Improving efficiency of digestion and use of balanced diets is one of the challenges ahead, both to improve the health conditions of animals and to design production systems compatible with the environment. The aim of this work was to study the effect of the addition of hull to the diet of meat rabbits on days to slaughter, on mortality in the fattening period and N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorous) percentages excreted in feces. 64 rabbits were used weaned at 28 days. They were fed ad libitum. Diets consisted of two commercial formulations (Ga and Ge) with and without husk of wheat and oats by 10% (P / P). Time of fattening and mortality was recorded for each diet. Feces were collected from 48 cages at the beginning and end of fattening (45 and 65 days) and percentage of NT (total nitrogen) was determined by micro-Kjeldahl and TP (total phosphorus) by colorimetry with metavanadate. The animals fed with husks in the diet showed a higher slaughter age and mortality decrease. The only factor tested that caused significant differences in nitrogen excretion was the addition of hull. The oat hull diet showed a significantly lower nitrogen removal. Phosphorus excretion showed a significant difference according to the type of commercial diet fed, the addition of husk and the fattening stage. While adding outside fiber to food causes a delay in the time of slaughter, this would be partially offset by a reduction in mortality. The addition of oat hulls would be a viable alternative to reduce emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus to the environment via feces.


The demand of responsibilities among teachers has evolved not only in classroom management but also to the extent of promoting communication and interpersonal skills. Social media is integrated in schools and higher learning institutions for communication and reflection of learning which enhance teachers' performance in leadership quality and effective teaching. This study was designed in a qualitative approach mainly to explore the extent of interest and enjoyment students experienced during an intensive ICT course. Blog was used as a medium for reflection during the class where students posted their creations of videos, posters and other ICT materials. The three needs investigated were namely autonomy, competence, and relatedness support. The researcher further examined on students' awareness of the usefulness of the ICT skill they learned and how much they can use the blog for teaching and learning. Based on the Basic Psychological Needs Theory framework (BPNT), this study has adopted the direct observation, journal entry, and interviews as a triangulation approach.


Naples-type salami is dry fermented sausages with medium-size grana made of coarsely minced lean pig, mixed with fat, salt, pepper and various spices, stuffed into natural or artificial casings and ripened for 30-60 days, native to the Campania, today produced throughout Italy. The organoleptic and sensory properties of this product are due to the degradation events (proteolysis, lipolysis) occurring during the maturation: the lipid fraction undergoes hydrolytic and oxidative changes, involving liberation of free fatty acids (FFA), volatile compounds and precursor of odorous molecules. Endogenous enzymes, such as calpains and cathepsins, are primarily responsible for the initial degradation of the sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins, then the most commonly found Lactobacillus species in dry fermented meats are able to hydrolyse myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle proteins in vitro. The peptides produced can influence final taste of the salami and moreover are object of the activity of endogenous and exogenous amino peptidases releasing amino acids which represent precursors of aromatic compounds. The aim of this work has been to characterize the metabolites formed during ripening of Naples-type salami, in particular have been evaluated structural and aromatic differences between industrial and artisanal products.
Analyses were carried out on two Naples-type salami experimental productions, an industrial and an artisanal, that differ in amount of pepper and for the use of microbiological starter in industrial salami and on four salami samples procured on the market. At first a proteomic analysis has been carried out on sarcoplasmic fraction of Naples-type salami by RP-HPLC technique coupled to MALDI-TOF-MS and ESI-MS, later on a metabolomic analysis of lipid and aromatic components using HS-SPME-GC-MS techniques.
The proteolysis produced a different final proteic pattern probably due to the action of different microflora a microbial starter in industrial salami and autochthon microflora in artisanal one; the proteins less susceptible to proteolysis were carbonic anhydrase 3, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase , β-enolase 3 and triosephosphate isomerase; in both salami samples were observed the total proteolysis of creatine kinase, phosphofructokinase and phosphoglicerate kinase, instead myoglobin, fructose bisphosphate aldolase A and phosphoglicerate mutase disappeared only in industrial salami and troponine C 2, pyruvate kinase and glucose-6-P-isomerase in artisanal one. The fresh meat sample presented a few peptides because in an early stage of the tenderization process (48-72 h), however they derived mainly from the proteolysis of phosphofructokinase, piruvate kinase and β-enolase 3. In the sample of industrial salami after 30 days of ripening the proteolysis resulted very pronounced with production of a high number of novel peptides that derived mainly from glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase and fructose bisphosphate aldolase A. Moreover some peptides common to industrial samples after 7, 21 and 30 days of ripening, such as the peptide 284-304 of calpastatin and the peptide 87-107 of creatine kinase, have been identified and some other common to artisanal salami in order to use them as molecular markers as indicators of manufacturing and technological processes.
Final proteic pattern of industrial salami resulted different from artisanal one because essentially endogenous muscle enzymes, such as calpains and cathepsins, act during ripening of artisanal salami together with enzymes of inside microflora. These differences can be put in evidence by creation of data bank could be achieved to quickly identify and safeguard typical products. Furthermore the characterisation of the peptides formed during ripening could be used to evaluate the degree of proteolysis in a given meat sample as well as to correlate the rheological and sensory characteristics with formation of typical compounds.
The aromatic profile of industrial salami resulted more complex than artisanal one for the use of starter cultures. Pepper compounds were quantitatively the largest group of volatiles identified in the aromatic profile of industrial salami at 30 days of ripening. The absence of microbial starter in artisanal salami determine a minor concentration of compounds such as ethyl esters and methyl ketones related to activity of S. xylosus and carnosus species. Among volatile and semivolatile odorous molecules identified in salami samples, were present short chain fatty acids such as octanoic acid, decanoic, dodecanoic. These molecules are present in greater amount in the industrial salami to indicate a more advanced lipolytic process in this last one respect to artisanal salami.
The characterization of sarcoplasmic proteins and peptides as well as the analysis of aromas could be used for identification of molecular markers of quality and typicality in order to obtain the Protected Designation of Origin (P.D.O.) mark, to differentiate an artisanal salami from an industrial one and to allow traceability of the products.


In the Southern Appalachians, metrics for quantifying the geometric shape of the land surface (terrain shape index or "tsi") and of the landform (land form index or "lfi ") were developed and found to be correlated to yellow-poplar site index. However, the utility of these metrics for predicting site index for oaks in the Ozark Highlands has not been evaluated. We examined the relationship between black oak site index and the tsi and lfi with other measures of terrain, including the slope position and the (transformed) slope- aspect using data collected in 120 0.12-ac experimental units at the Sinkin Experimental Forest in southeastern Missouri. Th e tsi and lfi were each signifi cant (P<0.05) parameters in models predicting site index. Concave land forms had greater tsi and lfi values and higher site index values than did convex land forms. Th e AICC scores indicated that the best models included parameters for slope position and aspect along with the tsi, lfi , or both. Models with the tsi were statistically indistinguishable from models that included the lfi . Overall, the tsi and lfi each appear to be useful for quantifying terrain shape and its infl uence on the productivity of upland hardwood stands in the Ozark Highlands.


Objective. In a longitudinal cohort study, we investigated whether clinical and serological manifestations at the time of classification of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were predictive of subsequent development of incident proteinuria as a biomarker of incident lupus nephritis. Methods. Patients fulfilling SLE classification criteria but having no proteinuria prior to or at the time of classification were included. Data on SLE manifestations, vital status, criteria-related autoantibodies, and SLE-associated medications were collected during clinical visits and supplemented by chart review. HR were calculated by Cox regression analyses. Results. Out of 850 patients with SLE, 604 had not developed proteinuria at the time of SLE classification. Of these 604 patients, 184 (30%) developed incident proteinuria following SLE classification. The patients had a median followup of 11 years and 7 months. Younger age and history of psychosis at the time of classification were associated with development of incident proteinuria, just as were lymphopenia (HR 1.49, 95% CI 1.08–2.06), anti-dsDNA (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.01–1.87), and a high number of autoantibodies (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.06–1.48). Conclusion. The risk of incident proteinuria after onset of SLE was increased by the presence of lymphopenia, anti-dsDNA antibodies, psychosis, younger age, and a high number of autoantibodies at onset.


China is now the main supplier in the generic pharmaceutical and bulk drugs supply market. The lowcost sourcing of raw materials from domestic manufacturers allows Chinese pharmaceutical companies to be competitive. Purchasing becomes strategic importance to the overall business performance through the implementation of concrete purchasing practices. This thesis is mainly to study the capsule purchasing practices in Chinese pharmaceutical companies. Three objectives are proposed in order to achieve the purpose: 1) Describe the capsule purchasing procedures of the companies; 2) Compare and analyse similarities and differences of their purchasing procedures; 3) Give acceptable reasons for these similarities and differences. These objectives are fulfilled on the basis of the developed van Weele's purchasing procedure model and the factors integrated in purchasing. In this multiple-case study, qualitative approach is utilized in order to describe and interpret the how and why questions. The unstructured face-to face interviews are used. The study finds that the capsule purchasing strategy in Chinese pharmaceutical companies is at the stage of supply management and this may induct the raw material purchasing strategy in Chinese pharmaceutical industry.


