In Tuskegee, Alabama in the early 1880s, Booker T. Washington, a novice principal and fundraiser, initiated a capital campaign to construct permanent buildings on Tuskegee Institute's barren campus. The young school was growing and drawing students from across the countryside. The old, rickety, but clean cabins on the school grounds were no longer sufficient to accommodate the school's needs. All totaled, Washington needed six thousand dollars to build this new spacious facility. But, where would he get it? Seeking the local black community's support of this project, he called a meeting of community elders. Washington, who was neatly dressed, stood erect in front of his economically impoverished neighbors and precisely articulated his vision for the school, its students, and the emerging campus. Although many of them were clad in rags, spoke in broken English, and were illiterate, they cheered this bold, brown-skin brother who proposed the key to their children's future--an education. As Washington and his trusted colleague, co-teacher, and wife, Olivia Davidson, stood before the crowd, "an ante-bellum coloured man" rose to speak. He had come twelve miles to attend this meeting and had a large hog in the back of his ox-cart. Probably pondering his decades in unpaid chattel service as well as the hope this new school could bring to the black community, he announced that he had no money to contribute, but he did have two fine hogs. And he intended to give one of these hogs in support of the school. He concluded that anyone of his neighbors who has love for their race, or any respect for themselves, would bring a hog to the next meeting. (1) In this anecdote of the early days of Tuskegee Institute, Booker T. Washington claimed that an elderly African American farmer traveled twelve hard miles to donate a hog to support the establishment of Tuskegee Institute in the mid-1880s. Although quite poor, this farmer felt the education of black children in his community was important enough for him to donate a substantial portion of his personal income. His act underscored the appreciation that many nineteenth-century African Americans had for education. The African American farmer's donation of the hog and his subsequent challenge to his fellow citizens to do the same captured the interaction between African Americans' desire for education, their zeal for socioeconomic mobility, their race pride and their belief in self-determination. It is this perspective that provides a glimpse of African American agency and the use of cultural capital for schooling in the South in the nineteenth century. This essay presents the history of four public, segregated, African American schools in Franklin, Tennessee between 1890 and 1967. (2) It examines how the black community in Franklin, Tennessee demonstrated agency through establishing, maintaining, and enhancing its schools, in spite of the discriminatory policies imposed by local, all-white school boards. I argue that this agency of Franklin's black community stemmed from a global ethos of self-determination and social advancement. Their cultural capital was developed as a direct result of community-wide agency. The cultural capital produced by African Americans in Franklin can be organized into three major components--resource development, community leadership, and extraordinary service. * Resource Development. Because of the limited funding of their schools (whether private or public), southern African Americans taxed themselves to provide the resources--monetary or material--that ensured the success of their schools. (3) * Community Leadership. Community members, as individuals or as part of a group, created a public will within their community to establish and maintain their schools in spite of the opposition from the larger white community. (4) * Extraordinary Service. Although teaching was their profession, principals and teachers provided extraordinary service to their students. …


BACKGROUND
Neuromuscular diseases (NMD) can affect the ability to be employed and to work, but there is limited knowledge of individuals' own perspectives of factors that are important for their vocational situation.

OBJECTIVE
To explore the vocational situation among people with NMD that are employed, and to describe their experiences of how their disability, personal and environmental factors influence their ability to continue to work.

METHODS
Nine participants with different NMD were included. A mixed-methods design was used, and data were collected by means of semi-structured and open-ended interviews, and ratings of aspects supporting or interfering with their work performance and the ability to continue to work. Data were analyzed with directed content analysis based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, and with descriptive statistics.

RESULTS
The participants' personal characteristics, support from others at work and at home, and a flexible work organization were perceived as important factors facilitating work continuation, whereas physically demanding work assignments and factors in the physical environment were perceived as barriers.

CONCLUSIONS
Knowledge of how personal characteristics as well as support from the work organization, managers and family members can facilitate the ability to work is important for employers, staff within different parts of the health care system, and the social security system. Future research should focus on interventions that are best suited to enhance the vocational situation for individuals with NMD.


The use of previously learned knowledge during learning has been shown to reduce the number of examples required for good generalization, and to increase robustness to noise in the examples. In reviewing various means of using learned knowledge from a domain to guide further learning in the same domain, two underlying classes are discerned. Methods which use previous knowledge to initialize a learner (as an initialization bias), and those that use previous knowledge to constrain a learner (as a search bias). We show such methods in fact exploit the same domain knowledge diierently, and can complement each other. This is shown by presenting a combined approach which both initializes and constrains a learner. This combined approach is seen to outperform the individual methods under the conditions that accurate previously learned domain knowledge is available, and that there are irrelevant features in the domain representation.


This study's purpose was to assess the experience and impact of Motivational Interviewingvia-Co-Active Life Coaching training on smoking hotline employees' perceived competency to facilitate callers' behaviour changes. In-depth interviews and a Perceived Competency Scale (PCS) were utilized. Themes discussed at baseline included clients barriers and desired changes to practice. Post-training participants described their skill development and feeling re-energized. Three-months post-training, increases in competency and a desire for more training were highlighted. Trends in the PCS were consistent with qualitative findings of increased competency. Implementation constraints were also described. The training had a positive impact on participants' perceived competencies to facilitate behaviour change.


Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has been suggested to exert antinociceptive actions by inhibiting the release of neurotransmitters from trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, but the site of direct NPY action in vivo and the NPY receptor subtype mediating these effects are unknown. 125I-peptide YY (PYY) was used to localize and characterize NPY receptor binding sites in trigeminal ganglia, DRG, and spinal cord of the rat, rabbit, and monkey. In the rat, rabbit, and monkey, 5–20% of trigeminal ganglia and DRG neurons express NPY binding sites. Unilateral cuff-induced neuropathy or transection of the rat sciatic nerve did not significantly alter the density or number of DRG neurons expressing NPY receptors. A unimodal size distribution for L4 and L5 DRG neurons expressing NPY binding sites in the rat was determined, with a mean cross-sectional area of 947 microns 2. In the spinal cord the highest concentration of NPY receptors is found in laminae I, II, V, X, and Onuf's nucleus. Pharmacological experiments using selective Y1 and Y2 receptor antagonists suggest that Y2 is the prominent NPY receptor subtype expressed in trigeminal ganglia neurons, DRG neurons, and spinal cord. Previous studies have demonstrated that a population of large-diameter, presumably myelinated primary afferents express NPY after peripheral nerve injury. NPY released from these injured large- diameter DRG neurons may act in a paracrine fashion to block the transmission of nociceptive information from the small- and medium- diameter DRG neurons that constitutively express NPY receptors. NPY receptors are therefore uniquely positioned to inhibit primary afferent nociceptors directly, especially after peripheral nerve injury.


To address the slow recombination of photogenerated charges in tetragonal CH3NH3PbI3, the evolution of extra electrons and holes is simulated through advanced ab initio molecular dynamics. We show that the localization of the charge carriers and their hopping from one polaronic state to another occur on a subpicosecond time scale. The localization, attended by weak bond contractions and elongations in the inorganic sublattice, is induced by thermal vibrations and only moderately perturbed by the disordered field generated by the organic cations. The simultaneous simulation of extra electrons and holes shows that they preferentially localize in spatially distinct regions. As determined by the overlap between the electron and hole wave functions, the probability of radiative bimolecular recombination is lowered by two orders of magnitude compared with that of optical generation. The separate polaronic localization of electrons and holes emerges as the key feature for achieving exceptional photovoltaic properties.


Olfactory receptors self-select by inducing the unfolded protein response. Mammals detect odors through specialized G protein–coupled receptors, called olfactory receptors (ORs), which are located in the olfactory epithelium. Each mature olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) expresses only one OR-encoding gene from over 1000 possibilities. In immature OSNs, OR genes are epigenetically silenced and the chromatin-directed lysine demethylase LSD1 derepresses a single stochastically selected OR-encoding gene. To prevent the expression of additional OR genes, OR proteins inhibit LSD1 activity, in part through activation of adenylyl cyclase 3 (ADCY3). Because once selected OR-encoding genes are rapidly induced and the encoded proteins are abundant and LSD1 is inhibited too rapidly for OR signaling to occur, Dalton et al. hypothesized that nascent OR polypeptides may trigger the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the endoplasmic reticulum. One consequence of activation of the UPR is phosphorylation of the translation initiation factor eIF2α by the kinase eIF2αK3 (also known as PERK) and increased activity of the transcription factor ATF5. In the mouse olfactory epithelium, like LSD1, ATF5 was primarily detected in immature OSNs, whereas ADCY3 was detected in mature OSNs. Transgenic mice that lack expression of all OR-encoding genes had reduced nuclear ATF5, whereas transgenic overexpression of a single OR gene cluster in these mice partially restored ATF5 abundance in OSNs. Atf5-knockout increased LSD1 abundance, decreased ADCY3 abundance in the olfactory epithelium, and reduced the numbers of OSNs. Lineage analysis showed that Atf5 knockout inhibited stable OR selection in mature OSNs. The olfactory epithelia of mice with a mutation in the phosphorylation site of eIF2α had reduced ADCY3 and active ATF5, whereas transgenic overexpression of nuclear ATF5 in immature OSNs of these mice restored ADCY3 abundance. Similarly, the olfactory epithelia of Perk-knockout mice had reduced ATF5 and ADCY3 abundance and loss of markers associated with mature OSNs. Adcy3-knockout mice, which have increased LSD1 in OSNs and defects in stable OR selection, showed expanded immunoreactivity for active ATF5 in mature OSNs. Together, these results support a model whereby the stochastic selection and production of a single OR activates the UPR. In response to this stress, ADCY3 increases in abundance, which inhibits LSD1 in mature OSNs to shut off OR-encoding gene expression and OR protein production to alleviate the ER stress, which leads to OR self-selection without requiring activation of the OR. R. P. Dalton, D. B. Lyons, S. Lomvardas, Co-opting the unfolded protein response to elicit olfactory receptor feedback. Cell 155, 321–332 (2013). [PubMed]


