Consider a complete rectangular database at the micro (or unit) level from a survey (sample or census) or nonsurvey (administrative source) in which potential identifying variables (IVs) are suitably categorized (so that the analytic utility is essentially maintained) for reducing the pretreatment disclosure risk to the extent possible. The pretreatment risk is due to the presence of unique records (with respect to IVs) or nonuniques (i.e., more than one record having a common IV prole) with similar values of at least one sensitive variable (SV). This setup covers macro (or aggregate) level data including tabular data because a common mean value (of 1 in the case of count data) to all units in the aggregation or cell can be assigned. Our goal is to create a public use le with simultaneous control of disclosure risk and information loss after disclosure treatment by perturbation (i.e., substitution of IVs and not SVs) and suppression (i.e., subsampling-out of records). In this paper, an alternative framework of measuring information loss and disclosure risk under a nonsynthetic approach as proposed by Singh (2002, 2006) is considered which, in contrast to the commonly used deterministic treat- ment, is based on a stochastic selection of records for disclosure treatment in the sense that all records are subject to treatment (with possibly dierent probabil- ities), but only a small proportion of them are actually treated. We also pro- pose an extension of the above alternative framework of Singh with the goal of generalizing risk measures to allow partial risk scores for unique and nonunique records. Survey sampling techniques of sample allocation are used to assign sub- stitution and subsampling rates to risk strata dened by unique and nonunique records such that bias due to substitution and variance due to subsampling for main study variables (functions of SVs and IVs) are minimized. This is followed by calibration to controls based on original estimates of main study variables so that these estimates are preserved, and bias and variance for other study vari- ables may also be reduced. The above alternative framework leads to the method of disclosure treatment known as MASSC (signifying micro-agglomeration, sub- stitution, subsampling, and calibration) and to an enhanced method (denoted GenMASSC) which uses generalized risk measures. The GenMASSC method is illustrated through a simple example followed by a discussion of relative merits and demerits of nonsynthetic and synthetic methods of disclosure treatment.


Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy for which limited data exist to guide treatment decisions. With the advent of advanced molecular testing and tumor genomic profiling, clinicians now have the ability to identify potential therapeutic targets in difficult-to-treat cancers such as SDC. This report presents a male patient with widely metastatic SDC found on targeted next-generation sequencing to have a BRAF p.V600E mutation. He experienced a prolonged and robust response to first-line systemic chemotherapy with dabrafenib and trametinib. During his response interval, new data emerged to justify subsequent treatment with both an immune checkpoint inhibitor and androgen blockade after his disease progressed. To our knowledge, this is the first report of frontline BRAF-directed therapy eliciting a response in metastatic SDC.


In "Intelligence," Osho challenges the common conception that the best way to promote intelligence is to train the intellect. Intellect is logical, he says; intelligence is paradoxical. Intellect takes things apart to see how they work; intelligence puts things together to see the functioning of the whole. Osho posits that when our education systems put too much emphasis on developing intellect, an imbalance is created and both the individual and the society suffer. It is only through intelligence that we can respond creatively to the challenges of a changing world.The Insights for a New Way of Living series aims to shine light on beliefs and attitudes that prevent individuals from being their true selves. The text is an artful mix of compassion and humor, and readers are encouraged to confront what they would most like to avoid, which in turn provides the key to true insight and power.By exploring the distinction between intellect and intelligence, "Intelligence "encourages readers to be more aware of how they approach problems---logical, emotional, and practical---and how they solve them.


Castro, M. 2018. Cellular and molecular roles for CDC42 in angiogenesis. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine 1458. 52 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-513-0317-8. Angiogenesis is the physiological process by which new blood vessels grow and critically depends on the interplay between the major vascular units: endothelial cells, pericytes and smooth muscle cells. Dysfunction and mispatterning of blood vessels are associated with the progression of many vascular complications, and therefore, understanding the causes of vascular dysmorphia is a central question in vascular biology. CDC42 is a small GTPase known to regulate a diverse array of cellular functions in endothelial cells, however, its contribution to vascular development in vivo remains incompletely understood. The overall aim of this thesis work is to investigate the role of CDC42 during angiogenesis in the central nervous system, using an inducible endothelial-specific Cdc42 knockout model. In Paper I, I investigate which CDC42-dependent functions operational in vivo are of relevance for angiogenic sprouting, and how they contribute to blood vessel morphogenesis. Analysis of distinct cellular behaviours shows that CDC42 is critically required for proper EC dispersion in the vasculature and that it regulates sprouting angiogenesis and endothelial axial polarity. In Paper II, I explore the in vivo consequences of Cdc42 deletion for vascular morphogenesis, leading to the appearance of capillary-venous malformations in the brain, resembling the human disease of cerebral cavernous malformations. I aimed to understand how this type of vascular malformations arise and was been able to identify the MEKK3-ERK5-KLF2/4 molecular signalling pathway and other cellular events as the trigger factors that may be responsible for these malformations. Paper III redirects focus to the physiological roles of another protein, GPR116, in modulating blood-brain barrier permeability and pathologic angiogenesis in the central nervous system. In summary, these findings reveal crucial roles of endothelial CDC42 during angiogenesis and further uncover its potential relevance in the molecular pathogenesis of cerebrovascular malformations.


A chain of metallic particles, of sufficiently small diameter and spacing, allows linearly polarized plasmonic waves to propagate along the chain. In this paper, we consider how these waves are altered when the host is a nematic or cholesteric liquid crystal (NLC or CLC). In an NLC host, with the principal axis (director) oriented either parallel or perpendicular to the chain, we find that the dispersion relations of both the longitudinal (L) and transverse (T) modes are significantly altered relative to those of an isotropic host. Furthermore, when the director is perpendicular to the chain, the doubly degenerate T branch is split into two nondegenerate linearly polarized branches by the anisotropy of the host material. In a CLC liquid crystal with a twist axis parallel to the chain, the two T branches are again found to be split, but are no longer linearly polarized; the dispersion relations depend on the cholesteric pitch angle. To illustrate these results, we calculate the L and T dispersion relations for both types of liquid crystals, assuming that the metal is described by a Drude dielectric function. The formalism can, in principle, include single-particle damping and could be generalized to include radiation damping. The present work suggests that the dispersion relations of plasmonic waves on a chain of nanoparticles can be controlled by immersing the chain in an NLC or a CLC and varying the director axis or pitch angle by applying suitable external fields.


Accurate estimation of grassland biomass at their peak productivity can provide crucial information regarding the functioning and productivity of the rangelands. Hyperspectral remote sensing has proved to be valuable for estimation of vegetation biophysical parameters such as biomass using different statistical techniques. However, in statistical analysis of hyperspectral data, multicollinearity is a common problem due to large amount of correlated hyper-spectral reflectance measurements. The aim of this study was to examine the prospect of above ground biomass estimation in a heterogeneous Mediterranean rangeland employing multivariate calibration methods. Canopy spectral measurements were made in the field using a GER 3700 spectroradiometer, along with concomitant in situ measurements of above ground biomass for 170 sample plots. Multivariate calibrations including partial least squares regression (PLSR), principal component regression (PCR), and Least-Squared Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) were used to estimate the above ground biomass. The prediction accuracy of the multivariate calibration methods were assessed using cross validated R2 and RMSE. The best model performance was obtained using LS_SVM and then PLSR both calibrated with first derivative reflectance dataset with R2CV=0.88 & 0.86 and RMSECV=1.15 & 1.07 respectively. The weakest prediction accuracy was appeared when PCR were used (R2CV = 0.31 and RMSECV= 2.48). The obtained results highlight the importance of multivariate calibration methods for biomass estimation when hyperspectral data are used.


We present bounds on the minimum mean square error (MMSE) of LDPC codes at rates above capacity. One potential application for MMSE estimation involves cooperative communication. A relay following a compress-and-forward (CF) strategy could first compute an estimate of the transmitted codeword, to reduce the level of noise in the retransmitted signal. Our first bound is based on an analysis of the LDPC belief-propagation decoder. A second bound relies on the relationship between the mutual information and the MMSE, which was discovered by Guo et al. . We compute our bounds for ldquobadrdquo LDPC codes (requiring SNRs that are far above the Shannon limit, for reliable communications to be possible) and show that such codes substantially outperform ldquogoodrdquo codes. This advantage of ldquobadrdquo codes implies an interesting degree of freedom in the design of codes for cooperative communications.


News for global sustainability? Reifying and othering social inequality in news This paper discusses news journalism about inequality from a critical point of view, with the aim of contributing to the critical theorization of the relationship between journalism and sustainability. Sustainability and journalism on social inequality are perceived as intersecting in at least two ways. On one level, journalism can serve sustainable development by providing high-quality content that can help citizens to better understand the causes behind social inequality and how it can be overcome. On another level, journalism would itself gain much from sustainable development on a global level, since that would provide a good ground for a high-quality journalism characterized by its professional and democratic ethics rather than one that is strained by market-logics. The paper focuses on reification and problematizes the ways in which social inequality is reified in news journalism. Basing the argumentation on examples from international journalism, it is argued that although the existence of social inequality in a specific country can be acknowledged in the reporting – for example by the reference to rich and poor people and rich and poor geographic spaces – the social, political and historical causes of this inequality remain abstracted. In this sense, reification provides a rather objectivist account on inequality¢¢, which in turn limits the critique of the mechanisms that lie behind it. On the long run such constructions serve the legitimation of social inequality, which indeed ought to be seen as a sustainability problem. The paper also argues that for a more sustainable journalism to take place, a shift in the attitude towards social inequality and sustainable development must take place in the broader sociocultural context that surrounds journalism. Author(s)


This paper proposes a new evolutionary technique named scatter search for scheduling a number of jobs on a single machine against a restrictive common due date. Individual earliness and tardiness penalties for the jobs are under consideration and the objective is to find an optimal schedule, which jointly minimises the sum of the earliness and tardiness costs. In this paper, the results are obtained for numerous benchmark problems generated by Biskup and Feldmann (2001) for common due date (CDD) problems. The best results of each of the benchmark problems of the three meta-heuristic techniques used by Feldmann and Biskup (2003) are selected and they are compared with the results of SS. This methodology provides substantially better results than the benchmark problems. At the same time, this method holds almost the same result as the best results (best-FB) of three meta-heuristic approaches of Feldmann and Biskup (2003).