Parsing plays an important role in semantic role labeling (SRL) because most SRL systems infer semantic relations from 1-best parses. Therefore, parsing errors inevitably lead to labeling mistakes. To alleviate this problem, we propose to use packed forest, which compactly encodes all parses for a sentence. We design an algorithm to exploit exponentially many parses to learn semantic relations efciently. Experimental results on the CoNLL-2005 shared task show that using forests achieves an absolute improvement of 1.2% in terms of F1 score over using 1-best parses and 0.6% over using 50-best parses.


Abstract Objective To analyze temporal trends of mortality due to suicide among adults in Brazil, by macroregion and gender, from 2000 to 2015. Methods A retrospective study of temporal trends in suicide mortality rates in adults aged 20 to 64 years, by macroregion and gender, from 2000 to 2015. Data from the Brazilian Mortality Database (SIM) and from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) were used. The mortality rate trends analysis was performed using simple linear regression, with Stata 14 software. Results There was an upward trend in mortality due to intentionally inflicted self-harm in the Brazilian adult population in the North, Northeast, and Southeast regions for both genders (p<0.001), with predominance in the male population in these three regions and throughout the country (p<0.001). A downward trend was observed in the South and Midwest (p=0.003 and p=0.040). Conclusion Mortality due to intentionally inflicted self-harm has increased in Brazil, but has undergone important variations in different parts of the country. Even a regional analysis is insufficient to achieve a thorough evaluation of these contrasts because of the country's continental proportions and data collection biases. Further studies focused on this topic are required.


In this paper, a new technique for simultaneous voice and multiclass data transmission over fading channels using adaptive hierarchical modulation is proposed. According to the link quality, the proposed scheme changes the constellation size as well as the priority parameters of the hierarchical signal constellations and assigns available subchannels (i.e., different bit positions) to different kinds of bits. Specifically, for very bad channel conditions, it only transmits voice with binary phase-shift keying (BPSK). As the channel condition improves, a variable-rate adaptive hierarchical M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) is used to increase the data throughput. The voice bits are always transmitted in the lowest priority subchannel (i.e., the least significant bit (LSB) position) of the quadrature (Q) channel of the hierarchical M-QAM. The remaining (log2M-1) subchannels, called data subchannels, are assigned to two different classes of data according to the selected priority parameters. Closed-form expressions as well as numerical results for outage probability, achievable spectral efficiency, and average bit error rate (BER) for voice and data transmission over Nakagami-m fading channels are presented. The adaptive techniques employing hybrid binary shift keying (BPSK)/M-ary AM (M-AM) and uniform M-QAM for simultaneous voice and two different classes of data transmission are also extended. Compared to the extended schemes, the new proposed scheme is spectrally more efficient for data transmission, while keeping the same outage probability for voice and data (both classes) as the scheme employing BPSK/M-AM. The new scheme also provides, as a by-product, a spectrally efficient way of transmitting voice and a single-class data


Often considered the final conquest and ultimate summation of Manifest Destiny, California holds a unique place in the American imaginary. While the popular mythology of the Spanish fantasy has served to obscure the use of violence and racialized oppression throughout the colonization of the American Southwest, traces of such struggle remain in memories of the colonized as they continue to occupy this contested space. This paper examines Carlos Morton's ensemble-based political satire, Rancho Hollywood, and Theresa Chavez's one-woman show, L.A. Real, to navigate the dynamic experience of contemporary Southern Californian racialized identity. These two pieces diverge stylistically but share an inclusive, nuanced approach to making sense of history, exploring the material and epistemological impact of historical representation on Chicana/o identity over time. Rancho Hollywood and L.A. Real counter-identify with the Spanish-fantasy heritage by rejecting stereotyping, questioning sanitized versions of Californian history, and voicing personal narratives that resist dominant regional myths and their associated racial ascriptions. Each play stages alternative versions of history that include personal experience and cultural memory; this transformative, productive approach to identity formation articulates agency over the memory of California.


This paper analyzes the quality of VAR-based procedures for estimating the response of the economy to a shock. We focus on two key issues. First, do VAR-based confidence intervals accurately reflect the actual degree of sampling uncertainty associated with impulse response functions? Second, what is the size of bias relative to confidence intervals, and how do coverage rates of confidence intervals compare with their nominal size? We address these questions using data generated from a series of estimated dynamic, stochastic general equilibrium models. We organize most of our analysis around a particular question that has attracted a great deal of attention in the literature: How do hours worked respond to an identified shock? In all of our examples, as long as the variance in hours worked due to a given shock is above the remarkably low number of 1 percent, structural VARs perform well. This finding is true regardless of whether identification is based on short-run or long-run restrictions. Confidence intervals are wider in the case of long-run restrictions. Even so, long-run identified VARs can be useful for discriminating among competing economic models.


Fe3O4@Ag@Ni nanoparticles (MO) were synthesized and characterized. In this study, a reduction method was utilized to synthesize the nanoparticles. The Fe3O4@Ag@Ni nanoparticles were cubic with an about 15 nm particle size, established by both TEM and XRD. EDS mapping provided information about the distribution of the materials in the matrix. Optical properties were observed through photoluminescence (PL) studies. Electrochemical sensor applications of Fe3O4@Ag@Ni were assessed. A thin layer of Fe3O4@Ag@Ni nanomaterial film as a chemical sensor was fabricated on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with a 5% nafion conducting binder. The sensor was successfully applied for the detection of 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) using a reliable I–V method at low potential. The sensor-attributes including good sensitivity (3.5217 μA μM−1 cm−2), low detection limit (5.4 ± 0.1 pM; at a signal to noise ratio of 3), low limit of quantification (18.0 ± 0.1 pM), good reliability, good reproducibility, ease of integration, and long-term stability were explored. The sensor response towards 2,4-DNP is linear over a large concentration range (0.1 nM to 1.0 mM). This work initiated a route for sensitive sensor development based on MO nanomaterials using a reliable I–V approach for the detection of hazardous and carcinogenic toxins in environmental and health care fields. The Fe3O4@Ag@Ni nanomaterial showed anti-microbial activity as appraised by a zone of inhibition parameter study, which showed a positive test both for Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The highest inhibition zone to well diameter ratio was 3.5, higher than imipenem (ipm 10).


A new design of a 10× microobjective having a numerical aperture of 0.25 and comprising four elements has been developed. The performance of this design has been compared with the performance of the Lister-type objective having the same numerical aperture and magnification. The new design is found to give better performance than the Lister construction.


Analysis of cases decided under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which addresses employment discrimination, reveals that defendants have consistently prevailed in well over 90% of cases since the ADA's inception. This empirical evidence has led many commentators to conclude that the ADA's Title I has failed to improve workplace conditions for individuals with disabilities. This article attempts to assess the efficacy of Title I through a different lens. It focuses on several data sets that have previously received little attention. It examines Equal Employment Opportunity Commission merit resolutions, lawsuit settlement statistics, and reports concerning reasonable accommodation requests processed by private and public sector employers. These statistics reveal that employers are reasonably responsive to Title I claimants outside of the courthouse setting and that the ADA has in fact improved workplace conditions for employees with disabilities. The more general point made by this article is that the efficacy and impact of statutory mandates cannot be judged based solely on reported court opinions. Rather, data concerning the behavior of those covered by the statutes and extra-judicial dispute resolution are essential to an assessment of whether a statute has achieved the societal changes that it was designed to effect. Consequently, the paper emphasizes the need for more comprehensive empirical studies concerning ADA claim resolutions and outlines a proposal for mandatory reporting of settlement outcomes and the processing of reasonable accommodation requests by employers.


Creatine as an ergogenic aid in sport has been an area of significant scientific research. Creatine supplementation should theoretically increase total muscle creatine and enhance the generation of intramuscular phosphocreatine and subsequent ATP formation. However the effect of creatine supplementation on swimming performance has received little attention. In swimming creatine could help maintain maximal power output, aid recovery and increase lean body mass. A literature review was conducted to identify the evidence that creatine supplementation alters swimming performance. Twenty-seven potential studies were identified, seventeen were selected for review. The studies were then categorised as swimming a short distance race (single sprint performance), or swimming a series of sprints with intervals of rest (repeated interval performance). None of the studies controlled for the multiple confounding factors associated with measurement of swimming performance. The sample size was limited, reducing the reliability of the studies and introducing the possibility of bias. The studies provided insufficient evidence to determine if creatine supplementation was beneficial. However, what data there was supported the use of creatine supplementation in repeated interval swimming rather than single sprint. From a review of the studies, it was calculated, there was a 1.5% increase in swimming performance with the use of creatine for repeated intervals and a 0.8% increase in performance for single sprint. While this may seem minor, it should be remembered swimming races are often won by much smaller margins. In the 2012 Olympics the Men's 100 metres freestyle race was won by a margin of 0.01 of a second (0.02%). Thus even this small improvement could make a difference to the final outcome of the race.


This paper will summarize the potential use cases and impacts of competences and skills in the new area, often called "Digital Age": It will highlight the roles and benefits of standards and metadata for HR development and points out the special support that competence models can provide for the quality development in learning, education, and training. In this regard, the main characteristics of this innovative approach called competence modelling and its relevance in vocational education and training (VET) can only be summarized. A general competence model with a standardized competence structure and taxonomy of levels is introduced and discussed for the general application scenarios and for the specific use cases in vocational education and training. It can be shown that competence modelling and the presented competence model lead to an improvement of the working places, of the organizational and individual development, to an increase of the mobility worldwide as well as to a higher transparency and recognition of competences and skills. Finally leading European initiatives on competence modelling are introduced and the current standardization activities are highlighted.


