We study how privately insured individuals choose lower-limb MRI scan providers. Despite significant out-of-pocket costs and little variation in quality, patients often received care in high-priced locations when lower priced options were available. The choice of provider is such that, on average, patients bypassed 6 lower-priced providers between their homes and treatment locations. We show that referring physicians heavily influence where patients receive care. The influence of referring physicians is dramatically greater than the influence of patient cost-sharing or patients' home zip code fixed effects. Patients with vertically integrated referring physicians are also more likely to receive costlier hospital-based scans.


This paper reports the findings of a study of the medium of instruction in the engineering stream at tertiary level in Hong Kong. The article begins with overview of developments in language in Hong Kong education in the post-war period, and then goes on to describe and discuss the small body of research into language use that has been carried out in the territory's universities in the 1990s. The focus of the paper is a study of the use of English, Chinese and Cantonese as media of instruction in an engineering degree course (offered in full-time and part-time modes) at a represen tative English-medium technical university in Hong Kong. It was found that English is the main language of written assignments, textbooks and course materials. The findings relating to oral communication are much less clear. English tends to be used by students and lecturers in more formal situations such as lectures, presentations and seminars, while in less formal situations such as tutorials and discussions, Cantonese seems to have an important role. The findings also indicate that both students and lecturers on the part-time course make greater use of English than their counterparts on the full-time course.


Abstract. A diagnostic cloud nucleation scavenging scheme, which determines stratiform cloud scavenging ratios for both aerosol mass and number distributions, based on cloud droplet, and ice crystal number concentrations, is introduced into the ECHAM5-HAM global climate model. This scheme is coupled with a size-dependent in-cloud impaction scavenging parameterization for both cloud droplet-aerosol, and ice crystal-aerosol collisions. The aerosol mass scavenged in stratiform clouds is found to be primarily (>90%) scavenged by cloud nucleation processes for all aerosol species, except for dust (50%). The aerosol number scavenged is primarily (>90%) attributed to impaction. 99% of this impaction scavenging occurs in clouds with temperatures less than 273 K. Sensitivity studies are presented, which compare aerosol concentrations, burdens, and deposition for a variety of in-cloud scavenging approaches: prescribed fractions, a more computationally expensive prognostic aerosol cloud processing treatment, and the new diagnostic scheme, also with modified assumptions about in-cloud impaction and nucleation scavenging. Our results show that while uncertainties in the representation of in-cloud scavenging processes can lead to differences in the range of 20–30% for the predicted annual, global mean aerosol mass burdens, and near to 50% for accumulation mode aerosol number burden, the differences in predicted aerosol mass concentrations can be up to one order of magnitude, particularly for regions of the middle troposphere with temperatures below 273 K where mixed and ice phase clouds exist. Different parameterizations for impaction scavenging changed the predicted global, annual mean number removal attributed to ice clouds by seven-fold, and the global, annual dust mass removal attributed to impaction by two orders of magnitude. Closer agreement with observations of black carbon profiles from aircraft (increases near to one order of magnitude for mixed phase clouds), mid-troposphere 210Pb vertical profiles, and the geographic distribution of aerosol optical depth is found for the new diagnostic scavenging scheme compared to the prescribed scavenging fraction scheme of the standard ECHAM5-HAM. The diagnostic and prognostic schemes represent the variability of scavenged fractions particularly for submicron size aerosols, and for mixed and ice phase clouds, and are recommended in preference to the prescribed scavenging fractions method.


Feature selection and extraction are frequently used solutions to overcome the curse of dimensionality in text classification problems. We introduce an extraction method that summarizes the features of the document samples, where the new features aggregate information about how much evidence there is in a document, for each class. We project the high dimensional features of documents onto a new feature space having dimensions equal to the number of classes in order to form the abstract features. We test our method on 7 different text classification algorithms, with different classifier design approaches. We examine performances of the classifiers applied on standard text categorization test collections and show the enhancements achieved by applying our extraction method. We compare the classification performance results of our method with popular and well-known feature selection and feature extraction schemes. Results show that our summarizing abstract feature extraction method encouragingly enhances classification performances on most of the classifiers when compared with other methods.


Purpose The first stage of this QNRF funded study includes a series of key informants' interviews with stakeholders in the PHC sector in Lebanon and Qatar to formulate an understanding of the recruitment and retention strategies of health human resources (HHR) and understand the obstacles and challenges that they face. This abstract reports on the findings obtained in Lebanon, as data collection remains ongoing in Qatar. Participants & Methods Study utilized a qualitative design involving semi-structured key informant interviews with stakeholders in the PHC sector. An initial list of key stakeholders was acquired from a review of public and private information sources while ensuring maximum variability across institutions, disciplines and geographical locations. Overall, 22 key informants participated in the study. They included decision and policy makers in the PHC sector, managers/directors of PHCCs, human resources coordinators in PHCCs, physicians and nurses, and academicians. Analysis Thematic and content analysis, using Nvivo 8, was conducted on the data collected from the key informant interviews. After coding the responses into similar concepts, axial coding allowed for the emergence of five comprehensive themes: perception of PHC, PHC services, recruitment of HHR in PHC, retention of HHR in PHC, and recruitment and retention in rural areas. Results Responses of stakeholders with regards to the definition of PHC revealed a lack of a unified understanding of the concept. With regards to services offered at PHCCs, there was a consensus that there is a deficiency in various services, most notably was mental health, as well as various preventive functions such as vaccination, women's health, and health behavior modification. Thematic analysis identified a number of impediments to the recruitment of HHR, mainly related to shortage in the overall supply of HHR, of qualified HHR, and HHR gender imbalances. Despite recruitment strategies in place, factors including financial constraints and poor leadership/management hinder the effectiveness of recruitment efforts. Although stakeholders report an acceptable retention of HHR, they relate turnover to poor working environment and lack of professional development. There was consensus that challenges faced are more pronounced in PHCCs of rural areas. Conclusions The study findings reveal that the current status of recruitment and retention within the PHC sector is not conducive to a solid and stable workforce. There is an evident need for the establishment of a unified contextualized definition of PHC to be applied across all PHCCs operating nationally. Moreover, the adoption of a system's thinking approach is crucial for PHC capacity building, in which the existent structure is better supported by qualified personnel. Extensive efforts need to be exerted towards directing health care professionals to the PHC field especially in rural areas, while concurrently enhancing the working conditions within PHCCs. Accordingly, essential services may be more adequately provided to the community. Of particular importance is the integration of mental health services into community care. Decision and policy makers are urged to reflect upon the recommendations developed in order to not only stabilize the PHC workforce but to also ensure the longevity of its services.


Mycobacterium bovis is the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis. Various genetic typing techniques have been used to trace the reservoirs of infection; however, they have limited success in population genetics and outbreak studies. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) is a rapid phenotypic typing technique, which may be used to generate a metabolic fingerprinting and is increasingly used to characterize bacteria. When coupled with multivariate cluster analysis, this powerful combination has sufficient resolving power to discriminate bacteria down to subspecies level; however, to date this method has not been used in the differentiation of mycobacteria. Multiple isolates of the ten major spoligotypes in the UK, recovered from different geographical locations, were analysed using FT-IR. Hierarchical cluster analysis of the spectra showed that the isolates could be differentiated according to their spoligotypes. Six of the spoligotype FT-IR clusters were very homogeneous and all isolates were recovered together. However, the remaining four groups displayed a more heterogeneous phenotype, which may reflect greater variation than previously suspected within these groups. Included in the ten spoligotypes are the two most dominant isolates in the UK, designated types 9 and 17. Whilst type 17 showed a highly conserved phenotype as judged by FT-IR, type 9 showed a very heterogeneous metabolic profile and isolates were recovered throughout the dendrogram. This variation in type 9 is reflected in the high degree of diversity observed by variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis, underlining the exquisite resolving power of FT-IR.


Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection of the brain has been associated with a severe dementing illness in children and adults. However, HIV-1 antigens are most frequently found in macrophages and microglial cells. To determine the extent of susceptibility of neuroglial cells to infection, the HIV-1 genome was introduced into cells cultured from human fetal brain tissue. Astroglial cells rapidly transcribed the viral genome producing high levels of p24 protein and infectious virions which peaked two to three days posttransfection. Thereafter HIV-1 genome expression progressively diminished and a persistent phase of infection developed during which neither virus nor viral proteins could be demonstrated by immunodetection methods. Cocultivation with CD4+ T cells at any time during the persistent infection resulted in resumption of p24 synthesis and virus multiplication. The release of persistence did not require direct cell-cell contact between the glial and T cells, since separation of the two cell types across a permeable membrane resulted in a delayed but similar resumption of p24 synthesis and virus multiplication. The persistently infected glial cells could also be stimulated to produce viral p24 protein if either tumor necrosis factor alpha or interleukin-1 beta was added to the medium without T cells present. These results suggest that astrocytes may serve as an undetected reservoir for HIV-1 and disseminate the virus to other susceptible cells in the brain upon triggering by some cellular or biochemical signal.


We propose a general statistical framework for clustering multiple time series that exhibit nonlinear dynamics into an a-priori-unknown number of sub-groups. Our motivation comes from neuroscience, where an important problem is to identify, within a large assembly of neurons, subsets that respond similarly to a stimulus or contingency. Upon modeling the multiple time series as the output of a Dirichlet process mixture of nonlinear state-space models, we derive a Metropolis-within-Gibbs algorithm for full Bayesian inference that alternates between sampling cluster assignments and sampling parameter values that form the basis of the clustering. The Metropolis step employs recent innovations in particle-based methods. We apply the framework to clustering time series acquired from the prefrontal cortex of mice in an experiment designed to characterize the neural underpinnings of fear.