Written for observant and non-observant Jews and anyone interested in religion, this remarkable book by the distinguished scholar David Gelernter seeks to answer the deceptively simple question: What is Judaism really about? Gelernter views Judaism as one of humanity's most profound and sublimely beautiful achievements. But because Judaism is a way of life rather than a formal system of thought, it has been difficult for anyone but a practising Jew to understand its unique intellectual and spiritual structure. Gelernter explores compelling questions, such as: How does Judaism's obsession with life on earth versus the world-to-come separate it fundamentally from Christianity and Islam? Why do Jews believe in God, and how can they after the Holocaust? What makes Classical Judaism the most important intellectual development in Western history? Why does Judaism teach that, in the course of the Jewish people's coming-of-age, God moved out of history and into the human mind, abandoning all power but the capacity to talk to each person from inside and thereby to influence events only indirectly? In discussing these and other questions, Gelernter seeks to lay out Jewish beliefs on four basic topics - the sanctity of everyday life; man and God; the meaning of sexuality and family; good, evil, and the nature of God's justice in a cruel world - and to convey a profound and stirring sense of what it means to be Jewish.


This thesis explores the stylistic traits of Thomas Ades' (b. 1971) early vocal and chamber works from 1989-95 through a series of case studies and places this work into context both in terms of his historical position and his approach to composition in relation to prevalent trends and theories. The first chapter details the aims and objectives of the thesis and reviews relevant literature. Ades is placed in context by looking at his musical career and the composers who influenced him. Compositional traits are identified and analysed and theories relating to postmodernism, references to the past and extra-musical influences are explored in relation to his music.
The remaining Chapters 3-7 present close readings and analysis of a selected number of compositions that explore how musical techniques, and Ades' willingness to absorb influences, past and present are brought together to achieve different poetic intentions. In Chapter 3 four early vocal works, two for solo voice and piano, The Lover in Winter (1989) and Five Eliot Landscapes Op. 1 (1990), and two anthems, O thou who dids't with pitfall and gin Op. 3a (1990) and Gefriolsae Me Op. 3b (1990), reveal the compositional techniques that form the basis of his early compositional style and the influence of a range of composers.
In Chapter 4 the analysis of three arrangements Les Baricades Misterieuses (1994), Darknesse Visible (1992) and Cardiac Arrest (1995) reveals Ades' approach to timbre, register and texture. An original work, the Sonata da Caccia Op. 11 (1993), explores a forceful confrontation between baroque and contemporary techniques that serves not only to highlight the compositional traits of Ades but also his relationship with the music of Couperin. Chapter 5 focuses on Ades' use of historical genre and formal structures and addresses his engagement with symphonism and sonata form in
the Chamber Symphony Op. 2 (1990). Links with surrealism and the metaphorical impact of Ades' realisation of the programme in Living Toys Op. 9 (1993) is considered in Chapter 5. The extent to which music is able to, in terms of musical ekphrasis, represent works of art is considered in two movements from Areadiana Op. 12 (1994) and The Origin of the Harp Op. 13 (1994).
One persistent thread that runs through Ades' work is his use of music as a metaphor, the idea that music can express more than itself. Ades engages the use of titles, programmes, literature and the visual arts in order to reinforce this concept. His music reveals a highly systemized approach to pitch organization and an imaginative approach to timbre that reveals an extraordinary sensitivity to tone-colour and register. Rhythmic complexity and temporal layering are also central to his compositional process. In order to expose the way in which individual melodic strands within a texture relate to each other I have developed a way of presenting these layers in graphic form. I use a system of colour-coding that identifies the intervallic character of individual threads within a texture as they either co-operate to create harmony or co-exist to pursue different agendas in terms of intervallic identity and momentum.


Recent production of land surface anisotropy, diffuse bihemispherical (white-sky) albedo, and direct-beam directional hemispherical (black-sky) albedo from observations acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Terra and Aqua satellite platforms have provided researchers with unprecedented spatial, spectral, and temporal information on the land surface's radiative characteristics. Cloud cover, which curtails retrievals, and the presence of ephemeral and seasonal snow limit the snow-free data to approximately half the global land surfaces on an annual equal-angle basis. This precludes the MOD43B3 albedo products from being used in some remote sensing and ground-based applications, climate models, and global change research projects. An ecosystem-dependent temporal interpolation technique is described that has been developed to fill missing or seasonally snow-covered data in the official MOD43B3 albedo product. The method imposes pixel-level and local regional ecosystem-dependent phenological behavior onto retrieved pixel temporal data in such a way as to maintain pixel-level spatial and spectral detail and integrity. The phenological curves are derived from statistics based on the MODIS MOD12Q1 IGBP land cover classification product geolocated with the MOD43B3 data. The resulting snow-free value-added products provide the scientific community with spatially and temporally complete global white- and black-sky surface albedo maps and statistics. These products are stored on 1-min and coarser resolution equal-angle grids and are computed for the first seven MODIS wavelengths, ranging from 0.47-2.1 /spl mu/m and for three broadband wavelengths 0.3-0.7, 0.3-5.0, and 0.7-5.0 /spl mu/m.


Exploring Customers' Perceptions of Third Party Maintenance, Repair, and Operating Programs by Reginald E. Peterson MBA, Kennesaw State University, 2002 BS, University of Florida, 1995 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University May 2016 Abstract A survey of 25 industrial manufacturing organizations in the U. S. indicated that 70% of respondents experienced dissatisfaction with their outsourcing programs due to unfulfilled expectations, which caused negative continuance intentions. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore the experiences of customers who currently use 3PMRO outsourcing programs to determine what factors affect satisfaction levels in theA survey of 25 industrial manufacturing organizations in the U. S. indicated that 70% of respondents experienced dissatisfaction with their outsourcing programs due to unfulfilled expectations, which caused negative continuance intentions. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore the experiences of customers who currently use 3PMRO outsourcing programs to determine what factors affect satisfaction levels in the Southern United States. The conceptual framework for this study was the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm, which connects consumer satisfaction level to the fulfillment of consumer expectations. Data were collected from interviews of 22 procurement professionals of maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; observations of 3PMRO supplier performance meetings; and the analysis of performance scorecard documents. Data were analyzed using pattern matching followed by thematic analysis. Three themes were identified through the data analysis that affected consumer satisfaction: inventory management services, utilization of outsourced labor resources, and total cost value of the 3PMRO program. According to results, satisfaction of 3PMRO consumers are based on the proper utilization of a 3PMRO program for the intended limitations of the organization, reduced MRO supply costs, improved inventory management strategies, and improved competitive advantage from the realignment of resources to focus on core competencies. Implications for positive social change include increased awareness of cradle-to-grave inventory management to prevent improper disposal of nonbiodegradable materials into our environment. Exploring Customers' Perceptions of Third Party Maintenance, Repair, and Operating Programs by Reginald E. Peterson MBA, Kennesaw State University, 2002 BS, University of Florida, 1995 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University May 2016


Field experiments were conducted to study the biology of the mango leafhopper, Idioscopus nitidulus Walk.,
following outbreaks in north Peninsular Malaysia in 1986 and 1987. The developmental period on inflorescense
was 13.77±0.25 days for males and 13.50±0.60 days for females, and mean incubation period of eggs was
3.85±2.00 days. Hoppers reared on the inflorescence produced 277±110 eggs with a hatchability rate of
90.2±8.4%; those on shoots produced 149±57 eggs and had a hatchability rate of54.8±22.0%. A female mating
only once laid 176±72 eggs, whereas multiple mated females produced 149±57 eggs. On shoots in the field, the
longevity of females (69.8±9.8 days) was not significantly different from that of males (60.5±8.5 days).


At the C-SOLAS Lagrangian Study site, the phytoplankton community was dominated by diatoms in declining bloom conditions, which were characterised by a decrease in primary produc- tion over time. Measurements of primary production were performed using photosynthesis-light experiments and simulated in situ incubations. Several methods were used to assign photosynthetic parameters for estimation of primary production from remote-sensing of ocean colour: (1) the nearest- neighbour method (NNM), (2) a temperature-dependent model, (3) an iterative approach to retrieve photosynthetic parameters from in situ measurements of phytoplankton production, and (4) average values of measured parameters. Owing to the declining status of the diatom population and its patchy distribution, the magnitude of primary production measured from in situ incubations was highly variable. Under bloom conditions, all methods underestimated production compared with results of simulated in situ measurements; however, the NNM provided the closest estimates to the in situ mea- surements. In the declining bloom phase, the NNM overestimated primary production, whereas the iterative method returned estimates of production in good agreement with the in situ observations. In conditions characterized by mixed-phytoplankton populations, the NNM returned estimates in agreement with the observations. A new method is proposed for classifying image pixels using crite- ria accessible to remote sensing, according to the phase of the diatom bloom (bloom versus declining conditions) and according to community composition (diatom versus mixed population). Upon separat- ing the database used for parameter assignment into 2 parts, one representing the general phyto- plankton community and the other representing declining diatom conditions, estimates of chlorophyll a-normalised water-column production were in good agreement with in situ observations.


