Abstract Despite the well-established link between homelessness and incarceration, very little qualitative research has focused on the social processes that underlie this nexus. In this article, I draw on 19 in-depth interviews with incarcerated men who reported pre-prison housing instability, supplemented with 5 interviews with formerly-incarcerated men experiencing homelessness, to explore the gendered nature of the homelessness-incarceration nexus. I propose the concept of "liberative instability"—defined as an unfettered lifestyle characterized by double-edged freedom and independence—to explore the changing meaning of homelessness in men's narratives of their life course. Additionally, I explore how themes of masculinity and liberative instability are embedded in men's narratives of freedom and confinement as they reflect on their experiences with homelessness and incarceration. These findings animate existing quantitative research by highlighting that the homelessness-incarceration nexus cannot be understood fully or disrupted without considering the significance of age-graded cultural scripts regarding masculinity.


Pathologic myopia may be associated with abnormal vitreomacular adhesions that can portend a higher risk of retinal detachment. The authors report a case of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with a complex macular tear after orbital decompression surgery in a patient with pathologic myopia. This case highlights the importance of retinal detachment in the setting of orbital decompression.


The current goal of initial antiretroviral (ARV) therapy is suppression of plasma human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 RNA levels to below 200 copies per milliliter. A proportion of HIV-infected patients who initiate antiretroviral therapy in clinical practice or antiretroviral clinical trials either fail to suppress HIV-1 RNA or have HIV-1 RNA levels rebound on therapy. Frequently, these patients have sustained CD4 cell counts responses and limited or no clinical symptoms and, therefore, have potentially limited indications for altering therapy which they may be tolerating well despite increased viral replication. On the other hand, increased viral replication on therapy leads to selection of resistance mutations to the antiretroviral agents comprising their therapy and potentially cross-resistance to other agents in the same class decreasing the likelihood of response to subsequent antiretroviral therapy. The optimal time to switch antiretroviral therapy to ensure sustained virologic suppression and prevent clinical events in patients who have rebound in their HIV-1 RNA, yet are stable, is not known. Randomized clinical trials to compare early versus delayed switching have been difficult to design and more difficult to enroll. In some clinical trials, such as the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) Study A5095, patients randomized to initial antiretroviral treatment combinations, who fail to suppress HIV-1 RNA or have a rebound of HIV-1 RNA on therapy are allowed to switch from the initial ARV regimen to a new regimen, based on clinician and patient decisions. We delineate a statistical framework to estimate the effect of early versus late regimen change using data from ACTG A5095 in the context of two-stage designs. In causal inference, a large class of doubly robust estimators are derived through semiparametric theory with applications to missing data problems. This class of estimators is motivated through geometric arguments and relies on large samples for good performance. By now, several authors have noted that a doubly robust estimator may be suboptimal when the outcome model is misspecified even if it is semiparametric efficient when the outcome regression model is correctly specified. Through auxiliary variables, two-stage designs, and within the contextual backdrop of our scientific problem and clinical study, we propose improved doubly robust, locally efficient estimators of a population mean and average causal effect for early versus delayed switching to second-line ARV treatment regimens. Our analysis of the ACTG A5095 data further demonstrates how methods that use auxiliary variables can improve over methods that ignore them. Using the methods developed here, we conclude that patients who switch within 8 weeks of virologic failure have better clinical outcomes, on average, than patients who delay switching to a new second-line ARV regimen after failing on the initial regimen. Ordinary statistical methods fail to find such differences. This article has online supplementary material.


Granular structure of several wild-type of starches is not well known and the starch isolated from Dioscorea bulbifera ("ñame congo") is among them. Through its characterization new products could be prepared. Morphometric characteristics, and presence and position of the hilum are signs of starch organization and indicative of the way that they could be used in the industry. The goals were to isolate starch from the edible portion of bulbils of Dioscorea bulbifera L. gathered at the region of Anzoátegui, Venezuela, as well as to characterize its morphometry, hilum and granular distribution. Starch was isolated and purified and its shape, size, distribution granular, and Maltese cross presence were studied by optic polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and laser diffraction. Results show a starch with an eccentric Maltese cross, and a nearly triangular shape, with smooth and polished surfaces, which vary in size in a range of 1-40 microns and agglomerated as a cluster. The granular distribution of the larger population of starch granules with sizes ranging from 7 to 60 μm represent the 93.04 ± 0.25% of the overall population, and the rest represent the 6.96 ± 0.25%, with granule sizes ranging from 1 7 μm. The particle size distributions were Dv 10 = 12.67; Dv 50 =24.12, and Dv 90 = 39.86, indicating that 50% of the population is concentrated in a size of ≈25 μm. Those results show that Dioscorea bulbifera ́s starch is fully characterized for its possible uses in food and other industries.


The relationship between economic growth and the development of financial systems has been analyzed from different perspectives for a long time. This paper addresses the effects of the informal economy on the relationship between financial development and economic growth, using a panel data covering 20 countries during the period 1993–2020. The results show that financial development, as measured by the IMF's Financial Development Index, is positively associated with economic growth (the coefficient α1 related to financial development fd is positive and statistically significant at 5%). The results also show that large sizes of the informal economy moderate the influence of this association (α1 remains positive and statistically significant at 1%, while the coefficient α2 related to the interaction between financial development and informal economy, fd and ie, is negative and statistically significant at 1%). In effect, financial development has the greatest impact on economic growth whenever there is control over the informal economy's size. Inversely, a favorable ground for the informal economy limits the positive association between financial development and economic growth. However, the results show the absence of a causality relationship between financial development and economic growth (W-bar = 1.0015 and Z-bar = 0.0048; p-value = 0.9980). The informal economy plays no role in making this type of link significant (W-bar = 0.9761 and Z-bar = -0.0756; p-value = 0.9520).


In the global economic model, the service sector continues to gain ground on the manufacturing sector and trends such as the integration of new technologies into production processes are advancing inexorably. Advanced economies are pushed to specialise, supported by their regional innovation systems, and cities are emerging as key and strategic centres of activity. In this context, Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) are presented as critical due to their capacity to promote innovation within the regional productive fabric and smart specialisation strategies, the promotion of advanced manufacturing, the generation of quality employment and the stimulation of economic growth, especially in urban environments. This is why many cities, prioritizing KIBS to stimulate their economy, need to create and retain talent for this sort of industry. Likewise, vocational and education training (VET) systems, such as the Basque VET system, have so far developed their greatest strengths in the field of manufacturing knowledge.. Due to this, VET seems to be obliged to adapt to this new scenario, in which KIBS and cities stand out, in order to continue to maintain their level of excellence. KIBS have been extensively examined, but until now no one had posed the following questions: What is the role of vocational training in KIBS? To what extent are VET profiles (and will VET profiles be) relevant in KIBS? This study will show an emerging trend in the labour market. This is the growing relevance of technology profiles with VET background in KIBS, especially in technology-based KIBS. VET technology profiles can be consolidated as one of the main implementing agents of the digital transformation (cybersecurity, blockchain, cloud computing, UX design, artificial intelligence, scientific computing...). To this end, hybridisation with other fields of knowledge but also with studies of other kinds such as university studies may be essential.


The study evaluated duration and depth of the local infiltration anesthesia by articaine with different combinations of epinephrine and clonidine : articaine (4%) + epinephrine (1: 200 000), articaine (4%) + clonidine (1:100 000), articaine (4%) + epinephrine (1:200 000) + clonidine (1:100 000), articaine (4%) + epinephrine (1: 400 000) + clonidine (1:100, 000) in pediatric dental practice. It was revealed that the replacement of the vasoconstrictor epinephrine on clonidine associated with reduced depth and duration of analgesia. This increased efficiency is provided by inclusion of epinephrine (1:200 000), and clonidine (1:100 000) into anesthetic solution, which provided statistically significant increase in depth and duration of anesthesia.


Abstract. Drag and mass exchange coefficients are calculated within a self-consistent problem for the wave-induced air perturbations and mean velocity and density fields using a quasi-linear model based on the Reynolds equations with down-gradient turbulence closure. This second part of the report is devoted to specification of the model elements: turbulent transfer coefficients and wave number-frequency spectra. It is shown that the theory agrees with laboratory and field experimental data well when turbulent mass and momentum transfer coefficients do not depend on the wave parameters. Among several model spectra better agreement of the theoretically calculated drag coefficients with TOGA (Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere) COARE (Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment) data is achieved for the Hwang spectrum (Hwang, 2005) with the high frequency part completed by the Romeiser spectrum (Romeiser et al., 1997).


OBJECTIVE
To discuss data from long-term intervention studies regarding therapy in type 1 diabetes and review strategies for preventing hypoglycemia and safely achieving glycemic goals in this patient population.

METHODS
The shortcomings of traditional models of insulin therapy are elucidated, and the need for physiologic insulin replacement is emphasized.

RESULTS
An estimated more than 10 million patients will have type 1 diabetes worldwide within the next 20 years. Twice-daily injection of premixed or self-mixed insulin is the most common insulin regimen; however, this therapeutic strategy is also a major contributor to hypoglycemia and, eventually, hypoglycemia unawareness. Hypoglycemia unawareness in patients with type 1 diabetes has been found to be largely reversible. Moreover, intensive insulin therapy may prevent hypoglycemia and maintain glycemic targets. The most physiologic regimen of insulin available is continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion with an insulin pump; however, insulin glargine is a useful alternative to pump therapy.

