Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), a second messenger formed in response to stimulation of cell surface receptors, binds to and activates IP3 receptors (IP3Rs, internal calcium release channels) to liberate calcium from intracellular stores. Phosphorylated IRBIT (IP3R-binding protein released with inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate) binds to the IP3-binding region of the IP3R, from which it is displaced by IP3. Ando et al., who initially identified IRBIT, used an in vitro binding assay to show that IRBIT displaced IP3 from a fusion protein containing the IP3R lacking its channel domain. Scatchard analysis indicated that IRBIT acted as a competitive inhibitor that decreased the affinity of the IP3R for IP3, and mutational analysis indicated that most of the amino acid residues necessary for IP3 binding to the IP3R were also involved in IRBIT binding. Both IRBIT that had been exposed to alkaline phosphatase and a mutant form (S68A, in which serine 68 was substituted with alanine) that showed decreased phosphorylation and less efficient binding to the IP3R than wild-type IRBIT failed to suppress IP3 binding to the IP3R. IRBIT also inhibited IP3 binding and IP3-dependent calcium release in cerebellar microsomes. Calcium imaging of HeLa cells in which IRBIT was depleted with siRNA revealed enhanced release of calcium compared with wild-type cells in response to stimulation with an IP3-generating agonist. Overexpression of S68A (which bound to endogenous IRBIT, forming a heteromultimer with weaker affinity for the IP3R than that of the wild-type homomultimer) also enhanced IP3-dependent release. Thus, the authors propose that IRBIT acts as a "pseudoligand" regulated by phosphorylation that inhibits IP3 binding and thereby calcium release. In a second paper, another group from the Mikoshiba lab proposes a second function of IRBIT based on the idea that when IP3 binds to IP3Rs, displaced IRBIT might serve to carry a signal to other partners. Shirakabe et al. therefore searched for proteins that interacted with IRBIT in extracts of mouse cerebellum. A prominent interacting protein from membrane fractions was identified as NBC1, the Na+/HCO3– cotransporter that shuttles HCO3– and Na+ ions across the plasma membrane. Reciprocal immunoprecipitation experiments verified that the endogenous proteins interact. Like its binding to the IP3R, binding of IRBIT to NBC1 was dependent on phosphorylation of IRBIT. The functional consequence of the interaction was tested in a Xenopus oocyte system. Electrophysiological measurements showed that expression of IRBIT along with NBC1 was necessary to allow full activity of the transporter. IRBIT interacted only with the NBC1 splicing variant called pNBC1, which is present in the pancreas, where it is thought to promote HCO3– transport in pancreatic duct cells. Thus, the authors propose that, at least in the pancreas, physiological concentrations of IP3, which cause dissociation of IRBIT from IP3Rs, could not only promote release of calcium through the IP3R channel but also mobilize an IRBIT-mediated signal that modulates acid-base balance. H. Ando, A. Mizutani, H. Kiefer, D. Tsuzurugi, T. Michikawa, K. Mikoshiba, IRBIT suppresses IP3 receptor activity by competing with IP3 for the common binding site on the IP3 receptor. Mol. Cell 22, 795-806 (2006). [Online Journal] K. Shirakabe, G. Priori, H. Yamada, H. Ando, S. Horita, T. Fujita, I. Fujimoto, A. Mizutani, G. Seki, K. Mikoshiba, IRBIT, an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor-binding protein, specifically binds to and activates pancreas-type Na+/HCO3– cotransporter 1 (pNBC1). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103, 9542-9547 (2006). [Abstract] [Full Text]


At present, the object categorisation literature is still dominated by the use of individual class detectors. Detecting multiple classes then implies the subsequent application of multiple such detectors, but such an approach is not scalable towards high numbers of classes. This paper presents an alternative strategy, where multiple classes are detected in a combined way. This includes a decision tree approach, where ternary rather than binary nodes are used, and where nodes share features. This yields an efficient scheme, which scales much better. The paper proposes a strategy where the object samples are first distinguished from the background. Then, in a second stage, the actual object class membership of each sample is determined. The focus of the paper lies entirely on the first stage, i.e. the distinction from background. The tree approach for this step is compared against two alternative strategies, one of them being the popular cascade approach. While classification accuracy tends to be better or comparable, the speed of the proposed method is systematically better. This advantage gets more outspoken as the number of object classes increases


Metformin as an oral antidiabetic drug (OAD) is not recommended in renal failure due to the presumed risk of lactic acidosis though it has advantages in cardiovascular protection with a low risk of hypoglycemia. Few studies have measured lactic acid blood levels in patients with diabetic kidney disease on metformin and demonstrated lactic acidosis. The aim of our study is to see if patients with diabetic kidney disease are at risk of elevated lactate blood levels and lactic acidosis. Lactate levels and blood pH were estimated in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus receiving metformin in different stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and were compared with a similar group not receiving metformin. Patients with diabetic kidney disease, with estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min who were previously receiving metformin started in centers elsewhere and referred here were studied and compared with a similar group taking other OADs or insulin. Independent sample t-test or ANOVA were used to compare quantitative variables between groups. Pearson correlation was used to analyze association between quantitative variables and linear regression analysis and was employed to note the relationship between quantitative variables. Of 57 patients who received a mean dose of 1.134 grams of metformin, 33 (55.9%) were in stage 3, 16 (28.1%) in stage 4, and 8 (14%) in stage 5 CKD. Mean serum pH (P = 0.572), bicarbonate (P = 0.978), and plasma lactate (P = 0.449) levels in those taking and not taking metformin were comparable. There was no difference in the plasma lactate levels in different stages of CKD in the metformin group (P = 0.498) although there was significant correlation with metformin dose (P <0.05). Blood lactate levels were not elevated in patients with diabetic kidney disease at a daily dose of metformin <1 g.


This work addresses the deep penetration of structures in clays; particularly the Cone penetration test. CPT is one of the most widely used in situ method to characterize soil properties. A large number of correlations have been obtained using a multitude of techniques; however, there is still a large spread between the proposals. The research has been carried out by large deformation calculations employing the Particle Finite Element method. In this method, the domain is discretized with a set of particles; the interaction between them is computed in a finite element mesh with low order elements and a lagrangian description of the domain. This mesh is created frequently; adaptive remeshing strategies and techniques to recover the boundary are used. In this work, an explicit integration scheme for hyperelastic-based finite strains elasto-plasticity is proposed. One step update equations are obtained from the large deformation multiplicative elasto-plasticity theory, where an exponential variation of the plastic deformation gradient is assumed. In addition, the material tangent matrix is presented and has the same formal structure as the usual small strains elastoplastic tangent matrix. Routines to alleviate the main drawbacks of explicit methods are outlined, suh as a yield drift correction scheme and an adaptive substepping method. Several examples of typical geotechnical tests are presented, showing the robustness and accuracy of the proposal. Results of the simulation of the cone penetration in undrained clay are reported. A parametric study in total stresses is carried out for materials obeying a Tresca yield criterion. The variables investigated are the rigidity index and the roughness at the interface of the soil and the structure. Details on the stress state and the incremental displacements profiles are presented. Finally, the drained penetration on soils obeing a Modified Cam Clay model elasto-plastic behavior is assessed and the stress state and the stress path are commented.


The research undertaken for this doctoral thesis explores the issue of teachers professionalism within pre-school institutions. The issue of early childhood professionalism has become increasingly important in the academic debate over the last decade as it is documented by a growing body of research published on the topic both nationally (Contini & Manini, 2007; Bondioli & Ferrari, 2004) and internationally (Peeters, 2008; Urban & Dalli, 2008; Urban, 2010). The study presented in this thesis aims at investigating teachers' conceptualisations of professionalism by focusing on their understandings of educational work. The idea standing at the core of this research is that exploring the concept of professionalism from a ground-up perspective could lead to important reflections for a re-conceptualisation of professional development as a space for change directed from within institutions. The study is framed within a broadly sociological concern that inform the data analysis by contextualising the issue of early childhood professionalism in the contemporary socio-political arena. The research involves sixty teachers operating in state, municipal and private pre-school institutions located in Bologna province that took part to focus groups and interviews. The empirical materials, consisting of oral and written statements, are interpreted through phenomenographical analysis that gives account of how features of professionalism vary across the different institutional settings in which they are played out. This thesis, written in English and informed by an European research background, offers a contribution to the furthering of systemic approaches to the investigation of early childhood education professionalism in the context of the national and international academic debate.


Vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flushes and night sweats, are considered to be the cardinal symptoms of menopause, and are experienced by most women. The physiology of hot flushes is not fully understood, and is likely to reflect the interplay between multiple central and peripheral physiological systems. Reproductive hormones play an integral role, as evidenced by the onset of vasomotor symptoms during the dramatic reproductive hormone changes of the menopausal transition, and by the efficacy of exogenous oestrogen in the treatment of hot flushes. Menopausal hormone therapy with oestrogen, and with or without a progestogen, is the most widely studied and most effective treatment option for the relief of menopause-related vasomotor symptoms. It is also considered to be the standard of care for women with moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms.


