Background and aim Vulval Crohn's disease (VCD) is a rare extraintestinal cutaneous manifestation of Crohn's disease. No consensus on the diagnostic workup and therapeutic management of this condition has been provided in the current literature. Patients and methods Retrospective, multicentre descriptive case series of female patients diagnosed and treated with VCD. By chart review, data on initial symptoms, clinical courses, histologic findings and therapeutic management were collected. Results Fifteen female patients with a median age of 28 years (interquartile range: 28–44 years) suffering from Crohn's disease of the ileum (27%), colon (33%) and ileocolon (40%) were included. VCD manifested most frequently with vulval swelling (93%), pain (80%) and erythema (73%). Histologic analysis demonstrated granulomatous inflammation in 78% and a mixed inflammatory cell infiltrate in 67% of cases. In eight (53%) cases, topical therapy resulted in temporary reduction of vulval symptoms. Combotreatment with immunosuppressive agents and tumour necrosis factor &agr; inhibitors was the most effective second-line therapy: five (33%) patients achieved sustained clinical remission with this therapeutic strategy. Conclusion The diagnostic workup of VCD is challenging and should be approached in a multidisciplinary manner. Histopathologic analysis of the vulva supports the diagnosis. Topical therapy and systemic treatment with immunosuppressive agents and tumour necrosis factor &agr; inhibitors are advised to treat this condition.


Bringing together insights from cognitive schema theories and studies on vocabulary acquisition in a foreign/second language (L2), this chapter singles out the importance of semantic schemas for teaching and learning word meanings. Its main theoretical hypothesis is that cognitive schemas underlying semantic representations of lexical meanings are effective didactic tools for teaching vocabulary. Relevant language-pedagogical concepts are discussed, such as "explicit teaching" and "rich instructions". Having introduced basic elements of schemas, it is shown how schema-based illustrations could help to explain sense relations between words as well as the emergence of new meanings in complex constructions.


Research within constructional approaches to language has begun to develop a framework for modelling diachronic variation, but the precise relationship between diachronic construction grammar and grammaticalization has yet to be fully worked out (Noel 2007). The article includes discussion of some central issues in construction grammar which are of significant relevance to researchers interested in grammaticalization and lexicalization, with suggestions for some of the ways in which key topics in grammaticalization research – such as unidirectionality, reanalysis and analogy – might be explained using a constructional model. In order to illustrate this thesis, I draw on a range of data from the history of English (particularly, quantifiers and degree modifiers, composite predicates and possessives).


Background. Unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young women can be prevented through dual protection (i.e. condom use plus another method). Unmet needs for contraception and rates of unintended pregnancy among young women are high in the developing world. Aim. To assess the level of awareness of contraceptives and utilisation of family planning services among young women, and barriers that hinder effective use of such services. Methods. In a quantitative descriptive survey, 360 female undergraduate students at the National University of Lesotho responded to a hand-delivered self-administered questionnaire. Results. Awareness of family planning was high (97.5%). The condom was the most commonly known and used family planning method. The level of sexual experience and the prevalence of contraceptive use were high. Access to services was good. There were some misconceptions, e.g. that contraceptives other than the condom, such as natural family planning (4.7%), the vaginal ring (3.3%) and male or female sterilisation (2.8%), can prevent STIs. Married status was associated with current use of contraceptives, and having been formally taught about family planning was associated with the belief that it causes cancer. The unmet contraceptive need in the sample was 24.9%. Conclusion. Levels of awareness and utilisation of family planning services are high among female students at the University of Lesotho. There is a need to introduce family planning teaching based on accurate facts into the school curriculum.


The rapidly increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes implies that environmental factors are involved in the pathogenesis. Enteroviruses are among the suspected environmental triggers of the disease, and the interest in exploring the possibilities to develop vaccines against these viruses has increased. Our objective was to identify enterovirus serotypes that could be involved in the initiation of the disease process by screening neutralizing antibodies against 41 different enterovirus types in a unique longitudinal sample series from a large prospective birth-cohort study. The study participants comprised 183 case children testing persistently positive for at least two diabetespredictive autoantibodies and 366 autoantibodynegative matched control children. Coxsackievirus B1 was associated with an increased risk of b-cell autoimmunity. This risk was strongest when infection occurred a few months before autoantibodies appeared and was attenuated by the presence of maternal antibodies against the virus. Two other coxsackieviruses, B3 and B6, were associated with a reduced risk, with an interaction pattern, suggesting immunological cross-protection against coxsackievirus B1. These results support previous observations suggesting that the group B coxsackieviruses are associated with the risk of type 1 diabetes. The clustering of the risk and protective viruses to this narrow phylogenetic lineage supports the biological plausibility of this phenomenon.


Introduction: Hemodialysis through creation of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is an established surgical procedure for patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Anesthetic methods management for this surgery should deal with different risk factors such as hypertension, ischemic heart disease and diabetes. Intravenous Regional Anesthesia (IVRA) or Bier block anesthesia as an option for AVF creation has reportedly been attributed to some advantages over other techniques in AVF creation. The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Bier block in AVF creation and compare its efficacy with local anesthesia. Methods: The subjects of the study were the pa ents (n=60, aged 20-65 years), who had been admi ed for an AVF creation. The patients were divided into two randomly assigned matched groups: Local Anesthesia (LA) group and Intravenous Regional Anesthesia (IVRA) group. Results: The patients' satisfaction levels, simplicity and feasibility of the procedure in the IVRA group were higher, compared to the LA group (94.1%, 66.7%, and 4.85% vs. 82.8%, 51.7% and 3.5%, respecƟ vely). However, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: The two main advantages of Bier block technique are the simplicity of operation and provision of a bloodless field for surgeon. It provides maximum dilatation in veins through the injection of the anesthetic drug and placing a


The paper draws on recent research on violence against women in Ghana in order to explore women's experiences of it. It examines ways in which women define violence, how violence against women has been documented in the country, its causes, and women's responses to it. It is suggested that there is a complex set of social values and attitudes at work in the society which demeans women and provides cultural supports for aggression against women. Women tend to tolerate engendered violence because they internalise the gender ideology that puts them down and succumb to pressure to conform to social attitudes that reflect the acceptance of gender stereotypes and protect the status of men. There is some resistance from women, which shows that there is a small but growing sense that there is a need for change. It is argued that there is a need for public education, much more research on gender based violence and legislation to empower agencies that work in the area in order to control gender based violence.


Infections by encapsulated bacteria are important causes of infant mortality worldwide. Over the last 20 years protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines have been developed to protect against the major invasive bacterial diseases of childhood, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Neisseria meningitidis. These vaccines are highly immunogenic and have resulted in a huge reduction in the diseases caused by these bacteria in the countries that have introduced them in their immunization schedules. However, it has been reported that infant immunization is associated with a relatively short duration of antibody levels and vaccine effectiveness, despite the demonstrable presence of booster responses to further vaccine dose. In contrast, at older ages, more sustained protection has been described with just a single dose of a conjugate vaccine. Understanding the generation of long-term immunity, by protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines, is essential to reduce infant mortality through the improvement of vaccine formulation and scheduling.


Today, cellular networks rely on fixed collections of cells (tracking areas) for handset localisation. This management parameter is manually configured and maintained and is not regularly adapted to changes in use patterns. We present a decentralised approach to localisation, based on a self-adaptive probabilistic mobility model. Estimates of model parameters are built from observations of mobility patterns collected on-line using a distributed algorithm. Based on these estimates, dynamic local neighbourhoods of cells are formed and maintained by the mobility management entities of the network. These neighbourhoods replace the static tracking areas used in current implementations by using the tracking area list facility of LTE. The model is also used to derive a multi phase paging scheme, where the division of cells into consecutive phases is optimal with respect to a set balance between response times and paging cost. The approach requires no manual tracking area configuration, and performs localisation efficiently in terms of number of location updates, page messages per localisation request and response times.


Rapid land development in recent years have degraded the environment and created a
need for watershed modeling to quantify the impacts. During land development
activities, natural flow paths in the watershed is normally being replaced or
supplemented by paved gutters, storm sewers, or other form of artificial drainage.
During rainfall, water remains above the land surface generating large amount of
runoff within a short time.
This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of using HEC-HMS
hydrologic model, developed in the United States for predicting surface runoff from
tropical watershed. The current and future impacts of land development on runoff
rate were studied. The Upper Langat River Basin with a total area of 385km2 was
chosen for this study. The watershed is located in Selangor.
For this study, various datasets including topographical, hydrometeorological, river
cross-section and land use data were used. The land use map was derived from Landsat TM images. In order to extract land use information from remotely sensed
data, two classification techniques were examined, namely pixel-based and object
oriented classification. The result shows that the object oriented classification
provides better accuracy (91.429%) as compared to pixel-based classification which
has an overall accuracy of 81.667%.
The results from model application and statistical analysis show that HEC-HMS
estimated an average gap of 27% at moderate flow. During heavy rainfall, the
designed model seriously overestimated the runoff with an average gap of 70%. As a
conclusion, the HEC-HMS provides a conservative estimate of runoff output.
It was also observed that the impact of land development on peak flow is directly
proportional. Land development of 24.40km2 in year 1994 caused a peak flow of
74.62m3/s while in 1999, 50.23km2 of land development caused the peak flow of
84.04m3/s. In the proposed MSC land use plan for the year 2020, total area of
148.14km2 will be developed. This development is predicted to cause 128.15m3/s of
peak flow. Therefore, it is important for urban planner to take into consideration the
effect of the urbanization on the rate of runoff before developing a desired area. A
well designed drainage system must be put in place during land development in order
to prevent the flooding.


