Systematic monitoring of real driving emissions from vehicles started in the 1990'ies with measurements for the Handbook on Emission factors (HBEFA, http://www.hbefa.net/e/index.html). From 2000 to 2005, a European consortium improved the methods for vehicle testing and evaluation in the EU FP7 Project ARTEMIS. Results from this project are e.g. the ARTEMIS driving cycle (CADC), frequently used for real world LDVs chassis dyno tests, and the ERMES data base, where test results from independent European labs are brought together. Based on the ARTEMIS core consortium, the ERMES group was established (http://www.ermes-group.eu/web/). The ERMES group consists of laboratories, funding organisations and researchers dealing with emission testing with PEMS and on the dynamometer, with remote sensing measurement and with corresponding analysis of measures and technologies to reduce emissions and energy consumption of road vehicles and mobile machines.
While the ERMES database on real world tests had only a limited number of cars until HBEFA version 3.1 (e.g. 24 different EURO 5 diesel cars measured), the available data significantly increased during the last 3 years (e.g. covering today 101 EURO 5 and 85 EURO 6 diesel cars).
Also for HDVs and 2-wheelers the number of measured vehicles increased significantly after the recent discussions on real world NOx emissions from diesel LDVs. Parallel to the conventional vehicle tests also remote sensing has been systematically developed for vehicle emission monitoring. Remote sensing measures the incremental concentration of gases in the exhaust plume of passing vehicles and thus provides mass emissions per mass of CO2. The number plate is used to identify make and model, engine type, year of registration and emission standard. This information is then associated with the measured instantaneous emissions. Since remote sensing measures thousands of vehicles per day, the data is very useful for the analysis of trends, which need a high number of vehicles to be representative. E.g., Remote Sensing can monitor aging and temperature influences and emission levels per EURO class, brand and possibly vehicle model also as basis for the selection of vehicles for more detailed instrumented tests.
The paper describes the methods developed for the monitoring and evaluation and shows actual trends in vehicle emissions.


There is some evidence that insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and/or IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) (IGF-IGFBP axis) may be involved in glucose metabolism. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the IGF-IGFBP axis and diabetic control in subjects with insulindependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Thirty-nine subjects with IDDM without major complications (age: 5.8-30.3 years, 13 males and 26 females) participated in this study. In all subjects, the free form of IGF-I (free IGF-I), the total IGF-I (total IGF-I: free plus complexed form of IGF-I) and IGFBP-3 in serum or plasma were measured. The Z-scores of free ICE-I, total IGF-I, and IGFBP-3 were calculated. In 18 young adults with IDDM (age 18.0-30.3 years, 5 males and 13 females), IGFBP-1 in serum was also measured. In all subjects, the diabetic control parameters such as blood glucose (BS) (momentary control), 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol (1,5 AG) (Ultrashort-term), fuructosamine (short term), and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1) (long-term) were measured. None of the Z scores for free IGF-I, total IGF-I or IGFBP-3 had a significant correlation with BS. In young adults, IGFBP-I was correlated with BS (r=0.57, P<0.005). None of the Z scores for free IGF-I, total IGF-I or IGFBP-3 had a significant correlation with 1,5 AG, fructosamine or HbA1. In young adults, IGFBP-1 did not correlate with 1,5 AG, fructosamine or HbA1. These data suggested that the IGF-IGFBP axis did not reflect diabetic control in subjects with IDDM under treatment.


We present a measurement of sigma(pp[over] --> W) x B(W --> e nu) at (square root)s = 1.96 TeV, using electrons identified in the forward region (1.2 < |eta| < 2.8) of the CDF II detector, in 223 pb(-1) of data. We measure sigma x B = 2796 +/- 13(stat)(-90)(+95)(syst) +/- 162(lum) pb. Combining this result with a previous CDF measurement obtained using electrons in the central region (|eta| approximately < 1), we present the first measurement of the ratio of central-electron to forward-electron W partial cross sections R(exp) = 0.925 +/- 0.006(stat) +/- 0.032(syst), consistent with theoretical predictions using Coordinated Theoretical-Experimental Project on QCD (CTEQ) and Martin-Roberts-Stirling-Thorne (MRST) parton distribution functions.


Abstract. A simultaneous observation of an auroral spiral and its generator region in the near-Earth plasma sheet is rather unlikely. Here we present such observations using the THEMIS spacecraft as well as the THEMIS ground network of all-sky imagers and magnetometers. Two consecutive auroral spirals separated by approximately 14 min occurred during a substorm on 19 February 2008. The spirals formed during the expansion phase and a subsequent intensification, and were among the brightest features in the aurora with diameters of 200–300 km. The duration for the formation and decay of each spiral was less than 60 s. Both spirals occurred shortly after the formation of two oppositely rotating plasma flow vortices in space, which were also accompanied by dipolarizations and ion injections, at ~11 RE geocentric distance. Observations and model calculations also give evidence for a magnetic-field-aligned current generation of approximately 0.1 MA via the flow vortices, connecting the generator region of the spirals with the ionosphere, during the formation of both spirals. In the ionosphere, a pair of equivalent ionospheric current (EIC) vortices with opposite rotations (corresponding to upward and downward currents) was present during both auroral spirals with enhanced EICs and ionospheric flows at the locations of the auroral spirals and along the auroral arcs. The combined ground and space observations suggest that each auroral spiral was powered by two oppositely rotating plasma flow vortices that caused a current enhancement in the substorm current wedge.


Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa, is one of the premiere centers for Norwegian-American heritage in the United States. As such, it houses one of the country's most extensive collections of the textiles and handknits that have woven ties between Norwegian communities in America and the Old World, between today's culture and a rich past. This book collects thirty patterns for handknits from Vesterheim—folk mittens, socks, scarves, hats, wristers, handbags, knapsacks, and sweaters—all inspired by traditional knits housed in the museum. With an introduction reflecting on the history of Norwegian-style knitting and the stories behind the handknits that inspired the patterns, the book is at once a practical guide, a repository of cultural history, and a lovely look at one of the rich traditions knit into the American fabric.


Deep UV detection using a single crystal diamond (SCD) substrate without a homoepitaxial layer has been demonstrated using a defect passivation treatment. Despite evidence of surface damage on the SCD, the treatments lead to highly effective photoconductive devices, displaying six-orders of discrimination between deep UV and visible light and a responsivity as high as 100 A/W, equivalent to an external quantum efficiency of 700, similar to the best values for devices based on high quality homoepitaxial layers. Impedance spectroscopic investigations suggest that the treatment used reduces the impact of less resistive surface material, most likely defects left from substrate polishing.


Advanced treatment for cancer improved most survival rates. However, there are manyside effects of treatment that affect the patient's quality of life. Nowadays managementand reduction of treatment associated with side effects are significant in maintainingpatients' quality of life and optimizing nursing outcomes. Cancer patients who undergochemotherapy will experience discomfort. This study aimed to identify nursing outcomesrelated to comfort among cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. The methodchosen was an integrative review that drew data from five main electronic databases(PUBMED, Science direct, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Complementary index and Other) andonly 44 out of 148 papers identified met the inclusion criteria. The result showed that theliterature studies divided the theme of comfort according to the symptoms that occurredfrom chemotherapy as follows: 1) Physical comfort 2) Psychospiritual comfort 3)Sociocultural comfort and 4) Environmental comfort. Conclusion: Nursing outcomesdepend on a patient's need and include the management not only of the physical symptomsand treatment-related side effects, but also the changes in a patient's emotional status anddaily lives. Patients were supported by other patients with similar experiences especiallyspiritual needs, and support from family and friends had a dramatic positive impact onpatients' adherence to treatment. The study findings are that the nursing outcomes of thepatients' comfort after receiving chemotherapy (according to the patient's point of viewabout the meaning of comfort) should be led by the patient's quality of life and satisfaction.

Address Correspondence to author:
Paranee Phongnopakoon, RN, PhD (Student)Faculty of Nursing, Thammasat University99 Klong1, Khlong Neung,Khlong Luang, Pathumthani12121, Thailand.email: firstname.lastname@example.com

Received: May 20, 2018
Revision received: May 25, 2018
Accepted after revision: July 6, 2018
BKK Med J 2018;14(2): 115-120.

DOI: 10.31524/bkkmedj.2018.09.019


The vascularization of tissue grafts is critical for maintaining viability of the cells within a transplanted graft. A number of strategies are currently being investigated including very promising microfluidics systems. Here, we explored the potential for generating a vasculature-patterned endothelial cells that could be integrated into distinct layers between sheets of primary cells. Bioinspired from the leaf veins, we generated a reverse mold with a fractal vascular-branching pattern that models the unique spatial arrangement over multiple length scales that precisely mimic branching vasculature. By coating the reverse mold with 50 μg ml−1 of fibronectin and stamping enabled selective adhesion of the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to the patterned adhesive matrix, we show that a vascular-branching pattern can be transferred by microcontact printing. Moreover, this pattern can be maintained and transferred to a 3D hydrogel matrix and remains stable for up to 4 d. After 4 d, HUVECs can be observed migrating and sprouting into Matrigel. These printed vascular branching patterns, especially after transfer to 3D hydrogels, provide a viable alternative strategy to the prevascularization of complex tissues.


