One of the promises emerging from the confusion of the Copenhagen climate talks focused on climate finance. Ramping up to US$100 billion a year starting in 2020, the promised finance would support developing countries in adapting to climate impacts and adopting low-carbon pathways. This briefing explores the wording in the Copenhagen Accord to unearth six big questions about the promise – any one of which could seriously challenge the trust these funds were designed to build.


The technological innovation systems (TIS) framework provides a theory to understand under what conditions technological innovations are successfully developed and implemented. The objective of this dissertation is to further strengthen this TIS intervention framework, which is the part of the TIS theoretical framework that facilitates the identification of inhibiting problems and the formulation of interventions. Theoretical adaptations and extensions are proposed and their merits subsequently explored during case studies that relate to the empirical domain of energy-efficient housing in the Netherlands. To start with, although the framework emphasizes the dynamic nature of the innovation process, problems are conceptualized and commonly analyzed as independent entities. During a case study of newly-built energy-efficient houses in the Netherlands, it is explored whether giving explicit attention to problem interactions yields contrasting or additional insights compared to an analysis of independent problems. It is found that problems may together form a problematic mechanism, and that intervention on all the problems that form the mechanism is then of little value and can even be counterproductive. Secondly, the TIS intervention framework currently does not provide the theoretical means for coping with inconsistent opinions on what the problems and best interventions are. The merits of taking a subjectivist view that allows multiple 'truths' about problems and solutions to coexist are explored during a case study of the Dutch innovation system of renovating houses energy efficiently. It is found that there are two viewpoints on renovation prominent that have their origin in two distinct 'institutional logics', namely the so-called 'steps logic' that leads to renovation in consecutive steps and the 'leaps-logic' that leads to renovation in a single leap. These institutional logics explain why actors are perceiving different problems and are also proposing different solutions for this innovation system. Thirdly, in literature it is often mentioned that the sector tends to form a relatively stable environment for TISs. However, it is found that the success of the heat pump in the Netherlands (and the type of heat pump) depends much on how the current debate on what renovation approach to follow plays out (either in consecutive steps or in a single leap). As this debate developed autonomously at sectoral level, it is concluded that sectoral context may also form a rather unstable environment for TISs. Finally, the question what type of intervention, or set of interventions, is likely to have a large impact on improving the functioning of an innovation system remains unanswered. The objective was set to lay a preliminary foundation for a conceptual framework based on an idea from systems thinking theory, namely that the transformational power of interventions relates to the characteristics of the points in a system where the intervention acts upon. This reasoning is used to create a preliminary ranking of interventions for the TIS framework. Through a case study of highly energy-efficient houses it is illustrated how the ranking can be used as addition to an innovation systems analysis.


Hypertension and diabetes raellitus are interrelated diseases that, if untreated, strongly predispose to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and renal disease. More than 3 million Americans have both hypertension and diabetes, which are particularly prevalent in the socioeconomicalh/ disadvantaged. Hypertension contributes substantially to morbidity and mortality in people with diabetes. This report is an update of the 1987 working group report on hypertension and diabetes and includes important new information on the management of hypertension in people with diabetes. Although treatment of hypertension in most people with diabetes does not differ from that in people who do not have diabetes, this report outlines some special considerations relevant to the presence of both diseases. Lifestyle modification is considered as an initial treatment modality or as an adjunct to pharmacologic measures. This report also includes a discussion of the treatment of hypertension and diabetes in children, an expanded review of sexual dysfunction, and an increased emphasis on the effect of hypertension and diabetes on target organs. A treatment algorithm represents a practical guideline for the physician. Since the previous report, there has been an increased awareness, through clinical trials and pharmacologic research, of the importance of flexibility in the use of antihypertensive drugs as well as a refinement of nonpharmacologic approaches in treating people with both hypertension and diabetes.


The 9/11 Commission Report and the National Intelligence Reform Act both state that the development of terrorist network database collection processes is an immediate and pressing requirement. This paper is a study and comparison of two complementary approaches to developing a terror network dataset: Automap, a network text analysis (NTA) tool; and Intelligence Analyst coding, a human process. NTA tools are an emerging branch of software that supports the analysis of quantitative characteristics of large-scale textual data as well as the extraction of meaning from texts. Intelligence Analyst coding is the traditional method that requires a human to read and cognitively process each raw field report. In this study, both approaches were applied to the same one hundred eighty-three open source texts on the Al Qaeda organization. Each approach's process, dataset product, and analytics are compared qualitatively and quantitatively. In terms of process, the Automap-assisted system required less manpower and time resources. In terms of dataset product, both approaches identified unique nodes and relationships that the other missed. Lastly, the differences in the datasets significantly impacted threat analytics and potential course of action selection. These results suggest an integrated human-centered automation support approach to intelligence dataset development.


Cholesterol metabolism has been implicated in prostate cancer pathogenesis. Here, we assessed the association of intratumoral mRNA expression of cholesterol synthesis enzymes, transporters, and regulators in tumor specimen at diagnosis and lethal prostate cancer, defined as mortality or metastases from prostate cancer in contrast to nonlethal disease without evidence of metastases after at least 8 years of follow-up. We analyzed the prospective prostate cancer cohorts within the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (n = 249) and the Physicians' Health Study (n = 153) as well as expectantly managed patients in the Swedish Watchful Waiting Study (n = 338). The expression of squalene monooxygenase (SQLE) was associated with lethal cancer in all three cohorts. Men with high SQLE expression (>1 standard deviation above the mean) were 8.3 times (95% confidence interval, 3.5 to 19.7) more likely to have lethal cancer despite therapy compared with men with the mean level of SQLE expression. Absolute SQLE expression was associated with lethal cancer independently from Gleason grade and stage, as was a SQLE expression ratio in tumor versus surrounding benign prostate tissue. Higher SQLE expression was tightly associated with increased histologic markers of angiogenesis. Collectively, this study establishes the prognostic value of intratumoral cholesterol synthesis as measured via SQLE, its second rate-limiting enzyme. SQLE expression at cancer diagnosis is prognostic for lethal prostate cancer both after curative-intent prostatectomy and in a watchful waiting setting, possibly by facilitating micrometastatic disease. Cancer Res; 76(16); 4785-90. ©2016 AACR.


This study aims to analyze the emotional experience of pregnancy for gay couples who turn to overseas surrogacy and face a geographical distance from the pregnancy. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 gay intended fathers, mean age 35.5 years, most of whom expected a child through surrogacy in India. The unborn children's gestational age ranged from 10 weeks to 32 weeks. A qualitative thematic analysis of the interviews shows that the interviewees felt frustration and anxiety due to their distance from the physical pregnancy and, specifically, their inability to experience the physical presence of the fetus. The resulting emotional disconnect from the developing fetus impacted the development of their parental sense during the pregnancy. The results highlight the importance for the intended parents of establishing a close relationship with the surrogate mother, as is customary in the United States but generally not in countries such as India. The findings support the value of establishing international guidelines for cross-border reproductive services.


Termites can stabilize tropical grasslands Spotty vegetation patterns in tropical savannas and grasslands can be a warning sign of imminent desertification. However, Bonachela et al. find that termites can also produce spotty patterns. Their theoretical study, confirmed by field data from Kenya, shows that patterns produced by termite mounds are not harbingers of desertification. Indeed, the presence of termites buffers these ecosystems against climate change. Science, this issue p. 651 Termites shape vegetation patterns in arid landscapes and buffer ecosystems against desertification. Self-organized spatial vegetation patterning is widespread and has been described using models of scale-dependent feedback between plants and water on homogeneous substrates. As rainfall decreases, these models yield a characteristic sequence of patterns with increasingly sparse vegetation, followed by sudden collapse to desert. Thus, the final, spot-like pattern may provide early warning for such catastrophic shifts. In many arid ecosystems, however, termite nests impart substrate heterogeneity by altering soil properties, thereby enhancing plant growth. We show that termite-induced heterogeneity interacts with scale-dependent feedbacks to produce vegetation patterns at different spatial grains. Although the coarse-grained patterning resembles that created by scale-dependent feedback alone, it does not indicate imminent desertification. Rather, mound-field landscapes are more robust to aridity, suggesting that termites may help stabilize ecosystems under global change.


The deviation of a saccade trajectory is a measure of the oculomotor competition evoked by a distractor. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of stimulus-salience on the time-course of saccade trajectory deviations to get a better insight into how stimulus-salience influences oculomotor competition over time. Two experiments were performed in which participants were required to make a vertical saccade to a target presented in an array of nontarget line elements and one additional distractor. The distractor varied in salience, where salience was defined by an orientation contrast relative to the surrounding nontargets. In Experiment 2, target-distractor similarity was additionally manipulated. In both Experiments 1 and 2, the results revealed that the eyes deviated towards the irrelevant distractor and did so more when the distractor was salient compared to when it was not salient. Critically, salience influenced performance only when people were fast to elicit an eye movement and had no effect when saccade latencies were long. Target-distractor similarity did not influence this pattern. These results show that the impact of salience in the visual system is transient.


BACKGROUND
Single measurements of waist circumference (WC) predict the incident cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, long-term patterns of WC and their association with the incidence of CVD are poorly characterized.

OBJECTIVE
We aimed to identify WC trajectories and determine their association with incident CVD (stroke and myocardial infarction) and examine whether the association persisted among individuals without obesity.

