In Chapter 1, I introduce ischaemic stroke, thrombolytic therapy, thrombolysis trials and then discuss the rationale for exclusion criteria in stroke thrombolysis guidelines.In Chapter 2, I describe methods for examining outcomes in patients that are currently recommended for exclusions from receiving alteplase for acute ischaemic stroke. In Chapter 3, I examine Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive (VISTA) data to test whether current European recommendation suggesting exclusion of elderly patients (older than 80 years) from thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke is justified. Employing non-randomised controlled comparison of outcomes, I show better outcomes amongst all patients (P 30 years. Outcomes assessed by National Institutes of Health Scale (NIHSS) score and dichotomised modified Rankin Scale score are consistently similar. In Chapter 4, I compare thrombolysed patients in Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke International Stroke Thrombolysis Register (SITS-ISTR) with VISTA non-thrombolysed patients ("comparators" or "controls") and test exactly similar question as in Chapter 3. Distribution of scores on modified Rankin scale are better amongst all thrombolysis patients than controls (odds ratio 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.5 to 1.7; Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel P 80 (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.3 to 1.6; P<0.001; n=3439). Odds ratios are consistent across all 10 year age ranges above 30, and benefit is significant from age 41 to 90; dichotomised outcomes (score on modified Rankin scale 0-1 v 2-6; 0-2 v 3-6; and 6 (death) versus rest) are consistent with the results of ordinal analysis. These findings are consistent with results from VISTA reported in Chapter 3. Age alone should not be a criterion for excluding patients from receiving thrombolytic therapy.In Chapter 5, I employ VISTA data to examine whether patients having diabetes and previous stroke have improved outcomes from use of alteplase in acute ischaemic stroke. Employing a non-randomised controlled comparison, I show that the functional outcomes are better for thrombolysed patients versus nonthrombolysed comparators amongst non-diabetic (P < 0.0001; OR 1.4 [95% CI 1.3-1.6]) and diabetic (P = 0.1; OR 1.3 [95% CI1.05-1.6]) patients. Similarly, outcomes are better for thrombolysed versus nonthrombolysed patients who have not had a prior stroke (P < 0.0001; OR 1.4 [95% CI1.2-1.6]) and those who have (P = 0.02; OR 1.3 [95% CI1.04-1.6]). There is no interaction of diabetes and prior stroke with treatment (P = 0.8). Neurological outcomes (NIHSS) are consistent with functional outcomes (mRS). In Chapter 6, I undertake a non-randomised controlled comparison of SITS-ISTR data with VISTA controls and examine whether patients having diabetes and previous stroke have improved outcomes from use of alteplase in acute ischaemic stroke. I show that adjusted mRS outcomes are better for thrombolysed versus non-thrombolysed comparators amongst patients with diabetes mellitus (OR 1.45[95% CI1.30-1.62], N=5354), previous stroke (OR 1.55[95% CI1.40-1.72], N=4986), or concomitant diabetes mellitus and previous stroke (OR 1.23 [95% CI 0.996-1.52], P=0.05, N=1136), all CMH p<0.0001. These are comparable to outcomes between thrombolysed and non-thrombolysed comparators amongst patients suffering neither diabetes mellitus nor previous stroke: OR=1.53(95%CI 1.42-1.63), p<0.0001, N=19339. There are no interaction between diabetes mellitus and previous stroke with alteplase treatment (t-PA*DM*PS, p=0.5). Present data supports results obtained from the analyses of VISTA data in chapter 5. There is no statistical evidence to recommend exclusion of patients with diabetes and previous stroke from receiving alteplase.In Chapter 7, I examine VISTA data to test whether exclusion of patients having a mild or severe stroke at baseline would be justified. Stratifying baseline stroke severity for quintiles of NIHSS scores, I observe that there are significant associations of use of alteplase with improved outcomes for baseline NIHSS levels from 5 to 24 (p<0.05). This association lose significance for baseline NIHSS categories 1 to 4 (P = 0.8; OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.3-4.4; N = 8/161) or ≥ 25 (P = 0.08; OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.7-1.9; N = 64/179) when sample sizes are small and confidence interval wide. These findings fail to provide robust evidence to support the use of alteplase in the mild or severe stroke patients, though potential for benefit appears likely.In Chapter 8, I present a meta-analysis of trials that investigated mismatch criteria for patients' selection to examine whether present evidence supports delayed thrombolysis amongst patients selected according to mismatch criteria. I collate outcome data for patients who were enrolled after 3 hours of stroke onset in thrombolysis trials and had mismatch on pre-treatment imaging. I compare favourable outcome, reperfusion and/or recanalisation, mortality, and symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage between the thrombolysed and non-thrombolysed groups of patients and the probability of a favourable outcome among patients with successful reperfusion and clinical findings for 3 to 6 versus 6 to 9 hours from post stroke onset. I identify articles describing the DIAS, DIAS II, DEDAS, DEFUSE, and EPITHET trials, giving a total of 502 mismatch patients thrombolysed beyond 3 hours. The combined adjusted odds ratios (a-ORs) for favourable outcomes are greater for patients who had successful reperfusion (a-OR=5.2; 95% CI, 3 to 9; I2=0%). Favourable clinical outcomes are not significantly improved by thrombolysis (a-OR=1.3; 95% CI, 0.8 to 2.0; I2=20.9%). Odds for reperfusion/recanalisation are increased amongst patients who received thrombolytic therapy (a-OR=3.0; 95% CI, 1.6 to 5.8; I2=25.7%). The combined data show a significant increase in mortality after thrombolysis (a-OR=2.4; 95% CI, 1.2 to 4.9; I2=0%), but this is not confirmed when I exclude data from desmoteplase doses that are abandoned in clinical development (a-OR=1.6; 95% CI, 0.7 to 3.7; I2=0%). Symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage is significantly increased after thrombolysis (a-OR=6.5; 95% CI, 1.2 to 35.4; I2=0%) but not significant after exclusion of abandoned doses of desmoteplase (a-OR=5.4; 95% CI, 0.9 to 31.8; I2=0%). Delayed thrombolysis amongst patients selected according to mismatch imaging is associated with increased reperfusion/recanalisation. Recanalisation/reperfusion is associated with improved outcomes. However, delayed thrombolysis in mismatch patients was not confirmed to improve clinical outcome, although a useful clinical benefit remains possible. Thrombolysis carries a significant risk of symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage and possibly increased mortality. Criteria to diagnose mismatch are still evolving. Validation of the mismatch selection paradigm is required with a phase III trial. Pending these results, delayed treatment, even according to mismatch selection, cannot be recommended as part of routine care.In Chapter 9, I summarise the findings of my research, discuss its impact on the research community, and discuss weaknesses inherent in registry data and limitation of statistical methods. Then, I elaborate the future directions I may take to further research on the theme of this thesis.


This paper examines empirically why sophisticated parties in some merger and acquisition deals choose to waive their right to jury trials and some do not. We examine merger agreements for a large sample of 276 deals for the 11-year period from 2001 to 2011. We exclude private company deals and those where the choice of forum and law is Delaware. First, we find that 48.2% of the deals have jury waiver clauses. Second, we find that deals in which New York is chosen as the governing law and forum state are more likely to include a jury waiver clause. No other state has such an effect. Third, we find that contracts negotiated by counsel from high reputation law firms tend to include jury waiver clauses, and this effect is more significant for the acquirer's law firm than for the target's law firm. Fourth, we find strong evidence for the bargaining power hypothesis wherein larger acquirers that take over smaller targets are more likely to include jury waiver clauses. Finally, we find no evidence that lawyer familiarity, industry effects, whether the acquirer was an international firm, or whether the deal was completed has a statistically significant impact on the likelihood of having a jury waiver clause.


OBJECTIVES
Streptococcus mutans can aggravate colitis in mice. We evaluated the virulence of colitis using type strains as well as blood isolates of several oral streptococcal species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We investigated the susceptibility of blood isolates of several oral streptococci to phagocytosis, adhesion to and invasion of hepatic cells and interferon-γ secretion. A mouse model of dextran sodium sulphate-induced colitis was used to evaluate bacterial aggravation of colitis. In addition, interferon-γ antibody was administered to mice with prominent aggravation of colitis.

RESULTS
In vitro analyses showed that Streptococcus sanguinis ATCC 10556 was a possible virulent strain among type strains of several oral streptococci, and that analysis of blood isolates of S. sanguinis TW289 revealed a potential virulent strain. Intravenous administration of ATCC 10556 and TW289 caused prominent aggravation of dextran sodium sulphate-induced colitis, and histopathological examinations showed that interferon-γ secretion due to infection of hepatic cells caused colitis aggravation. Administration of interferon-γ antibody suppressed TW289-induced colitis.

CONCLUSION
These results suggest that some virulent oral streptococcal strains are associated with the aggravation of colitis induced by enhanced secretion of interferon-γ when they invade the bloodstream.


