In the wake of recent critical reports on the National Health Service there is a fresh drive to create a culture of care that delivers a dignified and empowered patient experience (O'Neill, 2013). Models such as Person-Centred Nursing (PCN) (McCormack and McCance, 2010) have emerged as frameworks for strategic direction in this area. One of the key features of PCN is the concept of Sympathetic Presence, which implies, not empathy per se, but a point that involves the nurse being available "in the moment" (McCormack and McCance, 2010, p 104). Research has shown that Applied Drama can lead to positive outcomes in Nursing pedagogy (Boggs et al, 2007; McGarry and Aubeeluck, 2013; Bates, 2013;Lee et al, 2014). There have been calls to use such methods to deepen empathy in relation to the patient experience (Arveklev et al, 2015). 'Sympathetic presence' has not been explored. Nursing students (n=200) were instructed in the use of Applied Drama techniques such as Theatre of the Oppressed (Boal 1979), and actor training techniques, such as Stanislavski's Method of Physical Action (Benedetti, 1998). Scenarios were video-recorded. Assessment involved a reflective account of the experience using a framework of critical reflection derived from Asadoorian et al (2011). Most students felt they advanced in understanding of 'sympathetic presence' and gained new insights into the patient experience. Students stated that they gained new skills and understanding of agency, person-centred engagement and 'presence'. While this remains work in progress, it can be inferred that is possible to use Applied Drama as form of creative play to support critical reflection through an interactive model that advances Sympathetic Presence in the nurse-patient relationship. Key Words: Empathy, Sympathetic Presence, Nursing, Drama, Critical Reflection, Pedagogy. References: Arveklev, S.H., Wigert, H., Berg, L., Burton, B., Lepp, M. 2015 The use and application of drama in nursing education - An integrative review of the literature Nurse Education Today 35(7), e12-e17Asadoorian, J., Schonwetter, D, J. and Lavigne, S, E. 2011 Developing Reflective Health Care Practitioners: Learning from Experience in Dental Hygiene Education. Journal of Dental Education 75(4), 472-484Bates, K. (2013) Drama in the classroom: Fitness to practise. Practising Midwife, 16(1), 23-25. Benedetti, J.( 1998) Stanislavski and the Actor. London: MethuenBoal, A. (1979) Theatre of the Oppressed. London: Pluto BooksBoggs, J, Mickel, A, and Holtom, B.2007. Experiential Learning Through Interactive Drama: An Alternative To Student Role Plays Journal of Management Education, 31(6), 832-858Lee,B, Patall, EA, Cawthon,S,W and Steingut, R,R. (2014) The Effect of Drama-Based Pedagogy on PreK-16 Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis of Research From 1985 to 2012. Review of Educational Research. 20(10),1-47McCormack,B and McCance,T. (2010) Person-centred Nursing; theory and practice. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.McGarry, J. and Aubeeluck, A. (2013) A Different Drum: An Arts-Based Educational Program. Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(3), 267-273. O'Neill, K (2013) (Ed) Patient-centred Leadership; rediscovering our purpose. London: King's Fund


The interaction of G-protein-coupled receptors with G proteins is a key event in transmembrane signal transduction that leads to vital decision-making by the cell. Here, we applied single-molecule epifluorescence microscopy to study the mobility of both the Gβγ and the Gα2 subunits of the G protein heterotrimer in comparison with the cAMP receptor responsible for chemotactic signaling in Dictyostelium discoideum. Our experimental results suggest that ~30% of the G protein heterotrimers exist in receptor-precoupled complexes. Upon stimulation in a chemotactic gradient, this complex dissociates, subsequently leading to a linear diffusion and collision amplification of the external signal. We further found that Gβγ was partially immobilized and confined in an agonist-, F-actin- and Gα2-dependent fashion. This led to the hypothesis that functional nanometric domains exist in the plasma membrane, which locally restrict the activation signal, and in turn, lead to faithful and efficient chemotactic signaling.


ABSTRACT As clerical sexual abuse scandals hit the news and the crisis of vocations worsens each year, debate about the merits of mandatory clerical celibacy continues to grow. The fact remains, however, that supposedly celibate priests have been sexually active in significant numbers throughout history and that their sexual activity has barely affected the power of the Church. In this article, I focus on the 'everyday' nature of sexual 'incontinence' among a group of Northeast Brazilian priests and analyse the relative systematicity with which vow-breaking is accommodated. Such systematicity, I suggest, reveals an ongoing stable-instability at the heart of the Church as an institution; a dynamic which, if better understood, can help to explain the most characteristic (but often overlooked) feature of institutions more generally: their impressive longevity.


ELASHRY, Mohamed K., Mohamed S. GHEBLAWI and Sherin A. SHERIF, 2010. Analysis of export demand for United Arab Emirates' dates in world markets. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 16: 123-134 The main focus of this study was on methods of estimating the price elasticity of foreign demand of UAE dates for India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Jordan. Two models for estimating export demand for the UAE dates were applied; the substitution model and the market share model. Each model considered UAE dates as a final product. It was concluded that UAE has the potential to increase its date exports to the Indian, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Pakistani, and Jordanian markets. Results of the substitution model illustrated that Indian, Pakistani, and Indonesian markets were the most sensitive to import prices. The results of the market share model indicated that Indian and Pakistani markets were sensitive to import prices of dates in both the short and long runs. Long-run elasticities showed that UAE dates encountered high competition in terms of price sensitivity in all of the studied markets except for Malaysia (inelastic). This result implied that dates' prices play a key role in competition in these markets.


Abstract This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of enhanced case management for substance abusers with comorbid major depression, which was an integrated approach to care. One hundred and 20 participants admitted to drug treatment who also met Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule criteria for major depression at baseline were randomized to enhanced case management (ECM) (n = 64) or treatment as usual (TAU) (n = 56). Both groups were followed up at six and 12 months. Participants' current clinical status across a broad range of domains in the past 90 days was assessed using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs and included their Depressive Symptom Scale, Homicidal-Suicidal Thought Index, and Mental Health Treatment Index scores. The findings did not reveal any statistically significant effects of ECM on outcome measures. However, in view of the high rates of adverse treatment outcomes among comorbid groups, including suicide, the finding of a clinically significant reduction in homicidal and suicidal thoughts warrants further research; the comprehensive approach to treatment tested may be especially helpful to depressed substance abusers with such ideations. KEY WORDS: case management; comorbidity; depression; integrated care; suicide Substance use disorders and depression often coexist; in the United States, about 15% of individuals meeting criteria for past-12-month substance use disorder also met criteria for major depressive disorder (Grant et al., 2004). Comorbid substance use with depression tends to worsen clinical course and outcomes (Bums & Teesson, 2002; Bums, Teesson, & O'Neill, 2005; Hasin et al., 2002), and those with such comorbidity are at a high risk of suicide (Davis, Uezato, Newell, & Frazier, 2008; Davis et al., 2006; Yaldizli, Kuhl, Graf, Wiesbeck, & Wurst, 2010). Appropriate interventions that have been empirically tested and that take into consideration the additional treatment needs of this population are needed. In the past 10 years, integrated treatment for comorbid groups has been advocated to avoid a fragmentary approach to care and to facilitate coordinated, comprehensive, and efficient treatment (Chi, Satre, & Weisner, 2006; Nunes & Levin, 2004; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2002). A meta-analysis of integrated treatment for coexisting depression and substance use disorders (Hesse, 2009) showed that integrated psychosocial treatment targeting both conditions (as compared with single-focus treatments) was related positively to improved outcomes in temas of percentage of days abstinent, depressive symptoms, and retention in treatment. Hesse concluded that although integrated treatment seems to be promising, more trials are needed to replicate such findings. In the current study, we compared an enhanced case management (ECM) model with treatment as usual (TAU) at a substance abuse treatment facility. ECM was based on motivational interviewing, an integrated approach to address both substance abuse and comorbid depression. The focus was on providing information from standardized psychiatric assessments to the case managers to improve detection of the comorbid psychiatric disorder, to actively engage patients in depression treatment, to educate them about the relationship between the substance use and depressive symptoms, to identify and overcome barriers to care, and to increase retention in the treatment program. We hypothesized that compared with TAU participants, participants who received ECM would show increased involvement with mental health treatment services for continued management of substance use and coexisting depression, a decrease in depressive symptoms, and a decrease in homicidal or suicidal thoughts. MATERIALS AND METHOD Procedure The study was a collaborative project between Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) and six adult treatment units (three intensive outpatient and three regular outpatient treatment units) within the facilities of the Madison County, Illinois, Chestnut Health Systems (CHS) drug abuse treatment system. …


Social-Media streams are constantly supplying vast volumes of real-time User Generated Content through platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram, which makes it a challenge to monitor and understand. Understanding social conversations has now become a major interest for businesses, PR and advertising agencies, as well as law enforcement and government bodies. Monitoring of social-media allows us to observe large numbers of spontaneous, real-time interactions and varied expression of opinion, often fleeting and private. However, human, expert monitoring is generally unfeasible due to the high volumes of data. This has been a major reason for recent research and development work
looking at automated social-media monitoring systems. Such systems often keep the human "out of the loop" as an NLP (Natural Language Processing) pipeline and other data-mining algorithms deal with analysing and extracting features and meaning from the data. This is plagued by a variety of problems, mostly due to
the heterogenic, inconsistent and context-poor nature of social-media data, where as a result the accuracy and efficacy of such systems suffers. Nevertheless, automated social-media monitoring systems provide for a scalable, streamlined and often efficient way of dealing with big-data streams. The integration of processing outputs from automated systems and feedback to human experts is a challenge and deserves to be addressed in research literature. This paper will establish the role of the human in the social-media monitoring loop, based on prior systems work in this area. The focus of our investigation will be on use of visualisations
for effective feedback to human experts. A specific, custom built system's case-study in a social-media monitoring scenario will be considered and suggestions on how to bring back the human "into the loop" will be provided. Also some related ethical questions will be briefly considered. It is hoped that this work will
inform and provide valuable insight to help improve development of automated social-media monitoring systems.


