The number of bankruptcies in Japan fluctuates over time, and the characteristics of these fluctuations have not been sufficiently investigated. This paper intends to examine the trends in bankruptcies in Japan, with a particular focus on identifying the dynamic features of this series. Using quarterly data from 1975 to 2005, we first classify bankruptcies into three industrial sectors and two levels of firm size. Then, for each of these six (three by two) categories, we estimate a vector autoregression (VAR) system comprised of four economic variables (the Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) by industry, the break-even point ratio, the debt-equity ratio and the quick assets ratio) and the bankruptcy rate. The VAR is a simple but widely used approach for identifying the path and depth of interrelationships among economic time-series variables. We also construct impulse response functions, which enable us to assess the dynamic features of the system. In particular, considerable differences exist in both the strength and lag-structure of dynamic responses to shocks across different industrial sectors and firm sizes. It indicates that the total number and movement of bankruptcies reflect the accumulated impact of various shocks that have distinct response structures in each sector and firm size.


This paper examines preliminary findings from research into the transition experiences of students entering university through a VET pathway. Participants' responses obtained in an online survey are analysed to explore their perceptions of how their VET background influenced their transition, including their expectations and adjustment to university. Findings indicate that participants are largely experiencing transition as a positive experience, but in particular those who perceived their VET background as very influential on their transition have significantly higher levels of adjustment and fulfilled expectations. The survey is part of a larger research project including focus groups and interviews that will allow a deeper analysis of students' experiences. The research also aims to contribute to a deeper conceptual understanding of the transition process.


After several years of planning, the 1st International Workshop on High‐Order CFD Methods was successfully held in Nashville, Tennessee, on January 7–8, 2012, just before the 50th Aerospace Sciences Meeting. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the German Aerospace Center provided much needed support, financial and moral. Over 70 participants from all over the world across the research spectrum of academia, government labs, and private industry attended the workshop. Many exciting results were presented. In this review article, the main motivation and major findings from the workshop are described. Pacing items requiring further effort are presented. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This book offers a new perception and reading of one of the most well-known documents of Indian philosophy and theology, Sankara's Brahmasutrabhasya. the author's presentation of the self as a subject free of any trace of (disturbungly real) objectivity recieves a fresh explication.


We propose an asynchronous, decentralized algorithm for consensus optimization. The algorithm runs over a network in which the agents communicate with their neighbors and perform local computation. In the proposed algorithm, each agent can compute and communicate independently at different times, for different durations, with the information it has even if the latest information from its neighbors is not yet available. Such an asynchronous algorithm reduces the time that agents would otherwise waste idle because of communication delays or because their neighbors are slower. It also eliminates the need for a global clock for synchronization. Mathematically, the algorithm involves both primal and dual variables, uses fixed step-size parameters, and provably converges to the exact solution under a random agent assumption and both bounded and unbounded delay assumptions. When running synchronously, the algorithm performs just as well as existing competitive synchronous algorithms such as PG-EXTRA, which diverges without synchronization. Numerical experiments confirm the theoretical findings and illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.


Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Policy of Community Economic Building Movement in East Flores Regency.
Research methodology: The research method used in this research is a descriptive research method with a qualitative approach.
Results: The findings in this study are that there are many deficiencies in terms of both content of policy and policy implementation.
Limitations: this research only discusses and evaluates the policies of community economic development movements in the East Flores district.
Contribution: This research becomes scientific information for public administration science.
Keywords: Evaluation, Empowerment


ABSTRACT Lower Ordovician cyclic carbonate strata of southern Missouri were deposited in a warm, shallow, epeiric sea on a fully aggraded carbonate platform. Sedimentological characteristics distinguish the Jefferson City and Cotter dolomites from the underlying Gasconade and Roubidoux formations. Mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sedimentation characterizes the Roubidoux Formation, with sandstones accounting for up to 60% of sedimentation. The Gasconade, Jefferson City, and Cotter dolomites exhibit an increased occurrence of chalcedonic chert nodules in very similar shape and texture to the gypsum and anhydrite nodules common on modern sabkha supratidal flats. Casts of halite and ghosts of gypsum laths also exist in the Jefferson City and Cotter strata but are rarely found in the underlying units. Facies analysis from drill cores and outcrop sections provides the basis for identifying two major meter-scale cycle types. Type I cycles consist of algal stromatolites, tidal-flat laminites (mechanical and algal), ooid grainstones, wavy peloidal wackestones, and quartz sandstones interpreted as peritidal facies. They are the dominant components of the Roubidoux Formation, Jefferson City Dolomite, and Cotter Dolomite. Type II cycles consist mostly of subtidal facies such as strongly burrowed mudstone, thrombolite boundstone, and stromatolites. Type I cycles are thinner and represent highstand systems tracts, whereas the thicker type II cycles represent transgressive systems tracts and are dominant in the Gasconade Dolomite. The cycle stacking patterns, facies changes, and the intrabasinal correlatability of Fischer plots made from the widely spaced sections argue for a eustatic control on sea-level fluctuation on the platform. Interbasinal correlation with other North American basins is possible using biostratigraphic information and comparison of Fischer plots. Five Missouri sequences correlate with those described for other regions. The continent-wide uniformity in cycle stacking patterns indicates a primarily eustatic control on Lower Ordovician meter-scale cycle development. Regional tectonic and autocyclic controls probably account for general differences in sedimentation pattern among the correlated basins.


This paper examines imprisonment data from Victoria between 1860 and 1920 to gather insights into the variations in incidence of women being convicted by rural versus urban courts, including close focus on the difference in types of offences being committed in urban and rural locations. This paper also details women's mobility between both communities as well as change in their offending profiles based on their geographic locations. Our findings suggest that while the authorities were broadly most concerned with removing disorderly and vagrant women from both urban and rural streets, rural offending had its own characteristics that differentiate it from urban offending. Therefore, this demonstrates that when examining female offending, geographic location of an offender and offence must be taken into consideration.


Congenital Chagas disease acquired special importance in Chile after the certification of the control of Triatoma infestans and transmission by blood donors affected with Trypanosoma cruzi. In order to establish adequate protocols for intervention and control in infected mother-neonate pairs in endemic zones of Chagas disease, we present partial results (2005-2008) of a pilot project which is being carried out in the Province of Choapa, IV Region, Chile, whose objectives are: determine the current prevalence of the disease in pregnant women, estimate the incidence of vertical transmission of T. cruzi to newborns, determine the lineages of the parasite present in mothers who do and do not transmit the disease, determine the prevalence of Chagas disease in maternal grandmothers of neonates and study placental histopathology. Preliminary results indicated that in this study period, 3.7% of the women who gave birth in the Province have Chagas disease and 2.5% of their newborns were infected. The most frequent T. cruzi genotypes found in mothers studied during pregnancy were TCI and TCIId, either alone or in mixed infections. A high percentage (74.3%) of the grandmothers studied was infected with the parasite. In 29 placentas from mothers with Chagas disease we observed edema, necrosis, fibrinoid deposits and slight lymphoplasmocyte infiltration. In three placentas we found erythroblastosis and in one of them amastigote forms of T. cruzi; this was one of the cases of congenital infection. The evaluation of the diagnostic and control protocols generated will allow us to determine if it has been possible to modify the natural history of vertical transmission of T. cruzi in Chile.


The 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections took place in a very particular environment. Economic crisis, bailout packages, and austerity measures were central on the agenda in many Southern countries while open borders and intra-EU migration gained high salience elsewhere in the Union. A strong decline of political trust in European and national institutions was alarming. At the same time, the nomination and campaigning of " Spitzenkandidaten ", lead candidates of EP political groups for European Commission (EC) presidency, was meant to establish a new linkage between European Parliament elections and the (s)election of the president of the Commission. All of this might have changed the very nature of EP elections as second-order national elections. In this paper, we try to shed light on this by analysing aggregate election results, both at the country-level and at the party-level and compare them with the results of the preceding first-order national election in each EU member country. Our results suggest that the ongoing politicisation of EU politics had little impact on the second-order nature of European Parliament elections.


Courts view "data structures," the mechanism by which computers store data in meaningful relationships, differently than do computer scientists. While computer scientists recognize that data structures have aspects that are both physical (how they are stored in memory) and logical (the relationships among the stored information), the Federal Circuit, in its attempts to set clear standards of the scope of patentability of data structures, has not fully appreciated their dualistic nature. This i-brief explains what data structures are, explores how courts have wrestled with setting a limiting principle to determine their patentability, and discusses the resultant impact on claim drafting.


Twenty-six sedentary, college-aged females were matched and randomly assigned to one of two groups. The massed group («=13) completed 15 maximal isometric elbow flexion strength trials in one session, while the distributed group («=13) performed five such contractions on three successive days. After a two-week and three month rest interval, both groups returned to perform another five maximal isometric elbow flexion strength trials to assess retention of any potential strength gains. Elbow flexion torque and surface electromyography (SEMG) of the biceps and triceps were monitored concurrently. There was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in strength in both groups from block one (first five contractions) to block four (first retest) and from block one to block five (second retest). Both groups exhibited a similar linear increasing (P < 0.05) trend in biceps root-mean-square (RMS) SEMG amplitude. A significant (P < 0.05) decrease in triceps RMS SEMG amplitude was found between block one and block four for the distributed group. However, a significant (P < 0.05) increase was then found between block one and five for the massed group, and between blocks four and five for distributed group. These results suggest that there is flexibility in resistive exercise schedules. An increase in neural drive to the agonist muscle continued throughout testing. This was accompanied by a reduction in antagonist co activation that was a short-term (two weeks) training effect, dissipated over the longer rest interval (three months).