The kinase CTR1 locally suppresses auxin biosynthesis, contributing to a concentration gradient that regulates planar polarity in Arabidopsis root tips. Root hairs, which are tubular outgrowths of the root epidermis in plants such as Arabidopsis, display planar polarity because the hairs are positioned near the basal ends of hair-forming cells, which in turn are oriented toward the maximum end of a concentration gradient of the hormone auxin in the root tip. Several different mechanisms have been proposed to underlie the formation of the auxin concentration gradient. In characterizing planar polarity in Arabidopsis mutants, Ikeda et al. found evidence that generation of this concentration gradient depends on localized suppression of auxin biosynthesis. Plants carrying the recessive beatnik (btk) mutation had root hairs positioned more basally than those in wild-type plants (a phenotype that the authors referred to as hyperpolar). btk was mapped to a point mutation that caused a Glu626→Lys substitution in the kinase CTR1 (CONSTITUTIVE TRIPLE RESPONSE1), which reduced (but not did abolish) kinase activity. Root tips of plants carrying the btk mutation in CTR1 (ctr1btk) exhibited a more extensive auxin response throughout the root tip (as assessed by a fluorescent reporter) and higher overall auxin concentrations compared with wild-type plants. Auxin biosynthesis was enhanced in ctr1btk root tips due to increased expression of two auxin biosynthesis genes, WEI2 (WEAK ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2) and WEI7. The authors also showed that mutations in genes encoding the auxin carrier proteins AUX1 (AUXIN-RESISTANT1) or PIN2 (PINFORMED2) partially suppressed the hyperpolar phenotype of ctr1btk mutants, suggesting that these carriers redistributed auxin from its point of biosynthesis throughout the root tip. Thus, regulation of auxin biosynthesis in the Arabidopsis root tip by CTR1 appears to be a critical factor in dictating the planar polarity of root hairs. Y. Ikeda, S. Men, U. Fischer, A. N. Stepanova, J. M. Alonso, K. Ljung, M. Grebe, Local auxin biosynthesis modulates gradient-directed planar polarity in Arabidopsis. Nat. Cell Biol. 11, 731–738 (2009). [PubMed]


The present paper is concerned with statistical parsing of constituent structures in German. The paper presents four experiments that aim at improving parsing performance of coordinate structure: 1) reranking the n-best parses of a PCFG parser, 2) enriching the input to a PCFG parser by gold scopes for any conjunct, 3) reranking the parser output for all possible scopes for conjuncts that are permissible with regard to clause structure. Experiment 4 reranks a combination of parses from experiments 1 and 3.

The experiments presented show that n-best parsing combined with reranking improves results by a large margin. Providing the parser with different scope possibilities and reranking the resulting parses results in an increase in F-score from 69.76 for the baseline to 74.69. While the F-score is similar to the one of the first experiment (n-best parsing and reranking), the first experiment results in higher recall (75.48% vs. 73.69%) and the third one in higher precision (75.43% vs. 73.26%). Combining the two methods results in the best result with an F-score of 76.69.


Objectives To explore contextual factors that increase vulnerabilities to negative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes and possible differences in SRH-related behaviours and the needs of women who use drugs (WUD) through non-injecting and injecting routes. Design Qualitative study design using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Participants Twenty women who injected drugs in the past 3 months and 28 women who reported using drugs through non-injecting routes in the past 1 month. Setting Interviews were conducted at community-based, drop-in centres in Delhi, India. Results Study findings illustrate that WUD were sexually active and had multiple sex partners including clients of sex work. Transient relationships were reported and many participants engaged in unsafe sex. Factors which affected safe sex behaviours included: gender power imbalance, limited agency for decision-making, lack of accurate information for correct self-risk assessment, and being under the influence of drugs. Despite high awareness, low and inconsistent contraceptive use was reported. Some participants were coerced to conceive while a few others reported their inability to conceive. Violence was a key determinant for SRH outcomes. Perception of certain adverse health outcomes (such as infertility) to be 'common and expected among WUD' influenced access to healthcare. Further, healthcare providers' stigmatising attitudes and lack of women-centric services deterred women from uptake of healthcare services. Conclusion Findings highlight that SRH-related behaviours and needs of this group are a complex interplay of multiple determinants which need to be addressed at all levels: individual, family, community and institutional. It is imperative to roll out a 'one-stop-shop' for a comprehensive package of health services. Expansion of existing drop-in-centres could be considered for setting-up community-based women-centric services with appropriate linkage to drug dependence treatment and reproductive health services.


Background School meals, if both nutritious and attractive, provide a unique opportunity to improve health equality and public health. Objective To describe the study rationale, data collection, and background of participants in the study 'Prospects for promoting health and performance by school meals in Nordic countries' (ProMeal). The general aim was to determine whether overall healthiness of the diet and learning conditions in children can be improved by school lunches, and to capture the main concerns regarding school lunches among children in a Nordic context. Design A cross-sectional, multidisciplinary study was performed in Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden on pupils (n=837) born in 2003. Results In total 3,928 pictures of school lunches were taken to capture pupils' school lunch intake. A mean of 85% of all parents responded to a questionnaire about socioeconomic background, dietary intake, and habitual physical activity at home. Cognitive function was measured on one occasion on 93% of the pupils during optimal conditions with a Stroop and a Child Operation Span test. A mean of 169 pupils also did an Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test after lunch over 3 days. In total, 37,413 10-sec observations of classroom learning behavior were performed. In addition, 753 empathy-based stories were written and 78 focus groups were conducted. The pupils had high socioeconomic status. Conclusions This study will give new insights into which future interventions are needed to improve pupils' school lunch intake and learning. The study will provide valuable information for policy making, not least in countries where the history of school meals is shorter than in some of the Nordic countries.


— The ability to predict rain characteristics at small space-time scales is important, particularly in the planning, design and deployment of wireless networks operating at frequencies above 10 GHz. For wide area networks, high space and time resolution rainfall data is often not available and the cost of such measurements are prohibitive. This paper thus presents a new approach to address this problem using rain radar measurements to obtain rain estimates at finer resolutions than is available from the original measured data. This paper proposes three innovative methodologies: 1) the approach is not directly applied to measured rainfall rate data but focuses on the parameters of fitted lognormal distribution parameters and/or computed rain characteristics for each location; 2) to facilitate the application in wireless communication networks operating above 10 GHz, a set of databases and contour maps of rain parameters spanning North West Europe have been created. These conveniently and efficiently provide rain parameters for any location within the area under study; and 3) the proposed 3𝐷 space-time interpolation approach can extrapolate rain parameters at space-time resolutions that are shorter than those found in NIMROD radar databases.The results show that the approach presented in this paper can be used to provide { 1 𝑘𝑚, 5 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠 } space-time rain rate resolution from { 5 𝑘𝑚, 15 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠 } data for the whole of North West Europe with error percentages of less than 4%. This is far superior to estimates provided by the International Telecommunication Union recommended model.


Commodity industrial products are no longer self-selling ticket items for manufacturers. Such manufacturers need to assess their value chain from a total cost ownership perspective for both their outsourced and in-house parts needed to assemble the commodity product in order to better compete in the market place. The key question becomes what procedures should manufacturers follow to understand cost and mark-up behavior patterns and their documentation procedures for such parts? In order to identify and eliminate waste at the inter-firm and intra-firm levels a case study using value analysis was conducted for a commodity product manufacturer that outsourced its component parts to independent suppliers. Activity Based Management approach was used to identify the key value added activities and the unnecessary resources used for these activities. Using simple value analysis and affinity diagram approaches a list of questions and methodology were prepared for the analysis. Three models of the manufacturer's product that required similar components but slightly different designs were selected for comparison purposes, and their key cost drives were determined. Problems in the manufacturer's cost differentiating strategies were identified and practical solutions offered.


From the earliest level, students in Art and Design education are expected to develop their studies in the context of existing external professional practice. Unlike many academic disciplines, there is no firm boundary between theoretical and applied practice in Fine Art, and many contemporary artists achieve their professional status directly through student degree-show exhibition. For this reason a key part of the student learning experience consists of exposure to the ideas and thoughts of external visiting artists who may not themselves be professional educators. The content of such artist's talks is as varied as contemporary art practice itself, and the challenge for the educator is how to co-ordinate, enhance, and modulate the educational value of such spontaneous and diverse content delivery.
Our project uses e-learning technologies to develop reflexive strategies to supplement, extend, and therefore enhance, the student experience of the talks. In collaboration with partner
institutions, online discussion is being initiated in which students from different colleges and Art and Design programmes participate in further evaluative and critical reflection on each talk's content, through online communication with the guest artist/speaker, towards a 'reflexive archive', which includes the recorded talk and the following discussion.

Reflexive Archive - Aims

Basic aims of the project were: to provide an archive for video recordings of guest lectures; to extend post-lecture question and answer sessions in a more relaxed environment, to enhance the student experience of guest lectures/visitors talks. In addition the practical task of archiving the recorded talk material online is augmented by the concurrent storage of the online discussion WITH the audiovisual material.
Wider aims of the project were: to explore use of talks delivery in online learning environments more generally, remaining open to the idea that the forms of delivery might be changed by the forms of archiving, storage, and later transmission; to provide a transferable model from these
activities, for disciplines using external professional content, such as guest talks, interviews and discussions; to further encourage student use of online educational materials in keeping with local and national educational aims; to evaluate student response to the use of these environments in order to provide feedback useful for future development.


A variety of artificial intelligence techniques have been used in attempts to automate design synthesis tasks. Two common approaches are case-based and decompositional design. While powerful techniques in their own right, their integration has lead to a new generation of design synthesis systems capable of tackling a larger range of problems with greater effectiveness. In this paper previous attempts at integrating these approaches are examined in a number of design systems. Although significant advances have been made, important shortcomings still exist. The main focus of this paper is to address the limitations of these design synthesis models. To this end Deja Vu, a new hybrid model of design synthesis, has been developed and is described. Deja Vu integrates decompositional and case-based approaches in a framework that exploits the power of experiential knowledge, and benefits from far greater domain applicability when compared to existing design techniques. Two implementations of this model, that are targeted at real-world software design tasks, have yielded encouraging preliminary results and are also described in this paper.