Distributed manufacturing even at the household level is now well established with the combined use of open source designs and self-replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) 3-D printers. Previous work has shown substantial economic consumer benefits for producing their own polymer products. Now flexible filaments are available at roughly 3-times the cost of more conventional 3-D printing materials. To provide some insight into the potential for flexible filament to be both technically feasible and economically viable for distributed digital manufacturing at the consumer level this study investigates 20 common flexible household products. The 3-D printed products were quantified by print time, electrical energy use and filament consumption by mass to determine the cost to fabricate with a commercial RepRap 3-D printer. Printed parts were inspected and when necessary tested for their targeted application to ensure technical feasibility. Then, the experimentally measured cost to DIY manufacturers was compared to low and high market prices for comparable commercially available products. In addition, the mark-up and potential for long-term price declines was estimated for flexible filaments by converting thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) pellets into filament and reground TPE from a local recycling center into filament using an open source recyclebot. This study found that commercial flexible filament is economically as well as technically feasible for providing a means of distributed home-scale manufacturing of flexible products. The results found a 75% savings when compared to the least expensive commercially equivalent products and 92% when compared to high market priced products. Roughly, 160 flexible objects must be substituted to recover the capital costs to print flexible materials. However, as previous work has shown the Lulzbot Mini 3-D printer used in this study would provide more than a 100% ROI printing one object a week from hard thermoplastics, the upgrade needed to provide flexible filament capabilities can be accomplished with 37 average substitution flexible prints. This, again easily provides a triple digit return on investment printing one product a week. Although these savings, which are created by printing objects at home are substantial, the results also have shown the savings could be further increased to 93% when the use of a pellet extruder and TPE pellets, and 99% if recycled TPE filament made with a recyclebot is used. The capital costs of a recyclebot can be recovered in the manufacturing of about 9 kg of TPE filament, which can be accomplished in less than a week, enabling improved environmental impact as well as a strong financial return for heavy 3-D printer users.


Despite the important role of supraglacial debris in ablation, knowledge of debris thickness on Himalayan glaciers is sparse. A recently developed method based on reanalysis data and thermal band satellite imagery has proved to be potentially suitable for debris thickness estimation without the need for detailed field data. In this study, we further develop the method and discuss possibilities and limitations arising from its application to a glacier in the Himalaya with scarce in situ data. Surface temperature patterns are consistent for 13 scenes of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Landsat 7 imagery and correlate well with incoming shortwave radiation and air temperature. We use an energy-balance approach to subtract these radiation or air temperature effects, in order to estimate debris thickness patterns as a function of surface temperature. Both incoming shortwave and longwave radiation are estimated with reasonable accuracy when applying parameterizations and reanalysis data. However, the model likely underestimates debris thickness, probably due to incorrect representation of vertical debris temperature profiles, the rate of heat storage and turbulent sensible heat flux. Moreover, the uncertainty of the result was found to increase significantly with thicker debris, a promising result since ablation is enhanced by thin debris of 1-2 cm.


Earth is warming, but the international community is getting colder. Political heat is scorching and countries are baring their cold shoulders. As pressure rises and fissures widen, the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement aimed at significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is melting away by the minute. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In December 1997, 160 countries from around the world met in Kyoto, Japan, to commence negotiations on the impending issue of global climate change. The result was the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty that has still not gone into effect and is mired in the extensive process of intense political debate. The Kyoto Protocol calls for signatory countries to revert to 1990 GHG emissions levels by 2012, and requires that 55 or more countries that collectively represent at least 55 percent of global GHG emissions sign the treaty before it can be legally effective. Although there is an international consensus that climate change is occurring and needs to be addressed, the question of how to effectively address it still remains unsettled. A Change in Political Climate Despite years of deliberative US efforts in the formation of the Kyoto Protocol, US President George W. Bush withdrew the United States from the protocol shortly after taking office. Bush's withdrawal came as a complete surprise to the international community, especially because it was an unexpected unilateral move on the part of the United States. The United States, as the world's largest gas emitter, had neither consulted with nor announced to participating countries that it would remove itself from the treaty. Rather, the withdrawal was announced domestically by the US media, and was later spread to the international community. Consequently, the United States took on a slew of political heat from both domestic and international sources. The global media publicly denounced the United States as an anti-environmentalist and unilateralist entity. Non-governmental organizations and environmental activists launched a widespread campaign criticizing the Bush decision and urging US businesses to continue fighting global climate change. The European Union was particularly wounded by Bush's withdrawal, and felt that it needed to swiftly reemphasize the significance of Kyoto by encouraging more participation. Accordingly, it was quick to reverse its original stance by making an astonishing and unfortunate number of concessions to other countries. One major concession was an increased recognition of the environmental significance of forest carbon sinks, large areas of forestland that absorb and store atmospheric C[O.sub.2]. As it claimed that it was currently using forest sinks, Russia was granted lower emission targets and increased flexibility in the framework for meeting its environmental goals. This concession was particularly self-defeating for the European Union because it set a dangerous precedent for similar demands from China and India. Although Bush's withdrawal was tactless, his reasons for dropping the protocol were well-founded. Bush cited worries that the costs of the Kyoto Protocol were likely to outweigh any of the uncertain benefits the world might reap. He expressed the concern that reducing emissions output could endanger jobs and hurt domestic revenue. He also emphasized the criticism that the Protocol does not require action from developing nations like China, whose emissions rates are growing exponentially and will soon surpass even that of the United States. In recent months, Russia has begun a similar reassessment of its commitment to the protocol. Currently, the countries that have ratified only constitute 44 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, and Russia's 17 percent is crucial to achieving the minimum requirement of 55 percent. However, during the October 2003 UN World Climate Change Conference in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his scientific advisors publicly expressed doubt about the benefits of the Kyoto Protocol, and Putin even went so far as to imply that global climate change might be good for Russia. …


Before 1978, most rural households had low incomes, with a relatively equal distribution at local level. After the economic reforms, household incomes grew rapidly, particularly in the southeastern coastal areas, and the variance in standards of living both between and within regions increased considerably (Ahmad and Wang 1991). According to the State Council, in 1993 there were 80 million rural residents living in absolute poverty (defined in Chinese as jue-dui-pin-hun) , some 8.7 per cent of the total rural population (Chen 1994). A number of recent studies have documented a deterioration in service provision in poor areas as economic reforms have removed the communal funding on which health facilities depended (Gu et al. 1995; Tang et al. 1994). However, there has been, little direct empirical evidence of the effect on access by poor households. This article examines the utilisation of curative medical care services in poor rural China, focusing on the health-seeking behaviour of those living below the poverty line.


Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2-DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by high blood glucose levels. T2-DM patients suffer from many complications, such as diabetic fatty liver and diabetic nephropathy. The liver, the pivotal organ involved in both glucose and lipid metabolism, is primarily damaged in T2-DM patients, especially in those with high levels of blood lipid. In this study, the hepatoprotective activity of ginsenoside Rg1 was investigated in a T2-DM rat model. The results revealed a potent hepatoprotective effect of ginsenoside Rg1. This effect was primarily mediated by the antiapoptotic effect, inhibition of JNK activity, and suppression of inflammation after ginsenoside Rg1 treatment. Ginsenoside Rg1 also lowered the blood glucose level and insulin resistance index in T2-DM rats. Moreover, the blood lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels) and liver function (aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase levels) improved after ginsenoside Rg1 treatment. The aforementioned hepatoprotective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 in the T2-DM rat model suggests its clinical potential as an adjuvant drug for T2-DM therapy, especially for T2-DM patients with fatty liver disease.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the prevalence of spinal osteoarthritis (OA) in Britain and Japan.

METHODS
A total of 206 men and 188 women living in Hertfordshire, UK, and a total of 100 men and 100 women living in Miyama, Japan, aged 60-79 years were studied. Participants completed a lifestyle questionnaire, and anteroposterior and lateral radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spine were obtained under standardized conditions. Each lumbar radiograph was graded for osteoarthritic changes according to the overall Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) score. Gradings were also recorded separately for disc narrowing and osteophyte formation.

RESULTS
British subjects were much more likely to have lumbar spine radiographs graded as K-L grade 4 severity (p = 0.05 in men, p < 0.001 in women). British men displayed a greater prevalence of disc narrowing (p = 0.08), but less severe osteophytosis (p = 0.06) than their Japanese counterparts. British women displayed more severe disc narrowing (p < 0.001) and osteophyte formation (p < 0.001). On multiple regression analysis, a higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with excess risk in the British population (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.12-3.02), but not in the Japanese population. Differences between countries in K-L severity persisted after allowing for age and BMI, suggesting that differences in body build could not fully explain differences in lumbar spine OA in the 2 countries.