The ability to form time-based event expectancies is one of the most important determinants of anticipative behavior. The aim of the present study was to determine whether healthy aging influences the formation of time-based event expectancies. Ten older adults with ages ranging between 60 and 73 years and ten younger adults with ages ranging between 20 and 32 years participated. We employed a binary choice response task mimicking a computer game, in which two target stimuli and two pre-target intervals appeared overall equally often. One of the targets was paired with the short interval and the other target with the long interval in 80% of the trials. Our results showed that younger adults responded more rapidly to frequent interval–target combinations than to infrequent combinations, suggesting that the young participants formed time-based event expectancies. In contrast, the ability to form time-based event expectancies was reduced for older participants. The formation of time-based event expectancies seems to change during healthy aging. We propose that this age-related difference is due to age-related expectation deficits or a reduction of attentional capacities, rather than to deficits in timing abilities.


We discuss remote terrestrial influences on boundary layer air over the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, and the mechanisms by which they arise, using atmospheric radon observations as a proxy. Our primary motivation was to enhance the scientific community's ability to understand and quantify the potential effects of pollution, nutrient or pollen transport from distant land masses to these remote, sparsely-instrumented regions. Seasonal radon characteristics are discussed at 6 stations (Macquarie Island, King Sejong, Neumayer, Dumont d'Urville, Jang Bogo and Dome Concordia) using 1-4 years of continuous observations. Context is provided for differences observed between these sites by Southern Ocean radon transects between 45-67S made by the Research Vessel Investigator. Synoptic transport of continental air within the marine boundary layer (MBL) dominated radon seasonal cycles in the mid-Southern Ocean site (Macquarie Island). MBL synoptic transport, tropospheric injection, and Antarctic outflow all contributed to the seasonal cycle at the sub-Antarctic site (King Sejong). Tropospheric subsidence and injection events delivered terrestrially-influenced air to the Southern Ocean MBL in the vicinity of the circumpolar trough (or "Polar Front"). Katabatic outflow events from Antarctica were observed to modify trace gas and aerosol characteristics of the MBL 100-200 km off the coast. Radon seasonal cycles at coastal Antarctic sites were dominated by a combination of local radon sources in summer and subsidence of terrestrially-influenced tropospheric air, whereas those on the Antarctic Plateau were primarily controlled by tropospheric subsidence. Separate characterisation of long-term marine and katabatic flow air masses at Dumont d'Urville revealed monthly mean differences in summer of up to 5 ppbv in ozone and 0.3 ng m-3 in gaseous elemental mercury. These differences were largely attributed to chemical processes on the Antarctic Plateau. A comparison of our observations with some Antarctic radon simulations by global climate models over the past two decades indicated that: (i) some models overestimate synoptic transport to Antarctica in the MBL, (ii) the seasonality of the Antarctic ice sheet needs to be better represented in models, (iii) coastal Antarctic radon sources need to be taken into account, and (iv) the underestimation of radon in subsiding tropospheric air needs to be investigated.


This paper contributes to our understanding of the determinants of price responses to inclusion in the S&P 500 by providing evidence consistent with capital gains tax planning impacting stock reactions. Tests are conducted on 426 additions from 1978-1999. We regress the returns on the first trading day following announcement on a capital gains tax measure and controls. The evidence is consistent with the share prices of appreciated firms being temporarily bid up to compensate individual shareholders for any unanticipated capital gains taxes triggered when they sell to index funds and the share prices of depreciated firms being temporarily diminished when individual shareholders sell because buyers and sellers share the tax savings associated with deductible capital losses. We infer from these findings that in rebalancing their portfolios after S&P 500 additions, index funds share individual shareholders' capital gains taxes (or tax savings) through sales price adjustments. Consistent with temporary price pressure, further analysis shows that much of the price reaction unwinds over the following week's trading. Finding that personal capital gains taxes affect stock returns in a setting that does not bias toward taxes mattering suggests that capital gains tax capitalization may be a pervasive feature in equity valuation.


Abstract The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is an economically important gamebird that is currently undergoing widespread population declines. Despite considerable research on the population ecology of bobwhites, there have been few attempts to model population dynamics of bobwhites to determine the contributions of different demographic parameters to variance of the finite rate of population change (λ). We conducted a literature review and compiled 405 estimates of 9 demographic parameters from 49 field studies of bobwhites. To identify demographic parameters that might be important for management, we used life-stage simulation analyses (LSA) to examine sensitivity of λ to simulated variation in 9 demographic parameters for female bobwhites. In a baseline LSA based on uniform distributions bounded by the range of estimates for each demographic parameter, bobwhite populations were predicted to decline (λ = 0.56) and winter survival of adults made the greatest contribution to variance of λ (r2 = 0.453), followed by summer survival of adults (r2 = 0.163), and survival of chicks (r2 = 0.120). Population change was not sensitive to total clutch laid, nest survival, egg hatchability, or 3 parameters associated with the number of nesting attempts (r2 <0.06). Our conclusions were robust to alternative simulation scenarios, and parameter rankings changed only if we adjusted the lower bounds of winter survival upwards. Bobwhite populations were not viable with survival rates reported from most field studies. Survival rates may be depressed below sustainable levels by environmental conditions or possibly by impacts of capture and telemetry methods. Overall, our simulation results indicate that management practices that improve seasonal survival rates will have the greatest potential benefit for recovery of declining populations of bobwhites.


Supplement unbalanced 421 Chris O Jackson Religion as a competing interest 421 Jon Clarke Statements of competing interest notably absent 422 Ross B Holland Gratuitous and without scientific substance 422 Lahn D Straney Seeking clarification 422 Tom Huang Religious affiliation and life expectancy at birth 423 Robert F Grace Spirituality and health 423 Hosen Kiat, Marek Jantos 424 Martin B Van Der Weyden


A generative sound installation for Dublin Culture Night 2011, commissioned by the Contemporary Music Centre as part of a programme of events to mark their 25th anniversary. The piece was installed in the stairwell of the Contemporary Music Centre's building in Fishamble Street, Dublin, next to the former site of the Fishamble Street Music Hall where Handel's Messiah received its premiere in 1742. The piece's programmatic concept traces a connection between Handel's visit and the boom-time milieu of Georgian Dublin and the subsequent history of the built environment left over from this boom. The city underwent a massive expansion of population and economic development during this period, followed by over a century of dramatic decline, with impressive eighteenth-century townhouses becoming subdivided into tenement flats which became some of the worst slums in Western Europe. The microtonal structures generated by the piece's processes thus possess a metaphorical connection with this long, slow collapse, with the impressive edifice of eighteenth-century harmony undergoing a process of microtonal subdivision. The sonic material for the piece is derived from a cadential sample from the 1916 Edison recording of the 'Hallelujah Chorus' in Messiah was spectrally processed and underwent a simple cyclical process in the Max environment (Cycling 74) whereby 27 instances of the recording were offset in pitch and time modulating upwards by a major third and downwards by a perfect fourth (themselves prominent intervals in the piece's figuration), creating a dense 'collapsing' peal of bell-like microtonal materials descending at the start of the piece, followed by repeated cadential phrases which are microtonally offset through this process of repeated modulation. The process proceeds for up to a maximum of 1742 seconds before repeating (although this is determined by the specification of the piece, not by the materials coming back into their initial alignment).


The effect of humidification of the air on the performance of a compression ignition engine operating on diesel, biodiesel with nano additives was investigated. The experiment was carried out on a single-cylinder, four-stroke, naturally aspirated water-cooled, direct injection Ricardo (E6/US) diesel engine at a constant speed of 1800 rpm, and varying loads. A mixture of Biodiesel (waste cooking oil) and diesel fuel by four ratios (B5, B10, B15, and B20) was used in the experiment. Besides, five concentrations of Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3, with particle size 20 nm) as fuel-additives were prepared (10 ppm, 30 ppm, 50 ppm, 70 ppm, and 100 ppm), and added to the test fuels (Bio-Diesel).  Taguchi Method by DOE was used for the optimization in this investigation. The results of Taguchi Method experiments identified the biodiesel (B20), nano additive (100 ppm), relative humidity (65%). The experimental results manifested that BTE improved by 17.62% and BSFC decreased by 12.72%, while NOx and PM reduced by 8.45%, 24.17%, respectively.


Iraq recovered its full sovereignty at the end of 2011, with the departure of all US military forces. The 2003 invasion was undertaken to dismantle a regime that had long threatened its own population and regional peace, as well as to establish a stable, democratic state in the heart of the Middle East. This Adelphi looks at the legacy of that intervention and subsequent state-building efforts. It analyses the evolution of the insurgency, the descent into full-scale civil war and the implementation of the 'surge' as a counterinsurgency strategy. It goes on to examine US and Iraqi efforts to reconstruct the state's military and civilian capacity. By developing a clear understanding of the current situation in Iraq, this book seeks to answer three questions that are central to the country's future. Will it continue to suffer high levels of violence or even slide back into a vicious civil war? Will Iraq continue on a democratic path, as exemplified by the three competitive national elections held since 2005? And does the new Iraq pose a threat to its neighbours?


