Regulating transition of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) between quiescent and cycling states is critical for maintaining homeostasis of blood cell production. The cycling states of HSCs are regulated by the extracellular factors such as cytokines and extracellular matrix; however, the molecular circuitry for such regulation remains elusive. Here we show that tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3), an endogenous regulator of metalloproteinases, stimulates HSC proliferation by recruiting quiescent HSCs into the cell cycle. Myelosuppression induced TIMP-3 in the bone marrow before hematopoietic recovery. Interestingly, TIMP-3 enhanced proliferation of HSCs and promoted expansion of multipotent progenitors, which was achieved by stimulating cell-cycle entry of quiescent HSCs without compensating their long-term repopulating activity. Surprisingly, this effect did not require metalloproteinase inhibitory activity of TIMP-3 and was possibly mediated through a direct inhibition of angiopoietin-1 signaling, a critical mediator for HSC quiescence. Furthermore, bone marrow recovery from myelosuppression was accelerated by over-expression of TIMP-3, and in turn, impaired in TIMP-3-deficient animals. These results suggest that TIMP-3 may act as a molecular cue in response to myelosuppression for recruiting dormant HSCs into active cell cycle and may be clinically useful for facilitating hematopoietic recovery after chemotherapy or ex vivo expansion of HSCs.


The importance of natural fractures for development and production of hydrocarbon reservoirs requires little justification. While in clastic reservoirs fractures can cause permeability anisotropy and thus affect field development, in carbonates and tight sands they are often critical for reservoir production. If open fractures have a preferential direction (which is almost always the case), they cause azimuthal seismic anisotropy, making seismic a powerful tool for the characterization of fractured reservoirs.


BACKGROUND
Propofol causes significant cardiovascular depression and a slowing of neurophysiological activity. However, literature on its effect on the heart rate remains mixed, and it is not known whether cortical slow waves are related to cardiac activity in propofol anesthesia.

METHODS
We performed a secondary analysis of ECG and EEG data collected as part of a previously published study where N=16 healthy volunteers underwent a slow infusion of propofol up to an estimated effect-site concentration of 4 µg/ml. Heart rate, heart rate variability, and individual slow EEG waves were extracted for each subject. Timing between slow-wave start and the preceding R-wave was tested against a uniform random surrogate. Heart rate data were further examined as a post hoc analysis in N=96 ASA-2/3 older clinical population collected as part of the AlphaMax trial.

RESULTS
The slow propofol infusion increased the heart rate in a dose-dependent manner (increase of +4.2 ± 1.5 bpm/(μg ml-1), P<0.001). The effect was smaller but still significant in the older clinical population. In healthy volunteers, propofol decreased the ECG R-wave amplitude (decrease of -83 [-245, -28] μV, P<0.001). Heart rate variability showed a loss of high-frequency parasympathetic activity. Individual cortical slow waves were coupled to the heartbeat. Heartbeat incidence peaked about 450ms before slow-wave onset and mean slow-wave frequency correlated with mean heart rate.

CONCLUSIONS
We observed a robust increase in heart rate with increasing propofol concentrations in healthy volunteers and patients. This was likely due to decreased parasympathetic cardio-inhibition. Similar to non-rapid eye movement sleep, cortical slow waves are coupled to the cardiac rhythm, perhaps due to a common brainstem generator.


We present an unusual case of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) mimicking diverticulitis in a 76-year-old man with a 16-year history of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and a 2 cm left renal mass. The patient presented with severe abdominal pain and lower gastrointestinal bleeding with anticoagulation from recent pulmonary embolism. His clinical course was troubled by recurrent hospitalisations and complications that delayed investigations and potential treatments. Radiographic findings revealed stable CLL, mild sigmoid diverticulitis and a small renal mass. Small renal masses (less than 4 cm) are considered low risk for metastasising and are, thus, often observed or ablated, rather than resected. Furthermore, gastrointestinal metastases from RCC are rare. This case adds new perspective to the unpredictable nature of RCC and how synchronous malignancies may be masked in patients with long-standing CLL.


Subjective minimum income (MIQ) and minimum spending (MSQ) are the study focus. Basic Needs Module (1995) data from the U.S. Survey of Income and Program Participation are analyzed. A regression intersection approach is used to estimate household thresholds. MIQ thresholds are higher than MSQ thresholds. Both are higher than U.S. official poverty thresholds, and thresholds based on a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) methodology. Subjective threshold based equivalence scales imply greater economies of scale than those in the other two measures but are similar to behavioral scales. This finding suggests that families make trade-offs to meet their minimum needs.


Manganese-doped cesium
lead chloride (CsPbCl3) perovskite
nanocrystals (NCs) have recently garnered attention because of their
unique magneto-optical properties, giving them potential in a variety
of optoelectronic applications. One common method to dope Mn2+ into host CsPbCl3 NCs is through a postsynthetic ion
exchange reaction. However, most ion exchange strategies utilize a
Mn2+-containing precursor solution, which adds limitations
to the reaction due to compatibility and stability issues. Here, we
report a new method of cation exchange in CsPbCl3 NCs where
Pb2+ cations are partially replaced by Mn2+ cations
using a solid Mn2+–precursor source, resulting in
a quasi-solid-solid cation exchange at ambient conditions. The ability
to perform the cation exchange without the addition of any external
solvents allowed for a systematic study on the NC doping. The reaction
takes place at the interface between the Mn2+-containing
solid precursor and the NC surface. Electron paramagnetic resonance
and optical characterizations including a shortened Mn2+ photoluminescence lifetime immediately following the exchange indicated
initial heterogeneous doping with the Mn2+ dopants localized
on the NC surface. Spatial distribution of dopants within the NCs
is observed by inward diffusion over time. Additionally, dopant concentration
can be controlled through engineering starting ligand compositions,
which not only changes the ligands present at the Mn2+–precursor–NC
interface but also leads to varying degrees of precursor activation.
This study not only provides a clean and facile doping method without
the need for additional solvents but also a cation exchange strategy
which can be closely studied to improve the understanding of doping
processes at the molecular level in perovskite NC systems.


Quantum information studies how information is encoded and decoded in quantum mechanical systems. In this paper, we study the basic scenario where two classical bits are encoded into a quantum state. We prove a "learning lemma," which provides a new upper bound on the average probability of decoding each bit that depends on the probability of learning the XOR of the two bits. Moreover, we give bounds on how well each bit can be decoded when their XOR is hidden and generalize these concepts to strings.
Our learning lemmata have strong connections to cryptography and nonlocality. In particular, we show a set of equivalences between secure oblivious transfer protocols, CHSH-type games, and quantum encodings hiding the XOR. These equivalences allow us to use results in one area to prove results in another. For example, we use information bounds to give bounds on the values of CHSH-type games and also on the "correctness" of certain secure oblivious transfer protocols. We also use results of quantum XOR games to show that secure oblivious transfer admits perfect parallel repetition. Last, our learning lemmata enable us to improve the lower bounds on the cheating probabilities of any quantum oblivious transfer protocol.


Defining and categorizing drought in a quantitative and scientific manner are important national issues for Australian state and Commonwealth governments, landholders, and agribusiness. The challenge for modelers of Australia's grasslands is to integrate biological models, geographic information systems (GIS), satellite imagery, economics, climatology, and visual high-performance computing into an Internet-deliverable application that can provide easily understood monitoring and prediction advice in near realtime—a national drought alert strategic information system. Although NOAA satellite-derived imagery has been somewhat useful in the broad-scale spatial assessment of green cover, especially the spatial response of vegetation to rainfall events (Smith, 1994; Dudgeon et al., 1990; Filet et al., 1990), it has inherent limitations in providing a total solution for drought and rangeland monitoring; biomass relationships are not good, tree cover confounds the signal, and a future projection of the current situation is not inherent. Also, the interpretation of the imagery does not usually consider the effects of soil type, vegetation structure, or rangeland "condition." Similarly, rainfall analyses alone do not necessarily reflect the quantity and quality of pasture available on the ground. In the recent 1991–95 recordbreaking drought in Queensland, rainfall analyses did not map the droughtdeclared southwestern areas of the state as droughted, and, conversely, coastal areas of the state were classed as droughted by rainfall analyses, when there was no community push for their declaration. Measures of rainfall effectiveness expressed as measures of plant biomass are required for drought definition. Improved assessments of the quantity and quality of biomass are needed, as well as consideration of herbivore densities and future climatic scenarios.


OBJECTIVES
Wild Sapajus libidinosus exploit underground storage organs (USOs) that require extraction and extensive processing before consumption. Since capuchin monkeys are small-sized extractive foragers that cannot perform forceful precision grips, we expected that: (a) they would use other body parts together with their hands, (b) older (and larger) capuchins would be more efficient than younger (and smaller) ones, and (c) capuchins would invest greater effort/time to exploit USOs than other foods.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We recorded 178 episodes of USO processing performed by 20 individuals. The behavior was videotaped and scored frame-by-frame.

RESULTS
We identified six sequential stages of processing: Excavation, extraction, soil removal, transport, peeling, and fragmenting the inner tissues. Capuchins made frequent use of forceful hand postures and manipulation in which the hands were strongly supported by other body parts, principally the mouth. Older capuchins were more efficient than younger individuals in pulling the USOs out of the ground. Finally, exploiting USOs was time-consuming, lasting more than 4 min per item, on average.