I had not requested this book, but the publishers did kindly include this in the postage of their newest releases. I confess I groaned as I read the title and flicked through what, at first, seemed just a list of codes of no relevance to a UK readership. But then we do have readers in the United States and I thought there might be more to this than I had suspected. There was indeed. To some degree, it just made me appreciate our UK healthcare system, whether National Health Service (NHS) or private, but there is also some very useful advice and tips on practice management, which I would have appreciated 30 years ago when starting out! A ring-bound multi-author text of 33 chapters, it achieves a remarkable uniformity of style. Most chapters freely discuss 'controversial areas' and the perils of incorrect coding. The opening page of Chapter 1 'Essentials of Coding' caught my attention. The terms 'ICD-10-CM', 'CPT manual' or 'HCPCS Level II' may all mean little to the UK reader, but their importance is quickly explained. These guides are not 'sales gimmicks' we are assured. They are an aid to avoiding ruin and penury, ensuring that one's practice can withstand audit, and are of value in epidemiology. The author tells of the discovery of US$9.5 billion of improper payments by federal agencies in 2013. The same year, the Recovery Audit Contractors, in response, identified 1.5 million such claims and recovered US$3.75 billion. The evolution of coding systems is explained, but it is repeatedly stressed that insurers often follow their own rules; coding is not reimbursement. I learnt all this from the first page and decided this book is well worth a review. Chapter 5, 'Successful Strategies in Billing' carries a generic message for any practitioner, and this alone warrants recommendation of this book to a UK readership. See how your current private practice stands up to the 22-question self-assessment tool. There follows a chapter on 'Successful Management of the Appeals Process', which provides standard template letters, using all the phrases most likely to succeed. The chapter on legal issues covers the obvious hazards of false claims, unbundling and use of unnecessary technologies. There is fascinating coverage of what is most likely to trigger an investigation. Both office and hospital care are covered in terms of the basic principles, but also for every possible procedure, from robotic surgery to investigation of sleep-disordered breathing. I was amused to read that audiologists using a rotatory chair to investigate balance disorders are advised to record the serial number of the chair, to satisfy the payers! Do not be tempted, as it seems some have been, to consider septoplasty a bilateral procedure. Indeed, several chapters suggest that that operation has attracted particular flak in billing. In our NHS work, coding is generally (and amazingly) accorded limited resources, being the responsibility of an understaffed team of professionals. Anyone in UK private practice could greatly benefit from this book, as much of it has an international relevance. Its cost could be recouped in a single day of greater efficiency. Obviously, for US readers this is essential and a reference fundamental to practice. It proved far easier reading than I had expected and I so nearly ignored it!


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A well-maintained marine mammal stranding database can be an invaluable tool in understanding not only strandings but also changes in the marine environment. This study aimed to examine the following aspects of marine mammal strandings in the Philippines: species composition, temporal (i.e., frequency of stranding per year and seasonality) and spatial (i.e., frequency of stranding per region and province) variation, proportions of alive or dead specimens, and stranding hotspots. In 2008, a systematic collection of data on strandings, including out-of-habitat incidents, resulted in an initial 12-year database—from 1998 to 2009. A total of 178 stranding events were recorded: 163 single, 10 mass, and 5 out-of-habitat strandings, with an average of 15 observed stranding events annually. Twenty-three of the 28 confirmed species of marine mammals in the Philippines were recorded to strand, including first-recorded specimens for the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), and Longman's beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus). The top five most frequent species to strand included spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) (n = 26), short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) (n = 14), melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra) (n = 13), Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) (n = 11), and common bottlenose dolphin (T. truncatus) (n = 10). Dugongs (Dugong dugon) stranded seven times since 2001. Strandings occurred throughout the year with frequency significantly peaking during the northeast (NE) monsoon (November to March) season. Overall, Regions III (Central Luzon) and VII (Central Visayas) had the highest number of strandings (both n = 27) followed by Regions I (Ilocos) (n = 22) and V (Bicol) (n = 18). The following provinces or local government units were considered hotspots based on high number of strandings observed at each area: Zambales, Cagayan, Zamboanga City, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Pangasinan, and Bataan. Sixty-five percent of all documented stranding events involved live (n = 116) animals. This high percentage might be linked to dynamite fishing (causing acoustic trauma), fisheries interactions, or biotoxins from harmful algal blooms coupled to their foodweb. These strandings in general validate the diverse marine mammal assemblage in the Philippines and reveal the various environmental threats with which they deal.


Economic accounts of consumer welfare focus on the physical circumstances of consumers. In contrast, in many religious and philosophical traditions, welfare is thought to be largely independent of physical circumstances. This essay argues that the introduction of reference dependence enriches economic models of choice in a way that connects the economic account of welfare with the contrasting account offered by the Stoics. The Stoics wrote about the relationship between wealth and welfare, and the model of choice implicit in their writings involves comparison of consumption to a reference. When reference dependence appears in economic models, options for consumption are chosen after evaluation through comparison to a reference. For the Stoics, however, the reference itself was an object of choice. Choosing the right reference allowed the Stoics to achieve contentment even in adverse circumstances. Daniel R. Wilmoth, "Welfare, the Stoics, and Reference Dependence," Journal of Markets & Morality 20, no. 2 (Fall 2017): 299-310


Purpose Acute skin toxicity is experienced by 70%–100% of patients receiving radiation therapy following breast cancer. Most studies focus on skin appearances and treatment of such reactions, not the experience. Increased knowledge about patients' experience will contribute to provide tailored patient care. Thus, the purpose was to investigate patients' experiences of acute skin toxicity following radiation therapy for breast cancer. Patients and methods Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with seven women, 2–3 weeks post-treatment. Five broad areas of inquiry were investigated: 1) experiences from the development of skin reactions; 2) experiences in day-to-day life; 3) coping strategies; 4) experiences of information; and 5) experiences from the aftercare. The interviews were analyzed in line with qualitative content analysis. Results The main theme "Not so bad itself, but it comes on top of everything else" was identified, based upon three categories: 1) unique experience of the skin; 2) it is something about the psychological aspect; and 3) experience of information. Conclusion Acute skin toxicity following breast cancer treatment may affect many dimensions of patients' lives. Experiences are complex, individual, and not necessarily consistent with visible changes of the skin. A holistic approach is necessary to provide treatment and support according to patients' individual needs.


"Optical Biosensors, 2ed" describes the principles of successful systems, examples of applications, and evaluates the advantages and deficiencies of each. It also addresses future developments on two levels: possible improvements in existing systems and emerging technologies that could provide new capabilities in the future. The book is formatted for ease of use and is therefore suitable for scientists and engineers, students and researcher at all levels in the field. It provides comprehensive analysis and review of the underlying principles by optical biosensors. It updates and informs on all the latest developments and hot topic areas. It evaluates current methods showing the advantages and disadvantages of various systems involved.


Small Business Economics 16: 329–345, 2001.  2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. ABSTRACT. Female and male entrepreneurs differ in the way they finance their businesses. This difference can be attributed to the type of business and the type of management and experience of the entrepreneur (indirect effect). Female start-ups may also experience specific barriers when trying to acquire start-up capital. These may be based upon discriminatory effects (direct effect). Whether gender has an impact on size and composition of start-up capital and in what way, is the subject of the present paper. The indirect effect is represented by the way women differ from men in terms of type of business and management and experience. The direct effect cannot be attributed to these differences and is called the gender effect. We use of a panel of 2000 Dutch starting entrepreneurs, of whom approximately 500 are female to test for these direct and indirect effects. The panel refers to the year 1994. We find that female entrepreneurs have a smaller amount of start-up capital, but that they do not differ significantly with respect to the type of capital. On average the proportion of equity and debt capital (bank loans) in the businesses of female entrepreneurs is the same as in those of their male counterparts.


This paper will first track the ways in which the legal services market has grown and changed over the past forty years. It will then track the major changes that have attended legal education during the same period and the increasing dependence of the legal education industry on student debt. The paper will then explore why, at long last, the boom-times may have run their course and why, at some point, painful changes will likely occur. Though they cannot be described in detail, the author will attempt to outline the likely nature of the changes that will occur. Finally, the paper will briefly explore how the predicted reckoning may yet lead to an improvement in the marketing of legal services and an enhanced role for law schools in preparing new attorneys for the new bar they will be joining.


The benzene and benzene dimer cations are studied using the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster model with single and double substitutions for ionized systems. The ten lowest electronic states of the dimer at t-shaped, sandwich, and displaced sandwich configurations are described and cataloged based on the character of the constituent fragment molecular orbitals. The character of the states, bonding patterns, and important features of the electronic spectrum are explained using qualitative dimer molecular orbital linear combination of fragment molecular orbital framework. Relaxed ground state geometries are obtained for all isomers. Calculations reveal that the lowest energy structure of the cation has a displaced sandwich structure and a binding energy of 20 kcal/mol, while the t-shaped isomer is 6 kcal/mol higher. The calculated electronic spectra agree well with experimental gas phase action spectra and femtosecond transient absorption in liquid benzene. Both sandwich and t-shaped structures feature intense charge resonance bands, whose location is very sensitive to the interfragment distance. Change in the electronic state ordering was observed between sigma and piu states, which correlate to the B and C bands of the monomer, suggesting a reassignment of the local excitation peaks in the gas phase experimental spectrum.