The exceptional capacity for regeneration of olfactory sensory neurons in the olfactory epithelium
and their axonal projections into the central nervous system (CNS) has led to extensive
investigation of olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation as a therapy to promote repair
within the injured CNS. In those studies that report enhanced anatomical and functional recovery,
the beneficial effects of OECs have been variously attributed to OECs re-myelinating axons,
forming a supportive tract for axon growth across the boundary between the peripheral and
central nervous systems or producing growth factors, cell adhesion molecules and extracellular
matrix proteins that promote axon growth. This thesis investigates the possibility that OECs
modulate the inflammatory activation of astrocytes and could thereby contribute to CNS injury
repair after therapeutic transplantation.
Following CNS injury, factors released by damaged cells, activated microglia and invading
peripheral immune cells activate surviving astrocytes in the lesion penumbra. The activated
astrocytes undergo reactive astrogliosis and become another important source of inflammatory
mediators. These inflammatory responses often lead to delayed secondary neuronal loss and
tissue damage that can exceed the initial traumatic damage. In addition, astrogliosis leads to the
development of a glial scar around the lesion that is a barrier to axonal regeneration. Therefore,
moderation of astrocyte activation by transplanted OECs could potentially both protect neurons
by moderating inflammation and promote axon regeneration by moderating astrogliosis and glial
scarring.
The transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) is a key regulator of inflammatory
responses, including many of the protein expression changes that characterize astrogliosis. NF-κB
exists as inactive dimers in the cytoplasm of most cells and must translocate to the nucleus in
order to regulate gene transcription. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and calcium ionophore
(PMA/ionophore) stimulation was found to induce rapid robust translocation of NF-κB to
astrocyte nuclei (p < 0.001), providing an in vitro model of astrocyte inflammatory activation.
NF-κB translocation was readily detectable by immunocytochemistry, providing a relatively
simple, direct, unambiguous measure of this early key event in astrocyte activation. Subsequently,
soluble factors released by microglia were found to similarly induce NF-κB translocation in
astrocytes (p < 0.001), illustrating that this detection method can be utilised to investigate other
inflammatory stimuli.Most importantly, soluble factors released by OECs moderated the NF-κB translocation induced
in astrocytes by either PMA/calcium ionophore or the microglia-derived factors (p < 0.001).
Immunostaining confirmed that insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) was expressed by the
cultured OECs and may have contributed to the moderation of astrocyte activation, since IGF-1
also significantly moderated (p < 0.05) the NF-κB translocation induced by either stimulus, albeit
insufficiently (p < 0.01) to account in full for the OEC-induced moderation. OECs also
significantly moderated the increased transcription of the NF-κB-regulated pro-inflammatory
cytokine, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in the activated
astrocytes (p < 0.01). High levels of GM-CSF released by astrocytes can stimulate microglia to
produce cytotoxic levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines that may further amplify and prolong
inflammation. More severe inflammation leads to more severe astrogliosis, increased secondary
neuronal damage and more extensive glial scarring, accompanied by increased deposition of axon
growth-inhibitory extracellular matrix molecules. Hence, the identified moderation of astrocyte
activation by OECs represents a plausible mechanism whereby transplanted OECs could facilitate
neural repair after CNS injury. Furthermore, PMA/ionophore and the microglia-derived factors
did not induce NF-κB translocation in OECs, suggesting that OECs transplanted into CNS injury
sites could be resistant to pro-inflammatory stimuli and may be able to maintain the in vitro
phenotype associated here with the amelioration of astrocyte activation.
CNS injury and the associated ischemia induces increases in intracellular calcium levels that can
initiate inflammatory responses via NF-κB or, when excessive, cell death by necrosis or apoptosis.
Calcium ionophore alone activated significantly more astrocytes than PMA alone (p < 0.001),
with only a relatively small additive effect attributable to PMA, when astrocytes were treated
simultaneously with PMA and ionophore. TUNEL assay demonstrated that at higher doses
(250nM-1μM), calcium ionophore dose-dependently (R2 = 0.9996) induced significant (p < 0.001)
apoptosis of astrocytes. OECs did not appear to protect astrocytes against the ionophore-induced
apoptosis and they became apoptotic more rapidly and at lower ionophore doses (125nM) than
astrocytes. Consequently, OECs could become apoptotic due to excessive calcium influx if
transplanted into ischemic regions of CNS lesions where there are high levels of extracellular
calcium ions, glutamate and ATP. Disruption of the surviving vasculature during OEC
transplantation could re-initiate ischemia and in vivo research may be required to determine the
optimal timing and location for transplanting OECs. Both the OEC moderation of astrocyte
activation and the absence of OEC inflammatory activation imply that if transplanted OECs
survive, they are likely to enhance neuronal survival by moderating inflammation.In summary, this thesis provides evidence that OECs moderate the inflammatory activation of
astrocytes, thus providing a plausible mechanism that could contribute to improved
neuroprotection and tissue regeneration in response to therapeutic OEC transplantation after CNS
injury. IGF-1 was identified as soluble factor that may have contributed to the anti-inflammatory
effects of the cultured OECs. Further research to identify and isolate the responsible soluble
factors released by the OECs could lead to more precisely targeted molecular therapies. The in
vitro model of astrocyte activation established during the thesis could be further utilised to
investigate other CNS injury therapies.


Local electron - ion pseudopotentials fitted to dominant density parameters of the solid state (valence, equilibrium average electron density and interstitial electron density) have been constructed and tested for sixteen simple metals. Calculated solid-state properties present little evidence of the need for pseudopotential non-locality, but this need is increasingly evident as the pseudopotentials are transferred further from their solid-state origins. Transferability is high for Na, useful for ten other simple metals (K, Rb, Cs, Mg, Al, Ga, In, Tl, Sn, and Pb), and poor for Li, Be, Ca, Sr and Ba. In the bulk solid, we define a predictor of transferability and check the convergence of second-order pseudopotential perturbation theory for bcc Na. For six-atom octahedral clusters, we find that the pseudopotential correctly predicts self-compressions or self-expansions of bond length with respect to the bulk for Li, Na, Mg, and Al, in comparison with all-electron results; dimers of these elements are also considered. For the free atom, we examine the bulk cohesive energy (which straddles the atomic and solid-state limits), the atomic excitation energies and the atomic density. For the cohesive energy, we also present the results of the simpler stabilized jellium and universal-binding-energy-curve models. The needed non-locality or angular-momentum dependence of the pseudopotential has the conventional character, and is most strongly evident in the excitation energies.


Searching the literature has a direct, beneficial influence on patient care. The amount of medical scientific information has increased to a great extent, while the development of networking technologies has broadened access to online databases. Successful searches depend upon understanding technical librarianship concepts and the skills for mastering searching interfaces. From a problem-oriented approach, concepts like MEDLINE coverage, PubMed resources, Boolean logic, search strategies, and Web sources for full-text articles are introduced along seven online situations: locating a specific publication, answering a complex clinical question, finding information on a general subject, finding publications by a particular author, finding publications in a particular language, finding a specific publication type, and locating the full-text document. Oncologists should face the challenge of performing their own searches. Specific knowledge is mandatory to avoid frustrating, time-consuming work. The objective of this work is to present concepts, strategies, and skills required for medical literature retrieval, easing the incorporation of new and welcomed practices.


Recent experimental results showing atypical nonlinear absorption and marked deviations from well known universality in the low temperature acoustic and dielectric losses in amorphous solids prove the need for improving the understanding of the nature of two-level systems (TLSs) in these materials. Here we suggest the study of TLSs focused on their properties which are nonuniversal. Our theoretical analysis shows that the standard tunneling model and the recently suggested two-TLS model provide markedly different predictions for the experimental outcome of these studies. Our results may be directly tested in disordered lattices, e.g KBr:CN, where there is ample theoretical support for the validity of the two-TLS model, as well as in amorphous solids. Verification of our results in the latter will significantly enhance understanding of the nature of TLSs in amorphous solids, and the ability to manipulate them and reduce their destructive effect in various cutting edge applications including superconducting qubits.


Common bile duct stones have been noted in 10-15% of patients with gall stones, these stones are either primary (formed in the common bile duct) or secondary (formed in the gallbladder and migrate down to the common bile duct). Their management includes ERCP, biliary drainage procedure and choledochal exploration. In this interventional study we reviewed transduodenal sphincteroplasty as an option for surgical treatment of impacted lower CBD stones from a point of morbidity and mortality. A prospective study conducted over a period of 10 years from 2000 to 2010 in Basrah Teaching General Hospital and private hospitals in Basrah. Twenty three patients with impacted lower CBD stones, there were 17 females (73.9%) and 6 males (26.1%) included in this study. The impacted lower CBD stones and surgical jaundice are the main indications for surgery to which 23 patients underwent TDS. All surgeries done in elective lists. In this prospective study, 23 patients who were diagnosed as impacted lower CBD stones managed by TDS,17 (73.9%) were females and 6 (26.1%) were males. In patients with impacted lower CBD stones who underwent TDS as an option for surgical treatment, 3 patients (13.04%) developed duodenal leak, 2 of them treated conservatively and improved, while 1 patient re-explored. Two patients (8.69%) developed mild cholangitis which respond to conservative measures. The hospital stay for all patients ranges 5–14 days postoperatively, with mean stay of 7 days. No reported cases of postoperative pancreatitis following TDS in this study. No mortality reported (0 %) in follow-up for 2 years in our study. It is concluded from this prospective study that TDS in the surgical management of impacted lower CBD stones with fibrosed ampulla (sphincter of oddi) is a feasible option with accepted incidence of duodenal leak and cholangitis among the biliary drainage procedures especially in an area where the facility of ERCP are not present or failed in addition of dense adhesions in supraduedenal area intra-operatively when decisions of open abdominal exploration done, make supraduedenal CBD exploration difficult and hazardous.


