermaphrodites exhibit normal development of both anthers and styles. Within the 32/83 cultivar, the number of developing carpels can vary and some unusual pistil types are observed. The timing of floral organ development is delayed in females compared to males and hermaphrodites. However, once a meristem becomes committed to flowering, the development of complete floral organs occurs in approximately three days. An additional four to seven days is required before anthesis occurs or pistils become receptive to pollen. Protein profiles of three day post-emergent spears show distinct qualitative and quantitative differences between sex types. Distinctly different proteins are expressed in vegetative cladophyll tissue and floral bud tissues as well. Floral homeotic genes in other plant species contain a DNA binding domain (MADS box) common to a family of transcription factors. MADS boxes were cloned from male asparagus via PCR technology. Eight unique asparagus MADS box clones group into three distinct classes based on distance matrix analysis. UPGMA analysis of amino acid sequences shows five of the asparagus clones clustering independently from other known plant MADS domains which suggests they may represent a new class of MADS domain. The remaining three asparagus clones cluster with the Arabidopsis Agamous MADS domain. Computer modeling indicates the new class of MADS domain has some similarity in secondary protein structure with the Agamous MADS domain from Arabidopsis.


The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) instrument which operated on the Envisat satellite from 2002-2012 is a Fourier transform spectrometer for the measurement of high-resolution gaseous emission spectra at the Earth's limb. It operates in the near- to mid-infrared, where many of the main atmospheric trace gases have important emission features. The initial operational products were profiles of Temperature, H2O, O3, CH4, N2O, HNO3, and NO2, and this list was recently extended to include N2O5, ClONO2, CFC-11 and CFC-12. Here we present preliminary results of retrievals of the third set of species under consideration for inclusion in the operational processor: HCN, CF4, HCFC-22, COF2 and CCl4.


Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), an inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis usually seronegative for rheumatoid factor, has emerged as a more common and severe disease than previously appreciated. The disease is multifaceted. Thus the assessment of PsA requires attention to peripheral joint involvement, axial disease, dactylitis, and enthesitis, as well as the skin manifestations. In addition, the assessment of patient reported features such as patient assessment of disease activity, pain, fatigue, quality of life, and the new concept of participation are important. The assessment of damage and the assessment of tissue histology are also important outcome measures. This article summarizes these features of PsA as well as current knowledge on the instruments available for the assessment of these domains.


This work provides insight into the morphology and mixing state of submicron particles in diesel exhaust from a ship engine with an exhaust gas recirculation scrubber. Particles from this low-speed ship engine on test bed were collected using a microinertial impactor with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids on two stages. Micro- and nanostructural characteristics of single particles were studied by TEM. Image analysis was carried out on overview and high-resolution images, revealing influence of the exhaust gas treatment (scrubber) on the particle morphology and mixing state. Soot agglomerates were found to be collapsed after scrubber, reflected by their change in fractal dimension (Df ) from 1.88 to 2.13. Soot was predominantly found internally mixed with other components, with a higher degree of internal mixing observed after scrubber. Soot nanostructural characteristics on the near atomic scale such as layer distance, lamella length, and tortuosity were not observed to be influenced by the scrubber. We also found that particles in the size range between 30 and 50 nm, which were abundant in the exhaust before and after scrubber, were not graphitic soot. Furthermore, we found indications that these particles are composed of other crystalline material (salts). Copyright 2013 American Association for Aerosol Research


Despite its common law origins as an exceptional form of relief, specific performance of contractual obligations in lieu of monetary damages has become a commonplace remedy in contract law in the U.S., and in civil and public international law. Moreover, U.S. courts have given arbitrators broad discretion to order specific relief. Routine use of this remedy in international commercial arbitrations, where privately chosen adjudicators resolve contract disputes between parties of different nationalities, would thwart the provisions of the New York Convention. The very structure of this treaty, which sets forth the terms for the recognition and enforcement of international arbitral awards by multiple commercial powers, contemplates awards for monetary damages. Proponents of specific performance as an international arbitral remedy elevate the promisee's interest in obtaining the benefit of its bargain over a systemic interest in the predictable enforcement of arbitral awards in foreign jurisdictions. While the New York Convention assigns to foreign courts the ministerial role of entering a judgment consistent with an international arbitral award, an award of specific performance would require one or more foreign courts to supervise its enforcement, a result not contemplated by the treaty that may also invite enforcing courts to revisit the merits of the award. This undermines the finality of arbitral awards that was secured by the treaty and frustrates the expectations of parties to international arbitration agreements. In the context of modern transnational commerce, an award of monetary damages for breach of contract is the only practicable form of final relief in international arbitrations.


