The concept of diversification is well understood by both academics and investment professionals. In forming a mean-variance efficient portfolio, investment managers look for low-correlated assets in order to maximize diversification benefits. This article investigates the potential of European and US leveraged loans to serve as diversifiers in a multi-asset portfolio. By calculating correlations between leveraged loans and other asset classes over the sample period from 2002 to 2020, the authors are not only able to demonstrate increasing correlations in highly volatile markets (i.e., financial crises), but also long-term, crisis-independent positive trends in asset correlations. In particular, leveraged loans and their correlations with stocks and high-yield bonds present significantly positive long-term trends and hence diminishing diversification benefits. The authors state that instead of short-term market volatility, increasing market integration could be the driving force behind this effect. The results also indicate that diversification benefits from leveraged loans are lower in the US than in the European market. TOPICS: Fixed income and structured finance, developed markets, portfolio construction, performance measurement Key Findings ▪ The empirical analysis shows generally stable and low correlations of leveraged loans with most asset classes in European and US markets. Stocks and high-yield bonds are an exception, showing a pattern with rising long-term correlation coefficients. ▪ The correlation of leveraged loans with high-yield bonds is higher than those with other asset classes due to their comparable characteristics. Correlations between those asset classes have risen, especially since the global financial crisis in 2008. ▪ Due to higher market volumes and integration advantages in the US, the correlations of leveraged loans with other assets are higher in the US market, leading to lower diversification benefits compared to Europe.


Location is an important feature for many applications, and wireless networks may serve their clients better by anticipating client mobility. As a result, many location predictors have been proposed in the literature, though few have been evaluated with empirical evidence. This paper reports on the results of the first extensive empirical evaluation of location predictors using a two-year trace of the mobility patterns of more than 6,000 users on Dartmouth's campus-wide Wi-Fi wireless network. The surprising results provide critical evidence for anyone designing or using mobility predictors. We implemented and compared the prediction accuracy of several location predictors drawn from four major families of domain-independent predictors, namely, Markov-based, compression-based, PPM, and SPM predictors. We found that low-order Markov predictors performed as well or better than the more complex and more space-consuming compression-based predictors


BACKGROUND
The association of ovarian malignancy with dermatomyositis (DM) is well established from previous reports, while the relationship with polymyositis (PM) is rare.

CASE REPORT
We report a case of a 50 years old nulliparous woman who developed clear cell ovarian cancer four years after the PM diagnosis. The patient presented with deep lower abdominal pain and distension. CA-125 was elevated and the preoperative MRI showed pelvic tumor occupying the Douglas pouch. Exploratory laparotomy revealed a gross mass of clear cell ovarian carcinoma.

CONCLUSION
Physicians must be alert of the possibility of malignancy in patients with a previous diagnosis of polymyositis.


We introduce Jeeg, a dialect of Java based on a declarative replacement of the synchronization mechanisms of Java that results in a complete decoupling of the 'business' and the 'synchronization' code of classes. Synchronization constraints in Jeeg are expressed in a linear temporal logic, which allows one to effectively limit the occurrence of the inheritance anomaly that commonly affects concurrent object‐oriented languages. Jeeg is inspired by the current trend in aspect‐oriented languages. In a Jeeg program the sequential and concurrent aspects of object behaviors are decoupled: specified separately by the programmer, these are then weaved together by the Jeeg compiler. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Metal migration processes, by means of gas-transported particles, from an iron magnetite skarn deposit beneath Quaternary transported overburden, to surface was studied at the Kaxiutata iron deposit. This study area is located in the desert of the Inner Mongolia region in northern China. Ascending gas-transported particles were collected using passive adsorption methods; a total of 50 samples were obtained over the known mineralization (30 within the mining area and 20 from the exploration area), and 15 samples were collected over background areas for comparison. The morphology, categorization, and chemical composition of particles in these samples were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the mining and exploration area, the particles related to the subsurface mineralization (ore-bearing particles) are primarily Fe-, Cu-, Zn-, Pb-, and Bi-bearing, and particles show significant common characteristics. Sulphur is generally absent, or its content is notably low. However, based on the geological description of primary mineralization, Cu, Zn, and Pb occur mainly as sulphides, implying that the minerals were subjected to in situ or transport-associated oxidation. Most particles are actually aggregates of various smaller particles of diverse origin. Evidence of oxidation and agglomeration of particles may reflect the high porosity and gas permeability of the sandy overburden, which provides an oxidizing environment for gas-transported particles. The distribution of ore-bearing particles is correlated with the subsurface mineralization. Iron-rich particles (> 30% Fe) and Cu-, Zn-, and Bi-bearing particles collected above the mining area were also collected in the exploration zone, and these types of particles are likely indicators of underlying iron mineralization. Samples collected from the background zone revealed no Cu-, Bi-, Mo-, and Pb-bearing particles. The migration mechanism of gas-transported particles in the desert area is summarized and discussed based on this and previous studies. Supplementary material: Some of the TEM images, high resolution TEM images and SAED patterns of the particles with no relation to mineralization are supplemented in Appendix 1 which is available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18810.


Municipal waste management in the last two decades has become a global environmental priority in the context of increasing amounts of waste generated due to the development of a mass consumer society. Various issues of waste management , territorial and temporal variability, spatial analysis of treatment or disposal facilities, systemic implications on the environment, the harmonization of international policy at national, regional and local level are solid arguments for studying this field by geography. Mostly technical or economic studies, lacking a vision of territory are supplemented in the conceptual and methodological level by geographers. This paper performed on the one hand, an overview of various approaches in current literature on waste management issue and on another hand analyses the geographical contributions in this field. Our conclusions lead to the idea that waste management must be performed according to the geographical features of the territory concerned.


A complete size segregated chemical characterisation was carried out for aerosol samples collected in the urban area of Bologna over a period of one year, using five-stage low pressure Berner impactors. An original dual-substrate technique was adopted to obtain samples suitable for a complete chemical characterisation. Total mass, inorganic, and organic components were analysed as a function of size, and a detailed characterisation of the water soluble organic compounds was also performed by means of a previously developed methodology, based on HPLC separation of organic compounds according to their acid character and functional group analysis by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Chemical mass closure of the collected samples was reached to within a few percent on average in the submicron aerosol range, while a higher unknown fraction in the coarse aerosol range was attributed to soil-derived species not analysed in this experiment. Comparison of the functional group analysis results with model results simulating water soluble organic compound production by gas-to-particle conversion of anthropogenic VOCs showed that this pathway provides a minor contribution to the organic composition of the aerosol samples in the urban area of Bologna.


Dolphins, manatees, and sea lions are all aquatic mammals but are not closely related taxonomically. All three species are marine mammals, meaning they spend part or all of their lives in the sea and contiguous bodies of water. Dolphins belong to the taxonomic order Cetacea, which includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Manatees (sea cows), however, belong to the order Sirenia, which also includes the dugong. Sea lions were once placed in the order Pinnipedia, with seals, but now belong to the order Carnivora with bears, dogs, and raccoons. Even though these species at first glance may seem similar, the way they are classified shows that each has very different characteristics and abilities. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Students can learn about the convergent and divergent characteristics of these animals by examining their physical, physiological, and behavioral traits, along with their ecological niches. The Marine Mammal Brain Game (MMBG) described in this article introduces students to the intricate relationships between form and function, movement and behavior, and the role of each animal in the ecosystem. Students compare and contrast dolphins, manatees, and sea lions, discover the structure and function of these animals and their various adaptations, and learn how the marine mammals' brains, behaviors, and habits differ. Students also have the chance to practice oral communication and chart-reading skills. Although marine mammals are used as the example in this game, educators may also develop similar games and activities comparing other animals: lions and zebras can be used to compare carnivores and herbivores, or domesticated goats and white-tailed deer can demonstrate similar types of animals that differ in their human interactions. Students can also use the MMBG as a model to develop their own games, which can compare everything from moles and bats to camels, elephants, and humans. The content of this game meets requirements set by the National Science Education Standards (see "Addressing the Standards," p. 29) and covers topics ranging from taxonomy and diversity to anatomy and physiology. The game can be used in classes studying environmental science, natural history, life science, and even psychology. The content can be modified to expand instruction in a specific area such as environmental biology or to cover a broader range of topics such as evolution, biodiversity, and oceanography. Comparing brains The primary focus of the MMBG is, as the title suggests, learning about the animals' brains. Just as different animals have unique external characteristics, they also have different adaptations of the brain. One of the more obvious adaptations is brain size. Larger animals have larger brains in order to control a greater number of muscles and bigger, more complex systems. However, overall brain size is less important than the relative brain size--the brain size adjusted for body weight. If two species of animals have the same brain weight, for example, it is likely that the species with the lower body weight is more intelligent. Neurons are packed in more densely in the brains of some advanced animals (which results in an increased brain weight but not brain size) through convolutions (foldings) in the cerebral cortex. More advanced animals tend to have more complicated cerebral cortexes. An animal with a relatively smooth cerebral cortex is called lissencephalic, while an animal with a very convoluted cerebral cortex is called gyrencephalic. One clear example of this is a comparison of the brains of the lissencephalic manatee to the gyrencephalic bottlenose dolphin (see brain images on p. 24). Additionally, the cerebral cortex comprises a greater proportion of the overall brain in more complex animals. Another obvious external feature of the brain is the relative size of the cerebellum, which is important for balance and coordination. …


This paper studies the impact of fuel ethanol on motor gasoline market, especially how the gasoline price will be affected if fuel ethanol takes a big share of motor fuel consumption. A system of structural equations is estimated over historical data to simulate the motor gasoline market. The proportion of fuel and additive use ethanol is calculated in the historical period. Ethanol supply is treated as a substitute to motor gasoline in the future and set to increase exogenously as mandated in scenarios. Projections for period 2008 to 2022 are made. Modeling results suggest a rise in future gasoline consumption and price. Ethanol use will partially offset gasoline price increase, though not much.