The magnetic and crystallographic structures of R(Fe/Mn) 6A6 ~R5Nd or Sm and A5Ge or Sn! intermetallics have been investigated using x-ray and neutron diffraction techniques and superconducting quantum interference device magnetic measurements. For both stannides ~A5Sn! and germanides ~A5Ge!, the lattice contracts with increasing iron content. In the case of the stannides, substitution of manganese by iron enhances the saturation magnetization and Curie temperature at low iron concentrations ( x<2) suggesting the presence of an extremely rare occurrence, positive coupling between iron and manganese magnetic moments. In contrast, the magnetic properties of the germanides deteriorate rapidly as manganese is replaced by iron. This difference in the dependence of magnetic properties on the iron content between the germanides and stannides is explained using the Bethe‐Slater relationship between near neighbor exchange interactions and interatomic distances. Based on the observations described in this article, it is concluded that the critical near neighbor interatomic distance above which manganese/iron moments couple positively in these intermetallics is ;2.614 A. © 2002 American Institute of Physics. @DOI: 10.1063/1.1451305#


Experiences gain increasing attention in design research, but theories are inconsistent, and the foundations of different methods are rarely discussed. Design research has sui generis no fixed epistemology, and is open to methodological eclecticism. However, as paradigms successively change from positivistic towards more comprehensive views, discussions on how underlying theoretical assumptions influence approaches are needed. This paper examines and compares axiological, epistemological and methodological aspects of two perspectives: Kansei engineering, and a postmodernist framework. Both frameworks aim to match designers' conceptions of product symbolism etc. to those of the user group, but they evolve from different theoretical starting points. Analyzing the contents of underlying theories and their influence on methods and expected results is an important part of theory development that may also support designers in making methodological choices.


RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRINCIPALS' SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT AND TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR PRINCIPALS' LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS By Javaid Siddiqi, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012 Major Director: Cheryl Magill, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership School of Education The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between principals' sense of achievement and teachers' perceptions of their principals' leadership behaviors. This was determined by examining job satisfaction of principals and leadership style using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the School District's Climate Survey. The population for this study was teachers and principals in a large suburban school district in the Richmond, VA area. Participating schools were selected using a convenience sample based upon those in the school district's annual school climate survey rotation. Of the district schools scheduled for the climate survey, only those that had their principal in place for a minimum of 1 year were chosen to participate. There were nine schools on the cycle for the 2011-2012 school year that met this criteria, yielding 9 principals and approximately 500 teachers. Data were collected from 5 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 2 high schools. The principals were asked to complete the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire Sense of Achievement subscale survey. Teachers in the selected schools had recently participated in the School District's Climate Survey. Data for this study came from the Leadership subscale of the survey. Descriptive statistical analysis revealed that principals generally are satisfied with the sense of achievement they have in their jobs. Data suggest they are most satisfied with having the opportunity to do something worthwhile and less satisfied with seeing the results of their work. Descriptive statistical analysis revealed that teachers generally are satisfied with their principals' leadership behaviors. A Pearson correlation was run to determine the relationship between the mean scores of the principals' sense of achievement and the teachers' perceptions of their principals' leadership behaviors. The data revealed that there was no statistically significant relationship between teachers' perceptions of their principals' leadership behaviors and principals' sense of achievement. While no significant relationship between the two data sets was found, analysis supports the need for principals to be satisfied with their jobs in order to create the open climate necessary for teachers to cultivate a collaborative approach to their craft. Teachers in an open climate are more likely to cooperate and are more committed to their job and each other.


Enter the RobotriX, an extremely photorealistic indoor dataset designed to enable the application of deep learning techniques to a wide variety of robotic vision problems. The RobotriX consists of hyperrealistic indoor scenes which are explored by robot agents which also interact with objects in a visually realistic manner in that simulated world. Photorealistic scenes and robots are rendered by Unreal Engine into a virtual reality headset which captures gaze so that a human operator can move the robot and use controllers for the robotic hands; scene information is dumped on a per-frame basis so that it can be reproduced offline using UnrealCV to generate raw data and ground truth labels. By taking this approach, we were able to generate a dataset of 38 semantic classes across 512 sequences totaling 8M stills recorded at +60 frames per second with full HD resolution. For each frame, RGB-D and 3D information is provided with full annotations in both spaces. Thanks to the high quality and quantity of both raw information and annotations, the RobotriX will serve as a new milestone for investigating 2D and 3D robotic vision tasks with large-scale data-driven techniques.


This paper shows a physically cogent model for electrical noise in resistors that has been obtained from Thermodynamical reasons. This new model derived from the works of Johnson and Nyquist also agrees with the Quantum model for noisy systems handled by Callen and Welton in 1951, thus unifying these two Physical viewpoints. This new model is a Complex or 2-D noise model based on an Admittance that considers both Fluctuation and Dissipation of electrical energy to excel the Real or 1-D model in use that only considers Dissipation. By the two orthogonal currents linked with a common voltage noise by an Admittance function, the new model is shown in frequency domain. Its use in time domain allows to see the pitfall behind a paradox of Statistical Mechanics about systems considered as energy-conserving and deterministic on the microscale that are dissipative and unpredictable on the macroscale and also shows how to use properly the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem.


By 1870 the sugar plantations of the Reconcavo region in Bahia, Brazil, held at least seventy thousand slaves, making it one of the largest and most enduring slave societies in the Americas. In this new translation of Crossroads of Freedom —which won the 2011 Clarence H. Haring Prize for the Most Outstanding Book on Latin American History—Walter Fraga charts these slaves' daily lives and recounts their struggle to make a future for themselves following slavery's abolition in 1888. Through painstaking archival research, he illuminates the hopes, difficulties, opportunities, and setbacks of ex-slaves and plantation owners alike as they adjusted to their postabolition environment. Breaking new ground in Brazilian historiography, Fraga does not see an abrupt shift with slavery's abolition; rather, he describes a period of continuous change in which the strategies, customs, and identities that slaves built under slavery allowed them to navigate their newfound freedom. Fraga's analysis of how Reconcavo's residents came to define freedom and slavery more accurately describes this seminal period in Brazilian history, while clarifying how slavery and freedom are understood in the present.


The world in 21 st century is facing the problem of growing energy consumption while the supply of fossil fuels is being reduced. This resulted in the development of research into the use of renewable energy sources and development of new technologies for energy production. In Polish conditions the development of agricultural biogas plants finds its legitimacy in the document developed by the Ministry titled "Trends in agricultural biogas plants in Poland in 2010-2020". The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the weather conditions and the degree of nitrogen fertilisation on yield of reed canary grass (Phalaris Arundinacea L.) and to determine their susceptibility to anaerobic digestion, and usefulness of the production of biogas. Carried out experiments showed that increasing nitrogen fertilisation (from 40 to 120 kg N/ha) linearly increased canary grass green biomass yield from 32 to 46.3 t/ha. However, the highest biogas yield 126 m 3 /ha was obtained when 80 kg N/ha was applied.


Contemporary learning systems are an integration of learning resources with human interactions. To close the loop in feedback driven learning environments, the utility of learning objectives needs to be measured. To this end, a comprehensive trust evaluation model for decision making is required to utilize feedback ratings along with other key parameters such as previous course result percentage, active participation and reputation of learners. This paper proposes a novel utility theory based trust evaluation model, wherein the utility of a learning objective is computed in terms of trust applicable to big data-sets. The utility is computed by allowing users to weigh the course related attributes according to their preferences. The utility value facilitates learners to select trustworthy learning objectives and enables instructors to improve different aspects of learning objectives. In addition, a satisfaction index is proposed for the assessment of the usefulness of the computed utility value. The performance of the model is evaluated on a big data-set, which is collected from learners enrolled in different courses of a postgraduate degree program for the purposes of decision making. The results indicate that the proposed unique intelligent model is effective for dynamic and user-specified trust evaluations of learning objectives for the purposes of decision making.