METHODS
We included 75,535 participants from a community-based cohort in China who were aged >18 y and free of stroke, coronary artery disease, and cancer in 2010 (the baseline). WC and other covariates were repeatedly measured in 2006, 2008, and 2010. WC trajectories were identified by latent mixture modeling. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the association between WC trajectories and incident CVD, after adjustment for age, sex, income, education, systolic blood pressure, lipid profiles, plasma concentrations of glucose, C-reactive protein, smoking, and alcohol drinking.

RESULTS
We identified 4 WC trajectories based on 2006 WC measurement and change patterns during 2006-2010: low stable (n = 12,072; mean WC 74.1-75.1 cm), moderate stable (n = 41,750; mean WC 85.1-86.6 cm), moderate-high stable (n = 19,914; mean WC 95.6-97.2 cm), and high stable (n = 1,799; mean WC 106.3-110.9 cm). During 2010-2016, we documented 2819 incident CVD events. Compared with the low-stable group, groups with elevated WC trajectories had a higher risk of CVD events during 6 y of follow-up (2010-2016). Adjusted HRs (95% CIs) were 1.49 (1.21, 1.83) for the moderate stable group, 1.71(1.38, 2.12) for the moderate-high stable group, and 1.45 (1.06, 2.00) for the high stable group. After further adjusting for BMI or excluding obese participants, we observed similar results. The positive association between WC and incident CVD was higher in individuals who were aged <60 y (P-interaction < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS
WC trajectory patterns were associated with altered risk of CVD among Chinese adults, even among people without BMI-defined obesity. When stratifying by age, the association was observed to be higher in younger adults.


NGS is a powerful tool for the diagnostics of inherited diseases. A number of studies devoted to the development and validation of targeted NGS panels are published. Here we present not only development and validation of an assay, but report our experience on introduction of a new approach into the real clinical practice. The assay is intended for the diagnostics of frequent newborn inherited diseases: cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria and galactosemia. The analysis is performed on the Ion PGM™ sequencing platform and allows the detection of single-nucleotide variations as well as copy number variants. We developed the software performing data quality control, providing decision-support variant annotation and generating the medical report that enables clinical application of the assay. Analytical validation of the assay was performed by bi-directional Sanger sequencing of the most part of the targeted region. Clinical validation was performed by multicenter blind testing of clinical and control samples. Sensitivity and specificity of the assay are above 99%. We have developed statements for test ordering, test acquisition form and practical recommendations for the results interpretation. The test has been successfully applied for the confirmatory diagnostics in a clinical laboratory during a year. Thus, the developed assay is a comprehensive ready-to-use CE-IVD solution for clinical diagnostics.


The development of programmatic corporate communications in Britain is attributable to a cluster of post-war designers who used graphics to furnish groups of artefacts with a 'family likeness'. As their commissions progressed from the odd artefact to the allembracing corporate policy, they formed groups to pool their talents and increase their capacity for work. The dynamics of practice subsequently shifted in ways we are yet to fully comprehend, for those who have addressed the subject have focused on the proliferation of the 1980s at the expense of earlier 'pioneers'. Moving emphasis away from what was designed, to how it was designed, this research answers the question, how did emergent programmatic approaches to design impact dominant patterns of practice? Although the project is rooted in design history, the outlook is unorthodox in seeking to develop a reciprocity between past and present concerns, thus alluding to the futural significance of history.

The research approach was practice theoretical. The research strategy addressed how post-war design consultancies responded to developments in the corporate domain. From a pilot study, three representative design groups were selected for further investigation by means of original archival research and semi-structured interview. In each case the way of practising corporate image-making was examined from the perspective of particular technical entities mobilised within that practice – these entities included files, diagrams, reports and manuals.

Most designers continued to depend on advertising commissions throughout the 1950s, but by explicating the logic of their practice some were able to claim legitimacy for their work and seek jurisdiction over the field. Though many designers resisted codification, others embraced scientific rationality head on, materialising the logic of design in mundane technical entities and ruling relations over their clients, employees and collaborators. Graphic design subsequently became a tenable profession, but as it gained in credibility, practitioners from other domains (e.g. design management and entrepreneurship) sought to compete for jurisdiction. This thesis argues that post-war designers played fundamental roles in establishing graphic design consultancy as a recognisable profession and core element of the marketing mix. The technocratic patterns of practice they set in place paved the way for branding to proliferate in the 1980s.


Reduction of fractures in the minimally invasive (MI) manner can avoid risks associated with open fracture surgery. The MI approach requires specialized tools called percutaneous fragment manipulation devices (PFMD) to enable surgeons to safely grasp and manipulate fragments. PFMDs developed for long-bone manipulation are not suitable for intra-articular fractures where small bone fragments are involved. With this study, we offer a solution to potentially move the current fracture management practice closer to the use of a MI approach. We investigate the design and testing of a new PFMD design for manual as well as robot-assisted manipulation of small bone fragments. This new PFMD design is simulated using FEA in three loading scenarios (force/torque: 0 N/2.6 Nm, 75.7 N/3.5 N, 147 N/6.8 Nm) assessing structural properties, breaking points, and maximum bending deformations. The PFMD is tested in a laboratory setting on Sawbones models (0 N/2.6 Nm), and on ex-vivo swine samples (F = 80 N ± 8 N, F = 150 ± 15 N). A commercial optical tracking system was used for measuring PFMD deformations under external loading and the results were verified with an electromagnetic tracking system. The average error difference between the tracking systems was 0.5 mm, being within their accuracy limits. Final results from reduction maneuvers performed both manually and with the robot assistance are obtained from 7 human cadavers with reduction forces in the range of (F = 80 N ± 8 N, F = 150 ± 15 N, respectively). The results show that structurally, the system performs as predicted by the simulation results. The PFMD did not break during ex-vivo and cadaveric trials. Simulation, laboratory, and cadaveric tests produced similar results regarding the PFMD bending. Specifically, for forces applied perpendicularly to the axis of the PFMD of 80 N ± 8 N deformations of 2.8, 2.97, and 3.06 mm are measured on the PFMD, while forces of 150 ± 15 N produced deformations of 5.8, 4.44, and 5.19 mm. This study has demonstrated that the proposed PFMD undergoes predictable deformations under typical bone manipulation loads. Testing of the device on human cadavers proved that these deformations do not affect the anatomic reduction quality. The PFMD is, therefore, suitable to reliably achieve and maintain fracture reductions, and to, consequently, allow external fracture fixation.


Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) elders and long-term couples have become more visible and their special concerns about aging are being recognized by gerontologists. LGBT elders are a diverse group with regard to all characteristics. This article focuses on the characteristics, research needs and barriers, service needs and barriers, clinical implications, and suggestions for appropriate treatment to increase awareness of clinical gerontologists who may not be familiar with LGBT seniors or who wish to improve their services to this population. Gerontologists working in long-term care facilities and those working in social and home care services may be especially interested in the special concerns of transgender elders and the recent changes in public policy regarding all LGBT elders.


The integral is one of the most important foundations for modeling dynamical systems. The gauge integral is a generalization of the Riemann integral and the Lebesgue integral and applies to a much wider class of functions. In this paper, we formalize the operational properties which contain the linearity, monotonicity, integration by parts, the Cauchy-type integrability criterion, and other important theorems of the gauge integral in higher-order logic 4 (HOL4) and then use them to verify an inverting integrator. The formalized theorem library has been accepted by the HOL4 authority and will appear in HOL4 Kananaskis-9.


While digital platforms tend to be unproblematically presented as the infrastructure of the sharing economy – as matchmakers of supply and demand – the authors argue that constituting the boundaries of infrastructures is political and performative, that is, it is implicated in ontological politics, with consequences for the distribution of responsibilities (Latour, 2003; Mol, 1999, 2013; Woolgar & Lezaun, 2013). Drawing on an empirical case study of Uber, including an analysis of court cases, the authors investigate the material-discursive production of digital platforms and their participation in the reconfiguring of the world (Barad, 2007), and examine how the (in)visibility of the digital infrastructure is mobilized (Larkin, 2013) to this effect. The authors argue that the representation of Uber as a "digital platform," as "just the technological infrastructure" connecting car drivers with clients, is a political act that attempts to redefine social responsibilities, while obscuring important dimensions of the algorithmic infrastructure that regulates this socioeconomic practice. The authors also show how some of these (in)visibilities become exposed in court, and some of the boundaries reshaped, with implications for the constitution of objects, subjects and their responsibilities. Thus, while thinking infrastructures do play a role in regulating and shaping practice through algorithms, it could be otherwise.Thinking infrastructures relationally decentre digital platforms and encourage us to study them as part of ongoing and contested entanglements in practice.


Petards, the AIM quoted developer of advanced security and surveillance systems, announces that it is aware that Water Hall Group plc ("Water Hall"), which holds 29.9% of Petards voting share capital, has written to Petards' shareholders indicating that it will be voting against the resolution to be proposed at the general meeting being held on 9 August 2012. Although Water Hall say that their response is in the interests of all Petards' shareholders it is the opinion of Petards independent directors that Water Hall is actually pursuing its own agenda. The Company has wished to raise capital for some time to fund the development of its business and the Petards independent directors are concerned that since increasing its shareholding in Petards to 29.99% in 2010, Water Hall has voted against all resolutions put to shareholders relating to the raising of capital. This has been in contrast to the other shareholders; over 99.8% of those voting have consistently supported the Board's position and voted in favour of those resolutions, The resolution presently being put to shareholders is seeking an authority which, if passed, will increase the options available to the Company when considering how best to provide funding for the Company's continued development. The Company is aware that its two other major shareholders have voted in favour of the resolution as have the vast majority of other shareholders whose votes have been counted at the date of this announcement. Approval of the resolution would enable the Company to undertake a fundraising but only on the basis of a pre-emptive open offer to shareholders which means that any such offer would be available to all shareholders equally on the same terms and would not favour one shareholder over any other. However it should be noted that an open offer will only be undertaken if the Directors are satisfied that it represents the best available option to the Company and therefore that it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole. The Directors, other than Osman Abdullah, continue to recommend that all shareholders vote in favour of the resolution to be proposed at the general meeting.