The main aim of this paper is to establish the position of historical linguistics in the wider field of linguistics. Section 1 centres on the immediate and long term goals of historical linguistics. Section 2 discusses the type of data that play a role and looks at tools to be used for the analysis of the data. It also addresses the question whether the explanation of the data should be in terms of grammar change (as advocated by formalist linguists) or language change. This latter point automatically leads to the question as to what type of grammatical model or theory the historical linguist should work with, and more particularly, in how far the innate, syntacto-centric generative model is adequate for studying grammar change (Section 3). This is followed by a brief conclusion in which a semi-independent position for the historical linguist is advocated.


In starved newborn rats an increase in glucose turnover rate was observed 4 and 6h after birth, but a dramatic fall occurred at 16h. In suckling newborn rats, no decrease in glucose turnover rate was observed at 16h. The metabolic clearance of glucose did not change in fed or starved animals. The results are discussed in relation to metabolic adaptation to extra-uterine life.


Energy harvesting computing has been gaining increasing traction over the past decade, fueled by technological developments and rising demand for autonomous and battery-free systems. Energy harvesting introduces numerous challenges to embedded systems but, arguably the greatest, is the required transition from an energy source that typically provides virtually unlimited power for a reasonable period of time until it becomes exhausted, to a power source that is highly unpredictable and dynamic (both spatially and temporally, and with a range spanning many orders of magnitude). The typical approach to overcome this is the addition of intermediate energy storage/buffering to smooth out the temporal dynamics of both power supply and consumption. This has the advantage that, if correctly sized, the system 'looks like' a battery-powered system; however, it also adds volume, mass, cost and complexity and, if not sized correctly, unreliability. In this paper, we consider energy-driven computing, where systems are designed from the outset to operate from an energy harvesting source. Such systems typically contain little or no additional energy storage (instead relying on tiny parasitic and decoupling capacitance), alleviating the aforementioned issues. Examples of energy-driven computing include transient systems (which power down when the supply disappears and efficiently continue execution when it returns) and power-neutral systems (which operate directly from the instantaneous power harvested, gracefully modulating their consumption and performance to match the supply). In this paper, we introduce a taxonomy of energy-driven computing, articulating how power-neutral, transient, and energy-driven systems present a different class of computing to conventional approaches.


We report 78 secondary eclipse depths for a sample of 36 transiting hot Jupiters observed at 3.6 and 4.5 μm using the Spitzer Space Telescope. Our eclipse results for 27 of these planets are new, and include highly irradiated worlds such as KELT-7b, WASP-87b, WASP-76b, and WASP-64b, and important targets for James Webb Space Telescope such as WASP-62b. We find that WASP-62b has a slightly eccentric orbit ( ), and we confirm the eccentricity of HAT-P-13b and WASP-14b. The remainder are individually consistent with circular orbits, but we find statistical evidence for eccentricity increasing with orbital period in our range from 1 to 5 days. Our day-side brightness temperatures for the planets yield information on albedo and heat redistribution, following Cowan & Agol . Planets having maximum day-side temperatures exceeding ∼2200 K are consistent with having zero albedo and a distribution of stellar irradiance uniformly over the day-side hemisphere. Our most intriguing result is that we detect a systematic difference between the emergent spectra of these hot Jupiters as compared to blackbodies. The ratio of observed brightness temperatures, Tb(4.5)/Tb(3.6), increases with equilibrium temperature by 100 ± 24 parts-per-million per Kelvin, over the entire temperature range in our sample (800–2500 K). No existing model predicts this trend over such a large range of temperature. We suggest that this may be due to a structural difference in the atmospheric temperature profiles of real planetary atmospheres as compared to models.


Nowadays, when designing structural aero-engine components, the engineering team does not only deal with aerodynamics and structural mechanics criteria. Rather, it needs to make more informed decisions based on the value and sustainability contribution of a design concept. This paper proposes a novel approach that combines qualitative sustainability assessment techniques, which are Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Sustainability Assessment (SSA), with Net Present Value (NPV) analysis to facilitate early stage decision-making in design. A case study, related to the development of a new high-temperature aero-engine component, illustrates how EIA and SSA identify sustainability hotspots for a new product technology, and how NPV is used to assess alternative solution strategies within the hotspot. Within the studied case, the milling process was identified as a sustainability hotspot, therefore two process options - Electro-Chemical Milling (ECM) and Mechanical Milling (MM) - where benchmarked by calculating their NPV in alternative future scenarios, featuring different market and regulatory assumptions. The approach and its constituting models have been preliminarily verified with designers and process owners in co-located industrial workshops.


Summary
The task force that led to the creation of the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) recommended that the HIG fund a program of research aimed at establishing scientifically supported interrogative best practices. One of the ways to identify 'best practices' is to rely on direct reporting from subject-matter experts. In this study, 42 highly experienced military and intelligence interrogators were interviewed about their interrogation-related practices and beliefs, including such topics as training and selection, the role of rapport, perceptions regarding the techniques employed, lie detection, and the roles of interpreters and analysts. Interrogators indicated that excellent interpersonal skills on the part of an interrogator, an emphasis on rapport and relationship-building techniques, and the assistance of well-prepared interpreters and analysts are key components of a successful interrogation. It is our hope that the results of this study will stimulate research, influence training models, and ultimately contribute toward an interrogative best-practice model. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Pollination improves the yield of most crop species and contributes to one-third of global crop production, but comprehensive benefits including crop quality are still unknown. Hence, pollination is underestimated by international policies, which is particularly alarming in times of agricultural intensification and diminishing pollination services. In this study, exclusion experiments with strawberries showed bee pollination to improve fruit quality, quantity and market value compared with wind and self-pollination. Bee-pollinated fruits were heavier, had less malformations and reached higher commercial grades. They had increased redness and reduced sugar–acid–ratios and were firmer, thus improving the commercially important shelf life. Longer shelf life reduced fruit loss by at least 11%. This is accounting for 0.32 billion US$ of the 1.44 billion US$ provided by bee pollination to the total value of 2.90 billion US$ made with strawberry selling in the European Union 2009. The fruit quality and yield effects are driven by the pollination-mediated production of hormonal growth regulators, which occur in several pollination-dependent crops. Thus, our comprehensive findings should be transferable to a wide range of crops and demonstrate bee pollination to be a hitherto underestimated but vital and economically important determinant of fruit quality.


We present results from a borehole observation network composed of 12 borehole sites deployed in a 20 × 20 km area in the Sendai region, Japan. The subsurface Quaternary layers vary with each site, but a Pliocene layer is commonly underlying at a depth of 0 to 80 m throughout the Sendai region. We define this Pliocene layer, whose S-wave velocity is larger than 500 m/sec and whose N value of the standard penetration test is greater than 50, as an engineering bedrock in the region. Once we characterize ground motions at the engineering bedrock, we can either use these motions directly in the response analysis of whole soil-building systems or use them in the nonlinear analysis of soft soil layers as an input. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the local site effects due to surface layers overlying the engineering bedrock and to remove them by using one-dimensional (1D) soil models whose properties are determined by weak-motion records of 18 events. First we identify S-wave velocities and frequency-dependent quality factors Q from amplification factors between surface records and borehole records observed at 10 sites at depths of several tens of meters. The identified S-wave velocities are very close to S-wave logging values. The identified Q values show strong frequency dependence, proportional to f(0.46 to 1.16), where f is frequency. We confirm that the observed amplification factors in the frequency range from about 0.1 to 20 Hz can be explained well by the theoretical ones based on the 1D wave propagation theory with the identified S-wave velocities and Q. Then we estimate the so-called engineering bedrock waves, which are supposed to be observed on the outcrop of the engineering bedrock, from borehole records by using the 1D models with these identified soil constants. We confirm that local site effects due to surface layers overlying the engineering bedrock are properly removed so that we have similar characteristics in the resultant engineering bedrock waves from records at different sites.


This software is a component in an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) perception system that builds compact, single-frame terrain maps for distribution to other systems, such as a world model or an operator control unit, over a local area network (LAN). Each cell in the map encodes an elevation value, terrain classification, object classification, terrain traversability, terrain roughness, and a confidence value into four bytes of memory. The input to this software component is a range image (from a lidar or stereo vision system), and optionally a terrain classification image and an object classification image, both registered to the range image. The single-frame terrain map generates estimates of the support surface elevation, ground cover elevation, and minimum canopy elevation; generates terrain traversability cost; detects low overhangs and high-density obstacles; and can perform geometry-based terrain classification (ground, ground cover, unknown). A new origin is automatically selected for each single-frame terrain map in global coordinates such that it coincides with the corner of a world map cell. That way, single-frame terrain maps correctly line up with the world map, facilitating the merging of map data into the world map. Instead of using 32 bits to store the floating-point elevation for a map cell, the vehicle elevation is assigned to the map origin elevation and reports the change in elevation (from the origin elevation) in terms of the number of discrete steps. The single-frame terrain map elevation resolution is 2 cm. At that resolution, terrain elevation from 20.5 to 20.5 m (with respect to the vehicle's elevation) is encoded into 11 bits. For each four-byte map cell, bits are assigned to encode elevation, terrain roughness, terrain classification, object classification, terrain traversability cost, and a confidence value. The vehicle s current position and orientation, the map origin, and the map cell resolution are all included in a header for each map. The map is compressed into a vector prior to delivery to another system.