CONCLUSION
We found that severe lumbar degenerative disease is more common in the UK than in a mountain village in Japan, and that differences exist in the prevalence of both osteophytosis and disc degeneration between the 2 countries.


Mean scores on a continuous dependent measure are compared across three or more groups using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). If a statistically significant overall or "omnibus" effect emerges, then a multiple comparisons procedure is used to ascertain the exact nature of any interclass differences. In contrast, the dependent measure may be compared between classes with UniODA to assess if thresholds on the dependent measure can discriminate the classes. If the resulting ESS accuracy statistic for the overall effect is statistically reliable then an optimal (maximum-accuracy) range test is employed to ascertain the exact nature of interclass differences. ANOVA and UniODA are used to investigate the differences between n=377 white, n=378 African American, and n=257 Hispanic patients with HIV-associated Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) on two laboratory tests (albumin and alveolar-arterial oxygen difference) associated with PCP outcomes.


Amyloid fibrils are self-assembled mesoscopic protein aggregates, which can accumulate to form deposits or plaques in the brain. In vitro amplification of fibrils can be achieved with real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC). However, this emerging technique would benefit from a complementary method to assess structural properties of the amplification products. This work demonstrates the feasibility of nanospray-charge-detection-mass-spectrometry (CDMS) performed on α-synuclein (αSyn) fibrils amplified from human brains with Parkinson's disease (PD) or Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and its synergistic combination with RT-QuIC.


Innovation economics requires an interdisciplinary approach and
at least knowledge in economics and history. A
historiographical approach to data representativeness is
necessary to perform literature review without producing errors
when comparing studies with datasets lacking small companies.
Knowledge in econometrics is necessary to assess the
possibility to compare results from two innovation papers. An
identification strategy is necessary for comprehension because
the definitions of innovators are most of the time rather
incomparable. Some papers recognize only successful innovators
in terms of delivering the product new to the market. In other
papers, innovators are companies, which imitated their
competitors or trained staff recently. These issues are
dependent on the understanding of the definition of the term
innovation. Comparison of innovation economics research results
or using them in an argument is not possible without complex
understanding of data (representativeness), methods (set of
control variables) and other limits of dependent variables.


The main purpose of the present chapter is to return to some of the intellectual movements and motives that gave rise to the "narrative turn" and, in so doing, provide a substantive rationale for why narrative inquiry is nothing short of a necessity in exploring the human realm. Acknowledging that there were many such movements and motives, spanning both the humanities and the social sciences, I suggest herein that the seminal work of Paul Ricoeur provides the most thorough, philosophically compelling, account of why narrative is here to stay. Following discussion of Ricoeur's work, I explore the story of an elderly woman with dementia, demonstrating that as the narrative self increasingly becomes diminished, so too does one's connection to reality. This suggests that even if we do not quite live narratives, as some have argued, truly moving beyond them can be devastating. It also suggests that narrative knowing, rather than being seen as the "imposition" it is sometimes seen to be, should instead be seen as an integral to fully functioning human life.


PURPOSE
To compare the efficacy of an Aloe vera mouthwash with a benzydamine mouthwash in the alleviation of radiation- induced mucositis in head and neck cancer patients using a triple-blind, randomised controlled trial.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-six eligible head and neck cancer patients who were to receive conventional radiation therapy at the radiation oncology department were randomised to receive an Aloe vera mouthwash or a benzydamine mouthwash. Mucositis severity was assessed during the course of radiation therapy using the WHO grading system.

RESULTS
At baseline, there was no difference in the distribution of mucositis severity between the two groups. The mean interval between radiation therapy and onset of mucositis was similar for both groups (Aloe vera 15.69±7.77 days, benzydamine 15.85±12.96 days). The mean interval between the start of radiation therapy and the maximum severity of mucositis were was also similar in both the Aloe vera and benzydamine groups (Aloe vera 23.38±10.75 days, benzydamine 23.54±15.45 days). Mean changes of mucositis severity over time in both groups were statistically similar and the effect of both treatments did not change signficantly with time (p=0.09).

CONCLUSION
Aloe vera mouthwash was as beneficial as benzydamine mouthwash in alleviating the severity of radiation-induced mucositis and showed no side effects. The Aloe vera mouthwash could be an alternative agent in the treatment of radiation-induced mucositis in patients with head and neck cancers.


Label placement is a tedious task in map design, and its automation has long been a goal for researchers in cartography, but also in computational geometry. Methods that search for an optimal or nearly optimal solution that satisfies a set of constraints, such as label overlapping, have been proposed in the literature. Most of these methods mainly focus on finding the optimal position for a given set of labels, but rarely allow the removal of labels as part of the optimization. This paper proposes to apply an optimization technique called Reversible-Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo that enables to easily model the removal or addition during the optimization iterations. The method, quite preliminary for now, is tested on a real dataset, and the first results are encouraging.


We analyzed the planning problem for HIV screening, testing, and care. This problem consists of determining the optimal fraction of patients to be screened in every period as well as the optimum staffing level at each part of the healthcare system to maximize the total health benefits to the patients measured by quality-adjusted life-years QALYs gained. We modeled this problem as a nonlinear mixed integer programming program comprising disease progression the transition of the patients across health states, system dynamics the flow of patients in different health states across various parts of the healthcare delivery system, and budgetary and capacity constraints. We applied the model to the Greater Los Angeles GLA station in the Veterans Health Administration system. We found that a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended routine screening policy in which all patients visiting the system are screened for HIV irrespective of risk factors may not be feasible because of budgetary constraints. Consequently, we used the model to develop and evaluate managerially relevant policies within existent capacity and budgetary constraints to improve upon the current risk based screening policy of screening only high risk patients. Our computational analysis showed that the GLA station can achieve substantial increase 20% to 300% in the QALYs gained by using these policies over risk based screening. The GLA station has already adapted two of these policies that could yield better patient health outcomes over the next few years. In addition, our model insights have influenced the decision making process at this station.


This study assesses the extent to which the educational needs of a group of very able Year 10 students reflect the perceived educational needs of gifted children as drawn from a study of the literature.
In consultation with their teachers, fifteen students from five schools in two counties were selected to take part in the research. Using the case-study method, these students, their parents and teachers were interviewed. The information collected from their parents and teachers was used mainly for the process of triangulation.
Letters were sent to all who were involved in the research in any capacity, explaining what the research was about and inviting them to participate in the project or seeking permission to approach others where this was necessary. There was eventually a full complement of interested and co-operative participants. Those interviewed gave responses which were very useful to the research and raised some unexpected and very interesting issues.
Interview schedules were used and, to facilitate comparisons in the responses, the schedules for the students, parents and teachers were very similar. The responses of all three groups have been compiled into a series of tables and these and bar graphs illustrate the extent to which students' parents' and teachers' responses were in accord.
The conclusions drawn from the study are that, in general, there was a good correspondence in the needs of this particular group of students with those needs in the list drawn from the literature and their needs were largely being met by their schools. However, some of the perceived needs were not confirmed as such for this group and there was a variation in emphasis in some of their identified needs. A number of issues also emerged suggesting needs which were not included in the original list. An especially interesting example of these was the part played by in-family role models, especially older sibling rival I role models, who appeared to have been very important in the motivation and achievement of some students. All the issues which emerged which were not included in the original list of perceived needs would make interesting topics for further research.


Community question answering (cQA), which provides a platform for people with diverse background to share information and knowledge, has become an increasingly popular research topic. In this paper, we focus on the task of question retrieval. The key problem of question retrieval is to measure the similarity between the queried questions and the historical questions which have been solved by other users. The traditional methods measure the similarity based on the bag-of-words (BOWs) representation. This representation neither captures dependencies between related words, nor handles synonyms or polysemous words. In this work, we first propose a way to build a concept thesaurus based on the semantic relations extracted from the world knowledge of Wikipedia. Then, we develop a unified framework to leverage these semantic relations in order to enhance the question similarity in the concept space. Experiments conducted on a real cQA data set show that with the help of Wikipedia thesaurus, the performance of question retrieval is improved as compared to the traditional methods.


X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis is a fundamental tool in studying the properties of novel and functional materials. Since the lattice constants obtained from the XRD patterns hold valuable information about the material properties and applications, an accurate description of these lattice constants is required. However, due to the limited resolution of x-ray diffractometers, the calculated and reported lattice constants could be erroneous after a certain digit. Knowing the appropriate number of significant digits of the lattice constants is the objective of this paper. A model for the instrumentation-based uncertainties of the lattice constants was formulated using multiple linear regression and elementary error analysis. The accuracy of the estimated uncertainties was then verified using sample calculations on zinc oxide (ZnO). In totality, this paper demonstrates that the model is able to accurately determine the uncertainty of lattice constants in the absence of other sources of instrumentation errors such as beam or sample misalignment.


[1] High-resolution (0.1° × 0.1°) geostationary satellite infrared radiances at 11 μm in combination with gridded (2.5° × 2.0°) hourly surface precipitation observations are employed to document the spatial structure of the diurnal cycle of summertime deep convection and associated precipitation over North America. Comparison of the diurnal cycle pattern between the satellite retrieval and surface observations demonstrates the reliability of satellite radiances for inferring the diurnal cycle of precipitation, especially the diurnal phase. On the basis of the satellite radiances, we find that over most land regions, deep convection peaks in the late afternoon and early evening, a few hours later than the peak of land surface temperature. However, strong regional variations exist in both the diurnal phase and amplitude, implying that topography, land-sea contrast, and coastline curvature play an important role in modulating the diurnal cycle. Examples of such effects are highlighted over Florida, the Great Plains, and the North American monsoon region.