CONCLUSION
Use of today's rapid- and long-acting insulin analogues in intensive management protocols not only improves glycemic control but also reduces the risk of hypoglycemia. Therefore, safe achievement and maintenance of target glycemic goals are possible.


This review presents current updates of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy in children with cystic fibrosis based on literature published in the last decade and some special considerations regarding pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy in the era of new therapies, such as cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator modulator therapies. Few articles evaluate the efficacy of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy in the pediatric population, and most studies also included children and adults with cystic fibrosis. Approximately 85% of cystic fibrosis patients have exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and need pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. Fecal elastase is the most commonly used diagnostic test for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, although this value can fluctuate over time. While it is used as a diagnostic test, it cannot be used for monitoring the effectiveness of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy and for adjusting doses. Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, the actual treatment for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, is essential in children with cystic fibrosis to prevent malabsorption and malnutrition and needs to be urgently initiated. This therapy presents many considerations for physicians, patients, and their families, including types and timing of administration, dose monitoring, and therapy failures. Based on clinical trials, pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy is considered effective and well-tolerated in children with cystic fibrosis. An important key point in cystic fibrosis treatment is the recent hypothesis that cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator modulators could improve pancreatic function, further studies being essential. Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy is addressed a complication of the disease (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency), while modulators target the defective cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator protein. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in cystic fibrosis remains an active area of research in this era of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator modulator therapies. This new therapy could represent an example of personalized medicine in cystic fibrosis patients, with each class of modulators being addressed to patients with specific genetic mutations.


This research aims to determine the effect of Deposit Structure and Ownership Structure on the disclosure of Islamic Corporate Governance (ICG). Deposit Structure is proxied by the percentage of the Profit Sharing Investment Account (PSIA) to assets, while Ownership Structure used in this research is Blockholder Ownership and Managerial Ownership. The research uses descriptive and verification method with quantitative analysis approach. The results show that simultaneous Profit Sharing Investment Account, Blockholder Ownership, and Managerial Ownership has significant effect on the disclosure of ICG. Partially, Profit Sharing Investment Account indicates significant positive effect on the disclosure of ICG, Blockholder Ownership shows significant positive effect on the disclosure of ICG, while the Managerial Ownership does not affect the disclosure of ICG.


The paper provides a comprehensive review of the base-catalysed C3-alkylation of N-unprotected-3-monosubstituted oxindoles. Based on a few, non-systematic studies described in the literature using butyllithium as the deprotonating agent, an optimized method has now been elaborated, via the corresponding lithium salt, for the selective C3-alkylation of this family of compounds. The optimal excess of butyllithium and alkylating agent, and the role of the halogen atom in the latter (alkyl bromides vs. iodides) were also studied. The alkylation protocol has also been extended to some derivatives substituted at the aromatic ring. Finally, various substituents were introduced into the aromatic ring of the N-unprotected 3,3-dialkyloxindoles obtained by this optimized method.


Active learning pedagogies such as inquiry-based learning have the potential not only to improve students' science literacy but also promote affective learning and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Moreover, a focus on affective learning may be key to improve recruitment in STEM. Yet, we know little about how participation in inquiry-based courses can impact college students' affective learning. Here, we present results from a comparative analysis of two affective learning outcomes, attitudes toward science and science identity, after participation in inquiry-based laboratory courses. Then, we synthesize what we have learned about successes and limitations to promoting growth in positive attitudes toward science and science identity after participation in these courses. Our work focuses on non-science majors who are deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing signers in bilingual (American Sign Language and written English) inquiry-based biology laboratory courses. We concentrate on the Deaf Community because deaf individuals often face challenges regarding access in STEM education. Our results indicate that participation in inquiry-based laboratory courses has the potential to positively influence students' attitudes toward science via repeated engagement with hands-on, student-driven experimentation, peer collaboration, and a welcoming classroom environment. However, participation in these classes had a limited impact on students' science identities.  Some students saw themselves as scientists during laboratory classes, however, their science identities beyond the classroom remained unchanged. While inquiry-based laboratories successfully promote one aspect of affective learning, work is needed to improve students' science identities and increase interest in STEM careers to more effectively recruit students in these courses.


Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and despite extensive research, only a few drugs are available for management of the disease. One strategy has been to up-regulate cholinergic neurotransmission to improve cognitive function, but this approach has dose-limiting adverse effects. To avoid these adverse effects, new drugs that target specific receptor subtypes of the cholinergic system are needed, and the M1 subtype of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M1-mAChR) has been shown to be a good target for this approach. By using several strategies, M1-mAChR ligands have been developed and trialled in preclinical animal models and in human studies, with varying degrees of success. This article reviews the different approaches to targeting the M1-mAChR in AD and discusses the advantages and limitations of these strategies. The factors to consider in targeting the M1-mAChR in AD are also discussed.


Zen Master Dogen (1200-1253), the thirteenth-century Japanese Buddhist teacher,(1) tells a story in his monumental Shobogenzo(2) that anachronistically illustrates the differences between postmodern philosophers and theologians. The story is about a brilliant scholar, Tokuzan (779-865), and an old, unnamed woman selling rice cakes. Tokuzan, the scholar, had a well-deserved reputation for being the unquestioned authority on the Diamond Sutra, one of the most important Mahayana Buddhist texts. He was known as the King of the Diamond Sutra. The Diamond Sutra is the locus classicus for the pivotal Buddhist teaching that the individual mind has no existence apart from the oneness of all Being. In the Buddhist texts this teaching is often summed up in the phrase, "the mind cannot be grasped."(3) The story in the Shobogenzo goes like this:(4) Word came to the scholar Tokuzan that in the south of China an Enlightened Buddhist teacher had realized a new truth about the Diamond Sutra. True scholar that Tokuzan was, he packed up all his books and commentaries on the Diamond Sutra (over 300 pounds of them) and left immediately to take the long journey to hear first-hand this new teaching. On the way he paused at a wayside rest stop and fell into a conversation with an independent businesswoman selling rice cakes. He asked her, "What is your business?" "I sell rice cakes," she replied. "Will you sell me a rice cake?" "What do you want to buy a rice cake for?" [She was an independent businesswoman.] "To refresh my mind," said Tokuzan. The old woman took a look at Tokuzan's 300-pound load of books. "What is all that you are carrying?" "Haven't you heard? I am the King of the Diamond Sutra. I have mastered the Diamond Sutra. There is no part of it that I do not understand. This load I am carrying is commentaries on the Diamond Sutra." "Could I ask you a question?" "Of course." "I have heard it said in the Diamond Sutra that past mind cannot be grasped, present mind cannot be grasped, and future mind cannot be grasped. Which mind do you now intend to refresh with my rice cakes? If you can tell me, I will sell you a rice cake. If not, I will not sell you my rice cakes." Tokuzan was dumbfounded and could not find an appropriate response. The Three Characters As Dogen tells the story, three personae emerge in this mini-drama: The first is the scholar Tokuzan. He has all the positive, admirable characteristics of a scholar, and it takes only a little imagination to compare him and his approach to life with the scholars of today. He is thorough, having read and mastered all there is to know about his special field, the Diamond Sutra. He is dedicated - the minute he hears about a new approach to his specialty he makes a long, difficult journey to its source, a scholar in another place a long way from Tokuzan's home. He is objective and rationalistic; he does not dismiss this new theory as some crackpot idea but is willing to take a good long look at it to see if it has merit when measured against the prevailing canons of Diamond Sutra study. Finally, he is honest; when the rice-cake woman asks him a question to which he does not know the answer - an embarrassing question, really - he does not try to bluster through with an answer but simply sits in humiliating silence. The second persona is the rice-cake woman, who represents the common-sense voice of the masses. She brings a certain skepticism to bear on her famous customer, a skepticism that sees only the dark side of what we have just listed as Tokuzan's strengths. By calling attention to his 300 pounds of books, she makes his thoroughness seem compulsive. A certain weariness with which she approaches him transforms his dedication, as witnessed by his arduous journey, into a kind of touristy excessiveness. She turns out to understand the suprarationalism of the very Buddhist philosophy being taught by the Diamond Sutra, or at least the implications of that suprarationalism, better than Tokuzan, the expert. …


Article info: Abstract Single point incremental sheet metal forming is a process that forms products without the complex dies and tools with low cost. In this study, the incremental sheet metal forming process has been experimentally investigated on the explosively-welded Al/Cu bimetal sheets. Also, the effects of process parameters such as arrangement of layer`s bimetal, tool diameter, and tool path were investigated on the forming force, thickness distribution, formability, and roughness. At first, the bimetals were produced by explosive welding process. Then, two tool diameters, step and spiral tool paths and layer arrangement were chosen as input parameters. The results showed that the forming force increases with increasing the tool diameter and using aluminum as a top layer (contact with tool). Also, using spiral tool path increases the average forming force and decreases the maximum thickness changing. The formability increases with increasing the tool diameter and using the copper as top layer with spiral tool path. Received: 23/08/2016


Block coordinate descent (BCD) methods are widely used for large-scale numerical optimization because of their cheap iteration costs, low memory requirements, amenability to parallelization, and ability to exploit problem structure. Three main algorithmic choices influence the performance of BCD methods: the block partitioning strategy, the block selection rule, and the block update rule. In this paper we explore all three of these building blocks and propose variations for each that can significantly improve the progress made by each BCD iteration. We (i) propose new greedy block-selection strategies that guarantee more progress per iteration than the Gauss-Southwell rule; (ii) explore practical issues like how to implement the new rules when using"variable"blocks; (iii) explore the use of message-passing to compute matrix or Newton updates efficiently on huge blocks for problems with sparse dependencies between variables; and (iv) consider optimal active manifold identification, which leads to bounds on the"active-set complexity"of BCD methods and leads to superlinear convergence for certain problems with sparse solutions (and in some cases finite termination at an optimal solution). We support all of our findings with numerical results for the classic machine learning problems of least squares, logistic regression, multi-class logistic regression, label propagation, and L1-regularization.