This book examines governance from the ground up in the world's two most enduring electoral authoritarian or "hybrid" regimes—Singapore and Malaysia—where politically liberal and authoritarian features are blended to evade substantive democracy. Although skewed elections, curbed civil liberties, and a dose of coercion help sustain these regimes, selectively structured state policies and patronage, partisan machines that effectively stand in for local governments, and diligently sustained clientelist relations between politicians and constituents are equally important. While key attributes of these regimes differ, affecting the scope, character, and balance among national parties and policies, local machines, and personalized linkages—and notwithstanding a momentous change of government in Malaysia in 2018—the similarity in the overall patterns in these countries confirms the salience of these dimensions. As the book shows, taken together, these attributes accustom citizens to the system in place, making meaningful change in how electoral mobilization and policymaking happen all the harder to change. This authoritarian acculturation is key to the durability of both regimes, but, given weaker party competition and party–civil society links, is stronger in Singapore than Malaysia. High levels of authoritarian acculturation, amplifying the political payoffs of what parties and politicians actually provide their constituents, explain why electoral turnover alone is insufficient for real regime change in either state.


The application of the techniques of domain decomposition to construct effective preconditioners for systems generated by standard methods such as finite difference or finite element methods has been well-researched in the past few decades. However, results concerning the application of these techniques to systems created by the discontinuous Galerkin method (DG) are much more rare. This dissertation represents the effort to extend the study of two-level nonoverlapping and overlapping additive Schwarz methods for DG discretizations of secondand fourth-order elliptic partial differential equations. In particular, the general Schwarz framework is used to find theoretical bounds for the condition numbers of the preconditioned systems corresponding to both the nonoverlapping and overlapping additive Schwarz methods. In addition, the impact on the performance of the preconditioners caused by varying the penalty parameters inherent to DG methods is investigated. Another topic of investigation is the choice of course subspace made for the two-level Schwarz methods. The results of in-depth computational experiments performed to validate and study various aspects of the theory are presented. In addition, the design and implementation of the methods are discussed.


Aim: The aim of the study is to determine the factors associated with 28-day mortality in immunocompetent patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP). Methods: This was a 42-month retrospective cohort study in Chiang Kham Hospital. Patients with HAP diagnosed between January 2013 and June 2016 who did not have an immunocompromised status were recruited into the study. Statistical Analysis Used: Univariable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with mortality in patients with HAP. Results: A total of 181 HAP patients. The most causative pathogens were nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli. Fifty-two (28.7%) patients had died within 28 days after HAP diagnosis. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that mechanical ventilation (MV) dependency (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 3.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.53–8.37, P = 0.003), antibiotic duration (adjusted OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.70–0.88, P < 0.001), acute kidney injury (adjusted OR = 5.93, 95% CI 1.29–27.22, P = 0.022), and hematologic diseases (adjusted OR = 11.45, 95% CI 1.61–81.50, P = 0.015) were the significant factors associated with 28-day mortality. Conclusions: The factors associated with mortality were MV dependency, HAP duration of treatment, acute kidney injury, and hematologic disease. Early recognition of these factors in immunocompetent patients with HAP and treatment with intensive care may improve the outcome.


Aims The UK Biobank is a large-scale population-based study utilising cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) to generate measurements of atrial and ventricular structure and function. This study aimed to quantify the association between modifiable cardiovascular risk factors and cardiac morphology and function in individuals without known cardiovascular disease. Methods Age, sex, ethnicity (non-modifiable) and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, smoking status, exercise, body mass index (BMI), high cholesterol, diabetes, alcohol intake (modifiable) were considered important cardiovascular risk factors. Multivariable regression models were built to ascertain the association of risk factors on left ventricular (LV), right ventricular (RV), left atrial (LA) and right atrial (RA) CMR parameters. Results 4,651 participants were included in the analysis. All modifiable risk factors had significant effects on differing atrial and ventricular parameters. BMI was the modifiable risk factor most consistently associated with subclinical changes to CMR parameters, particularly in relation to higher LV mass (+8.3% per SD [4.3 kg/m2], 95% CI: 7.6 to 8.9%), LV (EDV: +4.8% per SD, 95% CI: 4.2 to 5.4%); ESV: +4.4% per SD, 95% CI: 3.5 to 5.3%), RV (EDV: +5.3% per SD, 95% CI: 4.7 to 5.9%; ESV: +5.4% per SD, 95% CI: 4.5 to 6.4%) and LA maximal (+8.6% per SD, 95% CI: 7.4 to 9.7%) volumes. Increases in SBP were associated with higher LV mass (+6.8% per SD, 95% CI: 5.9 to 7.7%), LV (EDV: +4.5% per SD, 95% CI: 3.6 to 5.4%; ESV: +2.0% per SD, 95% CI: 0.8 to 3.3%) volumes. The presence of diabetes or high cholesterol resulted in smaller volumes and lower ejection fractions. Conclusions Modifiable risk factors are associated with subclinical alterations in structure and function in all four cardiac chambers. BMI and systolic blood pressure are the most important modifiable risk factors affecting CMR parameters known to be linked to adverse outcomes.


Most commonly reported postoperative complications of Frey's procedure include sepsis, delayed gastric emptying, and endocrine insufficiency. Here, we report unusual complications such as gastric outlet obstruction and intussusception following Frey's procedure in the late postoperative period. A 40-year-old patient with chronic pancreatitis with common bile duct stricture who underwent Frey's procedure, presented with recurrent vomiting episodes 3 months postoperatively. Contrast-enhanced computed tomogram (CECT) abdomen showed features of gastric outlet obstruction. A gastrojejunostomy was carried out. The patient was asymptomatic for 2 months following which the patient presented with features of jejunojejunal intussusception confirmed on CECT, which was managed conservatively. The patient remains asymptomatic on follow-up for the past 9 months. Our experience reveals that although reports of such complications following Frey's procedure are rare, gastric outlet obstruction and intussusception can occur following Frey's procedure, and hence, the surgeon should have an index of suspicion in patients with atypical presentation.


To review the strengths and weaknesses of primary and auxiliary end points for clinical trials among patients with high-grade glioma (HGG). Recent advances in outcome for patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent HGG, coupled with the development of multiple promising therapeutics with myriad antitumor actions, have led to significant growth in the number of clinical trials for patients with HGG. Appropriate clinical trial design and the incorporation of optimal end points are imperative to efficiently and effectively evaluate such agents and continue to advance outcome. Growing recognition of limitations weakening the reliability of traditional clinical trial primary end points has generated increasing uncertainty of how best to evaluate promising therapeutics for patients with HGG. The phenomena of pseudoprogression and pseudoresponse have made imaging-based end points, including overall radiographic response and progression-free survival, problematic. Although overall survival is considered the "gold-standard" end point, recently identified active salvage therapies such as bevacizumab may diminish the association between presalvage therapy and overall survival. Finally, advances in imaging as well as the assessment of patient function and well being have strengthened interest in auxiliary end points assessing these aspects of patient care and outcome. Better appreciation of the strengths and limitations of primary end points will lead to more effective clinical trial strategies. Technical advances in imaging as well as improved survival for patients with HGG support the further development of auxiliary end points evaluating novel imaging approaches as well as measures of patient function and well being.


The last decade economic developments affected to a large extend the demographic structure of Greece. The period 2001-2011 is characterized by a net slowdown of the intense urbanization trend, while in the context of crisis there have been identified counter-urban trends, revealing new attractiveness zones in the rural areas. These indications of mobility do not concern entirely the countryside as the newcomers settle only in specific rural spatial units. At the same time these areas have specific features that facilitate the establishment of a new population, such as population dynamics, tourism development, agricultural activity, services and structures, reduction of geographical isolation, low cost of living and habitation. The future of internal migration in Greece heavily depends on existing trends as well as future economic, social and political developments. Though, the lack of official data for the period after 2011 constrains our understanding for the development of internal migration and particularly counter-urban trends in Greece. The present paper raises the issue of the prospects of the establishment of the Greek population in the countryside, taking into account the pull factors of rural areas. Through Foresight and Strategic Thinking Methods, a longer-term framework is being developed to reflect the potential strategic choices of the internal migrants. This approach is based on a mainly qualitative analysis, scenario planning, in order to present the prerequisites for the further development of such a type of mobility.