Growing inequalities have prompted research on the wealthiest groups and their cohesive practices and ideologies. This article suggests that emotional expression – how the members of the wealthy upper class feel about themselves and the rest of society – provides a way to examine their position in society. Drawing from interviews with business executives who belong to the richest 0.1% in Finland and to their society's power elites, I argue that just as low-income groups feel resentful towards more affluent groups, the wealthy also harbour resentment towards more disadvantaged groups. The wealthy executives create an emotionally laden self-justification – a deep story – in which they feel positively about themselves but assign negative feelings to other classes. In this narrative, the optimistic business elites thus become gloomy societal elites, who build empathy walls against the less advantaged groups even in Finland, one of the world's most equal countries.


There is a very high interest in international literature about the governance of common goods related to a redefinition of representative democracy. Scholars like Sheila Foster and Christian Iaione have proposed new models of governance enhancing the preservation and management of the commons in order to overcome problems and contradictions of complex contemporary cities, such as social exclusion and land privatisation. The aim of this paper is to verify, through a recognition of administrative documents, if in the example of Rome, the political actors, the municipal government, and the civil society, could be able to take part in a collaborative governance inspired reform. To answer this question, the relationship between the policy making process, the economic production model and the normative claims arising from social groups will be investigated. What is emerging is a difficulty of the administration in implementing collaborative principles. This is reflected in the issuance of discordant administrative measures, stemming from problems in relaying to civil society and active citizens the role that these principles assign. The reasons for this mismatching might be identified in the distinctive urban regime of Rome and the political and economic set that fosters social exclusion and does not consider the positive effects and the value of collaborative-oriented policy, enhancing sharing economy and social cohesion. The constant recall in the political discourse of concepts such as common goods, citizen's participation and collaboration values takes the characteristics of a discursive resource, a 'common washing', which institutions and politics seem to re-propose and consolidate the traditional mode of public action, though apparently declaring its inadequacy and ineffectiveness.


Abstract Many conditions within the oral cavity require the use of a mouthwash. This can vary from breath fresheners to treatment of life threatening secondary infections such as oral mucositis in patients undergoing bone marrow transplant therapy. The use of mouthwashes requires a correct diagnosis of the oral condition and a thorough knowledge of the product in question to achieve effective treatment. It is the objective of this review to help health care workers in South Africa make the correct choice of treatment when dealing with diverse conditions of the oral cavity.


Abstract. Knowledge about the scaling properties of soil water storage is crucial in transferring locally measured fluctuations to larger scales and vice-versa. Studies based on remotely sensed data have shown that the variability in surface soil water has clear scaling properties (i.e., statistically self similar) over a wider range of spatial scales. However, the scaling property of soil water storage to a certain depth at a field scale is not well understood. The major challenges in scaling analysis for soil water are the presence of localized trends and nonstationarities in the spatial series. The objective of this study was to characterize scaling properties of soil water storage variability through multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA). A field experiment was conducted in a sub-humid climate at Alvena, Saskatchewan, Canada. A north-south transect of 624-m long was established on a rolling landscape. Soil water storage was monitored weekly between 2002 and 2005 at 104 locations along the transect. The spatial scaling property of the surface 0 to 40 cm depth was characterized using the MFDFA technique for six of the soil water content series (all gravimetrically determined) representing soil water storage after snowmelt, rainfall, and evapotranspiration. For the studied transect, scaling properties of soil water storage are different between drier periods and wet periods. It also appears that local controls such as site topography and texture (that dominantly control the pattern during wet states) results in multiscaling property. The nonlocal controls such as evapotranspiration results in the reduction of the degree of multiscaling and improvement in the simple scaling. Therefore, the scaling property of soil water storage is a function of both soil moisture status and the spatial extent considered.


