The purposes of this study were to identify the attitudes toward of market goods characteristics and to investigate the relationships between attitudes toward market goods characteristics and the level of market goods substitution of housework. For empirical analysis, the data of the study was collected from 572 married women living in Seoul. A questionnaire was used as a survey method. Data was analysed using SPSS/WIN8. The major findings of the study were as follows: 1) Wives had negative attitudes toward quality characteristics in the domain of food, but positive attitudes in the domain of clothes. They had positive attitudes toward time/labor saving characteristic, especially ready-made side dishes and dining-out, whereas negative attitudes toward money saving characteristic in the domain of food and clothes. 2) The level of market goods substitution of housework was influenced by the attitudes toward market goods characteristics.


Renewable energy sources (RES) have been gaining an increasing importance in recent years. However, the integration of these resources into the current distribution systems is considered a challenging task due to two limitations. These two limitations are the cost of equipment and the intermittency of the generated electrical power. Distributed generation of wind-photovoltaic hybrid systems connected to energy storage is proposed to overcome the variability of RES. However, the high cost of the equipment for such systems is also a major drawback. Therefore, an optimization procedure which includes capital costs of the system components is needed to determine the financial feasibility of such a hybrid system. This paper presents an optimization technique which uses linear programming in order to find the optimal planning strategy for the hybrid system. The objective function measures the total annual cost which includes the levelized capital cost as well as the operations and maintenance cost of the proposed system. The results of the optimization procedure give the optimal size for wind farm, solar farm, and energy storage needed to meet the load requirements and minimize the annual cost as well.


In this paper, we report our extension of the use of feature selection based on mutual information and feature fusion to improve gender classification of face images. We compare the results of fusing three groups of features, three spatial scales, and four different mutual information measures to select features. We also showed improved results by fusion of LBP features with different radii and spatial scales, and the selection of features using mutual information. As measures of mutual information we use minimum redundancy and maximal relevance (mRMR), normalized mutual information feature selection (NMIFS), conditional mutual information feature selection (CMIFS), and conditional mutual information maximization (CMIM). We tested the results on four databases: FERET and UND, under controlled conditions, the LFW database under unconstrained scenarios, and AR for occlusions. It is shown that selection of features together with fusion of LBP features significantly improved gender classification accuracy compared to previously published results. We also show a significant reduction in processing time because of the feature selection, which makes real-time applications of gender classification feasible.


Aims
To characterize changes in the myocardium in subjects with prediabetes, diabetes, and healthy controls with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in a sample from the general population.

Methods and results
Subjects without history of cardiovascular disease and preserved LVEF but established diabetes, prediabetes, and controls from a population-based cohort underwent contrast-enhanced CMR. Obtained parameters included left ventricular (LV) function and morphology, late gadolinium enhancement as well as T1-mapping and derivation of extracellular volume fraction (ECV) by modified Look-Locker inversion recovery for diffuse fibrosis in a subset of patients. Fibrosis volume and cell volume were calculated and LV remodelling index was calculated by dividing the LV mass by its end-diastolic volume. Among 343 subjects (56.1 ± 9.2 years, 57% males), 47 subjects were classified as diabetes, 78 as prediabetes, and 218 as controls. Haematocrit values and thus ECV parameters were available in 251 subjects. LV remodelling index was significantly higher in participants with prediabetes and diabetes, independent of body mass index (BMI), hypertension, age, and sex. ECV was decreased in subjects with prediabetes and diabetes compared with healthy controls (23.1 ± 2.4% and 22.8 ± 3.0%, both P < 0.007). In contrast, cell volume was significantly higher in subjects with prediabetes and diabetes as compared with controls (109.1 ± 23.8 and 114.9 ± 32.3 mL vs. 96.5 ± 26.9 mL, both P < 0.03, respectively). However, differences in ECV and cell volume attenuated after the adjustment for cardiometabolic risk factors, including age, sex, BMI, and hypertension.

Conclusion
Subjects with prediabetes and diabetes but preserved LVEF had higher LV remodelling indices, suggesting early detectable changes in the disease process, while diffuse myocardial fibrosis appears to be less relevant at this stage.


This paper describes a package which uses MATLAB functions and routines to estimate VARs, local projections and other models with classical or Bayesian methods. The toolbox allows a researcher to conduct inference under various prior assumptions on the parameters, to produce point and density forecasts, and to trace out the causal effect of shocks using a number of identification schemes. The toolbox is equipped to handle missing observations, mixed frequencies and time series with large cross-section information (e.g. panels of VAR and FAVAR). It also contains a number of routines to extract cyclical information and to date business cycles. We describe the methodology employed and implementation of the functions with a number of practical examples.


Nucleophosmin/B23 is a nucleolar phosphoprotein which forms oligomers. To determine the domain essential for oligomer formation, various deletion and point mutation clones of nucleophosmin/B23 were constructed. Nucleophosmin/B23 and the mutant proteins were produced by (a) coupled in vitro transcription and translation and (b) expression in Escherichia coli with T7 RNA polymerase expression vector (pET-8c). Nucleophosmin/B23 synthesized in vitro has the same peptide map as that synthesized in HeLa cells. Similarly, it formed oligomers which could be detected in SDS/PAGE and were cross-linked with nitrogen mustard in vivo. Substitution of Met5, Met7, and Met9 with Leu or deletion of five amino acids at the C-terminus abolished the oligomerization. Deletion of portions of amino acids in the middle of the molecule (amino acid residues 83-152, 117-186 and 185-240) had little effect on the oligomerization. Co-expression of the N- and C-terminal mutant clones in vitro did not produce oligomers. These results indicate that intra-molecular interactions with both the N- and C-terminal domains are essential for oligomer formation.


Auction methods have been successfully used for coordinating teams of robots in the multi-robot routing problem, a representative domain for multi-agent coordination. Solutions to this problem typically use bids computed using the shortest distance between various locations on a map. But, the cost of this shortest-distance computation has not been considered in previous research. This paper presents a new auction-based algorithm, FastBid, that works to reduce the computational costs associated with bidding in the multirobot routing problem. We also analyze how a small modication in the bidding algorithm can reduce the computational load of the bidding process. Experiments demonstrate that FastBid not only scales much better than previous approaches, but does so with little or no loss in solution quality.


Background In 2006, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Ad Hoc Committee on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) recommended the urinary protein level in a spot (untimed) urine specimen (determined as urinary protein-to-urinary creatinine ratio; spot P/C ratio) over a 24-hour urine protein excretion. In addition, the committee stated that renal function refers to the estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and selected the MDRD study equation. However, several subsequent reports suggested that the spot P/C ratio may be inaccurate in the assessment of the degree of proteinuria in lupus nephritis (LN). In addition, there is no consensus as to which estimating equation is preferred for estimated GFR in LN. Objectives We aimed to evaluate the validity of spot P/C ratio and estimated GFR by the modified MDRD study equation as measures of proteinuria and renal function in patients with LN. Methods A total of 61 patients with active LN who were admitted to our hospital from 2010 through 2015 were included. LN was pathologically confirmed in 51 patients and renal biopsy was not performed in the other 10 patients. In addition, 22 SLE patients without active LN in whom spot P/C ratio, 24-hour urine protein excretion, estimated GFR, and 24-hour urine creatinine clearance were measured were also included. All the patients met the revised ACR classification criteria for SLE. Clinical and laboratory data were retrospectively collected from the electronic medical records and statistically analyzed. Results The spot P/C ratio and the 24-hour urine protein excretion were moderately correlated (n=64, Pearson's r =0.62). However, the Bland-Altman plot demonstrated proportional bias (progressive deviation with values). Agreement of the spot P/C ratio ≥0.5 and the 24-hour urine protein excretion ≥0.5 g was moderate (Cohen's κ =0.56) whereas that of ≥0.2 was almost perfect (κ =0.83). Measured 24-hour urine creatinine excretion ranged from 220 mg to 2120 mg; the mean and median values were 860 mg and 840 mg, respectively. Among the 10 patients in whom serial data could be obtained in more than 3 times, the spot P/C ratio and the 24-hour urine protein excretion were highly correlated (r =0.87 to 0.99), except for 2 patients (r = -0.30 and 0.68, respectively). In these serial samples derived from the 8 patients, there was substantial agreement between the spot P/C ratio and the 24-hour urine protein excretion about whether increased or decreased compared to previous data (κ =0.65). The estimated GFR by the modified MDRD study equation and the body surface area (BSA) corrected 24-hour urine creatinine clearance were moderately correlated (n=81, r =0.62). However, the Bland-Altman plot demonstrated both fixed and proportional bias. Agreement of the estimated GFR and the BSA-corrected 24-hour urine creatinine clearance ≥60 (ml/min/1.73 m2) was moderate (κ =0.48). Conclusions Our results supported the validity of spot P/C ratio and estimated GFR by the modified MDRD study equation as convenient screening and monitoring measures of proteinuria and renal function in patients with LN. However, agreement between these convenient measures and measures based on 24-hour urine collection is not always good. Spot P/C ratio and estimated GFR should be used with attention to their limitation. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Classical shadows are a computationally efficient approach to storing quantum states on a classical computer for the purposes of estimating expectation values of local observables, obtained by performing repeated random measurements. In this note we offer some comments on this approach. We note that the resources needed to form classical shadows with bounded relative error depend strongly on the target state. We then comment on the advantages and limitations of using classical shadows to simulate many-body dynamics. In addition, we introduce the notion of a hybrid shadow, constructed from measurements on a part of the system instead of the entirety, which provides a framework to gain more insight into the nature of shadow states as one reduces the size of the subsystem measured, and a potential alternative to compressing quantum states.


