In previous studies, we reported that indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and myo-inositol (MI) inhibit lung adenoma induced by tobacco smoke carcinogens in A/J mice. In this paper, we extended our work and examined the effects of I3C (70 or 30 micromol/g diet) and MI (56 micromol/g diet) against vinyl carbamate (VC)-induced lung adenocarcinoma by administering the agents from 1 week after the second of two injections of VC until termination of the study at week 18. The higher dose of I3C decreased multiplicities of tumors on the surface of the lung (26%, P = 0.0005), carcinoma incidence (38%), multiplicity (67%, P < 0.0001) and size (complete abolition of carcinoma with an area of >1.0 cm(2)) as well as adenoma with cellular pleomorphism (46%, P < 0.0001). The lower dose of I3C was less effective. MI decreased multiplicities of pulmonary surface tumors (20%, P = 0.0005), adenoma with cellular pleomorphism (40%, P < 0.0001) and lung adenoma (52%, P < 0.0001) and the proportion of the biggest carcinoma (carcinoma with an area of >1.0 cm(2), P < 0.05). Immunoblot analyses of lung tissues for potential target identification showed that I3C (70 micromol/g diet) inhibits IkappaBalpha degradation, nuclear factor-kappaB activation, expression of cyclooxygenase-2, phospho-Akt and fatty acid synthase (FAS) and activates caspase-3 and poly ADP ribose polymerase cleavage. The effect of MI was limited to inhibition of phospho-Akt and FAS expression. Our data show that I3C and MI inhibit lung carcinoma and provide a basis for future evaluation of these compounds in clinical trials as chemopreventive agents for current and former smokers.


Regulatory T (Treg) cells orchestrate resolution and repair of acute lung inflammation and injury following viral pneumonia. Compared with younger patients, older individuals experience impaired recovery and worse clinical outcomes after severe viral infections, including influenza and the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Whether age is a key determinant of Treg cell pro-repair function following lung injury remains unknown. Here, we show that aging results in a cell-autonomous impairment of reparative Treg cell function following experimental influenza pneumonia. Transcriptional and DNA methylation profiling of sorted Treg cells provide insight into the mechanisms underlying their age-related dysfunction, with Treg cells from aged mice demonstrating both loss of reparative programs and gain of maladaptive programs. Novel strategies that restore youthful Treg cell functional programs could be leveraged as therapies to improve outcomes among older individuals with severe viral pneumonia.


Libya's recent past has limited any potential economic and political benefits, such as interaction, cooperation and association, which positive perceptions of the country might bring about. However, following the revolution of 17 February 2011, Libya has employed public relations communications in its public diplomacy efforts. Yet these efforts have not been subject to any evaluative assessment with regard to public relations communications models, methods, strategies, and themes provided to foreign publics abroad. The key aim of this study is to provide an enriched understanding of Libyan institutions' public relations practices post 2011 revolution, utilizing the interpretivist paradigm and inductive reasoning due to a lack of previous studies addressing Libyan public relations practices for public diplomacy purposes. Content analysis and interviews were used to investigate the behaviours, opinions, and attitudes of public relations practitioners in Libyan institutions in Egypt and the UK. Anholt's Nation Brand theory and Grunig's Excellence theory are proposed as a theoretical framework used to gain a comprehensive understanding of the practice of public relations adopted by Libyan institutions. The findings indicate that this practice depends heavily on a one-way communication model aimed at publicity that concentrates on two key themes: People and Governance. Two image-repair strategies have been utilized by these institutions: the reduction of offensiveness and corrective action. However, the findings also suggest that Libyan institutions in Egypt and the UK do not employ any evaluation strategies to assess the success of their public relations efforts. The study concludes that Libyan public relations practice has not adopted the new concept of public diplomacy in its communication efforts; instead, it has adopted the old, narrow concept of public diplomacy: providing information to that public, most likely through the publicity model. The study is the first to present a comprehensive understanding of the practice of public relations of Libyan institutions abroad. The theoretical framework may be utilized for future academic studies concerning the converging relationship between public relations and public diplomacy. The study also offers a set of recommendations to improve public relations practices in Libyan institutions abroad.


A process-based approach to archaeology combines traditional third-person data collection methods with first- and second-person inquiries. Drawing from the traditions of cognitive archaeology, transpersonal psychology, and ecopsychology, this mixed-methods approach can be thought of as a movement toward a more holistic or "integral" archaeology. By way of example, a prehistoric rock art site on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua is explored from the inside (through the researcher's lucid dreaming incubations) as well as in relationship with the researcher's embodied presence (an exploration of environmental hermeneutics). These multiple perspectives can be seen to situate the researcher's worldview and biases within the context of the study as well as perhaps lead to new questions about the significance of these cognitive artifacts.


Porous metals have long been considered as an ideal material in which to manufacture turbine components given the inherent large convective surface area. One consideration, however, in using porous metals is the increase in pressure drop that accompanies these materials. To characterize increases in pressure drop for porous materials, flow measurements were made on numerous porous metal coupons. The porosity of the coupons investigated had a range of four in terms of density. A technique for determining the effective internal flow area from pressure drop measurements was developed to provide an effective diameter. The pressure drop measurements were compared to an ideal isentropic compressible-flow nozzle and to a smooth, straight-walled tube. The comparisons show that the porous channels have a similar, but much larger pressure drop than the smooth walls. The experiments performed demonstrated that these porous geometries can be scaled to provide generalized pressure drop characteristics for all geometries.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Carcinoma of the prostate is a commonly occurring malignant
tumour in men and is a common cause of death. Early diagnosis
and therapy is crucial for the successful treatment of this
serious disease. It is therefore desirable to develop a
sufficiently reliable, minimally invasive, and inexpensive
method of diagnosing prostate cancer, which would usefully
supplement the diagnostic techniques currently in common use
(digital rectal examination, measuring the prostate-specific
antigen level in serum, transrectal ultrasonography). This
article describes in detail the methodology of a new technique
for intensive training aimed at developing the dog's olfactory
abilities to diagnose carcinoma of the prostate in men while
the animal is still young. At the same time, the rate of
success in establishing the diagnosis of prostate cancer in men
using this method was evaluated based on the identification of
urine samples from patients in whom the disease was
histologically confirmed. The results of our study demonstrate
that the diagnosis of prostate cancer in men using the
olfactory abilities of a specially trained dog can be
considered a reliable, non-invasive, and relatively inexpensive
method of diagnosing carcinoma of the prostate.


With contributions written by leading experts in the field, this volume
explores the dialogue between archaic and classical Greek epigrams
and their readers. The authors examine questions surrounding the
identity of the speakers and the addressees. They also discuss the
spatial, religious, historical and political contexts of epigram, as well
as aspects of intertextuality, poetic variation and the creation of
epigrammatic sub-genres. Collectively the volume demonstrates that
the dominant view of epigram as a genre that became literary and
artistic only in the Hellenistic period has to be revised. Archaic and
classical Greek epigrams did not simply serve the objects they describe
but also demonstrate a high degree of aesthetic and literary achievement.
This volume breaks new ground in the study of the genre and
is important for scholars of classics, archaeology, epigraphy and
papyrology.


The reactions to my Lenin-book for the most part move between the standard liberal anti-Communism – how do I dare to rehabilitate a mass murderer, etc. – and an apparently more friendly, but, with regard to its consequences, much more dangerous "friendly" reception, which performs a domestification of my theory, its transformation into "provocations" which are not really "meant seriously," but aim at awakening us from the democratic-dogmatic slumber and thus contribute to the revitalization of democracy… This is how the establishment likes "subversive" theorists to be: turned into harmless gadflies who bite us and thus awaken us to inconsistencies and imperfection of our democratic enterprise – God forbid us to take their project seriously and try to LIVE them. Both reactions are totally predictable and, as such, not very interesting. When, as a reply to my thesis on Lenin's missed chances, I read: "Sure, he could have murdered whole Russian nation along with some neighbors"; when one reacts to my commentary on Lenin with "We could just as easy comment in such a way Mein Kampf"; then such style of critique cannot but remind me of my youth in Socialist Yugoslavia where I was unemployed for years and never allowed to teach, and where my reference to Freud and Lacan was greeted by exactly the same words as those of one of my critics: "It would be embarrassingly funny if it wasn't dangerous." All I can say to this is that I sincerely welcome the rejection of my book by people who are able to write such slanderous lies: if they were to display even a minimum of sympathy for my work, I would be morally deeply ashamed.


E-collaboration is a new strategy to compete in today's business world. Cooperation, collaboration, alliance and etc are the words companies are now focusing on. These companies are looking towards friendliness instead of hostility. This paper analyzes the previous literature on Internet, e-business, and collaboration, looking at the emergency of e-collaboration in the tourism industry. The applications of e-collaboration are often mentioned in the fields of international trading and e-business. The paper aims to apply those theories of collaboration, internet and e-business from other industries to tourism and hospitality industry. It also analyzes the e-collaboration situation in this particular area and tries to find a way to help today's tourism industry players to create and guide thriving e-collaboration strategies. E-collaboration provides a very efficient strategic option with low cost, easy access, large market, reputation and resources sharing. It brings geographically dispersed teams together, supporting communication, coordination and cooperation.  But problems like unbalanced management and power between collaborators, unequal resource commitments, quality maintenance, culture differences exist in e-collaboration. In the end of the paper, the author highlights the advantages of e-collaboration and suggests the way to e-collaborate properly to contribute to strategic management.


