Ewing's sarcoma is an aggressive pediatric bone and soft-tissue cancer with a pathognomonic chromosomal translocation t(11;22) resulting in expression of EWS-FLI1, an "undruggable" fusion protein acting as a transcriptional modulator. Identification and ranking of repressed EWS-FLI1 target genes essential for cancer cell survival will potentially provide much-needed insights to develop novel therapeutic strategies. We performed a CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) dropout screen in Ewing cells. We generated a clonal SKNMC cell line homogenously expressing the synergistic activation mediator (SAM) CRISPRa system to functionally interrogate repressed EWS-FLI1 target genes. The systems functionality was tested using CD44, a surface marker absent on the surface of Ewing cells. We found robust and stable expression of CD44 after introduction of promoter-targeting gRNAs. The library of repressed EWS-FLI1 target genes, named LIBerty, was constructed to target 872 genes bioinformatically selected from publicly available silenced EWS-FLI1 RNA-Seq datasets as well as genes identified as repressed signature genes in Ewing's sarcoma via meta-analysis with 3,777 unique guideRNAs. LIBerty was lentivirally delivered into SAM SKNMC cells and data from four biologic replicates were gathered at three time points: three, ten, and 21 days after infection. Cells were harvested and samples were prepared for next-generation sequencing (NGS) via PCR. The NGS data were evaluated with the analysis tool PinAPL-Py. Preliminary analysis of the screen revealed efficient selection of the positive control genes BAD and BBC3. In addition, high-ranking hits included CDKN1A and CDKN1C, both cell cycle regulators and known tumor-suppressor genes. Furthermore, we identified PCDH7 and TGFBR2, two genes already known from the literature to play a role in Ewing's sarcoma. The presence of validated genes amid highest-ranking candidates confirms robustness of the conducted CRISPRa screen. Further analysis and validation of previously unexplored targets and pathways is currently ongoing. Our CRISPRa screen revealed both known as well as previously unknown EWS-FLI1 repressed genes whose absence of function is essential for tumor cell survival. Citation Format: Vadim Saratov, Qui A. Ngo, Gloria Pedot, Felix K. Niggli, Beat W. Schaefer. Identification of physiologically relevant EWS-FLI1 target genes in Ewing's sarcoma via CRISPRa screening [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on the Advances in Pediatric Cancer Research; 2019 Sep 17-20; Montreal, QC, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(14 Suppl):Abstract nr B19.


PEGylated liposomes are largely studied as long-circulating drug delivery systems. Nevertheless, the addition of PEG can result in reduced interactions between liposomes and cells, hindering liposomal internalization into target cells. The presence of PEG on the surface of pH-sensitive liposomes is not advantageous in terms of biodistribution and tumor uptake, raising the question of whether the indiscriminate use of PEG benefits the formulation. In this study, two doxorubicin-loaded pH-sensitive liposomal formulations, PEGylated (Lip2000-DOX) or non-PEGylated (Lip-DOX), were prepared and characterized. Overall, the PEGylated and non-PEGylated liposomes showed no differences in size or morphology in Cryo-TEM image analysis. Specifically, DLS analysis showed a mean diameter of 140 nm, PDI lower than 0.2, and zeta potential close to neutrality. Both formulations showed an EP higher than 90%. With respect to drug delivery, Lip-DOX had better cellular uptake than Lip2000-DOX, suggesting that the presence of PEG reduced the amount of intracellular DOX accumulation. The antitumor activities of free-DOX and both liposomal formulations were evaluated in 4T1 breast tumor-bearing BALB/c mice. The results showed that Lip-DOX was more effective in controlling tumor growth than other groups, inhibiting tumor growth by 60.4%. Histological lung analysis confirmed that none of the animals in the Lip-DOX group had metastatic foci. These results support that pH-sensitive liposomes have interesting antitumor properties and may produce important outcomes without PEG.


A generalized constitutive equation for bubbly liquids is presented which successfully reproduces the expected viscosity response for both steady flows with varying capillary number Ca (a measure of the bubble deformation) and unsteady flows with varying dynamic capillary number Cd (a measure of the steadiness of the flow) previously given in separate studies. The constitutive equation is given in terms of observable material and flow parameters and is valid at least up to Ca ∼ O(1000) and Cd ∼ O(10). Analytical solutions are presented for steady, simple‐shearing flow (Ca variable) and oscillatory flow with small total‐strains (Cd variable). The special case of steady flow in a circular pipe—analogous to magma flow in a volcanic conduit—is investigated. Velocity profiles across the conduit are found to be parabolic or plug‐flow depending on a dimensionless number, the conduit capillary number Cc. Plug flow is predicted for Cc ≈ 4 which is in the mid‐range for volcanic‐eruption conditions.


A detailed model and analysis of a five-level cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel inverter with different current control methods are presented. Simulation models of the CHB inverter with hysteresis current controller, PI current controller using SPWM technique and predictive current controller have been built to demonstrate the CHB inverter system performance with regard to load current THD and reference current tracking. In controlling the load current, the hysteresis and the PI current controllers have the problem of current ripple and phase lag, respectively. The proposed predictive current control method effectively addresses these issues. The current control methods are analyzed for varying reference current and unbalanced load conditions. The simulation results are observed and analyzed using the MATLAB Simulink software to validate the current control methods.


Much attention has been given to how cognitive illusions - both heuristics and cognitive biases - affect decision making by juries. Less, albeit increasing, attention has been given to how cognitive illusions affect decision making by judges. Almost no attention, however, has been given to how cognitive illusions might affect decision making by arbitrators. This article extends the behavioral analysis of the legal system to private judging, and considers the implications of that analysis for the debate on pre-dispute consumer arbitration clauses. Empirical evidence on the effect of cognitive illusions in arbitral decision making is extremely limited. Further complicating the analysis of private judging are structural differences between arbitration hearings and jury trials, which may heighten or dampen the effect of cognitive illusions on decision making in the real world. If arbitrators are assumed to be more like judges than jurors in their decision making - a seemingly reasonable assumption - studies comparing the effect of cognitive illusions on judges and jurors provide at least a starting point for making predictions about arbitral decision making. On this view, the article reaches the very tentative conclusion that arbitrators, like judges, may be less susceptible to at least some cognitive illusions than jurors. If subsequent research bears out this tentative conclusion, it would have important implications for the ongoing debate over consumer arbitration. If arbitral decision making is less subject than jury decision making to the effects of cognitive illusions, then the use of arbitration may improve the accuracy of dispute resolution, reducing the risk of overcompensation (rather than resulting in undercompensation). This is not to suggest that such utilitarian arguments should be used to override constitutional protections, or that the jury might not serve other functions than simply dispute resolution. Instead, the point simply is that when Congress (or another policy maker) is considering whether to restrict the enforceability of consumer arbitration agreements, it should not assume that juries necessarily make "better" decisions than arbitrators. To the contrary, restricting the availability of arbitration may reduce the accuracy of dispute resolution, thereby imposing real costs on the parties to consumer contracts.


Convergence between the Eurasian and the African plates in the West Anatolian‐Aegean region results in a trench retreat due to slab roll‐back and tearing of the subducted African lithosphere. The upper plate response of this process gave way to back‐arc extension in the region. We have conducted a very detailed anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) study on the Neogene rocks in SW Anatolia to unravel the style and magnitudes of deformation. For this purpose, from 83 sites in 11 structurally homogeneous domains, 1,680 paleomagnetic samples were analyzed. The results show that AMS fabrics are related to the tectonic deformation and that the magnetic lineation (maximum susceptibility axis, k1) is parallel to inferred maximum extension, while minimum susceptibility (k3) is typically normal to the bedding plane, corresponding to a preserved compaction associated with deposition fabric. The intermediate axis (k2) is parallel to a second extension direction and indicates that the region has been under the control of multi‐directional extension during the Neogene. Two main magnetic lineation directions are identified and represent Oligocene to middle Miocene E‐W, and late Miocene to Pliocene NW‐SE oriented extension. The magnetic lineation directions are dominantly parallel or perpendicular to the general strikes of the normal faults. The results show that the deformation in the region resembles two differentially stretched rubber sheets under the influence of SW oriented extension, exerted by the southward retreating Eastern Mediterranean subduction system.


The classical dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia postulates a hyperactivity of dopaminergic transmission at the D(2) receptor. We measured in vivo occupancy of striatal D(2) receptors by dopamine in 18 untreated patients with schizophrenia and 18 matched controls, by comparing D(2) receptor availability before and during pharmacologically induced acute dopamine depletion. Acute depletion of intrasynaptic dopamine resulted in a larger increase in D(2) receptor availability in patients with schizophrenia (19% +/- 11%) compared with control subjects (9% +/- 7%, P = 0.003). The increased occupancy of D(2) receptors by dopamine occurred both in first-episode neuroleptic-naive patients and in previously treated chronic patients experiencing an episode of illness exacerbation. In addition, elevated synaptic dopamine was predictive of good treatment response of positive symptoms to antipsychotic drugs. This finding provides direct evidence of increased stimulation of D(2) receptors by dopamine in schizophrenia, consistent with increased phasic activity of dopaminergic neurons.