DISCUSSION
Despite having smaller body-mass and greater manual constraints than catarrhine extractive foragers, capuchins, even smaller individuals, mastered USO processing thanks to their behavioral flexibility and persistence. Our findings reveal that precision grips are not essential for forceful actions during complex food processing and that, unlike catarrhines, capuchins, especially adults, rarely use thumb opposition during forceful grasping of food. In contrast, extended sustained attention and varied manual behavior appear to be convergent features of platyrrhine and catarrhine extractive foragers.


Tumor connective-tissue cells of mesenchymal origin suppress antitumor immune responses. Vaccination with tumor-specific antigens is one of several attempted therapies seeking to harness the immune system, but—unfortunately—this strategy has been unsuccessful, possibly because of the immunosuppressive properties of the tumor microenvironment. Kraman et al. (see the Perspective by Schreiber and Rowley) have identified immunosuppressive cells of mesenchymal origin in mice comprising 2% of the tumor stromal cell population. They were identified by expression of the fibroblast activation protein–α. Deletion of these cells in lung or pancreatic cancers in mice allowed successful therapeutic vaccination against the tumors, which was dependent on the adaptive immune system and the cytokines interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor–α. These findings reveal that multiple cell types contribute to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and will inform therapeutic cancer vaccine design. M. Kraman, P. J. Bambrough, J. N. Arnold, E. W. Roberts, L. Magiera, J. O. Jones, A. Gopinathan, D. A. Tuveson, D. T. Fearon, Suppression of antitumor immunity by stromal cells expressing fibroblast activation protein–α. Science 330, 827–830 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text] H. Schreiber, D. A. Rowley, Awakening immunity. Science 330, 761–762 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Remanufacturing can importantly reduce the resource intensity and increase the eco-efficiency of product systems by utilising recovered end of life (EOL) parts. A life cycle assessment (LCA) has been carried out to determine the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of a remanufactured compressor vs. a new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) compressor. The remanufacturing consisted of five stages: disassembling, cleaning and washing (C&W), machining, reassembling, and testing. The analysis determined that remanufactured compressors produce about 89% to 93% less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than those associated with a new (OEM) compressor and also 50% cheaper than a new (OEM) compressor. The analysis also confirmed that additional reuse and less replacement of parts with new parts can further reduce the overall GHG emissions of remanufactured compressors. The research concludes that remanufacturing can be regarded as a sustainable manufacturing operation that helps attain economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainability.


ABSTRACT Purpose: To elucidate compliance rates among glaucoma patients in a tertiary healthcare center, reasons for noncompliance and response-based-solutions to improve compl iance in the same cohort. Materials and methods: In the Glauco-Jung study, a cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological one, information was obtained from 500 patients from 1st January, 2014 to 30th June, 2014. Patients were intercepted at entry point where they get their intraocular pressure (IOP) checked, wherein they were asked to fill an exhaustive questionnaire. At the same setting, they were also asked to demonstrate how they (or their relatives or helpers) instill eyedrops, following which any irregularities were brought to notice and corrected. Finally, they were also asked any suggestions to improve compliance to medications. Noncompliance rates were determined based on the number of patients who did not instill anti-glaucoma medications as per prescribed dosage or frequency schedule. Noncompliance rates were then evaluated by the Chi-square test for any association with distributions based on various parameters. Results: In case of a positive association, correlation coefficient was further calculated to know the strength of this association. No association was observed in distributions based on diet, associated co-morbidities, daily dosage frequency and side-effects experienced by patients. Positive association was noted in distributions based on age, sex, duration of treatment, social structure and number of medications (p < 0.05); but correlation coefficients were very weak (c < 0.3). Cost of medications not only had positive association but also had a very strong correlation coefficient (c = 0.9188), proving that cost of medications had a modest bearing on compliance rates. Conclusion: The Glauco-Jung study concluded that besides availability of medications at reasonable cost, simplification of treatment regimen and interactive health education appear to be the most important factors for improving compliance so that patients do not feel guilty or inadequate because they have problems while administering their eyedrops. How to cite this article: Gupta VS, Sethi H, Naik M. Strategies to Improve Glaucoma Compliance Based on Cross-Sectional Response-Based Data in a Tertiary Healthcare Center: The Glauco-Jung Study. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2015;9(2):38-46.


Food stamp participation rates plummeted from 75 percent in 1994 to 59 percent in 2000 (Cunnyngham 2002, p. 3).1 In response to plummeting participation rates, and with the new flexibility brought about by the 1996 federal welfare reforms, many states are re-engineering their programs to improve accessibility (Rosenbaum 2000; Bell, et al. 2001). States are extending office hours, establishing automated call centers, and improving outreach, among other changes. But not all program changes are geared toward increasing participation rates. States have strong financial incentives to keep Food Stamp Program certification error rates low, a goal that often runs counter to improving participation rates. States are making policy decisions — which have strong implications for Food Stamp Program participation decisions — without the benefit of knowing the factors that make some eligible working persons choose to participate and others choose not to participate. This study will examine how low-income households' employment characteristics influence Food Stamp Program participation.The relationship between employment and Food Stamp Program (FSP) participation is of special interest for two reasons. First, characteristics of the food stamp caseload and the food stamp eligible population have changed to include more working low-income households. As Gleason et al. (2000) note, there has been a large increase in the proportion of food stamp participants with earnings. Among food stamp recipient families with children, the percentage working increased from 27 percent in 1993 to 42 percent in 1999 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2001a, p. 1). Second, along with the declining participation rate has come a growing concern that eligible working low-income families are not participating in the Food Stamp Program. "Food stamps are crucial to helping low-wage working families make ends meet. A family of four supported by a full-time, year-round minimum wage worker will fall short of the poverty line by 25 percent (even after counting the earned income tax credit) if the family does not receive food stamps. Food stamps increase the typical monthly purchasing power of such a family by 39 percent" (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2001a, p. 4). Food stamp participation may reduce the chance that families are unable to financially meet basic needs and so use other forms of public assistance. It is important to understand how the Food Stamp Program works for the large fraction of the caseload that is employed, but it is even more important to understand why the Food Stamp Program does not work for low-income working persons who do not participate.The Food Stamp Program structure, with its numerous application rules, program requirements, and administrative practices, may be one reason that working low-income persons choose not to participate. As Besharov (2000) has argued, the Food Stamp Program was built around the non-working poor and the program for the working poor looks like an afterthought.Indeed, important aspects of the program do make participation difficult for the working low-income persons by effectively raising the monetary and nonmonetary costs of participation. For example, many individuals are required to appear in person at their local food stamp office to apply for food stamps and, in most cases, for periodic recertification. In-person application and recertification are more costly for the working low-income persons because the opportunity cost of their time is higher and they may have less available free time. It may be especially costly for people who work during traditional hours (for example, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) because they have a smaller time window to get to the food stamp office and may need to be absent from work to apply or be recertified for benefits. Certification policies provide another example of the increased cost of participation for the working low-income persons. In the late 1990s, many states shortened the certification period for households with a history of earned income to reduce the number of errors in the Food Stamp Program (Gabor and Botsko 2001).2 As a result, working food stamp recipients were required to return to the food stamp office for recertification even more often than non-working persons (Dion and Pavetti 2000). Furthermore, since food stamp benefits decline with income, working low-income persons face higher costs to participation for a smaller benefit amount.To provide an understanding of the relationship between employment and FSP participation, this analysis examines the employment characteristics and patterns of the working food stamp eligible population. In particular, we address three research questions:What are the detailed employment characteristics of low-income, working food stamp participating and non-participating households? Do household members work traditional hours? Are there multiple jobholders in the household? How many hours do household members work? Do they change jobs frequently? How do detailed measures of employment characteristics affect food stamp participation? Does labor force attachment affect participation? Are persons who work non-traditional hours more likely to participate? Does holding more than one job decrease the likelihood of participation? Does working more hours decrease the likelihood of participation? Do frequent job changes decrease the likelihood of participation? How has the relationship between employment factors and Food Stamp Program participation changed since federal welfare reform? Understanding the factors that affect participation decisions among working low-income individuals is necessary to ensure access to program benefits. Identifying these factors will shed light on how the Food Stamp Program is currently operating for the working low-income individuals and how it might be changed to better accommodate these individuals.


We propose a discriminative classification approach for updating the current information state of a multi-domain dialog system based on user responses. Our method uses a set of lexical and domain independent features to compare the spoken language understanding (SLU) output for the current user turn with the previous information state. We then update the information state accordingly, employing a discriminative machine learning approach. Using a data set collected from our conversational interaction system, we investigate the impact of features based on context dependent and context independent SLU tagging schemas. We show that the proposed approach outperforms two non-trivial baselines, one based on manually crafted rules and the other on classification with lexical features alone. Furthermore, such an approach allows the addition of new domains to the dialog manager in a seamless way.