On October 11, 2011, in United States v. Vann, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that Torrell Vann's three prior indecent liberties convictions were not violent felonies under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). In so doing, the per curiam majority attempted to interpret the vague residual clause of the ACCA and concluded that taking improper liberties or committing lewd acts on the body of a child were not the type of convictions worthy of the fifteen-year mandatory minimum prison sentence mandated by the ACCA. This Comment argues that the time has come for Congress to amend the ACCA or for the U.S. Supreme Court to declare it void for vagueness, because an individual's liberty cannot rest upon ad hoc judicial conjectures.


STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to calculate the proportion of deaths outside hospital in Sweden for some conditions for which the acute medical management may be important to the outcome and to analyse whether the proportion of deaths outside hospital can explain regional variations in mortality from these causes of death. DESIGN: The place of death was registered on all death certificates in Sweden during the period 1987-90. The proportion of deaths outside hospital was calculated at the national level for selected causes of death. Variation in cause-specific mortality among the 26 administrative health areas in Sweden was analysed. Death rate ratios were calculated with standardisation for age and sex using the national rate as standard. The correlation between the proportion of deaths outside hospital in each health area and the cause specific mortality irrespective of place of death was calculated. For areas with a significantly high death rate the ratios for mortality outside hospital as well as in hospital were analysed in order to decide which component of mortality represented a high mortality risk. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: All death registration in Swedish citizens and other residents in Sweden aged under 70 years between 1987 and 1990 which gave diabetes, asthma, ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, or ulcer of the stomach or duodenum as the underlying cause of death. MAIN RESULTS: For asthma (58%) and ischaemic heart disease (54%), most deaths occurred outside hospital. For most causes of death, however, no correlation was found among the health areas between the proportion of deaths outside hospital and the SMR for mortality irrespective of the place of death. A high death rate was associated with a high proportion of deaths outside hospital, for diabetes in one area in the north of Sweden (Norrbotten) and for ulcer of the stomach and duodenum in one large municipality (Göteborg). CONCLUSIONS: The high proportion of deaths outside hospital at the national level for some of the conditions studied suggests that in-depth studies of the process preceding death and the functioning of medical care are needed. In most cases, however, no evidence was found that regional variation in mortality could be explained by death outside hospital. The results for diabetes in Norbotten and ulcer of stomach and duodenum in Göteborg indicate that in-depth studies on the quality of care are required.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing in Asia, but little is known about disease progression in this region. The Asia-Pacific Crohn's and Colitis Epidemiology Study was initiated in 2011, enrolling subjects from 8 countries in Asia (China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand) and Australia. We present data from this ongoing study.

METHODS
We collected data on 413 patients diagnosed with IBD (222 with ulcerative colitis [UC], 181 with Crohn's disease [CD], 10 with IBD unclassified; median age, 37 y) from 2011 through 2013. We analyzed the disease course and severity and mortality. Risks for medical and surgical therapies were assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis.

RESULTS
The cumulative probability that CD would change from inflammatory to stricturing or penetrating disease was 19.6%. The cumulative probabilities for use of immunosuppressants or anti-tumor necrosis factor agents were 58.9% and 12.0% for patients with CD, and 12.7% and 0.9% for patients with UC, respectively. Perianal CD was associated with an increased risk of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy within 1 year of its diagnosis (hazard ratio, 2.97; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-8.09). The cumulative probabilities for surgery 1 year after diagnosis were 9.1% for patients with CD and 0.9% for patients with UC. Patients with CD and penetrating disease had a 7-fold increase for risk of surgery, compared with patients with inflammatory disease (hazard ratio, 7.67; 95% confidence interval, 3.93-14.96). The overall mortality for patients with IBD was 0.7%.

CONCLUSIONS
In a prospective population-based study, we found that the early course of disease in patients with IBD in Asia was comparable with that of the West. Patients with CD frequently progress to complicated disease and have accelerated use of immunosuppressants. Few patients with early stage UC undergo surgery in Asia. Increasing our understanding of IBD progression in different populations can help optimize therapy and improve outcomes.


Each year there are numerous injuries, serious and fatal, that occur around conveyor belts because of inadequate training and untrained personnel. Current safety training programs for conveyor belts are not defined but generalized under safety training practices required by ANSI and OSHA. With the high rate of injury, it is important to research a safe and efficient form of training that is specific for conveyor belts. It is with this in mind that virtual reality is being investigated as a viable form of this safety training. Virtual reality has been used in the construction and mining industries for accident recreation, fabrication training, and safety training, but has not been used with conveyor belts. A research program is being developed at Virginia Tech to investigate the effectiveness of VR for training of personnel working around conveyor belts in the surface mining indus-try. The program involves developing a series of instructional-based and task-based VR modules that are intended to assist the user in understanding the components and assemblies of the conveyor belt, explain the different hazards and safety issues associated with moving belt components when performing maintenance, and test the user's ability on re-solving problems while performing a required set of pre-defined tasks in the VR environment. This paper explores and discusses the framework and implementation of the instructional-based module. Development of the task-based module and evaluation of the VR program are not covered under the scope of this paper. This research is supported by a NIOSH Grant # 1 R01 OH008716-01.


The effectiveness of earthquake prediction as a tool for reducing earthquake impacts depends, in part, on developing community response plans that can be implemented when predictions are issued. The overarching policy issue--how to lessen earthquake losses to the built environment and social systems by disseminating forewarnings of future damaging earthquake events--has continued to be the focus of governmental efforts to deal with scientific forecasts (e.g., FEMA 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1995) but the specific strategies considered have varied, often due to changes in scientific approaches to prediction.
 This case study will trace the interwoven strands of scientific approaches and policy responses to earthquake predictions during the past 25 years, beginning in the early 1970s until today. The State of California has been the focus for concentrated research--in both earth science and social science--on earthquake prediction during this period; however, federal policy has had an important role in identifying priorities for both scientists and state and local government officials with respect to the manner in which earthquake predictions would impact upon society.


The aim of the study was to review studies concerning single-set and multiple-set resistance training. Twenty-six articles were found, 19 randomized controlled trials and seven studies without randomization process. Out of the 26 articles, 11 showed similar increases in strength when comparing number of sets, mostly one set compared with three sets. Eight of the articles showed a greater increase when training with multiple sets. In four of the articles, the comparison was made between single-set training programmes, multiple-set programmes and periodized multiple-set programmes, showing superior results with periodized training. None of the articles reported superior strength gain in the single-set training group. There was no difference in outcome when comparing articles with trained subjects to articles with untrained subjects. It seems that in order to be physically active and staying fit, the use of single-set training is sufficient. However, to gain the greatest possible strength, the use of multiple-set training seems to be appropriate.


This article deals with a 3D printing strategy to reduce supports in the case of overhang geometry on 3D printed models realized by Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). Experiments were performed to compare the conventional FFF process (normal orientation to the platform) with a novel strategy of 3D printing using 6-axis degrees of freedom to orient the nozzle close to the tangent direction of the 3D printed wall. The shape accuracy of the printed specimens was evaluated by an optical 3D scanner and the cross sections of the layers were observed by a digital microscope.


Abstract The fuel layering process of a cryogenic target for the Fast Ignition Realization EXperiment (FIREX) project has been studied. A foam shell method is proposed as a fuel layering technique for this target design. The difficulty of the fuel layering comes from the aspherical target symmetry. In the case of the foam shell method, liquid fuel is directly infiltrated into a foam shell though a fuel feeder and is soaked up into the foam layer by capillarity. The fuel is then solidified and an ideal cryogenic target is formed. To date, the cryogenic system for the demonstration of the fuel layering was fabricated and subsequently modified to improve its cool-down performance. A dummy foam target has been utilized to study the fuel layering process using H2 instead of D2 and DT fuels. Liquid H2 is supplied into the shell through a feeder with a 20 μm inner tip diameter. The solid H2 quantity remaining in the shell was controlled by regulating both H2 pressure and target temperature during solidification.


High-dimensional gray-box identification is a fairly unexplored part of system identification. Nevertheless, system identification problems tend to be more high-dimensional nowadays. In this paper we deal with high-dimensional regression with regressors constrained to some manifold. A recent technique in this class is weight determination by manifold regularization (WDMR). WDMR, however, is a black-box identification method. We show how WDMR can be extended to a gray-box method and illustrate the scheme with some examples.


The electric utility industry has been subjected to rapid deregulatory reforms which have lead to a significant increase in the complexity of the system from the viewpoint of management and control. In this context, traditional artificial intelligence (AI) approaches are no longer as accurate as we would like them to be. Hence, a new set of paradigms are required to take into account the increasing complexity. Firstly, more accurate load forecasting tools are required and we discuss recurrent neural networks (RNNs), hybrid neurofuzzy designs and modular neural networks as the emerging alternatives to the traditional feedforward networks. We then deal with the paradigm of neurofuzzy anticipatory systems, with application to power system control. We also discuss applications of "intelligent agents" to the areas of power system management and power trading in competitive markets.


This autonomous biped walking control system is based on reactive force interaction at the foothold. The precise 3D dynamic simulation presented includes: 1) a posture controller which accommodates the physical constraints of the reactive force/torque on the foot with quadratic programming; 2) a real-time COM (center of mass) tracking controller for foot placement, with a discrete inverted pendulum model; and 3) a 3D dynamic simulation scheme with precise contact with the environment. The proposed approach realizes robust biped locomotion because environmental interaction is directly controlled. The proposed method is applied to a 20 axes simulation model, and stable biped locomotion with velocity of 0.25 m/sec and a stepping time of 0.5 sec/step is realized.