Liberalism is losing ground, while populist or even authoritarian nationalist regimes are on the rise. This article argues that the causes of the decline are, at least partly, endogenous, that a narrow focus on economic efficiency and the successful critique of socialism and the welfare state have created an idea vacuum that has opened up for these illiberal tendencies. The conclusion is that a central challenge for liberalism is to offer a comprehensive idea and narrative about meaning and community that is not socialist, conservative or nationalist, but distinctly liberal, to counter these developments.


The author takes up two events, which seem to be practically absent in the minds of a large portion of Turkish society to analyze intentional or unintentional omissions in the construction of national identity. One of the case studies the author examines to shed light on the social memory in Turks is the tragic 6-7 September 1955 events when the Greek minority in Istanbul (The Rum's) and their property was attacked. The other case study is on discourse following the disastrous sinking of a Turkish Submarine in April 1953.


Modifying a widely used convention is rarely easy. With designers, fabricators, and metrologists gathered here, we have a rare opportunity to consider such a change in relation to optical aspheres. This evolving technology is currently burdened by the increasingly inadequate convention of expressing a rotationally symmetric asphere's sag as the sum of a conic component and an additive polynomial. When more than just a few terms appear in the polynomial, this becomes problematic and ultimately unworkable. Many of us are being burned by the fact that the associated coefficients are woefully unintuitive and inefficient. The norm is error-prone communications and a lack of easy options to appreciate the difficulty of manufacturing any particular asphere. Thankfully, the design and manufacture of increasingly complex aspheres is facilitated by a modified representation that is also ideal for exploiting cost-effective shapes. In particular, an orthogonalised representation gives a description that functions with fewer coefficients _typically using only one third the number of digits for current designs_and allows easy interpretations and sanity checks as well as direct assessments of manufacturability. Examples are presented to motivate us to confront this sooner rather than later.


P. W. G. Tanner writes: In their review of the Cumberland Bay (CBF) and Sandebugten (SBF) formations on South Georgia, Turnbull & Craw (1988) draw many conclusions regarding the sedimentology, petrography, and metamorphism of the two sequences with which I am in agreement. However, they neglect to consider all possible models for explaining the structural and stratigraphical relationships between the two units and discuss only two possibilities: either the turbidite sequences are broadly contemporaneous and derived from separate source areas on the continental (SBF) and island arc (CBF) sides of the basin; or they represent different structural levels within a single sequence derived solely from an evolving island arc and its sialic foundations. Historically, the debate has been more wide-ranging and opinion has fluctuated over the past 70 years between the idea of a single, conformable sequence and that of two sequences of different age separated by an unconformity or thrust (for reviews, see Stone 1980 and Tanner 1989). The basic problem is that the CBF and SBF consist of grey, turbiditic sandstones and slates which appear similar in the field and can only be separated by careful structural and lithological mapping, and thin-section examination. A down-plunge profile drawn nearly parallel to, and a few kilometres northwest of Turnbull & Craw's section BB' (fig. 8) and based upon the computed means of planar and linear data (Tanner 1989) displays the main features of the two formations (Fig. 1). Significantly, there is no evidence of a downward structural or stratigraphic transition between the


In 2005, we dissected 102 wildfowl from the Czech Republic and 73 wildfowl from Poland including representatives of Anseriformes, Gruiformes and Gaviiformes. Schistosome infection was found in a total of 21 (29%) and 23 (23%) birds from Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively. All infected birds belonged to the order Anseriformes. The prevalences of nasal and visceral species were, respectively, 22% and 16% in Poland and 6% and 19% in the Czech Republic. Four species of schistosomes were found: Bilharziella polonica Kowalewski, 1895, Trichobilharzia regenti Horák, Koláfová et Dvorák, 1998, T. szidati Neuhaus, 1952, and an undetermined schistosome from the intestinal wall of Anas penelope L. The finding of T. szidati represents the first record of the parasite from natural final host since the species description.


Over 50% of the work done by the designer on a day-to-day basis is routine design that consists of reusing past design solutions (Moore, 1993). Despite of this fact, there are no tools that rationally support reuse of such solutions. Case-based design (CBD) has been pointed out as a promising aid to help this situation. In order to be of practical use, however, a case-based design system has to be able to use the information that the designer creates during the design process. The design information that the designer creates is today mostly in the form of weakly structured information, e.g. text documents, calculation documents, and 2D-drawings. This paper proposes an approach that enables capturing and representation of weakly structured information for the purpose of case-based structural design. The representation proposed allows us to apply most of the objectoriented abstract principles also on weakly structured information. It is also shown how the conceptual framework, the dependency structure, and the design process can be captured, represented, and used in CBD. The approach is successfully implemented into a prototype for reuse of computerized design calculation documents.


We argue that legislative attempts to establish bureaucratic programs to eradicate American poverty will invariably result in ironic inconsistencies that will doom such programs to only limited or partial success. As an illustration, we examine the ironic history of the AFDC program as it has been legislated to deal with American poverty. Three sociological accounts for the ironies of welfare programming are then drawn together. One account suggests that undue concern over the work ethic has overridden more direct concern for the deprecating living conditions of the Door. A second account suggests that poverty is so functionally beneficial to a number of vested interest groups in society that serious attempts to eradicate it are unlikely. The third explanation, which we ourselves develop, suggests that ironic inconsistencies arise in legislated welfare programs because the roots of poverty are inherent in the very institutions of our society that provide the supportive groundwork upon which legislative activity as a conservative political process operates. Without social restructing of these institutions on a revolutionary scale, therefore, only ironically ineffective governmental programs that do not seriously threaten the institutional foundations of American poverty (and, therefore, do not threaten American legislative politics) are likely to be enacted. This third explanation rests upon a 'social structural social psychological' model of the roots of American poverty. We develop this model in detail by identifying the key structural features in American society that produce 1poverty traps" into which individuals with selected social psychological characteristics are ensnared.


This paper tests for the existence of bubbles in the value of the New Zealand dollar. A common definition of an asset price bubble is the existence of explosive dynamics. This paper tests for periods of explosiveness in the New Zealand dollar measured at a monthly and quarterly frequency. To determine whether, during any explosive changes, the exchange rate was disconnected from changes in relative economic fundamentals, these tests are also applied to three models of exchange rate determination. This paper finds no evidence of episodes when either the New Zealand dollar or its fundamentals were explosive.


A multi-scalar data-driven computational approach for dynamic environments The project combines ecological and architectural scales approaching design andtransformation of dynamic environments through advanced computational and robotictechnologies. The complexity of the Venetian lagoon ecosystem is encoded into a set of generative data-driven algorithms defining computational methodologies to inform architectural strategies at different scales. This includes selective preservation, modification and transformation of the landscape in a dynamic and ongoing project for the lagoon, thenew local botanical garden and the architectures and technologies that are involved in this complex process. The research aims to initiate a new approach for collaboration between disciplines such diverse and interrelated as geography, ecology, computer science and architecture.


[1] Stratospheric sulfate aerosol particles from strong volcanic eruptions produce significant transient cooling of the troposphere and warming of the lower stratosphere. The radiative impact of volcanic aerosols also produces a response that generally includes an anomalously positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) that is most pronounced in the boreal winter. The main atmospheric thermal and dynamical effects of eruptions typical of the past century persist for about two years after each eruption. In this paper we evaluate the volcanic responses in simulations produced by seven of the climate models included in the model intercomparison conducted as part of the preparation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). We consider global effects as well as the regional circulation effects in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere focusing on the AO responses forced by volcanic eruptions. Specifically we analyze results from the IPCC historical runs that simulate the evolution of the circulation over the last part of the 19th century and the entire 20th century using a realistic time series of atmospheric composition (greenhouse gases and aerosols). In particular, composite anomalies over the two boreal winters following each of the nine largest low-latitude eruptions during the period 1860–1999 are computed for various tropospheric and stratospheric fields. These are compared when possible with observational data. The seven IPCC models we analyzed use similar assumptions about the amount of volcanic aerosols formed in the lower stratosphere following the volcanic eruptions that have occurred since 1860. All models produce tropospheric cooling and stratospheric warming as in observations. However, they display a considerable range of dynamic responses to volcanic aerosols. Nevertheless, some general conclusions can be drawn. The IPCC models tend to simulate a positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation in response to volcanic forcing similar to that typically observed. However, the associated dynamic perturbations and winter surface warming over Northern Europe and Asia in the post-volcano winters is much weaker in the models than in observations. The AR4 models also underestimate the variability and long-term trend of the AO. This deficiency affects high-latitude model predictions and may have a similar origin. This analysis allows us to better evaluate volcanic impacts in up-to-date climate models and to better quantify the model Arctic Oscillation sensitivity to external forcing. This potentially could lead to improving model climate predictions in the extratropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.


