Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Activation of AT1 (type 1 Ang) receptors stimulates cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro. Accordingly, it has been suggested that regression of cardiac hypertrophy associated with renin-Ang system blockade is due to inhibition of cellular actions of Ang II in the heart, above and beyond their effects to reduce pressure overload. We generated 2 distinct mouse lines with cell-specific deletion of AT1A receptors, from cardiomyocytes. In the first line (C-SMKO), elimination of AT1A receptors was achieved using a heterologous Cre recombinase transgene under control of the Sm22 promoter, which expresses in cells of smooth muscle lineage including cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells of conduit but not resistance vessels. The second line (R-SMKO) utilized a Cre transgene knocked-in to the Sm22 locus, which drives expression in cardiac myocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells in both conduit and resistance arteries. Thus, although both groups lack AT1 receptors in the cardiomyocytes, they are distinguished by presence (C-SMKO) or absence (R-SMKO) of peripheral vascular responses to Ang II. Similar to wild-types, chronic Ang II infusion caused hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy in C-SMKO mice, whereas both hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy were reduced in R-SMKOs. Thus, despite the absence of AT1A receptors in cardiomyocytes, C-SMKOs develop robust cardiac hypertrophy. By contrast, R-SMKOs developed identical levels of hypertrophy in response to pressure overload–induced by transverse aortic banding. Our findings suggest that direct activation of AT1 receptors in cardiac myocytes has minimal influence on cardiac hypertrophy induced by renin-Ang system activation or pressure overload.


Heat exchanger is an essential component in the HVAC&R applications. The heat exchanger development methods are divided into simulation and experiment. Simulation is often used by researchers because it can save a lot of time and money over experimental method. However, it is difficult to model all physical phenomena in simulation. Some phenomena are simulated with ideal assumptions based on experience. To analyze an ideal heat exchanger without pressure loss of the refrigerant, the saturation temperature of the heat exchanger is assumed to be constant. Whereas, saturated temperature drop occurs due to the pressure loss of the refrigerant in a real case scenario which affects the heat transfer capacity of the heat exchanger. In this study, a theoretical method to evaluate the effect of saturated pressure loss of refrigerant on the heat transfer capacity in heat exchanger was proposed and analyzed. The proposed method was verified by simulation. R134a, R410A, R600a, R32, and R1234yf were selected as refrigerants for analysis which are used in air conditioners and refrigerators. As a result, the heat transfer capacity ratio of the cycle using R134a showed 96.11% under the condensing condition of 15 kPa pressure loss, and 108.97% and 123.17% for air conditioner and refrigerator evaporating conditions, respectively. Moreover, R600a showed the greatest performance change, and R32 showed the smallest performance change.


Cloud computing is the next generation of networking computing, since it can deliver both software and hardware as on-demand resources and services over the Internet. Undoubtedly, one of the significant concerns in cloud computing is security. Virtualization is a key feature of cloud computing. In this paper, we focus on the security of virtual network in virtualized environment. First, we outline the security issues in virtual machines, and then security problems that exist in a virtual network are discussed and analyzed based on Xen platform. Finally this paper presents a novel virtual network framework aimed to control the inter-communication among virtual machines deployed in physical machines with higher security.


BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY
The study aim was to determine if mitral stenosis occurred after edge-to-edge (E2E) repair of P2 mitral valve prolapse.

METHODS
Six swine hearts were reanimated and videoscopes placed to view the mitral valve from the left atrium and left ventricle. Image analyses provided measures of the valve annulus area, orifice area, and regurgitant area. Hemodynamic data were collected (heart rates, left ventricular (LV) pressures, left atrial pressures, maximal LV dP/dt, and maximal LV -dP/dt) from three groups: (i) native functioning valve (Normal); (ii) mitral valve following excision of strut chordae from the P2 region (Prolapse); and (iii) following E2E repair.

RESULTS
The mitral valve annulus areas were unaffected by the creation of prolapses, or following repairs (Normal 10.50 +/- 4.22 cm2; Prolapse 9.41 +/- 3.70 cm2; E2E 9.66 +/- 3.37 cm2; p < 0.01), with similar decreases in annulus areas throughout the cardiac cycles, measured at 15 +/- 3%. The orifice areas did not change with the creation of prolapses, but decreased following repairs (Normal 4.49 +/- 2.70 cm2; Prolapse 4.13 +/- 2.16 cm2; E2E 1.99 +/- 1.19 cm2; p = 0.12). The regurgitant areas increased following induced prolapse, and returned to near-normal levels upon repair (Normal 0.20 +/- 0.16 cm2; Prolapse 0.73 +/- 0.35 cm2; E2E 0.12 +/- 0.10 cm2; p < 0.01). The max LV dP/dt measures did not decrease significantly, whereas max LV -dP/dt measures were decreased.

CONCLUSION
In this acute assessment of E2E repair of surgically induced mitral valve P2 prolapses, it was observed that a placed A2-P2 (Alfieri) stitch did not change the annulus area, but caused a significant decrease in the orifice area while successfully eliminating regurgitation, but without causing stenosis.


Do big cities exert more power than less populous ones in American state legislatures? In many political systems, greater representation leads to more policy gains, yet for most of the nation's history, urban advocates have argued that big cities face systematic discrimination in statehouses. Drawing on a new historical dataset spanning 120 years and 13 states, we find clear evidence that there is no strength in numbers for big-city delegations in state legislatures. District bills affecting large metropolises fail at much higher rates than bills affecting small cities, counties, and villages. Big cities lose so often because size leads to damaging divisions. We demonstrate that the cities with the largest delegations—which are more likely to be internally divided—are the most frustrated in the legislative process. Demographic differences also matter, with district bills for cities that have many foreign-born residents, compared with the state as a whole, failing at especially high rates.


A robust empirical algorithm to determine the diffuse attenuation coefficient Kd at a wavelength of 490 nm (Kd490) from spectral remote sensing reflectance has been derived from the NOMAD data set and tested against the COASTLOOC data set. Together, both data sets contain more than 3,800 observations of concomitantly acquired bio‐optical parameters in waters ranging from very clear to very turbid, of which about 2,300 have been used in this study. The proposed algorithm follows a power law of the form Kd490 = 10^(a0 + a1 x + a2 x2 + a3 x3) + a4, where x is the common logarithm of either of two remote sensing reflectance ratios: log10 (Rrs490/Rrs555) for clear waters and log10 (Rrs490/Rrs665) for turbid waters. Switching between the ratios is triggered when Rrs490/Rrs555 drops below a threshold value of 0.85 corresponding to a Kd490 value of approx. 0.2 m−1. Our algorithm shows comparable performance in both clear and turbid waters. Due to its simplicity and the public availability of the underlying in situ data, localization of the algorithm by appropriate sub‐setting of the NOMAD data and/or adding other in situ data are straightforward.


A scheme of multi-wavelength pulse generator using optical frequency comb and arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. A flattop optical frequency comb is shaped into multiple narrowband Gaussian spectra by using an AWG which contains a number of Gaussian channels, and then multi-wavelength optical pulses are achieved. In the experiment, six wavelength pulses with full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 14.6 ps at 10 GHz are obtained, and two wavelength-interleaved pulse trains at 20 GHz and four wavelength-interleaved pulse trains at 40 GHz are demonstrated by using the multi-wavelength optical pulses. This scheme has flexibility because the pulse width, the repetition rate, and time-interval can be readily controlled.


This volume studies the 'subterranean currents' of plural temporalities that have traversed the development of the Marxist tradition. Chapters on Rousseau, Sieyes, Marx, Bloch, Althusser, Gramsci, Pasolini and Postcolonialism highlight the articulation of the plural temporalities of mass political action.


More and more effort is being put in the utilization of bio-solids. Bio-solids can be an important source for useful products like fertilizers and biogas. DMT has been developing biogas treatment plants for over 20 years following the market developments closely. Biogas was first seen as a nuisance at e.g. landfills, creating odor problems and methane emissions. A flare has always been a cheap and simple solution. But with time more and more biogas was produced intentional from bio-solids to generate energy. In the current market the choice for utilization of the biogas is usually a choice for a single technology (e.g. boiler, CHP or upgrading to natural gas/ fuel quality), which is than fixed for the next 10-20 years. At the same time economical feasibility, especially for biogas upgrading, but also the other technologies, is based on "the bigger the better" principle, which is relying on the benefit of scale. This is in contrast to the reality where the biggest potential for biogas production is on smallscale sites. DMT has developed a biogas upgrading plant with the focus on small scale utilization of bio-solids. In this article it is shown that, also with a biogas production of only 50-200Nm/h, it is feasible to utilize biogas as a combination of energy sources. The DMT Carborex-MS is a modular plant built in a sea container(s). The biogas upgrading is performed with gas selective membranes. The upgraded gas with a methane concentration of 96-98% CH4 can be used in the local gas grid, or can be further compressed to 220 bar and used as vehicle fuel (CBG). To optimize the energy balance and to prevent methane emissions, the off-gas from the membranes is burned in a micro-turbine, to produce electricity and heat.