This thesis is part of a four-year study of a Mirpuri family's migrations, as seen through the lens of New Literacy Studies. This means understanding literacy as a social practice, applied in different contexts to meet different purposes, in this case for the purposes of migration. This focus meant exploring many different activities involving reading and writing in the everyday lives of migrants and relating these to those individuals' migrations embedded in the histories of specific Pakistani communities, their literacies and their migration trajectories, as well as the development of immigration policies in the UK. The study draws on the experiences of many family members but centres on one individual who migrated to the UK from Pakistan during the course of the fieldwork. Taking an ethnographic perspective implied taking part in many of these activities as well as observing them and asking about them in interviews. This generated a range of data from many different community locations in Mirpur and Hillington. These data were analysed by combining New Literacy Studies with Sociolinguistics and Critical Discourse Studies (CDS), specifically the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA). What this meant was that the insider perspective that is so central to NLS was integrated with CDS's critical perspective on society and the social problems related to literacy and migration, as well as with detailed and systematic text and genre analysis. The central concern was how Mirpuri migrants gained access to the dominant literacies of migration at a time when the UK government was increasingly moving towards a more textually mediated immigration regime. The study looked at what literacies were drawn on as prospective migrants and their families engaged with the bureaucracies of immigration when, for example, filling in visa application forms. However, the scope of this study went beyond an analysis of the texts of immigration and explored the literacy practices that link texts with institutions, social structures and discourses about migration. The thesis shows that these literacy practices are part of the broader language practices that multilingual migrants from Mirpur draw on in their everyday lives, that English is only one of many resources in their repertoires, and that in order to understand how Mirpuris build ties with those around them, all the languages that they use must be considered.


The study of the brain continues to expand at a rapid pace providing fascinating insights into the basic mechanisms underlying nervous system illnesses. New tools, ranging from genome sequencing to non-invasive imaging, and research fueled by public and private investment in biomedical research has been transformative in our understanding of nervous system diseases and has led to an explosion of published primary research articles. Diseases of the Nervous System summarizes the current state of basic and clinical knowledge for the most common neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. In a systematic progression, each chapter covers either a single disease or a group of related disorders ranging from static insults to primary and secondary progressive neurodegenerative diseases, neurodevelopmental illnesses, illnesses resulting from nervous system infection and neuropsychiatric conditions. Chapters follow a common format and are stand-alone units, each covering disease history, clinical presentation, disease mechanisms and treatment protocols. Dr. Sontheimer also includes two chapters which discuss common concepts shared among the disorders and how new findings are being translated from the bench to the bedside. In a final chapter, he explains the most commonly used neuroscience jargon. The chapters address controversial issues in current day neuroscience research including translational research, drug discovery, ethical issues, and the promises of personalized medicine. This book provides an introduction for course adoption and an introductory tutorial for students, scholars, researchers and medical professionals interested in learning the state of the art concerning our understanding and treatment of diseases of the nervous system.Provides a focused tutorial introduction to the core diseases of the nervous systemIncludes comprehensive introductions to Stroke, Epilepsy, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease, ALS, Head and Spinal Cord Trauma, Multiple Sclerosis, Brain Tumors, Depression, Schizophrenia and many other diseases of the nervous systemCovers more than 40 diseases from the foundational science to the best treatment protocolsIncludes discussions of translational research, drug discovery, personalized medicine, ethics, and neuroscience


We present a deformation technique that constructs 2D warps by using spline curves to specify the starting and target shapes of selected key contours. We generate a two-dimensional deformation map from these contours by simulating a non-linear elastic membrane deforming in accordance with user-specified constraints. Although we support and demonstrate elastic models inspired by physical membranes, we highlight a custom material model for this specific application, which combines the benefits of harmonic interpolation and area-preserving deformations. Our warps are represented via a standard Cartesian lattice and leverage the regularity of this description to enable efficient computation. Specifically, our method resolves the targeting constraints imposed along arbitrarily shaped contours with sub-grid cell precision, without requiring an explicit remeshing of the warp lattice around the constraint curve. We describe how to obtain a well-conditioned discretization of our membrane model even under elaborate constraints and strict area preservation demands, and present a multigrid solver for the efficient numerical solution of the deformation problem.


Objective: This study is mainly to evaluate the effect of left anterior descending coronary artery after implantation on the first diagonal branch and guiding effect of the Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) on the treatment of coronary bifurcation disease.
Methods: A total of 78 patients with left anterior descending coronary artery disease (LAD) were enrolled in this study. After implantation of coronary artery left anterior descending (LAD) stent, it was divided into FFR>0.80 group (58 cases) and FFR ≤ 0.80 group (20 example) according to marginal branch FFR scores. The general clinical features and hematological findings of the patients were observed and recorded, including blood, blood glucose, low density lipoprotein, renal function and uric acid.
Results: The contrast of before PCI operation LAD reference vessel diameter ((3.12 ± 0.15)(3.15 ± 0.17 mm), P=0.774), Quantitative Coronary Angiography (QCA) percent diameter stenosis ((0.85 ± 0.13%), (0.76 ± 0.14%), P=0.812), Lesion length ((19.89 ± 5.63), (21.53 ± 7.56 mm), P=0.659), FFR mean value (0.63 ± 0.12, 0.52 ± 0.23, P=0.824) with after LAD PCI angular branch reference blood vessel diameter ((2.61 ± 0.25), (2.59 ± 0.24 mm), P=0.746), QCA lesion percent diameter stenosis ((0.45 ± 0.18%), (0.54 ± 0.15%), P=0.112), minimum lumen diameter ((1.36 ± 0.520, (1.14 ± 0.49 mm), P=0.153), the differences were not of statistically significant (P>0.05); However, it has the statistically significance (P<0.01) of the differences in the angular branch FFR mean value (0.75 ± 0.14, 0.67 ± 0.13) after LAD PCI. After anterior descending stent implantation, in the diastolic branch greater than 0.80 group, there are 15.5% patients of QCA diameter stenosis greater than or equal to 70.0% is false negative; in the diastolic FFR ≤ 0.80 group, 70.0% of the patients with QCA diameter stenosis of less than 70.0% is false negative.
Conclusion: FFR can significantly reduce the complexity of bifurcation and improve the efficiency of diagnosis in the treatment of coronary artery bifurcation.


The site-specific magnitudes and orientations of the chemical shift tensors have been estimated for 70 backbone (15)N-nuclei in human ubiquitin from the field dependence of dynamic independent ratios between relaxation rates, both longitudinal and transverse, measured at 9.4, 11.7, 14.1, and 18.8 T. The results were jointly analyzed with previously published relaxation data [Fushman; Tjandra; Cowburn. J.Am. Chem. Soc. 1998, 120, 10947-10952] [Kover; Batta. J. Mag. Reson. 2001, 150, 137-146]. The effective magnitudes of the anisotropies distribute around 169 ppm with a variability of 5 ppm. The orientation factors, reflecting the orientation of the CSA relative to the NH bond, distribute around -0.80 with a variability of 0.04, which corresponds to an angle between the symmetry axis of an assumed axially symmetric shielding tensor and the NH bond of 21.4 degrees, and a variability of 2.3 degrees. Correlations with the isotropic (15)N-chemical shifts are observed. Variations in the shielding anisotropies add uncertainty to the obtained order parameters proportional to the square of the magnetic field, when data are analyzed using an assumed invariant CSA tensor for all sites. Around 3% additional uncertainty in the order parameters for 800 MHz data is expected. The optimal TROSY field for amide nitrogen TROSY is estimated, with only marginal variations due to site-to-site variations. Variations in the shielding tensors add uncertainty to the exchange terms calculated from cross-correlation rates. An approach for estimating the exchange terms is suggested, where the uncertainty due to CSA-variations is minimized.


The thesis aims to find issues that may affect the performance of meshed wireless networks. There is no denying the fact that out of the wireless technologies being used in today's environment, the wireless meshed technology is one of the most advanced and can be viewed as the technology of the future. This thesis deals closely with aspects like throughput, security and performance as these metrics have a direct influence on the performance of the wireless mesh.The thesis is subdivided into various categories explaining the primary structure of wireless mesh networks. Performance of the network has always been a key issue and reliability is the core metric of evaluating the quality of a network. Routing protocols for these networks and which help in improving the performance are examined and the best routing protocol is suggested. This helps to improve the throughput which is the main aspect for maintaining a good performance. The main problem with wireless networks is making them security. This area is also considered as it improves the performance of the whole network. Also the network should be scalable to properly utilize the frequency and get optimal performance. This is required for the successful delivery of data packets. Thus, this area is also investigated together with some other factors that influence the behaviour of these networks. Last, but not least, we provide a discussion about possible future work as well as specifying a system that will help to increase the performance.


Using three primary data sources plus three supplemental sources discussed in an appendix, this paper examines how well non-economic damages could be predicted by economic damages and at how the ratio of non-economic damages to economic damages changed as the magnitude of the economic damages awarded by juries increased. We found a mixture of consistent and inconsistent patterns across our various datasets. One fairly consistent pattern was the tendency for the ratio of non-economic to economic damages to decline as the amount of economic damages increased. Moreover, the variability of the ratio also tended to decline as the amount of economic damages increased. We found less consistency in our simple regression models where we predicted the log of noneconomic damages from the log of economic damages. In all of those models, the slopes of the fitted line were positive, but the slopes and the measures of fit (r2) varied from dataset to dataset, and among type of case within those datasets with multiple case types. Also, where we had the same type of case across datasets, we found variation in the fit and slope. With two of the datasets we were able to extend our regression models with regard to medical malpractice cases. Using the RAND jury study from 1995-99 we were able to separate out California's medical malpractice cases which were governed by the MICRA cap on noneconomic damages from the cases coming from five other states included in the study. We found that MICRA dampened the relationship between economic and non-economic damages. Using the data we coded from on Cook County, Illinois jury verdicts, we were able to expand our regression model to include the NAIC severity index plus the gender and age of the plaintiff. We found no evidence that the two demographic variables systematically influenced the amount of non-economic damages, but the severity of injury did make a difference. Most importantly, we found that the severity of the injury conditioned the relationship between economic and non-economic damages.