Introduction
The tau statistic is a recent second-order correlation function that can assess the magnitude and range of global spatiotemporal clustering from epidemiological data containing geolocations of individual cases and, usually, disease onset times. This is the first review of its use, and the aspects of its computation and presentation that could affect inferences drawn and bias estimates of the statistic.
Methods
Using Google Scholar we searched papers or preprints that cited the papers that first defined/reformed the statistic. We tabulated their key characteristics to understand the statistic's development since 2012.
Results
Only half of the 16 studies found were considered to be using true tau statistics, but their inclusion in the review still provided important insights into their analysis motivations. All papers that used graphical hypothesis testing and parameter estimation used incorrect methods. There is a lack of clarity over how to choose the time-relatedness interval to relate cases and the distance band set, that are both required to calculate the statistic. Some studies demonstrated nuanced applications of the tau statistic in settings with unusual data or time relation variables, which enriched understanding of its possibilities. A gap was noticed in the estimators available to account for variable person-time at risk.
Discussion
Our review comprehensively covers current uses of the tau statistic for descriptive analysis, graphical hypothesis testing, and parameter estimation of spatiotemporal clustering. We also define a new estimator of the tau statistic for disease rates. For the tau statistic there are still open questions on its implementation which we hope this review inspires others to research.


Ceratonia siliqua is a typical plant of the Mediterranean area, which is mainly used as animal and human food and in folk medicine for treating some diseases such as antidiarrheal and diuretic. The present study was planned to evaluate the potential of antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of C. siliqua leaves extract and the identification of bioactive compounds by high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) in the active extract. The antioxidant activities of the different organic extracts of C. siliqua were assayed by 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and β-carotene tests. Among the tested extracts, results showed that the ethyl acetate extract displayed the greatest DPPH scavenging ability with an IC50 of 1.8 µg/ml and a strong β-carotene bleaching inhibition after 120 min of incubation with an IC50 of 24.01 µg/ml. The investigation of the phenolic and flavonids content showed that the ethyl acetate extract of C. siliqua revealed the highest phenolic contents. Only the ethyl acetate extract of C. siliqua (EACs) showed antimicrobial activity with a broad-spectrum microbiocide with diameter inhibition zones ranging from 12 to 24 mm and MIC values of 0.312 to 1.25 mg/ml. The HPLC finger print of EACs active extract showed the presence of six phenolic compounds. They included (1) 1,6-Di-galloyl-glucose, (2) 1,2,6-Tri-galloyl-glucose, (3) Myricetin glucoside, (4) 1,2,3,6-Tetra-galloyl-glucose, (5) Myricetin rhamnoside and (6) Syringic acid. These results are a good agreement of the popular use and experimentally observed effects of C. siliqua and would promote the reasonable usage and exploitation of the biomolecules of this important plant.

 Key words: Ceratonia siliqua, Chemical composition, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds.


The blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the glia limitans serve to prevent the migration of cells and other large molecules from the blood into the CNS. Neuroinflammatory diseases are characterized by disruption of the BBB and increased leukocyte infiltration into the CNS. In this issue of the JCI, Horng and colleagues demonstrate that astrocytes of the glia limitans induce tight junction formation in response to inflammatory cues, thereby tightening the border to limit the number of activated T cells infiltrating the CNS. Moreover, preventing the formation of this inducible barrier in mice increased disease severity in models of neuroinflammation. Together, the results of this study indicate that the inducible barrier of the glia limitans should be further explored as a therapeutic target.


BACKGROUND
Periodontitis is multifactorial in nature. The various determinants of periodontal disease are age, sex, race, socioeconomic status and risk factors including tobacco usage and oral hygiene status. However, there is inconsistent epidemiological data on the periodontal status of subjects living in high-fluoride areas. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of dental fluorosis on the periodontal status using community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN), as a clinical study. The purpose of this study is to determine the periodontal status using CPITN index in a population aged between 15 and 74 years residing in the high fluoride areas of Davangere district. The possible reasons for the susceptibility of this population to periodontal disease are discussed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
1029 subjects, aged between 15 and 74 years suffering from dental fluorosis were assessed for their periodontal status. Clinical parameters recorded were OHI-S to assess the oral hygiene status, Jackson's fluorosis index to assess the degree of fluorosis and CPITN index to assess the periodontal status where treatment need was excluded.

RESULTS
Gingivitis and periodontitis were more common in females (65.9% and 32.8%,respectively) than in males (75.1% and 24.2%, respectively). Periodontitis was significantly more common in females. As the age advanced from 15 to 55 years and above, gingivitis reduced from 81.0 to 42.9% and periodontitis increased steadily from 18.0 to 57.1%, which was significant. Periodontitis was high in subjects with poor oral hygiene (81.3%), compared to those with good oral hygiene (14.5%), which was significant. As the degree of fluorosis increased, severity of gingivitis reduced and periodontitis increased, i.e, with A degree fluorosis, gingivitis was 89.4% and periodontitis 8.5%, but with F degree fluorosis the former was 64% and the latter 35.8%, which was statistically significant.

CONCLUSION
The results suggest that there is a strong association of occurrence of periodontal disease in high-fluoride areas. The role of plaque is well understood in contrast to the effect of fluorides on periodontal tissues. It goes a long way to reason out fluoride as an important etiological agent in periodontal disease.


Laser fence is a mechanism used to detect objects that passes vision line between the laser source and optical detector. While, Motion detection theory is the operation of detecting a variation in the location of a body relative to its environment or a variation in the circumference relative to a body. Therefore, this work provides an intelligent link between those two methods using optical communication, by using a new method for detecting moving objects from static background based on different window frames, which achieves the most efficient security system based on high assessment. This assessment was achieved by using visual basic language to evaluate the system. The system program is by using c# as program language to detect a penetration.


In addition to absorption and membrane processes, adsorption processes offer the possibility of capturing and recovering CO2 from fossil fueled power plants. Because of the long heating and cooling times required in a TSA process and because during desorption the recovered component is diluted, an indirectly heated and cooled TSA
process is proposed for CO2 capture. The suitability of the indirectly heated and cooled temperature swing adsorption process for CO2 capture is investigated in this work. The heat transfer characteristics of an adsorbent packed bed with and without convection are investigated, since heat transfer plays a major role in this process. The adsorption characteristics of an indirectly heated and cooled adsorber is also an important topic in this work. A multidimensional mathematical model is derived in order to simulate the indirect heated and cooled temperature swing adsorption process.

The heat conductivity of the solid particle and the wall Biot number are important model parameters and are required for modeling the indirect heated and cooled TSA process. The convective contribution to the radial heat conductivity at low Peclet numbers showed a similar relationship to the relationship that is postulated in the literature for higher Peclet numbers. Contrary to the radial heat conductivity, the convective contribution to the wall heat transfer coefficient shows no clear relationship. The reasons for this are the correlation between the parameters and that the non-convective
contribution dominates over the range of Peclet numbers that are used in this work.

To investigate the adsorption characteristics, an isotherm is scaled by comparing the experimental loading value that is measured with a breakthrough curve and the loading obtained by the isotherm. This is necessary since the same activation procedure cannot be achieved during the in situ activation of the bed. The model is validated and kinetic parameters are calculated. Moreover, the agreement between the model and the measurements is strong, especially for the CO2 concentration. The small discrepancies
between the measured and predicted temperature profiles can be explained on one hand by flow disturbances and on the other hand by the uncertainty caused by scaling the isotherm. The recoveries obtained by the model are within the range of the experimental
error and show the same dependency of the recovery with the regeneration temperature. The average purity of the recovered CO2 is also within the experimental error.

Using the derived model and the determined kinetic parameters, a parametric sweep is conducted in order to see the influence of different parameters on the process. The influence is measured by three different key performance indicators: the average purity of the recovered CO2, the CO2 recovery, and the specific energy required. The numerical study shows that promising results are obtained by reducing the radial thermal resistance. Using optimal parameters, high recoveries and purities can be achieved and specific energy requirements that are lower than the benchmark process (amine wash).

This work shows, that the indirectly heated and cooled TSA process offers a promising alternative to CO2 capture.


BACKGROUND
Higher serum cystatin C level is associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal white women, but there is a paucity of data for men. Whether estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on cystatin C (eGFRcys) is superior in predicting hip fracture risk to eGFR based on creatinine (eGFRcr) or the combination (eGFR(cr-cys)) also is uncertain.

STUDY DESIGN
Nested case-cohort.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS
Participants enrolled in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study (5,994 men aged ≥ 65 years from 6 US centers) including a random subcohort of 1,602 men and 168 men with incident hip fractures (51 of whom were in the subcohort).

PREDICTOR
eGFR(cys), eGFR(cr), and eGFR(cr-cys) computed using the CKD-EPI (Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) equations and expressed in categories of <60, 60-74, and ≥ 75 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (referent group).

OUTCOME
Incident hip fracture ascertained by participant contacts every 4 months and confirmed with radiographic reports.

RESULTS
Median eGFR(cys) was 72.9 (IQR, 60.5-85.7) mL/min/1.73 m(2). In unadjusted models, all measures of eGFR were associated with increased hip fracture risk. However, after adjustment for age, race, site, and body mass index, the association of lower eGFR(cys) (but not lower eGFR(cr) or lower eGFR(cr-cys)) with higher hip fracture risk remained: for <60 versus ≥ 75 mL/min/1.73 m(2), HRs were 1.96 [95% CI, 1.25-3.09], 0.84 [95% CI, 0.52-1.37], and 1.08 [95% CI, 0.66-1.77] for eGFR(cys), eGFR(cr), and eGFR(cr-cys), respectively. Similarly, after adjustment for age, race, site, and body mass index, eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) defined by eGFR(cys), but not eGFR(cr) or eGFR(cr-cys), was associated with higher hip fracture risk. The association between eGFR(cys) and hip fracture was not explained by levels of calciotropic hormones or inflammatory markers, but the relationship was attenuated and no longer reached significance (for <60 vs ≥ 75 mL/min/1.73 m(2): HR, 1.43; 95% CI, 0.88-2.34) after consideration of additional clinical risk factors and bone mineral density.