Ocean acidification (OA) is affecting marine ecosystems through changes in carbonate chemistry that may influence consumers of phytoplankton, often via trophic pathways. Using a mesocosm approach, we investigated OA effects on a subtropical zooplankton community during oligotrophic, bloom, and post-bloom phases under a range of different pCO2 levels (from ∼400 to ∼1480 μatm). Furthermore, we simulated an upwelling event by adding 650 m-depth nutrient-rich water to the mesocosms, which initiated a phytoplankton bloom. No effects of pCO2 on the zooplankton community were visible in the oligotrophic conditions before the bloom. The zooplankton community responded to phytoplankton bloom by increased abundances in all treatments, although the response was delayed under high-pCO2 conditions. Microzooplankton was dominated by small dinoflagellates and aloricate ciliates, which were more abundant under medium- to high-pCO2 conditions. The most abundant mesozooplankters were calanoid copepods, which did not respond to CO2 treatments during the oligotrophic phase of the experiment but were found in higher abundance under medium- and high-pCO2 conditions toward the end of the experiment, most likely as a response to increased phyto- and microzooplankton standing stocks. The second most abundant mesozooplankton taxon were appendicularians, which did not show a response to the different pCO2 treatments. Overall, CO2 effects on zooplankton seemed to be primarily transmitted through significant CO2 effects on phytoplankton and therefore indirect pathways. We conclude that elevated pCO2 can change trophic cascades with significant effects on zooplankton, what might ultimately affect higher trophic levels in the future.


The ways in which we approach systems development practice and research play a major role in shaping professional development within our field. This paper investigates a particular approach, Reflective Systems Development, which has been developed over the past twenty years by a small group of mainly Danish researchers in collaboration with practitioners and students. In this approach, researchers focus on how computer-based information systems are developed in practice; they emphasize the important role played by the local organizational environment; and they combine interpretive understandings of practice with normative propositions to support professional development. The purpose of the paper is to present and evaluate the underlying assumptions and practices of Reflective Systems Development focusing on the following questions: How should we understand, support, and improve practice? How should we organize and conduct research? How should we relate practice and research? The argument draws on the literature on systems development and on the author's experience as an active participant in developing the approach.


The advent of the smart grid promises to usher in an era that will bring intelligence, efficiency, and optimality to the power grid. Most of these changes will occur as an Internet-like communications network is superimposed on top of the current power grid using wireless technologies including 802.15.4, 802.11, and the Zigbee protocol. Each of these will expose the power grid to cyber security threats. In order to address this issue, this work proposes a Distributed Intrusion Detection System for Smart Grids (SGDIDS) by developing and deploying an intelligent module, the Analyzing Module (AM) in the multiple layers of smart grids. Multiple AMs will be embedded at each level of the smart grid — the home area network (HAN), neighborhood area network (NAN), and the Wide Area Network (WAN) — where they will use Artificial Immune System (AIS) to detect and classify malicious data and possible cyber attacks. AMs at each level will be trained using data that is relevant to their level and will also be able to communicate in order to improve detection. Simulation results demonstrate that this is a promising methodology for identifying malicious network traffic and improving system security.


Abstract The amulpüllün biographical oratory which takes place at Mapuche funerals in southern Chile is said to 'complete' the person. Such a perspective challenges the assumption that mortuary practices necessarily constitute a form of analysis, a division of the component parts of the social person. In this paper I explore what it is about the Mapuche person which needs to be 'completed,' and how funeral oratory achieves this goal. Utilizing Bakhtin's concepts of consummation and transgredience, and Ricoeur's concepts of emplotment and narrative identity, I suggest that it is only from the position of outsidedness that the necessary totalization of the deceased's person can occur. These processes of synthesis and totalization cast light upon an apparent contradiction between the importance which Amerindians place upon biography as an oral form, and theoretical approaches which stress the instability and divisibility of an Amerindian personhood predicated upon the incorporation of the other. Rather than viewing the totalization which occurs in biography as a critique of such an approach, I see it as a solution to the ontological problem which such an approach describes.


This article considers the 'Functional Airspace Blocks' (FABs) – which are part of the European initiative for a Single European Sky (SES). The primary objective of the transport policy has been to complete the internal market for transport and facilitate the free movement of persons, good and services. Yet the significance of the transport policy to the wider objectives of the EU is often overlooked. Whilst deregulation of the air transport sector in the EU has created the world's largest and most successful example of regional market integration and liberalization in air transport – the industry remains hampered by disjointed skies, which standard to compromise safety and impact upon economic development. And, whilst the FAB should have been completed – 'by' December 2012 – it is still not a reality. The research identifies the aims and advantages of a common European airspace and reviews the delays and consequences of implementation, specifically commenting on the use of the infringement process (or non-use) against Member States regarding the implementation of the FABs.


High-frequency stimulation of the globus pallidus (GP) has emerged as a successful tool for treating Parkinson's disease and other motor disorders. However, the mechanism governing its therapeutic effect is still under debate. To shed light on the basic mechanism of deep brain stimulation (DBS), we performed microstimulation in the GP of a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-treated monkey while recording with other microelectrodes in the same nucleus. We used robust methods to reduce the stimulus artifact, and 600-3000 repetitions of a single stimulus and of high-frequency short trains (10-40 stimuli), enabling high temporal resolution analysis of neural responses. Low-frequency stimulation yielded a typical three-stage response: short-term (2-3 msec duration) activity, followed by mid-term (15-25 msec) inhibition, and occasionally longer-term (30-40 msec) excitation. Trains of high-frequency stimuli elicited complex locking of the response to the stimuli in most neurons. The locking displayed a stereotypic temporal structure consisting of three short-duration (1-2 msec) phases: an initial (mean latency = 2.9 msec) excitation followed by an inhibition (4.6 msec) and a second excitation (6.3 msec). The change in the mean firing rate was mixed; the majority of the neurons displayed partial inhibition during the stimulus train. Slow inhibitory and excitatory multiphase changes in the firing rate were observed after the stimulus trains. The activity of neurons recorded simultaneously displayed rate correlations but no spike-to-spike correlations. Our results suggest that the effect of DBS on the GP is not complete inhibition but rather a complex reshaping of the temporal structure of the neuronal activity within that nucleus.


Data lineage and data provenance are key to the management of scientific data. Not knowing the exact provenance and processing pipeline used to produce a derived data set often renders the data set useless from a scientific point of view. On the positive side, capturing provenance information is facilitated by the widespread use of workflow tools for processing scientific data. The workflow process describes all the steps involved in producing a given data set and, hence, captures its lineage. On the negative side, efficiently storing and querying workflow based data lineage is not trivial. All existing solutions use recursive queries and even recursive tables to represent the workflows. Such solutions do not scale and are rather inefficient. In this paper we propose an alternative approach to storing lineage information captured as a workflow process. We use a space and query efficient interval representation for dependency graphs and show how to transform arbitrary workflow processes into graphs that can be stored using such representation. We also characterize the problem in terms of its overall complexity and provide a comprehensive performance evaluation of the approach.


Th e eff ectiveness of physicians in providing advice to patients about physical activity (PA) is infl uenced by their own understanding of the links between PA and health, as well as by their own PA habits. Th is study involved pre-clinical medical students in New Zealand, examining their baseline knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards advising patients about PA, as well as eliciting their personal exercise habits. A total of 234 students (age 20.9±2.9 years; 46% males; participation rate: 99%) completed a paper questionnaire assessing their awareness of current PA guidelines, the benefi ts of PA, their attitudes toward PA advising, perceived competence and importance of PA-advising skills, and personal PA habits. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Most students were aware of the benefi ts of PA and were regularly active. Students perceived PA advising as a high priority in general practice (79%) but only 37% felt confi dent in their ability to provide PA advice. At this point in their training, students considered PA advice to be important (4.7±0.8 out of 6), yet perceived themselves to be only moderately competent in providing patient-oriented exercise prescriptions (3.1±0.8 out of 6). However, students who had regular exercise felt more confi dent in providing PA advice (3.0±0.9 vs. 3.3±0.9, p=0.009). In conclusion, medical students were generally active and had a good understanding of the links between PA and health, but were lacking skills for PA advising. Competence and skills in PA counselling need to be further developed within clinical training as part of an overall curriculum strategy.


This Article analyzes peace agreements in regions with a history of ethno-religious conflicts to determine if
there are correlations between the form and substance of the agreements and their successful implementation. For
purposes of comparison, I examine several agreements between India and Pakistan, the historic agreement between
Israel and Egypt, and the Darfur Peace Agreement, as exemplars of similar conflict situations where a study of
agreement design has salience. I endeavour to apply the legalization theory articulated by Kenneth Abbott, et al., to
test the explanatory power of the obligation-precision-delegation matrix. [FN1] The Kashmir dispute has raged on
for over five decades and has consumed thousands of lives making the region one of the most dangerous conflict
zones in the modern world. [FN2] The terrible price, both in terms of human lives and defense expenditures, has not
made much of an impact in pushing the parties towards finding a peaceful solution. [FN3] This *404 indifference to
cost is not unique--several other dyads that are deeply sundered by ethnic and religious divisions share the same
disregard for human suffering with the same devastating consequences. [FN4] The fragility of peace in these conflict
zones and the fluctuation of rhetoric depending on the regime in power have meant that hope for a peaceful
settlement is slim, [FN5] which might explain the shortage of significant attention to the analysis of such peace
negotiations and agreements by legal scholars. The closed and secret nature of the negotiations and the low
involvement of the legal community in them have contributed to this state of affairs. One consequence of such
indifference has been the repetition of the same features in agreements despite evidence of failure. The scholarly
community has to analyze the agreements to unearth avenues that can maximize the probability of better outcomes if
the situation is to improve. [FN6] Scholarly attention to the design and structure of agreements between these parties
can help us to understand whether there is a correlation between the choice of form and substance and their
successful implementation. [FN7] Legal scholars have deferred for too long to the view that politics, rather than
*405 law, is the answer to these disputes. This deference is fundamentally flawed and an examination of the
agreements using legalization theory may help to bridge the gap between law and politics. It will cast light on the
role of law in solving disputes characterized by ethno-religious hatreds, and will demonstrate that contract-like
forms are preferable for agreement design. I analyze agreements between India and Pakistan, Israel and Egypt, and
the Darfur Peace Agreement, to demonstrate that agreements that are high on the precision-obligation-delegation
matrix enjoy higher degrees of success than those that are low on this matrix when concluded in dispute scenarios
involving ethno-religious conflicts. I conclude by arguing that India and Pakistan should aim for hard legalization to
solve the Kashmir dispute, and that they must learn from the painful experience of the Darfur Peace Agreement and
include non-state actors as signatories to any agreement.