The research presented in this thesis endeavours to further understanding of the cytoskeletal protein keratin 15 (K15), and the role this protein has on maintaining the stem cell niche. This study has focused on studying the role of K15 by using small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) to knock-down K15 in different cell lines (HaCaT cells, MET 1, 2 and 4 cells and normal human epidermal keratinocytes). To observe the effect of K15 on stem cells, adhesion, migration, differentiation and proliferation were assessed following K15 knock-down by siRNA.
Although cell adhesion was not affected by K15 knock-down, cell spreading and morphology was affected. K15 knock-down cells spread more quickly than their control cells, and cells were larger following K15 ablation. Cell migration was studied using the scratch wound assay. Cells without K15 were less motile than K15-positive cells. Involucrin expression was observed as an indicator of differentiation. Following K15 knock-down, involucrin expression increased, indicating differentiation. Differentiation was assessed using the calcium switch assay, where higher levels of involucrin were observed in K15 siRNA transfected cells after only 6 hours in high calcium media. Cell proliferation was measured using the MTT assay, and K15 knock-down cells were shown to proliferate to a greater extent than control cells.
Tissue sections were also probed for K15 and CD34. K15 was observed in the basal layers of the epidermis and around the hair follicle in rat, mouse and human adult skin. This study also observed a CD34-positive/K15-positive cell population and a CD34-negative/K15-positive population in adult human interfollicular epidermis. For comparison between 2D cell culture and tissue sections, 3D (organotypic) cultures were utilised. Variable K15 expression was observed in the squamous cell carcnoma lines MET 1, MET 2 and MET 4. In HaCaT cells, K15 was observed to a greater extent at the base of the culture, similar to that observed in the epidermis.
K15 ablation has been shown to affect cell spreading and morphology during adhesion, cell migration, differentiation and proliferation. These results suggest that K15 does impact on the stem cell nature of keratinocytes, although the mechanisms require further investigation.


Chemical process optimization problems often have multiple and conflicting objectives, such as capital cost, operating cost, production cost, profit, energy consumption and environmental impact. There are several conversion technologies that can convert Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) into power, heat and electricity; of these, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with Gas Turbine (SOFC-GT) has shown higher thermodynamic performance. In this study, design and operation of SOFC-GT is optimized for levelized electricity cost and annualized capital cost per kWh, simultaneously. The final selection of a solution from the obtained Pareto-optimal front depends on its sensitivity to the uncertain parameters, such as fuel and product prices, plant life and operating time. Practitioners are mainly interested in selecting one or few robust solutions which are less sensitive to the uncertain parameters, and so the uncertainty analysis of the obtained non-dominated solutions may help in identifying robust solutions. In this study, effect of several uncertain operating and market parameters namely, yearly operation, economic life time, interest rate, fuel cell capital cost factor, electricity price, oxygen price and SNG price, is studied on the performance of SOFC-GT system. The uncertainty analysis is able to idetify most promising non-dominated solutions, based on the levelized electriicty cost as main decision crieriton.


This thesis introduces an innovative method for the analysis of the player character (PC) in offline computer role-playing games (cRPGs). It derives from the assumption that the character constitutes the focal point of the game, around which all the other elements revolve. This underlying observation became the foundation of the Pivot Player Character Model, the framework illustrating the experience of gameplay as perceived through the PC's eyes.
Although VG characters have been scrutinised from many different perspectives, a uniform methodology has not been formed yet. This study aims to fill that methodological void by systematising the hitherto research and providing a method replicable across the cRPG genre. The proposed methodology builds upon the research of characters performed in video games, fiction, film, and drama. It has been largely inspired by Anne Ubersfeld's semiological dramatic character research implemented in Reading Theatre I (1999).
The developed theoretical model is applied to three selected cRPGs, which form an accurate methodological sample: The Witcher (CD Projekt RED 2007), Fallout 3 (Bethesda Game Studios 2008), and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (Troika Games 2004). The choice of the game genre has been incited by the degree of attention it draws to the player character's persona. No other genre features such a complex character development system as a computer role-playing game.


In this essay, it is my intent to examine the history of architectural history's intersection with the profession of architecture in the United States.1 A common lens for viewing this evolving relationship is that of academia—that is, how architectural history has figured within architectural education. Instead, I will take a more arcane object of investigation: the architectural licensing exam. Since its inception in the 1920s, architectural history has been a constituent element of the tests that individuals must pass in order to call themselves architects. Thus, the licensing exam is the profession's deliberated and institutionalized statement of the status of architectural history, and an examination of the exam reveals the history of architectural history in relation to the profession of architecture.

It is my argument that the mutable nature of this relationship demonstrates architectural history's sensitive tracking of the profession's status in the American political economy and, in turn, architectural history's fluctuation between autonomy and instrumentality within the profession. I will suggest in conclusion that architectural history is now capable of a "speculative turn," building on Hayden White's idea of a "practical past."

At the end of the nineteenth century, architecture professionalized in the United States. At that time, architectural history was an intriguingly material study based on Beaux-Arts training that moved into the offices of architects like H. H. Richardson, whose apprentices studied ornament not just through precedents presented in books but also through plaster casts of sculpture and architectural fragments from antiquity. If books of precedent and architectural drawings constituted a significant part of the libraries in offices like H. H. Richardson's or McKim, Mead and White, the most likely textbook in schools was Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture .2 It remained a if not the core text through the 1930s, when Joseph Esherick recalled …


Abstract. Column-averaged volume mixing ratios of carbon dioxide and methane retrieved from the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) Short-Wavelength InfraRed observation (GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4) were compared with the reference calibrated data obtained by ground-based high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometers (g-b FTSs) participating in the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Preliminary results are as follows: the GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 (Version 01.xx) are biased low by 8.85 ± 4.75 ppm (2.3 ± 1.2 %) and 20.4 ± 18.9 ppb (1.2 ± 1.1 %), respectively. The standard deviation of the GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 is about 1 % (1 σ) after correcting the negative biases of XCO2 and XCH4 by 8.85 ppm and 20.4 ppb, respectively. The latitudinal distributions of zonal means of the GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 show similar features to those of the g-b FTS data except for the negative biases in the GOSAT data.


This paper is primarily concerned with the spatial aspects of population, namely with: (i) patterns of settlement (urban, rural) and attendant population size variations by region, (ii) changes over time between rural and urban areas at a Regional Council level, (iii) and between regions in New Zealand. It is important to look at this because many trends in human capital, social equity, families and health that are seen at a regional level may be gaps between more urbanised and more isolated areas. There are, in fact, significant differences in levels of urbanisation between regions and these have major implications for policy.


This special issue of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE (TPS) mainly contains works presented at the 21st IEEE International Pulsed Power Conference (PPC) held in Brighton, U.K., between June 18–22, 2017 ( http://ece-events.unm.edu/ppc2017/ ). This conference marks an important step, as it was located outside of the USA for the first time. The PPC is well known for serving the Pulsed Power and Plasma Science communities as the principal forum for the professionals worldwide, where the most important technical presentations and discussions are taking place; the Brighton conference was no exception. The 21st PPC was extremely successful, with 470 quality papers submitted as equal contributions from the Americas, Europe, and Asia.


We present a theoretical framework for the generation and scattering of second-harmonic and sum-frequency light from the surface of particles of arbitrary shape in the limit of low index of refraction contrast. For homogeneous and isotropic surfaces, light scattering can be described by a finite set of scattering functions. Selection rules regarding these scattering functions are presented. We also find that the scattering functions associated with achiral and chiral surfaces are directly related to the bulk and surface linear optical form factors, respectively. Finally, we derive explicit expressions for particles of ellipsoidal shape, for which we calculate angular scattering patterns as a function of particle orientation and for ensembles of particles.


A network covert channel violates security rules and leaks information imperceptibly. Many researchers have been studying how to construct it, and the basic methods involve exploiting packets head, packets sorting and packets timing, etc. To construct a more secret covert channel, this paper proposes a novel approach based on packet classification. With this method, covert information is encoded by modulating the varieties of packets on the Internet. The basic idea of packet classification, choice of carrier and algorithm of information hiding based on packet classification are discussed. Our analysis demonstrate that the covert channels based on packet classification can not be totally eliminated with current methods.


Most youth football teams are managed by amateur coaches, parents and teachers who have a love of the game, but often don't have the relevant coaching qualifications or training. You want the best for and out of your team, but where do you start? Youth Football Coaching is essential reading for all those who coach 11-a-side to 11-18 year olds, and want to plan and deliver structured, professional training sessions to assist their team to reach full potential throughout the season. The book provides: * A comprehensive range of illustrated coaching 'session plans', designed for goalkeepers, defenders and attackers, and relevant to the English FA coaching template. * Everything you need to know to prepare and practice a long-term coaching plan. * A coaching formula for greater team and individual success. * The tools to deliver an effective, safe and fun training session. * Templates for player and parent codes of conduct, Child Protection best practice and health and safety guidelines. Also valuable for those studying for Level 2 or Level 3 (UEFA B) coaching qualifications, Youth Football Coaching is the crucial step to developing a foolproof coaching strategy, while ensuring you deliver a fun training session every week, and hopefully picking up a few trophies along the way.