Knowledge of solar radiation at any area is important for designing
solar energy conversion systems, and is also useful for ecophysiological
studies. In the present study, we have analysed the daily sunshine duration
records for Peninsular Malaysia and apply them in solar radiation modelling.
Firstly, we fitted Angstrom type equation to solar radiation and
sunshine duration, to deter mine the relation between them. We have found
that the seasonal variations of the regression parameters, are different for
even two nearby locations. Variation of solar radiation within a small area
are also noticable. Secondly, we have studied on the probability distribution nature of
daily relative sunshine duration. Daily relative sunshine duration data are
fitted to three models. Parameters of the models are estimated only from the
monthly mean. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is applied to determine the
goodness of fit. We have found that the four stations can model led by two
distributions. Data are also fitted to well known beta distribution model. The
effect of variance is also presented.
Finally, time series analysis of daily relative sunshine duration data
are presented in chapter 4. Using gaussian mapping technique, nonstationary
and non-normal distribution nature of the sunshine can be
transformed into stationary and normal distribution. The autocorrelation
function and partial autocorrelation function show the characteristics of
autoregressive process. Results from the Box-Pierce and Ljung-Box
statistics indicate that the first order autoregressive model is not suitable,
while the second order autoregressive model gives satisfactory results. The
relative sunshine duration of any day is dependent on the previous two
days.


This study evaluates the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the crude extract of an aerial part of Satureja punctata (Benth.) Briq. The dried aerial part of S. punctata (Benth.) Briq was extracted separately using aqueous, ethanol and n-hexane. The antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was assessed using disc diffusion method, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the extracts were determined by the agar dilution method. The radical scavenging activity of the extracts was evaluated by DPPH assay. The result indicated that the aqueous and ethanol extracts exhibited significant antibacterial activities on the test microorganisms. The antibacterial activity of 600 mg/ml aqueous extract as measured by inhibition zones against S. aureus was 10.33±0.25 mm, E. coli 9.83±0.19 mm and P. aeruginosa 8.53±0.12 mm. The 600 mg/ml ethanol extract inhibited through zone of inhibitions S. aureus (10.33±0.41 mm), E. coli (9.37±0.18 mm) and P. aeruginosa (10.17±0.46 mm). Furthermore, the MIC values for both aqueous and ethanol extracts were from 75 to 100 mg/ml; whereas the MBC values for same extracts were from 100 to 150 mg/ml. The in vitro free radical scavenging activity showed that the aqueous, ethanol and n-hexane extracts showed maximum antioxidant activity of 87.89, 78.68 and 47.18 % at 25 mg/ml concentration, respectively. The results showed that the aerial part of S. punctata contains components that have antibacterial and antioxidant properties that substantiate the medicinal importance of the plant.

 Key words: Satureja punctata, antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity, zone of inhibition.


Nearly 200 photographs chronicle the evolution of Hopi jewellery over the last four decades and illustrate, through the Kopavi collection, the innovative and often stunning creations of twelve well-known Hopi artists. Included are Victor Coochwytewa, Phillip Honanie, and Michael Kabotie, as well as Ricky Coochwytewa, Sidney Sekakuku, Sharold Nutumya, Watson Honanie, Bradley Gashwazra, Norman Honie Sr., John Coochyumptewa, Beauford Dawahoya, and Jason Takala Sr. The artists incorporate gold, platinum, diamonds, and rare turquoise into a tradition previously identified predominantly with silver, while expanding the range of designs to include narrative and ceremonial representations. Some of the iconography speaks to the merging of two cultures: ancient Hopi and contemporary commodity. These objects have a historical voice and represent a major change not only in jewellery styles, but in Hopi culture.


In the 1920s, the average lifespan of an S&P 500 company was 67 years. Today it is 16.

Strategy, foresight and disruption have always been inextricably linked. Foresight practices (either formal or informal) have provided insight to organizations about potential future disruptions (and opportunities) and organizations have reinvented their strategies to make themselves better prepared and resilient to change. Yet all is not well. Survival rates for small and young businesses are grim. Former market leaders such as Kodak, Blackberry and Nokia have failed despite having had vast strategic and financial resources at their disposal. And many other companies and industries are also in line for potential demise. With rapidly compressed timelines to develop and build profitable products and services, the speed at which an organization embraces and responds strategically to disruption is increasingly becoming a determining factor in whether it succeeds or dies. Based on an extensive literature review and primary research completed for this paper, the author surmises that this shifting market interplay between disruption, strategy and foresight is being amplified by 4 recognizable market disruption patterns: 1) Tomorrow Today: the collapse of organizational and product development timelines, 2) Fast-Fast: the inability of leadership to make faster yet effective decisions in the face of rapid market shifts, 3) The Idea Monopoly: the absence of a more organizationally diverse set of ideas available to leadership in strategy development, and 4) The Disenchanted Forest: a high level of employee disengagement which can significantly impact strategy buy-in and speed of strategy execution. The insights gained from this research paper has resulted in the development of a new and adapted strategic foresight tool in the form of a market disruption simulation game prototype. This game incorporates learnings from the 4 market disruptive patterns and aims to help time-strapped companies to better embrace a more rapidly emerging future to become more organizationally and financially resilient to increasingly volatile market environments. At the same time, the game allows foresight to begin to realign itself from a solely "long view" focus and expand into a practice that is more agile, dynamic and better suited for shorter-term futures, strategy development and execution.


Presented at the "Retractions Conference: Keeping the Pool Clean: Prevention and Management of Misconduct Related Retractions" held on July 20-21, 2016, at Hilton Fort Collins, Fort Collins, Colorado. https://vprnet.research.colostate.edu/oriconference/. Research is iterative and necessitates a clean "pool" of knowledge. Join us for a discussion with researchers, journal editors, universities, Research Integrity Officers, and those from the ORI, NSF, and Watchdog groups to discuss how to identify fraudulent submissions, whistleblowing, responsibility and ethics, retraction notices, and relevant forensic tools.


Reptiles are long-lived, sedentary animals and therefore may be good biomonitors of their local habitat. Experiments were carried out to determine the effects of 2 agro-pesticides, cypermethrin and malathion, on the cholinesterase activity of Calotes versicolor Daudin. Two different concentrations, 0.1% and 1%, were used and cholinesterase activity was estimated in the liver and kidney. This decreased by up to 20% and 35% in the liver and 27% and 54% in the kidney under the effect of cypermethrin. In the case of malathion it decreased by up to 30.27% and 66.97% in the liver and 58.46% and 65.09% in the kidney. On the basis of the present study it is concluded that the pesticide malathion (organophosphate) is the more toxic of the pesticides tested.


Cast in Functional Grammar (FG), this chapter considers the syntactic placement of pronominal clitics in European Portuguese (EP), contrasting these with comparable phenomena in Castilian Spanish (CS). It emerges that EP constituent order results from the interplay of (at least) a single, minimally specified structural pattern, a principle of increasing syntactic weight, and the independently required principles of restrictive apposition and adverbial insertion. The specific difference between EP and CS reduces to the insight that EP allows placement of the verb in clause-initial position, whereas this is excluded in CS; verb position determines the occurrence of proclisis and enclisis, which we analyse as syntactic rather than morphological in EP. The chapter illustrates the applicability of FG to the comparison of languages.


We report a strategy to isolate IrO3 as an intermediate for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Its reactivity is studied using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray and neutron diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Its stability is assessed by using on-line mass spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy and presented herein. Upon reaction with water in acidic conditions, we could observe the formation of a new protonated iridate phase of composition H2IrO3. Coupling OER measurements and dissolution rate determination, we could show that its activity and stability are governed by a yet ill-described charge compensation mechanism enlisting reversible bulk proton insertion inside the catalyst structure. This singular property enables an enhanced activity and stability towards dissolution compared to the stellar IrOx/SrIrO3 catalyst. Such a finding opens the route towards the design of new OER catalysts enlisting proton insertion that could be competitive for water splitting in acidic media.


This article examines the transition of the Solomon Islands School of Education's primary and secondary mathematics education programme from a focus on content knowledge and teacher transmission, to a more activity-based, problem-solving, learner-centred approach. The ways the development team co-constructed that change so that it incorporated current mathematics education pedagogy, the Solomon Islands' Mathematics Curriculum document, and elements of Solomon Islands mathematics are described. How the team attempted to manage the dilemma between local educational imperatives and the globalisation of mathematics education is considered. Central to this are comparisons with international research on mathematics education pedagogy, while giving recognition to the situating of these within localised contexts. The article describes the ways the transition evolved, and how issues related to the change process, such as trust, culture, pedagogy and power, were engaged with, both proactively and incidentally. It will also consider lecturer/student reflection on the programme and the ways the changes may have influenced teaching. This article contends that change that is co-constructed and hinged to respectful partner relationships, will lead to greater participant autonomy and enhance the sustainability of the change. Finally, it poses questions that require subsequent examination for the transition to be sustainable.


Objective: Recent work has shown that exposure to social norm messages may enhance the consumption of vegetables. However, the majority of this work has been conducted in laboratories, often with student populations. Little is known about whether this approach can be successfully used in other contexts. In this study, a poster featuring a message based on social norms was tested to examine whether it could increase and maintain the purchase of meals with vegetables in workplace restaurants. Method: A pretest–posttest design with 3 phases was used in 3 workplace restaurants in the United Kingdom. The first 2 weeks formed the preintervention phase, the second 2 weeks the intervention phase, and the last 2 weeks the postintervention phase. During the intervention phase only, posters containing a social norm message relaying information about vegetable purchases of other diners were placed in each restaurant. The main outcome measure was the percentage of meals purchased with vegetables, which was analyzed using Pearson's chi-squared test. Results: Participants were judged to be male (57%), not overweight (75%), and under the age of 60 (98%). The intervention was positively associated with the percentage of meals purchased with vegetables: baseline versus intervention (60% vs. 64% of meals purchased with vegetables; p < .01); intervention versus postintervention (64% vs. 67% of meals purchased with vegetables; p < .01); and baseline versus postintervention (60% vs. 67% of meals purchased with vegetables; p < .001). Conclusions: Social norm messages may increase the purchase of vegetables in workplace settings.


Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) give rise to all of the cells of the blood, including those of the immune system. The abundance of these cells is determined not only by proliferation but also by whether the developing cells undergo apoptosis, programmed cell death. Opferman et al. show that MCL-1 is a critical regulator of this cell death decision in HSCs. MCL-1 is an antiapoptotic factor that prevents activation of the apoptosis-inducing proteins BAX and BAK. Conditional deletion of the MCL-1 gene in mice caused loss of HSCs. When cells lacking MCL-1 were isolated from conditional knockout animals and cultured in vitro, MCL-1 was required to allow stem cell factor to promote survival of bone marrow cell progenitors. J. T. Opferman, H. Iwasaki, C. C. Ong, H. Suh, S.-I. Mizuno, K. Akashi, S. J. Korsmeyer, Obligate role of anti-apoptotic MCL-1 in the survival of hematopoietic stem cells. Science 307, 1101-1104 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Three axioms from decision theory are applied to refinements that select connected subsets of the Nash equilibria of games with perfect recall. The first axiom requires all equilibria in a selected subset to be admissible, i.e. each player's strategy is an admissible optimal reply to other players' strategies. The second axiom invokes backward induction by requiring a selected subset to contain a sequential equilibrium. The third axiom requires a refinement to be immune to embedding a game in a larger game with additional strategies and players, provided the original players' strategies and payoffs are preserved, viz., selected subsets must be the same as those induced by the selected sub- sets of any larger game in which it is embedded. These axioms are satisfied by refinements that select subsets that are stable as defined by Mertens (1989). For a game with two players, perfect information, and generic payoffs, we prove the converse that the axioms require a selected set to be stable. In the space of mixed strategies of minimal dimension, the stable set is unique and consists of the admissible equilibria with the same outcome as the unique subgame-perfect equilibrium obtained by backward induction. Each other admissible equilibrium with this outcome is the profile of players' strategies in an admissible sequential equilibrium of a larger game in which the original game is embedded, so the third axiom requires it to be included.


Abstract : We will briefly outline a computational theory of the first stages of human vision according to which; (a) the retinal image is filtered by a set of centresurround receptive fields (of about 5 different spatial sizes) which are approximately bandpass in spatial frequency; and (b) zero-crossings are detected independently in the output of each of these channels. Zero-crossings in each channel are then a set of discrete symbols which may be used for later processing such as contour extraction and stereopsis. A formulation of Logan's zero-crossing results is proved for the case of Fourier polynomials an extension of Logan's theorem to 2-dimensional functions is also proved. Within this framework, we shall describe an experimental and theoretical approach (developed by one of us with M. Fahle) to the problem of visual acuity and hyperacuity of human vision. The positional accuracy achieved, for instance, in reading a vernier is astonishingly high, corresponding to a fraction of the spacing between adjacent photoreceptors in the fovea. Stroboscopic presentation of a moving object can be interpolated by our visual system into the perception of continuous motion; and this 'spatiotemporal' interpolation also can be very accurate. It is suggested that the known spatiotemporal properties of the channels envisaged by the theory of visual processing outlined above implement an interpolation scheme which can explain human vernier acuity for moving targets.


Mixed Reality and its concept of virtual superimposed on real space interplay invoke such interactive experiences that promote new patterns of believability and presence for cultural heritage applications. The seamless integration of virtual cultural artifacts with 'real lights' or images of real scenes, is an important step towards believability and consistency in synthesized MR scenes. That synthesized world termed Augmented Reality allows seeing the real scene with virtual augmentations superimposed onto it, but often fails to produce a realtime image that as a whole is a believable integrated experience. Furthermore, often Virtual Reality cultural heritage reconstructions are not physically correct rendered in real-time. Our main research efforts are twofold: adding believable and realistically simulated real-time virtual artifacts superimposed on real video sequence images, as well as employ dynamic 'area lights' for real-time large scale VR site reconstructions. The main novelty of this combined effort is a new adaptation of a physically correct illumination model for virtual cultural heritage artifacts as well as large scale reconstructions based on 'real area light', captured via light probes and employed in an extended graphics hardware accelerated Precomputed Radiance Transfer algorithm.


Objectives: There is currently no data on the prevalence of obesity and li-pid profile as well as nutrition and food intake of elementary schoolchildren in Bandar Lampung city. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate obesity prevalence and dyslipidemia in children. Design, setting, and participants: Cross-sectional study on grade 4 school children in Bandar Lampung Indonesia (n = 392). Outcome measures: Characteristics of schoolchildren and their family, nutrition, fruits, and vegetable intakes, and physical activities, body mass index (BMI) and lipid profile were collected from 392 children of grade 4 from five elementary schools in Bandar Lampung. One-way ANOVA and correlation analysis were applied with BMI and lipid profiles as dependent variables. Results: The incidence of undernutrition (7.7%) was lower than the incidence of overnutrition (26.3%). Energy, protein and fat daily intake were higher for children with higher BMI, however, carbohydrate consumption was not affecting the BMI. Obese children had more vegetable and fruit intake than wasting children and spent 30 minutes less in physical activity than normal children. Lipid plasma of schoolchildren was considered as acceptable or borderline high except for the TG of obese children in the high category. Conclusions: Prevalence of obesity was high and being obese was more likely to result in higher TG and lower HDL. The lifestyle of obese schoolchildren was characterized by a high intake of energy, protein, and fat and lower physical activities. Encouraging schoolchildren to modify their lifestyles is recommended.


Recently acquired offshore seismic and swath bathymetry data from the Hellenic Arc, the Ionian Sea and the South and North Aegean Sea, including the Hellenic Volcanic Arc and the Cyclades plateau, along with geological and tectonic data from Plio-Quaternary basins exposed on the Hellenic Arc indicate that strike slip tectonics has played a major role in the southwestward extension of the Aegean crustal block, the development of the offshore neotectonic basins and the spatial distribution of the volcanic activity along the Volcanic Arc. Transtensional deformation, accommodated by (sinistral or dextral) strike slip zones and related extensional structures, prevail throughout Plio-Quaternary, since the North Anatolian Fault broke westwards into the North Aegean. Incipient collision of the Hellenic Forearc south of Crete with the Libyan promontory and consequent lateral escape tectonics led to the segmentation of the Hellenic Arc in distinct blocks, which move southwestwards independently from each other and are bounded by strike slip faults.


Coal remains a major source of electricity production even under the current state of developments in climate policies due to national energy priorities. Coal remains the most attractive option, especially to the developing economies in Southeast Asia, due to its abundance and affordability in the region, despite the heavily polluting nature of this energy source. Gasification of coal running on an integration gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power generation with carbon capture and storage (CCS) represents an option to reduce the environmental impacts of power generation from coal, but the decarbonization potential and suitability of IGCC in the context of Southeast Asia remain unclear. Using Singapore as an example, this paper presents a study on the life cycle analysis (LCA) of IGCC power generation with and without CCS based on a generic process-driven analysis method. We further evaluate the suitability of IGCC with and without CCS as an option to address the energy and climate objectives for the developing economies in Southeast Asia. Findings suggest that the current IGCC technology is a much less attractive option in the context of Southeast Asia when compared to other available power generation technologies, such as solar photovoltaic systems, coal with CCS, and potentially nuclear power technologies.


Prior studies document a Delaware incorporation effect on firm valuation, generally using Tobin's Q, but the directional effects are mixed and inconclusive. Our study uses implied cost of equity to assess valuation, and we find consistent evidence that firms incorporated outside of their home state, either in Delaware or in other states, have a cost of equity that is 40 to 100 basis points higher than firms incorporated in their home state (depending on the model). Importantly, there is no statistical difference between Delaware incorporation and other non-home states of incorporation, which suggest the more important distinction is home state versus non-home state, rather than a Delaware effect. These findings are robust to controls for risk factors that affect the cost of equity including market beta, market value of equity, book to market ratio, analyst forecast dispersion, long-term growth in earnings, and industry membership. Results are consistent in yearly estimations for the sample period 1990-2006, and robust across the spectrum of firm size, different measures of cost of equity, and to control for endogeneity of the firms' incorporation choice.


Transnational relocation streams are the problem of versatility and globalization: While changing whole urban areas of the city into 'ethnic enclaves' taking into consideration facilitating hubs of gathering to fresh introductions they likewise convert into extrapolated patches of these streams' places of geological source, adjusting another urban polynational city. The aftereffects of this extra-national nearness in the city create prompt transnational associations as far as monetary, media and political connections, which all the while turn around the first stream back to the point of takeoff. Accordingly, the two streams combine themselves into a continuum: Biopower (Negri) [1] total to shape the approaching stream, while Immaterial Labor (Lazzaratto) [2] designs the switched stream. The two accommodate the Ethno [flow] [3] The Ethno[flow] both creates and prevents global reconciliation and propinquity, taking into account synchronous strain and congruity. It improves neighborhood urban economies, while monetarily supporting far away focuses in the globe. 'Transnational Suburbs' (Davis) [4] and 'Transnational Community+ies' (Portes)5 are results of the Ethno[flow] The article floats around the idea of Ethno[flow] and its effect in the polynational city. Contextual investigation examination will be utilized to create minimum amount for hypothetical elaborations coming about because of the investigation of this marvel influencing the contemporary city. Keywords— Movement, 'Ethnocity', Finance, Electronic Media.


Investigations seeking definition of the microbial diversity present in the human oral cavity have been underway for many years. These investigations seek to define the normal microflora of the oral cavity, as well as the stability of the microflora. Predominantly, these kinds of studies have focused on the differences in microbial carriage between healthy and diseased oral cavities and have identified several species which may be causative and promote oral diseases such as periodontitis and halitosis. Less is known about how co-habitants of a healthy oral cavity interact and how those interactions are mediated and controlled. The genes that may be involved in microbial interactions and their regulation and roles within response pathways in oral microbes is an interesting area of research to pursue, as it could give valuable insight into the changing genetic and potentially physiological state of oral microbes.

