Breast cancer-related lymphedema is a chronic complication of breast cancer treatment. It can result not only in physical discomfort and disfigurement but also in substantial impairment of daily activities. The public health importance of this study is to determine what, if any, factors contribute to an increased risk of lymphedema as well as to establish which subgroups of patients are at increased risk. Once the factors that influence the development of lymphedema are clarified, such findings can be used to develop preventive measures. In 2006, a 1:2 matched case-control study was carried out to determine significant predictors associated with breast cancer-related lymphedema. The results of the study showed that infection of the dominant arm, level of hand use and BMI would be significant predictors to cause lymphedema. Although the development of lymphedema still needs to be taken into account in clinical practice, this case-control study confirmed that some of risk factors can be used in prediction of lymphedema for breast cancer survivors.Because there is no precise incidence of lymphedema at present, the present study used the incidence rate from an independent study to predict probabilities of lymphedema for a group of breast cancer survivors by utilizing some confirmed risk factors. This study used Bayes' Theorem to develop an estimator for the probability of lymphedema given various combinations of BMI, infection, and level of hand use. The delta method was used to estimate the variance of predicted lymphedema probabilities. The results consist of a list of lymphedema probabilities for different combinations of risk factors, as well as 95% confidence limits for these probabilities. Patients who have BMI 25kg/m2, infection, and medium/high of occupational/hobby hand use would have the highest risk of lymphedema (76.71%) after breast cancer surgery. The goal of this analysis is to address issues in lymphedema formation, to determine whether a set of confirmed risk factors can predict lymphedema, and to estimate the probability of lymphedema in the final model. A well-established lymphedema predicting system for the general breast cancer survivors should be seriously taken consideration in the future.


Abstract This study investigated the effects of long-term incubation to near-future combined warming (+2 °C) and ocean acidification (−0.3 and −0.5 pH units) stressors, relative to current conditions (−0.3 °C and pH 8.0), on the energetics of food processing in the Antarctic sea urchin, Sterechinus neumayeri. After an extended incubation of 40 months, energy absorbed, energy lost through respiration and lost as waste were monitored through two feeding cycles. Growth parameters (mass of somatic and gonad tissues and the CHN content of gonad) were also measured. There were no significant effects of combined ocean acidification (OA) and temperature stressors on the growth of somatic or reproductive tissue. Despite more food being consumed in the low temperature control, once food processing and maintenance costs were subtracted, there were no significant effects of treatment on the scope for growth. The biggest significant differences were between amounts of food consumed during the two feeding cycles. More food was consumed by the low temperature (0 °C) control animals, indicating a potential effect of the changed conditions on digestive efficiency. Also, in November, more food was consumed, with a higher absorption efficiency, which resulted in a higher scope for growth in November than September and may reflect increased energetic needs associated with a switch to summer physiology. The effect of endogenous seasonal cycles and environmental variability on organism capacity is discussed.


Ever since the Warren Commission concluded that a lone gunman assassinated President John F. Kennedy, people who doubt that finding have been widely dismissed as conspiracy theorists, despite credible evidence that right-wing elements in the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service - and possibly even senior government officials - were also involved. Why has suspicion of criminal wrongdoing at the highest levels of government been rejected out-of-hand as paranoid thinking akin to superstition? Conspiracy Theory in America investigates how the Founders' hard-nosed realism about the likelihood of elite political misconduct - articulated in the Declaration of Independence - has been replaced by today's blanket condemnation of conspiracy beliefs as ludicrous by definition. Lance deHaven-Smith reveals that the term "conspiracy theory" entered the American lexicon of political speech to deflect criticism of the Warren Commission and traces it back to a CIA propaganda campaign to discredit doubters of the commission's report. He asks tough questions and connects the dots among five decades' worth of suspicious events, including the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, the attempted assassinations of George Wallace and Ronald Reagan, the crimes of Watergate, the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages deal, the disputed presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, the major defense failure of 9/11, and the subsequent anthrax letter attacks. Sure to spark intense debate about the truthfulness and trustworthiness of our government, Conspiracy Theory in America offers a powerful reminder that a suspicious, even radically suspicious, attitude toward government is crucial to maintaining our democracy.


Large cities in the West respond to an ever-increasing shortage of affordable housing by accelerating the process of urban densification. Amsterdam, for instance, aims to increase its housing stock by 10 percent in the next 15 years as its population is expected to grow by 20 percent. As in other cities, it seems inevitable that high-rise buildings with higher skyscrapers than in the past will be built within the existing urban fabric. Such large-scale (re)development projects shape the conditions for inhabitants' eye-level experiences, perception of place and overall well-being. The new hybrid field of neuroarchitecture offers promising eye-tracking technology and theories for measuring inhabitants' visual experiences of the city and rethinking the effectiveness of applied design principles across the globe. In this paper, the 'classic' design solutions for creating streetscapes on a human scale in densified areas have been assessed by eye-tracking 31 participants in a laboratory setting, all of whom viewed photographs of 15 existing streetscapes in high-rise environments. The study drew on theories from the field of neuroarchitecture and used input from a panel of (landscape) architects and urban designers to design the research and analyze the eye-tracked patterns. The results indicate that the classic design principles (horizontal–vertical rhythms and variety; active ground floor; tactile materials) play a significant role in people's appreciation of the streetscape and that their attention is unconsciously captured by the presence of these principles. The absence of the design principles seems to result in a scattered 'searching' eye movement pattern. This also suggests that a coherent design of streetscapes in high-rise environments may contribute to a human scale at eye-level.


Chaos scales graph processing from secondary storage to multiple machines in a cluster. Earlier systems that process graphs from secondary storage are restricted to a single machine, and therefore limited by the bandwidth and capacity of the storage system on a single machine. Chaos is limited only by the aggregate bandwidth and capacity of all storage devices in the entire cluster. Chaos builds on the streaming partitions introduced by X-Stream in order to achieve sequential access to storage, but parallelizes the execution of streaming partitions. Chaos is novel in three ways. First, Chaos partitions for sequential storage access, rather than for locality and load balance, resulting in much lower pre-processing times. Second, Chaos distributes graph data uniformly randomly across the cluster and does not attempt to achieve locality, based on the observation that in a small cluster network bandwidth far outstrips storage bandwidth. Third, Chaos uses work stealing to allow multiple machines to work on a single partition, thereby achieving load balance at runtime. In terms of performance scaling, on 32 machines Chaos takes on average only 1.61 times longer to process a graph 32 times larger than on a single machine. In terms of capacity scaling, Chaos is capable of handling a graph with 1 trillion edges representing 16 TB of input data, a new milestone for graph processing capacity on a small commodity cluster.


Genocide struck Rwanda in 1994. Since then, national and international trials have endeavored to promote reconciliation, deterrence, peace, justice, and human rights. This article posits a disconnect between these trials and the attainment of their avowed goals. This disconnect emerges in part from the influential agendas of international lawyers who equate selective criminal prosecution with the "rule of law" and espouse criminal prosecution as the preferred and uniform response to mass atrocity. Creating a presumption in favor of criminal prosecution has dampened the need to explore whether such trials actually are suitable for the particular afflicted society. A socio-legal analysis suggests that Rwanda is precisely a place where constructed notions of what "rule of law" ought to be are supplanting the need to implement reconstructive policies that may be best for Rwanda. In particular, the populist nature of the Rwandan genocide, coupled with the vast level of victimization, suggest that a shame-based restorative approach may be more successful in promoting reconciliation, deterrence, and peace than the guilt-based retributive approach currently in vogue. This article argues that, when the law blames occurrences of genocidal evil largely on the existence of some evil people, it obscures the fact that so many people, to varying degrees of complicity, are required for this evil to result in so many deaths.


E-commerce creates opportunities for companies to implement internal and external connections. This establishes new capabilities to meet market needs and changes the way business can be conducted through the redefinition of rules and roles in the extended enterprise. The literature suggests that the emergence of Internet / Web based communities of common interest accelerates this shift towards the concept of the extended enterprise by enabling enterprises to align within a series of 'value networks' against other groups of enterprises. A collaborative approach and shared benefits are among the crucial factors which bind these value networks of closely integrated business communities.
This study investigates the cultural and organisational context of implementing e-commerce to support business to business collaborative relationships. Using primarily qualitative and exploratory methods, various interrelationships are explored through two in depth case studies. The research approach is structured by underpinning theories, predominantly transaction cost economics, and informed by key findings from the literature search of the topic domain. The research itself is based on the assumption that collaborative e-commerce cannot be considered in a vacuum and that a holistic perspective is required, particularly in considering the socio-political and relational aspects of such inter-organisational systems. The work undertaken therefore seeks to identify the interrelationships between the IT, organisational and business aspects of collaborative business to business relationships.
The research concludes that a number of interdependent factors are key in implementing e-commerce to support collaborative relationships. Foremost among these are the redesign of processes and practices, common information interchange standards and support, a consultative approach based on mutual trust, the sharing of benefits and a willingness to learn and to adopt a 'network' perspective. The findings are encapsulated into an e-commerce/collaborative relationship framework developed by incorporating key findings from the case studies, as well as themes from the literature. This framework may be a useful tool for analysis in other case studies and could be refined and enhanced by further such research.