Business opportunities are not permanent. Enterprises to instantly meet them collaborate with each other through realizing business network processes (BNP) in which their activities are done with various partners within a network. Recently, these business network processes are enabled with Service-Oriented technologies, that we call them Service-Oriented Business Network Process (SOBNP). In today's dynamic and changing environment Virtual Enterprise (VE) architects require a flexible framework through which they could design and realize SOBNP instantly. In this theme, there exist a number of frameworks that constitute the SOBNP, but they almost neglect two salient issues: a) Covering and incorporating high-level (i.e. business level) and low-level (i.e. technical level) requirement in business process creation; b) Adjusting to the VE architect without deep knowledge of computer science. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to propose a framework and related tools and techniques to constitute SOBNP, as a main building block of Instant Virtual Enterprise (IVE), which address two above-mentioned issues. The framework namely SOBNP Realization consists of three phases including requirements specification, ontology-based partner search and selection, and BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) process synthesis. A prototype system is implemented to demonstrate the concept of VE architect-driven SOBNP realization in IVE.


A new method of enumerating Mycobacterium leprae has been developed. Suspensions containing the organisms were filtered through a polycarbonate membrane filter (25-mm diameter, 0.4-micronm pore size, 10-micronm thick; Nucleopore) to concentrate the organisms. The membrane was then mounted on a glass slide and stained with a standard acid-fast stain. Finally, the membrane was treated with a small amount of chloroform to fix it to the slide and make it transparent. This method enabled us to detect M. leprae in quantities as small as 4.98 X 10(2) regardless of the total volume of the original material. Comparison with a standard method for enumerating M. leprae showed that both methods gave similar results when the organisms counted by the standard method were present in sufficient quantity for reproducibility. Because the least number of organisms that can be detected with the standard method is 10(4) ml and because the organisms detected with the new method could be concentrated on the polycarbonate filter from a large amount of infected fluid, a substantial number of suspensions were shown by the new method, but not by the standard method, to contain M. leprae.


Neutral beam injection (NBI) heating is one of the most efficient auxiliary plasma heating methods for fusion devices. The data acquisition control system (DACS) with PXI (peripheral component interconnect extensions for instrumentation) data acquisition card for the first NBI system in the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) is presented in this paper. As an important sub-system, DACS is designed to obtain physical measurement signals in the EAST NBI system and to deal and store these data with the Lempel-Ziv-Oberhumer (LZO) lossless data compression algorithm, as well as offer convenient data call-back and access interfaces to the user for examining and analyzing the data. Experimental results show that accurate data will ensure that researchers correctly analyze it and then properly adjust the experimental parameters or operation, so DACS should take a large step in improving experimental efficiency. The hardware and software sections are briefly presented in this paper, and now this system has been tested to be able to work reliably and steadily.


This paper introduces Distributed Ledger Register that mimics the behavior of most popular ledgers such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Our work is the first to make the connection between the Distributed Ledger Register and the classical theory of shared registers. We furthermore, propose an algorithm that emulates the distributed ledger register.


Objectives: While exercise significantly reduces craving for cigarettes, the effect of exercise on self-initiation of quit attempts is less known. Therefore, this randomized pilot study explored the effect of starting an exercise program on self-initiated quit attempts, and also the feasibility and acceptability of a novel exercise intervention, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), as compared with a more traditional continuous aerobic (CA) exercise intervention. Methods: Participants smoked (≥5 cigarettes/d), were aged 18 to 40 years, and wanted to increase their exercise. Participants were randomized into 1 of 3 groups: HIIT, CA, and delayed control. All participants attended follow-up visits at weeks 4, 8, and 12. Outcomes included measures of feasibility (eg, visit attendance) and acceptability (eg, satisfaction), and also changes in smoking behavior (eg, quit attempts during follow-up) and proxies to quit attempts (eg, positive affect). Results: Overall, there were no differences in terms of feasibility and acceptability between the HITT (n = 12) and CA (n = 9) groups. Based on both self-report and objective measurement, the exercise groups (HIIT and CA) increased their physical activity as compared with the delayed treatment group (n = 11). Compared with HIIT and delayed control, CA (n = 9) had significant favorable changes in positive affect (eg, at week 8, HIIT: +0.25 ± 2.21, delayed control: −5.11 ± 2.23, CA: +5.50 ± 2.23; P = 0.0153). Conclusions: These observations suggest that HIIT is as feasible and acceptable as CA, though CA may have a more favorable effect on proxies to quit attempts (eg, positive affect). Fully powered studies are needed to examine the effect of HIIT versus CA on quit attempts.


Transitions in an era of globalisation and universal change impact on postgraduate
training of students at higher education institutions. This study aimed to determine completion rates for postgraduate programmes in Education at one higher education
institution, to identify the students\' needs and to investigate their experiences of
postgraduate studies. Questionnaires were administered to students who had graduated
and who suspended their studies between 2000 and 2006 (n=78). In this cohort, more
Ph.D. students completed their studies and in a shorter time than M.Phil. students. The
research component was regarded as the most difficult aspect of postgraduate studies.
The need for supervision support in research skills was noted by more M.Phil. students
than Ph.D. students. Academic input of assessing progress and evaluating quality were
regarded as the most important supervision need for students. Personal attributes,
support from supervisors and institutional support are noted as factors contributing to
success. Addressing the postgraduate students\' needs is essential in an era characterised
by transition to ensure accountability and quality within higher education. South African Journal of Higher Education Vol. 22 (4) 2008: pp. 749-772


ABSTRACT The sensitivity and specificity of the Cell-Dyn 4000 hematology analyzer in the diagnosis of imported malaria were studied with samples from patients in an academic hospital setting. The performance of the Cell-Dyn 4000 hematology analyzer was compared with that of conventional diagnostic methods for malaria. The Cell-Dyn 4000 hematology analyzer detected hemozoin-containing depolarizing monocytes in 29 of 58 patients with malaria and 2 of 55 patients without malaria. The presence or absence of depolarizing monocytes in patients with malaria was related to duration of symptoms before presentation for malaria analysis. A second parameter, pseudoreticulocytosis due to nuclear material of intraerythrocytic malaria parasites, was detected by the Cell-Dyn 4000 hematology analyzer almost exclusively in Plasmodium falciparum malaria patients with parasitemia levels of ≥0.5%. Attention to these abnormalities in medical centers without tropical disease expertise may decrease a delay in the diagnosis of malaria.


This article offers the concept of `global modernity' (in the singular) as a way to understand the contemporary world. It suggests that the concept helps overcome the teleology implicit in a term such as globalization, while it also recognizes global difference and conflict, which are as much characteristics of the contemporary world as tendencies toward unity and homogenization. These differences, and the appearance of `alternative' or `multiple' modernities, it suggests, are expressions, and articulations, of the contradictions of modernity which are now universalized across, as well as within, societies. If we are to speak of alternative or multiple modernities, which presently valorize the persistence of traditions and `civilizational' legacies, we need to recognize that the very language of alternatives and multiplicity is enabled historically by the presupposition of a common modernity shaped by a globalizing capitalism.


The paper describes the designing of web based system for transmission of GPS measurements so that power system operator may monitor overhead conductor sag of power transmission line at substation in real time. The testing results of transmission of GPS measurements from 11KV power transmission line to substation have also been discussed in detail. Raw GPS measurements are not so accurate that these are usable for overhead conductor sag evaluation. The estimated GPS altitude measurements obtained using signal processing techniques such as Least Square Parameter Estimation(LSPE) and Haar Wavelet Transform (HWT) with LSPE are also presented in this paper.


A theoretical approach to the explanation of the structural design of metabolic pathways is presented. It is based on the hypothesis that due to natural selection during evolution the cellular metabolism of present-day organisms may be characterized by optimal properties. Two cardinal terms enter the theory: 1) the efficiency of metabolic pathways and 2) the evolutionary effort for the change of the kinetic parameters of the involved enzymes by mutations of the corresponding genes. For both quantities simple mathematical expressions are proposed. By maximizing the efficiency under the constraint of a constant evolutionary effort the theory allows the calculation of the optimal parameter distribution. The theoretical concept is applied to simple metabolic systems consisting of monomolecular reactions only. It is shown that in the optimal state of the linear enzymatic chain the evolutionary effort is mainly spent on the enzymes located at the beginning of the chain. This tendency is more pronounced if the kinetic equations of the enzymes are first-order rate laws. With respect to Michaelis-Menten enzymes the optimal state is characterized by a decrease of the maximal activities and an increase of the fractional saturation of the enzymes towards the end of the chain.


With the use of a case study methodology, the socially responsible enterprise La Feuille d'Erable, based in north-west France, was analysed based upon the framework proposed by Boons and Ludeke-Freund (2013). Within an overarching green management philosophy, this firm incorporates a program for the integration of socially and economically excluded people into a recycling and upcycling business activity. Our findings suggest that success for social enterprises, that combine the dual aims of green production and inclusion of hitherto disadvantaged groups, under the banner of corporate social responsibility, is linked to several clearly identified factors. The previously proposed typology (Vickers and Lyon, 2014) of environmentally-motivated social enterprises' strategies is amended. Guidelines and insights are offered to managers who may wish to implement socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) techniques in their own organisations.