Reconstruction of phylogenetic relations among certain Serranidae fish could be applied to detect the biodiversity that is needed to conserve these biological resources. This study was designed to provide information about the molecular variations within and among numbers of economically important fishes (42 fish species that belong to three genera), using a simple and effective barcoding system. A comparative genetic analysis was carried out among some 16S r-RNA sequences in various Serranidae fish genera ( Plectropomus , Cephalopholis and Epinephelus ). Nucleotide composition, sequence conservation, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were calculated in all these fish species. All of these fish samples were differentiated by the barcoding system. Average genetic distance values within Plectropomus , Epinephelus and Cephalopholis were 0.03, 0.039 and 0.048, respectively. Plectropomus species were found to be distantly related to both Epinephelus and Cephalopholis . The DNA barcoding system should be used in fisheries and aquaculture to conserve aquatic genetic resources. Keywords: Epinephelus , Plectropomus , Cephalopholis , comparative, genetics


By inducing the expression and activity of a mitochondrial glutaminase, p53 limits reactive oxygen species production and maintains oxidative respiration. The tumor suppressor p53 is a transcriptional regulator that serves both to eliminate damaged cells and to protect cells from damage under periods of stress (see Vousden). Because of its critical roles, mutations that reduce p53 function are common in many cancers. Another hallmark of many cancers is their altered metabolism such that the transformed cells rely on glycolysis, rather than oxidative phosphorylation, for energy. Hu et al. and Suzuki et al. identified the gene encoding a mitochondrial glutaminase, GLS2, as a target for p53 and showed through chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments that p53 bound to the promoter. Cells with wild-type p53 exhibited greater abundance and transcription of GLS2 compared with cells either genetically deficient in p53 or in which p53 was knocked down. Both groups found that specific stresses that activated p53 increased GLS2 abundance in cells with functional p53 but not in those deficient for p53. GLS2 catalyzes the mitochondrial conversion of glutamine to glutamate, and overexpression of GLS2 increased the concentration of glutamate. Glutamate is a precursor for intermediates in the Krebs cycle and thus contributes to oxidative phosphorylation. Hu et al. found that cells in which GLS2 was overexpressed exhibited increased oxygen consumption and that cells deficient for p53 or in which GLS2 was knocked down exhibited reduced oxygen consumption. Glutamate is also the precursor of the antioxidant molecule glutathione, and both groups found that overexpression of GLS2 increased the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) and reduced the abundance of (Hu et al.) and damage caused by (Suzuki et al.) reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, overexpression of GLS2 protected cells from ROS-induced apoptosis (Hu et al.) or from DNA damage caused by daunorubicin (Suzuki et al.). GLS2 is abundant in the liver, so both groups analyzed whether there was a correlation between GLS2 abundance and liver cancer. Both groups found that the abundance of GLS2 transcripts was decreased in cancer cells compared with that in adjacent normal tissue or compared with that in liver tissue exhibiting hepatitis or other noncancerous diseases. Thus, another mechanism by which p53 supports cell survival and prevents tumorigenesis is by controlling cellular metabolism through the induction of genes involved in regulation of metabolic processes. W. Hu, C. Zhang, R. Wu, Y. Sun, A. Levine, Z. Feng, Glutaminase 2, a novel p53 target gene regulating energy metabolism and antioxidant function. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107, 7455–7460 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text] S. Suzuki, T. Tanaka, M. V. Poyurovsky, H. Nagano, T. Mayama, S. Ohkubo, M. Lokshin, H. Hosokawa, T. Nakayama, Y. Suzuki, S. Sugano, E. Sato, T. Nagao, K. Yokote, I. Tatsuno, C. Prives, Phosphate-activated glutaminase (GLS2), a p53-inducible regulator of glutamine metabolism and reactive oxygen species. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107, 7461–7466 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text] K. H. Vousden, Alternative fuel—Another role for p53 in the regulation of metabolism. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 107, 7117–7118 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Abstract. Plastic debris is the most common and exponentially increasing human
pollutant in the world's ocean. The distribution and impact of plastic in
the Pacific and Atlantic oceans have been the subject of many publications
but not so the Indian Ocean (IO). Some of the IO rim countries have the
highest population densities globally and mismanagement of plastic waste is
of concern in many of these rim states. Some of the most plastic-polluted
rivers empty into the IO, with all this suggesting that the IO receives a
tremendous amount of plastic debris each year. However, the concentration,
distribution, and impacts of plastics in the IO are poorly understood as the region is under-sampled compared to other oceans. In this review, we discuss sources and sinks, which are specific to the IO. We also discuss unique atmospheric, oceanographic, and topographic features of the IO that control plastic distribution, such as reversing wind directions due to the monsoon, fronts, and upwelling regions. We identify hotspots of possible plastic accumulation in the IO, which differ between the two hemispheres. In the southern IO, plastics accumulate in a garbage patch in the subtropical gyre. However, this garbage patch is not well defined, and plastics may leak into the southern Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean. There is no subtropical gyre and associated garbage in the northern IO due to the presence of landmasses. Instead, the majority of buoyant plastics most likely end up on coastlines. Finally, we identify the vast knowledge gaps concerning plastics in the IO and point to the most pressing topics for future investigation.


The new trends in societies towards sustainable development have necessitated a new way of thinking regarding water treatment, the distribution of drinking water and wastewater treatment. A process of implementing new European water directives is ongoing and the consequences and need for coordination of these changes are discussed. Raw water qualities, water treatment technology and drinking water quality have impacts on water quality deterioration in the distribution networks that negatively affect the possibilities for recycling sewage sludge containing valuable nutrients. Measures for coping with these issues are discussed in general terms and suggestions for future strategies and research activities are given.


Background and Objectives: Edible parts of pomegranate fruits are a rich source of bioactive compounds. The present research examines the effect of modified atmosphere packaging on the fruit physico-chemical and microbial properties of two commercial pomegranate cultivars grown in Iran. Materials and Methods: The arils were packaged and stored under four different atmospheres. All of the packaged samples were stored at 4 °C for 15 days. Results: The results revealed an increase in total acidity of all treatments. The highest total soluble solid (TSS) was observed in 'Yousef-Khani' stored in 10% O2 + 15% CO2, while 'Malas-e-Saveh' treated with 20% O2 + 5% CO2 showed the highest degree of TSS. The mean value of a* in 'Malas-e-Saveh' arils packed with normal and (15% O2 + 10% CO2 + 75% N2) atmosphere increased significantly. The L* showed a decrease in 'YousefKhani'. Total phenolic compounds gradually increased during storage. After storage, decreases in total anthocyanin contents ranged from 12 to 30% for 'Yousef-Khani'. The overall antioxidant activity of arils in 'Yousef-Khani' showed a 6-15% increase during storage. However, a reverse effect was observed for 'Malas-eSaveh'. The lowest microbial counts were recorded under the atmosphere containing 10 and 15% CO2. Conclusions: Packaging of 'Malas-e-Saveh' arils in 15% O2 + 10% CO2 and 'Yousef-Khani' in 15% O2 + 10% CO2 or 10% O2 + 15% CO2 is recommended to extend the shelf-life of ready-to-eat arils.


SUMMARY Extracellular signals in development, physiology, homeostasis and disease often act by regulating transcription. Herein we describe a general method and specific resources for determining where and when such signaling occurs in live animals and for systematically comparing the timing and extent of different signals in different cellular contexts. We used recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) to test the effect of successively deleting conserved genomic regions of the ubiquitously active Rosa26 promoter and substituting the deleted regions for regulatory sequences that respond to diverse extracellular signals. We thereby created an allelic series of embryonic stem cells and mice, each containing a signal-responsive sentinel with different fluorescent reporters that respond with sensitivity and specificity to retinoic acids, bone morphogenic proteins, activin A, Wnts or Notch, and that can be adapted to any pathway that acts via DNA elements.


This article examines the poetics of Anton Hansen Tammsaare's texts with a focus on the manifestation and function of the irrational. Tammsaare has been regarded first and foremost as the author of earthy, realistic novels about the peasantry; as a writer he has been deemed a rationalist and a skeptic. However, the criticism of the 1930s also recognizes a dimension of irrationality in his works. A variety of features are listed through which Tammsaare communicates the non-realistic aspects of his characters` perception of the world: the creation of a mysterious quality in the text; paradoxical situations and trains of thought; impulsive and intuitive behaviour on the part of the characters. This line of research was interrupted after World War II: in Soviet literary scholarship, topics that diverged from realism, or "closeness to life" were frowned upon. Therefore the dimension of irrationality in Tammsaare's works has yet to receive in-depth consideration. This article seeks to develop the insights of earlier, pre-war Tammsaare critics and carry them further. Closer examination is devoted to the secret as an impetus for events in Tammsaare's texts, as well as to that dimension of the irrational in Tammsaare which is expressed through the archetype of the fool. Though secrets in the abstract sense could be seen as an aspect influencing interpersonal relations between characters, Tammsaare uses the figure of the fool to bring characters into his works whose strange and incomprehensible behaviour keeps events "going", creating more and more complicated or insoluble situations, and throwing the well-ordered world into chaos. Tammsaare characteristically constructs his fictional world in such a way that externally plausible circumstances underscore the behaviour patterns of characters in a state of psychological tension, thereby bringing their internal and unconscious worlds into view. What emerges out of this process is a particular "tammsaare'ian" reality Games played with secrets and the application of derivatives of the fool archetype are an integral part of Tammsaare's poetics, both helping shape fictional reality and evoking the dimension of the irrational, which tends to prevail over human reason.


Myristic acid has been extensively used for fabrication of phase change materials for thermal energy storage applications. The objective of present research was to investigate the influence of biofield treatment on physical and thermal properties of myristic acid. The study was performed in two groups (control and treated). The control group remained as untreated, and biofield treatment was given to treated group. The control and treated myristic acid were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and Laser particle size analyzer. XRD results revealed alteration in intensity of peaks as well as significant increase in crystallite size (27.07%) of treated myristic acid with respect to control. DSC study showed increase in melting temperature of treated myristic acid as compared to control. Nevertheless, significant change (10.16%) in latent heat of fusion (ΔH) was observed in treated myristic acid with respect to control. TGA analysis of treated myristic acid showed less weight loss (31.33%) as compared to control sample (60.49%). This may be due to increase in thermal stability of treated myristic acid in comparison with control. FT-IR results showed increase in frequency of –CH2 and C=O stretching vibrations, probably associated with enhanced bond strength and force constant of the respective bonds. The particle size analyzer showed significant decrease in average particle size (d50 and d99) of treated myristic acid with respect to control. Overall, the results showed significant alteration in physical, spectroscopic and thermal properties of myristic acid. The enhanced crystallite size, and thermal stability of treated myristic acid showed that treated myristic acid could be used as phase change material for thermal energy storage applications.