One of Save the Children Norway's education programmes, the Quality Education Project is a pilot focusing on training teachers and teacher educators to become reflective of their own teaching in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom. There have been two main aims, namely the development of a model of change that can be adapted to varying national and local contexts; and the bridging of the gap between teacher change and an improvement in pupil learning outcomes. This report presents the findings of the evaluation of that Project, following assessment of QEP as experienced at various levels of the education system in the four countries (Ethiopia, Zambia, Mozambique, Simbabwe), specifically the teachers' college, the district office, in the school, and within the community.


Daily activities, interpersonal relationship, employment, and general well being; among such skills, communication skills are essential to a successful life for all individuals. Such skills affect education, adequate hearing acuity is of paramount importance and acts as a prerequisite in the overall personality development of an individual. Hearing impairment at any age has serious effects on the day to day life of an individual and he/she feels handicapped socially, emotionally, and scholastically. A child stuck with this malady is a back bencher in the class, excommunicative, and absent-minded. This study was conducted in order to find out various causes of hearing impairment in children and to study role of various audiological and radiological tests in finding the cause of impaired hearing in children. Aims and Objectives: To assess the possible etiological causes of hearing impairment in children. Study role of various audiological tests in finding the cause of impaired hearing in children. Study Design: Prospective study. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of ENT and HNS of government medical college Srinagar. A total of 150 children of age range 0-14 years visited our ENT Department with complaints of impaired hearing, but only 70 children who met the inclusion criteria of impaired hearing and defective/delayed speech were selected for this study. Results of initial evaluation by means of comprehensive clinical history and followed by proper thorough systemic physical examination from head to toe was performed. These hearing impaired children were subjected to various subjective and objective tests; pure tone audiometry and behavioral observation audiometry were performed for subjective tests and impedance audiometry, Oto-acoustic emissions (OAE), and brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA) were performed for objective tests. Results: Possible etiological cause on the basis of history were birth anoxia (2.85%), premature (5.71%), low birth weight (4.28%), hyperbilirubinemia (4.28%), and consanguinity (42.86%). Possible cause revealed after proper systemic examination includes 2.85% children with craniofacial abnormalities, 2.85% children with Down's syndrome, and 1.42% with Usher's syndrome. OAE revealed 70% bilateral REFER and 30% bilateral PASS. Impedance audiometric results were mostly Type A tympanogram. Pure tone audiometric results were mostly on profound hearing loss (86.69%). BERA findings were mostly on profound hearing loss (85.79%). Conclusion: In this study large vestibular aqueduct (LVAQ) is most common cause of abnormality detected in hearing impaired children.


This dissertation is concerned with the exploration of the effect social media is having on consumer-to-consumer communications, otherwise known as word-of-mouth. It is known that word-of-mouth communications are highly influential in shaping consumer behaviour but never before has there existed a media platform where word-of-mouth can be convey and received and with widespread reach and effect. Word-of-mouth used to have a reach that could be measured in single or double digits. Now word-of-mouth can reach hundreds, thousands, or perhaps even hundreds of thousands with unprecedented speed.

This study explores the social phenomenon with respect to restaurants as, being predominantly a service high in experience qualities, word-of-mouth recommendations are considered particularly influential. The research investigates whether or not restaurant marketers can create positive word-of-mouth through social media and, if so, what types and styles of communications work best in getting their message to spread. It also examines from the consumers' perspective, aiming to understand their motivations in spreading electronic word-of-mouth concerning restaurants, whether the message is marketergenerated or consumer-generated. Although considered relevant, the investigation of the effect of negative word-of-mouth was considered outside the scope of this research. Instead the study aims to explore whether or not restaurant marketers should include efforts to create positive word-of-mouth, as part of an integrated marketing communications program. The research was qualitative in nature. It adopted the use of four in-depth interviews with marketers of Dublin-based restaurants, a consumer focus group (of six participants) and two subsequent in-depth interviews with restaurant consumers who were considered to be active on social media. It was found that restaurant marketers can create positive word-of-mouth through social media and should include efforts to do so as part of their marketing activities. It was also found that certain types of individuals hold tremendous power in online settings. Targeting these influential individuals with communications they deem interesting can lead to the spreading of such communications to large audiences. This dissertation concludes by making ten recommendations to restaurant marketers, outlining the best approach to take in creating positive word-of-mouth through social media.


BACKGROUND
More than 30% of patients with pleural infection either die or require surgery. Drainage of infected fluid is key to successful treatment, but intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy did not improve outcomes in an earlier, large, randomized trial.

METHODS
We conducted a blinded, 2-by-2 factorial trial in which 210 patients with pleural infection were randomly assigned to receive one of four study treatments for 3 days: double placebo, intrapleural tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and DNase, t-PA and placebo, or DNase and placebo. The primary outcome was the change in pleural opacity, measured as the percentage of the hemithorax occupied by effusion, on chest radiography on day 7 as compared with day 1. Secondary outcomes included referral for surgery, duration of hospital stay, and adverse events.

RESULTS
The mean (±SD) change in pleural opacity was greater in the t-PA-DNase group than in the placebo group (-29.5±23.3% vs. -17.2±19.6%; difference, -7.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -13.4 to -2.4; P=0.005); the change observed with t-PA alone and with DNase alone (-17.2±24.3 and -14.7±16.4%, respectively) was not significantly different from that observed with placebo. The frequency of surgical referral at 3 months was lower in the t-PA-DNase group than in the placebo group (2 of 48 patients [4%] vs. 8 of 51 patients [16%]; odds ratio for surgical referral, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.03 to 0.87; P=0.03) but was greater in the DNase group (18 of 46 patients [39%]) than in the placebo group (odds ratio, 3.56; 95% CI, 1.30 to 9.75; P=0.01). Combined t-PA-DNase therapy was associated with a reduction in the hospital stay, as compared with placebo (difference, -6.7 days; 95% CI, -12.0 to -1.9; P=0.006); the hospital stay with either agent alone was not significantly different from that with placebo. The frequency of adverse events did not differ significantly among the groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Intrapleural t-PA-DNase therapy improved fluid drainage in patients with pleural infection and reduced the frequency of surgical referral and the duration of the hospital stay. Treatment with DNase alone or t-PA alone was ineffective. (Funded by an unrestricted educational grant to the University of Oxford from Roche UK and by others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN57454527.).


We have seen a worldwide increase in new nonstate, multi-stakeholder organizations setting standards for socially and environmentally responsible behavior. These standard-setting arenas offer new channels for political participation for NGOs. Scholars have drawn attention to the rise and the role of NGOs in global politics, but there is less research on the power and long-term implications of NGO participation in transnational multi-stakeholder standard-setting. This article analyzes NGOs within three such global organizations: the Forest Stewardship Council, the Marine Stewardship Council, and the International Organization for Standardization on Social Responsibility. Using a power-based perspective, we demonstrate the impact that NGOs can have on multi-stakeholder work. In doing so, we analyze four types of NGO power: symbolic, cognitive, social, and monitoring power. The article further emphasizes institutional, structural, and discursive factors within multi-stakeholder organizations that create certain challenges to NGO power and participation in the longer term.


This Note examines the recent conviction of U.S. citizen Tarek Mehanna for providing material support for terrorism. Mehanna was convicted of providing material support for terrorism not because he posed an immediate threat, but rather because he translated al Qaeda propaganda into English. This Note argues that the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project provides inadequate guidance for when speech made in support of terror is punishable, and that the Court's deference to the political branches will have a deleterious impact on free speech rights. This Note further argues that speech like Mehanna's should be evaluated using an incitement standard developed specifically for material support cases. This proposed standard will allow courts to strike a proper balance between free speech rights and national security.


The visual is omnipresent in daily life, and many of these visuals are crime-related. Yet, research on fear of crime is mainly verbal. Exceptions do exist however and these exceptions are the focus of this critical overview. Over 100 studies on fear of crime in which visual methods are employed were analysed. A wide variety of visual methods, both qualitative and quantitative, have been used to collect data to examine various research questions related to fear of crime. Based on the (increasing) role and influence that the respondents have with respect to the visuals in the data collection process, four types of studies are distinguished. Respondents are asked to react to visuals, adapt or create visuals themselves. The fourth type of studies are of a collaborative nature: respondents can influence the contents, format, publication and circulation of the visuals. Visual methods can enhance the research process, data collection and data. The potential of visual methods is especially relevant for studies concerned with contextual and environmental characteristics. Also, when participants are asked to create visuals, whether or not in a participatory framework, surprising and unforeseen findings can be found. Sharing (best) practices helps to handle (ethical) challenges when adopting visual methods.


Geminate recombination of 24 radical anions (M˙-) with solvated protons (RH2+) was studied in tetrahydrofuran (THF) with pulse radiolysis. The recombination has two steps: (1) diffusion of M˙- and RH2+ together to form intimate (contact and solvent separated) ion pairs, driven by Coulomb attraction; (2) annihilation of anions due to proton transfer (PT) from RH2+ to M˙-. The non-exponential time-dependence of the geminate diffusion was determined. For all molecules protonated on O or N atoms the subsequent PT step is too fast (<0.2 ns) to measure, except for the anion of TCNE which did not undergo proton transfer. PT to C atoms was as slow as 70 ns and was always slow enough to be observable. A possible effect of charge delocalization on the PT rates could not be clearly separated from other factors. For 21 of the 24 molecules studied here, a free ion yield (71.6 ± 6.2 nmol J-1) comprising ∼29% of the total, was formed. This yield of "Type I" free ions is independent of the PT rate because it arises entirely by escape from the initial distribution of ion pair distances without forming intimate ion pairs. Three anions of oligo(9,9-dihexyl)fluorenes, Fn˙- (n = 2-4) were able to escape from intimate ion-pairs to form additional yields of "Type II" free ions with escape rate constants near 3 × 106 s-1. These experiments find no evidence for an inverted region for proton transfer.