"That's only good for kids!" "That was a lot of fun. When do we start studying?" "The activity gives a warm and fuzzy feeling, but are they learning?" The above comments are just a few examples of the reactions I have heard when I use creative and participatory activities in environmental workshops and training programs. Have you heard similar reactions when you conduct creative activities? Or do you yourself react this way when presented with creative activities? Reactions, such as those mentioned above, were the motivation for wanting to explore with other environmental educators the tensions that often accompany the use of creative activities in environmental adult and community education programs. Together with Shirley Follen of the Learning for Environmental action Programme (LEAP), Canada and Meena Ragunathan of the Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedadbad, India, we conducted a workshop during the International Conference on Environmental Education of the Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE) held in Sydney, Australia in 1999. We used a creative activity adapted from the 'Tree of My Life' (Guevara, 1995, p. 104) and the 'Tree of Expectations, Forest of What we Have Learned' (Clover, Follen, & Hall, 2000, p. 63) to facilitate introductions and initiate discussion. The participants were given paper cutouts. Four represented different parts of a tree namely, the roots, trunk, leaves, and flowers. The fifth cutout was in the shape of an axe. On each of the cutouts the participants were asked to write brief responses to the following questions: Roots: What has influenced you most in teaching of environmental adult education? Trunk: Write your nickname. Leaves: Write the title or brief description of a favorite creative activity you have used. Flowers: What are some of the outcomes of using creative learning activities? Axe: What are some of the constraints of using creative learning activities? After a few minutes we asked the participants to sit in a circle with a huge outline of a tree in the middle. We took turns sharing our responses and attaching the paper cutouts on to the tree. I have used these responses as my way of recollecting and reflecting on the discussion in preparing this article. I have used my experiences as a community educator with the Center for Environmental Concerns--Philippines to illustrate some of the ideas discussed. Through this article I therefore hope to begin to explore the contents of this "bag of tricks" and hopefully, lighten the load by identifying a pocketful of principles involved in the use of creative methodologies in environmental adult and community education. Descriptions, Definitions, and Boundaries First, it is important to make a distinction between methods and methodology as it will be referred to and further argued and developed in this article. Method specifically refers to how the learning will be facilitated, the particular technique or activity that will be conducted. On the other hand, methodology is a more encompassing term that refers to the educational rationale or philosophy that explains why these methods were selected or used. For example, creative methods that were identified by the participants on the leaf cutouts included drawing or art, nature activities, adult games, energizers, and story telling. According to the participants, their rationale for using these creative methods, identified from the flower cutouts were to attract attention, encourage active participation, provide space for reflection, motivate greater cooperation, stimulate discussion and debate and, of course, to inspire. Second, it is necessary to clarify that CEC's experience in environmental adult education was focused on community settings in the Philippines. The Center's mission, taken from their 1989-1997 Vision, Mission, and Goals statement, is to enhance "environmental consciousness and improve the socio-economic capabilities of the local communities through grassroots environmental education for people empowerment. …


We distinguish three different stages in the evolution of the Tithonian (Late Jurassic) to Aptian (Early Cretaceous) northern Tethyan carbonate platform: (1) carbonate production in the coral-oolite mode (late Tithonian to early Valanginian, early Barremian to early Aptian), (2) carbonate production in the crinoid-bryozoan mode (early Valanginian, Haute-rivian, late Aptian), and (3) platform retrogradation and destruction, condensation,and phosphogenesis (that is, platform drowning; early Valanginian to early Hauterivian,middle Hauterivian, late Hauterivian to early Barremian, early to early late Aptian, and latest Aptian to earliest Albian). Transitions from the coral-oolite mode to the crinoid-bryozoan mode and consequently to platform drowning may have been driven by increases in nutrient levels on the shelf. Phases of relative sea- level rise in times of carbonate production in the coral-oolite mode are named constructive, because of the observed platform regeneration following phases of widespread emersion during late sea-level highstands. In contrast,phases of relative sea-level rise in times of platform drowning are termed destructive. The δ 13 C stratigraphies obtained from Valanginian-Hauterivian and Aptian-Albian hemipelagic successions beyond the platform correlate well with the Early Cretaceous pelagic δ 13 C record. Positive excursions in the pelagic δ 13 C record correspond in time to episodes of platform drowning. This suggests the existence of a coupling mechanism between changes in the global carbon cycle and platform drowning. In our view, the Early Cretaceous crises in carbonate-platform growth were the consequence of reinforced greenhouse conditions, which may have been triggered by episodes of extensive, flood-basalt volcanism. Strong greenhouse conditions may have induced the following chain of feedback mechanisms, enabling the biosphere to return to normal conditions: climate warming → sea-level rise, accelerated water cycle, intensified weathering → nutrient mobilization → platform destruction, increased productivity increased phosphogenesis and carbon burial → weakened greenhouse conditions.


Purpose - To examine the relative power of four dispositional, self-evaluation traits (adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, generalized self-efficacy, and general self-esteem) versus three situational factors (organizational time demands, potential negative career consequences, and managerial support) in predicting work interference with home (WIH) and home interference with work (HIW). Methodology/Approach - A survey was conducted among 223 UK public sector employees. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis tested main effects of personality and situational characteristics on WIH and HIW. A usefulness analysis determined whether dispositional or situational variables had greater predictive power for the two dependent variables. Findings - Significant, negative main effects of adaptive perfectionism on HIW, and of self-esteem on WIH. Positive relationships were found between maladaptive perfectionism and both WIH and HIW. Situational factors were also significant predictors of WHI: organizational time demands were positively associated with WIH, while managerial support had a negative relationship with WIH. Dispositional variables accounted for 15% of variance in HIW, but only 4% of variance in WIH. Research limitations/implications - The cross-sectional design of the study does not permit firm conclusions regarding causality, and the results may be influenced by common method bias. Practical implications - Raising awareness of the role of personality in work-home interference may assist managers in providing more effective support to employees. The danger exists that policy-makers will dismiss HIW as an individual responsibility due to the influence of dispositional factors. Originality/Value - This study indicates that self-evaluation personality characteristics play a key role in predicting HIW, and are more important than traditionally investigated factors associated with the home and workplace environments.


Loss of function of cyclin E1 or E2, important regulators of the mitotic cell cycle, yields viable mice, but E2-deficient males display reduced fertility. To elucidate the role of E-type cyclins during spermatogenesis, we characterized their expression patterns and produced additional deletions of Ccne1 and Ccne2 alleles in the germline, revealing unexpected meiotic functions. While Ccne2 mRNA and protein are abundantly expressed in spermatocytes, Ccne1 mRNA is present but its protein is detected only at low levels. However, abundant levels of cyclin E1 protein are detected in spermatocytes deficient in cyclin E2 protein. Additional depletion of E-type cyclins in the germline resulted in increasingly enhanced spermatogenic abnormalities and corresponding decreased fertility and loss of germ cells by apoptosis. Profound meiotic defects were observed in spermatocytes, including abnormal pairing and synapsis of homologous chromosomes, heterologous chromosome associations, unrepaired double-strand DNA breaks, disruptions in telomeric structure and defects in cyclin-dependent-kinase 2 localization. These results highlight a new role for E-type cyclins as important regulators of male meiosis.


The linear electro-optic coefficients of KH2PO4 and a number of its isomorphs have been measured at room temperature using dc voltages. The results at 546 nm are as follows: r63 = 10.3±0.1×10−12 m/V for KH2PO4, 10.9±0.1×10−12 m/V for KH2AsO4, and 13.0±0.2×10−12 m/V for RbH2AsO4; r41 = 8.77±0.14×10−12 m/V for KH2PO4, 24.5±0.4×10−12m/V for NH4H2PO4, 12.5±0.4×10−12 m/V for KH2AsO4, and 8.8±0.4×10−12 m/V for KD2PO4 which was about 90% deuterated. A transverse modulator based on a single 45° Y-cut crystal of NH4H2PO4 is proposed which requires only 45 V rms for 50% amplitude modulation of 632.8 nm light.


On 9 January 1857, a large earthquake of magnitude 7.9 occurred on the San Andreas fault, with rupture initiating at Parkfield in central California and propagating in a southeasterly direction over a distance of more than 360 km. Such a unilateral rupture produces significant directivity toward the San Fernando and Los Angeles basins. Indeed, newspaper reports of sloshing observed in the Los Angeles river point to long-duration (1–2 min) and long-period (2–8 sec) shaking. If such an earthquake were to happen today, it could impose significant seismic demand on present-day tall buildings. Using state-of-the-art computational tools in seismology and structural engineering, validated using data from the 17 January 1994, magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake, we determine the damage to an existing and a new 18- story steel moment-frame building in southern California due to ground motion from two hypothetical magnitude 7.9 earthquakes on the San Andreas fault. Our study indicates that serious damage occurs in these buildings at many locations in the region in one of the two scenarios. For a north-to-south rupture scenario, the peak velocity is of the order of 1 m•sec^(−1) in the Los Angeles basin, including downtown Los Angeles, and 2 m•sec^(−1) in the San Fernando valley, while the peak displacements are of the order of 1 m and 2 m in the Los Angeles basin and San Fernando valley, respectively. For a south-to-north rupture scenario the peak velocities and displacements are reduced by a factor of roughly 2.