User research facilities around the world offer tremendous opportunities for scientific experimentation by members of the Earth science community. Synchrotron radiation sources, neutron sources, mass spectrometers, and others represent a powerful force in tackling complex scientific problems. In these techniques, Earth materials are bombarded with beams of ions, subatomic particles and/or photons to learn the secrets of their properties and histories. Some of these methods can be applied to nanoscale materials with "desktop" instruments while others require macroscopic samples and utilize large-scale devices residing in multiple buildings; and there is everything in between.


A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted in order to evaluate the relationship between a student's mindset (incremental vs. entity beliefs about intelligence) and their score on the Northwest Evaluation Assessment (NWEA) Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) in the areas of Math, Reading, and Language. The NWEA MAP is a computer adaptive test aligned with the Common Core Standards. Students' mindsets were measured using Dweck's (2000) Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale for Children. The study was conducted at a college preparatory charter school in a metropolitan area of the Southwestern United States. Participants included 307 middle school students in grades 6-8. Question predictor and control variables were evaluated through descriptive statistics and estimated bivariate correlation matrices. Nested taxonomies of multiple regression models for each of the NWEA MAP subject tests were constructed. The control variables evaluated include: gender, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, ROLE OF MINDSET IN NWEA MAP TEST PERFORMANCE vi special education participation, gifted education participation, grade point average, attendance, and year in school. Results indicated that there was a small to moderate, statistically significant estimated correlation between student mindset and NWEA MAP performance across all subject tests. Contingent on the subject test, specific control predictors were identified as mediating this relationship. There were negative estimated correlations found between the NWEA MAP subject tests and ethnicity (math), socioeconomic status (math and reading), and special education (reading and language). There were positive estimated correlations found between GPA and gifted program identification across math, reading, and language subject tests. In support of previous findings suggesting student mindset is associated with student achievement, this study provides further evidence that student mindset correlates with student performance on standardized tests and that this estimated correlation is mediated by subgroup factors. ROLE OF MINDSET IN NWEA MAP TEST PERFORMANCE vii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables.................................................................................... ix List of Figures................................................................................... xi CHAPTER


We live in a computerized and networked society where many of our actions leave a digital trace and affect other people's actions. This has lead to the emergence of a new data-driven research field: mathematical methods of computer science, statistical physics and sociometry provide insights on a wide range of disciplines ranging from social science to human mobility. A recent important discovery is that search engine traffic (i.e., the number of requests submitted by users to search engines on the www) can be used to track and, in some cases, to anticipate the dynamics of social phenomena. Successful examples include unemployment levels, car and home sales, and epidemics spreading. Few recent works applied this approach to stock prices and market sentiment. However, it remains unclear if trends in financial markets can be anticipated by the collective wisdom of on-line users on the web. Here we show that daily trading volumes of stocks traded in NASDAQ-100 are correlated with daily volumes of queries related to the same stocks. In particular, query volumes anticipate in many cases peaks of trading by one day or more. Our analysis is carried out on a unique dataset of queries, submitted to an important web search engine, which enable us to investigate also the user behavior. We show that the query volume dynamics emerges from the collective but seemingly uncoordinated activity of many users. These findings contribute to the debate on the identification of early warnings of financial systemic risk, based on the activity of users of the www.


This publication provides an overview of forest resource attributes for Massachusetts based on an annual inventory (2004-2008) conducted by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program at the Northern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service. These estimates, along with web-posted core tables, will be updated annually. For more information please refer to the last page of this report.


Circadian clocks are intrinsic time-tracking systems that endow organisms with a survival advantage. The core of the circadian clock mechanism is a cell-autonomous and self-sustained oscillator called a cellular clock, which operates via a transcription-/translation-based negative feedback loop. Under natural conditions, circadian clocks are entrained to a 24-hour day by environmental time cues, most commonly light. In mammals, circadian clocks are regulated by cellular clocks located in the central nervous system, such as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), and in other peripheral tissues. Importantly, mammals have no photoreceptors in the peripheral tissues; therefore the effect of light on peripheral clocks is indirect. By striking contrast, zebrafish peripheral cellular clocks are directly light responsive. This characteristic of the zebrafish cellular clock has contributed to the identification of molecules and signaling pathways that are involved in the light-dependent regulation of the cellular clock. Here, selected light-dependent regulatory mechanisms of circadian clocks in mammals and zebrafish are described.


This dissertation is a collection of empirical and modeling studies focusing on the interannual variability (IAV) of stratospheric ozone and the dynamics associated with that variability. Empirical analyses of the IAV of total column ozone in the tropics and midlatitudes are performed using the Merged Ozone Data (MOD) set. MOD combines the monthly mean column abundances collected by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer and the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet instruments, provides a nearly continuous record from late 1978 to present on a 2D grid. The first four EOFs from principal component analyses of MOD capture over 93% (82%) of the variance of the tropical (midlatitude) IAV. These analyses display structures attributable to the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), with influence from a decadal oscillation, an interaction between the QBO and an annual cycle (QBO-AB), and ENSO. Similar decompositions occur for dynamical fields from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. Using these analyses, we found possible connections between the deduced patterns in ozone and the climate variables. For comparison to the observations, a 2D chemistry and transport model (CTM) was used to simulate the ozone IAV. The NCEP/Department of Energy (DOE) Reanalysis 2 data are used to derive a monthly mean meridional circulation from 1979 to 2002 which is then used to drive the Caltech/JPL 2D CTM, allowing for an investigation of the impact of dynamics on the interannual variability (IAV) of the total column ozone for all years for which the MOD is available. The 2D CTM provides realistic simulations of the seasonal and IAV of ozone in the tropics, reasonable agreement in the NH midlatitudes but poor agreement in the SH midlatitudes. The influence of the QBO and QBO-AB are well represented in the simulation. A 71-year record of column ozone from Arosa, Switzerland is analyzed using singular spectrum analysis (SSA). The SSA decomposition separates the signals from the seasonal cycle, QBO, QBO-AB, and decadal oscillations. A 3.5-year oscillation is also discovered. A nonlinear trend is extracted and nonstationary behavior of some of the oscillations is found. Finally, a connection between fluctuations in stratospheric ozone and in tropospheric methane is observed and modeled.


Direct payments have been heralded by the disability movement as an important means to achieving independent living and hence greater social justice for disabled people through enhanced recognition as well as financial redistribution. Drawing on data from the ESRC funded project Disabled People and Direct Payments: A UK Comparative Perspective, this paper presents an analysis of policy and official statistics on use of direct payments across the UK. It is argued that the potential of direct payments has only partly been realised as a result of very low and uneven uptake within and between different parts of the UK. This is accounted for in part by resistance from some Labour-controlled local authorities, which regard direct payments as a threat to public sector jobs. In addition, access to direct payments has been uneven across impairment groups. However, from a very low base there has been a rapid expansion in the use of direct payments over the past three years. The extent to which direct payments are able to facilitate the ultimate goal of independent living for disabled people requires careful monitoring.


Emergence of candidal infections are increasing from decades and found to be a leading cause of human disease and mortality. Candida spp. is one of the communal of human body and is known to cause opportunistic superficial and invasive infections. Many of mycoses-related deaths were due to Candida spp. Major shift of Candida infection towards NAC (non-albicans Candida) is matter of concern worldwide. In this study we had given a systemic review about medically important Candidaspp. Along with their morphological features, treatment and drugs. Spectrum of the pathogen is also discussed. Morphology of Different Medically Important Candida Species with their medical aspects along and pathogenic spectrum. Corn meal agar morphology along with anti-candida drugs has been discussed. The study is done after considering various published review's and the mycological studies.


The impressive monument erected to Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton in the church of St. Mary de Castro in Dover Castle ca. 1614-1616 epitomized his success in reviving the Howard family name and fortune. But neglect and accident not only reduced his proud statement to a lesser form, but also necessitated its move from its original site to Trinity Hospital in Greenwich. This essay examines the incidents that prompted the moving and later reworking of the monument, which provide an interesting case study of the effects of time and circumstance upon a seemingly stable object.


British mortgagors hold more wealth in their homes than ever before. They are spending more freely from these assets now than they are likely to again. 'Banking on housing' is concerned with when, where, why and how people choose and use their mortgages to roll equity out of housing and into other things. It is a study of the consumption of housing, the consumption of mortgages, and the use of housing wealth in consumption


Abstract In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, 10 females taking monophasic oral contraceptives completed 90 min intermittent treadmill-running 45 min after ingestion of 6 mg∙kg−1 body mass anhydrous caffeine or artificial sweetener (placebo). Water (3 mL∙kg−1) was provided every 15 min during exercise. Venous blood samples were taken before, during and after exercise, as well as after sleep (~15 h post-ingestion), and levels of caffeine, paraxanthine, theobromine and theophylline were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Sleep quality was assessed using the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire. Plasma caffeine concentration peaked 100 min after ingestion. Caffeine clearance was 0.95±0.14 mL·min−1·kg−1 while the elimination half-life of caffeine was 17.63±8.06 h. Paraxanthine and theophylline levels were significantly elevated at 15 h with no significant change in theobromine. Sleep latency and subsequent quality of sleep was impaired following caffeine supplementation (P<0.05); there were no differences between trials for how participants were feeling upon awakening. This is the first controlled study to examine caffeine supplementation on sleep quality in female athletes taking a low-dose monophasic oral contraceptive steroid following an intermittent-exercise running protocol. The data shows that female athletes using monophasic oral contraceptive steroids will have impaired sleep quality following evening caffeine ingestion.