Abstract This paper reports the results of a study into the views of members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly in the Thirty-seventh Parliament to parliamentary petitions as an information source. It sought to advance the understanding of parliamentary petitions in an information studies context. Research of this nature is necessary because there has been a lack of scholarly interest in parliamentary petitions to date. The study hoped to ameliorate the dearth of literature on the topic. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data. The unique and rich dataset generated from the survey results were used to describe how a group of parliamentarians in a Westminster-style parliament perceive parliamentary petitions. The results indicate that over half the respondents believed that petitions are an important information source. Over three quarters of respondents agreed that petitions provide a mechanism to gauge the depth of feeling on an issue in their electorate. The belief that petitions offer an effective means of communicating with constituents was proffered by almost 60 per cent of respondents. Two-thirds of respondents agreed that petitions sometimes influenced their decision-making and that the number of signatures on a petition sometimes influenced their decision-making. Petitions as an information source didn't fare very well when compared to the other parliamentary information sources available to respondents. So while petitions are deemed to be an important information source in their own right, it can be deduced from the results of this study that respondents believe that there are more effective information sources available to parliamentarians.


Abstract. Methods exist for the creation of antireflective thin film layers; however, many of these methods depend on the use of high temperatures, harsh chemical etches, or are made with difficult pattern materials, rendering them unusable for many applications. In addition, most methods of light blocking are specifically designed to increase light coupling and absorption in the substrate, making them incompatible with some applications that also require blocking transmission of light. A method of forming a simple, patternable light-blocking layer that drastically reduces both transmission and reflection of light without dependence on processes that could damage underlying structures using a light scattering matte coating over a partially antireflective thin film light-blocking layer is presented.


Timely and adequate screening for breast cancer could improve health outcomes and reduce health costs. However, the utilization of free breast cancer screening services among Saudi women is very low. This study aims to investigate socioeconomic inequalities in breast cancer screening among Saudi women. The data of this study were extracted from the nationally representative Saudi Health Interview Survey, conducted in 2013; the study included 2786 Saudi women. Multivariate logistic regression, the concentration curve, and the concentration index were used to examine, illustrate, and quantify income- and education-related inequalities in three outcomes: Knowledge about self-breast examination (SBE), clinical breast examination (CBE) received in the last year, and mammography, that has ever been previously carried out. Results showed a marked socioeconomic gradient in breast cancer screening services. The concentration index by income was 0.229 (SBE), 0.171 (CBE), and 0.163 (mammography). The concentration index by education was 0.292 (SBE), 0.149 (CBE), and 0.138 (mammography). Therefore, knowledge about breast cancer screening, and the utilization of screening services, were more concentrated among richer and better-educated women. Poorer and less educated women had less knowledge about self-breast examination, and had considerably less adherence to clinical breast examination and mammography. The findings are helpful for policy makers to devise and implement strategies to promote equity in breast cancer screening among Saudi women.


Objective: We describe successful stentings for treatment of bilateral jugular bulb stenosis and occlusion in a case of dural arteriovenous fistulas (d-AVFs) of bilateral transverse sinuses. Case Presentations: A 71-year-old woman presented with rapidly progressive cognitive impairment as well as consciousness disturbance, and cerebral angiography demonstrated d-AVFs of bilateral transverse sinuses, right jugular bulb occlusion, and left jugular bulb stenosis accompanied by marked intracranial venous congestion. The symptoms were temporarily alleviated after transarterial and transvenous embolization, but recurred one year later. Curative embolization was thought to be difficult, and stenting for stenosis/occlusion of the bilateral jugular bulbs, which were considered to be causing her symptoms, was performed and resulted in improvements in the condition. Conclusion: Stent for treating sinus stenosis/occlusion accompanying d-AVF is effective to improve venous congestion and hypertension.


This modeling effort seeks to improve the interlaminate bond strength of thermoplastic carbon composites produced by the in-situ automated tape placement (ATP) process. An existing high productivity model is extended to lower values of the Peclet number that correspond to the present operating conditions of the Langley ATP robot. (The Peclet number is the dimensionless ratio of inertial to diffusive heat transfer.) In sensitivity studies, all of the process and material parameters are individually varied. The model yields the corresponding variations in the effective bonding time (EBT) referred to the glass transition temperature. According to reptation theory, the interlaminate bond strength after wetting occurs is proportional to the one-fourth power of EBT. The model also computes the corresponding variations in the thermal input power (TIP) and the mass and volumetric process rates. Process studies show that a 10 percent increase in the consolidation length results in a 20 percent increase in EBT and a 5 percent increase in TIP. A surprising result is that a 10 K decrease in the tooling temperature results in a 25 percent increase in EBT and an 8 percent increase in TIP. Material studies show that a 10 K decrease in glass transition temperature results in an 8 percent increase in EBT and a 8 percent decrease in TIP. A 20 K increase in polymer degradation temperature results in a 23 percent increase in EBT with no change in TIP.


Abstract In vivo study of cerebral metabolism in neonatal animals by high-resolution magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is an important tool for deciphering the developmental origins of adult diseases. Up to date, all in vivo spectrum acquisition procedures have been performed in neonatal rodents under anesthesia. However, it is still unknown if the inhaled anesthetic isoflurane, which is commonly used in magnetic resonance imaging studies, could affect metabolite levels in the brain of neonatal rats. Moreover, the unanesthetized MRS preparation that uses neonatal rodent pups is still lacking. Here, a novel restraint protocol was developed for neonatal rats in accordance with the European Directive 2010/63/EU. This protocol shares the same gradation of severity as the protocol for non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging of animals with appropriate sedation or anesthesia. Such immobilization of neonatal rats without anesthesia can be implemented for MRS studies when an interaction between anesthetic and target drugs is expected. Short-term isoflurane treatment did not affect the levels of key metabolites in the hippocampi of anesthetized pups and, in contrast to juvenile and adult rodents, it is suitable for MRS studies in neonatal rats when the interaction between anesthetic and target drugs is not expected.


Railway transportation has boosted the economy of railway road area, meanwhile it brings some undesirable impacts on the environment of the railway road area. The quality of the fruits is directly related with the elements of the soil, so understanding the element contents of soil in navel oranges garden in the vicinity of railway is meaningful to the security of agriculture products and ecological conditions in the areas surrounding the railways. As a favorite fruit, navel orange is widely planted around the railway in the south China, especially in Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Jiangxi and Guizhou. The present paper studied the contents of Pb, Cd, Mn, Cu, Zn etc in the soil planting navel orange in the vicinity of Chengdu-Dazhou railway by AAS. The railway was built in 1997 and the research area was sited in Jintang county, Sichuan. The results showed that the contents of Pb and Mn in soil planting navel orange were significantly higher than those in the control soil, but the contents of Cd, Cu and Zn showed no significant difference.


Traditional models of decision making under uncertainty explain human behavior in simple situations with a minimal set of alternatives and attributes. Some of them, such as prospect theory, have been proven successful and robust in such simple situations. Yet, less is known about the preference formation during decision making in more complex cases. Furthermore, it is generally accepted that attention plays a role in the decision process but most theories make simplifying assumptions about where attention is deployed. In this study, we replace these assumptions by measuring where humans deploy overt attention, i.e. where they fixate. To assess the influence of task complexity, participants perform two tasks. The simpler of the two requires participants to choose between two alternatives with two attributes each (four items to consider). The more complex one requires a choice between four alternatives with four attributes each (16 items to consider). We then compare a large set of model classes, of different levels of complexity, by considering the dynamic interactions between uncertainty, attention and pairwise comparisons between attribute values. The task of all models is to predict what choices humans make, using the sequence of observed eye movements for each participant as input to the model. We find that two models outperform all others. The first is the two-layer leaky accumulator which predicts human choices on the simpler task better than any other model. We call the second model, which is introduced in this study, TNPRO. It is modified from a previous model from management science and designed to deal with highly complex decision problems. Our results show that this model performs well in the simpler of our two tasks (second best, after the accumulator model) and best for the complex task. Our results suggest that, when faced with complex choice problems, people prefer to accumulate preference based on attention-guided pairwise comparisons.


Introduction Several lifestyle factors promote protection against Alzheimer's disease (AD) throughout a person's lifespan. Although such protective effects have been described for occupational cognitive requirements (OCR) in midlife, it is currently unknown whether they are conveyed by brain maintenance (BM), brain reserve (BR), or cognitive reserve (CR) or a combination of them. Methods We systematically derived hypotheses for these resilience concepts and tested them in the population-based AgeCoDe cohort and memory clinic-based AD high-risk DELCODE study. The OCR score (OCRS) was measured using job activities based on the O*NET occupational classification system. Four sets of analyses were conducted: (1) the interaction of OCR and APOE-ε4 with regard to cognitive decline (N = 2,369, AgeCoDe), (2) association with differentially shaped retrospective trajectories before the onset of dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT; N = 474, AgeCoDe), (3) cross-sectional interaction of the OCR and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers and brain structural measures regarding memory function (N = 873, DELCODE), and (4) cross-sectional and longitudinal association of OCR with CSF AD biomarkers and brain structural measures (N = 873, DELCODE). Results Regarding (1), higher OCRS was associated with a reduced association of APOE-ε4 with cognitive decline (mean follow-up = 6.03 years), consistent with CR and BR. Regarding (2), high OCRS was associated with a later onset but subsequently stronger cognitive decline in individuals converting to DAT, consistent with CR. Regarding (3), higher OCRS was associated with a weaker association of the CSF Aβ42/40 ratio and hippocampal volume with memory function, consistent with CR. Regarding (4), OCR was not associated with the levels or changes in CSF AD biomarkers (mean follow-up = 2.61 years). We found a cross-sectional, age-independent association of OCRS with some MRI markers, but no association with 1-year-change. OCR was not associated with the intracranial volume. These results are not completely consistent with those of BR or BM. Discussion Our results support the link between OCR and CR. Promoting and seeking complex and stimulating work conditions in midlife could therefore contribute to increased resistance to pathologies in old age and might complement prevention measures aimed at reducing pathology.