Aims Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score is an important tool in determining the risk of developing heart disease. The measurement of this score has traditionally been based on using ECG triggered computed tomography (CT). Emerging evidence has revealed that there is excellent concordance between gated and non-gated CT scans in identifying CAC. We aimed to evaluate the incidental prevalence and burden of CAC on non-gated High Resolution CT (HRCT) thorax used for patients undergoing lung cancer screening or follow-up for interstitial lung disease. Methods Computerised Radiology Information Service (CRIS) was manually searched to determine all HRCT scans performed in our Trust from 01/05/2015 to 01/05/2016. The reports issued by Radiologists and images of selected studies were reviewed. Results 2152 HRCT scans were performed over this period. Patients were divided into three groups of age <50 (Group 1); 50-<60 (Group 2) and 60 (Group 3). 100 scans were randomly selected from each group using a random number generator to give a total of 300 patients. The mean ages of patients in Group 1, 2 and 3 were 42.7±2.3, 57.4±1.4 and 66±2.7 respectively. There was, approximately, the same number of males as females in each group. CAC was seen in 10% of scans in Group 1, 85% of scans in Group 2% and 92% in Group 3. CAC was only reported in 2/10 (20%) of scans in?Group 1, 39/85 (45.9%) in Group 2 and 41/92 (44.6%) in Group 3. No scan commented on the absence of calcification. For the positive reports Agatston scores were not calculated and CAC was perceptually graded a mild, moderate or severe. SS and PJ independently calculated the Agatston scores of HRCT scans whose reports did not comment on the degree of calcification (105/187). We excluded 15/105 (14.3%) scans as they were uninterpretable due to motion artefacts. Of the remaining 90 scans analysed 63/90 (70%) had severe CAC with an Agatston score of >400 with the remaining showing moderate calcification (101–400). Cohen ΰ agreement between the two authors rating was 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.82–0.94). Group 2 and 3 had significantly more patients with severe CAC then group 1 (p<0.001). Left anterior descending artery was most commonly affected. Conclusion This study shows that CAC is under reported on non-gated HRCT scans. Given that respiratory disease is an independent risk factor for developing cardiac disease, we believe that CAC must be reported on patients having imaging for respiratory conditions. By mentioning the degree of CAC as a standard when reporting non-gated HRCT scans, we can risk-stratify patients and refer them to cardiologists for further investigations, such as stress-echo and commence them on medications for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The images of calcified coronary arteries may also potentially have a role in convincing people to make correct lifestyle choices.


OBJECTIVE
A 2-year follow-up study of a cohort of 200 historically disadvantaged older South Africans was conducted to: (i) characterise current levels of habitual physical activity; (ii) relate physical activity to current risk factors for chronic disease; and (iii) identify risk factors associated with 2-year mortality. The baseline sample, drawn in 1993, was found to have a high prevalence of hypertension (71.7%).

RESEARCH DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study.

METHODS
A baseline sample of 200 persons aged > or = 65 years, resident in the Cape Peninsula, was randomly drawn by means of a two-stage cluster design. Baseline measurements included: anthropometry, waist/hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, serum ferritin, haemoglobin and fasting plasma glucose levels, plasma lipid profiles, oral glucose tolerance test and self-reported health status. Subjects were revisited after 2 years, at which time an adapted version of the Yale Physical Activity Survey was administered and measurements of blood pressure and anthropometry were repeated.

STATISTICAL ANALYSES
Spearman's rank-order correlations were used to describe relationships between various current risk factors and physical activity. Logistic regression was used to determine predictors of 2-year mortality from baseline data.

RESULTS
At follow-up, 142 of the subjects (66 men, 76 women) were traced and measurements collected. Thirty-two subjects were reported to have died by relatives living in the same household (22 men, 10 women). Levels of reported physical activity in the survivors were two-thirds lower than those reported in a sample of North Americans of similar age. There was an inverse association between age and physical activity (r = -0.31; P < 0.0005) and a positive association between BMI and physical activity (r = 0.29; P < 0.005). There was, however, no association between physical activity and systolic or diastolic blood pressure. In men, BMI in the lower tertile (P = 0.07) and serum ferritin levels were positively associated with increased mortality. Serum albumin levels were protective over the 2-year follow-up period (OR = 0.85; P < 0.05). In women, being diabetic (OR = 4.88; P = 0.06) and having a waist/hip ratio in the upper tertile (OR = 3.26; P = 0.06) were associated with mortality.

CONCLUSIONS
Physical activity levels in this sample of older historically disadvantaged South Africans were habitually low. Simple anthropometric assessments incorporating weight and waist/hip ratio, together with serum albumin measurements, may be useful to screen general health risk for older adults at primary care level and provide indications for social or medical intervention. Further, strategies for earlier detection and effective management of diabetes, particularly in older women, may reduce premature mortality in this population.


Ebola viral disease remains a great threat to the society due to the limited availability of licensed drugs or vaccines. As the pathogen belongs to Biosafety Level 4, it is extremely dangerous to design a vaccine using conventional techniques. Therefore, reverse vaccinology approach is used to select the suitable epitopes from the genomic sequence of the virus. Using several algorithms, specific epitopes were chosen and 3D structures were obtained. The HLA alleles vary in different population and hence those alleles that commonly occur in African and world population were selected. Homology models were built for those HLA alleles whose 3D structures were unavailable. Then selected 20 epitopes were docked with selected 8 HLAs and further, selected epitope NQDGLICGL was validated by molecular dynamics study.


I argue that Judulang v. Holder moved beyond prior doctrine by demonstrating that courts could subject immigration policies to a rigorous "arbitrary and capricious" review under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and Chevron analysis, even where those policies did not conflict with, or depart from, existing laws, regulations, or policies. In other words, it applied a thicker standard of review than ever before, meaningfully evaluating the merits of an agency's policy against an independent "arbitrary and capricious" metric, rather than simply asking whether the policy's formation abided by proper process, did not conflict with controlling law, or met some inescapably low threshold. In exposing the merits of a Board of Immigration Appeals policy to "arbitrary and capricious" attack, Judulang pushed back against a (perceived) history of special deference to the executive branch on immigration matters, and thus supports a reading of the executive's role in immigration law as no — or, at least, not significantly — different from its role in ordinary domestic jurisprudence. I conclude that Court's use of the APA (or, alternatively, Chevron) to substantively circumscribe executive policy-making discretion gives rise to a number of potential challenges to other BIA policies and decisions that may prove vulnerable to Judulang's coin-flipping litmus. I review and evaluate two of them.


This paper presents a framework for analysis of the coverage and capacity of advanced metering over a wide area cellular network. The coverage analysis predicts the maximum cell size subject to an outage criterion, and the capacity analysis predicts the maximum rate at which a smart meter can send and receive messages over the wide area portion of the network. The framework permits quantification of the tradeoff between coverage and capacity, as well as the impact of variables associated with the radio frequency environment, system configuration, and network utilization. The framework is illustrated through an example analysis of Long Term Evolution, a pre-fourth-generation cellular technology. Results suggest that the network is coverage-limited rather than capacity-limited for the meter reading use case, and it quantifies the excess capacity available for other uses and/or other entities sharing the network.


The increasing digitization offers new ways, possibilities and needs for a secure transmission of information. Steganography and its analysis constitute an essential part of IT-Security. In this work we show how methods of blindsteganalysis can be improved to work in cover-aware scenarios, we will call this non-blind steganalysis. The main objective was to examine how to take advantage of the knowledge of reference images to maximize the accuracy-rate of the analysis. Therefore we evaluated common stego-tools and their embedding algorithms and established a dataset of 353110 images. The images have been applied to test the potency of the improved methods of the non-blind steganalysis. The results show that the accuray can be significantly improved by using cover-images to produce reference images. Also the aggregation of the outcomes has shown to have a positive impact on the accuracy. Particularly noteworthy is the correlation between the qualities of the stegoand coverimages. Only by consindering both, the accuracy could strongly be improved. Interestingly the difference between both qualities also has a deep impact on the results.


Background: Obesity is now considered to be a global epidemic, with rates of obesity continuing to rise. Despite the increase in public health messages, many obese individuals struggle to manage their weight. Moreover, obese individuals are frequently subjected to stigma, which becomes internalized and may have an impact on weight management outcomes. Interestingly, the psychological construct of self-compassion has been identified as a potential protective factor against Internalized Weight Stigma (IWS) in obese adults and has been found to be related to better weight management outcomes.

Thesis Portfolio Aims: This thesis explores the role of IWS and self-compassion during weight management in obese adults. Weight management behaviours were defined as any adaptive or maladaptive behaviours to increase, maintain or reduce weight.

Design: A systematic review and mixed-methods synthesis was conducted to explore what is currently known about the role of IWS on weight management behaviours in overweight and obese adults. Weight management behaviours were categorised into physical activity and eating behaviours. The empirical paper explored the influence of self-compassion during weight management in nine obese adults accessing NHS Tier 3 weight management services, using a qualitative constructivist Grounded Theory Lite approach.

Results: Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review, of which, ten were quantitative and five were qualitative. The results from the systematic review highlighted that IWS was related to maladaptive eating behaviours and reduced engagement in physical activity. The empirical paper presents a grounded theory of self-compassion during the weight management process. Five categories were constructed within the data: relating to self, interacting with others, relating to food, difficulty managing weight and developing self-compassion.