This thesis investigates a new generation of collaborative systems: tabletop tangible interfaces (TTIs) for music performance or musical tabletops. Musical tabletops are designed for professional musical performance, as well as for casual interaction in public settings. These systems support co-located collaboration, offered by a shared interface. However, we still know little about their challenges and opportunities for collaborative musical practice: in particular, how to best support beginners or experts or both.

This thesis explores the nature of collaboration on TTIs for music performance between beginners, experts, or both. Empirical work was done in two stages: 1) an exploratory stage; and 2) an experimental stage. In the exploratory stage we studied the Reactable, a commercial musical tabletop designed for beginners and experts. In particular, we explored its use in two environments: a multi-session study with expert musicians in a casual lab setting; and a field study with casual visitors in a science centre. In the experimental stage we conducted a controlled experiment for mixed groups using a bespoke musical tabletop interface, SoundXY4. The design of this study was informed by the previous stage about a need to support better real-time awareness of the group activity (workspace awareness) in early interactions. For the three studies, groups musical improvisation was video-captured unobtrusively with the aim of understanding natural uses during group musical practice. Rich video data was carefully analysed focusing on the nature of social interaction and how workspace awareness was manifested.

The findings suggest that musical tabletops can support peer learning during multiple sessions; fluid between-group social interaction in public settings; and a democratic and ecological approach to music performance. The findings also point to how workspace awareness can be enhanced in early interactions with TTIs using auditory feedback with ambisonics spatialisation.

The thesis concludes with theoretical, methodological, and practical implications for future research in New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME), tabletop studies, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).


Purpose:To develop a system for texture-based quantification of emphysema on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and to compare it with density-based quantification in correlation with pulmonary function test (PFT). Materials and Methods:Two hundred sixty-one circular regions of interest (ROI) with 16-pixel diameter [66 ROIs representing typical area of normal lung; 69 representing bronchiolitis obliterans (BO); 64, mild emphysema (ME); and 62, severe emphysema (SE)] were used to train the automated classification system based on the Support Vector Machine classifier and on variable texture and shape features. An automated quantification system was developed with a moving ROI in the lung area, which classified each pixel into 4 categories. To validate the system, the HRCT and standard-kernel-reconstructed volumetric CT data of 39 consecutive patients with emphysema were included. Using this system, the whole lung area was evaluated, and the area fractions of each class were calculated (normal lung%, BO%, ME%, SE%, respectively). The emphysema index (EI) of texture-based quantification was defined as follows: (0.3 × ME% + SE%) (TEI). EIs from density-based quantification with a threshold of −950 Hounsfield Units, were measured on both HRCT (DEI_HR_2D) and on volumetric CT (DEI_standard_3D). The agreement between TEI, DEI_HR_2D, and DEI_standard_3D was assessed using interclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Correlation of the results on the TEI with the PFT results was compared with the results of the DEI_standard_3D and the DEI_HR_2D with Spearman's correlation test. To evaluate the contribution of each texture-based quantification lesion (BO%, ME%, SE%) on PFT, multiple linear regression analysis was performed. Results:The calculated TEI (19.71% ± 17.98%) was well correlated with the DEI_standard_3D (19.42% ± 14.30%) (ICC = 0.95), whereas the ICC with DEI_HR_2D (37.22% ± 9.42%) was 0.43. TEI showed better correlation with PFT than DEI_standard_3D or DEI_HR_2D did [R = 0.71 vs. 0.67 vs. 0.61 for forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC); 0.54 vs. 0.50 vs. 0.43 for diffusing capacity (DLco), respectively]. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the BO% and SE% areas were independent determinants of FEV1/FVC, whereas the ME% and the SE% were determinants of DLco. Conclusion:Texture-based quantification of emphysema using an automated system showed better correlation with the PFT results than density-based quantification. Separate quantification of the BO, ME, and SE areas showed a different contribution of each component to the FEV1/FVC and the DLco. The proposed system can be successfully used for detailed regional and global evaluation of lung lesions on HRCT scanning for emphysema.


A novel physical effect of angular super-resolution based on the direction-of-arrival information sampling using highly oscillatory evanescent harmonics in dense antenna array environment is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. This phenomenon enables realisation of novel, ultra-compact antenna terminals (ATs) with superdirective radiation patterns and spatial auto-focusing characteristics for any direction of arrival of the excitation waveform. The use of these ATs should enhance the signal-to-noise ratio at the receiver, increase overall energy efficiency of the wireless communication or power transmission systems and lead to substantially lower interference and EM pollution across the wireless network area. Special attention is given to the antenna array operating in the presence of a flat metal ground plane or a ground plane with EM band-gap structure. Near-field scattering phenomena arising as a result of the antenna array coupling to the ground planes of both types and their effects on the far-field radiation patterns are analysed in detail. The results of the study should be important for the development of the electrically compact ATs to be employed in the energy-efficient wireless communication systems including the Internet-of-Things, wireless sensor networks and wireless powering systems.


In an age where data and their various representations proliferates many aspects of our professional and private lives, a new form of awareness and visual literacy is required to interpret, critically discuss and actively engage in activities around data representation. Research has found Physicalization to be a productive way to introduce people to activities around data collection, processing, and representation -- be it to learn about the concepts of making abstract data graspable, or to learn about complex phenomena represented within the data. This full-day hands-on workshop will explore how designing and building Physicalizations can be a way to actively learn the principles of data representation. The aim of this workshop is to (1) discuss different learning scenarios in which Physicalization activities can be beneficial, (2) explore different approaches to introduce Physicalization activities to different learning audiences, and (3) to build a community interested in the pedagogy of Physicalization.


With a sluggish economy, high unemployment, and unprecedented deficit spending, growing the economy and curbing federal spending are top priorities in Washington. A now-popular target for reform is regulation, which even President Obama claims to have "stifled innovation" and to have had "a chilling effect on growth and jobs." In this POLICY BULLETIN, we use fifty years of data and modern econometric methods to provide an estimate of the relationship between government spending on regulatory activity and economic growth and job recovery. We estimate that reducing the size of the regulatory bureaucracy may grow the economy and invigorate the labor market. Even a small 5% reduction in the regulatory budget (about $2.8 billion) is estimated to result in about $75 billion in expanded private-sector GDP each year, with an increase in employment by 1.2 million jobs annually. On average, eliminating the job of a single regulator grows the American economy by $6.2 million and nearly 100 private sector jobs annually. Conversely, each million dollar increase in the regulatory budget costs the economy 420 private sector jobs. Accordingly, as Congress and the President struggle with the difficult decisions of how to shrink federal spending, an excellent place to start would be to investigate responsible cuts in the size of the federal regulatory budget. That said, while regulation imposes costs, regulation may also have social benefits, and this fact should be considered.


In this paper we adapt online estimation strategies to perform model-based clustering on large networks. Our work focuses on two algorithms, the first based on the SAEM algorithm, and the second on variational methods. These two strategies are compared with existing approaches on simulated and real data. We use the method to decipher the connexion structure of the political websphere during the US political campaign in 2008. We show that our online EM-based algorithms offer a good trade-off between precision and speed, when estimating parameters for mixture distributions in the context of random graphs.


This paper presents a no-load core loss analysis of a three-phase energy-saving small-size induction motor supplied by a sinusoidal voltage. In the field-circuit approach, the distribution and changes of magnetic flux density in the motor are computed using a time-stepping finite-element method. The discrete Fourier transform is used to analyze the magnetic flux density waveforms in each element of the motor model. The rotational aspect of the field is included by introducing a correction to the losses generated by the first harmonic of magnetic flux density. The core losses in each element are evaluated using a loss curve measured on a toroidal core at different frequencies. Finally, an approximate analytical formulation is derived for rapid field computation. The results are compared with measurements.


Drawn from journals, this book is an account of a woman's sexual awakening, covering a single momentous year - 1931-32, in Paris, when June fell in love with Henry Miller, undermining her own idealized marriage. The question of the outcome of June Miller's return to Paris dominates her thoughts.


Consequences of pregnancy and childbirth are still the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Antenatal care is one of the most effective interventions in reducing maternal mortality in the developing world. Hence, this study assessed the antenatal care utilization and its associated factors among pregnant women in Boricha district, southern Ethiopia. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from January, 2015 to October 2015. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 626 women. Data were collected through structured and interviewer administered questionnaires. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20. A significant percentage 477 (76.2%) of the respondents were ever attended antenatal care. The educational status of the respondents and occupation of their partners were significantly associated with antenatal care utilization. Number of pregnancy, number of live birth, place of delivery and the profession of birth attendants were also significantly associated with antenatal care utilization. A significant percentage of respondents were ever attended antenatal care. Community mobilization and intensive utilization of community health agents are recommended to enhance the utilization of antenatal care.