In spite of the success of semidwarf wheats (Triticum aestivum L.) throughout the world, there are currently no adapted semidwarf hard red winter wheat cultivars with sufficient winterhardiness being grown in Montana and the Northern Great Plains. Studies were initiated to determine the suitability of short stature winter wheats for Montana. Selected agronomic traits were evaluated in 20 'Yogo' winter wheat isogenic height lines and the recurrent parent, Yogo, representing three plant height phenotypes: dwarf, semidwarf, and tall. Yogo is a hard red winter wheat cultivar adapted to harsh winters and low rainfall. Significant differences (P < 0.01) among plant height phenotypes were observed for percent emergence, emergence rate, coleoptile length, test weight, and grain yield. Percent emergence, emergence rate, and coleoptile length were all positively associated with plant height, with linear coefficients of determination of 0.79,0.76, and 0.65, respectively. Grain yield was negatively correlated with plant height (r² = 0.77). Average grain yields over four Montana locations were 1486,1287, and 996 kg ha⁻¹ for the dwarf, semidwarf, and tall plant height phenotypes, respectively. There were no significant differences among phenotypes for crown depth. No winter-kill was observed among isolines at any location, including one at which other winter wheats had differential winter injury ranging from 30 to 100% winter survival. Backcrossing of the rht, and rht2 semidwarfing genes into the Yogo genetic background resulted in no apparent effect on winterhardiness. In spite of short coleoptiles and poor field emergence, short stature winter wheat appears well suited to Montana and the Northern Great Plains dryland wheat growing areas, particularly in areas with a high production potential.


The emergence of educational technology has resulted in a widespread popularity of different forms of education technologies among various multidisciplinary researchers. This is evident based on the high number of empirical, theoretical, and conceptual studies that are published on educational technology-related research. However, many open research questions and challenges remain unresolved. In this study, we are going to: 1) present an educational technology research agenda underpinned by extensive research and studies; 2) highlight the missing interconnections between empirical findings of published studies and the pedagogical theories; 3) discover if educational technology research is overly dominated by studies conducted in developed countries, while developing countries, for example, Arabic speaking populations in the Middle-East in general and the Gulf states, in particular, are overlooked by researchers. Based on our in-depth review of the existing literature, we will discuss the challenges of designing educational user interface, technology, and pedagogy-related research, and finally propose guidelines and recommendations for future research to overcome some of the existing challenges.


Fault zone displacement and thickness data (230 measurements) plus orientation and slip vectors from 55 faults were obtained from outcrops of Permo-Triassic sandstones. The data indicate that, generally, as fault displacement increases, the width of a fault zone also increases. In detail, the relationship between displacement and thickness is stepped with thickness increasing sharply above certain values (thresholds) of displacement. This indicates a discontinuous growth of the fault zone. There are at least two thresholds in the data presented. Previous well- and seismic-based studies in the North Sea have shown a clear positive correlation between the displacement, normalized as a fraction of the reservoir thickness, and the probability of a fault sealing. Displacement, therefore, can be used to give a rough estimate of the probability of a fault acting as a pressure barrier to fluids in sandstone-dominated successions. Porosity and permeability of the reservoir rock are reduced within a fault zone, therefore the wider the zone the more likely the fault will seal hydrocarbons. Rapid jumps in fault zone thickness at displacements of roughly 300 mm and 5000 mm indicate that the relationship between fault displacement and fault seal probability may not be linear, but to a fair approximation (±15%) may be taken as such.


Within weeks of graduating from medical school in July 1981, my physician wife and I moved to Philadelphia to begin our internships. Philadelphia seemed a world away from suburban Long Island, New York, where I grew up, but it has been my home for most of my professional life. My 3 adult children all have slight Philadelphia accents, thanks to their mom who grew up in the Main Line suburbs of the city.

A recent report from The Pew Charitable Trusts (www.pewtrusts.org) is worth reviewing in detail for the insights it provides not only about Philadelphia but also about the future of healthcare in our country.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is a well-known institution in our town. An independent nonprofit, Pew consists of 7 individual charitable funds established by 2 sons and 2 daughters of the Sun Oil Corporation founder, Joseph Newton Pew, and his wife, Mary Anderson Pew. Many Pew family members serve on the board. Today, Pew is a global research and public policy organization dedicated to serving the public and solving problems through "a rigorous analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public, and invigorate civic life."1

For the past 7 years, The Pew Charitable Trusts has produced a report about Philadelphia, utilizing largely publicly available data, and puts the statistics about the city in context by comparing them to those of other cities—usually 9 urban communities chosen for their similarities to Philadelphia in terms of size, demographic makeup, and/or location. Those 9 cities are Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC.1 I was particularly intrigued by "Philadelphia 2015: The State of the City," given some recent news about our hometown.

For example, Philadelphia has been the recipient of some amazingly good press in major national publications like the New York Times—calling it one of the top US cities to visit. In September, Philadelphia hosted a papal visit, attracting the largest domestic crowd in the history of the city, and will host the July 2016 Democratic National Convention. Philadelphia is the birthplace of our nation and, in many respects, the birthplace of American medicine as well.

Philadelphia is home to 6 schools of medicine, including the 2 largest private medical colleges in the country—Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Drexel University College of Medicine—which together train nearly 5% of the nation's entire physician workforce. In addition, the American College of Physicians, the American Board of Internal Medicine, the National Board of Medical Examiners, and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates call Philadelphia home.

Here's the good news from the Pew Report as it relates to the healthcare system: "The education and medical sectors remained the bulwark of the city's economy, accounting for more than 30% of all jobs. Of the city's 15 largest employers, 12 are in 'eds and meds' [educational and healthcare institutions]." The direct economic impact of the area's 4 largest universities (University of Pennsylvania, Temple, Drexel, and Thomas Jefferson University) totals nearly $5.5 billion.2 Also, net patient revenue at all Philadelphia hospitals in the past decade has increased 63.7%, a 32.7% increase when adjusted for inflation.3 Surely there are many other measures of the economic impact of "eds and meds" on our town, but one cannot deny the scope and depth of health sciences training in Philadelphia.

Despite all of this good news, there remain some thorny population health issues that threaten the future of our town. I believe there are 3 central challenges, all population health–related, that deserve more scrutiny. The principal social determinant of health is poverty, and 26.3% of the population of Philadelphia lives in poverty, according to the most recently available data.4 Of those, one-half live in what the federal government calls "deep poverty."5 This means that nearly 400,000 Philadelphians, of a total population of nearly 1.5 million, create "a demand for government services, a drag on the cities' economic prospects, and a reality check on all of the good feelings."1

Another critical determinant of health is access to healthcare services. "Philadelphians became increasingly dependent on government programs to pay the bills in the first quarter of 2014. Medicare for the elderly, and Medicaid for the poor paid for nearly 74% of all city residents treated in Pennsylvania hospitals—an increase from years past. About 15% of Philadelphians have no health insurance."1

The third and final key challenge, as I see it, is a ticking fiscal time bomb. If one examines city spending by category, public safety is the largest single category (33%), which includes vital services like fire, police, and the courts. The next largest chunk of city spending (29%) is for current employee benefits, which include pension contributions, health and medical spending, and unemployment compensation. Over decades, Philadelphia, as a municipality, has underfunded the pension contribution; now it stands at about 46% of what is eventually going to be needed as municipal workers retire.

Of course, the largest percentage of employee benefit spending is for healthcare. Here is the lurking paradox: in a town characterized as being driven by "eds and meds," we have a soft underbelly. This underbelly is the unfunded pension and healthcare mandate of the future, with no current resolution articulated by any leading group in our town.

My family and I are very happy to have lived in Philadelphia for nearly 35 years. From internship through residency, fellowship training, and a career in academic medicine, this city has been "my kind of town." However, I'm very concerned about the growing disparities I've outlined here.

Maybe someday the "eds and meds" sector will work harmoniously together to tackle the issues of access to healthcare and to improve the social determinants of health in our town. If we collaborate to improve the social determinants, we will reduce the threat of a long-term, pension-related time bomb. How does your town measure up, and what are the critical social determinants that may influence the future of healthcare in our country? As always, I'm interested in your views. You can reach me at firstname.lastname@example.com.


Abstract This case study describes the design and development of a multisensory environment for use by a local community, in response to local needs. Multisensory environments allow users to control the sensory inputs they experience from the environment. This autonomy may be especially impactful for those living with autism or dementia. The evidence base supporting the design, development and implementation of multisensory environments has been limited to date. This case study explores the evolution of the interdisciplinary team from a request for collaboration to the creation of a functioning multisensory room. It describes the experiences of the group of researchers finding shared understandings and evolving to a transdisciplinary approach.


Background: The Weibull distribution is one of the most important lifetime distributions in applied statistics. Weibull analysis is the leading method in the world for fitting and analyzing lifetime data. We discuss one of the earliest decision support system for the assessment of a distribution for the parameters of the Weibull reliability model using expert information. We then present a different approach to assess the parameters distribution. Objectives: The studies mentioned in this paper aimed to construct a distribution of the parameters of the Weibull reliability model and apply it in the domain of Maintenance Optimization. Method: The parameters of the Weibull reliability model are considered random variables and a distribution for the parameters is assessed using informed judgment in the form of reliability estimates from vendor information, engineering knowledge or experience in the field. Results: The results are the development of modern maintenance optimization models that can be embodied in decision support systems. Conclusion: While the information management part is important in the building of maintenance optimization decision systems, the accuracy of the mathematical and statistical algorithms determines the level of success of the maintenance solution.