The title of this article implies a continuum of oppositional workplace practices ranging from, through misbehavior, to dissent. This article gives a review of the disciplines that initially revealed this subject area. Not including the early consultancy studies, it is within the last fifty years that this subject area was even noticed, and it was well after this that it began to be seen as a field of study. There is no claim here that resistance, misbehavior, and dissent had entirely escaped attention before 1950, but, rather, there was little recognition of the range of related behavior that might be studied. Furthermore, this article gives a review of the main perspectives on this field of study today. It distinguishes four distinct perspectives: managerialist organizational behavior, labor process, post-structuralism, and feminism. Finally, it looks at resistance and misbehavior in different kinds of contemporary organizations.


Natural history dealers' shops offered colour, interest and occasional sensation to the people of mid-nineteenth century Sydney. This essay examines the nature of shop-front natural history enterprise in this period, and its significance in the history of the city and the wider colony. It begins by discussing dealers and their businesses, going on to argue for the role both played in the ongoing process of colonisation. In particular, it highlights the contribution made to those aspects of territorial appropriation which were taking place in the imaginations of Sydney's inhabitants.


To adequately prepare preservice teachers to implement inclusive classrooms, teacher preparation programs must encourage professional interaction, collaboration, and knowledge about inclusion. Although some of these skills can be presented in coursework, prospective teachers must be provided with opportunities to practice these skills in classroom settings. This case study explored the experiences of two pairs of preservice teachers who co-taught as they were placed with teams of collaborating cooperating teachers for a semester-long student teaching experience. Analysis of data sources including student journals, interviews, and observation notes resulted in themes including the comfort of peer support, the impact of personality on the co-teaching experience, the structure of co-teaching interactions, and the impact on children. Implications for designing collaborative experiences in teacher education programs are discussed.


The report is organized into three chapters: chapter two looks at the pace and patterns of India's urbanization, providing a 100-year perspective on demographic shifts and a 20-year perspective on the spatial distribution of jobs across India's portfolio of settlements. The review is based on a careful, spatially detailed analysis of data from economic and demographic censuses, annual surveys of industry, national sample surveys, and special surveys of freight transport. This chapter provides diagnostics on whether Indian industry is adequately exploiting agglomeration economies and whether there are hints of specific barriers to the natural tendency of standardized industry to reshuffle from large metropolitan areas to smaller urban areas. Chapter three examines specific policy issues and investment bottlenecks that are curbing the pace and benefits of urbanization in India. The policy issues relate to land markets and housing, connectivity (within and between cities), and access to basic services. The purpose of this analysis is to unravel the specific distortions that may be preventing India from reaping the entire range of benefits of urbanization. Chapter four provides some options for policy reform, distilling lessons from relevant international experience. It provides options for establishing the 'rules of the game' that can define the workings of land and property markets as well as coordination of land use and infrastructure in cities. This chapter also provides a framework for policy makers to identify the role of regulatory and price reform in expanding infrastructure services and to make investments that enhance capacity.


What can men's interest be in the social and sexual revolution being proposed by advocates for sexual rights? The first answer to this question is to recognise that some men's sexual rights have long been violated. Those men who 'betray' their gender through their 'feminine' representation and/or sexual relations with other men are especially vulnerable to such violation. Violence maintains the gender and sexuality hierarchy by keeping the men 'who are not men enough' in their place. But what about the men who appear to be, or strive to be, 'man enough'? What can be said of their sexual rights? Perhaps the most basic demand of advocates for sexual rights is that people be free to live their sexual lives without coercion. Even men who do conform to stereotype may suffer sexual violence, as shown by figures on non-consensual heterosexual experience reported by boys and men. Furthermore, gender socialisation may inhibit men's ability to experience joy, dignity, autonomy and safety in their sexual lives. For example, gender socialisation dictates that men should be confident and take control in sexual relations, leaving no space for admission of the anxieties that many feel.


The aim of this research is to determinedthe effectivenessoftomato juiceonblood pressure of hypotensionpatients. The design of thisresearch is quasy experimentdesigned byNon-equivalent control groupweredivided intoexperiment groupandcontrol group. The research was conductedofhypotension patientinthe PuskesmasRumbai. The total sample are 50peoplewhowere takenby usingsimple randomtechniquesby noticing tothe inclusion criteria .Measuring instruments usedin the two groupsisthe observation sheet.The analysis usedwas univariateandbivariatealternativetestandWilcoxonMannWhitney.The results showeda significant differencebetween the meanbloodpressurebefore and afteradministration oftomatojuiceto the increase inbloodpressurep(0.000) <α (0.05).It'smeans thatin patent with hypotension effective to increase blood pressure. The results of this study recommend to apply tomato juice as an herbaltreatment to increase blood pressure. Keywords : hypotension, tomato juice


Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not probiotics provide adequate relief from overall symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome including abdominal pain and bloating in adults with irritable bowel syndrome. Study Design: Review of three published randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trials were used for this review. The articles were found on PubMed and EBSCOhost web, and were selected based on outcomes measured and relevance to the objective. Outcomes Measured: The outcomes were measured by a 10-point visual analog scale for each symptom, or daily dairy entries addressing overall symptom relief, and a questionnaire at the beginning and end of the trial for overall quality of life. Results: The Ki Cha, et al. study proved a statistically significant improvement in the adequate relief of symptoms of IBS, including abdominal pain and bloating, however the Roberts, et al. and the Cappello, et al. studies did not show a statistically significant improvement of symptoms in the probiotic group as compared to the placebo group. Conclusions: Based on the three randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trials the efficacy of treating irritable bowel syndrome with probiotics is inconclusive. Future studies should focus on the efficacy of probiotics in a specific subtype of IBS, for example only focus on constipation predominate irritable bowel syndrome, to help determine if probiotics are a reasonable intervention for a specific subtype of irritable bowel syndrome.


"The Design of National Human Rights Institutions: Global Patterns of Diffusion and Strength" explores patterns of institutional design in the case of national human rights institutions (i.e. ombudsman, national human rights commission), seeking to understand why countries establish these bodies and give them certain mandated powers as reflected in their institutional design. The project answers two main questions about the global variation of institutional strength as a function of the design of these institutions: (1) What are the main global patterns of the institutional design of national human rights institutions? and (2) What explains variation in the institutional strength of national human rights institutions across borders?
The project makes two main contributions to the scholarship on international organisation and cross-border diffusion: the dataset of institutional design features, which operationalizes and measures six different dimensions of an institutional design index on the basis of report-based and survey data, is the first global dataset of its kind. Institutional strength is the original dependent variable that represents an index of six design features, as a synthesis of main mandated functions: 1) de jure legal independence; 2) nature of the mandate; 3) autonomy from government control; 4) predominant de facto duties; 5) pluralism of representation; and 6) staff and financial resources. Institutional strength is a ranked categorical variable with three values (weak, medium, strong).
An additional contribution is the explanatory framework, which derives a number of hypotheses about global and regional determinants of institutional design from four main mechanisms that draw respectively on domestic and international, as well as material and social, factors (socialisation, incentive-setting, cost & benefit calculations and domestic identity). The global analysis has found statistically significant evidence that participation in the United Nations-led peer-review process for national human rights institutions accreditation makes countries more likely to have stronger institutions. This is in line with recent work about the role of UN-led peer review processes and provides support for socialisation and acculturation explanations that are facilitated by a global network. At the regional level, social learning and acculturation across borders takes place in regions with high density of strong such human rights institutions (i.e. Europe and the Americas) and where more 'early adopting' countries are located. Countries with strong democratic identities, which established their human rights institutions prior to 1990, are both more likely to have strong institutions themselves and to motivate other governments to follow their lead. The analysis of global trends finds also that incentivesetting plays a role both at the global and the regional levels, as countries that receive higher amounts of Overseas Development Assistance from the United States or states that are subjected to EU membership conditionality are more likely to have stronger human rights institutions.
The project follows a nested multi-method research design, which begins with a quantitative analysis of global trends as a backdrop for a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) focused on Europe, complemented by illustrative country institutional case studies. QCA finds two paths that are sufficient for European countries to establish strong institutions. Thirteen case studies present illustrative evidence of the QCA findings at the country/institution level.


Literature on the use of information and communication technologies (lCTs) for developmental purposes at community centres refers to these centres in various ways, e.g. as telecentres, telecottages, community teleservice centres, telecommuting centres, and community technology centres. This article starts by examining this range of centres, and by descriptionbing the activities that typically occur at such centres throughout the world. An attempt is made to develop a typology of such centres. Of particular interest are community telecentres where lCTs are used to promote development in rural areas. This is followed by a list of lessons learned regarding using lCTs effectively for development purposes at rural telecentres. These lessons are illustrated through specific South African case studies involving lCT usage at rural telecentres.


In the present paper we deal with the problems of explaining and predicting diet selection of animals under controlled conditions, i.e. conditions that can be described and in which any influences of the environment can be either controlled or at least monitored. Diet selection is considered within an integrative framework of feeding behaviour that views both food intake and diet selection as an outcome of the animal's internal state and knowledge of the feeding environment. Three questions that arise from the framework are considered: (1) how do animals learn about foods available to them as a choice? (2) what changes in internal state affect diet selection? (3) how much time is needed for a change in the animal's internal state to be detected and for it to react to this change through a modification of its diet selection? It is proposed that animals have developed behavioural mechanisms that allow them to recognize foods on the basis of their nutritional as well as other properties. The rate at which animals learn about foods depends largely on the extent of the animal's deficiency and on the extent of the post-ingestive consequences induced by the foods. There is little evidence that animals modify their diet selection in response to short-term systemic fluctuation of their internal environment. On the other hand, long-term changes in the internal state of the animal lead to consequent long-term changes in diet selection. The time needed for a change in diet selection to be observed depends on the deviation created in the animal's internal state, either as a result of a physiological change or as a consequence of feeding. Thus, a more appropriate question to consider is not 'what time period matters to the animal?' but 'how much change or deviation in the internal state is the animal prepared to accept?'