LIMITATIONS
Findings not generalizable to other populations; residual confounding may exist.

CONCLUSIONS
Older community-dwelling men with lower eGFR(cys) have an increased risk of hip fracture that is explained in large part by greater burden of risk factors among men with lower eGFR(cys). In contrast, lower eGFR(cr) or lower eGFR(cr-cys) was not associated with a higher age-adjusted hip fracture risk.


Medication non-adherence hasbeen documented in children of all ages, for both acute and chronic illnesses. 1 Many factors appear to influence adherence to treatment among children, for example, age of the child, characteristics of both the disease and regimen, and the doctor-patient relationship.2 The child's knowledge and attitude towards medicine also plays a vital role in medication adherence.3 Recent research suggests that people have their own beliefs about medicine, both to medicines they take themselves and to medicines in general.4 Studies also suggest the strong parental influence on their child's adherence or non-adherence.5The following study will therefore examine the factors affecting children's medication adherence, including the effect of parental beliefs about medicines in general. The study was conducted in Saudi Arabia, where very little research has been carried out in this field. A subsequent identical study will be carried out in the United Kingdom to compare the behaviours and beliefs between the two verydifferent cultures.


This paper addresses new laws promulgated in Russia that restrict freedom of speech. Each implicitly reflects the Kremlin's hostility toward political dissidence in the aftermath of serious protests following President Putin's reelection and elections to the legislature. Disturbed by the outcry, which took place in cities across Russia but also infiltrated the Internet, the Russian legislature passed strict laws censoring Internet speech, prohibiting behavior and speech deemed "extremist," and curbing the size and type of public gatherings. The new legislation is examined through the lens of some of the Kremlin's most infamous and recent targets: namely, the Internet blacklist and the Pussy Riot scandal. It is critical to note that these instances are only a fraction of the free speech violations that are now legal in the Russian Federation. These incidents—and the potential for similar and more serious results under the new laws—are of grave importance. For many Western critics and Russian citizens, the laws confirm their worst fears about Putin's autocratic leanings: that with the stifling of free speech will come a complete unraveling of Russian democracy. The effect is a grim future for the former Soviet Union eerily reminiscent of the past.


We propose and characterize graphene quantum capacitors, tunable with voltage by the control of their charge density, for tunable LC tanks as essential building blocks for Radio-Frequency (RF) functions in densely integrated circuits. We fabricate and investigate their performance in RF, and we demonstrate quantum capacitances, Cq, in the range of pF with a tuning range of >1.3:1 within 1.25 V, with Q-factors up to 14.5 at 0.4 GHz. Our capacitors have a high capacitance density, up to 2.65 fF/μm2, which is 100× higher than the one of RF MEMS capacitors. Based on calibrated models and simulations, we demonstrate the potential to replace their semiconductor counterparts and RF MEMS capacitors in LC tanks, for key RF analog application.


Mass transfer rates of many gases, nutrients, and trace metals across the sediment water interface are dependent on environmental oxygen conditions. In this article, a novel gas exchange system for extended in situ flux and respiration measurements in benthic chambers under defined oxygen conditions is described. Integrated within a GEOMAR modular lander, the gas exchange system was used to perform in situ measurements of the total oxygen uptake and sea bed methane emission rates under constant oxygen conditions at Captain Arutyunov mud volcano (Gulf of Cadiz) in a water depth of 1320 m. During two separate lander deployments, the oxygen concentration within the benthic chambers was kept constant for 37 and 47 h, respectively. Under these conditions total oxygen uptake rate remained constant at 4.4 and 13.2 mmol m−2 d−1. Seabed methane emission was low, in the range 0 to 0.2 mmol m−2 d−1. The system is suited for prolonged (days) in situ flux determinations under natural background oxygen conditions and offers a wide range of experimental applications.


This thesis examines Evangelicalism as a broadly-based intellectual and social movement which sought to shape the overall thought and life of the Church of Scotland during the first half of the nineteenth century. A set of distinctive organisations --religious periodicals, voluntary societies, education, and corporate prayer-provided its institutional structure. They represented the practical response to a general concern for revitalising the Church, for evangelism, and for social morality. 'Evangelicals' are defined as those who combined participation in these institutions with a fundamental commitment to the Church of Scotland as an established, national church. The development of each of these institutions is explored as a means of tracing the growth of the movement as a whole. Religious periodicals helped to unite scattered individuals within the Established Church who shared a desire to spread experiential Christianity. By providing a forum for discussing issues related to this concern, these publications communicated Evangelical ideas throughout the Kirk, giving Evangelicals far greater influence than their relative lack of power in the ecclesiastical courts around the turn of the century suggested they would have. Religious voluntary societies enabled Evangelicals to translate their ideas into action on a wide range of issues. The seeming effectiveness of groups such as missionary and Bible societies made Evangelicalism increasingly attractive, and led to the incorporation of their activist approach into existing Kirk structures after the mid-1820s. However, Evangelicals struggled with the tensions between the gathered and territorial views of the Church inherent in their commitments both to societies and to the Establishment. Because Evangelicals, following the Scottish Reformers, believed that education encouraged biblically-based Christianity, they were actively involved in all levels of education, from Sabbath schools to the universities, helping to spread Evangelical ideas and practice among young people. Evangelicals' emphasis upon corporate prayer not only reflected their belief that they needed divine aid to achieve their aims, but built up social bonds at a local level and reinforced commitment to the other Evangelical institutions.


This investigation examines how country of origin effect metrosexual's purchasing behavior in cosmetic through an amalgamation of Psychology and Marketing examination of qualitative interviews. I discover how important of the adherence to country image related to sales strategy which advertised by cosmetic manufacturers. France, Japan and Korea were found to be totally different with product positioning and perception in all dimensions. Drastic differences impulses were affected in the purchasing frequency as well such as price, promotion, brand ambassador, quality and so on. Cosmetic is framed to be common women items with bold cultural thought; yet the World changed. This study will research the means in which men engage with cosmetic in every possible ways. The notion of disagreement between self-identity and social expectation were explained, including the way they adjust themselves to reach the social expectation. Assuredly, Asia is the biggest market not only cosmetic, but also clothes, food, mobile, car and so forth. Therefore, the insights of consumers are strongly significant. As a result, this paper advantage the investors who want to approach Asians, and consumers who want to see through tricks of marketers. KeywordsCountry images, Metrosexual, Cosmetic, Consumer Behavior


Aim: In the present study, we aimed to assess serum concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), vitamins A (retinol), D (cholecalciferol) and E (α-tocopherol) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and to compare with healthy controls. Methods: A total of 30 CAD patients and 20 healthy subjects were included in this study. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (UNICAM-929) was used to measure heavy metal and trace element concentrations. Serum α-tocopherol, retinol and cholecalciferol were measured simultaneously by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: Demographic and baseline clinical characteristics were not statistically different between the groups. Serum concentrations of retinol (0.3521±0.1319 vs. 0.4313±0.0465 mmol/I, p=0.013), tocopherol (3.8630±1.3117 vs. 6.9124±1.0577 mmol/I, p<0.001), cholecalciferol (0.0209±0.0089 vs. 0.0304±0.0059 mmol/I, p<0.001) and Fe (0.5664±0.2360 vs. 1.0689±0,4452 µg/dI, p<0.001) were significantly lower in CAD patients. In addition, while not statistically significant serum Cu (1.0164±0.2672 vs. 1.1934±0.4164 µg/dI, p=0.073) concentrations were tended to be lower in patients with CAD, whereas serum lead (0.1449±0.0886 vs. 0.1019±0.0644 µg/dI, p=0.069) concentrations tended to be higher. Conclusions: Serum level of trace elements and vitamins may be changed in patients with CAD. In this relatively small study we found that serum levels of retinol, tocopherol, cholecalciferol, iron and copper may be lower whereas serum lead concentrations may be increased in patients with CAD.


During its 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010), China fixes strict energy-saving goals for its economic activities. For instance, a binding objective of 20-percent reduction in energy intensity (energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product, GDP) is proposed. In order to achieve its energy conservation goals, the central government has released many relevant policies. This paper focuses on how China implemented its energy saving and emission reduction policy, from the perspective of transition management (TM) which originated from the Netherlands. TM gets inspiration from the idea of transition and emphasizes the role of government in managing a transition. The TM theory can contribute to a better understanding of energy conservation policy in China where the energy consumption structure and approach are undergoing a transition, namely, from a kind of "extensive" pattern of economic growth to an "intensive" one. The Chinese government is actively promoting this transition. For example, at the regime level, the government has promulgated and revised many supporting laws and regulations, such as the Circular Economy Promotion Law, Energy Conservation Law and the Comprehensive Working Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction. At the niche level, the government implemented many innovative programs including the development and deployment of energy-saving technologies, construction of energy-saving buildings, establishment of energy efficiency monitoring and evaluation systems, etc. In the midst of illustrating these activities, this paper will pay special attention to the governability of central government.


Homa Hoodfar's richly detailed ethnography provides a rare glimpse into the daily life of Arab Muslim families. Focusing on the impact of economic liberalization policies from 1983 to 1993, she shows the crucial role of the household in survival strategies among low-income Egyptians. Hoodfar, an Iranian Muslim by birth, presents research that undermines many of the stereotypes associated with traditional Muslim women. Their apparent conservatism, she says, is based on rational calculation of the costs and benefits of working within formal and informal labor markets to secure household power. She posits that increasing adherence to Islam and taking up the veil on the part of women has been partially motivated by women's desire to protect and promote their interests both within and beyond households.