The neurally depressant amino acid taurine and related metabolites were tested for their ability to alter prolactin (PRL) secretion in conscious, unrestrained male rats. The intraventricular infusion of taurine (0.2 and 2.0 mumol) elicited a significant increase in PRL secretion. Hypotaurine (0.2 and 2.0 mumol), cysteic acid (2.0 mumol), mannitol (2.0 mumol) and 0.9% saline were ineffective in altering PRL secretion. When infused directly into the pituitary of conscious, unrestrained male rats none of the substances tested stimulated PRL secretion. Taurine (50.0 mumol) was similarly ineffective in stimulating PRL secretion when an in vitro pituitary preparation was used. These studies indicate that taurine is capable of stimulating PRL secretion in the male rat. This effect appears to be mediated centrally, presumably at the hypothalamus.


This study deals zoning and building codes that act on the physical planning and design of university campus in Korea. Campus facility related laws were analyzed in relation to various factor found out through the survey on the existing campuses in rural or urban area. The study shows that the gaps between the standards required by the law and the state of facilitation in many universities could be filled by applying varied norms in accordance with the locational characteristics of each university.


In Reply. —Lee is concerned that a risk of heart disease due to ETS exposure needs to be confirmed prior to developing risk assessments. However, "confirmation" is a relative matter. The weight of evidence supporting the ETS—heart disease association is accumulating; studies to date are reasonably well-designed and consistent. If there is a 25% excess risk for never-smokers living with smokers, as the data suggest, then this is a much more serious public health problem than the ETS—lung cancer issue, which has been the focus of most of the discussion to date. The purpose of my article was to draw attention to this point. Confounding by heart disease risk factors may be a problem in the ETS—heart disease studies. However, while Lee points out that two of the largest studies had no data on important risk factors, 1,2 he fails to draw attention to two other large cohort studies (with


We present a case of a 49-year-old patient who initially presented in May 2020 with an open pilon fracture. Managed with initial debridement, fixation and flap - who subsequently underwent circular frame application for failure of fixation, requiring a transport to fusion frame who developed beta-haemolytic streptococcus A within the site of the proximal corticotomy.A systematic review of the literature was conducted searching EMBASE, MEDLINE and Cochrane library for all articles discussing infected bone regenerate- a paucity of information was found. Abstracts were independently reviewed by 2 authors (LH and LT). In total, there were 16 papers, and then subsequently analysed we identified two case reports regarding infected regenerate.Developing an infection in a regenerate is highly rare with very few reported cases within the published literature. The literature identified risk factors for an infected regenerate, with open fracture and smoking being the two consistent factors. The open fracture deep infection rate is cited at 10% in most publications, this is at the site of the open fracture and not within the regenerate.Infection within the regenerate during distraction osteogenesis is highly unusual, with only two other published papers in the literature to the best of our knowledge. This should be borne in mind when managing patients with infection of unknown sources in cases of distraction osteogenesis.


Earlier research activities on Amaranthus cruentus were majorly focused on the suitability of its small edible grains for human and livestock consumptions, but other certain beneficial attributes of the crop-plant, such as relatively long succulent stem, high foliage production and rapid re-growth which make the shoot a potential forage crop (particularly under improved soil nutrition), had been enshrouded and therefore suffered adequate studies. Field studies were carried out in the year 2010, at the Teaching and Research Farms, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria, to evaluate the forage potentials of Amaranthus cruentus, under suitable agronomic practice and improved soil nutrition. The trial treatments were: four application rates (0.0, 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 t ha -1 ) of composted-Tithonia biomass and four harvesting frequencies (i.e. zero or no-harvesting, mono-weekly, mono-fortnightly and mono-monthly harvestings). The trials were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and were replicated three times. At the fourth week after sowing, some growth parameters were measured prior to 1 st cutting or harvesting. At every harvest, the harvested shoot dry weight and nutrient uptake of N, P and K were determined. After the final harvest, the cumulative dry weights of the above-ground biomass (followed by the below-ground biomass), were determined.  Compost rate of 3.0 t ha -1 under mono-fortnightly cutting or harvesting gave the best values of all the growth parameters measured i.e. plant height, stem circumference, number of leaves and leaf area.  Biomass yields obtained from both the no-harvesting / zero-harvesting and the mono-fortnight harvesting (cumulative), which received 3.0 tons of composted materials were statistically similar and the best, compared to the other treatment combinations. Therefore, mono- fortnight harvesting or cutting of grain amaranth with 3.0 t ha -1 application of composted Tithonia-residues may be beneficial to its accelerated shoot re-growth. This makes it dually suitable for human consumption as a leaf vegetable and a desirable forage / soilage for livestock management. Also, this approach may encourage maximum utilization of available soil nutrients and equally promote crop and animal production efficiency. Keywords : Grain amaranth, Forage potentials, Composted phyto-residues, Harvesting frequency, Oxic paleutult soil.


A mild, practical, metal and oxidant-free methodology for the synthesis of various C-3 selenylated benzo[b]furan derivatives was developed through the intramolecular cyclization of alkynes promoted with diselenides via electrooxidation. A wide range of selenium-substituted benzo[b]furan derivatives were obtained in good to excellent yields with high regioselectivity under constant current in an undivided cell equipped with carbon and platinum plates as the anode and cathode, respectively. Moreover, the convergent approach exhibited good functional group tolerance and could be easily scaled up with good efficiency, providing rapid access to a diverse range of selenylated benzo[b]furans derivatives from simple, readily available starting materials.


The paper describes day to day changes observed in atmospheric aerosol's parameters namely AI300, AOD550, , TWC,  and MC from their background reference day value over Udaipur during Pre to Post-Diwali period from 2002 to 2007. Before Diwali to Diwali, daily variations in such aerosol's parameters values show the substantial increase order of 30- 60% from their respective background. Afterward Diwali, such change in AI300 shows the decreasing behavior, in sharp contrast to this, daily variations in AOD550,  and MC exhibit either lower value or attain the same peak value depending upon the corresponding level of TWC and rainfall activity of that particular year. These variations are not instantly but with certain delay in the same period. A considerable amount of implication in aerosols loading is observed in terms of reduction in SHWRF from 20-30% during the enhancement period of aerosol's parameters. However, DSWRF does not show any appreciable change. The main possible causes of increase in aerosol's loadings within above period are discussed in views of inter mixed effect of local emission activity and long range transport of aerosols from heavy polluted IGP site and in reduction of PBL height and wind speed.


Paradoxically, if nature has always been a source of fear, civilisation 13 its other and at the same time the epitome of progress and order 13 has not only doubled fear itself, but also added its new sister, anxiety. In effect, the notions of civilisation, fear and anxiety can hardly be separated. Fear 13 either linked with anxiety or distinct from it 13 lies at the foundation of civilisation, which as much promises to shelter us from these afflictions as it does proliferate them. Confronted no longer with the adversary powers of nature, humans have to face now the adversary powers produced by their own endeavours and ideologies. Each effort aimed at attaining an equilibrium results in new, unexpected rifts and breaches into which fear and anxiety grow. Out of the games played between fear and civilisation there emerge new versions of the human subject: homo anxious, homo civilis, homo rationalis.

This volume represents a collection of papers devoted to the many various relations between fear and society, culture and civilisation 13 both Western and Eastern, contemporary and past. The articles collected here approach the relationship of civilisation, fear, anxiety and the subject from multiple perspectives. Relating to modern critical thought, including that of Kant, Freud, Derrida, Kierkegaard, and Heidegger, they investigate the objects, causes and effects of fear: reality, nature, reason, libidinal excess, atheism, critical discourse, technological advances, conspiracy, terrorism, capital punishment, the diversity of cultures, and the breakdown of civilisation as a whole: most of all, however, they explore the various shades of fear itself.


Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or UA V has been designed by numerous inventors due to its
importance in multiple industries. One major usage of UA V nowadays is for
surveillance. This report basically discusses the progress done on the chosen topic, which
is Preliminary Design of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UA V) for Petroleum Pipe
Monitoring sYSTEM. The basic idea of this project is the design work. An Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle (UAV; also known as a remotely piloted vehicle or RPV, or Unmanned
Aircraft System (UAS)) is an aircraft that flies without a human crew on board the
aircraft. The purpose of this project is to learn all the aspects of designing the
preliminary design of UA V specifically for the use in monitoring the petroleum pipe
system, onshore and offshore. So, the methodology for this project is more on designing
the UA V by determining and investigating its specification that fulfill the need for that
particular purpose. The scope of work for semester one final year project is to research
more about UAV preliminary design that suitable for monitoring petroleum pipe system;
both offshore and offshore. Other than that is investigating the suitable criteria and
specifications as the factor that need to be considered for designing and drawing the
final configuration. The second part of the project will covers the analysis of both
aerodynamics and performance for the designed UAV. It also involved the final drawing
ofthe UA V using AutoCAD 2008 according to its specifications. The objective of
studies had been achieved upon the completion of the project.