As early as in the 1970s, the then Gabonese president Omar Bongo Ondimba, although very close to France, decided to diversify his country's external partnerships. The development of dynamic diplomatic and, since the 1990s, economic relations with China was part of this strategy. And since he succeeded his father in 2009, Ali Bongo has continued and even deepened this diversification policy. Yet, Gabon's strategy as well as domestic political pressure, have contributed to setting limits to its diplomatic and economic partnership with China. In other words, Gabon offers an instructive case of how domestic politics and foreign policy priorities can influence an African country's relations with the world second great power and economy. Having said that, much wealthier and less populated than many other African nations and enjoying more options than many of them, Gabon may remain a special case. © Centre for Chinese Studies, Stellenbosch University All Rights Reserved. Issue 2 June 2014 AFRICAN EAST-ASIAN AFFAIRS


Web site defacement, the process of introducing unauthorized modifications to a Web site, is a very common form of attack. In this paper we describe and evaluate experimentally a framework that may constitute the basis for a defacement detection service capable of monitoring thousands of remote Web sites systematically and automatically.
 In our framework an organization may join the service by simply providing the URLs of the resources to be monitored along with the contact point of an administrator. The monitored organization may thus take advantage of the service with just a few mouse clicks, without installing any software locally or changing its own daily operational processes. Our approach is based on anomaly detection and allows monitoring the integrity of many remote Web resources automatically while remaining fully decoupled from them, in particular, without requiring any prior knowledge about those resources.
 We evaluated our approach over a selection of dynamic resources and a set of publicly available defacements. The results are very satisfactory: all attacks are detected while keeping false positives to a minimum. We also assessed performance and scalability of our proposal and we found that it may indeed constitute the basis for actually deploying the proposed service on a large scale.


The advent of new technologies in cinema, theatre and virtual reality together with increasing demands for new content, are pushing the boundaries of filmmaking and storytelling to the limits of our imaginations. The potential for 3D film to blur the line between virtual storytelling and social network gaming is not just hypothetical. These technologies now incorporate audiences and players that are actors in the virtual world themselves. They often encounter other actors they are familiar with in virtual or real-life. In social psychology, familiarity is a robust phenomenon demonstrating that just being familiar to someone causes preference and increased positive affect to them. In this paper, the role of familiarity in the visual perception and user experience is investigated. To test our findings, stereoscopic film scenarios were developed. An experiment has been conducted to see if annoyance present on a stereoscopic film content outweighs the user experience over familiarity. This paper argues that a stereoscopic 3D film technology seems to gain more from increased emotional relevance than from higher quality resolutions.


We uncover a new channel through which shocks are transmitted across international markets. Investor flows to funds domiciled in developed markets force significant changes in their portfolio allocations to emerging markets. These forced trades affect equity prices, correlations between emerging markets, and the developed-market betas of emerging markets. These funding-driven fire sale effects are related to, but distinct from those arising purely from high fund holdings or high overlapping ownership of emerging markets in fund portfolios. A simple model and calibration exercise highlight the importance to these findings of 'push' effects from funds' domicile countries, and 'co-ownership spillover' between markets with overlapping fund ownership.


Aims: To study the effect of Beta–adrenergic agonist (salbutamol) and Beta adrenergic antagonist (atenolol) on salivary protein concentration and to study relation between salivary protein concentration and oral health. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out on 45 individuals; 15 individuals of them were apparently healthy with no history of systemic diseases and represent a control group, the second group which comprised 15 subjects were given adrenergic agonist drug (salbutamol) for treatment of asthma, and third group (15 individuals) were given adrenegic antagonist drug (atenolol) for treatment of hypertension. subjects were selected from the out patients attending Oral Surgery Department, College of Dentistry, University of Mosul. The samples of saliva were collected using spitting method and oral hygiene index simplified was recorded for each individual and total protein concentration of these saliva samples were determined. Its relation to oral health was measured according to simplified oral hygiene index by Greene and Vermillion. Results: The results of this study revealed that in all study groups, significant differences were present for both salivary protein concentration and oral health scores and there is correlation between salivary protein concentration and oral health in patients receiving atenolol. Conclusions: Chronic treatment with adrenergic agonist and antagonist drugs, resulted in changes in salivary protein concentration and those will affect the oral health of patients treated by these drugs.


Increase in agricultural productivity is induced by public investment in research. Several studies have analyzed the impact of research investment at the national level but such analyses at the state or regional level are a few. The present study is an attempt to analyze the pattern and quantify the returns to research investment made over a period of 25 years on major field crops such as rice, jowar, finger millet (ragi), red gram, groundnut, sunflower, cotton and sugarcane in a predominantly agrarian state of Karnataka in peninsular India. The impact of research investment was assessed in terms of technology developed and growth in total factor productivity. The agricultural research investment had profound effect on the development of technologies relating to crop varieties, plant protection and crop management: dominant in cereals and associated with higher research investments, which is in tune with the national objective of achieving food security. Consequently, the rate of return to research investment is quite high in case of rice and sugarcane, moderate for finger millet, cotton and jowar, negative in red gram, groundnut and sunflower. The TFP growth is also higher in crops that attracted higher research investments due to growth in yield as a result of continuous upgradation of technologies. There is a need to achieve higher level of productivity through enhanced research investment for most crops in the state particularly for pulses and oilseeds in order to achieve nutritional security as the state is already food secured.


In the domain of security, verification is generally declined as robustness criteria and must be led against attacker models. We propose tools and technics dedicated to the evaluation of secure devices (smartcard or secured dongle) against fault attacks (such as laser or electromagnetic attacks). We are also interested for modeling and verifying other security requirements (confidentiality, integrity, isolation...) in particular in the context of Common Criteria (...)


The concept of adding value by real estate from the perspective of the end user is 'hot'. The search for added value is included in current research within both the fields of Corporate Real Estate Management (CREM) and Facility Management (FM) and is also a popular subject in curricula at universities and other institutions of higher education. However, a review of literature shows a lack of consistency in definitions and value parameters. Besides, still much work has to be done to operationalise different value parameters and to be able to measure the benefits and costs of CREM and FM interventions in a reliable and valid way. This paper first explores the meaning of added value in connection to other concepts such as the match between demand and supply and alignment of real estate to organisational aims and objectives. Then an overview will be presented of different value dimensions based on an extensive review of the literature. Furthermore the paper presents the findings of empirical research within the health care sector regarding the values that are incorporated in value adding management, which values are prioritized and why, and how health care organisations link their choices regarding real estate and building related facilities to their organisational objectives. The methods range from interviews with CEOs , project managers and facility managers in hospitals and facilities for assisted living of the elderly, to a web-based survey among real estate managers and facility managers working in the mental health care sector. The data from different research projects are compared on prioritized aspects and measures to support cost reduction, labour productivity, user satisfaction, and other values. The paper also includes an exploration of how to explain similarities and dissimilarities in prioritized aspects between different organisations and different sectors, and reflections on the gaps between theory and practice. The paper ends with some practical recommendations and recommendations for further research.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether consultation behaviour of Turkish, Surinam and Moroccan children (0-14 years old) with a GP differs from that of a comparable group of Dutch children.

DESIGN
Cohort study with comparison of matched groups.

SETTING
103 general practices in the Netherlands.

METHODS
Data on 63.753 children collected in the Dutch National Survey were used. 161 GPs registered all contacts between patient and practice during 1 year (in 4 parts of each 3 months). Sociodemographic characteristics of all 103 practice populations were gathered. For each Turkish, Surinam and Moroccan child a Dutch child was selected with similar age, gender, socio-economic status, degree of urbanisation, season of registration and sickness insurance coverage. Consult frequency, number of encounters per episode of care, morbidity presented, duration of encounter and percentages of encounters during evening, night and weekend were registered.

RESULTS
There were no significant differences in consult frequency between the three ethnic groups and their Dutch reference group, nor were there any differences in number of encounters during an episode of care. The morbidity presented did vary compared with Dutch children. Turkish children consulted the GP more often for gastrointestinal problems (relative risk (RR): 1,81) and respiratory problems (RR: 1,27), but less often for ear problems (RR: 0,54). Surinam children consulted the GP less often for musculoskeletal problems (RR: 0,65), but more often for respiratory problems (RR: 1,20). Moroccan children consulted the GP less often for ear problems (RR: 0,51). For a larger percentage of ethnic children the duration of encounter was less than ten minutes.

CONCLUSION
Turkish, Surinam and Moroccan children do not consult a GP more often than a comparable group of Dutch children. The morbidity presented differed.


