The area of athlete career development and transitions has traditionally been dominated by a Western perspective, an imbalance which has had a considerable influence on shaping career studies in sport psychology more generally. This presentation is based on our edited book "Athletes' Careers across Cultures", in which we employ theoretical tenants of the cultural turn to approach career as a socially and culturally constituted context in which the development of athletes occurs. Briefly outlining how culture has been studied in career transition research, we position our discussion within the metaphor of waves. The cross-cultural wave is representative of the universalist approach to career in the study of similarities and differences in cognitive, emotional and behavioral functions of athletes in different countries. Cross-cultural career studies are typically carried out within the positivist epistemology, using different questionnaires about athletes' beliefs and attitudes (e.g., Dimoula, Torregrosa, Psychountaki, G Alfermann, Stambulova, & Zemaityte, 2004; Stambulova, Stephan, & Japhag, 2007). The wave of cultural mindset is located within a constructivist paradigm of cultural psychology. Cultural researchers have challenged the extant career models, which suggest that athletes across cultures undertake similar career pathways and experience comparable career transitions (e.g., Carless, & Douglas, 2009; Douglas, & Carless, 2009; Schinke, Ryba, Danielson, Michel, Peltier, Enosse, et al., 2007). In our discussion, we focus on the emerging 'third wave' to explicate how culture functions as discourse in the context of athletes' careers. Culture as discourse operates through common sense assumptions embedded in social institutions, such as national sport federations and academic institutes, enabling athletes to access certain contextually contained skills and practices whilst simultaneously restricting, even denying, the development of others. We therefore argue for the need to open sport psychological knowledge to culturally diverse intellectual traditions, perspectives and concerns, which will allow researchers and practitioners to better understand local problems within the dynamics of cultural diversity in athlete career development and assistance.


The present study identified three patients with bronchiectasis receiving inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) who had symptomatic adrenal suppression secondary to ICS. The prevalence of adrenal suppression is unknown in bronchiectasis. The frequency of adrenal suppression and the impact of ICS use in bronchiectasis patients were examined. In total, 50 outpatients (33 receiving ICSs) underwent a short Synacthen test and completed a St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Symptoms of adrenal suppression, steroid use and lung function were compared between subjects who were suppressed and those who were not. Adrenal suppression was evident in 23.5% of subjects who did not receive ICSs and 48.5% of those who did. Basal cortisol and the increments by which cortisol increased 30 min after Synacthen were lower in suppressed than in nonsuppressed subjects. The incremental cortisol rise was negatively correlated with SGRQ impacts and total score, suggesting a worse quality of life in those who had an impaired adrenal response. The greatest frequency of generalised symptoms was seen in the suppressed group. A significant proportion of subjects with bronchiectasis have evidence of adrenal suppression, and this is increased when inhaled corticosteroids are also used. Impairment of the cortisol response to stimulation is associated with poorer health status.


The increasing demand for health informatics has become a far-reaching trend in the aging society. The utilization of wearable sensors enables monitoring senior people daily activities in free-living environments, conveniently and effectively. Among the primary health-care sensing categories, the wearable visual–inertial modality for human motion tracking, gradually exerts promising potentials. In this paper, we present a novel wearable heading estimation strategy to track the movements of human limbs. It adaptively fuses inertial measurements with visual features following locality constraints. Body movements are classified into two types: general motion (which consists of both rotation and translation) or degenerate motion (which consists of only rotation). A specific number of feature correspondences between camera frames are adaptively chosen to satisfy both the feature descriptor similarity constraint and the locality constraint. The selected feature correspondences and inertial quaternions are employed to calculate the initial pose, followed by the coarse-to-fine procedure to iteratively remove visual outliers. Eventually, the ultimate heading is optimized using the correct feature matches. The proposed method has been thoroughly evaluated on the straight-line, rotatory, and ambulatory movement scenarios. As the system is lightweight and requires small computational resources, it enables effective and unobtrusive human motion monitoring, especially for the senior citizens in the long-term rehabilitation.


No one thinks much about the Devil anymore. In fact, words like witchcraft and black magic have a strangely medieval ring to our ears. Many people even think of Satan as somehow comic -and therefore harmless. Yet amidst the tragedy and corruption of our own century, it is ironic that many people doubt whether an active, evil force really exists. But Satan is not dead, says author Hal Lindsey; he has simply adopted a more modern style. Spiritualism, astrology, "new age" religion -all of these and more are signs of the creeping influence of the Father of Lies in our time. In this book, Hal Lindsey, well-known speaker and author of the best-selling Late Great Planet Earth, outlines a battle plan for overcoming this very real and insidious enemy. The times may change, but the conflict is as old as the Garden of Eden. Whatever happened to old What's-his-name?


UV-vis absorption, atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle, and X-ray reflectivity experiments were performed on thin films deposited on crystalline silicon substrates as alternating layers of a porphyrin with anionic functionality, tetra-5,10,15,20-(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphine (TSPP) or the metalated version, Cu(II)TSPP, and the cationic polyelectrolyte, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA). The films were made by dipping in alternating aqueous solutions containing film components (layer-by-layer deposition). Modeling of the X-ray reflectivity data revealed differences in the films' thickness depending on the method of film deposition. An unusual decrease in film thickness after each polyelectrolyte dip was also observed for films using TSSP. UV-vis measurements revealed that a similar amount of TSSP was included within films despite the method of formation. UV-vis measurements also revealed the presence of free-base, H-aggregate, and J-aggregate forms of the porphyrin after TSPP dipping, and the subsequent disappearance of the J-aggregate after dipping in the PDDA solution. A model of film formation was proposed on the basis of the concept of two different types of porphyrin aggregates being present after dipping in porphyrin solution. A layer of porphyrin molecules initially attach to the Si surface such that the planar molecules are arranged side by side as H-aggregates with an excess of J-aggregated material on top. The J-aggregate is then removed and replaced by a layer of PDDA. A change in contact angle of 14 degrees was observed between porphyrin and polyelectrolyte layers due to the more hydrophobic nature of the polymer. The presence of the J-aggregate was confirmed in AFM images obtained from the porphyrin layer. Exposure of the films to solutions of alternating pHs of 10 and 1.8 resulted in reproducible switching of the UV-vis spectra, indicating a possible sensing application.


Bayesian neural networks are theoretically well-understood only in the infinite-width limit, where Gaussian priors over network weights yield Gaussian priors over network outputs. Recent work has suggested that finite Bayesian networks may outperform their infinite counterparts, but their non-Gaussian function space priors have been characterized only though perturbative approaches. Here, we derive exact solutions for the function space priors for individual input examples of a class of finite fully-connected feedforward Bayesian neural networks. For deep linear networks, the prior has a simple expression in terms of the Meijer $G$-function. The prior of a finite ReLU network is a mixture of the priors of linear networks of smaller widths, corresponding to different numbers of active units in each layer. Our results unify previous descriptions of finite network priors in terms of their tail decay and large-width behavior.


Abstract:

Aims: Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) play a pivotal role in cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells, including lung cancer. The aim of the present study was to examine the possible causal role of serum IGF-1 in development and progression of lung cancer.

Method: In this study an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to quantify serum IGF-1 level in lung cancer patients. The study comprised 150 patients with histological confirmed lung cancer and 150 age & sex matched control subjects. Data were analysed to assess the association between serum IGF-1 concentration and lung cancer risk. The independent sample t-test was used to compare the means of different variables in the two group.

Results: Serum IGF-1 concentration was found significantly elevated in lung cancer group compared to those in control group (p<0.00). A statistically significant positive association was found between IGF-1 levels and risk of lung cancer.

Conclusion: Our results show that increased level of IGF-1 in serum may play an important role in the development and disease progression of lung cancer, suggesting that IGF-1 may be associated and potentially contribute in the etiology of lung carcinoma.


In this paper we present a novel extended orthogonal space-time block coding (EO-STBC) scheme for three and four relay nodes to use in asynchronous cooperative relay networks. This approach attains full-rate and full-diversity in that each hop attains unity rate and all four uncorrelated paths are utilized. Robustness against the effects of random delays at the relay nodes is enhanced through the use of a low-rate feedback channel. A new low complexity phase feedback scheme has been proposed which can retain the advantage of the perfect feedback scheme with substantial reduction in the feedback overhead. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with cyclic prefix (CP) is used at the source node to combat the timing errors at the relay nodes, which operate in a simple amplify-and-forward (AF) mode. Simulations show that our new scheme outperforms the previous schemes and uses a very simple symbol-wise maximum-likelihood (ML) decoder.


Sea level rise (SLR) can negatively affect the hydrology of coastal watersheds. However, the relevant information is incomplete and insufficient in existing literature. The objective of this study is to present a modeling approach to predict long-term effects of SLR on changes of flood peak, flood stage, and groundwater table with an assumption that the historical climate would reoccur in the future. The study was conducted for a typical coastal watershed in southeast USA. The results indicate that sea level had been rising at a rate of 4.21 mm yr −1 from 1948 to 1982 but at a faster rate of 5.16 mm yr −1 from 1983 to 2013. At such SLR rates and by 2113, the groundwater table beneath the eastern part of the watershed would be raised by 0.10 to 0.29 m, while the annual mean peak discharge and flood stage at the watershed outlet would be increased by 13.84 m 3 s −1 (from 3.63 to 17.47 m 3 s −1 ) and 0.92 m (from zero to 0.92 m), respectively. The other parts of the watershed would be relatively less affected by SLR. For coastal watersheds, SLR will probably raise the groundwater table, and increase the magnitude and occurrence of peak discharge and flood stage.