This essay examines British women's travel writing on Greece as the configuration of gender, imperialism, and Hellenism. Despite disproving accounts of male travellers, women writers complied with imperialist operations constituting modern Greece as the orient. To encounter and claim the past, they represented the present as alien and degenerate. I am so angry with myself that I will pass by all the other islands with this general reflection, that 'tis impossible to imagine anything more agreeable than this journey would have been between two or three thousand years since, when, after drinking a dish of tea with Sapho, I might have gone, the same evening, to visit the temple of Homer in Chios, and passed this voyage in taking plans of magnificent temples, delineating the miracles of statuaries, and conversing with the most polite and most gay of mankind. Alas! Art is extinct here, the wonders of nature alone remain. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters ********** The first woman traveller to Greece never set foot there; seen from the sea, the shore of Greece fills Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's letter of 31 July 1718 with desire, nostalgia, and loss. Montagu sailed through Ottomanheld Greece on her way to England from Constantinople, where her husband had briefly served as an ambassador. However, she did not visit the mainland, despite her desire to read ancient Greek literature in its "authentic" locations, anticipating the archaeological attitude in the study of ancient literature. After her insightful observations of Turkey and its women, whether subverting or epitomizing orientalist discourse, Montagu was afraid to disturb the ideal, the imaginary landscape of classical antiquity by experiencing contemporary reality. Montagu regretted not landing "on the famed Peloponessus" (147), complaining, "Instead of demi-gods and heroes I was credibly informed 'tis now overrun by robbers, and that I should run a great risk of falling into their hands by undertaking such a jour ney through a desert country" (148). Her ambivalence about the (deferred) Greek journey reflects the ambiguous position of Greece itself; situated at the threshold between East and West, Greece not only questions the travellers' binary opposition between Europe and the Orient, but it is also divided against itself, between its idealized timeless image and its current decline. Montagu's journey into the past by effacing the present represents the paradox of women's travel writing on Greece: in order to encounter and claim the past (the reputed origin of Western civilization), the present is seen as alien, primitive, and degenerate. In the eighteenth century, Greece was still considered a dangerous and remote place to visit, especially for women, who "did not fit the traveler's image as heroic explorer, scientist, or authoritative cultural interpreter" (Bohls 17). Besides Montagu, only Lady Craven visited Greece in 1786, accompanied by Count Choiseul Gouffier, the French ambassador to the Porte and a collector of Greek antiquities. Elizabeth Craven, a playwright and woman of letters, began her voyage (which included Crimea, Istanbul, and Greece) after her legal separation from her husband, the sixth Earl of Craven; the letters forming her travel book (published in 1789) were addressed to a fictitious male friend (Melman 48-49). Craven was indeed an unusual traveller since most eighteenth-century British visitors to Greece were antiquarians and scholars, busy sketching monuments and acquiring antiquities, roles that excluded women. Similarly, in the beginning of the nineteenth century, the "Levant Lunatics," the romantic and adventurous young men longing for ruins and exotic experiences, could not be encumbered by female companions. It is the Victorian and Edwardian women who first travelled alone to Greece (although some accompanied their husbands abroad), writing accounts of their travels, works published and read at the time of publication but never reprinted. …


Due to the extensive development und use of information technology, a lot of companies gained access to vast internal and external information sources. Yet nonetheless, efficiency when dealing with information and trying to find the right content is not on an appropriate level. Managing terms and classifying information has a long tradition in Knowledge Management, namely by the usage of glossaries and taxonomies as two instruments of Terminology Management. But even with today's portals, search engines and autoclassifiers, it does not work without human interaction and high costs. Therefore, we propose a procedure model for Terminology Management to build up and maintain glossaries and taxonomies. To discover the evidence of our approach three action research cases have been analysed. The first focuses on the introduction of a glossary for a Swiss insurance company whereas the second case illustrates the initial activities and results for setting up a corporate taxonomy at an international professional services firm. Based on the learnings we developed a prototype (third case) which combines glossary and taxonomy for document classification and retrieval. We conclude that only a well suited trade-off between centralized and decentralized Terminology Management activities will be sustainable.


Victoria has a highly successful alcohol impaired driver enforcement program. To enhance the program a computer database has been developed which is known as the Licensed Premises Identification System (LPIS), where details of every evidential breath test conducted in the State of Victoria is recorded. The data base was designed to provide information on licensed premises where drink drivers have been drinking but it soon became evident that the system provided other valuable information. The system is able to provide a print out of the names and addresses of all licensed premises from which drink drivers have been apprehended. Police use this information to draft strategies to reduce drink driving from the identified premises. As well as providing information on licensed premises, LPIS has also provided police with information about the profile of a drink driver. This information includes age, sex and occupation as well as other information such as the type of alcohol consumed. Details of drink driving prior convictions are also recorded on the system and valuable information is now available on recidivism. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see IRRD abstract no. E202589.


This paper is on decision making in urban development in Morocco in the field of renewable energies. Morocco has the ambition to produce 42% of the total demand of energy from renewable energies in 2020. With the growing implementation of solar and wind energy the application of renewable energies in Morocco is a fact. This research investigates these two renewable energy sources together with hydro energy and geothermal energy. This is done by literature study, application of AHP with i.a. a survey distributed around experts in renewable energies, and a case study. The most important conclusions of this research were that financial aspects are most important in the decision making, and environmental pressure is not important at all in the decision making in the field of renewable energies. The research ends with weighing of different criteria which could help by choosing a renewable energy form for a specific project in Morocco.


English has become the world's lingua franca and dominant conference language. Consequently, interpreters are increasingly confronted with nonnative speakers whose pronunciation differs from Standard English. Non-native source texts which deviate from familiar acoustic-phonetic patterns make perception more difficult for the interpreter, who, according to Gile's Effort Models, is forced to devote a considerable part of his processing to the Listening and Analysis Effort. For students and novices in the interpreting profession such situations are particularly difficult to cope with. The paper describes some of the major findings of a study carried out by Dominika Kodrnja (2001) as a diploma thesis under the author's supervision to demonstrate the detrimental effect of a strong non-native accent on students' interpreting performance.


Abstract : A data mining based procedure for automated reverse engineering has been developed. The data mining algorithm for reverse engineering uses a genetic program (GP) as a data mining function. A genetic program is an algorithm based on the theory of evolution that automatically evolves populations of computer programs or mathematical expressions, eventually selecting one that is optimal in the sense it maximizes a measure of effectiveness, referred to as a fitness function. The system to be reverse engineered is typically a sensor. Design documents for the sensor are not available and conditions prevent the sensor from being taken apart. The sensor is used to create a database of input signals and output measurements. Rules about the likely design properties of the sensor are collected from experts. The rules are used to create a fitness function for the genetic program. Genetic program based data mining is then conducted. This procedure incorporates not only the experts? rules into the fitness function, but also the information in the database. The information extracted through this process is the internal design specifications of the sensor. Significant mathematical formalism and experimental results related to GP based data mining for reverse engineering will be provided.


Objective: The leaves of Lantana camara L., Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. and Cosmos caudatus Kunth. are rich in flavonoids, saponins and essential oils. This study was carried out to determine the antiplatelet effect of the three plant extracts on ADP-induced platelet aggregation. Methods: The samples consisted of clopidogrel as positive control, aquadest as negative control and test extracts with concentrations of 40, 60, 80 and 100 mg/ml. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) was added for each extract concentration. The absorbance test of the samples was measured at 600 nm, before and after the addition of 20 μL adenosine diphosphate (ADP) 5 mM. After ADP added, then measured again the plasma absorbance was measured of the same wavelength. Antiplatelet aggregation activity was determined by calculating plasma absorbance before and after addition of ADP. Results: The results showed that the inhibitory percentage of platelet aggregation with extract concentrations of 100, 80, 60 and 40 mg/ml were Lantana camara L. leaf extract (91.17%; 73.27%; 72.86% and 37.15%), Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. leaf extract (74.55%; 65.60%; 48.00% dan 39.08%) and Cosmos caudatus Kunth. Leaf extract (59.17%; 52.56%; 14.25% dan 13.82%), respectively. The test extracts inhibited in vitro ADP-induced platelet aggregation with IC50 value were as follows: 47.09 mg/ml (Lantana camara L), 59.02 mg/ml (Eclipta prostrata (L.) L.) and 87.26 mg/ml (Cosmos caudatus Kunth.) Conclusion: The present work demonstrated that the three extracts could inhibit in-vitro ADP-induced platelet aggregation and the best potency was shown by Lantana camara L leaf extract.


The second Rényi entropy has been used as a measure of entanglement in various model systems, including those on a lattice and in the continuum. The present work focuses on extending the existing ideas to measurement of entanglement in physically relevant systems, such as molecular clusters. We show that using the simple estimator with the regular Path Integral Ground State (PIGS) distribution is not effective, but a superior estimator exists so long as one has access to other configuration sectors. To this end, we implement the ability to explore different sectors in the Molecular Modelling Toolkit (MMTK) and use it to obtain the entanglement entropy for a test system of coupled harmonic oscillators. The Semiclassical Initial Value Representation (SC-IVR) method for real-time dynamics using the Herman–Kluk propagator is known to be an effective semiclassical method. In the present work, we combine this approximate real-time propagator with exact and approximate ground state wavefunctions in order to find ground state survival amplitudes. The necessary integrals are first performed numerically on a grid (which is feasible for only low-dimensional systems) and then stochastically using MMTK (which has applicability to high-dimensional systems). The stochastic approach is used to compare two estimators, and it is again demonstrated that better results are obtained in a specialized configuration sector.


For more than two decades, political scientists have created statistical models aimed at generating out-of-sample predictions of presidential elections. In 2004 and 2008, PS: Political Science and Politics published symposia of the various forecasting models prior to Election Day. This exercise serves to validate models based on accuracy by garnering additional support for those that most accurately foretell the ultimate election outcome. Implicitly, these symposia assert that accurate models best capture the essential contexts and determinants of elections. In part, therefore, this exercise aims to develop the "best" model of the underlying data generating process. Scholars comparatively evaluate their models by setting their predictions against electoral results while also giving some attention to the models' inherent plausibility, parsimony, and beauty.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Paraclinoid aneurysms are an uncommon cause of aneurysmal SAH, and their treatment is challenging. To assess the effectiveness and safety of endovascular treatment of ruptured paraclinoid aneurysms, we performed a retrospective analysis of 33 patients. RESULTS: Seventeen (52%) aneurysms were classified as clinoid segment aneurysms, and 16 (48%), as ophthalmic segment aneurysms. Twenty-six (79%) aneurysms were small, 6 (18%) were large, 1 was (3%) giant, and 39% were wide-neck. Coiling was done with balloon assistance in 36% of cases and stent-assistance in 6%. Technical complications occurred in 1 patient, contributing to death. Early clinical complications causing permanent disability occurred in 3% of cases. One patient (3%) had fatal rebleeding 18 days after treatment. Overall, procedure-related morbidity and mortality were, respec- tively, 3% and 6%. Complete occlusion of the aneurysm was achieved in 36% of patients after initial treatment and in 65% during follow-up (average, 29.3 months). Seven patients had recurrences requiring retreatment (30%). Clinical outcome (average, 32.9 months) was good in 75% of patients and poor in 25%. No delayed complications related to treatment and/or the aneurysm occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Ruptured paraclinoid aneurysms are challenging lesions from an endovascular and surgical point of view. Despite the high rate of recurrences, good clinical results and protection against rebleeding can be achieved with current endovascular techniques.