Although Miconia mirabilis is a very common species in disturbed forest areas and is known for providing food resources for the local fauna, little is known about its reproductive phenology and other ecological aspects. The present study compares intra- and inter-annual patterns in the reproductive phenophases of that species in three distinct physiognomies of Atlantic Forest in Southeastern Bahia based on semi-quantitative observations conducted over a period of three years. We searched for possiblerelationships with climatic variables, differences among sites and synchrony. Both the flowering and fruiting strategies of M. mirabilis were classified as annual extended in all three study sites. We found no significant differences among years. Despite low seasonality of the regional climate, intensities of the different phenophases were negatively correlated with day length and temperature. In general, inter- and intra-population synchrony for flowering and fruiting was high (between 0.65 and 0.78), except for inundated forest, probably due to the stress caused by flooding. Given that Miconia mirabilis has the potential to be an important food resource for the local fauna due to the large quantities of flowers and fruits produced and their almost year-round availability, and its capacity for occupying impoverished areas, the species may be considered in restoration programs as a potentially interesting species capable of attracting frugivores to disturbed areas.


Background The Prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasing and its incidence in professional and amateur athletes seems higher than in the general population (OR=2–10 after adjustment for other risk factors). A U shaped relationship of physical activity with incident AF suggests that the positive antiarrhythmic effects of sport are partially negated by prolonged heavy endurance exercise. AF is also more prevalent in middle-aged former competitive athletes. Design A review of the literature of AF in athletes is presented. AF may be due to sympathetic activity, volume load during exercise, vagotonia at rest but also atrial hypertrophy and dilatation. Anticoagulation cannot be used in sporting activities with a risk of bodily collision. Rate control during AF is difficult to reach in athletes: -blockers are not well tolerated or even prohibited in some competitive sports, and digoxin or calcium antagonists are poorly effective during exertion. In paroxysmal AF athletes, the flecainide or propafenone 'pill-in the pocket approach' can be used, but transient sport practice limitations ensue. Intervention Several reports of the new pulmonary vein catheter ablation have demonstrated encouraging results. Using radiofrequency current, the latter is as efficacious in lone AF amateur athletes as in controls. Representative examples from our AF ablation patient database will be presented. Conclusion A review of the literature and our own experience suggest that catheter ablation of AF in athletes will probably develop in the near future. This is also supported by the recent European guidelines which state that 'where appropriate, AF ablation should be considered to prevent recurrent AF in athletes' without requiring prior drug therapy.


Author(s): Wenzel, Tom, P | Abstract: This report examines the sensitivity of the estimated effect of mass reduction on crash frequency in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) baseline regression model to including several additional vehicle and driver characteristics. The additional variables include handling and braking capability by vehicle model, from three Consumer Reports road tests; initial vehicle purchase price and vehicle manufacturer; average household income and "bad driver" rating by vehicle model; and whether the driver was using alcohol or drugs, or was properly restrained. The three Consumer Reports road tests are associated with an unexpected increase in crash frequency, in both all crashes and single vehicle crashes with a stationary object. For this reason they were not included in the sensitivity regression models. As expected, vehicle initial purchase price, median household income, and whether the driver was wearing a seat belt are associated with statistically significant decreases in crash frequency, while whether the driver was using alcohol or drugs is associated with a statistically significant increase in crash frequency. A poor average driving record by vehicle model is associated with an expected increase in crash frequency in cars, but unexpected decreases in crash frequency in light trucks and crossover utility vehicles (CUVs)/minivans. Including these variables, either individually or including all in the same regression model, does not change the general results of the baseline NHTSA regression model: that mass reduction is associated with an increase in crash frequency in all three types of vehicles, while footprint reduction is associated with an increase in crash frequency in cars and light trucks, but with a decrease in crash frequency in CUVs/minivans. The variable with the biggest effect is initial vehicle purchase price, which dramatically reduces the estimated increase in crash frequency in heavier-than-average cars and light trucks, and all CUVs/minivans. These results suggest that other, more subtle, differences in vehicles and their drivers account for the unexpected finding that lighter vehicles have higher crash frequencies than heavier vehicles, for all three types of vehicles.


The Belgian "Generations Pact" contained a measure which aims at removing an inactivity trap for people who benefit from a survivor pension. In this paper we use a sample of administrative data from the "Datawarehouse labour market and social protection" and the microsimulation model MIMOSIS to assess the labour supply effects of this reform proposal. In a first step we estimate a standard discrete choice labour supply model for several subgroups. Subsequently we model the proposed reform in the tax and benefit rules and predict the change in desired labour supply of the targeted group. The proposed reform would have a significant positive effect on the labour supply of widows, but the effects are weak amongst low income survivor pensioners.


Radiofrequency Coblation for Treatment of Vocal Cords Leukoplakia
Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of radiofrequency coblation surgery as a practical alternative to conventional surgery of vocal cords leukoplakia.
Methods: Ninety-five patients affected by vocal cords leukoplakia were enrolled. Vocal cords leucoplakia was initially diagnosed by laryngoscopy and successively confirmed by radiofrequency coblation excision for histologic assessment. All the patients were subjected to voice assessment and the Jitter, Shimmer, F0, MPT and DSI values were used as sensitive indicators for voice assessment of patients with vocal cords leucoplakia.
Results: The mean leukoplakia resection time was 23.14 ± 5.36 minutes. 83 (87.37%) patients were "clinically" healed as 78.95% (75/95) the histological results shows chronic mucosal inflammation or squamous epithelial hyperplasia without dysplasia, as well as 8 (8.42%) patients with mild dysplasia. Conclusions: Radiofrequency coblation is a useful surgical technique, as effective as, or even superior to, other surgical techniques when dealing with patients suffering from vocal cords leukoplakia with potentially fewer adverse effects and subsequent improved quality of life for patients.


Smallpox and the Literary Imagination, 1660-1820 by David E. Shuttleton. Cambridge U. Press, 2007. Pp. xiii + 265. $91. The writing of this review coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the last fatal case of smallpox, which occurred in Birmingham, England, in 1978. Janet Parker was a medical photographer, who had been working in a room above the smallpox laboratory at the University Medical School. The Abid strain of the virus traveled up a service duct into the room and infected her. She developed spots, which were mistaken for a benign rash. Later Mrs. Parker was diagnosed as having contracted variola major, the most lethal type of the disease. The vaccination she had received twelve years earlier was not recent enough to protect her and so she died over two weeks later. During the twentieth century, this deadly disease was responsible for at least 300 million deaths world-wide, yet it was during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that it reached epidemic proportions in Europe, having overtaken the plague, leprosy and syphilis as the predominant killer disease. In 1771, smallpox was responsible for 17 percent of deaths in London. The pestilence is now assigned to medical history and the literary imagination since the virus, known as the speckled monster, remains under lock and key in two high-security laboratories, in America and Siberia. The tale of when it roamed the earth is one of a Gothic monstrosity that remained unleashed for well over a millennium. In the first substantial book on the literary representation of smallpox and its victims, David Shuttleton focuses on the period from the Restoration through the rise of inoculation up to 1820. He shows how the corporeal reality of smallpox need not detract from it as a category of the imagination. Even while it roamed freely around Britain, the disease still retained a hold on popular imaginings. In his opening chapter, "Contagion by Conceit," Shuttleton shows how some believed that smallpox could be triggered by fear, which is redolent of folklore beliefs in "the malevolent power of a bewitching, contagious gaze" (xi). The sight of an afflicted person may be summed up by Steven Connor's description of the eighteenth-century "bodyscape" as "the nauseating phantasmagoria of rotting, eruptive and squamous skins" (3). Smallpox clashed with the ideology of the beautiful death, rendering "prematurely putrescent loved ones," in the words of popular versifier Isaac Watts, "Now loathsome and unlovely" (94-95). The smallpox victim was a living memento mori, who embodied both the sight and smell of the grave. The patient's progress towards either death or disfigurement was inscribed on the skin by the hieroglyphics of lesions, vesicles, and pustules. By sometimes erasing features, smallpox could alter identity to the point where the face would become a veritable tabula rasa. The face of a young man with confluent smallpox, a particularly virulent variety that caused blisters to merge into sheets, was described by Dr. Thomas Dale as "nothing but one continuous Crust, resembling a kind of Parchment, or rather a white Wall" (157). The reference to parchment, which had traditionally been made from animal skin, is a reminder of the link between the body, writing, and smallpox, whose indelible signature is signed upon the face. The rise of smallpox coincided with the rise of the novel and it was used as a plot device, which could evoke both melodrama and pathos. The challenge for the poet, particularly during the neoclassical period, was how to reconcile poetry with pus. As medical historian Genevieve Miller pointed out, the "Age of Reason" could also be labelled the "age of Smallpox" (2). In his verse "Upon the Death of Lord Hastings" (1649) from Lachrymae Musarum, John Dryden transforms "weeping pustules" into "tears of repentant rebels" (69), thereby turning somatic insurrection into a metaphor for rebellion against the body politic. …


This study examined the effects of hand massage on autonomic activity, anxiety, relaxation and sense of affinity by performing it to healthy people before applying the technic in actual clinical practice. Findings were showed below: 1) the significant increase in the pNN50 and the significant decrease in the heart rate meant the intervention of massage increased the autonomic nervous activity, improved the parasympathetic nerve activity and reduced the sympathetic nerve activity. This means the subjects were considered to be in a state of relaxation. 2) Salivary a amylase has been reported as a possible indicator for sympathetic nerve activity. In the results of this study, there was no significant difference in the salivary a amylase despite a decrease after massage. 3) State anxiety score is to measure temporal situational reactions while being in the state of anxiety. This score decreased significantly after massage, which was a result similar to those in a previous study. 4) The level of willingness to communicate with other person and the sense of affinity toward the massage-performer had a positive change of 70 percent. From this, it can be considered that a comfortable physical contact between a patient and a nursing profession, who are in a supported-supportive relationship, leads to an effect of shortening the gap in their psychological distance.