An evaluation of oral microbial diversity performed during this study by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) profiling analyses carried out on whole mouth rinse samples identified many bacterial genera from six phyla. These genera included Streptococcus, Gemella, Veillonella, Eubacterium, Porphyromonas, Neisseria, Rothia and Prevotella. The three prevalent genera, as defined by the number of times observed from mouth rinse samples, were Streptococcus, Neisseria and Veillonella.

Solid-phase co-culture experiments using isolates of the three prevalent genera revealed a strong interaction between Streptococcus and Neisseria, with Streptococcus exerting a negative effect on Neisserial growth. Liquid phase co-culture experiments between these two genera confirmed initial observations and it was hypothesised that the interaction was mediated by toxic hydrogen peroxide produced by Streptococcus. Further experiments showed that Neisseria were protected from Streptococcal killing upon addition of exogenous catalase, confirming that the interaction was mediated by hydrogen peroxide.

The roles of the key genes of the oxidative stress response of Neisseria were investigated by assessing the interactions between Streptococcus pneumoniae and several mutant Neisseria meningitidis, defective in one or more genes of the oxidate stress response. These experiments resulted in observations differing to those previously published, particularly in relation to the prx gene (encoding the peroxidase peroxiredoxin), which lead to the proposal of multiple pathways of stress response existing in N. meningitidis. It was observed that N. meningitidis survival was increased in the absence of the bcp gene (encoding the peroxidase bacterioferritin co-migratory protein) and it was hypothesised that this was due to an up-regulation of other peroxidases in this mutant. Real-Time PCR (RT-PCR) experiments showed increased expression of prx in a bcp-deficient N. meningitidis mutant in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, but this up-regulation was only marginal in the un-stressed mutant strain.

Furthermore, it was shown that in the presence of high-levels of hydrogen peroxide (1 mM), N. meningitidis and the various mutant strains examined, behaved as previously observed. This gives rise to the notion that the hydrogen peroxide levels produced in co-culture with S. pneumoniae are not high enough to induce the typical oxidative stress response in N. meningitidis, indicating that another pathway(s) must exist in order to deal with low / intermediate-level hydrogen peroxide / organic peroxides experienced during co-colonisation of the oral cavity.


In this study, a simple model was proposed to explain the correlation between the EIS results and water flux of a membrane, and a corresponding experiment was designed to confirm it. A series of cellulose acetate membranes with different pore structures were fabricated. The porosity of the membranes was adjusted by adding polyethylene glycol (PEG), which acts as a pore-forming agent, with different molecular weights and contents in the preparation process. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was utilized to characterize the pore resistance of the membranes. A theoretical equation suggesting an inverse relationship between the pore resistance and water flux was proposed and confirmed by the experimental data. According to this model, EIS can be promisingly used for examining the water flux of separation membranes.


Theoretical analysis of structured learning methods has focused primarily on domains where the data consist of independent (albeit structured) examples. Although the statistical relational learning (SRL) community has recently developed many classification methods for graph and network domains, much of this work has focused on modeling domains where there is a single network for learning. For example, we could learn a model to predict the political views of users in an online social network, based on the friendship relationships among users. In this example, the data would be drawn from a single large network (e.g., Facebook) and increasing the data size would correspond to acquiring a larger graph. Although SRL methods can successfully improve classification in these types of domains, there has been little theoretical analysis addressing the issue of single network domains. In particular, the asymptotic properties of estimation are not clear if the size of the model grows with the size of the network. In this work, we focus on outlining the conditions under which learning from a single network will be asymptotically consistent and normal. Moreover, we compare the properties of maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) with that of generalized maximum pseudolikelihood estimation (MPLE) and use the resulting understanding to propose novel MPLE estimators for single network domains. We include empirical analysis on both synthetic and real network data to illustrate the findings. Appearing in Proceedings of the 14 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics (AISTATS) 2011, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA. Volume 15 of JMLR: W&CP 15. Copyright 2011 by the authors.


The NCS (neuronal calcium sensor) proteins, including neurocalcins, recoverins and visinin-like proteins are members of a family of Ca2+-sensitive regulators, each with three Ca2+-binding EF-hand motifs. In plants, lily CCaMK [chimaeric Ca2+/CaM (calmodulin)-dependent protein kinase] and its PpCaMK ( Physcomitrella patens CCaMK) homologue are characterized by a visinin-like domain with three EF-hands. In the present study, in an effort to discover NCS antagonists, we screened a total of 43 compounds using Ca2+-dependent drug affinity chromatography and found that the insulinotropic agent repaglinide targets the NCS protein family. Repaglinide was found to bind to NCS proteins, but not to CaM or S100 proteins, in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Furthermore, the drug antagonized the inhibitory action of recoverin in a rhodopsin kinase assay with IC50 values of 400 microM. Moreover, repaglinide tightly bound to the visinin-like domain of CCaMK and PpCaMK in a Ca2+-dependent manner and antagonized the regulatory function of the domain with IC50 values of 55 and 4 microM for CCaMK and PpCaMK respectively. Although both repaglinide and a potent insulin secretagogue, namely glibenclamide, blocked K(ATP) channels with similar potency, glibenclamide had no antagonizing effect on the Ca2+-stimulated CCaMK and PpCaMK autophosphorylation, mediated by their visinin-like domain. In addition, a typical CaM antagonist, trifluoperazine, had no effect on the CCaMK and PpCaMK autophosphorylation. Repaglinide appears to be the first antagonist of NCS proteins and visinin-like domain-bearing enzymes. It may serve as a useful tool for evaluating the physiological functions of the NCS protein family. In addition, since repaglinide selectively targets NCS proteins among the EF-hand Ca2+-binding proteins, it is a potential lead compound for the development of more potent NCS antagonists.


We propose a new technique for consistent estimation of the number and locations of the change-points in the second-order structure of a time series. The core of the segmentation procedure is the Wild Binary Segmentation method(WBS), a technique which involves a certain randomised mechanism. The advantage of WBS over the standard Binary Segmentation lies in its localisation feature, thanks to which it works in cases where the spacings between change-points are short. In addition, we do not restrict the total number of change-points a time series can have. We also ameliorate the performance of our method by combining the CUSUM statistics obtained at different scales of the wavelet periodogram, our main change-point detection statistic, which allows a rigorous estimation of the local autocovariance of a piecewise-stationary process. We provide a simulation study to examine the performance of our method for different types of scenarios. A proof of consistency is also provided. Our methodology is implemented in the R package wbsts, available from CRAN.


Effect of the surrounding anisotropic liquid crystal medium on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) exhibited by concentrated suspensions of gold nanospheres has been investigated experimentally and compared with the Mie scattering theory. The observed polarization-sensitive SPR and the red-shift in the SPR wavelength with increasing concentration of the gold nanospheres in the liquid crystal matrix have been explained using calculations based on the Maxwell Garnet effective medium theory. Agglomeration of the gold nanospheres that could also lead to such a red-shift has been ruled out using Atomic force microscopy study of thin nanoparticle-doped smectic films obtained on solid substrates. Our study demonstrates feasibility of obtaining tunable optical bulk metamaterials based on smectic liquid crystal - nanoparticle composites.


U.S. states increasingly require identification to vote—an ostensible attempt to deter fraud that prompts complaints of selective disenfranchisement. Using a difference-in-differences design on a panel data set with 1.6 billion observations, 2008–2018, we find that the laws have no negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any group defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation. These results hold through a large number of specifications. Our most demanding specification controls for state, year, and voter fixed effects, along with state and voter time-varying controls. Based on this specification, we obtain point estimates of −0.1 percentage points for effects both on overall registration and turnout (with 95% confidence intervals of [−2.3; 2.1 percentage points] and [−3.0; 2.8 percentage points], respectively), and +1.4 percentage points for the effect on the turnout of nonwhite voters relative to whites (with a 95% confidence interval of [−0.5; 3.2 percentage points]). The lack of negative impact on voter turnout cannot be attributed to voters' reaction against the laws, measured by campaign contributions and self-reported political engagement. However, the likelihood that nonwhite voters were contacted by a campaign increases by 4.7 percentage points, suggesting that parties' mobilization might have offset modest effects of the laws on the participation of ethnic minorities. Finally, strict ID requirements have no effect on fraud, actual or perceived. Overall, our findings suggest that efforts to improve elections may be better directed at other reforms.


Purpose Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) is a common intraocular inflammatory disease. AAU occurs in 30% to 50% of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and both conditions are strongly associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27, implying a shared etiology. This study aims to apply genomewide association study (GWAS) to characterize the genetic associations of AAU and their relationship to the genetics of AS. Methods We undertook the GWAS analyses in 2752 patients with AS with AAU (cases) and 3836 patients with AS without AAU (controls). There were 7,436,415 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) available after SNP microarray genotyping, imputation, and quality-control filtering. Results We identified one locus associated with AAU at genomewide significance: rs9378248 (P = 2.69 × 10−8, odds ratio [OR] = 0.78), lying close to HLA-B. Suggestive association was observed at 11 additional loci, including previously reported AS loci ERAP1 (rs27529, P = 2.19 × 10−7, OR = 1.22) and NOS2 (rs2274894, P = 8.22 × 10−7, OR = 0.83). Multiple novel suggestive associations were also identified, including MERTK (rs10171979, P = 2.56 × 10−6, OR = 1.20), KIFAP3 (rs508063, P = 5.64 × 10−7, OR = 1.20), CLCN7 (rs67412457, P = 1.33 × 10−6, OR = 1.25), ACAA2 (rs9947182, P = 9.70 × 10−7, OR = 1.37), and 5 intergenic loci. The SNP-based heritability is approximately 0.5 for AS alone, and is much higher (approximately 0.7) for AS with AAU. Consistent with the high heritability, a genomewide polygenic risk score shows strong power in identifying individuals at high risk of either AS with AAU or AS alone. Conclusions We report here the first GWAS for AAU and identify new susceptibility loci. Our findings confirm the strong overlap in etiopathogenesis of AAU with AS, and also provide new insights into the genetic basis of AAU.