Loss of FGFR1 and FGFR2 signaling in nonmyelinating Schwann cells interferes with their ability to support sensory axons. The development and function of peripheral nerves depends on signaling between axons and Schwann cells, as does regeneration of peripheral nerves after injury. Furusho et al. used transgenic mice to investigate the role of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) signaling, which plays a critical role in peripheral nerve regeneration, in normal interactions between neurons and Schwann cells. Ultrastructural analysis of the sciatic nerves of mice in which the FGFR1 and FGFR2 receptors had been conditionally deleted from myelinating and nonmyelinating Schwann cells, but not neurons, indicated that myelin and myelinated axons appeared normal. Immunostaining revealed no loss of nonmyelinating Schwann cells. In contrast, C-fibers, small-diameter unmyelinated axons of sensory neurons that carry nociceptive information and are ensheathed by nonmyelinating Schwann cells, showed signs of degeneration. More substantial neuropathy was evident in regions of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in which C-fibers terminate where sensory information about pain and temperature is integrated. Indeed, behavioral analyses showed that the transgenic mice were slower to withdraw their paws from a hot (55°C) stimulus than were control littermates, although their mechanosensory and motor functions (which involve mostly myelinated axons) were normal. Spinal cord neuropathy became increasingly evident with age; neuropathy was not apparent in 9-day-old mice but was prominent in 1- to 2-month-old mice. Analysis of the time course of spinal cord neuropathy in mice with selective loss of Schwann cell FGFR1 or FGFR2 indicated that signaling from both receptors protected against neuropathy but that FGFR1 played a more substantial role. The authors thus propose that the loss of FGFR1 and FGFR2 signaling in nonmyelinating Schwann cells interferes with their ability to support sensory axons. M. Furusho, J. L. Dupree, M. Bryant, R. Bansal, Disruption of fibroblast growth factor receptor signaling in nonmyelinating Schwann cells causes sensory axonal neuropathy and impairment of thermal pain sensitivity. J. Neurosci. 29, 1608–1614 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text]


This is an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the case of U.S. Air Force Major Heather Ortiz and her baby, who were denied legal remedies for obstetric malpractice by military doctors that left the baby with severe brain damage. The case is No. 15-488, Ortiz v. U.S. ex rel. Evans Army Community Hospital. Professors Fox and Stein urge the Court to overturn the Tenth Circuit's holding that the federal government's immunity against liability for intramilitary torts extends to wrongful injuries like those sustained by Major Ortiz's baby. They argue that this holding misinterprets the immunity, misapplies the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), and constitutes no less than unconstitutional sex discrimination. Fox and Stein explain:"When a civilian spouse of a serviceman receives negligent prenatal care from military doctors and delivers an injured baby as a result of that malpractice, there is no question that Feres immunity does not apply and that the baby can sue the United States under the FTCA. When military medical malpractice injures the baby of a servicewoman, this baby should be equally able to obtain redress under the FTCA. A system that would single out the civilian children of servicewomen for adverse treatment discriminates against women who serve in the armed forces.... To interpret the FTCA as the Tenth Circuit did permits discrimination between these two classes of similarly situated victims of military malpractice and violates fundamental principles of equal protection."


Sequence elimination is one of main reasons for homologous chromosome differentiation in common wheat. Sequence elimination can occur in genome-specific sequences, chromosome-specific sequences, and repeat sequences in the wheat genome. Genetic polymorphism loci in chromosome-specific sequences can be used to develop molecular markers including simple sequence repeats (SSRs), insertions and deletions, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Pubing3504 is a wheat-Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn introgression line, and Jing4839 is a common wheat cultivar. Assessment of their recombinant inbred line (RIL) population using 120 pairs of SSR markers covering all wheat chromosomes indicated that sequence elimination occurred at the short arm of chromosome 1A (1AS). We developed 13 pairs of new co-dominant SSR markers and constructed a genetic linkage map of 1AS; we found that the segment with sequence elimination is from SSR110 to the end of 1AS. We further developed 10 pairs of dominant SNP markers of Pubing3504, 10 pairs of dominant SNP markers of Jing4839, and 10 pairs of primers designed in SNP flanking sequences to assess RILs. We found that all chromosome segments with sequence elimination came from Jing4839. The sequence elimination occurred in SSR loci, SNP loci, and coding sequences. There was no homologous recombination in the chromosome segment with sequence elimination. We suggest that sequence elimination causes the differentiation of chromosomes and the chromosome differentiation affects the homologous pairing at the chromosome segment in meiosis, which further affects the occurrence of homologous recombination at the chromosome segment.


Background. Vowels are a commonly used stimulus for evaluating speech resonance because hypernasality is best detected in vowel sounds. It was observed that steady-state sustained vowels show considerable within sample nasalance variance, although nasalance is expected to be stable for this speech target. Purpose. The purpose of the study was to ascertain the prevalence of variability among normal speakers in steady state vowel nasalance traces and to determine the variables that predict variability. Methods: Sixty-one participants aged 18 through 30 years were recruited. All participants were lifelong residents of the lower peninsula of Michigan with normal hearing sensitivity and no history of cleft palate. Nasalance was measured using the KayPentax Nasometer II 6450 for nasometry paragraphs, sentences, repeated CV syllables, and sustained vowels presented in random order. Variability in nasalance was evaluated for 1411 steady state vowel productions. Presence of variability was identified using standard deviation around mean nasalance and nasalance distance (maximum nasalance – minimum nasalance). All nasalance measures were transformed to rationalized arcsine units (RAU) to allow for statistical analyses of percentage data. Variables considered included individual speaker, gender, trial, vowel produced, speaker fundamental frequency, laryngeal periodicity, and signal intensity. Results: Nearly all (92%) samples had a standard deviation around mean nasalance greater than 5%, showing greater variance than expected. Half of all vowels produced had a within sample minimum to maximum nasalance distance of at least 19% or greater, also demonstrating larger than expected variance. No significant relationship was found UNSTEADY NASALANCE TRACES 3 between within sample variation and trial, fundamental, frequency, periodicity, or gender. However, speaker, vowel, and vocal intensity were significantly related to likelihood of variability of nasalance within steady state vowel productions. Discussion: Variation in nasalance is common in a sample of 61 healthy adult volunteers, with half of all vowels produced with a nasalance distance of 19% or greater. It is expected that variation would be more likely in clinical populations of children and those with velopharyngeal or neuromotor dysfunction. Instability of nasalance traces within steady state speech production raises concerns about interpretation of nasalance measures in clinical and research settings. Conclusion: Sustained vowels should be considered an unreliable stimuli for measuring nasalance. Further research is needed to understand the reason for unstable nasalance in sustained vowel productions. UNSTEADY NASALANCE TRACES 4


Introduction The aim of this paper is to highlight a challenge faced by many university teachers and to consider a practical method of dealing with the situation. Biggs (1994) summarizes the problems faced by teachers in higher education. He notes that resources are constrained and hence class sizes are on the increase with the emergence of mass methods of teaching and assessment. Restrictions also exist in the structure of the degree programs themselves and the manner with which they are delivered. The end result is that many students have little contact with their lecturer and the lecturer has limited chance to assess the course and the progress of the students. Since little can be done to change the overall picture, the lecturer must work "smarter" and use the teaching time available in the best possible way. A weekly seminar in which the large lecture group is divided into smaller groups of fifteen students or less could hold the key. This provides an opportunity for the student to learn in a less formal environment than the lecture theatre. Furthermore, the lecturer has direct contact with the students. However, the pertinent question is, "How should the seminar be organized?" There exists a vast literature in the area of education and while space permits the inclusion of a detailed analysis, Biggs (1994) provides an excellent summary of the competing models. He outlines the various theories of learning and notes how opinion on these has evolved over time. However, his most salient points concern the link between research and teaching. He notes the importance of a sound theory underlying the practicalities of teaching but also that the theory should be derived from the individual teaching context. In light of this, the author compares the relative successes of three different teaching techniques in seminars for a first year university course in Finance. The aim is to deliver seminars that offer the students the best possible learning environment. This paper tests to see if there is one overriding approach that enables all students to learn effectively in the seminars of this course or whether different students benefit from different teaching techniques. Background The author of this paper is neither a psychologist nor theorist in the area of education. Quite simply she is on the front line of teaching and seeks practical, sensible approaches to teaching seminars in a large first year university course. At this stage it should be noted that the same arguments may be applied to courses in Information Technology. Certainly, there is growing demand for these courses in universities worldwide since companies demand graduates to be competent in the use of computing in the workplace. Hence the same problems of large class sizes are encountered. However, of equal importance is the fact that Finance and IT are inextricably linked (See the work of Penceck and Bialaszewski (2001)). Hence techniques that aid both disciplines would be welcomed. This experiment is carried out on a subset of the first year Finance group at Adelaide University in Semester 1, 2001. It is based on a pilot experiment run on the same course in the previous year, the results of which may be found in the proceedings of the OOICTL Business 2000 International Conference, (2000). There are 450 students registered to take this course. They come from a variety of academic backgrounds and have very different requirements of the course. For instance, some will aim to major in a completely different area and hence choose Finance as a one-year option to get a basic overview of the subject. At the other end of the spectrum there are students who wish to major in Finance. It follows that the course must be relevant for those wanting a one-year option but also for those wishing to pursue Finance in later years. In terms of course structure, each student faced two lectures per week for the duration of the twelveweek semester. …


Seven possible nominal variables are considered as candidates to be the anchor or target for monetary policy. The context is countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which tend to be price takers on world markets, to produce commodity exports subject to volatile terms of trade, and to experience procyclical international finance. Three candidates are exchange rate pegs: to the dollar, euro and SDR. One candidate is orthodox Inflation Targeting. Three candidates represent proposals for a new sort of inflation targeting that differs from the usual focus on the CPI, in that prices of export commodities are given substantial weight and prices of imports are not: PEP (Peg the Export Price), PEPI (Peg an Export Price Index), and a PPI target (the Producer Price Index). The selling point of these productionbased price indices is that each could serve is a nominal anchor while yet accommodating terms of trade shocks, in comparison to a CPI target. All seven nominal anchors deliver greater overall nominal price stability in our simulations than the inflationary historical monetary regimes actually followed by LACA countries (with the exception of Panama). A dollar peg does not particularly stabilize domestic commodity prices. As hypothesized, a PPI target generally does a better job of stabilizing the real domestic prices of tradable goods than does a CPI target. CPI-targeters such as Brazil, Chile, and Peru respond to increases in world oil prices with monetary policy that is sufficiently tight to appreciate their currencies, an undesirable property.