Landslide monitoring is important for geological disaster prevention, where Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images have been widely used. Compared with the Interferometric SAR (InSAR) technique, intensity-based offset tracking methods (e.g., Normalized Cross-Correlation method) can overcome the limitation of InSAR's maximum detectable displacement. The normalized cross-correlation (NCC) method, based on single-channel SAR images, estimates azimuth and range displacement by using statistical correlation between the matching windows of two SAR images. However, the matching windows—especially for the boundary area of landslide—always contain pixels with different moving characteristics, affecting the precision of displacement estimation. Based on the advantages of polarimetric scattering properties, this paper proposes a fully polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) offset tracking method for improvement of the precision of landslide displacement estimation. The proposed method uses the normalized inner product (NIP) of the two temporal PolSAR Pauli scattering vectors to evaluate their similarity, then retrieve the surface displacement of the Slumgullion landslide located in southwestern Colorado, USA. A pair of L-band fully polarimetric SAR images acquired by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) system are selected for experiment. The results show that the Slumgullion landslide's moving velocity during the monitoring time ranges between 1.6–10.9 mm/d, with an average velocity of 6.3 mm/d. Compared with the classical NCC method, results of the proposed method present better performance in the sub-pixel estimation. Furthermore, it performs better when estimating displacement in the area around the landslide boundaries.


Studies on the mitotic regimen (MR) have shown that common and atypical hyperplasia, dysplasia and tumours which develop in the epithelial tissues in connection with disturbances in cell division are the probable stages of cancerogenesis and have their own quantitative characteristics. MR abnormalities typical for tissue malignancy such as increased mitotic activity, predominance of metaphases over other mitotic stages, and abrupt growth of abnormal mitoses usually outstrip the beginning of infiltrative malignant growth. These data allow one to recommend application of the MR technique to early cancer diagnosis and prognosis of malignancy of pretumourous lesions. In addition, this technique can be used as the criterion for determining tumour histogenesis and evaluating the degree of therapeutic injury to neoplasms.


The ninth amendment speaks to the problem of tension between federal constitutional rights and other legal rights. It provides that enumerating certain rights in the Constitution shall not be construed to have negative effects on other rights "retained by the people." The ninth amendment reaches beyond the founders' particular concern that the Constitution's enumeration of powers be taken seriously. By providing more generally that enumerating rights should not negatively affect other rights, the founders guarded against both the possible negative effect that they could foresee, and any others that they could not. When the fourteenth amendment introduced the Constitution's broad guarantees of individual right as limitations upon the states, another possible negative effect appeared. Enumerating rights in the Constitution might negatively affect other rights retained by the people if enumeration prompted courts to expand enumerated rights at the expense of other rights retained by the people. This article examines ways in which the ninth amendment's tension-resolving role may be conceived, traversing possible meanings of rights, of denial or disparagement, and of retention by the people.


A feedback-error-learning neural network approach to on-line learning control and real time implementation for a flexible micro-actuator is presented. The flexible micro-actuator is made of a bimorphic piezo-electric high-polymer material (Poly Vinylidene Fluoride). The control scheme consists of a feedforward neural network controller and a fixed-gain feedback controller. This neural network controller is trained so as to make the output of the feedback controller zero. In the process, the neural network learns the inverse dynamics of the system. We make some comparisons between using PID and LQG controllers with this neural network controller. Experimental and numerical results for the tracking control of a piezopolymer actuator are presented and they show that the feedback-error-learning neural network is effective in accurately tracking a reference signal.


This paper analyses some general issues about human language technology evaluation, focusing on economic aspects. It first provides a scientific rationale for the need to organize evaluation in the form of campaigns, by relating this need to some basic characteristics of human language technologies, namely that they involve learning to process information in a way which reproduces human capabilities. It then reviews the benefits and constraints of these evaluation campaigns. Borrowing concepts from the field of economics, it also provides an analysis of the economic incentives to organize evaluation campaigns. It entails from this analysis that fitting evaluation campaigns to the needs of scientific research requires a strong implication in term of research policy and public funding.


Four clinical studies were performed in 54 healthy Japanese volunteers to assess the efficacy and the safety of two phenyl-substituted PGF2 alpha-isopropyl ester analogues, PhXA34 and PhXA41 after both single and repeated administrations. PhXA34 and PhXA41 reduced intraocular pressure (IOP) significantly in a dose-dependent way. The maximum IOP reductions were 14.5% to 17.5% with baseline adjustment at 10 to 12 hours after a single administration. No transient early elevation in IOP after treatment was observed. Based on the maximum IOP reducing effect of 1 microgram of PhXA34 and PhXA41, PhXA41 appeared to be at least 1.5 times more active than PhXA34. Tachyphylaxis of the ocular hypotensive effect did not develop during repeated administration for 5 days. A mild conjunctival hyperemia occurred in some subjects at high doses; it tended to diminish with time during the repeated administration of both drugs. Neither PhXA34 nor PhXA41 caused any change at any time in the aqueous flare intensity measured with a laser flare-cell meter. There were no changes in pupillary diameter after treatment. Each drug was well tolerated and caused no other ocular or systemic side effects.


Supersonic planar plasma expansions offer a new way to study high resolution rovibronic spectra of molecular transients. Particularly their implementation in highly sensitive spectroscopic detection schemes, such as cavity ring down and plasma-frequency double modulation set-ups, has made possible a detailed study of fully resolved spectra of unstable species. This article presents the state-of-the-art in planar plasma spectroscopy and discusses in detail the operation of a recently constructed pulsed slit nozzle discharge system.


PURPOSE
To study the morphologic properties of divergent cut angles after nonmechanical trephination for penetrating keratoplasty in donors and recipients and to assess its implications for donor-recipient stability in an experimental porcine model.

METHODS
An excimer laser 193-nm corneal trephination was performed in 30 enucleated porcine eyes by using a modified "open mask" (stainless steel sheet 10CrNi18), to obtain round donor buttons and corresponding recipient beds 7 mm in diameter at the level of Bowman's layer. An automated globe-rotation device allowed different cut angles toward the optical axis. Three cut angles were intended: 0 degrees, 15 degrees divergent, and 35 degrees divergent. Quality of the cuts was assessed by means of histology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In a different setting, after alignment of the donor button and corresponding recipient bed in an artificial anterior chamber, intracameral pressure was increased stepwise, modifying the height of a bottle of balanced saline solution connected to the chamber. Criterion for "instability" was the movement of the donor button in all four quadrants during observation with a surgical microscope (x12).

RESULTS
Reproducible cut angles and smooth cut surfaces of donors and recipients were confirmed by histologic and SEM evaluation. Macroscopically, a good alignment of a divergent donor button in a corresponding recipient bed was achieved. Instability of the donor buttons occurred with a water column niveau at 2 cm in the 0 degrees cut, at 3 cm in 15 degrees divergent cuts, and at 4.5 cm in 35 degrees divergent cuts.

CONCLUSION
The stability of a corneal donor button in a recipient bed seems to increase in proportion with the degree of divergence of the trephination angle. Considering the good histologic quality and macroscopic alignment obtained, divergent cut angles may allow a reduction of sutures, assuring a water-tight wound closure in penetrating keratoplasty.


In most of the literature on transnational communities and urban identity formation, emphasis is placed on two main processes of immigration that have shaped transnational presence. On the one hand, considerable attention has been paid to the emergence of large communities of migrating people who were positively attracted, if not encouraged to move, to fuel local labor markets (as in the case of guest workers in North-Western Europe). On the other hand, research has focused on mass migration movements through colonial and post-colonial networks (as in the case of, for example, Asian and West Indian immigration into the UK) or the legacies of the slave trade (Koser 2003). Urban transnational communities are customarily analysed from either or both of these vantage points. The Congolese diaspora in Belgium, however, does not correspond easily to these two typical cases. This atypical character (but one that will become more prevalent in a neoliberal and post-national world), however, has important consequences and permits us to think through the formation of transnational identity stripped from the singular dominance of the search for work and income on the one hand or symbolically overcoded by a distinct post-colonial sensitivity on the other.


Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the status of DNA polymerase delta (POLD1 and POLD2) gene expression at the time of diagnosis in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients, compared with the normal population, and its relationship with prognosis and other clinical findings.
Materials and Methods: Seventy-three patients diagnosed with ALL between January 2008 and November 2015 and 29 healthy control subjects were included in the study. Gene expression profiling of peripheral blood samples was performed using Real-time PCR.
Results: The mean value of POLD1 gene expression was found to be significantly higher in ALL patients at the time of diagnosis than the control group (376.5± 685.8 and 17.9± 19.8, respectively), but there was no difference in POLD2 gene expression (511.5± 898.1 and 125.4± 132.7, respectively). POLD1 and POLD2 gene expressions were found to be low in patients with relapse and exitus, but the results were not statistically significant. Patients with low levels of POLD1 expression had lower survival rates in the 5th year than those with high levels of expression (54% and 68%, respectively), and similarly, patients with low levels of POLD2 expression had lower survival rates in the 5th year compared to those with high levels of expression (58% and 68%, respectively).
Conclusion: Lower POLD1 and POLD2 expressions at the time of diagnosis in ALL patients may adversely affects the prognosis.