This paper surveys the role of the Federal Reserve within the financial regulatory system, with particular attention to the interaction of the Fed's role as both a supervisor and a lender-of-last-resort. The institutional design of the Federal Reserve System was aimed at preventing banking panics, primarily due to the permanent presence of the discount window. This new system was successful at preventing a panic in the early 1920s, after which the Fed began to discourage the use of the discount window and intentionally create "stigma" for window borrowing -- policies that contributed to the panics of the Great Depression. The legislation of the New Deal era centralized Fed power in the Board of Governors, and over the next 75 years the Fed expanded its role as a supervisor of the largest banks. Nevertheless, prior to the recent crisis the Fed had large gaps in its authority as a supervisor and as lender of last resort, with the latter role weakened further by stigma. The Fed was unable to prevent the recent crisis, during which its lender of last resort function expanded significantly. As the Fed begins its second century, there are still great challenges to fulfilling its original intention of panic prevention.


Described for first in 1986 near Ohrid lake from Macedonia, by Deschka & Dimie, the horse chestnuts leaf miner (Cameraria ohridella) a highly invasive moth, in just two decades has spread all over the continent, and caused considerable damages in horse chestnuts populations across Europe. In Romania has been described in1993. In our climatic conditions develops 3-4 generations per year. Adult moths are transported by wind, anthropogenic transport by vehicles in infested leaf fragments or infested nursery stocks. The most important damage is esthetical, because of fallen foliage but also ecological do to the effect of the reduced active surface of photosynthesis, and progressive decline of trees. Also causes economic losses due to the costs of protect or heal the affected trees. As a consequence different techniques have been adopted in the recent years to control the moth like collection and destruction of fallen leaves where the pupae over-winter or spray of systemic insecticides. They native natural enemies are insufficiently adapted and not able to regulate the leaf miner's population density, even after two decades of moth infestation typical parasitism rates are merely around 0–10%.The chemical control is difficult especially through the application of insecticides; the aerial spraying to treat trees in urban areas requires specialized expensive equipment. Moreover the systemic insecticides may cause side effects on non-target species. The endoterapy technique by introducing pesticides directly inside the trees can be the best solution. Microinjection is a type of trunk injection where small amounts of therapeutic chemicals are introduced directly into the trees body without any contact with the environment. During our experiment a total number of 84 chestnut threes where identified from which 38 were treated with two different active chemical agents: abamectin and imidacloprid. Treatment applications were made in May 2011. A plot of 46 threes where used as control without treatment. The analysis of the collected results shows, that the treated trees of up to 90% are protected with endoterapy against horse chestnuts leaf miner (Cameraria ohridella).


Mr D J KENNY (regional administrator, North West Thames Regional Health Authority, London W2 3QR) writes: Thanks to Minerva (26 November, p 1633) we have had a number of requests for our booklet on ceremonial occasions, one from a major provincial daily newspaper, where it will be used to guide journalists in the protocol of such events. Ill timed? When we shall be opening around two dozen new units or departments in the next 12 months ? Certainly the 30 plus health authorities who have asked for copies of the book so far do not seem to think so. Even if one accepts that there is ever a time free from uproar over NHS resources, it remains the case that staff and local people enjoy the opportunity to make an occasion of an expansion of their health service, and we think it makes economic sense to save time, effort, and therefore money, in helping the organisers to get it right. And the "glossy" cover? These handbooks tend to get thumbed over the years (just like the BM7?) and we kept costs well down by photocopying the text from typescript.


Abstract The National Ignition Facility point design uses a five-layer capsule to modify the X-ray absorption in order to achieve optimized shock timing. A stepwise copper dopant design defines the layer structure; however, the as-deposited Cu distribution is significantly altered during the CH mandrel removal by pyrolysis. The changes are significant: (a) Cu diffuses on average several microns, a distance more than an order of magnitude larger than predicted from the bulk diffusion data, and (b) the Cu distribution, as a result of diffusion, is highly heterogeneous, introducing a local variation of [approximately]0.06 at. % near the original layer interface. In this study, we developed quantitative techniques to measure Cu diffusion and explored its correlation to beryllium microstructures. Plausible diffusion mechanisms and mitigation methods will be discussed. These findings will enable more accurate evaluation of the expected target performance.


Abstract. Preview measurements of the inflow by turbine-mounted lidar systems can be used to optimise wind turbine performance by increasing power production and alleviating structural loads. Here, we apply Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) to the line-of-sight wind speed measurements of a SpinnerLidar obtained from a large eddy simulation of a wind turbine operating in a turbulent atmospheric boundary layer. The aim of this work was to identify the dominant POD modes to derive a reduced order representation of the turbine inflow without making strong assumptions about the flow field. This dimensional reduction is a first step towards the development of a reduced order inflow model (ROM) that offers a trade-off between wind field reconstruction techniques requiring flow assumptions and more complex physics-based representations. We found that only a few modes are required to capture the dynamics of the wind field parameters commonly used for lidar assisted wind turbine control such as the effective wind speed, vertical shear, directional misalignment. A possible interpretation of the modes is presented by direct comparison with these wind field parameters. Evaluating six different metrics in the time and frequency domains related to the spatial, frequency domain and energy quantities, we find that a 10 mode ROM could accurately describe most spatio-temporal variations in the inflow. The reduced order modelling was accomplished using the inherent volume averaging property of lidar devices that attenuates high frequency turbulence with lower importance for the overall turbine response thus allowing significant data compression. Based on the models inflow wind field reconstruction performance, this method has potential use for lidar-assisted control, loads validation and turbulence characterisation.


To take advantage of today's technology, many organizations are migrating from their legacy systems. With help from the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (HCIL) and Cognetics Corporation, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is currently undergoing an effort to redesign their information system to take advantage of graphical user interfaces. As a research lab, HCIL identifies interesting research problems and then prototypes solutions. As a project matures, the exploratory prototypes are adapted to suit the end product requirements. This case study describes the life cycle of three DJJ prototypes: (1) LifeLines, which uses time lines to display an overview of a youth in one screen, (2) the DJJ Navigator, which helps manage individual workloads by displaying different user views, and (3) the ProgramFinder, a tool for selecting the best program for a youth.


Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumour in adults and among the most aggressive of all tumours. For several decades, the standard care of GBM was surgical resection followed by radiotherapy alone. In 2005, a landmark phase III clinical trial coordinated by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) demonstrated the benefit of radiotherapy with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy. With TMZ, the median life expectancy in optimally managed patients is still only 12-14 months, with only 25% surviving 24 months. There is an urgent need for new therapies in particular in those patients whose tumour has an unmethylated methyl-guanine methyltransferase gene (MGMT) promoter, which is a predictive factor of benefit from TMZ. In this dissertation, the nature of the interaction between TMZ and radiation is investigated using both a mathematical model, based on in vivo population statistics of survival, and in vitro experimentation on a panel of human GBM cell lines. The results show that TMZ has an additive effect in vitro and that the population-based model may be insufficient in predicting TMZ response. The combination of TMZ with particle therapy is also investigated. Very little pre-clinical data exists on the effects of charged particles on GBM cell lines as well as on the concomitant application of chemotherapy. In this study, human GBM cells are exposed to 3 MeV protons and 6 MeV alpha particles in concomitance with TMZ. The results suggest that the radiation quality does not affect the nature of the interaction between TMZ and radiation, showing reproducible additive cytotoxicity. Since TMZ and radiation cause DNA damage in cancer cells, there has been increased attention to the use of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors. PARP is a family of enzymes that play a key role in the repair of DNA breaks. In this study, a novel PARP inhibitor, ABT-888, is used in combination with both TMZ and radiation. The results show that ABT-888 significantly enhances TMZ and radiation cell killing, regardless of the MGMT status. In summary, the findings of this research demonstrate that the use of particle therapy and PARP inhibitors are particularly promising and might improve the treatment outcome in patients with GBM.


We consider linear propagation through shallow, nonuniform gratings, such as those written in the core of photosensitive optical fibers. Though, of course, the coupled-mode equations for such gratings are well known, they are often derived heuristically. Here we present a rigorous derivation and include effects that are second order in the grating parameters. While the resulting coupled-mode equations can easily be solved numerically, such a calculation often does not give direct insight into the qualitative nature of the response. Here we present a new way of looking at nonuniform gratings that immediately does yield such insight and, as well, provides a convenient starting point for approximate treatments such as WKB analysis. Our approach, which is completely within the context of coupled-mode theory, makes use of an effective-medium description, in which one replaces the (in general, nonuniform) grating by a medium with a frequency-dependent refractive index distribution but without a grating.