Background. Vaccine development in human Plasmodium falciparum malaria has been hampered by the exceptionally high levels of CD8+ T cells required for efficacy. Use of potently immunogenic human adenoviruses as vaccine vectors could overcome this problem, but these are limited by preexisting immunity to human adenoviruses. Methods. From 2007 to 2010, we undertook a phase I dose and route finding study of a new malaria vaccine, a replication-incompetent chimpanzee adenovirus 63 (ChAd63) encoding the preerythrocytic insert multiple epitope thrombospondin-related adhesion protein (ME-TRAP; n = 54 vaccinees) administered alone (n = 28) or with a modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) ME-TRAP booster immunization 8 weeks later (n = 26). We observed an excellent safety profile. High levels of TRAP antigen–specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, as detected by interferon γ enzyme-linked immunospot assay and flow cytometry, were induced by intramuscular ChAd63 ME-TRAP immunization at doses of 5 × 1010 viral particles and above. Subsequent administration of MVA ME-TRAP boosted responses to exceptionally high levels, and responses were maintained for up to 30 months postvaccination. Conclusions. The ChAd63 chimpanzee adenovirus vector appears safe and highly immunogenic, providing a viable alternative to human adenoviruses as vaccine vectors for human use. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT00890019.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore ethical issues related to pharmaceutical marketers' social media efforts including the prevalence and forms of direct-to-consumer web 2.0 advertising (eDTCA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages across social networking sites (SNSs). One goal is to determine if these eDTCA posts comply with draft guidelines issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Design/methodology/approach

Content analysis of ten pharmaceutical marketers' SNS posts documented the frequency and types of posts devoted to eDTCA, drug risks and benefits, CSR, and other purposes.

Findings

eDTCA represents about 35 percent of all pharmaceutical firm SNS posts and primarily communicates help-seeking messages via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Firms also promote their ethical image through CSR-related posts. These posts primarily highlight employee-focussed and community-focussed initiatives. Analysis of consumer behavior in response to each post shows that eDTCA affects only liking of YouTube videos, but CSR increases behavior responses on all SNSs except LinkedIn.

Social implications

Despite absence of final guidance, pharmaceutical marketers seem to abide by FDA draft social media guidance. In line with the FDA's draft fair-balance regulations, almost all product-claim eDTCA posts state both benefit and risk information. Nevertheless, the FDA should issue final eDTCA guidance without delay consistent with traditional media direct-to-consumer advertising guidance. This should benefit consumers through consistency with their existing advertising literacy competencies.

Originality/value

The study represents an initial attempt to document ethical issues in the current state-of-the-practice of pharmaceutical social media marketing related to eDTCA and CSR.


In recent years, several systems and tools to assess energy consumption and carbon emissions at scales beyond that of merely buildings, such as LEED, CASBEE and BREEAM communities have been development. However, reviews reveal a lack of robustness in these methods both in terms of an unstructured mix of qualitative and quantitative criteria and lack of focus on urban form parameters found to influence energy consumption and carbon emissions. A promising quantitative assessment system including various urban form indicators is developed by the Urban Morphology Institute (UMI) in Paris. Within the research centre on zero emission neighbourhoods in smart cities (ZEN), a GIS-based method is applied to analyze conditions of urban form known to contribute to carbon emissions. In this paper we demonstrate how a selection of the UMI indicators describing proximity can be further specified applying GIS-based methods. The potential of applicability of urban assessment system in planning as well as design processes will increase when linked to tools that are already implemented, and map visualizations as well as data provided by these methods are highly applicable in planning and urban design. As further research, methods described in recent research within ZEN and specified measures for calculating UMI indicators, will be tested in analyses of urban development areas in Norway.


This article reviews concussion management in the military, with specific reference to the acute assessment and management of injured combat military personnel. Recent research on concussion and recovery is used as a foundation for understanding issues unique to a military population, as well as universal issues in the care of concussed individuals. We explain current uses of neuropsychological testing in military, as well as suggest future directions. A protocol for the acute management and assessment of concussions sustained through military service is provided, as are recommendations for the treatment of more chronic postconcussion symptoms and other trauma-related conditions which may present following concussion.


Sales management control and sales force performance has received substantial attention by researchers in the past decades. Researchers have been investigating the construct of sales control, its antecedents and its consequences on both the individual sales person and on sales force performance. This research project analyses how and why the sales control systems are implemented the way they are. The basis for this approach is drawn from the organisational or management control literature which treats behaviour and outcome approaches as dimensions rather than categories. Organisational control also treats the control system as a process which consists of a set of stages or sub processes being objective setting, planning, monitoring, feedback and correcting. With the growing importance of relationship selling and key account management it can no longer be assumed that all the sales people will operate at the same hierarchical level within an organisation nor that they will be subject to one and the same control system. Therefore an in depth analysis of how sales force control processes are implemented for different types of sales functions, ranging from customer acquisition, small to medium account management to strategic and global account management, is needed. The research project included 17 preliminary interviews across different organisations, from which one organisation was selected on the basis that it contains a large international sales force of about 2.500 people consisting of a very wide range of sales functions. The analysis of this organisation included 100 plus interviews of 66 sales managers and sales people across all types of sales functions over a two year period. The findings show that the inability to measure certain inputs and outputs does not deter a sales organisation to adopt their sales control strategy within a functional sales team. When some measures are not available or are unreliable, sales managers find other ways to measure them being it through some locally developed tools or through more qualitative approaches. The method used to obtain certain measures does impact the level of the sophistication of the actual control process or strategy. When there is a need to control sales people who operate as a team of employees from different departments the sales managers can no longer individually develop some local tools to measure inputs and outputs. The findings show that team based selling requires accurate data but also globally agreed rules and procedures in order to operate successfully. This enables us to conclude that the inability to measure certain inputs and outputs is a determining variable for the implementation of client sales teams. With regard to sales force control strategies the research uncovered that within the category of the hybrid sales control approach there are four types of sales control sub approaches. The choice of which control to use is dependent on the size of the customers or opportunities the sales people work with and the selling approach which is either hunting or farming. This shows that while farming can be relabelled as key account management, hunting remains a major sales activity requiring not only different selling approaches it also requires different types of sales control processes than for farming. All of these findings indicate that several types of sales control systems can operate across one single organisation and that the main determining variables are the sales approach and the type of accounts the sales person is managing. This challenges current beliefs or assumptions that all sales people operate at the same hierarchical level within an organisation and that they all operate under one single sales control approach. Future research on sales force control will need to take these findings into account when designing their approach to study control systems within organisations.


We used four ruminally fistulated, multiparous, pregnant Holstein cows to measure changes in concentrations of plasma metabolite as the dairy cow transitions from one lactation to the next. Diets consisted of typical far-off and close-up diets, a late lactation diet containing wet corn gluten feed (20% DM), and an alfalfa hay-corn silage based early lactation diet. Calculated NEL (Mcal/lb), measured crude protein (%), and diet digestibilities (%; based on steers fed at 2% of BW) were 0.78, 18.7, 74.1; 0.70, 11.5, 66.2; 0.74, 15.6, 71.0; 0.73, 18.4, 70.7 for late lactation, far-off dry, close-up dry, and early lactation diets, respectively. Blood samples were obtained on day 79 prior to calving and weekly thereafter until calving and on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 15, 20, 25, 30, 60, and 90 after calving. Cows gained body weight and condition during the dry period, peaked just prior to calving, and lost weight and condition steadily through the first 11 weeks of lactation. Calculated energy balance was negative during the first 3 weeks of lactation. Plasma concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), glucose, and insulin to glucagon ratio remained fairly stable during the dry period. Plasma glucose increased just before calving, decreased markedly during early lactation, then increased and stabilized by day 30 of lactation. Plasma NEFA concentrations increased at calving and were elevated during early lactation, then returned to prepartum concentrations by day 30 of lactation. The insulin to glucagon ratio decreased just prior to calving, continued to decrease until day 7 of lactation, and then remained stable until the end of the trial. Changes in diet and intake affected plasma urea nitrogen, which decreased as dietary protein decreased during the far-off period, decreased with intake during the close-up period, and increased after calving consistent with the higher dietary protein and increase in dry matter intake. Most of the observed metabolic adaptations reflected the energy status of the cow with large shifts occurring around parturition. Certainly, some of the hormones associated with calving can initiate metabolic events favorable to lactation, but the changes in energy balance and nutrient supply support the continued diversion of nutrients to the mammary gland. These data support the concept that dairy cows experience a period of increased tissue mobilization from approximately 2 days prior to calving until 30 days after calving. In conclusion, a number of metabolic adaptations occur in transition dairy cows that provide clues to improve feeding and management guidelines.; Dairy Day, 2002, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 2002;


— Paramecium bursaria Chlorella virus-1 is an icosahedrally shaped, 1,900-Å-diameter virus that infects unicellular eukaryotic green algae. A 5-fold symmetric, 3D reconstruction using cryoelectron microscopy images has now shown that the quasiicosahedral virus has a unique vertex, with a pocket on the inside and a spike structure on the outside of the capsid. The pocket might contain enzymes for use in the initial stages of infection. The unique vertex consists of virally coded proteins, some of which have been identified. Comparison of shape, size, and location of the spike with similar features in bacteriophages T4 and P22 suggests that the spike might be a cell- puncturing device. Similar asymmetric features may have been missed in previous analyses of many other viruses that had been assumed to be perfectly icosahedral.