Human communication relies on several aspects beyond the speech. One of them is gestures as they express intentions, interests, feelings, or ideas and complement the speech. Social robots need to interpret these messages to allow a more natural Human-Robot Interaction. In this sense, our aim is to study the effect of position and speed features in dynamic gesture recognition. We use 3D information to extract the user's skeleton and calculate the normalized position for all of its joints, and using the temporal variation of such positions, we calculate their speeds. Our three datasets are composed of 1355 samples from 30 users. We consider 14 common gestures in HRI involving upper body movements. A set of classification techniques is evaluated testing these three datasets to find what features perform better. Results indicate that the union of both speed and position achieves the best results among the three possibilities, 0.999 of F-score. The combination that performs better to detect dynamic gestures in real time is finally integrated in our social robot with a simple HRI application to run a proof of concept test to check how the proposal behaves in a realistic scenario.


OBJECTIVE
In the present study, we investigated the relationship between the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of caspase-3 rs1049216 (C > T), a miRNA target site, and the risk and progression of cervical cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, we evaluated the genotype and distribution of caspase-3 rs1049216 in 515 patients with cervical squamous cell cancer and 415 controls. In additional experiments, we transfected luciferase reporter plasmids carrying T or C allele and/or miRNA mimics into the human cervical cell lines (HeLa and C-33A) to analyze its roles in the regulation of caspase-3 expression. By immunohistochemistry, the protein level of caspase-3 expression was examined in tumor tissues from 515 patients with cervical squamous cell cancer.

RESULTS
We found that the TT genotype of caspase-3 rs1049216 conferred a significantly decreased risk of cervical cancer (adjusted odds ratio, 0.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.154-0.581) and may be associated with the progression of this cancer. Although the expression of caspase-3 in the TT genotype was higher than that in CC/CT genotype in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tumor tissues. Additional luciferase analysis showed that the rs1049216 variant T allele was associated with significantly higher luciferase activity, compared with the C allele in the transfected cells, and when cotransfected with miRNAs, miRNA-181a could downregulate the luciferase activity in the cells that transfected the construct containing C allele, compared with T allele, which had not happened in the presence of other miRNAs selected.

CONCLUSIONS
These data indicate that through upregulating the expression of caspase-3, the TT genotype of caspase-3 rs1049216 can be associated with not only the risk of cervical cancer but also the progression of this cancer.


Hip dysplasia is a widespread condition that can affect dogs of all ages. Hip dysplasia is caused by a subluxation in the hip joint. This leads to the development of osteoarthritis that causes inflammation and pain. At this sight, the efficacy of a supplement with Ovopet®, eggshell membrane, was evaluated together with its tolerability and safety. Forty client-owned medium sized arthritic dogs were treated daily for a period of 40 days with placebo or Ovopet®. Every ten days, the dogs were evaluated for functional limitation and joint mobility (hip functional scale), muscular atrophy and mobility range (extension-flexion rating). Dogs were also examined for blood analysis (inflammatory markers), and sonographies of the hip joint space were taken before and at the end of the study. Performances in daily life activities and vitality assessed by the owners were also recorded. Based on these observations, significant (p<0.05) reduction in muscular atrophy and improvement of mobility range was noted in Ovopet® treated group. Parameters such as as starting lameness, walking lameness, running and playing resistance and limitation to little jumps also experienced a significant (p<0.05) improvement. The parameters for function and positive behaviour description and pain sensation assessed by the owners showed a significant improvement (p<0.05) since day 20 of treatment. Based on recorded data, Ovopet® (15 mgKg-1dog) treatment provides a significant improvement, reducing the pain the dog has and therefore improving physical function.

 Key words: Ovopet®, hip dysplasia, dogs, osteoarthritis, feed supplement, eggshell membrane.


Learn jQuery and JavaScript in 24 one-hour lessons Sams Teach Yourself jQuery and JavaScript in 24 Hours helps you build dynamic single-page web apps that deliver the rich experiences your users want. This books straightforward, step-by-step approach shows you how to create effects, animations, lists, complex forms, and more. In just a few hours, youll be building great user interfaces for any device, even the newest smartphones and tablets. Every lesson builds on what youve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success. Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common jQuery and JavaScript development tasks. Practical, hands-on examples show you how to apply what you learn. Quizzes and exercises help you test your knowledge and stretch your skills Notes and tips point out shortcuts and solutions Learn how to Quickly start building web pages with jQuery and JavaScript Master jQuery syntax, logic, functions, and objects Efficiently access, manipulate, and navigate DOM elements Build highly interactive web pages with events and event handlers Implement cookies, pop-up windows, and timers Create animations, special effects, and image galleries Construct, interact with, and validate forms Use advanced elements, such as table filters, custom dialogs, and dynamic sparklines Access server-side data via AJAX Work with data using JSON, XML, queues, and binding Build superior user interfaces more quickly with jQuery UI Add richer page interactions with jQuery UI Widgets Create mobile-friendly pages with jQuery Mobile Customize your mobile pages with jQuery Mobile ThemeRoller Contents at a Glance PART I: Introduction to jQuery and JavaScript Development HOUR 1: Intro to Dynamic Web ProgrammingHOUR 2: Debugging jQuery and JavaScript Web PagesHOUR 3: Understanding Dynamic Web Page AnatomyHOUR 4: Adding CSS/CSS3 Styles to Allow Dynamic Design and LayoutHOUR 5: Jumping into jQuery and JavaScript SyntaxHOUR 6: Understanding and Using JavaScript Objects PART II: Implementing jQuery and JavaScript in Web Pages HOUR 7: Accessing DOM Elements Using JavaScript and jQuery ObjectsHOUR 8: Navigating and Manipulating jQuery Objects and DOM Elements with jQueryHOUR 9: Applying Events for Richly Interactive Web PagesHOUR 10: Dynamically Accessing and Manipulating Web PagesHOUR 11: Accessing Data Outside the Web Page PART III: Building Richly Interactive Web Pages HOUR 12: Enhancing User Interaction Through Animation and Other Special Effects HOUR 13: Interacting with Web Forms HOUR 14: Creating Advanced Web Page Elements PART IV: Advanced Concepts HOUR 15: Accessing Server-Side Data via AJAX HOUR 16: Interacting with External Services, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Flickr PART V: jQuery UI HOUR 17: Introducing jQuery UI HOUR 18: Using jQuery UI EffectsHOUR 19: Advanced Interactions Using jQuery UI Interaction WidgetsHOUR 20: Using jQuery UI Widgets to Add Rich Interactions to Web Pages PART VI: jQuery Mobile HOUR 21: Introducing Mobile Website Development HOUR 22: Implementing Mobile Web PagesHOUR 23: Formatting Content in Mobile Pages HOUR 24: Implementing Mobile Form Elements and Controls


Abstract. This model description paper introduces a new finite element model for the simulation of non-linear shallow water flows, called Firedrake-Fluids. Unlike traditional models that are written by hand in static, low-level programming languages such as Fortran or C, Firedrake-Fluids uses the Firedrake framework to automatically generate the model's code from a high-level abstract language called Unified Form Language (UFL). By coupling to the PyOP2 parallel unstructured mesh framework, Firedrake can then target the code towards a desired hardware architecture to enable the efficient parallel execution of the model over an arbitrary computational mesh. The description of the model includes the governing equations, the methods employed to discretise and solve the governing equations, and an outline of the automated solution process. The verification and validation of the model, performed using a set of well-defined test cases, is also presented along with a road map for future developments and the solution of more complex fluid dynamical systems.