Increased concentrations of bilirubin glucuronides in blood plasma indicate hepatocellular dysfunction. Elucidation of the transport processes of bilirubin conjugates across the basolateral (sinusoidal) and the canalicular plasma membrane domains of hepatocytes has decisively contributed to our current understanding of the molecular basis of conjugated hyperbilirubinemia in human liver diseases. Under normal conditions, unconjugated bilirubin is taken up into hepatocytes by transporters of the organic anion–transporting polypeptide (OATP) family, followed by conjugation with glucuronic acid, and ATP-dependent transport into bile. This efflux across the canalicular membrane is mediated by multidrug resistance protein 2 (MRP2 or ABCC2), which is a 190-kDa glycoprotein transporting with high affinity and efficiency monoglucuronosyl bilirubin and bisglucuronosyl bilirubin into bile. MRP2 is hereditarily deficient in human Dubin-Johnson syndrome. Under pathophysiological conditions such as cholestatic liver injury and MRP2 inhibition, the basolateral efflux pump multidrug resistance protein 3 (MRP3 or ABCC3) is responsible for the occurrence of conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. MRP3 is a glycoprotein with a similar molecular mass as MRP2, with 48% amino acid identity, and with overlapping substrate specificity. Human MRP3 is the only basolateral efflux pump shown to transport bilirubin glucuronides. In human and rat hepatocytes, MRP3/Mrp3 is strongly upregulated under conditions of cholestasis and MRP2 deficiency. This is in line with the concept that basolateral efflux pumps of the hepatocyte compensate for impaired canalicular efflux of compounds into bile and contribute to balance the rate of uptake or synthesis of compounds in hepatocytes with the capacity for efflux into bile.


In this paper, we address the challenging problem of 3D concept grounding (i.e. segmenting and learning visual concepts) by looking at RGBD images and reasoning about paired questions and answers. Existing visual reasoning approaches typically utilize supervised methods to extract 2D segmentation masks on which concepts are grounded. In contrast, humans are capable of grounding concepts on the underlying 3D representation of images. However, traditionally inferred 3D representations (e.g., point clouds, voxelgrids, and meshes) cannot capture continuous 3D features flexibly, thus making it challenging to ground concepts to 3D regions based on the language description of the object being referred to. To address both issues, we propose to leverage the continuous, differentiable nature of neural fields to segment and learn concepts. Specifically, each 3D coordinate in a scene is represented as a high-dimensional descriptor. Concept grounding can then be performed by computing the similarity between the descriptor vector of a 3D coordinate and the vector embedding of a language concept, which enables segmentations and concept learning to be jointly learned on neural fields in a differentiable fashion. As a result, both 3D semantic and instance segmentations can emerge directly from question answering supervision using a set of defined neural operators on top of neural fields (e.g., filtering and counting). Experimental results show that our proposed framework outperforms unsupervised/language-mediated segmentation models on semantic and instance segmentation tasks, as well as outperforms existing models on the challenging 3D aware visual reasoning tasks. Furthermore, our framework can generalize well to unseen shape categories and real scans.


While there is general consensus that observed global mean air temperature has increased during the past few decades and will very likely continue to rise in the coming decades, the assessment of the effective impacts of increased global mean air temperature on a specific regional-scale system remains highly challenging. This study takes up the widely discussed concept of limiting global mean temperature to a certain target value, like the so-called 2 °C target, to assess the related impacts on the Swiss Alpine glaciers. A model setup is introduced that uses and combines homogenized long-term meteorological observations and three ensembles of transient gridded Regional Climate Model simulations to drive a distributed glacier mass balance model under a (regionalized) global 2 °C target scenario. 101 glaciers are analyzed representing about 50% of the glacierized area and 75% of the ice volume in Switzerland. In our study, the warming over Switzerland, which corresponds to the global 2 °C target is met around 2030, 2045 and 2055 (depending on the ensemble) for Switzerland, and all glaciers have fully adjusted to the new climate conditions at around 2150. By this time and relative to the year 2000, the glacierized area and volume are both decreased to about 35% and 20%, respectively, and glacier-based runoff is reduced by about 70%.


The Pickering and Garrod model (Pickering & Garrod, 2013) represents a significant advance within the language-as-action paradigm in providing a mechanistic non-inferential account of dialogue. However, we suggest that, in maintaining several aspects of the language-as-product tradition, it does not go far enough in addressing the dynamic nature of the mechanisms involved. We argue for a radical extension of the language-as-action account, showing how compound-utterance phenomena necessitate a grammar-internal characterization which can only be met with a shift of perspective into one in which linguistic knowledge is seen as procedural. This shift provides a more psychologically plausible model of language-in-use, a basis for allowing intentions and speech-acts to be co-constructed, as well as a computationally tractable basis for dialogue models.


We will present experimental and theoretical studies of optical fields with subwavelength structures, in particular phase singularities and coherent detection methods with nanometric resolution. An electromagnetic field is characterized by an amplitude, a phase and a polarization state. Therefore, experimental studies require coherent detection methods, which allow one to measure the amplitude and phase of the optical field with subwavelength resolution. We will present two instruments, a heterodyne scanning probe microscope (heterodyne SNOM) and a high resolution interference microscope (HRIM). We will review some earlier work using the heterodyne SNOM, in particular the measurement of phase singularities produced by a 1 μm pitch grating with 10 nm spatial sampling. Using the HRIM we have investigated the intensity and phase distributions (with singularities) in the focal region of microlenses. The measurements are compared with the results calculated by rigorous diffraction theory.


The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery - the fourth Charlie Mortdecai novel, soon to be a major film starring Johnny Depp. "Deliciously nasty...An adventurously off-piste whodunit". (Observer). "She was a Fellow and Tutor of Scone College and the world must learn that Fellows and Tutors of Scone College shall not be done to death with impunity". (The Hon). Charlie Mortdecai (and his intrepid moustache) is invited to Oxford to investigate the cruel and most definitely unusual death of a don who collided with an omnibus. Though her death appears accidental, one or two things don't add up - such as two pairs of thugs who'd been following her just before her death. With more spies than you could shoe horn into a stretch limo and the solving of the odd murder along the way, The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery is a criminally comic delight. "Gloriously, infectiously funny". (Guardian). "The result of stewing together PG Wodehouse and Raymond Chandler, lightly seasoned with Ian Fleming and Damon Runyon, then adding a jigger of Groucho Marx and a dash of the Marquis de Sade". (Mail on Sunday). "A delightfully black comedy thriller - and it will tell you everything you need to know about onanism in fourth-century China". (Observer). "Blissfully funny". (Independent). Kyril Bonfiglioli was born on the south coast of England in 1928 of an English mother and Italo-Slovene father. After studying at Oxford and five years in the army, he took up a career as an art dealer, like his eccentric creation Charlie Mortdecai. He lived in Oxford, Lancashire, Ireland and Jersey, where he died in 1985. He wrote four Charlie Mortdecai novels, and a fifth historical Mortdecai novel (about a distinguished ancestor).


Decades of research on implicit theories of intelligence have led to the development of the construct of the growth or fixed mindset (Dweck, 2006). Additionally, the characteristics of an effective educator are identified as believing in a growth mindset of ability, emphasizing the process of learning, setting high standards, creating a nurturing atmosphere and endorsing hard work, effort, persistence and resiliency (Dweck, 2006). These practices are related to the descriptors of a Socializing Intelligence environment in the Principles of Learning (Resnick, 2001). Principals establish the culture of their building through the implementation of their key roles as principals including establishing a vision of academic success for all students, creating an environment hospitable to learning and improving instruction (Wallace Foundation, 2013). This exploratory study is designed to ascertain the self-reported mindset of building level administrators and to assess the types of practices the principal endorses in her building. A regional sample of principals (n=142) from western Pennsylvania participated in the survey. The Theories of Intelligence Scale – Others Form (Dweck, 1999) and portions of the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Strategies Scale (Midgley, et al., 2000) were used to survey participants. Findings indicate that 77% of the building level leaders self-reported a growth mindset of ability while 4% self-reported a fixed mindset. The remaining 17% fell somewhere in between the two. These results are not reflective of the typical results when using the Dweck scale. PALS scale scores were normal and comparable to previous scores. Further correlation calculations showed no significant relationship between the principals' practices and self-reported theories of intelligence. The principals in the survey sample endorsed the mastery-goal structure and mastery-approaches to instruction practices at a higher rate than the performance items indicating their promotion of practices that align with the Principles of Learning.


This paper deals with Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) parametr investigation, if permanent magnets are suitable inserted in stator parts to increase magnetic flux. The analysis is made on the base of input geometrical dimensions and materials of a real SRM without permanent magnets (PM). The calculation of PMSRM static parametres is made by means of Finite Element Method (FEM) and by analytical approach. The output parameters of PMSRM analysis are phase inductance, flux linage and electromagnetic torque versus phase current and rotor position. These calculated parameters are compared with measured and FEM calculated parameters of SRM without PM. The recommendations for PMSRM design configuration are given.