In developing countries, urban surface waters are particularly affected by faecal pollution from domestic wastewaters due to the lack of sanitation and wastewater treatment plants. The presence of pathogenic microorganisms limits the uses of these waters for recreation and economic activities. In Ivory Coast, due to the important gap between water demand and water supply in urban areas, use of surface waters for the production of drinking waters becomes a serious alternative. Actually, there is no monitoring program to control pollution discharges into these surface waters. In this study, a monitoring study was planned from September 2015 to February 2017 in order to evaluate the level of faecal pollution of the Aghien lagoon, a potential drinking water supply located in Abidjan. Based on the enumeration of faecal indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli and Intestinal enterococci), microbiological water quality from Aghien Lagoon and its tributaries were evaluated. Abundance of faecal indicators ranged between 1.72 × 101 CFU.100 ml-1 and 1.48 × 102 CFU.100 mL-1 for E. coli and between 2.26 × 103 CFU.100 mL-1 and 7.72 × 103 CFU.100 mL-1 for IE in lagoon waters. The abundances of FIB observed in tributaries were higher than those observed in lagoon water. The tributaries comparison indicates that, the Djibi River is the most contaminated with an average value of 1.73 × 106 CFU.100 mL-1 for IE and 6.92 × 105 CFU.100 mL-1 E. coli mL. The contributions of tributaries in terms of faecal bacteria discharged into the Aghien lagoon are not negligible and these contributions are significantly different between the dry and rainy season. Therefore, lagoon water may be a potential drinking water supply if wastewater treatment plants are implemented in the Djibi and Bete basins.

 Key words: Water quality, faecal bacteria, drinking water supply, tropical lagoon.


To investigate whether asymptomatic cytomegalovirus (CMV) viraemia impact the course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, this study evaluated the effect of CMV replication on progression of newly‐diagnosed HIV infected individuals towards AIDS events and death. In a 3‐year prospective study on co‐infected patients, clinical, immunological, and virological tests were performed in a national reference hospital quarterly. CMV viraemia was quantified by RoboGene® HCMV DNA Quantification Kit (Analytik Jena, Germany), on ABI Prism® 7000 Sequence Detection System (Applied Biosystems, USA). One hundred and five patients were enrolled with a balanced sex distribution and a median age of 30.7 years. Median CD4+ cell count at enrollment was 164/mm3 and median HIV RNA 4.6 log10copies/ml. Detectable CMV viraemia was found in 25.7% of the patients. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed progression of HIV infection to be significantly increased in those with active CMV replication and/or low CD4+ cell count. Cox regression indicated the risk of developing new AIDS events was 2.6 times greater in patients with detectable CMV viraemia versus those without (CI95% 1–6.6; P = 0.04). Also in multivariate analysis, the overall risk of progression to AIDS events or death was 3‐fold higher in those with detectable CMV viraemia (CI95% 1.3–6.7; P = 0.008) and 2.3‐fold higher if CD4+ cell count was below 100/mm3 (CI95% 1–5.1; P = 0.04). In these young Romanian HIV‐seropositives, active CMV replication increased morbidity, even when treated with combination antiretroviral therapy. Further studies are needed to evaluate if serial quantitative CMV‐DNA levels might correlate with non‐infectious inflammation‐related risks in patients with HIV and active CMV infection. J. Med. Virol. 86:1821–1827, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The aim of the current study is to investigate emotional and mental health changes causing psychiatric distress enough to affect the learning process of high school students. Students from three school years of a federal public school in Santa Maria County-RS-Brazil participated in the study. Ninety-four (94) out of 115 students answered the Self Report Questionnaire-SRQ-20, which is a World Health Organization (WHO) tool used worldwide in primary care level in order to identify Minor Mental or Psychiatric Disorders (MMD/MPD). The total of 32.98% of the participants recorded sufficient scores in psychological suffering. It is worth encouraging educators' knowledge about mental health, as well as their continuous training through Educational Modules for emotional Promotion, Prevention and Learning, which are contextualized in the science-teaching content, as well as improving students' information level on the subject. School is the strategically privileged territory for these actions, since it is the place where children and adolescents spend most of their time. Thus, it enables acquiring knowledge and empowering mental health promotion skills.


Renal impairment considerations have largely been absent diabetic foot literature, despite evidence that people with severe renal impairment are at elevated risk complications following diabetic foot infections. We evaluated clinical outcomes in patients who were admitted to hospital with diabetic foot infections with severe renal impairment compared with patients without a disability. This was a retrospective study of patients with diabetes mellitus who had been hospitalized at a level 1 trauma center with moderate and severe diabetic foot infections. Patients were grouped according to their Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR). Patients with severe renal impairment were defined as having a GFR < 30mL/min. Primary outcomes were mortality, wound healing and reinfection rates. Primary and secondary outcomes were compared using multivariable regression RStudio. A total of 307 patients with diabetic foot infections (62 patients with SRI and 245 patients without SRI) were included in the analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed that patients with severe renal impairment had higher rates of peripheral arterial disease (87% vs 66.9%; p = 0.003) and lower hemoglobin levels (9.8 vs 12.0; p <0.001). We found that patients with diabetes and severe renal impairment at admission had significantly lower glycosylated hemoglobin levels (7.2% vs 9.2%; p < 0.001). There was no difference in severity of infections between the two groups. We found that diabetic patients with severe renal impairment had higher mortality rates (8.1% vs 2.0%; p = 0.044) and higher rates of re-admission of new infections at different sites (51.6% vs 22.9%; p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the other outcomes of interest (wound healing and reinfection). In conclusion, patients with severe renal impairment who were admitted to hospital moderate and severe diabetic foot infections had higher mortality rates and elevated readmission risk than those without severe renal impairment.

 T.L.Coye: None. P.Crisologo: None. M.A.Suludere: None. L.A.Lavery: Research Support; AstraZeneca, Tissue tech, American Diabetes Association, PolarityTE, Inc., Microbion, Jarvis, Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp, Smith+Nephew.