—Ecosystems provide essential services for human society, which include provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Amphibians provide provisioning services by serving as a food source for some human societies, especially in Southeast Asia. They also serve as models in medical research and provide potential for new pharmaceuticals such as analgesics and anti-viral drugs derived from skin secretions. Amphibians contribute to regulating services by reducing mosquito recruitment from ephemeral wetlands, potentially controlling other pest species, and indirectly through predation of insect pollinators. Often neglected, ecosystems also provide cultural services to human societies that increase the quality of human life through recreation, religion, spirituality, and aesthetics. As an abundant and diverse class of vertebrates, amphibians also play prominent roles in the culture of human societies through pathways such as mythology, literature, and art. Most research on the role of amphibians in ecosystems has been on their contribution to supporting services. This is also the area where amphibians are likely to have the largest contribution to ecosystem services. Supporting services have structural (e.g., habitat) and functional (e.g., ecosystem functions and processes) components. Amphibians can affect ecosystem structure through soil burrowing and aquatic bioturbation and ecosystem functions such as decomposition and nutrient cycling through waste excretion and indirectly through predatory changes in the food web. They also can control primary production in aquatic ecosystems through direct consumption and nutrient cycling. Unfortunately, amphibians are experiencing major declines and humans may be losing associated ecosystem services. It is important to understand how declines affect ecosystem services for human societies, but these declines can also serve as natural experiments to understand the role of amphibians in ecosystems.


The polypeptides of all 14 serotypes of Ureaplasma urealyticum were analyzed by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. The electrophoretic patterns did not allow ready discrimination of individual serotypes or seroclusters. The analysis of the antigens of serotype 8 was reported previously (B. L. Precious, D. Thirkell, and W. C. Russell, J. Gen. Microbiol. 133:2659-2676, 1987). In this study, three of the surface-expressed membrane antigens of 16, 17, and 96 kilodaltons were further investigated, and monoclonal antibodies were raised against these three polypeptides. The major 96-kilodalton polypeptide was serotype 8 specific, and the 16-kilodalton polypeptide was present only in the larger serocluster. We describe monoclonal antibody probes that unequivocally differentiate serotype 8 from the other serotypes and that separate the two seroclusters of the organism.


The aims of this research are (1) to find out how to apply infographics towards students' reading comprehension; (2) to find out the effect of using infographics as learning media towards students" reading comprehension; (3) to find out students' respond to the use of infographics as learning media. This research method is quantitative with a pre-experimental research design type of one-group pretestposttest design. The instruments in this study were tests, questionnaires, and observations. The test consists of a pretest, which is a test before being given treatment, and a posttest, which is a test after being given treatment. The treatment in this study is the application of infographics as learning media in procedure text. The results show that (1) the application of infographics can be applied to a text to clarify the contents of the text because it is supported by the visual elements of the infographics. The application of infographics in this study is to apply infographics to procedure text. The procedure text is presented in infographic form supported by illustrations and visual elements on infographics. (2) there is an effect of using infographics as learning media towards students' reading comprehension. It can be seen from the results of the paired sample test. With the significant value or Sig. (2-tailed) is 0.00 which is less than 0.05 it means that Ha is accepted. Another analysis of the paired sample test by comparing the t-test with the t-table, where ttest > t-table is 9.724 > 2.093 it means that Ha is accepted. Supported by the pretest-posttest results, can be seen from the difference in pretest and posttest values where the pretest has a mean of 34.75 and the posttest has a higher value of 63.757. (3) there was a good response from students towards the use of infographics as learning media. Students gave a positive response from the use of infographics as an effective medium in helping reading comprehension. This can be seen from the percentage (80%) of students agreeing with the statements in the questionnaire "I feel infographics can help me understand the text". Supported by the results of observations with an average of 98%, it can be interpreted very good. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that infographics are an effective learning media towards students'


This study shows that the growth of television contributed to the rise in the incumbency advantage in U.S. House elections during the 1960s. Incumbents received positive coverage throughout their term and were generally more newsworthy and better funded than their challengers during the campaign. Less-educated voters, for whom television presented a new, less demanding source of news, were most affected by local television. Analysis of National Elections Studies data reveals that less-educated respondents were more knowledgeable about the incumbent and more likely to vote for the incumbent in districts with television stations. Aggregate analysis shows that incumbents' vote margins increased in proportion to the number of television stations in their districts.


In 2020, Attend Anywhere video consultation service was introduced across the Irish public health service to facilitate the provision of health interventions remotely in light of COVID-19-related restrictions. This study aims to explore the experiences of young people, their parents and their clinicians, of using the newly introduced Attend Anywhere video consultation as part of their Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).A cross-section of twenty-nine young people, their parents and clinicians working in CAMHS Clare completed a survey pertaining to their experiences of using Attend Anywhere as part of their service. A cross-disciplinary research steering group of CAMHS clinicians adapted the NHS Scotland evaluation of Attend Anywhere / Near Me survey to better capture experiences in a CAMHS setting. The survey included both quantitative and qualitative items. Descriptive statistics were used to examine quantitative data. Qualitative data was analysed using Thematic Analysis.Results demonstrated a decrease in the number of barriers reported by clients and professionals in accessing the CAMH service following the introduction of Attend Anywhere video consultation. Overall, the majority of professionals reported that they would use Attend Anywhere again, whereas almost a quarter of clients reported that they did not wish to use it again. Clients indicated a preference for receiving face-to-face services over other service provision options and this finding was associated with not having to rely on technology or manage connectivity issues and finding it easier to build the therapeutic relationship in-person.Findings suggest that both professionals and clients value face-to-face service provision while also acknowledging the benefits of Video Enabled Care in overcoming access barriers. We conclude that VEC be offered as an option in a blended service model, in conjunction with rather than as a replacement of face-to-face service provision.


Significant ambiguity surrounds the magnitude and sign of the effect of foreign aid on economic growth. Foreign aid can potentially augment scarce domestic capital to spur growth but foreign aid can also remove positive incentive to build wealth, stalling growth. This paper characterizes the effect of foreign aid on the growth of Sub-Saharan African countries after correcting endogeneity problems that plague the estimation. Foreign aid is found to be growth promoting given good governance and using fixed effects in a static panel framework. Data from twenty-one Sub-Saharan African countries spanning 1995-2003 was used in the estimation. The finding of a significant foreign aid-growth relationship is pertinent because it suggests that increased aid to Sub Saharan Africa is one way to achieve the UN's Millennium goals. By lobbying for increased foreign aid, advocates are prescribing a necessary albeit insufficient medicine for Sub Saharan Africa's economic problems.


The present work describes some new improvements concerning the analysis of cement hydration processes using `pencil-beam' synchrotron X-ray diffraction tomography. (i) A new filtering procedure, applied to the diffraction images, has been developed to separate the powder-like contribution from that of the grains in the diffraction images. (ii) In addition to improving the quality of the diffraction images for the subsequent analysis and tomographic reconstruction, the filtering procedure can also be used to perform a qualitative analysis of the crystallite size distribution, whenever the more standard approaches cannot be applied. (iii) Given the importance of the calcium silicate hydrate phase (C–S–H) in cements, a procedure to obtain its spatial distribution using the diffraction signal has been successfully applied, even though C–S–H is a highly disordered phase, almost amorphous to X-ray diffraction. (iv) The main result of this study has been to show that, in spite of the long measurement times required, it is possible to use in situ experiments at different aging times of cement pastes to monitor the cement evolution. This allowed the evolution of the microstructure during the acceleration and deceleration periods of the hydration process to be checked with unprecedented detail, since the quantitative spatial distribution of each phase (including C–S–H) dissolved or precipitated in the sample has been obtained. The reported approach opens up a range of opportunities for the investigation of complex multiphase systems and processes, including hydration and microstructural development in cements.


p90 Ribosomal S6 Kinase 2 (p90RSK2) is a substrate of ERK and plays an active role in anti-apoptosis signaling and cell cycle regulation. Our proteomics studies revealed that p90RSK2 is not only activated but also tyrosine-phosphorylated in hematopoietic cells expressing constitutively activated leukemogenic FGFR3 mutants. FGFR3 is a receptor-tyrosine kinase that responds to fibroblast growth factor (FGF). Recent studies have suggested that FGFR3 may play a significant role in the pathogenesis and disease progression of some hematopoietic malignancies including t(4;14)(p16.3;q32.3) multiple myeloma, which is associated with dysregulation of FGFR3. We found that the MEK1 inhibitor U0126 effectively inhibited RSK2 activation induced by FGFR3, suggesting that FGFR3 activates RSK2 through the MEK/ERK pathway. Interestingly, FGFR3-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation at Y529 was required for phosphorylation and activation of the Ser/Thr kinase RSK2 by ERK. By using a specific phospho-RSK2 (Y529) antibody, we identified FGFR3 as the direct tyrosine kinase that phosphorylates RSK2 at Y529 in an in vitro kinase assay, which only contains purified recombinant active FGFR3 and RSK2 proteins. Substitution of Y529 in RSK2 attenuates inactive ERK binding to RSK2, which is prior to and required for ERK-dependent phosphorylation and activation of RSK2. In addition, reconstitution of RSK2 phosphorylation at Y529 consequently enhanced inactive ERK binding by a GST pull down, suggesting that phosphorylation at Y529 by FGFR3 facilitates ERK binding to RSK2, which is a sequential event and precedes inactive ERK binding. These observations support a novel two-step model that FGFR3 activates RSK2 by both assisting inactive ERK binding via tyrosine phosphorylation of RSK2 at Y529 and activating the MEK/ERK pathway. Moreover, we observed that RSK2 is specifically phosphorylated at Y529 and activated in FGFR3 expressing various human t(4;14) positive MM cell lines. Targeted down-regulation of RSK2 by siRNA induced significant apoptosis in FGFR3-expressing human myeloma cell lines including OPM1 and KMS11. In addition, a specific RSK inhibitor fmk induced significant apoptosis in t(4;14) positive human myeloma cells including KMS11, OPM1, LP1 and KMS18, but not in control t(4;14) negative myeloma cell lines including ANBL6 and U266. Similar results were obtained by using another RSK specific and potent inhibitor BI-D1870. Furthermore, we observed that fmk induced significant apoptosis in primary CD138-positive, FGFR3-expressing myeloma cells from a t(4;14) positive multiple myeloma patient, but not in the control CD138-negative cells from the same patient, nor primary samples from a t(4;14)-negative patient as a control. Together, these data not only support our model that RSK2 is a critical signaling effector of FGFR3 in hematopoietic transformation, but also provide "proof of principle" for the therapeutic potential of RSK2 inhibitors such as fmk in treatment of t(4;14) positive, FGFR3-expressing multiple myeloma with minimal non-specific cytotoxicity.