To apply eyeshadow without a brush, should I use a cotton swab or a toothpick? Questions requiring this kind of physical commonsense pose a challenge to today's natural language understanding systems. While recent pretrained models (such as BERT) have made progress on question answering over more abstract domains – such as news articles and encyclopedia entries, where text is plentiful – in more physical domains, text is inherently limited due to reporting bias. Can AI systems learn to reliably answer physical commonsense questions without experiencing the physical world?In this paper, we introduce the task of physical commonsense reasoning and a corresponding benchmark dataset Physical Interaction: Question Answering or PIQA. Though humans find the dataset easy (95% accuracy), large pretrained models struggle (∼75%). We provide analysis about the dimensions of knowledge that existing models lack, which offers significant opportunities for future research.


Introduction Every year approximately 300,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) occur in the US. Across seven large North American urban populations, the City of Pittsburgh had the highest crude rate in cardiac arrests. This discrepancy was most pronounced in young patients 18 to 64 years of age with the lowest quartile median household income. The aim of this thesis was to test the hypothesis that people in Pittsburgh who suffer a cardiac arrest live in poorer neighborhoods compared to the Pittsburgh/Allegheny/National average. In addition, I wanted to test the additional hypothesis that these cardiac arrest victims have more preexisting comorbid conditions and engage in poor health behaviors (e.g. illicit drug use). Methods A retrospective analysis of all treated in- and out-of hospital cardiac arrest patients at an inner-city hospital during a 16-month period was analyzed. Patients with all causes of cardiac arrest between the age of 18 and 64 years were included. Next to existing data about neurological outcome and basic demographic data, data about residence, insurance status, employment, marital status, history of drug abuse and urine toxicology screening was analyzed. Patient's residences were geocoded and depicted in a map of Allegheny, which also contained census tracts color coded by poverty status. Results- Between March 2011 and July 2012, 95 patients between the ages of 18 and 64 (median age of 53) were included in this analysis. Among those, 69 were living in Allegheny County at time of arrest. 19 patients (20.2%) had a history of active drug abuse, and forty patients (42.1%) had no insurance or Medicaid or Medicare listed as support. 25 (36.2%) were living in a neighborhood with 20-30% poverty at the time of the arrest. Conclusion Cardiac arrest patients between the age of 18 and 64 treated at UPMC Mercy have a higher incidence of being unemployed, uninsured, living alone, being obese and using drugs than the rest of the population in Allegheny County. This major public health problem needs to be addressed by local authorities by designing special prevention programs targeted to this subpopulation.


Toxic lipids elicit macrophage endoplasmic stress through aP2. Macrophages that have accumulated toxic blood lipids accumulate in blood vessel walls, contributing to the genesis of atherosclerotic plaques (see Liu and Ntambi). Noting that the lipid-filled macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques show activation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, Erbay et al. explored the development of lipotoxic ER stress and its role in atherosclerosis. Treatment of cultured macrophages with palmitate elicited ER stress, as assessed by phosphorylation of PERK (pancreatic ER kinase) and of eIF2-α (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α), a response that was blocked by concurrent treatment with the chemical chaperone 4-phenyl butyric acid (PBA). PBA also inhibited palmitate-dependent induction of the ER stress–dependent unfolded protein response, apoptosis, and accumulation of macrophage fatty acid–binding protein-4 (aP2, a cytosolic lipid chaperone, loss of which protects against atherosclerosis). PBA reduced atherosclerotic lesions, and macrophage ER stress and apoptosis—as well as aP2 content—therein, in apolipoprotein E–deficient mice (Apoe–/– mice) fed a Western diet. Palmitate failed to elicit ER stress in macrophages lacking Tcfap2, which encodes aP2; introduction of wild-type (WT) aP2 restored palmitate sensitivity, whereas a lipid-binding mutant form did not. ER stress was attenuated in macrophage-rich regions of early-stage atherosclerotic lesions in Tcfap2–/–;Apoe–/– mice (unlike those in Apoe–/– mice) and in mice treated with an aP2 inhibitor. Lipidomics analysis revealed that, compared with macrophages with aP2, Tcfap2–/– macrophages showed increased abundance of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), enhanced de novo lipogenesis, and increased stearoyl CoA desaturase (SCD, an enzyme that converts saturated fatty acids to MUFAs) activity; furthermore, Tcfap2–/– macrophages had increased phospholipid content compared with WT macrophages and decreased abundance of cholesterol esters. C16:1n7-palmitate, which was more abundant in Tcfap2–/– than in WT macrophages, protected WT macrophages from palmitate-induced ER stress and apoptosis, whereas knockdown of SCD-1 (more abundant in Tcfap2–/– than in WT macrophages) restored palmitate sensitivity to Tcfap2–/– macrophages. Tcfap2–/– macrophages showed increased ligand-stimulated activity of nuclear receptor LXR, a transcriptional activator of Scd1, and LXR-α knockdown decreased Scd1 mRNA abundance and restored palmitate sensitivity to Tcfap2–/– macrophages, whereas an LXR antagonist mimicked the effects of aP2 deficiency in WT macrophages. The authors thus conclude that aP2 plays a key role in mediating lipotoxic ER stress in macrophages; loss or inhibition of aP2 leads to increased production of LXR and thereby MUFAs, reducing ER stress and protecting against atherosclerosis. E. Erbay, V. R. Babaev, J. R. Mayers, L. Makowski, K. N. Charles, M. E. Snitow, S. Fazio, M. M. Wiest, S. M. Watkins, M. F. Linton, G. S. Hotamisligil, Reducing endoplasmic reticulum stress through a macrophage lipid chaperone alleviates atherosclerosis. Nat. Med. 15, 1383–1391 (2009). [PubMed] X. Liu, J. M. Ntambi, Atherosclerosis: Keep your macrophages in shape. Nat. Med. 15, 1357–1358 (2009). [PubMed]


Interstate air pollution can prevent even the most diligent downwind state from attaining the air quality levels required by federal law. Allocating responsibility for emissions cuts when multiple upwind states contribute to downwind air quality violations presents a particularly difficult problem. Justice Ginsburg's opinion for the Court in EPA v. EME Homer City Generator, L.P., gives EPA broad discretion to craft regulatory solutions for this problem. Although the specific statutory provision at issue was deceptively simple, the underlying problem was especially complex because of the large number of states involved. Indeed, neither the majority opinion nor the dissent seems to have fully grasped how allocation would work even in some of the simplified numerical examples discussed by the justices. Although the specific question before the Court is now settled, the Court's holding has continuing ramifications. It will shape further development of EPA's ongoing efforts to deal with interstate pollution, but it also has broader implications for the role of cost under federal pollution laws. In addition, the decision may have significant implications regarding EPA's flexibility in mandating state plans to reduce carbon emissions under sections 111(d) and 115 of the Clean Air Act.


IN THE CONTROL and protective circuits of complex electrical systems it is frequently necessary to make intricate interconnections of relay contacts and switches. Examples of these circuits occur in automatic telephone exchanges, industrial motor-control equipment, and in almost any circuits designed to perform complex operations automatically. In this paper a mathematical analysis of certain of the properties of such networks will be made. Particular attention will be given to the problem of network synthesis. Given certain characteristics, it is required to find a circuit incorporating these characteristics. The solution of this type of problem is not unique and methods of finding those particular circuits requiring the least number of relay contacts and switch blades will be studied. Methods will also be described for finding any number of circuits equivalent to a given circuit in all operating characteristics. It will be shown that several of the well-known theorems on impedance networks have roughly analogous theorems in relay circuits. Notable among these are the delta-wye and star-mesh transformations, and the duality theorem.


In this chapter, we compare the class composition of four types of anti-austerity demonstrations—Occupy/Indignados, trade union, May Day and other anti-austerity protests—with "new social movement" demonstrations. This allow us to, firstly, scrutinize whether contemporary anti-austerity protests attract more participants from the lower classes—in particular the working class—than from the upper strata. Since austerity policies tend to affect the general population differently, and in particular worsen the social conditions for the lower classes, it is interesting to see whether these policies mobilize the groups that are primarily affected by them. In this comparison, we explore and analyze survey data from 75 demonstrations collected within the research program "Caught in the Act of Protest: Contextualizing Contestation" (CCC). Secondly, we use the same data to examine the impact of social class on political attitudes among protesters, focusing issues that have been at the forefront during the last few years' wave of protest: deepening social inequality, welfare privatization, and distrust in political elites. This analysis allow us to scrutinize to which degree the "framing" of the protests possibly contributes to the demonstrators' attitudes towards austerity measures, economic inequality and their governments—or if the attitudes of the protesters are best explained by their individual social class, or even the national context in which the demonstration takes place. Social class is measured in two different ways. First, with the recently developed occupation-based Oesch class scheme, in which class is conceptualized as the individual's "objective" position in the labor market. Secondly, we focus individuals' self-categorizations of which class they belong to, i.e. their class identity, which can be seen as the "subjective" side of class. Our analysis also show the different merits of these two conceptualizations of class for analyzing political protests. (Less)


Design of experiments (DOE) is an established methodology in research, development, manufacturing, and production for screening, optimization, and robustness testing. Two-level fractional factorial designs remain the preferred approach due to high information content while keeping the number of experiments low. These types of designs, however, have never been extended to a generalized multilevel reduced design type that would be capable to include both qualitative and quantitative factors. In this Article we describe a novel generalized fractional factorial design. In addition, it also provides complementary and balanced subdesigns analogous to a fold-over in two-level reduced factorial designs. We demonstrate how this design type can be applied with good results in three different applications in analytical chemistry including (a) multivariate calibration using microwave resonance spectroscopy for the determination of water in tablets, (b) stability study in drug product development, and (c) representative sample selection in clinical studies. This demonstrates the potential of generalized fractional factorial designs to be applied in many other areas of analytical chemistry where representative, balanced, and complementary subsets are required, especially when a combination of quantitative and qualitative factors at multiple levels exists.