OBJECTIVES
The toxic cyanobacteria are a serious problem for water supply systems, recreation, and agriculture. Cyanobacteria produce numerous bioactive compounds including microcystins - the most studied cyanobacterial hepatotoxins. Only rare studies addressed realistic situation, i.e. impact of MCs accumulated in the fish tissues on the overall physiology. The aim of the present study was to provide a model simulation of the simple food chain for evaluation of impacts of cyanobacteria on the rat physiology under different exposure scenario.

METHODS
Experimental rats were fed with food with fish meat, which contained external additions of isolated microcystins as well as toxic cyanobacteria Microcystis, nontoxic cyanobacteria Arthrospira and green alga Chlorella. Subgroups of the animals were also challenged with a model antigen KLH to investigated immune-related parameters. We studied parameters of oxidative stress in the liver as levels of lipid peroxidation and glutathion levels. Series of hematological, biochemical and immunological parameters were also investigated.

RESULTS
Although considerable amounts of microcystins were administered to rats, all levels of MCs were under the detection limit (1 ng/g fresh weight) in the rat tissues using tandem LC/MS. Only some conjugates of microcystins with cystein and glutathion were detected in the rat liver exposed to Microcystis biomass (values were around the detection limit). Statistically significant depletion of body and liver weight was observed in groups with microcystin addition in comparison with all other groups. Rats exposed to MCs had stimulated immune system (showed higher antibody answer on administered antigen). Also modulation of some lymphocyte subpopulations was recorded with the most interesting observation of stimulated NK cell numbers in groups exposed to isolated toxins (but not to biomass containing the same toxin amount).

CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrates that oral exposure to microcystins in the diet may induce some detoxification responses and modulation of some hematological and immunological parameters.


Research is the backbone of any subject field, not just required to be undertaken for its survival and sustenance but also for the furtherance of subject scope. Most of the research activities undertaken at any level are aimed towards the welfare and betterment of living being and humans being the first consideration. Medical research has always been the supreme fantasy of humans as it has got direct bearing upon human health and longevity of life. In the present study attempt has been made to have an analysis of medical literature produced in four most primer medical and research institutions of India. To undertake the study, data was retrieved from Web of Science, Thomson Reuters on November 08, 2012 and the analysis is being undertaken on those publications only identified on this particular databank. The study is undertaken with the view to assess the general publication trend of medical sciences in India by undertaking four primer medical institutions under study. Study of the related literature has also been undertaken so as to develop better understanding of the concept and thereby help in the furtherance of its scope.


A 21-year-old female presented to a chiropractic clinic with chronic neck and headache pain. She had an osseous torticollis and abnormal range of neck motion on rotation to the left. Radiographic examination revealed a unilateral paracondylar process of the occiput fusing to the lateral transverse process of the atlas. A paracondylar process is classified as an occipital vertebra. It is an enlarged bony process of the cranial base which projects caudally towards the transverse process of the atlas. She was treated with spinal manipulation below the level of fusion which resulted in a marked decrease in headache and neck pain. The embryology, frequency, radiographic appearance and clinical implications of a paracondylar process are discussed in this paper.


Retinal vascular hyperpermeability causes macular edema, leading to visual deterioration in retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and retinal vascular occlusion. Dysregulation of junction integrity between endothelial cells by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was shown to cause retinal vascular hyperpermeability. Accordingly, anti-VEGF agents have been used to treat retinal vascular hyperpermeability. However, they can confer potential toxicity through their deleterious effects on maintenance and survival of neuronal and endothelial cells in the retina. Thus, it is important to identify novel therapeutic targets for retinal vascular hyperpermeability other than VEGF. Here, we prepared murine retinas showing VEGF-induced vascular leakage from superficial retinal vascular plexus and prevention of VEGF-induced leakage by anti-VEGF antibody treatment. We then performed comprehensive proteome profiling of these samples and identified retinal proteins for which abundances were differentially expressed by VEGF, but such alterations were inhibited by anti-VEGF antibody. Functional enrichment and network analyses of these proteins revealed the β2 integrin pathway, which can prevent dysregulation of junction integrity between endothelial cells through cytoskeletal rearrangement, as a potential therapeutic target for retinal vascular hyperpermeability. Finally, we experimentally demonstrated that inhibition of the β2 integrin pathway salvaged VEGF-induced retinal vascular hyperpermeability, supporting its validity as an alternative therapeutic target to anti-VEGF agents.


ABSTRACT This article examines separation movements in Britain's Australasian colonies during the first decade of responsible government, 1856–65. Separation movements sought to carve new colonies from the territory of existing ones or, in the case of a number of New Zealand movements, to create new provinces within that colony's quasi-federal system. Their demands rested upon assertions that a colonial or provincial government neglected large and prosperous hinterlands from which considerable revenue was collected. Only one colonial separation movement achieved its goal, but four provinces succeeded. I argue that responsible government played a major role in the success or failure of these movements. Responsibility concentrated authority in a remote capital; colonial separatists desired to exercise this privilege within a smaller new colony that they controlled, but its operation within the larger existing colony provided London with justification to reject most appeals. Further, it allowed New Zealand's parliament to frame a mechanism that enabled discontented regions to become provinces without referral to local or imperial legislatures. Thus, I provide new insights into the formation of colonial polities and the influence of responsible government on settler political campaigns.


Barrios-Johana Londoño 2020-08-10 In Abstract Barrios Johana Londoño examines how Latinized urban landscapes are made palatable for white Americans. Such Latinized urban landscapes, she observes, especially appear when whites feel threatened by concentrations of Latinx populations, commonly known as barrios. Drawing on archival research, interviews, and visual analysis of barrio built environments, Londoño shows how over the past seventy years urban planners, architects, designers, policy makers, business owners, and other brokers took abstracted elements from barrio design—such as spatial layouts or bright colors—to safely "Latinize" cities and manage a long-standing urban crisis of Latinx belonging. The built environments that resulted ranged from idealized notions of authentic Puerto Rican culture in the interior design of New York City's public housing in the 1950s, which sought to diminish concerns over Puerto Rican settlement, to the Fiesta Marketplace in downtown Santa Ana, California, built to counteract white flight in the 1980s. Ultimately, Londoño demonstrates that abstracted barrio culture and aesthetics sustain the economic and cultural viability of normalized, white, and middle-class urban spaces. DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Spain-


Active intelligent walkers (i-walkers) are promising to provide stable and efficient motion to people with walking disabilities. There are three focuses in this thesis: system modelling, controller design, and instrumentation of an active type i-walker system considering interaction with human user as well. Two different control oriented system models and one high-fidelity model are proposed. All system models are designed as having two-body kinematics and consider the physical human-walker interaction (pHWI) based on the user gait dynamics and characteristics. The two-body kinematics of the systems define the relative motion of the user body with the i-walker. The dynamic models of control oriented systems are developed as single-body i-walker dynamics with human effect. These single-body models are classified as symmetric vs. asymmetric, and designed considering the vertical force components of pHWI on the i-walker. The symmetric model is developed for the center of gravity (CG) displacement of the i-walker human system only along the symmetric axis. The asymmetric model is more comprehensive than the symmetric one including the lateral CG displacement as well. The high-fidelity model considers the effect of human user as a separate dynamic body and covers the horizontal and vertical force components of pHWI during walking. Different control schemes are designed for each of the models with singlebody dynamics, demonstrating the characteristics and efficiency of each model. All of these control designs are based on the same inverse kinematic controller, which utilizes two-body kinematic model and provides the desired i-walker velocities regarding the user motion intention. Each of the aforementioned dynamic controllers is designed to generate the torques required to track these desired velocities. Two different dynamic control schemes are proposed for dynamic controller: Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) and sliding mode controllers. The designed controllers are simulation tested in MATLAB/Simulink for the control oriented models. The asymmetric model parameters are also set for two different type of users with symmetric and asymmetric gait patterns, respectively. Finally, instrumentation of i-walkers for implementing the designed controllers is discussed, including presentation of a new human motion detection technique involving laser range finder (LRF) and encoders, and instrumentation is performed regarding the designed controllers.


Mary McAuley is the author of several books on the Soviet Union. In particular, she has written about rights protection. Her new book Children in Prison , published in March 2008, deals with the problem of juveniles in conflict with the law, past and present. The book has the same title as a series of edited volumes published by the Moscow Center for Prison Reform. Like that series, the book includes extensive quotes from inmates. The author addresses her book to those who decide on the future of the institutions that deal with juveniles in conflict with the law. The aim of the book is to persuade them of the need to reform the juvenile justice and penal systems. McAuley's view on the problem of juvenile justice is informed by her previous research and her conviction that individuals play a significant role in history. She remains faithful to the historical method employed in her earlier work and adopts an interdisciplinary and participatory approach. This makes it all the more difficult for me to agree with her surprising conclusions.


In this work, it is demonstrated that capping with trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) induces a ferromagnetic response in free-standing ZnO nanoparticles upon calcination without the necessity of metallic doping. Samples were synthesized by precipitation of zinc acetate solutions in a basic medium followed by capping with TOPO and heat treatment in static aerobic conditions. Nanoparticles show a wurtzite-type structure with an average size of 14 nm, and magnetization measurements evidence a spontaneous magnetic moment at room temperature for calcined nanoparticles, in contrast with the diamagnetic response observed in non-calcined TOPO-capped nanoparticles. Giving the absence of any magnetic impurity or metal dopant that could account for the total magnetization, it is proposed that the magnetism would be consistent with a charge transfer mechanism promoted by a phosphorous doping upon calcination of TOPO over the nanoparticles. This situation leads to a spontaneous magnetic moment by the local fulfillment of Stoner's criterion for ferromagnetism at the nanoparticles surface.