Research has shown the importance of understanding self-efficacy and teacher self-efficacy. In general, self-efficacy influences humans' actions in various ways. Efficacy expectations control the degree of effort and persistence that people expend in dealing with obstacles and unexpected situations. These expectations also impact people's thought patterns and emotional reactions. These influences make self-efficacy a strong determinant of the level of accomplishment that individuals finally attain. For teachers, self-efficacy influences not only their general perception about teaching but also their specific instructional activities.  This research aimed to provide insights into Vietnamese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher self-efficacy at the tertiary level in Vietnam. Firstly, this study collected data in the form of teacher self-efficacy profiles using an adapted version of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, 2001) and demographic information. Then, it investigated the sources of Vietnamese EFL tertiary teacher self-efficacy and the interaction among these sources. In addition, this study examined the personal, classroom, institutional, and cultural influences on teacher self-efficacy. The research also investigated the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and the teachers' teaching practices. As teacher self-efficacy closely relates to teacher well-being, teacher burn out, persistence, commitment, and teaching practice and has a close relationship with student outcomes and student motivation, a better understanding of self-efficacy has the potential to improve the teaching and learning English in the research university in Vietnam. A sequential exploratory mixed methods design was selected for this study. The data were collected in two phases. In the quantitative phase, I adapted a validated questionnaire to gather quantitative information about 52 teachers' self-efficacy profiles across three aspects: managing the classroom, engaging students, and using instructional strategies. In the following qualitative phase, I purposively selected eight teachers with a range of total self-efficacy scores. These teachers came from three groups. They were grouped according to lower, medium and higher total self-efficacy scores from the questionnaire. I interviewed each of these teachers prior to observing their teaching in their class. Then, the teachers were interviewed again about particular incidents in their class with a focus on recalling what influenced their actual teaching. Data from both interviews were collated and analyzed thematically across each group to address the research questions.  This study has provided a view of the self-efficacy of EFL teachers, a distinctive subject at the tertiary level in Vietnam. The research found that the results from Tschannen-Moran and Hoy's (2001) scale measuring teacher self-efficacy were not linked to how each group of teachers performed in their classes. Individual elements such as teachers' personal characteristics and knowledge, classroom and institutional issues like class size and availability of classroom equipment influenced the teachers' self-efficacy in their classroom practices. Self-efficacy was also influenced by institutional policies about professional and personal collegiality, the autonomy of the teachers to make decisions about matters such as assessment, and student and staff feedback about teaching. Self-efficacy was also impacted by Vietnamese cultural elements such as teachers' roles outside of their profession and how the teachers evaluated feedback about their teaching from students, colleagues and administrators. This study highlights the dynamic interaction among the sources of teacher self-efficacy.  The findings have implications for enhancing teacher self-efficacy, by improving teacher knowledge, providing relevant professional development, and increasing support from administrators. There are recommendations for future research.


Over the years, a number of counter-examples to the hypothesis that ellipsis resolution is mediated via syntactic identity have been identified. However, in the same time evidence which seems to require comparison of syntactic structures in ellipsis resolution has also been unearthed. On top of this empirical puzzle, survive minimalism places an additional theoretical constraint: syntactic structures, once assembled, are opaque to further search or manipulation. In this paper, I show that a simple perspective shift allows us both to view the purported counter-examples as providing glimpses into the nature of the operations which build syntactic structure, and to satisfy the theoretical constraints imposed by survive minimalism's derivational take on syntactic structure.


Smart antenna technologies are emerging as an innovative way to meet the growing demand for more powerful, cost-effective and highly efficient wireless communication systems. In this project, from broad category of smart antenna techniques, the switch beam digital-beamforming technique in the downlink is deployed to improve the fidelity and performance of WiMax application. In this regards, the designed system forms and steer the beam according to the user location which is known to the system. In addition, the system performs sidelobe cancellation base on the chebyshev algorithm to optimize the antenna radiation pattern. The design and implementation steps are as follow: the system is firstly modeled by MATLAB software. After modeling, the algorithm is implemented in DSP by using C and Code Composer Studio. After DSP hardware implementation, the signal management is performed in DSP before transmission to the FPGA board. This management is necessary, in order to make processed signal in DSP suitable for channel separation process in FPGA. FPGA is deployed to split the data stream into sixteen channels corresponding to number of antenna elements. Next, the FPGA and DSP are integrated together to form the baseband switch beam smart antenna system. After integration process, the hardware is tested; the results prove that the system functions properly as we expected from simulation model. In this project, lastly, the initial design of IF, RF-front-end and their necessary circuits are also portrayed to be used in the next smart antenna research project.


Aging
Old age in yeast cells results in insensitivity to mating pheromone. Reduced activity of the histone deactylase Sir2 and consequent alteration of chromatin at mating loci have been implicated in the decreased sensitivity of old cells. However, Schlissel et al. found a different mechanism in the yeast strains that they studied (see the Perspective by Gitler and Jarosz). Proper response to mating pheromone requires arrest of the cell cycle mediated by an RNA-binding protein, Whi3. If aggregation of Whi3 in old cells was inhibited by deletion of a glutamine-rich region that promotes aggregation, loss of sensitivity to mating pheromone was partially prevented, and replicative life span was slightly increased.

Science , this issue p. [1184][1]; see also p. [1126][2]

 [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaj2103
 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aam9740


Abstract We present a solution for controlling high-degree-of-freedom articulated figures. This method is based on starting with a limited number of 3D-trajectories specified by the animator. The simula-tion follows these specified 3D trajectories or states under certain constraints, such as obeying the laws of physics. The solution is developed in two stages. First, the global motion of the articulated figure, as determined by the centre of mass trajectory, is found by optimizing an objective function for the specified 3D trajectories. Second, the joint space trajectories required to achieve the 3D-trajectories are found by using the technique of resolved motion rate control. In this technique the pseudo inverse of the Jacobian performs a quadratic optimization on the joint velocities. Satisfactory motion is simulated for an articulated figure with 17 degrees of freedom. A summary of our algorithm and our results is presented.


Aim: This work was aimed to document the antiviral activates of Spirulina platensis extract against foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) different types to evaluate its replication in Baby Hamster Kidney (BHK) cell culture and in baby mice. Materials and Methods: Cytotoxicity assay studied for S. platensis extract on BHK cells to determine the non-toxic dose. The non-toxic dose of Spirulina extract was mixed with each type of FMDV (A, O, SAT2). Then 10-fold dilutions from each mixture were done. FMDV titer for each type of treated FMDV was calculated to evaluate the antiviral activity of the Spirulina extract against FMDV. Furthermore, old baby Swiss mice were inoculated with 0.1 ml intraperitonially from the mixture of FMDV different types and different concentration of Spirulina extracts. After 48 h post inoculation, all the baby mice examined to evaluate the antiviral action of Spirulina extract. Results: The result showed that the non-toxic doses of S. platensis (50 ug/ml) revealed 35.7%, 28.5%, and 31% reductions in FMDV titers Type O, A, and SAT2 on BHK cells, respectively. The same non-toxic dose gave 50% of the inhibitory concentration in baby mice without cytotoxic effect. Conclusion: This study confirmed the biological activity of the ethanol extract of S. platensis against FMDV Types O, A, and SAT2. From the results, S. platensis could be useful as antiviral lead to limitation of infection among animals during outbreaks but further studies need to evaluate the S. platensis on experimental or natural infected farm animals to establish the effective dose side affected period of treatment of S. platensis.


Often we encounter documents with text printed on complex color background. Readability of textual contents in such documents is very poor due to complexity of the background and mix up of color(s) of foreground text with colors of background. Automatic segmentation of foreground text in such document images is very much essential for smooth reading of the document contents either by human or by machine. In this paper we propose a novel approach to extract the foreground text in color document images having complex background. The proposed approach is a hybrid approach which combines connected component and texture feature analysis of potential text regions. The proposed approach utilizes Canny edge detector to detect all possible text edge pixels. Connected component analysis is performed on these edge pixels to identify candidate text regions. Because of background complexity it is also possible that a non-text region may be identified as a text region. This problem is overcome by analyzing the texture features of potential text region corresponding to each connected component. An unsupervised local thresholding is devised to perform foreground segmentation in detected text regions. Finally the text regions which are noisy are identified and reprocessed to further enhance the quality of retrieved foreground. The proposed approach can handle document images with varying background of multiple colors and texture; and foreground text in any color, font, size and orientation. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm detects on an average 97.12% of text regions in the source document. Readability of the extracted foreground text is illustrated through Optical character recognition (OCR) in case the text is in English. The proposed approach is compared with some existing methods of foreground separation in document images. Experimental results show that our approach performs better.


The age and mode of formation of the various sub-basins of the Amerasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean remain unknown. Jurassic-Cretaceous synorogenic foreland basin deposits are the youngest stratigraphic units deposited in the Russian Arctic prior to rifting and formation of the Amerasian Basin. U-Pb dating of detrital zircon suites (6 samples, ~ 100 zircons each) by LA-ICP-MS reveal that sandstones in the New Siberian Islands have nearly identical sources to those in Chukotka and the South Anyui Zone (SAZ) despite evidence for proximal derivation and little transport. These include abundant Precambrian (~2.1-1.7 Ga), Late Paleozoic (~330-250 Ma) and lesser Mesozoic (~175 to 145 Ma) ages; youngest zircons are likely derived from Main Belt granites in the N. Verkoyansk. The foreland basin and its counterpart the orogenic highlands either extended continuously for ~1400 km along strike, or the localities studied were once much closer together. We hypothesize that rifting/extension associated with formation of the Makarov Basin and development of the SAZ as a transform fault might be one way of explaining the present separation of the study sites


In a roller coaster at Euro-Disney a rope is used as a drive component in a catapult installation. To ensure the safety of this highly loaded rope drive, the rope is regularly checked electromagnetically. The conventional electromagnetic rope testing method with measuring coils offers limited detection of each broken wire. The Institute of Materials Handling of the University of Stuttgart has developed a measuring method to achieve improved recognition of broken wires. With a new high resolution measuring head the axial and radial magnetic components are registered simultaneously. The number of broken wires detected by this measuring method is compared with the results of the methods used so far (visual wire rope test and conventional magnetic wire rope test).


Both text summarization and visualization aim at providing some sort of general view of the text either giving a text summary in the required natural language or giving some visual representation of the text. In both cases the text can be either a single document or a set of documents written in some natural language(s). Here we present some basic methods for text summarization and text visualization and give an example on real-world data describing the research projects in information technology supported by European Commission.


BACKGROUND
The similarity of friends in the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption is explored.