Assessing illicit drugs in wastewater: advances in wastewater-based drug epidemiology reviews a new approach to estimating drug use in populations, based on the detection and quantification of drugs and their metabolic products in community wastewater. Strengths of the wastewater-based approach include avoiding the problems associated with questionnaire-based research, better identification of the drugs being used and being able to provide near-real-time results, with the power to identify trends in drug use patterns, over time and geographically. Novel uses of the approach are explored, such as the early detection of new psychoactive substances on the drug market. The report also looks at the limitations to the approach and how these can be overcome for this new tool to take its place in the drug epidemiologist?s toolkit.


This article intends to empirically document the ambiguity, even ambivalence, of governance practices[1], through the study of a public policy in Portugal, the Programme InovAction, that stimulates intervention projects in 'local state of emergency' territories. In this way, we search to contribute to the debate around the reform of the State and public policies, apprehended through metamorphoses in the coordination of collective action in education. Education, State and governance are viewed as social relationships and sites of social practices; governance is understood as a field in which policies, discourses and practices manifest themselves in neo-liberal hegemonic versions or according to contradictory achievements. The data we mobilize were built on documental analysis and on information obtained through semi-structured interviews (to national, regional and local projects Coordinators, technicians and young people). The unfolding discussion illuminates tensions and contradictions in governance practices of Programme InovAction: the strengthening of collective action may occur simultaneously with the construction of routes and alternative spaces of social exclusion; the reduction of the social responsibility of the school with regards to certain audiences challenges approaches to the construction of a public space of education; the privilege given to known interests has gone side by side with practices to broaden  the local governance circle.


Marie 'Missie' Vassiltchikov as a White Russian emigree caught with her family in Hitler's Germany at the outbreak of the war. She was a Bright Young Thing, part of the cosmopolitan set who managed to maintain a trance-like normality until as late as 1941 - picnics, house-parties, dinners at the Eden...Before long, however, Missie became sickened by the brutal and repressive nature of Nazi rule which overshadowed every aspect of her life. Through Adam Von Trott, for whom she worked in the Information Department of the Foreign Ministry, she became involved in the Resistance and the diaries vividly describe her part in the drama of July 1944 and its appalling aftermath. Living among the ruins of Berlin during Allied bombing raids, she grows us to be strong-minded, committed and courageous woman as she daily displays uncommon bravery in the face of the Gestapo and the detestable Dr Six of the SS. Having survived the Nazis, Missie ends the diaries as she flees from Vienna, where she has been working as a nurse, before the advancing Red Army.


Abstract In 1975 the Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States was created after the then 46 states concluded a cooperation partnership with the European Economic Community. This article draws on the literature on international organisation (IO) independence and performance to analyse the ACP Group's evolution and functioning over time. Its findings show that whereas the ACP Group has generally failed to deliver on its supra-national objectives, its members have used Group membership as a means to accessing European Union benefits. This confirms recent research that dependent and non-performing IOs may serve important funding and patronage purposes to their members.


A brilliant painter of society portraits, John Singer Sargent also devoted many years at the height of his career to a project of an entirely different order: an ambitious, multi-media decoration titled "Triumph of Religion" (1890-1919) for the Boston Public Library. The library cycle Sargent imagined as his most important work, however, would ultimately remain unfinished, quietly abandoned in the face of religious opposition, one critical painting short of completion. Truncation dramatically altered possible readings of "Triumph," redirecting its narrative energies and generating new meanings in tension with the idea Sargent had proposed. In "Painting Religion in Public," Sally Promey tells the story of an artist of international stature and the complex and consuming pictorial program he pursued in Boston. Highly celebrated in its day, with individual panels retaining immense popularity even in the years of discord, this artistic project and its constituent images tell us much about broad cultural and political exchanges concerning the public representation of religious content in the United States.Sargent's library decoration attracted the attention of multiple audiences and engaged concurrent debates about class, race, art, and religion. Representatives of various religious and cultural backgrounds hailed portions of the cycle as indicative of the strength of their own positions, and reproductions of the images appeared in everything from books and encyclopedias to stained glass and public pageantry. Promey analyzes the conception and production of the cycle, persuasively demonstrating that "Triumph of Religion," far from promoting a narrowly sectarian version of religious practice, represented instead Sargent's public recommendation of the privacy of modern belief. The artist recast contemporary religion as spirituality, she argues, linking it not with institutions and dogma but with personal subjectivity. For Sargent, this ideal was a sign of Western, especially American, progress. Carefully reconstructing patterns of reception in an increasingly diverse religious climate, and exploring the extent and character of Sargent's personal and artistic investment, Promey boldly illuminates the work Sargent hoped to make his masterpiece. At the same time, she enriches understanding of religious images in public places and popular imagination.


Past research on action planning has shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying the selection of simple motor actions, along with the cognitive mechanisms underlying the planning of action sequences in constrained problem solving domains. We extend this research by describing a neural model that rapidly plans action sequences in relatively unconstrained domains by manipulating structured representations of objects and the actions they typically afford. We provide an analysis that indicates our model is able to reliably accomplish goals that require correctly performing a sequence of up to 5 actions in a simulated environment. We also provide an analysis of the scaling properties of our model with respect to the number of objects and affordances that constitute its knowledge of the environment. Using simplified simulations we find that our model is likely to function effectively while picking from 10,000 actions related to 25,000 objects.


Abstract. We herein present a novel modular inlet system designed to be coupled to low-pressure gas analyzers for online chemical characterization of semi-volatile submicron particles. The "chemical analysis of aerosol online" (CHARON) inlet consists of a gas-phase denuder for stripping off gas-phase analytes, an aerodynamic lens for particle collimation combined with an inertial sampler for the particle-enriched flow and a thermodesorption unit for particle volatilization prior to chemical analysis. The denuder was measured to remove gas-phase organics with an efficiency > 99.999% and to transmit particles in the 100–750 nm size range with a 75–90% efficiency. The measured average particle enrichment factor in the subsampling flow from the aerodynamic lens was 25.6, which is a factor of 3 lower than the calculated theoretical optimum. We coupled the CHARON inlet to a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS) which quantitatively detects most organic analytes and ammonia. The combined CHARON-PTR-ToF-MS setup is thus capable of measuring both the organic and the ammonium fraction in submicron particles in real time. Individual organic compounds can be detected down to levels of 10–20 ng m−3. Two proof-of-principle studies were carried out for demonstrating the analytical power of this new instrumental setup: (i) oxygenated organics and their partitioning between the gas and the particulate phase were observed from the reaction of limonene with ozone and (ii) nicotine was measured in cigarette smoke particles demonstrating that selected organic target compounds can be detected in submicron particles in real time.


Forrest is well known for his miniatures and portraits in chalks which he exhibited at the Society of Artists in London (1771-74, 1776) and Dublin (1771-80). No precise dates are known for him.


In this study an alternative approach for assessing securities' risk is applied. Various authors have argued that security returns are not homoskedastic but exhibit variation over time. They have observed that large changes tend be followed by more large changes in either direction, and so volatility must be predictably high after large changes. This phenomenon of securities' volatility, referred to as clustering, has important implications for security pricing and risk management. Among the most popular techniques currently used to capture the clustering effect and to forecast future volatilityare those belonging to the family of Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedastic (ARCH) models. The main aim of this paper is to investigate whether such volatility modelling can be used to capture the time variation not only in the total risk of a security return but also its systematic and unsystematic components. Using weekly local stock market data, the time varying beta with the World Index has been estimated via a bivariate GARCH-M model. The GARCH-M parameterization used here is a dynamic specification of the SIM. The hypothesis that this dynamic specification holds cannot be rejected for 11 out of 13 local portfolios. The results provide evidence that both the systematic and the non-systematic counterparts are also changing over time. However, in some markets those risk changes may take place with some delay. This suggests that some of the low correlation coefficients computed for certain stock market returns may not be due to differences in business cycles among those countries, but may be caused by the non-synchronous response to world market developments. This finding should have important implications in many investment decisions such as portfolio selection, market timing and risk hedging.


The Effect of the Slope of the Psychometric Function on the Measurement of Speech Recognition Threshold Using a Female Talker Jessica Lee Reese Department of Communication Disorders, BYU Master of Science Speech audiometry has long been a component of a thorough audiological examination. The speech recognition threshold (SRT) measurement is perhaps the most widely used measurement in speech audiometry. For decades, researchers and clinicians have worked to create and fine-tune word lists that for use in SRT testing; their aim being to improve the accuracy for classifying a client's ability to hear and comprehend speech. Experts in the field have agreed to follow four tenets of speech audiometry when selecting word sets. This study examined whether improvement to stimulus lists for SRT measurement could be made in regards to the tenet of homogeneity with respect to audibility if the slope of the psychometric function were a selection consideration. The study was performed with the hypothesis that steeply sloping words would significantly reduce the number of words needed to obtain the SRT. Three word lists, all recorded by a female talker, comprising of steeply sloping words, medium sloping words, and shallow sloping words, were used in the study. Participants with normal hearing between the ages of 18 and 30 years provided data that was used to calculate SRT measurements for all three lists from each ear. The results showed a significant difference in the number of words needed to obtain the SRT when comparing the steep and shallow word sets and the shallow and medium word sets. Steeply sloping words required fewer words to obtain the SRT, M = 17.02. Shallow sloping words required the most words, M = 18.88, amounting to a difference of 1.86 words. While statistically different, a reduction by fewer than 2 words during the course of SRT testing will not equate to a substantial saving of time for the clinician. For clinical application, the slope of the psychometric function of the words used in SRT measurement need not be a primary consideration when developing stimulus lists.