In standard economic growth theory it is assumed that labor force follows exponential growth, a not realistic assumption. As described in Maynard Smith (1974), the growth of natural populations is more accurately depicted by a logistic growth law. In this paper we analyze how the Ramsey growth model is affected by logistic growth of population, comparing it with the classic Ramsey model. We show that there is a unique nontrivial steady state of the model and that the parameters of the logistic equation play no role in determining long run equilibrium per worker level of consumption and capital. In addition, we study the stability of the model showing that its nontrivial equilibrium is a saddle point.


Please join us 12–16 June 2015, in Jacksonville, Florida, for the 95th annual meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. Come learn about the latest advances in studies of mammals and interact with researchers and educators specializing in the biology of these fascinating animals. Stay and explore Jacksonville and The Sunshine State A block of rooms is reserved at the Hyatt for $129 per night. Conference information will be available soon at the conference website. You can follow the link from the Meetings tab on the ASM webpage (http://www.mammalsociety.org). The scientific program will include contributed oral and poster presentations as well as symposia, plenary speakers, and workshops. A full social agenda is planned that includes multiple mixers, an awards ceremony, a picnic, our annual Runfor-Research, and post-conference fieldtrips. Details for these events will be made available on the conference website. For information about the 2015 meeting, contact the chair of the Program Committee, Cody Thompson, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (734-615-2810 or cwthomp@ umich.edu) or Tony Ballard, K-State Conference Services, Kansas State University (785-532-2402 or tballard@k-state. edu).


Decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) applications are characterized by the absence of a central authority or infrastructure that coordinates the behavior of entities in the system. These entities, called peers, interact directly with each other and make local autonomous decisions in order to achieve their individual goals. In the absence of a single authority that maintains all the data and handles all the queries, peers themselves are responsible for seeking, storing, and sharing information efficiently. Placing a large amount of information on every peer or broadcasting a request to every peer greatly reduces the performance and efficiency of the system. Hence, it is essential that decentralized applications employ efficient storage mechanisms and reliable search mechanisms. Further, an open decentralized system that does not regulate the joining of peers can be subject to grave risks. In particular, malicious peers may be encouraged to resort to a variety of attacks, including sending spurious information, posing as other peers, etc. It is important for each peer in the system to defend against such attacks. This survey discusses these two essential issues that characterize P2P decentralized applications: storage and discovery mechanisms, and trust management. It identifies and defines key properties for each of these and also summarizes the efforts of the P2P community in addressing these properties by categorizing and discussing relevant technologies and approaches. A Survey of Trust Management and Resource Discovery Technologies in Peer-to-Peer Applications Girish Suryanarayana, Richard N. Taylor Institute for Software Research University of California, Irvine {sgirish,firstname.lastname@example.com ISR Technical Report # UCI-ISR-04-6


Based on a sample of seven languages, I show that the so-called modal inferences in ever free relatives (ignorance and indifference) are not universally available. The primary reading of ever free relatives crosslinguistically turns out to be a "non-modal" one, which is available to all languages under investigation. The implication is that if there is a modal inference triggered by the use of the ever-morpheme in FRs, the inference is likely to have a source external to the ever free relative (Lauer, 2009; Condoravdi, 2015; Hirsch, 2016). In line with this conclusion, I propose to generalize Hirsch's (2016) analysis of ignorance ever free relatives, suggesting that all ever free relatives, no matter how they are ultimately interpreted, are instances of (un)conditionals + donkey-anaphoric definite descriptions.


Field efficacy was evaluated in a portion of a commercial vineyard at North Kingsville; laboratory bioassay was conducted at the OARDC in Wooster. Grape rows were 10 ft on center with 8 ft between vines in the row. A replicate consisted of 5 adjacent vines in a row. Each treatment was applied to 4 replicates in a randomized block design. Applications were made on June 14 and June 20. The first application was made soon after rose chafer adults were first observed feeding on grape blossom buds. Sprays were applied at the rate of 100 gpa with a CO2 powered constant pressure sprayer equipped with a Tee Jet® D2 disc and No. 25 core. Treated foliage was colleged after the spray residue was dry at 0, 3, and 7 days after treatment. Two leaves were picked at random from each replicate and placed in labelled plastic bags. The bags were placed in an ice chest and transported to Wooster. Approximately 4 hr later the petioles were recut and placed in a floral tube filled with water. Modeling clay was used to seal the top of the tube to prevent leakage. Ten beetles of unknown age and a floral tube containing 2 leaves were placed in a 1-gal ice-cream carton. The carton was modified by placing a 16-mesh wire screen over the bottom and cheese cloth over the top. Each bioassay included 4 replicates. The insecting holding room was maintained at 70°F with > 80% RH under a 16-hr photoperiod. The number of live beetles was recorded at the end of 24 hr.


The development of a laser source, operating at the wavelength of 1.54µm, using the scheme of ytterbium:erbium:glass, longitudinally pumped by a Nd:YAG laser at 1.064µm, has been investigated. The first pulsed Nd:YAG laser pumped Yb:Er:glass laser system was successfully demonstrated. This system was operated free-running, Q-switched, mode-locked, and combined Q-switched and mode-locked, all with good output characteristics. A free-running output power of 2.25W in a 3.5ms pulse was achieved, with 13% slope efficiency, and a threshold incident pump power of 37W. Q-switched pulses of 10kW peak power and 60ns width were obtained, using a LiNbO3 electro-optic device. Active mode-locking, using an acousto-optic device, gave pulses of 50W peak power and 70ps duration. Combined Q-switched and mode-locked operation, gave a peak power of 2kW with pulses 85ps wide. The first cw laser operation o bulk Yb:Er:glass, pumped by a cw Nd:YAG laser, was also demonstrated. Using high reflectivity mirrors an absorbed power threshold as low as 500mW was achieved. An output of 21mW was obtained for 1.05W absorbed pump power. Q-switched, and mode-locked operation, for this cw laser, have also been demonstrated, with good characteristics. A detailed discussion is given of the design considerations leading to successful laser performance. A rate equation analysis, including energy transfer from Yb to Er, and volumetric considerations, is presented. A detailed study is made of the theoretical aspects of thermal effects, such as lensing and birefringence, and their practical implications, which are an important feature of the laser design.


Career development initiatives benefit both employees and the organization they work in. Employees benefit from improved, more marketable skills that allow for increased mobility within the organization while the organisations benefit from increased employee talent, performance and commitment and reduce employee intention to leave for alternative employers. The study aimed to determine the effect of meeting diverse workforce expectations on employee commitment in public universities in Kenya. Perceived organization support was considered a moderating variable in the study. Employees' commitment to the organization was the dependent variable. The study focused on the effect of career management on employees' commitment in public universities in Kenya for both academic and non-academic. This was a field study that adopted a cross sectional descriptive research. The data analysis was both descriptive and inferential. To obtain a comprehensive view of the career development expectations of the diverse workforce situation in public universities, qualitative research methods was applied in the study. The target population was the University of Nairobi (UoN), Kenyatta University (KU) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). The three institutions were a good representation since they have more established systems unlike other upcoming universities. Questionnaires and interviewer-administered questionnaire were used as instruments for obtaining the information required. Pilot test was conducted to detect any weakness in design and instrumentation, and Cronbach's Alpha and T-test was used to ascertain internal reliability of each variable used in the study. The results combined provided a better insight into the effect meeting diverse workforce career development expectations on employees' commitment in public universities in Kenya.


Since 2013, the Australian government has funded Australian students to undertake short periods of study abroad with an emphasis on Asia, including Indonesia. Universities, too, have been enhancing their study-abroad options as part of broader internationalization campaigns. In a short time, the number of Australian higher-education students undertaking study abroad as part of their undergraduate degrees has doubled, to one in five students. This significant investment follows from two beliefs: that Australia's relations with Asia are significantly impacted by people-to people relations; and that formal, experiential learning is a particularly effective pedagogical method. But is this investment warranted? Do periods of short-term study in Indonesia enrich students' understanding of the region, and of Australia's relations with Asia? And do current undergraduates, who have unprecedented access to mobility through travel and tourism, gain anything from a formal and guided people-to-people experience? This article explores these questions through an in-depth investigation of the intensive-mode undergraduate unit 'Australia and Asia' run by the Faculty of Arts at Monash University from 2014 to 2017. It suggests that, for many students, study tours facilitate a short-term period of emotional involvement and self-reflection, rather than forging enduring connections.


The main part of Standard ISO 3685 is T-vc dependence for various cutting materials. The Standard ISO 3685 contains main properties and characteristics for three most important cutting materials those are used in engineering practice. These cutting materials are used for cutting tools made of high speed steel, cutting ceramic and sintered carbide. Some types of cutting materials are defined by means of descriptions in standards ISO, some types by means of catalogues from the manufacturer. There are a lot of types of cutting materials they have not been defined theirs properties exactly yet and theirs properties have to be defined on experiments. There is a presumption that descriptions in standards ISO are not correct and these standards have to be examined and verified, because that this fact have to be confirmed or disproved. Accuracy and completeness technical standards ISO are very important part quality of manufacturing. Article describes process how to define T-vc dependence for cutting tools made of high speed steel, cutting ceramic and sintered carbide, because were found deficiencies in valid standard ISO 3685.


