Objectives/Goals Polymers are very useful materials that are used in many applications, but over time they undergo wear and tear. An appealing solution to this problem is the creation of self-healing polymers, polymers that have the ability or mechanism to self-repair cracks that form in them. The objective of this project is to synthesize building blocks for a new polymer that is cross-linked by Diels-Alder bonds. The reversibility of the Diels-Alder reaction allows the polymer to be repeatedly mended under mild heating condition. The design of the new polymer is based on cross-linking between maleimide and furan groups. The new monomer has a different symmetry from previous works, which makes it less flexible and is made by fewer synthetic steps. The new design will create an easy to synthesize monomer that can be polymerized to give a polymer that regains its resistance to fracture. Methods/Materials New molecules were synthesized using organic chemistry techniques. The reactions were set under inert conditions (under argon) using dry solvents. The compounds were isolated by extractions and column chromatography. The structure of the molecules was then confirmed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Mass Spectrometry. The monomers were polymerized under different conditions followed by Differential Scanning Calorimetery to study the formation and behavior of the polymer. Results I was able to successfully synthesize two monomers. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Mass Spectrometry confirmed that the desired monomers are indeed the molecules that were designed. The monomers were polymerized under various conditions to form stable polymers. Differential Scanning Calorimetery studies showed an increase in the melting temperature compared to previous polymers. While having higher melting point, the new monomer 3FT is synthesized in fewer steps and has a higher chemical stability at room temperature. Heating and quenching experiments demonstrated the reversibility of the Diels-Alder reaction that allows the polymer to be repeatedly mended under mild heating condition. Conclusions/Discussion Modifying the symmetry and flexibility of the furan building block resulted in more chemically stable monomers and thermally stable self-healing polymers


As required under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and the Illinois Interagency Wetland Policy Act of 1989, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has established wetlands at mitigation sites throughout Illinois to compensate for impacts to natural wetlands by road construction. One of the mechanisms for meeting regulatory obligations is to mitigate wetland impacts through restoration or creation of wetlands that provide functions similar to natural wetlands, under the federal policy goal of "no net loss" of wetland area and function. Progress toward restoring wetland functions is measured through the use of prescribed performance standards issued by state and federal regulatory agencies. In most cases, these performance standards contain measures of quality, health, and structure of wetland plant communities. The majority of extant Illinois wetlands and most IDOT wetland mitigation sites are located in floodplain areas and are exposed to varying degrees of flooding, depending on their location within a given watershed, their position within the floodplain setting, and their climate zone within the state. Among the major challenges in attaining vegetation-based performance standards at IDOT wetland mitigation projects are poor plant-community quality (e.g., low species richness) and mortality of planted trees. Although floodplain wetlands are supported by regular flooding, floods can also produce excessive sediment, cause ice damage, and result in prolonged inundation—leading to mortality in wetland plants, thereby interrupting expected trajectories of succession and progress toward achieving mitigation performance standards. In this study, the authors analyzed data collected by the Illinois Natural History Survey and the Illinois State Geological Survey during past and current site monitoring to examine the influence that flooding has on ecological mechanisms that lead to variation in the performance levels among a large number of floodplain compensatory mitigation wetlands. The goals of the analyses were to evaluate the influence that flooding has on (1) plant-community quality at the landscape scale and (2) species turnover within plant-community functional groups at wetland mitigation sites. For the first component of the analysis, simple linear regression was used to evaluate the influence of flooding on the levels of ten plant-community metrics. Results of linear regression analysis showed significant, inverse relationships between mean annual flood exposure and average levels of three of the ten plant-community metrics: species richness, floristic quality index (FQI), and proportion of perennial species. Also, hierarchical mixed models were used to evaluate the influence of flooding on loss and subsequent gain of species within seven species functional groups. Mixed models showed significant correlation of the loss of species within all species groups with magnitude of flood intensity in the same year, and the gain of non-hydrophytic, annual, and non-native species with magnitude of flood intensity in the preceding year. Results of this study indicate two general tendencies at IDOT wetland mitigation sites: (1) Higher average magnitudes of flooding will lead to decreased species richness, floristic quality, and proportion of perennials in floodplain settings and significantly decrease the likelihood of attaining performance standards based on these metrics; and (2) higher-magnitude floods will tend to disrupt succession by eliminating the species groups that are associated with higher-quality plant communities and allow more undesirable species to colonize in the year following flood disturbance. These tendencies highlight the importance of considering flood-disturbance regime, when evaluating the quality of plant communities in floodplain wetlands. Additionally, planted-tree counts and mapping were conducted to provide a baseline for future tree-survival studies at three sites. Potential future studies would track survivorship of each tree species in response to flood disturbance.


Healthy public policy refers to the use of policies beyond the health services which have the potential to improve health, typically by improving determinants of health, for example socio-economic conditions such as employment, income, housing etc.. While improvements to living conditions have long been viewed as an important mechanism to promote public health, the concept of healthy public policy was formally described more recently in the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Ottawa Charter in 1986.

The rationale for healthy public policy rests heavily on a wealth of cross-sectional data reporting links between socio-economic factors and health. Many of these relationships are well established, providing strong empirical support for hypotheses that intervening to improve socio-economic conditions will lead to improved health. However, hypotheses around health benefits need to be validated: There are many examples of well-intended interventions which did not produce the expected benefits, and in some cases had adverse effects. Compared to many clinical interventions, social interventions are characteristically difficult to control, and likely to be more susceptible to the effect of confounding and mediating factors. These issues increase the level of uncertainty inherent in hypotheses about the impacts of social interventions, in particular health impacts which are influenced by many factors, and further underlines the need for empirical validation.

Evidence from empirical research evaluating the health impacts of social interventions needs to be used to inform and refine future policy if the potential for public policy to contribute to health improvement is to be realised. Both reviews of previous research evidence as well as the pursuit of new evidence can be used to develop the evidence base. Previous evidence needs to be reviewed rigorously and comprehensively to minimise the potential for selective interpretations which may be subject to bias; this is best done using transparent systematic review methods. New evaluations are required to provide up-to-date evidence as well as to improve the quality of evidence and plug gaps in the evidence which systematic reviews are well placed to identify. Having synthesised previous evidence and generated newly relevant evidence, it is crucial that the available evidence is made available to those in policy and practice who are most likely to use the evidence. It is necessary that the evidence is disseminated beyond academic audiences and translate the evidence or knowledge to provide syntheses of evidence which are accessible to and tailored to the needs of potential evidence-users.

The use of systematic reviews, evaluations of health impacts, and knowledge transfer work has existed for many years within both the health and social policy field. However, the application of these approaches to the field of healthy public policy and the health impacts of social interventions is relatively novel. Application of conventional methods to this new area has required adapting and developing existing methods appropriately.

The proposed submission
The portfolio of publications selected for this submission represents a selection of the applicant's publications since 2001. Hilary Thomson is the lead author on each of these publications which were prepared from work carried out with the Evaluation programme (original title Evaluation of the health impacts of non-health sector interventions) of research based at the Medical Research Council's Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow. This programme was funded by the Chief Scientist's Office of the Scottish Government in 1999 to provide evidence on the health impacts of social interventions, and thus to inform the development of healthy public policy.

This thesis presents 10 peer reviewed international publications in this field; nine of these are from high impact public health journals, and one is an example of knowledge transfer that was commissioned by the WHO. The work is presented in three key themes each of key relevance to the development of best available evidence for healthy public policy.

Theme I: Systematic review
Three publications are presented in this theme, each of these reports the key findings of a systematic review. Paper I reports the findings of a systematic review of the health impacts of housing improvement; Paper III reports the findings of a similar review which has been substantially updated, both methodologically and in content. Paper II presents the findings of a systematic review of the health and socio-economic impacts of urban regeneration investment in the UK since 1980.

Theme II: Evaluation & generation of new evidence
Four publications are presented in this theme. Paper IV and Paper V report the empirical findings of studies investigating the health impacts of local community leisure facilities, and a local programme of housing-led neighbourhood regeneration respectively. Paper VI and Paper VII present a commentary and reflection based on the author's experience in the field on how to develop best available evidence to inform healthy public policy. These papers focus on assessing the health impacts of income supplementation interventions, such as welfare benefits, and housing and regeneration investment, however, the emerging lessons and issues have a relevance to the wider field of healthy public policy.

Theme III: Knowledge transfer
Three publications are presented in this theme. Each of these illustrates how my work has gone beyond reviewing and generating evidence for an academic audience, by providing accessible evidence syntheses which are accessible to and tailored to the needs of policy makers and practitioners who wish to use evidence in their work. Paper VIII and Paper IX were commissioned by the Scottish Health Impact Assessment Network and report how I developed evidence syntheses on housing improvement and transport policy. Paper X presents an evidence synthesis on housing and health commissioned by the WHO for use by European policymakers.


The sustainable development in Iraq is being hindered by several obstacles. Water, being related to the food security, is a main concern that could duplicate the already present socio-economic dilemmas. Unless practical measures are immediately initiated, the consequences are expected to demolish the development achievements, though so modest, and become a real threat to the lives of the Iraqis within the near future. This paper aims to present a holistic view at the current development challenges and to concentrate on the socio-economic challenges to water sustainability in Iraq. Also, stresses on the need for a comprehensive national plan for the conservation of water and other natural resources and how to reverse the environmental challenges into practical opportunities for sustainable development.


Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the major pathogens associated with community-acquired serious nosocomial infection because these strains generally show multiple drug resistance. The aim of this study was to describe epidemiology of nasal colonization of S. aureus and compare antibiotic resistance patterns in nasal colonization with methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and MRSA. The results showed 80.7% of those people were carried Staphylococcus Coagulase positive (CPS) and 19.3% of them were carried Staphylococcus Coagulase negative (CoNS). Moreover, among of those people 15.38% were resistance to oxacillin while 84.62% were sensitive to oxacillin. Too conclude, high prevalence of MRSA carriage was identified in people who non-exposed to hospital environment, so we need more efforts for early prevention and control infection among community for reducing occurrence of this infection.


Abstract Objectives/Hypothesis A comprehensive review of the literature of clival metastases and presentation of two additional cases. Study Design Literature review and report of two cases. Methods A literature review of the MEDLINE database (1950 to January 19, 2013) was performed to identify all cases of patients with metastatic disease to the clivus. Additionally, two novel cases are presented. Results In total, 47 cases were identified in the literature, including the two cases presented in this study. Metastatic disease to the clivus is the initial presenting symptom of the primary malignancy in 36% (13/36) of the cases. When there was a history of malignancy, the median interval of time to clival metastases was 24 months (range 1 to 172 months). Clinical symptoms manifested often as cranial neuropathies, with at least abducens palsies as the initial presenting symptom in 61.9% (26/42) of patients. Tumor pathology was diverse, but several pathologies were seen more commonly: prostate carcinoma (18.1%, 9/47), hepatocellular carcinoma (10.6%, 5/47), and thyroid follicular carcinoma (8.5%, 4/47). Conclusion Although clival metastases are extremely rare, they are an important part of the differential of clival masses as they can be the presenting symptom of distant malignancy. Level of Evidence 4.


Stratiform sediment-hosted Zn-Pb-Ag mineral deposits constitute about 40% of the Earth's zinc resources (Allen 2001), and in most cases their genesis involves the discharge of basinal brines near or on the seafloor through syndepositional faults (Sangster 2002). From the point of view of base metal exploration, it is therefore essential to identify all possible faults that formerly carried the upwelling ore-forming solutions during mineralising events. This paper presents a numerical investigation of the relative importance of various physical parameters in controlling fluid discharge, recharge and heat transport in faults. A two-dimensional, free convection of pure water, hydrogeological model is developed for the McArthur basin in northern Australia based on the surface geology, known stratigraphic and structural relationships and regional geophysical interpretations. Numerical experiments and sensitivity analyses reveal that faults with strong initial heat input, due to depth of penetration or magmatic activity, are the most likely candidates to carry discharge fluids to the sites of metal precipitation. Deeper, wider and more permeable faults are more likely to behave as the fluid discharge pathways, whereas shallow, narrow or less permeable faults act as marine water recharge pathways. Compared with these fault-related factors, aquifer physical properties are less important in determining fluid flow patterns and the geothermal regime. These results are an important step in understanding hydrothermal fluid flow in sedimentary basins in order to develop effective exploration criteria for the location of stratiform Zn-Pb-Ag deposits.


Abstract The crystal structure of burckhardite from the type locality, Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico, has been refined to R1 = 0.0362 and wR2 = 0.0370 for 215 reflections with I > 2σ(I). Burckhardtite is trigonal, space group P3̄1m, with the unit-cell parameters a = 5.2566(5) Å , c = 13.0221(10) Å , V = 311.62(5) Å3 and Z = 1 for the ideal formula unit Pb2(Fe3+Te6+)[AlSi3O8]O6. There is no long-range order of (Fe3+, Te6+) or (Al3+, Si4+). New microprobe data were used to estimate site scattering factors, and Raman spectroscopic data showed no evidence of O-H stretching bands. Burckhardtite is not closely related to the micas, as supposed previously, but is a double-sheet silicate in which the aluminosilicate anion resembles that of minerals such as cymrite and kampfite. The [(Fe3+Te6+)O6]3- part of the structure is not bonded directly to the aluminosilicate layer, but forms a discrete anionic phyllotellurate layer that alternates with the [AlSi3O8]- double sheets. Similar phyllotellurate layers are known from several synthetic phases. In burckhardtite, Pb2+ cations intercalate between phyllosilicate and phyllotellurate layers, forming a Pb2[FeTeO6] module that is topologically similar to a slab of the structure of rosiaite, Pb[Sb2O6]. The crystal symmetry, structure, classification as a double-sheet silicate and chemical formula, including the determination of the 6+ valence of Te and absence of essential H2O, are all new findings for the mineral.


Exposure to ambient air pollution has been associated with greater risk of elevated blood pressure (BP) in adults and children. Recent evidence suggests that air pollution exposure in pregnancy may also portend increased risk for the next generation; however, few studies have examined this relationship. We conducted a prospective study of 1293 mothers in the Boston Birth Cohort (enrolled 1998–2012) and their children who had follow-up visits between 3 and 9 years of age and complete exposure and outcome data. Our primary exposure, ambient particulate matter ⩽2.5 µm (PM2.5) concentration during pregnancy, was estimated by matching mother's residential address to the US Environmental Protection Agency's air quality monitors. We defined our primary outcome child systolic BP (SBP) percentile according to US reference (Fourth Report) and classified elevated BP as SBP ≥90th percentile. Our multivariable-adjusted cubic spline showed a sharp increase in offspring SBP percentile and risk for elevated BP when third-trimester PM2.5 concentration was ≥13 &mgr;g/m3. The highest versus lowest tertile of third-trimester PM2.5 exposure was associated with a 4.85 (95% confidence interval: 1.38–8.37) percentile increase in child SBP or a 1.61 (95% confidence interval: 1.13–2.30) times higher risk of child elevated BP. A 5-&mgr;g/m3 increment in PM2.5 during the third trimester was associated with a 3.49 (95% confidence interval: 0.71–6.26) percentile increase in child SBP or a 1.47 (95% confidence interval: 1.17–1.85) times higher risk of elevated BP. Our findings suggest that exposure to ambient PM2.5 during the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with elevated BP in children, ages 3 to 9 years.


Providing users of HPC systems with a wide variety of up to date software packages is a challenging task. Large software stacks built from source are difficult to manage, requiring powerful package management tools. The Portage package manager from Gentoo is a highly flexible tool that offers a mature solution to this otherwise daunting task. The Gentoo Prefix project develops and maintains a way of installing Gentoo systems in non-standard locations, bringing the virtues of Gentoo to other operating systems. Here we demonstrate how a Gentoo Prefix installation can be used to cross compile software packages for the Intel Xeon Phi known as Knights Corner, as well as to manage large software stacks in HPC environments.


The purpose of the present paper is to discuss several metaphorical conceptualizations of the
phenomenon of communication from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. Apart from the
purely linguistic and philosophical issues, the article touches upon the questions that concern the
process of teaching and learning a foreign language (especially the so called "radically different
one"). The thesis about our essentially metaphorical understanding of the phenomenon of
communication, widely acknowledged in cognitive linguistics, is supported by empirical data
drawn from Arabic and several Indo-European languages. Subsequently, the thesis is taken as a
point of departure for discussing such issues as the problem of cross-linguistic variation of
metaphors and their biological motivation. The paper consists of three sections: the first one
examines the metaphor of communication as transfer, the second considers the metaphor of
communication as enlightening, whereas the third presents some philosophical observations. The
most important conclusion that is drawn here has it that the potential universality of various
metaphorical conceptualizations is a very useful heuristic and didactic tool, for the existence of a
common ground between languages that are genetically unrelated makes it possible not only to
account for the ease with which certain elements of the target language can be translated into the
source language, but also to hypothesize about the general mechanisms that are responsible for
understanding and acquiring the (radically) different target language. Needless to say, such
hypotheses are of paramount importance for the process of teaching and learning a foreign
(especially radically different) language.


Big trees fascinate people worldwide, inspiring respect, awe, and oftentimes, even controversy. This paper uses a modified version of American Forests' Big Trees Measuring Guide point system (May 1990) to rank trees sampled between January of 1998 and September of 2007 on over 89,000 plots by the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Inventory and Analysis Program in the Southern United States. Trees were ranked across all States and for each State. There were 1,354,965 trees from 12 continental States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands sampled. A bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in Arkansas was the biggest tree (according to the point system) recorded in the South, with a diameter of 78.5 inches and a height of 93 feet (total points = 339.615). The tallest tree recorded in the South was a 152-foot tall pecan (Carya illinoinensis) in Mississippi (total points = 321.960), while the tree with the largest diameter was the bald cypress mentioned above.


Within the Microelectronics Industry, the core research is focused on the realization of the Moore's law, which states that circuit density doubles every 24 months, shaping the framework of the More of Moore paradigm. However, Moore's law is expected to end, as devices are reaching limitations inherent to the approach of the atomical dimensions. Alternative research paths emerged, forming the new More than Moore paradigm. This consists in using the microfabrication technological knowhow towards the realization of alternative devices and applications, among others the miniaturization and integration of Radio Frequency (RF) devices by Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS), i.e. RF-MEMS. The RF-MEMS devices offer high performance, tuning by movable parts and open new perspectives at extra high frequency i.e. 30 to 300 GHz. In this thesis, cavity resonators' design and characterization are introduced, as a preliminary discussion. Their integration in the bulk of High Resistivity Silicon (HR-Si) wafers by micromachining techniques is realized at 60 and 75 GHz. Further, the tuning performance induced by internal volumes of perturbation is thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, the integration of a voltage controlled tuning system for air filled cavity resonators is realized at 60 GHz, using a MEMS based Faraday cage. Additionally, a new miniaturization concept is demonstrated using High Impedance Surfaces (HIS). A seven-pole Chebyshev bandpass filter is realized in Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC). Finally, ultra-low phase-noise oscillators at 60 GHz are realized using cavity resonators integrated in HR-Si and LTCC. These oscillators improve the state of the art for integrated oscillators in the frequency band from 40 to 80 GHz, demonstrating the highest factor of merit, to our best knowledge and to date, FoM = -199 dBcHz @ 1MHz offset from the carrier frequency, fosc = 59.98 GHz.