The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) warrants listing as a threatened species under the Endan- gered Species Act. Central to any conservation planning for the black-tailed prairie dog is an appropriate detection and monitoring technique. Because coarse-resolution satel- lite imagery is not adequate to detect black-tailed prairie dog colonies, we examined the usefulness of recently available high-resolution (1-m) satellite imagery. In 6 purchased scenes of national grasslands, we were easily able to visually detect small and large colonies without using image-processing algorithms. The Ikonos (Space ImagingTM) satel- lite imagery was as adequate as large-scale aerial photography to delineate colonies. Based on the high quality of imagery, we discuss a possible monitoring program for black- tailed prairie dog colonies throughout the Great Plains, using the species' distribution in North Dakota as an example. Monitoring plots could be established and imagery acquired periodically to track the expansion and contraction of colonies.


We have developed a method to quantify topoisomerase (topo) II activities in partially purified nuclear extracts from human leukemia cells. By virtue of their different pH optima in the reaction buffer, two different topo II activities were found with activity optima at pH 7.9 and at pH 8.9 under high stringency conditions. The activities could be identified as topo II beta activity (pH 7.9) and topo II alpha activity (pH 8.9) by their different sensitivities to topo II alpha inhibitors, dephosphorylation experiments and immunoprecipitation with polyclonal antibodies. Seventy-two bone marrow or blood samples from patients with acute myeloid leukemias have been examined and their in vitro sensitivities to anthracyclines and epipodophyllotoxines correlated to the activities of topo II alpha and topo II beta. Although the topo II alpha activity could be directly inhibited by incubation of the cells with the mentioned drugs, no correlation between the topo II alpha activity and the sensitivity of the cells could be found. In contrast, the topo II beta activity which was not substantially inhibited by the drugs inversely correlated with the sensitivity of the cells. These findings were statistically significant for idarubicin (P=0.017) and daunorubicin (P=0.006). Vice versa, resistant cells (IC90 > median) had a higher topo II beta activity. Clinical relevance might be indicated by the finding that cells from patients that relapsed after initial treatment with anthracyclin-containing regiments had a significantly higher topo II alpha/beta activity ratio (P=0.0276). Obviously, the sensitivity of AML cells is substantially influenced by the activity of the resistant topo II (topo II beta) which gives evidence that the remaining topo II activity after treatment helps the cell to survive the DNA repair phase.


This article assesses the dominant debates about the agency in media narratives for community-based peacebuilding. By locating the common challenges facing the agency in media narratives for the purposes of community-based peacebuilding, the article contributes to the ongoing debates on ways in which media discourses can be tailored toward the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts between, within and among communities. This is predicated on the assumption that conflict is a function of discourse, and that media narratives take active part in the construction, negotiation, and circulation of discourse, all of which inform the degree of congruity between news content and expected outcomes. The primary objective of this article is therefore to generate conceptual and theoretical debates on the agentic and formative roles media narratives play in community-based peacebuilding.


The degradation of phenol (C_6H_5OH) was investigated under sonication, ozonation, and the combination of sonication and ozonation. The coupling of these two oxidation processes yielded phenol degradation kinetics that are similar to those predicted from the linear combination of the individual sonication and ozonation experiments. However, synergistic effects of sonolytic ozonation were observed for the reduction of the total organic carbon (TOC) in these systems. The rate of TOC decomposition was found to be proportional to both the aqueous steady-state ozone concentration and the ultrasonic power density. At 358 kHz, sonication combined with ozonation enhanced TOC loss rates by 43% over the sum of the rates obtained by the separate treatments. Intermediate species detected during the degradation of phenol indicate that while the primary degradation products are efficiently degraded by simple ozonolysis, the simultaneous addition of ultrasonic irradiation is necessary to degrade the more recalcitrant unsaturated daughter products.


Pre-pregnancy obesity is a well-established risk factor for several adverse maternal and fetal outcomes, including gestational diabetes, hypertension, cesarean sections, and fetal macrosomia. Weight loss before pregnancy could help prevent such complications, but the feasibility of such an approach remains unknown. The current study examined the feasibility of a 3-month pre-pregnancy behavioral weight loss program in 12 overweight/obese women planning pregnancy. The 3 month program resulted in an average 5.4 ± 3.0 kg weight loss and significant improvements in self-monitoring, physical activity, eating and exercise self-efficacy, and healthy eating (p < 0.04). By the end of the 9 month follow-up, half of sample (n = 6) had conceived. Women reported significant increases in weekly or more frequent selfweighing (p < 0.0001), counting calories (p < 0.001), consuming fruit and vegetables (p = 0.007), and cutting out fat (p = 0.0001) and junk foods (p = 0.002). A lifestyle modification program to promote weight loss before pregnancy promoted clinically significant weight loss and appeared feasible.


Eating Right in America is a powerful critique of dietary reform in the United States from the late nineteenth-century emergence of nutritional science through the contemporary alternative food movement and campaign against obesity. Charlotte Biltekoff analyzes the discourses of dietary reform, including the writings of reformers, as well as the materials they created to bring their messages to the public. She shows that while the primary aim may be to improve health, the process of teaching people to "eat right" in the U.S. inevitably involves shaping certain kinds of subjects and citizens, and shoring up the identity and social boundaries of the ever-threatened American middle class. Without discounting the pleasures of food or the value of wellness, Biltekoff advocates a critical reappraisal of our obsession with diet as a proxy for health. Based on her understanding of the history of dietary reform, she argues that talk about "eating right" in America too often obscures structural and environmental stresses and constraints, while naturalizing the dubious redefinition of health as an individual responsibility and imperative.


The present research deals with the application of Julia Kristeva s psychoanalytic theories of the mind to a selection of William Shakespeare s plays. Kristeva s key psychoanalytic terms the symbolic, the semiotic and the abject are first elaborated in detail and are then applied to different situations and characters in the plays. The plays discussed in this thesis are A Midsummer Night s Dream, As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew for the comedy section, Richard II, 1 & 2 Henry IV and Coriolanus for the English and Roman History section, and Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and King Lear for the Tragedy section. The reason for choosing the above plays is that I believe there is a gap of knowledge in this regard and no thorough research on this scale has been conducted up to this time. The intention is to discuss and explicate the moments in which the dramatic heroes undergo some unconscious-driven experiences that can be best explained by Kristeva s post-Freudian psychoanalytic approach. In short, what I am going to show in the present study is the psychoanalytic assumption that Shakespearean characters, forced by internal or external elements, leave the symbolic and take refuge in the semiotic. In such moments, the characters inevitably face the abject which is an archaic memory comprising the elements of enchantment and horror. The abject can be best described as the archaic memories of a distant past when the self had no border and was associated with the semiotic, a subject s harmonious beginning. In its early childhood, to become a subject, an individual breaks its semiotic ties and, by so doing, enters the realm of the symbolic which is associated with grammar and law. The symbolic awards a subject a distinct identity and helps it stay on the route to signification. Kristeva s understanding of the process of individuation is explained by her subject in process , a journey in which a subject always oscillates between the symbolic and the semiotic. The key point in Kristeva s psychoanalytic thought is that the semiotic does not fade away and hovers around a subject s border of identity and remains a constant threat for its symbolic identity. To remain immune from the annihilating forces of the semiotic, a subject has to remain vigilant and protect its borders of identity. My main goal in this thesis is to show that, in some particular situations in the plays, Shakespearean characters fail to remain vigilant and, inevitably, their subjects are exposed to the abject. In other words, in moments of ambition, anger, love or fear, they surrender or take refuge in the semiotic and face the abject. Although Shakespearean plays have previously been approached by Sigmund Freud s (and some other major practitioners ) theories, the application of Kristeva s psychoanalytic theories of the mind gives the opportunity to approach the plays from a new perspective that would otherwise have remained unknown. Thus, the originality of this research lies in its extensive application of Kristeva s theories to the selected Shakespearean plays, theories that, although they derive from those of Freud, have the potential to shed light on those psychoanalytic aspects of the plays that Freud either neglected or left unfinished.


Purpose : Some randomized trials are reported widely, while others remain unpublished. It is essential to systematic reviewers and meta-analysts that factors leading to publication bias in the form of delayed or non-publication of an eligible study are identified. This thesis is an attempt to do this. Data : The set of randomized trials identified by the Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) Collaborative Group was used. This consists of 149 trials comprising 243 randomized comparisons (randomizations), starting prior to 1 January 1988, reported in 257 articles, published prior to 1 January 2000. Each mention of a randomization in an article (irrespective of whether results are given) generates a publication record, of which there are 610.
 Methods : The main focus is on identifying which trial characteristics lead to a delay in publication of a randomization. Time to the first mention of a randomization in an article (irrespective of whether any results are given) and to the first reporting of its results are both modelled using ordinary linear regression (the independence model). However, when these analyses are extended to include all mentions and all reportings of results respectively, non-independence necessitates the use of techniques for dealing with repeated measures. In such cases the independence model is the starting point, the residuals from which are used to form the covariance matrix, which in turn is used to suggest plausible correlation structures for repeated measures models. Generalised estimating equation (GEE) analysis is used to select an appropriate correlation structure, and a linear mixed effects model serves to confirm this. The conclusions are then discussed in the context of other studies identified. Finally logistic regression is used to identify trial characteristics associated with a randomization remaining unpublished, and Poisson and negative binomial models to identify those affecting frequency of reporting. Results : Evidence was found of 'pipeline bias' in the reporting of first results since, although direction of effect was not found to be significant, highly statistically significant results are published faster than others. However this is not so for first mentions. Negative results (i.e. those in favour of the standard/control) arm were submitted for first publication faster than all others, although this did not effect time to publication. In addition, geographic location is an important predictor of whether a randomization is ever mentioned in an article, frequency of mentions and of time to first publication and results from single-centre trials are published more frequently than those with multi-centre participation.
 Conclusions : Although 'pipeline bias' was identified in the analysis of time first reporting of results, it was not present in the analysis of time to first mention, and so not a problem for those wishing only to identify randomized trials for inclusion in meta-analyses. The importance of geographic location suggests that the practice of contacting known trialists is worthwhile in addition to the computerised literature searches and should be continued.