We highlight an example of considerable bias in officially published input-output data (factor-income shares) by an LDC (Turkey), which many researchers use without question. We make use of an intertemporal general equilibrium model of trade and production to evaluate the dynamic gains for Turkey from currently debated trade policy options and compare the predictions using conservatively adjusted, rather than official, data on factor shares. We show that the predicted welfare gains are not only of a different order of magnitude, but in some cases, of a different sign, hence, suggesting contradictory policy recommendations.


The magnetization-induced nonlinear optical and nonlinear magneto-optical properties in a magnetic metal-insulator composite are studied based on a tensor effective medium approximation with shape factor and Taylor-expansion method. There is a weakly nonlinear relation between electric displacement D and electric field E in the composite. The results of our studies on the effective dielectric tensor and the nonlinear susceptibility tensor in a magnetic nanocomposite are surveyed. It is shown that such a metal-insulator composite exhibits the enhancements of optical and magneto-optical nonlinearity. The frequencies at which the enhancements occur, and the amplitude of the enhancement factors depend on the concentration and shape of the magnetic grains.


Thermal injury of the skin results in striking anatomic, metabolic, and physiologic disturbances which prejudice survival of burn patients. Identification of burn wound sepsis and description of its pathogenesis led to the development of effective topical burn wound chemotherapy. Mafenide acetate (Sulfamylon Cream), now employed in more than 2,000 burn patients, is applied to control bacterial proliferation within the burn wound prior to eschar separation. Other topically applied agents may be used for this purpose. Cutaneous allografts and heterografts serve as temporary physiologic dressings after eschar separation, providing continuing bacterial control until autografting. Control of burn wound bacterial proliferation has been associated with the emergence of other opportunistic burn wound infections, ie, fungal and viral, necessitating frequent biopsy monitoring of the burn wound. A significant improvement in survival of burn patients thus managed is documented. In burns involving large areas of skin, the patient is exposed to death first, from shock; second, from toxemia due to absorption of poisons from the injured surfaces; third, from loss of function of the absent skin covering; and fourth, from exhaustion due to the longcontinued fight for recovery. Haldor Sneve, 19051


The present article explores the interaction between multimodality and narrativity as a discourse strategy which promotes creativity as a socio-cognitive process in British TV cosmetics ads. Multimodal TV ads narratives are structured visually and aurally by means of the extended metaphors light is good and harmonious music is good, as well as other multisemiotic features. Two narrative patterns are examined: in the first type, story ending coincides with narrative ending; this is illustrated by two ads with specific metaphors which set out the problem to which the product provides a solution. In the second type, illustrated by two hair products ads, story ending coincides with narrative beginning, and displays multimodal metaphors which enhance the positive attributes of the product.


Ancient civilization valued the vital role of water in human life. As reflected in the literature, environmental awareness led to early water treatments and these are briefly described in this paper. Thus the period prior to 500 BC to 1000 AD saw the use of naturally occurring materials for water purification, the building of aqueducts, and the introduction of the distillation process. This was followed by a dormant period of five centuries in which hardly any progress was made in water purification methodology. From the 17th to the 19th century, progress was made on filtration processes and the introduction of the microscope. In addition chemical methods for water disinfection by the use of chlorine and ozone were reported. These methods and their combination progressed significantly through the 20th century. However the problems associated with chemical contamination of ground water, from which, drinking water is mainly generated remained practically ignored for about five decades. It was in the late seventies that this was brought to light. Since then technologies for groundwater purification started to emerge but a lot remains to be done in this area of research. The crucial role of suitable analytical tools for any technological development which aim to remove toxic pollutants from water is acknowledged. Thus the need of re-visiting old methodology making use of the advantages resulting from the availability of advanced analytical techniques and the possibility of enriching naturally occurring materials by the introduction of supramolecular receptors for water decontamination purposes are emphasized.


Traffic, accessibility, employment location conditions, economic aspects, land-use policies among others are some factors that influence the location decisions of office firms. As a multidimensional decision making process, elements for supporting real-estate managers and planners in such decisions are needed. The objective of this study is to develop a GIS-based tool to support firms seeking office accommodation within a given regional or national study area. The basis of the tool relies on a matching approach, in which a firmis characteristics (demand), environmental conditions and office spaces on offer (supply) are analyzed separately in a first step. Subsequently, a matching process between them is performed and, finally, a suitability score is obtained for every office space on offer by applying some value judgment (satisfaction, utility etc.) to the overall match. Focusing on location aspects, expert knowledge about location decisions of firms/organizations regarding office accommodation, acquired from a group of real-estate advisers and stored in decision tables, constitutes the core of the model. Apart from the delineation of location choice sets for a firm seeking a location, this design of the system supports two additional types of queries. First, the agent supports the more generic problem of determining the allocation between a set of firms, on the one hand, and a set of vacant locations, on the other. Second, the agent provides the facility of finding firms that meet the characteristics of a given location. Technically, this problem is equivalent to a problem of finding the delineation of location choice sets for a firm seeking a location. Both of them consist of a sorting procedure. As a GIS-based tool, the results can be visualized using GIS features such as thematic maps and overlay techniques, allowing several types of analyses.


Background—Studies suggest that the side of carotid endarterectomy (CE) may influence the rate of postoperative complications. We sought to clarify this by (1) analysis of individual-level data from 3 large studies and (2) systematic review and meta-analysis of additional published descriptions of outcomes by side. Methods and Results—The Western Canada Carotid Endarterectomy (WCCE) study (n=3164) was analyzed for outcomes by side along with data from the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET; n=1415), and the ASA [Acetylsalicylic Acid] in Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (ACE; n=2469). Pooled analysis of individual-level data from these three studies allowed calculation of rate ratios for stroke or death by side. Medline and EMBASE were searched to identify additional studies reporting CE outcomes by side, and an overall risk ratio for outcomes by side was determined with fixed-effects meta-analysis. The WCCE in-hospital stroke or death rates for left and right-sided CE were 3.72% and 3.07%, respectively (P=0.27). A pooled analysis of the NASCET and ACE trials also revealed higher stroke or death rates for left-sided CE (5.39% versus 2.96%; P<0.001). The corresponding risk-adjusted rate ratios for stroke or death for left- versus right-sided surgery were 1.22 (95% CI, 0.83 to 1.77) for WCCE and 1.82 (1.32 to 2.50) for the pooled NASCET and ACE trials. Systematic review of the literature identified 2 additional studies. Meta-analysis of all 5 available studies yielded a corresponding pooled rate ratio for stroke or death of 1.36 (1.18 to 1.56). Conclusions—Left-sided CE is consistently associated with higher postoperative adverse event rates. Research into potential mechanisms is required to explain and address this finding.


We present a closed feedback loop approach to actively control the differential phase shift induced by a thermo-optic modulator in a silicon on insulator platform. We use an on-chip differential phase shift monitoring using integrated balanced photodiodes to generate the feedback signal to control the phase shifter. In addition to the optical circuit we use a control layer to analyse the feedback signal and adapt the electrical power applied in the thermo-optical phase shifter in order to achieve the desired phase shift.


Abstract. Field measurements of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) in
temperate grasslands suggest that both positive and negative asymmetric
responses to changes in precipitation (P) may occur. Under normal range of
precipitation variability, wet years typically result in ANPP gains being
larger than ANPP declines in dry years (positive asymmetry), whereas
increases in ANPP are lower in magnitude in extreme wet years compared to
reductions during extreme drought (negative asymmetry). Whether the current
generation of ecosystem models with a coupled carbon–water system in
grasslands are capable of simulating these asymmetric ANPP responses is an
unresolved question. In this study, we evaluated the simulated responses of
temperate grassland primary productivity to scenarios of altered
precipitation with 14 ecosystem models at three sites: Shortgrass
steppe (SGS), Konza Prairie (KNZ) and Stubai Valley meadow (STU), spanning a
rainfall gradient from dry to moist. We found that (1) the spatial slopes
derived from modeled primary productivity and precipitation across sites were
steeper than the temporal slopes obtained from inter-annual variations, which
was consistent with empirical data; (2) the asymmetry of the responses of
modeled primary productivity under normal inter-annual precipitation
variability differed among models, and the mean of the model ensemble
suggested a negative asymmetry across the three sites, which was contrary to
empirical evidence based on filed observations; (3) the mean sensitivity of
modeled productivity to rainfall suggested greater negative response with
reduced precipitation than positive response to an increased precipitation
under extreme conditions at the three sites; and (4) gross primary productivity
(GPP), net primary productivity (NPP), aboveground NPP (ANPP) and belowground
NPP (BNPP) all showed concave-down nonlinear responses to altered
precipitation in all the models, but with different curvatures and mean
values. Our results indicated that most models overestimate the negative
drought effects and/or underestimate the positive effects of increased
precipitation on primary productivity under normal climate conditions,
highlighting the need for improving eco-hydrological processes in those
models in the future.