Aim Species' distributions are generally treated as static for the purposes of prioritization, but many species such as migrants and nomads have distributions that shift over time. Decisions about priority actions for such species must account for this temporal variation, making planning for their conservation a complex problem. Here, we explore how dynamic distributions can be incorporated into a spatial prioritization, and suggest approaches for prioritizing conservation action when knowledge of species' movements is uncertain. Location Australian rangelands, including the arid and semi-arid zones of central Australia and adjoining monsoonal tropics, although methods are applicable for any dynamic biodiversity feature. Methods We used the decision-support software MARXAN to explore the impact of temporal dynamics on spatial conservation planning for a suite of 42 highly mobile birds across the study region. We explored scenarios comparing a static representation of species' distributions with four methods of integrating temporal dynamics: (1) accounting for temporal variability in distribution across months and years, (2) considering only monthly variability in distribution, (3) considering only annual variability in distribution and (4) considering only minimal distributions during spatial bottlenecks, ignoring distributions at other times. Results Incorporating the temporal dynamics of species into spatial prioritization substantially changes the spatial pattern of conservation investment, increasing the overall area needed to be placed under conservation measures to achieve a specific target level of species protection. Targeting bottlenecks, locations critical to each species when its distribution is at a minimum, prioritizes a very different suite of sites to those chosen using the traditional approach of static distribution maps based on occurrences pooled across time. Main conclusions Our results highlight the need to consider dynamic movements in the conservation planning process to ensure that mobile species are adequately protected. A static approach to conservation planning may misdirect resources and lead to inadequate conservation for mobile species.


Tail biopsies are routinely taken to genotype genetically modified mice. However, the effect of this procedure on the wellbeing of the animals has rarely been investigated. Thus, it has not yet been clearly demonstrated to what extent the mice suffer from tail biopsy (TB) and for how long. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of a single TB on the physiological and behavioural parameters of adult mice and to investigate whether or not anaesthesia can be beneficial. Body weight (BW) curves, daily food/water consumption and telemetric measurements of heart rate, body core temperature, and locomotor activity were recorded for three days following TB, both with and without anaesthesia with methoxyflurane (MOF) or diethylether (ether). Additionally, the impact of anaesthesia alone was characterized. TB without anaesthesia induced an increase in heart rate and locomotor activity for 1 h. Body core temperature was elevated for 2 h. In contrast, heart rate was increased for up to 4 h after anaesthesia. Body core temperature remained altered for up to 20 h after exposure to ether and for 44 h after exposure to MOF. BW was slightly reduced after MOF. Cases of death occurred exclusively under ether at a rate of 7%. Our results indicate a short-lived impact of a TB, whereas anaesthesia with either MOF or ether induced remarkable alterations in the parameters analysed. In conclusion, these types of anaesthesia did not improve mouse wellbeing following tail biopsy.


For his first solo exhibition at the Lisson Gallery, Ryan Gander has created a body of work which takes the viewer on a pin-ball like journey through an idiosyncratic history of art, film and media. Whether you enter the living room of Erno Goldfinger, stumble upon Degas' 'Dancer,' narrowly miss a shower of arrows piercing the gallery floor, or attempt to flee via an escape hatch in the ceiling, each work leads you into a different perceptual space.

Gander's intention to disrupt the perceived limits of the gallery is made apparent with his large-scale installation I taught myself how to grow, 2010 on the glass facade of the gallery. The image looks like advertising for tanning salons: a silhouetted woman stands under a palm tree, turning towards the sun. The image is a cliche of a holiday paradise but here created using thousands of highly coloured children's stickers. Hanging in the gallery window is a defunct neon sign that reads 'm ssage' in reference to the 1967 book 'The Medium is the Massage' by Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore. Gander suggests that either a massage or message awaits the viewer upon entering the exhibition, and simultaneously transforms the implied function of the gallery, from a staged to an un-staged space.