METHOD
During their first semester, 57 psychology freshmen indicated weekly drinking frequency and quantity and nominated the three peers of this group they liked most. These nominations were then used to derive the weekly alcohol consumption of friends that either did or did not reciprocate a nomination.

RESULTS
Multilevel modeling of weekly variations showed that individuals' drinking frequency was similar to peers who reciprocated a friendship (b = 0.15, p = .001), but not to non-reciprocating peers (b = -0.01, p = .720). In contrast, weekly variation in quantity of individual students' drinking was similar to both reciprocating (b = 0.11, p = .018) and non-reciprocating peers' drinking (b = 0.10, p = .014). Yet across all weeks, quantity tended only to be similar to non-reciprocating peers (b = 0.49, p = .020).

CONCLUSIONS
Freshmen might spend drinking time with peers who reciprocate a friendship, but are similar regarding the quantity of drinks consumed to all people they find interesting. Thus, alcohol consumption is used strategically for social purposes. This social purpose should also be acknowledged in alcohol-reduction interventions.


Companies are under intense pressure to find ways to reduce production and material costs to survive and sustain their competitive position in their respective markets due to increasing competitive and globalized world markets. Qualified supplier is a vital element and a good resource for a buyer in reducing such costs. Therefore, evaluation and selection of the potential suppliers have become important components of supply chain management, and development of an effective and rational supplier selection model has naturally become desirable. This paper developes a supplier selection process, which will be more effective for continual process improvement, and is based on a case study carried out in a leading automobile component manufacturing company. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is formulated and applied in this case study to develop the effective supplier selection. The Additive Normalization Method and Eigen Vector Method are used as the prioritization methods to determine the priority vector. The application of AHP indicates that it can be applied to enhance the decision-making process in the selection of suppliers. It is found that the proposed AHP model can reduce the time taken to select a supplier. INTRODUCTION The global competition has resulted in reduced costs, improved responsiveness, improved quality and customer service of any product manufactured. This competition has thrown a challenge on all manufacturing units to work on the above factors. In meeting this challenge, companies are forced to concentrate on their suppliers, distribution channels and all associated activities. Supplier selection is one of the vital purchasing activities for most firms. Fuh-Hwa et al. (2005) described that in each and every stage of the supply chain, decisions need to be integrated by trading off performances of different suppliers. In recent years, customers demand cheaper, high quality products, on-time delivery and excellent after-sale services. Hence, companies are under extreme pressure to reduce product and material costs while maintaining a high level of quality and after-sale services. Achieving this starts with supplier selection. An efficient supplier selection process needs to be in place and it is of supreme importance for successful supply chain management. This process begins with the realization of the need for a new supplier; determination and formulation of decision criteria; pre-qualification (initial screening and drawing up a shortlist of potential suppliers from a large list); final supplier selection; and monitoring of the suppliers selected (i.e., continuous evaluation and assessment). Even though automobile companies are keen to spend considerable amount of time and money to select apt systems and suppliers, they may not include all the related criteria such as cost, quality, capacity of the supplier, etc. in evaluating suppliers. This exclusion of the related criteria will make the decision-making process unsystematic. These factors may result in changes in selection criteria, which would eventually affect the company. Thus, there is a need for developing a systematic supplier selection process of identifying and prioritizing relevant criteria and evaluating the trade-offs between technical, economic and performance criteria. The method should also reduce time consumed in supplier selection and develop consensus decision-making. Narasimhan (1983), Nydick and Hill (1992), and Partovi et a. (1989) recommend the use of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method for supplier selection problems. They suggested AHP primarily because of its intrinsic capability to handle qualitative and quantitative criteria used in supplier selection problems. Moreover, AHP can facilitate the decision-making process. The hierarchical structure used in formulating AHP model can enable the members of the evaluation team to visualize the problem systematically in terms of relevant criteria and sub-criteria. …


The article discusses epistemic stance in spoken L2 production. Using a subset of the Trinity Lancaster Corpus of spoken L2 production, we analysed the speech of 132 advanced L2 speakers from different L1 and cultural backgrounds taking part in four speaking tasks: one largely monologic presentation task and three interactive tasks. The study focused on three types of epistemic forms: adverbial, adjectival, and verbal expressions. The results showed a systematic variation in L2 speakers' stance-taking choices across the four tasks. The largest difference was found between the monologic and the dialogic tasks, but differences were also found in the distribution of epistemic markers in the three interactive tasks. The variation was explained in terms of the interactional demands of individual tasks. The study also found evidence of considerable inter-speaker variation, indicating the existence of individual speaker style in the use of epistemic markers. By focusing on social use of language, this article seeks to contribute to our understanding of communicative competence of advanced L2 speakers. This research is of relevance to teachers, material developers, as well as language testers interested in second language pragmatic ability.


The article addresses the challenges facing higher education, related to the demographic problems and the quality of process management. The free movement and the single education area are changing attitudes, especially those of young people and their choice where to receive education. The demographic crisis, migration and the lower quality of previous levels of education are further exacerbating the situation in higher education. The article argues that a change in the educational management is necessary in order to find solutions to deficits and to build a model of 'engaged universities' where the quality of education is maintained at a level consistent with socio-economic processes.


The Andean region of South-America has been the cradle of big cultures and empires, up to the Inka empire as the last and biggest one, a synthesis of all the previous states of the region for more thousand years. A comparative essay of the pre-Inka imperial centres like Wari, Tiahunaco and Chan Chan, furthermore, Inka urbanization as the legendary lost city of Machu Picchu and the capital Cusco, with the new cities of Spanish foundation like Lima or the same Cusco, transformed into a Spanish colonial centre, can give a chronological view about the development of the urbanization in this region. A chapter apart presents special urbanizations like mining towns and ports. The study intends to depict the structure, the districts, the architectural style and the technical innovations of all these cities as well as the actual situation and the problems Lima must solve, a city that grew into a metropolis of the 21 st century. In the end, some short reflections to remember the rural zone's story and actual difficulties in the Andean countries are given.


Self-control plays a significant role in child and adolescent development. The school environment is suggested as an important factor associated with individual differences in self-control. Among the many facets of school environment, school discipline is thought of as a critical factor that effectively develops students' capacities for self-control. However, existing findings are mixed. To take stock of the literature, this meta-analysis summarizes the overall association between three school discipline components (i.e., structure, support, and teacher-student relationship) and self-control from preschoolers to high school students. Based on 68 studies reporting 278 effect sizes (N = 57,798), the results revealed that the overall effect size for the association between school discipline and self-control was small to medium (r = .190, p < .001, 95% confidence interval [.151, .229]). Moderator analyses showed that effect sizes were similar in magnitude across school discipline components, gender and age of students, region, report informant of school discipline measures, reliability of school discipline and self-control measures, and research design. The effect sizes were stronger for the studies using self-report measures to assess self-control (compared to studies using observation/tasks or other-informant measures) and for studies that examined general self-control (compared to cognitive self-control). Moreover, the effect sizes for the association between school discipline and social-emotional self-control were stronger for older students. These findings point to the importance of school discipline associated with individual differences in self-control in students from preschool to high school.


Characterization and application of melanin produced by the fast-growing marine bacterium through heterologous biosynthesis. Title Characterization and application of melanin produced by the fast-growing marine bacterium Publication Type Journal Article Year of Publication 2019 Authors Wang, Z, Tschirhart, T, Schultzhaus, Z, Kelly, EE, Chen, A, Oh, E, Nag, O Journal Appl Environ Microbiol Date Published 2019 Dec 13 ISSN 1098-5336 Abstract Melanin is a pigment produced by organisms throughout all domains of life. Due to its unique physicochemical properties, biocompatibility and biostability, there has been an increasing interest in the use of melanin for broad applications. In the vast majority of studies, melanin has been either chemically synthesized or isolated from animals, which has restricted its use to small-scale applications. Using bacteria as biocatalysts is a promising and economical alternative for the large-scale production of biomaterials. In this study, we engineered the marine bacterium one of the fastest growing organisms, to synthesize melanin by expressing a heterologous tyrosinase gene and demonstrated that melanin production was much faster than in previously reported heterologous systems. melanin was characterized as a polymer derived from dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) and, similarly to synthetic melanin, exhibited several characteristic and useful features.Electron microscopy analysis demonstrated that melanin produced from nanoparticles that were assembled as 'melanin ghost' structures, and the photoprotective properties of these particles were validated by their protection of cells from UV irradiation. Using a novel electrochemical reverse engineering method, we observed that melanization conferred redox activities to Moreover, melanized bacteria were able to quickly adsorb organic compound trinitrotoluene (TNT). Overall, the genetic tractability, rapid division time, and ease of culture provide a set of attractive properties that compare favorably to current production strains and warrant the further development of this chassis as a microbial factory for natural product biosynthesis. Melanins are macromolecules that are ubiquitous in nature and impart a large variety of biological functions including structure, coloration, radiation resistance, free radical scavenging, and thermoregulation. Currently, in the majority of investigations, melanins are either chemically synthesized or extracted from animals, which presents significant challenges for large scale production. Bacteria have been used as biocatalysts to synthesize a variety of biomaterials due to their fast growth and amenability to genetic engineering using synthetic biology tools. In this study, we engineered the extremely fast-growing bacterium to synthesize melanin nanoparticles by expressing a heterologous tyrosinase gene with inducible promoters. Characterization of the melanin produced from -produced tyrosinase revealed that it exhibited similar physical and chemical properties to natural and chemically synthesized melanins, including nanoparticle structure, protection against UV damage, and adsorption of toxic compounds. We anticipate that producing and controlling melanin structures at the nanoscale in this bacterial system with synthetic biology tools will enable the design and rapid production of novel biomaterials for multiple applications. DOI 10.1128/AEM.02749-19 Alternate Journal Appl. Environ. Microbiol. PubMed ID 31836580