Anger may be more responsive than disgust to mitigating circumstances in judgements of wrongdoing. We tested this hypothesis in two studies where we had participants envision circumstances that could serve to mitigate an otherwise wrongful act. In Study 1, participants provided moral judgements, and ratings of anger and disgust, to a number of transgressions involving either harm or bodily purity. They were then asked to imagine and report whether there might be any circumstances that would make it all right to perform the act. Across transgression type, and controlling for covariance between anger and disgust, levels of anger were found to negatively predict the envisioning of mitigating circumstances for wrongdoing, while disgust was unrelated. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings to less serious transgressions, using a continuous measure of mitigating circumstances, and demonstrated the impact of anger independent of deontological commitments. These findings highlight the differential relationship that anger and disgust have with the ability to envision mitigating factors.


We investigate the constraints imposed by the first-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) cosmic microwave background (CMB) data extended to higher multipoles by data from ACBAR, BOOMERANG, CBI, and the VSA and by the large-scale structure data from the 2dF galaxy redshift survey on the possible amplitude of primordial isocurvature modes. A flat universe with cold dark matter (CDM) and cosmological constant {lambda} is assumed, and the baryon, CDM isocurvature (CI), and neutrino density (NID), and velocity (NIV) isocurvature modes are considered. Constraints on the allowed isocurvature contributions are established from the data for various combinations of the adiabatic mode and one, two, and three isocurvature modes, with intermode cross correlations allowed. Since baryon and CDM isocurvature are observationally virtually indistinguishable, these modes are not considered separately. We find that when just a single isocurvature mode is added, the present data allows an isocurvature fraction, in terms of the nonadiabatic contribution to the power in the CMB anisotropy, as large as 13{+-}6, 7{+-}4, and 13{+-}7 percent for adiabatic plus the CI, NID, and NIV modes, respectively. When two isocurvature modes plus the adiabatic mode and cross correlations are allowed, these percentages rise to 47{+-}16, 34{+-}12, and 44{+-}12 for the combinationsmore » CI+NID, CI+NIV, and NID+NIV, respectively. Finally, when all three isocurvature modes and cross correlations are allowed, the admissible isocurvature fraction rises to 57{+-}9 percent. In our analysis we consider only scalar modes with a single common tilt parameter for all the modes and do not consider any possible primordial anisotropies in the local neutrino velocity distribution beyond quadrupole order. The sensitivity of the results to the choice of prior probability distribution is examined.« less


This study questions the assumption that a majority of nonmusicians pay attention to key when not specifically directed to do so. The question asked was "what do people hear," rather than "what can people hear." Musicians and nonmusicians listened to a song sung in a different key from its accompaniment. There were no other differences in the music stimuli. Subjects were asked what differences, if any, they heard. In other words, left to their own devices would listeners pay attention to and report the bitonality of the excerpt? Although 100% of the musicians heard the clash of keys, only 40% of the nonmusicians indicated that they heard the difference in keys between singer and accompaniment. Of these, half also mentioned nonexistent differences, for example, in instrumentation, dynamics, and tempo.


Abstract. For short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), the impact of emissions depends on where and when the emissions take place. Comprehensive new calculations of various emission metrics for SLCFs are presented based on radiative forcing (RF) values calculated in four different (chemical-transport or coupled chemistry–climate) models. We distinguish between emissions during summer (May–October) and winter (November–April) for emissions in Europe and East Asia, as well as from the global shipping sector and global emissions. The species included in this study are aerosols and aerosol precursors (BC, OC, SO2, NH3), as well as ozone precursors (NOx, CO, VOCs), which also influence aerosols to a lesser degree. Emission metrics for global climate responses of these emissions, as well as for CH4, have been calculated using global warming potential (GWP) and global temperature change potential (GTP), based on dedicated RF simulations by four global models. The emission metrics include indirect cloud effects of aerosols and the semi-direct forcing for BC. In addition to the standard emission metrics for pulse and sustained emissions, we have also calculated a new emission metric designed for an emission profile consisting of a ramping period of 15 years followed by sustained emissions, which is more appropriate for a gradual implementation of mitigation policies. For the aerosols, the emission metric values are larger in magnitude for emissions in Europe than East Asia and for summer than winter. A variation is also observed for the ozone precursors, with largest values for emissions in East Asia and winter for CO and in Europe and summer for VOCs. In general, the variations between the emission metrics derived from different models are larger than the variations between regions and seasons, but the regional and seasonal variations for the best estimate also hold for most of the models individually. Further, the estimated climate impact of an illustrative mitigation policy package is robust even when accounting for the fact that the magnitude of emission metrics for different species in a given model is correlated. For the ramping emission metrics, the values are generally larger than for pulse or sustained emissions, which holds for all SLCFs. For SLCFs mitigation policies, the dependency of metric values on the region and season of emission should be considered.


Much has been written about linked and open data's potential. The BL aimed to advance debate from theory to practice via release of a 'critical mass' of core data offering the greatest possibilities for wider community experimentation and innovative application. The British National Bibliography (BNB) was chosen over specialist datasets since its scope and scale matched the requirement while underlining the BL's commitment to serious exploration of the issues. The BL was interested in the organisational development possibilities of utilising: internal staff, existing tools and legacy MARC data to create its own linked open data offering. One key objective was to rethink old service approaches; blending the best with ideas from new communities using the metadata. The British Library and Talis collaborated to develop a model and develop the technical infrastructure The BNB was released as Linked Open Data in July 2011. Since being launched the Linked Open BNB has grown to cover nearly 3 million publications issued since 1950. The fact the system was soon processing over 2 million transactions per month suggests that authoritative sites offering useful data will be used. Similarly, effort put in to remodelling traditional library data was well received by the wider community and has helped advance discussions as hoped. Lessons learned included the value of exploiting external expertise to guide library specialists together with the benefits of offering sample data for wider community feedback and continual improvement.


The Middle Ordovician rocks of the Taconic foredeep in the Mohawk Valley, New York, contain numerous altered volcanic ash beds (K-bentonites). These synchronous beds have the potential to link disparate facies in a way that is not feasible with biostratigraphy or sequence stratigraphy alone. Geochemical fingerprinting of glass inclusions within volcanic quartz phenocrysts permits unambiguous matching of the compositionally unique ash layers. The resulting correlations demonstrate that time lines based on the graptolite biozones and transgressive-regressive facies patterns parallel the K-bentonite isochrons. They also demonstrate that much of the upper Trenton Group is older than previously believed and facies relations are markedly different from previous interpretations. Although some facies patterns appear to be synchronous across the region, the likely existence of substantial structural control on facies development in the basin suggests that it is unwise to attribute these patterns to eustatic sea-level changes.


When I read a draft of the introduction to Walking and Talking Feminist Rhetorics: Landmark Essays and Controversies last summer, I was eager to see the collection in print. The draft introduction suggested an anthology of scholarly abundance and possibility. This collection has not disappointed, as Lindal Buchanan and Kathleen J. Ryan bring together in one text a nuanced understanding of feminist rhetorics as an established dynamic field. They have included 29 primarily women's but also men's voices in a multivalent scholarly exchange that has been occurring over the last twenty years. The editors define the field of feminist rhetorics as a community of scholars and body of scholarship with an intellectual, theoretical, practical, and political agenda that "encourages others to think, believe, and act in ways that promote equal treatment and opportunities for women" (xiv). 'The significance of Walking and Talking Feminist Rhetorics is in its selection and arrangement of valuable contemporary articles that mark a middle ground between rhetorical traditions and interdisciplinary impulses for the discipline of Rhetoric and Composition Studies. Additionally, it provides a starting point for women and men who are interested in promoting social equity in their academic and professional endeavors.


A pipe burst is a major water distribution system failure. Water escapes the network through the break increasing the total flow entering the network. These higher flows, in turn, increase the head losses in pipes and result in lower water pressures at customer taps. This study focuses on burst detection by seeking to identify anomalies in net system demand, pipe flow rates, and nodal pressure heads. Three univariate statistical process control (SPC) methods (the Western Electric Company rules, the cumulative sum (CUSUM) method, and the exponentially weighted moving average [EWMA]) and three multivariate SPC methods (Hotelling T2 method and multivariate versions of CUSUM and EWMA) are compared with respect to their detection effectiveness and efficiency. First, the three univariate methods are tested using real system burst detection and then the six SPC methods are compared using synthetic data. The real application using net system demand shows that burst flows are proportionally too small to be detected. Synthetic data analyses suggest that the univariate EWMA method using nodal pressure provides the highest detectability. The method's long record length helps detect small bursts and avoid false detection. SPC methods require consistent system operations for measurements beyond total area flow.


The application of an out-of-plane sensitive electronic speckle pattern interferometer (ESPI) using holographic optical element (HOE) to vibration amplitude and phase mapping is reported. The novelty of the proposed system is the use of a speckle reference wave stored in a reflection holographic optical element (HOE). The incorporation of a HOE minimizes the alignment difficulties. The HOE based ESPI system is compact containing only a diode laser, HOE and a digital CMOS camera. The measurement technique is a combination of time averaged ESPI and reference beam phase modulation in an unbalanced interferometer. The reference beam phase modulation is implemented by modulating the drive current of the diode laser. The presented HOE based ESPI system is easy to align and compact and thus suitable for industrial non-destructive testing and vibration analysis.