Thirty control and 121 brain-damaged patients with injury restricted to one hemisphere were presented with a test requiring the placing of a rod, fixed on a support by a hinged joint, in the same position as a model. Two versions of the test were given, one to be performed with the aid of vision and the other only by touch. The brain-damaged patients were subdivided into the following groups: right hemisphere patients without visual field defect (VFD): 30; right hemisphere patients with VFD: 20; left hemisphere patients without VFD: 46; left hemisphere patients with VFD: 25. The test modality did not differentially affect the performance of the groups. Both on the visually and on the tactually guided version of the test the right hemisphere group with VFD did significantly worse not only with respect to controls but also with respect to the three other braindamaged groups. The latter, in turn, were not significantly inferior to patients without cerebral damage. It appears, therefore, that when spatial perception is tested at a very basic and simple level, such as the detection of orientation in space of a rod, there is an almost complete dominance of the posterior region of the so-called minor hemisphere. This result must be contrasted with the less striking asymmetry of functions shown in more complex spatial tasks—for example, route finding, copying drawings, block designs—that are failed also by patients with damage to the left posterior area. Normal subjects reproduced the orientation of the rod on the horizontal plane with a constant error which was found to be dependent on the position of the model. Clockwise deviations were made when the model was on the left and counterclockwise deviations when the model was on the right. The constant error was present in left brain-damaged patients too, while it was not significantly different from zero in right brain-damaged patients. A systematic error was also found on the vertical plane and it consisted in the tendency to stop the rod below the level of the standard.


During the last two decades, the sub-Saharan region has experienced unusual floods that have differentially impacted the region. No official and precise data regarding flood damage and impacts on the population are available, and the magnitude of events are not easily evaluated. Most previous studies have investigated this new threat using data derived from local media sources or world disaster databases. The aim of this study was to provide the scientific community and policy makers with an updated and reliable referenced data source concerning floods in Niger between 1998 and 2015, at national, regional and sub-regional scales. Reliable information regarding floods was derived from the national official flood damage database (ANADIA DB) showing their impact on the country. During the investigated period, considerable numbers regarding flood impacts were found (about 4000 settlements and 1.7 million people were affected by floods). The analysis also indicates a sudden increase in flood impacts since 2010. Regions in the south-west (Tillabery, Dosso and Niamey district) are the most affected; however, this kind of risk involves the whole country, and some particularly vulnerable areas have been identified. A data modeling comprehensive framework based on remotely sensed rainfall (climate hazards group infrared precipitation with stations (CHIRPS)) and vegetation index (moderate resolution imagery spectroradiometer normalized difference vegetation index (MODIS NDVI)) datasets data along with census data were used to investigate which variables are most able to explain the recent and sudden Niger flood vulnerability detected at the departmental scale. Only a few statistically significant flood damage models were found (61 out of 297), due essentially to the non-linearity of the increase in damage time series compared to environmental and climatic trends. The population increase is the most significant variable at national level; however, at regional and sub-regional scales, different patterns provided evidence to identify local triggers for vulnerability.


In soft robotics, there is still a great need for a universal but simple gripper that realizes a high level of adaptability as well as a gentle touch to a wide variety of unknown objects of different size, shape, stiffness, and weight without the use of sensors or vision. Various, mostly complex grippers already exist based on certain actuation concepts. However, each solution has specific limitations, especially regarding gripping different soft and delicate objects. Therefore, this paper introduces a new approach to design a simple, adaptive, and versatile soft robotic two-finger gripper that is based on compliant mechanisms. More specifically, an inherently gentle touch is realized by utilizing an optimally synthesized mechanism with distributed compliance in combination with a conventional linear actuator. It is shown by finite elements method (FEM) simulations that the gripper realizes a high force and motion transmission at the same time. Furthermore, it is demonstrated by tests with a gripper prototype that reliable, safe, and fast grasping as well as manipulation are possible for a wide variety of objects. It is shown that beside regular and stiff objects also very challenging objects can be easily gripped, e.g., small, irregular, soft, and squeezable objects like fruits, berries, and vegetables. Moreover, it is confirmed that the developed compliant two-finger gripper can be used beneficially without sensors and control for differently sized and shaped objects with a comparable weight.


We held the first-ever MineRL Benchmark for Agents that Solve Almost-Lifelike Tasks (MineRL BASALT) Competition at the Thirty-fifth Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2021). The goal of the competition was to promote research towards agents that use learning from human feedback (LfHF) techniques to solve open-world tasks. Rather than mandating the use of LfHF techniques, we described four tasks in natural language to be accomplished in the video game Minecraft, and allowed participants to use any approach they wanted to build agents that could accomplish the tasks. Teams developed a diverse range of LfHF algorithms across a variety of possible human feedback types. The three winning teams implemented significantly different approaches while achieving similar performance. Interestingly, their approaches performed well on different tasks, validating our choice of tasks to include in the competition. While the outcomes validated the design of our competition, we did not get as many participants and submissions as our sister competition, MineRL Diamond. We speculate about the causes of this problem and suggest improvements for future iterations of the competition.


Technology supported information sharing could be argued to both enhance and inhibit learning. However, social and affective issues that motivate learners' technology interactions are often overlooked. Are learners avoiding valuable learning applications because of privacy fears and trust issues? Will inaccurate technology assumptions and awareness inhibit information sharing? Do learners need control over technology enhanced safe creative spaces or can they be motivated to overcome badly designed systems because sharing is 'valuable' or 'fun'. This presentation details a model of privacy and trust issues that can be used to enhance elearning. Several OU case-studies of multimedia, mobile and elearning applications (conducted within IET, KMI and the Open CETL) are evaluated using this model. The model helps to identify trade-offs that learners make for technology enhanced or inhibited learning. Theories of control, identity, information sensitivity and re-use are discussed within the context of these elearning examples.


Drawing on vital new evidence, a top historian dramatically reinterprets the ruler of the world's first transatlantic empire The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task. Geoffrey Parker, one of the world's leading historians of early modern Europe, has examined the surviving written sources in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish, as well as visual and material evidence. He explores the crucial decisions that created and preserved this vast empire, analyzes Charles's achievements within the context of both personal and structural factors, and scrutinizes the intimate details of the ruler's life for clues to his character and inclinations. The result is a unique biography that interrogates every dimension of Charles's reign and views the world through the emperor's own eyes.


The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) provides spectroscopic information of regions of the inner Milky Way, which are inaccessible to optical surveys. We present the first large study of the metallicity distribution of the innermost Galactic regions based on high-quality measurements for 7545 red giant stars within 4.5 kpc of the Galactic center, with the goal to shed light on the structure and origin of the Galactic bulge. Stellar metallicities are found, through multiple Gaussian decompositions, to be distributed in several components, which is indicative of the presence of various stellar populations such as the bar or the thin and the thick disks. Super-solar ([Fe/H] = +0.32) and solar ([Fe/H] = +0.00) metallicity components, tentatively associated with the thin disk and the Galactic bar, respectively, seem to be major contributors near the midplane. A solar-metallicity component extends outwards in the midplane but is not observed in the innermost regions. The central regions (within 3 kpc of the Galactic center) reveal, on the other hand, the presence of a significant metal-poor population ([Fe/H] = −0.46), tentatively associated with the thick disk, which becomes the dominant component far from the midplane ( kpc). Varying contributions from these different components produce a transition region at +0.5 kpc , characterized by a significant vertical metallicity gradient.


The Federal Institute of Material Research and Testing (BAM) has collected some experience with the testing of damaged, repaired and newly constructed railway tracks. The experimental methods are hammer testing of the track at different positions, hammer testing of the soil, measurement of train passages, and in all cases, measurements with geophones at different positions. The measured signals are evaluated for wave velocities (dispersion of the soil or the track-soil system), for transfer functions (transfer admittances of the soil, compliances of the track in amplitude and phase), and one-third octave band spectra of the track response to hammer and train excitation. These methods are applied at different stages of the track construction. Before track construction, wave velocities and transfer functions of the sub-soil can indicate problems with soft soils. After track construction, a check of the acceptable state of the track can be done by comparison of many excitation positions and track sites. After a track damage (a lose sleeper or a lose plate of a slab track) and after its repair, the sensitivity of the different measurement quantities to different track errors and the achieved improvement of the repair can be determined. The contribution shows examples of all these track situations


CASE DESCRIPTION
4 horses with a history of neck pain, abnormal head carriage, and related inability to perform were examined. Cranial nuchal bursitis was diagnosed in 2 horses, and caudal nuchal bursitis was diagnosed in the other 2.