Within an Italian Experimental Programme an interdisciplinary research for the retrofitting of some residential buildings in the surrounding of Florence has been carried out. The activity of the experimental research concerns the methodological and scientific support to the technical solutions for the restoration of two buildings. The buildings' typology with central gallery and single face dwellings is the cause of bad ventilation and poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in the rooms and, consequently, is the cause of other problems related with an insufficient air exchange rate: odours and vapours stagnation, vapours condensation on cold walls, etc. In this paper preliminary results concerning IAQ improvement by using suitable ventilation systems are reported and discussed.


BACKGROUND
Asthma control is an important goal of international asthma guidelines, but in most reports total control is reached in a small proportion of cases.

OBJECTIVE
To know the degree of asthma control, the percentage of ER visits and hospitalizations in the last month and in the last year, and the type of pharmacologic treatment for asthma in a tertiary hospital.

PATIENTS AND METHOD
This is an observational study in asthmatic patients from 12 to 60 years old, with more than one year of treatment, who answered the questionnaire of Asthma Control Test (ACT).

RESULTS
A total of 204 patients were included, 116 women and 88 men, with an average age of 24 years. We observed that 19 patients (9.3%) were in total control of asthma: scored 25 ACT points, 88 patients (43.1%) scored 20-24 points (non total control) and 97 patients (47.5%) less than 20 points (asthma not controlled). According to the asthma severity index, 125 patients had intermittent symptoms (61.3%), and persistent symptoms were present in 79 patients. In the previous month 8.3% of patients had ER visits and 2.9% were hospitalized; in the previous year the ER visits and hospitalizations percentages were 33.3% and 14.2%, respectively. Inhaled steroids were used by 12.2% of the patients, long-action beta2 agonists by 9.8% and daily short action beta2 agonists by 28%.

CONCLUSIONS
Total control of asthma was observed in less than 10% of our patients-sample; the majority of them had intermittent asthma; the pattern of medication was inadequate, with misuse of inhaled steroids and an elevated use of inhaled rescue medications.


This paper studies how the creation of a European Central Bank (ECB) will change the political economy of monetary policy in Europe. The twelve governors of the national Central Banks of the EEC have recently proposed a statute for the ECB which delineates its institutional structure. In this paper, we discuss the likely consequences of this statute on the conduct of monetary policy at the European level, particularly from the point of view of the trade-off between inflation and stabilization. We analyze the role of political independence of the ECB and the effect of voting rules for the appointments of the ECB board members on policy choices.


This brief proposes a design method for a digital fractional order Savitzky-Golay differentiator (DFOSGD), which generalizes the Savitzky-Golay filter from the integer order to the fractional order for estimating the fractional order derivative of the contaminated signal. The proposed method calculates the moving window's weights using the polynomial least-squares method and the Riemann-Liouville fractional order derivative definition, and then computes the fractional order derivative of the given signal using the convolution between the weights and the signal, instead of the complex mathematical deduction. Hence, the computation time is greatly improved. Frequency-domain analysis reveals that the proposed differentiator is essentially a fractional order low-pass filter. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed DFOSGD can accurately estimate the fractional order derivatives of both noise-free signal and contaminated signal.


Context Research on d-aspartic acid (DAA) has demonstrated increases in total testosterone levels in untrained men, however research in resistance-trained men demonstrated no changes, and reductions in testosterone levels. The long-term consequences of DAA in a resistance trained population are currently unknown. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of DAA to alter basal testosterone levels over 3 months of resistance training in resistance-trained men. Design Randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled trial in healthy resistance-trained men, aged 18–36, had been performing regular resistance training exercise for at least 3 d.w-1 for the previous 2 years. Randomised participants were 22 men (d-aspartic acid n = 11; placebo n = 11) (age, 23.8±4.9 y, training age, 3.2±1.5 y). Intervention D-aspartic acid (6 g.d-1, DAA) versus equal-weight, visually-matched placebo (PLA). All participants performed 12 weeks of supervised, periodised resistance training (4 d.w-1), with a program focusing on all muscle groups. Measures Basal hormones, total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), estradiol (E2), sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and albumin (ALB); isometric strength; calf muscle cross-sectional area (CSA); calf muscle thickness; quadriceps muscle CSA; quadriceps muscle thickness; evoked V-wave and H-reflexes, were assessed at weeks zero (T1), after six weeks (T2) and after 12 weeks (T3). Results No change in basal TT or FT were observed after the intervention. DAA supplementation (n = 10) led to a 16%, 95% CI [-27%, -5%] reduction in E2 from T1-T3 (p<0.01). The placebo group (n = 9) demonstrated improvements in spinal responsiveness (gastrocnemius) at the level of the alpha motoneuron. Both groups exhibited increases in isometric strength of the plantar flexors by 17%, 95% CI [7%, 28%] (p<0.05) as well as similar increases in hypertrophy in the quadriceps and calf muscles. Conclusions The results of this paper indicate that DAA supplementation is ineffective at changing testosterone levels, or positively affecting training outcomes. Reductions in estradiol and the blunting of peripheral excitability appear unrelated to improvements from resistance training. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12617000041358


This study investigates the relationship between ergonomics and organizational sustainability. Four specific objectives, four research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The variables under review were work posture, mental workload, new work paradigms and factory layout. The study is restricted to peacock paint limited located at Ikot Ekan, Etinan LGA. Descriptive survey research was employed for the study. The total population of this research study was 308 which comprises of the staff (employers and workers) of peacock paint limited, Ikot Ekan. Etinan LGA. The sample size for this study is 174 determined using Taro Yamani formula. Simple random sampling technique was employed for the study. The information for the research work was collected from primary and secondary sources. The primary source was mainly through questionnaire. The secondary sources involved review of company's document and literature on ergonomics. The validity of the instrument was ascertained through presenting the instrument to the experts who assessed the suitability of the instrument for measuring the variables under study. To determine the reliability of the instrument, the instrument was presented to group of staff in a factory (Peacock Paint Limited) using a pilot test. Cronbach Alpha was then used to determine the reliability index which gave a value of 0.962. The instrument was then administered to the staff of Peacock Paint Limited. The data was analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) to answer the research questions and to test the null hypotheses at 0.5level of significance. Findings of the study show that Work Posture, Mental Workload, New Work Paradigms and factory layout are all related to Organisational Sustainability. It is concluded that there is a relationship between ergonomics and Organizational Sustainability. It is recommended among others that Job rotation as a matter of policy should be practiced by the company. That is, Workplace should be efficiently designed to enable easy interaction between workers and equipment and in support of new work paradigms; the company should consider allowing employees work in shifts. The management of peacock paint limited should take some effective measures to safe guide the health of workers by providing safety tools and equipment.


In this Electronic Mini-workshop, the presenters will demonstrate how teachers can put their quizzes and tests online with Google Forms. By using a relatively recent function in Google Forms, teachers can create quizzes and tests for learners to take on computers and mobile devices. Participants will be guided on how they can make their own quizzes and how they can adjust the settings for grading and feedback according to their own needs. The presenters will demonstrate how they have implemented electronic quizzes in a pilot study for several EFL classes at a medium-sized Tokyo university. The results support some of the advantages of a paperless classroom as described by De Bonis & De Bonis (2011). Specifically, improving the learning experience, facilitating asynchronous learning and contribution to sustainability were all achieved to varying degrees. This workshop will also be of use to researchers and institutional program managers who want to gather large amounts of data from their respondents in a manner that is efficient and ready for analysis. De Bonis, S. & De Bonis, N. (2011). Going Green: Managing a Paperless Classroom. US – China Education Review (pp 83-87). Retrieved July 12, 2018, from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED522208


This research focusses on utilising low temperature waste heat from a rural renewable power plant for absorption refrigeration. It forms part of a collaborative "Bridging the Urban Rural Divide" (BURD) research group across the United Kingdom and India investigating rural sustainable development through the provision of renewable electricity. The group is tasked with improving the educational environment and healthcare of a 45 household community (which is part of a larger village) in West Bengal, India.

Working in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay as part of this thesis, a projected daily electrical demand for the community of 55 kW∙h per day was calculated, providing: lighting, fans and an electrical device charging station. To allow in excess of the daily electrical demand as well as for system ancillaries at 12 kW∙h, solar trackers at 14 kW∙h and 7 kW∙h for hydrogen production, a power plant producing 90 kW∙h was specified. This included daily electricity production of 70 kW∙h during the daytime from solar via a 10 kW concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) system and 20 kW∙h in the evening from a 5 kW biogas and hydrogen internal combustion engine electrical generator (genset). The biogas is produced from anaerobic digestion of food waste and aquatic weeds, and the hydrogen is produced from the electrolysis of water in an electrolyser powered by excess solar power.