The partial pressure of oxygen constitutes an important factor in the regulation of human erythrocyte physiology, including control of cell volume, membrane structure, and glucose metabolism. Because band 3 is thought to be involved in all three processes and because binding of hemoglobin (Hb) to the cytoplasmic domain of band 3 (cdb3) is strongly oxygen-dependent, the possibility that the reversible association of deoxyhemoglobin (deoxyHb) with cdb3 might constitute an O(2)-dependent sensor that mediates O(2)-regulated changes in erythrocyte properties arises. While several lines of evidence support this hypothesis, a major opposing argument lies in the fact that the deoxyHb binding sequence on human cdb3 is not conserved. Moreover, no effect of O(2) pressure on Hb-band 3 interactions has ever been demonstrated in another species. To explore whether band 3-Hb interactions might be widely involved in O(2)-dependent regulation of erythrocyte physiology, we undertook characterization of the effect of O(2) on band 3-Hb interactions in the mouse. We report here that murine band 3 binds deoxyHb with significantly greater affinity than oxyHb, despite the lack of significant homology within the deoxyHb binding sequence. We further map the deoxyHb binding site on murine band 3 and show that deletion of the site eliminates deoxyHb binding. Finally, we identify mutations in murine cdb3 that either enhance or eliminate its affinity for murine deoxyHb. These data demonstrate that despite a lack of homology in the sequences of both murine band 3 and murine Hb, a strong oxygen-dependent association of the two proteins has been conserved.


Decades of research has been conducted to understand the processes that under gird women's empowerment and one of its core components–women's agency. However, few inroads have been made into the study of how these processes work in Arab Middle Eastern societies. In fact, research on women's agency in the Arab Middle East has generally relied on measurement instruments that have been adapted without rigorous testing. This study is the first in Qatar to explore how women in Qatar understand women's agency scale items. Aim The aim of this study is to explore women's interpretations of selected scale items about decision-making, freedom of movement, and gender attitudes. Methods Cognitive interviews were conducted with 24 Qatari women ages 18–21. These women previously responded to agency scales as part of a bigger two wave survey study on influences of kin on women's participation in the labor market. The semi-structured cognitive interviews explore one decision-making item, one freedom-of-movement item, and five gender attitude items. Grounded theory analysis techniques were used. Women's responses were coded and analyzed for themes and patterns. Results For the decision-making item, the majority of women originally reported that they made their own decisions; yet probing revealed family input as an important part of the decision-making process. We conclude that the response options for this item were not uniformly interpreted by participants, and this variation in interpretation results in the group of women who reported making the decision on their own to be more heterogeneous than the researchers intended. Women's multiple interpretations of the decision-making scale suggest that the item was too vague for the context in which it was measured. On the other hand, women seemed to understand the item measuring freedom of movement as the researchers intended, as almost all participants easily indicated that they needed input from others on the freedom-of-movement item. We conclude that the uniformity in responses is due to the specificity of the item which led to women interpreting the item as intended. Women's responses to gender attitude items were reflective of broader Qatari societal norms rather than their own individual opinions. In their survey responses, women participants reflected less gender-equitable attitudes on some items and higher gender-equitable attitudes on other items. When probed during the cognitive interviews, inconsistencies appeared between their initial responses and their subsequent discussion of gender roles in Qatari society. It appears that these young women are caught between their own beliefs about gender equality and larger Qatari societal norms. These conflicts resulted in inconsistent responses across the gender attitude scale. Conclusion Agency measures commonly used in the Arab Middle East are not necessarily appropriate for such a context, especially when used with Qatari young women. Generally, the scale items tested revealed that the items were interpreted in different ways by different women. This highlights the need for deeper exploration into women's understanding of agency scale items before their use in new social contexts. Accordingly, we recommend that scale items be systematically tested whenever a researcher wants to field it in a new cultural context to determine if it is being interpreted consistently across women, and in line with the researchers intent. It is also important to identify scale items which may elicit responses that are representative of societal norms rather than personal beliefs. We recommend that such items are modified to encourage women to express their own opinions.


For gene regulation, some transcriptional activators bind periodically to promoters with either a fast (∼1 minute) or a slow (∼15 to 90 minutes) cycle. It is uncertain whether the fast cycle occurs on natural promoters, and the function of either cycle in transcription remains unclear. We report that fast and slow cycling can occur simultaneously on an endogenous yeast promoter and that slow cycling in this system reflects an oscillation in the fraction of accessible promoters rather than the recruitment and release of stably bound transcriptional activators. This observation, combined with single-cell measurements of messenger RNA (mRNA) production, argues that fast cycling initiates transcription and that slow cycling regulates the quantity of mRNA produced. These findings counter the prevailing view that slow cycling initiates transcription.


We present an algorithm for synthesizing efficient document layout engines from compact relational specifications. These specifications are compact in that a single specification can produce multiple engines, each for a distinct layout situation, i.e., a different combination of known vs. unknown attributes. Technically, our specifications are relational attribute grammars, while our engines are functional attribute grammars. By synthesizing functions from relational constraints, we obviate the need for constraint solving at runtime, because functional attribute grammars can be easily evaluated according to a fixed schedule, sidestepping the backtracking search performed by constraint solvers. Our experiments show that we can generate layout engines for non-trivial data visualizations, and that our synthesized engines are between 39- and 200-times faster than general-purpose constraint solvers. Relational specifications of layout give rise to synthesis problems that have previously proved intractable. Our algorithm exploits the hierarchical, grammar-based structure of the specification, decomposing the specification into smaller subproblems, which can be tackled with off-the-shelf synthesis procedures. The new synthesis problem then becomes the composition of the functions thus generated into a correct attribute grammar, which might be recursive. We show how to solve this problem by efficient reduction to an SMT problem.


Like many desktop operating systems in the 1990s, Android is now in the process of including support for multi- user scenarios. Because these scenarios introduce new threats to the system, we should have an understanding of how well the system design addresses them. Since the security implications of multi-user support are truly pervasive, we developed a systematic approach to studying the system and identifying problems. Unlike other approaches that focus on specific attacks or threat models, ours systematically identifies critical places where access controls are not present or do not properly identify the subject and object of a decision. Finding these places gives us insight into hypothetical attacks that could result, and allows us to design specific experiments to test our hypothesis. Following an overview of the new features and their imple- mentation, we describe our methodology, present a partial list of our most interesting hypotheses, and describe the experiments we used to test them. Our findings indicate that the current system only partially addresses the new threats, leaving the door open to a number of significant vulnerabilities and privacy issues. Our findings span a spectrum of root causes, from simple oversights, all the way to major system design problems. We conclude that there is still a long way to go before the system can be used in anything more than the most casual of sharing environments.


Over the last fourteen years the construction industry in Uganda has experienced an annual average growth rate of 7.8%, markedly higher than the national GDP of 5.5%. However, the disparity be~een construction information and the lack of an organised system of sharing it between industry partners has resulted in the poor performance of construction projects. This is due to the fact that it is inadequate, inaccurate and inconsistently disseminated. This research project investigated the effectiveness of using a web portal to enhance information sharing in the Ugandan construction industry. The work is meant as a step towards the establishment of a web portal for the industry. It is envisaged that the web portal will improve construction project planning and management through the provision of basic construction information. The study population consisted of 233 construction and consulting firms. A multi-method approach was employed in the research. This included the conducting of a questionnaire survey of 80 (Le. sample size) firms, and an int~rview survey of 9 representatives of key stakeholders in the industry. A systemic approach was used to elicit the perspectives of stakeholders in the industry and to develop a holistic view of the research problem. The results of the research have shown that the Ugandan construction industry participants have adequate IT infrastructure and Internet access capacity to benefit from the web portal. 97% of t~e participants have computers and 77% are connected to the Internet. 83% consider the web portal to be an effective means of sharing information and 93% are willing to share the information produced by their organisations. During the study, two conceptual models (a user's information needs model and a data flow model for stages of a construction cycle) were developed and validated by six experts in construction industry practices and communication. The research underscores the fact that the successful implementation of the web portal will not only depend on the "hard" (or technical) factors but also on the "soft" (or people) factors, such as changing the users' thinking and methods of work, developing trust and building partnerships amongst participants. In essence, the project proposes the establishment of a bUilding information centre to house and coordinate the web portal and,its related activities.


Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world (only second to heart disease in
developed countries). It is a multifactorial disease that is characterised by the unregulated
growth of the atypical forms of the body's own cells and intrusion and spread of these cells
from the primary site to other areas in the body. It is rare for cancer to cause death by the
functional failure of the primary organ affected and the clinical consequences of cancer are
indirect relating to the bulk of the tumour or the invasion of tissues both local and distant.


Purinergic receptors of the P2Y family are G protein-coupled surface receptors that respond to extracellular nucleotides and can mediate responses to local cell damage. P2Y-dependent signaling contributes to thrombotic and/or inflammatory consequences of tissue injury by altering platelet and endothelial activation and immune cell phagocytosis. Here, we have demonstrated that P2Y14 modifies cell senescence and cell death in response to tissue stress, thereby enabling preservation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell function. In mice, P2Y14 deficiency had no demonstrable effect under homeostatic conditions; however, radiation stress, aging, sequential exposure to chemotherapy, and serial bone marrow transplantation increased senescence in animals lacking P2Y14. Enhanced senescence coincided with increased ROS, elevated p16(INK4a) expression, and hypophosphorylated Rb and was inhibited by treatment with a ROS scavenger or inhibition of p38/MAPK and JNK. Treatment of WT cells with pertussis toxin recapitulated the P2Y14 phenotype, suggesting that P2Y14 mediates antisenescence effects through Gi/o protein-dependent pathways. Primitive hematopoietic cells lacking P2Y14 were compromised in their ability to restore hematopoiesis in irradiated mice. Together, these data indicate that P2Y14 on stem/progenitor cells of the hematopoietic system inhibits cell senescence by monitoring and responding to the extracellular manifestations of tissue stress and suggest that P2Y14-mediated responses prevent the premature decline of regenerative capacity after injury.