CLINICAL FINDINGS
All 4 horses had prominent swelling in the region between the frontal bone and temporal fossa (ie, the poll) and abnormal head carriage. Ultrasonographic examination revealed fluid distention and synovial thickening of the cranial or caudal nuchal bursa in all 4 horses. Ultrasonography-guided aspiration of the affected region was performed successfully in 3 horses. Radiography revealed bony remodeling and mineralization over the dorsal aspect of the atlas in 1 horse and a radiolucency at the axis in another. Nuclear scintigraphy revealed an increase in radioisotope uptake at the level of C2 in 1 horse. Although a septic process was considered among the differential diagnoses in all horses, a septic process could only be confirmed in 1 horse.

TREATMENT AND OUTCOME
All horses were refractory to conservative management consisting of intrabursal injection of anti-inflammatory medications. Bursoscopic debridement and lavage of the affected bursae resulted in resolution of the clinical signs in all horses, and they all returned to their intended use.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Cranial and caudal nuchal bursitis, of nonseptic or septic origin, should be considered as a differential diagnosis in horses with head and neck pain. Horses undergoing surgical intervention consisting of nuchal bursoscopy have the opportunity to return to their original degree of exercise.


Have the diplomatic efforts of the Obama administration toward Iran failed? Was the Bush administration's emphasis on military intervention, refusal to negotiate, and pursuit of regime change a better approach? How can the United States best address the ongoing turmoil in Tehran? This book provides a definitive and comprehensive analysis of the Obama administration's early diplomatic outreach to Iran and discusses the best way to move toward more positive relations between the two discordant states. Trita Parsi, a Middle East foreign policy expert with extensive Capitol Hill and United Nations experience, interviewed 70 high-ranking officials from the U.S., Iran, Europe, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Brazil-including the top American and Iranian negotiators-for this book. Parsi uncovers the previously unknown story of American and Iranian negotiations during Obama's early years as president, the calculations behind the two nations' dealings, and the real reasons for their current stalemate. Contrary to prevailing opinion, Parsi contends that diplomacy has not been fully tried. For various reasons, Obama's diplomacy ended up being a single roll of the dice. It had to work either immediately-or not at all. Persistence and perseverance are keys to any negotiation. Neither Iran nor the U.S. had them in 2009.


Understanding the molecular pathways that contribute to the aggressive behavior of human cancers is a critical research priority. The SNF1/AMPK-related protein kinase Hunk is overexpressed in aggressive subsets of human breast, ovarian, and colon cancers. Analysis of Hunk(–/–) mice revealed that this kinase is required for metastasis of c-myc–induced mammary tumors but not c-myc–induced primary tumor formation. Similar to c-myc, amplification of the proto-oncogene HER2/neu occurs in 10%–30% of breast cancers and is associated with aggressive tumor behavior. By crossing Hunk(–/–) mice with transgenic mouse models for HER2/neu-induced mammary tumorigenesis, we report that Hunk is required for primary tumor formation induced by HER2/neu. Knockdown and reconstitution experiments in mouse and human breast cancer cell lines demonstrated that Hunk is required for maintenance of the tumorigenic phenotype in HER2/neu-transformed cells. This requirement is kinase dependent and resulted from the ability of Hunk to suppress apoptosis in association with downregulation of the tumor suppressor p27(kip1). Additionally, we find that Hunk is rapidly upregulated following HER2/neu activation in vivo and in vitro. These findings provide what we believe is the first evidence for a role for Hunk in primary tumorigenesis and cell survival and identify this kinase as an essential effector of the HER2/neu oncogenic pathway.


Katacamilla Papp, 1978, hitherto a monotypic genus of Camillidae known only from Namibia, is revised to include five species from Africa and the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. The revision is based on more than 400 specimens. The placement of Katacamilla in the Camillidae is confirmed. A revised diagnosis of the genus is given. Katacamilla is distinguished from all other camillid genera by at least 10 character states, six of which are autapomorphies. A key to the species is presented. illustrations of head profiles, male forefemur and terminalia are provided for all species. Katacamilla cavernicola Papp is redescriptionbed from three Namibian localities. Four new species are descriptionbed: K. braacki from northeastern South Africa, K. ctenidia from northern Nigeria, K. gallagheri from eastern Oman and K. procavia from central Namibia. Katacamilla cavernicola is known only from caves, where it exhibits both parietal and troglophilic habitat preferences; it has been reared from dung of the rock pigeon, Columba guinea Linnaeus (parietal), and of the common slit-faced bat, Nycteris thebaica Geoffroy (troglophilic). Katacamilla braacki has been collected in close association with dung of the Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus (Geoffroy), in a troglophilic habitat. Katacamilla procavia has been reared from the dung of the rock hyrax, Procavia capensis (Pallas), taken from the shelter of a rocky overhang. Katacamilla ctenidia and K. gallagheri are probably associated with the dung of birds and/or small mammals in relatively exposed habitats. A preliminary cladistic analysis suggests that the clade comprising the bat-associated (cavernicolous) sister species, K. cavernicola and K. braacki, is the most highly derived in the genus and, consequently, that association with bats is a recent specialization.


Settlements of federal civil actions may, but need not, be subject to later judicial enforcement. As recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co., one significant limitation on enforcement proceedings is subject matter jurisdiciton because federal district courts are "courts of limited jurisdiction." Under Kokkonen, enforcement jurisdiction may be "independent," but usually is "ancillary" because state law claims typically are involved where there is no diversity of citizenship. Ancillary enforcement powers may be exercised by district courts either where claims were initially presented for adjudication and disputes arising from later settlements are "factually interdependent," or where recognition of enforcement authority enables courts "to function successfully," as when courts need to insure that their orders are not "flouted or imperiled." Typically, enforcement authority is exercised so that the courts function successfully. Difficulties have surfaced regarding this ancillary settlement enforcement jurisdiction. They include how to incorporate settlement terms into court orders and how otherwise to retain jurisdiction, whether settlement disputes may prompt the reopening of judgments, and what contract laws and what procedures should apply when federal case settlements are enforced. There are additional troubles which have yet to surface significantly, including whether there is judicial discretion to refuse requests that future enforcement jurisdiction be retained and whether certain settlement disputes can prompt discretionary refusals of available enforcement jurisdiction. We believe new written federal laws are needed now to address many of these difficulties. Relevant lawmakers include both the U.S. Supreme Court, as promulgator of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Congress. We suggest amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on judgment entry, on judgments involving money and on permanent injunctions, as well as to the supplemental jurisdiction statute.


Accidents at work related to inebriety are a relevant problem in Lithuania. The statistics of the State Labour Inspectorate is very threatening: every fourth person killed at work and every second person killed in building and construction works was inebriated. Previous studies have proved that due to inebriety the possibility to injure oneself increased 10-15 times. In the present article the legal acts regulating the means of the prevention of risks related to inebriety at work are reviewed; the concept of the inebriated employee is analyzed; the problem of insufficient attention to this concept in legal acts is discussed. Legal acts do not include any provisions regarding the situation when an employee's inebriety is lower than 0.41 per mille. Thus, it is suggested to define such cases in collective agreements. The prevention means established in legal acts could be divided into two groups. The first group includes the means applied for preventing the use of alcohol at work; the second group includes the means for suspending an inebriated employee from work.


The effects of Drought and salinity stress on the growth and chemical compositions pennyroyal(Mentha pulegium L.) plant were investigated. This experiment was carried out in a factorial-randomized design with four replications in controlled conditions and plantlets were subject to four soil moisture regimes (40, 60, 80 and 100 of field capacity (FC)) and five salt treatments with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mM NaCl. Characteristics were included stem length, root length, shoot fresh weight, root fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, Internodes length, stolon length, percent of survival, number of total branches, number of total leaf, length of total branches, biomass and essential oil yields. The results showed that total characteristics were reduced in stress condition. Under stress, reduced growth was observed in all treatments, although differences in sensitivity to the stress among treatments were noted. Stress effects were more pronounced in shoots (leaves and stems) than in roots. Essential oil yields per plant under stress were reduced in all treatments, as compared with untreated controls. In pennyroyal, the oil concentration in the plant tissue under stress increased as compared with untreated controls.


Abstract Inspired by a type of synesthesia where colour typically induces musical notes the MusiCam project investigates this unusual condition, particularly the transition from colour to sound. MusiCam explores the potential benefits of this idiosyncrasy as a mode of human computer interaction (HCI), providing a host of meaningful applications spanning control, communication and composition. Colour data is interpreted by means of an off-the-shelf webcam, and music is generated in real-time through regular speakers. By making colour-based gestures users can actively control the parameters of sounds, compose melodies and motifs or mix multiple tracks on the fly. The system shows great potential as an interactive medium and as a musical controller. The trials conducted to date have produced encouraging results, and only hint at the new possibilities achievable by such a device.


How well are single-cell properties reproduced by the present-day neuronal models? Recently, several labs have approached this question by assessing the quality of the models with respect to spike timing prediction or characteristic features of the voltage trace. So far, every modeler used his own preferred performance measure on his own data set. The 'Quantitative Single-Neuron Modeling Competition' offers a coherent framework to compare neuronal models with four different experiments on layer V pyramidal neurons of the somatosensory cortex under somatic and dendritic stimulation. Specific performance measures are used on these four experiments to quantify specific performances of neuronal models under somatic and dendritic stimulation, e. g.: spike timing, inter-spike intervals, or subthreshold waveform. Expert and novice modelers have been invited to submit their prediction of neuronal behavior in any or all of these four different experimental setups. Here we present the results of this competition. Along with submissions from other labs, we show the performance of a stochastic Poisson neuron model and the adaptive Exponential Integrate-and-Fire model. The results are valuable for network modelers interested in finding the best trade-off between biological relevance and simplicity.