An energy and exergy analysis identified the daily quantity and quality of recoverable waste heat sources at 25°C. These are the CPV with an energetic value of 109 kW∙h and an exergetic value of 32 kW∙h at 60°C and the genset radiator with an energetic value of 32 kW∙h and an exergetic value of 5 kW∙h at 80°C. The exhaust heat from the genset has been allocated for other uses and, though calculated, is outside the scope of this research.

The thesis then focusses on using these low temperature waste heat sources for absorption refrigeration. The working fluids selected are acetone and zinc bromide as these had been proven in the literature to operate at temperatures below those of the expected waste heat sources without the need for rectification (the process of separating two fluid vapours from each other). Due to the local climate with high ambient temperatures, averaging 24°C to 35°C, and the relatively low waste heat source temperatures, a number of configurations of absorption refrigerator were investigated to achieve lower, and therefore more versatile, evaporator temperatures. Some of these involve utilising some of the cooling produced from either or both of the heat sources to cool the absorber and condenser.

The findings were that the most energy effective way of providing low evaporator temperatures was to use a small (2%) difference in weak and strong solution concentrations and not use a proportion of the cooling generated for the absorber or condenser. By operating two independent refrigerators powered by each heat source independently, the solution concentrations could be optimised to provide the lowest possible evaporator temperatures at a given ambient temperature.

At the 25°C reference ambient temperature used for the energy and exergy analysis, the CPV waste heat can provide 33.4 kW∙h of continuous cooling per day at 6°C and the genset radiator 6.3 kW∙h at 0°C. This cooling energy collectively is sufficient to replace 12.7 kW∙h of electricity that would have been used to power a vapour compression refrigerator to provide the same amount of cooling, which is equal to 22% of the electrical power provided to the village.

The genset waste heat source used for absorption refrigeration can provide cooling for food and medicine storage equivalent to 6 to 8 domestic refrigerators. The CPV waste heat source can provide space cooling for a room in a health centre for 6 to 9 hours per day. The investigations within this thesis highlighted the need for intelligent control systems to optimise the availability and temperatures of the refrigerators during unfavourable ambient conditions.


Abstract Crohn disease is a chronic disease that is treated with aminosalicylates, antibiotics, and immunosuppressant agents. Most patients ultimately require surgical intervention and many will require additional surgery for recurrent disease. Consequently, surgery is generally performed only when medical management fails; however, these patients are often malnourished and immunosuppressed. Preoperative optimization is necessary to minimize morbidity, including intra-abdominal septic complications and anastomotic leaks. In this article, the authors review some considerations to improve the surgical outcome in Crohn disease.


Purpose: Open Access has come up with a promising future of making the scholarly content free of cost available to everyone. It has widened the information exchange market and is becoming a worldwide effort to provide free online access to scientific and scholarly research literature in diverse formats including open access journals. The present study attempts to provide an overview of open access publishing in the University of Kashmir. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study is based on the data extracted from SCOPUS, leading Science, Technology and Medicine (STM) citation database of world leading publisher, Elsevier. Findings: The study reveals that OA publishing is gaining popularity in the whole university with substantial amount of research publication already available through OA journals. Keywords: Open Access (OA); Open Access Publishing; University of Kashmir Paper Type: Survey


Foreseeing a future where IPv6 and mobile terminals play an important role in public access communication networks, this article introduces a monitoring system capable of identifying relevant traffic flows and tracking them while terminal equipment moves between network attachment points. The mobile flows are characterized and represented so that individual users and flows can perceive the quality of service they receive, and operators can have global traffic views of their heterogeneous access networks.


The cerebellum is traditionally associated with the control of coordinated movement, but ample evidence suggests that the cerebellum also supports cognitive processing. Consistent with this, right-lateralized posterolateral cerebellar regions are engaged during a range of reading and reading-related tasks, but the specific role of the cerebellum during reading tasks is not clear. Based on the cerebellar contribution to automatizing movement, it has been hypothesized that the cerebellum is specifically involved in rapid, fluent reading. We aimed to determine whether the right posterolateral cerebellum is a specific modulator of reading fluency or whether cerebellar modulation is broader, also impacting reading accuracy, rapid automatized naming, and general processing speed. To do this, we examined the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the right posterolateral cerebellum (lobules VI/VII) on single-word reading fluency, reading accuracy, rapid automatized naming, and processing speed. Young adults with typical reading development (n = 25; 15 female sex assigned at birth, 10 male sex assigned at birth, aged 18–28 years [M = 19.92 ± 2.04 years]) completed the reading and cognitive measures after 20min of 2mA anodal (excitatory), cathodal (inhibitory), or sham tDCS in a within-subjects design. Linear mixed effects models indicated that cathodal tDCS decreased single-word reading fluency scores (d = −0.36, p < 0.05) but did not significantly affect single-word reading accuracy, rapid automatized naming, or general processing speed measures. Our results suggest that the right posterolateral cerebellum is involved in reading fluency, consistent with a broader role of the cerebellum in fast, fluent cognition.


From survey at Dr. Moewardi Hospital in the year 2010, the incidence of stroke patients increase 5-7% every year. Diabetes mellitus has a relationship with ischemic stroke through aterosklerosis. However, the relationship of diabetes mellitus as a risk of ischemic stroke remains uncertain due to diabetes is not a single factor for stroke. Research aim was to determine the relationship between the incidence of diabetes mellitus and ischemic stroke. It was conducted at the neurologi unit in Dr.Moewardi Hospital Surakarta, the design was a cross sectional with sample size of 132 people. The sampling technique used simple random sampling. The result is the number of ischemic stroke patients with diabetes mellitus by 47 people (71.21%). From chi square analysis (x 2) x 2 = 13.516 obtained and p <0.000 with a value of OR = 3.8 and IK = 1.841 to 7.869. Its mean that there was a relationship between diabetes mellitus and incident ischemic stroke and people with diabetes mellitus have a risk 3,8 more times will got stroke ischemic than people without diabetes mellitus. Keywords: diabetes mellitus, ischemic, stroke


We present a distributed anytime algorithm for performing MAP inference in graphical models. The problem is formulated as a linear programming relaxation over the edges of a graph. The resulting program has a constraint structure that allows application of the Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition principle. Subprograms are defined over individual edges and can be computed in a distributed manner. This accommodates solutions to graphs whose state space does not fit in memory. The decomposition master program is guaranteed to compute the optimal solution in a finite number of iterations, while the solution converges monotonically with each iteration. Formulating the MAP inference problem as a linear program allows additional (global) constraints to be defined; something not possible with message passing algorithms. Experimental results show that our algorithm's solution quality outperforms most current algorithms and it scales well to large problems.


High-Throughput imaging can reconstruct complex signalling networks, reveal unknown interactions and capture rare cellular events. Simultaneously, the development of Single Molecule Localization Super Resolution Microscopy has enabled molecular-level structural information to be obtained in a single cell. But the increase in resolution comes at a trade-off for the amount of molecular species that can be imaged and the time it takes to acquire data, all of which limit the applicability of super-resolution to high-throughput work-flows. The present work details a framework to address this. It combines three independent approaches: a microscope hardware design approach to increase the amount of data that can be obtained in a Super-Resolution experiment; an optofluidics platform that can be wholly synchronized with most microscopes; and a sequential labelling framework to increase the number of species that can be imaged in Super-Resolution in a single cell. The hardware design is validated by performing Single Molecule Localization of cytoskeleton components and its throughput is shown to be up to an order of magnitude larger than a corresponding commercial system. We demonstrate a complete optofluidics platform to integrate microfluidics with a microscope, enabling live imaging, drug application, fixation, and staining in single cells synchronized with imaging protocols. Finally, we show an efficient sequential labelling protocol that is compatible with the optofluidics platform, enabling several molecular species to be imaged in the same cells. Overall, our approach increases the speed and amount of data that can be acquired in a single of Super-Resolution experiment, as well as, by performing on-line fixation, considerably improves our capacity for High-Throughput experiments in Super-Resolution imaging.


With the discovery that the coccidian parasite Cryptosporidium sp. can cause severe symptoms in humans, implementation of many diagnostic techniques rapidly followed. The infection is self-limiting in patients with normal immune systems but chronic in the immunosuppressed patient. With the eventual development and use of therapeutic agents, it will become very important to find Cryptosporidium sp., even in low numbers, in fecal specimens. Production of a highly specific and sensitive antibody by use of cloning techniques has provided another diagnostic tool. Formalinized positive human fecal specimens (n = 99) and negative specimens (n = 198), of which 115 contained yeastlike fungi and other organisms, were tested in blind trials by use of a monoclonal antibody. Sensitivity was 100% with 3- to 4+ fluorescence on all cryptosporidial oocysts, both in light and heavy infections. The organisms were round and easily visible (4 to 6 micron), showing apple-green to yellow fluorescence against a dark background free of nonspecific fluorescence. Specificity was also 100% with all 99 positive Cryptosporidium sp. specimens exhibiting fluorescence and all 198 negative specimens showing no fluorescence. All positive and negative specimens were previously confirmed by the hot modified acid-fast technique. However, seven specimens previously considered negative by this acid-fast method were positive by the monoclonal antibody technique. These specimens were confirmed as positive, after extensive examination of additional smears prepared by the modified hot acid-fast method revealed rare organisms, emphasizing the increased sensitivity of the monoclonal antibody technique. Since acid-fast stains do not always consistently stain all oocysts, the increased sensitivity of the monoclonal reagent provides an excellent screening method.