The route planning problem for an order in freight transportation involves the selection of the best route for its transportation given a set of options that the network can offer. In its adaptive (or dynamic) version, the problem deals with the planning of a new route for an order while it is actually in transit typically because part or all of its pre-selected route is blocked or disrupted. In the intelligent product approach we are proposing, an order would be capable of identifying and evaluating such new routes in an automated manner and choosing the most preferable one without the intervention of humans. Because such approaches seek to mirror (and then automate) human decision making, in this paper we seek to identify new ways for dynamic route planning in industrial logistics inspired by the way people make similar decisions about their journey when they travel in multi-modal networks. We propose a new simulation game as a methodological tool for capturing their travel behaviour and we use it in this study. The results show that a simulation game can be used for capturing strategies and tactics of travellers and that intelligent products can provide a proper platform for the usage of such strategies in freight logistics.


Contrary to the conventional method of disturbance observers (DOB) where Q-filter is designed to be a low-pass filter with unity DC gain, the optimal H1 method has been proposed to design the Q-filter and applied in the servo control system of hard disk drives in track following. Simulation and implementation results have shown that the resultant H1 DOB improves low-frequency disturbance attenuation without compromising the disturbances attenuation performance at higher frequency region achieved by the nominal feedback controller. In terms of track-following precision, the proposed method is approximately 5% more accurate than the conventional method.


An emerging trend in the building services industry is the installation of passive deaerators on the flow line of domestic wet central heating systems. To date, no data and theoretical models predicting the two-phase flow characteristics in domestic wet central heating systems are available in the open literature. This gap in literature has prevented essential design improvements to passive deaerators thus impeding the efficiency enhancement of such devices.
Hence, the current study is aimed at assisting designers of deaeration devices by providing fundamental data and model correlations with respect to the two-phase flow characteristics typical in a wet domestic central heating system.
For this purpose an experimental research project was adopted and several studies were carried out, including; (1) a comprehensive review to understand the background of the phenomena, (2) the design and construction of an experimental test rig to conduct the necessary investigations into the phenomenon of two-phase flow in domestic wet central heating systems, (3) the development of a reliable image capture and analysis technique, (4) the completion of a number of experiments to investigate typical bubble sizes, volumetric void fractions, bubble distributions and nucleation and dissolution rates and (5) the correlation of the data gathered as part of the present study with existing bubble size, nucleation and dissolution prediction models.
This research has, for the first time, provided an in depth analysis into two-phase flow characteristics in wet domestic central heating systems through the use of a high speed camera and image analysis techniques. The two-phase phenomenon finds its origins in high dissolved gas concentrations present in the water flowing through the closed loop system, thus resulting in super saturation conditions at the primary heat exchange wall conditions. Bubble sizes at the boiler flow line were found to be dependent on the bulk fluid velocity, heat flux and pressure, with a measured mean diameter in the range of 0.13 mm to 0.39 mm. The Winterton (1972a) force balance model for bubble size prediction was in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. This model was further improved through the correlation of our data with the inclusion of dimensionless groups. Bubble nucleation rates have been calculated in the range of 0.3 to 4 bubbles / cm2 s with total system bubble production rates measured in the range of 784 to 6920 bubbles per second. Bubble nucleation rates have been calculated through the consideration of the heat exchanger surface under super saturation conditions. A correlation for the model by Hepworth et al. (2003) for non-classical heterogeneous nucleation is proposed based on the experimental data gathered during the present study.
Experimental results have shown dissolution rates for the bubble size ratio in the range of 0.4 to 12 % per second with system conditions. A modification of the model developed by Epstein and Plesset (1950) for stationary bubble dissolution is proposed with the inclusion of the Sherwood number to capture the effects of turbulent diffusion. The volumetric void fraction distribution in vertical pipes was found to be quasi-homogenous across the pipe section while being strongly dependent on gravitational and turbulence effects in horizontal pipe bubbly flow. A CFD simulation predicted the volumetric void fraction distribution with reasonable accuracy.


Abstract Background Monocyte dysfunction may persist during antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods Frozen peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 30 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected ART-treated adults with sustained viral suppression and CD4 counts ≥500 cells/µL were consecutively analyzed for monocyte phenotypes and function. Results Nonclassical monocytes (CD14+, CD16++), interleukin (IL)-1β production, and expression of CD40 and CD86 were lower among ART-treated HIV-infected adults relative to age-matched HIV-negative adults (P = .01, P = .01, and P = .02, respectively). Intestinal fatty acid-binding protein, IL6, and soluble CD14 were higher among HIV-infected adults relative to HIV-negative adults (P = .0002, P = .04, and P = .0017, respectively). Conclusions Further investigation is required to understand drivers of persistent monocyte activation and dysfunction.


Standard migration images can suffer from (1) migration artifacts caused by an undersampled acquisition geometry, (2) poor resolution resulting from a limited recording aperture, (3) ringing artifacts caused by ripples in the source wavelet, and (4) weak amplitudes resulting from geometric spreading, attenuation, and defocusing. These problems can be remedied in part by least-squares migration (LSM), also known as linearized seismic inversion or migration deconvolution (MD), which aims to linearly invert seismic data for the reflectivity distribution. Given a sufficiently accurate migration velocity model, LSM can mitigate many of the above problems and can produce more resolved migration images, sometimes with more than twice the spatial resolution of standard migration. However, LSM faces two challenges: The computational cost can be an order of magnitude higher than that of standard migration, and the resulting image quality can fail to improve for migration velocity errors of about 5% or more. It is possible to obtain the most from least-squares migration by reducing the cost and velocity sensitivity of LSM.


Lumped parameter differential equation models are a common approach to modeling the cardiovascular system. However, there are highly non-linear valve dynamics inherent in these models which makes parameter identification difficult. Standard methods for parameter identification rely on gradient descent, which can often converge to wrong solutions, particularly as the number of parameters increases. This paper presents a new concept of parameter identification, applied to a 2 chamber model of the left ventricle systemic system. The changes in the parameters are treated as an actuation force into a feed back control system, where the reference output is taken to be steady state values of measured volume and pressure. The major advantage of the method is that when it converges, it must be at the global minimum, so that the correct solution is always found. The method is validated in both simulation and on a porcine model of pulmonary embolism. Very accurate matches to clinically measured left ventricle volume/pressure and aortic pressure waveforms are achieved, and the method gives considerable flexibility in capturing any required geometrical feature in the waveforms.


Embodiment is used to denote the sense that something is a part of one's body. The sense of own body is argued to relate to the sense of agency of one's own actions and of the ownership of the body. In this sense of own body can incorporate something external to the body, such as simple tools or virtual hands. The premise of the study is that the player-characters and game controllers get embodied in a similar to a tool or a virtual hand. In order to study embodiment, a psychometric scale is developed using explorative factor analysis (n=104). The scale is evaluated with two sets of data (n=103 and n=89) using confirmatory factor analysis. The embodiment scale ended to having two dimensions: controller ownership and player-character embodiment. Finally, the embodiment scale is tested and put into action in two studies with hypotheses 1) embodiment and players' skills correlate and 2) the sense of presence and embodiment correlate. The data (n=37 and n=31) analysed using mixed effects models support both hypotheses.


Achilles tendon rupture (ATR) has a long healing period, which is challenging for patients and clinicians. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous concentration of platelets thought to improve tendon function recovery. Although preliminary research has indicated positive effects, there is, as yet, no evidence of clinical efficacy from adequately powered robust clinical trials.

 The objectives were to determine the clinical efficacy of PRP in patients with acute ATR using an objective mechanical muscle–tendon function measure and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and to determine which PRP components contribute to its mechanism.

 This was a multicentre, parallel-group, participant- and outcome assessor-blinded randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing PRP with placebo. Two embedded substudies investigated the PRP's quality and composition and its effects on healing tendon tissues.

 This trial was set in trauma and orthopaedic surgery departments in 19 NHS hospitals in England and Wales.

 Adults with acute ATR presenting within 12 days of injury to be treated non-surgically were eligible. Patients with platelet dysfunction or leg functional deficiency were excluded.

 Participants were randomised 1 : 1 to the PRP injection group or the placebo group (dry needle in the rupture gap) by central computer-based randomisation using minimisation, stratified by centre and age.

 The primary outcome measure was the Limb Symmetry Index (LSI) of work during the heel-rise endurance test at 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes measures, collected at 4, 7, 13 and 24 weeks, were repetitions, maximum heel-rise height, Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS), quality of life (as measured using the Short Form questionnaire-12 items version 2), pain and participant goal attainment. Needle biopsies of the affected tendon zone were taken under ultrasound guidance at 6 weeks from 16 participants from one centre. Whole blood was analysed for cell count. PRP was analysed for cell count, platelet activation and growth factor concentration. The primary analysis was intention to treat.