Worldwide, prevalence rates of students experiencing mental health difficulties are growing, with only one in five receiving treatment. The role of teachers in collaborative efforts both to identify and to provide effective services for these students is an essential one. However, scant research has explored the mental health literacy of pre-service teachers. In the present study, 186 preservice teachers completed a vignette-based measure (Child or Adolescent version based on each teacher's experience) in order to assess their mental health literacy, comprised of beliefs and knowledge. Results indicate that participants expressed lower efficacy when teaching children or adolescents with externalizing as compared to internalizing behaviours but believed that a child or adolescent experiencing behaviours indicative of depression was of the greatest concern and in need of intervention. Pre-service teachers were able to correctly identify cases of anxiety and ADHD, but many attributed behaviours typical of depression to home life difficulties (Child version) or substance use/abuse (Adolescent version). Results are discussed in light of previous research in the field; recommendations for future research and practice are provided. ISSN 1918-5227 Pages 6292 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei Recommended Citation Whitley, J., & Gooderham, S. (2016) Exploring Mental Health Literacy Among Pre-Service Teachers. Exceptionality Education International, 26, 62-92. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei/vol26/iss2/5 This Article Open Access after 1 year is brought to you by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Exceptionality Education International by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com. Exceptionality Education International 2016, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 62–92 ISSN 1918-5227 62 Exploring Mental Health Literacy Among Pre-Service Teachers Jessica Whitley, Suzanne Gooderham University of Ottawa


This paper presents a new approach to the physically-based thin-shell simulation of point-sampled geometry via explicit, global conformal point-surface parameterization and meshless dynamics. The point-based global parameterization is founded upon the rigorous mathematics of Riemann surface theory and Hodge theory. The parameterization is globally conformal everywhere except for a minimum number of zero points. Within our parameterization framework, any well-sampled point surface is functionally equivalent to a manifold, enabling popular and powerful surface-based modeling and physically-based simulation tools to be readily adapted for point geometry processing and animation. In addition, we propose a meshless surface computational paradigm in which the partial differential equations (for dynamic physical simulation) can be applied and solved directly over point samples via Moving Least Squares (MLS) shape functions defined on the global parametric domain without explicit connectivity information. The global conformal parameterization provides a common domain to facilitate accurate meshless simulation and efficient discontinuity modeling for complex branching cracks. Through our experiments on thin-shell elastic deformation and fracture simulation, we demonstrate that our integrative method is very natural, and that it has great potential to further broaden the application scope of point-sampled geometry in graphics and relevant fields. Index Terms—Meshless method, physically-based simulation, point-based geometry, surface parameterization, thin-shell.


Polygamy become warmest topic after Ustad Abdullah Gymnastiar of Pesantren Daarut Tauhiid, Bandung, West Java, announcing his second marriage. A lot of AA Gym fans, especially ceremony mothers of taklim, disappointed of weight, even fulminate bigly. The problem is, Aa Gym is public figure which all of his actaction hog. Many people are his fans, not just becoming his fans but they little worshiping him, at the same time they make him as byword. In news context at mass media about polygamy of Aa' The Gym was happen process reconstruct social reality and that all unfold to public and also become warm public discourse. When mass media load and make the polygamous news become headline of course have cognate impact among society. At least, society know to regarding behavior of Aa' Gym becoming idol figure or society peer. Polygamous is a controversy problems but in the reality this problem finally become agenda discussion of society. This research is to know how mass media in seeing and constructing message at polygamous controversy news which done by Aa' Gym in daily newspaper of JAWA POST and REPUBLIKA in range of time 1 up to 10 december 2006. This research using qualitative approach. Focus in this research is with looking into existing reality in life of social is not natural but is a result of construction. Researcher chosen analysis of framing told by Zhongdang Pan and Gerald M. Kosicki to operate on polygamous case which done by Aa` Gym. Framing very sensitive to usage of certain Ianguage, which concerning statement of maker of media content and policy After analysing polygamous news which done by Aa' Gym hence concluded that to create certain meaning in the marrow of audience, manipulation news needn't but turned smoothly and signalize other side which represent media importance with the way of chosening presented fact, source of selected news, election of word. Java Post agree attitude of Aa' Gym polygamous. by Java Post construction, second marriage which done by Aa' Gym like exemplifiing to society to avoid free sex and prostitution because Java Post opting to follow opinion of majority circulating society. Java Post place Aa' Gym as a public figure applying polygamy in his life for example to society to avoid prostitution. Republika Construction the news to instruct the audience to meaning polygamy that done by Aa' Gym is a mistake. And to all his follower don't follow his step if not have its science. Because Republika as media which is have Islam ideology try to take care of do not happened dissolution among pro and contra polygamy. And audience instructed not to refuse and prohibit polygamy. the same theme earn construction differently by each media. Java Post with Ideology background which non Islam can be nimble with interest and rileks in polygamous description of Aa' Gym at his immeasurable him which non coming from one religy ideology whereas Republika with Its Ideology have to be more adopting an idea many prominent religion to take care of do not happened dissolution in this people. Keyword : Konstruksi media; Analisis framing Link terkait : http://skripsi.umm.ac.id/files/disk1/282/jiptummpp-gdl-s1-2008-syahrulmuk-14054-PENDAHUL-N.pdf


Purpose
Blastomycosis, an endemic fungal infection, mimics many other diseases. We explored the use of Blastomyces urine antigen (BuAg), reportedly the most sensitive noninvasive test, in clinical practice and compared it to other noninvasive tests.

Methods
A total of 836 BuAg tests performed on unique patients (first test only) at one large integrated health system from June 2013 to May 2016 were retrospectively reviewed to examine test characteristics and demographic features. Of these, 100 cases from 2015, a year containing a large local blastomycosis outbreak, were randomly selected for detailed analysis.

Results
Demographics for the BuAg-tested population: mean age 54.9 years, 55.0% male, 78.9% white, 213 zip codes represented. Test results were positive in 49 of 836 (5.9%, across 43 zip codes); 16 of the 49 (32.7%) stemmed from the 2015 outbreak. BuAg-positive patients were younger than those who tested negative, even with outbreak subjects removed (48.1 vs 56.7 years, P=0.008); and Asians and males were overrepresented. Sensitivity/specificity/positive predictive value of BuAg test was 87.9%/97.9%/76.3%, respectively, based on 33 culture-positive cases. Only 2 of 20 culture-positive cases were found positive by Blastomyces antibody (Ab) immunodiffusion (ID) test and 0 of the other 18 by Ab complement fixation (CF). Of those with positive BuAg who were co-tested, 16.1% were positive by Ab ID and 3.9% by Ab CF. Histoplasma urine antigen was co-performed with BuAg in 578 patients (69.1%) and positive in 25 (4.3%); 16 of these 25 (64.0%) also were BuAg-positive (ie, known cross-reactivity). Of the 100 patients examined for index illness details, 7 (6 BuAg-positive) were ultimately diagnosed with blastomycosis, 7 other fungal disease, 26 noninfectious lung disease, 22 pneumonia, 5 skin lesions, 6 malignancies, 3 mycobacteria, 11 other, and 1 unknown. Of 100, 12 were tested by BuAg based on symptoms.

Conclusions
Blastomyces urine antigen is commonly used for work-up of broad differential diagnoses or known exposures. Not adding Ab ID/CF diagnostic tests ($80 each) to the BuAg test saves money without losing sensitivity.


OBJECTIVES
to establish the feasibility of stent-graft treatment of penetrating thoracic outlet arterial injuries.

DESIGN
prospective study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
forty-one patients with penetrating injuries to the carotid, subclavian and proximal axillary arteries admitted between August 1998 and May 1999 were studied. Patients requiring urgent surgical exploration for active bleeding (n=26) were excluded. Remaining patients underwent arteriography to assess suitability for stent-graft placement. After successful stent-graft treatment clinical and sonographic follow-up were done at 1 month and thereafter 3-monthly.

RESULTS
of the 15 patients considered, 10 patients qualified for stent-graft treatment (seven male, three female, mean age 27 years). The vessels involved were subclavian artery (seven), carotid artery (two) and axillary artery (one). Seven had arteriovenous fistulae and three, pseudoaneurysms. Stent-graft treatment was successful in all 10 patients with no procedure-related complications. On mean follow-up of 7 months no complications were encountered.

CONCLUSION
endovascular treatment shows promise as a treatment modality for thoracic outlet arterial injuries. Long-term follow-up is required for comparison to the results of standard surgical repair.


Research on a captive harbor seal ( Phoca vitu-lina ) mother-pup pair showed that ingestion of milk caused a decrease in stomach temperature (Hedd et al., 1995). Herein the feasibility of stomach temperature telemetry for measuring nursing behavior was tested in wild harbor seal pups from the St. Lawrence River Estuary. Fifteen pups were outfitted with time-depth recorders, stomach temperature transmitters (STT), and stomach temperature recorders in 2002 and 2003. Twelve pups were recaptured, and seven yielded usable stomach temperature data. Excluding a mortality that lost its transmitter the day of release, transmitter retention time ranged from at least 7 to 22 d (12.5 ± 1.45 d) based on a STT signal at recapture. Pups that gained more weight had a higher frequency of decreases in stomach temperature (DST) (R 2 = 0.954, p < 0.001). Depth and external temperature data showed that most DST occurred while pups were "in the water" (57%) followed by "just before or after hauling out" (19%), "just before or after entering the water" (15%), and "hauled out" (9%) ( χ 2 = 56.376, p < 0.001). The frequency DST did not change with age, and there was no diel pattern of DST, which also did not change with age. These findings indicate that transmitter retention times are sufficient to monitor most of the nursing period for harbor seals, that stomach temperature can be used to quantify nursing characteristics in the field, and that a telemetric technique is needed for harbor seals as most nursing events occur in the water.