Specific antiserum against Vibrio vulnificus hemolysin was prepared by immunizing rabbits with a liposome suspension bearing the hemolysin. A cholesterol-phosphatidylcholine-liposome suspension was incubated with crude hemolysin preparation, washed well and then injected intravenously (i.v.) into rabbits. Of the various proteins in the crude preparation, the hemolysin was the only protein which was able to bind to the liposomes, because V. vulnificus hemolysin possesses specific cholesterol-binding activity. Therefore, the antiserum obtained could react only with the hemolysin. Specific antiserum was thus prepared by a simple method, with no need for tedious treatment to purify the immunizing antigen.


Characterizing the location and extent of a viewer's interest, in terms of eye movement recordings, informs a range of investigations in image and scene viewing. We present an automatic data-driven method for accomplishing this, which clusters visual point-of-regard (POR) measurements into gazes and regions-of-interest using the mean shift procedure. Clusters produced using this method form a structured representation of viewer interest, and at the same time are replicable and not heavily influenced by noise or outliers. Thus, they are useful in answering fine-grained questions about where and how a viewer examined an image.


Apple Pay and digital wallets have gained popularity since the fall of 2014. Perceiving Apple Pay & digital wallets as a financial revolution at this moment might be a mistake. The following study shows that it is just the evolution of a payment system in Mexico and the United States of America, a system that opened the door to a possible future financial revolution. Current financial regulation in Mexico and the United States of America is not accurately applied; therefore, proper guidelines or amendments in financial regulations should be issued by financial authorities in order to mend the loopholes in the law.


Introduction: Ibrutinib (Imbruvica, PCI-32765) is an orally administered tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) approved by the FDA in 2014 for treatment of B-cell malignancies. Ibrutinib is a confirmed irreversible inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) with promising clinical activity and tolerability in B-cell malignancies. Ibrutinib is converted into several metabolites, primarily by CYP3A4. Its main metabolite, PCI45227, has an inhibitory activity towards BTK approximately 10 times lower than its parent compound. We investigated whether ibrutinib is a substrate for the multidrug efflux transporters ABCG2 and ABCB1 and whether these transporters influence oral availability and brain and other tissue accumulation of ibrutinib. Materials: We used in vitro transport assays to assess human (h)ABCB1-, hABCG2- or murine (m)Abcg2-mediated transport of ibrutinib. To study the single and combined roles of Abcg2 and Abcb1a/1b in oral ibrutinib disposition, we used appropriate knockout mouse strains. To assess the role of Cyp3a in the bioavailability of ibrutinib we used knockout strains as well as humanized CYP3A4 strains and measured the ibrutinib and PCI45227 concentrations at various time points. Results: Ibrutinib was transported reasonably well by hABCB1 and mAbcg2, but not by hABCG2 in vitro. Upon oral administration of ibrutinib, Cyp3a-/-, Abcg2-/-, Abcb1a1b-/-, and Abcg2;Abcb1a1b-/- mice displayed an increase of 9.8-, 1.3-, 1.6- and 1.1 fold in ibrutinib plasma AUC0-20min compared to wild-type mice. At 20 min, preliminary data indicated that the relative brain accumulation of ibrutinib was not significantly altered for the Abcg2;Abcb1a/1b-/- mice compared to wild-type mice. Conclusion: Abcg2 and Abcb1a/1b possibly restrict oral availability of ibrutinib. Based on our (preliminary) data ibrutinib may not substantially cross the blood-brain barrier. Cyp3a restricts the oral availability of ibrutinib and therefore inhibition of this enzyme may be of clinical importance for patients undergoing ibrutinib therapy. Citation Format: Stephanie van Hoppe, Gert-Jan Rood, Els Wagenaar, Rolf Sparidans, Jos Beijnen, Alfred Schinkel. Breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2) and P-glycoprotein (ABCB1) transport ibrutinib and may restrict its oral availability and brain accumulation, whereas CYP3A4 limits ibrutinib oral availability [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5218. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5218


Gleaming tourism as one of the fastest growing economic activities in the world market and recognizing the importance of promoting the preservation of heritage and cultural landscape, this paper aims to discuss the importance of tourism as a strategy to preserve the region Caparao Capixaba. So at first be submitted to the region Caparao the Espirito Santo and its historical heritage, then we will address the concept of sustainable tourism, as well as its relationship to preservation. Later will be shown the influence of this tool in fostering the preservation of historical and cultural landscape. Expected to create an interesting discussion with a view that cultural tourism, among othergoals, serves to broaden and diversify the knowledge of the visitor, and increase their appreciation of local culture in all aspects. Another relevant feature is its ability to generate revenue for the site visit, allowing its maintenance. However, when Tourism is not well planned, its expansion can become predatory, depleting attractive, changing landscapes and turning them into consumer goods. Under this perspective Tourism can be a strategy for preservation of historical heritage.


The authors compared covert and overt attention in a series of experiments designed to test some assumptions of space-based theories of visual attention. In Experiment 1, they measured reaction times (RTs) to a scaled letter presented at varied eccentricities. When the letter's location was cued in advance by a bar marker, identification responses were found to be similar across a 20° area to the right and left of fixation. When related distractors were added to the display in Experiments 2 and 3, RTs were longer than in Experiment 1 and showed a U-shaped relationship with target and distractor distance. Only when the target letter appeared consistently in the center of the display was there evidence for a traditional spotlight with a unitary focus of attention. When both overt and covert attention conditions included multiple target locations, the data suggested that the distractor competed for attention and lengthened RTs in relationship to its distance from and compatibility with the target. The findings support an attentional mechanism that permits parallel access to noncontingent areas of the visual field.


A private catering company almost every day serves processed fried food every morning, afternoon and evening. However, this often gets complaints from customers such as an itchy throat and fear of high cholesterol. The Spinner Pulling Oil tool is an automatic oil slicer that utilizes centrifugal force and is a solution to this problem. The purpose of this study was to determine what percentage of the ability of an ergonomic spinner tool can reduce oil content in food processing and to determine the time efficiency for the use of a spinner in draining processed fried food. The research methodology used is quantitative and qualitative where the types of fried foods that were tested were bakwan, fried onions and fried tempeh. From the research that has been done, it is found that the Spinner tool can reduce the oil content contained in fried food by 30% for Bakwan, 38% for Tempe and 45% for fried onions. This ergonomic Spinner provides up to 100% time efficiency for all types of food studied


Purpose. The purpose of this study is to observe the influence of somatic, functional and motor parameters upon the game's technique, at senior handball players. On the second place, correlations were made between the somatic and functional parameters and the motor ones. Methods. The study was performed on 30 athletes aged between 19 and 31 years old (M = 24.2, SD = 3.23). There were applied 31 tests, as follows: technical (30m dribbling among poles, Throwing the ball from distance, Throwing the ball towards the wall and recatching it - version I and II, Throwing the ball at a fixed target - version I and II, Slalom dribbling), somatic (height, wingspan, hand length, thoracic perimeter, chest elasticity, weight), functional (the heart rate, the breathing rate, the vital capacity, the Lorentz resistance index, the Ruffier test, the Sargent test) and motor (5x30m, triangle movement, "the Combined", long jump from a stationary position, detent, penta-jump, abs, 2x400m, 800m, sprint test). Results. From the 257 correlations between these variables, the value for r ≥ 40% was recorded for 51 of them. The rarest correlations were found between somatic parameters and technical parameters (4), functional parameters and technical parameters (4), but also between functional parameters and motor parameters (3). Most correlations are between technical parameters and motor parameters (30). Conclusions. The training for developing technical executions is based on improving the motor behavior of athletes that gives them many opportunities to solve unexpected situations that arise during a match. This concept is demonstrated by the close connection between the technical parameters and the motor ones (30 correlations, where r has values between 41% and 78%). As the results show, the technical test results are the most influenced by the level of abdominal strength development and speed running, while functional variables have a weak influence on motor and technical skills, in our case. The somatic parameters, although they have an insignificant direct influence on the technique, they manifest more strongly in the case of motor skills. These conclusions should be accepted with care, as it concerns only this group of athletes, while the obtained correlations indicate the degree of association between the used variables and not the cause of those connections.