Objective: To describe the clinical changes that occurred following subluxation -based chiropractic care in a 7 -year-old child medically diagnosed with a motor tic disorder of unknown etiology. Clinical Features: The patient was a 7-year-old girl who presented to a chiropractic office after being diagnosed by her pediatrician with a motor tic disorder. The patient's history revealed that she was diagnosed with torticollis at 6 weeks of age. Her tics began at the age of 5 and progr essively worsened over time. Upon observation and examination, the patient had a notable motor tic and signs of vertebral subluxation. Intervention/Outcome: The treatment plan for the patient utilized the Thompson technique to locate vertebral subluxation, and Diversified technique to deliver a high velocity, low -amplitude adjustment applied to the areas of vertebral subluxation as indicated by chiropractic analysis. The management resulted in complete resolution of the patient's tics following 3 chiropra ctic adjustments. Conclusion: This study describes complete resolution of motor tics in a 7 -year-old female following subluxation based chiropractic care. More evidence with larger sample sizes following a specific chiropractic technique is recommended t o further highlight chiropractic treatment and its effectiveness for the resolution of neurological tic disorders, as well as the comorbid behaviors that are commonly associated with its diagnosis. Key Indexing Terms: Neurological tics, chiropractic, moto r tics, subluxation, tic disorder, neurological tic disorder, Diversified Chiropractic Technique, Thompson Chiropractic Technique, motor tic disorder


Abstract It may come as a surprise to some, but the Bible has a great deal to say about the environment and its conservation some 20 centuries since it was written. Perhaps among the most surprised will be Bible-toting church goers who may have never heard a sermon related to the "environmental crisis" which has become such a concern to so many around the world. This lack of attention by Christians is especially perplexing since many of our environmental problems are rooted in the Christian faith, according to some scholars. However, by examining the doctrine of Christianity, the basic text of the faith, the Bible, we find an entirely different message. The purpose of this discussion is to present the entire portion of Scripture which relates to environmental principles whereby we may develop a Bible-based, 21st Century prescription of environmental conservation. Some 2,463 verses have been topically organized into nine sections. Four appendices present the full-text of this collection in addition to selected hymns, which have been instrumental in teaching the truths of Scripture over the years. This compilation of verses constitutes approximately eight percent of the Bible. The Authorized Version, also known as the King James Version, was used in the preparation of this collection due its widespread distribution and influence since 1611. Based on the Bible, Christianity's positive contribution to environmental conservation is consistent with its positive contributions to other fields such as literature, art, music, education, health, and science. Landscape of Environmental Literature: A Forest Without Trees Christians, like many other groups, have served as convenient scapegoats over the years, being blamed for all kinds of social ills, including environmental problems (White 1967). While the allegation that our present environmental problems lie rooted deep within Christianity, has been well answered and refuted by Harrison (1999) as well as many others, ill-informed finger pointing continues as the new millennium dawns (Worster 1993). Rather than address the behavior of Christians, genuine or otherwise, it is first of all necessary to examine the basic doctrine and text of the faith - the Bible. Various authors have presented bits and pieces of the Bible as they have sought to either validate or invalidate the charge against Christian teaching (Joranson and Butigan 1984). I submit that the Bible can well speak for itself and is presented in its entirety with regard to environmental issues. Appendix A is a compilation of 1929 verses from the Old Testament and Appendix B lists 638 verses from the New Testament. These two appendices organize the Scripture topically so a small number of verses have been included in more than one section. Appendix C lists the scriptural references sequentially but does not include the actual text nor does it list any verse more than once. The importance of examining the Bible, as the message of Christianity, rather than the behavior of Christians, as the representatives of Christ, is underscored by the fact that relatively few people actually read the Bible. This phenomenon is not new. Foxe (1981) reported that after 1500 years of Christianity, though the words of Christ were relatively widely distributed, few actually read the text. Hence the Bible had relatively little influence on the culture at that time. Little interest in reading the Bible also characterizes this day and age (North American Scene: Religion in School 1987, Glenn 1990, Christianity in America 1995, and Stafford 1986). Therefore, in order to understand what God has to say on this issue, it is essential that the entire word of God be examined. The assumption upon which this discussion is based is that the Bible is the word of God and as such it is trustworthy and timeless. It is trustworthy because it is truthful. It is timeless, hence practical and relevant today, because God never changes. …


Nine publically available biosafety protocols for safely handling conotoxin peptides were tested to evaluate their decontamination efficacy. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS) were used to assess the effect of each chemical treatment on the secondary and primary structure of α-CTx MII (L10V, E11A). Of the nine decontamination methods tested, treatment with 1% (m/v) solution of the enzymatic detergent Contrex™ EZ resulted in a 76.8% decrease in α-helical content as assessed by the mean residue ellipticity at 222 nm, and partial peptide digestion was demonstrated using high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Additionally, treatment with 6% sodium hypochlorite (m/v) resulted in 80.5% decrease in α-helical content and complete digestion of the peptide. The Contrex™ EZ treatment was repeated with three additional α-conotoxins (α-CTxs), α-CTxs LvIA, ImI and PeIA, which verified the decontamination method was reasonably robust. These results support the use of either 1% Contrex™ EZ solution or 6% sodium hypochlorite in biosafety protocols for the decontamination of α-CTxs in research laboratories.


The transport and deposition of contourites, involving many cycles of erosion
and deposition under intermittently strong deep-sea currents, produces fine sediments
that show some sorting. Palaeocurrent reconstruction with high temporal resolution requires sensitive parameters from rapidly accumulating and continuously
deposited fine sediments. As most structures are severely degraded by biological
disturbance, grain-size parameters are needed and the mean size of medium to
very coarse silt has proved to be a useful measure of the speed of the depositing
flow. Because these sediments are cohesive, they pose several analytical problems
not encountered in the study of sands and gravels. It is important to remember that for
the finest sediments (but not for sands) the disaggregated state in which the samples are
analysed is not the state in which they were deposited, because that involved varying degrees of
particle aggregation. Therefore, dynamical inferences may not be made from the properties of
the whole disaggregated size distribution. However, as particles increase in size, they
become less prone to aggregation, and aggregates are more easily broken up by
turbulent stresses. It was this fact that led McCave et al. (1995b) to propose the use
of the 10–63 mm silt fraction, ''Sortable silt'' (mean size denoted by SS), as a flowspeed
indicator, because the grains were more likely to have been deposited
individually in response to fluid stresses. Because the particle size is not sensitive
to the flow direction, but responds to the scalar flow speed, the latter term is used
here rather than ''f low velocity'', which has vector connotations.


Sixteen years into the United States' engagement in what it has controversially understood as a global, non-international armed conflict against a shifting set of terrorist groups, a growing array of scholars has called for a reassessment of the significance of the "armed conflict" classification under international humanitarian law (IHL). The existence of an "armed conflict" has long been understood as a proxy on/off switch of inescapable importance. When an "armed conflict" exists, lethal targeting, without regard to particular self-defensive need or immediacy of threat, is permitted as a first resort. When an "armed conflict" does not exist, it is not. Challenging the wisdom of this categorical switch, critics raise a range of concerns: the line dividing which circumstances count as "armed conflict" and which do not is no longer clear or stable enough to provide meaningful guidance; current definitions may compromise humanitarian interests, prospects for criminal justice or both; most important, the "armed conflict" classification no longer reflects current moral, political, or strategic sensibilities about the role of lethal force in an age in which global threats have changed. This Essay contends that while the criticisms are important, they fail on their own terms to justify the abandonment of "armed conflict" as a proxy determinant of first-resort killing. More fundamentally, while classification critics recognize acutely the many changes in the nature of conflict since World War II, they attend far less to systemic changes in the development of international law during that time. Taking the "armed conflict" classification debate as a case study, this Essay highlights how critiques of international law's substance may continue to embrace increasingly outmoded, World War-II era assumptions about the inadequacy of the international legal system to address problems inherent in all law: interpretive uncertainty, law violation, and social change.