OBJECTIVES
Depression, chronic pain and sleep disturbances frequently co-exist in FM and have shown to be independently related with suicidal behaviours. The present survey was performed to evaluate the prevalence of previous suicide attempts in patients with FM and its potential relationship with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the disease.

METHODS
A concise survey was sent to patients of seven associations of patients with FM. In addition to the inquiry concerning the number, if any, and characteristics of suicide attempts, the survey included questions about sociodemographic and clinical data of patients as well as the revised FM impact questionnaire (FIQR) and the Plutchik suicide risk scale.

RESULTS
One hundred and eighty patients answered the survey. Thirty (16.7%) of them reported one to three previous suicide attempts. Drug poisoning was the most frequently employed method for suicide attempt (70%). No relevant differences were found between suicide attempters and non-attempters in relation to age, education and marital status, but a significant difference was found in relation to employment status. Plutchik's scale scores, both in suicide attempters and non-attempters, were higher than those found in the literature. FIQR scores were significantly higher in suicide attempters than in non-attempters. A high-positive correlation was found between FIQR and Plutchik suicide risk scale scores. Pain, poor sleep quality, anxiety and depression were positively correlated with suicide risk.

CONCLUSIONS
FM is associated with an increased risk of suicide and suicide attempts. Suicidal behaviour seems to be related with the global severity of the disease.


This paper discusses the advantages of spatial light modulators (SLM) for the application of digital holography and dynamic pattern generation. Implementation demands are discussed on the example of designing an optical system for diffractive element synthesis based on LCOS SLM that is applicable not only for fringe pattern fabric structures but as well to allow for more complex patterns including polarization grating formation in polarization-sensitive liquid-crystalline polymers. We report a new method for the synthesis of digital holograms made by using the interference of laser beams that are diffracted on two amplitude and phase SLM's. Combining the original image-matrix technology with an interferometric image formed by two LCOS SLM's allows for obtaining new visual effects for hologram or diffractive elements synthesis. The proposed method for computer-generated holograms (CGH) enables one to synthesize CGH's and to simulate digital image processing techniques for 3D image reconstruction. The extension of the proposed technique of modeling diffraction on amplitude-phase masks and the possibilities of its practical application such as computer modeling of diffraction on a SLM, which consists of rectangular cells, for wavefront reconstruction are considered. Conclusions regarding the possibilities of the representation of the arbitrary fields by using the discrete matrix of elementary diffractive aperture cells for an enhancement of the iteration algorithm of hologram synthesis and phase retrieval are obtained. The results obtained by numerical and experimental means are presented together with a discussion of the limitations and further possibilities of this method.


This study measures perceptions of team e:ffectiveness in a research and development organization from data obtained during an evaluation of a Federal Re-Invention Laboratory. The study is a secondary analysis which examines five scales, selected for their ability to measure team performance and satisfaction through the use of several values, behaviors and attitudes. These include empowerment, cohesion, team fitness, culture-power distribution, and culture. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyze the strength of the question items of the scales. The factors were then utilized in four logistic regression analyses of dependent variables. The analyses showed the relative strength of the scaled items. The team fitness scale by Hartzler and Henry (1994) was the only scale that was significant in all four of the logistic regression analyses. Denison and Mishra's (1995) culture scale was significant for comparative performance along with the empowerment scale by Spreitzer (1995).


Influences of two naturally occurring osmolytes, urea and trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), on hydrophobic interactions of methane are investigated by performing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In this study, we have used two different models of methane: one is of single united site (UA), and the other contains 5-sites (AA). We observe that two methane models behave similarly in pure water and in aqueous osmolyte solutions except for the fact that AA model of methane behaves slight differently in aqueous binary urea solution. Our potentials of mean force (PMF) calculations followed by association constant estimation and cluster structure analyses suggest urea-induced enhancement of methane association for the methane AA model. For both models, we observe the dehydration of methane molecules in presence of osmolytes. We also find the collapse of the second shell of water by urea and water structure enhancement by TMAO molecules. Our preferential interaction parameter calculations show that in binary aqueous urea solution methane molecules are expelled by urea molecules and this effect is more pronounced for the AA model. On the other hand, in binary aqueous TMAO solution, methane prefers to interact more with TMAO than water. Our water orientational structure calculations show that the orientation of water molecules near to hydrophobic moiety is anisotropic and osmolytes have a negligible effect on it. We also observe the osmolyte-induced water-water hydrogen bond lifetime increase in the hydration shell of methane as well as in the subsequent layers.


Ethnic conflicts have been plaguing the North Eastern states of India. The situation is so serious that in April 2000, while inaugurating a seminar, the Governor of Meghalaya pointed out that each community of the region was involved in violent conflicts with one or more of the other communities. He maintained that this violence was affecting the everyday life of the ordinary citizens in a manner that threatened their rights as members of a democratic society. What effect do these conflicts have on democratic governance? Are these conflicts related to the problems arising out of the introduction of modern democratic governance in traditional societies? How is tradition responding to modern governance? Many of the ethnic communities of the region are rooted in traditional tribal cultures, which some sections zealously guard. The most visible assertion of tradition is to be seen in the attempt to retain 'traditional political authorities' in the name of protecting traditional cultures. For instance, in Meghalaya, the most advanced of the hill states of North East India, certain sections are trying to revive virtually defunct tribal chiefdoms called Syiemships and are demanding direct funding for those institutions from the Government of India. How is modern governance dealing with tradition? Is the interaction between modernity and tradition in the area of governance aggravating ethnic and communal conflicts? These are some questions that seemed to be relevant in contemporary North-East India. To find answers to these questions we decided to look at the tribal state of Meghalaya. This state has been experiencing ethnic violence at almost regular intervals since 1979. But what is more important is that in this state the perception of the social reality itself seems to have acquired an ethnocentric character. A look at the programmes of all the major political parties shows that ethnicity governs the politics of this state. Each community in Meghalaya views social reality from its own perspective. This becomes clear from the fact that whether it is the political parties (even the national parties are national only in a formal sense), underground extremist groups, student and youth organizations, or human rights organizations, all are organized as organizations of particular communities. In view of the above we proposed to examine the consequences of such perspectives at the local level of governance.


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According to the sixth Children's Physical Health Survey, Chinese college students' health parameters are all off-grade, which may have negative impact on their comprehensive physical quality. In order to improve college students' physical fitness, college teachers should adopt proper measures to lead students to participate physical exercises to improve their health. Aerobic exercise is a good way to improve physical fitness comprehensively. This essay focuses on three aspects of impacts on college students, namely the theories of aerobic exercise and its conduct range, the theory and the sample researches. In order to be more scientific, the essay adopted three research methods to explain that aerobic exercise has impact on blood pressure, heart, arteries and nervous system, including theoretical approach, experimental approach and data analysis approach. Both the theories of aerobic exercise and its conduct range and the theories are summaries of previous research materials and get our own results. To ensure the correctness of previous researches, the essay uses exact scientific experiments to show the impact of aerobic exercise on blood pressure, heart, arteries and nervous system. This essay will also explain aerobic exercise affects college students' fitness in the aspect of effectiveness, differences and sustainability. If college teachers have good understandings about aerobic exercise and lead college students to exercise effectively, college students' fitness will be improve comprehensively.


We provide an exploratory quantitive analysis of the role of capital mobility and international taxation in explaining the observed cross-country diversity in the long-run rates of growth of per capita and total incomes as well as the population growth rates. Corroborative evidence is found for the theoretical results on the convergence/divergence in long-term population, per capita and total income growth rates obtained in Razin and Yuen (1992). In particular, the data (and casual observation) show: (1) that population growth and per capita income growth are negatively correlated across countries; (2) that the total income growth rates are less variable than the per capita income growth rates across countries; and (3) that asymmetry in capital income tax rates, coupled with the residence principle of international income taxation, can be an important source of cross-country differences in per capita income growth. Our computer simulations indicate that although the effects of liberalizing capital flows on long-run growth may not be all that sizeable, capital mobility can magnify the growth effects of changes in capital income tax rates as a result of cross-border policy spillovers.


Abstract We present a method for designing spine layouts. A spine layout is a layout in which a main aisle is used for the movements between the work cells located on both side and for the temporary storage of work in process. Our objective is to find a layout that minimizes both the handling costs and the investment costs. Also, a rectangular layout shape is searched for. With the proposed method, a design skeleton is first constructed with a heuristic. This design skeleton is then optimally transposed into a net layout via an integer linear program. Numerical results for layouts of 12 and 22 cells are presented.


After a decade of research the functions of circular enclosures of the middle Neolithic are still debated. In a project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) two of these roundels were excavated in order to learn more about their structure, history of construction, their function as well as their spatial characteristics. Based on high-resolution digital elevation models, possible orientations towards topographical and astronomical features are systematically investigated using a GIS-based visibility analysis and a self-developed tool in Wolfram Mathematica. In this article preliminary results of two (partially) excavated roundels in the northern Forelands of the Harz Mountains are presented.