The Article traces recent trends in the management and distribution of citizenship within the Israeli context of the 1990s, as they have evolved in the wake of new modes of migration that are neither Jewish nor Palestinian and that stem from liberalized market policies. The Article focuses on administrative and policy initiatives taken since September 2003 that deal with the naturalization of the children of undocumented labor migrants. The vulnerable situation of these migrants in lacking resident status and being eligible for deportation, as well as the predominant Jewish ethno-national character of the Israeli state, make these initiatives and policy measures particularly surprising. However, these measures also reveal the boundaries of liberalizing reforms, as they become part of general trends in the nation-state towards deeming membership manageable without upsetting its national politics of identity. Indeed, it will be argued that, though this liberalizing legal reform is part of a larger context of demystification of national citizenship taking place in Israel following the adoption of socioeconomic liberal policies, it is also indicative of the adaptability of the nation-state as it seeks to reprioritize ethno-national definitions of citizenship in the face of new challenges.


There exist many problem domains where the interpretability of neural network models is essential for deployment. Here we introduce a recurrent architecture composed of input-switched affine transformations - in other words an RNN without any explicit nonlinearities, but with input-dependent recurrent weights. This simple form allows the RNN to be analyzed via straightforward linear methods: we can exactly characterize the linear contribution of each input to the model predictions; we can use a change-of-basis to disentangle input, output, and computational hidden unit subspaces; we can fully reverse-engineer the architecture's solution to a simple task. Despite this ease of interpretation, the input switched affine network achieves reasonable performance on a text modeling tasks, and allows greater computational efficiency than networks with standard nonlinearities.


We consider the problem of automated assignment of papers to reviewers in conference peer review, with a focus on fairness and statistical accuracy. Our fairness objective is to maximize the review quality of the most disadvantaged paper, in contrast to the commonly used objective of maximizing the total quality over all papers. We design an assignment algorithm based on an incremental max-flow procedure that we prove is near-optimally fair. Our statistical accuracy objective is to ensure correct recovery of the papers that should be accepted. We provide a sharp minimax analysis of the accuracy of the peer-review process for a popular objective-score model as well as for a novel subjective-score model that we propose in the paper. Our analysis proves that our proposed assignment algorithm also leads to a near-optimal statistical accuracy. Finally, we design a novel experiment that allows for an objective comparison of various assignment algorithms, and overcomes the inherent difficulty posed by the absence of a ground truth in experiments on peer-review. The results of this experiment corroborate the theoretical guarantees of our algorithm.


Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal complex 8 (CC8) sequence type 239 (ST239) represents a predominant hospital-associated MRSA sublineage present worldwide. The Canadian epidemic MRSA strains CMRSA3 and CMRSA6 are moderately virulent members of this group but are closely related to the highly virulent strain TW20. ABSTRACT Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal complex 8 (CC8) sequence type 239 (ST239) represents a predominant hospital-associated MRSA sublineage present worldwide. The Canadian epidemic MRSA strains CMRSA3 and CMRSA6 are moderately virulent members of this group but are closely related to the highly virulent strain TW20. Whole-genome sequencing of CMRSA3 and CMRSA6 was conducted to identify genetic determinants associated with their virulence.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Behavioral health integration (BHI) entails integrated behavioral health clinicians (IBHCs) providing care-generally for mental health and substance abuse disorders and behavioral comorbidity- within the operational functioning of primary care. Because limited data exist regarding BHI in residency, we studied its impact on resident education by examining whether increased behavioral health (BH) co-management improved residents' perceived ability to treat BH conditions.

METHODS
We included residents from internal and family medicine training programs using BHI in residents' continuity clinics and assessed the level of co-management between primary care and IBHCs and the following domains: (1) confidence in managing BH conditions, (2) barriers to BH provision, (3) perception of autonomy when working with IBHCs, (4) satisfaction with the clinic, and (5) perceived educational value of BH learning modes.

RESULTS
Altogether, 117 residents participated in our survey (73.1% response rate). Residents who had co-managed ≥ five patients alongside IBHCs reported significantly higher confidence than those who had co-managed < five patients with BH conditions. The association remained significant after adjustment for residents' level of training and specialty. In rating BH learning modes, residents rated most highly active collaboration with IBHCs and observation with feedback from clinic preceptors.

CONCLUSIONS
BHI training within residency enhances perceived learning and confidence in providing BH care.


In this paper we engage with the liberalist project in organization and management studies. The first `face' of organizational liberalism is expressed through post-bureaucratic discourses which very much define the mainstream of management thought today, highlighting the need for organizational openness which can only come through a liberation of management from the closed structures of the bureaucracy. The second face of organizational liberalism defends the bureaucratic ethos of liberal-democratic institutions and points to the Popperian concept of the `open society' that requires rational, procedural laws to reconcile conflicting values in societies and organizations, thus ensuring the existence of a plurality of ways of life. We point to the limitations of both `faces' of organizational liberalism by discussing key aspects of Slavoj Žižek's work. Žižek displaces the liberal conception of institutionally sanctioned `openness' by claiming this actually constitutes a closure and puts a challenge to us. How can we create real openness? How is a real difference possible?


This chapter describes and discusses the roles of media tools and technologies in the facilitation of violent extremism and terrorism. Rather than focusing on how media report on terrorism, we investigate how extremist and terrorist groups and movements themselves have exploited various "traditional" and "new" media tools, from print to digital, outlining the significance that they have had on extremists' ability to mark territory, intimidate some audiences, connect with other (sympathetic) audiences, radicalize, and even recruit. Underlined is that violent extremists and terrorists of all stripes have, over time, used every means at their disposal to forward their communicative goals. Also worth noting is that 'old' media tools are not extinct and while 'new' media play a prominent role in contemporary violent extremism and terrorism, 'old' tools—everything from murals to magazines—continue to be utilized in tandem with the former.


Part IV of this series gave two procedures (termed double-pass procedures) for synthesizing birefringent networks containing only half the number of crystals normally required. These techniques were applicable when the desired amplitude transmittance of the network satisfied certain restrictions. This paper describes additional double-pass procedures which apply to a substantially larger class of amplitude transmittances.


The occurrence and control of barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) in spring barley was investigated, at Oak Park, in the periods 1990 to 1993 and 1996 to 2001. Barley was sown in March and April and treated with either organophosphorous or pyrethroid aphicide at various plant growth stages. The most common aphid encountered was Sitobion avenae and MAV the most common strain of BYDV. In untreated plots of March- and April-sown barley, 0.85% and 5.9%, respectively, of tillers had virus symptoms. Best control of symptoms, from a single aphicide in March- and April-sown crops, was a treatment at growth stage (g.s.) 14. This treatment contributed 77% of the reduction in symptoms recorded for multiple treatments in April-sown plots. The reduction in grain yield due to high, moderate and low BYDV infection in April-sown barley was 1.1 t/ha (20%), 0.65 t/ha (10%) and 0.36 t/ha (7%), respectively. In Marchsown barley, pyrethroid aphicide applied at g.s. 14 significantly improved grain yield by 0.26 t/ha (4%). In the season having the most severe BYDV outbreak, a pyrethroid aphicide at g.s. 14 was best in controlling yield loss. Pyrethroid aphicide gave better control of symptoms and better yields than organophosphorous aphicide. The estimated yield reductions in untreated April-sown barley due to feeding damage by Sitobion avenae was 0.71 t/ha and 0.83 t/ha (10.6% and 11.3%) in the two seasons in which this aphid was plentiful. In the three seasons in which Metopolophium dirhodum was recorded the estimated yield reductions were 0.32 t/ha, 0.48 t/ha and 0.43 t/ha (5.2%, 5.6% and 5.7%).


Fuelwood biomass production was determined for three coppice origin, even-aged, mixed-hardwood stands growing on moderately well-drained sites in Washington County, Rhode Island. A total of 93 trees including mixed-oaks and red maple, ranging from 7.6 to 30.5 cm in diameter were destructively sampled. Sample trees were felled, sectioned and separated into two components: stemwood and branchwood. Total green weight by component was recorded for each tree in the field. ponents were subsampled to permit oven-dry weight and Comspecific gravity determinations. Although no relationship was found between specific gravity and rate of diameter growth, specific gravities for black oak species were found significantly different from white oak and red maple. Values based upon component subsamples were used to project fuelwood production per unit area on a weight and volume basis. Average cordwood production for the study sites was approximately 73 cords per hectare (30 cords per acre), while mean annual increment was 1.6 cords per hectare (.65 cords per acre). Fuelwood estimates closely paralleled those of previous studies conducted for Appalachian hardwoods in southern New England. Increased fuelwood utilization has created a demand for methods to quickly estimate tree and stand biomass. This paper presents equations and tables to estimate green and i oven-dry weights for individual trees and species, diameter classes and entire stands. Weight estimates were obtained through use of equations developed by regression analysis. Analyses indicated natural logarithm transformation on diameter and tree basal area multiplied by total tree height accounted for most of the variation in whole-tree weight. Estimates of total stand biomass were developed from equations including natural log transformation on basal area per unit area, and total stand basal area multiplied by the height of the tree of mean basal area. Coefficients of determination, R2 , calculated for stand biomass estimates were .88 using basal area and .91 using basal area times height. An attempt was made to relate differences in site pro' ductivity to soil characteristics. It was established that soil texture, organic carbon content, available water and depth of solum are strongly correlated with tree-growth parameters. However, sample size was insufficient to permit the development of meaningful equations for determining site productivity. Also, results indicated that biotic competition may overshadow the importance of edaphic factors in influencing tree growth. Tree height did not appear to work well in indexing site productivity. Site index was variable on soils considered similar in terms of their abilities to grow trees.