Empirical linkages between structure and agency, or system and life world, have traditionally not been overabundant in sociology, though work emerging in the field of the sociology of emotions does offer some illumination on this topic. This article uses data obtained in a project which investigated the impact of the Howard government's dual reforms in the industrial relations and welfare policy arenas. In this article, we seek to explore in some depth how a system that is underpinned by the notion of dignity and rights produces shame in its supposed beneficiaries, based on the evidence in the data collected. As well, we attempt to expose the processes by which shame is produced and how it manifests among the participants in the study. The first part of the article focuses upon the broader structural context, while the second proceeds to examine how this impinges upon agents at the microsocial level. Workfare recipients are constructed as dependants, in a society that privileges independence and ignores the crucial fact of our mutual interdependency. The transcripts reveal that the denial of autonomy and respect are key mechanisms by which dignity is injured. In exploring these phenomena, the purpose of the article is to demonstrate the usually veiled connections between individuals and their larger social context.


Martha Nussbaum (2011) reminds us that, all over the world people are struggling for a life that is fully human - a life worthy of human dignity. Purely income-based and preference-based evaluations, as Sen (1999) argues, do not adequately capture what it means for each person to have quality of life. There are other things that make life good for a person, including access to publicly provided professional services. The question then is what version of education inflects more towards the intrinsic and transformational possibilities of professional work and contributions to decent societies? This paper suggests that we need a normative approach to professional education and professionalism; it is not the case that any old version will do. We also need normative criteria to move beyond social critique and to overcome a merely defensive attitude and to give a positive definition to the potential achievements of the professions. Moreover universities are connected to society, most especially through the professionals they educate; it is reasonable in our contemporary world to educate professional graduates to be in a position to alleviate inequalities, and to have the knowledge, skills and values to be able to do so. To make this case, we draw on the human capabilities approach of Sen (1999, 2009) and Nussbaum (2000, 2011) to conceptualise professional education for the public good as an ally of the struggles of people living in poverty and experiencing inequalities, expanding the well-being of people to be and to do in ways they have reason to value – to be mobile, cared for, respected, and so on. In particular we are interested in which human capabilities and functionings are most needed for a professional practice and professionalism that can contribute to transformative social change and how professional development is enabled via pedagogical arrangements.


Novel thin-film composite (TFC) membranes were elaborately designed and fabricated via the incorporation of mussel-inspired dopamine (DA) into an m-phenylendiamine (MPD) aqueous solution followed by interfacial polymerization with trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on a macroporous substrate. This DA-incorporation strategy was distinct from the previous DA layer serving as a hydrophilicity–promoter or reactive intermedia. The elastic structure of the polyamide (PA) layer and the hydrophilicity of both the PA layer and substrate were in situ flexibly manipulated by regulating the DA/MPD mass ratio and solution pH. The optimized TMC/MPD–DA TFC membranes achieved a significantly enhanced water flux (50 L m−2 h−1, improved 3-fold compared to the conventional TMC/MPD membrane) and a comparable reverse salt flux of 8.19 g m−2 h−1 for forward osmosis (FO) using deionized water as the feed along with 1 M NaCl draw solution in the FO mode. It also yielded a superior water permeability (A) of 1.8 L per m2 per h per bar compared to the TMC/MPD membrane (1.0 L per m2 per h per bar) while maintaining a NaCl rejection of over 92% at 2 bar. The proposed synergistic interaction between DA and MPD in aqueous solution responding to the solution pH played a crucial role in controlling the interfacial polymerization process. Michael addition and Schiff base reaction between PDA and MPD at a proper pH (8.5) could weaken both the residual DA monomer and the PDA aggregate generation, facilitating the establishment of a defect-free and uniform PA layer with a proper cross-linking degree to enhance the water transport. This DA-incorporation strategy for the TFC membrane demonstrated here sheds light on the exploration of high water transport for highly efficient FO and other desalination processes.


This paper presents evidence that incorporating costly thought, modelled with rational inattention, solves two well-established puzzles in the retirement literature. The first puzzle is that, given incentives, the extent of bunching of labour market exits at legislated state pension ages (SPA) seems incompatible with rational expectations (e.g. Cribb, Emmerson, and Tetlow, 2016). Adding to the evidence for this puzzle, this paper includes an empirical analysis focusing on whether liquidity constraints can account for this bunching and finds they cannot. The nature of this puzzle is clarified by exploring a life-cycle model with rational agents that does match aggregate profiles. This model succeeds in matching these aggregates only by overestimating the impact of the SPA on poorer individuals whilst underestimating its impact on wealthier people. The second puzzle is that people are often mistaken about their own pension provisions (e.g. Gustman and Steinmeier, 2001). Concerning this second puzzle, I incorporate rational inattention to the SPA into the aforementioned life-cycle model, thus allowing for mistaken beliefs. To the best of my knowledge, this paper is the first to incorporate rational inattention into a life-cycle model. Rational inattention not only improves the aggregate fit of the data but better matches the response of participation to the SPA across the wealth distribution, hence simultaneously offering a resolution to the first puzzle. This paper researches these puzzles in the context of the ongoing reform to the UK female state pension age


Fast growing trees are being used to revegetate denuded landscapes in many parts of eastern Asia. These areas include grasslands in the Philippines that once supported rainforests dominated by dipterocarps, and lowland subtropical and upland temperate regions of southern China. Soils of these denuded landscapes are typically acidic, highly leached, low in P, N and some micronutrients and, in some places, are high in Ni and Cr (ultramafic soils). There is very low species diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi in these disturbed sites compared to the isolated pockets of remnant vegetation remaining in some areas. The reclamation of these lands with trees is successful where there are tangible short-term financial benefits to the local people. Consequently, Australian trees are favoured in initial rotations because of their potential high growth rates and wood quality. Our experience is that establishment and growth of eucalpts in disturbed sites is enhanced by inoculation with isolates of ectomycorrhizal fungi that are matched to site type and host tree. Inoculation programs are desirable because where eucalypts are planted, the few indigenous ectomycorrhizal fungi are mostly ineffective in promoting the growth of eucalypts. Examples of inoculation trials in China and the Philippines are given to illustrate these principles. Once the disturbed sites have been stabilised through the establishment of a tree cover, options then arise for the reintroduction of indigenous commercial species such as dipterocarps. The development of inoculum for mixed tree plantations and multipurpose trees are challenges for research. Considerable effort will be required to understand the behaviour of potential inoculum fungi in the field before their commercial release.


INTRODUCTION
Despite the growing recognition of the potential applications of cost-effectiveness assessments, a criterion to establish what is an efficient health technology does not exist in Spain. The objective of this work is to describe the limits and the criteria used in Spain to recommend the adoption of health interventions.

METHOD
A review of the economic evaluations of health technologies published in Spain from 1990 to 2001 was conducted. Complete economic assessments in which the cost-effectiveness ratio was expressed as cost per life-year gained (LYG), cost per quality-adjusted-life-year (QALY) or cost per saved live were selected. Those interventions in which the authors established recommendations (adoption or rejection) and the criteria used were analyzed.

RESULTS
Twenty (20%) of the 100 complete economic evaluations fulfilled the selection criteria. In16 studies, the results were expressed as cost per LYG, in 6 studies as cost per QALY and in 1 as cost per saved live. A total of 82 health interventions were assessed and some kind of recommendation was established in 44 of them. All technologies with a cost-effectiveness ratio lower than 30,000 euros (5 million pesetas) per LYG were recommended for adoption by the authors. Up to that limit there was no a clear tendency.

CONCLUSIONS
Although the results must be interpreted with much precaution, given the limitations of the study, the limits of cost-effectiveness presented in this work could be a first reference to which would be an efficient health intervention in Spain.


Melvin Edwards is a pioneer in the history of contemporary African American art and sculpture. This interview relates his career as a black inter-nationalist, a pan-Africanist, and a prime witness to modernist innovations in the New York scene, from the era of abstract expressionism to the current waves of conceptual art.


In the present study, an approach has been tested for assessing and mapping the risk levels caused by the impact of the
noise factor in urban development on the example of urbanized areas of a large city. The approach is based on an acoustic modeling
algorithm associated with work in geographic information systems (hereinafter referred to as GIS) for the tasks of hygienic regulation
and health risk assessment of the population living in dense urban areas. The paper describes the identification and integration of a
set of initial data on the noise factor of exposure with the subsequent construction of a computational model. The results obtained are
supplemented with methodological approaches to assess the health risk of the population from the impact of traffic noise in accordance
with the approved methodological recommendations for the impact of this factor.
Risk levels are calculated without changes in the urban planning situation in the study area with the duration of residence of the exposed
population of 20, 30, 40 years. In addition, predictive calculations of changes in risk levels for a period of 20, 30, 40 years in the
context of a construction project were performed. Risk calculations were carried out at 49210 calculated points located in 38 planes,
including at a height of 1.5 m at the level of human breathing in the area of residential buildings, corresponding to each computational
grid, to build a volumetric (3D) model. The volumetric model is built to assess the living conditions of the exposed population,
depending on the floor of residence. A moderate risk before the implementation of a construction project is formed up to a maximum
of 13, 21, 23 meters in living conditions for 20, 30, 40 years, respectively, while after the implementation of the project, a moderate risk
reaches a maximum height of 21, 39, 51 meters in conditions of a similar exposure duration (20, 30, 40 years old). A high risk in both
cases is observed at a height of 1.5 - 3 meters above ground level only during 40 years of living in the area of this exposure, which is due
to the previously close located highways. Thus, under dense urban development, it is optimal to live on the middle floors (7-8 floors)
and above, in conditions of chronic exposure to the noise factor.