Our earlier study (Chen, Orthner, & Sell, 2005) showed that it is possible to record the searching strategy, to search and retrieve literature information automatically, and to visualize the retrieved information through a Web interface. The objective of this study was to update the current system into a prototype of the Literature and Information Tracking System to search, retrieve and visualize information in a guided and customized manner. The implementation of the system showed that users could update their account information and searching strategies including topics, online sources, etc., over Web interfaces. The guided approaches for optimized terms usage enhanced the recall, precision, and efficiency. The web-based system may become an efficient tool for both bench scientists and clinicians for their daily information retrieval and visualization. The implemented digital certification kept both convenient access and the highest possible level of security for the retrieved information. The system has great potential to serve a large number of concurrent users.


Serverless file systems, exemplified by CFS, Farsite and OceanStore, have received significant attention from both the industry and the research community. These file systems store files on a large collection of untrusted nodes that form an overlay network. They use cryptographic techniques to maintain file confidentiality and integrity from malicious nodes. Unfortunately, cryptographic techniques cannot protect a file holder from a Denial-of-Service (DoS) or a host compromise attack. Hence, most of these distributed file systems are vulnerable to targeted file attacks, wherein an adversary attempts to attack a small (chosen) set of files by attacking the nodes that host them. This paper presents LocationGuard - a location hiding technique for securing overlay file storage systems from targeted file attacks. LocationGuard has three essential components: (i) location key, consisting of a random bit string (e.g., 128 bits) that serves as the key to the location of a file, (ii) routing guard, a secure algorithm that protects accesses to a file in the overlay network given its location key such that neither its key nor its location is revealed to an adversary, and (iii) a set of four location inference guards. Our experimental results quantify the overhead of employing LocationGuard and demonstrate its effectiveness against DoS attacks, host compromise attacks and various location inference attacks.


This thesis is the product of four years of participation in a community project created for
and with women who were at different stages of seeking a legal right to reside in the UK. It
presents the elements of practice and organisational ethos which, through discussion,
reflection and interviews with participants, were determined as valuable ways of
countering the debilitating effects of misrecognition by the state and endemic racial
prejudice. It considers, too, the problems, dilemmas and tensions which arose as we sought
to be effective allies across multiple lines of difference, and to produce a research account
of the experience.
Beginning in 2009, and spanning the change of government a year later, the 'Arise and
Shine' project was funded through the National Empowerment Partnership (NEP), a New
Labour initiative which facilitated 'empowerment' activities across nine English regions
between 2007 and 2011. Drawing on popular education methodology, Arise and Shine
aimed to work against the barrage of hurts which so often attend the asylum process, by
creating space for mutual support and collective action (including awareness raising
through applied theatre workshops, and giving talks in schools). The case study of the
project was made possible by an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
programme enabling practice-based research on - and for - the third sector.
The thesis is written from my perspective as community worker, pro-migrant activist and
PhD student. It foregrounds the experiences, insights and the demands of the women for an
asylum system which is not stacked against them in its decision making, or in the
conditions imposed on them as they wait for the outcome of their claims. While the case
study of Arise and Shine occupies centre stage, the range of networks of services and ally
groups and organisations which sustained the women and aided their integration, including
their own self-initiated groups, are also considered. Running through the thesis are my
reflections on political, ethical and theoretical issues surfaced by the work, which I
interrogate using resources from a diverse literature centred on feminist, anti-oppressive
approaches, as well as activist praxis.


The maximum weights of goods vehicles operating between European Community countries were harmonised on 1 January 1993 (the United Kingdom has a derogation from some of the regulations until 1 January 1999). This harmonisation will increase the maximum permitted weights in the United Kingdom for all types of heavy goods vehicle (rigid, articulated and drawbar) which will affect the composition of the vehicle fleet, structural road wear, etc. In order to estimate the impacts of these changes, TRL conducted a questionnaire survey of goods vehicle operators' responses to the new limits. The survey data were grossed-up to give estimates of the numbers of goods vehicles, amount of goods vehicle travel and overall road wear factors for the new weight limits. (For the purpose of the study it was assumed that there would be no change in the amount of goods moved by road). The results indicated that full implementation of the European Community weight limits in the United Kingdom would lead to a reduction in the number of goods vehicles and annual goods vehicle travel and an increase in road wear. (A)


Evolutionary Patterns Growth, Form, and Tempo in the Fossil Record. Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Scott Lidgard, and Frank K. McKinney, Eds. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2001. 415 pp. $85, £54. ISBN 0-226-38930-8. Paper, $30, £19. ISBN 0-226-38931-6. Exploring topics such as modes of development, tempos of speciation and extinction, and macroevolutionary trends, the contributors illustrate the many insights the fossil record offers to our understanding of life and its history.


OBJECTIVE: To verify the influence of dietary antioxidant supplementation in older women who regularly practice physical activities, on the occurrence of oxidative stress, physical health and risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). METHOD: Two groups (S and C) of women, with age ranging from 60 to 80 years old, were observed. Both groups took part in a physical activity program for 58 weeks, three times a week, for about 50 to 55 minutes each session. The diet of group S (n=36) was daily supplemented with 330 ml of a functional antioxidant beverage, FuncionaTM; Group C (n=32) ingested water and was used as Control. As oxidative stress indicators, the plasmatic concentrations of reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione were determined; the molar GSH/GSSG ratio was calculated, and the oxidative damage in lipids and proteins was evaluated. The physical and cardiovascular conditions were evaluated through routine anthropometric parameters (weight, stature and BMI) and blood pressure. RESULTS: Group C presented significant increases of oxidative stress, reduction in the blood pressure and in the indicators of cardiovascular risks. Group S presented significant reduction of the oxidative stress and increment of the cardiovascular gains. Significance concerning the ergogenic effects has not been identified. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that regular exercise in older women can improve physical and cardiovascular conditions. Moreover, daily intake of functional antioxidant supplement can minimize harmful effects of the reactive oxygen species.


The current research aims to investigate the effects of pre-service teachers' personality traits on their perceived teacher competencies. The quantitative study was conducted by employing a crosssectional survey design with 206 teacher candidates who were preparing for Teacher Qualification Exam (KPSS) in 2013. The quantitative data were collected through two scales entitled 'Adjective Based Personality Test' (ABPT), and 'Teachers' Perception of Competence Scale' (TPCS). The quantitative data were analyzed through utilizing a structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS 16.0 and employing path analysis at a significance level of .05. The findings illustrated that extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness have significant effects on teaching competencies. Specifically, extraversion has the biggest significant effect on teaching competencies; however, neuroticism has a negative significant effect. On the other hand, personal development was found to be the most influenced dimension of teaching competencies by personality traits. © 2013 IOJES. All rights reserved


We investigate transverse hadron spectra from relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions which reflect important aspects of the dynamics such as the generation of pressure in the hot and dense zone formed in the early phase of the reaction. Our analysis is performed within two independent transport approaches (HSD and UrQMD) that are based on quark, diquark, string and hadronic degrees of freedom. Both transport models show their reliability for elementary pp as well as light-ion (C+C, Si+Si) reactions. However, for central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions at bombarding energies above ∼ 5 A·GeV the measured K transverse mass spectra have a larger inverse slope parameter than expected from the calculation. Thus the pressure generated by hadronic interactions in the transport models above ∼ 5 A·GeV is lower than observed in the experimental data. This finding shows that the additional pressure as expected from lattice QCD calculations at finite quark chemical potential and temperature is generated by strong partonic interactions in the early phase of central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions.


In this paper, we propose an approach for the construction of meta-CASE workbenches, which suitably integrates the technology of visual language generation systems, UML metamodeling, and interoperability techniques based on the GXL (graph exchange language) format. The proposed system consists of two major components. Environments for single visual languages are generated by using the modeling language environment generator (MEG), which follows a metamodel/grammar-approach. The abstract syntax of a visual language is defined by UML class diagrams, which serve as a base for the grammar specification of the language. The workbench generator (WoG) allows designers to specify the target workbench by means of a process model given in terms of a suitable activity diagram. Starting from the supplied specification WoG generates the customized workbench by integrating the required environments.


Many problems that are relevant to sensor networks such as active sensing and coverage planning have objectives that exhibit diminishing returns and specifically are submodular. When each agent selects an action local space of actions, sequential maximization techniques for submodular function maximization obtain solutions within half of optimal even though such problems are often NP-Hard. However, adapting methods for submodular function maximization to distributed computation on sensor networks is challenging as sequential execution of planning steps is time-consuming and inefficient. Further, prior works have found that planners suffer severely impaired worst-case performance whenever large numbers of agents plan in parallel. This work develops new tools for analysis of submodular maximization problems which we apply to design of randomized distributed planners that provide constant-factor suboptimality approaching that of standard sequential planners. These bounds apply when the objective satisfies a higher-order monotonicity condition and when cumulative interactions between agents are proportional to the optimal objective value. Problems including generalizations of sensor coverage satisfy these conditions when agents have spatially local sensing actions and limited sensor range. We present simulation results for two such cases.