Similar orbital geometry and greenhouse gas concentrations during marine isotope stage 11 ( MIS 11) and the Holocene make stage 11 perhaps the best geological analogue period for the natural development of the present interglacial climate. Results of a detailed study of core MD01-2443 from the Iberian margin suggest that sea surface conditions during stage 11 were not significantly different from those observed during the elapsed portion of the Holocene. Peak interglacial conditions during stage 11 lasted nearly 18 kyr, indicating a Holocene unperturbed by human activity might last an additional 6-7 kyr. A comparison of sea surface temperatures ( SST) derived from planktonic foraminifera for all interglacial intervals of the last million years reveals that warm temperatures during peak interglacials MIS 1, 5e, and 11 were higher on the Iberian margin than during substage 7e and most of 9e. The SST results are supported by heavier delta(18)O values, particularly during 7e, indicating colder SSTs and a larger residual ice volume. Benthic delta(13)C results provide evidence of a strong influence of North Atlantic Deep Water at greater depths than present during MIS 11. The progressive ocean climate deterioration into the following glaciation is associated with an increase in local upwelling intensity, interspersed by periodic cold episodes due to ice- rafting events occurring in the North Atlantic.


This study focuses much needed attention on three functions of silence that are central to the college experiences of many American Indian students. Using ethnographic data collected with 34 communicators in the context of a predominately White, U.S. university, the authors show silence to inhabit empowering and generative communicative actions within which American Indian students achieve particular communally linked cultural objectives. Specifically, they explore how interactants actualize silence in the direct service of particularizing, perpetuating, and protecting culture. The authors show how silence is used simultaneously to maintain traditional cultural practices, distinguish cultural practices from those of non-Indians, and safekeep cultural elements from extra-cultural ideological and pragmatic threats.


Optimization plays an important role in many methods routinely used in statistics, machine learning and data science. Often, implementations of these methods rely on highly specialized optimization algorithms, designed to be only applicable within a specific application. However, in many instances recent advances, in particular in the field of convex optimization, make it possible to conveniently and straightforwardly use modern solvers instead with the advantage of enabling broader usage scenarios and thus promoting reusability.
This paper introduces the R Optimization Infrastructure which provides an extensible infrastructure to model linear, quadratic, conic and general nonlinear optimization problems in a consistent way.
Furthermore, the infrastructure administers many different solvers, reformulations, problem collections and functions to read and write optimization problems in various formats.


This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on debt, puts recent debt developments and prospects in historical context, and analyzes new policy challenges associated with debt resolution. The paper reports three main results. First, even before the pandemic, a rapid buildup of debt in emerging market and developing economies-dubbed the "fourth wave" of debt-had been underway. Because of the sharp increase in debt during the pandemic-induced global recession of 2020, the fourth wave of debt has turned into a tsunami and become even more dangerous. Second, five years after past global recessions, global government debt continued to increase. In light of this historical record, and given large financing gaps and significant investment needs in many countries, debt levels will likely continue to rise in the near future. Third, debt resolution has become more complicated because of a highly fragmented creditor base, a lack of transparency in debt reporting, and a legacy stock of government debt without collective action clauses. National policy makers and the global community need to act rapidly and forcefully ensure that the fourth wave does not end with a string of debt crises in emerging market and developing economies as earlier debt waves did. Keywords: fiscal balance, Global recessions, Government Debt, private debt, Resolution


Governments often use budget so as to provide incentives for citizens to adopt new policies, especially when these are promoting eco-friendly technologies e.g. to subsidise the price of a hybrid-car. The public money spent on each policy, is considered to be value-for–money only if many citizens do adopt the proposed policy. This is also known as the 'cost-effectiveness' or the 'economic success' of a new policy. The latter should not be confused with the 'economic impact' of the new policy, as this is usually referred to the respective macro/micro socio-economic impact. This study reports on a experiment with semi-experts using Structured Analogies (SA) forecasting the success of a new policy promoting replacing old household air conditioners with energy saving units under a new environment and technology initiative implemented by a European government. The findings shows evidence that Structured Analogies (SA) is a useful forecasting tool for policy making, however all methods predicted results that were considerably off the mark, indicating the difficulty of the forecasting task under examination.


The use of endoseus implants is frequently limited by insufficient bone in the reception area as a result of trauma, tooth loss, poor surgical technique or periodontal disease. Several methods have been described to solve problems related to bone atrophy: regeneration with bone grafts, Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) and Osteogenic Distraction (OD). OD is a technique that induces the formation of hard and soft tissue through a progressive elongation of a gap created by osteotomy. The periosteum plays an active role in osteogenic distraction. Therefore, it is possible to produce the formation of new bone through Osteogenetic Periosteal Distraction (OPD) without having to perform an osteotomy. The goal of this revision is to clarify the matter, revising the used devices, techniques and comparing the results. The bibliographic revision of OPD was performed by searching on PUBMED and SCOPUS for the articles published until December 2013. We included a total of 17 articles that complied with the requirements. Several experimental studies in animals have shown the formation of bone by OPD, however, there is not a clear protocol to develop the intervention due to the diversity of devices, animal models, anatomical regions or variables in the surgical technique in regards to latency periods, activation frequency and consolidation periods. OPD is efficient for the creation of new bone between the remnant bone and the periosteal tissue, although the amount of variables do not allow for the establishment of a predictable result.


Remediation with engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) promises more effective and cheaper approaches than conventional methods due to the increased reactivity of nanoparticles and the possibility of in situ treatment. Three examples of the use of ENMs in soil remediation are nanoscale zero-valent iron for the degradation of halogenated organic compounds, nanoscale calcium peroxide for the destruction of organics (e.g. gasoline) and nanoscale metal oxides for the adsorption of metals. However, these methods are very new, and more research is needed on the mobility of ENMs in the soil and their impact on the environment.


In China, teacher performance pay has been implemented for eight years, but teachers' perceptions regarding its implementation have been examined seldomly. Exploring teachers' perceptions is a path to hear teachers' voices, inspect implementation practice, and evaluate impacts. This mixed-method study explored teachers' perceptions toward performance pay in Panda School District of Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China through surveys, interviews, and artifacts. A total of 333 valid responses to the survey were collected and 14 teachers participated in follow-up semi-structured interviews. The quantitative results indicate low to moderate teacher support for performance pay. The qualitative themes generated through content analysis present teachers' perceived merits and problems associated with the implementation of performance pay. A seven-factor model was extracted through principal component analysis drawn from the teacher perception survey, with 58.4% of the variance in perceptions explained. Significant differences in teachers' perceptions toward performance pay and evaluation measures were found based on participating teacher and school characteristics. The findings suggest that local governments should increase funding in teacher performance pay if it is to be successful. Additionally, the specific guidance needs to be developed to regulate school-based performance pay programs that consider school contexts. Further, policymakers and school administrators should focus on the structure and associated evaluation indicators of performance pay. It is necessary for school leaders to improve leadership through professional development programs at the same time of implementing


A possible sensor for detecting and signaling amino acid abundance is identified. The mTORC1 protein kinase is a complex of proteins that functions to regulate growth and metabolism. Activity of mTORC1 is sensitive to the abundance of amino acids, but how the sensing of amino acids is coupled to the control of mTORC1 has been unclear. Wang et al. searched for predicted membrane proteins that interacted with regulators of mTORC1. They identified a protein currently known only as SLC38A9. Interaction of SLC38A9 with mTORC1 regulators was sensitive to the presence of amino acids. SLC38A9 has sequence similarity to amino acid transporters. Effects of modulation of SLC38A9 in cultured human cells indicate that it may be the sensor that connects the abundance of arginine and leucine to mTORC1 activity. S. Wang, Z.-Y. Tsun, R. L. Wolfson, K. Shen, G. A. Wyant, M. E. Plovanich, E. D. Yuan, T. D. Jones, L. Chantranupong, W. Comb, T. Wang, L. Bar-Peled, R. Zoncu, C. Straub, C. Kim, J. Park, B. L. Sabatini, D. M. Sabatini, Lysosomal amino acid transporter SLC38A9 signals arginine sufficiency to mTORC1. Science 347, 188–194 (2015). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Generalized reciprocity is a widely recognized but little studied component of social capital in organizations. We develop a causal model of the multiple mechanisms that sustain generalized reciprocity in an organization, drawing together disparate literatures in the social, organizational, and biological sciences. We conduct the first-ever critical test of two key mechanisms: paying it forward and rewarding reputation. These are fundamentally different grammars of organizing, either of which could sustain a system of generalized reciprocity. In an organization, paying it forward is a type of organizational citizenship behavior OCB that occurs when members of an organization help third parties because they themselves were helped. Rewarding reputation is a type of OCB that occurs when peers monitor one another, helping those who help others and refusing to help those who do not. Using behavioral data collected from members of two organizational groups over a three-month period, we found that reputational effects were strongest in the short term but decayed thereafter. Paying it forward had stronger and more lasting effects. Dominant theories assume that rewarding reputation is the main cause of generalized reciprocity, but our analysis demonstrates that generalized reciprocity in an organization occurs for multiple reasons. We use the empirical findings to develop propositions about the mechanisms of generalized reciprocity in organizations and link these to management practices. Our study contributes to social exchange theory, macro-level prosocial behavior, OCB, positive organizational scholarship, and management.