Background Many patients in Sweden are today distressed by fears of "electric fields." This phenomenon was almost unknown to occupational health clinics 10 years ago. Case history and examination A 35-year-old male plumber complained of fatigue, headache, lack of concentration, numbness and paresthesia in his arms, and a greasy feeling in his palms, where he observed tiny shiny spots. These symptoms made him unable to work. It all started after a period of high strain at the work. He feared negative influences, mainly from electric fields. Signs indicating nerve entrapment in the upper extremi-ties were found in a clinical examination. P ~ o v o c ~ ~ ~ o ~ Study The patient was blindly provocated in a whole-body electromagnetic coil at 34 or 100 pT randomly mixed with sham exposures. After being blinded against irrelevant external cues, he was not able to detect the existence of or any symptoms at either field intensity. He was informed about the results and was later able to return to his previous work. C O ~ C ~ U S ~ O ~ S No sensitivity to electromagnetic fields could be objectively verified for this patient, who was suspected to suffer from a thoracic outlet syndrome.


Preliminary safety assessment is an important activity in safety systems development since it provides insight into the proposed system's ability to meet its safety requirements. Because preliminary safety assessment is conducted before the system is implemented, developers rely on high-level designs of the system to assess safety in order to reduce the risk of finding issues later in the process. Since system architecture is the first design artefact developers produce, developers invest considerable time in assessing the architecture's impact on system safety. Typical safety standards require developers to show that a plan of safety activities, chosen from recommended options or alternatives, meets a set of objectives. More specifically, the automotive safety standard ISO 26262 recommends formally verifying the software architecture to show that it "complies" with safety requirements. In this paper, we apply an architecture-based verification technique for Architecture Analysis and Design Language (AADL) specifications to an architectural design for a fuel level estimation system to validate certain architectural properties. Subsequently, we build part of the conformance argument to show how the model checking can satisfy some ISO 26262 obligations. Furthermore, we show how the method could be used as a part of preliminary safety assessments and how it can be upheld by the later implementations beside of the other recommend methods.


Isothermal compression/expansion is regarded as the most promising process in many applications and many researchers and inventors have tried different methods to achieve this goal. The current article first studies the gradual roadmap from adiabatic towards isothermal process from thermodynamics and heat transfer point of view. Different strategies are investigated to achieve this goal by evaluating different possibilities; the bottleneck of the problem is then identified in reciprocating pistons: most of the compression work (and hence heat generation) occurs at the end of the compression stroke, however the heat transfer surface is at its minimum by the time that a high overall heat transfer rate is most needed. Then increment of heat exchange surface (specially at this important time interval) is being focused on as the most promising solution. Based on such a concept, a novel kind of reciprocating air compressor is being developed, in which quasi-isothermal compression is achieved by increasing heat transfer through co-axial fins. Finally a global map is illustrated to show the starting point, proposed solution standing point and the ideal situation and its requirement.


This article analyses the use of anglicisms in two conversations from two corpora of informal adolescent language, the UNO-corpus from Oslo, Norway, and de COLAs corpus from Santiago, Chile. The speakers are boys at the age of 14 with a middle/lower middle class background. The study shows that the use of anglicisms in both conversations is limited, but that the topic of the conversations influences the number of anglicisms. It also shows that anglicims in the process of integration do integrate both phonetically and morphologically, while those that are not integrated tend to maintain their foreign pronunciation. The analysis is based on the functional theory suggested by Halliday (1978). In the selected conversations, most of the anglicisms are nouns used to name new items that lack a name in the borrowing language, what Halliday calls the ideational function, used to define the external world. Anglicisms are also used with an interpersonal function, expressing feelings towards the other participants in the conversation and finally to fulfil the textual function, creating variation in the text.


Background Methamphetamine use among youth in the Western Cape Province of South Africa has increased at alarming rates over the past decade. Although current estimates of youth use exist, they range from 2% to 12%. Objectives To identify (i) the prevalence of methamphetamine use in Western Cape youth and (ii) the association between use and known risk factors for methamphetamine use. Methods Data were obtained from 10 000 Western Cape Province Grade 8 learners in 54 secondary schools (mean age 14.0 years). Prevalence was descriptively reported while risk factors for past-month use were modelled in a hierarchical logistic regression with demographic, socioeconomic status, substance use, sexual activity and relationship predictors. Results Approximately 5% (n=496) of learners had used methamphetamine within their lifetime. Of these users, 65% (n=322) had used in the past month or week. Compared to never users, past-month users were more likely to be male, less likely to have a present or partially present mother, less likely to live in an apartment/flat/brick house, more likely to have used alcohol and tobacco and more likely to report having a same-sex partner. Conclusion Results replicate previously known methamphetamine risk factors and highlight the need to address methamphetamine use in comprehensive prevention initiatives.


In this paper, a direct switching between a transparent (or reflecting) planar (P) state to an opaque (or transparent) focal conic (FC) state and vice-versa of a polymer free bistable cholesteric light shutter without any homogeneous polyimide (PI) layer, is demonstrated based on the sign inversion of dielectric anisotropy of dual frequency liquid crystal (DFLC). The direct switching was achieved by applying square wave field at low (1 kHz) and high (50 kHz) frequency. As a result, the DFLC light shutter sustains bistable bright and dark states in electric field off state and exhibits excellent electro-optic performance. The direct switching from the FC to P states not only supports more uniform P state but also significantly reduces switching voltage by eliminating the high field homeotropic (H) state required for the switching in the conventional polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (PSCT) light shutter. The driving voltage applied to make a transition from the P to FC one is relatively low (3Vp-p/µm). Further, switching time from FC to P state was reduced drastically with homeotropic PI layer. Results show that dual frequency cholesteric liquid crystal (DFCLC) light shutter holds a great promise for use in energy efficient display devices and switchable windows.


The central argument of this Article is that conflict over the judicial practice to use foreign authority leads to the manufacture of foreign law into a dangerous stranger. Drawing on philosopher and sociologist Georg Simmel's conceptualization of the stranger as a cultural object that sits on the border of the insider and outsider, I argue that there is a resistance to the use of foreign law in the United States. Foreign laws, like immigrants in the United States, are being constructed as tolerable illegals or threatening legals.I perform an empirical qualitative content analysis of the senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominees and their discussions of the practice of judicial citation of foreign law. The hearings of nominees Alito, Kagan, O'Connor, Roberts, and Sotomayor are studied. During these hearings, conservatives label foreign law as biased and dangerous. Most interestingly, however, are the ways in which foreign law emerges from these debates linked to otherness — particularly the otherness of disadvantaged gender and racial minorities. The Article connects the transformation of foreign law into a stranger to other conservative movements that have constructed foreign national immigrants as illegal strangers who should be feared. This work argues that foreign laws and decisions constitute a new American stranger.


To build software which, at the press of a button, can tell you what cognition-related hazards there are within an environment or a task, is probably well into the future if it is possible at all. However, incorporating existing tools such as task analysis tools, interface design guidelines and information about general cognitive limitations in humans, could allow for greater evaluative options for cognitive ergonomics. The paper discusses previous approaches to the subject and suggests adding design and evaluative guiding in digital human modelling that will help a user with little or no knowledge of cognitive science to design and evaluate a human-product interaction scenario.