We read with interest a paper by Kudo et al. published in a recent issue of HEPATOLOGY that compared the predictive power between Japan Integrated Staging (JIS) system and Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) system in a large patient cohort with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).1 The authors concluded that the JIS system is better and may be a preferred staging model. Because the CLIP system has been prospectively validated and proposed as the primary staging system, it would be interesting to examine how these commonly used staging systems were derived and to explore the potential limitations of their conclusion. The vast majority (96%) of patients in the Kudo et al. study had undergone radical treatment (resection or loco-regional therapy), suggesting that most of them belonged to an early or intermediate stage. This distinct feature made the JIS system, which is intrinsically similar to the Barcelona-ClÌnic Liver Cancer (BCLC) system proposed by the Barcelona group,2 more favorable. A recent study showed that the BCLC system was the best one compared with the CLIP, Okuda, and other systems in a surgically oriented referral center.3 It should be noted that the CLIP and Okuda systems were originally derived from a large, unselected population, and the majority of patients were treated conservatively. Therefore, although the selected prognostic predictors are not mutually exclusive, certain risk factors (tumor size 3 or 2 cm in the BCLC or tumor-node-metastasis [TNM]/JIS system) may only be meaningful in the population that is predominantly treated with radical therapy. This may explain why the JIS system is better, because the outcome is intimately associated with baseline demographics and subsequent treatment strategy. In keeping with these findings, another study in which more than half (52%) of patients were treated conservatively because of advanced stage demonstrated that CLIP was a good predictive model.4 Moreover, in a multicenter survey we have recently shown that the CLIP system was not superior to the JIS system in patients undergoing resection.5 Therefore, it is not surprising that the JIS system can beat others in an appropriate study environment. Another important factor that may alter the predictive ability of a staging system is the distribution of patients. The proportion in each category was considered fairly balanced for JIS scores 0 (12%), 1 (31%), 2 (33%), 3 (17%), and 4 or 5 (7%), whereas the distribution in the CLIP model was rather skewed.1 There will be a substantial degree of swing in the survival curves if the denominator is too small or the predictors are analyzed in an otherwise unbalanced population. Collectively, the JIS system contains treatment-derived parameters and is similar to the BCLC system that may work well in areas where HCC is diagnosed at a relatively early stage, whereas the CLIP system would only prevail when patients predominantly belonged to an intermediate or late stage, a condition in which aggressive therapy is less likely. It is necessary to consider all risk factors from early to advanced stages when building an ideal staging system for HCC.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to compare the neuromotor control of the gluteus medius (GMED) and gluteus maximus (GMAX) muscles in runners with Achilles tendinopathy to that of healthy controls.

METHODS
Fourteen male runners with Achilles tendinopathy and 19 healthy male runners (control) ran overground while EMG of GMED and GMAX was recorded. Three temporal variables were identified via visual inspection of EMG data: (i) onset of muscle activity (onset), (ii) offset of muscle activity (offset), and (iii) duration of muscle activity (duration). A multivariate analysis of covariance with between-subject factor of group (Achilles tendinopathy, control) and variables of onset, offset, and duration was performed for each muscle. Age, weight, and height were included as covariates, and α level was set at 0.05.

RESULTS
The Achilles tendinopathy group demonstrated a delay in the activation of the GMED relative to heel strike (P < 0.001) and a shorter duration of activation (P < 0.001) compared to that of the control group. GMED offset time relative to heel strike was not different between the groups (P = 0.063). For GMAX, the Achilles tendinopathy group demonstrated a delay in its onset (P = 0.008), a shorter duration of activation (P = 0.002), and earlier offset (P < 0.001) compared to the control group.

CONCLUSIONS
This study provides preliminary evidence of altered neuromotor control of the GMED and GMAX muscles in male runners with Achilles tendinopathy. Although further prospective studies are required to discern the causal nature of this relationship, this study highlights the importance of considering neuromotor control of the gluteal muscles in the assessment and management of patients with Achilles tendinopathy.


Construction materials waste management is the process of implementing a strategy that is capable to reduce construction materials waste to the minimum. This research aims at developing a construction materials waste management system that can serve construction projects at the local construction industry in Iraq in minimizing waste at the execution phase and raising the interest in waste minimization by all participants. Results of a previous research held by the same authors are employed in the developed system as warning thresholds. The system is employed and tested in six under construction projects in Karbala then evaluated by five principal staff members in each project through a questionnaire form. The system proves to be easy to install, data input is smooth, output is reliable, interaction between the user and the system is efficient, results are accurate, integration between the developed system and MS-project is effective, storage management is productive, early warning of waste excess is active, role of the system in reducing the waste is fruitful, and employing the system in the local construction industry is possible.


At dawn on 1st March 1809 two men armed with pistols faced each other across a Gloucestershire field. One was Henry Smith, a Bristol attorney, while his adversary was a local businessman named Richard Priest. The cause of their duel was a trivial argument at the King's Theatre two days before which had now got completely out of hand. Shots were exchanged. Priest was hit in the thigh and later that morning, despite the surgeons' best efforts, died from loss of blood. Smith was unhurt but that afternoon, following a coroner's inquiry, he was identified as a protagonist and indicted for wilful murder. Urged by friends he was persuaded to flee Bristol and so with the police in close pursuit he set off for London and within days posters appeared offering a reward of 100 guineas for his arrest. Now a fugitive, he remained on the run for more than a year. During this time he kept a diary of his travels and misadventures which took him to London, back to Bristol, to Scotland and the Iberian Peninsula where he eventually joined Wellington's army. His sweetheart, Ann, travelling alone through the war zone of the Peninsula, attempted to find him and persuade him to return to England to accept whatever fate the law held in store for him. This remarkable book is based on this journal (long-lost but recently rediscovered), together with his defence brief from the archives of Burges Salmon Solicitors, their oldest surviving document. It ends dramatically with his trial.


Davis Strait is a bathymetric high, located between Canada and Greenland. With a water depth of only 500 m, it acts as a gateway for the exchange of polar water from Baffin Bay in the north to the Labrador Sea and the Atlantic in the south. The Davis Strait region has undergone a complex tectonic evolution and the nature of crust is disputed. In a first stage the strait was characterized by extension due to the separation of the North American plate and Greenland. In a second stage transpression was the dominating force. The most prominent geologic feature is the Ungava Fault Complex, a major transform fault that cuts Davis Strait. To investigate the role of Davis Strait as a polar gateway during the opening of the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay rift system, we analyse recent seismic reflection and refraction data in combination with potential field data. This information is incorporated into a plate tectonic model. On a 230-km-long east west line in central Davis Strait, a P-wave velocity and a density model were obtained by forward modelling. The models show several blocks of continental crust that are separated by major faults of the Ungava Fault Complex. High velocities in the lower crust indicate intense intrusions of mafic material, which we relate to the arrival of the Iceland mantle plume beneath Greenland in the Paleocene. Seismic reflection data were used to model the complex basement morphology and to develop a sediment stratigraphy. The tectonic modelling reveals that an overlap of 70 km of stretched continental crust needs to be compensated for in the transpressional stage of Davis Strait. We are now working on displaying the evolution of Davis Strait from the initial opening of the Labrador Sea to today and will present new results of this study.


Sexual health services in the UK are under increasing financial pressure,1 so the need to ensure that those at highest risk of STIs and HIV receive appropriate care is greater than ever. While some men who have sex with men (MSM) have long been recognised as one such population group2 with well-established systems in place to identify them, others such as swingers are not, as the paper by Dukers-Muijrers et al 3 highlights. Their data from sexual health clinics in the Netherlands show how patients who, when asked, identified as swingers and/or who reported partner-swapping, having sex with other couples together with their partner or visiting sex clubs for couples, also reported other behaviours known to be important for STI/HIV transmission including larger numbers of partners, condomless sex, paid and same-sex partners.3 I emphasise 'when asked' as these questions were not routinely asked in one of the study clinics, meaning that many swingers there will have missed out on receiving the care they needed, with implications for their own, their partners' and public health.

So, how many swingers are there? Reliable estimates are difficult to come by, in part because swingers are a hidden population and also because swinging can be defined in various ways, as reflected by the clinics in the study by Dukers-Muijrers et al 3 asking several …


! Abstract— Three-dimensional user interfaces (3D UIs) support user tasks in many non-traditional interactive systems such as virtual environments and augmented reality. Although 3D UI researchers have been successful in identifying basic user tasks and interaction metaphors, evaluating the usability of 3D interaction techniques, and improving the usability of many applications, 3D UI research now stands at a crossroads. Very few fundamentally new techniques and metaphors for 3D interaction have been discovered in recent years, yet the usability of 3D UIs in many real-world applications is still not at a desirable level. What directions should 3D UI researchers next explore to improve this situation? In this paper, we make some observations about the history of 3D UIs and the current state-of-the-art. Using this evidence, in addition to our own experience, we argue that 3D UI researchers should approach this problem using some new research approaches, which cluster around the concepts of specificity, flavors, implementation, and emerging technologies. We illustrate and discuss some of these new directions using case studies of research projects undertaken in our group. These explorations indicate the promise of these directions for further increasing our understanding of 3D interaction and 3D UI design, and for ensuring the usability of 3D UIs in future applications.