This study examines the effects of logging operations on sediment and solute yields
in four steep catchments referred to as the Sungai Weng Experimental Watersheds
located in Ulu Muda Forest Reserves Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. Watershed 1
(W 1) is a control catchment where logging was not allowed throughout the period of
study. Watershed 2 (W2) was logged based on stringent guidelines as recommended
by the Forestry Department hitherto referred to as reduced impact logging (RIL).
Watershed 3 (W3) was logged based on conventional logging (CL) practices.
Watershed 5 (W5) is a bigger watershed, where the experimental basins are nested
within and selected to examine the downstream and cumulative effects of logging
operations including in those areas worked previously.
The general aim of this study was to compare the relative impacts of CL and RIL on
sediment output. In this study, the extent of sediment source areas in W2 and W3 in
the form of roads, skid trails and log landings and their implication on sediment
output was also examined. In W2, the logging roads density was 30 mlha, while the
density of skid trail was 68 mlha and the exposed area was 43 ha, about 5% of total
watershed area. In W3, the logging road density was 47 rnlha and the density of skid
trail was 10lmha; exposed area was 59 ha, about 9% of watershed area.
The most reliable and suitable method was chosen to determine the sediment yield
of the four catchments was estimated using data assembled for the rising and falling
discharge stages. In W 1, suspended sediment concentrations are high during storms
even though under natural forests. The peak concentrations sampled were between
1,278 to 1,896 mgll from 1997 to 2002 respectively. The annual sediment yields
were 160, 199, 148, 97, 79, and 80 t/km2/yr generated fiom 1997 to 2002
respectively.
During logging operations, in W2, the annual sediment yields significantly increased
from 176 to 1,15 1 t/km21yr in year 2000 and 2002 respectively. In W3, the sediment
yields increased dramatically to 2,133; 5,386; 4,501 t/km2/yr over the period of 1998
to 2000 respectively. After logging ceased, sediment yield decreased to 869 and 684
t/km2/yr from 2001 and 2002 respectively. Sediment yield in W5 was much less
even though, the sediment yields fiom the experimental watersheds W3, in particular
was high. Depositions of sediment along the stream channel leading to the gauging
. . .
111
site of W5 and dilution from upstream channels were the main reason for the lower
yield. Therefore, in W5 the sediment yield was contributing 143, 284, 829,458, 178,
and 163 tlkm2/yr, in over the six-year period from 1997 to 2002 respectively.
Stream water quality was measured in each study watershed and the results revealed
that solute loads were much lower than sediment loads. In W1, the annual solute
yields were 12.5, 13.5, 20.1, 14.8, 13.7, and 13.8 tlkm2/yr generated from 1997 to
2002 respectively. During logging operations, in W2, solute yields were 20.3, 13.4,
11.3 t h 2 / y r , for the year 2000, 2001 and 2002, respectively. In W3, solute out put
was 30.8, 27.0 and 20.0 t/lun21yr. However, the annual sediment yields appeared to
have declined to 18.0 and 14.2 tkm2/yr, in the following two years 2001 and 2002,
respectively. In W5, solute out put was contributing 17.5, 16.8, 27.0, 25.4, 23.1 and
17.3 tlkm2/yr, in over the six-year period from 1997 to 2002.
The results of the study suggest that with proper control measures, the effects of
logging on sediment loads in particular, can be substantially reduced. The increase
of sediment yield in W2 to l,l5 1 t/km21yr in 2002 with 80% the study watershed
was logged suggests that RIL exerted significant influence on sediment output. With
respect to pre-logging or control conditions, the analyses suggest that conventional
logging can results in over 40 times the sediment yield during the logging
operations. The positive effects of RIL can be achieved through carehl planning,
scheduling and control of logging operations.


Tibetan bowls have been traditionally used for ceremonial and meditation purposes, but are also increasingly being used in contemporary music-making. They are handcrafted using alloys of several metals and produce different tones, depending on the alloy composition, their shape, size and weight. Most important is the sound-producing technique used - either impacting or rubbing, or both simultaneously - as well as the excitation location, the hardness and friction characteristics of the exciting stick (called puja). Recently, researchers became interested in the physical modelling of singing bowls, using waveguide synthesis techniques for performing numerical simulations. Their efforts aimed particularly at achieving real-time synthesis and, as a consequence, several aspects of the physics of these instruments do not appear to be clarified in the published numerical formulations and results. In the present paper, we extend to axi-symmetrical shells - subjected to impact and friction-induced excitations - our modal techniques of physical modelling, which were already used in previous papers concerning plucked and bowed strings as well as impacted and bowed bars. We start by an experimental modal identification of three different Tibetan bowls, and then develop a modelling approach for these systems. Extensive nonlinear numerical simulations were performed, for both impacted and rubbed bowls, which in particular highlight important aspects concerning the spatial patterns of the friction-induced bowl vibrations. Our results are in good agreement with preliminary qualitative experiments.


Concanavalin A (Con A) is the best-known plant lectin and has important in vitro biological activities arising from its specific saccharide-binding ability. Its exact biological role still remains unknown. The complexes of Con A with 4'-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-mannopyranoside (alpha-PNM) and 4'-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (alpha-PNG) have been crystallized in space group P2(1)2(1)2 with cell dimensions a = 135.19 A, b = 155.38 A, c = 71.25 A and a = 134.66 A, b = 155.67 A, and c = 71.42 A, respectively. X-ray diffraction intensities to 2.75 A for the alpha-PNM and to 3.0 A resolution for the alpha-PNG complex have been collected. The structures of the complexes were solved by molecular replacement and refined by simulated annealing methods to crystallographic R-factor values of 0.185/0.186 and free-R-factor values of 0.260/0.274, respectively. In both structures, the asymmetric unit contains four molecules arranged as a tetramer, with approximate 222 symmetry. A saccharide molecule is bound in the sugar-binding site near the surface of each monomer. The nonsugar (aglycon) portion of the compounds used helps to identify the exact orientation of the saccharide in the sugar-binding pocket and is involved in major interactions between tetramers. The hydrogen bonding network in the region of the binding site has been analyzed, and only minor differences with the previously reported Con A-methyl-alpha-D-mannopyranoside complex structure have been observed. Structural differences that may contribute to the slight preference of the lectin for mannosides over glucosides are discussed. Calculations indicate a negative electrostatic surface potential for the saccharide binding site of Con A, which may be important for its biological activity. It is also shown in detail how a particular class of hydrophobic ligands interact with one of the three so-called characteristic hydrophobic sites of the lectins.


Introduction: Diabetes is the most common metabolic disorder in Iran. Due to the nature of the disease, the patient's cooperation in self care is very important. One of the most effective and affordable ways to empower patients is education, which, to be beneficial, must be provided in accordance with related standards. The current study was conducted to investigate accordance of time of discharge diabetic patients with the standards of education for diabetics Type 2 in hospitals, affiliated in Yazd University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: At discharge, data on patient education provided by nurses to 385 diabetic patients, was documented using the "nursing diabetic patient education-discharge time check list" and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS 20. Results: Conformity rate of discharge nursing education in patients with Diabetes Type 2 with standards was 14.5%, which indicated a low quality of education. Conformity rate in the dimensions of "insulin therapy" was 34.7%, in "foot care education" was 6.75%, in "diet programs" was 1.8%, in "physical activity" was 0.1%, in "prevention of infection" was 1.8%, and in "oral antihyperglycaemics drugs" was 13.3%. Conclusion: Based on the poor compliance with the standards of education for diabetics Type 2 patients, application of nursing clinical guidelines during discharge for type 2 diabetic patients and clinical supervision by nursing managers for optimizing quality of care is recommended.


Background: Recent evidence suggests that functional intratumorous lymph vessels may be absent from some human cancers. This could result from either the failure of tumours to induce lymphangiogenesis, or the collapse of lymph vessels, caused by high interstitial tumour pressure. Methods: To differentiate between these two hypotheses, paraffin wax embedded clinical specimens from normal breast (n  =  13), usual ductal hyperplasia (n  =  11), ductal carcinoma in situ (n  =  21), and invasive breast cancer (n  =  40) were compared for lymphatic and blood vessel density by immunohistochemistry with antibodies to the lymphatic endothelial hyaluronan receptor (LYVE-1) and CD31, respectively. Results: Lymph vessel density was lower than blood vessel density in normal breast tissue. Within breast lobuli, lymph vessels were absent. In premalignant lesions blood microvessel density increased, whereas no increase in lymph vessels could be seen intralesionally. In invasive cancers, lymph vessels were absent in all but a few cases, where probably some pre-existing lymph vessels remained, although blood microvessel density was once again increased. Conclusion: Unlike angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis is absent during breast carcinogenesis. This, and not rising interstitial pressure caused by an increase in the size of lesions, explains the absence of intratumorous lymph vessels in invasive breast cancer.


The opioid epidemic is a national public health emergency. As the number of fa- tal overdoses and drug abuse skyrockets, children of opioid-dependent parents are at increased risk of being neglected, abused or orphaned. While some studies have examined the effects of policies introduced by states to restrict prescription drug supply on drug abuse, there is no study analyzing their effects on children. This paper estimates the effect of must-access prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) on child removals. To identify the effects of the programs on foster care caseloads, we exploit the variation across states in the timing of adoption of must-access PDMPs using an event-study approach as well as standard difference-in-difference models. Consistent with previous evidence examining the effects of PDMPs on drug abuse, we find that operational PDMP did not have any significant effects on foster care caseloads. However, the introduction of mandatory provisions reduced child removals by 10%. Exploring the reasons of removals, we show that these effects are driven by the reductions in cases of child neglect. There is also evidence of significant reductions in removal cases associated with child physical abuse.