Computer Aided Assessment (CAA) is being proposed as the means of providing
formative testing to the ever-increasing numbers of students involved in higher
education. A large proportion of this testing is being based around the use of
objective based multiple-choice tests. These tend to make use of the process of
select one out of three possible answers, or to improve the reliability of the process,
one out of four! Obviously there are alternatives to the above, however, a lecturer
initially will use the method that is easiest for them. With the complexity, multifunctionality
and hence steep learning curve involved in setting up these systems,
many lecturers are dumping them before their benefits can be achieved. Question
banks are available, however, these normally require an initial financial outlay. The
questions offered are often general, and may not directly map to the areas covered
in a particular module. No matter what system is utilised for these objective tests, the
criticism offered by CAA sceptics is "we are not developing employable and
transferable skills". Students on leaving higher education will rarely be expected to
produce answers for their employers that require multiple-choice skills, but will be
expected to produce reports, presentations, etc. The question that springs to mind is
... what is our job as educators, to produce clones, or to develop and nurture broader
skills? The use of formative multiple choice tests is also causing a problem in that
students are not being "prepared" to sit their final examinations. These often still take
the format of select three from five questions and then write essays for each of the
selected questions in a limited time period. Having students develop essays as part
of their formative/summative assessment throughout the course of a module, again
brings us back to the time consuming problem of having to mark and provide
formative feedback. This paper introduces the audience to the Computerised Assessment and Plagiarism
system (Davies 2000), that provides an on-line means of students assessing the
essays of their peers, and providing formative feedback. This system has been
successfully used at levels one, two and three of an undergraduate programme in
the field of computer studies at the University of Glamorgan. It has been used for
continual assessment at level one, a combination of multiple choice / peer
assessment at level two, and for self, peer and reflective self-assessment at level
three. The use of this networked tool has produced major positive benefits both for
the students and staff. Its acceptance has not only provided an efficient method for
formative / summative assessment, but has also aided in developing the students'
essay writing skills. From a lecturer's point of view, those who in the past have been
sceptical of the use of peer assessment and the more general use of objective
testing, have become much more receptive to the introduction of these innovative
assessment methods making use of CAA.


Social networking covers the types of websites that allow collaborative content production by a number of authors. Blogs are probably the most commonly known and used of these resources. A recent online search revealed approximately 34 blogs maintained by therapists or students predominantly from the UK, USA and Aotearoa/New Zealand. These blogs vary in content but share a common purpose of reflecting on occupational therapy practice. It has been suggested that blogging may contribute to the personal and professional development of the users (Martin, 2007), and for these presenters a key value has been the opportunity to engage in debate with our colleagues from around the globe. Whilst there is no empirical evidence to support this view, anecdotal evidence such as the experiences of the authors would suggest that there may be merit in using blogs to facilitate international comparisons of practice. This work is based on early international collaborations between the UK, NZ and USA and presents blogging experiences in relation to globalisation of occupational therapy. Preliminary evidence suggests that blogging facilitates communication as well as a depth of learning as the individual has the opportunity reflect on issues raised by others from different cultural perspectives.
Blogging however is not without challenges. These can be summarised as frustrations with time delays, misinterpretation and occasional feelings of isolation. This session offers the opportunity for participants to evaluate the potential use of blogs as personal and professional learning tools.


PURPOSE
To investigate the roles of the CCL2-CCR2 and CX₃CL1-CX₃CR1 pathways in experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU)-mediated retinal tissue damage and angiogenesis.

METHODS
The C57BL/6J wild-type (WT) and CCL2(-/-)CX₃CR1(gfp/gfp) (double knockout [DKO]) mice were immunized with IRBP₁₋₂₀. Retinal inflammation and tissue damage were evaluated clinically and histologically at different days postimmunization (p.i.). Retinal neovascular membranes were evaluated by confocal microscopy of retinal flat mounts, and immune cell infiltration by flow cytometry.

RESULTS
At day 25 p.i., DKO mice had lower clinical and histological scores and fewer CD45(high)CD11b(+) infiltrating cells compared with WT mice. The F4/80(+) macrophages constitute 40% and 21% and CD11b(+)Gr-1(+)Ly6G(+) neutrophils constitute 10% and 22% of retinal infiltrating cells in WT and DKO mice, respectively. At the late stages of EAU (day 60-90 p.i.), DKO and WT mice had similar levels of inflammatory score. However, less structural damage and reduced angiogenesis were detected in DKO mice. Neutrophils were rarely detected in the inflamed retina in both WT and DKO mice. Macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) accounted for 8% and 3% in DKO EAU retina, and 19% and 10% in WT EAU retina; 71% of infiltrating cells were T/B-lymphocytes in DKO EAU retina and 50% in WT EAU retina.

CONCLUSIONS
Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis-mediated retinal tissue damage and angiogenesis is reduced in CCL2(-/-)CX₃CR1(gfp/gfp) mice. Retinal inflammation is dominated by neutrophils at the acute stage and lymphocytes at the chronic stage in these mice. Our results suggest that CCR2(+) and CX₃CR1(+) monocytes are both involved in tissue damage and angiogenesis in EAU.


Several systems that rely on consistent data to offer high-quality services, such as digital libraries and ecommerce brokers, may be affected by the existence of duplicates, quasi replicas, or near-duplicate entries in their repositories. Because of that, there have been significant investments from private and government organizations for developing methods for removing replicas from its data repositories. This is due to the fact that clean and replica-free repositories not only allow the retrieval of higher quality information but also lead to more concise data and to potential savings in computational time and resources to process this data. In this paper, we propose a genetic programming approach to record deduplication that combines several different pieces of evidence extracted from the data content to find a deduplication function that is able to identify whether two entries in a repository are replicas or not. As shown by our experiments, our approach outperforms an existing state-of-the-art method found in the literature. Moreover, the suggested functions are computationally less demanding since they use fewer evidence. In addition, our genetic programming approach is capable of automatically adapting these functions to a given fixed replica identification boundary, freeing the user from the burden of having to choose and tune this parameter.


The International Olympic Committee and the Olympic System By Jean-Loup Chappelet and Brenda Kubler-Mabbott, Routledge, London and New York, 2008, pp. 208 + XVI, ISBN 978-0-415-43168-2, Price: GBP 14.99 (softback) What is the International Olympic Committee (IOC)? How is it organised, governed and regulated? And what does it actually do? The IOC is easy to describe, but difficult to define from a juridical point of view. This useful monograph is the twenty-fourth volume in a series of publications on Global Institutions, edited by Professor Thomas G. Weiss of the CUNY Graduate Center, New York, USA, the aim of which is to shed light on the history, structure and activities of key international organisations. Previous volumes have covered various United Nations Organs and Specialised Agencies, such as the Security Council and the World Intellectual Property Organisation, and other International Bodies, such as the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and the European Union, to mention but a few. Within its short compass, this publication on the IOC adequately answers the above often asked questions about the IOC in a clear, concise and very readable way. And also provides, in a concluding Chapter, some food for further thought on the future organisation and governance of the IOC, founded in 1894 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin and some influential friends, for its survival in the Twenty-First Century, especially in view of the challenges facing international sport, including corruption, doping and violence on and off the field of play. The IOC is often described as a private members' club consisting mainly of high profile gentlemen and also a few ladies from some 70 nationalities. In other words, the international great and the good--the likes of Princess Anne of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Monaco. Legally speaking, the IOC is an NGO--a Non-Governmental Organisation--established as a legal Association under Swiss Law under articles 60 -79 of the Swiss Civil Code. As the authors, Dr Jean-Loup Chappelet, Professor of Public Management at the Swiss Graduate School of Administration, and Brenda Kubler-Mabbott, an editor and translator for various international organisations, including the IOC itself, point out, the IOC is an informal civil institution--rather than a formal political one. But how is it regulated both internally and externally, bearing in mind particularly the billion dollar budget that it commands and oversees for organising, staging and safeguarding the Olympic Games--the greatest sporting show on earth--and their values enshrined in the esoteric and arcane ideal of Olympism? This publication explains the functions of the IOC and the National Olympic Committees (NOCs); the relationship between the IOC and the International Sports Federations (ISFs), in particular, the criteria for them and their sports to be accepted into the Olympic Movement and thus participate in the Olympic Games; the Organising Committees of the Olympic Games, who are entrusted with them; the importance and increasing relationship between the IOC and Governments around the world, not least that of its host country, Switzerland; and the role played by the regulators underpinning the Olympic system: the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the World Anti Doping Agency and the IOC Ethics Commission. Regarding the legal status of the IOC in Switzerland, the Swiss Government (the Swiss Federal Council), after several requests from the IOC during the 1970s, issued a Decree on 17 September 1981 confirming that the IOC had "the specific character of an international institution" and also confirming two important privileges that the IOC had acquired many years before, namely: exemption from direct tax on its revenues; and the appointment of members of its administrative staff without any limitations on their nationality. …


Purpose. To determine whether body mass index (BMI) is associated with proximity to neighborhood parks, the size of the parks, their cleanliness, and the availability of recreational facilities in the parks. Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. New York City. Subjects. Adults (13,102) were recruited from 2000 to 2002 (median age 45 years, 36% male). Measures. Anthropometric and sociodemographic data from study subjects were linked to Department of Parks & Recreation data on park space, cleanliness, and facilities. Neighborhood-level sociodemographic and park proximity metrics were created for half-mile–radius circular buffers around each subject's residence. Proximity to park space was measured as the proportion of the subject's neighborhood buffer area that was total park space, large park space (a park > 6 acres) and small park space (a park #6 acres). Analysis. Hierarchical linear models were used to determine whether neighborhood park metrics were associated with BMI. Results. Higher proximity to large park space was significantly associated with lower BMI (beta = −1.69, 95% confidence interval = −2.76, –.63). Across the population distribution of proximity to large park space, compared to subjects living in neighborhoods at the 10th percentile of the distribution, the covariate-adjusted average BMI was estimated to be .35 kg/m2 lower for those living in neighborhoods at the 90th percentile. The proportion of neighborhood area that was small park space was not associated with BMI, nor was park cleanliness or the availability of recreational facilities. Conclusion. Neighborhood proximity to large park spaces is modestly associated with lower BMI in a diverse urban population.