The monumental influence of the Beatles, their music, and "Beatlemania" deeply penetrated into many facets of British lifestyle during a substantial portion of the 1960s, and the dynamic political landscape of this waning world power was no exception. The resurgence of the Labour Party in Parliament, following fourteen long years of being situated in the opposition, simultaneously materialized during the reign of the Beatles. Subsequent to the 1964 General Election, the Labour Party narrowly achieved a legislative majority in Parliament despite achieving a total net gain of fifty-six seats.1 Leading this movement and a man who advocated for a "New Britain" was a skillful politician by the name of Harold Wilson. Wilson tactfully and strategically utilized many tools at his disposal to push his own political agenda while also promoting his Labour Party, with one of these tools being the Beatles. I intend to analyze the factors that facilitated the rise of the Labour Party, in the context of Beatlemania, along with what led to and what was produced by the interesting relationship of the Fab Four and the Prime Minister. This article is available in Res Publica Journal of Undergraduate Research: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/respublica/vol20/iss1/6


We present a number of developer tools and language extensions that are available for use with Steel Bank Common Lisp, but which are perhaps not as well-known as they could be. Our motivation is twofold: firstly, to introduce to a developer audience facilities that can make their development or deployment of software more rapid or efficient. Secondly, in the context of the development of the Common Lisp language itself, we offer some observations of patterns of use of such extensions within the development community, and discuss the implications this has on future evolution of the language.


In consideration of the need for a heuristic tool which could help learners to handle coherence problems, this study focuses on evaluating the efficacy of instruction in Topical Structure Analysis (TSA) as a revision strategy for EFL learners. The findings show that students receiving instruction in TSA performed better on topical progressions. More proportions and better quality parallel progressions, sequential progressions, and extended parallel progressions were found to contribute to better overall coherence. In addition, students reported positive feedback in terms of learning and applying TSA. Many of them reported that TSA helped them to reorganize their essays and to examine coherence between sentences. In terms of the guidance given by this strategy, TSA allowed students to become more aware of the relations between sentence topics and overall discourse topics. In addition to the positive changes in students' information organization, the results indicate that instruction in TSA contributes to students' awareness of coherent writing as well as motivating them to become more responsible writers. Instead of merely depending on teachers' comments and guidance, students participated in the revising process more actively and were inspired to interpret coherence using a new perspective.


The modern information systems evaluate very quickly. The information is more and more distributed through the networks or federation of numerous information systems located in different places on the globe. Also, the control domain of information system is very important in the times of very fast networks, telecommunication protocols and telecommunication equipment. The paper presents the proposal of cooperation between the information systems and multi-agent systems. It is necessary to assure the cooperation of local data resources and create the coherent structure for intelligent agents. The dynamic process of conflict solving can be realized by using different techniques that come from the multi-agent systems.


Recently, the appealing features of cloud computing have been driving its integration into the ICT component of the education sector. In view of this, the NRENS in developed countries are adopting Cloud computing as its technology support and provider of solutions that are very effective in facilitating collaborative research and learning among member institutions. In addition, the developed world opted for this technology because of its flexibility to pay-asyou-go combined with an on-demand scalable model which is changing the NREN computing model and driving them to adopt it. However, very little if nothing has been done particularly the NRENs in the SADC region. It is against this background that NRENs Cloud Infrastructure Framework (NRENs-CLIF) was conceived to build a Cloud computing infrastructure framework suitable for the SADC NRENs. The NRENs-CLIF would build an Inter Cloud Infrastructure system that would envision the transitions every NREN into Cloud system and make them interoperable to each other. The study emphasizes that the SADC NRENs need to join NRENs-CLIF to ensure that resource sharing and collaboration among these NRENs becomes a success.


In the post-War era, international law became a talisman for the protection of individuals from governmental abuse. Such was the success of this "humanization of international law" that by the 1990s human rights had become "part of . . . international political and legal culture." This Article argues that there has been an unnoticed contemporary countertrend - the "regulatory turn in international law." Within the past two decades, states and international organizations have at an unprecedented rate entered into agreements, passed resolutions, enacted laws, and created institutions and networks, formal and informal, that impose and enforce direct and indirect international duties upon individuals or that buttress and facilitate a state's authorities respecting those under and even beyond its territorial jurisdiction. Whereas the human rights turn protected the individual against excessive governmental control, these parallel processes do just the opposite - they facilitate and enhance the regulatory authorities of government (both national and international) in relation to the individual. The regulatory turn represents a fundamental challenge to the assumptions and dynamics of traditional international law. While once the international system shied away from acting directly on individuals, it now asserts such authority with regularity through the articulation of rules and the adoption of decisions. And while once international law deferred to states in the implementation of common rules pertaining to individual duties and their enforcement, it now often eschews state discretion and instead dictates with increasing specificity the provisions to be adopted at the national and sub-national levels. This constitutive realignment in the international system's position vis-a-vis the individual complicates our inherited vision of international law and the expectations that flow therefrom. The system effects include the restructuring of the distributions of power to and among states and international institutions; the reframing of the ways in which international problems and solutions are imagined; the reallocation of resources to support law enforcement organizations and programs; the recalibration of the substantive and procedural demands made upon international decision-making processes; and even the reconfiguring of the ways in which we, as individuals, imagine each other. This Article draws connections between diverse subject matters and practices, past and present, so that we can better discern the otherwise hidden trend that is the regulatory turn, situate it within the emerging system of international governance, and appraise its effects.


Simple Summary Tail biting is a large welfare problem in modern pig production, causing pain and reduced health and production. The identification of tail biting is important for minimising the risk of the escalation of the behaviour and its consequences. Tail posture (i.e., tail hanging or curled) has been suggested to depend on the presence of tail wounds and, therefore, has been suggested as an indicator of tail biting. This study investigated the relationship between tail position and tail damages at feeding, since that could be a feasible time for producers to detect tail posture. The experiment showed that 94% of the pigs had curly tails and that pigs with wounds were more likely to have hanging tails than pigs with nondamaged tails. By observing the tail position at feeding, we were able to identify pigs with tail wounds in 68% of cases simply by scoring pigs with hanging tails. To conclude, the scoring of pigs with hanging tails at feeding was found to be a useful tool for identifying tail damages, which may otherwise be difficult to detect by the caretaker. Abstract Tail posture (i.e., hanging or curled) has been suggested to be an indicator of tail biting, and hanging tails predisposed to damage. The aim of this study was to investigate if tail posture was feasible as a tail damage indicator in a commercial setting. The study was carried out on one batch of 459 undocked finishing pigs (30–120 kg in weight). Weekly scoring of tail posture was combined with the scoring of tail lesions. Tail posture was observed at feeding to facilitate the usage of the method in commercial settings. A curly tail was observed in 94% of the observations. Pigs with tails scored with "wound" were 4.15 (p < 0.0001) times more likely to have hanging tails, and pigs scored with "inflamed wounds" were 14.24 (p < 0.0001) times more likely to have hanging tails, compared to pigs with nondamaged tails. Tail posture correctly classified tails with "wound" or "inflamed wound" 67.5% of the time, with 55.2% sensitivity and 79.7% specificity, respectively. The method of observing the tail position at feeding seems useful as a complement to normal inspection for detecting tail biting before tail wounds are visible to the caretaker.


In continuation of previously reported results, the ionic liquid 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-ene-1-ium acetate was also found to be a powerful non-derivatizing solvent for cellulosic waste such as paper and cardboard. The ionic liquid could dissolve all the present bio-polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) in high concentrations, resulting in solutions with visco-elastic properties that were suitable for dry-jet wet fiber spinning. The cellulosic raw materials were refined gradually to identify the influence of residual components on the spinnability of the respective solution. Polymer degradation and losses in the spinning process could be avoided nearly entirely. With the exception of virtually unrefined cardboard, all the samples showed excellent spinnability, resulting in fibers with high tensile strength. Prototype textiles were produced to validate the quality of the fibers and demonstrate the possibility of using residual lignin in cardboard as a natural dye.


A "Kirkus Reviews" Best Nonfiction of 2011 titleFrom a State Department insider, the first account of our blundering efforts to rebuild Iraq--a shocking and rollicking true-life tale of Americans abroadCharged with rebuilding Iraq, would you spend taxpayer money on a sports mural in Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhood to promote reconciliation through art? How about an isolated milk factory that cannot get its milk to market? Or a pastry class training women to open cafes on bombed-out streets without water or electricity?According to Peter Van Buren, we bought all these projects and more in the most expensive hearts-and-minds campaign since the Marshall Plan. "We Meant Well" is his eyewitness account of the civilian side of the surge--that surreal and bollixed attempt to defeat terrorism and win over Iraqis by reconstructing the world we had just destroyed. Leading a State Department Provincial Reconstruction Team on its quixotic mission, Van Buren details, with laser-like irony, his yearlong encounter with pointless projects, bureaucratic fumbling, overwhelmed soldiers, and oblivious administrators secluded in the world's largest embassy, who fail to realize that you can't rebuild a country without first picking up the trash.Darkly funny while deadly serious, "We Meant Well" is a tragicomic voyage of ineptitude and corruption that leaves its writer--and readers--appalled and disillusioned but wiser.