Despite cobbling together an impressive $1 trillion rescue package for countries with potential funding problems, the threat of a disorderly default still looms over the eurozone, creating systemic financial instability at the EU and possibly global level. Against this background, Daniel Gros and Thomas Mayer renew their call for the creation of a European Monetary Fund (EMF) in an update to their Policy Brief issued in February.


Revised and thoroughly updated, this practical guide to photographing people is better than ever! What is the color of skin? You may think you know, until you enter the world of digital photography and try to reproduce what you see. Differences in software, lighting, computer calibrationeverything has an impact on color. And thats all before you get into differences between people in terms of skin types, ethnicities, age, gender, and more! Hollywood-based photo-illustrator Lee Varis guides you step-by-step through the maze. This new edition covers the very newest trends and techniques in photographing, lighting, and editing skinand offers plenty of tips, examples, and valuable advice from the authors own professional experience in the field. Shows you how to digitally capture all skin types: male, female, young, old, different skin tones and ethnicities, with makeup or without, wrinkled, tattooed, and more Covers a wealth of topics in addition to photo editing, such as how to obtain model releases and compose shots, how to shoot groups, and how to create promotional headshots Incorporates the latest on working with Photoshop and Lightroom Showcases exceptional work from a variety of photographers and artists If you're photographing people, youll want this valuable and unique guide on your shelf.


Although sometimes said to reflect distinctively Japanese modes of economic organization or the general importance of path-dependence and culture, the cross-shareholding patterns within the Japanese keiretsu often display a straightforward economic logic. When keiretsu banks trade on debtor stock, for example, they occasionally seem to be capturing gains from inside information. When manufacturers in the automobile industry buy stock in their suppliers, they apparently do so to protect relationship-specific investments. And when the pre-war predecessors to the keiretsu invested in component firms, they often invested in ways that resembled the ways silicon valley venture capitalists invest today. Economic form may differ between the U.S. and Japan, but the cross-shareholdings themselves reflect a simple economic rationale.


Rhetorical System of Speech in Arabic is an arrangement of the meanings of single words based according to the order of Arabic Grammar, as their locations amongst the meanings of single words, not among the words themselves, although it is also necessary that the arrangement has to be among themselves, as they are utensils of the meanings, they inevitably follow them in their positions. If it is necessary for the meaning to be found first in the soul, it is also necessary for the word to be first in pronunciation to indicate that meaning. Single meanings of the words without the grammatical arrangements have no value, as well as the single word has no value, but inside the sentence.
The differentiation between a word and another word as being the sounds merely cannot be without the description, as one of them is familiar and the other is savage alien on the tongue of speaker or that one is lighter on the tongue has a beautiful impact in the ears and the other is difficult to pronounce hated by the hearing. The description of the eloquence while saying "these words are eloquent" does not mean to describe that the words are eloquent, as they are words merely, because they are not only the single words. The description of eloquence is given to the appropriateness of meaning of the word according to the meaning of the word followed and the other words like that, as they are not attached to the pronunciation explicitly.


An incisive look at the consequences of today's costly and damaging suburban lifestyle In The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome, Bloomberg News' John Wasik exposes the economic, cultural, environmental, and health problems underlying life in suburbia. Wasik provides powerful insights into how the U.S. suburban lifestyle has become unsustainable and what can be done to salvage it. His observations are firmly grounded in exclusive on-the-ground research, interviews with thought leaders, and the latest studies and statistics. The book * Exposes the untold truths about suburban home ownership: green isn't always so green, life isn't cheaper after accounting for gas, water, and taxes, and modern suburban living isn't so idyllic considering the toll it takes on our health * Includes exclusive research and analysis by experts in the field that debunks the many myths associated with suburban living * Explores innovative solutions being developed in cities across the country The American Dream of moving further from a city to buy a bigger house and find better schools has become a costly nightmare. The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome examines why and what can be done.


There is a widespread belief that free markets do not benefit the common person, let alone the poor: they are only an instrument for the rich to get richer. Not only is this belief false, but in fact the opposite is true. Free markets are the single most important tools to eliminate poverty and spread opportunity. The problem is that people do not distinguish enough between true free market capitalism, which implies competition and equal access, and the failed version experienced in many countries where powerful elites protect their position by denying fair access to markets. Particularly in developing countries, ordinary people never see the benefits of properly working capitalism. To make them work for all, markets need political support to provide the right amount of rules and regulations that will allow them to flourish; a government that is not too interventionist and not too laissez-faire. While there is no single proposal that will preserve the system of free enterprise from its enemies, the authors suggest three mutually reinforcing broad policy objectives: keep borders open to the flow of goods and capital; encourage the transfer of productive assets into efficient hands; and maintain safety nets focused on individuals.


The broadly accepted and undisputed economic benefits notwithstanding, cloud computing, and particularly cloud storage, raises many security-related and legal qualms: Every enterprise considering to utilize cloud storage has to deal with compliance and security restrictions. In order to address these, cloud providers offer more and more security mechanisms for their services. At closer inspection, however, such mechanisms often are of limited value. In order to assess the security of existing cloud storage services, we build a generic usage model for public cloud storage integrating perspectives from the law and from economic agency theory as well as a respective basic threat model. Using these models, we then examine selected security mechanisms of two well-known public cloud storage services—Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage—and briefly sketch auspicious starting points for future research.


CHIEF EDITOR
Ahmad Faris Ismail, IIUM, Malaysia
TECHNICAL EDITOR
Sany Izan Ihsan, IIUM, Malaysia
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
AHM Zahirul Alam, IIUM, Malaysia
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Nor Farahidah Za'bah, IIUM, Malaysia
LANGUAGE EDITOR
Lynn Mason, Malaysia
COPY EDITOR
Hamzah Mohd. Salleh, IIUM, Malaysia
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Abdullah Al-Mamun, IIUM, Malaysia
Abdumalik Rakhimov, IIUM, Malaysia
Ali Sophian, IIUM, Malaysia
Erwin Sulaeman, IIUM, Malaysia
Hanafy Omar, Saudi Arabia
Hazleen Anuar, IIUM, Malaysia
Konstantin Khanin, University of Toronto, Canada
Ma'an Al-Khatib, IIUM, Malaysia
Md Zahangir Alam, IIUM, Malaysia
Meftah Hrairi, IIUM, Malaysia
Mohamed B. Trabia, United States
Mohammad S. Alam, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, United States
Mustafizur Rahman, National University Singapore, Singapore
Ossama Abdulkhalik, Michigan Technological University, United States
Othman O Khalifa, IIUM, Malaysia
Razi Nalim, IUPUI, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Rosminazuin AB. Rahim, IIUM, Malaysia
Waqar Asrar, IIUM, Malaysia

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Anwar, United States
Abdul Latif Bin Ahmad, Malaysia
Farzad Ismail, USM, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Hanafy Omar, Saudi Arabia
Hany Ammar, United States
Idris Mohammed Bugaje, Nigeria
K.B. Ramachandran, India
Kunzu Abdella, Canada
Luis Le Moyne, ISAT, University of Burgundy, France
M Mujtaba, United Kingdom
Mohamed AI-Rubei, Ireland
Mohamed B Trabia, United States
Syed Kamrul Islam, United States
Tibor Czigany, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary
Yiu-Wing Mai, The University of Sydney, Australia.

AIMS & SCOPE OF IIUM ENGINEERING JOURNAL
The IIUM Engineering Journal, published biannually (January and July), is a carefully refereed international publication of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Contributions of high technical merit within the span of engineering disciplines; covering the main areas of engineering: Electrical and Computer Engineering; Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering; Automation and Mechatronics Engineering; Material and Chemical Engineering; Environmental and Civil Engineering; Biotechnology and Bioengineering; Engineering Mathematics and Physics; and Computer Science and Information Technology are considered for publication in this journal. Contributions from other areas of Engineering and Applied Science are also welcomed. The IIUM Engineering Journal publishes contributions under Regular papers and Invited review papers. It also welcomes contributions that address solutions to the specific challenges of the developing world, and address science and technology issues from an Islamic and multidisciplinary perspective.

REFEREES' NETWORK
All papers submitted to IIUM Engineering Journal will be subjected to a rigorous reviewing process through a worldwide network of specialized and competent referees. Each accepted paper should have at least two positive referees' assessments.
SUBMISSION OF A MANUSCRIPT
A manuscript should be submitted online to the IIUM-Engineering Journal website at
http://journals.iium.edu.my/ejournal. Further correspondence on the status of the paper could be done through the journal website.

Whilst every effort is made by the publisher and editorial board to see that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statement appears in this Journal, they wish to make it clear that the data and opinions appearing in the articles and advertisement herein are the responsibility of the contributor or advertiser concerned. Accordingly, the publisher and the editorial committee accept no liability whatsoever for the consequence of any such inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statement.