Lappeenranta University of Technology Acta Universitatis Lappeenrantaensis 153 Jorma Haataja A comparative performance study of four-pole induction motors and synchronous reluctance motors in variable speed drives Lappeenranta 2003 ISBN 951-764-772-7, ISSN 1456-4491 Design aspects of the Transversally Laminated Anisotropic (TLA) Synchronous Reluctance Motor (SynRM) are studied and the machine performance analysis compared to the Induction Motor (IM) is done. The SynRM rotor structure is designed and manufactured for a 30 kW, four-pole, three-phase squirrel cage induction motor stator. Both the IM and SynRM were supplied by a sensorless Direct Torque Controlled (DTC) variable speed drive. Attention is also paid to the estimation of the power range where the SynRM may compete successfully with a same size induction motor. A technical loss reduction comparison between the IM and SynRM in variable speed drives is done. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to analyse the number, location and width of flux barriers used in a multiple segment rotor. It is sought for a high saliency ratio and a high torque of the motor. It is given a comparison between different FEM calculations to analyse SynRM performance. The possibility to take into account the effect of iron losses with FEM is studied. Comparison between the calculated and measured values shows that the design methods are reliable. A new application of the IEEE 112 measurement method is developed and used especially for determination of stray load losses in laboratory measurements. The study shows that, with some special measures, the efficiency of the TLA SynRM is equivalent to that of a high efficiency IM. The power factor of the SynRM at rated load is smaller than that of the IM. However, at lower partial load this difference decreases and this, probably, brings that the SynRM gets a better power factor in comparison with the IM. The big rotor inductance ratio of the SynRM allows a good estimating of the rotor position. This appears to be very advantageous for the designing of the rotor position sensor-less motor drive. In using the FEM designed multi-layer transversally laminated rotor with damper windings it is possible to design a directly network driven motor without degrading the motor efficiency or power factor compared to the performance of the IM. UDC 621.313.32 : 621.313.33


Based on magnetic field measurements from the satellite CHAMP, a detailed picture could be obtained of the upstream wave (UW) distribution in the topside ionosphere. The low, near-polar orbit of CHAMP, covering all local times, allows the global distribution of this type of pulsation to be revealed. The observations from space are compared to recordings of the ground-based MM100 meridional array covering the latitude range 66° to 42° in magnetic coordinates. UWs show up very clearly in the compressional component of the satellite magnetic field data, whereas on the ground, their signature is found in the H component, but it is mixed with oscillations from field line resonant pulsations. Here we first introduce a procedure for an automated detection of UW signatures, both in ground and space data. Then a statistical analysis is presented of UW pulsations recorded during a 132-day period, centred on the autumn 2001 equinox. Observations in the top-side ionosphere reveal a clear latitudinal distribution of the amplitudes. Largest signals are observed at the equator. Minima show up at about 40° latitude. The coherence between ground and satellite wave signatures is high over wide latitude and longitude ranges. We make suggestions about the entry mechanism of UWs from the foreshock region into the magnetosphere. The clear UW signature in satellite recordings between ?60° and 60° latitude allows for detailed investigations of the dependence on solar wind conditions. We test the control of solar wind speed, interplanetary magnetic field strength and cone angle on UWs. For the first time, it is possible to derive details of the Doppler-shift effect by modifying the UW frequency from direct observations. The results reconcile foreshock wave generation predictions with near-Earth observations.


As interdisciplinary talents in line with market demand, the cultivation of business English talents also gets more attention, but there are a lot of problems of business English talent training mode in the most comprehensive universities. Proper treatment can help to solve these problems for the rapid economic development of colleges and universities to provide more excellent talents. This article discusses the business English talent training mode from four aspects of courses, practice teaching, teaching staff, assessment method.


Kinesthesia, balance and agility (KBA) neuromuscular exercises are commonly used for rehabilitation of lower extremity injuries. KBA combined with strength training (ST) reportedly improves function among persons with knee osteoarthritis (OA), but independent effects of KBA are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of KBA exercises, independent of ST, to improve function among persons with knee OA. Twenty participants (69.3, SD 11.4 y) were randomized to 8 weeks, 3-days per week, instructor-lead KBA or ST groups. Self-reported physical function (difficulty with daily living activities such as walking, bending, stair climbing, etc.) was measured at baseline and every two weeks. Community physical activity level, negative and positive outcome expectancies for exercise, self-reported knee stability, and timed 10-stair climb, 10-stair descent, and 'get up and go' 15 m walk were measured at baseline and follow-up. Physical function improved 59% (p = 0.02) with KBA and 40% (p = 0.02) with ST at 8 weeks. Community physical activity level improved only in KBA (p = 0.04); knee stability improved in both KBA (p = 0.04) and ST (p = 0.01). There were no significant between-group differences (p > 0.05). In conclusion, both interventions appear to improve function and knee stability among persons with symptomatic knee OA. As KBA has never been studied as an independent treatment program, our results indicate it is a promising stand-alone intervention worthy of further study.


This paper discusses how to design refractive optical elements to form a specified irradiance distribution on a curvilinear surface when a compact light source is used. The calculation is based on representing the surface of the element in terms of the distribution of the eikonal of the light field in an adjacent plane. The eikonal is defined in the form of a polynomial. The design of the refractive surface is based on gradient minimization of an error functional representing the difference of the calculated and specified irradiances of the field. An analytical expression is obtained for the gradient of the error functional. Refractive elements are designed for the formation of a rectangular irradiance distribution on flat and cylindrical surfaces.


Nitrogen-containing diiron-hexacarbonyl complexes from 3-phenyl-2H-azirines

Reaction of 2,2-dimethyl-3-phenyl-2H-azirine (1) with diiron-enneacarbonyl yields as an insertion product, and in addition to other products, the diiron-hexacarbonyl complex 2 (Scheme 1), whose structure was derived from spectral data, in particular 13C-NMR.-data (Table 1). With trimethylamine oxide in benzene, 2 is converted into the urea derivative 3, and yields with cerium (IV) ammonium nitrate the nitrate 4 (Scheme 1). The analogous complexes 6 and 9 have been obtained by irradiation of 1-phenyl-vinyl azide (5) and ironpentacarbonyl (Scheme 1) and from vinyl isocyanate (8) and diiron-enneacarbonyl at 40° (Scheme 2), respectively.

The azirine 1, an acetylenic compound and diiron-enneacarbonyl in benzene react to give complexes of type 10 as the main product (Scheme 3). The structure of complex 10 has been established by X-ray single crystals analysis. On the 13C-NMR. time scale the carbonyl groups of compound 10 show a fluxional behaviour: below −50° the CO-groups of one of the two Fe(CO)3-groups undergo intranuclear exchange, above −50° the CO-groups of both Fe(CO)3-groups undergo intranuclear exchange.

Tentative reaction mechanisms for the formation of the complexes of type 2 and 10 are formulated in Schemes 5, 6 and 7.


Introduction: This paper proposes an appropriate strategy for exporting Hepatitis B vaccine, manufactured by Pasteur Institute of Iran, to other countries. Methods: Eeffectiveness factors and their relative variables were found out by factor analysis method in SPSS software. Results: We could identify 6 main factors which can extremely affect the export of this product. We evaluated manufacturer"s strategic position among its competitors and the production market via SPACE model and put the obtained scores from the factor analysis method in this model matrix. Conclusion: We determined Iraq as the target market and identified suitable strategies for exporting the vaccine to this country.


Now in its third edition, this bestselling reference text has established itself as the authoritative source covering the key concepts, theories, and methods in criminology and criminal justice. Edited by two of the leading figures in the field, the book is:

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This wide-ranging reference and research tool will be an essential companion for students and academics within criminology, criminal justice and legal studies and related fields including sociology, social policy, psychology and cultural studies.


An ocean surface current radar (OSCR) in the very high frequency (VHF) mode was deployed in South Florida Ocean Measurement Center (SFOMC) during the summer of 1999. During this period, a 29-d continuous time series of vector surface currents was acquired starting on 9 July 1999 and ending 7 August 1999. Over a 20-min sample interval, the VHF radar mapped coastal ocean currents over a 7.5 km /spl times/ 8 km domain with a horizontal resolution of 250 m at 700 grid points. A total of 2078 snapshots of the two-dimensional current vectors were acquired during this time series and of these samples, only 69 samples (3.3%) were missing from the time series. During this period, complex surface circulation patterns were observed that included coherent, submesoscale vortices with diameters of 2 to 3 km inshore of the Florida Current. Comparisons to subsurface measurements from moored and ship-board acoustic Doppler current profiles revealed regression slopes of close to unity with biases ranging from 4 to 8 cm s/sup -1/ between surface and subsurface measurements at 3 to 4 m beneath the surface. Correlation coefficients were 0.8 or above with phases of - 10 to - 20/spl deg/ suggestive of an anticyclonic veering of current with depth relative to the surface current. The radar-derived surface current field provided spatial context for an observational network using mooring-, ship- and autonomous underwater vehicle-sensor packages that were deployed at the SFOMC.


The 2020 Vision initiative of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was launched late in 1993, at a time of growing global complacency regarding international food security questions. The first phase of the 2020 Vision initiative (1993–96) featured the development of an innovative forward-looking partial equilibrium model of the international food and agriculture sector; the hosting of an extensive series of high profile conferences, workshops, and regional meetings; the publication and distribution of numerous substantive discussion papers, policy briefs, and regional synthesis papers; and the regular publication of a topical newsletter. The goal was to refocus attention on current and future challenges in areas such as food security, agricultural development, rural poverty, and environmental protection; to catalyze a new consensus on these issues within the international policy community; and to encourage policy leaders—both in the donor community and in the developing world—to commit more energy and resources to resolve food security concerns. The present report is an independent effort, commissioned by IFPRI, to measure the actual impact, to date, of this ongoing 2020 Vision initiative. The impacts examined include impacts on three different audiences: researchers and educators, international policy leaders, and developing-country policy leaders. For each of these audiences, an assessment is given as to whether the 2020 Vision initiative significantly "reached" the audience in question with its materials and messages; whether 2020 had an impact on the policy thinking of this audience; and whether 2020 actually catalyzed any new policy actions by this audience. 2020 activities, from materials published by other organizations working in the food security and agricultural development area, and from materials gathered from donors, international organizations, and the nongovernmental organization (NGO) community.