This interdisciplinary study investigates the relationship between culture, language and cognition based on the aspects of social structure, space and possession in Tonga, Polynesia. Grounded on extensive field research, Volkel explores the subject from an anthropological as well as from a linguistic perspective. The book provides new insights into the language of respect, an honorific system which is deeply anchored in the societal hierarchy, spatial descriptions that are determined by socio-cultural and geocentric parameters, kinship terminology and possessive categories that perfectly express the system of social status inequalities among relatives. These examples impressively show that language is deeply anchored in its cultural context. Moreover, the linguistic structures reflect the underlying cognitive frame of its speakers. Just as several cultural practices (sitting order, access to land and gift exchange processes) the linguistic means are not only expressions of stratified social networks but also tools to maintain or negotiate the underlying socio-cultural system.


The International Year of Astronomy 2009 stretched a few days into 2010 here in Louisville, Kentucky — the Fathers of Astronomy exhibit at the Frazier International History Museum did not close until 3 January 2010. Fathers of Astronomy, which was open for five months, told the story of Galileo through authentic original editions of three books — the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle, Nicolas Copernicus's 1543 On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres, and Galileo Galilei's 1632 Dialogue Concerning the two Chief World Systems. The success of "Fathers" resulted from three very different partners coming together and combining resources to produce a history-themed IYA2009 programme of the highest quality at minimal cost. Lessons learned from the exhibit may be of value to people interested in communicating astronomy to the public.


This essay draws on biographical material and radio transcripts to tell the story of Ezra Pound's collaboration with Italy during the Second World War. It pulls together the numerous and inaccessible broadcasts to provide an overview of the central themes— and important omissions—of the American poet's foray into broad casting. Pound's collaboration, it is argued, was more an expression of his own personality than an act of Italian psychological warfare. The essay highlights a curious chapter in the history of propaganda, contributes to the study of anti-Semitism, and provides for literary scholars an insight into the later thought of one of the most important figures in modern literature.


The amount of information available on the Web has been growing dramatically, raising the importance of techniques for searching the Web. Recently, Web Tables emerged as a model, which enables users to search for information in a structured way. However, effective presentation of results for Web Table search requires (1) selecting a ranking of tables that acknowledges the diversity within the search result; and (2) summarizing the information content of the selected tables concisely but meaningful. In this paper, we formalize these requirements as the diversified table selection problem and the structured table summarization problem. We show that both problems are computationally intractable and, thus, present heuristic algorithms to solve them. For these algorithms, we prove salient performance guarantees, such as near-optimality, stability, and fairness. Our experiments with real-world collections of thousands of Web Tables highlight the scalability of our techniques. We achieve improvements up to 50% in diversity and 10% in relevance over baselines for Web Table selection, and reduce the information loss induced by table summarization by up to 50%. In a user study, we observed that our techniques are preferred over alternative solutions.


Governing the life cycle of data on the web is a challenging issue for organisations and users. Data is distributed under certain policies that determine what actions are allowed and in which circumstances. Assessing what policies propagate to the output of a process is one crucial problem. Having a description of policies and data flow steps implies a huge number of propagation rules to be specified and computed (number of policies times number of actions). In this paper we provide a method to obtain an abstraction that allows to reduce the number of rules significantly. We use the Datanode ontology, a hierarchical organisation of the possible relations between data objects, to compact the knowledge base to a set of more abstract rules. After giving a definition of Policy Propagation Rule, we show (1) a methodology to abstract policy propagation rules based on an ontology, (2) how effective this methodology is when using the Datanode ontology, (3) how this ontology can evolve in order to better represent the behaviour of policy propagation rules.


Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a chronically relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) constitute barrier surfaces and play a critical role in maintaining gut health. Dysregulated immune responses and destruction of IECs disrupt intestinal balance. Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) is the most widely used chemical for inducing colitis in animals, and its treatment induces colonic inflammation, acute diarrhea, and shortening of the intestine, with clinical and histological similarity to human UC. Current treatments for this inflammatory disorder have poor tolerability and insufficient therapeutic efficacy, and thus, alternative therapeutic approaches are required. Recently, dietary supplements with probiotics have emerged as promising interventions by alleviating disturbances in the indigenous microflora in UC. Thus, we hypothesized that the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strain BB12 could protect against the development of colitis in a DSS-induced mouse model of UC. In the present study, oral administration of BB12 markedly ameliorated DSS-induced colitis, accompanied by reduced tumor necrosis factor-α-mediated IEC apoptosis. These findings indicate that the probiotic strain BB12 can alleviate DSS-induced colitis and suggest a novel mechanism of communication between probiotic microorganisms and intestinal epithelia, which increases intestinal cell survival by modulating pro-apoptotic cytokine expression.


The ideational core of populism, constructing the binary opposition between the "good" people and "culprit" others, is not expressed univocally throughout the globe. Not surprisingly, scholars from different disciplines have not yet reached consensus on how to conceptualize populism on the sender side and receiver side of communication. This article aims for conceptual clarification by introducing a typology of populism on both sides of communication, also extrapolated to online contexts. In these online settings, populist communication can be challenged, reinforced, or negotiated by citizens. Populist messages may thus activate and prime populist interpretation frames. By introducing a revised theoretical framework of populist communication that incorporates the dynamics between the media and society, this article provides conceptual tools for future research on the content, causes, and consequences of populist communication. Practical recommendations on how to conduct such studies are discussed.


This paper explores the design space of simple legged robots capable of leaping culminating in new behaviors for the Penn Jerboa, an underactuated, dynamically dexterous robot. Using a combination of formal reasoning and physical intuition, we analyze and test successively more capable leaping behaviors through successively more complicated body mechanics. The final version of this machine studied here bounds up a ledge 1.5 times its hip height and crosses a gap 2 times its body length, exceeding in this last regard the mark set by the far more mature RHex hexapod. Theoretical contributions include a non-existence proof of a useful class of leaps for a stripped-down initial version of the new machine, setting in motion the sequence of improvements leading to the final resulting performance. Conceptual contributions include a growing understanding of the Ground Reaction Complex as an effective abstraction for classifying and generating transitional contact behaviors in robotics.


Abstract. Sandy beaches are highly dynamic areas affected by different natural and anthropogenic effects. Large changes, caused by a storm for example, are in general well-understood and easy to measure. Most times, only small changes, at the centimeter scale, are occurring, but these changes accumulate significantly over periods from weeks to months. Laser scanning is a suitable technique to measure such small signals, as it is able to obtain dense 3D terrain data at centimeter level in a time span of minutes. In this work we consider two repeated laser scan data sets of two different beaches in The Netherlands. The first data set is from around the year 2000 and consists of six consecutive yearly airborne laser scan data sets of a beach on Texel. The second data set is from 2017 and consists of 30 consecutive daily terrestrial scans of a beach near The Hague. So far, little work has been done on time series analysis of repeated scan data. To obtain a first grouping of morphologic processes, we propose to use a simple un-supervised clustering approach, k-means clustering, on de-leveled, cumulative point-wise time series. The results for both regions of interest, obtained using k=5 and k=10 clusters, indicate that such clustering gives a meaningful decomposition of the morphological laser scan data into clusters that exhibit similar change patterns. At the same time, we realize that the chosen approach is just a first step in a wide open topic of clustering spatially correlated long time series of morphological laser scan data as are now obtained by permanent laser scanning.


In the typical Power over Ethernet (PoE) system, the conventional powered device (PD) with two-pair architecture can only provide power below 20 W to the distant loads, which greatly restricts its applications in many areas. An advanced type of four-pair architecture with an input current balance function for the PoE system is proposed in this paper to not only improve the power level, but also achieve the high conversion efficiency. The steady-state model of the four-pair architecture is built to explore the existing imbalance problem, which is mainly caused by the structure and impedance inconsistency. The proposed four-pair architecture consists of two main converter modules operated in parallel. An input current balance scheme is adopted to reduce the difference of both primary currents, which can increase the transmission power and improve the current sharing performance. Furthermore, the small-signal model of the paralleled converters with an input current balance control strategy is constructed to give a design guideline for the control loop. Finally, a 50-W prototype is built and tested to verify the effectiveness of the presented architecture and control strategy.