After defining optical glass, the requirements of the optical industry are discussed from the standpoints of quantity, quality, and variety. Consumption is small but the demands in respect of quality are high. The variety of optical constants now available is great but the designer is in need of combinations of index of refraction and dispersion not now available.


We model Continuous Workout Mortgages (CWMs) in an economic environment with refinancings and prepayments by employing a market-observable variable such as the house price index. Our main results include: (a) explicit modelling of repayment and interest-only CWMs; (b) closed form formulae for mortgage payment and mortgage balance of a repayment CWM; (c) a closed form formula for the actuarially fair mortgage rate of an interest-only CWM. For repayment CWMs we extend our analysis to include two negotiable parameters: adjustable \"workout proportion\" and adjustable \"workout threshold.\" These results are of importance as they not only help understanding the mechanics of CWMs and estimating key contract parameters. Our results also provide guidance on how to mitigate systemic risk.


OBJECTIVE Insulin-resistant states, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, contribute substantially to accelerated atherogenesis. Null mutations of myostatin (Mstn) are associated with increased muscle mass and decreased fat mass. In this study, we determined whether Mstn disruption could prevent the development of insulin resistance, proatherogenic dyslipidemia, and atherogenesis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS C57BL/6 Ldlr−/− mice were cross-bred with C57BL/6 Mstn−/− mice for >10 generations to generate Mstn−/−/Ldlr−/− double-knockout mice. The effects of high-fat/high-cholesterol diet on body composition, plasma lipids, systemic and tissue-specific insulin sensitivity, hepatic steatosis, as well as aortic atheromatous lesion were characterized in Mstn−/−/Ldlr−/− mice in comparison with control Mstn+/+/Ldlr−/− mice. RESULTS Compared with Mstn+/+/Ldlr−/− controls, Mstn−/−/ Ldlr−/− mice were resistant to diet-induced obesity, and had greatly improved insulin sensitivity, as indicated by 42% higher glucose infusion rate and 90% greater muscle [3H]-2-deoxyglucose uptake during hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Mstn−/−/Ldlr−/− mice were protected against diet-induced hepatic steatosis and had 56% higher rate of hepatic fatty acid β-oxidation than controls. Mstn−/−/Ldlr−/− mice also had 36% lower VLDL secretion rate and were protected against diet-induced dyslipidemia, as indicated by 30–60% lower VLDL and LDL cholesterol, free fatty acids, and triglycerides. Magnetic resonance angiography and en face analyses demonstrated 41% reduction in aortic atheromatous lesions in Ldlr−/− mice with Mstn deletion. CONCLUSIONS Inactivation of Mstn protects against the development of insulin resistance, proatherogenic dyslipidemia, and aortic atherogenesis in Ldlr−/− mice. Myostatin may be a useful target for drug development for prevention and treatment of obesity and its associated type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis.


While the focus of information science and technology research is in information, sometimes the lack of information, information gaps and non‐information can make an equally great or even greater difference. The purpose of this panel is to nuance the understanding of the absence of information and addressing the gap in theorising, investigating and working with information gaps and 'non‐information' across the information field. Panellists present research conceptualising, documenting, and describing information gaps and non‐information and how they are dealt with in the information field specifically addressing: 1) how conceptualisations of information gaps and non‐information influence how they emerge as describable entities; 2) what approaches to manage information gaps and non‐information exist in information science and technology research; 3) what aspects of information gaps and non‐information different approaches address, make visible and invisible; and 4) how novel insights from the current state‐of‐the‐art research can be translated to practice, policies and actions.


Many PET scanners nowadays have the possibility to record event-by-event information, known as list mode data. This has the advantage of keeping the data in the highest possible resolution (both temporal and spatial). In most cases, list mode data are then binned into sinogram format before reconstruction. In this paper, we discuss at which stage normalisation factors should be introduced. It is shown that noise is greatly reduced by performing the normalisation after the binning. We illustrate this with acquired and simulated data for the quad HiDAC camera.


Lone mothers on social assistance (SA) constitute a client group where collaboration between agencies may be of particular importance due to their difficulties in maintaining full-time provision and the vast number of children involved. This article aims to analyse to what extent, and with whom, welfare agencies in the field of personal social services collaborate in individual cases. The significance of client factors with regard to collaboration with labour market-oriented and/or treatment-oriented partners, respectively, is being analysed. The study is based on microdata from a cross-sectional sample (n = 875) from the total population of lone mothers receiving SA in one of Sweden's three major cities at some point during 2007. Data were collected through questionnaires that were answered by the case managers responsible. The main findings are: (i) welfare agencies collaborate with at least one partner in about 60 per cent of the cases; (ii) psycho-social impairments and mental health impairments increase collaboration with treatment-oriented partners; and (iii) whereas long-term SA recipiency increases collaboration with labour market-oriented partners, low educational attainment significantly decreases collaboration with labour market-oriented partners. It is suggested that educational measures ought to be improved and given a more significant role in practical social work with this particular client group.


Plants encounter a plethora of conditions in the soil that are either deleterious, neutral, or beneficial to plant growth. Endophyic fungi living in plant organs have a symbiotic relationship with their hosts. In the past, many studies focused on the interactions between plants and endophytic fungi. However, in natural environment, the interactions among plant, endophytic fungi and soil are more comprehensive. Although the main living places for endophytic fungi were host tissues, they closely associated with rhizospheric soil. In this review, the effects of endophytic fungi on soil chemical, microbial and physical environment has been evaluated to provide useful information of improving soil environment by fungal physical function during the mycelia growth and biochemical function in the course of fungal metabolism.


InformaTec is a 2-year, NERC-funded project that seeks to identify how to manage the increasing wealth of environmental data and information so that it can be transmitted, distributed, stored, archived, analysed and visualised, and in so doing, aims to recognise and develop opportunities for knowledge and technology transfer, both nationally and internationally. As such, InformaTec addresses a major objective of the NERC science strategy, namely, the "exploitation of technological advances to develop improved methods of monitoring environmental change." InformaTec-Soils is one component of InformaTec; other aspects of the project focus on environmental monitoring, data standards, interoperability, and distributed computing.

The specific aim of InformaTec-Soils is to draw together key players having interest in the collection and synthesis of large-scale soil data sets with a view to identifying what needs to be done to improve understanding of soil and environmental change. As part of the InformaTec-Soils initiative, a meeting of 24 experts from across the UK was convened at Defra, in London, on 14 March 2011. Through presentations, roundtable discussions and breakout groups, the meeting explored, current informatics, methodological and cultural challenges, and constraints, to the synthesis of UK and European soils data for understanding soil and environmental change.

This report presents a vision for an ecosystems approach to soils and summarizes the conclusions and recommendations of the meeting held in London. As well as identifying opportunities for the soils community generally, the report will be presented to NERC to inform decisions on future funding. The authors of the report extend their gratitude to all who contributed to the meeting and the production of this report.

The report identifies the following important research topics for soils:

Key areas for research:
1) Framework development.
2) Quantifying the soil resource, stocks, fluxes, transformations and identifying indicators.
3) Valuing the soil resource for its ecosystem services and natural capital.
4) Developing management strategies and decision support tools.

Within these 4 key areas for research we identify the following 5 major challenges that the NERC technologies theme should address:

Major research challenges:
1. Ecosystem approach to national soil monitoring; how we measure and model at a range of scales.
2. Exploit new technologies for airborne, ground based sensor networks, and molecular biology techniques to link from structure through to function and on to service.
3. Develop data accessibility (via cloud), and integration by exploiting new data IT tools (eg Open MI) to support projects building exemplar or baseline data/models eg EVOp project (Community).
4. Decision support tools, simple, practical tools for people trying to utilize and visualise data for a range of common purposes (e.g. planning).
5. Pathways to 'valuation'. How do you link users perceptions of value to the parameters created by the data and models? (e.g developing techniques from social–science research in terms of perceptions and value judgements).

Some of the challenges and opportunities to arise from the meeting with regard to 'Data Handling' and 'Measurement Methods and Technologies' are identified in two appendices to the report.


This is a project about "translation" and the "intermediate".

Translation has often been described as something occurring in the middle "black box"—as a highly sophisticated operation in the translator's mind that turns a "source text" into a "target text". In theoretical terms, this means a complex trans-lingual and cross-cultural process that involves linguistic interchange and cultural transfer, constituting an epistemological and ontological reorganization of meanings. This thesis attempts to probe into the mysterious "black box", by investigating the concept of "translation" as transition, mediation, negotiation and rewritings between linguistic, cultural, national boundaries and beyond. The idea of "translation" hence acquires autonomy in the theoretical perspective: as a third, active and independent agency that facilitates a dynamic dialogue and explicates vital phenomena in the hidden yet crucial space of the "in-between".

Starting by an experiment using theories in translation studies to reflect on four central notions in cultural studies ("subjectivity", "differance" , "hybridity" and "power") based on the theme of "postcolonial identity", the importance of the "translation" concept and its strength in academic interdisciplinarity is brought into the discussion of cultural crisis in globalization, especially in the reconciliation of the "global-local" conflict on identities. This wide pertinence of "translation" in the cultural sense also engages the concept as a meta-structure concerning the movement of ideas, drawing focus to the moment of occurrence and the substantiality of the experience. These new theoretical outcomes will be further applied and ruminated in the case study. The unique and unusual postcolonial character of Hong Kong, which envisages a distinctive and peculiar space of "cultural translation" vividly shown by the Infernal Affairs film series (the original source for the Oscar-winning The Departed ), renders novel thoughts to the existing orientations that correlate translation, cultural identity, postcolonialism and globalization. The concept of "translation" can be a key to scrutinize the longstanding mystique of change in the global age.