Deviations from standard game theoretical predictions have been repeatedly observed in basic Dictator Games. Different interpretations have been provided to these deviations. On the one hand, empirical (among others, Forsythe et al., 1994) and theoretical works (among others, Bolton and Ockenfels, 2000; Fehr and Schmidt, 1999) have adopted the explanation based on other-regarding concerns. On the other hand, potential weaknesses in standard design of the game have been stressed. Evidence collected shows that when controlling for reputation considerations (Hoffman et al., 1996) and for legitimacy of assets (Cherry et al., 2002) behavior observed in the experiments is very close to that predicted by standard game theory. Results from our experiment suggest that the relevance of these two factors in explaining observed behavior may be overestimated by previous contributions. Relevant deviations from selfish equilibrium are registered in a condition of full-anonymity when assets to be shared are earned by the dictators and, simultaneously, recipients are allowed to work without being rewarded for their effort.


The identification and treatment of sales price adjustments are among the most wide-ranging, and under-analyzed subjects in the tax law. The consequences of such classification can be substantial and far-reaching. Generally speaking, the question of whether sales allowances, rebates, refunds, trade or other discounts, or other inducements to buy (referred to collectively as "sales price adjustments") are being provided by the seller, will govern the timing, character and treatment by the seller with respect to such adjustments. They also may determine the ability of the seller to recover over time the amount of the transfer through depreciation or amortization deductions. From the perspective of the purchaser, if a sales price adjustment is received, the purchaser would not recognize this amount in current income, but instead would reduce the basis in its newly acquired property or the cost of its assets held in inventory. The proper parameters of the nature and scope of sales price adjustments have long been a matter of contention between taxpayers and the Service, and have represented a source of substantial confusion. This area is sufficiently broad that a single article cannot do it justice. As a result, this article is devoted to an examination of the sales price adjustment inquiry from the perspective of the seller. This article also considers two other intriguing issues involving incentives from nonsellers: inducements furnished by third parties with a business interest in the transaction, and inducements taking the form of nonshareholder contributions to capital under section 118.


The main aim of the presented research was to check mechanical response of human body model under loads that can occur during airplane accidents and compare results of analysis with some results of experimental tests described in literature. In simulations, new multi-purpose human body model, the VIRTHUMAN, was used. The whole model, as well as its particular segments, was earlier validated based on experimental data, which proved its accuracy to simulate human body dynamic response under condition typical for car crashes, but it was not validated for loads with predominant vertical component (loads acting along spinal column), typical for airplane crashes. Due to limitation of available experimental data, the authors focused on conducting calculations for the case introduced in 14 CFR: Parts 23.562 and 25.562, paragraph (b)(1), knowing as the 60◦ pitch test. The analysis consists in comparison of compression load measured in lumbar section of spine of the FAA HIII Dummy (experimental model) and in the Virthuman (numerical model). The performed analyses show numerical stability of the model and satisfactory agreement between experimental data and simulated Virthuman responses. In that sense, the Virthuman model, although originally developed for automotive analyses, shows also great potential to become valuable tool for applications in aviation crashworthiness and safety analyses, as well.


AIM
The correlation between hematoma volume and outcome in ruptured arteriovenous malformations (AVM) with accompanying posterior fossa hematoma was retrospectively evaluated.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Microsurgery operations were performed on 127 patients with intracranial AVM between January 1998 and January 2009 at our clinic. Fifteen (11.8%) patients were identified as suffering from posterior fossa AVM, and twelve of these patients presented with a cerebellar hematoma. All patients were clinically evaluated according to the following criteria: modified Rankin Scale (mRS) prior to surgery, Spetzler-Martin grade (SMG) of the AVMs, hematoma volume prior to surgery, and mRS following surgery.

RESULTS
Postoperative mRS scores were significantly lower than preoperative scores (p=0.0001). Postoperative outcomes were concordant with the SMG of the AVMs (r=0.67, p=0.033), hematoma volume (r=0.537, p=0.072) and preoperative mRS scores (r=0.764, p=0.004). These analyses show that the postoperative mRS score is strongly correlated with a preoperative mRS score, hematoma volume and SMG.

CONCLUSION
Posterior fossa AVMs present an increased risk for hemorrhage and for increased morbidity and mortality. Cases with hematoma should be operated on an urgent basis. We conclude that hematoma volume is a factor that impacts postoperative results and prognosis. SMG and preoperative mRS scores were also correlated with outcome.


The U.S. General Services Administration Pacific Rim Region (Region 9), manages over 20 million gross square feet of federally owned office space, plus additional leased office space, for the federal government in California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and the Pacific territories. To assist in this real estate management the Pacific Rim Region is developing the GSA Energy and Maintenance Network, or GEMnet. GEMnet is a collection of information technology initiatives, including remote monitoring and control to reduce operational costs by improving energy efficiency, reducing peak demand, and optimizing maintenance in buildings. Ultimately the various systems use a common database platform. This paper describes the status and plans for GEMnet, focusing on how it compares with related monitoring and information technology currently used in nonresidential buildings. This paper will also report on recent activities within the GEMnet purview, demand-shedding and retro-commissioning. For example, two large GSA office buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area participated in the California Independent System Operator (ISO) demand relief program (DRP) during the summer of 2001, shedding nearly 1 MW when called upon. In conjunction with the fielding of GEMnet related programs, a series of retro-commissioning projects is being implemented, scoped to the needs of particular buildings. Details on the BAS retro-commissioning at one building is presented.


In many practical situations, the measurement result z depends not only on the measured value x, but also on the parameters s describing the experiment's setting and on the values of some auxiliary quantities y; the dependence z = f(x, s, y) of z on x, s, and y is usually known. In the ideal case when we know the exact value of the auxiliary parameter y, we can solve the above equation and find the desired value x. In many real-life situations, we only know y with some uncertainty, and this uncertainty leads to additional uncertainty in x. If we are trying to reconstruct x based on a single measurement result, then, of course, the measurement error in y leads to the corresponding measurement error in x – and, unless we perform more accurate measurements, we cannot improve x's accuracy. In many practical situations, however, if we have several measurement results corresponding to different values of t and/or y, we can reconstruct x with a much higher accuracy – because we can combine these measurement results in such a way that the influence of y drastically decreases. As a result, we get a sub-noise measurement accuracy, the accuracy that is much better than the accuracy with which we know y.


Whether organochlorine blood levels in fasting and postprandial specimens provide equivalent measures of exposure and the extent to which collecting blood in tubes containing material to separate serum and blood cells corrupts the specimen are unclear. In this paper, we present data from two studies that address both of these issues. In the first study, 27 women provided fasting blood in plain, silicone-coated Vacutainer tubes (red-topped) and in similar tubes containing serum separator gel (SSTs), as well as a postprandial specimen in a red-topped tube. The specimens collected in SSTs were left to stand overnight, with the gel in contact with the sample. In the second study, the blood of 12 industrial incinerator workers was collected in red-topped tubes and in SSTs. Blood in SSTs was left in contact with the gel for 5 days. Serum organochlorine residue levels ([1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene] (DDE)) and polychlorinated biphenyls) in samples collected in red-topped tubes were highly correlated with levels measured in samples collected in SSTs (all Pearson r values were > or = 0.79). Postprandial and fasting organochlorine levels were also highly correlated (Pearson r values > or = 0.89). Our results indicate that timing of the collection of blood in relation to meals and use of SSTs to collect blood specimens did not greatly affect the relative classification of subjects with respect to serum level of DDE or polychlorinated biphenyls. The longer the specimen was in contact with the SST gel, however, the lower the level of organochlorine that was detected and, at least for DDE, the greater the misclassification caused.


An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which began in Wuhan, China in December 2019, has rapidly spread all over the world. The World Health Organization characterized the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as a pandemic in March 2020. In the absence of specific treatments for the virus, treatment options are being examined. Drug repurposing is a process of identifying new therapeutic uses for approved drugs. It is an effective strategy to discover drug molecules with new therapeutic indications. This strategy is time-saving, low-cost, and has a minimal risk of failure. Several existing approved drugs such as chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, doxycycline, azithromycin, and ivermectin are currently in use because of their efficacy in inhibiting COVID-19. Multidrug therapy, such as a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, a combination of doxycycline and ivermectin, or a combination of ivermectin, doxycycline, and azithromycin, has been successfully administered. Multidrug therapy is efficacious because the mechanisms of action of these drugs differ. Moreover, multidrug therapy may prevent the emergence of drug-resistant SARS-CoV-2.


This issue of "Pediatric Clinics", guest edited by Drs. Dilip Patel and Donald Greydanus, examines the topic of adolescents and sports. Authorities in the field have come together to pen articles on pre-participation evaluation, cardiovascular evaluation of young athletes, medical conditions and sport participation, management of the adolescent athlete with type 1 diabetes mellitus, musculoskeletal conditions and sports participation, stress fractures - diagnosis and management, computer-based neuropsychological evaluation of concussion, the female athlete, doping - from drugs and supplements to genetics, analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications in sports, nutritional considerations for adolescent athletes, resistance training guidelines for adolescents, application of osteopathic manual medicine to treat sports injuries, and physically and cognitively challenged athletes.