Gander sometimes refers to his practice as the 'incomplete history of ideas' and deliberately never makes the same work twice. However, the works in the exhibition highlight recurrent themes, such as the reinterpretation of iconic figures in art, design, and music. Gander has been working with Degas' Dancer for the last two years, allowing her to step down from her pedestal, take off her tutu and explore the exhibition space she occupies. With each work, a new frame in a narrative sequence is proposed. She is presented within reach of her pedestal but her actions set up a confrontation between herself and her position in art history: the pedestal representing the constraints of classical sculpture. In this new work, 'You Walk into a Space, Any Space,' or 'Poor Little Girl Beaten by the Game,' 2010, she is seen attempting to hold elementary two-dimensional Bauhaus shapes; a triangle, a circle and a square, which have metamorphosed into three dimensional physical objects; a pyramid, sphere and cube. The floor is scattered with multiples of these objects as if she is either trying to hold them all, or steal a few. Gander places her in a situation where she is attempting to make a transition from the modern to the contemporary.

The show also references the well-documented argument between Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg who previously fell through a Frank Lloyd Wright window whilst arguing about the significance of the diagonal line. Gander extends this idea by peppering the gallery walls and floor with hundreds of arrows, as if just fired by a battalion of archers. Gander has turned the gallery into a time portal, transporting the reminiscence of a medieval, fictive battle scene - something associated with epic movies - into a minimalist sculptural intervention.

Gander's fascination with history and its ability to transcend time is developed with 'Everything is Learned,' 2010. A rock is placed in the gallery space, similar in size and shape to the rock that Rodin's 'The Thinker' sits upon. Carved into the rock is the imprint of the buttocks and heels of a person who has been sitting there for such a period of time to have reshaped the solid surface. Even though this object is essentially just a rock, the form of a person's presence causes it to become a place to sit, think and observe for hundreds of years, past, present or future.


In this work a navigational concept for a heterogeneous swarm of AUVs is treated. Inspired by search and rescue manoeuvres of emergency forces, the swarm consists of two types of agents that detect and inspect possible objects of interest like contaminations of munition, crash sites or pipeline leaks. Each agent type differs by its degrees of freedom, environmental sensors, navigational devices and software defined role. The main part of this work is the obligatory and optimized information exchange between the agent types to localize and inspect objects of interest. To evaluate the concept, a simulation environment for autonomous agents using the proposed algorithms for target localization is realized. Since this work is a general representation of a powerful concept, we use two common feature extraction methods for information encoding. First, we use Ri-HOG because it is deterministic in parametrization and results. On the other hand, we use artificial neural networks since they provide excellent results for image-related tasks such as segmentation, reconstruction, and object classification. Both methods are evaluated for their ability to reference the same object in two images with short feature vectors. We then test the performance of the methods as well as the advantageous concept of heterogeneous swarm behavior in terms of mission time and power consumption using an underwater simulation that uses synthetic sonar image data.


Abstract. KCl-coated denuders have become a standard method for measurement of gaseous oxidized mercury, but their performance has not been exhaustively evaluated, especially in field conditions. In this study, KCl-coated and uncoated quartz denuders loaded with HgCl2 and HgBr2 lost 29–55% of these compounds, apparently as elemental mercury, when exposed to ozone (range of 6–100 ppb tested). This effect was also observed for denuders loaded with gaseous oxidized mercury at a field site in Nevada (3–37% of oxidized mercury lost). In addition, collection efficiency decreased by 12–30% for denuders exposed to 50 ppb ozone during collection of HgCl2. While data presented were obtained from laboratory tests and as such do not exactly simulate field sampling conditions, these results indicate that the KCl denuder oxidized mercury collection method may not be as robust as previously thought. This work highlights needs for further testing of this method, clear identification of gaseous oxidized mercury compounds in the atmosphere, and development of field calibration methods for these compounds.


Halide reactivity in these reactions increases in the order: Cl < Br < I and Fluorides are usually not used. The alkyl magnesium halides described in the second reaction are called Grignard Reagents after the French chemist, Victor Grignard, who discovered them and received the Nobel prize in 1912 for this work. The other metals mentioned above react in a similar manner, but Grignard and Alky Lithium Reagents most widely used. Although the formulas drawn here for the alkyl lithium and Grignard reagents reflect the stoichiometry of the reactions and are widely used in the chemical literature, they do not accurately depict the structural nature of these remarkable substances. Mixtures of polymeric and other associated and complexed species are in equilibrium under the conditions normally used for their preparation.