This paper critically reviews seminal literature on 'traditional' and non-market partnering exchanges, in order to identify core congruent issues, drivers and agents of change. It draws out a number of key themes to better understand why the construction industry has remained relatively unchanged; even though successive reports have tried to rectify the industry's challenges. Acknowledging that there is no one clear definition, strategy or template for the effective implementation of partnering, findings from extant literature highlight eight dominant drivers deemed integral to augmenting project performance and profitability. So, whilst the construction industry invariably conducts its business with a smaller ratio of strategic partnerships than commonly believed, and accepting buyer dominance has predominantly remained, it is advocated that there is an exigent need to disentangle the project partnering initiative through some form of deterministic model. The case for this is presented through a relationship schema that maps the fabric, reliance and drivers for partnering success.


The reliability of program analysis tools is clearly important if such tools are to play a serious role in improving the quality and integrity of software systems, and the confidence which users place in such systems. Yet our experience is that, currently, little attention is paid to analysing the correctness of program analysers themselves, beyond regression testing. In this position paper we present our vision that, by 2025, the use of more rigorous analyses to check the reliability of program analysers will be commonplace. Inspired by recent advances in compiler testing, we set out initial steps towards this vision, building upon techniques such as cross-checking, program transformation and program generation.


ABSTRACT

PM10 samples were collected during intensive fog days in Islamabad, Pakistan, to investigate the impact of particulate matter on fog formation. The PM10 concentrations were monitored at the Institute of Space Technology site using a high-volume air sampler and its elemental composition was studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Sampling was done for a duration of 24 hours on selected days, including all foggy days in a period from January 2016 to February 2016. The concentration of PM10 varied from 123 µg m–3 to 202 µg m–3 with an overall mean concentration of 177 µg m–3. On most occasions, PM10 levels were considerably high as compared to permissible limits of both Pak-NEQS and WHO guidelines. It has been observed that the air quality during fog days was much worse, with elevated levels of particulate matter observed during foggy days. The SEM- EDS revealed the presence of different elements including some metals Si, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cr, Pb, Al etc. The morphological studies suggest that most of the particles are crystalline in shape, suggesting their main source as soil. Some samples also showed round spherical shape which refers their anthropogenic source. The sun photometer observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and satellite observations from Aqua's Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) showed significant correlation. Moreover, elevated level of AOD were found during heavy fog days. The validated high satellite AOD were associated with high PM10 concentration during heavy fog days.


This special issue, Access and Equity in Graduate Writing Support, comes at what my co-editor Michele Eodice and I feel is a time of both significant challenge and tremendous opportunity for writing centers and the discipline of writing studies more broadly. On one hand, changing student demographics in graduate programs across the U.S. present a challenge to traditional conceptions of the need for writing support at the graduate level and a challenge to existing ways of doing graduate education. Enrollments of international and multilingual students have been on the rise for a number of years, and scholars have used these growing enrollments as exigence for re-examining the important role that writing support plays in graduate professionalization (see for instance Caplan and Cox; Curry; Mallett, Haan, and Habib; Phillips; Simpson). Equally important, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) recently reported that in fall 2015, underrepresented minority (URM) students constituted almost 25% of all enrollments by first time graduate students (Kent). Although students from URM groups are still drastically outnumbered by majority/white students among graduate enrollments overall, these changes suggest that universities are making muchneeded efforts to recruit a more diverse graduate student cohort.


Grouping students in e-learning using alternative methodologies offers complementary results in education. Today's trend in education is to integrate computer-based tasks with practical activities. Students are often encouraged to work in groups to solve complex tasks and develop collaboration skills. But classical grouping strategies can't be used in e-learning environments where there's little or no physical interaction between parties. We introduce a computer-based grouping method that takes into account the alternative student typologies and the neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) profile. Typologies are determined, according to the Enneagram methodology, with the RHETI test and refined with a MBTI test. The NLP profile is evaluated by an eyetracking system, based on eye movement patterns. A correlation between enneagram and the MBTI typology is performed to refine the grouping process. Case studies show that groups created using this method show an increased communication among the members and better practical results. This is due to the members' compatibility, which facilitates better collaboration.


Although several studies have highlighted the importance of attention in reducing the number of injuries in the construction industry, few have attempted to empirically measure the attention of construction workers. One technique that can be used to measure worker attention is eye tracking, which is widely accepted as the most direct and continuous measure of attention because where one looks is highly correlated with where one is focusing his or her attention. Thus, with the fundamental objective of measuring the impacts of safety knowledge (specifically, training, work experience, and injury exposure) on construction workers' attentional allocation, this study demonstrates the application of eye tracking to the realm of construction safety practices. To achieve this objective, a laboratory experiment was designed in which participants identified safety hazards presented in 35 construction site images ordered randomly, each of which showedmultiple hazards varying in safety risk. During the experiment, the eye movements of 27 construction workers were recorded using a head-mounted EyeLink II system. The impact of worker safety knowledge in terms of training, work experience, and injury exposure (independent variables) on eyetracking metrics (dependent variables) was then assessed by implementing numerous permutation simulations. The results show that tacit safety knowledge acquired from work experience and injury exposure can significantly improve construction workers' hazard detection and visual search strategies. The results also demonstrate that (1) there is minimal difference, with or without the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10-h certificate, in workers' search strategies and attentional patterns while exposed to or seeing hazardous situations; (2) relative to less experienced workers (<5 years), more experienced workers (>10 years) need less processing time and deploy more frequent short fixations on hazardous areas to maintain situational awareness of the environment; and (3) injury exposure significantly impacts a worker's visual search strategy and attentional allocation. In sum, practical safety knowledge and judgment on a jobsite requires the interaction of both tacit and explicit knowledge gained through work experience, injury exposure, and interactive safety training. This study significantly contributes to the literature by demonstrating the potential application of eye-tracking technology in studying the attentional allocation of construction workers. Regarding practice, the results of the study show that eye tracking can be used to improve worker training and preparedness, which will yield safer working conditions, detect at-risk workers, and improve the effectiveness of safety-training programs.DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE) ME.1943-5479.0000526.© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.


Standard catalyst characterisation techniques such as gas adsorption porosimetry and mercury porosimetry only account for some of the physical heterogeneity of the catalyst surface. They completely ignore the chemical heterogeneity present and in most cases consider pores present in the medium to be independent of each other. Thus, most results of characterisation (pore space descriptors such as BET surface area, BJH pore size distribution, mercury porosimetry surface area, etc.) are not accurate. This has been a major issue that remains to be resolved during the characterisation of fresh and coked catalysts. In this thesis, the use of a multi-component adsorption system is recommended as a step-change solution to this limitation. Two approaches are adopted. Firstly, integrated nitrogen-waternitrogen gas adsorption experiments are performed on fresh and coked catalysts. This established the significance of pore coupling by showing the presence of advanced adsorption. The method also helped to determine the location of coke deposits within catalysts and indicated that water vapour adsorption was a good probe to understand the sites responsible for coking. Secondly, coadsorption of immiscible liquids – cyclohexane and water – was performed on fresh and coked catalysts following which the displacement of cyclohexane by water was studied using NMR relaxometry and diffusometry. This novel approach takes the wettability of the surface into consideration, unlike the former methods. It is therefore a method that accounts for the chemical heterogeneity of the surface. It also helped determine the location of coke within catalysts. The different approaches are presented in the context of combustion of heavy oil in bitumen reservoirs, and the use of supercritical conditions that help to dissolve coke precursors in the isomerisation of 1-hexene. Thus, the solutions provided in this thesis are directions in which catalyst characterisation, especially distinguishing fresh and coked catalysts, and other porous materials, must be carried out.


Cortical Thickness and Voxel-Based Morphometry of Classic Motor Regions of Interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder Tyler Cole Duffield Department of Psychology, BYU Doctor of Philosophy Prior research has suggested that any cortical volume (CV) abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) need to be further explored by examination of the two determinants of CV, that being cortical thickness (CT) and pial surface area (PSA; Murphy, Beecham, Craig, & Ecker, 2011). The current study suggests that the two determinants of CV should be explored even in the presence of null CV findings, if structure-function analyses are significant (i.e., bilateral precentral gyrus and neuropsychological motor test) as demonstrated in the current sample (see Duffield et al., 2013). The only significant anatomic finding was reduced CT in the left frontal motor regions (primarily left precentral gyrus), which also corresponded to the only significant relationship between a motor variable (i.e., grooved pegboard test) and motor regionof-interest (ROI) where ASD had a stronger relationship than typically developing controls (TDC; ASD > TDC). Left hemisphere biased CT group differences has been shown to have the highest classification accuracy (i.e., designation of ASD versus TDC) of morphological parameters (Ecker et al., 2010), yet PSA has been shown to have far greater modulation of CV abnormalities. This is particularly true for subthreshold PSA (Ecker et al., 2013). These prior findings are not only consistent with the current motor ROI findings, but also provide an explanatory framework for the functional neuroanatomy of a generally worse left handed performance (i.e., non-dominant hand) for ASD compared to controls in a generally right handed dominant sample (no significant group differences on handedness). The only significant motor ROI finding was in the left hemisphere (i.e., ipsilateral to worse left handed performance), but subthreshold PSA findings in the right precentral were found and likely provide explanatory power of motor performances in the aggregate, despite a lack of significant statistical differences in a specific motor ROI individually.