The minimally distinct border (MDB) method for comparing two fields of differing chromaticity was first reported by Boynton and Kaiser in 1968, and has been the subject of further experimental and theoretical investigation since that time. The evidence suggests that the MDB criterion is achieved when the two fields being compared produce equal effects upon the achromatic channels of the photopic visual system. The comparisons prove to be transitive and Abney's law is strictly obeyed; spectral sensitivity evaluated by the MDB is very similar to that obtained by flicker photometry. An advantage of the MDB over flicker photometry is that the strength of the border at the MDB setting can be evaluated. This is done either by border matches with an achromatic comparison field, or with direct subjective estimates. At the MDB setting, the more saturated of two fields appears brighter than the other one. This implies that the chromatic channels of the visual system contribute to brightness as well as to chromaticness. The MDB criterion provides a new method for saturation scaling: Chromatic stimuli are juxtaposed in turn with white, and the strength of the border at the MDB setting is taken in each case as an index of saturation. More generally, any two fields can be compared by this method, as we have done with a matrix of 16 spectral stimuli plus white, employed in all possible combinations. Because the results can be accurately displayed in a two-dimensional euclidean space, the MDB method also shows potential as a new basis for color scaling.


The difference between mental health and mental ability measurement hinges on a single concept—zero. Dysfunctional mental health is manifested by symptoms defined as self-reported feelings of unpleasantness due to pathological causes. Symptoms can be meaningfully reported as present or absent whereas mental abilities are generally considered to be ever present in some positive amount. Absence of symptoms creates a population zero class with unknown membership and proportion. Inadvertent mixture of zero- and non-zero classes, as often occurs in community samples, biases symptom estimates of means, variances, and covariance for the non-zero class, resulting in what is herein referred to as the zero-problem.
Two-part modeling is proposed as a means of circumventing the zero-problem. In Part I, zero-class sample members are identified and deleted. Part II provides users a symptoms research paradigm based on a multiplicative measurement model. Data are logarithmically transformed, and the log-normal distribution assumed. The hypothesis that symptom statements are unidimensional is tested by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). If accepted, statements are combined into a weighted pathology score. Pathology scores can be correlated, corrected for attenuation, and used as input to multivariate statistical applications. Computer routines are provided as a user service.


During situations of displacement, access for refugee youth to secondary educational initiatives is limited at best . However, upon the return of refugees, the national structure of their home country is most often weak and unstable . To ensure the economic, social, and political development of a society that has been severely affected by conflict or disaster, it is imperative that there be a youth population of capable, productive, and educated citizens who may provide an exit strategy from the situation . Future leaders must therefore be given the opportunity to promote the development both of themselves personally, and of their national structures, through learning—notably, secondary, vocational, and tertiary education . This paper underscores the need for and gaps in the provision of secondary educational initiatives, highlighting the many challenges involved in improving refugee youth access to both secondary and vocational education, and highlighting the issues that must be considered by policy and decision makers in order to facilitate and support such access .


Diagnostic and prognostic markers for prostatic cancer (PCa) include conventional protein markers (e.g., PAP, PSA, PSMA, PIP, OA-519, Ki-67, PCNA, TF, collagenase, and TIMP 1), angiogenesis indicator (e.g., factor VIII), neuroendocrine differentiation status, adhesion molecules (E-cadherin, integrin), bone matrix degrading products (e.g., ICPT), as well as molecular markers (e.g., PSA, PSMA, p53, 12-LOX, and MSI). Currently, only PSA is used clinically for early diagnosis and monitoring of PCa. The histological differential diagnosis of prostatic adenocarcinoma includes normal tissues such as Cowper's gland, paraganglion tissue and seminal vesicle or ejaculatory duct as well as pathological conditions such as atypical adenomatous hyperplasia, atrophy, basal cell hyperplasia and sclerosing adenosis. A common PCa is characterized by a remarkable heterogeneity in terms of its differentiation, microscopic growth patterns and biological aggressiveness. Most PCa are multifocal with signi ficant variations in tumor grade between anatomically separated tumor foci. The Gleason grading system which recognizes five major grades defined by patterns of neoplastic growth has gained almost uniform acceptance. In predicting the biologic behavior of PCa clinical and pathological stages are used as the major prognostic indicators. Among the cell proliferation and death regulators androgens are critical survival factors for normal prostate epithelial cells as well as for the androgen-dependent human prostatic cancer cells. The androgen ablation has been shown to increase the apoptotic index in prostatic cancer patients and castration also promotes apoptotic death of human prostate carcinoma grown in mice. The progression of PCa, similarly to other malignancies, is a multistep process, accompanied by genetic and epigenetic changes, involving phenomenons as adhesion, invasion and angiogenesis (without prostate specific features).


We present high-resolution 3D smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of the formation and evolution of protostellar discs in a turbulent molecular cloud. Using a piecewise polytropic equation of state, we perform two sets of simulations. In both cases, we find that isolated systems undergo a fundamentally different evolution than members of binary or multiple systems. When formed, isolated systems must accrete mass and increase their specific angular momentum, leading to the formation of massive, extended discs, which undergo strong gravitational instabilities and are susceptible to disc fragmentation. Fragments with initial masses of 5.5, 7.4 and 12 Mjup are produced in our simulations. In binaries and small clusters, we observe that due to competition for material from the parent core, members do not accrete significant amounts of high specific angular momentum gas relative to isolated systems. We find that discs in multiple systems are strongly self-gravitating but that they are stable against fragmentation due to disc truncation and mass profile steeping by tides, accretion of high specific angular momentum gas by other members and angular momentum being redirected into members' orbits. In general, we expect disc fragmentation to be less likely in clusters and to be more a feature of isolated systems.


Human diet is responsible for a number of environmental problems. It is a driving force for water and land requirements for food production. This contribution investigates the relationships between diet and agricultural production, the resulting mass flows of nitrogen and phosphorus, their impact on the aquatic environment, the agricultural area requirements and emissions of nitrogen to the atmosphere in a clearly defined region. The combination of material flow analysis, nutrient emission model and statistical input data determines the reference state. By changing some input data (changing diet) several independent processes change. Thus the impacts of changing nutrition patterns can be investigated for a well-defined region. According to diet recommendations a scenario was developed and impacts on resources and environment drawn. Application of the method to Austria shows a 30% reduction of agricultural land requirements for food production by changing nutritional habits to a healthy balanced diet. Nitrogen export via rivers would be decreased by 11%. The diet change would also result in a reduced fertilizer input by 6% to agriculture, which is relevant especially for the limited resource phosphorus.


Robust, reproducible patterning over large areas is essential to the fabrication of miniaturized devices. When production and cost-efficiency are concerned, guided-assembly is a promising strategy for patterning that combines the advantages of both the top-down and bottom-up approaches. Most guided-assembly methods are enabled by controlling the instabilities of liquid solutions or polymer melts to be patterned. These instabilities can be observed in different ways according to the patterning strategies. This article reviews the strategies for micropatterning that are based on the manipulation of liquid instabilities, covering both physical principles and experimental demonstrations. Specifically, we discuss four types of liquid instabilities, which can be controlled for the reliable formation of micropatterns: (i) localization of the instability under an electric field, (ii) adjustment of the evaporation front line during solvent evaporation, (iii) template-directed selective dewetting, and (iv) hierarchical capillary instability for generating complex patterns. We also highlight future prospects of the instability-driven micropatterning techniques.


This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of social value theoretical traditions, such as religious studies, social psychology, indigenous knowledge, economics, sociology, and philosophy. We intro-duce a novel transdisciplinary conceptual framework that revolves around concepts of 'lenses' and 'tensions' to help navigate value diversity. First, we consider the notion of lenses: perspectives on value and valuation along diverse dimensions that describe what values focus on, how their sociality is envisioned, and what epistemic and procedural assumptions are made. We characterise fourteen of such dimensions. This provides a foundation for exploration of seven areas of tension, between: (1) the values of individuals vs collectives; (2) values as discrete and held vs embedded and constructed; (3) value as static or changeable; (4) valuation as descriptive vs normative and transformative; (5) social vs relational values; (6) diferent rationalities and their relation to value integration; (7) degrees of acknowledgment of the role of power in navigating value conlicts. In doing so, we embrace the 'mess' of diversity, yet also provide a framework to organise this mess and support and encourage active transdisciplinary collaboration. We identify key research areas where such collaborations can be harnessed for sustainability transformation. Here it is crucial to understand how certain social value lenses are privileged over others and build capacity in decision-making for understanding and drawing on multiple value, epistemic and procedural lenses.


This Article considers whether the consumer protection doctrine offers a more promising avenue to remedying certain forms of discrimination than the antidiscrimination doctrine. Using a housing discrimination story as a case study, this Article breaks down the doctrinal trade-offs between seeking redress through a consumer protection claim and an antidiscrimination claim. This Article argues that a consumer protection claim is not only a viable avenue to remedying certain forms of discrimination but also has a higher likelihood of success than a traditional antidiscrimination claim.