 A total of 230 participants were randomised: 114 to the PRP group (103 treated) and 116 to the placebo group (all treated). One participant withdrew after randomisation but before the intervention. At 24 weeks, 201 out of 230 participants (87.4%) completed the primary outcome and 216 out of 230 participants (93.9%) completed the PROMs. The treatment groups had similar participant characteristics. At 24 weeks, there was no difference in work LSI (mean difference –3.872; 95% confidence interval –10.454 to 2.710; p = 0.231), ATRS, pain or goal attainment between PRP- and placebo-injected participants. There were no differences between the groups in any PROM at any time point or in complication rates, including re-rupture and deep-vein thrombosis. There was no correlation between work LSI and platelet activation in PRP, or erythrocyte, leucocyte or platelet counts in whole blood or PRP. Biopsies showed similar cellularity and vascularity between groups.

 This trial design and standardised PRP preparation gives the first robust RCT evidence about PRP's role in managing ATR, which suggests that PRP offers no patient benefit. Equally robust evidence to investigate PRP application in tendon and soft tissue injuries is required. The 24-month follow-up will be completed in April 2020.

 Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN54992179.

 This project was funded by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme, a Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) partnership. The trial was supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, and the NIHR Fellowship programme.


This paper argues that the unprecedented socioeconomic rise of African Americans at mid-century is causally related to the labor shortages induced by WWII. Results from combining novel military and Census data in a di erence-in-differences setting show that counties with an average casualty rate among semi-skilled whites experienced a 13 to 16% increase in the share of blacks in semi-skilled jobs. The casualty rate also has a significant reduced form effect on cross-state migration, wages, home ownership, house value, and education for blacks. Using survey data from 1961, IV regression results indicate that the economic upgrade, which is instrumented with the semi-skilled white casualty rate, is also associated with an increase in social status. Both black and white individuals living in treated counties are more likely to have an interracial friendship, live in mixed-race neighborhoods, and to have reduced preferences for segregation


Climate control of nutricline depth in the equatorial Atlantic can be monitored by variations in the abundance of the phytoplankton species Florisphaera profunda. A conceptual model, based on in situ evidence, associates high abundances of F. profunda with a deep nutricline and low abundances with a shallow nutricline. A 200,000-year record of F. profunda relative abundances, obtained from a deep-sea core sited beneath the region of maximum equatorial divergence at 10�W, has 52 percent of its variance centered on the 23,000-year precessional band. Cross-spectral analysis between the signals of F. profunda and sea-surface temperature, independently derived from zooplankton species, shows their 23,000-year cycles to be coherent and nearly in phase. Abundance minima of F. profunda coincide with times of December perihelion, whereas abundance maxima coincide with June perihelion. These relations indicate that nutricline dynamics in the divergence region of the equatorial Atlantic are controlled by variations in the tropical easterlies, forced by the precessional component of orbital insolation, on time scales greater than 10,000 years.


Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is not uncommon in children. Prevalence of ACD was previously thought to be low in children and adolescents, but of late increased prevalence has been reported. Actual increase in the prevalence could be due to increased recognition of the disease or due to other factors such as changes in lifestyle. Various factors such as age, gender, atopy, social and cultural practices, habits of parents and caregivers, and geographical changes may influence the prevalence and pattern of ACD in children. It can significantly affect the quality of life among children. ACD can affect various sites, including hands, face, neck, axillae, trunk, anogenital region, thigh, feet, and others, depending on the site of exposure to allergen. Common allergens implicated in childhood ACD include nickel, cobalt, potassium dichromate, mercury, aluminium, skin care products, fragrances, neomycin, dyes, preservatives, rubber, and so on. Identification of the implicated allergen is vital as the patient may experience recurrent episodes of dermatitis in the absence of avoidance of allergen. Patch testing is by far the commonly used method of identification of the causative allergen. The only etiologic treatment is elimination of the contact allergen. The patients/parents should be informed about the identity of the offending agent and the possible sources of the sensitizer. Topical steroids used in the acute stage and topical calcineurin inhibitors along with oral H1-antihistamines to alleviate itching are the mainstay of treatment. In widespread and severe cases, systemic corticosteroids may be indicated for a short period of time. The prognosis of ACD is dependent on its cause and the feasibility of avoiding repeated or continued exposure to the causative allergen.


Intramuscular cysts at the proximal calf are rare; however, their etiology is diverse, making accurate diagnosis and treatment difficult. To our knowledge, there are no previous publications in literature about intramuscular cysts at the proximal calf, arising from different origins. This article describes two rare cases with intramuscular cysts. Case 1 was diagnosed as an intramuscular ganglion cyst arising from the proximal gastrocnemius medialis muscle, and arthroscopic examination as well as open cyst excision was performed. Case 2 was another type, which has never been reported in the literature. It was diagnosed as diffuse pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS), with the intramuscular cyst arising from PVNS, and only arthroscopic synovectomy was performed. The diagnoses for these cases were confirmed by histopathology. In addition, we have summarized intramuscular cysts at the proximal calf by a systematic literature review and divided them into five types based on their origin. The five types are, intramuscular cysts arising from the muscular tissue, knee joint, proximal tibiofibular joint, the neurilemma and PVNS. The treatment of intramuscular cysts varies based on their origin; hence, it is important to identify the origin. J Med Cases. 2018;9(2):45-51 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc2984w


A community in a network is a subset of vertices densely connected to each other, but less connected to the vertices outside. Many different approaches have been developed to find such structures in a given network, but the main drawback of most of the available algorithms is that they are computationally demanding and their complexity is usually an exponentially increasing function of the number of the vertices. Newman-Fast is a well-known community detection algorithm which is suitable for large networks due to its low computational cost. Although the performance of this algorithm is good for well structured networks, it does not perform well for more fuzzy-clustered networks. In this paper, we utilize a proper weighting scheme and an algorithm based on partial synchronization phenomenon as pre- and post-processing steps to improve the Newman-Fast algorithm. Furthermore, we evaluate the proposed method for both computer-generated and real-world networks. The results show that either both or one of the proposed steps enhance the performance of the Newman-Fast algorithm significantly while they impose little additional effort.


The overall aim of this thesis is to present a model for rational goal-setting and to illustrate how it can be applied in evaluations of public policies, in particular policies concerning sustainable development and environmental quality. The contents of the thesis are divided into two sections: a theoretical section (Papers I-IV) and an empirical section (Papers V-VII). Paper I identifies a set of rationality criteria for single goals and discusses them in relation to the typical function of goals. It is argued that goals are typically set to enhance goal achievement. A goal that successfully furthers its achievement is "achievement-inducing". It holds for each of the identified criteria that, ceteris paribus, improved satisfaction of a criterion makes a goal better in the achievement-inducing sense.Paper II contains an analysis of the notion of goal system coherence. It is argued that the coherence of a goal system is determined by the relations that hold among the goals in the system, in particular the relations of operationalization, means and ends, support, and conflict. Paper III investigates the rationality of utopian goals. The paper analyzes four arguments that support the normative criterion of attainability: that utopian goals are (1) too imprecise and (2) too far-reaching to guide action effectively, (3) counterproductive, and (4) morally objectionable. A tentative defence of utopian goal-setting is built on counter-arguments that can be put forward to weaken each of the four objections. Paper IV investigates the nature of self-defeating goals. The paper identifies three types of situations in which self-defeating mechanisms obstruct goal achievement: (1) situations in which the goal itself carries the seeds of its own non-fulfilment (self-defeating goals), (2) situations in which the activity of goal-setting contributes to goal failure (self-defeating goal-setting), and (3) situations in which disclosure of the goal interferes with progress (self-defeating goal disclosure). Paper V provides a brief description of the Swedish system of environmental objectives and a preliminary inventory of the management difficulties that attach to this goal system.Paper VI contains an investigation into the rationality of five Swedish environmental objectives through an application of the rationality criteria identified in Papers I-II. The paper identifies and discusses some difficulties that are associated with management by objectives and the use of goals in environmental policy. Paper VII analyses the rationality of the Swedish environmental quality objective A good built environment. Among the conclusions drawn in the paper are that some of the sub-goals to the objective are formulated in terms that are unnecessarily vague from an action-guiding standpoint and that others are problematic from the viewpoint of evaluability.


The fruits of knowledge - such as books, data, and ideas - tend to generate far more attention than the ways in which knowledge is produced and acquired. Correcting this imbalance, "Making Knowledge in Early Modern Europe" brings together a wide-ranging yet tightly integrated series of essays that explore how knowledge was obtained and demonstrated in Europe during an intellectually explosive four centuries, when standard methods of inquiry took shape across several fields of intellectual pursuit. Composed by scholars in disciplines ranging from the history of science to art history to religious studies, the pieces collected here look at the production and consumption of knowledge as a social process within many different communities. They focus, in particular, on how the methods employed by scientists and intellectuals came to interact with the practices of craftspeople and practitioners to create new ways of knowing. Examining the role of texts, reading habits, painting methods, and countless other forms of knowledge making, this volume brilliantly illuminates the myriad ways these processes affected and were affected by the period's monumental shifts in culture and learning.


Most literature suggests that at least half of those who engage in prostitution have a history of physical or sexual abuse. Individuals who have experienced trauma are constantly re-traumatized during their sex work. Standard procedures used in arrests of people engaging in prostitution can have profoundly triggering effects on individuals with histories of trauma. To reduce re-traumatization and promote rehabilitation, it is critical to create trauma-informed practices within law enforcement and the criminal justice system to better serve individuals arrested for prostitution. Specific trauma-informed training for law enforcement officers and legal counsel staff who work with people charged with prostitution can be created using components from several existing trauma-specific models which this paper will address in detail.