Lessons cover all four skill areas as well as grammar and vocabulary. Each unit ends with a DVD lesson based around an extract from a BBC programme which provides a springboard for meaningful speaking and writing tasks. Models of authentic English are also provided through 'on the street' interviews filmed by the BBC. MyEnglishLab is a flexible online tool that enriches learning, informs teaching and enhances your Speakout course Enriched Learning MyEnglishLab has a wide range of activities that are instantly graded and correlated to your Speakout course Informed Teaching MyEnglishLab for Speakout gives teachers instant access to a range of invaluable diagnostic tools Flexible Solutions You can assign tasks to the whole class, groups of students, or individual students to help them reach their goals more effectively. ActiveBook is the Students' book in digital format with integrated audio and video from the course and includes: BBC programme clips that can be played in a DVD player or computer Easy navigation of the Students' Book pages with zoom facility Video and audio available at the touch of a button Video Podcasts with accompanying worksheets


Through a historical analysis spanning nearly five decades, this Article provides a comprehensive discussion of how demand response (reductions in electricity consumption in response to grid emergencies or price signals) has become both a growing resource on the electric grid and a policy trailblazer in the grid's ongoing transformation. The discussion centers on three separate generations of efforts to promote demand-side measures in the electric grid, dating to the 1960s and oriented chronologically around important events in the electric power industry. Demand response has been a test bed of important regulatory principles like frameworks for interactivity with the grid, the role of third parties and new business models, and the split of regulatory jurisdiction between states and FERC. For this reason, the Article introduces and discusses the concept of "market pathways" — experiences learned from combinations of technology advances, regulatory innovations, and judicial and regulatory proceedings that tested demand response's legitimacy and implementation. These pathways, the Article claims, now form a significant part of the foundation for overhauling the electric grid to accommodate all distributed energy resources, not simply demand response. Thus, the Article concludes, demand response is important for the long-term, iterative regulatory strategies that promoted it, viewed against the context of the electric power industry's ever changing overall regulatory and policy landscape. The Article concludes with an examination of "demand response 3.0." This is the current industry landscape in which the green light for innovation and experimentation, combined with further advances in technology and the rise of sophisticated distributed energy resources (including energy storage, distributed solar PV, and others), have prompted policymakers to steer the electric grid towards a modernized, two-way, participatory system.


Background Short-term laboratory studies suggest that eating attentively can reduce food intake. However, in a recent randomized controlled trial we found no evidence that using an attentive eating smartphone app outside of the laboratory had an effect on energy intake or weight loss over 8 weeks. Objective This research examined trial participants' experiences of using an attentive eating smartphone app and whether app usage was associated with energy intake and weight loss outcomes over 8 weeks. Methods We conducted thematic analysis of semistructured interviews (N=38) among participants in the attentive eating smartphone app group of the trial who completed the 8-week assessment. Linear regression models examined the associations between energy intake and weight loss outcomes at 8 weeks and app usage. Results Participants reported several barriers and facilitators to using the smartphone app, including repetition of app content, social setting, motivation, and habitual use of the app. Participants believed that using the app had some beneficial effects on their eating behavior and diet. Exploratory analyses indicated that more frequent recording of eating episodes in the app was associated with lower body weight (B=–0.02, P=.004) and greater self-reported energy intake (B=5.98, P=.01) at 8 weeks, but not body fat percentage or taste-test energy intake. Total audio clip plays, gallery views, and percentage of food entries recorded using an image were not significantly associated with energy intake or weight. Conclusions Frequent recording of eating episodes in a smartphone app was associated with greater weight loss. There are barriers and facilitators to frequent use of an attentive eating smartphone app that may be useful to address when designing dietary behavior change smartphone apps. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03602001; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03602001; Open Science Framework DOI 10.17605/osf.io/btzhw; https://osf.io/btzhw/


BackgroundMiddle cerebral artery aneurysms (MCAAs) account for about 20% of intracranial aneurysms. These are commoner in females and have various other special features. AimTo study the demographic features in a subset of South Indian Population and to assess the clinical and radiologic parameters of outcome. Patients and MethodsRetrospective analysis of 99 patients with diagnosis of symptomatic MCAAs admitted to Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, India from 2000 to 2004 was performed. Clinical features and radiologic parameters were analyzed and correlation with outcome was evaluated. Fishers exact test and Pearson analysis was used for statistical analysis. ResultsSeizures and hemiparesis were common clinical findings. Hydrocephalus was less often seen and aneurysms pointing laterally had high incidence of parenchymal hematomas. Mirror, giant, and multiple aneurysms were often seen. ConclusionsMCAAs have higher association of multiple aneurysms, incidence of angiographic vasospasm is very high, and it significantly influences outcome besides preoperative World Federation of Neurological Surgeon and future directions to improve the surgical results should be aimed to better deal with the vasospasm and its sequelae.


A primary goal with many small gardens is to make them feel larger... to enlarge, if not the space, at least the perception of space. Many gardeners do this by making better use of vertical space. Trees, shrubs and vines and physical elements like sculpture, fences, plant containers and trellises can extend the ground plane so the eye never stops but simply moves from the ground level upward and outward. Gradual and varied changes of height— groundcover to flowerbed to shrub to tree—can give an impression of depth and complexity and keep the sense of space fluid and moving. A diversity of plants in varying heights also makes the yard less susceptible to plantspecific problems and attracts a wider variety of birds and other wildlife and pollinators. Placed properly, trees and shrubs can obscure the view into the garden, making it appear larger and attracting attention into the space but not beyond it. It might seem best not to divide a limited space into smaller areas but the effect can be just the opposite, increasing rather than limiting the sense of space. Curved rather than straight pathways and plantings can make separate areas seem farther apart than they are. And careful attention to scale can make a striking difference. The size of trees, plants, sidewalks and any focus points can help make portions of the garden seem farther away or hide views into corners, making the end-points disappear. In small lots, air circulation is often restricted by nearby buildings or privacy fences. Using a border of plants in varying heights means air can circulate more freely to avoid hot, stale spaces with limited air movement. They can also provide microclimates with varying degrees of sunlight, another element that is often restricted in small spaces. With a little more sunlight in a few spots, the color options increase as well. For shady areas, using variegated plants like hosta and Jack Frost brunnera in dark corners will draw interest and make them much more visually interesting. If the garden is squeezed in by other gardens or an interesting view, why not "borrow" them? With the right-sized plants, you can frame views and make them appear part of your own landscape. In a small yard, it's important to have plants that offer several seasons of interest. Many shrubs or small trees have spring bloom, summer fruit and fall color: redbud, serviceberry, viburnum, currant, wahoo, dogwood, crabapple, chokeberry, etc. Vines can add vertical interest. Evergreens are available in sizes to fit even the smallest garden and evergreen groundcovers like periwinkle, germander and ivy can help keep it green. If there's enough sunshine, grasses are beautiful most of the year and there are grasslike sedges that can handle dry shade. For perennials, some of the best year-round workhorses for small gardens are: coralbells, Lenten rose, coneflower, black-eyed Susan and sedum.


Social scientists have been sharing data for a long time. Sharing qualitative data, however, has not become a common practice, despite the context of e-Research, information growth, and funding agencies' mandates on research data archiving and sharing. Since most systematic and comprehensive studies are based on quantitative data practices, little is known about how social scientists share their qualitative data. This dissertation study aims to fill this void.

By synergizing the theory of Knowledge Infrastructure (KI) and the Theory of Remote Scientific Collaboration (TORSC), this dissertation study develops a series of instruments to investigate data-sharing practices in social sciences. Five sub-studies (two preliminary studies and three case studies) are conducted to gather information from different stakeholder groups in social sciences, including early career social scientists, social scientists who have deposited qualitative data at research data repositories, and eight information professionals at the world's largest social science data repository, ICPSR. The sub-studies are triangulated using four dimensions: data characteristics, individual, technological, and organizational aspects.

The results confirm the inactive data sharing practices in social sciences: the majority of faculty and students do not share data or are unaware of data sharing. Additional findings regarding social scientists' qualitative data-sharing behaviors include: 1) those who have shared qualitative data in data repositories are more likely to share research tools than their raw data; and 2) the perceived technical supports and extrinsic motivations are both strong predictors for qualitative data sharing. These findings also confirm that preparing qualitative data sharing packages is time- and labor-consuming, because both researchers and data repositories need to spend extra effort to prevent sensitive data from disclosure.

This dissertation makes contributions in three key aspects: 1) descriptive facts regarding current data-sharing practices in social sciences based on empirical data collection, 2) an in-depth analysis of determinants leading to qualitative data sharing, and 3) managerial recommendations for different stakeholders in developing a sustainable data-sharing environment in social sciences and beyond.


Glands in the nose produce mucus, which moistens and cleans the nasal membranes, humidifies the air, traps and clears inhaled foreign matter and fights infection. Changes in the mucus production, i.e. increased mucus or a change in consistency, occur in the presence of an allergen or infection, with the resulting symptoms of congestion and a runny nose. A nasal preparation is used to treat a blocked, runny and itchy nose, and to alleviate the symptoms of sniffing and sneezing. This article considers available nasal preparations in South Africa.


More than four decades have passed since the U.S. Supreme Court revolutionized the First Amendment rights of the public workforce. In the ensuing years the Court has embarked upon an ambitious quest to protect expressive liberties while facilitating orderly and efficient government. Yet it has never articulated an adequate theoretical framework to guide its jurisprudence. This Article suggests a conceptual reorientation of the modern doctrine. The proposal flows naturally from the Court's rejection of its former view that one who accepts a government job has no constitutional right to complain about its conditions. As a result of that rejection, the bare fact of government employment is insufficient to undermine a citizen's right to free speech. The baseline norm is instead one of parity between government workers and other citizens. To justify a deviation from the default of parity, there must be a meaningful reason beyond the employment relationship itself for viewing government officials as situated differently from their peers among the general public. In reframing the jurisprudence around the legitimate bases for differential treatment of public employees and other citizens, parity theory outfits the modern doctrine with a firmer conceptual grounding. The theory also provides a method for addressing flaws that plague the existing law in its practical application. Perhaps most importantly, parity theory highlights a critical factor that has played an unduly limited role in the cases to date: the institutional mission of government instrumentalities.