Conclusions: IWS and self-compassion may have fundamental roles in weight management for obese adults. Findings are discussed in relation to the current literature and recommendations for future research are suggested.


Behavior modification in health is difficult, as habitual behaviors are extremely well-learned, by definition. This research is focused on building a persuasive system for behavior modification around emotional eating. In this paper, we make strides towards building a just-in-time support system for emotional eating in three user studies. The first two studies involved participants using a custom mobile phone application for tracking emotions, food, and receiving interventions. We found lots of individual differences in emotional eating behaviors and that most participants wanted personalized interventions, rather than a pre-determined intervention. Finally, we also designed a novel, wearable sensor system for detecting emotions using a machine learning approach. This system consisted of physiological sensors which were placed into women's brassieres. We tested the sensing system and found positive results for emotion detection in this mobile, wearable system.


Echolocation in bats is a subject that has received much attention over the last few decades. Bat echolocation calls have evolved over millions of years and can be regarded as well suited to the task of active target-detection. In analysing the time-frequency structure of bat calls, it is hoped that some insight can be gained into their capabilities and limitations. Most analysis of calls is performed using non-parametric techniques such as the short time Fourier transform. The resulting time-frequency distributions are often ambiguous, leading to further uncertainty in any subsequent analysis which depends on the time-frequency distribution. There is thus a need to develop a method which allows improved time-frequency characterisation of bat echolocation calls. The aim of this work is to develop a parametric approach for signal analysis, specifically taking into account the varied nature of bat echolocation calls in the signal model. A time-varying harmonic signal model with a polynomial chirp basis is used to track the instantaneous frequency components of the signal. The model is placed within a Bayesian context and a particle filter is used to implement the filter. Marginalisation of parameters is considered, leading to the development of a new marginalised particle filter (MPF) which is used to implement the algorithm. Efficient reversible jump moves are formulated for estimation of the unknown (and varying) number of frequency components and higher harmonics. The algorithm is applied to the analysis of synthetic signals and the performance is compared with an existing algorithm in the literature which relies on the Rao-Blackwellised particle filter (RBPF) for online state estimation and a jump Markov system for estimation of the unknown number of harmonic components. A comparison of the relative complexity of the RBPF and the MPF is presented. Additionally, it is shown that the MPF-based algorithm performs no worse than the RBPF, and in some cases, better, for the test signals considered. Comparisons are also presented from various reversible jump sampling schemes for estimation of the time-varying number of tones and harmonics. The algorithm is subsequently applied to the analysis of bat echolocation calls to establish the improvements obtained from the new algorithm. The calls considered are both amplitude and frequency modulated and are of varying durations. The calls are analysed using polynomial basis functions of different orders and the performance of these basis functions is compared. Inharmonicity, which is deviation of overtones away from integer multiples of the fundamental frequency, is examined in echolocation calls from several bat species. The results conclude with an application of the algorithm to the analysis of calls from the feeding buzz, a sequence of extremely short duration calls emitted at high pulse repetition frequency, where it is shown that reasonable time-frequency characterisation can be achieved for these calls. Declaration of originality I hereby declare that the research recorded in this thesis and the thesis itself was composed and originated entirely by myself in the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering at The University of Edinburgh. All recordings of bat echolocation calls used herein were obtained from Dr Dean Waters, University of Leeds.


Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are known to be associated with an increased risk of aggression and challenging behavior. In this study, we have mapped the externalizing history of a nationally representative cohort of young violent offenders with ASD, compared with offenders without ASD. Two hundred and sixty-nine violent offenders were assessed for prevalence of ASD, and participated in a thorough assessment of previous externalizing problems and criminal history. Twenty-six offenders met consensus clinical DSM-IV criteria for ASD and they were compared to offenders without ASD from the same cohort. Overall, we found a very high prevalence of externalizing and antisocial behaviors in the history of these offenders and there were few differences between the groups. Placements in foster homes were overrepresented in the ASD group and the ASD-offenders had significantly more often been diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder (i.e. ASD or ADHD) by a clinician before the study. At index conviction, ASD offenders were overrepresented in sex crimes with a child victim. Though offenders without ASD had more previous convictions, in particular drug crimes, we found no difference in terms of total number of prosecuted crimes. Substance use disorders were more common among offenders without ASD. The ASD offenders scored higher compared to the non-ASD offenders on the Affective facet of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) but there were no differences in terms of total PCL-R scores. Our results provide important knowledge of the developmental history of offenders with ASD. Though this is a small and atypical phenotype it poses significant challenges to the criminal justice system and we need to understand more of it to be able to prevent these individuals from committing crimes but also to provide a fair judicial treatment, to assess exculpatory factors and improve our forensic treatment models.


Finding the effective method for teaching basic courses of architecture is the main problem in this study. Accordingly, the objectives of this research are investigating the impact of a new method for teaching the architectural design basics (module I), entitled "DCIS" (Direct Collaboration of Instructor and Student), and assessing the students' learning process through evaluating their activities as a validation test. This test method has been derived from the architectural education methods literature. To assess the dependent variable concerning the learning process precisely, its two important components are investigated in this research: the students' success, as an external aspect, and their satisfaction as an internal one. Therefore, as the main focus of this paper, the question will be what the impact of DCIS on the learning process is among the students of Architectural Design Basics (I). To answer this question, the relationship between DCIS and students' success and satisfaction has been analyzed. Case Study research is the methodology of this assessment. The results of the involved students' practice exercises were used to assess their success through comparing them to each other; moreover, questionnaires were distributed among the students to survey their satisfaction. Also, the statistical population of this research consisted of two groups of architectural students in the University of Mazandaran participating in the "Architectural Design Basics" course module I. Therefore, DCIS has been applied to one of these two groups. The comparison between the assessment results gained from these groups indicates different conclusions within various contexts. The results show that the students' satisfaction from their learning process in the test group was more than the control group. In addition, the instructors' assessment of the students' exercises present that the students had more success when the DCIS Teaching Method was implemented.


Remote sensing information has been used in studies of the seasonal dynamics (phenology) of the land surface since the 1980s. While our understanding of remote sensing phenology is still in development, it is regarded as a key to understanding land-surface processes over large areas. Phenologic metrics, including start of season, end of season, duration of season, and seasonally integrated greenness, were derived from 8 km advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) data over North America spanning the years 1982-2003. Trend analysis was performed on annual summaries of the metrics to determine areas with increasing or decreasing growing season trends for the time period under study. Results show a trend toward earlier starts of season in limited areas of the mixed boreal forest, and a trend toward later end of season in well-defined areas of New England and southeastern Canada. Results in Saskatchewan, Canada, include a trend toward longer duration of season over a well-defined area, principally as a result of regional changes in land use practices. Changing seasonality appears to be an integrated response to a complex of factors, including climate change, but also, in many places, changes in land use practices.


Microbial regrowth, microbial growth after disinfection, is an important problem that deteriorates water quality during the storage and distribution of reclaimed water. Biodegradable organic matter (BOM) that remains after water reclamation processes directly promotes microbial regrowth. In this study, we propose a novel assay called the 'Bacterial Growth Fingerprint (BGF)' to characterise BOM based on the maximum growth of bacterial strains, which is the extension of the conventional assimilable organic carbon assay for drinking water. Nine bacterial strains were selected from nearly 200 isolates from various reclaimed water systems. These selected bacterial strains exhibited unique substrate utilisation patterns. The BGF assay clearly reflected the difference in the quantity and quality of BOM between six different reclamation plants and the changes in BOM during a full-scale reclamation process. The information on BOM revealed by the BGF assay is useful to optimise the treatment processes or operational conditions for biologically stable reclaimed water.


Most are familiar with the notion of socially "clicking" with someone, namely sensing an immediate bond that can lead to strong and often long-lasting friendships. The mechanisms underlying such rapid bonding remain unclear. Given that body-odor similarity is a critical cue for social interaction in non-human mammals, we tested the hypothesis that body-odor similarly contributes to bonding in same-sex non-romantic human dyads. We observed that objective ratings obtained with an electronic nose, and subjective ratings obtained from human smellers, converged to suggest that click-friends smell more similar to each other than random dyads. Remarkably, we then found that we could use the electronic nose to predict which strangers would later form better dyadic interactions. Thus, humans may literally sniff-out new friends based on similarities in body-odor.


This article explores the phenomenon of migrant labour2 through the lens of Jacques Derrida's hospitality. Developing the concept of hospitality as an analytical and ethical question, this article suggests some limits of hospitality when applied to issues of migrant labour and offers an account of inoperative hospitality, which draws on Jean- Luc Nancy's discussions of inoperative community. Hospitality, as discussed by Jacques Derrida in Of Hospitality (2000), challenges us to think of our relation to each other—to the stranger, the foreigner, even to the one without a name—in reference to a limit or a border. The concept of hospitality, or hospitality as ethics,3 has been explored as a theoretical notion to challenge existing hostile and restrictive immigration policies and practices. In 1996, in a speech on the sanspapiers movement in France, Derrida deplored the idea that there can be crimes of hospitality in 'Derelictions of the Right to Justice' (Derrida 2002a: 133). He urged, 'we must [il faut] be able to rediscover a taste for living in a culture, a language, and a country in which hospitality is no longer a criminal offense' (Derrida 2002a: 140). Seyla Benhabib and Bonnie Honig also have questioned hospitality for its potential to be mandated, or reflected, in migration, rights and citizenship policies.