Background: Curcuma xanthorrhiza is a native Indonesian plant and traditionally utilized for a range of illness including liver damage, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. Objective: The study determined the effects of C. xanthorrhiza extracts (ethanol and aqueous) and their constituents (curcumene and xanthorrhizol) on UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) and glutathione transferase (GST) activities. Materials and Methods: The inhibition studies were evaluated both in rat liver microsomes and in human recombinant UGT1A1 and UGT2B7 enzymes. p-nitrophenol and beetle luciferin were used as the probe substrates for UGT assay while 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as the probe for GST assay. The concentrations of extracts studied ranged from 0.1 to 1000 μg/mL while for constituents ranged from 0.01 to 500 μM. Results: In rat liver microsomes, UGT activity was inhibited by the ethanol extract (IC50 =279.74 ± 16.33 μg/mL). Both UGT1A1 and UGT2B7 were inhibited by the ethanol and aqueous extracts with IC50values ranging between 9.59–22.76 μg/mL and 110.71–526.65 μg/Ml, respectively. Rat liver GST and human GST Pi-1 were inhibited by ethanol and aqueous extracts, respectively (IC50 =255.00 ± 13.06 μg/mL and 580.80 ± 18.56 μg/mL). Xanthorrhizol was the better inhibitor of UGT1A1 (IC50 11.30 ± 0.27 μM) as compared to UGT2B7 while curcumene did not show any inhibition. For GST, both constituents did not show any inhibition. Conclusion: These findings suggest that C. xanthorrhiza have the potential to cause herb-drug interaction with drugs that are primarily metabolized by UGT and GST enzymes.


Glyphmaker allows nonexpert users to customize their own graphical representations using a simple glyph editor and a point-and-click binding mechanism. In particular, users can create and then alter bindings to visual representations, bring in new data or glyphs with associated bindings, change ranges for bound data, and do these operations interactively. They can also focus on data down to any level of detail, including individual elements, and then isolate or highlight the focused region. These features empower users, letting them employ their specialized domain knowledge to create customized visual representations for further exploration and analysis. For ease of design and use, we built Glyphmaker on top of Iris Explorer, the Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) dataflow visualization system. The current version of Glyphmaker has been successfully tested on a materials system simulation. We are planning a series of tests and evaluations by scientists and engineers using real data.<<ETX>>


To the consternation of many Europeans, US President George W. Bush has made clear that he intends to deploy a national missile defence (NMD) as soon as possible. Whereas Bush sees NMD deployment as indispensable in a world of proliferating weapons of mass destruction, Europeans worry that it will spur an arms race with Russia and China; decouple Europe from the US; and waste scarce resources on technologies that may never work against a threat that may not exist. Narrowing this gap is critical, however, because the US needs European support - in the form of radar sites and diplomatic cooperation - if the NMD project is to succeed. As it moves forward, the Bush administration should make clear that NMD is not directed at Russia or China; make good-faith efforts to modify the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; not rush into deployment; and stand ready to provide missile-defence coverage for Europe as well.


Soanin Kilangit is determined to unite the people and attract international tourism through the revival of culture on Baluan Island in the South Pacific. He organizes the largest cultural festival ever held on the island. But some traditional leaders argue that Baluan never had culture. Culture comes from the white man and is now destroying their old tradition. Others, however, take the festival as a welcome opportunity to revolt against '70 years of cultural oppression' by Christianity. A struggle to define the past, present and future of Baluan culture erupts to the sound of thundering log drum rhythms.


We study the precursors and outcomes of refocusing episodes by 107 diversified firms that were not taken over between 1984 and 1993. These firms had more value-reducing diversification policies than diversified firms that did not refocus. However, major disciplinary or incentive-altering events (including management turnover, outside shareholder pressure, changes in management compensation, and financial distress) usually occurred before refocusing took place. The cumulative abnormal returns over a firm's refocusing-related announcements averaged 7.3%, and were significantly related to the amount of value-reduction associated with the refocuser's diversification policy.


Significance Free will consists of a desire to act (volition) and a sense of responsibility for that action (agency), but the brain regions responsible for these processes remain unknown. We found that brain lesions that disrupt volition occur in many different locations, but fall within a single brain network, defined by connectivity to the anterior cingulate. Lesions that disrupt agency also occur in many different locations, but fall within a separate network, defined by connectivity to the precuneus. Together, these networks may underlie our perception of free will, with implications for neuropsychiatric diseases in which these processes are impaired. Our perception of free will is composed of a desire to act (volition) and a sense of responsibility for our actions (agency). Brain damage can disrupt these processes, but which regions are most important for free will perception remains unclear. Here, we study focal brain lesions that disrupt volition, causing akinetic mutism (n = 28), or disrupt agency, causing alien limb syndrome (n = 50), to better localize these processes in the human brain. Lesion locations causing either syndrome were highly heterogeneous, occurring in a variety of different brain locations. We next used a recently validated technique termed lesion network mapping to determine whether these heterogeneous lesion locations localized to specific brain networks. Lesion locations causing akinetic mutism all fell within one network, defined by connectivity to the anterior cingulate cortex. Lesion locations causing alien limb fell within a separate network, defined by connectivity to the precuneus. Both findings were specific for these syndromes compared with brain lesions causing similar physical impairments but without disordered free will. Finally, our lesion-based localization matched network localization for brain stimulation locations that disrupt free will and neuroimaging abnormalities in patients with psychiatric disorders of free will without overt brain lesions. Collectively, our results demonstrate that lesions in different locations causing disordered volition and agency localize to unique brain networks, lending insight into the neuroanatomical substrate of free will perception.


In this paper, we address the problem privacy in video surveillance. We propose an efficient solution based on transformdomain scrambling of regions of interest in a video sequence. More specifically, the sign of selected transform coefficients is flipped during encoding. We address more specifically the case of Motion JPEG 2000. Simulation results show that the technique can be successfully applied to conceal information in regions of interest in the scene while providing with a good level of security. Furthermore, the scrambling is flexible and allows adjusting the amount of distortion introduced. This is achieved with a small impact on coding performance and negligible computational complexity increase. In the proposed video surveillance system, heterogeneous clients can remotely access the system through the Internet or 2G/3G mobile phone network. Thanks to the inherently scalable Motion JPEG 2000 codestream, the server is able to adapt the resolution and bandwidth of the delivered video depending on the usage environment of the client.


Purpose
While the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is on the rise, few understand how it will affect our jobs. Will it be a hindrance? A threat? Or the solution to the current productivity dilemma? As with any new, and largely untested, technology, AI brings both challenges and opportunities that we need to be conscious of.

Design/methodology/approach
The current and potential future implementation of AI technologies at Schneider Electric is assessed.

Findings
In HR, it is our responsibility to help navigate business leaders towards making the best business decision, often with the use of technology. AI, like analytics before it, has huge potential.

Originality/value
What we know for sure, is that the development of human talent has become one of the top priorities for global CEOs. With severe talent shortages in the UK, finding the right candidates for the job and investing in their professional development and well-being to keep them for longer look like no-brainers.


The presence of women in social and managerial fields is one the indicator of social justice and development that leads to optimum use of capabilities and potentials of half of the country's rural population. In the recent years, establishing public institution of Dehyary by the Ministry of Interior have provided new opportunity for women presence in rural management. This study aimed to identify women's participation obstacles in rural management in Iran, specifically in Dehyary. The statistical population of this study was 15-64 year – old females which were resident in rural areas of Oskou County. Applying a proportional random sampling and Cochran formula, 347 women were chosen to be surveyed as sample. A questionnaire was used for data collection, which its face validity was approved by a panel of experts and its reliability was calculated by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α=0.84). The results revealed that, negative attitudes and believes in rural community is the most important obstacle for women to participate in rural management. Furthermore, factor analysis categorized obstacles for women participation in six factors including cultural, personal, supportive, job-related, religious and Economic constrains.


Accurately measuring the audience response during a performance is a difficult task. This is particularly the
case for connected performances. In this paper, we staged a connected performance in which a remote
audience enjoyed the performance in real-time. Both objective (galvanic skin response and behaviours) and
subjective (interviews) responses from the live and remote audience members were recorded. To capture
galvanic skin response, a group of self-built sensors was used to record the electrical conductance of the skin.
The results of the measurements showed that both the live and the remote audience members had a similar
response to the connected performance even though more vivid artistic artefacts had a stronger effect on the
live audience. Some technical issues also influenced the experience of the remote audience. In conclusion we
found that the remoteness had little influence on the connected performance.


BACKGROUND
In the era of widespread prostate-specific antigen testing, it is important to focus etiologic research on the outcome of aggressive prostate cancer, but studies have defined this outcome differently. We aimed to develop an evidence-based consensus definition of aggressive prostate cancer using clinical features at diagnosis for etiologic epidemiologic research.

METHODS
Among prostate cancer cases diagnosed in 2007 in the U.S. SEER-18 database with follow-up through 2017, we compared the performance of categorizations of aggressive prostate cancer in discriminating fatal prostate cancer within 10 years of diagnosis, placing the most emphasis on sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV).

RESULTS
In our case population (n = 55,900), 3,073 men died of prostate cancer within 10 years. Among 12 definitions that included TNM stage and Gleason score, sensitivities ranged from 0.64 to 0.89 and PPVs ranged from 0.09 to 0.23. We propose defining aggressive prostate cancer as diagnosis of stage T4 or N1 or M1 or Gleason score ≥8 prostate cancer, as this definition had one of the higher PPVs (0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.22-0.24) and reasonable sensitivity (0.66, 95% CI 0.64-0.67) for prostate cancer death within 10 years. Results were similar across sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS
We recommend that etiologic epidemiologic studies of prostate cancer report results for this definition of aggressive prostate cancer. We also recommend that studies separately report results for advanced stage (T4 or N1 or M1), high grade (Gleason score ≥8), and fatal prostate cancer. Use of this comprehensive set of endpoints will facilitate comparison of results from different studies and help elucidate prostate cancer etiology.