The critical role of knowledge management in achieving and sustaining competitive advantage has been strongly emphasised in the extant literature. However, most previous studies were conceptually grounded and empirically examined in advanced, developed and newly industrialised countries. In addition, research to date has predominantly explored findings from a large company view while little attempt has been made to address the relative importance of different factors constituting the organisational KM capability in the context of Asian emerging, less developed countries such as Vietnam where a socialist market economy, a Confucian culture and a majority of small and medium sized enterprises currently exist. By adopting a resource-based theory of the firm with an extension of a knowledge-based perspective, this paper aims at developing and empirically validating a conceptual model of the relationships between KM capability components and their impacts on a firm's competitive advantage in Vietnam. The results of 148 surveyed respondents in the construction industry reconfirmed a general agreement found in the literature that a combined social and technological approach is ideal to take advantage of their significant positive correlations in improving organisational competitive advantage. Moreover, in the Vietnamese-specific context, the study indicated that while culture is the most important issue affecting knowledge management, integration with information technology may assist to overcome cultural barriers and provide a stronger contribution to competitive advantage.


The Internet raises several challenges for privacy law. In particular it often disrupts laws that regulate specific industries. As prior scholarship has shown, industry-specific laws are prone to circumvention and obsolescence whenever firms outside the covered industry begin collecting and using the same sorts of data. And the rapid birth (and death) of online business models makes these sorts of disruptions increasingly common. The resulting scheme is one that has sustained substantial criticism for drawing arbitrary distinctions between entities collecting the same sorts of personal information.This essay argues that the distinct features of online commerce not only challenge discrete industry-specific laws, but also expose more fundamental difficulties for the industry-specific approach. The piecemeal enactment of laws regulating specific industries may have been effective in a time when lawmakers could identify all the industries involved in a particular data-collection practice and trust that new industries would not soon enter the same niche. Indeed, when the business landscape is stable, this approach may offer advantages insofar as it allows lawmakers to tailor their interventions to the specific incentives and norms of the regulated industries. But the information age creates at least three complications for industry-specific lawmaking. First, the accelerated rate of entry that characterizes online commerce makes it hard for legislators to keep pace on an industry-by-industry basis. Second, the intermediation of online transactions by third parties — parties ranging from Internet service providers to search engines, advertising networks, and financial institutions — exposes gaps in any intervention that targets only the industry itself without accounting for these intermediaries. And third, the relative obscurity of online surveillance makes it difficult for lawmakers to identify and target the right class of entities through the industry-specific paradigm. Neither legislators nor their constituents are well equipped to deal with surveillance practices that are invisible to them.


Family Farm Preservation Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income gain from the sale or exchange of qualified farmland development rights to a tax-exempt conservation organization. Defines "qualified farmland development rights" as a restriction limiting farmland to use as a farm for farming purposes or for exclusively conservation purposes.


The Gram-positive skin commensal Propionibacterium acnes is an opportunistic pathogen associated with, for example, prosthetic joint failure, endocarditis, and ocular infections. P. acnes is frequently present in prostate tissue where it is significantly associated with acute and chronic inflammatory changes. These could potentially stimulate carcinogenesis. Current methods for P. acnes detection are sub-optimal due to slow growth of the organism in culture coupled with the lack of sensitivity of end-point PCRs for low level pathogen detection in clinical samples. We have developed a novel quantitative TaqMan® PCR assay to detect and quantify P. acnes specific 16S rRNA sequences. This assay is sensitive to ten genome equivalents when applied to pure cultures, and exhibits no cross-reactivity when tested against a specificity panel of over 50 species including common contaminants and other members of the Propionibacteriaceae. We have applied this assay to DNA extracted from archived prostate tissue specimens. Normalization with a human endogenous retrovirus-3 (ERV-3) assay has enabled comparison of cancerous prostate, non-cancerous prostate and 'spiked' prostate tissue controls. For comparison our assay has also been applied to other clinical samples including failed prosthetic joints, skin and other tissue controls. These data will be discussed in relation to clinical information.