OBJECTIVE
The improved lung deposition of hydrofluoroalkane-134a beclomethasone dipropionate (HFA-BDP) extrafine aerosol compared with chlorofluorocarbon beclomethasone dipropionate (CFC-BDP) suggests that lower doses of HFA-BDP may be required to provide equivalent asthma control. The present study was undertaken to test this hypothesis.

DESIGN
A 10- to 12-day run-in period confirmed that patients met established criteria of at least moderate asthma and the asthma was inadequately controlled by current therapy (inhaled beta-agonist and CFC-BDP [< or = 400 microg/d]). A short course of oral prednisone, 30 mg/d for 7 to 12 days, was followed to establish the patients were steroid responsive and to provide an "in-study" baseline of "optimal" asthma control.

PATIENTS
A total of 347 patients were then randomized to HFA-BDP 400 microg/d, CFC-BDP 800 microg/d, or HFA-placebo for 12 weeks.

RESULTS
Morning peak expiratory flow (AM PEF) measurements showed that HFA-BDP 400 microg/d achieved equivalent control of asthma to CFC-BDP 800 microg/d at all time intervals after oral steroid treatment. All other efficacy variables supported the AM PEF results and both active treatments were more effective than placebo. The safety profile of HFA-BDP compared favorably with that of CFC-BDP with no unexpected adverse events reported.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings demonstrate that HFA-BDP provides equivalent control of moderate or moderately severe asthma as CFC-BDP in the population studied, but at half the total daily dose.


Healthcare systems are costly in many countries, and hospitals have always been one of the major cornerstones of the healthcare industry. Medical supplies expense is an increasingly substantial category of hospital costs. In China, the expense of medical supplies is being controlled at the hospital level. Different from drug prescription, medical supplies utilization is not being standardized or guided by clinical guidelines. In order to achieve the goal, many hospitals directly disable the use of the most expensive medical supplies. One missing piece in consideration is the patient heterogeneity, which decides the medical necessity for a specific surgery/procedure and the associated medical supplies requirement. The other challenge is to justify the substitutability of the medical supplies being replaced. In this study, we explore a clinical similarity based framework to analyze the inpatient medical supplies use records and detect unnecessary utilization. More specifically, the inpatient stays are clustered based on patients' clinical conditions. After clustering, inpatient cases within each sub-group should have similar clinical necessities and therefore similar medical supplies utilization patterns. Thus the unnecessary medical utilization can be identified and the cost reduction suggestions can be provided accordingly. This framework will be illustrated though a case study of 3-year inpatient records from a Chinese hospital.


Purpose - This paper aims to examine the connection between information system (IS) availability and operational risk losses and the capital requirements. As most businesses today become increasingly dependent on information technology (IT) services for continuous operations, IS availability is becoming more important for most industries. However, the banking sector has particular sector-specific concerns that go beyond the direct and indirect losses resulting from unavailability. According to the first pillar of the Basel II accord, IT outages in the banking sector lead to increased capital requirements and thus create an additional regulatory cost, over and above the direct and indirect costs of an outage. Design/methodology/approach - A Bayesian belief network (BBN) with nodes representing causal factors has been used for identification of the factors with the greatest influence on IS availability, thus helping in investment decisions. Findings - Using the BBN model for making IS availability-related decisions action (e.g. bringing a causal factor up to the best practice level), organization, according to the presented mapping table, would have less operational risk events related to IS availability. This would have direct impact by decreasing losses, related to those events, as well as to decrease the capital requirements, prescribed by the Basel II accord, for covering operational risk losses. Practical implications - An institution using the proposed framework can use the mapping table to see which measures for improving IS availability will have a direct impact on operational risk events, thus improving operational risk management. Originality/value - The authors mapped the factors causing unavailability of IS system to the rudimentary IT risk management framework implied by the Basel II regulations and, thus, established an otherwise absent link from the IT availability management to operational risk management according to the Basel II framework.


Abstract. Massive point clouds have now become a common product from surveys using passive (photogrammetry) or active (laser scanning) technologies. A common question is what is the difference in terms of accuracy and precision of different technologies and processing options. In this work four ultra-dense point-clouds (PCs) from drone surveys are compared. Two PCs were created from imagery using a photogrammetric workflow, with and without ground control points. The laser scanning PCs were created with two drone flights with Riegl MiniVUX-3 lidar sensor, resulting in a point cloud with ~300 million points, and Riegl VUX-120 lidar sensor, leading to a point cloud with ~1 billion points. Relative differences between pairs from permutations of the four PCs are analysed calculating point-to-point distances over nearest neighbours. Eleven clipped PC subsets are used for this task. Ground control points (GCPs) are also used to assess residuals in the two photogrammetric point clouds in order to quantify the improvement from using GCPs vs not using GCPs when processing the images.Results related to comparing the two photogrammetric point clouds with and without GCPs show an improvement of average absolute position error from 0.12 m to 0.05 m and RMSE from 0.03 m to 0.01 m. Point-to-point distances over the PC pairs show that the closest point clouds are the two lidar clouds, with mean absolute distance (MAD), median absolute distance (MdAD) and standard deviation of distances (RMSE) respectively of 0.031 m, 0.025 m, 0.019 m; largest difference is between photogrammetric PC with GCPs, with 0.208 m, 0.206 m and 0.116 m, with the Z component providing most of the difference. Photogrammetry without GCP was more consistent with the lidar point clouds, with MAD of 0.064 m, MdAD of 0.048 m and RMSE value of 0.114 m.


James Harris (1709-80) was an author of philosophical treatises and an enthusiastic amateur musician who directed the concerts and music festivals at Salisbury for nearly fifty years. His family and social circle had close connections with London's music-making: his brother was a witness to Handel's will, and his correspondents sent him lively reports on all aspects of musical life in the capital-opera, oratorio, concerts, but also about the leading performers, music copyists, and instrument makers. In 1761 Harris became a member of Parliament and thereafter divided his time between London and Salisbury. His letters and diaries provide an unrivalled record of concert- and theatre-going in London, including exchanges of letters with David Garrick about a production at Drury Lane. As his children grew up an engaging family correspondence emerged. We learn of his daughters' involvement in concerts and amateur theatrical productions; his son, who pursued a diplomatic career, reported on operas, concerts, and plays in the court of Frederick the Great and Catherine the Great. Now, for the first time, it is possible to enjoy in full the lively first-hand descriptions from Harris's family papers, which contribute fascinating insights into contemporary eighteenth-century musical and theatrical life.


BACKGROUND
The long-term risk for major bleeding in patients receiving extended (beyond the initial 3 to 6 months) anticoagulant therapy for a first unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) is uncertain.

PURPOSE
To determine the incidence of major bleeding during extended anticoagulation of up to 5 years among patients with a first unprovoked VTE, overall, and in clinically important subgroups.

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from inception to 23 July 2021.

STUDY SELECTION
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies reporting major bleeding among patients with a first unprovoked VTE who were to receive oral anticoagulation for a minimum of 6 additional months after completing at least 3 months of initial anticoagulant treatment.

DATA EXTRACTION
Two reviewers independently abstracted data and assessed study quality. Unpublished data required for analyses were obtained from authors of included studies.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Among the 14 RCTs and 13 cohort studies included in the analysis, 9982 patients received a vitamin K antagonist (VKA) and 7220 received a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC). The incidence of major bleeding per 100 person-years was 1.74 events (95% CI, 1.34 to 2.20 events) with VKAs and 1.12 events (CI, 0.72 to 1.62 events) with DOACs. The 5-year cumulative incidence of major bleeding with VKAs was 6.3% (CI, 3.6% to 10.0%). Among patients receiving either a VKA or a DOAC, the incidence of major bleeding was statistically significantly higher among those who were older than 65 years or had creatinine clearance less than 50 mL/min, a history of bleeding, concomitant use of antiplatelet therapy, or a hemoglobin level less than 100 g/L. The case-fatality rate of major bleeding was 8.3% (CI, 5.1% to 12.2%) with VKAs and 9.7% (CI, 3.2% to 19.2%) with DOACs.

LIMITATION
Data were insufficient to estimate incidence of major bleeding beyond 1 year of extended anticoagulation with DOACs.

CONCLUSION
In patients with a first unprovoked VTE, the long-term risks and consequences of anticoagulant-related major bleeding are considerable. This information will help inform patient prognosis and guide decision making about treatment duration for unprovoked VTE.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE
Canadian Institutes of Health Research. (PROSPERO: CRD42019128597).


Background: The accurate diagnosis of pleural effusion remains a challenging clinical problem. Medical thoracoscopy has an established role in achieving the etiology of pleural effusion. Pleural biopsies provide us with best results, but if cytological results can be shown to give concordant results, therapy can be instituted early. Aim: The aim was to study the efficacy of pleural brush in diagnosing pleural diseases. Study Design: This is a prospective study. Patients and Methods: The study was done between December 2015 and June 2017 in all patients of undiagnosed exudative effusions who were taken for thoracoscopy. Both pleural biopsy and pleural brushings were obtained in each patient. Results: We present the data of 45 patients. The mean age was 59.68 years. Nodule was the most common finding on thoracoscopic examination. Pleural brush cytology was positive in 26 patients with malignancy, 13 for infection and 6 were inadequate. However, forceps biopsy was positive in 42 cases out of 45 (93.3%) in detecting malignancy and infectious diseases. Conclusion: Pleural brush cytology can help in increasing the diagnostic yield. It can also be used to commence early treatment of the patient.