In this study, empathy was critically examined through the lens of the Catholic inspired lived empathy of Dorothy Day, Edward Flanagan, and Saint Edith Stein through personal writings and scholarship of note. Common themes have emerged expressing their outwardly focused empathy in the following ways: empathy as reflective of figurative motherhood, empathy as a valuing of the individual, empathy as an expression of moral vision of the common humanity of people, and empathy emerging as a component or force in challenging times to foster social justice. Day co-founded the Catholic Worker; Flanagan created Boys Town, and Stein was a gifted writer and speaker. All three people tenaciously and actively worked for the welfare of others. This biography of empathy synthesizes the Catholicism and Catholic inspired, action oriented empathy of Day, Flanagan, and Stein to glean some new discoveries about empathy and to decide if there is such an expression of humanness as Catholic empathy. In looking at Day, Flanagan, and Stein and how they authentically lived so others could live with dignity, we can learn more about the value of empathy and why it is so important to act when injustice occurs--rather than merely sympathizing with sorrowing people. Day, Flanagan, and Stein flow through this study; their empathy holds pride of place, and so does the teachings of Catholicism. Catholicism, writ large, may be considered as important a main character in this biography as Stein, Flanagan, and Day.


For investors and policy makers such as governments, the uncertainty of returns on investments is a major problem. The aim of this paper is to study volatility models for financial data for both univariate and multivariate case. The data to be used is monthly and daily asset returns of three different companies. For the univariate case, the main focus is on GARCH models and their subsequent derivatives. ARCH and GARCH models of different orders are fit. For the monthly data, the GARCH(1,1)outperformed the ARCH and higher order GARCH models. For the daily data, the GARCH(1,1) preceded by an appropriate AR model was the best fit. For the Multivariate volatility models, models such as the DCC-GARCH, EMWA and Go-GARCH were used. All three gave similar results. Various distributional assumptions such as the normal and Student t distributions were assumed for the innovations. Student t and Skewed Student t distributions were more effective because of their ability to capture fat tails of the distributions. Fundamental finance terms and concepts are also discussed.


Many health care facilities (HCFs) in developing countries lack adequate infrastructure for handwashing and drinking water, increasing the risk of healthcare-associated infections. Attaining permanent, 24-hour/day piped water access – the long-term goal – is time-consuming and expensive. To address this problem in the short- to medium-term, low-cost portable handwashing water stations (HWS) and drinking water stations (DWS) were installed in rural Kenyan HCFs in 2011. Access to HWSs with soap and DWSs with safe water was ascertained at baseline and one-year follow-up. Cost data were obtained from the program budget and beneficiary data (number of health workers, households, and individuals within HCF catchment areas) from the Ministry of Health. A cost analysis was adjusted for incremental gains from baseline to follow-up in access to improved handwashing and safe DWSs. The cost of improved access to handwashing with soap was $1,527/HCF, $217/health worker, and $0.17/individual, and to safe drinking water was $720/HCF, $103/health worker, and $0.08/individual. The favorable cost of this intervention per beneficiary justifies its use for rapid improvement of handwashing and drinking water access in HCFs during planning and construction of permanent infrastructure.


One of the most important obstacles that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face when addressing their growth is access to finance. The asymmetry of information, the lack of guarantees and the difficulty in establishing effective legal rights explain these difficulties in access to finance. The solution of these obstacles has led to the implementation of policies seeking to address these challenges. The paper explains the relationship of these policies for the period 2004-2016 in 39 countries that belong to the group of developing and developed countries. Our results show that guarantee policies and the improvement of information quality are complementary. Moreover, the implementation of guarantee policies takes place in environments with weak judicial institutions. This result emphasizes the substitutable nature between guarantee systems and the legal reform of the credit rights' protections. The implications of our findings are relevant for policy makers to implement or strengthen the guarantee systems.


Actuators based on dielectric elastomers have promising applications in artificial muscles, space robotics, mechatronics, micro-air vehicles, pneumatic and electric automation technology, heating valves, loud speakers, tissue engineering, surgical tools, wind turbine flaps, toys, rotary motors, and grippers for material handling, etc. This paper focuses on the application of Dielectric Electro Active Polymer (DEAP) technology as an actuation mechanism for different applications. The DEAP material requires very high voltage (~2.5 kV DC) to fully utilize it as an actuator. In this paper the DEAP actuator is analyzed in detail and the actuator structures, for the wind turbine flap and the heating valve applications are shown. Different high voltage switch mode power supply topologies for driving the DEAP actuator are discussed. The simulation and experimental results are discussed.


Steam flooding is used for removal of volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) from concentrated source zones. The application of steam flooding to shallow vadose zone sites can be problematic if the steam or contaminants vent to the ground surface. Cold air injection holds promise as a technique for controlling the vertical movement of the injected steam. A series of two‐dimensional numerical simulations using a radially symmetric grid show the sensitivity of this process to geological and operational parameters. Air control of vertical steam movement appears to be a useful technique, using approximately equal air and steam volumetric flow rates. Air injection is shown to be more effective than a low‐permeability cap at the ground surface for keeping high temperatures away from the surface. The most effective design appears to be a combination of a low‐permeability surface cap and air injection above the steam injector. The cap mainly serves to direct the air flow, preventing it from exiting at the ground surface near the air injection point.


Like- and cross-polarized scattering cross sections are determined at optical frequencies for conducting cylinders with rough surfaces. Both normal and oblique incidence with respect to the cylinder axis are considered. The full wave approach is used to account for both the specular point scattering and the diffuse scattering. For the roughness scales considered, the scattering cross sections differ significantly from those derived for smooth or slightly rough conducting cylinders. Several illustrative examples are presented and the albedos for smooth and rough cylinders are compared.


Landmarks of Tomorrow forecasts changes in three major areas of human life and experience. The first part of the book treats the philosophical shift from a Cartesian universe of mechanical cause to a new universe of pattern, purpose, and process. Drucker discusses the power to organize men of knowledge and high skill for joint effort and performance as a key component of this change. The second part of the book sketches four realities that challenge the people of the free world: an educated society, economic development, the decline of government, and the collapse of Eastern culture. The final section of the book is concerned with the spiritual reality of human existence. These are seen as basic elements in late twentieth-century society. In his new introduction, Peter Drucker revisits the main findings of Landmarks of Tomorrow and assesses their validity in relation to today's concerns. It is a book that will be of interest to sociologists, economists, and political theorists.


A precise measuring method for detecting the in situ distortion profile of a high-heat-load mirror for synchrotron radiation by use of a pentaprism long trace profiler (LTP) is presented. A maximum distortion of 0.47 microm across a length of 180 mm was measured for an internally water-cooled mirror on an undulator beam line at ELETTRA while exposed to a total emitted power of 600 W. This first successfully tested in situ distortion profile points out the importance and need for this method. Two configurations for performing in situ LTP tests are discussed. For this measurement the configuration with all the equipment external to the vacuum chamber was used. The experiment has an accuracy and a repeatability of 0.04 microm. Suggestions for improving the accuracy and stability are presented.


BACKGROUND
Technical skill is an essential domain of surgical competence, and arthroscopic surgery requires a particularly challenging subset of technical skills. The innate ability to acquire arthroscopic skills is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the innate arthroscopic skills and learning curve patterns of medical students.

METHODS
Tests of two arthroscopic tasks (one shoulder and one knee task designed to represent core skills required for arthroscopic training) were conducted in a surgical skills laboratory. The performance of twenty medical students with no previous arthroscopic surgery experience was assessed as they performed thirty repetitions of each task. The primary outcome measure for each repetition was success or failure in performing the task. An individual was deemed "competent" at the conclusion of the testing if he or she achieved stabilization of the learning curve (success on all subsequent repetitions) within twenty repetitions of the task. The secondary outcome measures were objective assessments of technical dexterity (time taken to complete the task, total length of the path traveled by the subject's hands, and number of hand movements) measured with use of a validated motion analysis system.

RESULTS
The performance on each task varied among the students. Seven students were unable to achieve competence in the shoulder task and four were unable to achieve competence in the knee task. Motion analysis demonstrated that students who achieved task competence had better objective technical dexterity and thus better innate arthroscopic ability. The total path length and the number of hand movements differed significantly between the students who did and did not become competent at the shoulder task (p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). The difference in path length was also significant for students performing the knee task (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Variation in innate arthroscopic skill exists among future surgeons, with some individuals being unable to achieve competence in basic arthroscopic tasks despite sustained practice.


With the grim picture of millions of people living in poverty and hunger, there is also an international alarm over future world food supply. This global concern of food scarcity has established the need to not only increase the production of traditional staples but also fisheries and aquaculture. Genetically, physiologically and phenotypically, fish are the most diverse group of livings. Similar to mammals, molecular biology is being extensively used in aquaculture, be it in disease management, or growth and reproduction enhancement. In this chapter we aim to discuss the molecular methodologies applied to uplift and attain sustainability in aqua farming.