Event data is generated in many domains, like business process management, industry or healthcare. These datasets are often unstructured, exhibit variant behaviour, and may contain errors. Before applying automated analysis methods, such as process mining algorithms, the analyst needs to understand the dependency between events in order to decide which analysis method might fit the recorded events. We define a categorization scheme of event dependencies and describe a preliminary approach for exploring event data, combining visual exploration with pattern mining. Events of interest can be selected, grouped, and visually explored, using either a sequential or a temporal scale. We present two use cases with shopping event data and report expert feedback on our approach.


Video surveillance of large areas has become a necessary safety procedure. With an increase of these areas and an accompanying increasing number of cameras, manual configuration becomes infeasible. This paper describes a way to automate this task by distributing it among the smart camera nodes. The main objective is an overlap-free monitoring of the observation area, considering the distinct priority of an area element. Due to a time-dependable priority the observation quality will increase in contrast to static priorities. The cameras only use local knowledge and single-hop communication. Each camera optimizes its local field-of-view according to a specified quality function. It is shown that the developed algorithm scales well to large smart-camera systems.


We are interested in the sensor networks for scientific applications to cover and measure statistics on the sea surface. Due to flows and waves, the sensor nodes may gradually lose their positions; leaving the points of interest uncovered. Manual readjustment is costly and cannot be performed in time. We argue that a network of mobile sensor nodes which can perform self-adjustment is the best candidate to maintain the coverage of the surface area. In our application, we face a unique double mobility coverage problem. That is, there is an uncontrollable mobility, U-Mobility, by the flows which breaks the coverage of the sensor network. Moreover, there is also a controllable mobility, C-Mobility, by the mobile nodes which we can utilize to reinstall the coverage. Our objective is to build an energy efficient scheme for the sensor network coverage issue with this double mobility behavior. A key observation of our scheme is that the motion of the flow is not only a curse but should also be considered as a fortune. The sensor nodes can be pushed to some locations by the U-Mobility that potentially help to improve the overall coverage. With that taken into consideration, more efficient movement decision can be made. To this end, we present a dominating set maintenance scheme to maximally exploit the U-Mobility and balance the energy consumption among all the sensor nodes. We prove that the coverage is guaranteed in our scheme. We further propose a fully distributed protocol that addresses a set of practical issues. Through extensive simulation, we demonstrate that the network lifetime can be significantly extended, compared to a straightforward back-to-original reposition scheme.


Invasive cardiac angiography (catheterization) is still the standard in clinical practice for diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD) but it involves a high amount of risk and cost. New generations of CT scanners can acquire high-quality images of coronary arteries which allow for an accurate identification and delineation of stenoses. Recently, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation has been applied to coronary blood flow using geometric lumen models extracted from CT angiography (CTA). The computed pressure drop at stenoses proved to be indicative for ischemia-causing lesions, leading to non-invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) derived from CTA. Since the diagnostic value of non-invasive procedures for diagnosing CAD relies on an accurate extraction of the lumen, a precise segmentation of the coronary arteries is crucial. As manual segmentation is tedious, time-consuming and subjective, automatic procedures are desirable. We present a novel fully-automatic method to accurately segment the lumen of coronary arteries in the presence of calcified and non-calcified plaque. Our segmentation framework is based on three main steps: boundary detection, calcium exclusion and surface optimization. A learning-based boundary detector enables a robust lumen contour detection via dense ray-casting. The exclusion of calcified plaque is assured through a novel calcium exclusion technique which allows us to accurately capture stenoses of diseased arteries. The boundary detection results are incorporated into a closed set formulation whose minimization yields an optimized lumen surface. On standardized tests with clinical data, a segmentation accuracy is achieved which is comparable to clinical experts and superior to current automatic methods.


Historically, education has played a central role in the lives of Blacks. Although Blacks continue their penchant for education, Black males have not fared as well in the educational pipeline. Data for this study emerged from a qualitative investigation of factors that promote success for academically underprepared Black males at a historically Black college and university (HBCU). Although all of the participants persisted to graduation, the participants discussed challenges that threatened to impede their academic success. This article discusses those challenges and outlines recommendations for the ways in which colleges and universities can work more effectively toward preventing attrition for Black males in higher education, particularly at HBCUs.


Abstract Metamorphic testing is an approach to both test case generation and test result verification. A central element is a set of metamorphic relations, which are necessary properties of the target function or algorithm in relation to multiple inputs and their expected outputs. Since its first publication, we have witnessed a rapidly increasing body of work examining metamorphic testing from various perspectives, including metamorphic relation identification, test case generation, integration with other software engineering techniques, and the validation and evaluation of software systems. In this article, we review the current research of metamorphic testing and discuss the challenges yet to be addressed. We also present visions for further improvement of metamorphic testing and highlight opportunities for new research. Metamorphic testing is an approach to both test case generation and test result verification. A central element is a set of metamorphic relations, which are necessary properties of the target function or algorithm in relation to multiple inputs and their expected outputs. Since its first publication, we have witnessed a rapidly increasing body of work examining metamorphic testing from various perspectives, including metamorphic relation identification, test case generation, integration with other software engineering techniques, and the validation and evaluation of software systems. In this paper, we review the current research of metamorphic testing and discuss the challenges yet to be addressed. We also present visions for further improvement of metamorphic testing and highlight opportunities for new research.


The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, scheduled for launch in 2020, will provide a step-change improvement in the measurement of terrestrial surface water storage and dynamics. In particular, it will provide the first, routine two-dimensional measurements of wa5 ter surface elevations. In this paper, we aimed to (i) characterize and illustrate in two-dimensions the errors which may be found in SWOT swath measurements of terrestrial surface water, (ii) simulate the spatio-temporal sampling scheme of SWOT for the Amazon, and (iii) assess the impact of each 10 of these on estimates of water surface slope and river discharge which may be obtained from SWOT imagery. We based our analysis on a "virtual mission" for a 300 :::: ~260 : km reach of the central Amazon river ::::: (Solimõ :: es) ::::: River, using a hydraulic model to provide water surface elevations accord15 ing to SWOT spatio-temporal sampling to which errors were added based on a two-dimension height error spectrum derived from the SWOT design requirements. We thereby obtained water surface elevation measurements for the Amazon mainstem as may be observed by SWOT. Using these 20 measurements, we derived estimates of river slope and discharge and compared them to those obtained directly from the hydraulic model. We found that cross-channel and alongreach averaging of SWOT measurements using reach lengths of greater than 4 : km for the Solimões and 7.5 : km for Purus 25 reduced the effect of systematic height errors, enabling discharge to be reproduced accurately from the water height, assuming known bathymetry and friction. Using cross-section averaging and 20 : km reach lengths, results show NashSutcliffe model efficiency values of 0.99 for the Solimões 30 and 0.88 for the Purus, with 2.6% and 19.1% average overall error in discharge, respectively. ::: We ::::: extend ::: the :::::: results :: to :::: other :::: rivers :::::::::: worldwide :::: and ::::: infer :::: that ::::::::::::: SWOT-derived :::::::: discharge ::::::: estimates :::: may ::: be :::: more ::::::: accurate ::: for ::::: rivers :::: with ::::: larger :::::: channel ::::: widths :::::::::: (permitting : a :::::: greater ::::: level :: of ::::::::::: cross-section :::::::: averaging 35 ::: and ::: the ::: use :: of :::::: shorter ::::: reach ::::::: lengths) ::: and ::::: higher ::::: water :::::: surface ::::: slopes :::::::: (reducing ::: the ::::::::::: proportional :::::: impact :: of ::::: slope :::::: errors :: on :::::::: discharge :::::::::: calculation). :


Lysosomotropic amines, such as ammonium chloride, are known to protect cells from the cytotoxic effects of diphtheria toxin. These drugs are believed to inhibit the transport of the toxin from a receptor at the cell exterior into the cytoplasm where a fragment of the toxin arrests protein synthesis. We studied the effects of lysosomotropic agents on the cytotoxic process to better understand how the toxin enters the cytoplasm. The cytotoxic effects of diphtheria toxin were not inhibited by antitoxin when cells were preincubated at 37 degrees C with toxin and ammonium chloride, exposed to antitoxin at 4 degrees C, washed to relieve the ammonium chloride inhibition, and finally warmed to 37 degrees C. The antigenic determinants of the toxin were, therefore, either altered or sheltered. It is likely that the combination of ammonium chloride and a low temperature trapped the toxin in an intracellular vesicle from which the toxin could proceed to the cytoplasm. Because lysosomotropic amines raise the pH within acidic intracellular vesicles, such as lysosomes, they could trap the toxin within such a vesicle if an acidic environment were necessary for the toxin to penetrate into the cytoplasm. We simulated acidic conditions which the toxin might encounter by exposing cells with toxin bound to their surface to acidic medium. We then measured the effects of lysosomotropic amines on the activity of the toxin to see if the acidic environment substituted for the function normally inhibited by the drugs. The drugs no longer protected the cells. This suggests that exposing the toxin to an acidic environment, such as that found within lysosomes, is an important step in the penetration of diphtheria toxin into the cytoplasm.