IIUM Engineering Journal
ISSN: 1511-788X   E-ISSN: 2289-7860

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International Islamic University Malaysia
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Abstract : This report is a description of and aid for implementing the Accelerated Improvement Method (AIM), and is a companion to the Guide for SCAMPI Appraisals: Accelerated Improvement Method (AIM). The intended audience is anyone responsible for implementing CMMI using the Team Software Process (TSP), Six Sigma, and other methodologies -- management sponsors and champions, line and support management directly affected by such changes, process group leads and members responsible for implementing such changes, and the team leaders and developers enacting such new methods in concert and combination with their existing practices. This guide is not exhaustive; rather it is a starting point on the road to using CMMI and related technologies to help organizations achieve business objectives using world-class process management techniques.


This paper attempts to explore the magical realist dimension of Ngugi's novel Matigari. The major contention held in this paper is that Ngugi has used Magical Realism for a twofold purpose: to drive home his revolutionary message to the grassroots, and to serve his cultural revival mission. Magical realism has often been used to call for revolutionary praxis by Latin American writers. Again, since this literary mode relies on the use of myths, folklore, fantasy, and other traditional lore, it appealed to Ngugi who attempts to work for the retrieval of Gikuyu oral culture. In Matigari, Ngugi draws from both African and biblical mythology. From the former he borrowed the fable on which the story of the novel is patterned, and from the latter he has borrowed the savior motif, a motif that serves the revolutionary didacticism of the novel. In the main, in this novel, Ngugi fuses two literary genres: African oral and Western written. He, however, contends that his novel belongs to African oral Literature.


The method of multiple heterogeneous ant colonies with information exchange (MHACIE) is presented in this paper with emphasis on the speed of finding the optimal solution and the corresponding computational complexity. The proposed method which is inspired by biology and psychology has a structure composed of several ant colonies. These colonies participate in solving problems in a concurrently manner and also exchange information with each other in communicational steps. Each ant colony is considered as an intelligent agent with behavioral traits. These behavioral traits play a key role in the solving procedure, in interrelation circumstances and in installation of relations. Faster solutions have been achieved using different employments of agents in the algorithm structure. Experimental results show the superiority of Multiple heterogeneous ant colonies algorithm in comparison to the standard ant colony system (ACS) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms on different benchmarks. A dynamic, control engineering benchmark is also provided in order to gain a more complete evaluation of the proposed algorithm.


Background There is increasing recognition that a small number of patients receiving docetaxel-containing regimes for early breast cancer (EBC), experience permanent alopecia. However, there is little data to inform discussions with patients regarding this serious late side effect. The aim of this study was determine the incidence, the site, the extent, and duration of the hair loss. Methods A postal questionnaire was sent (in October 2013) to patients who had received docetaxel during 2010, in the neo/adjuvant settings for EBC at our regional cancer centre. This comprised questions relating to scalp hair loss (using the Ludwig scale to provide a pictorial description of the pattern of hair loss), hair loss to other parts of the body, hair products used, and any comments that the respondents wished to add about their experience of hair loss. Univariate and multivariate analyses were undertaken to determine any other risk factors for persistent alopecia. Results 134 of 189 (71%) questionnaires were returned. Of those responding, 72 patients were pre-, 10 were peri- and 52 post-menopausal. 26 patients were taking anastrazole, 14 letrozole, 74 tamoxifen and 20 no adjuvant hormones. Of the respondents, 99 (74.4%) patients had no significant scalp hair loss, and 21 (15.8%) had significant scalp hair loss. 13 (9.8%) of patients gave equivocal responses and 1 patient did not answer the scalp hair loss question. 16 patients in the study were using products such as wigs and hair extensions. 5 patients reported no regrowth of eyebrows, 2 patients reported no eyelash regrowth, 6 no regrowth of nostril hair and 14 no regrowth to other parts such as legs. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed no significant associations with other patient and treatment characteristics (eg adjuvant endocrine therapy). Patients' observations regarding the social and emotional consequences of permanent hair loss confirmed a significant impact on quality of life. Conclusions This retrospective questionnaire study confirms that long term significant scalp alopecia (here lasting for up to 3.5 years following completion of chemotherapy) may affect 10-15% of patients following docetaxel for EBC (taking into consideration a potential bias for no hair loss in the non- responders). This rate is higher than previous estimates. Long term hair loss to other parts of the body was also widely reported. This appears to be unrelated to other patient and treatment characteristics. Long term hair loss had a significant impact on quality of survival. This is an important quality of life issue for patients which merits prospective study to confirm incidence, to identify effective preventive and management strategies. This risk should be discussed routinely (as part of the process of informed consent) with all patients embarking upon docetaxel as a component of management of EBC. Citation Format: Nicola J Thorp, Felicity Swift, Donna Arundell, Helen Wong. Long term hair loss in patients with early breast cancer receiving docetaxel chemotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-17-04.


This paper assesses the accuracy of the simplified frame cavity conduction/convection and radiation models presented in ISO 15099 and used in software for rating and labeling window products. Temperatures and U-factors for typical horizontal window frames with internal cavities are compared; results from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with detailed radiation modeling are used as a reference. Four different frames were studied, two made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and two of aluminum. For each frame, six different simulations were performed, two with a CFD code and four with a building-component thermal-simulation tool using the finite element method (FEM). This FEM tool addresses convection using correlations from ISO 15099; it addressed radiation with either correlations from ISO 15099 or with a detailed, view-factor-based radiation model. Calculations were performed using the CFD code with and without fluid flow in the window frame cavities; the calculations without fluid flow were performed to verify that the CFD code and the building-component thermal-simulation tool produced consistent results. With the FEM code, the practice of subdividing small frame cavities was examined, in some cases not subdividing, in some cases subdividing cavities with interconnections smaller than 5 mm (ISO 15099), and in some cases subdividing cavities withmore » interconnections smaller than 7 mm (a breakpoint that has been suggested in other studies). For the various frames, the calculated U-factors were found to be quite comparable (the maximum difference between the reference CFD simulation and the other simulations was found to be 13.2%). A maximum difference of 8.5% was found between the CFD simulation and the FEM simulation using ISO 15099 procedures. The ISO 15099 correlation works best for frames with high U-factors. For more efficient frames, the relative differences among various simulations are larger. Temperature was also compared, at selected locations on the frames. Small differences was found in the results from model to model. Finally, the effectiveness of the ISO cavity radiation algorithms was examined by comparing results from these algorithms to detailed radiation calculations (from both programs). Our results suggest that improvements in cavity heat transfer calculations can be obtained by using detailed radiation modeling (i.e., view-factor or ray-tracing models) and that incorporating these strategies may be more important for improving the accuracy of results than the use of CFD modeling for horizontal cavities.« less


We study computational theory and methods for finding multiple unstable solutions (corresponding to saddle points) to three types of nonlinear variational elliptic systems: cooperative, noncooperative, and Hamiltonian. We first propose a new L-orthogonal selection in a product Hilbert space so that a solution manifold can be defined. Then, we establish, respectively, a local characterization for saddle points of finite Morse index and of infinite Morse index. Based on these characterizations, two methods, called the local min-orthogonal method and the local min-max-orthogonal method, are developed and applied to solve those three types of elliptic systems for multiple solutions. Under suitable assumptions, a subsequence convergence result is established for each method. Numerical experiments for different types of model problems are carried out, showing that both methods are very reliable and efficient in computing coexisting saddle points or saddle points of infinite Morse index. We also analyze the instability of saddle points in both single and product Hilbert spaces. In particular, we establish several estimates of the Morse index of both coexisting and non-coexisting saddle points via the local min-orthogonal method developed and propose a local instability index to measure the local instability of both degenerate and nondegenerate saddle points. Finally, we suggest two extensions of an L-orthogonal selection for future research so that multiple solutions to more general elliptic systems such as nonvariational elliptic systems may also be found in a stable way.


We compared the extent to which offshore and remote‐sensing measurements of sea surface temperature (SST), upwelling, and chlorophyll a (Chl a) were concordant with in situ measurements of temperature, Chl a, and water nutrients at Tatoosh Island, Washington for the past 8 yr. Offshore SSTs were significantly correlated with water temperatures at Tatoosh, though consistently 2°C to 3°C warmer. Sea‐viewing wide field‐of‐view sensor Chl a estimates were poor predictors of Chl a at Tatoosh Island measured with an anchored fluorometer. Nitrate and phosphorus estimates at Tatoosh Island were positively correlated with an upwelling index and negatively correlated with SST, as would be expected from an upwelling source. In contrast, ammonium and nitrite were uncorrelated with the upwelling index or SST and showed elevated levels immediately adjacent to Tatoosh Island, suggesting strong local effects of marine invertebrates, birds, and mammals on nutrient dynamics and cycling in coastal ecosystems.