The paper is devoted to the problem of medical services consumption. The aim of this article is to identify and describe the features of medical behaviour based on the data of the author's pilot sociological survey in Rostov-on-Don (N – 766). Particular attention is given to economic, organizational and socio-cultural dimensions of medical consumption. It is shown in detail how social environment and social position of a potential patient affect the production of help-seeking strategy and outcome of its realization. Results of study suggest that there are significant social differences in possibilities to get adequate and timely medical service in Rostov-on-Don. The figures show that inequality in access to medical services is determined by level of income, age, health status. Thus, compared to young persons who have high income, good health status, old persons and social groups wiht low income, chronic diseases report more difficulties in getting needed care and are less likely to have regular contacts with medical providers. Besides, socially vulnerable groups assess significantly lower availability and quality of medical services in the city. Economic, organizational and socio-cultural barriers in medical services, such as paid health, long waiting for help and lack of knowledge about healthcare system induce alternative consumers' strategies: self-medication, unconventional treatment or rejection of professional medical services. In conclusion author stresses that the article is of certain significance to future fundamental empirical as well as theoretical research of cultural, social, institutional and biomedical factors of social differentiation in the health sphere.


Introduction: Exploring New Zealand-born (NZ-born) Cook Islands youth worldviews acknowledges the diversity that exists amongst Pacific peoples in New Zealand. By improving mental wellbeing and its potential to inform Pacific ethnic specific suicide prevention, it is important that a Cook Islands focus to suicide prevention is applied. Thus, reinforcing the notion that although some approaches may be similar to other Pacific populations, current policy and strategies should not be generalised to a one size fits all. Aim: The aim of the study was to provide some understanding to NZ-born Cook Islands young peoples' perceptions around positive mental wellbeing with the view that their voices help to inform the development of Cook Islands-specific strategies towards positive mental wellbeing and suicide prevention. Methods: This qualitative study involved 21 face-to-face interviews with NZ-born Cook Islands youth (16-24 years) who resided in Auckland. A talanoa Pacific research methodology was employed to collate data in a culturally appropriate manner. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse this data. Results: An emergent theme from the interviews around positive mental wellbeing was maintaining social and cultural connections. These included connections via: social support networks; pride in their Pacific ethnic identities; cultural participation; and language retention. These were expressed as central to enhancing positive mental wellbeing and suicide prevention measures. Conclusion: These findings contribute to a limited knowledge base. The encouragement and maintenance of social and cultural connections during the formative years of NZ-born Cook Island youths were deemed to be strong buffers against poor mental wellbeing and suicidal behaviours.


In order to understand the effect of the number of piles (N), the history response of dynamic pile load in piled raft system and deflection time history of piled raft under repeated impact load applied on the center of piled raft resting on loose sand, laboratory model tests were conducted on small-scale models. The results of experimental work are found to be dynamic load increase with increase height of drop, the measured repeated dynamic load time history on the center of piled raft was close approximately to three a half sine wave shape with small duration in about (0.015 Sec). The maximum peak of impact loads occurs in pile and deflection time history occur after at the time of the peak repeated impact loads, dynamic pile load and deflection of raft edge decrease with increase the number of piles in piles raft system, the optimum reduction in dynamic deflection at the number of piles (N = 9) and the dynamic load carrying by raft is more than (94%) for variation the number of piles from (1-pile to 9-piles) in piled raft system.


1. Acquistion procedures [1] 2. Editing of Vendor Fields in In-Process & Vendor Supplied Bibliographic Records [2] 3. Vendor On-Order Records to be Overlaid [3] 4. Preliminary Records [4] Books [5] Serials [6] Series Standing Order [7] Maps (Prelim/Minimal) [8] Video [9] Yale Dissertations: Microfilms [10] 5. Minimal Level Records: Serial Analytics, Pamphlets, & Projects [11] 6. Serial Maintenance (Acquisitions Support Staff) [12]


This Article treats the order of decision on multiple issues in a single case. That order can be very important, with a lot at stake for the court, society, and parties. Generally speaking, although the parties can control which issues they put before a judge, the judge gets to choose the decisional sequence in light of those various interests. The law sees fit to put few limits on the judge's power to sequence. The few limits are, in fact, quite narrow in application, and even narrower if properly understood. The Steel Co.-Ruhrgas rule generally requires a federal court to decide Article III justiciability and subject-matter jurisdiction before ruling on the merits. The Beacon Theatres-Dairy Queen rule requires a federal trial judge to avoid preclusion by first giving to the jury a factual issue common to the merits of both law and equity claims for relief joined in the same case. The impact of these two narrow limits might seem mundane. But much turns on their scope. The sequence of jurisdictional defenses can result in dismissing a claim when the court lacked authority to hear the case and maybe in locking a litigant out of both federal and state courts. And, while a jury's decision on damages would restrain a judge's decision on final injunctive relief, the judge remains free to decide jurisdictional defenses, class certification, or evidentiary issues without worry of affecting the jury's later consideration of common issues.


Treasure is brought back to life in this fantastic volume of decorative ironwork and sculpture. Fantastic photography explores the work of artisans of the burgeoning Moderne Art movement in Paris. Selected from folio volumes published in the mid-1920s to inspire fellow artists on the cutting edge, the more than 500 exciting pieces shared in this compendium have proven themselves timeless in their classic lines and exquisite detailing. This is a must-have volume for artisans of the forge, sculpture studios, and all fans of Art Deco-era decorative arts.


Given the popularity of yoga in this day and age, you probably know about the benefits it can have on both the mind and body. An increase in positive mood, a decrease in stress, better sleep, and fewer aches and pains are just a few. Maybe you've been busy, and have been meaning to try it-or maybe you have tried it but still find it difficult to fit into your schedule. The most common excuse people give for not exercising is that they have no time. Between work, family, school, and social obligations, many of us are overbooked and scrambling to get things done in our daily lives. But what if there were quick, easy yoga exercises that could be integrated into your daily routine? Yoga Sparks offers 108 quick, practical, and accessible yoga exercises that you can practice anytime, anywhere-no matter how busy or stressful your schedule. In this book, you will learn how yoga in "bite-size" pieces can become a healthy habit that can relieve emotional stress, increase your physical strength and flexibility, and help you to lead a happier, healthier life. Whether practicing relaxed breathing while in traffic, sitting with proper alignment while working at your computer, or even balancing on one leg while waiting in line, the step-by-step, breath-by-breath practices in this book will help you bring the physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits of yoga practice into your daily life.


The most frequent clinical presentation of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) is intermittent claudication, which may be caused by impaired vasodilation. Patients demonstrate both local and systemic impairments in vasodilation, but as the collateral circulation is the primary site of resistance to the ischemic zone, impaired collateral vasodilation would have the greatest potential to induce claudication. Collateral function following arterial occlusion is not well defined, but immature collaterals may demonstrate impaired vasodilation in animal models, although this is potentially improved with exercise training. Furthermore, as females exhibit poorer physical function with ischemia and less improvement with therapeutic exercise, there appears to be a sexually dimorphic response to PAOD, warranting a comparison in collateral vasodilation between sexes. In this study, the femoral artery was ligated to induce chronic ischemia in sedentary and exercise-trained mice, and at 7 or 28 days post-surgery, the diameter of the gracilis collateral arteriole was measured at rest and after gracilis muscle contraction using intravital microscopy. No major sex differences were observed in any group. At day 7, both the resting and dilated diameters were increased, while vascular reactivity was minimal. By day 28, resting diameter decreased while maximal diameter was unchanged, causing an increase in functional vasodilation. Exercise training also improved vasodilation by decreasing collateral resting diameter. These results are consistent with reported trends in endothelium-dependent and smooth muscle-dependent vasodilation, which are impaired in immature vessels and improved with maturation and exercise, but the significance of the observed variations in resting diameter remains unclear. Large resting diameters at day 7 could be due to a loss of sympathetic tone or the proliferative and non-contractile state of smooth muscle cells, while decreased resting diameters at day 28 could indicate that a smooth muscle contractile phenotype has been restored, or that the gracilis collateral is no longer the primary collateral. However, the further research is required to determine the functional relevance of collateral resting diameter and its importance in the ischemic limb circulation.


This study discusses some ideological traits in Late Modern English literary discourse concerning contact with other languages or socially- and geographically-marked varieties across the North Atlantic. Beyond 'dialect literature' and occurrences of 'literary dialect' (Shorrocks 1996), other very popular works greatly contributed to the definition of how readers perceived different languages and varieties in terms of relative prestige. In addition, popular culture also helped to disseminate evaluations of linguistic features. Representations in such texts were often ambivalent, ranging from humorous (to the point of caricature) to nostalgic, elegiac tones, but they always drew attention to the exotic, distant quality of the forms under discussion. Indeed, glossaries often present these features as witnesses of a quickly vanishing past, in need of preservation like ancient relics. In my analysis I will consider both different languages and varieties of the same language, in an attempt to show how their more or less explicit evaluation contributed to the creation of their (often persistent) image among readers on both sides of the Atlantic.


Technification of pig farming in recent decades has led to a significant reduction in the occurrence of helminth parasitism. However, the production of pigs in free-range systems is still a common reality in rural areas of Brazil, such as Marajo Island, in the State of Para, a Brazilian Amazonian biome. Therefore, the present work describes the main parasitological and anatomopathological findings of six pigs in a sample of 23, of different age groups, raised under free-range conditions on native pastures on Marajo Island. During slaughter, the presence of Stephanurus dentatus in the ureters and renal pelvis, Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus in the small intestine and Trichuris suis in the cecum and colon was detected in these six pigs. The histopathology results showed different types of lesions, including mild granulomatous infiltrates in the lymph nodes, granulomatous inflammation and brown pigment in the tonsils, hyperkeratosis in the esophagus and nonglandular stomach, lung with dark pigment in the bronchioles and intra-alveolar macrophages, as well as squamous metaplasia of the peribronchial glands, hemosiderosis in the spleen, liver with marked extramedullary hematopoiesis, mild hepatitis and abscess caused by parasitic migration with eosinophils, intestinal edema and neuronal lipofuscinosis in the spinal cord. From these findings, it can be inferred that free-range pigs on Marajo Island are susceptible to helminths, reflecting the high degree of environmental contamination in which these animals are reared, and that such ecosystems can function as reservoirs of these agents. Helminth infections lead to losses in pig farming in the Amazon biome, showing the importance of the strategic control of these parasites.