The purpose of this research is the identification of moral and psychological features of the motivational sphere of juvenile offenders (delinquents) and identification of risks in the process of socialization of juveniles that have a determining connection with the illegal (deviant) behavior of the child. The article presents the results of empirical studies of the specifics of the motivational sphere of juvenile offenders; the assessment of the risks caused by the weakening of the socializing role of family institutions, education, and upbringing is submitted. In addition, the statistical analysis of the moral and psychological characteristics of juveniles serving a sentence associated with imprisonment compared to a control group of peers who are not in conflict with the law is given.


Early and accurate identification of cognitive and functional decline in bilingual Latino/a older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias continues to be a substantial public health concern. This paper highlights the heterogeneity in the clinical expression of Alzheimer's disease among bilingual Latino/as, the clinical decisions leading to a culturally and linguistically congruent neuropsychological assessment, and the interdisciplinary, multi-setting partnerships needed to ensure a healthy longevity post-diagnosis for the patient, the caregiver, and the family. Psychologists play an important role in advocating for the best standard of care, as the patients and families endure the long journey of care with dignity and respect.


In the recent past, the proliferation of digitally available content heralded the beginning of serious problems for the business models of publishers. The ease with which content can be accessed, copied and distributed disrupts the control of those whose role has been to manage and profit from the intellectual property rights of content producers. In effect, the number of "publishers" increased many fold as the Web and other Internet-based technologies became the dominant mode of content distribution. In education, and in other fields, matters of intellectual property, copyright and quality control came to the fore. More recently, with the advent of web-based software that makes publishing online available to anyone with access to the Internet the number of "publishers" and modes of publication have increased massively. The shift from a Web which was, for many a read only environment to a read/write Web poses not only ongoing problems for the traditional distributors of content but also now, for the traditional producers of content and knowledge. In this respect, the role of universities as designers and producers of learning materials for credentialed learning is also under challenge. Just as publishers explore alternative business models to adapt to the new digital environment, now universities have begun to explore new ways of working with so-called Web2 software to support teaching and learning online. In particular, some Web2 software affords new opportunities for and different modes of collaboration, which in the view of some points to student participation in knowledge production. While these developments represent important and significant shifts for universities, this paper draws attention to the lack of empirical data and situated contextual knowledge concerning intellectual property rights for knowledge constructed in a collaborative context. In addition, we explore issues in relation to the maintenance of academic integrity and quality where knowledge building takes place in a collaborative, online environment.


Objective:To determine how top loads with different doses of carbon monoxide (CO)-saturated saline solutions (CO-saline) affect microvascular and systemic hemodynamics and to delineate the corresponding biochemical mechanisms. Design:Prospective study. Setting:University research laboratory. Subjects:Male Golden Syrian hamsters. Interventions:Hamsters implemented with a dorsal window chamber were given different volumes (characterized as percent of blood volume, BV) by intravenous injection of CO-saturated saline. Measurements and Main Results:Hamsters were observed until 90 mins after infusion of CO-saline solution. In the 20% BV CO-saline infusion group, observation was extended until 180 mins. Systemic variables measured included mean arterial pressure, heart rate, systemic arterial blood gases, and cardiac output and index. Microvascular hemodynamic measurements included vessel diameter, red blood cell velocity, and functional capillary density. Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) content in the chamber tissue was measured by enzyme immunoassay. 10% BV of CO-saline increased flow maximally in the microcirculation at 30 mins after infusion (207% in arterioles and 238% in venules, p < .05 vs. baseline). Functional capillary density was significantly increased in both 10% and 15% groups (p < .05 vs. baseline), and cardiac index increased 130% (p < .05 vs. baseline) at 10 mins after 10% CO-saline infusion. There were no changes of microhemodynamic variables and functional capillary density with 2.5%, 5%, and 20% CO-saline infusion during the observation period. Microvascular hemodynamic changes by 10% CO-saline infusion were inhibited completely by L-NAME pretreatment and partially by 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazole[4,3-a]quinoxqalin-1-one pretreatment. cGMP content in skin fold tissues was related to changes of vessel diameter. Conclusions:Intravenous injection of CO-saturated saline caused vasodilation and improved microvascular hemodynamics in the hamster window chamber model in a dose-dependent manner. These changes were related to increased cardiac output and local cGMP content. These results support the possible use of CO-saturated solutions as a vasodilator in critical conditions.


Higher education in developing countries face a particular challenge; half of the world's higher education students are found in developing countries, placing great strain on an already under funded system. Whilst the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) health strategy urges countries to embark on massive capacity building, the truth is that the higher education sector in Africa does not have the resources to do so. The NEPAD higher education document (2001) proposes the idea of multi-country partnerships to address the sector's problem and at the same time, address the capacity building needs for improved health care delivery. This paper reports on pertinent aspects of collaboration between universities on the African continent for the purpose of capacity building in nursing and midwifery. The paper outlines the rationale and context of the Collaboration in Higher Education for Nursing and Midwifery in Africa (CHENMA) project. The discussion focuses on the conditions in Africa that hamper the development of nursing and midwifery. It describes the efforts of the Tau Lambda at-Large Chapter to improve nursing and midwifery, initially in East Africa and later in Francophone Africa through the CHENMA project. The paper articulates the values and underpinning principles, outcomes of and lessons learnt from the project.


REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY
To date, few reports exist comparing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) for imaging of the equine distal limb, yet clinicians are required to decide which modality to use regularly.

OBJECTIVES
To report and compare anatomic visualisation scores obtained for CT, contrast enhanced CT (CECT) and standing low-field MRI (LFMRI) in the equine foot.

HYPOTHESIS
Anatomic visualisation score discrepancies would exist between CT, CECT and LFMRI.

METHODS
Images of 22 lame horses (31 limbs) undergoing both CT and LFMRI of the foot were reviewed. When available, CECT images were reviewed. The deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) was categorised into proximal to distal levels (A-D), structures were assigned visualisation scores (Grades 0-3) and technique comparisons were made using the paired marginal homogeneity test.

RESULTS
Computed tomography and LFMRI had similar visibility scores for the navicular bone, middle phalanx, DDFT-B, collateral ligaments of the distal interphalangeal joint and collateral sesamoidean ligament of the navicular bone. The proximal and distal phalanx had lower visibility scores with LFMRI. The distal DDFT (C-D), distal sesamoidean impar ligament and synovial structures had higher scores with LFMRI. Contrast enhanced CT lowered DDFT and collateral sesamoidean ligament scores and raised distal interphalangeal synovium CT visualisation scores.

CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE
Visualisation scores differ depending on imaging technique and anatomic structure of interest. This information increases our understanding of the limitations of CT, CECT and LFMRI to visualise anatomy in clinical cases.


This paper provides a comprehensive review of the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques applied to photovoltaic (PV) power system available until January, 2012. A good number of publications report on different MPPT techniques for a PV system together with implementation. But, confusion lies while selecting a MPPT as every technique has its own merits and demerits. Hence, a proper review of these techniques is essential. Unfortunately, very few attempts have been made in this regard, excepting two latest reviews on MPPT [Salas, 2006], [Esram and Chapman, 2007]. Since, MPPT is an essential part of a PV system, extensive research has been revealed in recent years in this field and many new techniques have been reported to the list since then. In this paper, a detailed description and then classification of the MPPT techniques have made based on features, such as number of control variables involved, types of control strategies employed, types of circuitry used suitably for PV system and practical/commercial applications. This paper is intended to serve as a convenient reference for future MPPT users in PV systems.


This article synthesises the role of evaluation at the municipal, school, classroom and parental levels of governance, and discusses the results of the articles appearing in this special issue. The discussion concerns the role of evaluation in school governance, the value of evaluation for local school development, the constitutive effects of evaluation, what explains the present results, how knowledge produced by evaluation can be used, and methodological issues. The results indicate that evaluation systems legitimise and support governance by objectives and results, parental school choice, and accountability for fairness and performance. Evaluation systems emphasise measurable aspects of curricula and foster a performance-oriented school culture. The most important evaluations for improving teaching and schools are teachers' own evaluations. The article suggests two explanations for the actual roles of evaluation in local school governance. First, both the governance structure and applied governance model delimit and partly shape the role of evaluation at local governance levels. Second, how local school actors use their discretion and interpret their role in the education system, including how they respond to accountability pressure, explains how their roles are realised and the fact that actors at the same level of governance can develop partly different roles.


This paper explores a natural connection between fiscal multipliers and foreign holdings of public debt. Although fiscal expansions can raise domestic economic activity through various channels, they can also have crowding-out effects if the resources used to acquire public debt reduce domestic consumption and investment. These crowding-out effects are likely to be weaker when governments have access to foreign markets to place their debt, increasing the size of multipliers. We test this hypothesis on (i) post-war US data and (ii) data for a panel of 17 advanced economies from the 1980's to the present. To do so, we assemble a novel database of public debt holdings by domestic and foreign creditors for a large set of advanced economies. We combine this data with standard measures of fiscal policy shocks and show that, indeed, the size of fiscal multipliers is increasing in the share of public debt held by foreigners. In particular, the fiscal multiplier is smaller than one when the foreign share is low, such as in the U.S. in the 1950's and 1960's and Japan today, and larger than one when the foreign share is high, such as in the U.S. and Ireland today.