We introduce a novel way of testing whether social and geographical proximity helps or hinders efficiency-enhancing factor transfers. The approach is implemented empirically using unusually rich data collected in The Gambia. We find that membership to the same ethnic group or kinship network is associated with fewer efficient transfers. This is primarily driven by land transfers from a few large land-owners. If the presence of large landowners is controlled for, the finding is reversed. There are more efficiency-enhancing land transfers between kin-related households and between neighbors. Labor transfers are not found to equilibrate factor ratios across households. But we do not rule out that they serve a beneficial role, e.g., to deal with unanticipated health shocks. Allocative efficiency in land and labor is not achieved at the village level, which suggests that social ties are not sufficiently fluid to permit a fully efficient reallocation of factors of production within villages.


Cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) employs wireless intervehicle communication, in addition to onboard sensors, to obtain string-stable vehicle-following behavior at small intervehicle distances. As a consequence, however, CACC is vulnerable to communication impairments such as latency and packet loss. In the latter case, it would effectively degrade to conventional adaptive cruise control (ACC), thereby increasing the minimal intervehicle distance needed for string-stable behavior. To partially maintain the favorable string stability properties of CACC, a control strategy for graceful degradation of one-vehicle look-ahead CACC is proposed, based on estimating the preceding vehicle's acceleration using onboard sensors, such that the CACC can switch to this strategy in case of persistent packet loss. In addition, a switching criterion is proposed in the case that the wireless link exhibits increased latency but does not (yet) suffer from persistent packet loss. It is shown through simulations and experiments that the proposed strategy results in a noticeable improvement of string stability characteristics, when compared with the ACC fallback scenario.


The effects of bias (over- and underestimates) in estimates of disease severity on hypothesis testing using different assessment methods was explored. Nearest percentage estimates (NPE), the Horsfall–Barratt (H-B) scale, and two linear category scales (10% increments, with and without additional grades at low severity) were compared using simulation modelling to assess effects of bias. Type I and type II error rates were used to compare two treatment differences. The power of the H-B scale and the 10% scale were least for correctly testing a hypothesis compared with the other methods, and the effects of rater bias on type II errors were greater over specific severity ranges. Apart from NPEs, the amended 10% category scale was most often superior to other methods at all severities tested for reducing the risk of type II errors. It should thus be a preferred method for raters who must use a category scale for disease assessments. Rater bias and assessment method had little effect on type I error rates. The power of the hypothesis test using unbiased estimates was most often greater compared with biased estimates, regardless of assessment method. An unanticipated observation was the greater impact of rater bias compared with assessment method on type II errors. Knowledge of the effects of rater bias and scale type on hypothesis testing can be used to improve accuracy and reliability of disease severity estimates, and can provide a logical framework for improving aids to estimate severity visually, including standard area diagrams and rater training software.


There is widespread concern about the safety of shellfish, which are harvested from quite shallow locations along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Investigation of some microbiological properties of the collected bivalves and their water beds, and surface and bottom areas, were done during four seasonal sampling cruises from March, 2016 to February, 2017 at eleven stations. All samples were analyzed for the total plate count, fecal pollution indicators, bacteria (total coliforms, E.coli, and fecal streptococci), and the prevalence of three emerging food-borne pathogens, including Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter, and E.coli 0157:H7. In addition, some environmental parameters of the coastal water samples, including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH were also measured. Sampling techniques were done according to IOS standers, and the membrane filtration technique was applied using the total plate count agar and the respective selective media. Identification using the biochemical tests was done and the final counts were calculated as cfu/100ml/gm water/meat. Fecal pollution bacterial counts ranged from <1 to 104 of all the detected microorganisms, depending on the investigated area and dates of sampling. The incidence of Listeria monocytogenes in the examined water samples varied widely from 0 to 15%. Campylobacter was found in percentages of 2 to 20%. E.coli 0157:H7 was detected in 3 to 25% of the investigated locations. There was an association between the fecal contamination indicators and the presence of the studied pathogens. The same trend was observed in the oyster meat samples. These results may help to develop sanitary strategy/strategies for better Mollusca shellfish safety.


The treatment of infections of orthopedic implants is often difficult and complex, although the chances of successful treatment with properly selected diagnostics, surgical and antibiotic treatment protocol have recently increased significantly. Surgical treatment is a key stone factor in the treatment of infections of orthopedic implants and any errors in it often lead to worse clinical outcomes. The most important and frequent surgical errors include: conservative treatment of periprothetic infections with antibiotics only, to-late surgical revision, insufficient debridement during surgical revision, inadequate intraoperative samples for bacteriological and histological analysis. It is important to have and to follow proper treatment algorithm for periprosthetic joint infection. In this work we present the listed surgical and most illustrative key errors.


The case study was done in order to develop a Learning Module for Soil
Mechanics which covers three topics inclusive of its introduction, basic principles of soil
mechanics, soil classification and soil water contents for students who are taking up a
diploma course in Civil Engineering in KUiTTHO. In order to obtain the necessary
information, questionnaires were distributed to the respondents who are in their second
semester and attached to the Engineering Faculty. 35 respondents were selected
randomly. This research is important to find out the suitability of the contents, level of
implementation and whether the module is user friendly a from the view point of the
respondents. Data analysis was done using the software SPSS version 11.0 for
windows. The mean score obtained from the research is 3.37 for the suitability of the
contents, 3.26 for the level of implementation, and 3.31 for the item user friendly. On
the whole, this learning module managed to attract the students or respondents. Anyway
the module has to be modified in order to make it more interesting and effective.


Given the importance of language learners' digital literacy skills in digital environments, there is a need for learner training in the use of digital technologies for language learning. Learner training can help learners develop language learning skills and strategies and become effective and independent language learners. This chapter presents a study examining the implementation of technical, strategic, pedagogical and contextual training offered through a series of face-to-face workshops for advanced language learners enrolled in Master programs of translation and interpreting at an Australian university. It describes the context of the training and discusses the training content and process. It then looks at the participants' responses to a digital literacy questionnaire administered in the beginning of the training. It also offers comparisons between the participants' attitudes and views of technology-enhanced language learning before and after the training based on quantitative and qualitative data collected through the digital literacy questionnaire and a post-training questionnaire. The results of the study suggest that learner training needs context-specific approaches and needs to offer more opportunities for learners to select and use digital tools and resources for their learning.


We present a case of cystic falx meningioma. Cystic meningioma is rare and not easy to diagnose preoperatively; it is often misdiagnosed as other tumors, including glial or metastatic tumors with cystic or necrotic changes. This study showed the potential impact of 320-row computed tomography (CT) on image-based diagnostic evaluation of cystic meningioma with special attention to the novel techniques of 4-dimensional CT angiography (4D-CTA) and CT whole-brain perfusion (CTP). 4D-CTA showed the arterial supply feeding the tumor and late enhancement of the tumor nodule, similar to that seen in meningioma by conventional angiography. CTP showed that the tumor had a higher cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume and a longer mean transit time than adjacent brain tissue. These findings were consistent with meningioma and reinforced the other imaging findings, resulting in the correct preoperative diagnosis. The new techniques available for 320-row CT can potentially be used to improve differential diagnosis and preoperative assessment of cystic tumors with nodules.


This study examined the unethicality of the Egyptian media in its response by analyzing two cases, including that of an opposing report by Guardian reporter Ruth Michaelson discussing the surging numbers of Covid cases undocumented by the Egyptian Government, as well as a video by a citizen journalist exposing the death of four Covid patients in El Husseineya Central Hospital due to lack of oxygenation. This study aims to examine the responsive coverage to the cases about general ethical analysis approaches in media, including the Potter box with regards to numerous scholars such as Aristotle, Bentham, and Mill. The analysis showed a lack of ethicality within the Egyptian media as they aimed to blur and conceal the truth behind pretenses and create rigid laws prohibiting journalistic freedom. The study also concluded that in both cases presented; the reporting parties presented ethical arguments. Simultaneously, the government and pro-government media outlets were deemed unethical due to their persistence in presenting the public with false reports despite being exposed through numerous incidents and witnesses.


The current Ebola crisis has sparked worldwide reaction of panic and disbelief in its wake as it decimated communities in West Africa, particularly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, including its health care workers. This article affirms the crucial role nurses play in maintaining health and preventing diseases, connects the devastating havoc of the Ebola virus disease to another issue of nursing shortage in underdeveloped countries, and asserts the key leadership nurses play in protecting the communities they serve while maintaining their safety and those of other health care workers. Nurses must actively seek a place at the table, as echoed by the American Academy of Nursing and American Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association, when decisions are being made regarding Ebola virus disease: at care settings, in the board room, and at federal, state, and local levels.


We propose a scheme for controlling the coherent transport of a single electron through a closed three-level structure in coupled quantum dots. The coherent transport is externally controlled by applying a weak few-cycle pulse with an adjustable carrier-envelope phase (CEP). It is revealed numerically that there exists a significant dependence of the electron transport on the CEP. Our results illustrate the potential to utilize few-cycle pulses for the excitation in coupled quantum dot systems through control of the CEP, as well providing guidance in the design for possible experimental implementations.


Typically, set theorists reason about forcing constructions in the context of ZFC. We show that without AC, several simple properties of forcing posets fail to hold, one of which answers Miller's question from arXiv:0704.3998.