Consumer protection claims might appear undesirable because they lack the important anti-subordination and group-based equality norms at the root of civil rights law. This Article argues that this is something of an illusion. Civil rights advocacy historically focused on economic citizenship, but formal civil rights doctrine came to omit economic protections. The antidiscrimination doctrine developed narrowly, constraining the reach of its remedies. Antidiscrimination statutes thus have failed to reach advocates' aspiration for achieving group-based equality. Consumer protection law, solidly grounded in the protection of economic citizenship, is well-suited to those aspirations. Consumer protection claims therefore usefully align with and supplement the objectives of civil rights law.


Patient safety, i.e. prevention of any hurt to the patient, is one of the main factors of health care quality. Improving patient safety culture through the implementation of systems and processes necessary to work can play an important role in preventing errors and improving the quality. For this purpose, the status of patient safety culture in Kashsn hospitals was examined. This cross - sectional study was performed in five hospitals of Kashan University of Medical Sciences and one Social Security Hospital, by a 42-item standard patient safety questionnaire with a random sampling of 200 nurses available in 2016. Mean age, experience, experience in the last unit of work, experience in nursing profession, work hours per week were obtained 34.28 ± 6.89, 7.72 ± 5.1, 5.87 ± 4.2, 10.42±7.93years and 62.8±26.8hours, respectively. Average of safety culture and its dimensions including teamwork within the units, in line with expectations and the head of patient safety, patient safety management support, organizational learning and continuous improvement, the general perception of patient safety, communication and feedback about errors were obtained 2.88±0.56, 3.04±069, 2.87±0.79, 3.08±0.88, 2.96±0.54, 2.87±0.98, 2.81±0.59, 2.52±0.98, 2.91±0.43, 3.14±1.04, 2.99±0.54, respectively. According to the obtained results, the status of safety culture in hospitals was deemed unfavorable and seemed to need development by training and proper guidelines in order to establish a culture of patient safety and prevention of hurt to patients in order to assure their safety at the hospitals.


OFCCP is charged with ensuring that about 200,000 federal contractor establishments refrain from discrimination and take affirmative action to provide equal employment opportunities for certain protected classes of workers. GAO was asked to review OFCCP practices. In this report, GAO (1) assessed how OFCCP conducts supply and service compliance evaluations, including the methodology, resources, and results, and (2) evaluated OFCCP outreach, assistance, and guidance efforts to assist contractors in complying with the requirements it enforces. GAO analyzed both OFCCP Information System data and a nongeneralizable sample of 43 case files and reviewed relevant federal laws, executive orders, regulations, guidance, and agency documents. GAO also interviewed a nongeneralizable sample of 24 contractors with and without experience with a compliance evaluation; managers and staff in OFCCP's headquarters and all six regional offices; and representatives of national organizations representing contractors and protected workers' interests.


Background Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) performed by emergency physicians has been gaining acceptance as a less invasive technique than resuscitative thoracotomy. Objective To evaluate access-related complications and duration of occlusions during REBOA. Methods Patients with haemorrhagic shock requiring REBOA, from 18 hospitals in Japan, included in the DIRECT-IABO Registry were studied. REBOA-related characteristics were compared between non-survivors and survivors at 24 hours. 24-Hour survivors were categorised into groups with small (≤8 Fr), large (≥9 Fr) or unusual sheaths (oversized or multiple) to assess the relationship between the sheath size and complications. Haemodynamic response, occlusion duration and outcomes were compared between groups with partial and complete REBOA. Results Between August 2011 and December 2015, 142 adults undergoing REBOA were analysed. REBOA procedures were predominantly (94%) performed by emergency medicine (EM) physicians. The median duration of the small sheath (n=53) was 19 hours compared with 7.5 hours for the larger sheaths (P=0.025). Smaller sheaths were more likely to be removed using external manual compression (96% vs 45%, P<0.001). One case of a common femoral artery thrombus (large group) and two cases of amputation (unusual group) were identified. Partial REBOA was carried out in more cases (n=78) and resulted in a better haemodynamic response than complete REBOA (improvement in haemodynamics, 92% vs 70%, P=0.004; achievement of stability, 78% vs 51%, P=0.007) and allowed longer occlusion duration (median 58 vs 33 min, P=0.041). No statistically significant difference in 24-hour or 30-day survival was found between partial and complete REBOA. Conclusion In Japan, EM physicians undertake the majority of REBOA procedures. Smaller sheaths appear to have fewer complications despite relatively prolonged placement and require external compression on removal. Although REBOA is a rarely performed procedure, partial REBOA, which may extend the occlusion duration without a reduction in survival, is used more commonly in Japan.


In 2007, there were three prominent corporate governance ratings firms - The Corporate Library (TCL), Governance Metrics International (GMI), and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). These firms assessed the effectiveness and deficiency of the governance systems of thousands of publicly traded companies. Although members of the investing public agreed that sound policies were important to protect the interest of shareholders from potentially self-interested managers, there were many questions around the usefulness of published governance ratings themselves. Questions ranged from whether a system of governance could be adequately summarized in a single, numerical score to what a high or low rating was supposed to indicate. Furthermore, allegations that ISS engaged in a conflict of interest by selling consulting services to companies on how to improve their ratings led some to question the objectivity of the ratings process.


The integrative framework of technology use (IFTU) posits that to fully explain post-adoption phenomena, four mechanisms --namely, reason-oriented action, sequential updating, feedback, and habit--should be taken into account simultaneously in a unified model. Although IFTU sheds light on the four mechanisms underlying technology use, it lacks a coherent theoretical explanation for the underlying force that leads to the four mechanisms. To offer a more generalized and richer description of the four mechanisms, this study extends IFTU by drawing on the process model of memory in cognitive psychology. In addition, based on the extended IFTU paradigm, a three-wave panel model is developed that incorporates not only proximal effects but also distal effects of the four mechanisms on post-adoption phenomena. Three different sets of data (n = 195, 160, and 342, respectively) are used to test the proposed model. The results of data analysis show that, as expected, the four mechanisms have proximal effects on subsequent evaluations and behavior. Furthermore, consistent with the memory perspective, the sequential updating and habit mechanisms are found to have distal effects on post-adoption phenomena even after controlling for their proximal effects. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that the memory perspective offers not only a seamless explanation of the four mechanisms underlying technology use but also yields deeper insights that can be validated only through a three-or-more-wave panel study. This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating that the extended IFTU paradigm has the potential to serve as a coherent theoretical framework on post-adoption phenomena in which prior experiences are internalized into memories, which in turn regulate later experiences.


Public debt is a topic that has commanded recently in Italy great attention by economists, who have used also long term analysis. But the existing historical series were under many accounts inaccurate and incoherent so that efforts were made to build up a consistent long run series, without, however, reaching entirely satisfactory results. The present article is the final result of a long term research that has started some years ago with the reconstruction of a comprehensive series for the years 1919-1939 based on the present definition of public debt. The same approach has been applied here for the entire period 1861-1946 and all the detailed components of the overall series and the methods of construction are reported and commented. The article also proposes some short comments of the results in terms of the ratio public debt/GNP, composition of public debt and share of foreign ownership. Concerning the ratio public debt/GNP, the three episodes of climbing ratio were all put under control, in ways that differed markedly. As for the composition, the strategic importance of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in certain years is underlined, as well as the monetization of debt in other years. As for the share of foreign ownership, it can be seen that it was important in liberal Italy and played a unique role during the First World War.


An essential property of human extracellular superoxide dismutase (hEC-SOD) is its affinity for heparin and heparan sulfate proteoglycans located on cell surfaces and in the connective tissue matrix. The C-terminal domain of hEC-SOD plays the major role in this interaction. This domain has an unusually high content of charged amino acids: six arginine, three lysine, and five glutamic acid residues. In this study, we used alanine scanning mutagenesis of charged amino acids in the C-terminal domain to elucidate the requirements for the heparin/heparan sulfate interaction. As a tool in this study, we used a fusion protein comprising the C-terminal domain of hEC-SOD fused to human carbonic anhydrase II (HCAII). The interaction studies were performed using the surface plasmon resonance technique and heparin-Sepharose chromatography. Replacement of the glutamic acid residues by alanine resulted, in all cases, in tighter binding. All alanine substitutions of basic amino acid residues, except one (R205A), reduced heparin affinity. The arginine and lysine residues in the cluster of basic amino acid residues (residues 210-215), the RK-cluster, are of critical importance for the binding to heparin, and arginine residues promote stronger interactions than lysine residues.