: Considering the current scene of personality testing, in particular in China, discloses that it is primarily personality questionnaires that are being applied, but that so-called Objective Personality-tests sensu R. B. Cattell (or, in more modern terminology: tests for experiment-based assessment of behavior), which have lately been experiencing a certain "renaissance" within German speaking countries, are almost not in use. For this reason, a review is given of their typical properties and principle advantages over personality questionnaires. They are primarily less fakeable. As an illustration, several such tests stemming from a Viennese research group are presented, and their psychometric qualities and shortcomings discussed. Finally, several applications of these tests already in practice are listed.


A great deal has been written about the economics of transport in recent years. Most of the views expressed, however, deal with transport as an essential industrial factor in the national economy. The importance of the contribution of the transport system to the national economy is very often held up as an end in itself, so much so that the normal considerations of competitive efficiency and meeting consumer demand are not applied. It is quite true, of course, that transport is a public utility and, especially the railways, represents an important element in the stability of the community both strategically and economically. It may perhaps be claimed that far less attention has been paid to tourist aspects of transport in recent years compared with the situation of 50 or even 100 years ago. Admittedly all forms of transport by road, rail, sea and air deal not only with passengers, but also with freight, and for many transport companies the tourist demand is a marginal one. Nevertheless from the tourist's point of view transport charges are an essential factor in determining his own expenditure and therefore transport charges play an important role in limiting the expenditure of the whole of the tourist trade.


Apoptosis is defined by a distinct set of morphological changes observed during cell death including loss of focal adhesions, the formation of cell membrane buds or blebs, and a decrease in total cell volume. Recent studies suggest that these dramatic morphological changes, particularly apoptotic volume decrease (AVD), are an early prerequisite to apoptosis and precede key biochemical time-points. Here we use atomic force microscopy to observe early stage AVD of KB cells undergoing staurosporine-induced apoptosis. After a 3-h exposure to 1 microM staurosporine, a 32% decrease in total cell height and a 50% loss of total cell volume is observed accompanied by only a 15% change in cell diameter. The observed AVD precedes key biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis such as loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, phosphatidyl serine translocation, nuclear fragmentation, and measurable caspase-3 activity. This suggests that morphological volume changes occur very early in the induction of apoptosis.


This paper describes a method of on-line handwritten Japanese text recognition by improving segmentation quality. The method produces hypothetical segmentation points according to features such as distance and overlap between adjacent strokes. Moreover, it extracts multidimensional features from these hypothetical segmentation points and applies an SVM to the extracted features to produces segmentation point probabilities. It constructs a candidate lattice traversing the hypothetical segmentation points, and evaluates the likelihood of the text candidate paths in the candidate lattice composed of character pattern size, character pattern inner gap, character recognition, single-character pattern position, paircharacter patterns position, character segmentation point probability and linguistic context. The likelihood of the text candidate paths are weighted using the number of hypothetical segmentation units with the weighting parameters trained by a genetic algorithm. An experiment on the database HANDS-Kondate_t_bf-2001-11 shows that this method improves segmentation rate and character recognition rate remarkably.


This article deals with a study carried out at Universidad de Caldas, a public institution for higher education in Colombia, South America. The purpose is to state the impact of the Action Research Model on the professional and personal education of beginning teachers along their English teaching practicum at public elementary, middle and high school. The study Þ nds a positive e  ect of Action Research on teacher trainees, as res ected on the higher self awareness of  the teachers' role, increased res ective skills, and a greater mastery of research  skills and curriculum reinforcement in the participant institutions. These Þ ndings should contribute to the enrichment of Colombian public teacher education and teaching profession.


Within the Local Universe galaxies can be studied in great detail star by star, and here we review the results of quantitative studies in nearby dwarf galaxies. The color-magnitude diagram synthesis method is well established as the most accurate way to determine star-formation histories of galaxies back to the earliest times. This approach received a large boost from the exceptional data sets that wide-field CCD imagers on the ground and the Hubble Space Telescope could provide. Spectroscopic studies using large ground-based telescopes such as VLT, Magellan, Keck, and HET have allowed the determination of abundances and kinematics for significant samples of stars in nearby dwarf galaxies. These studies have shown how the properties of stellar populations can vary spatially and temporally. This leads to important constraints to theories of galaxy formation and evolution. The combination of spectroscopy and imaging and what they have taught us about dwarf galaxy formation and evolution is the aim of this r...


Introduction Various efforts aim to enhance continuity of care for patients with long-term health-care needs. Since 2012, Norwegian hospitals are mandated to appoint individual care coordinators for patients with complex needs to ensure continuity in the care pathway. New roles must meld with current practice. Implementation has been slow. This study investigates current care coordination across hospital contexts, from the perspective of health-care providers, a scarcely researched area. Methods A qualitative study using semi-structured individual, duo, and group interviews with 16 purposefully selected Norwegian health-care providers from different hospitals, departments, professions and with various roles. A thematic cross-case analysis using systematic text condensation was performed. Results Common for the interviewees' care coordination experiences was to "keep one step ahead." The scope of their coordination activities varied from diagnostics and treatment to orchestrating long-term, cross-sectional multidisciplinary care. This work was often performed without designated resources. The interviewees applied experience, knowledge, and sensitivity when defining the patients' needs and searching for resources to orchestrate coordination work. They strived to balance the needs of patients with the resources available and adjusted the continuity ambitions on behalf of their patients to what they considered doable in the relevant contexts. However, many told of negotiating special solutions for selected patients with particularly complex needs. Discussion Care coordination for patients with complex needs emerged as diverse and context-sensitive. Acknowledgement of coordination activities that go beyond established workflow routines and clinical pathways, together with flexible leadership support and accessible infrastructural resources are needed.


Critical in the computationalist account of the mind is the phenomenon called computational or computer simulation of human thinking, which is used to establish the theses that human thinking is a computational process and that computing machines are thinking systems. Accordingly, if human thinking can be simulated computationally then human thinking is a computational process; and if human thinking is a computational process then its computational simulation is itself a thinking process. This paper shows that the said phenomenon—the computational simulation of human thinking—is ill-conceived, and that, as a consequence, the theses that it intends to establish are problematic. It is argued that what is simulated computationally is not human thinking as such but merely its behavioral manifestations; and that a computational simulation of these behavioral manifestations does not necessarily establish that human thinking is computational, as it is logically possible for a non-computational system to exhibit behaviors that lend themselves to a computational simulation.


Conditions were optimised for efficient callus induction from seeds of four local indica rice cultivars, GR-3, GR-102, Jaya and Te-Tep. Addition of 2,4-D to MS medium at 2.5 mg/l resulted in 100% callus induction. N6 medium was superior to MS medium for callus growth, formation of embryogenic callus as well as regeneration. Cultivar Te-Tep showed highest callus growth while GR-102 the least. Addition of casein hydrolysate enhanced growth of callus but did not yield more embryogenic calli. Supplementation of MS or N6 media with proline, not only increased callus growth but also showed an increase in embryogenic callus formation. GR-102 callus was most embryogenic followed by Te-Tep, GR-3 and Jaya. Histological observation of embryogenic calli revealed the presence of pro-embryo like structures. It was also observed that calli induced on N6 medium supplemented with proline could maintain regeneration potential for a longer period as compared to other media. Cytokinins like BAP or kinetin alone could not initiate shoot formation. Regeneration frequency, and the number of shoots formed per callus increased significantly. Cultivar Te-Tep gave the best response for regeneration followed by Jaya, GR-3 and GR-102.


Pasifika students' cultural knowledge and practices have long had low value in New Zealand schools. It has been argued that culturally responsive teaching practice is a priority for improving the achievement of Pasifika students. Teachers who are culturally responsive in their practice know how to capitalise on the key learnings of Pasifika students that are linked to their cultural values and beliefs. This article seeks to share some cultural knowledge and practices valued by Tongan kāinga (extended families), which may help teachers think about how Tongan males operationalise learning in New Zealand schools.


Confucius is an extremely popular and well-respected figure in China today, but historically that has not always been the case, as his reputation has constantly evolved over time. Often, changes in how Confucius is viewed have been the result of attempts by various governments over the years to appropriate his legacy for their own purposes. This paper will look at what some of those motives were, and the extent to which governments were successful at achieving them by examining four cultural sites, each of which represents an aspect of Confucius' legacy: the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, and the Imperial University, National Museum and People's University in Beijing. By analyzing the legacy of Confucius as it is reflected in these four sites, the paper demonstrates that the ability of governments to shape how he is perceived by the public is limited by the public's existing views, which are not easily swayed by the government's unilateral efforts.


We develop a perturbation theory for the Benjamin-Ono (BO) equation. This perturbation theory is based on the inverse scattering transform for the BO equation, which was originally developed by Fokas and Ablowitz and recently refined by Kaup and Matsuno. We find the expressions for the variations of the scattering data with respect to the potential, as well as the dual expression for the variation of the potential in terms of the variations of the scattering data. This allows us to introduce the squared eigenfunctions for the BO equation, whose completeness and orthogonality in both x- and-spaces we also establish. We consider the two most important applications of the developed machinery. First, we present an explicit first-order solution of the BO equation driven by a small perturbation. Second, we introduce the Poisson bracket and a set of the canonical action-angle variables for the BO equation, and thus demonstrate its complete integrability as a Hamiltonian dynamical system.