The paper offers a novel unified approach to studying the accuracy of parameter estimation for a time series. Important features of the approach are: (1) The underlying model is not assumed to be parametric. (2) The imposed conditions on the model are very mild and can be easily checked in specific applications. (3) The considered time series need not to be ergodic or stationary. The approach is equally applicable to ergodic, unit root and explosive cases. (4) The parameter set can be unbounded and non-compact. (5) No conditions on parameter identifiability are required. (6) The established risk bounds are nonasymptotic and valid for large, moderate and small samples. (7) The results describe confidence and concentration sets rather than the accuracy of point estimation. The whole approach can be viewed as complementary to the classical one based on the asymptotic expansion of the log-likelihood. In particular, it claims a consistency of the considered estimate in a rather general sense, which usually is assumed to be fulfilled in the asymptotic analysis. In standard situations under ergodicity conditions, the usual rate results can be easily obtained as corollaries from the established risk bounds. The approach and the results are illustrated on a number of popular time series models including autoregressive, Generalized Linear time series, ARCH and GARCH models and meadian/quantile regression.


Objective To measure the acute effects of SRC on cognition and symptoms over a 7-day time course in interscholastic female soccer players. Design Prospective. Setting Soccer fields. Participants 36 interscholastic female soccer players were equally divided into concussed [CON] (age 16.3±1.4 yr.) and non-concussed [NOCON] (age 16.1±1.3 yr.) groups. Intervention A 17-item SRC-symptom checklist was completed resulting in a total symptom score (SX). Neurocognitive performance [ANAM] throughput scores [higher scores better] (SRT1, SRT2, MSP, MTH, CPT1, CPT2, ST6) was also measured. The CON and NOCON were evaluated on five occasions: baseline, day 1 [D1], day 3 [D3], day 5 [D5], and day 7 [D7]. Outcome measures Data from the 8 outcome variables were analysed using the multivariate approach to a repeated measures ANOVA Main results Significant (p<0.05) deficits in throughput scores in the CON, including SRT1 (222.0 vs 200.3 – D7) and SRT2 (224.4 vs. 209.3 – D7), MSP (42.9 vs 38.8 – D7), and ST6 (83.8 vs. 75.1 – D5) as well as SX (9.1 vs. 12.8 – D5) existed across the 7 day recovery period. Differences between baseline and D1 existed for CPT and MTH scores but they surpassed the baseline on D3. Conclusions CON subjects exhibited robust symptoms and neurocognitive deficits in the days immediately following SRC. Similar to American football, our recovery curves represent an initial decline with gradual improvements in the days succeeding post-injury and reinforce the need for clinicians to be cautious in the 7-day period post-concussion and depend on cognitive rest to aid recovery. Competing interests None.


The quality factor of a packaged MEMS resonating structure depends on both the packaging pressure and the structure's proximity to the walls. This type of mechanical constraints, which causes energy dissipation from the structure to the surrounding air, are applicable for oscillating energy harvesters and should be considered in the design process. However, the modelling of energy losses or the measurements of their direct influence inside a packaged chip is not trivial. In this paper, a simple experimental method to quantify the energy loss in an oscillating MEMS structures due to the surrounding air is described together with preliminary results. The main advantage of the method is the ability to characterize the damping contributions under different vacuum and packaging conditions without requiring any packaging of the harvester chip or fabrication of multiple devices with different cavity depths.


We describe a method to represent the results of climate simulation models with analogues. An analogue to a city A is a city B whose climate today represents A's simulated future climate. Climates were characterized and compared non-parametrically, using the 30-years distribution of three indicators : Aridity Index, Heating Degree Days and Cooling Degree Days. Analogy was evaluated statistically with the two-samples Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, generalized to 3 dimensions. We looked at the climate of 12 European cities at the end of the century under an A2 climate change scenario. We used two datasets produced with high-resolution regional climate simulation models from the Hadley Center and Meteo France. Climate analogues were generally found southward of present locations, a clear warming trend even if much model and scenario uncertainty remains. Climate analogues provide an intuitive way to show the possible effects of climate change on urban areas, offering a holistic approach to think about how cities adapt to different climates. Evidence of its communication value comes from the reuse of our maps in teaching and in several European mass-media.


A computational tool was developed with the aim of evaluating radiation exposure levels corresponding to patients and other exposed people, such as medical staff or chaperones, during typical nuclear medicine procedures. The calculation system is based on Monte Carlo subroutines adapted from the code PENELOPE and devoted to perform energy deposition according to the user-defined set-up. The computation tool offers a comfortable and user-friendly graphic interface for results processing and visualisation. Relevant procedure features, such as treatment room and facility, spatial distribution, source and target phantom as well as radioisotope type, can be easily introduced to the calculation code; this emphasises the versatility and potential of the computational tool. The application of the developed system to simple situations in nuclear medicine showed the reliability and feasibility of the proposed method. The obtained exposure risk maps proved to be useful to establish safe zones there where expositions do not exceed radioprotection tolerances.


Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) [comprising coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebro-vascular disease (CeVD), peripheral vascular disease (PVD)] and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are major health problems. COPD may contribute to the disease severity in patients with CVD. The COPD-CVD association occurs not by chance, but due to shared risk factors and a common pro-inflammatory predisposition. Most studies describe the prevalence of CVD in COPD; this study looked for COPD in patients with CVD. Objectives: To study the occurrence of COPD among patients with proven CVD To study the association of COPD severity and co-morbid CVD. Study design: This study was conducted at Narayana Health City, among 501 consecutive subjects with proven CVD. COPD was diagnosed by a screening questionnaire and confirmed by spirometry. Results: There were 501 cases of CVD, 419 [82%] males, 82 [16.4%] females (mean age 66.74 years). COPD was diagnosed in 113 [23%], higher than expected for the general population.There were equal numbers in the GOLD low (Group A +B) and high risk (Groups C+D) groups. Smoking was the commonest risk factor.Of 99 patients had >1 vascular disease, 48.48% had COPD. COPD did not occur more frequently in those with CAD alone (p= 0.782), but was significantly associated with CeVD [n=8 (12.3%, p = 0.034)], and with PVD [n=17 26.2%, p = 0.047)]. Conclusions: COPD contributes to morbidity, and perhaps mortality in CVD patients. Co-existing COPD is commoner in those with >1 vasculopathy. Patients with vascular diseases should be screened for COPD. References McGarvey LP, et al. Ascertainment of causespecific mortality in COPD: operations of the TORCH ClinicalEndpoint Committee. Thorax 2007; 62: 411–15. GOLD 2012.


The ruggedness of an analytical method is defined by its capacity to remain unaffected (e.g. to maintain its performances) when small changes in experimental conditions happen. It can be studied by applying changes within the same order of magnitude of those which could occur when running routinely the method. In the case of a L.C. method, given the high number of factors (temperature, now rate, mobile phase composition, detection wavelength, injected sample quantity...) susceptible to vary and the possible interactions between them, varying each factor independently would be awkward. The experimental design method enables to model the effects and interactions of a high number of factors varying simultaneously with a limited number of runs. After having estimated the order of magnitude of the potential changes in the factors level, a central composite design, allowing independent estimations of model coefficients, must be carried out around the working point defined during the method optimisation. Such a design allows the use of a second order model and gives the possibility to have an extremum inside the experimental domain. So it is possible to predict the consequences of small variations in operating conditions on the responses. A global function is proposed to account for ruggedness in terms of capacity for the method to deliver steady and reproducible assays for a product, which represents the aim of quantitative analysis. A statistical treatment of the design results reveals that the percentage of acetonitrile in the mobile phase, the column temperature and the pH of the mobile phase are the factors that have a significant influence on the method ruggedness and are critical. Hence their identification leads to recommendations in the operating protocol: the ruggedness of the analytical method will be considered as maintained only when the tolerances defined for those parameters judged critical are respected.


Objectives: To determine whether pediatric Native American patients with long bone fractures are as likely to receive adequate analgesia as non-Native Americans with similar fractures at a regional academic hospital in the Southwest. Patients and Methods: Charts of 61 Native Americans and 121 non-Native American patients ages 2 months to 15 years discharged from the pediatric emergency department (PED) or the pediatric urgent care (PUC) with long-bone fractures between June 2005 and May 2007 were reviewed. Insurance status, either Indian Health Service or exempt Medicaid, indicated Native American ethnicity. Potential confounders: age, language, gender, need for fracture reduction, previous analgesia, fracture location, and site of treatment were abstracted. Age, language, gender, pain score, and duration of analgesia at discharge were analyzed. Dose adequacy (mg/kg) and the likelihoods of receiving any analgesia or narcotic analgesia were calculated. Univariate analysis was performed to assess potential confounding variables on the likelihood of receiving analgesia; multivariate analysis was performed to control for variables shown to have an effect. Results: Neither demographic data nor pain scores differed significantly between the two groups. 61% of Native Americans and 65% of non-Native Americans received analgesia (p=0.53). Native Americans were as likely to receive narcotic analgesia (p=0.24) and to receive an adequate dose as non-Native Americans (p=0.24). Age, language, and gender correlated with the likelihood of receiving analgesia. Pain score did not correlate (p=0.09). Conclusions: Native American ethnicity did not affect quality of analgesia care in this multi-ethnic hospital.


This book aims to simplify the complex problem of planning and organising compositions of interior spaces by introducing key issues that interior designers can consider during the design process.

Chapter 1, Points of Departure, establishes how, when organising the planning strategies for interior projects, the work of the contemporary interior designer can start from a variety of different concerns that may include; the qualities of the existing site to be used for the project, the function of the proposed interior or the client's ethos.

Chapter 2, The Use of Precedent Studies, emphasises the importance of learning from examples of previous good practice to inform future design proposals.