Modern cosmology predicts that a galaxy overdensity (e.g., protocluster) will be associated with a large intergalactic medium gas reservoir, which can be traced by Lyα forest absorption. We have undertaken a systematic study of the relation between Coherently Strong intergalactic Lyα Absorption systems (CoSLAs), which have the highest optical depth (τ) in the τ distribution, and mass overdensities on the scales of ∼10–20 h−1 comoving Mpc. On such large scales, our cosmological simulations show a strong correlation between the effective optical depth (τeff) of the CoSLAs and the three-dimensional mass overdensity. In spectra with moderate signal-to-noise ratio, however, the profiles of CoSLAs can be confused with individual high column density absorbers. For z > 2.6, where the corresponding Lyβ is redshifted to the optical, we have developed a selection technique to distinguish between these two alternatives. We have applied this technique to ∼6000 sight lines provided by Sloan Digital Sky Survey III quasar survey at z = 2.6–3.3 with a continuum-to-noise ratio greater than 8, and we present a sample of five CoSLA candidates with τeff on 15 h−1 Mpc greater than 4.5× the mean optical depth. At lower redshifts of z < 2.6, where the background quasar density is higher, the overdensity can be traced by intergalactic absorption groups using multiple sight lines with small angular separations. Our overdensity searches fully use the current and next generation of Lyα forest surveys, which cover a survey volume of >1 (h−1 Gpc)3. Systems traced by CoSLAs will yield a uniform sample of the most massive overdensities at z > 2 to provide stringent constraints to models of structure formation.


The present paper aims at analysing the human-induced transformations that took place in the Drobeta-Turnu Severin - Bechet sector of the Danube Floodplain during the last two centuries. The research started from the need to obtain a real and comprehensive database concerning the extension, the nature and the characteristics of the topographic-hydrographical, edaphic and biologic structures appeared or modified under human influence, their relation with the changes occurred at the level of the land use and their present functionality. Special attention was paid to the latter transformations occurred after 1989. The primary types of topographical and hydrographical changes resulted from the geomorphic human activity in the Danube Floodplain are analysed in relation with the land use within this unit. The analysis of the environmental transformations in the floodplain sector started from cartographic and statistical materials that are relevant for the 19 th -21 st centuries. For the post-communist period, the valorisation of the Corine Land Cover database allowed for a more detailed analysis of the land use dynamics. The data thus obtained was checked and updated with field observations and measurements, which are mandatory given the fact that the cartographic database shows deficiencies and it is partially outdated.


Objective The National Children's Study is a long-term epidemiologic study of 100,000 children from 105 locations across the United States. It will require information on a large number of environmental variables to address its core hypotheses. The resources available to collect actual home and personal exposure samples are limited, with most of the home sampling completed on periodic visits and the personal sampling generally limited to biomonitoring. To fill major data gaps, extant data will be required for each study location. The Queens Vanguard Center has examined the extent of those needs and the types of data that are generally and possibly locally available. Data In this review we identify three levels of data—national, state and county—and local data and information sets (levels 1–3, respectively), each with different degrees of availability and completeness, that can be used as a starting point for the extant data collection in each study location over time. We present an example on the use of this tiered approach, to tailor the data needs for Queens County and to provide general guidance for application to other NCS locations. Conclusions Preexisting and continually evolving databases are available for use in the NCS to characterize exposure. The three levels of data we identified will be used to test a method for developing exposure indices for segments and homes during the pilot phase of NCS, as outlined in this article.


We have built an embodied puppet interface to explore the control and cognitive relations players establish with their virtual avatars. We are particularly interested in how these relations could be extended and what lasting effects occur. Here we report the results of a study that revealed that altering the mapping between the embodied puppet and virtual avatar led to changes in the way people sketch in the real world. Our results show that motor adaptations during the game carry over to real world activity. This effect could be extended to develop rehabilitation applications.


The new mineral shuvalovite, ideally K2(Ca2Na)(SO4)3F, was found in sublimates of the Arsenatnaya fumarole at the Second scoria cone of the Northern Breakthrough of the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption, Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka, Russia. It is closely associated with calciolangbeinite, tenorite, hematite, orthoclase, fluorophlogopite and fluorite. Shuvalovite occurs as coarse lamellar to tabular (flattened on [100]), rectangular, octagonal or irregular crystals up to 0.05 × 0.7 × 0.9 mm combined in open-work groups or crusts up to 1 × 1 cm on basalt scoria. Shuvalovite is transparent, colourless, and has a vitreous lustre. The mineral is brittle, with Mohs' hardness ca. 3. Cleavage was not observed, the fracture is uneven. D calc = 2.64 g cm−3. Shuvalovite is optically biaxial (–), α = 1.493(1), β = 1.498(1), γ = 1.498(1) and 2 V meas ≤ 20°. The IR spectrum is reported. The chemical composition (average of 22 analyses) is: Na2O 7.37, K2O 19.33, CaO 21.39, SO3 49.49, F 3.78, O =F −1.59, total 99.77 wt%. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of 13 (O + F) apfu is: Na1.16K2.01Ca1.86S3.02O12.03F0.97. Shuvalovite is orthorhombic, Pnma , a = 13.2383(4), b = 10.3023(3), c = 8.9909(4) A, V = 1226.22(7) A3 and Z = 4. The strongest reflections of the powder X-ray diffraction pattern [ d ,A( I )( hkl )] are: 4.245(45)(102, 121), 3.963(62)(301), 3.281(100)(122), 3.210(30)(031), 3.144(84)(302, 321), 3.112(67)(131, 401), 3.016(78)(222) and 2.785(52)(420). The crystal structure, solved from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data ( R = 0.067), contains two crystallographically inequivalent isolated SO4 tetrahedra. For the S(2) site, a disordered arrangement of coordinating O atoms is found that defines two possible orientations of the S(2)O4 tetrahedron. The Ca(1) cations occupy CaO7F polyhedra whereas Ca(2) cations occupy CaO5F or CaO6F polyhedra, depending on the presence or absence of the half-occupied O(6) site split around the mirror plane. The K(1) and K(2) cations are nine-fold coordinated. All Ca and K sites contain admixed Na, the majority of which is located in the Ca(2) site. The comparative crystal chemistry of structurally different sulfates with the general formula M 5(SO4)3 X (shuvalovite, krasheninnikovite and apatite-type compounds) is discussed. Shuvalovite is named in honour of the Russian nobleman and statesman Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov (1727–1797), an enthusiastic patron of the sciences, arts and literature, one of the founders of the Moscow University in 1755.


Scale space has been widely used in various applications. Given an application, it is essential to decide optimal scales under a certain criterion. Subsampling a scale space is a popular scheme to reduce the search space and thus computational costs. In the context of the extraction of Regions of Interest, we will introduce an alternative scheme that aims to learn scale ranges from training images in order to reduce the search space. We test the proposed scheme in a case study of face localization, and obtain promising results.


Abstract. The effect of Fresnel reflection and total internal reflection (TIR) losses on the performance parameters in refractive solar concentrators has often been downplayed because most refractive solar concentrators are traditionally the imaging type, yielding a line or point image on the absorber surface when solely interacted with paraxial etendue ensured by solar tracking. Whereas, with refractive-type nonimaging solar concentrators that achieve two-dimensional (rectangular strip) focus or three-dimensional (circular or elliptical) focus through interaction with both paraxial and nonparaxial etendue within the acceptance angle, the Fresnel reflection and TIR losses are significant as they will affect the performance parameters and, thereby, energy collection. A raytracing analysis has been carried out to illustrate the effects of Fresnel reflection and TIR losses on four different types of stationary dielectric-filled nonimaging concentrators, namely V-trough, compound parabolic concentrator, compound elliptical concentrator, and compound hyperbolic concentrator. The refractive index (RI) of a dielectric fill material determines the acceptance angle of a solid nonimaging collector. Larger refractive indices yield larger acceptance angles and, thereby, larger energy collection. However, they also increase the Fresnel reflection losses. This paper also assesses the relative benefit of increasing RI from an energy collection standpoint.


Turn team members into innovators Most organizations approach innovation as if it were a sideline activity. Every so often employees are sent to "Brainstorm Island": an off-site replete with trendy lectures, creative workshops, and overenthusiastic facilitators. But once they return, it's back to business as usual. Innovation experts Paddy Miller and Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg suggest a better approach. They recommend that leaders at all levels become "innovation architects," creating an ecosystem in which people engage in key innovation behaviors as part of their daily work. In short, this book is about getting to a state of "innovation as usual," where regular employees--in jobs like finance, marketing, sales, or operations--make innovation happen in a way that's both systemic and sustainable. Instead of organizing brainstorming sessions, idea jams, and off-sites that rarely result in success, leaders should guide their people in what the authors call the "5 + 1 keystone behaviors" of innovation: focus, connect, tweak, select, stealthstorm, (and the + 1) persist: * Focus beats freedom: Direct people to look only for ideas that matter to the business * Insight comes from the outside: Urge people to connect to new worlds * First ideas are flawed: Challenge people to tweak and reframe their initial ideas * Most ideas are bad ideas: Guide people to select the best ideas and discard the rest * Stealthstorming rules: Help people navigate the politics of innovation * Creativity is a choice: Motivate everyone to persist in the five keystone behaviors Using examples from a wide range of companies such as Pfizer, Index Ventures, Lonza, Go Travel, Prehype, DSM, and others, Innovation as Usual lights the way toward embedding creativity in the DNA of the workplace. So cancel that off-site. Instead, read Innovation as Usual--and put innovation at the core of your business.