Biodiesel fuel, mainly produced from edible vegetable oils, has been proposed as a renewable substitute for petroleum diesel. However, there is growing concern about its role in rising food prices, accelerating deforestation, and displacing existing agricultural production. Moreover, given the progressive shortages of freshwater resources and arable land, a major target of investigations is to evaluate the potential utilization of promising salt-tolerant halophytic non-food crops for the sustainable production of oil-rich biomass, which will be converted to fuel. In this paper, an attempt has been made to look into the potential of the exploitation of native halophytic plants in European and Mediterranean arid or semi-arid lands that can prosper in seawater or brackish waters for diesel production in Europe. Fatty acid (FA) profiles of seed oils of 37 European and Mediterranean halophytic plant species including some of cosmopolitan distribution were examined. The saponification number, iodine value (IV), cetane index (CI), and gross heat of combustion of FA methyl esters (FAMEs) of oils were calculated from reported FAMEs compositions, and they varied from 165.3 to 193.3, from 71.8 to 173.7, from 35.9 to 60.0, and from 39.86 to 40.41 MJ/kg, respectively. FA seed oil content and composition, IV, CI, linolenic acid ME, and polyunsaturated ME (with ≥4 double bonds) contents were used to predict the quality of FAME of oil for use as biodiesel, according to EN 14214 European standard. Crithmum maritimum and Crambe maritima, having more than 30 % fixed oil in their seeds, were found most suitable as alternative vegetable oil sources for the production of biodiesel.


Many have conjectured that people in the IT occupation are different from non-IT business users and that such differences can lead to negative organizational outcomes. This study investigates how to measure these differences by developing a new, expanded theoretical framework of IT occupational culture (ITOC). This framework includes: Artifacts, Values, and Tacit Assumptions. Values form the core of any culture, and a cohesive set of cultural values is termed an "ideology." Using a mixed methodology, research was conducted in two parts to develop and measure an ideology of ITOC. A qualitative investigation based on interview data provided evidence of six core values in the ideology: Autonomy in Decision-Making, Structure in Environment, Precision in Communication, Innovation in Technology, Reverence for Technical Knowledge, and Enjoyment at the Workplace (ASPIRE). The quantitative investigation sought to validate the values and ultimately reduced the number of values to five based on factor analysis of survey data: Autonomy in Decision-Making, Structure/Precision, Innovation in Technology, Reverence for Technical Knowledge, and Enjoyment at the Workplace. IT respondents rated these values significantly higher than non-IT business personnel. Our findings have implications for practitioners and researchers and can provide a path to bridge the gap between IT and business users.


The present article aims to identify the areas with high susceptibility in the acceleration of the surface flowing of the water and thus, in the delivery of the flash-floods from the hydrographical basin of the Bâsca Chiojdului river, which is situated in one of the most vulnerable areas in Romania (bend area) at the hydrological phenomena of risk. The analysis of the susceptibility was possible by taking into consideration ten main factors that we considered to play an essential role in the genesis of the flash-floods. There resulted a map of the flank's surfaces with high susceptibility in the flash-floods' delivery and their triggering at the layer level of the hydrographical network in the basin. The proposed index, FFSI (Flash Floods Susceptibility Index), resulted from the summation of the analyzed factors, presents mainly the highest values within the area of Drajna Depression, where most of the settlements from the basin are located. The high genesis susceptibility of the flash-floods in this area is due to the association of the most numerous risk factors that we analysed, namely lithology favourable to the pronounced flowing, slopes with high values, high degree of deforestation etc. The areas identified as being critical from the point of view of the potential of flash-floods formation present a high risk for the genesis and triggering other related phenomena such as floods and landslides.


Research has elucidated that defendants in criminal cases behave differently depending on their age. How age specifically affects plea bargain behavior, however, has only been sparsely investigated. In four studies, we observed that age influences whether lay individuals' plea bargain decision making is concordant (i.e., accept plea bargains if guilty and opt for trial if innocent) or discordant (i.e., accept a plea bargain if innocent and opt for a trial if guilty) in 'mock' criminal scenarios. In line with emerging adults' (18-28 years old) increased just-world beliefs and illusions of transparency, Study 1 provided indirect evidence that emerging adults' plea bargain decision making is more concordant than mature adults (29-40). Study 2, however, found that this effect is dependent on the defendant's likelihood of conviction. Studies 3 and 4 emulated Studies 1 and 2, however, they examined how parents of differently aged children advise their children regarding plea bargains decision making. Parents of younger children (8-11 years old) advised their child similarly to how they themselves would act. Parents of adolescents (12-18), on the other hand, adopted an entirely concordant approach, advising their adolescent child to behave according to their child's culpability. Overall, we find that individuals' approach to plea bargain decision making depends on their age group (or the age group of their children), culpability, and probability of conviction.


Abdominal injuries, along with lumbar spine fractures, are part of a constellation of injuries referred to as "seat belt syndrome". Geometrical characteristics of the pelvis and abdomen of younger children place them at higher risk for these injuries. Efforts to design restraints that mitigate these injuries are limited as no current pediatric anthropomorphic dummy (ATD) can accurately quantify the abdominal response to belt loading. This paper describes progress on a four-phase project to address this gap involving pediatric anthropometrics, real-world abdominal injury risk, abdominal biomechanical structural response and injury tolerance from a porcine model, and development of an abdominal insert for the 6-year-old ATD based on these data. Internal anthropometric measures consisted of radiological assessment of abdominal depth, height, and circumference at multiple horizontal planes. External measures consisted of distances, determined by digital photography, taken between skeletal markers while the child was seated on a vehicle seating apparatus with and without a booster seat. Field investigation identified three unique kinematic patterns resulting in abdominal injury: presubmarining where the belt is initially out of position, classic submarining where the belt starts in position and the pelvis moves under the belt with the torso reclined, and submarining/jackknifing where the pelvis slides under the belt, and the torso flexes forward. The biomechanical studies developed age- and size-based correlations between pediatric swine and humans. Biomechanical tests performed using the most appropriately sized porcine model will be used to define the structural and injury response of the pediatric abdomen to realistic loading conditions.


A micro-structured fiber-based system for identification and collection of fluorescent particles is demonstrated. An optical fiber probe with longitudinal holes in the cladding is used to retrieve fluorescent particles by exerting microfluidics forces. Laser induced fluorescent (LIF) is carried out by the fiber probe and an optical setup. When a particle with a previously chosen fluorescence wavelength is identified, a vacuum pump is activated collecting the particle into a hole. Green and red fluorescent polystyrene particles were detected and selectively retrieved.


For decades, policymakers and development practitioners have debated benefits and threats of property rights formalization and private versus customary tenure systems. This paper provides insights into the challenges in understanding and empirically analyzing the relationship between tenure systems and agricultural investment, and formulates policy advice that can support land tenure interventions. We focus on Ghana, based on extensive qualitative fieldwork and a review of empirical research and policy documents. Comparing research findings is challenging due to the use of different indicators, the varying contexts, and the diversity of investments. The interaction between land rights and investment make establishing causality extremely difficult. Setting policy priorities and strategies requires more and better insights into the diverse responses of different stakeholders and the tenure and cropping systems involved.


Grassridge rock shelter is located in the high elevation grassland foothills of the Stormberg Mountains in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. This places Grassridge at an important biogeoclimatic intersection between the Drakensberg Mountains, the South African coastal zone, and the interior arid lands of southern Africa. First excavated in 1979, the approximately 1.5 m stratigraphic sequence was divided into two major occupational components: a 50–70 cm thick Later Stone Age component dating between 7–6 ka and an underlying 50–80 cm thick Middle Stone Age component dated to 36 ka at the base. Here we present a reanalysis of the Grassridge stratigraphic sequence that combines new optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon age estimates with sedimentological and microbotanical analyses to evaluate site formation processes and the palaeoenvironmental context of human occupations. Results indicate a complex history of geogenic, anthropogenic, and biogenic inputs to the depositional sequence that are interspersed with pulsed human occupation from 43–28 ka, 13.5–11.6 ka, and 7.3–6.8 ka. Microbotanical remains indicate a cooler, drier grassland environment in MIS 3 that transitions to a warmer, moister grassland environment dominated by summer rainfall in the middle of MIS 1. The pulsed occupational sequence identified at Grassridge is characteristic of the Pleistocene and Holocene record across the greater high elevation grassland region of South Africa, which, based on comparison with other currently available evidence, seems linked to a complex system of forager mobility entwined with rapidly fluctuating palaeoenvironments across the last glacial to interglacial transition.