Chapter 3, Developing Conceptual Ideas, shows how design decisions can be determined by a clear, bold conceptual direction that may establish the form of the interior whilst also establishing a narrative that engages the user's interest.

Chapter 4, Planning Strategies, introduces approaches to the development of interior space planning. Spatial strategies, spatial relationships and circulation strategies are identified and explained with the help of appropriate case studies.

Chapter 5, From Brief to Proposal, sets out methods of translating the client's needs into an organisation of appropriate spaces that reconcile the functional requirements of the brief with the form of the building in which the proposed interior is to be housed.

Chapter 6, The Exisiting Building's Impact, demonstrates how the nature of the existing building can be one of the major factors that determine the approach taken towards the establishment of the new interior. Strategies for analysing existing buildings are outlined and approaches to the introduction of new elements into existing spaces are explained.

Chapter 7, Developing Three Dimensional Spatial Compositions, demonstrates ways in which it is possible to develop a huge variety of three dimensional forms from any given planning diagram. Model making strategies are explained illustrating how the same plan can deliver many contrasting spatial compositions.

Chapter 8, Designing in Section, emphasises the importance of the section of an interior as a crucial aspect of its design. How the form of an existing building's section can be analysed, understood and utilised is considered as well as opportunities for the development of the form of the new interior in section.

Chapter 9, Communicating Spatial Organisations, illustrates the ways in which interior designers use a variety of different methods to communicate complex spatial issues to colleagues, clients and members of the design team. Diagrammatic, orthographic and freehand drawing types as well as models are discussed.

Chapter 10, What Next?, discusses the ensuing stages of the design process once the spatial composition of a project is established. The chapter outlines the process of developing the plan in more detail to satisfy precise functional needs leading to the detailed design stage and ultimately the built reality.

Throughout the book case studies are used to further explain ideas and demonstrate how the issues being discussed are utilised in practice. Where appropriate step-by-step sequences demonstrate practical skills that develop the interior designer's ability to explore and develop approaches introduced within chapters.


The biological power of the placebo effect. The power of placebos to ameliorate symptoms has been with us for centuries. Western medicine today is finding it increasingly difficult to ignore the efficacy of placebos. In some clinical trials with placebos as controls, inert or sham replicas of active pharmaceutical drugs and even sham surgeries have been found to be as beneficial as the intervention being tested. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Kathryn Hall examines the power of placebos, showing how their effects can influence our clinical trials, clinical encounters and, collectively, Hall argues, our public health.
 Hall, who has studied the placebo effect for years, reviews the history of the placebo in medicine, tracing its evolution from quackery and patent medicine to its use as a control in clinical trials. She considers the ways that expectations and learning affect our response to placebos; advances in neuroimaging that reveal the inner workings of the placebo effect; the "nocebo" effect; placebo controls in randomized clinical trials; and the use of psychological profiles and genetics to predict individual placebo response. The effects of placebos have been hiding in plain sight; with this book, Hall helps bring them into clearer view.


The paper outlines a process called the science consistency review, which can be used to evaluate the use of scientific information in land management decisions. Developed with specific reference to land management decisions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the process involves assembling a team of reviewers under a review administrator to constructively criticize draft analysis and decision documents. Reviews are then forwarded to the responsible official, whose team of technical experts may revise the draft documents in response to reviewer concerns. The process is designed to proceed iteratively until reviewers are satisfied that key elements are consistent with available scientific information. Variations of the science consistency review have been applied elsewhere, but this paper represents the first effort to standardize the process for application to decisions within the agency.


Orbital sensors that will monitor global climate change during the next decade are exacting low drift rates from their onboard thermometry, which is unattainable currently without some means of on-orbit recalibration. Phase change materials (PCM) such as those that make up the ITS-90 are seen as the most reliable references on the ground and good candidates for orbital recalibration references. The University of Wisconsin and Space Dynamics Laboratory have both been developing miniaturized phase change references capable of deployment on an orbital blackbody for more than six years. A critical question remains to be answered to determine their potential utility as orbital references. How, if at all, will the microgravity environment affect the phase transitions? To answer this question, three experiments will be conducted on the international space station. Through long-time contacts at the Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow Russia, SDL has negotiated all of the flight qualification, launch and return vehicles, and crew time necessary to carry out these experiments. The experiments will test melts and freezes of three different phase change materials in various containment apparatuses. A brief history of the development of PCM references for space implementations, descriptions of the experiment hardware, microgravity considerations for the experiments, current status of experiments, and results from pre-launch ground testing are presented.


The single-crystal investigation of the self-hosting sigma-structure of beta-tantalum (beta-Ta) at 120 K (low-temperature, LT, structure) and at 293 K (RT-I before cooling and RT-II after cooling and rewarming; RT represents room temperature) shows that this structure is indeed a specific two-component composite where the components have the same ( or an integer multiple) lattice constants but different space groups. The space groups of both host ( H) and guest ( G) components cause systematic absences, which result from their intersection. The highest symmetry of a sigma-structure can be described as [H: P4(2)/mnm; G: P4/mbm (c(G) = 0.5c(H)); composite: P4(2)/mnm]. A complete analysis of possible symmetries is presented in the Appendix. In beta-Ta, two components modify their symmetry during the thermal process 293 K (RT- I)) double right arrow 120 K (LT)) double right arrow 293 K (RT-II): [H: P (4) over bar2(1)m; G: P (4) over bar2(1)m; composite: P (4) over bar2(1)m]) double right arrow [H: P (4) over bar, G: P4/mbm (c(G) = 0.5c(H)), composite: P (4) over bar]) [H: P (4) over bar2(1)m, G: P4/mbm (c(G) = 0.5c(H)), composite: P (4) over bar2(1)m]. Thus, the phase transition is reversible with respect to H and irreversible with respect to G.


In the context of school choice, we experimentally study how behavior and outcomes are affected when, instead of submitting rankings in the student-proposing or school-proposing deferred acceptance (DA) mechanism, students make decisions dynamically, going through the steps of the underlying algorithms. Our main results show that, contrary to theory, (a) in the dynamic student-proposing DA mechanism, students propose to schools respecting the order of their true preferences slightly more often than in its static version while, (b) in the dynamic school-proposing DA mechanism, students react to proposals by always respecting the order and not accepting schools in the tail of their true preferences more often than in the corresponding static version. As a consequence, the dynamic mechanisms outperform their static counterparts in what stability and average payoffs are concerned. In the aggregate, the dynamic school-proposing DA mechanism is the best performing mechanism.


The dark side of glamorous expat life in Paris is brought to life in this new translation, book twenty-one in the new Penguin Maigret series. 'Try to imagine a guest, a wealthy woman, staying at the Majestic with her husband, her son, a nurse and a governess ...In a suite that costs more than a thousand francs a day ...At six in the morning, she's strangled, not in her room, but in the basement locker room' Below stairs at a glamorous hotel on the Champs-Elysees, the workers' lives are worlds away from the luxury enjoyed by the wealthy guests. When their worlds meet, Maigret discovers a tragic story of ambition, blackmail and unrequited love. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret and the Hotel Majestic. 'Compelling, remorseless, brilliant' John Gray 'One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century ...Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian 'A supreme writer ...unforgettable vividness' Independent Georges Simenon was born in Liege, Belgium, in 1903. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.


Since late 2013, the demand for gold ornaments in Thailand has been increasing after the global economic crisis had less impact on gold prices. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing customers' purchasing intention of gold ornaments. Data collected from 370 respondents in Bangkok and vicinity areas was analyzed by factor analysis and multiple regression. The results revealed that there are two major factors that are significantly related with customers' intention to purchase gold ornaments; these factors are buyer preference and expected future value. These results can help gold retailers to develop appropriate marketing strategies and enhance business success in changing environments.


Ladle slag is an internal by‐product generated within the steelmaking industry during the refining of steel. The realisation of beneficial inherent properties of ladle slag as a binder supplement or substitute material is believed to be advantageous with respect to both economy and environment for steelmakers. For this reason, the current study has focused on highlighting the properties of ladle slag that are pertinent to the formation of calcium aluminate hydrates. Three fractions of ladle slag, two of which were based on different slag formers, have been characterised using XRF, XRD and calorimetric analysis. Commonly known hydraulic minerals such as mayenite, tricalcium aluminate and dicalcium silicate were detected during analysis. An important aspect in the utilisation of ladle slag is the slag handling methodology. Therefore, this study also highlights and discusses the need to reconsider slag handling procedures concerning unnecessary exposure to weathering and the possible need for further processing of the slag in order to better employ the inherent hydraulic properties of this material.


Abstract Objectives: This study aimed to determine the relationship between overweight and obesity and the motor performance of nine- to 13-year-old South African children. Design: The study used a one-way cross-sectional design based on baseline measurements. Settings and subjects: The research group comprised 280 Grade 4, 5 and 6 learners (128 boys and 152 girls) from two schools that represented a distribution of socio-economic status, race and gender. Outcome measures: Anthropometric [(body mass index (BMI) and fat percentage] and motor performance measurements (fine manual control, manual coordination, body coordination and strength and agility) were obtained by means of the Fitnessgram and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-II. International age-specific cut-off points were used to classify the children's body composition as normal weight, overweight or obese. Data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics, correlation matrices and analysis of variance, followed by a Tukey post hoc analysis. Results: The results showed that running speed and agility decreased significantly with an increase in BMI. Muscular strength also decreased significantly with a smaller practical significance, while fine manual control, manual coordination, and body coordination showed the weakest relationship to BMI. Analysis of variance showed significant relationships between BMI and running speed and agility (p-value < 0.05). These relationships were influenced differently by gender and ethnicity. Conclusion: The motor performance of young South African children was negatively influenced by overweight and obesity. Intervention strategies are recommended to reduce the consequences of overweight and obesity in the overall development of such children.