Data from a large study of novice drivers were analysed to determine the prevalence of accidents of different types, changes in rates of different types of accident over time and associations between accidents and driver characteristics. Brief accident descriptions provided by novice drivers over a three year period after passing the driving test were classified using a modified version of the system developed by West (1997). Shunts (rear end collisions) were the most common type of accidents, followed by right-of-way violations, loss-of-control accidents, then reversing accidents. Over the first three years there was a significant reduction in loss of control accidents, 'active' shunts (the reporting driver's vehicle hitting another from behind) and 'active' reversing accidents (the reporting driver's vehicle doing the reversing), but not right-of-way violations or passive shunts. Accidents as a whole and active shunts in particular were associated with 'inattentiveness', 'impatience', tendency to commit violations and fast driving, but not hesitancy and 'confidence'. The results provide a potentially useful basis for a training package aimed at learner drivers pointing out the risks of particular kinds of accident, the casual mechanisms involved, and a system for working out their own individual level of risk. (A)


The concept of the Internet as a cluster of related innovations, along with the staged approach to organisational learning exhibited by SMEs in other domains, suggest that e-commerce is likely to be adopted in a sequence of stages. This exploratory survey, carried out by means of a postal questionnaire with 678 respondents, uses cluster analysis to derive a grouped classification of e-commerce adoption. Four groups of organisations emerge, which we term developers, communicators, promoters and customer lifecycle managers. Through inductive analysis of these groups we are able to suggest that they represent four stages in the adoption of e-commerce. Five factors found to influence this adoption are top management support, management understanding of business benefits, presence of IT skills, availability of consultancy, and prioritisation of e-commerce. In addition to these factors, several other factors influence the value of e-commerce to the enterprise for any given adoption level, notably perceived risk and customer demand. Further research is encouraged to validate and extend the stage model: further stages are hypothesised, for example, termed supply chain managers and virtual value deliverers. Implications for practitioners include the need to include customer demand information and a risk assessment in decisions on adoption, and the importance of building in-house skills as part of the adoption plan.


A water current meter is shown to have been built in 1663 by Robert Hooke (1635 - 1703), the author of Hooke's Law of Elasticity, and the first Curator of Experiments at the Royal Society of London. No drawing of that meter is known to exist, but the type of rotor and the revolution-counting facilities that Hooke had used thereon were the same as he had shown in a drawing of one of his deep sea sounding devices. A reproduction of that drawing is presented in the article. This is the earliest current meter to have been found so far in which use has been made (as in modern current meters) of a freely-rotating sensor with facilities for observing the number of turns the sensor made within a measured period of time. Features of the current meter built by Reinhard Woltman in about 1790, are so similar to those of Hooke's meter, that it is suggested that Woltman had duplicated Hooke's meter. Several other velocity-measuring devices conceived between the times of Hooke (1663) and Woltman (1790) are described briefly.


Armillaria mellea sensu stricto (Vahl:Fr.) Kummer has been found infrequently in studies conducted in northeastern North America (2) and it was not found in an earlier survey of northern Ontario (3). In a 1999 survey of Armillaria spp. conducted in central and southern Ontario, A. mellea s. str. was found at four of 110 locations surveyed, two approximately 100 km west and southwest of Ottawa, one 15 km north of Belleville, and one on the Niagara Peninsula in the Balls Falls Conservation Area. At the Ottawa area sites, A. mellea s. str. was found on red oak (Quercus rubra L.) and beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) stumps. A. ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink and A. gallica Marxmuller & Romagn. were also found on these sites. At the Belleville site, it was found on a dead co-dominant white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), while at the Niagara Peninsula site it was found on a dead, suppressed beech. A. gallica was also found at these latter sites. Sites ranged from moisture regimes fresh to moist, and from sandy to silty soil from both calcareous and non-calcareous parent material. Four isolates were obtained from infected wood and rhizomorphs and identified by the polymerase chain reaction, yielding restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) products of 500 and 183 base pairs. These fragment sizes are similar to findings reported in an earlier study (4). The identification was confirmed by haploid/diploid pairing. The Balls Falls Conservation Area is in close proximity to extensive fruit orchards and the presence of A. mellea is cause for concern, especially in light of its proven pathogenicity to fruit trees (1). This is the first confirmation of A. mellea s. str. in Ontario. References: (1) J. E. Adaskaveg and J. M. Ogawa. Plant Dis. 74:341-352, 1990. (2) J. T. Blodgett and J. J. Worrall. Plant Dis. 76:166-170, 1992. (3) M. T. Dumas. Can. J. For. Res. 18:872-874, 1988. (4) T. C. Harrington and B. D. Wingfield. Mycologia 87:280-288, 1995.


Objective:  Discuss use of syndromic surveillance as a source for the state's ILI/Influenza surveillance Discuss reliability of syndromic data and methods to address problems caused by data outliers and inconsistencies. Introduction:  ILINet is a CDC program that has been used for years for influenza-like illness (ILI) surveillance, using a network of outpatient providers who volunteer to track and report weekly the number of visits due to ILI and the total number of visits to their practice. Pennsylvania has a network of 95 providers and urgent care clinics that submit data to ILINet. However, ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining providers, and inconsistent weekly reporting are barriers to receiving accurate, representative, and timely ILI surveillance data year-round. Syndromic surveillance data have been used to enhance outpatient ILI surveillance in a number of jurisdictions, including Pennsylvania. At present, 156 hospitals, or 90% of all Pennsylvania hospitals with emergency departments (EDs), send chief complaint and other information on their ED visits to the Department of Health's (PADOH) syndromic surveillance system. PADOH evaluated the consistency and reliability of ILI syndromic data as compared to ILINet data, to confirm that syndromic data were suitable for use in ILINet. Methods:  Pennsylvania ILINet data from the past 6 influenza seasons (2011-2012 to 2016-2017, or 314 weeks of data) were downloaded from the CDC's ILINet website. The statewide weekly percent of visits due to ILI in ILINet was used as the standard for comparisons. For syndromic surveillance, PADOH uses the Epicenter platform hosted by Health Monitoring Systems (HMS); visit-level data are also stored in SAS datasets at PADOH, and HMS forwards a subset of data to the National Syndromic Surveillance System Program. Using syndromic data from the same time period, the proportion of weeks with no syndromic data available was calculated for each facility. A state-developed ILI algorithm (very similar to the 2016 algorithm developed by the ISDS Syndrome Definitions Workgroup) was applied to ED visit chief complaint data to identify visits likely to be due to ILI. The algorithm flags the ER visit as ILI if chief complaint has any combinations of words for flu or fever plus either cough and sore throat or fever and both cough or sore throat . The percent of ED visits due to ILI per the syndromic algorithm (ILIsyn) was calculated for each week by hospital and state-wide. Facility ILIsyn trends were compared to the State level percent ILI data from ILINet by visually examining plots and by calculating Pearson correlation coefficients. Facilities that had >=15 weeks where ILIsyn differed from percent ILI in ILINet by more than 5% were considered to be poorly correlated. Results:  A total of 156 hospitals were evaluated in the study. Twenty of the hospitals were excluded because they did not have syndromic data for at least 50% of the weeks in the study period, and an additional 20 were excluded because they had not agreed to have data forwarded to CDC. Of the remaining 116 facilities, individual facility correlation coefficients between ILIsyn and ILINet trends ranged from 0.03 to 0.82 (examples are in Figure 1). Twenty-four hospitals (20.7%) were determined to be poorly correlated. When data from the remaining 92 hospitals were combined, the state ILINet and state-wide ILIsyn trends were strongly correlated statistically and graphically (r=0.82,  p  <0.0001, Figure 2). Syndromic data from these 92 facilities were deemed acceptable for inclusion in ILINet.  Conclusions:  Syndromic surveillance data are a valuable source for ILI surveillance. However, evaluation at the hospital-specific level revealed that useful information is not obtained from all facilities. This project demonstrated that validation of data at the facility level is crucial to obtaining reliable and meaningful information. More work is needed to understand which factors distinguish well-correlated from poorly-correlated facilities, and how to improve the quality of information obtained from poorly-correlated facilities.


An important tactical decision for vehicle rental providers is the design of a repositioning strategy to balance vehicle utilization with customer wait times due to vehicle unavailabilities. To address this problem, this article analyzes alternative repositioning strategies: a no-repositioning strategy, a customer repositioning strategy, and a vehicle repositioning strategy, using queuing network models that are able to handle stochastic demand and vehicle unavailabilities. Optimization models are formulated to determine the repositioning fractions for alternate strategies that minimize the rental provider's cost by balancing repositioning costs with customer waiting penalty costs. The nonlinear optimization problems are challenging to solve because the objective functions are non-differentiable and the decision variables (such as effective arrival rates and customer repositioning fractions) are interrelated. Therefore, a two-phase sequential solution approach to estimate the repositioning fractions is developed. Phase 1 determines the effective arrival rates by developing an approximate network model, deriving structural results, determining a high-quality solution point, and refining the solution. Phase 2 determines the repositioning fractions by solving a transportation problem. Numerical experiments are used to evaluate the efficacy of the proposed solution approach, to analyze alternate repositioning strategies, and to illustrate how the developed techniques can be adopted to create a better readiness at a depot.


PredictProtein is a meta-service for sequence analysis that has been predicting structural and functional features of proteins since 1992. Queried with a protein sequence it returns: multiple sequence alignments, predicted aspects of structure (secondary structure, solvent accessibility, transmembrane helices (TMSEG) and strands, coiled-coil regions, disulfide bonds and disordered regions) and function. The service incorporates analysis methods for the identification of functional regions (ConSurf), homology-based inference of Gene Ontology terms (metastudent), comprehensive subcellular localization prediction (LocTree3), protein–protein binding sites (ISIS2), protein–polynucleotide binding sites (SomeNA) and predictions of the effect of point mutations (non-synonymous SNPs) on protein function (SNAP2). Our goal has always been to develop a system optimized to meet the demands of experimentalists not highly experienced in bioinformatics. To this end, the PredictProtein results are presented as both text and a series of intuitive, interactive and visually appealing figures. The web server and sources are available at http://ppopen.rostlab.org.