Many of the elder-care giving responsibilities of the aging population fall on the shoulders of adult children. Caregiver burnout is one of the top reasons for the transition from independent living to costly nursing homes or other care-giving facilities. As a result, technologists are rushing to find tools that can assist caregivers and augment the elder's ability to age in place. For a generation whose introduction to technology includes the black and white television, where the metaphors of windows and desktops are not automatically understood, the blitz of PDAs, smart homes, and voice recognition systems can be confusing, intimidating and stressful. Add to this the elder's need for companionship to ward off isolation and dementia, and the design problem transpires to a much bigger challenge than designing around physical limitations of the elderly. The idea of companionship provided by technology is not new. From the simple rule-based Tamagotchi pets to Sony's sophisticated AIBO, there is a large body of evidence that shows that the owners of these robotic pets form genuine and meaningful emotional bonds. However, few solutions combine 'purposeful utility' with entertainment and companionship. Solutions that are 'purposeful' are predictable and seldom achieve the level of autonomy that captures the interest of and engages the user, while solutions with high entertainment value often lack functions that directly aid the elder with daily functions. We describe the details of a smart home field test, and examine focus group discussions that were conducted with both the participants and their adult children caregivers. We identify discussions from focus group transcripts that are related to the user's social behaviours and emotions towards the technology, and changes in the user's interaction with his/her caregiver caused by the introduction of the technology. We describe some aspects of the "personality" the participants projected onto the smart home despite the intended lack of physical character embodiment of the system, and relate this to existing theoretical work from human-human interactions and human learning theory. Finally, we offer insight into how these observations might translate into functional implementations to reap the benefits of assistive technology as a means to both reduce the burden of caregivers and provide companionship.


Poverty alleviation has become one of the main development agendas of the
 twenty first century worldwide. But, the identification targeting of poor has been facing
 fundamental problems due to the lack of required information. Using the micro-level estimation
 technique we estimate household expenditure for the census households using 1995/96 and 2003/04
 household surveys, and estimate different measures of poverty and inequality using the estimated
 expenditure for those two years at the country level as well as at the regional, districts and
 village levels, and for the different caste/ethnic households. The public good aspects of this
 research is that these measures can be used as a guide for formulating decentralization and
 fiscal policies for decentralized communities across Nepal. Despite the indication that the
 aggregate level of poverty went down by 10 percentage points during the past eight years
 (1995/96 – 2003/04), our findings indicate that the reduction is not uniform in the first place,
 and the level of poverty actually went up in the significant part of the country. The increased
 poverty accompanied by the accelerating inequality throughout the country has compounded the
 divide between the haves and the have-nots and provided a suitable atmosphere for the conflict.
 As the foremost contributors of rising inequality are enterprise income and remittance, and
 agriculture income, high school and college level education help to reduce it, there are some
 clear policy implications of our findings that focusing on agricultural sector, high school and
 college education along with fiscal policy-mix (tax-transfer) could address the rising
 inequality and poverty.


Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are rapidly rising around the globe. Empirical researches demonstrated rapid increase in mortality and morbidity related to CVD and T2DM. Much of the diabetes-associated morbidity and mortality predominantly reflects its deleterious effect on macrovascular and microvascular diseases. The microvascular complications of T2DM include retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy and the macrovascular complications include ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral vascular diseases. Research indicates that coronary heart disease (CHD) is the major cause of mortality in people with T2DM. Herein, this chapter reviews relationship between CVD and T2DM, associated complications and effectiveness of relevant treatment modalities to treat/prevent diabetic macrovasculopthy. Macrovascular disease occur due to underlying obstructive atherosclerotic changes of major arteries which cause functional and structural abnormalities of blood vessels. The long-term complications can be controlled and prevented by controlling glycemia, maintaining normal lipid profiles, adopting a healthy lifestyle and using pharmacological interventions. Clinical trials have shown that lifestyle interventions help in prevention and reduction of CVD risk, but evidence for long-term CVD outcomes is lacking. A multidisciplinary approach involving patients, health professionals and researchers and governments should be undertaken to reduce the incidence and prevalence of diabetesrelated cardiovascular complications.


TRANSIT is a fast and optimal technique for computing shortest path costs in road networks. It is attractive for its usually modest memory requirements and impressive running times. In this paper we give a first analysis of TRANSIT routing on a set of popular grid-based video-game benchmarks taken from the AI pathfinding literature. We show that in the presence of path symmetries, which are inherent to most grids but normally not road networks, TRANSIT is strongly and negatively impacted, both in terms of performance and memory requirements. We address this problem by developing a new general symmetry breaking technique which adds small random epsilon-values to edges in the search graph, reducing the size of the TRANSIT network by up to 4 times while preserving optimality. Using our enhancements TRANSIT achieves up to four orders of magnitude speed improvement vs. A* search and uses in many cases only a small (<=10MB) or modest (<= 50MB) amount of memory. We also compare TRANSIT with CPDs, a recent and very fast database-driven pathfinding approach. We find the algorithms have complementary strengths but also identify a class of problems for which TRANSIT is up to two orders of magnitude faster than CPDs using a comparable amount of memory.


The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the musical journeys of five adult fiddle players, and to uncover the essence and meaning of learning to fiddle. Data were collected at the Swannanoa Gathering, a summer immersion camp for folk musicians, held at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. Analysis of participant interviews, researcher observations, and fieldnotes revealed three main themes: (a) participants created and maintained personal learning curriculums that included using prior knowledge, noticing new or unfamiliar elements in fiddling communities, gaining insights from other fiddlers, and participating in jam sessions; (b) participants experienced fear, frustration, enjoyment, and excitement while on their personal learning pathways, and; (c) participants' experiences learning fiddle connect them to communities of practice. The essence of learning for the five fiddlers in this study was the "Ah-Ha" moment, which was part of a larger cyclic model of community as curriculum. Further, the potential lifelong participation of fiddle players was conceptualized as a "ramble", which honors the personal agency of learners as they move through and between different communities over the course of a lifetime. Recommendations are provided for music educators and researchers pertaining to lifelong participation and the role of the teacher in fiddle learning.


HARDCOVER. This new translation from Japanese tells the story for the first time in English of Baron Kaneko's one-man diplomatic mission to the U.S. during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), in which he was tasked with winning the hearts and minds of the American people to the Japanese side. He achieved this through personal contacts with major figures including his close friend President Theodore Roosevelt, after-dinner speeches, lectures, press conferences and newspaper interviews, thereby displaying a mastery of the media which seems thoroughly modern in its influence and control. Upholding the principles of Bushido as explained by Nitobe Inazo in his book of that name first published in 1900, he was careful not to attack or slander his Russian opponent Count Cassini and mourned Admiral Makarov's death in battle. 26 B/W images. This volume includes an extensive bibliography, a chronology and an index. (Also available as a paperback or download from the publisher, and at online retail stores.)


The research work described in this thesis is concerned with the development of glassfibre reinforced plastics for structural uses in Civil Engineering construction. The first stage was primarily concerned with the design of GRP lamintes with structura1 properties and method of manufacture suitable for use with relatively large structural components. A cold setting, pressure moulding technique was developed which proved to be efficient in reducing the void content in the composite and minimising the exothermic effect due to curing. The effect of fibre content and fibre arrangement on strength and stiffness of the cornposite was studied and the maximum amount of' fibre content that could be reached by the adopted type of moulding technique was determined. The second stage of the project was concerned with the introduction of steel-wire "sheets" into the GRP cornposites, to take advantage of the high modulus of steel wire to improve the GRP stiffness and to reduce deformation. The experimental observations agreed reasonably well with theoretical predictions in both first and second stages of the work. The third stage was concerned with studying the stability of GRP flat rectangular plates subjected to uniaxial compression or pure shear, to simulate compression flanges or shear webs respectively. The investigation was concentrated on the effect of fibre arrangement in the plate on buckling load. The effect of the introduction of steel-wire sheets on the plate stability in compression was also investigated. The boundary conditions were chosen to be close to those usually assumed in built-up box-sections for both compression flanges and webs. The orthotropic plate and the mid-plane symmetric were used successfully in predicting the buckling load theoretically. In determining the buckling load experimentally, two methods were used. The Southwell plot method and electrical strain gauge method. The latter proved to be more reliable in predicting the buckling load than the former, especially for plates under uniaxial compression. Sample design charts for GRP plates that yield and buckle simultaneously under compression are also presented in the thesis. The final stage of the work dealt with the design and test of GRP beams. The investigation began by finding the optimum cross-section for a GRP beam. The cross-section which was developed was a thin walled corrugated section which showed higher stiffness than other cross-sections for the same cross-sectional area (i.e. box, I, and rectangular sections). A cold setting, hand layings technique was used in manufacturing these beams wbich were of nine types depending on the type of glass reinforcement employed and the arrangement of layers in the beam. The simple bending theory was used in the beam design and proved to be satisfactory in predicting the stresses and deflections. A factor of safety of 4 was chosen for design purposes and considered to be suitable for long term use under static load. Because of its relatively low modulus, GRP beams allowable deflection was limited to 1/120th of the span which was found to be adequate for design purposes. A general discussion of the behaviour of GRP composites and their place relative to the more conventional structural material was also presented in the thesis.