In the context of nationality, the role of education is to prepare students to face the future and promote a sense of dignity among other nations. For Indonesia, humanistic values were incorporated and formulated into Pancasila, which is often referred to as humanistic-universalistic. This paper aims to review the formulation of national education goals that are in sync with the concept of universal humanistic education. It investigates an Islamic education as an integral part of Indonesian national education can achieve both national and humanistic education goals without contradicting each other or the teachings of Islam. The finding implies that orientation of the education system in Islamic educational institutions starts with a theocentric philosophy, which emphasises the importance of the afterlife over life in this world. Throughout the educational process, students intensively explore the comprehensive teachings and practices of Islam. Islamic teachings explicitly describe the practice of Islam in terms of the IJAPS, Vol. 13, No. 1, 95–113, 2017 Humanism in Islamic Education 96 implementation of Islamic humanism. Therefore, an emphasis on moral goodness, unity and brotherhood and the cultivation of independence in Muslim characters are the main pillars of Islamic humanism in the Islamic educational institutions. As a concept, this paper suggests that the implementation of Islamic humanism would require a policy that is conducive to the realisation that the concept must be humane and must become a reality. Responsibility for such a policy would be shared among all components of the nation, from the government, as the main educational policymaker, to the schools that provide education and the parents and the community that will benefit from the education. These factors are responsible for the realisation of humanistic education.


Oregano populations are variable by morphology, cytology, genetics, biochemistry and agrobotany. Using international Draft Descriptor Lists it is possible to describe oregano samples and to select the most variable accessions for cultivation of Origanum vulgare L. The aim of this research was to explore the several aspects of morphological diversity of oregano in Latvia. In summer 2012, 44 oregano accessions from an ex situ collection of spice- and medicinal plants of the Laboratory of Cultivated Plants and Apilogy ( Jelgava, 1 Strazdu str.) were analysed. Plant growth habit, plant height, number of stems per plant, branching density, colour of the upper surface and shape of blade of the leaf, density of flowers, colour of petals were described in this research. The results showed that oregano accessions differ morphologically in Latvia. It is necessary to continue this research to allow plants to fully express their characteristics and to explore the possible changeableness of parameters.


In this paper, 12 new aerofoils with varying thicknesses for an aft-swept flying wing unmanned air vehicle have been designed using a MATLAB tool which has been developed in-house. The tool consists of 2 parts in addition to the aerodynamic solver XFOIL. The first part generates the aerofoil section geometry using a combination of PARSEC and Bezier-curve parameterisation functions. PARSEC parametrisation has been used to represent the camber line while the Bezier-curve has been used to select the thickness distribution. This combination is quite efficient in using an optimisation search process because of the capability to define a range of design variables that can quickly generate a suitable aerofoil. The second part contains the optimisation code using a genetic algorithm. The primary target here was to design a number of aerofoils with low pitching moment, suitable for an aft-swept flying wing configuration operating at low Reynolds number in the range of about 0.5 × 106. Three optimisation targets were set to achieve maximum aerodynamic performance characteristics. Each individual target was run separately to design several aerofoils of different thicknesses that meet the target criteria. According to the set of result obtained so far, the initial observation of the aerodynamic performance of the newly designed aerofoils is that the lift/drag ratio in general is higher than that of the existing ones used in many current-generation highaltitude long-endurance aircraft. Another observation is that increasing the maximum thickness of the aerofoil leads to a decrease in the maximum lift/drag ratio. In addition, as expected, this ratio sharply drops after the maximum value of some of these aerofoils.


In this paper, we analyze the emergence and persistence of poverty traps and study how wide-spread poverty and the unequal distribution of income can slow down the accumulation process and lead to steady-state equilibria characterized by low aggregate output levels. We define poverty as a state deriving from the lack of adequate skills and associate income inequality with the unequal distribution of education attainments. In this context the goal of our contribution is twofold. First, we show that low asymptotic mobility and persistent income inequality can emerge as a consequence of the fact that the poor require relatively higher returns to increase expenditure on education, so that they devote to education smaller shares of their income that the rich. Second, we critically evaluate our and other related results, in order to shed light on the explanatory power of different sets of assumptions.


In this paper we explore the concept of excess volatility in general equilibrium. We show there is a fundamental tension between household efforts to smooth consumption and attempts by firms' to smooth investment in the presence of convex adjustment costs in capital formation. Adjustment costs substantially diminish the ability of households to smooth consumption. As a result, consumption volatility will be significantly higher in the presence of adjustment costs than would be expected from the permanent income model alone. Moreover adjustment costs can cause consumption and asset prices to change discontinuously at the moment of implementation of a previously anticipated event, a phenomenon that does not occur in models without adjustment costs.


PURPOSE
To assess whether a correlation exists between optic nerve fiber layer (NFL) thickness and the retinal or visual pathway function in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients previously affected by optic neuritis.

METHODS
Fourteen patients with a diagnosis of definite MS were examined. All had been affected by optic neuritis (MSON) with complete recovery of visual acuity (14 eyes included in study). These were compared with 14 eyes from 14 age-matched control subjects. NFL thickness was measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Three different measurements in each quadrant (superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal) were taken and averaged. The data in all quadrants (12 values averaged) were identified as NFL Overall, whereas the data obtained in the temporal quadrant only (3 values averaged) were identified as NFL Temporal. Retinal and visual pathway function was assessed by simultaneously recording pattern electroretinograms (PERGs) and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) using high-contrast (80%) checkerboard stimuli subtending 15 minutes and 60 minutes of the visual arc (min arc) and reversed at the rate of two reversals per second.

RESULTS
In MSON eyes there was a significant (P < 0.01) reduction in NFL thickness in both NFL Overall and NFL Temporal evaluations compared with the values observed in control eyes. PERG, (15-min arc checks) and VEP (15-min arc and 60-min arc checks), showed a significant (P < 0.01) delay in latency and reduction in amplitude. NFL Overall and NFL Temporal values were significantly correlated (P < 0.01) to the PERG P50 latency and P50 to N95 amplitude recorded with 15-min arc checks. No correlations (P > 0.01) between NFL values and the other electrophysiological data (PERG recorded with 60-min arc checks and VEP recorded with 15-min arc and 60-min arc checks) were found.

CONCLUSIONS
There is a correlation between PERG changes and NFL thickness in MS patients previously affected by optic neuritis, but there is no correlation between VEP changes and NFL thickness.


In situ surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) was applied to investigate adsorption configurations of pyridine (Py) on platinum, palladium, ruthenium, and rhodium nanoparticle film electrodes. The results reveal that α-pyridyl species predominantly form on Pt electrodes by assuming an edge-on configuration with its ring N and α-C atoms bonding to the Pt surface, while on Ru and Rh electrodes pyridine molecules essentially remain intact by adopting a slightly edge-tilted configuration through bonding with its N lone pair electrons. Py adsorption on a Pd electrode may lie in between the above two cases; both α-pyridyl species and edge-tilted intact pyridine could be significantly present. Further comparison of the typical adsorption configurations on the above four electrodes with those on Ag, Au, Cu, Cd, and Ni film electrodes suggests that valence electrons and the periodic row of metals may play an important role in determining the adsorption configuration.


Abstract. Drained thaw lake basins (DTLB's) are the dominant land form of the Arctic Coastal Plain in northern Alaska. The presence of continuous permafrost prevents drainage and so water tables generally remain close to the soil surface, creating saturated, suboxic soil conditions. However, ice wedge polygons produce microtopographic variation in these landscapes, with raised areas such as polygon rims creating more oxic microenvironments. The peat soils in this ecosystem store large amounts of organic carbon which is vulnerable to loss as arctic regions continue to rapidly warm, and so there is great motivation to understand the controls over microbial activity in these complex landscapes. Here we report the effects of experimental flooding, along with seasonal and spatial variation in soil chemistry and microbial activity in a DTLB. The flooding treatment generally mirrored the effects of natural landscape variation in water-table height due to microtopography. The flooded portion of the basin had lower dissolved oxygen, lower oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and higher pH, as did lower elevation areas throughout the entire basin. Similarly, soil pore water concentrations of organic carbon and aromatic compounds were higher in flooded and low elevation areas. Dissolved ferric iron (Fe(III)) concentrations were higher in low elevation areas and responded to the flooding treatment in low areas, only. The high concentrations of soluble Fe(III) in soil pore water were explained by the presence of siderophores, which were much more concentrated in low elevation areas. All the aforementioned variables were correlated, showing that Fe(III) is solubilized in response to anoxic conditions. Dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) concentrations were higher in low elevation areas, but showed only subtle and/or seasonally dependent effects of flooding. In anaerobic laboratory incubations, more CH4 was produced by soils from low and flooded areas, whereas anaerobic CO2 production only responded to flooding in high elevation areas. Seasonal changes in the oxidation state of solid phase Fe minerals showed that net Fe reduction occurred, especially in topographically low areas. The effects of Fe reduction were also seen in the topographic patterns of pH, as protons were consumed where this process was prevalent. This suite of results can all be attributed to the effect of water table on oxygen availability: flooded conditions promote anoxia, stimulating dissolution and reduction of Fe(III), and to some extent, methanogenesis. However, two lines of evidence indicated the inhibition of methanogenesis by alternative e- acceptors such as Fe(III) and humic substances: (1) ratios of CO2:CH4 evolved from anaerobic soil incubations and dissolved in soil pore water were high; (2) CH4 concentrations were negatively correlated with the oxidation state of the soluble Fe pool in both topographically high and low areas. A second set of results could be explained by increased soil temperature in the flooding treatment, which presumably arose from the increased thermal conductivity of the soil surface: higher N mineralization rates and dissolved P concentrations were observed in flooded areas. Overall, these results could have implications for C and nutrient cycling in high Arctic areas where warming and flooding are likely consequences of climate change.