Objective: Plane tree pollen grains has an important place among aeroallergens that present in the air and cause allergy by entering the body via respiratory track. Materials and Methods: In this study, monthly variation and annual proportions of Platanus pollen investigated for 72 atmospheric pollen studies in Turkey, which carried out by using Lanzoni/Burkard sampler with volumetric method or by using Durham sampler with gravimetric method. Furthermore, researches evaluated about Platanus pollen sensitivities, performed in Europe and our country. Results: According to the atmospheric pollen studies, plane tree pollen grains have been detected in a very short period and intensively in the air. In some regions, Platanus pollen found in very highlevels and placed in most dominated fi ve taxa among the total. In Bursa city, main pollen season of plane tree pollen grains continued for 62 days in the year 2013. Conclusion: Due to carrying out widespread planting of Platanus for decorative purposes especially in parks, gardens and along the streets in recent years and producing large amounts of pollen in spring period especially in April and May; it should be considered that symptoms can occur in people who are sensitive to plane tree pollen. In addition it must not forgotten that, vegetable originated food allergy (oral allergy syndrome) can be accompanied with Platanus pollen allergy on these individuals.


"Invited Papers Logic of Proofs with Complexity Operators, S. ArtEmov and A. Chuprina Beyond the s-Semantics: A Theory of Observables, M. Comini and G. Levi The Logic of Commuting Equivalence Relations, D. Finberg, M. Mainetti, and G.-C. Rota Proof-Nets: The Parallel Syntax for Proof-theory, J.-Y. Girard Magari and Others on GOdel's Ontological Proof, P. Hajek Finitely Generated Magari Algebras and Arithmetic, L. Hendriks and D. de Jongh The Butterfly and the Serpent, J. Lambek Adjoints in and Among Bicategories, F. William Lawvere Exponential Algebra, A. Macintyre Categorical Equivalences for Varieties, R. McKenzie Boolean Universal Algebra, A.F. Pixley Restructuring Mathematical Logic: An Approach Based on Peirce's Pragmatism, R. Wille The Development of Research in Algebra in Italy from 1850 to 1940, G. Zappa Contributed Papers A Criterion to Decide the Semantic Match Problem, G. Aguzzi and U. Modigliani Remarks on Magari Algebras of PA and IDelta0+EXP, L. Beklemishev Undecidability in Weak Membership Theories, D. BellE and F. Parlamento Infinite Lambda-Calculus and Non-sensible Models, A. Berarducci A Computer Study of 3-Element Groupoids, J. Bremen and S.N. Burris Ideal Properties of Congruencies, I. Chajda Dualisability in General and Endodualisability in Particular, B.A. Davey Hyperordinals and Nonstandard Alpha-Models, M. Di Nasso Some Notes on Subword Quantification and Induction Thereof, F. Ferreira Research in Automated Deduction as a Basis for a Probabilistic Proof-theory, P. Forcheri, P. Gentilini, and M.T. Molfino Idempotent Simple Algebras, K. Kearnes A Revision of the Mathematical Part of Magari's Paper on "Introduction to Metamorality", R. Magari and G. Simi Some Aspects of the Categorical Semantics for the Polymorphic Lambda-Calculus, M.E. Maietti Reflection Using the Derivability Conditions, S. Matthews and A.K. Simpson Stone Bases, Alias the Constructive Content of Stone Representation, S. Negri On k-Permutability for Categories of T-Algebras, M.C. Pedicchio Weak vs. Strong Boethius' Thesis: A Problem in the Analysis of Consequential Implication, C. Pizzi A New and Elementary Method to Represent Every Complete Boolean Algebra, G. Sambin On Finite Intersections of Intermediate Predicate Logics, D. Skvortsov A Completeness Theorem for Formal Topologies, A. Valentini "


We investigate the complexity of mathematical problems from two perspectives: Medvedev degrees and reverse mathematics. In the Medvedev degrees, we calculate the complexity of its first-order theory, and we also calculate the complexities of the first-order theories of several related structures. We characterize the join-irreducible Medvedev degrees and deduce several consequences for the interpretation of propositional logic in the Medvedev degrees. We equate the size of chains of Medvedev degrees with the size of chains of sets of reals under ⊆. In reverse mathematics, we analyze the strength of classical theorems of finite graph theory generalized to the countable. In particular, we consider Menger's theorem, Birkhoff's theorem, and unfriendly partitions.


Epoxy resin was filled with glass powder to optimize the strength and of the composite for structural applications by a research centre in the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). In order to reduce costs, the centre wishes to fill as much glass microspheres as possible subject to maintaining sufficient strength and fracture toughness of the composites in structural applications. This project varies the percentage by weight of the glass powder in the composites. After casting the composites to the moulds, they were cured at ambient conditions for 24 hours. They were then post-cured in a conventional oven and subjected to tensile tests. It was found that the best percentage of glass powder by weight that can be added to the epoxy resin to give an optimum yield and tensile strengths as well as Young modulus and cost was five percent. It was also found that the fractured surfaces examined under scanning electron microscope were correlated with the fracture toughness. The contribution of the study was that if tensile properties were the most important factors to be considered in the applications of the composites, glass powder is not a suitable filler. It is also hoped that the discussion and results in this work would not only contribute towards the development of glass powder reinforced epoxy composites with better material properties, but also useful for the investigations of tensile properties in other composites.


This paper explores the impact of Malian migrants' Home Town Associations (HTAs) located in France on the provision of local public goods in Mali. To this end, we compute an original dataset on all the HTAs that have been created by Malian migrants in France since 1981 and geo-localize their interventions on the Malian territory. Thanks to four waves of Malian census, we also build a panel dataset on the provision of a range of public goods in all Malian villages over the 1976-2009 period. These two sources of data allow us to implement a difference-in-differences strategy, and to compare villages with and without an HTA, before and after HTAs developed their activity in Mali. We find that Malian HTAs have significantly contributed to improve the provision of schools, health centers and water amenities over the 1987-2009 period. When looking at the timing of the treatment, we observe that the difference between treated and control villages in terms of water amenities is mainly driven by the second period of observation (1998-2009), while schools and health centers exhibit significant differences during the whole period.


Speckle shear interferometry is used for measuring the tilt of diffuse objects with high sensitivity. The theory of tilt measurement using rotational, inversion, and folding shears is given, and experimental results are presented. Experimental configurations to achieve both inversion and folding shears simultaneously are given.


Silicon nanocone arrays with metal silicide (Fe and Cr)-enriched apexes are fabricated on Si (100) substrate by the Ar+ ion bombardment method. The nanocone arrays show excellent field emission properties. A high current density (J) of ~0.33 mA/cm2 under a field of ~3 V/\mu m, a very low turn-on field of ~1.4 V/\mu m, and a very large enhancement factor of ~9466 are also obtained. The emission J of Si nanocone arrays remains extremely stable for long periods of time (24 h).


Introduction unCoVer—Unravelling data for rapid evidence-based response to COVID-19—is a Horizon 2020-funded network of 29 partners from 18 countries capable of collecting and using real-world data (RWD) derived from the response and provision of care to patients with COVID-19 by health systems across Europe and elsewhere. unCoVer aims to exploit the full potential of this information to rapidly address clinical and epidemiological research questions arising from the evolving pandemic. Methods and analysis From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, partners are gathering RWD from electronic health records currently including information from over 22 000 hospitalised patients with COVID-19, and national surveillance and screening data, and registries with over 1 900 000 COVID-19 cases across Europe, with continuous updates. These heterogeneous datasets will be described, harmonised and integrated into a multi-user data repository operated through Opal-DataSHIELD, an interoperable open-source server application. Federated data analyses, without sharing or disclosing any individual-level data, will be performed with the objective to reveal patients' baseline characteristics, biomarkers, determinants of COVID-19 prognosis, safety and effectiveness of treatments, and potential strategies against COVID-19, as well as epidemiological patterns. These analyses will complement evidence from efficacy/safety clinical trials, where vulnerable, more complex/heterogeneous populations and those most at risk of severe COVID-19 are often excluded. Ethics and dissemination After strict ethical considerations, databases will be available through a federated data analysis platform that allows processing of available COVID-19 RWD without disclosing identification information to analysts and limiting output to data aggregates. Dissemination of unCoVer's activities will be related to the access and use of dissimilar RWD, as well as the results generated by the pooled analyses. Dissemination will include training and educational activities, scientific publications and conference communications.


This article lays out the key events leading up to, and the strategic thinking behind, the 2017 emergence of Syrian insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (the Body for the Liberation of the Levant), the latest iteration of Syria's former al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusrah. To frame that strategic logic, it employs political scientist Peter Krause's Movement Structure Theory, which posits that national movements led by a single hegemonic group tend to be more successful. For definitional reasons, Krause's theory likely does not have predictive utility in the case of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is to some extent transnational and thus governed by different motivations and rules. Still, Krause's theory nonetheless provides a useful lexicon to describe the insurgency in Syria's north-west and the rationale for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's hegemonic dominance of that insurgency as the group has itself articulated it. The article also briefly evaluates Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's apparent prospects, as of November 2017, and their implications for the broader applicability of Krause's theory.