This edited volume focuses on populist political parties in the
region of East-Central Europe, more precisely the
post-communist member countries of the European Union. Authors
of the individual chapters use a common typology of populist
parties (exclusively and non-exclusively populist parties)
which is introduced in the first, theoretical chapter of the
volume. Each chapter – case study deals with various aspects of
populist parties, such as their history, organizational
structure, ideological profile, electoral base and position in
the political system. The publication builds on existing
scholarly literature dealing with populism not only in the
region, but in other European and non-European countries as
well. It is, however, a first publication systematically
analyzing the issue in the given region.


This article describes the experiences of a mature dyslexic university art student in a predominantly word-based education system. An autobiographical form is used, placing the writer's personal experience into broader contexts where commentary is made on typical as opposed to good practice. The paper concludes by offering some recommendations which would be beneficial for all art students, but are absolutely vital for dyslexic students.


Abstract Background and objectives: Blood pressure levels may vary because of genetic, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors. To date, there have been no large national studies in Eritrea on blood pressure. Therefore, we sought to establish a representative blood pressure reference interval for Health adult Eritreans Methods: The study included a sample of 942 healthy Eritrean individuals aged between 18 and 60 years, comprising 331 males and 611 females. The participants were selected from households located in the cities of Asmara, Keren, and Mandafara. Anthropometric measurements and clinical data were collected from each participant. Blood pressure was measured twice using a standardized procedure. Results: 942 healthy adults were included, 331 (35.1 %) were males with an average age of 40, and 611 (64.9%) were females, with an average age of 41, with an age range of 18-60 years. Median blood pressure for males was 120/78 mmHg, while the Median blood pressure for female was 118/78 mmHg for female Conclusion: The values of blood pressure were similar to international values of blood pressure and there was significantly higher blood pressure in males than in females.


This document presents a summary of work and progress at the Hanford Engineer Works for April, 1962. The report is divided into sections by department. A plant wide general summary is included at the beginning of the report, after which the departmental summaries begin. The manufacturing Department reports plant statistics, and summaries for the Metal Preparation, Reactor and separation sections. The Engineering Department`s section summarizes work for the Technical, Design, and Project sections. Costs for the various departments are presented in the Financial Department`s summary. The Medical, Radiological Sciences, Utilities and General Services, Employee and Public Relations, and Community Real Estate and Services Departments have sections presenting their monthly statistics, work, progress, and summaries.


Sign Language is the primary means of communication for the majority of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. Current computational approaches in this general research area have focused specifically on sign language recognition and the translation of sign language to text. However, the reverse problem of translating from spoken to sign language has so far not been widely explored. The goal of this doctoral research is to explore sign language translation in this generalized setting, i.e. translating from spoken language to sign language and vice versa. Towards that end, we propose a concrete methodology for tackling the problem of speech to sign language translation and introduce How2Sign, the first public, continuous American Sign Language dataset that enables such research. With a parallel corpus of almost 60 hours of sign language videos (collected with both RGB and depth sensor data) and the corresponding speech transcripts for over 2500 instructional videos, How2Sign is a public dataset of unprecedented scale that can be used to advance not only sign language translation, but also a wide range of sign language understanding tasks.


BACKGROUND
Although hospitalizations due to invasive pneumococcal disease decreased after routine vaccination of young children with a 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) began in 2000, information on the trends in pneumococcal meningitis is limited.

METHODS
We estimated national trends in rates of hospitalization for pneumococcal meningitis, using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 1994-2004. Pneumococcal meningitis cases and deaths were identified on the basis of the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification coded primary discharge diagnosis, and rates were calculated using US Census data as denominators. The year 2000 was considered to be a transition year, and the average annualized rate after PCV7 introduction (2001-2004) was compared with that during the baseline years (1994-1999).

RESULTS
During 1994-2004, there were 21,396 hospitalizations and 2684 deaths (12.5%) due to pneumococcal meningitis in the United States. In children aged < 2 years, the average annualized rates of pneumococcal meningitis hospitalizations per 100,000 population decreased from 7.7 in 1994-1999 to 2.6 in 2001-2004 (change, -66.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -73.5% to -56.3%). Among children aged 2-4 years, the hospitalization rate decreased from 0.9 to 0.5 per 100,000 (change, -51.5%; 95% CI, -66.9% to -28.9%). Average rates also decreased by 33.0% (95% CI, -43.4% to -20.9%) among adults aged > or = 65 years. After PCV7 introduction (2001-2004), an estimated 1822 and 573 pneumococcal meningitis hospitalizations were prevented in persons aged < 5 years and > or = 65 years, respectively. Overall, an estimated 3330 pneumococcal meningitis hospitalizations and 394 deaths were prevented in persons of all ages during 2001-2004 in the United States.

CONCLUSION
After implementation of routine childhood vaccination with PCV7, hospitalizations for pneumococcal meningitis decreased significantly for both children and adults. Most pneumococcal meningitis cases now occur among adults.


Unified video-on-demand (UVoD) is an architecture that integrates multicast transmission with unicast transmission to improve system efficiency. Streaming channels in a UVoD system are divided into unicast and multicast channels, with the multicast channels further divided equally among all videos. This uniform channel-allocation scheme is simple to design and implement, but the performance may not be optimal due to differences in video popularity. This paper investigates this channel-allocation problem with the goal of optimizing system efficiency. First, the uniform allocation assumption is removed and the channel-allocation problem formulated as a nonlinear integer optimization problem. This optimization model results in nonuniform channel allocations that can save up to 10% of channels. Second, to reduce the computational complexity in solving the nonlinear optimization model, an approximate model is derived and solved under small-latency conditions to obtain a closed-form solution. Third, a much simpler class-based popularity model is proposed and shown to achieve good efficiency, even if the precise popularity of each video is not known. Lastly, a zero-multicast channel-optimization algorithm is introduced that can further reduce channel requirement for systems with a large number of video selections. Numerical results show that optimized nonuniform channel-allocation policies can achieve channel reduction over uniform channel allocation by as much as 50% for a 1000-video system.


This study compares baseflow estimates using chemical mass balance, local minimum methods, and recursive digital filters in the upper reaches of the Barwon River, southeast Australia. During the early stages of high-discharge events, the chemical mass balance overestimates groundwater inflows, probably due to flushing of saline water from wetlands and marshes, soils, or the unsaturated zone. Overall, however, estimates of baseflow from the local minimum and recursive digital filters are higher than those based on chemical mass balance using Cl calculated from continuous electrical conductivity measurements. Between 2001 and 2011, the baseflow contribution to the upper Barwon River calculated using chemical mass balance is between 12 and 25% of the annual discharge with a net baseflow contribution of 16% of total discharge. Recursive digital filters predict higher baseflow contributions of 19 to 52% of discharge annually with a net baseflow contribution between 2001 and 2011 of 35% of total discharge. These estimates are similar to those from the local minimum method (16 to 45% of annual discharge and 26% of total discharge). These differences most probably reflect how the different techniques characterise baseflow. The local minimum and recursive digital filters probably aggregate much of the water from delayed sources as baseflow. However, as many delayed transient water stores (such as bank return flow, floodplain storage, or interflow) are likely to be geochemically similar to surface runoff, chemical mass balance calculations aggregate them with the surface runoff component. The difference between the estimates is greatest following periods of high discharge in winter, implying that these transient stores of water feed the river for several weeks to months at that time. Cl vs. discharge variations during individual flow events also demonstrate that inflows of high-salinity older water occurs on the rising limbs of hydrographs followed by inflows of low-salinity water from the transient stores as discharge falls. The joint use of complementary techniques allows a better understanding of the different components of water that contribute to river flow, which is important for the management and protection of water resources.


Developing Early Maths through Story is a guide to help educators feel more confident about teaching early mathematics. Ideal for use with 3- to 5-year-olds, the book will encourage young learners to engage with mathematical concepts, both outdoors and indoors, and show educators how to help children creatively develop maths skills. The book contains 14 chapters, on numbers 0 to 13. Each chapter includes: a brief outline of a traditional story; EYLF learning objectives; the resources needed; suggestions for younger children and babies; scope for outdoor activities and for using natural materials; further activities, games and extension questions; suggestions for using ICT; and assessment opportunities.


This article investigates the dynamics of mean reversion and volatility in mortgage-backed security spreads, the yield spreads between conventional 30-year mortgages and Treasury securities. The findings indicate that changes in MBS spreads follow in all instances asymmetric mean-reverting processes. They exhibit non-stationary behavior following spread increases, but they are strongly mean-reverting following spread decreases. The mean-reverting component is statistically and economically stronger, thus offsetting non-stationarity. Volatility is time-varying, depending on past innovations, past volatility estimates, and the level of past spreads. Its behavior is asymmetric, rising more in response to positive innovations.