Motive and problem description
The adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) has increased enormously during the last two decades in the construction industry due to the many recognized benefits it is supposed to yield during different project lifecycle stages. BIM has also emerged as a new construction management method in the construction industry in the last decade. These developments have also not ignored the Netherlands and its different sub sectors. According to the VMRG, an association for manufacturers of metal (steel and aluminum) facade elements, the urge to implement BIM within this specific domain of the manufacturing sector has also emerged. However, at the current moment, organizations belonging to the metal facade industry lack the knowledge of their own BIM competences and performances which is required for successful BIM implementation. Without the knowledge of own competences and performances, no meaningful performance improvements may be achieved, financial investments may be misplaced and much efficiency may be lost.
Objective
Based on the problem statement, this study aims to position the BIM-maturity level of the metal facade industry by measuring the BIM-maturity level of the members of the VMRG, to provide practical and valuable insights on how the industry can improve its current BIM-maturity level.
Research sample and strategy
It was of main interest of the VMRG to have the members of their BIM work group included in the research sample. The BIM work group is founded by the VMRG to establish uniformed agreements on the implementation of BIM and therefore, to facilitate BIM developments within the facade industry. In total 11 organizations of the BIM work group (n=11) showed interest and were willing to cooperate for the purpose of this research. For generalizability of the findings also members outside the BIM work group were approached for participation. Two organizations that were willing to participate, were added as a separate group, the non-BIM work group (n=2), to the research sample (n=13). To measure the BIM-maturity level of the research sample, a multiple case study research design was utilized with a qualitative data collection approach, in the form of in-depth interviews.
Methodology
In order to measure the BIM-maturity of each organization of the research sample it was needed to determine a BIM measurement tool for assessment. Therefore the emphasis had been put on the demands of the VMRG and the following data quality dimensions: (1) the reliability of the tool, (2) its validation within the construction industry and (3) the completeness. The point of departure here was the measurement tool developed by Siebelink (2017). The tool was assessed as appropriate to measure the BIM-maturity level of the members of the VMRG.
The tool of Siebelink itself consists of two parts: the best practices and maturity model. The best practices includes several questions to identify the extent of BIM use and the drivers and barriers regarding the implementation of BIM. This part of the measurement tool is necessary to consider the findings within the right context and therefore, to justify and comprehend the obtained scores. The maturity model itself is consisting of six criteria, eighteen sub criteria, six maturity levels and a set of follow up questions per sub criteria to actually measure the BIM-maturity level of each member. To collect the data, the best practices and maturity model were translated into a format to interview representatives of each organization.
Results
According to the collected data, the maturity level of the manufacturing organizations fluctuates between 1.6 and 4.0. These individual organization scores equal an average BIM-maturity of 2.5 for the metal facade industry. Findings also show that organizations that participate within the BIM work group score higher than organizations that do not participate within the BIM workgroup. However, due to the small sample size of the non-BIM work group the reliability of this finding is limited.
Furthermore, the results also show some remarkable measurements. According to the peaks illustrated in Figure 1, the industry scores remarkably high on the sub criteria management support and data exchange. However, the drops implicate that currently within the industry BIM visions and goals and BIM-related work instructions are lacking or defined to a limited extent, and that the use of a document management system is usually limited or not enforced into work instructions.
In comparison with sector analysis held in 2014 and 2016 (University of Twente, 2014; Siebelink, 2017) BIM developments have grown within the manufacturing sector. However, these developments are limited to a maturity assessment within a specific domain of the manufacturing sector, the metal facade industry.
Findings also show that the metal facade industry is mainly driven by client request or market demand to implement BIM. Otherwise, industry organizations are driven to implement BIM to take the lead within the industry and therefore point out several drivers such as: the reduction of errors and failure costs, efficient data streams and communication, efficient manufacturing process and a better end product for the client with possibilities for maintenance.
However, several barriers are also found that hamper the implementation of BIM and affect the current BIM-maturity level negatively. Currently, there is a lack of client request which mainly occurs due to the fact that the industry is driven by market demand. In order to keep track on fast BIM developments, the manufacturing organizations only implement what is requested by the client. This is also substantiated by the barrier that involves the lack of time to implement BIM and specific BIM uses. Therefore, the definition of BIM goals and BIM-related procedures and work instructions might often be lacking or defined to a limited extent. Furthermore, projects are not regarded complex enough by industry organizations to implement BIM and therefore, executed traditionally, since this happens to be easier and faster. The initial investments to implement BIM also seem to impede the implementation of BIM, which is substantiated by the lack of skilled personnel and education and high software and hardware costs. At the current moment, general BIM guidance and support is lacking within the industry and BIM software can often not execute advanced BIM uses. Moreover, not all project partners with whom industry organizations collaborate with are perceived to have the same BIM competences which is expressed through limited application of contractual guidelines in practice and the lack of quality and detail of delivered models to execute certain BIM uses. Lastly, software shortcomings and incompatibility hinder the implementation of several BIM uses.
Conclusion and recommendations
Based on the drops illustrated in Figure 1, abovementioned barriers and certain lower than average BIM-maturity scoring sub criteria, several areas of improvement are defined. Therefore, in order to increase the BIM-maturity level of the metal facade industry, it is important for each manufacturing organization to develop a detailed BIM execution plan to effectively integrate BIM into their organizational or project delivery processes. It is necessary for the execution plan to firstly include the definition of BIM value for each organization in order to establish BIM visions and goals. Additionally, at the beginning of the implementation process within a project or the organization itself, it is recommended for each organization to align the BIM uses they wish to implement with their resources and available infrastructure. Therefore, organizations need to determine which software platforms and hardware are appropriate for the majority of BIM uses they wish to implement. By outlining their current capabilities against the required or desired capabilities, industry organizations can also get an idea when additional staff will need to be acquired or when staff will need to trained on new BIM technologies. It is recommended for organizations to have multidisciplinary work groups or experts supporting the implementation process of BIM. Furthermore, it is also recommended for industry organizations to document uniformed BIM-related work instructions and procedures. When implementing BIM in a project, ideally more integrated contracts and delivery methods are preferred to facilitate information and risk sharing and therefore, collaboration. Also, for the purpose of collaboration and information exchange is it of great essence to have object decompositions aligned with project partners and sector standards. Lastly, also for the purpose of smooth collaboration, it is of great importance for each organization to define a document management system. The VMRG can also encourage the implementation of BIM within the metal facade industry by enforcing implementation stimulating requirements in their Quality Mark.


We examined the effect of a new adjuvant consisting of purified mycobacterial cell wall skeleton (CWS) and monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) on the immunogenicity of a murine melanoma vaccine. C57BL/6 mice were immunized to partially purified B16 melanoma vaccine given alone or together with different dose levels of adjuvant, or with saline or adjuvant alone. Humoral response, delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), in vitro cytotoxicity, and tumor-protective immunity to melanoma were measured following three biweekly immunizations. The adjuvant potentiated the antibody response to some, but not all, melanoma antigens in a dose-dependent fashion. The adjuvant also potentiated cellular immunity as measured by in vitro cytotoxicity assays. No potentiation of tumor-protective immunity was detected. In comparison to Freund's complete adjuvant, cell wall skeleton plus monophosphoryl lipid A (CWS:MPL) induced fewer cutaneous toxic effects and stronger antibody and DTH responses but resulted in no greater in vitro cytotoxicity or tumor-protective immunity. Thus, the adjuvant had a selective and dose-dependent effect on humoral responses to vaccine immunization but did not potentiate a tumor-protective immunity to B16 melanoma.


I have nothing to offer the world but what I think...I think that the thing that I am here to do is a big thing - the truth. I see deep basic truths; and that I have been given unusual powers of expression. I truly hope that my life will count for much good in the world. - letter to George Houghton Gilman, May 11, 1897. Charlotte Perkins Gilman is best known as the author of the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and a utopian novel, "Herland", but she also wrote six nonfiction books and hundreds of articles and lectures. Arguably one of the most radical and certainly one of the most original thinkers of her era, Gilman (1860-1935) is missing from the male-authored intellectual histories and biographies of the period. This reader is an effort to fill that gap, offering a representative sample of her nonfiction writing. Presented chronologically, these selections emphasize her thoughts on gender, evolution, economics, radical political movements, and women's groups. Each chapter begins with an exploration of her life during the years covered and a discussion of contemporary intellectual, social, and political developments.


We present a method for reducing interference between multiple structured light-based depth sensors operating in the same spectrum with rigidly attached projectors and cameras. A small amount of motion is applied to a subset of the sensors so that each unit sees its own projected pattern sharply, but sees a blurred version of the patterns of other units. If high spacial frequency patterns are used, each sensor sees its own pattern with higher contrast than the patterns of other units, resulting in simplified pattern disambiguation. An analysis of this method is presented for a group of commodity Microsoft Kinect color-plus-depth sensors with overlapping views. We demonstrate that applying a small vibration with a simple motor to a subset of the Kinect sensors results in reduced interference, as manifested as holes and noise in the depth maps. Using an array of six Kinects, our system reduced interference-related missing data from from 16.6% to 1.4% of the total pixels. Another experiment with three Kinects showed an 82.2% percent reduction in the measurement error introduced by interference. A side-effect is blurring in the color images of the moving units, which is mitigated with post-processing. We believe our technique will allow inexpensive commodity depth sensors to form the basis of dense large-scale capture systems.


Plastic waste production and consumption is increasing at an alarming rate with the increase of the human population, rapid economic growth, continuous urbanization, and changes in lifestyle. In addition, the short life span of plastic accelerates the production of plastic waste on a daily basis. Plastic waste recycling is carried out in different ways, but in most developing countries, open or landfill disposal is a common practice for plastic waste management. Plastic recycling into feedstocks, also known as chemical recycling, is encouraged all over the world. One such area is the thermal and catalytic thermal degradation of plastics into hydrocarbon fractions, which can be used as high-quality motor fuel after appropriate processing. Hydrocracking in the presence of a catalyst is a promising method of converting waste plastic materials to high quality liquid transportation fuels with decreased amounts of olefins and heteroatoms such as S, N, Cl, N, and O.
The article deals with the study of hydrocracking of waste plastic into high quality liquid fuel on various catalysts based on natural zeolite deposits Taizhuzgen. The aim of the work is to determine the effect of new composite catalysts on the yield of liquid products by studying the specific surface and porous structure based on natural zeolite modified with Mо salt. It is established that the modification of natural zeolite with Mo affects the morphology of the catalyst, therefore, the obtained catalysts have different effects on the yield and composition of liquid fractions during the hydrogenation thermocatalytic transformation of hydrocarbons. The highest yield of liquid products (61.56%) was achieved using the 2% Mo/Taizhuzgen zeolite catalyst, which was chosen as optimal.


The Tuscarora geothermal prospect is located at the north end of Independence Valley in northern Nevada. Thermal springs issue from Oligocene tuffaceous sediments near the center of an area of high thermal gradient. The springs, are associated with a large siliceous sinter mound and are currently depositing silica and calcium carbonate. Measured fluid temperatures range up to 95 °C, and chemical geothermometers indicate a reservoir temperature of 216 °C. The Independence Valley contains 35- to 39-m.y.-old tuffs and tuffaceous sediments which overlie Paleozoic clastic and volcanic rocks and are overlain by Miocene lava and pyroclastic flows. The rocks have been deformed by normal faults trending north-south and northwest and by folds trending north-south which have been active in the Pleistocene.


The junction between the East Anatolian and the Dead Sea fault zones lies close to an unstable F: Transform fault (FFF) triple junction where the African, Eurasian and Arabian plates meet in south-eastern Turkey. The Karasu Basin is an ephemeral rifted structure located close to the junction of these plate boundaries and is expressed by a range of tectono-morphological features. This study uses remote sensing to define tectonic structures and discriminate volcanic rocks linked to rifting within the basin using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imagery. Prior to advanced image processing stages, images were corrected to eliminate atmospheric scattering effects and determine the best band combination for multi-spectral processing techniques based on statistical methods. Following pre-processing stages, edge detection filters were applied to derive tectonic structures defining the basin. The Brovey transformation, a statistical data merging method, was used to combine reflective multi-spectral bands with the Landsat ETM+ panchromatic band. This method fuses higher spatial data with data of lower spatial value. The western margin of the Karasu Basin is defined by the left-lateral Amanos Fault Zone with a contemporary motion (c. –0.4 mm a−1) probably accommodating most of the left-lateral strike-slip motion between Arabian and African plates on the northern continuation of the Dead Sea Fault Zone. The rift zone has been the site of extensive recent volcanism concentrated within the Brunhes Chron (<0.78 Ma) and linked to fault block rotations between the intracontinental master faults. The boundaries of this activity are defined here using a regolith mapping technique.