The dual active bridge (DAB) is a dc/dc converter frequently employed in multiple applications due to its advantages of isolation, power flexibility, and input and output voltage defined by design. Different multi-phase modulations have been reported to increase DAB efficiency and reduce components stress but, certainly, the control and implementation complexity increases with every displacement angle added because of the multiple variable measurements. This paper presents two-stage modulations based on the single phase-shift (SPS), which allows maintaining simplicity while improving the efficiency of the DAB converter depending on the design conditions. The paper also gives a direction for selecting the proper modulation to achieve the best efficiency for each situation. The different two-stage modulations are described, analyzed, and experimentally tested.


This paper describes, under laboratory and/or field conditions, an approach that could be used to predict nitrogen (N) mineralization of poultry litter. Proper composting of poultry litter results in N mineralization, reducing or eliminating the environmentally harmful effects of ammonia (NH3) odours and nitrate leaching. Addition of straw to poultry manure provides sufficient available carbon and increases NH3 binding capacity, overruling any greater influence of diet composition on methane (CH3) formation. C:N ratio ranges (6–25) vary in the amount of low N loss depending on substrates. Aerobic decomposition of manure results in formation of humified organic compounds and decreased nutrient availability, while anaerobic decomposition forms low molecular weight compounds (volatile fatty acids and NH3 +- N). The differences in the size of the composted particles results in physical separation and decomposability of high and low C:N ratio substrates. Temperatures ranging from 14 to 35°C did not affect the rate of N mineralization, but affected N loss from poultry manure pellets by decay nitrification at 14 and 35°C compared with 25°C. Uric acid and undigested proteins in poultry litter have optimal degradation rates at pH of 5.5 or higher, with the optimum pH for uricase being about 9. Variations in manure composition are seen between different species such as cattle, swine and poultry. The chemical composition of the manure and not the substrate N status influences the rate of decomposition or microbial availability. The N mineralization potential of some vegetable residues correlated better with the total and water soluble N contents than with their C:N ratios. Poultry manures are applied to agricultural soils at rates determined by the amount of available N that they are assumed to contribute to the crops. Many equations have been developed to calculate these application rates.


In 1827, Lord Stowell, the judge of the High Court of Admiralty, was called upon to decide a controversial appeal from the Vice-Admiralty Court of Antigua. The issue was whether a person who had been a slave in Antigua, having resided in England for a period of time, reverted to a condition of slavery on returning to Antigua. Lord Stowell's decision, putting a restrictive interpretation on Lord Mansfield's celebrated decision in Sommersett's Case, was that the condition of slavery, though not recognized in England, revived on the former slave's return to Antigua. Lord Stowell's decision, usually referred to as the Slave, Grace, the name given to it in Haggard's Reports, soon became obsolete in British jurisdictions, but was influential for a longer period in the United States. The background documents reveal a number of important circumstances not apparent from a reading of the law report. The documents show that there was considerable anti-slavery sentiment among some of the officers of the Crown in Antigua and also in London. The law report states that Grace was "seized" by the customs officials, but the documents show that it was she who initiated the process, claiming protection from the customs officials in order to have her "right of freedom judicially declared and solemnly determined." The procedure had been used for this purpose in previous instances, and the dispute was perceived, both in Antigua and in London, as an important test case. The interests of the Crown, the anti-slavery movement, and Grace James herself were thus aligned in this case, which was strenuously argued for the Crown by Dr. Stephen Lushington, a leading member of the Anti-Slavery Society, well-known for his forceful anti-slavery sentiments.


The Internet of Things helps to have every individual interconnected with their surroundings and to interact with them through smart devices. In recent years, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology has become very popular in smart infrastructures, the medical field, the retail industry, and many more areas due to its availability in a plethora of wireless devices. BLE is widely used in IoT devices, such as smartphones, smart watches, and BLE beacons. Beacons are small, low-cost, and low-power wireless transmitters that bring attention to their location by broadcasting a signal with a unique identifier at regular intervals. BLE beacons are a promising solution for many smart city applications, from proximity marketing to indoor navigation. However, they do pose security and privacy challenges. This work discusses the characteristics of BLE beacons, the applications that can benefit from them, and the challenges they pose while trying to identify research opportunities and future directions.


Local governors in Central Asia persecuted Ismaʿili missionaries ( dāʿi s) since the early years of Ismaʿili activity there. The rise of the Fatimid State, from the tenth century onwards, encouraged the activity of those missionaries who were receiving support from the Fatimids, leading to increased persecutions of Ismaʿilis in Iraq and the eastern provinces of the Abbasid Caliphate.This study will deal with the activity of those missionaries and the difficulties and persecutions that they faced, with a focus on the case of the dāʿi Nāser Khosrow (1004–1088/394–481) in Central Asia. At the time, Nāser was considered as a model dāʿi representing the activity of Ismaʿili missionaries. Throughout his life, he suffered bitterly in his role as the main dāʿi of the Fatimids. Despite the hostile atmosphere and insecurity, Nāser Khosrow succeeded in becoming a highly significant philosopher and poet, but died in a sorrowful situation, isolated in the valley of Yomgān.


The manuscript reviews beneficial aspects of food processing with main focus on cooking/heat treatment, including other food-processing techniques (e.g. fermentation). Benefits of thermal processing include inactivation of food-borne pathogens, natural toxins or other detrimental constituents, prolongation of shelf-life, improved digestibility and bioavailability of nutrients, improved palatability, taste, texture and flavour and enhanced functional properties, including augmented antioxidants and other defense reactivity or increased antimicrobial effectiveness. Thermal processing can bring some unintentional undesired consequences, such as losses of certain nutrients, formation of toxic compounds (acrylamide, furan or acrolein), or of compounds with negative effects on flavour perception, texture or colour. Heat treatment of foods needs to be optimized in order to promote beneficial effects and to counteract, to the best possible, undesired effects. This may be achieved more effectively/sustainably by consistent fine-tuning of technological processes rather than within ordinary household cooking conditions. The most important identified points for further study are information on processed foods to be considered in epidemiological work, databases should be built to estimate the intake of compounds from processed foods, translation of in-vitro results to in-vivo relevance for human health should be worked on, thermal and non-thermal processes should be optimized by application of kinetic principles.


This study investigated the effects of three types of microteaching modes as strategies for enhancing trainee teachers' learning outcomes in questioning, communication and stimulus variation skills. The study adopted pretest-posttest, control group, quasi-experimental design with 4x3 factorial matrix.  One hundred and thirty-five trainee teachers from three Colleges of Education participated in the study. Instruments used were Practical Teaching Skills Rating Scale and Learning Styles Self-Assessment Inventory.  Data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance, while Sidak post hoc analysis was used to explain the significant difference.  There was significant main effect of instructional strategies on trainee teachers' practical teaching skills achievement in microteaching.  However, there was no significant main effect of learning style on trainee teachers' and no significant interaction effect of instructional strategy and learning style on students' practical skills achievement in microteaching.  The perceptual mode instructional strategy was effective in enhancing trainee teachers' practical teaching skills achievements in microteaching.  Keywords : Learning outcome, perceptual mode, audio mode, symbolic mode, conventional mode, instructional strategy, learning style


Increased levels of 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) were found in a patient with a tumor arising in the middle ear. Iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ([123I]MIBG) scintigraphy and biochemical analysis showed evidence of serotonin production by the tumor. Immunohistochemistry of the tumor showed reactivity with antibodies directed against serotonin, chromogranin, leu-7 and neuron-specific enolase; S-100, met-enkephalin, leu-enkephalin and glial fibrillary acid protein were negative. This case suggests a close relationship between functioning paragangliomas and carcinoid tumors because a strong clinical and endocrinological resemblance exists. The hormonal activity found is discussed in relation to extra-adrenal paragangliomas. We recommend urinary screening not only for detection of increased levels of catecholamines, but also of 5-HIAA in all patients with paragangliomas of the head and neck. When elevated levels are found, [123I]MIBG scintigraphy should be performed to localize the areas of increased uptake in or outside the head and neck region.


There are approximately 7,000 miles of inland waterways in the UK, many of them built during the 18th and 19th centuries principally to transport bulk materials. These waterways provide numerous benefits to society and the economy. However, they have untapped potential for freight transport which could be released to provide more efficient solutions compared to other modes of transport. In addition to providing solutions to reduce emissions from land or air transportation, inland waterways also bring environmental and public health benefits to local communities. Therefore, these blue-green spaces should play a central role in government and local authority planning. This article explores some of the issues which prevent full use of inland waterways transportation from being achieved from the hydrodynamics point of view. Specifically, the concepts and ideas underpinning vessel operation are reviewed and discussed in detail in this article. It is shown how hydrodynamic concepts can inform public policy to maximise the efficiency of transportation from inland waterways.


In this paper, we establish the expression of photon statistics in the steady state in the micromaser with Kerr medium cavity, study the properties of the atomi c inversion in a stationary state when the atom is in thermal-atom, critical or ultracold-atom regimes in a micromaser. The results show that the properties of the atomic inversion in different regimes are very distinct. In the thermal-atom regime, there are some regions of the cavity length L where the atoms are i nversive, with the increase of the atomic injection rate r, the regions of a tomic inversion and the probability of the atomic inversion increase. In the cri tical regime, atomic inversion exhibits the collapse and revival phenomena. Howe ver, in ultracold-atom regime, there are all regions of the cavity length L where the atoms are not inversive. Kerr effect and the detuning make the probabi lity of the atomic inversion smaller.