This work presents the results of synthesis and characterization of polycrystalline n-type Bi2S3 thin films. The films were grown through a chemical reaction from co-evaporation of their precursor elements in a soda-lime glass substrate. The effect of the experimental conditions on the optical, morphological structural properties, the growth rate, and the electrical conductivity (σ) was studied through spectral transmittance, X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and σ versus T measurements, respectively. The results showed that the films grow only in the orthorhombic Bi2S3 bismuthinite phase. It was also found that the Bi2S3 films present an energy band gap (Eg) of about 1.38 eV. In addition to these results, the electrical conductivity of the Bi2S3 films was affected by both the transport of free carriers in extended states of the conduction band and for variable range hopping transport mechanisms, each one predominating in a different temperature range.


This study considers to what extent the state can regulate the reproductive choices of individuals. It analyzes the manner in which the law regulates both the avoidance of reproduction through abortion and contraception and the promotion of procreation through assisted reproduction and surrogacy. The controls which restrict the autonomy of pregnant women, and the extent to which they are free to choose the means of delivery of their children, are also explored. The author examines the legal status of the embryo and foetus, and the rights of children in respect to injuries suffered before birth. The text concludes by considering the effects that the ability to control human reproduction have had on legal attitudes towards procreation and parenthood.


Orientation: Maslach and Leiter (1997) have suggested that burnout constitutes an erosion of the soul. Burnout is a non-discriminatory phenomenon with a pronounced negative impact on the individual employee and the organisation and is particularly prevalent among educators. Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the probable reasons for burnout among secondary educators. Study motivation: Several South African studies have focused on the phenomenon of burnout among educators but the probable reasons for burnout in this population have not yet received adequate attention. This study extended earlier international research that probed this facet. Research design, approach and method: A mixed-methods design with a predominantly qualitative methodology was employed to explore the probable reasons for burnout among 59 educators from three urban secondary schools in Gauteng, South Africa. Data comprised Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey protocols and rich data work descriptions. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the f ve participants who tested highest on the burnout indicators. Main findings: The results indicated that a negative learner profile and workload were the most frequently cited reasons for potential burnout. Practical/managerial implications: Burnout requires considered attention and aggressive context-specific intervention to contain its negative impact on both the educator and the student learning experience.


Context Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer worldwide which is less common in the Middle East. It is also the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality and represents a major public health problem in developed countries. Objectives The present review aimed to explore the differences among the reports on number and age standardized incidences of CRC in both sexes in different areas of Iran to find the incidence trend of this cancer. Data Sources All the published reports citing the incidence of CRC in Iran were collected by conducting a literature search in international databases. Study Selection English articles were included where there was a clear definition of the population of patients under study and where the criteria for diagnosing CRC were well described. Data Extraction One author read each paper and extracted several studies and then the studies suitable for inclusion were reported in three categories. Results We identified 181 independent studies dating back to 2003; 168 full text articles were assessed for eligibility. However, 136 full text articles were excluded due to different reasons. Finally, 26 studies were suitable for inclusion in the analysis. The highest and lowest (age standardized rates) ASRs were respectively 3.4 and 2.6 in males and 11.42 and 10.56 in females. Time showed a slightly increasing trend in recent years. Conclusions Although Iran was expected to have a low incidence rate of CRC, recent studies revealed a slightly increasing trend for the incidence rate of CRC. This finding shows the necessity to consider CRC screening as an important issue in health policy priorities.


We examined 35 primary human ovarian adenocarcinomas for the presence of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) in plasma membranes from cancer tissues by using I2*I-EGF as a ligand. Specific '"I-EGF bindings were observed in 20 (57%) of these 35 cases. Scatchard analysis showed a class of high affinity EGF receptor: A"j,5.0 ±1.0 x IO"10 M; B"" 83.3 ±12.1 fmol/mg protein (mean ±SE, n = 20). Northern analysis in polyadenylated RNA from 15 EGFR(-f) cancers using pretransforming growth factor a (pre-TGFa), prepro-EGF comple mentary DNA, and pE7, a complementary DNA clone of human EGFR, as probes revealed that pre-TGFa and EGFR mRNAs but not preproEGF mRNA were expressed in all cases examined. Immunocytochemical studies using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against TGFa, EGF, and EGFR showed that TGFa and EGFR but not EGF proteins were present on ovarian cancer cells in all cases. These data suggested a possible TGFa/EGFR autocrine mechanism in EGFR(+) ovarian cancers. We, therefore, examined the biological significance of this autocrine mecha nism by using primary monolayer cell cultures. In primary cultures from EGFR (+) cancers, TGFa added to the culture medium stimulated the | 'I I|th> midine incorporation dose dependently. Moreover, the addition of mAbs against TGFa and EGFR but not EGF inhibited (3H]thymidine incorporation dose dependently in EGFR(+) cancer cells. On the other hand, in primary cultures from EGFR(—)cancers, TGFa and anti-TGFa, -EGFR, and -EGF mAbs did not show any effects on [3H]thymidine incorporation. All these results suggested the possible crucial role of a TGFa/EGFR autocrine growth mechanism in primary human ovarian cancers which express EGFR.


Abstract:  To reduce the risk of extinction due to climate change, some ecologists have suggested human‐aided translocation of species, or assisted migration (AM), to areas where climate is projected to become suitable. Such intentional movement, however, may create new invasive species if successful introductions grow out of control and cause ecologic or economic damage. We assessed this risk by surveying invasive species in the United States and categorizing invaders based on origin. Because AM will involve moving species on a regional scale within continents (i.e., range shifts), we used invasive species with an intracontinental origin as a proxy for species that would be moved through AM. We then determined whether intracontinental invasions were more prevalent or harmful than intercontinental invasions. Intracontinental invasions occurred far less frequently than invasions from other continents, but they were just as likely to have had severe effects. Fish and crustaceans pose a particularly high threat of intracontinental invasion. We conclude that the risk of AM to create novel invasive species is small, but assisted species that do become invasive could have large effects. Past experience with species reintroductions may help inform policy regarding AM.


Abstract The CSI effect has been a subject undergoing intense scrutiny in recent years. With the ever-increasing number of television shows, such as CSI and all of its spinoffs, that poorly represent the field of forensic science, there has also been a growing concern over the effects that media has on the legal system. Prosecutors argue that the CSI effect raises their burden of proof and makes jurors more likely to acquit in cases involving little or no forensic evidence, while defense lawyers claim that jurors are more inclined to wrongfully convict based on their unrealistic perceptions of forensic evidence. This paper aims to determine if the CSI effect exists by exploring the effects that crime-show-related media has on the community, analyzing jurors' perceptions of forensic evidence, and comparing the currently published statistics on pre-and post-CSI acquittal rates.


PURPOSE
To develop criteria to identify thresholds for the minimally acceptable performance of physicians interpreting diagnostic mammography studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In an institutional review board-approved HIPAA-compliant study, an Angoff approach was used to set criteria for identifying minimally acceptable interpretive performance for both workup after abnormal screening examinations and workup of a breast lump. Normative data from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) was used to help the expert radiologist identify the impact of cut points. Simulations, also using data from the BCSC, were used to estimate the expected clinical impact from the recommended performance thresholds.

RESULTS
Final cut points for workup of abnormal screening examinations were as follows: sensitivity, less than 80%; specificity, less than 80% or greater than 95%; abnormal interpretation rate, less than 8% or greater than 25%; positive predictive value (PPV) of biopsy recommendation (PPV2), less than 15% or greater than 40%; PPV of biopsy performed (PPV3), less than 20% or greater than 45%; and cancer diagnosis rate, less than 20 per 1000 interpretations. Final cut points for workup of a breast lump were as follows: sensitivity, less than 85%; specificity, less than 83% or greater than 95%; abnormal interpretation rate, less than 10% or greater than 25%; PPV2, less than 25% or greater than 50%; PPV3, less than 30% or greater than 55%; and cancer diagnosis rate, less than 40 per 1000 interpretations. If underperforming physicians moved into the acceptable range after remedial training, the expected result would be (a) diagnosis of an additional 86 cancers per 100,000 women undergoing workup after screening examinations, with a reduction in the number of false-positive examinations by 1067 per 100,000 women undergoing this workup, and (b) diagnosis of an additional 335 cancers per 100,000 women undergoing workup of a breast lump, with a reduction in the number of false-positive examinations by 634 per 100,000 women undergoing this workup.

CONCLUSION
Interpreting physicians who fall outside one or more of the identified cut points should be reviewed in the context of an overall assessment of all their performance measures and their specific practice setting to determine if remedial training is indicated.


The emerging dialogue between the arts and humanities and professional health care education is explored by considering ethical practice in nursing via several narratives of student nurses and nurse educators in one Scottish university. Adopting a narrative methodology based upon the literary hermeneutic of Paul Ricoeur, this thesis is presented as a ˜narrative research text in which my own role as a narrative researcher is critically developed. Utilising two different narrative frameworks, narratives are ˜constructed from data drawn from the research methods of focus groups, one-to-one interviews, reflective practice journals and documentary sources. Contemporary approaches in professional health care ethics education tend to share features of deduction, universality and generalisability. Their merits notwithstanding, perspectives drawn from the arts and humanities can offer valid critiques and alternative perspectives. Reading literature and poetry is offered as an engaged and interpretive contribution to a teleological ethic characterised by attention to ends (e.g. human flourishing), cultivation of virtue, telling of narrative, recognising relationality and in acknowledging the significance of contextual factors. These perspectives can all contribute to an ˜eclectic approach to ethics education in nursing. These narratives of student nurses support the careful inclusion of the arts and humanities within nurse education curricula for their potential to encourage self-awareness, critical thinking and concern for others. Narratives of nurse educators support these insights in addition to demonstrating ways in which the arts and humanities themselves can offer critical perspectives on current curriculum philosophies. These narratives suggest that the reading of literature and poetry can contribute to an eclectic approach to ˜ethical competency in nurse education. This is a broad-based educational approach which draws upon shared interpretive dimensions of the arts and humanities via engagement, action and response. This thesis contributes to current literature in the field of professional health care education by demonstrating the significance of findings derived from inclusion of a teleological ethic within ethics education.