This thesis is based on research investigating 12-13 years old pupils' potential to approach through Logo different characterizations of variable prior to formal algebra teaching. The characterizations of variable considered are variable as general number, variables in a functional relationship and variable as specific unknown. Pupils' potential is defined by their capability to solve a range of specific Logo-based tasks involving one characterization of variable. During the solution process peer collaboration was encouraged and support was available from the researcher. The experimental work consisted of case studies of 6 pairs of pupils over a period of one year working in three specially designed Logo microworlds each one focussing on one characterization of variable. The observation of these pupils' work was carried out during their normal computer time with the researcher acting as the teacher of the whole group (34 pupils). Special attention was paid to the strategies pupils used to solve the posed tasks, researcher's interventions, peer collaboration and the influence of the Logo setting. Data included researcher's notes taken during the observation of pupils' work, pupils' written records, individual interviews and the responses to a paper and pencil questionnaire given at the beginning and at the end of the study. Previous studies of pupils' learning of algebra show that they have difficulties with each one of the three characterizations of variable whether they are algebra beginners or more advanced students. Evidence from this study shows that pupils can develop a potential to work with these characterizations of variable prior to formal algebra teaching. Crucial elements provoking this development were: the design of the activities appealing to pupils' prior numeric knowledge; the Logo environment; social interaction between pupils and with the researcher; the use of communicative and egocentric speech. The results of this research show that notions that are crucial to the use of variable can be developed prior to formal algebra teaching. Pupils' arithmetic can provide a basis for the development of these notions.


Many large composite structures are manufactured using sandwich laminates to achieve high specific bending strength and stiffness. For wind turbine blades, the self-weight becomes increasingly important as blade size increases. Resin infusion of three-dimensional sandwich laminates can result in complex flow paths, and subsequent defect formation is difficult to predict. The core material used for sandwich construction and its interaction with liquid resins may also influence the formation of defects. In the case of balsa, this effect can be used to reduce defect severity. This paper considers the effect of cored sandwich laminate construction on the formation of defects. The primary focus is the characterisation of commonly used core materials and their interaction with liquid resin under high vacuum conditions. For balsa core, experiments indicate that the available pore space can act as a sink for trapped air, which can aid the reduction of defects when multiple flow fronts converge due to the complex flow paths in sandwich laminates. Empirical data for air absorption and desorption rates in balsa core were obtained using a custom-designed experiment. Using these data, a theoretical model was developed that can indicate available pore space, which in turn informs optimum processing conditions, such as time under vacuum. The diffusion coefficients obtained for air absorption and desorption in balsa are very similar, and lie in the middle of published ranges for hard woods at around 2 x 10 m/s. The methodology developed represents actual behaviour of air absorption/desorption during resin infusion, whilst other techniques do not, merely measuring diffusion of air through a sample while not allowing for finite pore space. In consequence, infusion strategies can be planned more precisely because the core/resin interaction is better understood. Knit line defect formation could be predicted with greater accuracy with suitably modified flow-modelling programs.


The current experiments were designed to study the effect of beta-estradiol on type IIb sodium-coupled phosphate (NaPi-IIb) cotransporter gene expression. Uptake studies with intestinal brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) showed that estrogen treatment increased sodium-dependent phosphate absorption by approximately 45% in rat intestine. Northern blot analysis indicated that NaPi-IIb mRNA expression was increased by approximately 50% after estrogen treatment. Western blot analysis also detected an increase in BBMV NaPi-IIb protein expression in estrogen-treated rats. In human intestinal Caco-2 cells, NaPi-IIb mRNA abundance was increased approximately 60% after estrogen treatment, and this increase could be abolished by inhibition of gene transcription. Transfection studies with human NaPi-IIb promoter reporter constructs showed that the promoter was responsive to estrogen treatment. These studies demonstrate for the first time that estrogen stimulates intestinal sodium-dependent phosphate absorption in female rats. This stimulation is associated with increased NaPi-IIb mRNA and protein expression. Thus the effect of estrogen on intestinal Pi absorption may be partially due to activation of NaPi-IIb gene transcription.