The accuracy of object-based computer vision techniques declines due to major challenges originating from large scale variation, varying shape, perspective variation, and lack of side information. To handle these challenges most of the crowd counting methods use multi-columns (restrict themselves to a set of specific density scenes), deploying a deeper and multi-networks for density estimation. However, these techniques suffer a lot of drawbacks such as extraction of identical features from multi-column, computationally complex architecture, overestimate the density estimation in sparse areas, underestimating in dense areas and averaging of feature maps result in reduced quality of density map. To overcome these drawbacks and to provide a state-of-the-art counting accuracy with comparable computational cost, we therefore propose a deeper and wider network: a Context-aware Scale Aggregation CNN-based Crowd Counting method (CASA-Crowd) to obtain the deep, varying scale and perspective varying features. Further, we include a dilated convolution with varying filter size to obtain contextual information. In addition, due to different dilation rates, a variation in receptive field size is more useful to overcome the perspective distortion. The quality of density map is enhanced while preserving the spatial dimension by obtaining a comparable computational complexity. We further evaluate our method on three well-known datasets: UCF_CC_50, ShanghaiTech Part_A, ShanghaiTech Part_B.


No doubt some will consider the question "Is It Time to Shelve Freire?" a singularly asinine query, especially when this issue of the Journal of Thought is devoted to an examination, application, extension, and utilization, if not critique, of his ideas. But is that rather spur-of-the-moment response merited? Are we not guilty of inconsistency and, worse, hypocrisy if we do not entertain the idea that Freire's day may largely have come and gone? Or are we too ideologically dogmatic to critique his or our own beliefs that are inextricably rooted in his ideas? How then should we approach a twentieth-century philosopher in the twenty-first century? Even to the causal student of Freire, it is obvious that some have never embraced Freirean ideas. Many quickly rejected nearly everything he claimed years ago. Thus, they cannot reject his thinking; they can only maintain their ongoing repudiation of his ideas. In this case, we might be well-advised to revise our question to those that follow: Are we too ideologically dogmatic to critique our own beliefs with the insights Freire offers? Is it time to reconsider--or consider for the first time--Freire's perspective and what it may offer us? Others have been less spontaneous in rejecting Freire's thinking, including some of those who initially welcomed aspects of his ideas and others who had a more encompassing affection for his consciousness raising inquiries. Some who fall into these categories have abandoned Freire in whole or in part for an assortment of reasons. What, we might ask, are the reasons for their disaffection? Some reject him because he is not seen as a thoroughgoing Marxist, a militant feminist, an orthodox Catholic, or a militaristic revolutionist. Others claim his theoretical orientation is shallow, e.g., his epistemology is suspect, his ethical theory is inadequate, and his social philosophy is unbalanced. Still others critique his views of teachers as cultural workers and administrators as strong leaders as being inconsistent with his liberatory philosophy. Even others reject Freire because they think his ideas are irrelevant to transnational and global issues and are hopelessly embedded in a Brazilian meta-narrative. And others seem charred by his radical and uncompromising love, a love that seeks to humanize even the dehumanizer. Naturally, the number of critics and the targets of their criticism could be expanded almost indefinitely. So, for many, the answer to the question--is it time to shelve Freire?--is definitely yes, at least largely, certainly in particular areas. Even this widespread criticism, however, speaks to the influence Freire has had in recent decades and to the influence he continues to have in many circles. Those who continue to critique Freire without noting his strengths, therefore, may be unconsciously perpetuating his influence. Everything considered, we seem well-advised to consider negative criticisms as well as positive critiques of Freire, including his own admonition that we reinvent him in our unique circumstances. This orientation is consistent with Freire's own emphases, for he argued that the genuinely radical person keeps on learning even as he (she) "is convinced [that] he is right, but respects another's prerogative to judge himself correct. …


Stoichiometric operation of Spark Ignited (SI) Heavy Duty Natural Gas (HDNG) engines with a three way catalyst results in very low emissions however they suffer from bad gas-exchange efficiency due to use of throttle which results in high throttling losses. Variable Geometry Turbine (VGT) is a good practice to reduce throttling losses in a certain operating region of the engine. VTG technology is extensively used in diesel engines; it is very much ignored in gasoline engines however it is possible and advantageous to be used on HDNG engine due to their relatively low exhaust gas temperature. Exhaust gas temperatures in HDNG engines are low enough (lower than 760 degree Celsius) and tolerable for VGT material. Traditionally HDNG are equipped with a turbocharger with waste-gate but it is easy and simple to replace the by-pass turbocharger with a well-matched VGT. By altering the geometry of the turbine housing, the area for exhaust gases can be adjusted and results in the desired torque. Because of this the turbo lag is very low and it has a low boost threshold. Low boost threshold means that VGT can cover a big operation range of the engine from low engine speeds to high. In this operation range the throttle can be fully open and VGT is used instead of the throttle to control the desired torque which results in eliminating the throttling losses. This paper presents experimental results which show the feasibility of reducing throttling losses by means of VGT. The operating region which is appropriate for controlling the desired torque by VGT instead of throttle is specified. The gains in terms of gas exchange efficiency are quantified. Furthermore the dynamics of using VGT is quantified and compared with throttle. The experiments were performed successfully and the results showed at least 2 unit percent improvement in gas-exchange efficiency. A comparable dynamic to throttle is observed. (Less)


This document proposes a series of draft principles and guidelines that were produced at a workshop with participation of its authors in June 2011, with the aim to serve as a foundation for planning ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation. The principles are intended to be used by decision makers in national policy in national, territorial and sector planning initiatives, in financial planning, and in project and research design. Hence, the draft set of guidelines is meant to support best-practices for the design and implementation of ecosystem-based approaches to adaptation.


Background/aims Choroidal thickness measurements are reported to differ between swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) and spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT). This study aimed to assess the comparability of choroidal thickness measurements using SS-OCT and SD-OCT devices among patients with retinal diseases and normal participants. Methods In a prospective cohort study of 100 subjects, comprising patients with retinal disease and normal volunteers, OCT scans were performed sequentially with the DRI OCT-1 and Spectralis OCT using standardised imaging protocols. Subfoveal choroidal thicknesses were independently measured by masked reading-centre certified graders. Paired t tests and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to compare the measurements. Results Among all 100 participants, mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 264.3 µm and 272.4 µm for DRI OCT-1 and Spectralis OCT respectively (p=0.001), with ICC of 0.989. The mean difference in choroidal thickness between OCT devices was larger among eyes with retinal diseases compared with normal eyes (8.4 µm vs 7.3 µm). Eyes with choroidal thickness ≤200 µm had smaller differences between OCT devices compared with those with thicker choroids (mean 3.6 µm vs 10.0 µm, p=0.021). Conclusions Subfoveal choroidal thickness measurements are comparable between DRI OCT-1 and Spectralis OCT. The presence of retinal disease increases the variability of choroidal thickness measurements between OCT devices.


This research represent the case study have the character of descriptive at Company of Area of Drinking Water of Town Bontang with the title " Balanced Scorecard As A Means Of Measure The Performance of Company of Area of Drinking Water of Town Bontang ". This Research Target to know how performance of Company of Area of Drinking Water of Town Bontang in in perpective of finance, cutomer, process the internal business, and also study and growth. From result of performance measurement will be compared to by a standard which have been specified by Kepmendagri 1999. As a whole company performance assessed good enough because company can reach the value 45,75 from specified standard. Matter o] this means company have tried to execute its function in the case of ready service of clean water for urban community Bontang. In in perpective [of] unfavourable performance finance, indicator of rate of return invesment ( ROI) show the increase in the year 2003 equal to - 15% becoming - 3% in the year 2005 and descend to become - 8% in the year 2006. And so do Profit of Margin of on Sales mount from - 38% in the year 2003 becoming - 5% in the year 2005 and descend to become - 21% in the year 2006. While Growth Rate in Sales of[is single indicator in in perpective of tired finance of specified standard. Growth Rate in Sales mount equal to 13.97% in the year 2004 and 146.68 in the year 2006. Thereby prosentase from third above indicator, only one capable to reach the standard which have been specified by government. From in perpective of cutomerun favourable company performance. This matter look at indicator of service coverage which cannot fulfill the standard. While Number of New Customer year 2004 going up equal to 54.45% and in the year 2006 mounting equal to 90.68%. while from speed of is tacking on still show the unfavourable performance because time needed in getting new extension have to require the time of about one week later. In perpective Greeting process the internal business, unfavourable company performance. This matter look from indicator of productivity of production installation which cannot fulfill the standard which have been specified. Differ from the prosentase mount the loss irrigate in the year 2005 reached ratio still be high that is 25.86% residing in the above ratio standard which can be accepted by 20%, but in the year 2006 company repair their performance till come near the ratio specified become 20.28% From in perpective learn and expand the, good enough company performance. Only one inacceptable indicator, employees productivity. Reached ratio at this indicator reside in below/under number of zero. Differing from employee turnover, mount the absence which enough lower to show the good enough employees performance discipline. Beside that mount the employees training non-stoped experience of the improvement. Pursuant to description of[is above, writer can suggest better PDAM of Town Bontang should be able to make the more orienting strategy device at repair of speed indicator of[is tacking on newly, indicator of denunciating handling, and indicator of service amenity. With the third repair of the indicator, company expected can improve the company performance in in perpective fourth is which have been specified by Kepmendagri 1999. Because by repairing third the indicator of company will easy to get the cutomer( improving indicator of Number of New Customer), improving company profit ( indicator of ROI and Profit of Margin of on Sales), and menggurangi of company expense (repairing indicator of Productivity Instalansi Produce). Keyword : BALANCED SCORECARD Link Terkait : http://skripsi.umm.ac.id/files/disk1/244/jiptummpp-gdl-s1-2008-alyasarnha-12166-1.+PENDA-N.pdf