A method is proposed for the two-dimensional depiction of a holographic image of the volume of a medium with particles, reconstructed from a digital hologram. Such a depiction is intended for simultaneous observation in a single plane and efficient processing of the holographic images of all the particles of the volume, which lie at various distances from the plane in which the hologram is recorded. Possibilities and techniques are considered for automatically processing such a two-dimensional depiction in order to increase the focusing accuracy of the holographic image of each particle and to take into account the possible overlap of the images of particles that have similar transverse coordinates, as well as in order to obtain information on the spatial location of the particles in the volume and concerning their distributions in size, over the layers of the volume, over orientations, and over the other parameters.


Abstract Aim: To conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis to compare ocrelizumab vs subcutaneous (SC) interferon beta-1a for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). Methods: A Markov cohort model with a 20-year horizon was developed to compare ocrelizumab with SC interferon beta-1a from a US payer perspective. A cohort of patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores of 0–6, who initiated treatment with ocrelizumab or SC interferon beta-1a, were entered into the model. The model considered 21 health states: EDSS 0–9 in RRMS, EDSS 0–9 in secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), and death. Patients with RRMS could transition across EDSS scores, progress to SPMS, experience relapses, or die. Transition probabilities within RRMS while patients received ocrelizumab or SC interferon beta-1a were based on data from the two SC interferon beta-1a-controlled Phase III OPERA I and OPERA II trials of ocrelizumab in RMS. Transitions within RRMS when off-treatment, RRMS-to-SPMS transitions, transitions within SPMS, and transitions to death were based on the literature. Utilities of health states, disutilities of relapses, costs of therapies, and medical costs associated with health states, relapse, and adverse events were from the literature and publicly available data sources. The model estimated per-patient total costs, incremental cost per life year (LY) gained, and incremental cost per quality-adjusted LY (QALY) gained. Deterministic sensitivity analyses (DSA) and probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) were conducted to evaluate the robustness of the model results. Results: Ocrelizumab was associated with a cost savings of $63,822 and longer LYs (Δ = 0.046) and QALYs (Δ = 0.556) over a 20-year time horizon. The results of the model were robust in the DSA and PSA. Limitations: The model did not consider subsequent treatments and their impact on disease progression. Conclusions: The results suggest that ocrelizumab is more cost-effective than SC interferon beta-1a for the treatment of RMS.


Classroom interaction is particularly important for those students who learn school knowledge in a second language. In this article two episodes of whole class teaching in pre-school and standard one are analyzed. The analysis shows the importance of making teachers aware of interactional patterns in classrooms. Although knowledge was presented clearly and concretely and teachers used routines that made norms explicit, inconsistencies in interactional patterns made the role of the teacher stand out as unclear. Whole class teaching of this type does not provide students with such linguistic and intellectual demands that are necessary for their language development.


Physicists M. Tajmar and C. J. Matos and their collaborators working in ESA (European Satellite Agency) have made an amazing claim of having detected strong gravimagnetism with gravimagnetic field having a magnitude which is about 20 orders of magnitude higher than predicted by General Relativity.

Tajmar et al have proposed the gravimagnetic effect as an explanation of an anomaly related to the superconductors. The measured value of the mass of the Cooper pair is slightly larger than the sum of masses whereas theory predicts that it should be smaller. The explanation would be that actual Thomson field is larger than it should be because of gravimagnetic contribution to quantization rule used to deduce the value of Thomson field. The required value of gravimagnetic Thomson field is however 28 orders of magnitude larger than General Relativity suggests. TGD inspired proposal is based on the notion of gravitational Planck constant assignable to the flux tubes connecting to massive objects. It turns out that the TGD estimate for the Thomson field has correct order of magnitude. The identification heff = hgr at particle physics and atomic length scales emerges naturally.

A vision about the fundamental role of quantum gravitation in living matter emerges. The earlier hypothesis that dark EEG photons decay to biophotons with energies in visible and ultraviolet range receives strong quantitative support. Also a mechanism for how magnetic bodies couple bio-chemistry emerges. The vision conforms with Penrose's intuitions about the role of quantum gravity in biology.


Effects of hot working on elevated temperature tensile and creep rupture properties at 1000°C were investigated in powder metallurgy(PM) Ni-base alloy, Alloy X, with 50 ppm oxygen content consolidated by hot extrusion process in comparison with cast and wrought materials. It was found that the ductility of PM material at temperatures above 850°C was improved by the application of hot forging while the tensile strength was relatively unchanged. Furthermore, it was found that creep rupture properties of PM materials were not significantly affected by extrusion ratio ranging from 6 to 25, but improved by hot forging. Although aluminum oxides originating from powder surface oxidation during atomization aligned along grain boundaries in the extruded material, these oxides were redistributed within grains by nonuniform deformation of hot forging. It was considered that the improvement of creep rupture properties was realized by a decrease in cavity formation initiated at oxides at grain boundaries.


Changing atmospheric aerosol properties caused by anthropogenic activities carries serious implications for climate change and human health. The launch of the Multi‐angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) onboard Terra spacecraft more than a decade ago provides the first capability to monitor several physical properties of aerosols over land from space. We use ten years (Mar 2000–Feb 2010) of observations from MISR to quantify seasonal linear trends of aerosol optical depth (τ) segregated by particle size and shape over the Indian subcontinent. Here we show that many regions (referred to here as hotspots) have statistically significant (i.e., p < 0.05) seasonal linear trends in τ, with seasonal τ increasing in the range 0.1–0.4 in the last decade. These hotspots are associated with urban centers and densely‐populated rural areas. Based on particle size and shape, we demonstrate that the trends, facilitated by topography and synoptic scale meteorology, are attributed to a significant rise in anthropogenic particles with additional contribution of natural particles in the rural and oceanic regions. The spatial and seasonal patterns of τ trends suggest greater complexity in quantifying potential aerosol‐induced regional climate and air quality effects, particularly at coarser scales.


This article provides a critical treatment of the ontology underlying Thomas Metzinger's Being No One. Metzinger asserts that interdisciplinary empirical work must replace 'armchair' a priori intuitions into the nature of reality; nonetheless, his own position is riddled with unquestioned a priori assumptions. His central claim that 'no one has or has ever had a self' is meant to have an ominous and futuristic ring, but merely repeats a familiar philosophical approach to individuals, which are undermined by reducing them downward to their material underpinnings, and 'overmined' by reducing them upward to their functional effects. Ultimately, Metzinger blends a rigid form of traditional materialism with an ontology of processes and events that is too reminiscent of late 1990's continental philosophy. In both directions, the novelty and fertility of Metzinger's position can be called into question.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of global cancer mortality. However, little is known about the precise molecular mechanisms involved in tumor formation and pathogenesis. The primary goal of this study was to elucidate genome-wide molecular networks involved in development of HCC with multiple etiologies by exploring high quality microarray data. We undertook a comparative network analysis across 264 human microarray profiles monitoring transcript changes in healthy liver, liver cirrhosis, and HCC with viral and alcoholic etiologies. Gene co-expression profiling was used to derive a consensus gene relevance network of HCC progression that consisted of 798 genes and 2,012 links. The HCC interactome was further confirmed to be phenotype-specific and non-random. Additionally, we confirmed that co-expressed genes are more likely to share biological function, but not sub-cellular localization. Analysis of individual HCC genes revealed that they are topologically central in a human protein-protein interaction network. We used quantitative RT-PCR in a cohort of normal liver tissue (n = 8), hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced chronic liver disease (n = 9), and HCC (n = 7) to validate co-expressions of several well-connected genes, namely ASPM, CDKN3, NEK2, RACGAP1, and TOP2A. We show that HCC is a heterogeneous disorder, underpinned by complex cross talk between immune response, cell cycle, and mRNA translation pathways. Our work provides a systems-wide resource for deeper understanding of molecular mechanisms in HCC progression and may be used further to define novel targets for efficient treatment or diagnosis of this disease.


Essential hypertension is one of the most important factors on quality of life and
life style and the third cause of death in the world. The purpose of the present study was to determine
the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on improvement of quality of life and life style in patients
with essential hypertension.
Materials & Methods: In a quasi-experimental design with pre-test/post-test with control group
paradigm, a sample of 30 male patients with hypertension were selected by available sampling method
and randomly were assigned into two experimental (n=15) and one control group (n=15). The
measurement tool was World Health Organization-Quality of life (SF-36)-Short term and healthpromoting
lifestyle profileII (HPLPII) Questionnaire. Each group was in drug therapy but the
experimental group participated in eight sessions of cognitive-behavior therapy, while the control
group did not receive any treatment. The mean scores of two groups were compared through analysis
of covariance (ANCOVA).
Results: The findings showed that cognitive behavioral therapy was effective on improvement of
quality of life and life style in the patients with essential hypertension in posttest and follow up.
Conclusion: Cognitive behavioral therapy and drug therapy could be effective on improvement of
quality of life and life style in the patients with essential hypertension