Recent studies on Dadu, one of the capital cities of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, were increasingly situated in a holistic Eurasian background, shedding new light on the influence of nomadic traditions in its city planning in addition to using Chinese urban models. Whereas most of the previous studies took physical remains as their point of departure, this paper aims to understand the nomadic characteristics of Yuan Dadu through elucidating its two fundamental yet under-studied planning features: Firstly, the planning of the city in accordance with the unique measurement system of Yuan chi, whose length is significantly different from the Chinese dynasties that ruled from the Central Plains; Secondly, the prescribed eight-mu plot for each household in the History of the Yuan Dynasty, which took the shape of a 32-by-60-step rectangle based on the space model of nomadic families. I argue that the above two points can provide new perspectives on the systematic influence of nomadic way of life seen in the planning of the Yuan Dadu as well as the planning principle established by the Mongol regime.


Diagnosis Tuberculosis (TB) can establish by microscopic examination of acid-resistant bacilli in the patient's sputum. Sputum quality greatly affects the diagnosis of TB, but the sputum collected by patients at community health centers sometimes does not meet the sputum quality requirements. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of sputum anytime and outset sputum on acid-resistant bacilli examination, from volume, color and viscosity parameters. The type of research used is descriptive observational. Respondents were suspected TB patients at the Marabahan and Aluh-aluh Public Health Centers of South Kalimantan province, Indonesia. Sputum samples taken were sputum anytime the first and outset sputum. The variables in this study are volume, color, and viscosity of sputum. The coloring of acid-resistant bacilli method Ziehl Nielsen. The results of the acid-resistant bacilli examination on sputum (86 specimens) found positive one (13%), positive three (2%), negative (85%). In morning sputum (86 specimens) found positive one (14%), positive three (2%), negative (84%). Sputum quality when with the good category as much as 36% and the quality of morning sputum with the good category as much as 55%. Conclusion Sputum outset has better quality than sputum at the anytime.


The retinex theory of colour vision simulates certain features of the human visual system and is used as a method for image enhancement. Since its introduction in 1971 many flavours of retinex have been devised, which implement slight variations of the original concept. For example, Marini and Rizzi developed a retinex algorithm based on Brownian motion paths. However, while their approach delivers interesting results, it has a high computational complexity. We propose an efficient algorithm that generates pseudo-Brownian paths with a very important constraint: we can guarantee a lower bound to the number of visits to each pixel, as well as its average. We then present a retinex implementation that exploits the paths generated with this algorithm. In order to keep the number of visits per pixel low, we take a multi-scale approach: our path-based computation is performed at different scales of the input image and each result is averaged with the result obtained from larger scales. In doing so, we in effect combine the Brownian motion approach with the scale-space method of the McCann99 algorithm. In this paper we describe the details of our path generator, and we show some images processed with our retinex implementation compared with those obtained with the McCann99 retinex algorithm. The results show that, in general, the Brownian motion approach requires a smaller number of pixel comparisons per scale to achieve similar output images.


The structured nature of chemical data means machine learning models trained to predict protein-ligand binding risk overfitting the data, impairing their ability to generalise and make accurate predictions for novel candidate ligands. To address this limitation, data debiasing algorithms systematically partition the data to reduce bias. When models are trained using debiased data splits, the reward for simply memorising the training data is reduced, suggesting that the ability of the model to make accurate predictions for novel candidate ligands will improve. To test this hypothesis, we use distance-based data splits to measure how well a model can generalise. We first confirm that models perform better for randomly split held-out sets than for distant held-out sets. We then debias the data and find, surprisingly, that debiasing typically reduces the ability of models to make accurate predictions for distant held-out test sets. These results suggest that debiasing reduces the information available to a model, impairing its ability to generalise.


Abstract. Multi temporal changes in built up areas are mainly caused by natural disasters (such as floods and earthquakes) or urban sprawl. Detecting these changes which consist of construction, destruction and renovation of buildings can play an important role in updating three dimensional city models and making the right decisions for urban management. Generally, change detection methods based on multi temporal remotely sensed data can be divided into 2D and 3D categories. Three dimensional change detection methods are suitable for identifying the changes of three dimensional objects such as buildings and their results are more close to reality. The objective of this study is to provide an effective method for 3D change detection of buildings in urban areas based on Digital Elevation Models (DEM). The proposed method in this paper consists of three main steps; 1) generating the normalized DSM for two epochs, 2) performing segmentation and structural classification of image segments in order to generate multi temporal classification maps, 3) producing the change maps. The ability of the proposed algorithm is evaluated in a rapid developing urban area in Tehran, Iran in a 9-years interval. The obtained results represent that the ground and bare soil decrease for about −1.37% and low-rise buildings also decrease for about −9.7%. Moreover, the class of high-rise buildings increases for about +16.4% which conforms making new constructions in addition to renovation of low-rise buildings.


The teleost brain has the remarkable ability to generate new neurons and to repair injuries during adult life stages. Maintaining life‐long neurogenesis requires careful management of neural stem cell pools. In a genome‐wide expression screen for transcription regulators, the id1 gene, encoding a negative regulator of E‐proteins, was found to be upregulated in response to injury. id1 expression was mapped to quiescent type I neural stem cells in the adult telencephalic stem cell niche. Gain and loss of id1 function in vivo demonstrated that Id1 promotes stem cell quiescence. The increased id1 expression observed in neural stem cells in response to injury appeared independent of inflammatory signals, suggesting multiple antagonistic pathways in the regulation of reactive neurogenesis. Together, we propose that Id1 acts to maintain the neural stem cell pool by counteracting neurogenesis‐promoting signals. Stem Cells 2015;33:892–903


Mesozoic orogenic belts fringe the Alaska and eastern Russia portion of the Arctic Basin. From west to east, these include the fold belts of Novaya Zemlya, Taimyr Peninsula, northern Verkhoyansk–Kolyma, Chukotka and the Brooks Range, as well as their continuations onto the continental shelves. The Taimyr and Novaya Zemlya structures were traditionally interpreted as the continuation of the late Palaeozoic Uralian orogenic belt. This is probably correct for Taimyr, but not for Novaya Zemlya, where shortening post-dates Uralian deformation. The Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the Verkhoyansk–Kolyma, Chukotka and Brooks Range orogens relates to the accretion of numerous continental and arc terranes to the Siberian and North American margins starting in the Late Jurassic and driven by palaeo-Pacific dynamics. This history is complicated by the opening of the Amerasia Basin of the Arctic, which displaced the Arctic Alaska–Chukotka microplate from a position adjacent to Arctic Canada towards the palaeo-Pacific. Although the Chukotka fold belt and the Brooks Range both formed along the southern edge of Arctic Alaska–Chukotka, most shortening took place prior to Amerasia Basin opening. The remoteness of this region and the complexity of its geology has left numerous questions regarding its tectonic evolution unresolved, providing rich avenues for future research.


The field of mitral valve disease diagnosis and management is rapidly evolving. New understanding of pathophysiology and improvements in the adoption of sophisticated multimodality imaging modalities have led to early diagnosis and to more complex treatment. The most common cause of mitral regurgitation (MR) in the western world is in the primary alteration of the valve, which leads to degenerative leaflet prolapse due to chordal elongation or rupture and annular dilatation. Untreated, significant MR has a negative impact prognosis, leading to reduction of survival. In the setting of degenerative MR, surgical repair currently represents the standard of care. Treatment of asymptomatic patients with severe MR in the Valve Center of Excellence, in which successful repair reaches more than 95% and surgical mortality less than 1%, symbolizes the direction for the next years. Transcatheter mitral valve repair with different devices, more recently the chordal replacement ones, is providing good outcomes and became a therapeutic option in high-risk patients with degenerative MR. In the future, more advances are expected from further development of interventional techniques, careful evaluation and better patient selection. This review will focus on long-term surgical outcomes of mitral valve repair with artificial chordae and on the emerging transcatheter chordal repair devices as therapeutic options for degenerative MR patients.


ABSTRACT Our new geological epoch of the Anthropocene is characterised by the primacy of humanity's catastrophic agency in shaping the planet and is evident in the record left behind by that agency's inscriptions in the Earth's strata. Recent literary criticism and theory, its sense of temporality and spatiality recalibrated, has sought an interpretive methodology for reading the planetary and the geological in literature. Of particular issue is scale and whether the humanist imaginaries of the literary are sufficiently multi-scalar to apprehend the unfolding Anthropocene. This essay argues that in the emphasis on scale, issues of mediation are overlooked. Turning to genre fiction, particularly that of Paulo Bacigalupi, this essay argues that its future scenarios of climate change, ecological collapse, and near-extinction – a more fully realised Anthropocene – stage cultural memories of the unfolding aetiologies of the conditions imagined in the future but often subject to dissociation in our present. Conceptualising this fiction as the work of speculative memory, this essay finds in such acts of recall a self-reflexiveness as to the mediations of environmental remembrance. That is, in this futural work of cultural memory, the localisation of the planetary particularises the Anthropocene and foregrounds the ways that it is framed.


Wars within states have become much more common than wars between them. A dominant approach to understanding civil war assumes that opposition movements are unitary, when empirically, most of them are not. I develop a theory for how internal divisions within opposition movements affect their ability to bargain with the state and avoid conflict. I argue that more divided movements generate greater commitment and information problems, thus making civil war more likely. I test this expectation using new annual data on the internal structure of opposition movements seeking self-determination. I find that more divided movements are much more likely to experience civil war onset and incidence. This analysis suggests that the assumption that these movements are unitary has severely limited our understanding of when these disputes degenerate into civil wars.