Mark Baran, ABA senior tax counsel, wrote "Should you bank on Subchapter S?" in our December 1996 issue. Almost 600 banks have made the switch to Sub S tax status, but many questions remain. Herewith, some answers Community bankers across the nation are raving about the tax benefits Associated with electing Subchapter S status. This option has been available since enactment of a provision in the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 allowing banks that don't use the reserve method of accounting for bad debts to become Subchapter S (or small business) corporations. By electing Subchapter S status, banks are treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes, and can avoid paying a federal corporate-level tax. Almost 600 banks elected Sub S status in 1997. Many more institutions will likely follow suit this year. Even seasoned tax professionals are instinctively cautious when it comes to advising bank clients on Subchapter S issues. This is because, for 40 years, the small business corporation tax laws, rules, regulations, and other technical pronouncements were developed for non-bank companies. While introducing banks into the Subchapter S tax world was a big plus for community banks, making the transition into this new status presents challenges-and traps. In short, a continual process of education is necessary in order to preserve and protect the tax savings associated with electing S corp status. Many technical tax, planning, and banking questions predictably arise both before and after a banking institution's S corporation election. The following are some common Subchapter S questions and answers recently asked by community bankers.. Q. Are there new eligible shareholders for 1998? A. Yes. The S rules for banks were implemented in two stages. First, understand that as a general rule, all of a banking institution's shareholders must be individuals, estates, or certain kinds of trusts. The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 liberalized many of the traditional Subchapter S eligibility rules. For example, the number of permissible shareholders was raised from 35 to 75. Also, a new type of trust shareholder-- called an Electing Small Business Trust (ESBT)--that may accumulate income and have multiple beneficiaries is now a permissible S corporation shareholder. These rules were effective for the 1997 tax year. For tax years beginning after 1997, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), pension plans, and certain charities are eligible shareholders. Individual retirement accounts, however, continue to be ineligible S corporation shareholders. These new shareholder rules could afford new opportunities for banking institutions interested in electing Subchapter S in the future without incurring the added costs associated with complex restructuring. Q. How is it determined if a bank's passive investment income assets (i.e., securities portfolio) are subject to the applicable 25% limitation on passive investment income? A. The tax laws impose a corporate-level "sting" tax on any amount of "passive investment income" that exceeds 25% of the gross receipts of the S corporation. "Passive investment income" is defined as gross receipts derived from royalties, rents, dividends, annuities, and sales or exchanges of stock or securities. If an S corporation exceeds this 25% limitation for three consecutive years, the Subchapter S election will be terminated. This area of the law has proved to be one of the most troublesome for banks, especially for those experiencing low loan demand or who hold a considerable portion of passive investment assets for other sound banking reasons. The Internal Revenue Service attempted to address these concerns in IRS Notice 97-5, which outlines the list of banking assets not subject to the passive investment tax rules. Except for the last catch-all paragraph, the assets not subject to the passive income rules in Notice 975 are fairly straight forward; they include real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC) interests, Federal Reserve Bank or Federal Home Loan Bank stock, and certain pledged assets. …


After the fast ascent of the Linkspartei after the general elections 2005, there followed a period of stagnation that has continued until today. Since the general elections of 2009, die LINKE has been off the electoral winning track, internal conflicts over strategy and personnel characterize its image. However the party's weakness in it's "third phase" cannot be explained mereley by self-preoccupation and soul-searching. The erosion of the traditional social-democratic milieu brings less grist to the mill of DIE LINKE than it did before. In east Germany the problems associated with an elderly constituency make themselves clearly felt. Moreover the party is faced with an altered discursive context (Fukushima, "enraged citizien" – Wutburger, economic crisis) and has to face up to the constellation in which the SPD and the Greens form the centre of force of a moderate opposition and the Piratenpartei succeeds with the promise of an alternative politics. The party's manifesto, which has been adopted at the end of October, admittedly proved the capacity of the competing currents within the party to compromise, but it is no answer to the questions of strategy and content the party will have to answer in the future, by itself.


Abstract. The aim of this paper is to analyse metabolic interaction between Paris and the Seine during the industrial era, 1790–1970, a period marked by strong population growth, technological changes, and the absence of specific legislation on environmental issues. The viewpoint focuses on exchanges of waters and wastes between city and river, quantifying them and tracing their evolution in the light of the strategies implemented by the stakeholders in charge. The study combines industrial ecology, local history and the history of technology. From 1790 to 1850, waste matters, and especially excreta, were considered as raw materials, not refuse: they generated real profits. The removal of human excreta aimed not only at improving urban hygiene, but at producing the fertilizers needed in rural areas. Discharging them into the river was out of the question. But after the 1860s, several factors upset this exploitation, notably domestic water supply: night soil became more and more liquid, difficult to handle and to turn into fertilizer; once utilised, the water had to be removed from the house; at the same time, the sewerage system developed and had negative impacts on the river. Even so, Parisian engineers continued to process sewage using techniques that would not only ensure hygiene but also conciliate economic and agricultural interests: combined sewerage system and sewage farms. Both of these early periods are thus noteworthy for a relative limitation of the river's deterioration by urban wastes. Not until the 1920s, when domestic water supply had become the standard and excreta came to be considered as worthless waste, was the principle of valorisation abandoned. This led to important and long-lasting pollution of the Seine (despite the construction of a treatment plant), aggravating the industrial pollution that had been in evidence since the 1840s. Analysing the priorities that led to the adoption of one principle or another in matters of urban hygiene and techniques, with the causes and consequences of such changes, enables us to understand the complex relations between Paris and the Seine. From raw material to waste matter, from river to drain, the concept of quality in environment remains the underlying theme.


Li metal as an anode for high-energy-density batteries is actively pursued due to its high specific capacity and ultralow electrochemical potential. Unfortunately, Li dendrite growth might induce a short circuit creating safety hazards that limit the practical applications of Li metal anode batteries. Herein, a novel anode of graphene aerogel (GA) decorated with silver nanocrystals (AgNCs@GA) is reported for effective suppression of lithium dendrite growth and improvement in coulombic efficiency at various current densities. This improved performance is attributed to AgNCs. This loaded AgNCs with high Li affinity serve as Li deposition sites, which deeply reduce the overpotential of Li nucleation and electrodeposition. Therefore, it successfully realizes stable Li deposition/stripping processes with enhanced coulombic efficiency at various current densities and areal capacities. The pre-lithiated AgNCs@GA is evaluated as an anode in a Li battery and demonstrates remarkable performance in comparison with a commercial lithium foil.


In this paper, we consider matchings avoiding partial patterns $1123$ and $1132$. We give a bijection between $1123$-avoiding matchings with $n$ edges and nonnegative lattice paths from $(0,2)$ to $(2n,0)$. As a consequence, the refined enumeration of $1123$-avoiding matchings can be reduced to the enumeration of certain lattice paths. Another result of this paper is a bijection between $1132$-avoiding matchings with $n$ edges and lattice paths from $(0,0)$ to $(2n,0)$ starting with an up step, which may go under the $x$-axis.


In a rapidly evolving industry as a result of consumer self-generation and a drive to become more energy efficient, it is necessary to understand whether traditional network planning methods are sufficient. Electrical master plans and network designs require long term forecasts. These forecasts require assumptions to be made based on various factors such as income level, climate, pricing signals to name but a few. After-diversity maximum demand (ADMD), coincidence, load factor, load profile and consumer energy consumption are important aspects in deriving future load forecasts. How does distributed generation and energy efficiency programmes impact the traditional way of network planning and design? Should planning methods be adapted going forward? This paper provides a summarized version of recent research and simulation through an appliance-based modelling approach to evaluate the impact on planning parameters such as ADMD, coincidence and load factor when energy efficiency interventions and distributed generation are implemented. A Matlab appliance-based simulation model is developed which calculates load profiles with and without interventions. Profiles without interventions are used as a baseline for comparison. The simulation model provides sufficient results in the absence of measured 1-minute load profiles for every consumer in a distribution network. Through the analysis, interesting relationships between parameters were observed.


OBJECT
Accurate placement of intracranial depth and subdural electrodes is important in evaluating patients with medically refractory epilepsy for possible resection. Confirming electrode locations on postoperative CT scans does not allow for immediate replacement of malpositioned electrodes, and thus revision surgery is required in select cases. Intraoperative CT (iCT) using the Medtronic O-arm device has been performed to detect electrode locations in deep brain stimulation surgery, but its application in epilepsy surgery has not been explored. In the present study, the authors describe their institutional experience in using the O-arm to facilitate accurate placement of intracranial electrodes for epilepsy monitoring.

METHODS
In this retrospective study, the authors evaluated consecutive patients who had undergone subdural and/or depth electrode implantation for epilepsy monitoring between November 2010 and September 2012. The O-arm device is used to obtain iCT images, which are then merged with the preoperative planning MRI studies and reviewed by the surgical team to confirm final positioning. Minor modifications in patient positioning and operative field preparation are necessary to safely incorporate the O-arm device into routine intracranial electrode implantation surgery. The device does not obstruct surgeon access for bur hole or craniotomy surgery. Depth and subdural electrode locations are easily identified on iCT, which merge with MRI studies without difficulty, allowing the epilepsy surgical team to intraoperatively confirm lead locations.

RESULTS
Depth and subdural electrodes were implanted in 10 consecutive patients by using routine surgical techniques together with preoperative stereotactic planning and intraoperative neuronavigation. No wound infections or other surgical complications occurred. In one patient, the hippocampal depth electrode was believed to be in a suboptimal position and was repositioned before final wound closure. Additionally, 4 strip electrodes were replaced due to suboptimal positioning. Postoperative CT scans did not differ from iCT studies in the first 3 patients in the series and thus were not obtained in the final 7 patients. Overall, operative time was extended by approximately 10-15 minutes for O-arm positioning, less than 1 minute for image acquisition, and approximately 10 minutes for image transfer, fusion, and intraoperative analysis (total time 21-26 minutes).

CONCLUSIONS
The O-arm device can be easily incorporated into routine intracranial electrode implantation surgery in standard-sized operating rooms. The technique provides accurate 3D visualization of depth and subdural electrode contacts, and the intraoperative images can be easily merged with preoperative MRI studies to confirm lead positions before final wound closure. Intraoperative CT obviates the need for routine postoperative CT and has the potential to improve the accuracy of intracranial electroencephalography recordings and may reduce the necessity for revision surgery.