We discuss the potential of a next generation space-borne Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiment for studies of extragalactic sources. Our analysis has particular bearing on the definition of the future space project, CORE, that has been submitted in response to ESA's call for a Medium-size mission opportunity as the successor of the Planck satellite. Even though the effective telescope size will be somewhat smaller than that of Planck, CORE will have a considerably better angular resolution at its highest frequencies, since, in contrast with Planck, it will be diffraction limited at all frequencies. The improved resolution implies a considerable decrease of the source confusion, i.e. substantially fainter detection limits. In particular, CORE will detect thousands of strongly lensed high-z galaxies distributed over the full sky. The extreme brightness of these galaxies will make it possible to study them, via follow-up observations, in extraordinary detail. Also, the CORE resolution matches the typical sizes of high-z galaxy proto-clusters much better than the Planck resolution, resulting in a much higher detection efficiency; these objects will be caught in an evolutionary phase beyond the reach of surveys in other wavebands. Furthermore, CORE will provide unique information on the evolution of the star formation in virialized groups and clusters of galaxies up to the highest possible redshifts. Finally, thanks to its very high sensitivity, CORE will detect the polarized emission of thousands of radio sources and, for the first time, of dusty galaxies, at mm and sub-mm wavelengths, respectively.


Radioactive and transgenic tracing experiments indicate that the adult adrenal cortex is maintained by a common pool of stem cells, which reside in the periphery of the adrenal cortex in the subcapsular zone. For repopulation, adrenal progenitor cells migrate towards the organ center, where they differentiate within the different specialized adrenocortical zones and take over specific adrenocortical functions. However, isolation and detailed investigation of adrenal progenitor cells has been hampered by the lack of known marker genes. There is convincing data that utilizing the side population, which is based on Hoechst 33342 dye exclusion, leads to an enrichment of progenitor or stem cells in the hematopoietic system and multiple other tissues. In the absence of known stem cell marker genes, we employed the side population technique on adrenal cells. In contrast to non-side population cells, side population cells readily grew over several passages in vitro. Furthermore, after 4 weeks in culture, immunohistochemistry revealed steroidogenic enzyme expression, suggesting spontaneous differentiation. Microarray analysis was performed and showed that the two populations clearly differed on the mRNA level. However, none of the genes analyzed presented with a substantially higher expression level to be considered a valuable adrenal stem cell marker candidate.
Interestingly, the quantity of side population cells was significantly diminished in the context of Pbx1 haploinsufficiency. This transgenic mouse model is associated with smaller adrenal glands, a lower adrenal proliferation rate, and impaired adrenal function, suggesting a stem cell deficit in these animals. In contrast, Tpit-/- mice, which are ACTH-deficient, presented with a subcapsular zone width, which was significantly enlarged in comparison to wild type adrenals. Accordingly, the number of side population cells in these mice was significantly higher. ACTH treatment of these animals not only reverted the subcapsular zone width back to normal, but also resulted in a reduction of the side population fraction to a level similar to that of wild type animals, providing indirect evidence for a stem cell 'arrest' in the state of ACTH deficiency. Overall, adrenal side population cells seem to be enriched with progenitor cells with a rather differentiated or designated phenotype.
To define the characteristics of multipotent versus somatic adrenal stem cells, a fusion model was established. Herein, PEG mediated cell fusion between murine adult adrenal and embryonic stem cells was performed, however, did not render the expected spectrum of progenitor cells.
The involvement of stem cell like cancer cells in adrenal tumorigenesis was assessed by identifying the side population in different human adrenal tumor entities and in the human adrenocortical carcinoma cell line NCI H295R. The latter were analyzed further and characterized, however, a tumor stem cell-like behavior could not be detected: NCI H295R side population cells had no greater contribution to tumor growth compared to the other cells and had no survival benefit upon exposure to chemotherapeutic substances, typically administered in this tumor entity. Therefore, identifying side population cells does not per se guarantee stemness, and should always result in further extensive investigations.


The term epigenetics refers to the heritable changes in gene expression that do not represent changes in DNA sequence. DNA methylation and histone modification are the best studied epigenetic mechanisms. However, microRNAs, which affect gene expression at the posttranscriptional level, should be considered as members of the epigenetic machinery too. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clone disorders of the hematopoietic stem cell with increased risk of leukemic transformation. Over the years, increased number of studies indicates the role of epigenetic mechanisms, including microRNAs, in MDS pathogenesis and prognosis. Indeed, epigenetic therapy with demethylating agents has already been applied to MDS. In this review we summarize current knowledge on the role of epigenetic alterations in MDS pathogenesis and treatment.


This study addresses a design oriented combined model to predict the ultimate strengths and ultimate strains in an extensive range of unconfined strength (7 to 190 MPa) for the axially loaded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)-wrapped circular short columns. Modified Hoek-Brown strength criterion, which was previously extended to FRP-confined concrete from 7 to 108 MPa, is revisited and verified. An empirical strength model beyond 108 MPa encompassing ultra-high strength concrete (UHSC) and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) data, as well as empirical strain models, are defined to accomplish the design oriented combined model. This article especially focuses on the verification of the proposed strain models. The assessment performances of those models for carbon FRP (CFRP) and glass FRP (GFRP) confinement are compared with specific models in the current literature. Strength and strain predictions for UHSC and UHPC are integrated into the design oriented combined model as well. The assessments on this model agree with the experimental results in high accuracy.


Introduction Intrathecal immunoglobulin G (IgG) and oligoclonal bands (OCBs) are the most consistent and characteristic features of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). OCBs in MS are considered products of clonally expanded B cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), representing the sum of contributions from B cells in the brain. However, large amounts of IgG can be eluted from MS plaques in which lymphocytes are absent, and there is no correlation between levels of plaque-associated IgG and the presence of lymphocytes. It is calculated that it would take 3.2 billion lymphocytes to generate such large amounts of intrathecal IgG (30 mg in 500 ml CSF) in MS patients. Therefore, circulating lymphocytes in CSF could only account for <0.1% of the extra IgG in MS. Methods We analyzed clinical laboratory parameters from sera and CSF of 115 patients including 91 patients with MS and 24 patients with other inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) disorders (IC). We investigated the relationship between oligoclonal bands, IgG antibodies, CSF cells, IgG Index, albumin, and total protein. Results MS patients have significantly elevated serum concentrations of IgG antibodies, albumin, and total protein, lower levels of lymphocytes, albumin, and total protein in the cerebrospinal fluid, but no difference in CSF IgG concentration compared to those with other inflammatory neurological disorders. Furthermore, in MS there was no linear relationship between the numbers of OCBs, CSF lymphocytes, CSF IgG, and IgG Index, and between serum IgG and serum albumin, but significant correlation between IgG in CSF and serum, and between CSF IgG and CSF albumin. Conclusion There are unique differences between MS and patients with other inflammatory neurological disorders. Our data suggest that in MS patient (a) B cells and their products in the CSF may not be the sole source of intrathecal IgG; (b) oligoclonal bands may not be the products of single B cell clones in the CSF; and (c) there is a strong connection between serum components in the peripheral circulation and the central nervous system.


A Polymerase Chain Reaction-based diagnosis of Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP) and the need for anti-Pneumocystis prophylaxis in Hodgkin Lymphoma patients receiving chemotherapy requires further investigation. This retrospective, single-center, study evaluated 506 consecutive adult patients diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma receiving chemotherapy between January 2006 and August 2018. The cumulative incidence of PCP 1 year after start of chemotherapy was 6.2% (95% CI 3.8%−8.5%). Mortality 30 days from PCP diagnosis was 8% (n=2) with one death attributable to PCP. Bleomycin-containing combination chemotherapy regimen was not significantly associated with a higher risk for PCP when compared to other regimens (HR=1.59, 95% CI 0.55–4.62 p=0.40). Anti-pneumocystis prophylaxis was not significantly associated with a decreased incidence of PCP (HR=0.51, 95% CI 0.15–1.71, p=0.28). As the overall incidence is above the commonly accepted 3.5% threshold, clinicians should consider the potential value of prophylaxis. The utility of universal vs. targeted anti-pneumocystis prophylaxis requires prospective, randomized investigation.


Regional modelling is vital for the preliminary analysis of a basin's hydrocarbon potential, especially when working on incomplete datasets. The Zambezi Delta Depression is a frontier basin that was selected to demonstrate how limited, publically available depth data can be used to evaluate source-rock maturity and hydrocarbon expulsion using 3D basin modelling. A geological framework was built with multiple datasets correlated using a global sequence-stratigraphic model. The identification of key events in the geological history of the region and the basin geometries allowed interpretation of intervals of organic enrichment within the basin during the Bajocian, Kimmeridgian and early Aptian. The results from the pressure and temperature modelling show that these potential source-rock horizons are currently overmature to gas mature in the Zambezi Delta Depression. Using the most likely heat-flow scenario, the timing of maturity and expulsion of the potential source rocks are strongly controlled by the geometry of the basin, with ages decreasing towards the SW. Expulsion modelling suggests that the Late Cretaceous plays are most likely to be charged by the early Aptian source rock, with older potential plays charged by the Jurassic source rocks. As the heat-flow model was poorly constrained, warmer and cooler temperature scenarios were also applied to qualitatively compare the impact on maturity, expulsion and accumulation of hydrocarbons in the basin. The modelling results, when compared with sparse published data, favour the most likely and warmer scenario. Supplementary material: Details of the model input data, source-rock definitions and software used in this project are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3970863