Factor investing involves choosing securities to construct portfolios with particular risk–return profiles. With the proliferation of benchmark-tracking exchange-traded funds (ETFs) virtually any risk–return profile can be reconstructed; the challenge is to find the right ETFs because the number of relevant ETFs is very large. This article proposes an innovative modification to the resampling procedure used in many popular machine learning methods for reducing the dimensionality of this problem. The proposed method allows selection of the specific ETFs used to replicate returns, taking the total costs of using the optimal portfolio to dynamically track returns into consideration. Existing variable selection algorithms are not designed to incorporate rebalancing costs, which are accumulated over time. The methodology is illustrated by replicating hedge fund returns with ETFs. The results show that, by selecting the right replication instruments in a way that is consistent with an investor's economic utility instead of using purely statistical losses, the investor can save around 60 bps per year. TOPICS: Exchange-traded funds and applications, statistical methods, simulations, big data/machine learning Key Findings • A modified LASSO approach is developed for replication when variables are selected from many potential factors and transaction costs are accounted for in a dynamically consistent way. • By accounting for investor's economic utility instead of purely statistical losses, the improved portfolio optimization procedure saves investors around 60 bps per year out of sample. • The new cross validation procedure is applicable for a wide range of problems in a time series context, when overfitting and transaction costs are major concerns of the model user.


Styrene grafting onto sago starch was carried out by using eerie
ammonium nitrate (CAN) as a redox initiator. The parameters affecting the
grafting reaction were investigated and the optimum conditions obtained are
as follows: temperature, 50°C; nitric acid concentration, 0.01 M; amount of
styrene, 0.35 mol; amount of CAN, 16.8 x 10-4 mol and reaction period, 2h.
Percentages of grafting and grafting efficiency under the optimum condition
were 53.92% and 73.21%, respectively. Reactions in the presence of
nitrogen gas resulted in higher percentages of grafting and grafting
efficiency.
FTIR spectra analysis of the grafted chain and polystyrene was
identical indicating that styrene was successfully grafted onto sago starch.
TGA thermograms, DSC curves and SEM photographs of sago starch-g poly(styrene) and the original polymers (sago starch and polystyrene) were
different which suggested that styrene was grafted onto sago starch. The
bio-degradability study using a-amylase showed that the rate of degradation
of gelatinised sago starch was higher than that of sago starch-gpoly(
styrene). The highest rate of degradation of sago starch-gpoly(styrene) was obtained at 50 ppm of a-amylase concentration. Viscosity
measurements showed that the intrinsic viscosity and the average molecular
weight (Mv) increased with the increase in the percentage of grafted
polystyrene. The Mv of the various percentages of grafted polystyrene were
in the order of 104. The results obtained from the swelling of sago starch-gpoly(styrene) in polar and non polar solvents showed that the percentage of
swelling at equilibrium and the swelling rate coefficient decreased in the
following order: DMSO > water > acetone > cyclohexanone = CHCh >
toluene = CCl4. Diffusions of the solvents onto the polymers were found to
be of a Fickian only for DMSO.


© 2016 Deputy of Research and Technology of Baqiyatallah Hospital Abstract Introduction: Determination of health inequities and gaps in health status between different socioeconomic groups, particularly in patients with chronic diseases such as heart disease, has always been of public concern for politicians and social sciences researchers. This study was aimed to evaluate the status of socioeconomic inequality in health care utilization in patients with ischemic heart disease with cumulative index approach. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 year. The study population was all patients with ischemic heart disease in Falavarjan Imam Khomeini Hospital, among which 302 households were selected using stratified random sampling. Data analysis was performed using SPSS via factor analysis by regression methods and using STATA software via concentration index method. Results: Services reception in this groups (patients with ischemic heart pains) was associated with significant inequality (P = 0.000) and Inequality Index (ci) was equal to -0.11. Their analysis was indicate on the significant impact of the economic situation (62%); the job situation (23.45%) and supplemental insurance situation (11.11%) on the utilization from diagnostic services. Although, there was no significant inequality between other variables using the concentration index analysis, statistically it was observed that the average cost of paying for outpatient services was higher with an increase in the income level (P = 0.001). Conclusions: Inequalities in health service utilization reflect socio-economic differences, including the economic quintile, insurance eligibility and lifestyle. Thus, equality in utilization of services is expected to be promoted by taking steps to improve livelihood conditions, the society's lifestyle, increase health insurance coverage, integrate insurance companies and extend the family physician program.