A diverse family (37 compounds) of cis-4-alkoxydiorganylprolinol derivatives has been prepared and evaluated in organocatalysis for the first time. The combined use of high throughput experimentation (HTE) techniques with efficient analytical methods has led to the identification of two superior catalysts for the enantioselective addition of succinimide to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. Further optimization of the reaction conditions with design of experiments (DoE) techniques established the catalyst of choice for the considered aza-Michael reaction, the corresponding adducts (12 examples) being obtained in good yields and excellent enantioselectivities (succinimide and maleimide donors). The synthetic versatility of these Michael adducts is illustrated by a two-step sequence leading to enantiopure 1,3-amino alcohols.


This study examined student identity in a study abroad setting by focusing on the adjustment issues study abroad students faced in their various transitions. The aim of this research was to discover more about the role that identity plays in studying abroad through the focus on student experience and student perception of the adjustment issues faced in study abroad transitions. The research utilised qualitative methods, was longitudinal, and focused on study abroad students who undertook ELICOS followed by undergraduate studies at an Australian university. Overall, it was uncovered that student identity is strongly influenced by the various transitions and adjustments that take place in study abroad situations. Generally, it appears that student perspectives of the challenges encountered, in terms of the transitions and adjustment issues of studying abroad, could be a catalyst for understanding the degree and the manner in which the various facets of study abroad student identity are impacted.


Violence Against Women in Asian Societies examines cultural and other factors affecting women's experiences of violence in south and southeast Asia through a collection of essays. One particular essay on marital violence in Indonesia focuses on legal, political, and cultural constructions of marital rape. Indonesian wives currently face marital rape with no possibility of legal protection from their husbands. This Book Review argues that marital rape should be crirninalized in Indonesia, and that this can be achieved by applying an individual rights approach to violence against women. Indonesian women's organizations are currently working to increase public awareness and to pass legislation on violence against women, but marital rape will neither be criminalized nor punished until legislators and the public acknowledge women's individual rights within marriage.


Wound healing is a complicated process needed to restore homeostasis in the body. The two arginine utilising pathways involved in wound healing are the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) to produce NO, and the arginase pathway producing ornithine, proline and the polyamines. iNOS is highly active in the inflammatory phase with NO affecting the cyclooxygenase enzymes and the release of inflammatory mediators. In the proliferative phase, NO affects arginase and therefore collagen production and cell proliferation. Both supplemental arginine and ornithine appear to be beneficial in wound healing. The roles and regulation of these pathways are discussed in the different stages of wound healing. Interpretation of data from wound healing research is complicated by the extrapolation of animal model data to the human situation and a lack of human studies.


. Abstract Alcohol is widely abused as a psychoactive drug. Emblica officinalis is known for its therapeutic effects and the present study is aimed at investigating therapeutic efficacy of aqueous extract of Emblica officinalis (AEEO) against alcohol-induced damage. Thirty three percent (v/v) alcohol (10 g/kg body weight) and AEEO (250 mg/kg body weight/day) was orally administered once a day for 60 days. Chronic alcohol feeding resulted in higher activities of the alcoholic plasma marker enzyme gamma glutamyl transferase ( GT) and abnormalities in plasma lipid and lipoproteins, minerals as well as activities of plasma transaminases (AST and ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Chronic alcohol administration significantly lowered the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and the content of reduced glutathione (GSH) in erythrocytes. The AEEO supplementation to chronically alcohol fed rats beneficially modulated plasma lipids and lipoprotein patterns, minerals, and vitamin C and also corrected zigzags in plasma enzyme activities and improved antioxidant and defense enzyme machinery status. However, AEEO supplementation resulted in a significant increase in GSH content and the activities of SOD, CAT and GPx. AEEO can contribute to the alleviation of alcohol induced adverse effects by enhancing the status of antioxidant defense system and by regulating lipid and mineral metabolism.


The Moresby Seamount detachment in the Woodlark Basin (east of Papua New Guinea) is arguably the best exposed active detachment fault in the world. We present the results of a high-resolution autonomous underwater vehicle survey of bathymetry, bottom water temperature, and turbidity. In combination with dredging and existing drillhole data, a synthesis of the tectonic geomorphology, kinematics, and mechanics of the detachment is provided. The detachment surface, which has a 30° northward dip and ~8 km post-Pliocene displacement, is well preserved. Two major smooth areas are tectonically created, and megascopic (kilometer scale) slickensides indicate downdip direction of movement. The detachment is transected by a major sinistral strike-slip fault, suggesting deformation partitioning in the detachment zone in response to the 500 k.y. change in plate kinematics. The mainly gabbroic protoliths and cataclasites from the fault show pervasive syntectonic alteration, leading to large increases in abundance of quartz and, more important, calcite. Resulting quartz-rich and calcite-rich mylonites play a crucial role, as weak fault rocks and ductile microstructures point to detachment operation at low differential stress. A kilometer-sized anomaly in bottom water temperature and turbidity is found at the downdip end of the detachment zone, indicating that it hosts an active hydrothermal system, probably fed by overpressured fl uids from a deep crustal source. on June 17, 2011 geology.gsapubs.org Downloaded from


In animals, skewed sex ratios can affect individual fitness either via sexual interactions (e.g. intersexual conflict or intrasexual mate competition) or non-sexual interactions (e.g. sex-specific resource competition). Because most analyses of sex ratio focus on sexual interactions, the relative importance of these mechanisms remains unclear. We addressed this problem using the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, where male-biased sex ratios increase female fitness relative to unbiased or female-biased groups. Although flour beetles show both sexual and non-sexual (resource) competition, we found that sexual interactions did not explain female fitness. Instead, female fecundity was dramatically reduced even after a brief exposure to flour conditioned by other females. Earlier studies suggested that quinones (secreted toxins) might mediate density-dependent population growth in flour beetles. We identified ethyl- and methyl-benzoquinone (EBQ and MBQ) as the primary components of adult stink glands that regulate female fecundity. In female-biased groups (i.e. at high female density), females upregulated quinones and suppressed each other's reproduction. In male-biased groups, low female density lead to low quinone levels, allowing higher fecundity. Thus, quinones serve both as indicators and mediators of female competition, resulting in the observed fitness decline in female-biased groups. Our results underscore the importance of non-sexual interference competition that may often underlie the fitness consequences of skewed sex ratios.


The United States was undoubtedly the most important, but by no means the only country of destination for German immigrant entrepreneurs. German industrialists, merchants, and other entrepreneurs could be found in virtually all world regions where international trade or local markets promised satisfactory returns. They were globally dispersed manifestations – and motors – of Germany's expanding economy between unification in 1871 and the First World War.


Mutation and adaptation have driven the co-evolution of coronaviruses (CoVs) and their hosts, including human beings, for thousands of years. Before 2003, two human CoVs (HCoVs) were known to cause mild illness, such as common cold. The outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) have flipped the coin to reveal how devastating and life-threatening an HCoV infection could be. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in central China at the end of 2019 has thrusted CoVs into the spotlight again and surprised us with its high transmissibility but reduced pathogenicity compared to its sister SARS-CoV. HCoV infection is a zoonosis and understanding the zoonotic origins of HCoVs would serve us well. Most HCoVs originated from bats where they are non-pathogenic. The intermediate reservoir hosts of some HCoVs are also known. Identifying the animal hosts has direct implications in the prevention of human diseases. Investigating CoV-host interactions in animals might also derive important insight on CoV pathogenesis in humans. In this review, we present an overview of the existing knowledge about the seven HCoVs, with a focus on the history of their discovery as well as their zoonotic origins and interspecies transmission. Importantly, we compare and contrast the different HCoVs from a perspective of virus evolution and genome recombination. The current CoV disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic is discussed in this context. In addition, the requirements for successful host switches and the implications of virus evolution on disease severity are also highlighted.


A 10-cm-thick layer of green spherules occurs precisely at the biostratigraphic boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene (K-T boundary) at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1049 (lat 30°08′N, long 76°06′W). The spherulitic layer contains abundant rock fragments (chalk, limestone, dolomite, chert, mica books, and schist) as well as shocked quartz, abundant large Cretaceous planktic foraminifera, and rounded clasts of clay as long as 4 mm interpreted as altered tektite glass probably derived from the Chicxulub impact structure. Most of the Cretaceous foraminifera present above the spherule layer are not survivors since small specimens are conspicuously rare compared to large individuals. Instead, the Cretaceous taxa in Paleocene sediments are thought to be reworked. The first Paleocene planktic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil species are recorded immediately above the spherule bed, the upper part of which contains an iridium anomaly. Hence, deposition of the impact ejecta exactly coincided with the biostratigraphic K-T boundary and demonstrates that the impact event was synchronous with the evolutionary turnover in the oceans. These results are consistent with a reanalysis of the biostratigraphy of the K-T boundary stratotype, which argues that shallow-marine K-T boundary sections are not biostratigraphically more complete than deep-sea K-T boundary sites.


Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are the most medicated patient population, whether in institutions or in the community. They are also more vulnerable to side effects of neuroleptic medications, especially in the presence of muscular disorders such as cerebral palsy. Many individuals with ID have multiple medical conditions, which complicate the use of prescription drugs. Mental illness is also more prevalent in this specialized population; psychiatric and behavioral problems occur in ID three to six times the rate relative to the general population (World Psychiatric Assn, 2010). The diagnostic process can be difficult due to communication difficulties, highly variable behavioral presentations, and a lack of universal training for clinicians. Acknowledged experts agree that there is a need for evidence-based medicine, and until this is available, consensus based knowledge will suffice in conjunction with evidence-based principles for the general population. The medication regimens for a patient with ID should look no different than the regimen for any other patient.


The artist, collector, and critic Charles Ricketts (1866–1931) has often been characterised as a reactionary voice in early-twentieth-century debates about modern art. Although he responded conservatively to modern-art developments such as those embodied by the term 'Post-Impressionism', his work in book design and illustration exemplifies progressive strategies of decoration that reconfigure the relationship between author and illustrator as one of collaborative authorship. Ricketts' illustrations are autonomous narratives that not only reproduce the meanings of the texts they represent, but also parody and elaborate on them. Moreover, Ricketts' book designs and illustrations represent a complex resistance to and working out of Oscar Wilde's views on art, language, and orality. Wilde regarded visual art as inferior to language because the latter can embody the graphic and is free from the former's fixity in time and materiality. Ricketts' illustrational strategies are designed, not only to reinforce his own autonomy, but also to disprove Wilde's description of visual art as limited compared with language. Ricketts' progressive strategies of design are epitomized by his unpublished illustrations for Wilde's Poems in Prose (1894), a text which dramatises the centrality of voice to Wilde's poetic endeavour and allows Ricketts directly to challenge Wilde's denigration of the visual arts. By focusing on two representative examples, Ricketts' drawings for 'The Disciple' and 'The House of Judgment', and by providing close readings of both image and text, this piece traces Ricketts' illustrational methods and reveals their debts to Wilde's own theories of orality, language, and visual arts, charting Ricketts' divergences from Wilde's texts and highlighting the critical dialogue implicit in the illustrations. Ricketts' drawings for the Poems in Prose , currently held at the Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery in Carlisle, have never been published together as a set, and the juxtaposition of the two drawings here is a preliminary attempt to set these illustrations in conversation with each other.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the strength and effectiveness when induced with 'in-plane fiber tow waviness' in a composite ply of carbon/epoxy AS4/3501-6. Fiber waviness is usually induced by infusion processes and inherent in fabric architectures. Composite structural details like ply drops and ply joints can cause serious fiber misalignment. These are usually dependent on parameters such as ply thickness, percentage of plies dropped, and mold geometry and pressure, and pressure of the resin which slides the dry fibers during the resin transfer molding process. Fiber disorientation due to fiber tow waviness in 'in-plane' direction has been the subject of recent studies on wind turbine blade materials and other aerospace laminates with reports of compression strengths and failure strains that are borderline, depending upon the reinforcement architecture, matrix resin and environment. Waviness is expected to reduce compressive strength due to two primary factors. The fibers may be oriented in such a way that the geometry that results because of the orientation may exacerbate the basic fiber, strand, or layer buckling mode of failure. The waviness could also shift the fiber orientation of the axis of the ply longitudinal direction which eventually results in matrix dominated failures for plies normally orientated in the primary load direction (0°). Both global and local stress & strain values generated by the finite element model were validated by the traditional mechanical methods using ply/local stiffness matrix and global/reduced stiffness matrix. A precise geometry of waviness on different materials was modeled with different wave severity factor and a parametric study was conducted. Three different defects were modeled where the angle of misalignment ranged from 5 to 15 degrees with wavelength ranging from 1 inch to 1.5 inches and amplitude ranging from 0.03 inches to 0.7 inches. This revealed the effect of 'in-plane fiber tow waviness' on the stress distribution and loss of strength in carbon/epoxy AS4/3501-6. The results clearly show that the effect of 'in-plane fiber tow waviness' leads to resin rich areas which causes high stress concentrations and decrease in the strength ratio, ultimately leading to delamination's.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between changes in relative influence between marketing and R&D and new product performance (NPP). The aim is to theorize and test whether relative influence changes are beneficial for NPP.

Design/methodology/approach

An international survey was sent out to pharmaceutical companies worldwide, resulting in 106 usable questionnaires from knowledgeable senior managers. A model is estimated that relates recent and historic changes in relative influence to NPP.

Findings

There is a positive relationship between recent relative influence changes and subsequent NPP. Moreover, this paper finds that having a history of adaptation with respect to relative influence can serve organizations to build up capabilities that, in turn, strengthen the positive effects of recent relative influence changes on NPP. Finally, the paper shows that relative influence changes and integration between marketing and R&D positively affect NPP jointly.

Originality/value

A core finding, that is quite counterintuitive, is that instability with respect to relative influence changes can help organizations to become more competitive in new product development.


The heart of the Article is an exploration of the possible role of common law tort liability in both encouraging and deterring voluntary, precautionary study of new products generally and nanotechnology products in particular. A key variable in considering liability's role as an incentive or deterrent to testing is the manufacturer's subjective assessment of the probability that any injuries from its product would be detected by the injured parties and successfully attributed to the product absent research by the manufacturer itself on the adverse effects of the product. Another key variable is the legal standard for tort liability, and specifically how the applicable standard falls on a spectrum from the imposition of liability on manufacturers only for known risks on the one hand to the imposition of liability even for risks the manufacturer could not have reasonably foreseen on the other. The lower the perceived probability of detection without manufacturer research and the more the applicable liability standard veers toward requiring actual knowledge of risks on the part of the manufacturer, the more likely it is that the ex ante threat of liability will lead a manufacturer to choose not to conduct research into possible adverse effects, either before the product is marketed or once it is on the market. Consideration of these two variables in the nanotechnology context would tend to suggest that liability considerations indeed may be discouraging research into possible adverse effects of nanotechnology products under development and already on the market. The closest precedent for the regime of limited liability relief that I propose is the regime of federal preemption of state torts that is afforded manufacturers of certain FDA-approved medical devices under federal law. FDA preemption of common law tort claims, however, is controversial, to say the least. In order to avoid the disadvantages and problems of the FDA preemption regime, any regime of liability relief for nanotechnology manufacturers who voluntarily engage in testing needs a number of components that would help ensure political accountability, scientific integrity, transparency, and a reasonable pool of compensation for injured people. The scope of preemption of state tort law claims would have to be specified by federal statute, not agency promulgation or interpretation. Any such preemption should not include claims based on allegations that a manufacturer violated a tort duty by acting or failing to act in response to actual knowledge of adverse health or environmental effects. And there must be vigorous government oversight of both voluntary pre- market and post-market testing and monitoring, and the public must have reasonable access to the key information provided regulators. Finally, in order to prevent drastic denials of compensation while encouraging voluntary study, all companies would be required to maintain liability insurance, and companies that engaged in pre- and post-market testing would receive insurance subsidies in one form or another. In voluntary regimes generally, getting initial participation may be difficult due to uncertainties of costs and benefits of participation. There would be strong incentives for some manufacturers to join a voluntary testing regime only once a number of other manufacturers of similar products have joined. Because the recruitment of initial or early participants may be difficult and would be very helpful in ultimately achieving broad participation in a voluntary testing regime, special incentives for early joiners may be warranted.


In a task designed to separate perceptual processes from memory, 12-year-old children with reading disabilities showed no perceptual deficits as compared to their peers. However, they exhibited major deficiencies in memory skills for both labelable and nonlabelable visual information. Reading-disabled children in this age group appear to suffer from a basic information-processing deficiency.


The vast majority of states have enacted full or partial medical marijuana (MMJ) programs, causing the number of patients seeking certification for MMJ use to increase dramatically in recent years. Despite increased use of MMJ across the nation, no studies thus far have examined the specific impact of MMJ on cognitive function and related brain activation. In the present study, MMJ patients seeking treatment for a variety of documented medical conditions were assessed prior to initiating MMJ treatment and after 3 months of treatment as part of a larger longitudinal study. In order to examine the effect of MMJ treatment on task-related brain activation, MMJ patients completed the Multi-Source Interference Test (MSIT) while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We also collected data regarding conventional medication use, clinical state, and health-related measures at each visit. Following 3 months of treatment, MMJ patients demonstrated improved task performance accompanied by changes in brain activation patterns within the cingulate cortex and frontal regions. Interestingly, after MMJ treatment, brain activation patterns appeared more similar to those exhibited by healthy controls from previous studies than at pre-treatment, suggestive of a potential normalization of brain function relative to baseline. These findings suggest that MMJ use may result in different effects relative to recreational marijuana (MJ) use, as recreational consumers have been shown to exhibit decrements in task performance accompanied by altered brain activation. Moreover, patients in the current study also reported improvements in clinical state and health-related measures as well as notable decreases in prescription medication use, particularly opioids and benzodiapezines after 3 months of treatment. Further research is needed to clarify the specific neurobiologic impact, clinical efficacy, and unique effects of MMJ for a range of indications and how it compares to recreational MJ use.


In research into a professional cross-section of dental hygienists, we studied the extent to which task redistribution has an influence on job satisfaction. The research among randomly chosen dental hygienists consisted of questions about organizational and personal characteristics, the set of assigned tasks, task characteristics and job satisfaction. The respondents were divided into 3 clusters which differed in the breadth of their sets of tasks. Although prevention and periodontology services remain the core tasks in dental hygienists' jobs, the degree of task redistribution differed strongly from cluster to cluster. Respondents with a considerable degree of task redistribution experienced the most task variation, but scored significantly lower on the task characteristics autonomy, feedback, task identity and task importance. This explains why redistribution does not directly correspond with a greater degree of job satisfaction. Moreover, it is precisely the dental hygienists with a broad set of tasks who are significantly less satisfied with their salary than those with a traditional set of tasks.