Background: Numerous publications demonstrate the importance of community-based participatory research (CBPR) in community health research, but few target the Deaf community. The Deaf community is understudied and underrepresented in health research despite suspected health disparities and communication barriers.Objectives: The goal of this paper is to share the lessons learned from the implementation of CBPR in an understudied community of Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users in the greater Rochester, New York, area.Methods: We review the process of CBPR in a Deaf ASL community and identify the lessons learned.Results: Key CBPR lessons include the importance of engaging and educating the community about research, ensuring that research benefits the community, using peer-based recruitment strategies, and sustaining community partnerships. These lessons informed subsequent research activities.Conclusions: This report focuses on the use of CBPR principles in a Deaf ASL population; lessons learned can be applied to research with other challenging-to-reach populations.


Check metering is an effective method for measuring the losses and electricity theft in a low voltage (LV) reticulation network. Populating a LV reticulation network with permanent check meters is expensive. Electricity theft or tampering is a dynamic process. Current developments in the telecommunications industry make it possible to implement a mobile remote check meter. A data collection infrastructure and data mining software, combined with check metering, can provide valuable information regarding the network. Before devices are placed in the field, a study is conducted to determine the optimum stationary time period for detecting electricity theft in the area, based on available consumption data in the area. This paper discusses simulations and models based on data from pre-paid meters in order to determine the feasibility and method of operation of a remote check meter


The ultimate goal of precision farming is to manage the farm on a site specific basis. In realizing this goal, knowledge of the soil and crop characteristics on a practical fine grid basis is necessary. However, to obtain soil and crop parameters on a greater intensity in oil palm plantation using the traditional soil and crop sampling and analysis methods are very expensive, tedious, and time consuming. This problem could be addressed using sensors that can gather information on-the-go. A sensor that is currently available with the above feature is Veris® 3100 soil EC sensor (Electrical Conductivity sensor), a product of Technologies and Probe Systems, Kansas, USA. An evaluation of the sensor was conducted in a mature oil palm plantation at Dusun Durian Estate, Banting, Selangor with the following objectives : (i) To determine the relationships between Veris soil EC and selected soil chemical and physical properties, and oil palm yield, (ii) To investigate the spatial variability of soil EC, selected soil chemical and physical properties, and oil palm yield, and (iii) To define spatial classes of the variables based on interpretation of geostatistical parameters.

The evaluation conducted proved that EC sensor can be used to develop spatially dense datasets desirable for describing within-field spatial soil variability for precision agriculture. The data obtained using this sensor were very intensive and can rapidly determine soil EC in-situ. The electrical conductivity mapping is a fast means of characterizing spatial patterns in soil profiles. Mapping with an EC sensor provides information at two levels of soil profile, i.e. shallow (<30 cm) and deep profiles (<90 cm) which allow calibration of soil parameters at different depths. It was also noted that the patterns of soil EC within a field tend to remain the same from season to season. Therefore, once a map is generated it could be used for several years. The results showed that significant positive relationship (p<0.01) existed between shallow EC and pH, K, Ca, Mg but there was negative relationship with fine sand content of the soil. A significant correlation at p<0.05 was also observed between shallow EC and total P, CEC, silt, clay and percentage of coarse sand content in the soil. The relationships observed between EC and certain nutrient concentrations were also influenced by the relationship between EC and other soil properties, and it was not really a direct measure of the nutrient itself. Electrical conductivity measured at the experimental site was significantly explained by the soil Potassium, sand content, and Nitrogen levels. This relationship was linear, i.e EC shallow = 9.1212 + 1.0271 Potassium – 0.0308 fine sand – 4.669 Nitrogen. The use of EC in measuring nutrient concentrations depends on the relationship between EC and key soil properties (i.e. K, fine sand and N).

There were also significant correlations between the soil physical properties and measured EC. However, the coefficients of determination were weak (i.e. less than 25%). Kriged map produced based on soil physical properties showed relatively uniform silt, clay, and fine sand distribution. The pattern was attributed to the homogeneous soil type and flat topography of the study area.

The overall results showed that EC data did not correlate with FFB yield despite significant correlation between EC shallow and FFB yield in 2000/01 and EC deep and FFB yield in 1999/00 at P=0.05 level. Thus it can be concluded that Soil EC cannot directly predict crop growth or yield. Kriging analysis of yield data from 1999 to 2003 showed that the Q-value varied from 0.53 to 0.72 indicating a relatively spatial structure. However, the range of spatial dependence varied between 3243 m and 7681 m. This long spatial dependence is reflective of the uniform soil type and relatively flat topography of the study area that resulted in low variation of FFB yields production.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) analysis using these latent variables revealed that the yield variability could be explained by principal components such as available P, and CEC although their influence was not always consistent. It appears that soil management zones cannot be strictly determined using any one soil parameter across the field. Management zones represent the integration of detailed information regarding soil types, depth, texture, moisture, conductivity and crop type found in the field. Consequently, a database of soil characteristics becomes fundamental for the identification of the soil management zones. For the study area, available P and CEC are the factors that influence soil EC and thus, these parameters can be used to delineate the management zone. Thus, PCA is a useful statistical tool in delineating management zones.

From the experience and results obtained, it is strongly believed that soil EC map can provide information for precision agriculture. It can be used to guide soil sampling, conduct crop yield map analysis, and help to decide whether or not to vary the amounts of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers across the field. Soil EC is one of the simplest and least expensive soil measurements available for precision farming at the moment. Veris EC sensor is useful in assessing the spatial variation that affects productivity of oil palm field but site specific calibration is required because several characteristics of soils can influence EC simultaneously. It has also the potential to provide estimates of within-field variations of some soil properties. However, care must be taken to understand the effects of the other, non-estimated properties on the conductivity measurement.


This paper reports on a field study comparing navigation performance and user experience of voice, digital map and augmented reality (AR) interfaces for electronic assistance in the context of pedestrian navigation. The in situ study was conducted with two subsequent experiments in the city of Salzburg along a pre-defined route using a self-implemented smartphone application running on Apple's iPhone 4. The study involved 48 participants aged between 22 and 66 years with different experiences in using smartphones and navigation systems. Navigation performance was measured on a micro-level including information on effectiveness (number and reasons of stops, global positioning system (GPS accuracy), efficiency (walking and task completion time, duration of stops) and satisfaction (NASA Task Load Index, System Usability Scale). A final questionnaire completed the study. Between the first and the second experiment, the application was adapted considering user feedback and the previous findings. Results show that in the context of GPS-enhanced pedestrian navigation, digital map and voice-only interfaces lead to significantly better navigation performance and user experience in comparison to AR interfaces. The study also reveals similar results for digital map and voice-only interfaces given that voice instructions are carefully composed. Results lead to the conclusion that AR is still suffering from usability and hardware issues leading to higher uncertainty of navigating persons. Best navigation performance and user experience can be achieved by combining digital maps and accurate voice instructions.


The aims of this project were:1) the synthesis of a range of new polyether-based vinylic monomers and their incorporation into poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(HEMA)) based hydrogel networks, of interest to the contact lens industry.2) the synthesis of a range of alkyltartronic acids, and their derivatives. These molecules may ultimately be used to produce functionalised poly(-hydroxy acids) of potential interest in either drug delivery or surgical suture applications. The novel syntheses of a range of both methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) acrylates (MPEGAs) and poly(ethylene glycol) acrylates (PEGAs) are described. Products were obtained in very good yields. These new polyether-based vinylic monomers were copolymerised with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) to produce a range of hydrogels. The equilibrium water contents (EWC) and surface properties of these copolymers containing linear polyethers were examined. It was found that the EWC was enhanced by the presence of the hydrophilic polyether chains.Results suggest that the polyether side chains express themselves at the polymer surface, thus dictating the surface properties of the gels. Consequentially, this leads to an advantageous reduction in the surface adhesion of biological species. A synthesis of a range of alkyltartronic acids is also described. The acids prepared were obtained in very good yields using a novel four-stage synthesis. These acids were modified to give potassium monoethyl alkyltartronates. Although no polyesterification is described in this thesis, these modified alkyltartronic acid derivatives are considered to be potentially excellent starting materials for poly (alkyltartronic acid) synthesis via anhydrocarboxylate or anhydrosulphite cyclic monomers.


The synthesis of 1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbohydrazides 6a-j data was prepared in four steps from commercially available benzyl bromide 1. Reaction of benzylbromide 1 with sodium azide gave 1- (azidomethyl)benzene 2, which upon condensation with ethyl(triphenylphosphine phosphoranyldene)pyruvate 3 in xylene in sealed tube gave ethyl 1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carboxylate 4. Hydrazinolysis of ethylester 4 followed by the condensation with various aromatic / heteroaromatic aldehydes a-j in ethanol at reflux produced 1-benzyl- 1H-1,2,3-triazole-N-substituted hydrazone derivatives 6a-j in quantitative yields. The structural assignment of the synthesized hydrazone derivatives 6a-j was determined by the spectroscopic techniques like 1H NMR, IR and mass spectral. Compounds 6a-j were screened in vitro at a concentration of 250 μg/mL for antibacterial activity against two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pyogenes) and two Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) with reference to the standard antibacterial drug ciprofloxacin (250 μg/disc). Compounds 6c (Quinaxaline ring), 6d (Imidazole ring), 6e (Pyridine ring) and 6f (Quinoline ring) exhibited significant antibacterial activity.