This paper examines the role of spirituality in a recovery context by drawing on qualitative research conducted at a residential recovery community in North Wales, United Kingdom. The study aimed to examine perceptions of spirituality among exprisoners and people identifying as in recovery from addiction. The researchers explored ideas of "spiritual coping" and "spiritual wellbeing" in terms of meaning, purpose, connectedness, forgiveness, and peace in addiction treatment programs influenced by 12-Step models, for instance, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Also, this paper focuses on both spiritual counseling services shaped by pre-determined meanings and values and secondly, on individuals' perceptions about spirituality through the language of desires, needs, and expectations. The data for this research produced from five semi-structured interviews with male individuals who had recovered from their addiction and had practised some custodial life. To discover the common context of different perceptions of the language spirituality, the data was coded by the first and second loop encodings from the data analysis methods used. The central schemes that appear as "Spirituality in Experiences, Spirituality in Values, Spirituality as Meaning/Purpose of Life, Spirituality as Attachment, Spirituality as Coping Mechanism" have been evaluated within the framework of the concept of spirituality. In the conclusion of this study, it was observed that spirituality was used as a coping mechanism for buffering the sensation of hopelessness and powerlessness often experienced by people in active addiction.


The task of constructing a volumetric description of a scene from a single image is an underdetermined problem, whether it is a range or an intensity image. To resolve the ambiguities that are caused by occlusions in images, we need to take sensor measurements from several different views. We have limited ourselves to the range images obtained by a laser scanning system. It is an active binocular system which can encounter two types of occlusions. An occlusion arises either when the reflected laser light does not reach the camera or when the directed laser light does not reach the scene surface. The task of 3-D data acquisition is divided into two subproblems: to see what is illuminated and to properly direct the illuminating plane to illuminate the entire scene. The first kind of occlusions are easily detected and can be used in designing an efficient algorithm. We develop a strategy to determine the sequence of different views using the information in a narrow zone around the occluded regions. Occluded regions are approximated by polygons. Based on the height information of the border of the occluded regions and geometry of the edges of the polygonal approximation, the next views in the same scanning plane are determined. From the acquired information in the first scanning plane the directions of the next scanning planes are computed.


Passenger car fuel consumption is a constant concern for automotive companies and the contribution to fuel consumption from aerodynamics is well recognized. Several studies have been published previously on the aerodynamics of wheels. One area of wheel aerodynamics discussed in some of these earlier works is the so called ventilation resistance. This study investigates ventilation resistance on a number of 17 inch rims in the Volvo Cars Aerodynamic Wind Tunnel. The ventilation resistance was measured using a custom build suspension and the tractive force measurement system installed in the Wheel Drive Units (WDUs). The study aims at identifying wheel design factors that have significant effect on the ventilation resistance for the investigated wheel size. The results show that it was possible to measure similar power requirements to rotate the wheels as was found in previous works. The magnitude of the measured ventilation resistance confirms the conclusion that this effect should be taken into account when designing a wheel. It was found that some of the rim design factors have greater influences on the ventilation resistance than others. It was also shown that one of the investigated rims had lower ventilation resistance than measured for the fully-covered wheel configuration.


Small and Medium Enterprises play an important role towards economic growth and development in Kenya at large. However, there is limited evidence on their capital structure or how they take financing decisions in Kenya. It was therefore imperative to understand how key firm characteristics affect capital structure of these enterprises to help in improving policy decisions and offering practical guidance. This study investigated firm characteristics which influence capital structure of SMEs focusing on Kenya with the hope that findings and recommendations will be replicated in in other countries. Ordinary Least Square model was applied on Kenya's latest enterprise survey data of 2018.Both descriptive and regression analyses were employed. Results indicate that firm size and firm age are negatively associated with the capital structure. On the other hand, the study found that firm performance and assets base, affected capital structure positively. The study concludes that SMEs should find alternative funding avenues rather than relying on borrowing. A further study was also recommended to analyse why firm performance was positively related to capital structure.


Abstract A new version of the SAT is scheduled to be administered for the first time in March of 2005. What will the test look like and what are the implications for college admissions? This article details the history of the SAT as well as the significance of the proposed changes. In a speech at the American Council on Education's Annual Meeting in February 2001, Richard Atkinson, President of the University of California system, asked the University's Academic Senate to consider changing the test score requirements for admissions. President Atkinson proposed to make SAT-I scores optional and to consider using either an expanded set of SAT-II tests or other curriculum-based tests when making admissions decisions (Atkinson 2001). As a result of this recommendation, in June 2002, the College Board announced a major revision to the SAT-I to become effective with the March 2005 administration of the exam. Although the University of California has yet to alter its admissions requirements, further deliberation and action is all but certain. Given the significant planned changes to the SAT, it would be useful to examine the history of this testing program. This can provide a useful roadmap to where the SAT is headed and to what other possible changes might occur in the future. In addition, because much is already known about the format of the revised SAT-I for 2005, the possible implications of the new test on the admissions process are delineated. The Key Organizations Throughout its history, the SAT has been linked to two organizations, the College Board and the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The College Board, formerly known as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB), is the national membership organization of more than 4,200 schools, colleges, and universities. Founded in 1900 and presently headquartered in New York City, the College Board owns the rights to the SAT, and makes policy decisions regarding the testing program on behalf of its member institutions. The original mission of the College Board was to facilitate communication between secondary schools and colleges and universities to ensure that the curricula in high school courses prepared students adequately for college-level work. Educational Testing Service, headquartered outside of Princeton, New Jersey, was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest non-profit testing and research company. ETS has over 3,000 employees and reported nearly $1 billion in revenues in its latest fiscal year. ETS was set up as an independent entity when the College Board recognized that the SAT (along with several other testing programs) became too large and complex for the College Board to handle on its own. ETS develops, validates, and scores the SAT for the College Board and has done so since the company's inception. Historical Background In 1901, the first tests given by the College Board were administered to 973 students with essay exams in nine subjects. These students were applying to a small number of selective colleges, almost all of which were located in New York state. In the 1920s, influenced by the intelligence tests developed for the military in World War I, the philosophy behind admissions testing shifted. A new type of admissions test, later named the Scholastic Aptitude Test (now simply known as the SAT-I), advocated by then-Harvard President James Bryant Conant, was intended to reduce the impact of family income and private schooling on students' performance. Some of the academic psychologists, such as Carl Brigham, who developed the military intelligence tests, also worked on the SAT. It is because of these historical connections and influences that the SAT has long been considered to be a type of intelligence test. In 1926, the first SAT was given to 8,040 students. The test was composed mainly of multiple-choice questions and consisted of nine subtests, although only a single total score was reported. …


Regulatory competition in contract law has become a popular topic in recent years. The focus of the debate, however, has been whether regulators actually compete for application of their contract laws. In contrast, the question under which conditions this competition – if it exists – might have positive effects has largely been ignored. In the paper I set out to fill this gap. I argue that empirical evidence shows that there is – or that there can be – regulatory competition in contract law and that freedom of choice on the level of private international law may ensure its efficiency. However, to induce efficient regulatory competition freedom of choice must be properly designed. This is because choice of law-clauses may fail to represent the interests of all parties affected by the choice and cause regulators to ignore these interests when adjusting their contract laws. Unfortunately, of the many restrictions of freedom of choice that are to be found in current national or international private international law regimes only those that serve the protection of weaker or third parties actually regulate freedom of choice in a way that ensures efficient regulatory competition. Other restrictions, in contrast, limit regulatory competition more than necessary and, thus, compromise the potential positive effects of a market for laws. This holds particularly true for the restrictions relating to the choice of a non-state or unconnected law: they do not help to avoid a race to the bottom, but merely reduce the number of competitors on the market for laws. National and international private international law regimes should, therefore, abandon these restrictions and thereby ensure that the design of freedom of choice actually fosters efficient regulatory competition.


Sound is a natural stimulus for both cochlear and saccular receptors. At high intensities it evokes in active masseter muscles of healthy subjects two overlapping reflexes: p11/n15 and p16/n21 waves, whose origin has not yet been demonstrated. Our purpose was to test which receptor in the inner ear is responsible for these reflexes. We compared masseter EMG responses induced in normal subjects (n= 9) by loud clicks (70–100 dB normal hearing level (NHL), 0.1 ms, 3 Hz) to those evoked in subjects with a selective lesion of the cochlea (n= 5), of the vestibule (n= 1) or with mixed cochlear‐vestibular failure (n= 5). In controls, 100 dB clicks induced bilaterally, in the unrectified mean EMG (unrEMG), a clear p11 wave followed by a less clear n15 wave and a subsequent n21 wave. Lowering the intensity to 70 dB clicks abolished the p11/n15 wave, while a p16 wave appeared. Rectified mean EMG (rectEMG) showed, at all intensities, an inhibitory deflection corresponding to the p16/n21 wave in the unrEMG. Compared to controls, all deaf subjects had a normal p11 wave, together with more prominent n15 wave; however, the p16/n21 waves, and their corresponding inhibition in the rectEMG, were absent. The vestibular patient had bilaterally clear p11 waves only when 100 dB clicks were delivered bilaterally or to the unaffected ear. Stimulation of the affected ear induced only p16/n21 waves. Data from mixed patients were consistent with those of deaf and vestibular patients. We conclude that click‐induced masseter p11/n15 waves are vestibular dependent, while p16/n21 waves depend on cochlear integrity.