Abstract. Most Earth system models are based on grid-averaged soil columns that do not communicate with one another, and that average over considerable sub-grid heterogeneity in land surface properties, precipitation (P), and potential evapotranspiration (PET). These models also typically ignore topographically driven lateral redistribution of water (either as groundwater or surface flows), both within and between model grid cells. Here, we present a first attempt to quantify the effects of spatial heterogeneity and lateral redistribution on grid-cell-averaged evapotranspiration (ET) as seen from the atmosphere over heterogeneous landscapes. Our approach uses Budyko curves, as a simple model of ET as a function of atmospheric forcing by P and PET. From these Budyko curves, we derive a simple sub-grid closure relation that quantifies how spatial heterogeneity affects average ET as seen from the atmosphere. We show that averaging over sub-grid heterogeneity in P and PET, as typical Earth system models do, leads to overestimations of average ET. For a sample high-relief grid cell in the Himalayas, this overestimation bias is shown to be roughly 12 %; for adjacent lower-relief grid cells, it is substantially smaller. We use a similar approach to derive sub-grid closure relations that quantify how lateral redistribution of water could alter average ET as seen from the atmosphere. We derive expressions for the maximum possible effect of lateral redistribution on average ET, and the amount of lateral redistribution required to achieve this effect, using only estimates of P and PET in possible source and recipient locations as inputs. We show that where the aridity index P/PET increases with altitude, gravitationally driven lateral redistribution will increase average ET (and models that overlook lateral redistribution will underestimate average ET). Conversely, where the aridity index P/PET decreases with altitude, gravitationally driven lateral redistribution will decrease average ET. The effects of both sub-grid heterogeneity and lateral redistribution will be most pronounced where P is inversely correlated with PET across the landscape. Our analysis provides first-order estimates of the magnitudes of these sub-grid effects, as a guide for more detailed modeling and analysis.


Ventilation in larger animals and humans is gravity dependent and mainly distributed to the dependent lung. Little is known of the effect of gravity on ventilation distribution in small animals such as rodents. The aim of this study was to investigate gravity-dependent ventilation distribution and regional filling characteristics in rats. Ventilation distribution and regional lung filling were measured in six rats using electrical impedance tomography (EIT). Measurements were performed in four body positions (supine, prone, left and right lateral), and all animals were ventilated with increasing tidal volumes from 3 to 8 mL kg−1. The effect of gravity on regional ventilation distribution was assessed with profiles of relative impedance change and calculation of the geometric centre. Regional filling was measured by calculating the slope of the plot of regional versus global relative impedance change on a breath-by-breath basis. Ventilation was significantly distributed to the non-dependent lung regardless of body position and tidal volume used. The geometric centre was located in the dependent lung in all but prone position. The regional filling characteristics followed an anatomical pattern with the posterior and the right lung generally filling faster. Gravity had little impact on regional filling. Ventilation distribution in rats is gravity dependent, whereas regional filling characteristics are dependent on anatomy.


COVID-19 epidemic in Nepal is escalating with new cases/admissions at hospitals in recent weeks The rise in cases is contributed by importation from India and has also led to an increase in the number of local/community transmission While long-term lockdown can have devastating consequences in population, it is high time to consider the possibilities of exit strategies The main objective of this piece is to explore the literature to lay out the possible measures for exit from the lockdown in Nepal We used a descriptive review approach to compare and analyze the published academic and non-academic articles related to COVID-19 and lockdown until date Post lifting plan should be in place as a roadmap to recovery An exit strategy can be enacted effectively only when the community complies with new normal adjustments aided with effective public health measures and restrictions Phase-wise measures should be employed while sudden loosening of restriction might result in detrimental effects


Can a technological culture accommodate spiritual experience and spiritual thinking? If so, what kind of spirituality? I explore the relation between technology and spirituality by constructing and discussing several models for spirituality in a technological culture. I show that although gnostic and animistic interpretations and responses to technology are popular challenges to secularization and disenchantment claims, both the Christian tradition and contemporary posthumanist theory provide interesting alternatives to guide our spiritual experiences and thinking in a technological culture. I analyze how creational, network, and cyborg metaphors defy suggestions of (individual) animation or alienation and instead offer different ways of conceptualizing and experiencing communion between the material and the spiritual.


Several of our major airports are operating at or near their capacity limit, increasing congestion and delays for travelers. As a result, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been working in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Adminiswation (FAA), airline operators, and the airline industry to increase airport capacity and safety. As more and more airplanes are placed into the terminal area the probability of encountering wake turbulence is increased. The NASA Langley Research Center conducted a series of flight tests from 1995 through 1997 to develop a wake encounter and wake-measurement data set with the accompanying atmospheric state information. The purpose of this research is to use the data from those flights to compute the wake-induced forced and moments exerted on the aircraR. The calculated forces and moments will then be compiled into a database that can be used by wake vortex researchers to compare with experimental and computational results.


In the world of heavy-duty vehicles, the retarding capability is of high interest, as the natural retarding power and braking force per vehicle weight is only about one-tenth and a half of the passenger vehicles respectively. This is why such vehicles use an auxiliary braking device, either a drivetrain retarder or an engine brake. It brings not only the safety benefit, but also the economic one, as it prolongs service intervals of friction brakes and the vehicle can go downhill at higher speed with sufficient safety reserve. As the operational vehicle fuel economy improves, the natural vehicle retarding power decreases. For this reason, the performance and torque characteristic of the auxiliary braking systems need to be improved as well. The work focuses on the development of an advanced engine brake system, which works in two-stroke cycle. The development process utilized both the simulation and experimental techniques. A project partner simultaneously proposed a new valve train design, but this development is beyond the scope of this paper. The simulation phase started with a 1-D model of a serial production heavy-duty Diesel engine, at which both the experiment and new valve train design proposal aimed. The model underwent partial calibration, mainly in terms of discharge coefficient and engine and manifold geometry, as combustion is not of interest in the engine brake mode. Parameterized advanced valve actuation in the model enabled the optimizing tool to arbitrarily modify the valve lift profiles without colliding issues. The optimizer used several constraining parameters that are given either by requirements of the valve train mechanism or have an impact on stress and durability of engine components. Resulting valve lift profiles fulfilling the constraints showed braking performance which exceeds the nominal positive power output of the engine and outdoes the contemporary 4-stroke engine brake, particularly at low engine speed. The final valve lift profiles were then inputted into the mechanical model of the proposed valve train mechanism and checked for dynamics behavior. After that, the model kinematics produced final cam profiles and technical documentation was prepared for camshafts manufacturing. The camshafts were then mounted in the engine together with the newly designed valve train mechanism designed by a project partner. Due to cost and dynamometer possibilities, the experiment had to be performed only on selected cylinders. For this reason, a numerical torsional model of the engine crank-train coupled to the dynamometer helped determine proper engine layout and safety operating points of the engine. The engine was then equipped with fast and slow sensors and data acquisition system. The subsequent experiment yielded data for further re-calibration and validation of the 1-D model. The experiment confirmed correctly proposed valve lift profiles and performance prediction and also revealed unexpected phenomena during the gas exchange process.


Author(s): Kim, Hannah June | Advisor(s): Kopstein, Jeffrey S. | Abstract: This dissertation examines how much progress the middle class in East Asia has made in transforming into citizens of democratic states. The following research questions are addressed: Are middle-class citizens in East Asia committed to democracy? Are they willing to become the vanguard of the democratization process in the region? Do they prefer liberal democracy to other regime types, as middle-class citizens in the West are believed to? I contend that the classic relationship between modernization and democratization may not be applicable to the East-Asian context. I argue that this is because of a particular history of state-led development in East Asia, which limited growth in liberal democratic political culture and altered the commitment of the middle class to liberal democracy. I demonstrate these differences through the notion of democratic citizenship, which observes the cognitive, affective, and behavioral patterns of democratic commitment. Using data from the World Values Survey and Asia Barometer Survey, I reveal consistent differences in how middle-class respondents in the East view democracy. Moreover, I find that middle-class respondents with higher state dependency are less likely to view democracy in the liberal terms favored in the West. These results contribute to broader debates about modernization and political culture worldwide.