Cardiovascular disease (CVD) comprises a vast spectrum of disease states ranging from hypertension (HTN) to valvular heart disease (VHD). CVD is known to be the lead‐ ing cause of morbidity, mortality, and health‐care expenditure throughout the world. According to the World Health Organization, coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke, both subsets of CVD, are the world's biggest killers, accounting for a combined 15 mil‐ lion deaths in 2015. These diseases have remained the leading causes of death globally in the last 15 years. In 2010, CAD alone was projected to cost the U.S. $ 108.9 billion includ‐ ing the cost of health‐care services, medications, and lost productivity. The presence of frailty significantly worsens outcomes for patients suffering from CAD. With just this one example of how frailty affects CVD, it is clear that understanding the impact of frailty upon patients afflicted with the spectrum of cardiovascular disease is integral for the care of this very significant patient population.


Objective: Despite the fact that skin prick test (SPT) is very important in diagnosis of allergic diseases; in vitro laboratory methods such as specific IgE antibodies may be required due to its drawbacks. Therefore, it is necessary to document value of this method in diagnosis. In our study, we aimed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of specific IgE antibodies by comparison with SPT. Materials and Methods: The study included 282 patients, among which 63% were boys and 37% were girls, with a mean age of 9.28 ± 2.8 years. Skin prick test was performed on 279 of these patients. Age, gender, diagnosis, atopic history of the patients, number of eosinophils, total IgE and specific IgE results were recorded and number of eosinophils, total IgE and specific IgE results were compared between patients who were atopic and non-atopic according to the SPT. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of specific IgE antibodies were determined as 72.7% and 87% for house dust mite (hx2); 63.6% and 83% for tree pollens (tx7); 77.3% and 89% for grass pollens (gx1); 29.6% and 73.5% for food panel (fx5) respectively. Conclusion: It was detected that specificities of specific IgE antibodies, which is a commonly preferred method in children due to its easy performance, were higher than their sensitivities. Therefore, it is not appropriate to use these especially the food panel for screening purposes.


The purpose of this chapter is to discuss some of the main features and trends in human resources (HR) strategy. Inasmuch as people are among the most important resources available to firms, one could argue that HR strategy should be central to any debate about how firms achieve competitive advantage. But this "people are our most important asset" argument is actually fairly hollow in light of the evidence. Far too many articles on HR start with this premise, but the reality is that organizations have historically not rested their fortunes on human resources. The HR function remains among the least influential in most organizations, and competitive strategies have not typically been based on the skills, capabilities, and behaviors of employees. In fact, as Snell, Youndt and Wright (1996:62) noted, in the past executives have typically tried to "take human resources out of the strategy equation--i.e., by substituting capital for labor where possible, and by designing hierarchical organizations that separate those who think from those who actually do the work."


The main trend in optofluidics is currently towards full integration of the devices, thus improving automation, compactness and portability. In this respect femtosecond laser microfabrication is a very powerful technology given its capability of producing both optical waveguides and microfluidic channels. The current challenge in biology is the possibility to perform bioassays at the single cell level to unravel the hidden complexity in nominally homogeneous populations. Here we report on a new device implementing a fully integrated fluorescence-activated cell sorter. This non-invasive device is specifically designed to operate with a limited amount of cells but with a very high selectivity in the sorting process. Characterization of the device with beads and validation with human cells are presented.


Abstract. With the provincial statistical data and crop field burning (CFB) activities captured by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), we extracted a detailed CFB emission inventory in the North China Plain (NCP). The WRF-CHEM model was applied to investigate the impact of CFB on air pollution during the period from 6 to 12 October 2014, corresponding to a heavy haze incident with high concentrations of PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm). The WRF-CHEM model generally performed well in simulating the surface species concentrations of PM2.5, O3 and NO2 compared to the observations; in addition, it reasonably reproduced the observed temporal variations of wind speed, wind direction and planetary boundary layer height (PBLH). It was found that the CFB that occurred in southern NCP (SNCP) had a significant effect on PM2.5 concentrations locally, causing a maximum of 34 % PM2.5 increase. Under continuous southerly wind conditions, the CFB pollution plume went through a long-range transport to northern NCP (NNCP; with several mega cities, including Beijing, the capital city of China), where few CFBs occurred, resulting in a maximum of 32 % PM2.5 increase. As a result, the heavy haze in Beijing was enhanced by the CFB, which occurred in SNCP. Mountains also play significant roles in enhancing the PM2.5 pollution in NNCP through the blocking effect. The mountains blocked and redirected the airflows, causing the pollutant accumulations along the foothills of mountains. This study suggests that the prohibition of CFB should be strict not only in or around Beijing, but also on the ulterior crop growth areas of SNCP. PM2.5 emissions in SNCP should be significantly limited in order to reduce the occurrences of heavy haze events in the NNCP region.


To make co-production work as a strategy for urban development, and to establish a basis for collaborative action, states and organized communities must find a way to manage their unequal power relationship. Effective partnerships, constructed through projects of co-production, require participants to move beyond institutionally defined roles of service provider and service consumer to forge new terms for collaboration and spaces for joint decision-making. The processes of making space for co-production can be centrally important to establishing the legitimacy of development activity that includes the urban poor as stakeholders. Drawing from research undertaken in Harare, Zimbabwe, this paper examines how a memorandum of understanding was used to frame dialogue between community and state actors and facilitate co-production of housing and infrastructure in a low-income settlement.


Abstract. This paper introduces a novel benchmarking tool for measuring the robustness of existing mosaicing algorithms in presence of a given set of disturbances. The process combines a set of partially overlapping images into a wide-view result used to represent UAV image series and orthophotography. Geometrical misalignements caused by perspective error may lead to some unpredictable artifacts and phantom effects in the mosaics. A very few solutions measure their immunity to known distortions and mainly focus on registration accuracy measurement. Only limited attention was given to characterize the response of the actual image fusion algorithms and their capacity to properly preserve content geometries. In this paper, we also introduce a new fidelity metric assessing the mosaicing response to a disturbance of a given extent used as prior information. The metric helps to better define the use cases fulfilling aerial imaging requirements.


Even though Africa is one of the least urbanized regions in the world it is also the region in which cities grow the fastest, resulting in urban areas experiencing a wide spectrum of problems while rural areas are left drained. It is widely acknowledged that the vast majority of rural inhabitants in developing countries live below the poverty line, but what is not so widely known is the extent to which the livelihoods and well-being of these rural areas are linked to their urban counterparts. It has become increasingly difficult to separate communities into rural or urban entities/areas due to many households relying on both urban and rural based resources, this is especially true in South Africa where the Apartheid legacy has had a lingering effect on urban-rural linkages. In South Africa the interdependence between rural communities and distant cities are higher than elsewhere with many rural residents living in urban domains while maintaining family, social and financial ties in rural areas. Rural areas in South Africa have been experiencing economic and social decay over the past decades due to urban migration and this in turn has reduced the provision of services, facilities and employment opportunities in rural areas. It is due to these factors that the concept of sustainable rural community development is of particular relevance to South Africa. Sustainable rural community development is necessary in order to achieve more integrated and sustainable rural areas with a better environment and a higher quality of life and an understanding of the complex linkages between urban and rural areas in required for the successful planning of rural sustainable development. This paper examines how these multifaceted linkages impacts on sustainable community development in the unique case of the Vaalharts area.


In several recent articles, authors have regressed actual values of macroeconomic aggregates on predicted values and claimed that they were testing the rationality of expectations. This paper interprets those regressions as testing a joint hypothesis of imperfect information and rational expectations. An empirical method is proposed to separate the components of the joint hypothesis. Predictions from two major forecasting services are examined, and results are found that are consistent with rational expectations but inconsistent with the joint hypothesis. It is therefore argued that many purported tests of rational expectations are inadequate.


One of the most striking features of the postwar U.S. economy has been the rapid decrease in the labor force participation of the elderly at a time when the health of this group has been improving. In spite of this, previous research, based on retrospective interviews with the retired population, usually concludes that poor health accounts for the overwhelming majority of retirements. The current results suggest that nothing could be further from the truth. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we follow a cohort of white married males through their sixties to estimate a model of retirement behavior. Using several definitions of retirement suggested in the literature, the results suggest that the two key policy parameters of the social security system â€" the income guarantee and the implicit tax on earnings â€" exert an enormous influence on retirement decisions. For example, our results suggest that a decrease in the implicit tax rate on earnings from one-half to one-third would reduce the annual probability of retirement by almost sixty percent! Applying the coefficient estimates to time series data on the labor force participation of the elderly implies that the social security sys-tem has been the major factor in the explosion in earlier retirement.


In this study we investigate how prior knowledge influences knowledge development during collaborative discovery learning. Fifteen dyads of students (pre-university education, 15-16 years old) worked on a discovery learning task in the physics field of kinematics. The (face-to-face) communication between students was recorded and the interaction with the environment was logged. Based on students' individual judgments of the truth-value and testability of a series of domain-specific propositions, a detailed description of the knowledge configuration for each dyad was created before they entered the learning environment. Qualitative analyses of two dialogues illustrated that prior knowledge influences the discovery learning processes, and knowledge development in a pair of students. Assessments of student and dyad definitional (domain-specific) knowledge, generic (mathematical and graph) knowledge, and generic (discovery) skills were related to the students' dialogue in different discovery learning processes. Results show that a high level of definitional prior knowledge is positively related to the proportion of communication regarding the interpretation of results. Heterogeneity with respect to generic prior knowledge was positively related to the number of utterances made in the discovery process categories hypotheses generation and experimentation. Results of the qualitative analyses indicated that collaboration between extremely heterogeneous dyads is difficult when the high achiever is not willing to scaffold information and work in the low achiever's zone of proximal development.