Objective To assess the morbidity associate with rectosigmoid resection (RSR) in patients with stage IIIC–IV ovarian cancer (OC) undergone primary debulking surgery (PDS) vs. interval debulking surgery (IDS) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Methods From the Oxford Advanced OC database, we retrieved all patients who underwent surgery between January 2009 and July 2016 and included all patients who underwent RSR. We compared the rates of overall related and not-related morbidity and bowel diversion in patients undergone RSR during PDS vs. IDS. Results Three hundred and seventy-one patients underwent surgery: 126 in PDS group and 245 in IDS group. Fifty-two patients in the PDS group (41.3%) and 65 patients in IDS group (26.5%) underwent RSR (p<0.001). Overall not related morbidity rate was 37.5% and 28.6%, p=0.625. Bowel specific complications affected 16.3% vs. 11.1% of the patients (p=0.577). IDS group had higher rate of bowel diversion compared with PDS (46.0% vs. 26.5%, p=0.048). Conclusion NACT was associated to an overall reduced rate of RSR compared to IDS. No differences in overall related and not-related complications in patients requiring RSR were seen between the 2 groups. Patients in the IDS group had a significantly higher rate of bowel diversion.


In the present study, the defluoridation capabilities and adsorption mechanisms of cryptocrystalline magnesite were evaluated. All experiments were done by batch procedure. Conditions assessed include time, dosage, concentration, pH and the effects of competing ions. Optimum defluoridation conditions were observed to be 20 g/L magnesite, 2:100 solid:liquid ratio, 20 min of agitation and 60 mg/L fluoride concentration. Adsorption of fluoride by magnesite was observed to be independent of pH. Cryptocrystalline magnesite showed >99% efficiency for fluoride removal. Adsorption kinetics fitted better to a pseudo-second order than a pseudo-first order thus confirming chemisorption. Adsorption data fitted better to a Langmuir than a Freundlich adsorption isotherm thus confirming monolayer adsorption. Cryptocrystalline magnesite successfully removed excess fluoride from aqueous solution to below Department of Water Affairs and Forestry water quality guidelines. As such, this material can be used for a point source defluoridation technique in rural areas and households in South Africa and other developing countries. Based on comparison studies, cryptocrystalline magnesite proved to have high adsorption capacity for fluoride removal and can be used as a substitute for conventional treatment methods.


This paper uses data from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) and the NBER TAXSIM model to estimate marginal and average tax rates for households that own businesses that are pass-thru entities. We examine how marginal and average tax rates vary by the size of business using four different measures of the size: net income, gross receipts, business value, and number oj employees. The analysis also uses the long-time series of SCF cross-sections to examine how tax rates for business owners have evolved over the various changes in tax policy of the last two decades.


Prediction of future economic behavior is increasingly important for both public and private economic planning. This prediction is, however, increasingly fraught with difficulties because of the uncertainty surrounding the future state of so many key economic parameters. In this paper we consider how stochastic programming may be a valuable tool in the analysis of these kinds of problems. Using the U.S. region of Alan Manne and Richard Richels Global 2100 five region world trade model and a set of eight future state-of-the-world scenarios, we observe how the development paths of several key variables predicted by stochastic programming differ in interesting ways from the paths predicted using deterministic methods. We conclude that the explicit way in which stochastic programming models uncertainty may prove useful to economic analysis efforts and provide additional insight into the nature of economic development in an uncertain environment.


Objective. To construct a Frailty Index (FI) as a measure of vulnerability to adverse outcomes among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), using data from the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) inception cohort. Methods. The SLICC inception cohort consists of recently diagnosed patients with SLE followed annually with clinical and laboratory assessments. For this analysis, the baseline visit was defined as the first study visit at which sufficient information was available for construction of an FI. Following a standard procedure, variables from the SLICC database were evaluated as potential health deficits. Selected health deficits were then used to generate a SLICC-FI. The prevalence of frailty in the baseline dataset was evaluated using established cutpoints for FI values. Results. The 1683 patients with SLE (92.1% of the overall cohort) eligible for inclusion in the baseline dataset were mostly female (89%) with mean (SD) age 35.7 (13.4) years and mean (SD) disease duration 18.8 (15.7) months at baseline. Of 222 variables, 48 met criteria for inclusion in the SLICC-FI. Mean (SD) SLICC-FI was 0.17 (0.08) with a range from 0 to 0.51. At baseline, 27.1% (95% CI 25.0–29.2) of patients were classified as frail, based on SLICC-FI values > 0.21. Conclusion. The SLICC inception cohort permits feasible construction of an FI for use in patients with SLE. Even in a relatively young cohort of patients with SLE, frailty was common. The SLICC-FI may be a useful tool for identifying patients with SLE who are most vulnerable to adverse outcomes, but validation of this index is required prior to its use.


An effective method for extracting parameters of a Debye or a Lorentzian dispersive medium over a wideband frequency range using a genetic algorithm (GA) and a transmission-line model is presented. Scattering parameters (S-parameters) of the transmission-line sections, including a parallel plate, microstrip, and stripline, are measured. Wave equations for TEM/quasi-TEM mode with a complex propagation constant and a frequency-dependent wave impedance are used to evaluate the corresponding S-parameters in an analytical model. The discrepancy between the modeled and measured S-parameters is defined as the objective function in the GA. The GA is used for search of the dispersive-medium parameters by means of minimizing the objective function over the entire frequency range of interest. The reconstructed Debye or Lorentzian dispersive material parameters are corroborated by comparing the original measurements with the FDTD modeling results. The self-consistency of the proposed method is demonstrated by constructing different test structures with an identical material, i.e., material parameters of a substrate extracted from different transmission-line configurations. The port effects on the material parameter extraction are examined by using through-reflection-line calibration.


The macrocyclic lactones enjoy a position of prominence in the control of parasites, and their history may be of interest, and even of use, in an age in which the search for chemotherapeutic agents has been transformed by modern technology. Much of their history has been recorded piecemeal in a wide variety of publications. The present review provides additional detail, and offers a personal perspective on the history of ivermectin and related avermectins. Brief notes are included on the subsequent development of other macrocyclic lactones. Milbemycin preceded the avermectins as a macrocyclic lactone of agricultural importance, but was used for a different purpose. Development of the avermectins arose from the isolation, in the laboratories of the Kitasato Institute, of a novel soil-dwelling bacterium and its transmittal (in 1974) to the laboratories of Merck & Co., Inc. There it was found (in 1975) to produce a potent anthelmintic substance, which was then identified and transmuted by interdisciplinary research into an antiparasitic product. Initially the focus was on its applicability to veterinary science and animal husbandry; and after developmental research by many scientific teams, the product was introduced commercially (in 1981) for the control of endoparasitic nematodes and ectoparasitic arthropods in livestock. Subsequently, special applications in human medicine were developed, and were successfully implemented in partnership with World Health Organization and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).


Digital media enable political actors to engage in strategic information curation. This study analyzes the linking practices of U.S. presidential candidates running in the 2016 election. Using exploratory data analysis and confirmatory tests of hyperlinked domains, we find that presidential candidates curate information flows that are distinct by party and even within party. Though candidates in both parties share a common set of links primarily via mainstream media outlets, Republican candidates also link to a set of news and information sites that their Democratic counterparts do not link to, and vice versa. Republican candidates have distinct hyperlinking practices during the surfacing and primary stages of the election cycle relative to other Republican candidates, suggesting that just as candidates differentiate themselves in terms of issue ownership, they also do so in terms of information ownership. Finally, the candidates use Twitter and Facebook differently in terms of the frequency of links and the diversity of those links.


Abstract: The vertebrate-fossil record in the Karoo Basin has served as the accepted model for how terrestrial ecosystems responded to the end-Permian extinction event. A database of several hundred specimens, placed into generalized stratigraphies, has formed the basis of a step-wise extinction scenario interpreted by other workers as spanning the upper Daptocephalus (=Dicynodon) to Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zones (AZ). Seventy-three percent of specimens used to construct the published model originate from three farms in the Free State: Bethel, Heldenmoed, and Donald 207 (Fairydale). The current contribution empirically tests: (1) the stratigraphic resolution of the vertebrate record on these farms; (2) whether a sharp boundary exists that delimits the vertebrate assemblage zones in these classic localities; and (3) if the Lystrosaurus AZ is of early Triassic age. We have used a multi-disciplinary approach, combining lithostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, vertebrate biostratigraphy, and palynology, to test these long-held assumptions. Previously reported vertebrate-collection sites have been physically placed into a litho- and magnetostratigraphic framework on the Bethel and Heldenmoed farms. The reported assemblage-zone boundary is used as the datum against which the stratigraphic position of vertebrates is compared and a preliminary magnetostratigraphy constructed. We find specimens of the Daptocephalus AZ originate in the Lystrosaurus AZ (as currently defined) and vice versa, and discrepancies between reported and field-checked stratigraphic positions below or above the assemblage-zone boundary often exceed 30 m. Hence, the utility of the data set in defining a sharp or abrupt biozone boundary is questionable. We further demonstrate the presence of a stratigraphically thick reverse polarity magnetozone that encompasses the reported assemblage-zone boundary, implying that these rocks are not correlative with the end-Permian event, which is reported to lie in a normal polarity chron. A latest Permian age is supported by palynological data from the Lystrosaurus AZ on the Donald 207 (Fairydale) farm, with equivalence to Australian (APP602) and Eastern Cape Province assemblages. We conclude that the turnover from the Daptocephalus to Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zones is more protracted than envisioned, it is not coincident with the end-Permian event as recognized in the marine realm, and little evidence exists in support of a three-phased extinction model based on vertebrate assemblages in the Karoo Basin.