This study aims to evaluate the potential impacts of the 2008/09 global economic crisis on child poverty in Cameroon. It also explores the potential effects that policy responses to such a crisis could have on children. In order to do this, the study uses a macro-micro methodology. A dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is used to simulate various scenarios of the economic crisis together with policies which respond to the crisis, taking into account the different transmission channels of the global crisis to the Cameroonian economy. The results of the CGE model are then used in a micro-econometric module in order to evaluate the impacts of the simulated shocks on households in general and children in particular. Five dimensions of child poverty are examined: monetary poverty, caloric poverty, child school participation and child labour, and children's access to health care services. The study shows that the crisis is projected to lower the real GDP growth rate by 1.3 percentage points in 2009, 0.9 in 2010 and 0.8 in 2011. The crisis would also bring about a 1.05% increase in the number of children who were poor in monetary terms in 2008 and a 4% increase in 2009, 2010 and 2011, compared to the situation without a crisis. With respect to this reference scenario, the crisis is simulated to increase the number of children who are poor in caloric terms by 0.56% in 2009, 1.08% in 2010 and 1.60% in 2011, and negatively affects, albeit lightly, both children's school participation rate and their access to health care services. Four alternative policy responses to the crisis are simulated: a reduction in the VAT levied on the sale of food products; elimination of customs tariffs applied on imports of food products; free access to school canteens for children under the age of 15 in districts where monetary poverty is higher than the national average; and granting cash transfers to poor children. These policies, with a cost of 1%, 0.4%, 0.19% and 1% of Cameroon's before-crisis GDP respectively, are financed either by foreign aid or by draining the state's foreign reserves. Results from these simulations show that, in terms of poverty reduction, cash transfers appear to be the most effective of the four policy responses mentioned above, but this policy is the most ineffective at improving the real GDP growth rate. At the national level, the cash transfer policy completely counters the increase in monetary and caloric poverty engendered by the crisis over the entire period of the study. It even lowers these two types of poverty to less than the situation where the crisis did not occur. Moreover, these transfers have beneficial, although small, effects on children's school and labour participation rates. Furthermore, beside the cash transfer policy, the subsidy for school canteens has a relatively low cost but carries fairly considerable benefits in response to the crisis, especially in alleviating caloric poverty; while the other two policies are quite ineffective, regardless of which dimension of poverty is considered.


Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) are an increasingly popular framework for modeling neural spike trains. They have been linked to the theory of stochastic point processes and researchers have used this relation to assess goodness-of-fit using methods from point-process theory, e.g. the time-rescaling theorem. However, high neural firing rates or coarse discretization lead to a breakdown of the assumptions necessary for this connection. Here, we show how goodness-of-fit tests from point-process theory can still be applied to GLMs by constructing equivalent surrogate point processes out of time-series observations. Furthermore, two additional tests based on thinning and complementing point processes are introduced. They augment the instruments available for checking model adequacy of point processes as well as discretized models.


Analysis of key components of the alpine North Cascade hydrologic system indicate significant changes in glacier mass balance, terminus behavior, alpine snowpack, and alpine streamflow from 1950 to 2005. North Cascade glacier retreat is rapid and ubiquitous. All 47 monitored glaciers are currently undergoing a significant retreat and four of them have disappeared. Annual mass balance measured on ten glaciers, averaging 30–50 m in thickness, yields a mean cumulative annual balance for the 1984–2006 period of −12.4 m water equivalent (m we), a net loss of 14 m in glacier thickness and 20–40% loss of their total volume in two decades. The data indicate broad regional continuity in North Cascades glacial response to climate. The substantial negative annual balances have accompanied significant thinning in the accumulation zone of 75% of North Cascade glaciers monitored. This is indicative of glacier disequilibrium; a glacier in disequilibrium will not survive the current warmer climate trend. Alpine snowpack snow water equivalent (SWE) on April 1 has declined 25% since 1946 at five USDA Snow Course sites. This decline has occurred in spite of a slight increase in winter precipitation. The combination of a decline in winter snowpack and a 0.6° increase in ablation season temperature, during the 1946–2005 period in the North Cascades, has altered alpine streamflow in six North Cascade basins. Observed changes in streamflow are: increased winter streamflow, slightly declining spring streamflow and a 27% decline in summer streamflow. Only in the heavily glaciated Thunder Creek Basin (> 10% glaciated) has summer streamflow declined less than 10%; this is attributable to enhanced glacier melting.


WE EXPLORED HOW MUSICAL CULTURE SHAPES ONE9S listening experience.Western participants heard a series of tones drawn from either the Western major mode (culturally familiar) or the Indian thaat Bhairav (culturally unfamiliar) and then heard a test tone. They made a speeded judgment about whether the test tone was present in the prior series of tones. Interactions between mode (Western or Indian) and test tone type (congruous or incongruous) reflect the utilization of Western modal knowledge to make judgments about the test tones. False alarm rates were higher for test tones congruent with the major mode than for test tones congruent with Bhairav. In contrast, false alarm rates were lower for test tones incongruent with the major mode than for test tones incongruent with Bhairav. These findings suggest that one9s internalized cultural knowledge may drive musical expectancies when listening to music of an unfamiliar modal system.


The performance of text classification has improved tremendously using intelligently engineered neural-based models, especially those injecting categorical metadata as additional information, e.g., using user/product information for sentiment classification. This information has been used to modify parts of the model (e.g., word embeddings, attention mechanisms) such that results can be customized according to the metadata. We observe that current representation methods for categorical metadata, which are devised for human consumption, are not as effective as claimed in popular classification methods, outperformed even by simple concatenation of categorical features in the final layer of the sentence encoder. We conjecture that categorical features are harder to represent for machine use, as available context only indirectly describes the category, and even such context is often scarce (for tail category). To this end, we propose using basis vectors to effectively incorporate categorical metadata on various parts of a neural-based model. This additionally decreases the number of parameters dramatically, especially when the number of categorical features is large. Extensive experiments on various data sets with different properties are performed and show that through our method, we can represent categorical metadata more effectively to customize parts of the model, including unexplored ones, and increase the performance of the model greatly.


Rainfall over South China Sea (SCS)-Maritime Continent (MC) region involves multiple-scale phenomena such as the annual cycle, monsoon variability, ENSO, Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), and convectively coupled equatorial waves (CCEWs). This study focuses on documenting MJO and CCEW modulation on the boreal winter subseasonal peak precipitation, which is an event with maximum 15-day accumulated rainfall amount during November to February, summarized at 10 by 10 degrees of longitude and latitude box areas in the region. It turns out that MJO shows strong influence on the peak event occurrence time. However, MJO has almost no positive effect on the peak event in the near equator land area. Mixed Rossby-gravity wave and tropical disturbance (MT) and equatorial Rossby (ER) wave show strong positive modulation on peak rainfall mean intensity. Cases during the SCS Two Island Monsoon Experiment (SCSTIMX) winters (2016/17 and 2017/18) are analyzed. To the north of 5°N, the peak event in 2016/17 occurred concurrently with MJO convective phase, while in 2017/18 as lack of MJO activity the occurrence time was modulated by the ER wave. The 2016/17 peak event shows weaker mean rainfall intensity than the 2017/18 event. To the south of 5°N, the area-mean peak event occurrence time was delayed in 2016/17, while the intensity was enhanced by the joint modulation of MJO, Kelvin and ER waves. The importance of understanding the area-mean and within-area-difference of peak rainfall events in the SCS-MC region was discussed. The findings can be applied to assess the subseasonal predictability of dynamical forecast models. Article history: Received 1 April 2019 Revised 23 October 2019 Accepted 28 October 2019


The characterization of atmospheric aerosol properties and trace gas concentrations in various environments provides a basis for scientific research on the assessment of their roles in the climate system, as well as regional air quality issues. However, measurements of these face many problems in the developing world. In this study we present the design of a transportable aerosol dynamic and atmospheric research trailer, which relies minimally on the existing infrastructure by making use of wireless data transfer. The instrumentation used in this trailer was originally used in various aerosol formation studies, and has been expanded so that it can also monitor air quality. The instruments include a Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS) for aerosol number size distribution in the range 10–840 nm, a Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM) for aerosol mass concentration, and Air Ion Spectrometer (AIS) for atmospheric ion measurements in the size range 0.5–40 nm. Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and ozone mixing ratios are also monitored, as well as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and meteorological parameters. As we have already operated the trailer in South Africa for several years, we discuss the lessons learned during the first years of use in the field. Keyword: Atmospheric aerosol particles; Atmospheric pollution; Trace gases; Climate change; Air quality.


As digital life became more intertwined with our daily activities, humans developed an increasing reliance on cloud computing to sync data between all their devices, acquired 24/7 access to information through the internet, as well as the ability to share data from anywhere using a variety of methods. Predictably, technology began to exert its influence in education, with new practices of large-scale knowledge distribution advancing from concept to reality. It did not take long before the idea of a Quality Assurance e-learning platform emerged. To create it, however, one requires an appropriate software development model. Software systems undergo a series of transformations that represent their outset, early development, transition to production, maintenance and retirement from one generation to the next. This paper examines and clarifies a variety of techniques for understanding or modeling how these systems are developed. Subsequently, the practice through which a suitable candidate for an e-learning platform is selected will be outlined and the product plan detailed.