The plasminogen/plasmin system is involved in a variety of normal physiological and pathological processes, including tissue remodelling, angiogenesis and tumour metastasis. Plasminogen activators and receptors for plasminogen/plasminogen activators are essential for the processing of plasminogen to form the active serine protease plasmin. Plasmin can in turn positively or negatively regulate further plasminogen activation via plasmin-mediated cleavage of receptors and activators. HRG (histidine-rich glycoprotein), a relatively abundant (approx. 100-150 microg/ml) plasma glycoprotein, has a multi-domain structure that can interact with many ligands, including Zn2+, heparin, HS (heparan sulfate) and plasminogen. HRG has been shown to function as an adaptor molecule to tether plasminogen to GAG (glycosaminoglycan)-bearing surfaces and to regulate plasminogen activation via various mechanisms. As HRG itself is sensitive to plasmin cleavage, the present study examines in detail the cleavage of human HRG by plasmin and the effect of this cleavage on various functions of HRG. HRG fragments, generated by plasmin cleavage, are held together by disulfide linkages and are not released from the molecule under non-reducing conditions. Plasmin-mediated cleavage partially inhibited HRG binding to cell surface HS, but enhanced HRG binding to necrotic cells and to plasminogen. However, both intact and plasmin-cleaved HRG enhanced the binding of plasminogen to heparin-coated surfaces to a similar extent. Furthermore, the presence of heparin, Zn2+ or acidic pH was found to protect HRG from plasmin cleavage. Thus proteolytic cleavage of HRG by plasmin may provide a feedback mechanism to regulate the effects of HRG on the plasminogen/plasmin system and other functions of HRG.


The purpose of this study was to analyse subjective self-evaluation of musculoskeletal discomfort conducted by female production assembly workers. Thirty-seven female assembly workers aged 20–54 years participated in this study, whereas 35 of them were right-handed. Discomfort in neck, shoulder, upper back, upper arm, low back, forearm, wrist, hips, thigh, knees, lower legs and heels was subjectively evaluated by Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire. The results indicated that female assembly workers felt most work-related discomfort in the neck (44%), lower back (19.7%) and in the right wrist (15%). Discomfort was less pronounced in the right knee (0.01%), left upper arm (0.04%) and left hip buttocks (0.1%). In conclusion, this study indicated that subjective discomfort sensed by female production assembly workers was higher in the neck, lower back, right shoulder and the right wrist. According to the study results, further research is needed on the relationship between musculoskeletal discomfort and its influence on the quality of assembly work.


Although fuzziness is one of the innate characteristics of language, shared by both Chinese and English, there do exist apparent differentiations between them as far as their roles in aesthetic-effect-generating, representation mode, application field suitability and aesthetic impact are concerned, which has remained a great challenge and regret in either English to Chinese (E–C) or Chinese to English (C–E) translation, particularly in the latter. It's no exaggeration to say that translation is a profession with no lack of regret and translators are professional regret-tasters. The most impressive regret in C–E translation might lie in the fact that the talent and capability of the translators is painfully restricted in reproducing and conveying the aesthetic effect of Chinese fuzzy expressions.As an artistically conceived language, Chinese invites macro-induction in terms of linguistic features while English, being logic-oriented, analysis-based and hypotaxis-dependent, is largely ignorant of what is called macro-induction. Hence abundant aesthetic genius of Chinese fuzzy expressions can hardly find its way into the English version. It can be said that generally the process of C–E translation is one of complementing continuously "meaning blank", of changing "indeterminacy of meaning" into "determinacy of meaning", with the E–C translation as the opposite. Many language problems in communication are essentially closely related to nationality psychologic archetype complex, which may be a significant try in translation study.


In this work reactions of guanidinyl-functionalised aromatic compounds 1,2,4,5-tetrakis-(N,N,N´,N´,-N´´,N´´,N´´´,N´´´-tetramethylguanidino)-benzene (1), 1,2,4,5-tetrakis-(N,N'-dimethyl-N,N'-ethyleneguanidino)–benzene (3) and 1,2-bis-(N,N,N´,N´-tetramethylguanidino)-benzene (2) with Cu(I), Ag(I) and Au(I) salts are explored. 1 and 2 are able to transfer two electrons to an acceptor and act as ligand by coordination with imine nitrogen atoms to metal centers, wich results in formation of binuclear complexes. Reaction of 1 with CuCl and CuCN leads to trigonal-planar coordination compounds 1(CuCl)2 and 1(CuCN)2. Oxidation of 1(CuI)2 with I2 leads to formation of semiconductive coordination polymer {[1(CuI)2][2I3]}n with band gap of 1.05 eV. Decomposition of this polymer is achieved with 1,10-phenanthroline with simultaneous oxidation of copper(I)-centers to Cu(II). A radical cationic complex [1(Cu2Cl2I2)][I3] is obtained by analogous reaction of 1(CuCl)2 with I2. DF-calculations show two Cu(II)-centers and one free electron located within the C6-backbone of the ligand. The strong oxidation agent Br2 allows the synthesis of [2Br1(CuBr2)2][CuBr4] by four electron oxidation of 1(CuBr)2, wich goes along with bromination of 1. The choice of electron acceptors determines the number of transferred electrons from the coordination compounds 1(CuBr)2 and 1(CuI)2. Formation of trigonal-planar complexes 2(CuX) (X = I, CN) is observed in case of using 2 as ligand.
First coordination compounds of ligand 1 with AgX (X = Cl, Br, I) are obtained. Polarity of the solvent influences the progress of reaction. Using unpolar solvent toluene prefers coordination of Ag(I)-centers and formation monomer 1(AgCl)2, while in more polar acetonitrile coordination, oxidation and formation of polymeric structures is observed and product mixture of 1(AgCl)2, {[1][Ag4Cl6]}n and [1][2Cl] is obtained. Polymer compounds [1(AgBr)2]n and [1(AgI)2]n are synthesised by reaction of 1 with AgBr and AgI in acetonitrile. Pyrolysis leads to formation of graphite-like carbonitride phase with semiconducting properties. In methanol electrondonor nature of ligand 1 dominates over coordination character and oxidation of 1 in presence of AgCl and AgBr to dication 12+ is observed, while in presence of AgI oxidation is associated by coordination and dicationic units of 12+ are connected by silverhalogenide-cluster. The different properties of ligand 1 within the 1/AgX-system (X = Cl, Br, I) can be influenced by the selection of the solvent and/or halogenides, which offers an access to different products involving the guanidinyl-functionalised ligand 1. 1D-Chains of [1(AgBr)2]n and [1(AgI)2]n show different behaviour towards the oxidizing agents I2, 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ), 2,3,5,6-tetrachlorobenzoquinone (TCQ) and tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ). Polymer structures such as {[1][Ag5Br4I3]}n as well as donor-acceptor couple such as [1][2DDQ] are obtained. The formation of this compounds coincides with change of coordination geometry respectively dissociation of Ag(I)-centers from ligand. 1 acts as two-electron donor towards the oxidizing agent.
First Au(I)-cyanomethylcomplex 3/[PPh3AuCH2CN]2 is obtained by reaction of 3 with AuPPh3Cl in acetonitrile. Coordination of Au(I) to guanidine-groups is not observed. The interplay of basic properties and steric feature of guanidine-groups allows 3 the deprotonation of the C-H-acidic compound acetonitril. The presence of 3 and AuPPh3Cl allows also deprotonation of phenylacetylene, 3-ethynylpyridine, 4-ethynylpyridine, 1,4-diethylylbenzene and 4-ethinyl-1,1´-biphenyle. Two reaction channels are observed. Redox-channel leads to formation of [3][2Au(RX)2] whereas the deprotonation channel results in formation of neutral Au(I)-complexes PPh3Au(RX). Favored linear geometry in all Au(I)-complexes is realized.


Performance measurement in managerial accounting is normally associated with cash flow and it is executed based on different figures such as testing information content abuse and accounting figures. However, increasing the information content in accrual components of earning and internal performance measurement provides additional informative insights. This paper studies the relationship between operating cash flows and earnings along with total shareholder returns. The study chooses the information of 54 firms from Tehran Stock Exchange. The results show that there were some meaningful relationship between the operating cash flow, profitability and the returns of all stakeholders. However, this happens by increasing profitability and cash flow of information asymmetry proportion to their correlation with the economic efficiency of shareholders' returns.


Nondestructive tests have been proposed and used for the evaluation of structural masonry conditions, quality control, and properties of materials in-situ. However, most of nondestructive methods work only with mortars with low compressive strength (< 4,0 MPa) or for qualitative assessment, and are not practical for in-situ use, requiring too much time to perform evaluations. For those reasons, a pneumatic pin penetration test was used to evaluate the penetration depth of a steel probe and correlate it with the compressive strength of mortar in a laboratory. The study has shown a good correlation between the penetration depth of pins and the compressive strength of mortars, besides proving to be a practical test, which is fast and easy to implement in situ.


This thesis aims at shedding light on the microscopic origin of a phenomenon in the field of semiconductor nanostructures, which occurs in transport through a short and narrow quasi one-dimensional constriction, the quantum point contact (QPC). Unlike the stepwise increase of linear conductance of a QPC as function of its width in units of the quantum GQ, which is well understood and was predicted already in the 1950s, an additional shoulder-like step at 0.7xG_Q raises questions since its discovery in 1996 : the 0.7 anomaly. Subsequent experimental investigations revealed a plethora of accompanying features of this fascinating structure. Most famously these include a strong reduction of conductance in the sub-open regime of a QPC as function of external parameters such as magnetic field, temperature or bias voltage. While it is agreed upon that the 0,7 anomaly arises from electron-electron interactions, the high number of theoretical attempts at an explanation indicates that the detailed microscopic origin of the peculiar shoulder is still subject to controversal discussions. In particular no theory seems to describe the whole variety of signatures of the 0.7 anomaly sufficiently. Here, we present a microscopic model that qualifies to meet this requirement.