The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that includes
military geospatial information will play a key role in the Revolution of Military
Affair (RMA) for future warfare. The Terrain Analysis (TA) database is one of the
military geospatial information that needs to be established in the Malaysian Armed
Forces (MAF) in order to enable various Military Geographic Information System
(MGIS) to perform analyses and produce Tactical Decision Aids (TDA) products.
This study focused on the establishment of TA database structure that
consisted of several layers namely Surface Configuration - Slope, Vegetation,
Surface Material - Soils, Surface Drainage, Transportation and Obstacle Layers. A
prototype T A database was established in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the
database in generating Cross Country Movement (CCM) map. Results revealed that
the topographic data from Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia in
Topologized Topographic Mapping (TTM) database, soil data from Department of Agriculture and the analyses of IKONOS imagery and ground data collection using
GPS Geo Explorer 3 have contributed significantly to the development of prototype
TA database. GIS technology was thoroughly utilized in implementing a user
interface menu and CCM map from prototype TA database. Results showed that GIS
technology has provided a powerful tool in successfully generating both products.


System identification for small scale fisheries development was designed using System Methodology. This system identification consisted of construction related Causal Loop Diagram and Input-Output Diagram. It was found that system approach was an effective tool in identifying an complicated system. It could provide a set of holistic information necessary for solving such intricate problem systematically. The study conclude that beside favorable incentives created by the Government, accurate information along with a synergetic network among the actors involved were the key elements to develop small scale fisheries. Accurate information were needed on business for small scale fisheries and industrial capacity on the effectiveness of suitable fisheries and also for the processing technology, on the quality and quantity of accessible raw materials could be on the proper product prices and finally on the appropriateness of labor wages. The system development should also explore a control subsystem to repress trade monopoly practices, diminution in product quality, excessive payment transaction and damage of the environment.


Abstract This paper presents a comparison of the structure, function, and value of street and park tree populations in two California cities. Trees provided net annual benefits valued at $2.2 million in Modesto and $805,732 in Santa Monica. Benefit-cost ratios were 1.85:1 and 1.52:1 in Modesto and Santa Monica, respectively. Residents received $1.85 and $1.52 in annual benefits for every $1 invested in management. Aesthetic and other benefits accounted for 50% to 80% of total annual benefits, while expenditures for pruning accounted for about 50% of total annual costs. Although these results were similar, benefits and costs were distributed quite differently in each city. Variations in tree sizes and growth rates, foliation characteristics, prices, residential property values, and climate were chiefly responsible for different benefits and costs calculated on a per tree basis.


Educational technology is seen as key for life-long learning, but it has yet to live up to expectation. We argue that current learning environments are typically oriented too much towards structured learning to meet the needs of the life-long learner. Environments for life-long learning demand a higher degree of autonomy for the learner, must be open to eclectic sources, support soft informal learning activity, and accommodate evolution both in the experience of the learner and in the context in which this occurs. We propose sense-making through the construction of suitable interactive artefacts as a core activity for life-long learning, and briefly discuss and illustrate how this can be supported using empirical modelling


More accurate global measurements of the amount of ice in thicker clouds are needed to validate atmospheric models and sub-mm radiometry can be an important com- ponent in this respect. A cloud ice retrieval scheme for the first such instrument in space, Odin-SMR, is presented here. Several advantages of sub-mm observations are shown, such as low influence of particle shape and orientation, and a high dynamic range of the retrievals. In the case of Odin-SMR, only cloud ice above 12.5 km can be measured. The present retrieval scheme gives a detection threshold of about 4 g/m 2 above 12.5 km and does not saturate even for thickest ob- served clouds (>500 g/m 2 ). The main retrieval uncertainties are the assumed particle size distribution and cloud inhomo- geneity effects. The overall retrieval accuracy is estimated to be 75%. The retrieval error is judged to have large random components and to be significantly lower than this value for averaged results, but high fixed errors can not be excluded. However, a firm lower value can always be pro- vided. Initial results are found to be consistent with simi- lar Aura MLS retrievals, but show important differences to corresponding data from atmospheric models. This first re- trieval algorithm is limited to lowermost Odin-SMR tangent altitudes, and further development should improve the detec- tion threshold and the vertical resolution. It should also be possible to decrease the retrieval uncertainty associated with cloud inhomogeneities by detailed analysis of other data sets.


Thiophene-based conjugated polymers hold an irreplaceable position among the continuously growing plethora of conjugated polymers due to their exceptional optical and conductive properties, which has made them a centre of attention for the past few decades and many researchers have contributed tremendously by designing novel strategies to reach more efficient materials for electronic applications. This review aims to highlight the recent (2012–2019) findings in design and synthesis of novel thiophene-based conjugated polymers for optical and electronic devices using organometallic polycondensation strategies. Nickel- and palladium-based protocols are the main focus of this account. Among them nickel-catalyzed Kumada catalyst-transfer polycondensation, nickel-catalyzed deprotonative cross-coupling polycondensation, palladium-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura and Migita–Kosugi–Stille couplings are the most popular strategies known so far for the synthesis of functionalized regioregular polythiophenes exhibiting fascinating properties such as electronic, optoelectronic, chemosensitivity, liquid crystallinity and high conductivity. This account also presents a brief overview of direct arylation polymerization (DArP) protocol that has shown a great potential to lessen the drawbacks of conventional polymerization techniques. DArP is a cost-effective and green method as it circumvents the need for the synthesis of arylene diboronic acid/diboronic ester and distannyl arylenes using toxic precursors. DArP also puts off the need to preactivate the C–H bonds, hence, presenting a facile route to synthesize polymers with controlled molecular weight, low polydispersity index, high regioregularity and tunable optoelectronic properties using palladium-based catalytic systems.


As the cost of DoD Weapon Systems continue to increase, the ability to more accurately predict the Operating and Support (O&S) costs for the various weapon systems has become more vital for long run affordability. The investigation into the O&S arena has been overshadowed by the research and development (R&D) and acquisition fields. This research focuses on the O&S portion of the total life cycle costs, specifically the OSD-CAPE Cost Element Structure (CES) elements and sub-elements. The research investigates seven categories of 52 aircrafts and their cost expenditures within the CES from the years 1996-2016. The first portion of the analysis investigates the descriptive statistics for the 52 aircrafts and their respective categories. The second portion focused on utilizing statistical tests to compare and contrasts the findings from question one to illustrate the similarities and differences by cost expenditures depending on aircraft category. Lastly, we investigate if the elements/sub-elements could be used as metrics to each other through a multivariate correlation analysis. DoD Cost Estimators and stakeholders alike can benefit from this research by utilizing the results as baselines for future analogy based estimates.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To examine the perceptions of staff members toward the implementation of an animal-assisted activity (AAA) in an outpatient regional cancer center.

DESIGN
Quasi-experimental, post-test design.

SETTING
An adult outpatient regional cancer center in northern California.

SAMPLE
34 facility staff members.

METHODS
Self-report questionnaire following four weeks of AAA visitation. Visits took place three times a week for a total of 12 visits.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Perceptions of the AAA.

FINDINGS
Previous perceptions toward AAA influenced the perceptions of the visitation's efficacy. Direct and indirect interaction with the visiting AAA teams was positively associated with perceptions of the AAA. A disagreement occurred that the AAA had caused extra stress or work for staff. Enjoyment of interacting with the dog handler was not significantly different from interacting with the dog; however, it was more positively correlated to acceptance of the AAA.

CONCLUSIONS
The study provided evidence that the AAA was generally accepted by staff members.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Individual staff members' perceptions of dogs and AAAs can influence their receptivity to AAA interventions. Interaction with AAA teams should be voluntary and available for patients and staff members.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION
AAA may be introduced into facilities without creating the perception of extra stress or work for staff members. Providing staff the opportunity to interact with visiting AAA teams may be beneficial for the success of such programs. The human handler in AAA teams may play a vital role in the staff acceptance of such programs.


Introduction:
Despite the growing emphasis on the collection, monitoring and reporting of
outcomes of surgical care within the UK, few data exist for such purposes. Equally,
few data are available on disease occurrence and surgical practice in England. In this
thesis, the hypothesis that Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data can be used for such
purposes is tested.
Methods:
The objectives of this thesis were twofold. Firstly, to review the literature to establish
to what extent lIES data has been used to study incidence, surgical treatments and
their outcomes. Secondly, to evaluate - using a number of individual lIES-derived
case studies, to what extent the lIES database can be utilised to answer clinical
questions concerning incidence, practice and outcome of urological surgery.
Strengths and weaknesses of the lIES database were subsequently sought on which to
generate recommendations concerning the future clinical use of the database.
Results:
The review highlighted the completeness of the database identifying very low underascertainment
when compared to local audit data although did identify that use of
Finished Consultant Episodes (FCE'S) resulted in over-estimation of disease
incidence.
lIES-derived case studies suggested, first, the incidence of hypospadias was
considerably higher than previously reported and furthermore, did appear to be on the
increase. Second, boys continue to undergo clinically inappropriate foreskin surgery.
Third, the shift away from surgery for men with symptomatic BPlI has not resulted in
more men experiencing an episode of acute urinary retention. Fourth, high-volume
cancer centres appear to achieve improved outcomes following cystectomy by
reducing the risk of "failure-to-rescue" following an adverse event.