Background Vascular malformations are structural abnormalities which are formed by progressively enlarging aberrant and ecstatic vessels without endothelial cell proliferation and composed of the type of vessel involved, i.e., capillary, veins, and arteriovenous. Treatment of vascular malformations may involve many techniques like sclerotherapy, embolization, surgical resection, cryotherapy, laser treatment, or medical therapy. This observational prospective study is aimed at evaluating and comparing the effects and efficacy of diode laser and sclerotherapy in the treatment of oral vascular malformation. Materials and Methods 40 patients presenting with oral vascular malformation were included in the present study. The patients were divided equally (20 in each) into two groups, i.e., the laser group and sclerotherapy group. Sclerotherapy was performed with 3% sodium tetradecyl sulfate while the laser group was treated with diode laser 980 nm with transmucosal thermophotocoagulation. The patients were assessed for the response, remission, and side effects. The results obtained were tabulated and compared with the chi-square test. Results Side effects were found significantly lesser in the laser group compared to the sclerotherapy group (p < 0.05). Statistically significant difference was seen for postoperative pain between two groups. The laser group had mild to moderate pain compared to severe pain in the sclerotherapy group. Recurrence was observed more in the laser group compared to the sclerotherapy group. Conclusions Laser and sclerotherapy with 3% sodium tetradecyl sulfate both are effective in the treatment of vascular malformations. Diode laser seems to be better than sclerotherapy given lesser side effects and comfort to the patients while sclerotherapy seems to be better in respect to recurrences.


Oscillation parameters of narrow band layered crystals of bismuth selenide and telluride and antimony telluride for one and two oscillations are calculated. The electron oscillation crystal model equations of real epsilonr and imaginary epsilonι, ω epsilonι components of dielectric function, electronic losses L, ωL are given, special points of the optical functions epsilonr, epsilonι, ω epsilonι, L, ωL for boundary frequencies ω are probed. Ratios of energy balance of `sublattices on the basis of oscillation electronic model are revealed. It is concluded that these crystals at high hydrostatic pressures and low temperatures are turned into superconductors. In high-temperature superconductors spontaneous division into two phases: superconducting and isolating was revealed. Stratification on two phases in superconducting crystals has been confirmed experimentally: neutron graphic, neutron spectral and spectral researches, an electronic and nuclear paramagnetic resonance.


When large numbers of people are enabled to travel rapidly around the country, will it affect information production in capital markets? We study a government-directed buildout of high-speed rails (HSR) and find that after being connected to the HSR network, firms experience increased information-production activities from market participants. Stock prices, the aggregator of all information, become more liquid and informative and less prone to crashes. These HSR-induced information effects are independent from the effects of firm performance or economic development. A severe HSR accident caused by a lightning strike allows us to observe the counterfactuals and further confirm causality.


Manggur, which means to plane down or sharpen, is a manual process in producing copper blades of Balinese gamelan orchestra. The craftsmen of Manggur work 6 to 8 hours a day, sitting on the floor with folded legs and hunched back. Because the craftsmen often complain about musculoskeletal problems after having completed a full day work, an ergonomic intervention was made by changing their usual working posture (the first working posture) into working on tables while sitting on chairs for one hour and alternately standing for half an hour (the second working posture). Treatment by subject design was applied to 22 randomly chosen craftsmen. Resting heart rate and working heart rate were measured by using a stopwatch, and the number of musculoskeletal complaints were recorded with Nordic Body Map Questionnaire. As a result, the second working posture caused significant reductions in working heart rate, work pulse (the difference between working heart rate and resting heart rate) and the number of musculoskeletal complaints. These results suggest that the change of working posture in manggur decreases cardiovascular load and musculoskeletal strain among Balinese gamelan craftsmen.


SUMMARY This paper addresses the formulation of a set of constitutive equations for finite deformation metal plasticity. The combined isotropic-kinematic hardening model of the infinitesimal theory of plasticity is extended to the large strain range on the basis of three main assumptions: (i) the formulation is hyperelastic based, (ii) the stress-strain law preserves the elastic constants of the infinitesimal theory but is written in terms of the Hencky strain tensor and its elastic work conjugate stress tensor, and (iii) the multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient is adopted. Since no stress rates are present, the formulation is, of course, numerically objective in the time integration. It is shown that the model gives adequate physical behaviour, and comparison is made with an equivalent constitutive model based on the additive decomposition of the strain tensor.


Specific absorption rate (SAR) relates power absorption to tissue heating, and therefore is used as a safety constraint in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study investigates the implications of initial head positioning on local and whole‐head SAR. A virtual body model was simulated at 161 positions inside an eight‐channel parallel‐transmit (pTx) array. On‐axis displacements and rotations of up to 20 mm/degrees and off‐axis axial/coronal translations were investigated. Single‐channel, radiofrequency (RF) shimming (i.e., single‐spoke pTx) and multispoke pTx pulses were designed for seven axial, five coronal and five sagittal slices at each position (the slices were consistent across all positions). Whole‐head and local SAR were calculated using safety models consisting of a single (centred) body position, multiple representative positions and all simulated body positions. Positional mismatches between safety models and actual positions cause SAR underestimation. For axial imaging, the actual peak local SAR was up to 4.2‐fold higher for both single‐channel and 5‐spoke pTx, 3.5‐fold higher for 3‐/4‐spoke pTx, and 2‐fold higher for RF shimming and 2‐spoke pTx, compared with that calculated using the centred body position. For sagittal and coronal imaging, the underestimation of peak local SAR was up to 5.2‐fold and 3.8‐fold, respectively. Using all body positions to estimate SAR prevented SAR underestimation but yielded up to 11‐fold SAR overestimation for RF shimming. Local SAR of single‐channel and pTx multispoke pulses showed considerable dependence on the initial patient position. RF shimming yielded much lower sensitivity to positional mismatches for axial imaging but not for sagittal and coronal imaging. This was deemed attributable to the higher degrees‐of‐freedom of control offered by the investigated coil array for axial imaging. Whole‐head SAR is less sensitive to positional mismatches compared with local SAR. Nevertheless, whole‐head SAR increased by up to 80% for sagittal imaging. Local and whole‐head SAR were observed to be more sensitive to positional mismatches in the axial plane, because of larger variations in coil‐tissue proximity. Using all possible body positions in the safety model may become substantially over‐conservative and limit imaging performance, especially for the RF shimming mode for axial imaging.


The development at Sheffield Hallam University of a discrete module entitled 'Transculturation' was the result of our determination to address the current debates in art and design history concerning the Western bias of existing curricula. The question raised was whether to begin by extending the content of current modules or to address visual culture from outside the Western tradition in a new, dedicated module.
This paper aims to trace the process through which we arrived at teaching strategies that would enable us to think about world cultures without claiming definitive knowledge or suggesting a static, 'authentic' other, and that would enable students and educators to develop skills and gain experience with which to approach artefacts from societies other than our own.
Our strategy was to select a regional case study, in order to gain some sense of the very complex range of determinants that constitute a given visual culture. To ensure an awareness of the specificity of each case study, and in order to avoid generalizations, we studied and returned to a range of theoretical texts that had potentially wider application.


In Singapore, large-scale land reclamations are executed, in which among else Van Oord ACZ is participating. The subsoil of these reclamations often consists of soft, compressible materials, such as marine clay. Depending on the clay properties, the thickness of the soft layer and the thickness of the placed sand layer, a certain settlement will occur within a certain consolidation time. To control the occurring settlement and/or to shorten the consolidation time, different measures are available, for instance: installation of prefabricated vertical drains, installation of a temporary surcharge, a combination of vertical drainage and surcharge. The measures above are recapitulated called "soil improvement". During the tender procedure as well as during the actual execution of the reclamation works, it is of great importance to predict the settlement and consolidation time (possibly including a soil improvement) accurately. The main objective was to answer the following question: "Can a probabilistic analysis of the soil parameters and calculation models give a surplus value in the prediction of the settlement, consolidation time and the soil improvement needed?". The conventional method to calculate the consolidation time and the settlement is a deterministic one. From a set of data, a representative value is determined, which is then used in the consolidation calculations. In order to calculate the settlement and consolidation time, with stochastic variables, a Monte Carlo simulation is executed. For this purpose a model has been developed, from which the basic outline is visualised in the left figure. Risk can be defined as the product of the probability of a failure and the results of that failure, expressed in a financial value. In general one should minimise the total costs to obtain an optimal design. The minimum total costs represent the optimum combination of surcharge and vertical drainage. Probabilistic calculations increase the insight in the costs involved in a soil improvement and make an economically optimal design possible."


In this paper, the effect of current on the evolution of a solitary wave is studied. The governing equation in the far field, KdV equation with variable coefficients, is derived. A solitary wave solution is obtained. The fission of a solitary wave is discussed, and the fissible region on the Q~h2-plane and the criterion of the number of the solitary waves after fission are found.