This thesis is concerned with the effect of pre-stress on the propagation of surface and interfacial waves in elastic materials. Following a review of the classical theory of Rayleigh and Stoneley waves for linear elastic materials we consider first the propagation of infinitesimal surface waves on a half-space of incompressible material subject to a general pure homogeneous pre-stress; the secular equation for propagation along a principal axis of the pre-stess is obtained for a general strain-energy function, and conditions which ensure stability of the underlying pre-stress are derived; the influence of the pre-stress on the existence of surface waves is examined, and the secular equation is analysed in detail for particular deformations and, for a number of specific forms of strain-energy function, numerical results are used to illustrate the dependence of the wave speed on the pre-stress. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a unique surface wave are obtained. Corresponding results for a compressible material are also derived. The propagation of (Stoneley) interfacial waves along the boundary between two half-spaces of pre-stressed incompressible isotropic elastic material is then examined. The underlying deformation in each half-space corresponds to a pure homogeneous strain with one principal axis of strain normal to the interface and the others having a common orientation. The secular equation governing the wave speed for propagation along a principal axis is obtained in respect of general strain-energy functions. Detailed analysis of the secular equation reveals general sufficient conditions for the existence of a wave and, in particular cases, necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a unique interfacial wave. It is also shown that when an interfacial wave exists its speed is greater than that of the least of the Rayleigh wave speeds for the separate half-spaces, paralleling a result from the linear theory. For the special case of quasi-static interfacial deformations (corresponding to vanishing wave speed) an existence criterion is found; moreover, it is shown that inequalities that exclude surface deformations in each half-space also exclude interfacial deformations. Dependence of the above results on the underlying homogeneous deformations and on material parameters is illustrated by numerical results for the neo-Hookean material.


Mono-functional intermediates produced by catalytic conversion of sugars and polyols over Pt–Re/C catalysts (consisting of alcohols, ketones, carboxylic acids, and heterocyclic compounds) can be upgraded to fuel-grade compounds using two catalytic reactors operated in a cascade mode. The first reactor achieves C–C coupling of mono-functional intermediates using a dual-bed catalyst system, where the upstream catalyst bed (Ce1Zr1Ox) is employed to carry out ketonization of carboxylic acids, and the downstream catalyst bed (Pd/ZrO2) is used to achieve aldol condensation/hydrogenation of alcohols and ketones. This second bed is not significantly inhibited by CO2 and H2O produced during ketonization. The high molecular weight ketones produced by C–C coupling reactions in the dual-bed catalyst system are subsequently converted to alkanes by hydrodeoxygenation (i.e., dehydration/hydrogenation) over a Pt/SiO2–Al2O3 catalyst. Using the aforementioned approach, an aqueous feed containing 60 wt% sorbitol was converted to a liquid stream of alkanes, 53% of which consisted of C7+ alkanes with minimal branching, desirable for Diesel fuel.


The detection and prevention of authorised activities, by both external parties and internal personnel, is an important issue within IT systems. Traditional methods of user authentication and access control do not provide comprehensive protection and offer opportunities for compromise by various classes of abuser. A potential solution is provided in the form of intrusion detection systems, which are able to provide proactive monitoring of system activity and apply automatic responses in the event of suspected problems. This paper presents the principles of intrusion monitoring and then proceeds to describe the conceptual architecture of the Intrusion Monitoring System (IMS), an approach that is the focus of current research and development by the authors. The main functional elements of the IMS architecture are described, followed by thoughts regarding the practical implementation and the associated advantages (and potential disadvantages) that this would deliver. It is concluded that whilst an IMS‐type a...


Abstract. One of the major challenges in precision viticulture in Europe is the detection and mapping of flavescence doree (FD) grapevine disease to monitor and contain its spread. The lack of effective cures and the need for sustainable preventive measures are nowadays crucial issues. Insecticides and the plants uprooting are commonly employed to withhold disease infection, even if these solutions imply serious economic consequences and a strong environmental impact. The development of a rapid strategy to identify the disease is required to cover large portions of the crop and thus to limit damages in a time-effective way. This paper investigates the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), a cost-effective approach to early detection of diseased areas. We address this task with an object detection deep network, Faster R-CNN, instead of a traditional pixel-wise classifier. This work tests Faster R-CNN performance on this specific application through a comparative analysis with a pixel-wise classification algorithm (Random Forest). To take advantage of the full image resolution, the experimental analysis is performed using the original UAV imagery acquired in real conditions (instead of the derived orthomosaic). The first result of this paper is the definition of a new dataset for FD disease identification by UAV original imagery at the canopy scale. Moreover, we demonstrate the feasibility of applying Faster-R-CNN as a quasi-real-time alternative solution to semantic segmentation. The trained Faster-R-CNN achieved an average precision of 82% on the test set.


Introduction: Antibacterial resistance has accentuated the need for the development of novel, efficacious pharmaceuticals. Structurally nanoengineered antimicrobial polypeptide polymers (SNAPPs) have shown promise as a candidate for a new antibacterial pharmaceutical class which may help overcome the problem of antibacterial resistance in humans or animals.  Particularly, the SNAPP with a chemical formula (RGRGRGRGRGRG)4K2K-NH2 (4R6G6) has been shown to exhibit negligible hemolysis while retaining low minimal inhibitory concentrations against bacteria. An important consideration in drug development is pharmacokinetic studies, however, there have been no prior pharmacokinetic studies involving SNAPPs. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of 4R6G6.
Methods: 4R6G6 will be synthesized and purified according to previously reported methods. 4R6G6 will be administered to BALB/c mice intravenously, serial blood samples will be taken from 0-48 hours after SNAPP administration and serum 4R6G6 concentrations will be quantified over time by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. This information will be used to calculate key pharmacokinetic parameters using Pmetrics.
Results: We expect that the half-life of elimination will be on the order of hours and will exceed 3 hours, while the volume of distribution will be equal to the plasma volume of a mouse (1.2 mL/mouse)
Discussion: The half-life of elimination of 4R6G6 will influence its desirability as a future drug target. Additionally, the volume of distribution is expected to indicate a distribution into plasma, and can be used to calculate the desired dose for a certain plasma concentration in future studies.
Conclusion: Given the expected half-life of elimination on the order of hours, we expect 4R6G6 to be a strong candidate for further translational study in the race to combat antibacterial resistance. Future directions include the quantification of the safety of the drug by determining the therapeutic index in vivo.


BACKGROUND
Intracranial-pressure monitoring is considered the standard of care for severe traumatic brain injury and is used frequently, but the efficacy of treatment based on monitoring in improving the outcome has not been rigorously assessed.

METHODS
We conducted a multicenter, controlled trial in which 324 patients 13 years of age or older who had severe traumatic brain injury and were being treated in intensive care units (ICUs) in Bolivia or Ecuador were randomly assigned to one of two specific protocols: guidelines-based management in which a protocol for monitoring intraparenchymal intracranial pressure was used (pressure-monitoring group) or a protocol in which treatment was based on imaging and clinical examination (imaging-clinical examination group). The primary outcome was a composite of survival time, impaired consciousness, and functional status at 3 months and 6 months and neuropsychological status at 6 months; neuropsychological status was assessed by an examiner who was unaware of protocol assignment. This composite measure was based on performance across 21 measures of functional and cognitive status and calculated as a percentile (with 0 indicating the worst performance, and 100 the best performance).

RESULTS
There was no significant between-group difference in the primary outcome, a composite measure based on percentile performance across 21 measures of functional and cognitive status (score, 56 in the pressure-monitoring group vs. 53 in the imaging-clinical examination group; P=0.49). Six-month mortality was 39% in the pressure-monitoring group and 41% in the imaging-clinical examination group (P=0.60). The median length of stay in the ICU was similar in the two groups (12 days in the pressure-monitoring group and 9 days in the imaging-clinical examination group; P=0.25), although the number of days of brain-specific treatments (e.g., administration of hyperosmolar fluids and the use of hyperventilation) in the ICU was higher in the imaging-clinical examination group than in the pressure-monitoring group (4.8 vs. 3.4, P=0.002). The distribution of serious adverse events was similar in the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS
For patients with severe traumatic brain injury, care focused on maintaining monitored intracranial pressure at 20 mm Hg or less was not shown to be superior to care based on imaging and clinical examination. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01068522.).


The focus of this research study is occupational therapy students' perceptions of employability and professionalism. Using some key principles of grounded theory, data was collected through the Ideal ***Inventory (Norton 2001), through a focus group and through seven individual interviews with final year students on a part time BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy degree programme.
The thesis maps two journeys, that of the researcher from novice to more experienced and that of the student occupational therapist from recruitment to graduation examining the trajectory of development for both.
The thesis focuses on some pertinent methodological issues around researcher distance and creativity in the study; the term used for this is contamination. The work of Charmaz (2006) on constructivist grounded theory and Clarke (2005) on situational mapping in grounded theory have been used to provide reference points in my research to support the researcher's engagement with data. It is suggested that the research is situated in the borderlands of modernist and postmodern ideas. There is a critique which focuses on theory, its value and purpose in the study and in grounded theory more generally. Analytical tools and the way in which these support understanding of the data are also debated. Relational Situational Maps (Clarke 2005) were used to engage and display data, to show assumptions about relationships between data and to highlight sites of contamination. Mapping the data in this way has assisted in the researcher to see the data differently and to engage with it more interestingly. Consideration is given to the interpretation of meaning in the data analysis, including the labelling of categories and sub- categories and the consequences of this for dissemination.
A greater understanding of professionalism for occupational therapy students has been gained by undertaking the study and the importance of role models, authenticity, a prospective professional identity, personal values and the alignment of these to professional ones are discussed. Individual conceptualisations of professionalism alongside external professional regulation are also considered. Recommendations for curriculum development as a result of this study have also been identified.