Technical progress in the open-source self replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) community has enabled a distributed form of additive manufacturing to expand rapidly using polymer-based materials. However, the lack of an open-source metal alternative and the high capital costs and slow throughput of proprietary commercialized metal 3-D printers has severely restricted their deployment. The applications of commercialized metal 3-D printers are limited to only rapid prototyping and expensive finished products. This severely restricts the access of the technology for small and medium enterprises, the developing world and for use in laboratories. This paper reports on the development of a open-source metal 3-D printer. The metal 3-D printer is controlled with an open-source micro-controller and is a combination of a low-cost commercial gas-metal arc welder and a derivative of the Rostock, a deltabot RepRap. The bill of materials, electrical and mechanical design schematics, and basic construction and operating procedures are provided. A preliminary technical analysis of the properties of the 3-D printer and the resultant steel products are performed. The results of printing customized functional metal parts are discussed and conclusions are drawn about the potential for the technology and the future work necessary for the mass distribution of this technology.


Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate the needs and preferences for training among growth-oriented women-owned SMEs in the East of England.

Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative data were collected through 108 on-line questionnaires, and the means analysed using SPSS. Qualitative data collected in response to open-ended questions were inductively analysed and interpreted.

Findings – Only one fourth of respondents received growth-oriented training in the previous two years, with an average duration of 3-5 days per year. Programmes most in demand concerned innovation and opportunity recognition, business evaluation and growth considerations, developing strategic customers and customers care, customer relationship management, as well as selling, networking and negotiation skills. High demand for these programmes corresponds to others results identifying contributory factors to higher enterprise performance and growth: product/service quality, new product/service development, appropriate marketing, effective use of websites, selling skills and informal networking.

Research limitations/implications – The scope of the project is limited to service sectors and sole proprietorships. Geographic scope is limited to the East of England. These limits nonetheless provide a reasonable base and rationale for the scope of the study.

Practical implications – With a better understanding of the capacity building requirements of women entrepreneurs in growth businesses, appropriately designed training programmes can be developed to help women achieve higher levels of entrepreneurial success.

Originality/value – The study offers original primary research into the contributory growth factors for women-owned enterprises in a representative area of Britain, identifies key issues, maps survival and success factors, and assesses women entrepreneurs' training needs and preferences.


In this paper we propose a new type of random CSP model, called Model RB, which is a revision to the standard Model B. It is proved that phase transitions from a region where almost all problems are satisfiable to a region where almost all problems are unsatisfiable do exist for Model RB as the number of variables approaches infinity. Moreover, the critical values at which the phase transitions occur are also known exactly. By relating the hardness of Model RB to Model B, it is shown that there exist a lot of hard instances in Model RB.


Though symptoms such as loss of vision, decline in cognition and memory are evident during aging, the underlying processes that affect neuronal function during aging are not well understood. Unlike changes in other tissues and organs, age-related changes in the nervous system affect the overall physical, mental as well as social state of human beings. To start elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying normal age-dependent brain decline, we have characterized structural neuronal changes occurring during Caenorhabditis elegans aging. Our analysis reveals distinct neuronal alterations that arise with age and that the types of changes and their age of onset are neuronal-type specific, highlighting the differential susceptibility of neurons to the stresses of life. We also find that these age-dependent neuronal changes are largely uncoupled from lifespan. As a first step towards understanding the neuropathological conditions manifested during senescence, we have characterized the role of the neuronal maintenance gene sax-7/L1CAM in normal C. elegans aging. Our comparison of age-related structural changes in the wild-type nervous system with that of sax-7 mutants, indicates that loss of function of sax-7 results in accelerated neuronal deterioration that mimics alterations occurring during normal aging. Conversely, overexpressing wild-type copies of SAX-7 delays some of the neuronal changes that accompany normal aging, indicating that SAX-7 plays a neuroprotective role. Additionally we find that x mechanical stress from body movements impacts the neuronal changes during adulthood. Taken together, our results give an entry point into the mechanisms of age-related neuroanatomical changes and neuronal protection.


Often in language and other areas of cognition, whether two components of an object are identical or not determine whether it is well formed. We call such constraints identity effects. When developing a system to learn well-formedness from examples, it is easy enough to build in an identify effect. But can identity effects be learned from the data without explicit guidance? We provide a simple framework in which we can rigorously prove that algorithms satisfying simple criteria cannot make the correct inference. We then show that a broad class of algorithms including deep neural networks with standard architecture and training with backpropagation satisfy our criteria, dependent on the encoding of inputs. Finally, we demonstrate our theory with computational experiments in which we explore the effect of different input encodings on the ability of algorithms to generalize to novel inputs.


Roger Guenveur Smith. Joseph Papp Public Theatre, New York City, Feb-Mar. 1997. The image forever burned into my psyche of Huey P. Newton in the late 1960s is that famous life-sized poster with him sitting poised in a wicker chair with a spear in one hand and a gun in the other. Those piercing eyes, fearless; a warrior committed to the Black liberation struggle and willing to die for his convictions. In 1967 I was twelve years old, and I can remember rushing home from school during the eight weeks of the Huey P. Newton murder trial to catch the local news broadcast of hundreds of demonstrators marching in front of the Alameda County Courthouse chanting, "Free Huey, Free Huey, Free Huey...." His defiance against authority made an indelible impression on the minds of young Black boys living in the ghettos of South Central Los Angeles, constantly confronted with racism and police brutality. That was the Huey P. Newton of my youth, the mythological Newton--he is the one I chose to embrace in the recesses of my memory, not Huey P. Newton the "crack head," fatally shot in August 1989 while trying to "cop a rock" to ease his pain. Roger Guenveur Smith, who directed, created, wrote, and performed A Huey P. Newton Story at The Joseph Papp Public Theatre, has created a complex and compelling representation of a man that none of us ever knew. Despite what we've read about him and despite what we think we may know about him, Huey P. Newton was so much more complex than our myths about him and that image on the poster--gun in one hand, spear in the other: "POWER TO THE PEOPLE!" In his performance Roger Smith captures the spirit of Huey P. Newton the boy, the adolescent, the man. The audience is drawn into Smith's performance as he captures the ethos of this shy, soft-spoken, chain-smoking revolutionary who is not comfortable with his public image as the gun-toting Minister of Defense of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense: "I'm nervous around guns. I hate all them guns clicking around my head.... We're forced to carry guns to defend ourselves against the police ...." The Huey P. Newton Roger Smith portrays is filled with contradictions and unanswered questions. Despite growing up illiterate, Newton could recite classical poetry and quote whole passages from Shakespeare. He learned to do this not by reading but by listening to recordings of classical works performed by great actors like Vincent Price. Huey's older brother used money as an incentive to induce him to read. Although Huey welcomed his brother's offer, he used his new found knowledge to become a better burglar. Yet, despite his adolescent criminal behavior, Newton remained close to his family, referring to his father with affection as "a benevolent tyrant," because he was a strict disciplinarian. Roger Smith, immersed in the spirit of Huey P. Newton, has Newton recall his father breaking a long-time friendship because the friend, who was a policeman, recently hired, had orders that he could only arrest Black people. His father never spoke to the man after that conversation. Newton never forgot the incident, which for him became a metaphor for the fact that a Black man should never oppress another Black man. In fact, it could be argued that the incident was a turning point in redirecting Newton's interest from petty theft and burglary to working for social justice in the Black community. Roger Smith's portrayal of Newton's tormented psyche is performed in the style of a ritualistic dance of death, reaching from the sublime to the grotesque of Newton's inner spirit. …


Background: Patients with diabetes are targeted with diabetes education 8–10 weeks before Ramadan to have a safe fasting experience. In 2020, this timing coincided with COVID-19 lockdown when virtual clinics were implemented to secure patient care continuity. Objectives: We evaluated hypoglycemia episodes among patients with diabetes fasting in Ramadan 2020 during COVID-19 lockdown. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted after the month of Ramadan 2020, using a self-administered online questionnaire and convenient sampling methods. Patients with diabetes aged 14 years and older who practiced fasting in Ramadan were included in the study. Hypoglycemia rate in total and diabetes treatment among observers of Ramadan 2019 and Ramadan 2020 were compared. Predictors of hypoglycemia during fasting Ramadan 2020 were estimated. Results: Out of 367 patients with diabetes aged 14 years and older, 326 (88.8%) participants had the ability to fast Ramadan and were included in the study. Comparing patients' experience in Ramadan 2019 and Ramadan 2020, participants reported lower hypoglycemia episodes during Ramadan 2020 than Ramadan 2019, P = 0.017. In subgroup analysis based on the type of treatment, patients on noninsulin treatment had statistically significant lower hypoglycemia episodes during Ramadan 2020 than Ramadan 2019 (P = 0.006). Patients on insulin treatment had fewer hypoglycemia episodes during Ramadan 2020 than Ramadan 2019, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.405). The probability of hypoglycemia during fasting Ramadan 2020 was higher among younger age groups 14–30 years (odds ratio [OR] 7.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.72–30.39), patients aged 31–45 years (OR 7.18, 95% CI 1.97–26.19), patients with longer duration of diabetes (more than 10 years) (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.01–5.26), and patients on insulin (OR 14.14, 95% CI 1.72–30.39). Conclusions: COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown did not affect the diabetes-related experience among participants' fasting Ramadan. The hypoglycemia episodes of patients with diabetes in Saudi Arabia were improved during the pandemic era. This could be related to telemedicine services. More studies are required to support its role in improving health conditions beyond our population's pandemic era.