We present the first diurnally-resolved measurements of ClO and NO2 at 3.1 and 1.4 hPa, approximately 40 and 46 km. Comparisons between the measurements of ClO and a zero-dimensional box model utilizing standard photochemistry and constrained by Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) tracer measurements show that photochemical models overpredict ClO by a factor of two or more at 3.1 hPa and by a factor of 1.5–2.0 at 1.4 hPa. NO2 is well simulated by the model at 3.1 hPa, but systematically overestimated at 1.4 hPa. The model overestimate of ClO results in an overestimate of ozone loss in the upper stratosphere of 10–40%.


Although fibroblasts are key cells in the lung repair/fibrosis process, their characteristics are poorly studied in acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The aims of our study were to: 1) determine the biological behaviour of alveolar fibroblasts during ALI; and 2) to evaluate the clinical relevance of positive alveolar fibroblast culture from patients with ALI/ARDS. Cells were cultured from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) obtained from 68 critically ill, ventilated patients: ALI n = 17; ARDS n = 31; and ventilated controls n = 20. Patients were followed for 28 days and clinical data was recorded. We studied proliferation, migration and collagen-1 synthesis capacities of fibroblasts. Cells expressing fibroblast markers were cultured from BAL obtained in six (35%) ALI patients and six (19%) ARDS patients, but never from ventilated controls. Alveolar fibroblasts exhibited a persistent activated phenotype with enhanced migratory and collagen-1 production capacities, with hyporesponsiveness to prostaglandin E2 compared to normal lung fibroblasts (p≤0.04). Positive fibroblast culture was associated with both an increased collagen-1 concentration and monocyte/macrophage percentage in BAL fluid (p≤0.01), and with a reduced duration of mechanical ventilation (p<0.001). We conclude that activated alveolar fibroblasts can be cultured either in ALI or ARDS and that their presence might reflect the initiation of the organising phase of ALI.


The human tendency to form impressions of others is ubiquitous and consequential. Consensus, or agreement among individuals, regarding their first impressions based on the facial appearance of others can lead to the treatment of other individuals in particular ways that shape their outcomes and behaviors. For an impression to be considered accurate it must not only be consensual but must also show correspondence to an external criterion, such as whether impressions of individuals' leadership ability are related to the performance of their group or organization. Many of our first impressions may not have valid external criteria to enable an assessment of the accuracy of the impression. Yet, whether our impressions are accurate or merely consensual, they can still often predict important outcomes. A limited but growing literature has shown that our impressions can be both consensual and predictive despite important social and perceptual distinctions, such as differences in culture. First Impressions of the Face: Predicting Success Whether walking along a busy street, shopping for groceries at the market, or riding a commuter train or bus, we are constantly encountering other people and forming impressions of them. Humans are predisposed toward making snap judgments about others and sorting them into social categories in the service of simplifying the social world of which we are part (Ambady, Bernieri, & Richeson, 2000). Although some of the impressions we make may be fallacious (such as mistaking a long-haired man for a woman at first glance; Macrae & Martin, 2007), others can be quite accurate (such as accurately judging a man's sexual orientation from a glimpse of his face; Rule & Ambady, 2008a). Even when our impressions of others turn out to be inaccurate, however, they can be powerful determinants of how we behave toward others and, in turn, how we treat others can sometimes dramatically influence their lives. For example, Clifford and Walster (1973) found that teachers believed attractive children to have more potential for success than unattractive students. Moreover, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) reported that teachers' expectations about their students' learning ability substantially impacted the children's actual academic success. Thus, a teacher's impression of a child's attractiveness might possibly have more influence on her progress in school than her actual intelligence. In this article we review some of the consequences that can come from our first impressions of others. In doing so, we restrict ourselves to the primary channel through which our nonverbal behaviors are expressed and our impressions inferred: the face (Rinn, 1991; Zebrowitz, 1997). Although other cues from nonverbal behavior, such as the body (Johnson & Tassinary, 2005) and the voice (Gaertner, 1973; Scherer, Johnstone, & Klasmeyer, 2003) each may provide cues informative to our impressions of others, the face is unmistakably unique. Evidence for this comes not only from a vast literature of empirical studies showing that individuals' faces influence our impressions and dispositions Social and Personality Psychology Compass 4/8 (2010): 506–516, 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00282.x a 2010 The Authors Journal Compilation a 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd toward them (Zebrowitz, 1997) but also from studies in neuroscience showing that faces are privy to specialized processing in the brain (Kanwisher, 2000). Accuracy and consensus When are impressions of others predictive of their behaviors or outcomes? To determine whether an impression of another can be regarded as accurate typically requires a criterion that is objective, or uninfluenced by the process through which we form our impression (see Funder, 1987; Funder & West, 1993). In everyday life such criteria are often hard to come by. But even in the absence of external criteria, there are often instances when our impressions agree with others' impressions of the same individuals. This agreement or consensus is sometimes considered to be an index of accuracy. Consensual judgments are consequential and can be powerful indicators of how individuals are treated (e.g., Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972). Consensual judgments can also be flawed. For instance, individuals may agree in their impression that someone looks honest and likeable (as in the case of Bernard Madoff discussed later in this article) but this impression may be difficult to validate without an objective measure of honesty and likeability. Consensus from the Face Even across diverse groups of perceivers and targets (such as differences in age, racial, or cultural group membership), individuals may show high agreement for particular judgments. One domain in which consensus has been well-explored is that of personality judgments. Albright et al. (1997), for instance, showed that American and Chinese perceivers agreed in their judgments of American and Chinese targets for the 'Big 5' personality traits of extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, culture ⁄openness to experience, and emotional stability ⁄neuroticism. The American perceivers agreed with the other American perceivers' impressions of both the American and Chinese targets and the Chinese perceivers agreed with the other Chinese perceivers' impressions of both the Chinese and American targets. In addition, the American and Chinese perceivers agreed with one another in their impressions of the extraversion of other American and Chinese targets. Other researchers have also found that observers' impressions can sometimes agree with targets' own impressions of their personality. For example, Penton-Voak, Pound, Little, and Perrett (2006) found that strangers' impressions of targets' extraversion were significantly correlated with the targets own self-reported extraversion on a personality questionnaire. This consensus between strangers' impressions of an individual's traits and her own self-reported traits are sometimes believed to be an indicator that the judgments are accurate. However, the use of self-report measures as a criterion for accuracy is debated, as self-reports can be unreliable (e.g., Ambady & Rosenthal, 1992; Funder & West, 1993). Perceivers tend to agree in their judgments of facial physiognomy. In particular, individuals show high agreement in their judgments of others' attractiveness and facial maturity (Zebrowitz, 1997). Facial attractiveness is one of the most powerful predictors of how individuals are treated and perhaps the most thoroughly studied. Attractive individuals are treated more positively than unattractive individuals (Dion et al., 1972; Griffin & Langlois, 2006). Specifically, attractive people are usually perceived as more intelligent, more socially competent, and more emotionally stable, although not as more considerate Predicting Success from the Face 507 a 2010 The Authors Social and Personality Psychology Compass 4/8 (2010): 506–516, 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00282.x Journal Compilation a 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991). This is true for both children and adult perceivers and targets, does not differ whether the perceivers are familiar or unfamiliar with the target, and occurs regardless of the amount of other information the perceiver has available when forming an impression (Langlois et al., 2000). Importantly, this bias in favor of attractive faces affects how individuals are treated (Clifford & Walster, 1973) and has a pronounced effect upon outcomes, such as job opportunities and advancement (Hosoda, Stone-Romero, & Coats, 2003). Facial maturity does not refer to judgments of age but is an age-independent trait that describes the babyishness or maturity of an individual's face (Zebrowitz & Montepare, 1992). A 'babyface' is defined as one with neotenous features, such as a large forehead, high eyebrows, large eyes, nonprominent cheekbones, and a small jaw (e.g., Zebrowitz, Montepare, & Lee, 1993a). In contrast, mature faces are generally characterized by a small forehead, heavy brow ridge, prominent cheekbones, and a large jaw. Individuals with babyish versus mature faces are often believed to be submissive, naive, weak, warm, and honest – qualities similar to those ascribed to infants. Mature-faced persons, in contrast, are often seen as dominant, shrewd, powerful, competent, and untrustworthy (Berry & McArthur, 1985). Perceivers' responses to these cues are so strong that they have been shown to influence targets' employment opportunities (Collins & Zebrowitz, 1995) and litigation outcomes in court (Zebrowitz & McDonald, 1991). Thus, impressions of facial maturity have important consequences for how individuals are treated. Accuracy from the Face Not only do individuals' impressions sometimes show high agreement, there are also instances in which these consensual impressions can be validated as accurate. As mentioned earlier, the confirmation that a judgment is accurate typically requires a criterion that is unaffected by the judgmental process. For example, Todorov, Mandisodza, Goren, and Hall (2005)reported that perceivers' impressions of the faces of U.S. political candidates predicted the percentage of votes that the candidates received in their actual elections. Thus, judgments of faces in the laboratory can predict real-world outcomes. Yet, because the outcome criterion was based on voters' consensus, the judgmental process in the laboratory (participants' subjective impressions of the candidates) and the external outcome (voters' subjective impressions of the candidates) were quite similar – particularly when considering that the participants in the lab also belong to the larger group of voters determining the criterion. In other cases, judgments in which perceivers' subjective impressions are dissociated from the outcome criterion (i.e., the process by which the perceivers come to form their impressions is distinct from the process by which the outcome came to be). Follo