Report by M E . HAROLD WHALE. (Continued from p. 538.) Discussion on Haemorrhage in Tonsil Operations. Sir W. MILLIGAN asked Dr. Hill to define exactly what stump there was left after a complete enucleation for the haemostatic blade of his instrument to grasp and crush. He looked upon a complete enucleation as leaving nothing in the faucial isthmus than that portion of the superior constriction of the pharynx which formed its floor. Dr. MACKENZIE • BOOTH asked Dr. Hill for further details regarding the case of haemophilia in which he had operated. According to Dr. Bullock true haemophilia is one of the rarest conditions, and probably in such a condition excision of the tonsil should not be undertaken. Dr. Booth deprecated any unnecessary complication in tonsil guillotine, simplicity in an instrument in such general use being very desirable. Dr. WATSON-WILLIAMS said the method of utilising the grasp in these tonsillectomes, which Whillis had introduced in this country, enabled one to use the crushing instruments with success. Mr. O'Malley's instrument had been improved by the adoption of this handle instead of his original thumb-sliding blade, and with his leaded slot undoubtedly went far to crush any stump and to arrest haemorrhage. Mr. JOHN F. O'MALLET congratulated Drs. Hill and Elphick on this very ingenious modification of Ballenger's instrument. It promised to be effective in diminishing the amount of haemorrhage during operation. He had estimated the haemorrhage in 415 cases, his conclusions being supported by similar observations in over 2000 cases in all, and had found the average loss to be a fraction over 3 drm. per patient at the time of operation. The operations performed were complete guillotine enucleations by the instrument which bears his name. In this series he had only had one case of serious bleeding, which set in twenty-four hours after operation, but was arrested spontaneously by the time that the child reached the hospital. The perfect guillotine for the purposes of tonsil enucleation must be capable of enucleating cleanly and completely any compact mass of tonsillar tissue with its capsule, which needs removal, with a slight or moderate amount of haemorrhage, and easy to manipulate by any surgeon of average dexterity. A single-bladed instrument answered all these purposes very efficiently. In the attempt to carry out this ideal, he gave the following details of his instrument, which he considered essential and always desired to insist upon in construction : (1) A thin ring, about ^ in. on cross section and forged in one piece. (2) The upper margin of the ring must be square edged, and not bevelled. (3) A recess in the inner aspect of the ring filled flush with lead to receive the thrust of the blade. (4) A slightly dulled blade. 1 For introductory paper see p. 545. December, i9i4.] Rhinology, and Otology. 577 (5) A D-shaped opening. (6) A shaft and blade, 6 | in. long, the handle joining the shaft at an obtuse angle. (7) When the blade is driven home the two bars of the handle must not approximate closely, or it is impossible to grasp with precision, and the rotation movement at the end of the operation is more difficult to perform. The thin ring gives strength without bulk, and facilitates its insertion on the deep aspect of the gland. This is a point of considerable importance when dealing with tonsils fixed by inflammatory adhesions and also those commonly described as flat. The square (non-bevelled) edge of the opening is capable of raising a fold on a flat skin or mucous surface, and therefor* grips a fixed or flat tonsil and prevents slipping when bringing it forward to the anterior faucial pillar. The leaded recess is a factor in haemostasis, by insuring the blunt severance of the tonsillar vessels and attachments, this effect being increased by the very slow insertion of the blade. The blade should be slightly duller edged than that used in the old type of guillotine, but capable of cutting cleanly if driven through a slotted ring. The soft metal permits sufficient thrust to sever the tonsil attachments to a fine film, so that the severance can be completed by a quick rotation of the instrument on the long axis of its own shaft. This movement applied a single twist torsion action to the vessels already bluntly severed. There should be no need for traction, and to ensure this it is well to see that the lead is flush with the edges of the recess and that the blade is of the sharpness indicated above. In a properly made instrument renewal of the lead is not necessary before the completion of 500 operations. The D-shaped opening gives more space posteriorly without increasing the width of the instrument, and if the straight posterior edge is kept parallel with the anterior pillar the lower pole of the tonsil is never missed. The long shaft placed at an open angle with the handle enables the latter to clear the patient's chin and shoulders, and facilitates the rapid rotation movement which completes the enucleation. Dr. HILL, in reply, admitted that a set of haemostatic guillotines meant an expensive outlay. As regards the complicated nature of the instrument it only differed from the Ballenger-Sluder instrument in that there was additional Mackenzie blade and a ratchet for clamping the crushing blade. A simpler and cheaper arrangement was contemplated by adding an additional blade with a crushing edge to the Mackenzie type of guillotine. The Ballenger pattern was, however, an efficient and genuine one-handed guillotine, which could scarcely be claimed for the thumb-driven instruments which really required the use of two hands to drive home the blade with a dulled edge in enucleation by the Whillis method. Mr. Elphick, however, was responsible for the inception and construction of this particular haemostatic guillotine, and therefore any credit or discredit connected therewith belonged to him. He (Dr. Hill), while not aiding Mr. Elphick in the inception, had no hesitation in abetting him in the practice of this improved technique. Discussion on Difficulties and Dangers of Exploratory Puncture of the Antrum of Highmore. Mr. T. JEFFERSON FAULDEK, in ten years' practice, had observed several of the accidents mentioned by Dr. Kelly in exploratory puncture of the antrum. They include wounds of the canine fossa, of the orbit, of the 1 For introductory paper see p. 556.


Gastrointestinal symptoms and lesions are often associated with the clinical use of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). An open-label, single arm multicenter Italian study evaluated if misoprostol, a prostaglandin E1 analogue with gastroduodenal mucosal protective activity, was effective in the prevention and treatment of NSAID-induced gastroduodenal lesions. Patients affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or osteoarthritis (OA), in treatment with NSAIDs and suffering from gastric symptoms or gastroduodenal lesions related to NSAID use, were admitted to the study. Gastrointestinal and arthritic symptoms were assessed before and after 4 weeks co-administration of an NSAID (the most frequent was diclofenac, used in 35% of the RA and in 22% of the OA patients, followed by piroxicam and tenoxicam respectively) + misoprostol (200 mcg two times daily in 58% of the cases, 200 mcg three times daily in 39%, 200 mcg four times daily in 3%). On admission and after 4 weeks of therapy a gastrointestinal endoscopy was performed to evaluate the condition of the gastroduodenal mucosa. Final results showed that: (i) NSAID-related gastric lesions were more frequent than duodenal lesions; (ii) when patients were given misoprostol and NSAIDs, 96% of them did not develop gastric lesions and 97% did not develop duodenal lesions; (iii) even when NSAID therapy was continued, gastric or duodenal lesions induced by NSAIDs healed or in any case did not worsen in 92% and 91% respectively of the cases; (iv) during the period of coadministration of NSAIDs+misoprostol, NSAID-related UGI symptoms disappeared or improved in 77% of the cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Acute cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the main natural causes of death in industrialized countries - both at sea and on land. Seafarers face very specific job-related cardiac risk factors, such as time pressure, long working hours, or high stress factors onboard [1, 2]. Taking into consideration the healthy worker effect of seafarers, cardiac risk factors are shown to occur slightly more frequently in seafarers than in the general population. Owing to the lack of health professionals onboard and the limited treatment options of events at sea, effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation is often delayed and the outcome of cardiac events may be worse compared to that in other occupations ashore. Seafarers' medical surveillance examinations should be used more intensively as an opportunity for education of crews in CVD risks and the possibilities to reduce them. Further, enhancement of treatment options (e.g. by implementation of advanced therapy and diagnostics such as telemedicine or AED onboard) may contribute to improved CVD prognosis at sea.


A deteriorating nail standard is a growing problem as the global prevalence of diabetes is increasing. Systemic treatment with mineral supplements may not be recommended, mainly due to the high doses required to deliver optimal therapeutic concentrations. In this work, we evaluate nail polish formulations for the local delivery of strengthening elements to the nail plate. Specifically, we assess calcium and silicon release from nail polish base coat formulations containing three different concentrations of White Portland Cement to water, as well as to artificial and human nails. The delivery of calcium and silicon to the dorsal nail plate was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing that such dual elemental delivery to human nails can be achieved from nail polish formulations. Hence, this work may form the basis for new inventions where therapeutic functionalities can be integrated with the mechanical and cosmetic properties of a base coat nail polish. Future permeability studies are required to verify long-term effects on the nail standard, induced by the formulations under study.


This is a survey paper on moduli spaces that have a natural structure of a (possibly incomplete) locally symmetric variety. We outline the Baily-Borel compactification for such varieties and compare it with the compactifications furnished by techniques in algebraic geometry. These differ in general, but we show that a reconciliation is possible by means of a generalization of the Baily-Borel technique for a class of incomplete locally symmetric varieties. The emphasis is here on moduli spaces of varieties other than that of polarized abelian varieties.


INTRODUCTION
In type 2 diabetic patients treated with metformin the development of hyperlactacidemia or even lactic acidosis seems to result from an acute precipitating event. This study aims to assess the prevalence and relative risk of hyperlactacidemia in diabetic patients admitted in the Emergency Room, the predictive factors for high lactate concentration and the influence of hyperlactacidemia in patients' prognosis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Transversal observational study including patients observed between June and October 2012: 138 type 2 diabetics, 66 treated with metformin, and 83 non-diabetic patients. Studies' variables: age, sex, cause of admition, blood pressure, drugs, personal history, analytical study (biochemistry and arterial blood gas analyses with lactate) and destination. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0(®).

RESULTS
Mean lactate concentration and hyperlactacidemia prevalence were significantly higher in diabetic patients (2.1 ± 0.1 mmol/L vs 1.1 ± 0.1 mmol/L, p < 0.001 and 39.1% vs 3.6%, p < 0.001, respectively) and in those under metformin compared to other diabetics (2.7 ± 0.2 mmol/L vs 1.6 ± 0.1 mmol/L, p < 0.001 and 56.9% vs 23.3%, p < 0.001, respectively). Diabetics on metformin presented a 25-fold increased risk of hyperlactacidemia (OR = 25.10, p < 0.05). Creatinine was the only independent predictive factor for lactate concentrations (B = 1.33, p < 0.05). Patients with hyperlactacidemia had 4.4 times higher odds of being hospitalized or dying (OR = 4.37, p < 0.05). When hospitalized, they had longer hospitalization periods (21.66 ± 5.86 days vs 13.68 ± 5.33 days, p < 0.001) and higher rate of deaths (12.5% (n = 4) vs 4.3% (n = 2), p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
There was an increased risk of hyperlactacidemia in patients with type 2 diabetes, particularly for those under metformin. Serum creatinine represented the only independent associated factor of lactate concentration. The presence of hyperlactacidemia was associated with worse prognosis.


As software systems evolve by adding new extensions some unexpected conflicts may occur, which is known as the feature interaction problem (PIP). PIP is a threat to the dependability of software systems as it can break system security and safety. A major cause for PIP is the non-determinism related with sending or receiving the predefined signals of the base subsystem by extensions. This paper analyzes the problems and proposes to enforce necessary constraints to prevent the PIP. In addition, we present a systematic approach to acquire heuristically constraints from system specifications