In parallel with the technological advances, the electrical power demand is constantly increasing and this makes the voltage stability difficult for the electrical power systems. At this point, FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission System) devices come into prominence in order to provide the voltage stability and increase the power transfer capacity. In this study, the most critical buses are determined by making the continuous power flow analysis on the IEEE 14-bus power system. Then, the FACTS devices SVC (static VAr compensator), UPFC (unified power flow controller), STATCOM (static synchronous compensator) and SSSC (static synchronous series compensator) are used to provide the voltage stability. For the cases with/without FACTS devices, the maximum loading limits of the most critical buses are compared by utilizing the bus voltage and bus angle values, and the X-V curves. In consequene, many comparative assessments are made related to the voltage stability enhancement in power systems.


Abstract The new compounds Tm2NiAs2 and Yb2NiAs2 crystallize with a hexagonal structure similar to that reported for Zr2NiAs2. It was refined for Tm2NiAs2 from single-crystal X-ray data in the polar space group P63mc\ a = 408.4(1), c = 1374.2(3) pm, R = 0.044 for 176 structure factors and 16 variable parameters. The compounds Ln2NiAs2 (Ln = Tb -Er) are confirmed to crystallize with an analogous structure from X-ray powder data. In contrast to the earlier structure refinement of Zr2NiAs2 in the higher-symmetric space group P 63/mmc, where the honeycomb layers of nickel and arsenic atoms are described as planar, these layers are puckered in Tm2NiAs2. These compounds are expected to undergo a displacive phase transition, with the centrosymmetric space group P63/mmc to be correct at high temperature. Since the room temperature structure is polar, these compounds might be classified as ferroelectric from a symmetry point of view. The equiatomic title compounds LnNiAs and UNiAs crystallize with a related hexagonal structure corresponding to a superstructure of the AIB2 type with lattice constants varying between a = 416.2(1), c = 1636.1(4) pm for LaNiAs and a = 401.9(2), c = 1488.5(5) pm for YbNiAs. The crystal chemistry of these hexagonal structures is briefly discussed. Using oxidation numbers chemical bonding in the lanthanoid containing compounds may be rationalized with the formulas (Ln+3)2Ni(As-3)2 and Ln+3NiAs-3, thus suggesting semiconducting behavior.


Electrochemical power tools are regarded as essential keys in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on fossil fuels in order to meet the challenges of rapidly depleting fossil fuel supplies. Additionally, due to the industrialization of societies and the growth of diseases, the need for sensitive, reliable, inexpensive, and portable sensors and biosensors for noninvasive monitoring of human health and environmental pollution is felt more than ever before. In recent decades, electrospun fibers have emerged as promising candidates for the fabrication of highly efficient electrochemical devices, such as actuators, batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, and biosensors. Meanwhile, the use of synthetic polymers in the fabrication of versatile electrochemical devices has raised environmental concerns, leading to an increase in the quest for natural polymers. Natural polymers are primarily derived from microorganisms and plants. Despite the challenges of processing bio-based electrospun fibers, employing natural nanofibers in the fabrication of electrochemical devices has garnered tremendous attention in recent years. Here, various natural polymers and the strategies employed to fabricate various electrospun biopolymers are briefly covered. The recent advances and research strategies used to apply the bio-based electrospun membranes in different electrochemical devices are carefully summarized, along with the scopes in various advanced technologies. A comprehensive and critical discussion about the use of biopolymer-based electrospun fibers as the potential alternative to non-renewable ones in future technologies is briefly highlighted. This review will serve as a field opening platform for using different biopolymer-based electrospun fibers to advance the electrochemical device-based renewable and sustainable technologies, which will be of high interest to a large community. Accordingly, future studies should focus on feasible and cost-effective extraction of biopolymers from natural resources as well as fabrication of high-performance nanofibrous biopolymer-based components applicable in various electrochemical devices.


Problem statement: E-commerce is a reality; Companies must consider this media as an important trade channel without distances between products and consumers. A key issue of e-commerce is how companies are disclosing information to its customers. This study aims to measure if there is relationship between the information overload in the virtual environment and the response of satisfaction and confusion of consumers. Approach: Research had exploratory-experimental character and it was used a quasi-experiment. Due to the methodology adopted, two samples were obtained, the first of control with 114 respondents and the second of experiment with 178 cases reported. Data analysis was made though descriptive statistics (central tendency and dispersion), multivariate (factor analysis) and non-parametric (Mann-Whitney U test). Results: A factorial matrix was built and it was found that information overload relates to the responses of satisfaction and confusion in the environment of e-commerce. There was a statistical significance level supporting these relationships. Conclusion/Recommendation: The main implication of information load was the feeling of not having done the best buy, generating a possible repentance. Related to the feeling of confusion generated by the large amount of information, the physical and virtual environment has the same properties. The performed analyses in this study indicated that there is a relationship between the e-commerce consumer satisfaction and the experience of information overload. Future studies might investigate the relationship between information overload and other responses.


CO2 emission reduction is a long-term strategy for China to promote its government and country size. However, this study examines the asymmetric impact of government size and country size on CO2 emissions in China. The study embraces the nonlinear ARDL framework of time series data analysis as proposed by Shin et al. (2014), which disentangles the positive and negative shocks to government size and country size. We find that the response of CO2 emissions to government size and country size positive shocks differs from the negative shocks. Empirical outcomes revealed that a positive shock of government size exerts an insignificant positive on CO2 emissions, while a negative shock of government size reduces CO2 emissions. More specifically, a positive shock of country size mitigates the CO2 emissions of China in long run. Policymakers should redesign the energy and environment policies in the framework of government size and country size.


A data-driven hydrodynamic force model is developed to model the dynamic forces on an oscillating circular cylinder for flow conditions where Vortex-Induced-Vibrations (VIV) are known to occur. The model is developed for use in future control systems to improve VIV-based energy harvesting. The dynamic model is empirical, utilizing force measurements obtained for a large set of forced motion experiments, spanning a range of parametric values that prescribe the kinematics of the cylinder motion. The model includes the dynamics of a circular cylinder undergoing forced combined in-line and cross-flow motion in a free stream. The experiments were conducted in a fully automated towing tank where parameters of in-line amplitude of motion, cross-flow amplitude of motion, reduced velocity, and phase difference between in-line and cross-flow motion were varied over nearly 10,000 experiments. All experiments were carried out at a constant Reynolds number of 7620. A feed forward neural network is trained using the force database to develop a time dependent model of forces on the cylinder for given kinematic conditions. Selected outputs of the force model are presented, providing a basis for future synthesis in energy harvesting control applications.


Protein evolution is characterized by several processes. In the theory of neutral evolution the rate of mutation is considered a linear process in which the amount of aminoacidic substitutions in proteins is constant in time. A simulation approach has been developed by using a model of amino-acidic substitution. The frequency of spontaneous mutations has been assumed to be equal to about 10(-9)/base/year. The aim of the present work is to show that starting from a constant mutation rate (nucleotide substitutions) the corresponding process of aminoacidic substitutions becomes non-linear if some criteria of mutation selection are introduced. The basic criteria used are the physical-chemical characteristics of aminoacids, the same criteria that have made it possible to classify aminoacids. Different classifications based on differences in such criteria give different results, indicating that the degenerate nature of the genetic code determines a non-linear behaviour of protein evolution. Simulations have been performed on short protein subsequences of five aminoacids. A further analysis has been made to verify, on the basis of the code structure and of accepted selection criteria, the mechanisms of aminoacidic substitutions and the existence of preferential paths. We have concluded that aminoacidic substitution is not a simple stochastic process, but that complex Markov's chains are involved. The consequences are important, although generally ignored.


Small bowel obstruction due to ileo-ileal knotting is rare. Ileo-ileal knotting usually presents with clinical features of small bowel obstruction with rapid deterioration to bowel necrosis, and the management includes prompt surgical intervention. Here, we present a case of a 35-year-old patient who presented to our emergency room with severe non-radiating crampy abdominal pain for 18 hours. The patient underwent an emergency laparotomy as an intervention. Ileo-ileal knotting preoperative diagnosis is challenging due to its nonspecific presentation, the diagnosis is usually done intraoperatively, and the overall management of gangrenous ileo-ileal knotting is urgent laparotomy and en bloc resection of the gangrenous ileo-ileal knotting and anastomosis of the remaining viable bowel. If the bowel is viable, careful untying of the loops usually suffices. Ileo-ileal knotting should be considered in patients presenting with features of small bowel obstruction having rapid deterioration with signs of gangrenous bowel, and it requires urgent surgical intervention after adequate resuscitation.


Failure is frequently the end point of laboratory exercises in physiological psychology that involve stereotaxic surgery by inexperienced students. This article suggests that lab instructors enjoin their students to pursue the potential location of misplaced brain lesions using a variety of simple behavioral tests and the Thompson (1978) stereotaxic atlas.


This article present the classification of data mining and machine learning approaches for healthcare systems. Machine Learning (ML) field has gained its thrust in any domain of research and now recently has become a reliable utensil in the medical domain. The pragmatic sphere of automatic learning is used in various levels such as medical decision support, medical imaging, extraction of medical knowledge and for overall patient management care. ML is envisioned as a tool by which computer-based systems can be integrated in the healthcare field in order to get a better, well organized therapeutic mind. It describes a ML based methodology for building an application that is capable of identifying and disseminating healthcare information. Moreover our methodology will extract sentences from published medical papers that mention diseases and treatments and identifies semantic relations that exist between diseases and treatments. Here in this manuscript we also discussed a comprehensive outline of data mining and machine learning approaches for healthcare systems.