Many in Lesotho had hoped that the 1993 elections would restore democratic rule and establish the political stability that had eluded the country since independence. The post-1993 transition to democratic rule created more problems than was anticipated. The country gradually became involved in the devastating political crises that posed serious political implications for peace and stability (Gumbi, 1995:1). The primary objectives of this study are to disentangle the focal problems that faced Lesotho's re-established democratic dispensation after the 1993 elections and how these problems contributed to political instabilities until and after the 1998 election. The problems of the reestablished democratic dispensation and which undermined the process of democratic consolidation included the inability of the organs of the state to maintain law and order. There was an established culture within the army, the police and the National Security Services (NSS) which caused them to fail to offer adequate support to the fledging multiparty democracy in 1993.The principles of democracy and its institutions were poorly understood by Lesotho's political elite which was unable to accept the practical implications of the democratic system of governance. The BCP government was reluctant to reinstate the deposed King Moshoeshoe II and this hardened the relations between the government and the monarch. Ultimately, the monarchy and the Catholic Church became the political instruments that undermined the BCP-LCD governments. Society was highly polarized along political lines and there was a lack of political tolerance despite the homogeneous culture. The political crises were aggravated by the electoral model of FPTP after the 1993 and 1998 elections which denied the losing parties participation in decision-making because, the assumption of governmental power is seen as the most reliable source of economic power. There was an absence of interrelated national policies to consolidate the country's young democracy whilst the youth constituency rising unemployment levels was ignored. There has been a persistent mutual suspicion and distrust between the leaders due to the absence of political leadership with competence, integrity and commitment to the long term vision of Lesotho. These violent confrontations among the political elites were goaded by the weaknesses of Lesotho's economy which does not have the potential to attain the demands of the population. This situation was worsened by the increasing levels of retrenchments of migrant laborers from the South Africa mines. There has been a problem on lack of internal democracy which has hindered the consolidation of democracy. The study concludes with an application of Huntington's thesis that there is high level of political mobilization and participation in Lesotho whilst political institutionalization lags behind (1968:2).Though elections are regarded as the pinnacle of democracy, the 1993 and 1998 elections in Lesotho did not make any significant development in the consolidation of democracy. In fact, they deepened the political differences that had been in existence since independence. The country is now "caught" between the process of democratic transition and consolidation.


The public sphere has experienced yet another structural transformation. Firms like Facebook and Google have largely automated the types of decisions made by managers at television networks, or editors at newspapers — but with much more powerful effects. Long critiqued in academic circles, the manifest inadequacy of this new media landscape is now itself a matter of public debate. The deficiencies of the automated public sphere are so manifest that consumer protection and media regulatory authorities must intervene. As they do so, they should carefully examine how emergent dynamics of communicative capitalism vitiate older societal protections. New methods of monitoring and regulation should be as technologically sophisticated and comprehensive as the automated public sphere they target.
This article first describes the documented, negative effects of online propagandists' interventions (and platforms' neglect) in both electoral politics and the broader public sphere (Part I). It then proposes several legal and educational tactics to mitigate platforms' power, or to encourage or require them to exercise it responsibly (Part II). The penultimate section (Part III) offers a concession to those suspicious of governmental intervention in the public sphere: some regimes are already too authoritarian or unreliable to be trusted with extensive powers of regulation over media (whether old or new media), or intermediaries. However, the inadvisability of extensive media regulation in disordered societies only makes this agenda more urgent in well-ordered societies, lest predictable pathologies of the automated public sphere degrade their processes of democratic will formation.


Many job applicants, especially those applying for factory level jobs, take a tour of the facility. I characterize this commonly used recruiting device as an opportunity to gain useful selection information on the applicants. This paper reports content and criterion-related validity of a Scored Plant Tour used in a Southeastern manufacturing facility. The content validity part of the study shows how the Subject Matter Experts produced tasks and competencies for the job and linked them. The competencies measured by assessors on the tour were: safety awareness, interest in plant processes, comfort in a factory environment, and listening and understanding. After the content validity study was complete, scores on the plant tour were correlated with supervisors" ratings after one year on the job. The plant tour scale correlated significantly with four different supervisor"s ratings. Suggestions for different ways to adapt the tour to other types of organizations are discussed. Subject Area: Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior Article Type: Peer-Reviewed Journal Article.


Soil is one of the most important elements of the universe, substrate production; food security and self-sufficiency are directly related to soil conditions. Soils are formed on geomorphologic surfaces. These surfaces have certain age, aspects and slopes and also specific position. Time dependent soil formation generally occurs in regions with certain age landforms such as river terraces debris fans or slide masses and mud flows. This may leads to soil diversity in different geomorphological environments. Therefore geomorphological studies, due to different physical and human factors, could have an important role in identification of agricultural prone areas and planning for soil conservation and preventing from soil losses. This research uses a comprehensive procedure and soil lithological and geomorphological data in order to assess the effects of geomorphology on rate of soil forming process in Joghatay County.MethodologyIn this study, after preparing the required maps of physical characteristics, layers were incorporated and then locations of sampling were determined. These points were located in different elevation, different slopes, certain plan and profile curvature and lithological features. Partial Least Square Regression method was used to analysis and determining the important factors in soil forming process in studied area. PLS path modeling is primarily used to develop theories in exploratory research. It does this by focusing on explaining the variance in the dependent variables when examining the model.Results and discussionUsing 9-unit model of catena, 7 units were identified in studied area and from these units soil samples were prepared.Most of samples in unit 4 have large to medium grain size. Except in sample 5, 6 (because of convex slops). In unit 5 amount of sand in comparison with silt and clay is higher. Also, soil depth in this unit is low and minimum soil depth is l0 cm. Gravel size in this unit is medium. In the middle of this unit formation of some geomorphic factures such as alluvial fans is common. Hydrometric analysis of this unit samples (3, 4, 8, 12, 14) show that in sample 3 that is located in upper part of the fan, amount of sand is more than silt and clay. Results from sieve analysis show that the percent of coarse grain size in sample 3 is more than sample 2 and 4. The reason is that in an alluvial fan from higher elevation to flatter areas, coarser grain sizes changed to finer grain sizes. Sample 4 is located between 2 alluvial fans. In this area the percent of sand is more than two others. Samples 12, 8, 14 have large amount of sands since they are located in upper part of alluvial fan. In location of sample 14, the slope has a special from. The plan curvature in this point is convex and profile curvature is concave therefore there is a high convergence in this location, therefore gravels are not enable to persist here. In units 6, 7 that are concave parts of slope and receive large amounts of sediments and solutions in overland or underground flows and deposited in foot slope. In sample 2 that is located in lower part of alluvial fan, sand has the first rank in soil components (84%) but the amount of silt and clay is less than sample 3. Sample 1 that is located in flattest part of the area has a fine grain soil and the least amount of sand and gravels are in minimum ranges. Also, locating of sample 1 in the end part of alluvial fan and near the Jovein river, resulted in increasing soil depth.Part 2 of investigation, begins with preparing of a model to investigate the role of each soil forming factor on soil formation and development in study area. This model as mentioned before is in the form of structural equations and PLS procedure. In this case, latent variables are divided in 2 forms reflective and formative variables. Fitting of this model was performed in 3 parts. 1- Fit of measurement model 2- Fit of structural model 3- Fit of general model. In designed model, four models related to hydrological, topographical and geomorphological, geological and soil formation variables were created. The results are shown in table 1. The results show that all of models have proper design and are suitable for our study.ConclusionEach unit of catena in slope extent is affected by special process and drainage condition and show different soil properties, therefore, slopes are the best areas for soil geomorphological studies. In unstable areas such as slope shoulder, weathered materials transfer to down slope and deposit in more stable area. In studied area slope gradient and aspect are of important factors in soil formation. Especially southward slopes have an important effect on soils. Elevation is another factor that shows direct effects on soil formation that leads to very thick soil layers in flat areas and very thin layer in high gradient slopes and slope shoulders. Also hydrological factors such as soil moisture and order of river are effective factors on soil genesis and development. Results from PLS analysis show that among all investigated factors, slope is the most important one that has critical effect on soil formation. Regarding these results it is clear that geomorphology could have an important role in soil conservation planning because in each unit of slope concerning its influence on soil formation we can present suitable strategies for soil conservation and maintenance.


The effects of fluency intervention strategies on students' fluency rate, comprehension, and word identification were the focus of this study. Both the experimental and control groups were first grade classes, taught by the same teacher, at a primary school in central Georgia. The study was conducted over a 15-week period. The results of the study were inconclusive. The Lexia Comprehensive Reading Test was used at the beginning and end of fall semester. While the experimental group showed expected progress in comprehension, fluency rate, and word identification, there was no statistical difference in the achievement of both groups. Both groups improved an effect size of .67. One threat to validity could be the timing of the Lexia posttest, which was given six weeks earlier for the experimental group. Further research could be conducted to explore the effects of fluency instruction on the achievement of first graders.


Seventy-five samples from the classic sections through the historical type area of the Ashgill Series in the Cautley district and along Pus Gill in the Cross Fell Inlier have been examined for chitinozoans. The results of this study allowed the recognition of five internationally recognized biozones and the definition of two new Avalonian chitinozoan zones. From bottom upwards, these are: the Fungochitina spinifera, the Tanuchitina bergstroemi?, the Conochitina rugata, the Spinachitina fossensis, the Bursachitina umbilicata sp. n., the Ancyrochitina merga and the Belonechitina postrobusta zones. One new species is described: Bursachitina umbilicata sp. n. This biozonation enables a correlation between the Cautley district and the Baltoscandia and Gondwana palaeocontinents based on chitinozoans. The Baltoscandic chitinozoan zones are, therefore, now better correlated with the British chronostratigraphical scheme, which is still widely used. It is stratigraphically significant that the base of the Ashgill in its type area does not fall within the Tanuchitina bergstroemi Zone, as widely believed before, but in the Fungochitina spinifera Zone. In addition, chitinozoans from the Onnian (Caradoc) section of the Cross Fell Inlier provide a link with the type Caradoc section in Shropshire.