ABSTRACT Aim: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a malignancy of the esophagus that is characterized by its high invasiveness and mortality. Nestin is a member of the class VI family of intermediate filament proteins and we previously demonstrated that the majority of tumor cells in non-small cell lung cancer samples are nestin-positive and showed that nestin expression was positively correlated with the subset of lung cancer patients displaying poor outcomes and high levels of proliferative markers. However, the precise mechanisms of nestin action in the proliferation and metastasis of ESCC require further elucidation. Methods: A total of 93 ESCC samples were randomly selected from our tissue database and we explored the association of the nestin phenotype with malignant proliferation and apoptosis in esophageal squamous cancer cells. Nestin expression was determined in ESCC specimens and cell lines (Eca-109 and TE-1), and correlated with clinicopathological properties, including clinical prognosis and proliferative markers. The association of the nestin phenotype with apoptotic indicators was also analyzed. Results: Nestin was expressed in ESCC specimens and cell lines (Eca-109 and TE-1). ESCC patients with nestin-positive tumors had significantly shorter median survival and progression-free survival times than those with nestin-negative tumors. Positive staining for the proliferation markers Ki67 and PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) was detected in 56.9% and 60.2% of ESCC specimens, respectively, and was strongly correlated with the nestin phenotype. Notably, expression of cyclin-dependent kinase-5 (CDK5) and P35 was detected in 53.8% and 48.4% of ESCC specimens, respectively, and was strongly associated with the nestin phenotype. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate nestin expression in ESCC specimens and cell lines, and revealed a strong association of the nestin phenotype with poor prognosis in ESCC patients. Furthermore, we showed that nestin plays an important role in the malignant proliferation and supported the tentative conclusion that nestin likely promotes ESCC cell apoptosis. Targeted regulation of nestin may thus have therapeutic applications in the treatment of human esophageal cancer. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S and can lead to several types of cancers. A better understanding of the variables impacting HPV vaccination will help inform the development of effective disease prevention interventions. This study aims to describe factors that impact parents' and caregivers' decisions to vaccinate their children against HPV by examining sociocultural factors and behavioral change theory among parents or caretakers of sons and daughters (ages 9-18) from diverse socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. A national sample was recruited and participants completed demographic questions and measures related to their attitudes and beliefs about the vaccine and measures based on the transtheoretical model. These variables were used to predict child vaccine initiation and to validate existing measures using a novel sample. Health care provider recommendation, perceived vaccine effectiveness, pros for vaccination, and self-efficacy increased the likelihood that children had initiated the HPV vaccine. While no significant differences were found for race/ethnicity and gender on vaccine initiation, some disparities were noted. There were regional differences in perceived cons for vaccination, socioeconomic differences in selfefficacy and perceived effectiveness, and gender differences in health care provider recommendation and parent perception of cons, vaccine harm, and barriers. These findings may inform future, tailored interventions aimed at increasing HPV vaccine initiation among children and adolescents.


It is advantageous for some diffractive optical element (DOE) applications to produce different output patterns in different circumstances. There has been considerable work on the design of wavelength multiplexing DOEs and in devices where the polarization of the incident light determines the output. One parameter that has not, to our knowledge, been exploited for pattern formation DOEs is the mode of operation, i.e., whether the element works in reflection or transmission. We present an approach for designing such devices and design an element with modeled efficiency, mean square error (MSE), and cross-talk of 65.9, 2.52, and 4.2% in transmission and 66.6, 2.50, and 3.5% in reflection. The element has been successfully fabricated and has measured efficiencies of 58.3% +/- 2 in reflection and 68.8% +/- 5 in transmission are reported.


Biodiversity and conservation data are generally costly to collect, particularly in the marine realm. Hence, data collected for a given—often scientific—purpose are occasionally contributed towards secondary needs, such as policy implementation or other types of decision-making. However, while the quality and accessibility of marine biodiversity and conservation data have improved over the past decade, the ways in which these data can be used to develop and implement relevant management and conservation measures and actions are not always explicit. For this reason, there are a number of scientifically-sound datasets that are not used systematically to inform policy and decisions. Transforming these marine biodiversity and conservation datasets into knowledge products that convey the information required by policy- and decision-makers is an important step in strengthening knowledge exchange across the science-policy interface. Here, we identify seven characteristics of a selection of online biodiversity and conservation knowledge products that contribute to their ability to support policy- and decision-making in the marine realm (as measured by e.g. mentions in policy resolutions/decisions, or use for reporting under selected policy instruments; use in high-level screening for areas of biodiversity importance). These characteristics include: a clear policy mandate; established networks of collaborators; iterative co-design of a user-friendly interface; standardised, comprehensive and documented methods with quality assurance; consistent capacity and succession planning; accessible data and value-added products that are fit-for-purpose; and metrics of use collated and reported. The outcomes of this review are intended to: (a) support data creators/owners/providers in designing and curating biodiversity and conservation knowledge products that have greater influence, and hence impact, in policy- and decision-making, and (b) provide recommendations for how decision- and policy-makers can support the development, implementation, and sustainability of robust biodiversity and conservation knowledge products through the framing of marine policy and decision-making frameworks.


Increased expression and activation of human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and HER-2 have been reported in numerous cancers. The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity of a large panel of human ovarian cancer cell lines (OCCLs) to treatment with various forms of small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and cytotoxic drugs. The aim was to see if there was any association between the protein expression of various biomarkers including three putative ovarian cancer stem cell (CSC) markers (CD24, CD44, CD117/c-Kit), P-glycoprotein (P-gp), and HER family members and response to treatment with these agents. The sensitivity of 10 ovarian tumour cell lines to the treatment with various forms of HER TKIs (gefitinib, erlotinib, lapatinib, sapitinib, afatinib, canertinib, neratinib), as well as other TKIs (dasatinib, imatinib, NVP-AEW541, crizotinib) and cytotoxic agents (paclitaxel, cisplatin and doxorubicin), as single agents or in combination, was determined by SRB assay. The effect on these agents on the cell cycle distribution, and downstream signaling molecules and tumour migration were determined using flow cytometry, western blotting, and the IncuCyte Clear View cell migration assay respectively. Of the HER inhibitors, the irreversible pan-TKIs (canertinib, neratinib and afatinib) were the most effective TKIs for inhibiting the growth of all ovarian cancer cells, and for blocking the phosphorylation of EGFR, HER-2, AKT and MAPK in SKOV3 cells. Interestingly, while the majority of cancer cells were highly sensitive to treatment with dasatinib, they were relatively resistant to treatment with imatinib (i.e., IC50 >10 μM). Of the cytotoxic agents, paclitaxel was the most effective for inhibiting the growth of OCCLs, and of various combinations of these drugs, only treatment with a combination of NVP-AEW541 and paclitaxel produced a synergistic or additive anti-proliferative effect in all three cell lines examined (i.e., SKOV3, Caov3, ES2). Finally, of the TKIs, only treatment with afatinib, neratinib and dasatinib were able to reduce the migration of HER-2 overexpressing SKOV3 cells. We did not find any significant association between the expression of putative ovarian CSC marker, HER family members, c-MET, ALK, and IGF-IR and the response to the irreversible HER TKIs. Our results support the need for further investigations of the therapeutic potential of these irreversible HER family blockers in ovarian cancer, and the therapeutic potential of dasatinib when used in combination with the inhibitors of the HER family members in ovarian cancer.


Clopidogrel has been evaluated in clinical trials that included cardiovascular patients with different risk levels for a cardiovascular event. We reviewed the results of the Clopidogrel vs Aspirin in Patients at Risk of Ischemic Events (CAPRIE) and Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to Prevent Recurrent Events (CURE) trials, with special emphasis on comparing the outcomes in high-risk patients with those of the total populations in the trials. The results in the high-risk subgroups and total populations were compared by recording total event rates, absolute risk reduction, relative risk reduction, and number needed to treat. In the CAPRIE trial, the efficacy of clopidogrel was compared with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in the following subgroups: total population, previous coronary bypass surgery, history of more than 1 ischemic event, multiple vascular beds involvement, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia. In the CURE trial, the combination of clopidogrel and ASA was compared with ASA alone. The results in the CURE study were compared in patients who did and did not have a coronary intervention procedure, in patients with different levels of risk based on the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction score and in patients with and without a history of a revascularization procedure. High-risk subgroups of patients participating in the CAPRIE and CURE studies were more responsive to the beneficial effects of clopidogrel compared with the study population as a whole. High-risk groups in the CAPRIE and CURE studies would be expected to derive enhanced benefit from treatment with clopidogrel over that achieved by ASA.


The growing importance of English in multilingual Europe poses a dilemma: a common language is important for communal integration, but at the same time it is perceived as threatening European multilingualism. Faced with this quandary, it is crucial how 'English' is conceptualized. It is not possible to resolve the dilemma while upholding traditional concepts of European languages essentially mapped onto nation states. Therefore this paper argues for the need to conceptualize English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) that is not subject to established native-speaker norms but can be, and is, appropriated by all its users. Only such conceptualization can result in ELF not competing with the various national languages but rather complementing them as a valuable part of Europeans' multilingual repertoire.