Evaluating impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems is difficult when effects occur out of plain sight. Oil spill severity is often measured by the number of marine birds and mammals killed, but only a small fraction of carcasses are recovered. The Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest in the U.S. history, but some reports implied modest environmental impacts, in part because of a relatively low number (101) of observed marine mammal mortalities. We estimate historical carcass‐detection rates for 14 cetacean species in the northern Gulf of Mexico that have estimates of abundance, survival rates, and stranding records. This preliminary analysis suggests that carcasses are recovered, on an average, from only 2% (range: 0–6.2%) of cetacean deaths. Thus, the true death toll could be 50 times the number of carcasses recovered, given no additional information. We discuss caveats to this estimate, but present it as a counterpoint to illustrate the magnitude of misrepresentation implicit in presenting observed carcass counts without similar qualification. We urge methodological development to develop appropriate multipliers. Analytical methods are required to account explicitly for low probability of carcass recovery from cryptic mortality events (e.g., oil spills, ship strikes, bycatch in unmonitored fisheries and acoustic trauma).


High performance ion chromatography system employing ion exchange and ion exclusion modes was used for the separation and quantitative analysis of tartarate, malate, citrate, lactate, chloride, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium in 15 wines originated worldwide. All anions were measured by means of conductivity detection. Analytical figures of merit were assessed and reported for all analyzed ions. In addition, the classic physicochemical properties of wines, i.e. color, acidity and density, were determined. Correlations between measured variables were evaluated and discussed. The proposed procedure is exceptionally simple and requires only regular instrumentation; nevertheless, it provides possibility for fast, straightforward and sensitive quantification of aforementioned ions. Sample preparation required only filtration and dilution where necessary.


Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are derived from inactive precursor proteins by endoproteolytic cleavage. Here we show that processing of Nodal and Myc-tagged BMP4 is significantly enhanced by SPC1/Furin or SPC4/PACE4, providing direct evidence that regulation of BMP signaling is likely to be controlled by subtilisin-like proprotein convertase (SPC) activities. Nodal processing is dramatically enhanced if two residues adjacent to the precursor cleavage site are substituted with amino acids found at the equivalent positions of Activin, demonstrating that structural constraints at the precursor cleavage site limit the processing efficiency. However, in transfection assays, mature Nodal is undetectable either in culture supernatants or in cell lysates, despite efficient cleavage of the precursor protein, suggesting that mature Nodal is highly unstable. Domain swap experiments support this conclusion since mature BMP4 or Dorsalin are also destabilized when expressed in conjunction with the Nodal pro domain. By contrast, mature Nodal is stabilized by the Dorsalin pro domain, which mediates the formation of stable complexes. Collectively, these data show that the half-life of mature BMPs is greatly influenced by the identity of their pro regions.


Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in the "second-window" of ischemic preconditioning (PC). However, the identity of the end effector after initiation of preconditioning by NO is not known. It is likely that NO is involved in opening of mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium (mitoK(ATP)) channels. We hypothesized that NO is an important trigger for the opening of mitoK(ATP) channels in the late phase of preconditioning and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) up-regulation via NF kappa B plays a critical role in diazoxide-induced cardioprotection. To examine this, diazoxide (7 mg/kg) was administered to wild-type (WT) mice and mice lacking the gene 24 hours before 40 minutes of global ischemia. Hearts were perfused in a Langendorff mode and effects of activation of mitoK(ATP) channel and other interventions on functional, biochemical and pathological changes in ischemic hearts were assessed. In hearts from WT mice treated diazoxide, left-ventricular-developed pressure, end-diastolic pressure and coronary flow were significantly improved after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R); lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release was also significantly decreased, while ATP contents were significantly higher. Administration of 5-HD, a specific blocker of mitoK(ATP) channel or l -NAME, an inhibitor of iNOS before I/R, during diazoxide-pretreatment completely blocked the late cardioprotection against ischemia. Late cardioprotection was also blocked by inhibition of either PKC- delta by rottlerin or NF kappa B by DDTC before diazoxide pretreatment. Diazoxide pretreatment significantly increased nuclear translocation of p65 which was blocked by protein kinase C (PKC) or nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition. Diazoxide was totally inefffective in iNOS knockout mice. These results suggest that diazoxide activates NF kappa B via PKC signaling pathway and that leads to iNOS up-regulation after 24 hours. NO which is generated upon ischemic stress triggers the opening of mitoK(ATP)channel as an end effector of cardioprotection during late PC.


Hard rock Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) engaging disc cutters as cutting tools have been employed in considerable underground coal mines to accommodate the requirement of more stone drivage as operations are going deeper. This study conducted a set of disc cutter indentation tests to explore the influence of confining stresses on rock fragmentation, thrust force, and penetration energy on sandstone, which is commonly encountered in underground coal mines. The test results show that there exists a critical confining stress, under which the maximum thrust force and penetration energy keep increasing with confining stress mounting while the maximum thrust force and penetration energy will decrease or flatten if it is surpassed. By combining with previous studies and comparing the critical confining stress values to the rock mechanical properties' values, the critical value is most likely to be of cohesion. For subsurface rock fragmentation, the Constant Cross Section (CCS) disc cutter indentation has denser cracks and their orientations are more lateral than those under the V shape one; the V shape disc cutter indentation is less sensitive to confining stresses, with no notable increase of crack number and crack reorientation with increasing confinement. Thus, the CCS disc cutter is more favorable than the V shape one from the perspective of rock fragmentation under confining stresses.


With the increased adoption of catalog packages such as Bibliocommons and Aquabrowser comes a need to investigate the ways in which folksonomic tools impact the amount and quality of user tagging in public library catalogs. This pilot study compares two public library catalogs from library systems in the Midwestern United States. The underlying goals of the investigation were to compare the two catalogs to see whether 1) pronounced differences between the folksonomies of user tags existed in both library catalogs, in number of tags for selected titles and scope/coverage of tags; and 2) how the tags from MPLS compare to the tags presented in Aquabrowser's supplemental tag cloud and RPL and the implications inherent in these comparisons. Using the Book Industry Standard and Communications (BISAC) subject headings, user tags from the two library catalogs were coded and compared for scope and frequency. Results indicate that RPL, which uses Aquabrowser, has significantly more user tags that cover a broader scope than those of MPLS. Findings demonstrate the need for further consideration of user tagging in Web 2.0 catalogs.


A prime contemporary concern - how to maintain fair market relations - is addressed through this study of the regulation of bread prices. This was the single most important economic reality of Europe's daily life in the early modern period. Jan de Vries uses the Dutch Republic as a case study of how the market functioned and how the regulatory system evolved and acted. The ways in which consumer behaviour adapted to these structures, and the state interacted with producers and consumers in the pursuit of its own interests, had major implications for the measurement of living standards in this period. The long-term consequences of the Dutch state's interventions reveal how capitalist economies, far from being the outcome of unfettered market economics, are inextricably linked with regulatory fiscal regimes. The humble loaf serves as a prism through which to explore major developments in early modern European society and how public market regulation affected private economic life.


Multimodal imaging based on nanostructures has become a subject of interest for numerous biomedical laboratories. The main focus was placed on applying nanocrystals for the purpose of two types of clinical imaging (contrast and fluorescent agents) due to their excellent luminescence and/or paramagnetic properties. Such systems should also be characterized by low toxicity and high cellular uptake efficiency. Since bare rare earth fluoride nanocrystals influence the cell membrane integrity, it is expected that their coatings will improve biocompatibility profile, as well as increase hydrophilicity, dispersion and chemical stability. Hence, by synthesis of b-NaGdF4:Yb Er nanorods (NRs) coated with noncovalently bounded polyethylene glycol monooleate (PEG-Mo), it should be possible to obtain multimodal imaging biomarkers meeting established criteria. Synthesis of b-NaGdF4:Yb Er@PEG-Mo NRs was performed by the co-precipitation method. These nanostructures were characterized in terms of their size, morphology, zeta potential, magnetic and optical properties as well as their cytotoxicity profile and cellular internalization was evaluated. It was shown that the shape and size of nanocrystals, namely 20 nm nanorods, present generally accepted parameters for biomedical purpose. Ligand attraction of PEGMo 860 resulted in the encapsulation of oleic acid coated NRs and formation of hydrophilic bilayer. Superparamagnetic and luminescence properties were highly efficient. Cytotoxic profiles of normal and cancer cell lines were low and determined by dose and time. Cellular uptake was confirmed by the presence of upconversion luminescence in cell interior. These findings are showing multimodal imaging properties of rod shaped b-NaGdF4:Yb Er@PEG-Mo NRs which may be useful in some biomedical applications.