We model the effective barrier of the lowest transport mode of a QPC by a one-dimensional parabolic potential with short-ranged Coulomb interactions. By systematic analysis of experimental data we show that a parabolic barrier approximates the actual barrier shape of the QPC adequately well. In order to understand the physics of a QPC in detail, we put emphasis on the noninteracting properties of our model; we find a pronounced maximum in the local density of states in the vicinity of the barrier center at energies just above the potential. Importantly, this "van Hove ridge", which can be associated with slow electrons above the barrier coincides with the chemical potential if the QPC is tuned to be sub-open. Here, it causes an enhancement of backscattering at finite interactions and a subsequent anomalous reduction of conductance. In case of a magnetic field the underlying mechanism for this reduction is an interaction-enhanced local depopulation of the disfavoured spin species' subband; at finite excitation energies the reduction is a consequence of an interaction-enhanced inelastic backstattering probability. Hence, the interplay of van Hove ridge and electron-electron interactions provides a natural explanation for the appearance of the 0.7 anomaly and its various features.

We calculate properties of our interacting one-dimensional QPC model using two methods: A specially developed approximation scheme within the functional renormalization group (fRG) provides reliable results for the magnetic field dependence of the 0.7 anomaly at zero temperature. At finite temperature and finite bias voltage we rely on second order perturbation theory in the interaction (SOPT). Since SOPT's validity is restricted to weaker interaction strength, where calculations clearly show the right trend but not yet the full manifestation of the 0.7 anomaly, we are currently setting up an extension of our fRG approach within the Keldysh formalism, which will allow us to also explore finite excitation energies.


Only one sport has reinforced elbow smashes to the head, flying knees, and liver kicks. From mixed martial arts' controversial inception to its mainstream acceptance, from the iconic legacy of Rickson Gracie and the freakish knockout power of Chuck Liddell, to the unstoppable determination of Randy Couture and the emergence of tomorrow's champions, Black Belt has covered the sport's inception and evolution. A compilation of instructional articles and interviews with the industry's greatest champions, this guide is the definitive resource on the athletes and techniques of the world's most intense and popular new sport.


Objective: High serum IgE and eosinophil counts are laboratory features of severe atopic dermatitis (AD), persistent food allergies and severe allergic asthma as well as some primary immune deficiencies (PID), especially hyperIgE syndrome (HIES). Our objective was to define cut-off values to discriminate atopic diseases and HIES by comparing serum IgE, eosinophil levels, allergen sensitizations among patients with AD, IgE-mediated food allergy, allergic asthma and/or rhinitis, chronic granulomatous disease and HIES. Materials and Methods: A total of 315 patients were enrolled into the study. We evaluated serum IgE (IU/L) and eosinophil (/mm3) values, allergen sensitizations and the age range of patients. ROC curve analysis was performed in order to define an optimal cut-off value for serum IgE levels and blood eosinophil counts. Results: The median levels of serum IgE and eosinophils were 2542 (min:1, max:55400) and 1000 (min:0, max:37880), respectively in the PID group. In the atopy group, the median serum IgE was 265 (min:4, max:7122), and median eosinophil count was 400 (min:0, max:6050). Serum IgE and blood eosinophil levels were significantly higher in PID patients compared to those with atopic diseases (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). IgE was statistically higher in the food allergy group compared to only house dust mite sensitized and/ or grass co-sensitized patients (p=0.008 and p=0.01, respectively). If the IgE cut-off values for HIES are considered to be equal to 2000 IU/l, the sensitivity accounted for 74% and the specificity for 96% (PPV:74%, NPV:96%). When serum IgE=5000 IU/l was considered as the cut-off, the sensitivity decreased to 56% in contrast to the specificity increasing to 99% (PPV:91%, NPV:94%). Similarly, for eosinophils=1500/mm3, the sensitivity was %51 and the specificity 96% (PPV:61%, NPV:93%) and for eosinophils=2500/mm3, the sensitivity was 41% while the specificity was 98% (PPV:76%, NPV: 92%) to discriminate HIES from atopic diseases. Conclusion: It is possible to discriminate atopic diseases from HIES when the cut-off values are used are 2500 IU/l for IgE and 1500/ mm3 for eosinophils with ROC curve analysis. An atopic disease is the most likely underlying condition below these values. Moreover, patients with serum IgE higher than 5000 IU/l and/or blood eosinophils higher than 2500/mm3 should be managed as HIES unless otherwise proven.


Findings concerning people's attitudes toward crime and punishment are often at odds, perhaps influenced by various factors that are not captured in the original research. The authors focus on some of the factors that have a bearing on the attitudes people express in order to gauge a more accurate assessment of public opinion. Historically, attitudes and policy approaches toward criminal justice have fluctuated based on the economic conditions of society. At times of high unemployment, public opinion on criminal justice tends to swing toward the more punitive so that conditions within prison are more austere than the living conditions of the poorest members of society. The influence of gender in attitudes toward crime and punishment is questioned as some studies have found gender differences while others have not. Racial differences in attitudes toward crime and punishment are similarly ambiguous. As such, categorizing the public's attitudes toward crime and punishment according to demographic categories remains problematic as the influence of some demographics appear to be indirect. Similarly contrasting research is reviewed concerning the role that fear of crime plays in shaping public attitudes toward criminal justice practices. Some inconsistencies in research findings may be the result of differing methodologies. The role of victimization on public attitudes is reviewed; findings have failed to find a link between victimization and attitudes of increased punitiveness toward offenders. The link between individual ideological beliefs and attitudes toward crime and punishment has been probed by researchers who have identified some personal beliefs that influence attitudes, such as degree of religiosity and the belief in a just world. The influence of the type of offense on attitudes of punitiveness have been examined and has illustrated the more offenses an offender has committed, the more punitive the attitude toward the offender. Finally, the authors show that the attitudes of the public toward punitive punishments may be based on inaccurate knowledge of punitive sanctions. This review has established that the public's attitudes toward crime and punishment are contextual and thus difficult to assess. Sweeping statements about the public's desire for more punitive punishment are based on inaccurate measurements. Notes, references


Abstract Reliable moment magnitude estimates for seismic events in the Middle East region can be difficult to obtain due to the uneven distribution of stations, the complex tectonic structure, and regions of high attenuation. In this study, we take advantage of the many new broadband seismic stations that have become available through improved national networks and numerous temporary deployments. We make coda envelope‐amplitude measurements for 2247 events recorded by 68 stations over 13 narrow frequency bands ranging between 0.03 and 8 Hz. The absolute scaling of these spectra was calculated based on independent waveform modeling solutions of the moment magnitudes for a subset of these events to avoid circularity. Using our 1D path calibrations, we determined coda‐based magnitudes for a majority of the events. We obtain fairly good agreement with waveform‐modeled seismic moments for the larger events ( M w >4.5) at low frequencies ( 0.7  Hz) because of unaccounted 2D path effects, as well as mixing of both Sn coda and Lg coda, which have different attenuation behavior. This scatter leads to increased variance in the magnitudes estimated for smaller events in which low‐frequency amplitudes are below the noise levels and the higher frequencies are the only signals available. We quantify the expected variance in coda envelope amplitudes as a function of frequency using interstation scatter as our metric. The net results of this study provide thousands of new 1D coda magnitude estimates for events in the broad region, as well as the necessary initial starting model for use in a new related 2D coda study (Pasyanos et al. , 2016). Online Material: Table of site terms and moment magnitudes.


The world's water resources are rapidly deteriorating due to the combined effects of global warming, climate change, population growth and fast development, posing new challenges to water resources managers. Conflicting objectives and expectations of various stakeholders have led to increasing interests in the consideration and resolution of multiple social, economic, environmental and supply sustainability objectives in the management of water supply systems, especially during extended dry periods. This study attempted to develop and assess the potential of a generic decision support framework to assist in evaluating alternative operating rules for multi-purpose, multireservoir urban water supply systems. The multi-objective outranking approach which facilitated the incorporation of stakeholder preferences in the decision making process is a main focus area in this research. The main elements of the framework are illustrated on a case study of the Melbourne water supply system, demonstrating its capabilities for evaluating alternative operating rules under single or group decision-making situations. Eight performance measures (PMs) were identified under four main objectives to evaluate the system performance related to sixteen pre-selected alternative operating rules. Three major stakeholder groups, namely, resource managers, water users and environmental interest groups were represented in hypothetical decision making situations. An interviewerassisted questionnaire survey was used to derive stakeholder preferences on PMs in terms of preference functions and weights as required by the PROMETHEE/GAIA method and its computer software tool Decision Lab 2000. A total of 97 personnel selected from Melbourne Water and Victoria University participated in the survey expressing their preferences on the eight PMs. Finally, an overall ranking for alternative operating rules is obtained together with other output results, which focused on the best compromises between the objectives considered. The method yields reliable and robust results in terms of varying group compositions considered in the case study. The major innovation of this project is the development of a transparent and intuitive multi-objective decision support framework that has potential to be developed for evaluating alternative operating rules for urban water supply systems.


Various images of the Muller–Lyer figures have been obtained by digital filtering. The filtered images contained a definite spatial-frequency spectrum, predominantly low, medium, or high frequencies. The filtering was carried out by convolution of the images with wavelets that are the difference of two Gaussoids with half-width differing by a factor of 2. The equalization threshold of the Muller–Lyer figures was measured by presenting images subjected to digital processing and without processing, thereby measuring the threshold for bringing about the illusion. The Muller–Lyer illusion was caused by all the stimuli, but it was reliably larger in response to the presentation of the image with a predominantly low-frequency component. The modelling of the Muller–Lyer illusion must take into account the spatial-frequency spectrum of the test image and the characteristics of the pass-band filtering in the spatial-frequency channels of not only the primary but also the higher divisions of the visual system, which construct the envelope based on the primary filtering of the image.