BACKGROUND--It is not clear whether asymptomatic bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) in children is a risk factor for the subsequent development of asthma. A longitudinal study was conducted to determine the predictive value of BHR for the development of asthma in a primary care patient population. METHODS--A standard free running asthma screening test (FRAST) was applied to 956 schoolchildren aged between 4 and 11 years in 1985. Peak expiratory flow (PEF) rates were measured before hard running for six minutes and following a three minute rest period. Children with a fall in PEF of more than 15% were labelled as having a positive FRAST. Clinical data from the patients' notes and from symptom questionnaires were compared with age and sex matched controls for children known to have asthma, and for those with a positive FRAST but no asthma (BHR group). Over the ensuing six years to 1991 further clinical data were gathered to compare the development of asthma and other diseases of the airways in both the BHR groups and their controls. RESULTS--Of the 956 children exercised in 1985, 60 who were not known to have asthma had an abnormal test. Of the 55 of these studied in 1991, 32 (58%) had developed asthma. The sensitivity of a positive FRAST for the development of asthma was 58%, its specificity 97%, and positive predictive value 72%. Hay fever, eczema, otitis media, "bronchitis," and family history of atopy also occurred more commonly in this group. CONCLUSIONS--Asymptomatic BHR, as shown by exercise challenge, can predict the development of clinical asthma. This study has also shown a relation between BHR, asthma, and other diseases of the airways, notably upper respiratory tract infection, "bronchitis," and otitis media.


Background: The impact of abusive alcohol consumption on human health is remarkable. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 3.3 million people die annually because of harmful alcohol consumption (the figure represents around 5.9% of global deaths). Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic disease where individuals exhibit compulsive alcohol drinking and present negative emotional states when they do not drink. In the most severe manifestations of AUD, the individuals lose control over intake despite a decided will to stop drinking. Given the multiple faces and the specific forms of this disease, the term AUD often appears in the plural (AUDs). Since only a few approved pharmacological treatments are available to treat AUD and they do not apply to all individuals or AUD forms, the search for compounds that may help to eliminate the burden of the disease and complement other therapeutical approaches is necessary. Methods: This work reviews recent research focused on the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms in the pathophysiology of AUD. Excessive drinking leads to chronic and compulsive consumption that eventually damages the organism. The central nervous system is a key target and is the focus of this study. The search for the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms behind the intricated dysregulation induced by ethanol will aid researchers in establishing new therapy approaches. Conclusion: Recent findings in the field of epigenetics are essential and offer new windows for observation and research. The study of small molecules that inhibit key epienzymes involved in nucleosome architecture dynamics is necessary in order to prove their action and specificity in the laboratory and to test their effectivity and safety in clinical trials with selected patients bearing defined alterations caused by ethanol. A R T I C L E H I S T O R Y Received: September 01, 2020 Accepted: December 08, 2020 DOI: 10.2174/1381612827666210203142539


The calculus of building energy consumption is a demanding task because multiple factors must be considered during experimentation. Additionally, the definition of the model and the experiments is complex because the problem is multidisciplinary. When we face complex models and experiments that require a considerable amount of computational resources, the application of solutions is imperative to reduce the amount of time needed to define the model and the experiments and to obtain the answers. In this paper, we first address the definition and the implementation of an environmental model that describes the behavior of a building from a sustainability point of view and enables the use of several simulations and calculus engines in a cosimulation scenario. Second, we define a distributed experimental framework that enables us to obtain results in an accurate amount of time. This methodology has been applied to the energy consumption calculation, but it can also be applied to other modeling problems that usually require a considerable amount of resources by reducing the amount of time needed to perform modeling, implementation, verification, and experimentation.


Forest monitoring from earth observation is crucial over tropical regions to assess forest extent and provide up-to-date estimates of deforestation rates. Based on a systematic sample of 20x20 km size sites, a processing chain has been developed at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) for producing deforestation estimates between years 1990, 2000 and 2005. Whereas this monitoring exercise was based on Landsat imagery, limitations in Landsat availability over Central Africa for year 2010 required alternative imagery such as the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC). The classification module of the existing JRC processing chain is based on tasseled caps analysis (TCap-based). We adapted this module to DMC imagery by selecting the most suitable object-features through their assessments using a sub-sample of existing land-cover maps of years 1990 and 2000. The processing chain is adapted for the production of land-cover change maps between years 2000 and 2010. The accuracy of the land-cover maps produced for year 2010 with the two methods (original TCap-based and adapted Multi-Sensor) is assessed through a reference dataset. Overall accuracies are similar for both approaches (93% and 95% respectively), but the Multi-Sensor approach shows a significant improvement when considering only changed objects (83% overall accuracy versus 56% for TCap-based). Our results show that, even by using DMC imagery with lower radiometric quality (compared to Landsat) an automated classification can provide land-cover maps with similar accuracy thanks to an appropriate object-features selection. Similar adaptations need to be developed for other satellite imagery such as SPOT and RapidEye.


A set system is a pair $\mathcal{S} = (V(\mathcal{S}),\Delta(\mathcal{S}))$, where $\Delta(\mathcal{S})$ is a family of subsets of the set $V(\mathcal{S})$. We refer to the members of $\Delta(\mathcal{S})$ as the stable sets of $\mathcal{S}$. A homomorphism between two set systems $\mathcal{S}$ and $\mathcal{T}$ is a map $f : V(\mathcal{S}) \rightarrow V(\mathcal{T})$ such that the preimage under $f$ of every stable set of $\mathcal{T}$ is a stable set of $\mathcal{S}$. Inspired by a recent generalization due to Engstrom of Lovasz's Hom complex construction, the author associates a cell complex $\mathrm{Hom}(\mathcal{S},\mathcal{T})$ to any two finite set systems $\mathcal{S}$ and $\mathcal{T}$. The main goal of the paper is to examine basic topological and homological properties of this cell complex for various pairs of set systems.


Background: Temporary, implant-mediated hemiepiphysiodesis (ie, guided growth) is an effective and popular treatment method for lower extremity angular deformities. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the safety profile of 3 different implants used to correct lower extremity angular deformities in pediatric patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a consecutive series of pediatric patients with lower extremity angular deformities who underwent implant-mediated guided growth by 2 surgeons at our institution between 2004 and 2014. Implants were selected according to surgeon preference and included the Biomet peanut plate, Orthofix eight-plate, and Pega Medical hinge plate. Medical records and radiographs were reviewed to assess deformity correction, implant integrity, and complications. Results: During the study period, 115 plates (63 Biomet peanut plates, 30 Orthofix eight-plates, and 22 Pega Medical hinge plates) were implanted in 52 patients (24 males, 28 females). Average age at implantation was 11.7 years (12.3 y in males, 11.1 y in females). Average length of follow-up was 18.4 months. There was no significant difference in rate of deformity correction between the implant types (P=0.08). Three broken screws (2.6%) were observed, all of which involved cannulated screws in peanut plates. Four peanut plates (6.3%) had an implant-related complication: 3 broken screws and 1 screw pullout. Three eight-plates (10.0%) had screw pullout. No complications were observed within either the hinge plate or solid screw groups. Implant-related complications were significantly associated with increased body weight and cannulated screw use (P=0.02 and 0.03, respectively), but not bone age, sex, plate type, or rate of deformity correction. No deep infections, premature growth arrests, or plate breakages were observed. Conclusions: Implant-mediated guided growth is a safe technique for pediatric lower extremity angular deformity correction with a low complication rate. This study demonstrated that overweight patients had a significantly higher rate of implant-related complications. Screw breakages were only observed with cannulated screws in peanut plates. Thus, we recommend using solid, noncannulated screws in overweight children who are at an increased risk of implant failure. Level of Evidence: Level IV—retrospective case series.


OBJECTIVE--To identify characteristics of women reporting multiple sexual partners and early age at first intercourse in Italy. METHOD--Information on 1139 control women (median age 54 years) interviewed as part of a case-control study of cervical neoplasia conducted in the greater Milan area, Northern Italy were analysed using stratified analysis and multiple logistic regression. RESULTS--Overall, 81% of the study sample reported no more than one sexual partner, 10% two and 9% three or more. The proportion reporting multiple sexual partners tended to be higher among younger and more educated women (4% vs 19% of women with respectively less than 7 and 12 or more years of education reported three or more partners). Ever smokers reported a higher number of sexual partners than never smokers. The proportion of nulliparae reporting three or more sexual partners was higher than that of parous women. These findings were confirmed after taking into account in a multivariate analysis the role of potential confounding factors. Furthermore similar findings emerged from an analysis restricted to women aged 40 years or less. Always considering number of sexual partners, no relationship emerged with marital status, spontaneous or induced abortions, lifetime number of reported Pap smears and contraceptive habits. With reference to age at first intercourse, 25% of the study population reported their first intercourse at age 18 or before, 34% between 19 and 22 years, and 41% at age 23 or later. Younger women (that is, more recent cohorts) more frequently reported earlier age at first intercourse and the proportion of never married women reporting early intercourse was higher (51% vs 22% of never married vs married women). No relationship emerged between education, smoking habits, parity, history of spontaneous or induced abortions, number of Pap smears, contraceptive habits, and age at first intercourse. CONCLUSION--This study documents conservative sexual habits in Northern Italian females (at least on the basis of self reporting) but indicates that any educational compaigns towards safe sex should be focused towards younger women, particularly smokers, unmarried and nulliparae.