The emerging technology of active RFID tags has strong potential in the areas of real time health monitoring, sorting of cargo, and large scale inventory management because of their longer communication range and larger data storage capacity. The market of active RFID is growing very rapidly and therefore there has been an increase in the number of companies engaging in this field. But very often it is found that the products available in the market are not always suited to the application at hand. To overcome this problem, off the shelf active RFID products which were reconfigurable and followed a standard PHY and MAC layer protocol were used for this work. By reprogramming the application layer protocol of the RFID hardware, these devices were made suitable for the desired application. This also allowed the RFID tags to extend their functionality by interfacing extra modules with themselves. The work presented in this thesis describes the way in which the microcontroller on board the active RFID tags and readers can be programmed so that the functionality of the RFID hardware can be changed as per requirements. It also shows that extra modules can be added to the tag by successfully interfacing an accelerometer module with the tag.


As the Internet of Things (IoT) proliferates, the potential for its opportunistic interaction with traditional mobile apps becomes apparent. We argue that to fully take advantage of this potential, mobile apps must become things themselves, and interact in a smart space like their hardware counterparts. We present an extension to our Atlas thing architecture on smartphones, allowing mobile apps to behave as things and provide powerful services and functionalities. To this end, we also consider the role of the mobile app developer, and introduce actionable keywords (AKWs)---a dynamically programmable description---to enable potential thing to thing interactions. The AKWs empower the mobile app to dynamically react to services provided by other things, without being known a priori by the original app developer. In this paper, we present the mobile-apps-as-things (MAAT) concept along with its AKW concept and programming construct. For MAAT to be adopted by developers, changes to the existing development environments (IDE) should remain minimal to stay acceptable and practically usable, thus we also propose an IDE plugin to simplify the addition of this dynamic behavior. We present details of MAAT, along with the implementation of the IDE plugin, and give a detailed benchmarking evaluation to assess the responsiveness of our implementation to impromptu interactions and dynamic app behavioral changes. We also investigate another study, targeting Android developers, which evaluates the acceptability and usability of the MAAT IDE plugin.


The purpose of this study was to compare the fattening performance of some cattle breeds under same care and feeding condition, which were imported to a private farm in Turkey. Approximately eight months old male Angus (AN) (n=12), Charolais (CH) (n=33), Limousine (LM) (n=40) and Simmental (SM) (n=9) breeds were imported from Ireland to a private farm in Çorum. Least squares means for AN, CH, LM and SM, respectively, for the elapsed time (ET) of the breeds from the beginning of feeding until slaughter were 181.42±8.07, 181.30±4.87, 186.15±4.42, and 194.78±9.32 days; for the initial live weights (IW) at the beginning of fattening period were 404.42±11.26, 418.70±6.79, 389.00±6.17 and 430.56±13.00 kg; for the live weights (LWS) at the time of slaughter were 616.78±14.29, 625.64±8.80, 636.00±8.13 ve 631.97±16.84 kg; for the average daily live weight gains (ADLWG) were 1.17±0.06, 1.23±0.04, 1.23±0.03 and 1.16±0.07 kg; for the hot carcass weights (HCW) were 355.45±10.20, 362.76±6.28, 385.15±5.80 and 368.98±12.02 kg; for the dressing percentages (DP) of the breeds were 57.47±0.95, 58.09±0.58, 60.64±0.54 ve 58.48±1.12 %. Mean consumption of DM, OM, NDF, ADF and CP were 11.43, 11.18, 5.03, 2.63 and 1.55 kg. ET (p=0.643), LWS (p=0.653), ADLWG (p=0.600), FE (p=0.871) and HCW (p=0.389) were not statistically different whereas IW (p=0.003) and DP (p=0.005) were statistically different for the breeds. The IW of Limousine was lower than Charolais (p=0.009) and Simmental (p=0.025) whereas Limousine had better performance for the DP than did Angus (p=0.027) and Charolais (p=0.014).


Introduction: Mirizzi syndrome (MS) is an uncommon complication of long-term chronic cholecystitis, characterized by extrinsic compression of the common hepatic duct or the presence of cholecystobiliary fistula. A case of type IV MS, with extensively damaged common hepatic duct (CHD) due to gallstone impaction and fistula, was effectively treated by minilaparoscopic hepaticoduodenostomy (HD). Case Description: The patient was a woman, 36 years old, weighing 66 kg, and standing 1.55 m. For 3 weeks, she had been experiencing episodes of strong right-upper-quadrant pain, radiating to the back. She also presented with choluria, fecal acholia, and severe jaundice. Preoperative magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) suggested the diagnosis of Mirizzi syndrome (MS). Surgery started with "dome-down" dissection of the gallbladder. The cystic duct and the CHD were found to be highly compromised close to the gallstone impacted in the infundibulum. After resection of the affected bile ducts, the biliary tract reconstruction was performed by minilaparoscopy (MINI). The patient was discharged uneventfully 6 days after surgery, without complication. Discussion: Because of the severely compromised CHD, HD was the technique used for reconstruction, for its simple execution, and several proven advantages over hepaticojejunostomy. It was performed by MINI, a new, effective, and refined minimally invasive technique in which the surgeon uses low-friction trocars to improve visualization and dexterity in delicate surgical tasks. A Kocher maneuver was necessary to make possible this type of reconstruction. Conclusion: There is no consensus yet about the best type of reconstruction to use for a severely damaged CHD. In the present case, HD by MINI proved to be a safe and effective method, emphasizing its known advantages.


We present a simple randomized algorithmic framework for connected facility location problems. The basic idea is as follows: We run a black-box approximation algorithm for the unconnected facility location problem, randomly sample the clients, and open the facilities serving sampled clients in the approximate solution. Via a novel analytical tool, which we term core detouring, we show that this approach significantly improves over the previously best known approximation ratios for several NP-hard network design problems. For example, we reduce the approximation ratio for the connected facility location problem from 8.55 to 4.00 and for the single-sink rent-or-buy problem from 3.55 to 2.92. We show that our connected facility location algorithms can be derandomized at the expense of a slightly worse approximation ratio. The versatility of our framework is demonstrated by devising improved approximation algorithms also for other related problems.


This thesis aimed at developing new 3D structuration techniques for a relatively recent new ceramic technology called LTCC, which stands for Low Temperature, Co-fired Ceramic. It is a material originally developed for the microelectronic packaging industry; its chemical and thermal stabilities make it suitable to military-grade and automotive applications, such as car ignition systems and Wi-Fi antennae (GHz frequencies). In recent years however, the research in ceramic microsystems has seen a growing interest for microfluidics, packaging, MEMS and sensors. Positioned at the crossing of classical thick-film technology on alumina substrate and of high temperature ceramics, this new kind of easily structurable ceramic is filling the technological and dimensional gap between microsystems in Silicon and classical "macro microsystems", in the sense that we can now structure microdevices in the range from 150 mm to 150 mm. In effect, LTCC technology allows printing conductors and other inks from 30 mm to many mm, structuration from 150 mm to 150 mm, and suspended structures with gaps down to 30 mm thanks to sacrificial materials. Sensors and their packaging are now merged in what we can call "functional packaging". The contributions of this thesis lie both in the technological aspects we brought, and in the innovative microfluidic sensors and devices created using our developed methods. These realizations would not have been possible with the standard lamination and firing techniques used so far. Hence, we allow circumventing the problems related to microfluidics circuitry: for instance, the difficulty to control final fired dimensions, the burden to produce cavities or open structures and the associated delaminations of tapes, and the absence of "recipe" for the industrialization of fluidic devices. The achievements of the presented research can be summarized as follows: The control of final dimensions is mastered after having studied the influence of lamination parameters, proving they have a considerable impact. It is now possible to have a set of design rules for a given material, deviating from suppliers' recommendations for the manufacture of slender structures requiring reduced lamination. A new lamination method was set up, permitting the assembly of complex microfluidic circuits that would normally not sustain standard lamination. The method is based on partial pseudo-isostatic sub-laminations, with the help of a constrained rubber, subsequently consolidated together with a final standard uniaxial lamination. The conflict between well bonded tapes and acceptable output geometry is greatly attenuated. We achieved the formulation of a new class of Sacrificial Volume Materials (SVM) to allow the fabrication of open structures on LTCC and on standard alumina substrates; these are indeed screen-printable inks made by mixing together mineral compounds, a glassy phase and experimental organic binders. This is an appreciable improvement over the so-far existing SVMs for LTCC, limited to closed structures such as thin membranes. An innovative industrial-grade potentially low-cost diagnostics multisensor for the pneumatic industry was developed, allowing the measurement of compressed air pressure, flow and temperature. The device is entirely mounted by soldering onto an electro-fluidic platform, de facto making it a true electro-fluidic SMD component in itself. It comprises additionally its own integrated SMD electronics, and thanks to standard hybrid assembly techniques, gets rid of external wires and tubings – this prowess was never achieved before. This opens the way for in situ diagnostics of industrial systems through the use of low-cost integrated sensors that directly output conditioned signals. In addition to the abovementioned developments, we propose an extensive review of existing Sacrificial Volume Materials, and we present numerous applications of LTCC to sensors and microsystems, such as capacitive microforce sensors, a chemical microreactor and microthrusters. In conclusion, LTCC is a technology adapted to the industrial production of microfluidic sensors and devices: the fabrication steps are all industrializable, with an easy transition from prototyping to mass production. Nonetheless, the structuration of channels, cavities and membranes obey complex rules; it is for the moment not yet possible to choose with accuracy the right manufacturing parameters without testing. Consequently, thorough engineering and mastering of the know-how of the whole manufacturing process is still necessary to produce efficient LTCC electro-fluidic circuits, in contrast with older techniques such as classical thick-film technology on alumina substrates or PCBs in FR-4. Notwithstanding its lack of maturity, the still young LTCC technology is promising in both the microelectronics and microfluidics domains. Engineers have a better understanding of the structuration possibilities, of the implications of lamination, and of the most common problems; they have now all the tools in hand to create complex microfluidics circuits.