Behavior analysts form parent-professional relationships with families of many different backgrounds. the study evaluated the effectiveness of a training program to teach behavior analysts to utilize an open family interview format. the study was conducted at an autism treatment program. a pre-post treatment design with in vivo simulation probes before and after training was used to assess the effects of the workshop on the participants and parents' verbal behavior. Results showed that rate of questions per minute and number of closed-ended questions decreased after training, the duration of interviews decreased after training, the number of closed-ended questions significantly decreased after training, and frequency of the discussion topic of child goals increased after training. in general, interviewer responses varied. Preliminary data and parent questionnaire responses suggested parents were comfortable with the new interview format and felt the behavior analyst understood cultural and family needs.


Preorganization has been shown to be an important concept in inorganic chemistry. Preorganization increases the thermodynamic stability of complexes and metal ion selectivity of ligands. A ligand is more highly preorganized the more nearly it is constrained as the free ligand to be in the conformation required to complex the metal ion. The ligand 2,9-bis(hydroxymethyl)-1,10-phenanthroline (PDALC) was used to study the effects of preorganization and effects of addition of neutral oxygen donor atoms on the thermodynamic complex stability. The rigid extended aromatic backbone of PDALC should lead to unprecedented levels of preorganization for a non-macrocyclic ligand. PDALC was synthesized and characterized using NMR and IR analysis. UV/Vis spectrophotometry was used in titrations to determine protonation constants of the free ligand and its formation constants with metal ions. These were obtained by plotting absorbance, corrected for dilution caused by addition of acid or base during the titration, against pH. Log K1 values for PDALC were obtained for Ba(II), Bi(III), Ca(II), Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Gd(III), In(III), La(III), Mg(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Sr(II), Zn(II), and Zr(IV) in 0.1 M NaClO4 at 25 oC. A titration with Zr(IV) was used to determine the charge of the complex at biological pH for potential use in positron emission tomography (PET). The crystal structures of the PDALC complexes [Bi(PDALC)(H2O)2](ClO4)3·H2O, [Pb(PDALC)(ClO4)2]· H2O, and [Ca(PDALC)2](ClO4)2·H2O are reported. The stability constants along with crystal structures are discussed in relation to the high level of preorganization of the PDALC ligand, and the effects of the neutral O-donors of the hydroxymethyl groups of PDALC on its complexes.


Research Methods in Human Rights introduces the reader to key methodological approaches to Human Rights research in a clear and accessible way.

Drawing on the expertise of a panel of contributors, the text clearly explains the key theories and methods commonly used in Human Rights research and provides guidance on when each approach is appropriate. It addresses such approaches to Human Rights research as qualitative methods, quantitative analysis, critical ethnography and comparative approaches, supported by a wide range of geographic case studies and with reference to a wide range of subject areas. The book suggests further reading and directs the reader to excellent examples from research outputs of each method in practice.

This book is essential reading for students with backgrounds in law as well as political and social sciences who wish to understand more about the methods and ethics of conducting Human Rights research.


Anxiety is a useful warning sign that helps an individual face potential or real danger. At appropriate levels, it serves as a warning for the presence of internal or external threats, causing a person to be alert and prepare to deal appropriate‐ ly with such situations. Moreover, moderate levels of anxiety can lead to improved performance in several activities. However, anxiety becomes pathological when its duration is excessively long or its intensity is extremely high and leads to significant suffering and distress. In such cases, anxiety is appropriately described as part of a pathological response, characterizing an anxiety disorder. The historical concept of a unitary anxiety disorder has been replaced by a heterogeneous group of psychopathologies with different etiologies. Panic disorder is a complex anxiety disorder that involves both recurrent, unexpected panic attacks, and persistent concern about having additional attacks. The present chapter reviews current psychobiological perspectives in the etiology and treatment of panic disorder. The first section describes the current classification of this anxiety disorder. We then explore possible neural circuitry associated with panic disorder. Finally, the chapter addresses current treatment approaches, considering the efficacy of different forms of psychotherapy and pharmacological treatments.


T o disribute water in equal and adequate ways among the farmers, farmers have been using a proportional division structure for years. The constrtuction of the structure is made of wood or stone with the notchs in rectangular form in part of its upper side. Its performance criterion estabilished by pertinient famers i.e. the notch width has to be proportional to the size of its command area. From hydraulic point of view, however, the unreliability of these structures can be occurred and it was estimated that their performance criteria not only depend on the notch width but also the other hydraulic design criteria. The objectives of this research are: (i) to comprehend the dependence of performance of a proportional division structure on hydraulic design criteria, (ii) to know relationships between the discharge of structure and the hydraulic design criteria. Result of experiment indicated that the performance of a proportional division structure not only depend on notch width but also the other hydraulic design criteria in common. In general, there were the relationships between discharge of a notch and the hydraulic design criteria including notch width, thickness and surface roughness of the structure, and deviation angle of channel where the structure to be located.


Finite field arithmetic plays an important role in a wide range of applications. This research is originally motivated by an application of computational biology where genetic networks are modeled by means of finite fields. Nonetheless, this work has application in various research fields including digital signal processing, error correcting codes, Reed-Solomon encoders/decoders, elliptic curve cryptosystems, or computational and algorithmic aspects of commutative algebra. We present a set of efficient algorithms for finite field arithmetic over GF (2 m ), which are implemented on a High Performance Reconfigurable Computing platform. In this way, we deliver new and efficient designs on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) for accelerating finite field arithmetic. Among the arithmetic operations, the most frequently used and time consuming operation is multiplication. We have designed a fast and space-saving multiplier, which has been used for creating other efficient architectures for inversion and exponentiation which have in turn been used for developing a new and efficient architecture for finite field interpolation. Here, the bit-level representation of the elements in GF (2 m ) and some special structures in the formulation of multiplication and inversion algorithms, have been exploited in order to use efficiently the FPGAs resources. Furthermore, we have also proposed a novel approach for multiplication over finite fields GF (p m )), with p C 2, where the computational complexity is reduced from O(n


The ability to convert theoretical knowledge into practical behavior is a common
obstacle facing newly graduated employees in most professions. To overcome
this obstacle, educational institutes are offering some kind of field training
courses that allow their students to practice and gain experience in a real
professional situation. In some professional training institutes, such as teacher
education and nursing institutes, these courses are usually mandatory
requirements for completing the program. The goal of the field training is to give
the students the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge, under
experienced supervision, in a real professional context. In other words, field
training supports the period of transition between the initial training of
prospective teachers and their entry into professional life as fully qualified
teachers (European Commission, 2002). In teacher education, many educators, for
instance Buckingham (2005), Smith (2000), Stigler and Hiebert (1999) and Schon
(1987) warn about a gap between the theoretical knowledge that is acquired from
the educational program and the practical skills that are required at the schools in
this transition period. This gap is also found in the teacher education programs in
Kuwait (Al Deeb, 1997). The poor performance of the field training in developing
prospective teachers' competences is presented as an important factor that is
causing this gap in teacher education in Kuwait (Hasan, 2001). Improving the
performance of the field training in these programs could lead to reducing the
gap between theory and practice. This study attempts to improve the field
training in the teacher education programs in Kuwait through the facilitation of
the reflective practice approach among prospective teachers in these programs.


How well students perform in mathematics and sciences continues to be a measure of a country's worth (Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences [CBMS], 2012). Nations that want an educated citizenry have consistently studied ways in which to improve performance in mathematics (Claessens & Engel, 2013; Dearing et al., 2012; Draper & Siebert, 2004). More and more researchers have examined the relationship reading has on mathematics performance (Grimm, 2008; Halaar, Kovas, Dale, Petrill, & Plomin, 2012). This study was an effort to contribute to this growing body of knowledge. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine what relationship exists between reading and mathematics and whether early reading performance could predict subsequent mathematics performance as measured by the Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments. Using a sample of students from a Virginia high school, this quantitative study utilized Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests as instruments and Chi-square Test of Association as the analysis to address the research questions: 1. What is the relationship between Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) reading performance and SOL mathematics performance at each grade level in Grade 3 through Grade 8? 2. What is the relationship between SOL reading performance in Grade 3 and subsequent performance on Virginia SOL End-of-Course Algebra I assessment? 3. To what extent does SOL reading performance in Grade 3 predict subsequent performance on Virginia SOL End-of-Course Algebra I assessment? Virginia SOL reading performance was found to be associated with mathematics performance at each grade level. Reading performance at Grade 3 was not found to be associated with Algebra I EOC performance. Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, and Grade 8 reading performance were all found to be associated with Algebra I EOC performance. As a limitation, this study utilized data from assessments designed to assess the 2001 Virginia SOL standards, which have since been updated. Therefore should be replicated using


Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is characterized by episodes of upper airway obstruction with respiratory effort, during sleep. It is one of the most frequent diagnosed sleep disorder, it is frequently identified among men and women, and it has many symptoms and morbidities. Beyond the multifactorial origin, obstructive sleep disorders patients have low rates of adherence. Multidisciplinary and multi-professional approaches are a good alternative to be offered, independently of the chosen method. Here we describe the multidisciplinary approach offered to obstructive sleep apnea patients in a teaching hospital, in Southeastern Brazil. The best choice for therapeutic option has not yet been clarified, but multidisciplinary and multi-professional involvement seems to be a good alternative to improve patient's adherence.