Qatar has become an Arab country with a high international profile and an ambitious foreign policy, particularly as a result of its role in the Arab Spring. It has cultivated a reputation as a political mediator and a key source of foreign aid. Following the Libyan uprising, Qatar demonstrated further political adaptability in leading regional action against the Gaddafi regime. However, this foreign policy does not appear to be built on long-term planning, but rather seems centred on opportunism and promiscuity as Qatar engages with multiple, often clashing, actors and plays the role of political maverick in the Middle East. This article assesses the key components of Qatari foreign policy, as well as public diplomacy, highlighting the potential implications of the lack of a coherent foreign strategy for the country, both on the domestic and external fronts. Domestically, Qatar faces increasing pressure for reform and the prospect of instability, both catalyzed by high centralization of decision-making with regard to Qatari policy. Externally, it risks overextending its network of political partners to involve potentially volatile actors, losing the credibility of its public diplomacy messages, and subsequently, international scepticism towards its foreign policy motives. Those domestic and external factors highlight the limits of relying on pragmatism in Qatari foreign policy and the need for long-term strategy if Qatar is to maintain its leadership role in the Middle East.


Focusing on the vexed friendship between Hart Crane and Allen Tate, this book examines twentieth-century American poetry's progress toward institutional sanction and professional organization, a process in which sexual identities, poetic traditions, and literary occupations were in question and at stake. Langdon Hammer combines biography and formalist analysis to argue that American modernism was a Janus-faced phenomenon, at once emancipatory and elitist, which simultaneously attacked traditional cultural authority and reconstructed it in new forms.Hammer shows how Crane and Tate, working in relation to each other and to T. S. Eliot, created for themselves the competing roles of "genius" and "poet-critic." Crane embraced the self-authorizing powers of the individual talent at the cost of standing outside the emerging consensus of high modernist literary culture, an aesthetic isolation which converged with his social isolation as a gay man. Tate, turning against Crane, linked the modernist defense of tradition to an embattled heterosexual masculinity, while he adapted Eliot's stance to a career sustained by criticism and teaching. Ending his book with a discussion of Robert Lowell's career, Hammer maintains that Lowell's "confessional" poetry recapitulates the conflict enacted by Crane and Tate.


Introduction Achalasia is a disorder characterised by failed relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter. The aim of this study was to examine, at a national level, the long-term outcomes of achalasia therapies. Methods Hospital Episode Statistics include diagnostic and procedural data for all English National Health Service–funded hospital admissions. Subjects with a code for achalasia who had their initial treatment between January 2006 and December 2015 were grouped by treatment; pneumatic dilatation (PD) or surgical Heller's myotomy (HM). Procedural failure was defined as time to a further episode of the same therapy or a change to a different therapy. Up to three PDs were permitted without being considered a therapy failure. Results 6938 subjects were included; 3619 (52.2%) were men and median age at diagnosis was 59 (IQR 43–75) years. 4748 (68.4%) initially received PD and 2190 (31.6%) HM. The perforation rate following PD was 1.6%. Mortality at 30 days was 0.0% for HM and 1.9% for PD, and <8% after perforation following PD. Factors associated with increased mortality after PD included age quintile 66–77 (OR 4.55 (95% CI 2.00 to 10.38), p<0.001), >77 (9.78 (4.33 to 22.06), p<0.001); Charlson comorbidity score >4 (2.87 (2.08 to 3.95), p<0.001); previous HM (2.47 (1.33 to 4.62), p<0.001); and repeat PD 1–3 (1.58 (1.15 to 2.16), p=0.005), >3 (1.97 (1.21 to 3.19), p=0.006). Durability of up to 3 PD and HM over 10 years of follow-up was 86.2% and 81.9%, respectively (p<0.001). Discussion The efficacy of PD for achalasia appears to be greater than HM over 10 years. There was no mortality associated with HM, but 1.9% of subjects died within 30 days of PD. Mortality was associated with increasing age, comorbidity, previous HM and repeat PD.


We propose a new approach for solving multiclass problems with support vector machines. We modify the existing technique to properly reduce the empirical error, therefore we will be ideally able to outperform the previously proposed scheme for multi-class SVMs. The proposed approach also provides solutions with a significant reduction in the number of support vectors, which is an important feature for fast systems.


In 2007, the dinosaur footprints research group of the Universities of Rabat and La Rioja began the mapping of the Iouaridene ichnological sites. The initial problems were the footprints number - several thousands for some scientits- the ichnotaxonomy, and their geographical and geological distribution. Our first results (west Iouaridene area) were published in 2008. In addition to two ichnotaxons defined here, we have studied: gigantic theropod and ornithopod footprints; semipantigrade theropod ichnites and the largest world theropod trackway are new contributions to Iouaridene dinosaur footprints knowledge. In this work, are demostrated the following questions: i) the maximun number of footprints in the Iouaridene sincline is less than 2000; ii) in the east area there is minor density of sites and the number of footprints that in the west part; iii) the greatest number of semiplantigrade theropod ichnites; iv) the fosiliferous levels reduction from 20 to one. Probably, the four properties geographically related
- stratigraphic, number, density (sites and footprints) and the diversity of semiplantigrade ichnites - are other singenetic relations.


A shortcoming of most empirical studies on aggregate exports is their exclusive focus on the demand side. Moreover, the effect of globalization is often neglected leading to implausibly high income elasticities. This paper models export demand and supply simultaneously and incorporates a new proxy for globalization. Owing to the non-stationarity of the data, the vector error correction model is the appropriate econometric framework. Using the Johansen procedure, two cointegration relationships are found and identified as export supply and demand. Overidentifying restrictions derived from economic theory are tested. Finally, after checking for weak exogeneity, a parsimonious partial model is presented and the adjustment paths of the endogenous variables are discussed.


This article analyzes the way some 6,000 European wine consumers, both connoisseurs and non-connoisseurs, use a set of available signals (price, umbrella branding, goodwill, past consumption) to assess the quality of Bordeaux wines where price is the main source of information on quality. Connoisseurs use this signal less intensively than on connoisseurs. Price represents a substitute for umbrella branding where consumers are not aware of who is beneath this umbrella, and where this signal is thus of no help to them. This could explain why such wines tend nowadays to lose market share in favor of branded wines that are easier to evaluate.


Spinal shrinkage has been confirmed to be a result of loads imposed on the human
spine. The present study was aimed at studying the effects of different types of work on spinal shrinkage. Moreover, the relationship between age and spinal shrinkage was also studied. The heights just before the start and after the close of work were measured in order to determine the spinal shrinkage. The study confirmed that there was no correlation between age and spinal shrinkage at 5% level of significance. It also confirmed that significant differences (at 5% level of significance) exist between spinal shrinkages due to heavy and light workloads. This suggests that inter individual variation in spinal shrinkage may be as a result of the types of work undertaken. Keywords : Spinal shrinkage, Spine, age, workloads, visco-elasticity. Journal of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology Vol. 6 (1) 2006 pp. 8-15


Aimed at both the novice and expert in IT security and industrial control systems (ICS), this book will help readers gain a better understanding of protecting ICSs from electronic threats. Cyber security is getting much more attention and 'SCADA security' (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is a particularly important part of this field, as are Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Remote Terminal Units (RTUs), Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs)-and all the other, field controllers, sensors, and drives, emission controls, and that make up the 'intelligence' of modern industrial buildings and facilities. This book will help the reader better understand what is industrial control system cyber security, why is it different than IT security, what has really happened to date, and what needs to be done. Loads of practical advice is offered on everything from clarity on current cyber-security systems and how they can be integrated into general IT systems, to how to conduct risk assessments and how to obtain certifications, to future trends in legislative and regulatory issues affecting industrial security.