New targets for drinking water and sanitation were the prime water-related outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. They aimed at better health and development. The critical mass needed to implement them must be created, primarily at the local level involving the people, governments and non-governmental organizations but with responsive participation and large-scale contributions of the international community. Many issues still need resolution in the light of experience since the 1980s. Let us launch a second Water Decade in 2004, world-wide, but vastly different from the Decade of the 1980s; a new Decade that will ensure enduring commitment and maintain the momentum created in Johannesburg.


Abstract Teaching and learning evolution is challenging. Biology education research shows that the underlying evolutionary concepts are poorly understood among students. This prevents a meaningful understanding of the central biological concepts. The instructional format of self-explanation prompts seems to be promising to respond to these difficulties. However, previous research has shown that the interaction between prior knowledge and prompts is an important factor in enhancing effective self-explanations. Nevertheless, there are hardly any studies which focus on the majority of learners in the classrooms, ie students with average prior knowledge. The aim of this study was to analyse the requirements of adaptive self-explanation prompts specifically for these learners. This should enable students at all knowledge levels to be effectively fostered in self-explaining, while they are learning evolution. We investigated the effects of three kinds of prompts for fostering self-explanations: learners with average prior knowledge were prompted with low or/and high-knowledge prompts. Our analysis of 22 verbal protocols by middle-school German students shows that the prompts evoked the intended self-explanations. The most positive impact with regard to self-explanation quality was created by the prompting condition which combines low-knowledge and high-knowledge self-explanation characteristics.


Space manipulator systems having spacecraft actuators turned off, operate in free-floating mode, and exhibit nonholonomic behaviour due to angular momentum conservation. The system is underactuated and a challenging problem is to control both the location of the end effector and the attitude of the base, using manipulator actuators only. A developed path planning method that perform this task is briefly presented and the constraints of motion, both physical and algorithmic, are examined. The physical limitations are imposed by system's dynamic parameters. Lower and upper bounds for base rotation, due to manipulator motions, are estimated. Smooth functions such as polynomials are employed in the planning scheme, leading to smooth configuration changes in finite and prescribed time, and avoiding many small cyclical motions. Algorithmic limitations of the method in reaching arbitrary final configurations are discussed and examples are presented.


Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) often develop glomerulonephritis (i.e., inflammation in the glomeruli of the kidney), commonly referred to as lupus nephritis. Patients with lupus nephritis typically have autoantibodies to the complement classical pathway protein C1q. Whether these anti-C1q antibodies play any role in the development of lupus nephritis has been unclear. In this issue of the JCI, a new study demonstrates that anti-C1q antibodies can amplify glomerular injury but only when they are bound within the glomerulus to C1q that has been already brought to that site by other types of glomerular-reactive autoantibodies. These studies are the first, to our knowledge, to provide a causal link between anti-C1q antibodies and target organ damage in SLE.


As a man-induced disturbance of forest ecosystems, thinning may affect biodiversity and other related ecological functions including fungal dynamics. In this context, a multidisciplinary EU-Life project was established in 2014 to evaluate the application of selective thinning in two Pinus nigra plantations areas of the Apennines (Monte Amiata and Pratomagno, Tuscany, Italy). Selective thinning had the aim to improve stands stability and growth rates, taking also into account the various components of soil biodiversity (flora, fungi, mesofauna, nematodes, microarthropods and bacteria). Here we present mushroom fruiting patterns previous to treatment in 2014 and the effect following the application of forest management (selective thinning and traditional thinning from below) in 2018. Boxplots were used to graphically represent intra and inter annual variations in species richness and abundance, while Principal Coordinates Analyses and multi-response permutation procedures based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarity matrix were applied to evaluate turnover in species composition before the management and after 4 years. A significant reduction of fungal richness and abundance after 4 years thinning impact was lacking in both study areas, testifying a certain degree of resistance and/or resilience of mushroom fruiting to forest management-related anthropogenic disturbance. Considering each study site separately, Monte Amiata and Pratomagno did not show one uniform trend but differed significantly in their response to management: while in Pratomagno relevant inter-annual differences were present only in a few cases, an underlining significant variation both for species richness and abundance was registered in Monte Amiata for all treatment types among years (inter-annual variation) but not within each year (intra-annual variation). Only in Pratomagno turnover in species composition in selective thinning differed somewhat from the traditional treatment in 2018, showing that a process is underlying but still potentially masked by other variables. Due to the nature of macrofungi, a longer study period (more than 4 years post treatment impact) as well as the application of a more intense forest management, could be necessary to highlight and disentangle any possible trends in fungal fruiting in artificial stands


Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) has received considerable attentions in various areas for its psychological and physiological interpretation of naturally occurring data whose representation may be parts-based in the human brain. Despite its good practical performance, one shortcoming of original NMF is that it ignores intrinsic structure of data set. On one hand, samples might be on a manifold and thus one may hope that geometric information can be exploited to improve NMF's performance. On the other hand, features might correlate with each other, thus conventional L2 distance can not well measure the distance between samples. Although some works have been proposed to solve these problems, rare connects them together. In this paper, we propose a novel method that exploits knowledge in both data manifold and features correlation. We adopt an approximation of Earth Mover's Distance (EMD) as metric and add a graph regularized term based on EMD to NMF. Furthermore, we propose an efficient multiplicative iteration algorithm to solve it. Our empirical study shows the encouraging results of the proposed algorithm comparing with other NMF methods.


Since 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq, the West has been fighting a 'War on Terror', through force and through the building of new societies in the region. In this clear and devastating account, with unparalleled access and intimate knowledge of the political players, "Descent into Chaos" chronicles our failure. Having reported from central Asia for a quarter of a century, Ahmed Rashid shows clearly why the war in Iraq is just a sideshow to the main event. Rather, it is Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the five Central Asian states that make up the crisis zone, for it is here that terrorism and Islamic extremism are growing stronger. Documenting with precision how intimately linked Pakistan is with the Taliban and other extremist movements, while remaining the US' main ally in the region, Rashid brings into focus the role of many regional issues in supporting extremism, from nuclear programmes to local rivalries, ineffectual peace-keeping to tyrannical rulers. For Rashid, at the heart of the failure in Iraq is the US' refusal to accept the need to build nations. Ambitious and urgent, analyzing events, policies and personalities across the largest landmass in the world, "Descent into Chaos" chronicles with chilling accuracy why Islamic extremism is now stronger than ever.


We conducted a series of p-curve analyses, following Simonsohn et al.'s rules of p-curving and using a systematically selected, comprehensive and updated set of published studies of "power posing" (i.e., postural feedback), comprising 55 studies (vs. 34 studies), which yield starkly different results and conclusions from those of Simmons and Simonsohn (S&S):
(1) evidential value for postural feedback across aggregated effects;
(2) evidential value for a clearly specified single effect – feelings of power – which was omitted from the p-curve analyses presented by SS and
(3) remarkably strong evidential value for a well-defined, theoretically-important category of effects from the same set of studies identified in our systematic review - all measures of "feelings," including emotions, affect, mood, and evaluations, attitudes, and feelings about the self.
This third p-curving analysis of the set of emotions-related effects, which include methods and variables that are more resilient to demand characteristics, either because responses were implicit or otherwise difficult for participants to control, responses were embedded in a broader survey instrument, or, as demonstrated in recent research on demand effects in survey research, participants likely varied in their orientation such that some would have wanted to confirm the hypothesis, some to disconfirm it, and others would have been indifferent, also demonstrate that power posing effects are not merely demand effects. How did two groups of researchers reach such divergent findings and conclusions about the same area of research?
Our analyses reveal two of the practices that contributed:
(1) sample selection decisions that may lead to an incomplete or non-representative set of studies and/or effects for inclusion in the analysis; and
(2) undifferentiated aggregation of disparate effects (i.e., the apples-and-oranges problem).


This paper addresses the urgent need for a sustainable energy transition in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region. It analyses the unsustainable burden of universal energy subsidies and calls for new development paths unlocking the huge potential for low-cost energy efficiency and demand-side management as well as for renewable energy. It argues that a new structure of regional and interconnected energy markets is needed. It then proposes some original approaches regarding the financing of this sustainable energy transition and finally calls for an ambitious, Euro-Mediterranean Energy Roadmap, which should contribute not only to the economic and environmental development of the region, but also to its social and political stability.


With the rapidly growing Chinese economy in the past few decades, the people of mainland China are now enjoying increasingly more economic benefits than ever before. Out of the many growing technologies, mobile devices, especially cell phones, have been gaining popularity throughout the country. According to the latest statistics from 2007, more than one-third of Chinese citizens have cell phones. In addition to the basic uses of voice communication, cell phones have many other promising applications. In particular, as a pervasive technology, mobile devices offer a great opportunity to deliver health information directly to people at an affordable cost. This paper analyses the potential of mobile health information systems in China. This prospective analysis will be conducted from four important perspectives: technology, market demand, a business model and government policy.