The body of research concerning the effects that competitive sports may have on its participants present a variety of viewpoints. Some believe sports fosters character building, teamwork, and pro-social development, while others contend that the selfish, exclusionary, and rule-bound world of sports may degrade the moral development of its athletes. In order to address the issue of whether sport participation has an effect on a functional measure of group effectiveness, empirical data was obtained from 81 college athletes and non-athletes. This data was designed to measure organizational citizenship behavior, as composed by three dimensions: helping, sportsmanship, and civic virtue. The data was statistically analyzed to search for significant differences. Overall scores of athletes (M = 3.97, SD + .41) were higher than non-athletes (M = 3.82, SD + .56). Athletes scored significantly higher on sportsmanship (M = 3.94, SD + 0.53) than the non-athletes (M = 3.63, SD + 0.54). Similarly, the athletes (M = 4.12, SD + 0.57) scored significantly higher on the civic virtue measure than the non-athletes, (M = 3.85, SD + 0.47). In contrast to the rest of the findings, athletes (M = 3.84, SD + 0.47) actually scored lower on the helping dimension of OCB than the non-athletes (M = 3.96, SD + 0.39). The results suggest that the competitive experience in fact does assist athletes in developing skills that lead to more effective functioning as group members. The athletes relatively lower scores on the helping dimension, which is confined to assisting specific individuals, could be a result of their competitive nature or a result of the possibility that in an organizational setting such as sport, helping behavior does not lead to increased team effectiveness, and thus is never reinforced.


Objectives Medication reconciliation is a key part of transitional care. This study examined the implementation of a pharmacist-led medication reconciliation programme for short-term hospitalised patients and explored the barriers and benefits. Methods A prospective study was conducted in patients admitted to a gynaecological oncology department. Medications were reconciled on admission using a 'comprehensive medication review (CMR)' strategy. Patients received a reminder text message and were asked to bring their medications a day before admission for scheduled chemotherapy. Upon admission, a pharmacist reviewed patients' admission prescriptions and home medications, including non-prescription medications, based on clinical status and laboratory test results. Drug-related problems and unused or expired medications were assessed. Satisfaction with the CMR service and reasons for non-compliance were surveyed by an individual interview. The cost of the unused or expired medications was calculated based on the average drug acquisition cost. Results Sixty-four interventions in 95 patients were performed during the study—namely, correction of treatment duration (34 cases, 53.1%), recommendation of medications for untreated indications (18 cases, 28.1%), correct drug selection (5 cases, 7.8%), discontinuation of duplicate medications (4 cases, 6.3%), correction of dose, provision of alternatives for drug–drug interactions, unintended omissions (1 case each, 1.6%). The difference in the cost of unused or expired drugs before and after programme implementation was about US$1700. Conclusions Pharmacist-led medication reconciliation targeting short-term hospitalised patients improved drug use, prevented medication waste and reduced healthcare costs.


SUMMARY Escape responses in fishes are rapid behaviors that are critical for survival. The barred mudskipper (Periophthalmus argentilineatus) is an amphibious fish that must avoid predators in two environments. We compared mudskipper terrestrial and aquatic escapes to address two questions. First, how does an amphibious fish perform an escape response in a terrestrial environment? Second, how similar is a terrestrial escape response to an aquatic escape response? Because a mudskipper on land does not have to contend with the high viscosity of water, we predicted that, if the same behavior is employed across environments, terrestrial escape responses should have `better' performance (higher velocity and more rapid completion of movements) when compared with aquatic escape responses. By contrast, we predicted that intervertebral bending would be similar across environments because previous studies of escape response behaviors in fishes have proposed that vertebral morphology constrains intervertebral bending. High-speed digital imaging was used to record mudskipper escapes in water and on land, and the resulting images were used to calculate intervertebral bending during the preparatory phase, peak velocity and acceleration of the center of mass during the propulsive phase, and relative timing of movements. Although similar maximum velocities are achieved across environments, terrestrial responses are distinct from aquatic responses. During terrestrial escapes, mudskippers produce greater axial bending in the preparatory phase, but only in the posterior region of the body and over a much longer time period. Mudskippers also occasionally produced the `wrong' behavior for a given environment. Thus, it appears that the same locomotor morphology is recruited differently by the central nervous system to produce a distinct behavior appropriate for each environment.


Spin (polarization) is widely used in free-space optics, while in photonic integrated circuits (PICs), information is usually encoded in optical route. So a practical way to connect these two encoding methods is necessary for information communication. In this letter, an encoding convertor is designed to connect spin encoding and route encoding. Finite element method is used to calculate the conversion efficiency and extinction ratio of the encoding convertor and the theoretical analyses are also given. Our protocol shows a friendly way to convert optical spin information to route information, which will promote the compatibility of free-space optics and PICs.


Background Notification of tuberculosis (TB) but not nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is mandatory in Taiwan. Partly due to the strict regulation on TB notification, several patients infected with NTM were notified as TB cases. Notification of patients infected with NTM as TB cases can trigger public health actions and impose additional burdens on the public health system. We conducted a study to assess the influence of NTM infection on surveillance of TB in Taipei. Methodology/Principal Findings The study population included all individuals with a positive culture for Mycobacterium who were citizens of Taipei City and notified as TB cases in the calendar years 2007–2010. Of the 4216 notified culture-positive tuberculosis (TB) cases, 894 (21.2%) were infected with NTM. The average annual reported case rate of infection with NTM was 8.6 (95% confidence interval 7.7–9.4) per 100,000 people. The reported case rate of NTM increased with age in both males and females. The proportion of reported TB cases infected with NTM was significantly higher in females than in males (27.6% vs 17.8%, adjusted OR (adjOR) 1.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.63–2.28); in smear-positive than in smear-negative (23.1% vs 19.2%, adjOR 1.26, 95% CI 1.08–1.47); and in previously treated cases than in new cases (35.7% vs 19.1%, adjOR 2.30, 95% CI 1.88–2.82). The most frequent species was M. avium complex (32.4%), followed by M. chelonae complex (17.6%), M. fortuitum complex (17.0%) and M. kansasii (9.8%). Of the 890 notified NTM cases assessed, 703 (79.0%) were treated with anti-TB drugs, and 730 (82.0%) were de-notified. Conclusions/Significance The influence of NTM on surveillance of TB in Taipei was substantial. Health authorities should take action to ensure that nucleic acid amplification tests are performed in all smear-positive cases in a timely manner to reduce the misdiagnosis of patients infected with NTM as TB cases.


This paper exploits the distinction between preference and opportunity factors in a Random Utility and Random Opportunity (RURO) model of job choice (Aaberge, Dagsvik and StrA¸m, 1995, and Aaberge, Colombino and StrA¸m, 1999). We estimate the model on Belgian data (SILC 2007). To investigate to what extent lower labour market participation of elderly is due to changing preferences (executing a job might become less enjoyable with age) or to differences in opportunities (elderly getting less, or less attractive job offers), we use the estimated model to simulate two counterfactuals. In the first, we remove partly the age heterogeneity in opportunities, in the second we remove age heterogeneity in preferences. A comparison of labour market behaviour in these two counterfactuals with the baseline shows that opportunities which decline with age are at least as an important factor in explaining low participation rates for the elderly, as is increasing preference for leisure. The effect of opportunities seems to work primarily through the extensive margin, whereas the effect of preferences is more outspoken in the intensive than in the extensive margin.


The present paper describes the application of a two-dimensional numerical suspended sediment model to problems having analytical solutions, as well as to laboratory and field situations. The model is based upon an implicit finite-difference solution to a two-* dimensional (longitudinal and vertical) diffusion-advection equation for suspended sediment transport. Horizontal eddy diffusion is neglected in comparison with vertical diffusion and vertical water motion is assumed negligible in comparison with the sediment fall velocity. The various applications indicate that the greatest errors in the model are due to large spatial concentration gradients and that errors can be controlled by a suitable choice of space and time step. In addition, it is considered that the model has great flexibility and seems to have an acceptable level of accuracy, at least in the field situations tested, provided the physical parameters of the model can also be determined accurately.


BACKGROUND
An international survey was conducted to assess public awareness and attitudes to coronary heart disease and to establish the frequency with which certain health-related behaviours are practised in five European countries.

METHODS
Members of the general public (n=5013), individuals at increased risk of coronary disease (n=2500), patients who had suffered a myocardial infarction (n=1256) and members of their families (n=1249) were interviewed in a study conducted in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK. Questions were asked about respondents' attitudes to their health and about their current health practices.

RESULTS
The survey revealed a considerable degree of indifference to coronary heart disease, despite the possession of a reasonable level of knowledge of the risks involved, even among patients who had suffered a myocardial infarction. At the same time, respondents declared themselves satisfied with the quality of advice about coronary health that they obtained from the medical profession and regarded these sources of information as highly credible. Media health campaigns, by contrast, had comparatively little impact.

CONCLUSION
A survey of five European countries shows that individuals possess reasonable levels of knowledge about coronary heart disease. They also have access to sources of heart health information that are perceived as highly credible. Nonetheless, such information has a very limited impact on their practice of health-related behaviours.