Recommendations on the future clinical use of HES data drawn from the HES-derived
case studies were first, if incidence is to be calculated using HES data, there must be
no or minimal ambiguity regarding diagnostic or procedural coding. Second, a
number of diagnostic and procedural codes can be "operationalised" to define an
event provided coding practice is not identified in advance. Third, the incidence of a
condition can be identified using HES data provided all patients or at least the
majority of patients undergo hospital treatment for that condition. Fourth, for HES
data to comment on clinical appropriateness of treatment, the prevalence of the
condition requiring treatment must be known. Fifth, if HES data is to be used to
analyse trends in disease incidence over time, there must be no changes in coding
practice over the study period. Sixth, HES data should not be used in isolation to
report long-term oncological outcomes. Seventh, HES data is suitable to investigate
the determinants of short-term surgical outcome such as mortality.
Conclusion:
Evaluation of the use of HES data to answer specific questions concerning the
incidence, practice and outcome of urological surgery suggests HES is a useful source
of data provided caveats concerning the strengths and weaknesses of the database are
considered at the time of data analysis.


In this study, the adsorption of certain water-soluble cationic dyes, (basic blue 9, basic blue 12, basic blue 17, brilliant cresyl blue, janus green B, basic green 4, basic violet 1, basic violet 3, and thionin) onto TriSyl silicas by batch adsorption at 25oC was investigated. In the adsorption experiments, Langmuir type adsorption in the Giles classification system was found. Binding parameters such as the initial binding constant (Ki), the equilibrium binding constant (K), monolayer coverage(n), site-size(u), maximum fractional occupancy (\hat{q}), and the thermodynamic parameter free energy of adsorption (D G) were calculated for TriSyl silica and cationic dye systems by using the linearization methods of Klotz and Langmuir.


The concept of Satellite Formation Flying (SFF) means to have two or more satellites in orbit such that their
relative positions remain constant or obeying a certain dynamical configuration along the trajectory. This concept
involves the control over the coordinated motion of a group of satellites, with the goal of maintaining a specific
geometric space configuration between the elements of the cluster. Assume a constellation of satellites is flying close
a given nominal trajectory around L
4
 or L
5
 in the Earth-Moon system, in such a way that, there is some freedom in
the selection of the geometry of the constellation. We are interested in avoiding large variations of the mutual
distances between spacecraft. In this case, previous studies about triangular libration points have determined the
existence of regions of zero and minimum relative radial acceleration with respect to the nominal trajectory that
prevent from the expansion or contraction of the constellation. Similarly, these studies have also shown the existence
of regions of maximum relative radial acceleration with respect to the nominal trajectory that produce a larger
expansion and contraction of the constellation. However, these studies only considered the gravitational force of the
Earth and the Moon using as approximation the Circular Restricted Three Body Problem (CRTBP). Although the
CRTBP model is a good approximation for the dynamics of spacecraft in the Earth-Moon system, the stability of
constellations flying around L4 and L5 is strongly a
ff
ected when the primary orbit eccentricity and perturbations
from the sun (gravity and light pressure) are considered. As consequence, the previous studies show that, using the
CRTBP model, the fuel consumption to maintain the geometry of the constellation computed by the residual
acceleration is practically zero. In this manner, the goal of this work is the study and analysis of the best regions to
place a constellation that is flying close a given nominal trajectory around L
4
 or L
5
, involving a linear approximation
of the equations of motion relative to the periodic orbits around triangular libration points and taking into account the
Moon's eccentricity and perturbations from the Sun. This model is not only more realistic for practical engineering
applications but permits to determine more accurately the fuel consumption to maintain the geometry of the
constellation


We propose and experimentally demonstrate a time-division-multiplexed acoustic sensor array employing multiple low-gain Er-doped fiber amplifiers to multiplex ten compact Fabry-Perot acoustic sensors. We show that the ten sensors can be interrogated with a single laser diode at a single wavelength, and exhibit the same measured SNR within <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\pm$</tex></formula>0.95 dB of each other. We present a model to identify the dominant noise contributions, and their dependence on the number of multiplexed sensors. This model predicts that more than 350 sensors can be multiplexed with the proposed architecture.


In a world where global restructuring is leading to both integration and fragmentation, the meaning and practice of development are increasingly contested. New voices from the South are challenging Northern control over development. Feminism/Postmodernism/Development is a comprehensive study of this power struggle. It examines new issues, "voices", and dilemmas in development theory and practice. Drawing on the experiences of women from Africa, Latin America, and Asia, as well as women of colour, this collection questions established development practices and suggests the need to incorporate issues such as identity, representation, indigenous knowledge, and political action. Feminism/Postmodernism/Development acknowledges the importance of Third World and minority women's experiences. It acknowledges their importance for development and suggests that postmodernist insights can enhance their quest for empowerment.


The New Deal Court of the late 1930s and 1940s rewrote American constitutional law regarding the scope of national power within the states. Historically, legal analysts have exhaustively reviewed the impact and aftermath of this alteration. Left largely unacknowledged, however, is the fact that many of these reforms were originally promoted as temporary "emergency" measures intended to counteract the Great Depression. After the Depression ended, however, the expanded federal powers, invoked under the New Deal emergency decree and upheld by the United States Supreme Court, remained intact. A radically altered form of American government, without [*260] retreat to its former state, resulted. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt grounded the New Deal reforms in his powers as Commander-in-Chief and justified their extra-constitutionality under war powers jurisprudence. In effect, the executive branch sought and was granted the power to wage a war on American soil; a war against the invisible and intangible enemy of economic depression and injustice. This war never officially ended, however, and the expansion of the federal government in the 1930s and 1940s became entrenched by the mid-twentieth century. This Article argues that Court rulings interpreting the post-New Deal federal expansion as a mere extension of the Commerce, Tax, and Spending Clauses of the Constitution of the United States are incomplete, unless they include the emergency factor upon which the New Deal reforms were expressly based. First, this Article examines the history and effect of the national emergency that President Roosevelt and the New Deal Congress of 1933 declared in America and its eventual impact upon American constitutional law. Further, this Article discusses the evolution of the loosely defined and historically hazy Emergency Powers Doctrine, from a perspective that is both doubtful of its constitutionality and critical of its practical implications. Finally, this Article asserts that the post-New Deal expansions of federal power, popularly thought to have been based on liberal interpretations of the Commerce, Tax, and Spending Clauses of the United States Constitution, ultimately derive credence from the federal government's unstated assumption of permanent emergency operations.


The treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in children with Down's syndrome (DS) has engendered considerable controversy. Because of the concerns for toxicity and increased rate of infections, treatment approaches varied considerably in the past with mixed results. However, experience on the recently completed Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) 8498 AML study suggests that DS children with AML constitute a distinct subgroup that responds well to therapy. Twelve of 285 children on POG 8498 (protocol for newly diagnosed AML) had DS. Children with DS and AML were predominantly male (9 of 12) and were quite younger at diagnosis (< 24 months in 10). The white blood cell count was less than 50 x 10(3)/microL in all 12 and French-American-British types M6 and M7 were frequent (5 of 12). An abnormal cytogenetic marker, in addition to constitutional trisomy 21, was present in 9 of 12 and involved chromosome 8 in 4 of 9. All cases studied (n = 5) were positive for myeloid cell surface markers (CD33, CD13, or CD11b) and, interestingly, were also positive for the CD7 antigen. Chemotherapy included daunorubicin, cytarabine (Ara-C), and 6-thioguanine for remission induction and featured high-dose Ara-C (3 g/m2 per dose) with or without L-asparaginase early in remission. Compared with children without DS, children with DS had a superior event-free survival (EFS at 4 years 100% v 28% +/- 6.2%; P = .003). The EFS remained superior even when compared with non-DS children less than 2 years of age with a white blood cell count less than 10 x 100,000/microL (100% v 48% +/- 17.3%; P = .01).


The purpose of this paper is to provide a full account of the new European rules on distribution agreements adopted in April 2010, i.e. Regulation 330/2010 and its concomitant Guidelines on Vertical Restraints. In doing so the paper covers all aspects of the law in this field - with the notable exception of agency agreements - and discusses the development of the law since the 1960s to the present day. Such development is principally characterised by an increased focus on the economic effects produced by vertical restraints and a movement away from a strict form-based approach. The paper is divided into five sections. Following a short introduction, section II sets out the different types of vertical restraint commonly found in commercial contracts of a vertical nature and the theories of harm (such as risks of foreclosure and collusion) and pro-competitive effects ascribed to them under EU competition law. Section II discusses not only those types of vertical restraint that one may traditionally come across - such as resale price maintenance clauses - but also discusses two novel areas, namely upfront access payments and category management agreements which relate to the issue of buyer power. Section III offers a step-by-step overview of the method that in our eyes ought ideally be followed by agencies, firms and their legal counsels when engaging in a self asssessment - in the post notification era - of vertical agreements under Article 101 TFEU. Section IV deals with the issue of online distribution, which sparked intense controversy during the stakeholder consultation process. In line with commercial reality and the ubiquity of online commerce it is in our opinion entirely appropariate that the new law on vertical restraints now provides extensive guidance on the issue. Finally a brief conclusion is provided in section V.


This study deals with the balance of humanoid or multi-legged robots in a multi-contact setting where a chosen subset of contacts is undergoing desired sliding-task motions. One method to keep balance is to hold the center-of-mass (CoM) within an admissible convex area. This area is calculated based on the contact positions and forces. We introduce a methodology to compute this CoM support area (CSA) for multiple fixed and intentionally sliding contacts. To select the most appropriate CoM position within CSA, we account for (i) constraints of multiple fixed and sliding contacts, (ii) desired wrench distribution for contacts, and (iii) desired CoM position (eventually dictated by other tasks). These are formulated as a quadratic programming (QP) optimization problems. We illustrate our approach with pushing against a wall and wiping, and conducted experiments using the HRP-4 humanoid robot.