Abstract. Anthropogenic emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass in Asia have increased in recent years. High concentrations of reactive trace gases and light-absorbing and light-scattering particles from these sources form persistent haze layers, also known as atmospheric brown clouds, over the Indo–Gangetic plains (IGP) from December through early June. Models and satellite imagery suggest that strong wind systems within deep Himalayan valleys are major pathways by which pollutants from the IGP are transported to the higher Himalaya. However, observational evidence of the transport of polluted air masses through Himalayan valleys has been lacking to date. To evaluate this pathway, we measured black carbon (BC), ozone (O3), and associated meteorological conditions within the Kali Gandaki Valley (KGV), Nepal, from January 2013 to July 2015. BC and O3 varied over both diurnal and seasonal cycles. Relative to nighttime, mean BC and O3 concentrations within the valley were higher during daytime when the up-valley flow (average velocity of 17 m s−1) dominated. BC and O3 concentrations also varied seasonally with minima during the monsoon season (July to September). Concentrations of both species subsequently increased post-monsoon and peaked during March to May. Average concentrations for O3 during the seasonally representative months of April, August, and November were 41.7, 24.5, and 29.4 ppbv, respectively, while the corresponding BC concentrations were 1.17, 0.24, and 1.01 µg m−3, respectively. Up-valley fluxes of BC were significantly greater than down-valley fluxes during all seasons. In addition, frequent episodes of BC concentrations 2–3 times higher than average persisted from several days to a week during non-monsoon months. Our observations of increases in BC concentration and fluxes in the valley, particularly during pre-monsoon, provide evidence that trans-Himalayan valleys are important conduits for transport of pollutants from the IGP to the higher Himalaya.


There are many sources of air pollution that can threaten air quality during space missions. The International Space Station (ISS) is an extremely complex platform that depends on a multi-tiered strategy to control the risk of excessive air pollution. During the seven missions surveyed by th is report, the ISS atmosphere was in a safe, steady-state condition; however, there were minor loads added as new modules were attached. There was a series of leaks of octafluoropropane, which is not directly toxic to humans, but did cause changes in air purification operations that disrupted the steady state condition . In addition, off-nominal regeneration of metal oxide canisters used during extravehicular activity caused a serious pollution incident.


Whispering gallery modes in silica microspheres are excited by a tunable continuous-wave laser through the fiber taper. Ringing phenomenon can be observed with high frequency sweeping speed. The thermal nonlinearity in the microsphere can enhance this phenomenon. Our measurement results agree very well with the theoretical predictions by the dynamic equation.


In common law Northern Europe and in Australasia, a wave of reform has been transforming legal services regulation since roughly 1980. Old structures and approaches, based on the principles of professionalism and lawyer independence, are being replaced in these jurisdictions by new ones that prioritize competition and consumer interests. In the United States this has conspicuously not happened, leaving intact a regulatory approach whose broad outlines have changed little in the past 100 years.Thus, I have argued that the legal services regulatory regimes of the common law world today are bifurcated into (i) a competitive-consumerist paradigm apparent in the UK, in Australia, and in their smaller neighbours, and (ii) a professionalist-independent mode which survives in the United States and a few other places.Where does Canada fit into this picture? With a view to locating the author's home and native land on the spectrum between the competitive-consumerist and professionalist-independent traditions, this Chapter reviews key characteristics and important recent developments in Canadian legal services regulation. After providing an overview of the Canadian legal profession, the Chapter proceeds in four sections: (i) Governance and the Role of the State; (ii) Professional Organization and Occupational Unity; (iii) Firm Insulation and Alternative Business Structures, and (iv) Regulatory Focus. I conclude that, in Canada's common law provinces, legal services regulation remains firmly in the professionalist-independent tradition.


Background: to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the organizational system of a Clinical Pharmacological Service of an Italian tertiary care teaching hospital in providing advices (CPAs) to clinicians within timeframes useful for the personalization of antimicrobial dosing regimens in different patients' populations according to the clinical benefit for patient care. Methods: the frequency per week of the various typologies of CPA were defined on the basis of prior evaluations aimed at estimating the clinical benefit for patient care (high priority level, for antimicrobials used to treat acute infections in the critically ill patients; moderate priority level, for those used to treat cytomegalovirus infections in solid organ transplant recipients; mild priority level, for those used to treat chronic infections). The CPAs provided between December 2011and June 2012 represented the starting database. The measured turnaround time (TAT) of each CPA typology was used as an indicator of the performance of the organizational system according to a predefined scale (high, when within agreed timeframe; acceptable, when 1-2 days overdue; low, when > 2 days overdue). Results: 6601 CPAs were provided (77.4% for AOUD and 22.6% for other hospitals), mainly for antimicrobials with high priority. The mean TAT was of < 24 hours for the CPAs provided 3 to 5 times per week, of < 48 hours for those provided 2 times per week, and of < 6 days for those provided once weekly or every over week. Overall, the performance was high, the percentage of overdue advices always less than 5%, irrespective of the CPA type.  Conclusions: our study confirms the suitability of the organizational system of our Service to provide a thousand per month TDM-based CPAs within timeframes clinically useful for the individualization of the dosing regimens of several antimicrobials.


Proteases play a pivotal role in regulating important physiological processes from food digestion to blood clotting. They are also important biomarkers for many diseases such as cancers. The importance of proteases has led to extensive efforts in the screening of proteases and their inhibitors as potential drug molecules. For example, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients have been treated with HIV-1 protease inhibitors to prolong the life expectancy of patients. Such a close relationship between diseases and proteases provides a strong motivation for developing sensitive, selective, and robust protease assays and sensors, which can be exploited to discover new proteases and inhibitors. In this aspect, protease assays based on levels of proteolytic activities are more relevant than protease affinity assays such as immunoassays. In this review, recent developments of protease activity assays based on different detection principles are discussed and compared. For homogenous assays, fluorescence-based techniques are the most popular due to their high sensitivity and quantitative results. However, homogeneous assays have limited multiplex sensing capabilities. In contrast, heterogeneous assays can be employed to detect multiple proteases simultaneously, given the microarray technology that is already available. Among them, electrochemical methods, surface spectroscopy techniques, and enzyme-linked peptide protease assays are commonly used. Finally, recent developments in liquid crystal (LC)-based protease assays and their applications for detecting proteases and their inhibitors are discussed.


ABSTRACTAn intensive observation campaign at Cape Hedo, Okinawa, Japan was conducted from late October to early November 2015 to investigate the behavior of long-range transported atmospheric pollutants. During this period, sulfate (SO42–) was the dominant aerosol component. The sources of SO42– were estimated by using the air quality model with the tagged tracer method. The main source of high SO42– concentration varied day-to-day. When the westerly wind was dominant (October 27), the main source was anthropogenic SO2 emissions in China. When the northerly wind prevailed (November 1), the impact of volcanoes in western Japan was significant and the conversion ratio from SO2 to SO42– was lowest, at less than 70%, because of the faster transport. During the latter part of the campaign, the northerly to easterly winds were prominent, and the impacts of Korea, Japan, and ships on SO42– observed at Cape Hedo were also clear. When the contributions from Korea, Japan, and ships were the highest (November 4), the conversion ratio was also the highest, at greater than 95% because of long-range transport. The modeled sources of volcanoes and ship emissions corresponded well with the observed coarse-mode SO42– and V/Mn ratio, respectively. The mutual evaluation of sources from model and observations enable SO42– sources to be estimated with higher confidence.


Union density still varies considerably across Europe. This cross-national diversity has inspired multiple explanations ranging from institutional to workplace or socio-demographic factors. In this comparative multilevel analysis, we combine personal, workplace and macro-institutional explanations of union membership using the European Social Survey. By controlling for individual factors, we test the cross-national effect of meso- and macro-level variables, in particular workplace representation, establishment size, Ghent unemployment insurance and a society's social capital. We conclude that all these institutional and social contextual factors matter in explaining differences in union membership.


UNLABELLED
In patients with colorectal cancer, a trial of a telephone-delivered multiple health behaviour change intervention, using acceptance commitment therapy strategies, found benefits for health and psychosocial outcomes including increased physical activity, improved dietary habits and lower body mass index. Our aim was to address the health economic outcomes by assessing the health system cost and health utility impacts of the intervention. A cost-consequences analysis was performed using data from a two-group randomised controlled intervention trial (n = 410). Outcomes included health-related quality of life (HRQoL), health utility and health system costs. At 12 months, clinically meaningful improvements were found for SF-6D over time but no significant differences were found between groups (P = 0.95). The cost of delivering the 6-month intervention was on average €280 per person and made up 21% of overall healthcare costs for participants during the intervention period. Excluding intervention costs, costs were similar for health professional visits and medications across groups. Despite significant positive intervention effects on health behaviours, health utility and HRQoL scores were similar across groups. On the basis that intervention costs were small and physical activity, diet and weight management improved, on balance the intervention is potentially a worthwhile investment in healthcare funds.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
ACTRN12608000399392.