The goal of this study was to develop an operational steam explosion pretreatment for effective modification of rice straw chemical structure in order to improve its biodegradability and methane yield. The parameters of pressure (5 bar to 15 bar), moisture (0% to 70%), and time (1 min to 15 min) were studied in steam explosion pretreatment. The steam explosion efficiency was investigated according to the changes in crystallinity structure and chemical composition on rice straw, as well as the methane yield from straw. Steam explosion changed the structure linkages between the lignin and carbohydrate, which was indicated by a reduction in the peak intensities in the bonds from 1648 cm-1 to 1516 cm-1. After pretreatment, the crystallinity index of the rice straw in the 10 bar-10 min cycle with no moisture and 15 bar-10 min cycle with 70% moisture increased from 22.9% to 28.3% and 28.6%, respectively. Steam explosion efficiently decreased the lignin. The highest reduction in the amount of lignin was observed with the 10 bar-10 min cycle, which reached from 18.6% to 13.0%. The methane yield increased with the cycles 10 bar-10 min and 15 bar-15 min with 35% moisture, and 15 bar-10 min with 70% moisture by 113%, 104%, and 147% compared to that of the untreated straw, respectively. Moreover, the highest biodegradation percent of the rice straw was obtained in these cycles.


MRI-controlled transurethral ultrasound therapy uses a linear array of transducer elements and active temperature feedback to create volumes of thermal coagulation shaped to predefined prostate geometries in 3D. The specific aims of this work were to demonstrate the accuracy and repeatability of producing large volumes of thermal coagulation (>10 cc) that conform to 3D human prostate shapes in a tissue-mimicking gel phantom, and to evaluate quantitatively the accuracy with which numerical simulations predict these 3D heating volumes under carefully controlled conditions. Eleven conformal 3D experiments were performed in a tissue-mimicking phantom within a 1.5T MR imager to obtain non-invasive temperature measurements during heating. Temperature feedback was used to control the rotation rate and ultrasound power of transurethral devices with up to five 3.5 × 5 mm active transducer elements. Heating patterns shaped to human prostate geometries were generated using devices operating at 4.7 or 8.0 MHz with surface acoustic intensities of up to 10 W cm−2. Simulations were informed by transducer surface velocity measurements acquired with a scanning laser vibrometer enabling improved calculations of the acoustic pressure distribution in a gel phantom. Temperature dynamics were determined according to a FDTD solution to Pennes' BHTE. The 3D heating patterns produced in vitro were shaped very accurately to the prostate target volumes, within the spatial resolution of the MRI thermometry images. The volume of the treatment difference falling outside ±1 mm of the target boundary was, on average, 0.21 cc or 1.5% of the prostate volume. The numerical simulations predicted the extent and shape of the coagulation boundary produced in gel to within (mean ± stdev [min, max]): 0.5 ± 0.4 [−1.0, 2.1] and −0.05 ± 0.4 [−1.2, 1.4] mm for the treatments at 4.7 and 8.0 MHz, respectively. The temperatures across all MRI thermometry images were predicted within −0.3 ± 1.6 °C and 0.1 ± 0.6 °C, inside and outside the prostate respectively, and the treatment time to within 6.8 min. The simulations also showed excellent agreement in regions of sharp temperature gradients near the transurethral and endorectal cooling devices. Conformal 3D volumes of thermal coagulation can be precisely matched to prostate shapes with transurethral ultrasound devices and active MRI temperature feedback. The accuracy of numerical simulations for MRI-controlled transurethral ultrasound prostate therapy was validated experimentally, reinforcing their utility as an effective treatment planning tool.


Changes in EEG power spectra related to the imagination of movements may be used to build up a direct communication channel between brain and computer (brain computer interface; BCI). However, for the practical implementation of a BCI device, the feature classifier plays a crucial role. We compared the performance of three different feature classifiers for the detection of the imagined movements in a group of 6 normal subjects by means the EEG. The feature classifiers compared were those based on the hidden Markov models (HMM), the artificial neural network (ANN) and on the Mahalanobis distance (MD). Results show a better performance of the MD and ANN classifiers with respect to the HMM classifier.


The universal scaling between the average slow relaxation/transport and the average picosecond rattling motion inside the cage of the first neighbors has been evidenced in a variety of numerical simulations and experiments. Here, we first show that the scaling does not need information concerning the arbitrarily-defined glass transition region and relies on a single characteristic length scale a(2)(1/2) which is determined even far from that region. This prompts the definition of a novel reduced rattling amplitude (1/2) which has been investigated by extensive molecular-dynamics simulations addressing the slow relaxation, the diffusivity, and the fast cage-dynamics of both components of an atomic binary mixture. States with different potential, density, and temperature are considered. It is found that if two states exhibit coinciding incoherent van Hove function on the picosecond timescale, the coincidence is observed at long times too, including the large-distance exponential decay--a signature of heterogeneous dynamics--observed when the relaxation is slow. A major result of the present study is that the correlation plot between the diffusivity of the two components of the binary mixtures and their respective reduced rattling amplitude collapse on the same master curve. This holds true also for the structural relaxation of the two components and the unique master curve coincides with the one of the average scaling. It is shown that the breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein law exhibited by the distinct atomic species of the mixture and the monomers of a chain in a polymer melt is predicted at the same reduced rattling amplitude. Finally, we evidence that the well-known temperature/density thermodynamic scaling of the transport and the relaxation of the mixture is still valid on the picosecond timescale of the rattling motion inside the cage. This provides a link between the fast dynamics and the thermodynamic scaling of the slow dynamics.


Ubiquitination is best known for its role in targeting proteins for degradation by the proteasome, but evidence of the nonproteolytic functions of ubiquitin is also rapidly accumulating. One example of the regulatory, rather than proteolytic, function of ubiquitin is provided by study of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor–associated factor (TRAF) proteins, which function as ubiquitin ligases to synthesize lysine 63 (K63)–linked polyubiquitin chains to mediate protein kinase activation through a proteasome-independent mechanism. Some TRAF proteins, such as TRAF2 and TRAF3, have recently been shown to have a positive role in the canonical pathway that activates nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) through IκB kinase β (IKKβ), but a negative role in the noncanonical pathway that activates NF-κB through IKKα. These opposing roles of TRAF proteins may be linked to their ability to synthesize distinct forms of polyubiquitin chains. Indeed, the TRAF2-interacting protein RIP can mediate IKK activation when it is modified by K63 polyubiquitin chains, but is targeted to degradation by the proteasome when it is K48-polyubiquitinted by the NF-κB inhibitor A20. Thus, ubiquitin chains are dynamic switches that can influence signaling outputs in dramatically different ways.


The aim of this paper is to investigate the cause behind rising Target2 imbalances since early 2015, coinciding with the implementation of a quantitative easing program by the ECB. Two facts have captured our attention. Firstly, the official explanation of rising Target2 imbalances, offered by the ECB, is not convincing because it does not fit the empirical evidence available for Italy and Spain. Further, our alternative interpretation reveals that through quantitative easing, the ECB has helped to clean up banks' balance sheets and has indirectly funded government spending. Secondly, those who spoke out against the risks of rising Target2 imbalances in 2011-12, now remain silent on this issue, despite the fact that some of the presumed risks during the first wave of rising imbalances still hold. We interpret this silence as an implicit acceptance that the risks put forward in 2011-12 are offset by reform fatigue and anti-euro sentiments in the Euro Zone.Key words: Target2, Public sector purchase programme, Euro Zone crisis.JEL: E42, E58, F34, F36, F45.


Clinical research studying critical illness phenotypes relies on the identification of clinical syndromes defined by consensus definitions. Pneumonia is a prime example. Historically, identifying pneumonia has required manual chart review, which is a time and resource intensive process. The overall research goal of our work is to develop automated approaches that accurately identify critical illness phenotypes. In this paper, we describe our approach to the identification of pneumonia from electronic medical records, present our preliminary results, and describe future steps.


This paper presents an analysis of rainfall amounts in Greece. For this purpose, monthly and annual rainfall data from 36 representative Greek weather stations were analysed statistically. Rainfall is represented by a standardised annual departure calculated as the ratio of the annual departure to the standard departure. The departures were calculated for two regional subdivisions. Clear evidence of changes in Greece's rainfall patterns over the past 25 years were found. The effect of changes on climatological rainfall means ('normals') is addressed and possible shifts in the rainy season were investigated. The secular variability of long time‐series of annual rainfall amounts was also examined. In addition, the five‐year running means of annual and monthly rainfall data and 'normals' were plotted. Comparisons of the means from the 'old' and 'new' 10‐, 20‐ and 30‐year, CLINO (Climatological Normal) period 1961–90 (the latest global standard normal period) and from the periods 1900–49 ('old' regime) and 1950–99 ('new' regime), as well as examination of the secular trend, shows that there is evidence that some parts of Greece have had shifts in their rainfall regime towards drier conditions. In general, rainfall amounts began to decline in the 1980s, a trend which has continued to the present. Most years between 1980 and 1999 experienced below to well‐below 'normal' rainfall. Discrepancies between the 'old' and 'new' mean values for the amounts of rainfall and differences in the duration of rainy season suggest that 'normal' rainfall data for various water supply, planning, engineering and agricultural national projects should be calculated for the last 30 years. This is mostly true because of indications of a changing climate in Greece, a fact that requires more recent updating of the climatological 'normals'. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.