Transformation under the reconfiguration of urban-rural relation in Liuzhou city has never been as radical and visible as it has been since the tremendous turn of the last century in China. Huanjiang village is located in Linhuashan Scenic Area in the middle east of Liuzhou city, with spectacular landscape and traditional features. Nowadays Huanjiang village has become a so-called "village in city", which is considered full of great potential for development because of the economic value of regional advantages during the urban sprawl. Communities of village found it difficult to acclimatize with the dramatic changes, which later led to numerous problems including ecological damage, unemployment of landless farmers and loss of traditional culture. Government has started up a series of renewal planings to resolve the problems, which are based on advanced technology and conform to sustainable and integrated strategies of city planning considering the original context and historical culture, superseding the traditional arrangements based on the guide of extensive economic growth. This paper aims to elaborate the context of Liuzhou city and Huanjiang village offered to both the traditional and sustainable planning approaches, in order to understand challenges and solutions of the rebuilding process. Through the analysis of the place relevant to architecture, society and culture, it will establish the corresponding systematic strategies. Considering the local features, it concludes with a comprehensive perspective on organic renewal in the case of Huanjiang village. Keywords—China, Liuzhou, sustainable strategy, urban renewal, village in city.


Following in the footsteps of similar initiatives at the boardroom level in Norway and other European countries, the French government decided to impose a gender quota in academic hiring committees in 2015. The goal of this paper is to evaluate how this reform changed the way women are ranked by these committees. The reform affected academic disciplines heterogeneously. I contrast the effect of the reform between fields that were significantly affected, and those that already respected the quota before the reform. Drawing on a unique dataset made up of administrative data provided by French universities, I show that the reform significantly worsened both the probability of being hired and the ranks of women, with a treatment effect equivalent to a 4 standard deviation drop in h-index. There is evidence that this is driven mainly by the reaction of men to the reform, since the negative effect of the reform is concentrated in committees that are helmed by men.


In the late-nineteenth century the regulation of food quality and safety experienced a clear turning point with the establishment of new sites for food controls, the emergence of new experts and the passing of food laws. One of the main changes in the regulation came with a reconceptualization of quality based on composition; a change which was in accordance with the standardizing trends then applied in each and every area of knowledge. In Spain, the Royal Academy of Medicine was one of the main authorities quoted in the search for  official definitions of edible foodstuffs and for standardized compositions. The paper will focus on the assessment activity fulfilled by the Royal Academy between 1877 and 1902. Taking into account four relevant controversies on food regulation (those dealing with foodstuffs such as oil, wine, saccharin and paprika) it shall address its contribution to the establishment of food quality standards. The paper shows that this task was carried out very poorly and discusses the different factors which can explain this type of contribution. In order to fulfil this latter discussion, the training as well as the social and political activities of the main academicians involved in food quality assessments (such as Gabriel de la Puerta, Angel Pulido, Juan Ramon Gomez Pamo, and Angel Fernandez-Caro) deserves special attention.


China's investments in the European Union are much lower than what you may expect given the economic size of both entities. These relatively low investments in Europe are a combination of priority and obstacles. The priority for investments is clearly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This regional pattern is heavily influenced by the need to solve the resource shortage in the medium and long term. The investments in Europe and the United States are mostly market seeking investments. Research specifically focused on Chinese M&A abroad comes to the same conclusion. The success rate of Chinese M&A abroad is much lower than what we see with respect to American or European investments abroad. In this paper, we examine why Chinese firms are facing more difficulties in the European Union than in other regions. The paper focuses on Chinese M&A as proxy for total foreign direct investments abroad. By looking at the factors that have been documented as influencing the level of M&A abroad, it becomes clear that Chinese firms in Europe are hindered by many factors. For example, the trade between China and the EU is relatively low, the institutional quality is lower compared to the United States, there is less experience with respect to Europe and relatively many deals relate to State Owned Enterprises (SOE) which makes the deal sensitive. So it is logical that Chinese investments are not very high in Europe. However, the research makes clear that the obstacles for Chinese investments in Europe are disappearing step by step. In that sense, we expect a strong increase of Chinese investments in Europe in the future.


In an era obsessed with celebrity and glamour, sophistication ranks among the most desirable of human qualities, but it was not always so. The word "sophistication" was once a negative term, meaning falsification, speciousness, perversion, or adulteration. Now, it positively glitters, carrying meanings of worldliness and refinement. Through a series of close readings of some of the essential texts of sophistication, Faye Hammill explores the developments in taste and ideology that account for this striking change. At the same time, Sophistication demonstrates that traces of older meanings linger—that hints of "sophistry" persist in even our most modern conceptions of the sophisticated. Spanning more than two centuries of "sophistication," this lively account features rereadings of canonical writers from the eighteenth century to the present, including Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Fanny Burney, Austen, James, Wharton, Fitzgerald, Nabokov, and Clyde Lampedusa. A complementary examination of lesser-known writers reveals that the development of modern sophistication is intimately connected with the evolution of middlebrow culture. From there, Hammill moves on to consider sophistication as expressed in contemporary magazines, films, and Web sites. Drawing on words and images from such diverse sources as Noel Coward, Vanity Fair, Sofia Coppola, and the New Yorker, Sophistication ultimately demonstrates that a preoccupation with—or a performance of—sophistication links unexpected works, disrupting the boundary between seriousness and frivolity.


ABSTRACT Beta defensins comprise a family of cationic, cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptides, predominantly expressed at epithelial surfaces. Previously we identified a unique five-cysteine defensin-related peptide (Defr1) that, when synthesized, is a mixture of dimeric isoforms and exhibits potent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here we report that Defr1 displays antimicrobial activity against an extended panel of multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogens for which antimicrobial treatment is limited or nonexistent. Defr1 fractions were collected by high-pressure liquid chromatography and analyzed by gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial activity was initially investigated with the type strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. All fractions tested displayed equivalent, potent antimicrobial activity levels comparable with that of the unfractionated Defr1. However, use of an oxidized, monomeric six-cysteine analogue (Defr1 Y5C), or of reduced Defr1, gave diminished antimicrobial activity. These results suggest that the covalent dimer structure of Defr1 is crucial to antimicrobial activity; this hypothesis was confirmed by investigation of a synthetic one-cysteine variant (Defr1-1cys). This gave an activity profile similar to that of synthetic Defr1 but only in an oxidized, dimeric form. Thus, we have shown that covalent, dimeric molecules based on the Defr1 β-defensin sequence demonstrate antimicrobial activity even in the absence of the canonical cysteine motif.


The purpose of this study is to analyze the valuation effects of cross-listing. The study has conducted a univariate analysis of the Tobin's Q and the market-to-book ratio for the period before and after the cross-listing by using paired tests. Non-cross-listed firms are then included in multivariate regressions by using pooled Time Series Cross Section (TSCS) and Panel Corrected Standard Error (PCSE) regressions for a period of 13 years to find out if there is a difference in the valuations between cross-listed firms and non-cross-listed firms. The study's results indicate that the Tobin's Q of cross-listed-firms increases two years prior to cross-listing and that it continues to increase two years after cross-listing. The market-to-book ratios also show an increase two years prior to cross-listing and up to one year after cross-listing, then decrease in the second year after cross-listing. When non-cross-listed firms are included in the analysis, results indicate that cross-listed firms are valued higher than non-cross-listed firms. When data are portioned for positive earnings per share (EPS) and dividends, results indicate that valuation is the highest when EPS is positive. Since segmentation theories cannot be ruled out, the study's findings are more in support of the growth opportunity hypothesis.


The Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean of ECLAC presents a set of basic statistics on the economic, sociodemographic and environmental situation of the region during a specific time period. This information is part of the statistics available in CEPALSTAT, the statistical databases and publications portal of ECLAC.
This edition of the Yearbook includes information available up to mid-December 2013. A new feature this year is the inclusion of regional profiles giving an overview of each area. These offer the reader a thematic regional snapshot with a selected set of indicators.


Several barrier types are envisaged to minimize the release of radionuclides from waste matrices into groundwater. In a number of countries argillaceous rocks make up the natural barrier that will isolate radioactive substances from the aquifer. The present study addresses the influence of pore geometry as a limiting factor for anion diffusion in argillaceous rocks. Irrespective of the pore core size, anion diffusion can be limited by the pore-size opening, i.e. if the pore opening is so narrow that the electric double layers overlap and form a barrier to anions irrespective of the pore size. This so-called 'bottleneck effect' limits the anion diffusion. The present study extends previous investigations that focused on other factors which limit anion diffusion, e.g. mineralogy or interlayer equivalent pores. The existence of bottleneck pores was confirmed by effective tortuosity calculations and retention-potential measurements using mercury intrusion porosimetry. On the basis of two different core samples from argillaceous rocks from Switzerland, Opalinus Clay and Helvetic Marl, this work shows evidence of the existence of bottleneck pores. The larger permanent anion exclusion in the Helvetic Marl sample compared to the Opalinus Clay sample can be explained by the larger retention potential and larger effective tortuosity of the Helvetic Marl rock, which indicates more pores with bottleneck effects than is the case for the Opalinus Clay rock.