This standard defines how the dose of plant protection products is expressed and describes the parameters, specific to the site and type of application, which should be recorded so that the dose can be determined in a standard way whatever the crop or product, or the equipment used for treatment. Included in the standard is a description of dose expression methods in three-dimensional crops (aerial parts of plants in commercial orchards (e.g. pome fruit, stone fruit), hop gardens and vineyards, small fruit and cane fruit crops (e.g. blueberries, gooseberries, raspberries), taller, isolated fruit trees and other high-growing crops such as fruiting vegetables both in the open field and under protected cultivation) and methods for converting between different dose expression terms. Specific approval and amendment


The development of space-related technology since the dawn of the space age in 1957 has given rise to many new and exciting possibilities. It has also meant that space activities continue to evolve, facilitating the participation of a variety of space 'actors' other than States. Given the international responsibility of States for 'national activities in outer space' under the Outer Space Treaty, there is an imperative for States to enact relevant and contemporary national space law to regulate those non-governmental space actors within their respective jurisdiction. But enacting national space law is not enough – as the paradigm of space-related technology changes and evolves, it is clear that such shifts require the ongoing review of appropriate national regulatory standards over relatively short timeframes. National legislatures have to come to grips with the ever-changing range of space technology, particularly if they wish to become increasingly involved in space activities. Whatever rules are put in place, either during the initial drafting or the subsequent review process must find the right balance between, on the one hand, the need for regulation of the economic and technical elements, so as to minimize the risks to an acceptable level, and the facilitation of research and innovation to allow for greater and more efficient access to space, and the potential for commercial returns, on the other. This article will describe the current processes in both Australia and New Zealand, outlining how the resultant regulations seek to respond to technological advances in order to meet the specific goals and requirements within each country.


SUMMARY In axons the cytoskeletal polymers are transported by slow axonal transport. Microtubules, microfilaments and neurofilaments move at different rates in the axon. On the basis of their transport rates, two populations of polymers can be distinguished: SCb polymers are transported at 2–4 mm day−1 and SCa polymers are transported at 0.25–1 mm day−1. As they move within the axon, the faster moving SCb polymers must pass the slower moving SCa polymers. This observation and others indicate that polymers slide in the axon. A model of polymer sliding is presented. This model provides a dynamic architectural framework for studies of the mechanisms of slow axonal transport.


The South Baltic Sea coastal zone investigated in the years 1983-1989 belongs to multi-bar dissipative ones, with an average slope of 1.5% and sand grain size .050=0.22 mm. EOF have exhibited the most common locations of bars (e2x) and the most intensive bed changes (e3x). Particularly conspicuous are the bed changes about the inner bar (depths about 3 m). Radioisotopic irydium glass tracers have been employed in three different subzones of the shore profile; 50-60 m from shoreline (depths h of 0.8-1.2 m), 200-250 m (ft=2-3 m), and some 350-450 m (ft=4-5 m), respectively. During storms the most intensive sediment motion occurs in the second subzone, where the longshore sediment transport rate q reaches 40 to 100 kg/(mh). Closer to shoreline (first subzone), the transport rate ranges from 15 to 40 kg/ (m-h), while the smallest rate (q « 3.5-20 kg/(m-h)) is encountered in the third subzone. Under conditions of weak or moderate oblique waves (e.g. mean wave period and height T < 3-4 s and H < 0.2 m in the second subzone), the longshore mode also prevailed but the ratio of longshore to cross-shore rate was lower, about 1.7:1 (13.5 versus 8 kg/(mh)). Core samples of tracer sand have provided estimates of the vertical extent and distribution of transport rate in the bed layer. It has been found that the thickness of the bed sublayer in which all grains move in bulk reaches 6 « 2-5 cm during storms, versus a few grain diameters to 1.5 cm under weak and moderate waves.


How and why did experience and knowledge become separated? Is it possible to talk of an infancy of experience, a "dumb" experience? For Walter Benjamin, the "poverty of experience" was a characteristic of modernity, originating in the catastrophe of the First World War. For Giorgio Agamben, the Italian editor of Benjamin's complete works, the destruction of experience no longer needs catastrophes: daily life in any modern city will suffice. Agamben's profound and radical exploration of language, infancy, and everyday life traces concepts of experience through Kant, Hegel, Husserl and Benveniste. In doing so he elaborates a theory of infancy that throws new light on a number of major themes in contemporary thought: the anthropological opposition between nature and culture; the linguistic opposition between speech and language; the birth of the subject and the appearance of the unconscious. Agamben goes on to consider time and history; the Marxist notion of base and superstructure (via a careful reading of the famous Adorno-Benjamin correspondence on Baudelaire's Paris); and the difference between rituals and games. Beautifully written, erudite and provocative, these essays will be of great interest to students of philosophy, linguistics, anthropology and politics.


To investigate effects of dietary mushrooms and joint effects of mushrooms and green tea on breast cancer, a case–control study was conducted in southeast China in 2004–2005. The incident cases were 1,009 female patients aged 20–87 years with histologically confirmed breast cancer. The 1,009 age‐matched controls were healthy women randomly recruited from outpatient breast clinics. Information on frequency and quantity of dietary intake of mushrooms and tea consumption, usual diet, and lifestyle were collected by face‐to‐face interview using a validated and reliable questionnaire. Compared with nonconsumers, the Odds ratios (Ors) were 0.36 (95% CI = 0.25–0.51) and 0.53 (0.38–0.73) for daily intake of ≥10 g fresh mushrooms and ≥4 g dried mushrooms, based on multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for established and potential confounders. There were dose–response relationships with significant tests for trend (p < 0.001). The inverse association was found in both pre‐ and postmenopausal women. Compared with those who consumed neither mushrooms nor green tea, the ORs were 0.11 (0.06–0.20) and 0.18 (0.11–0.29) for daily high intake of fresh and dried mushrooms combined with consuming beverages made from ≥1.05 g dried green tea leaves per day. The corresponding linear trends were statistically significant for joint effect (p < 0.001). We conclude that higher dietary intake of mushrooms decreased breast cancer risk in pre‐ and postmenopausal Chinese women and an additional decreased risk of breast cancer from joint effect of mushrooms and green tea was observed. More research is warranted to examine the effects of dietary mushrooms and mechanism of joint effects of phytochemicals on breast cancer. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Emerging market and developing economies, like advanced economies, have experienced a remarkable decline in inflation over the past half-century. Yet, research into this development has focused almost exclusively on advanced economies. This book fills that gap, providing the first comprehensive and systematic analysis of inflation in emerging market and developing economies. It examines how inflation has evolved and become synchronized among economies; what drives inflation globally and domestically; where inflation expectations have become better-anchored; and how exchange rate fluctuations can pass through to inflation. To reach its conclusions, the book employs cutting edge empirical approaches. It also offers a rich data set of multiple measures of inflation for a virtually global sample of countries over a half-century to spur further research into this important topic.


On the basis of systems thinking, in this thesis metabolomics, Chinese medicine (CM), as well as Western medicine (WM) were combined to achieve a more comprehensive systems diagnosis of patients with chronic diseases. Specifically, metabolomics has been applied to characterize patients by small molecule profiles, which can be applied in phenotyping patients and matching these with optimal therapies. Chinese and Western medicine have different perspectives on diagnosis and could be highly complementary to each other, so combining both could have advantages in personalized diagnosis. Therefore, in this thesis a combination of systems approaches is used, including metabolomics, CM-based diagnosis principles as well as WM to provide systems diagnosis of patients with chronic diseases, in particular rheumatoid arthritis (RA). With systems diagnosis, we could better identify potential biomarkers to predict the WM therapeutic response of patients with RA and monitoring disease progression.


Introduction: We know little about how the 2006 Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management and prevention of obesity relate to Canadians' weight management experiences or whether these experiences reflect the recommendations in the Guidelines. Methods: We used data from a general population omnibus survey to understand these two issues, particularly in relation to chronic disease. The survey included 23 questions related to weight management practices as well as those related to demographic characteristics. Results: Of 2004 respondents, 33% were classified as overweight and 20% as obese. In the 12 months before the survey, 48% of overweight and obese respondents reported asking their physician about weight loss, while 30% reported that their physician advised them to lose weight without them specifically asking. With regard to the recommendations within the Guidelines, 14% of overweight and 18% of obese respondents reported having their waist circumference measured, 82% of overweight and 87% of obese respondents reported having their blood pressure measured, and 36% of overweight and 50% of obese respondents reported having a test for diabetes. Conclusion: These findings have implications for chronic disease identification and management.


Objective: An increase in epicardial fat tissue (EFT) thickness was found to be associated with metabolic syndrome (MS) and ischemic heart disease. MS is a comorbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) resulting from the accompanying systemic inflammation. The aim of our study was to investigate the usefulness of EFT thickness to predict MS in COPD patients. Methods: COPD patients admitted to our clinic during January–December 2014 and healthy controls were included in this prospective case-control study. Patients with comorbidities, COPD exacerbation, and malignancies were excluded. Patients and controls were compared in terms of anthropometric measurements, MS-related examination and laboratory findings, pulmonary function tests, and EFT thickness. The correlations between EFT thickness and markers of MS in COPD were evaluated using the Student's t-test and logistic regression analysis. Results: COPD patients and controls were composed of 82 and 84 individuals, respectively. MS was diagnosed in 31 (37.8%) COPD patients. The EFT thickness was significantly higher in COPD patients than in the controls and was also higher in COPD patients with MS than in those without MS (all p<0.001). Each 1-mm increment of EFT raised the risk of MS two-fold (p=0.011, OR=2.08, 95% CI: 1.18–3.68). Increase in triglyceride level (p=0.004, OR=1.02, 95% CI: 1.01–1.03) and reduction in forced vital capacity (p=0.025, OR=0.26, 95% CI: 0.08–0.84) were found to be associated with increased MS risk. The cut-off value for EFT thickness in the prediction of MS in COPD patients was 6.75 mm (sensitivity: 83%, specificity: 65%). Conclusion: EFT thickness is a non-invasive and easily available parameter, which is valuable in the prediction of increased MS risk in COPD patients. Early diagnosis of patients at risk of MS may help to prevent ischemic heart disease in these patients.