Career Maturity and Academic Achievement in College Students with Disabilities PAssage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Public Law 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, opened the doors of America's universities to individuals with disabilities (McLoughlin, 1987). Colleges and universities took great care to insure that programs, facilities, instructional methods and technologies and curricula were accessible. In turn, individuals with disabilities matriculated in increasing numbers (Johnson & Rubin, 1982). For many students with disabilities, as with students in general, a college education became the first step towards independence, a career, financial security, and self-sustenance (Fichten, Amsel, Bourdon, & Creti, 1988). It is unclear, however, that students with disabilities are competing on a equal basis with their nondisabled counterparts, particularly with regard to vocational development and career maturity. Many college students with disabilities enter school with either the direct support or urging of the vocational rehabilitation system, a system whose foundation has traditionally been laid in theories of vocational development. The emergence of a theory of vocational development and career maturity occurred with the work of Donald E. Super (1957; Srebalus, Marinelli, & Messing, 1982) who postulated five stages of vocational/career development: 1. The Growth Stage (0 to 14 years) 2. The Exploratory Stage (15 to 25 years) 3. The Establishment Stage (26 to 45 years) 4. The Maintenance Stage (46 to 65 years) 5. Decline (65 years to death) Super regards vocational exploration and development as an integral part of self-concept development. The typical college student explores the world of work in a variety of ways. Role playing and role modeling occur through participation in clubs, organizations and sports, while curricula offer exploration opportunities through foundations courses, orientation courses, laboratories and the diversity of general education opportunities. Through these experiences the student builds the vocational self concept as one aspect of the total self-concept (Wright, 1980). Career maturity, characterized by the (a) ability to plan in a manner utilizing existing resources; (b) acceptance of responsibility for choices; (c) Possessing an awareness of preferred occupations and; (d) competence in decision making (Super & Overstreet, 1960) is an important personal attribute. The construct was at the center of research done by Phillips, Strohmer, Berthaume and O'Leary (1983) which revealed that cognitively immature disabled students tended to rely on others for decision making, suggesting the importance of career support services. Evenson and Evenson (1983) asserted that collegians with disabilities are in greater need of career guidance services than their nondisabled peers. They noted that students with disabilities face attitudinal barriers including lowered expectations, delayed vocational development and unsatisfactory career development support services from state vocational rehabilitation programs, and contended that opportunities for career exploration would maximize educational opportunities. Ruffner (1981) noted the importance of marketable job skills for individuals with disabilities, while Hopkins-Best, Wiinimaki, and Yurcisin (1985) suggested the importance of porviding career education services in their study of college women with disabilities. Several authors (Bowe, 1983; Lonnquist, 1979; Rosenberg, 1978) have suggested the extrinsic gains to be made through higher education for the disabled, including higher salaries, lower unemployment rates, and better job prospects. A growing number of learning disabled adults are attending college, however many are experiencing job finding and job retention difficulties and post-college adjustment problems (Butler, 1984; Miller, Mulkey, & Kopp, 1984). …


The present research evaluated two explanations for the computers are social actors (CASA) paradigm: anthropomorphism and mindlessness. Using flattery effects as an example of social responses, two experiments examined how humanlikeness of the interface, individuals' rationality, and cognitive busyness moderate the extent to which people apply social attributes to computers. In Experiment 1, anthropomorphic cartoon characters elicited more positive overall evaluations of the computer, but they significantly reduced low rationals' self-confidence, suggesting social facilitation effects. Moreover, low rationals were less likely to accept the computer's suggestions when flattered, whereas high rationals showed no corresponding tendency. In Experiment 2, although participants attributed greater social attractiveness to the flattering than generic-comment computer, they became more suspicious about the validity of its claims and more likely to dismiss its answer. Such negative effects, however, disappeared when they simultaneously engaged in a secondary task. Theoretical implications for CASA are discussed.


In the interdisciplinary and intercultural systems analysis that constitutes the main theme of research in IIASA, a basic question is how to analyze and support decisions with help of mathematical models and logical procedures. This question -- particularly in its multi-criteria and multi-cultural dimensions -- has been investigated in System and Decision Sciences Program (SDS) since the beginning of IIASA. Researchers working both at IIASA and in a large international network of cooperating institutions contributed to a deeper understanding of this question.

Around 1980, the concept of reference point multiobjective optimization was developed in SDS. This concept determined an international trend of research pursued in many countries cooperating with IIASA as well as in many research programs at IIASA -- such as energy, agricultural, environmental research. SDS organized since this time numerous international workshops, summer schools, seminar days and cooperative research agreements in the field of decision analysis and support. By this international and interdisciplinary cooperation, the concept of reference point multiobjective optimization has matured and was generalized into a framework of aspiration based decision analysis and support that can be understood as a synthesis of several known, antithetical approaches to this subject -- such as utility maximization approach, or satisficing approach, or goal -- program -- oriented planning approach. Jointly, the name of quasisatisficing approach can be also used, since the concept of aspirations comes from the satisficing approach. Both authors of the Working Paper contributed actively to this research: Andrzej Wierzbicki originated the concept of reference point multiobjective optimization and quasisatisficing approach, while Andrzej Lewandowski, working from the beginning in the numerous applications and extensions of this concept, has had the main contribution to its generalization into the framework of aspiration based decision analysis and support systems.

This paper constitutes a draft of the first part of a book being prepared by these two authors. Part I, devoted to theoretical foundations and methodological background, written mostly by Andrzej Wierzbicki, will be followed by Part II, devoted to computer implementations and applications of decision support systems based on mathematical programming models, written mostly by Andrzej Lewandowski. Part III, devoted to decision support systems for the case of subjective evaluations of discrete decision alternatives, will be written by both authors.


Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women after skin cancer. Breast cancer originates in the breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Breast cancerous cell also depends on estrogen for the growth and development like normal cell, which is called as ER+Ve breast cancer. This study is focus on reduction of level of estrogen and it will be possible by inhibition of estrogen biosynthesis. Aromatase enzyme is essential for the estrogen biosynthesis. In this study, an attempt has been made to design the novel flavones and flavonoids targeting Leu477, Ser478 active binding site of an aromatase using (3EQM) PDB Id for the molecular docking simulations. Schrodinger docking programs was used to compare their suitability for the receptor. Interestingly, in the docking programs, the designed flavonoids have occupied the same binding pocket confirming the selection of active. We have identified a flavonoid which shows docking and Glide score comparatively much higher than those of already reported known inhibitors against aromatase. The protein-ligand complex with top-ranked flavonoid was synthesized by novel designed scheme. The results provide valuable information for structure-based drug design of aromatase inhibitors.


The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery (CCA) is an established indicator of cardiovascular disease (CVD). There have been reports about the difference between the left and the right sides of the CCA IMT and their relation with CVD. In this paper, we propose an automated system based on image normalization, speckle reduction filtering, and snakes segmentation, for segmenting the CCA, perform IMT measurements, and provide the differences between the left and the right sides. The study was performed on 1104 longitudinal-section ultrasound images acquired from 568 men and 536 women out of which 125 had cardiovascular symptoms (CVD). A cardiovascular expert manually delineated the IMT for the normal and the CVD groups. The corresponding (normal versus CVD) IMT mean ± standard deviation values for the left and the right sides were 0.74 ± 0.24 versus 0.87 ± 0.24 mm and 0.70 ± 0.17 versus 0.80 ± 0.18 mm, respectively. The main findings of this paper can be summarized as follows: 1) there was no significant difference between the CCA left side IMT and the right side IMT. These findings suggest that the measurement of the CCA IMT on one side only is needed for the normal group (and this is in agreement with other studies); 2) there were statistical significant differences for the IMT measurements between the normal group and the CVD group for both the left and the right sides; 3) there was an increasing linear relationship of the left and the right IMT measurements with age for the normal group; and to a lesser extend for the CVD group; 4) no statistical significant differences were found between the manual and the automated IMT measurements for both sides; and 5) the best result for classification disease modeling, using support vector machines, to discriminate between the normal and the CVD groups was a 64%±3.5% correct classifications score when using both the left and the right IMT automated measurements. Further research is required for estimating differences and similarities between left and right intima media complex structure and morphology and their variability with texture features for differentiating between the normal and the CVD group.


Itraconazole and Fluconazole are the newer antifungal drugs that have been used for
several years. Both these drugs have a broad-spectrum antifungal activity and
currently are used to treat infections caused by Candida albicans, Aspergillus spp.,
Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Sporothrix schenckii, Histoplasma capsulatum,
Ciyptococcus neoformans and many others. The objective of this study is to
investigate the in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity of these two antifungal drugs. The in
vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity of fluconazole and itraconazole were studied in thirty
eight male Sprague Dawley rats. Freshly isolated rat hepatocytes were obtained for the
in vitro treatment of fluconazole and itraconazole using a liver perfusion technique.
The cell viability test was done by trypan blue exclusion. As a result, both fluconazole
and itraconazole cause a reduction in cell viability of hepatocytes. However,
itraconazole exerted its cytotoxicity more than fluconazole in both time- and dosedependent
manner. Meanwhile, cytotoxicity of itraconazole was reduced significantly
by Phenobarbital pretreatment. Phenobarbital did not have any effect on the
.-.
i l l
cytotoxicity induced by fluconazole. In vivo studies revealed that rat's liver and
kidney treated with repeated-doses of itraconazole showed a significantly higher in
total protein in liver and kidney and significant increase in serum ALP and ALT
activity. This is in agreement with histological findings that the rat treated with
repeateddoses of itraconazole showed severe histological features compared to
fluconazole. Morphological changes such as inflammation and fibrosis of liver were
frequently seen in repeated-doses of itraconazole. This present study suggests that
Phenobarbital plays a role in the cytoprotection of hepatocytes to itraconazole-induced
but not fluconazole-induced cytotoxicity in vitro.


Canopy bulk density (CBD) is an important crown characteristic needed to predict crown fire spread, yet it is difficult to measure in the field. Presented here is a comprehensive research effort to evaluate six indirect sampling techniques for estimating CBD. As reference data, detailed crown fuel biomass measurements were taken on each tree within fixed-area plots located in five important conifers types in the western United States, using destructive sampling following a series of four sampling stages to measure the vertical and horizontal distribution of canopy biomass. The six ground-based indirect measurement techniques used these instruments: LI-COR LAI-2000, AccuPAR ceptometer, CID digital plant canopy imager, hemispherical photography, spherical densiometer, and point sampling. These techniques were compared with four aggregations of crown biomass to compute CBD: foliage only, foliage and small branchwood, foliage and all branchwood (no stems), and all canopy biomass components. Most techniques had the best performance when all canopy biomass components except stems were used. Performance dropped only slightly when the foliage and small branchwood canopy biomass aggregation (best approximates fuels available for crown fires) was employed. The LAI-2000, hemispherical photography, and CID plant canopy imager performed best. Regression equations that predict CBD from gap fraction are presented for all six techniques.