This study is an attempt to explain empirically how much minority-owned enterprises with given firmspecific and owner-specific characteristics export. Based on the 1987 Bureau of the Census survey of minority-owned enterprises data, we have reached conclusions on the differences in the volume of exports of firms with given threshold characteristics, relative to enterprises which posses more or less of those characteristics. These characteristics are firm size, start-up capital, and the number of years in business. Selected owner characteristics considered are education, age, and prior work and management experience. These characteristics were selected to allow us to examine the effect of firm size and management characteristics, which have been the focus of literature investigations. Introduction In spite of the obvious potential contributions of exports to the national economy and individual corporations, many business enterprises do not endeavor to take advantage of the potential gains. The literature claims that one reason for this is the lack of national and corporate policy to stimulate export incentives. The other is the attitude of corporate managers who continue to regard exporting as a marginal business, Cavusgil et al (1981). The literature maintains that unless top management is ready to stress the importance of growth and commit corporate resources into market planning, the company cannot reap the full potentials of exporting. This is partly one of the reasons why the United States exports only about 5.8% of its GDP compared to Germany with about 26%, Canada with about 25% and Japan with about 10.5%, Knowlton (1988). Tremendous opportunities exist for the United States to export a lot more because the US has the largest single market and the US GDP is about four times as large as the rest of the world, Knowlton (1988). The US Department of Commerce estimates that about 25,000 jobs are created for each $1 billion of export, therefore a policy of job creation can be considered to be synonymous with a policy of export expansion. The 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Uruguay Round of trade agreement, otherwise known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) were therefore intended to increase the amount and strengthen the performance of export activity of the US firms. What is the best strategy to increase US exports? It is estimated that small-and-medium sized businesses exhibit the fastest growth rates and generate more new jobs than large firms. It is also estimated that only ten percent of US exports are generated by small businesses, while 250 large multinational corporations account for approximately 85% of US exports. A substantial improvement in the US export performance will therefore require the participation of and involvement of a considerably large number of small-and-medium sized firms. Small-andmedium sized businesses produce a wide variety of goods and services, often of exceptionally high quality and possess the greatest degree of flexibility which allow them to profitably penetrate small markets using strategies that are difficult for large companies to implement, Dobrzynski (1985), Reagan (1984). Moreover small-and-medium sized firms are able to adapt quickly to fluctuating markets and play a major role in the global market. What role should minority-owned enterprises, generally known to be small, be expected to play in the national policy to increase US exports? Although so much is known about small-and-medium sized firms generally, nothing is known about what role minority-owned firms have played in American export activity. With so much unknowns about minority-owned businesses' ability to export, what policies should government adopt in order to enhance minorities' active participation in international trade? The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of exports by minority-owned firms. Minority-owned enterprises are those enterprises in which people of ethnic minorities, such as Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Women, and other ethnic groups have majority shares. …


Sensory stimuli evoke strong responses in thalamic relay cells, which ensure a faithful relay of information to the neocortex. However, relay cells of the posterior thalamic nuclear group in rodents, despite receiving significant trigeminal input, respond poorly to vibrissa deflection. Here we show that sensory transmission in this nucleus is impeded by fast feedforward inhibition mediated by GABAergic neurons of the zona incerta. Intracellular recordings of posterior group neurons revealed that the first synaptic event after whisker deflection is a prominent inhibition. Whisker-evoked EPSPs with fast rise time and longer onset latency are unveiled only after lesioning the zona incerta. Excitation survives barrel cortex lesion, demonstrating its peripheral origin. Electron microscopic data confirm that trigeminal axons make large synaptic terminals on the proximal dendrites of posterior group cells and on the somata of incertal neurons. Thus, the connectivity of the system allows an unusual situation in which inhibition precedes ascending excitation resulting in efficient shunting of the responses. The dominance of inhibition over excitation strongly suggests that the paralemniscal pathway is not designed to relay inputs triggered by passive whisker deflection. Instead, we propose that this pathway operates through disinhibition, and that the posterior group forwards to the cerebral cortex sensory information that is contingent on motor instructions.


The ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Laccaria bicolor has a dual lifestyle with a transitory soil saprotrophic phase and a longer mutualistic interaction with tree roots. Recent evidence suggests that secreted proteins play key roles in host plant colonisation and symbiosis development. However, a limited number of secreted proteins have been characterized, and the full spectrum of effectors involved in the mycobiont invasion and survival remains unknown. We analyzed the extracellular proteins secreted in growth medium by free-living mycelium of L. bicolor as a proxy for its saprotrophic phase. The proteomic analyses (two-dimensional electrophoresis and shotgun proteomics) were substantiated by whole-genome expression transcript profiling on ectomycorrhizal roots. Among the 224 proteins identified were carbohydrate-acting enzymes likely involved in the cell wall remodelling linked to hyphal growth as well as secreted proteases possibly digesting soil organic compounds and/or fending off competitors, pathogens, and predators. Evidence of gene expression was found in ectomycorrhizal roots for 210 of them. These findings provide the first global view of the secretome of a mutualistic symbiont and shed some light on the mechanisms controlling cell wall remodelling during the hyphal growth. They also revealed many novel putative secreted proteins of unknown function, including one mycorrhiza-induced small secreted protein.


Access to consumer credit is influenced by many factors, such as amount and security of the consumer's income, and credit card company and financial institution practices. Access is also driven by social, cultural and cognitive factors, including consumer understanding of the cost of credit; perceptions regarding ability to repay; cognitive influences regarding immediate consumption and delayed payment; understanding of the benefits and risks of debt to economic security; and the conflicts of interest inherent in the business of lending. Overall, bank and credit union credit has tightened since the global financial crisis. However, the study found that for many Canadians, the issue is less whether there is access to credit, but rather, "access to credit at what high cost and on what terms and conditions". Much of the reported need for credit in the past two years has been the need to bridge income loss from job loss, reduced hours of employment and small business failures. Many individuals that could not access personal loans from their bank or credit union turned to alternate, more expensive, forms of credit, such as merchandise finance company loans, increasing credit card debt, skipping monthly payments on loans, and payday loans. Consolidation loans have been increasingly viewed as a debt management strategy, yet there are problems associated with consolidation. One issue identified was the growth in home equity lines of credit, originally intended to bridge financing for emergencies or a significant purchase, but now being used more akin to account withdrawing, portending future issues in respect to debt load and longer term economic security.Consumers face the direct costs of high interest rate charges and loan and broker fees. There is evidence to suggest that costs increase when consumer borrowers do not understand how interest rates and terms work, and thus consumer debtors may be paying considerably more for their credit than they need to. The lack of financial literacy is a major concern in that many consumer debtors do not fully appreciate the costs of carrying expensive credit, identified as particularly an issue among younger adults and recent immigrants to Canada. Yet to date, financial literacy training does not align with consumer debtors' particular needs for financing based on income and a range of other factors. There are also significant indirect costs to the consumer of access only to expensive credit, such as foregone basic necessities because of excessive debt load, health outcomes and costs associated with the stress of over-indebtedness, and the costs to society, borne by creditors or the general tax base, when consumers default on loans or file for insolvency or bankruptcy. Analysis of the causes of insolvency for a cohort of 4,000 consumer insolvency cases from 2008 to 2010 indicates that "access to credit" forms an extremely small percentage of declared reasons for filing bankruptcy or proposals under the BIA. Related causes are much higher. For bankruptcies, insufficient income accounted for 30.5% of insolvency, unemployment for 18.8%, and over-indebtedness for 12.4%. For proposals, insufficient income accounted for 40.7% of insolvency, unemployment for 15.8%, and over-indebtedness for 13.8%. Seeking relief under Canadian insolvency law is reported by bankrupts as less associated with access to credit and more an outcome of consumer debtors' inability to meet the payment demands of expensive credit they previously accessed.Credit card debt is a significant issue for consumer debtors. The average credit card debt was $21,620 and the median debt was $13,979. The data show that 90% of all debtors filing for insolvency relief had credit card debt. Equally, however, mortgage debt, personal loans and finance company debt are significant factors in filing, evidence of credit behaviour that catches consumer debtors in a repeated pattern of refinancing expensive debt and re-incurring it, which can expedite financial distress. Considerably more research and policy development is required to make consumer access to credit more understandable, affordable and accessible on a fair and reasonable basis. While financial literacy is an important goal, there is also an urgent need for the federal government to complement its current work in financial literacy with a much more comprehensive program regarding consumer credit.


529 Background: American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) trial 6657, the imaging component of the I-SPY trial (CALGB 150007/150012), is testing MRI for predicting response to treatment and stratifying risk-of-recurrence in patients with locally-advanced breast cancer. We report preliminary results evaluating MRI for prediction of pathologic response.

METHODS
Women with ≥3 cm invasive breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) with anthracycline-cyclophosphamide (AC) followed by a taxane (T) were enrolled from May 2002 to March 2006. MRI was performed prior to NACT (t1), after 1 cycle AC (t2), between AC and T (t3), and following T prior to surgery (t4). MRI tumor size assessments included longest diameter (MRLD) and tumor volume (MRVol). Clinical size (clinsize) and mammographic longest diameter (MGLD) were also recorded. Linear dimension was measured by the radiologist for MGLD and MRLD; MRVol was calculated by computer using signal enhancement ratio (SER) thresholds. Change in clinical and MRI variables at t2 were compared for ability to predict pathologic complete response (pCR).

RESULTS
237 patients were enrolled at 9 institutions. 216 patients with complete imaging were analyzed. Of tumor size measurements at t4, MRVol showed the strongest correlation with pathsize among clinsize (r = 0.44), MGLD (ns), MRLD (r = 0.28) and MRVol (r = 0.61). Early change in MRVol measured at t2 was the only variable predictive of pCR among clinsize (p = 0.14, 0.15), MRLD (p = 0.40, 0.07), MRVol (p = 0.02, 0.01) and peak SER (p = 0.53, 0.72) in univariate and multivariate logistic regression, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Tumor response measured volumetrically by MRI is a stronger and earlier predictor of pathologic response after NACT than clinical exam or tumor diameter. This work is funded by NIH/ACRIN U01 CA79778; CALGB CA31946, CA33601; NCI SPORE CA58207. [Table: see text].