A bi-lateral intercomparison of erythemal broadband radiometers was performed between seven UV calibration facilities. The calibrations provided by the instruments owners were compared relative to the characterisation and calibration performed at PMOD/WRC in Davos, Switzerland. The calibration consisted in the determination of the spectral and angular response of the radiometer, followed by an absolute calibration performed outdoors relative to a spectroradiometer which provided the absolute reference. The characterization of the detectors in the respective laboratories are in good agreement: The determinations of the angular responses have deviations below ±4% and the spectral responses agree within ±20%. A "blind" intercomparison of the erythemally weighted irradiances derived by the respective institutes and PMOD/WRC showed consistent measurements to within ±2% for the majority of institutes. One institute showed slightly larger deviation of 10%. The differences found between the different instrument calibrations are all within the combined uncertainty of the calibration.


Spontaneous heating leading to fire in coal mines is a major problem worldwide and has been a great concern both for the industry and researchers in this field. Majority of fires existing today in Indian coalfields are mainly due to spontaneous combustion of coal. The auto oxidation of coal ultimately leads to spontaneous combustion which is the major root cause for the disastrous of coal mine. It is a slow process and the heat evolved is carried away by air. This process of self heating of coal or other carbonaceous material resulting eventually in its ignition is termed as "spontaneous heating" or "auto oxidation". Coal can interact with oxygen in the air at ambient temperature liberating heat. If the heat is allowed to accumulate the interaction rate increases and may ultimately lead to fires known as spontaneous fires. The exact mechanism of the reaction of oxygen with coal is not completely understood as the chemical nature of coal is not yet fully established. So, determination of spontaneous heating liability of coal becomes an important criterion to predict the occurrence of spontaneous heating. Besides Protective measures to be employed may vary on numerous factors.


Upon contact with plasma or other protein-containing biological fluids, the surface of nanoparticles is immediately decorated with proteins forming a biologically active protein corona. The biological fates and functions of nanoparticles are determined by physiological responses toward these nanoparticle-protein corona complexes as the effective biological unit of nanoparticles. In this article, we review representative studies on the effects of particle physicochemical characteristics along with the protein profiles in the biological medium on the formation of protein corona and importantly, how the dynamic nature and protein fingerprints of the formed corona govern the biological responses toward nanoparticles. The biological effects arising from the presence of protein corona can be both beneficial and unfavourable to the biomedical applications of nanoparticles. The protein corona-cell interactions open up the feasibility of targeted delivery and cell-specific uptake of therapeutic nanoparticles and in other circumstances, engineering of nanoparticles as adjuvants for vaccine development as well as mitigation of the unintentional cytotoxic effects of nanoparticles. On the other hand, the protein corona-cell interactions could induce rapid clearance of nanoparticles from in vivo circulation as well as activating unwanted inflammatory responses. Taken together, the knowledge on the formation and biological effects of protein corona enables tailored tuning of the physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles, unique to their intended biological activity.


Abstract. Land surface models (LSMs) are pushing towards improved realism owing to an increasing number of observations at the local scale, constantly improving satellite data sets and the associated methodologies to best exploit such data, improved computing resources, and in response to the user community. As a part of the trend in LSM development, there have been ongoing efforts to improve the representation of the land surface processes in the interactions between the soil–biosphere–atmosphere (ISBA) LSM within the EXternalized SURFace (SURFEX) model platform. The force–restore approach in ISBA has been replaced in recent years by multi-layer explicit physically based options for sub-surface heat transfer, soil hydrological processes, and the composite snowpack. The representation of vegetation processes in SURFEX has also become much more sophisticated in recent years, including photosynthesis and respiration and biochemical processes. It became clear that the conceptual limits of the composite soil–vegetation scheme within ISBA had been reached and there was a need to explicitly separate the canopy vegetation from the soil surface. In response to this issue, a collaboration began in 2008 between the high-resolution limited area model (HIRLAM) consortium and Meteo-France with the intention to develop an explicit representation of the vegetation in ISBA under the SURFEX platform. A new parameterization has been developed called the ISBA multi-energy balance (MEB) in order to address these issues. ISBA-MEB consists in a fully implicit numerical coupling between a multi-layer physically based snowpack model, a variable-layer soil scheme, an explicit litter layer, a bulk vegetation scheme, and the atmosphere. It also includes a feature that permits a coupling transition of the snowpack from the canopy air to the free atmosphere. It shares many of the routines and physics parameterizations with the standard version of ISBA. This paper is the first of two parts; in part one, the ISBA-MEB model equations, numerical schemes, and theoretical background are presented. In part two (Napoly et al., 2016), which is a separate companion paper, a local scale evaluation of the new scheme is presented along with a detailed description of the new forest litter scheme.


Sub-Saharan Africa: An Environmental History. By Gregory H. Maddox. Nature and Human Societies Series. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Pp. xi, 355. $85.00 cloth. Gregory Maddox has crafted an insightful and accessible introductory survey of sub-Saharan Africa's environmental history over the millennia. Impressively covering material from the origins of human life on the continent to HIV/AIDS in the twenty-first century, from the sands of the Sahara to the central African rainforest, this work brings together the diversity, dynamism, constraints, and innovations of human interactions with their natural surroundings into a concise and readable narrative, without diluting the complexity of particular histories. Maddox frames his analysis around two central themes: the unique and extreme variability of African environments has greatly shaped people's ways of coping with their landscapes; and Africans have consistently demonstrated "ingenuity and tenacity" in working to control their local environments (pp. 2-4). The first six chapters then pursue these themes through successive historical stages: the environmental and climatic contexts for the origins of humanity (Chapter 1); the development of food production systems in early human societies (Chapter 2); the evolution of "complex" societies and their intensification and spread of agricultural production through roughly the fifteenth century (Chapter 3); the impacts of the Columbian exchange, the transatlantic slave trade, and European "contact" on African populations and environments from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries (Chapter 4); the reorganization of space under colonial rule (Chapter 5); and (Chapter 6) the "age of conservation and development"- a creative way to address the continuities between political ecological dynamics in the high colonial and postcolonial eras and to frame the globally and locally influenced environmental challenges Africans continue to face today. Chapter 7 then provides three detailed case studies on, respectively, the Sahara, the Serengeti, and food production and agriculture in eastern, central, and southern Africa, some of which overlaps with previous chapters. Finally, a "documents" section follows, offering a small collection of diverse primary source excerpts (from an oral tradition of clan origins in Tanzania to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness) and brief introductory remarks by the author. Throughout his analysis, Maddox thoughtfully suggests how evidence from Africa's past undermines a number of myths and stereotypes that have continued to plague historical depictions of the continent's populations and landscapes. Some of the most forceful comments in this vein are when the author describes the indigenous development of crop domestication and when he explores the "Monsoon Exchange"-connecting eastern Africa with the Indian Ocean world-to refute older paradigms that gave undue weight to Mediterranean influences and the Columbian exchange to explain agricultural innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. …


Pneumonia is a common cause of mortality and morbidity
in under-5 children throughout the world. Globally an estimated 156 million new
episodes of pneumonia occur each year in children and 2 million children die
from pneumonia each year which is 20 percent of all deaths of children under
five years old. Ceftriaxone is a commonly used drug for empiric treatment of
community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children. Levofloxacin may be an adequate
option for empiric therapy in treatment of CAP in children because it gives the
broad spectrum activity against both bacterial and atypical pathogens causing
CAP and studies suggest that it can be safely used in children. This open
labeled, randomized, comparative clinical trial was carried out in the Department
of Pediatrics, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh during
January, 2011 & December, 2012 to compare the efficacy of levofloxacin and
ceftriaxone in the treatment CAP in children. A total 70 cases of CAP were
enrolled. 35 cases were allocated to levofloxacin group and another 35 cases to
ceftriaxone group. At first the study cases were selected by systematic random
sampling. Group allocation to either levofloxacin or ceftriaxone group was done
by lottery method. Total duration for receiving study drugs was seven days.
Dose of levofloxacin was 10 mg/kg/day children ≥5 years, where as it was 10 mg/kg
12 hourly in 6 months to Clinical
responses were categorized as cured and treatment failure. 91.43% cases
were cured in levofloxacin group, whereas
cure rate of ceftriaxone group was 68.57% which was statistically
significant (p = 0.0168). Adverse effects of levofloxacin were found as skin
rash in 1 case and vomiting in 2 cases whereas skin rash was found in 1 case in
ceftriaxone group. So it can be concluded that levofloxacin is more effective
than ceftriaxone in the treatment of CAP in children.


In Japan, the first endoscopic surgery, a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, was performed in 1990. Since then, the operative procedure has been standardized, and the safety and usefulness of endoscopic surgery have been evaluated. In accordance with the social acceptance of endoscopic surgery as a less‐invasive surgery, the number of endoscopic procedures has been increasing in all surgical domains. The Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery (JSES) has played an important role in the development of endoscopic surgery in Japan. For example, JSES established a technical skills certification system for surgeons to train instructors how to teach safe endoscopic surgery, and the organization performs a national survey every 2 years. In 2015, a total of 211 953 patients underwent endoscopic surgery in all surgical domains, including abdominal, thoracic, mammary and thyroid gland, cardiovascular, obstetrics and gynecology, urologic, orthopedic, and plastic surgery. The course of laparoscopic surgery's development and its current status are reported here based on the results of the most recent questionnaire survey conducted by JSES.