WC094, a 4-page illustrated fact sheet by Ricky Telg, is first in a three-part series that offers tips on taking good digital photos and addresses the basics of digital photography. Includes additional sources of information. Published by the UF Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, July 2010.
WC094/WC094: Digital Photography and Photographic Editing (ufl.edu)


The catastrophic 2011 magnitude 9 Tohoku earthquake, which triggered a huge tsunami that led to severe flooding and major destruction, was unexpected based on seismic hazard assessments for the Sendai region—for instance, a Japanese national seismic map from 2010 showed no hazard in the Sendai area from subduction earthquakes along the Japan Trench larger than those of the past 400 years. Seismic hazard assessment relies in part on knowing the size and recurrence intervals of past earthquakes in a given region. In the Sendai area, in 869 C.E. a large quake known as the Jogan earthquake produced a tsunami that affected approximately the same area of coast as the Tohoku earthquake, but scientists have not been certain of the magnitude of the Jogan quake.


Standard asset pricing models suggest that only systematic risk factors affect the expected returns of stocks. Using the data of Chinese stock markets from 2000 to 2006, this paper estimates the default risks implied in stock prices by structure model, tests whether the expected returns of stocks are related with implied default risks, and examines whether the default risk is a systematic risk factor in China. The estimation results show that the implied default risk increases between 2000 and 2005 and then decreases since 2005. Both the portfolio analysis and regression analysis suggest that the expected returns of stocks are not related with their implied default risk levels. This show evidences that default risk is not a systematic risk factor in China. This finding has useful implications for the understanding of behaviors of Chinese investors and the development of Chinese asset pricing models.


This guide provides an overview of the engineering literature review and its place in a research project, thesis, or dissertation.


Integrated Healthcare Center is a community-based health vehicle that provides services for 5 main activities, namely Maternal and Child Health, Family Planning, Nutrition, Immunization and P2 Deare which are carried out from, by, for and with the community. The role of cadres is very important because cadres are responsible for implementing the Integrated Healthcare Center program. (Ministry of Health, RI 2018). This research method is a descriptive analytic with a cross-sectional study design, namely a research design designed to perform data analysis that frequently occurs or is ongoing in the study population, with a causal relationship model. The results of this study based on the level of knowledge of the respondents showed that out of 20 respondents, 15 people (75%) had good knowledge and 5 people (25%) had less knowledge. The discussion shows that based on the analysis it shows that the respondents who have good knowledge and good Integrated Healthcare Center cadres are active as many as 7 people (35%). While respondents who had good knowledge and less incidence of dermatitis were 4 people (20%). And the respondents who had less knowledge and active Integrated Healthcare Center cadres were as many as 4 people (20%). The results of statistical tests using the chi-Square test were p = 0.004 with a significance level of α = 0.05 which means p <0.05 then ha is accepted and ho is rejected, thus there is a relationship between knowledge and the activity of Integrated Healthcare Center cadres.


We consider the Lévy model of the perpetual American call and put options with a negative discount rate under Poisson observations. Similar to the continuous observation case, the stopping region that characterizes the optimal stopping time is either a half‐line or an interval. The objective of this paper is to obtain explicit expressions of the stopping and continuation regions and the value function, focusing on spectrally positive and negative cases. To this end, we compute the identities related to the first Poisson arrival time to an interval via the scale function and then apply those identities to the computation of the optimal strategies. We also discuss the convergence of the optimal solutions to those in the continuous observation case as the rate of observation increases to infinity. Numerical experiments are also provided.


In this paper, we present an adaptive observer for multi-output nonlinear systems that include unknown constant parameters and are not necessarily observable. Based on generalized nonlinear observer canonical form, new adaptive observer canonical form is proposed. Sufficient conditions are given for a nonlinear system to be transformed into the proposed adaptive observer canonical form. The existence of the proposed adaptive observer is given in terms of Lyapunov-like condition and SPR condition. An illustrative example is presented to show the design procedure of the proposed method.


Orbiting very long baseline interferometry based on radio transmission of a reference signal from an Earth-bound oscillator is considered. This method provides the possibility of forming a connected-element interferometer between the spacecraft and an Earth radio telescope co-located with the reference oscillator. The reference signal from the spacecraft to the Earth is retransmitted and the round-trip time is continuously measured by assuming reciprocity of the path; the time at the spacecraft is always known relative to a clock on the Earth. The author is concerned with the design of such a round-trip reference system and its accuracy limitations. Spacecraft and Earth station models, continuous contact and simple-frequency timing, ambiguity-free timing link design, and the onboard synthesizers are discussed. A design example is presented. >


Currents and waves cause flow-structure interaction prob-lems in systems installed in the ocean. Particularly for bluff bodies, vortices form in the body wake, which can cause strong structural vibrations (Vortex-Induced Vibrations, VIV). The mag-nitude and frequency content of VIV is determined by the shape, material properties, and size of the bluff body, and the nature and velocity of the oncoming flow. Riser systems are extensively used in the ocean to drill for oil wells, or produce oil and gas from the bottom of the ocean. Risers often consist of a central pipe, surrounded by several smaller cylinders, including the kill and choke lines. We present a series of experiments involving forced in-line and cross flow motions of short rigid sections of a riser containing 6 symmetrically arranged kill and choke lines. The experiments were carried out at the MIT Towing Tank. We present a systematic database of the hydrodynamic coefficients, consisting of the forces in phase with velocity and the added mass coefficients that are also suitable to be used with semi-empirical VIV predicting codes.


: Vehicular Ad Hoc Network (VANET) is a sub class of mobile ad hoc net-works. Currently, car to car communication is a very demanding area of research because of the numerous application possibilities for driver safety and comfort. The earlier VANET models discussed only the communication among vehicles through the RSU used for low network density. Most of the researchers used standard 802.11 for VANET model considering the mobile nodes of the city environments when network density demands. Without using the RSUs, each vehicle in the network is treated as a router to communicate with the neighbouring vehicles. The performance of communication entirely depends on how better the routing takes place in the network. Routing of data always depends on the routing protocols being used in network. An effective routing protocol for vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) should have decent performance regardless of the status of the network. When the network is sparse, routing protocol should work in a way to increase chances of delivery. On the other side, when network density leads to uninterrupted connection, routing protocol should always choose a policy to minimize delivery delay. I have to create a network which should be reliable secure and fast. Reliable by using back off counter, secure by using AES algorithm and fast by using increasing the transmission power at the time of low signal strength. Packet Delivery Ratio, End To End delay, Through Put and packet drop are the metrics used for performance analysis of MIN forwarding strategy with VADD protocol.


The class of periodic autoregressive (PAR) models, suitably extended so as to allow for 'periodic integration', has recently found widespread application to economic time series as an alternative to the time-invariant models available in the literature. An elaborate modelling strategy has been proposed, and new tests for periodic integration have been envisaged, whose empirical performance tends to support the notion that the kind of non-stationary stochastic dynamics observed in time series arises as a consequence of periodic integration. This paper aims at challenging this view by means of a Monte Carlo experiment: we generate data according to a trend with a seasonality model such that the trend is a random walk with drift and the seasonal component is generated according to a stochastic trigonometric model. It is found that all the fundamental tools of PAR modelling will tend to provide spurious evidence in favour of a periodic model, and conclude that, as long as macroeconomic time series are concerned, PAR models are an overelaborate way of capturing essential features, such as indeterministic trends and seasonals, that are more parsimoniously accommodated by a time-invariant model.


An easily-cleaning multifunctional soybean milk maker comprises a motor, a blade, a head unit, and a container, wherein a lower cover of the head unit being capped on the container, characterized in that a flow guider is securely fastened to the lower cover of the head unit, with the lower part of the flow guider immersed into water and the lower port of the flow guider being open. The blade fastened at the front end of the motor shaft is arranged within the flow guider and extends into water. Guiding holes are provided in the flow guider, and/or guiding channels in communication with the interior of the flow guider are provided on the lower cover of the head unit.


The development of voluntary networks of firms has been proposed as a way of stimulating employer demand for vocational training in more liberal market economies. The emergence of market-based training networks is seen to lead to greater inter-firm cooperation, resource sharing and facilitate employer collective action to address labour market needs. This study examines the evidence for the existence of voluntary training networks in five Australian industries. The study finds that these training networks supply limited amounts of training, most of which is non-formal. These networks are primarily developed for the dissemination of the tacit knowledge and skills needed for the exploitation of new technology. These networks have few linkages to the vocational training system and have a limited capacity to contribute to the development of transferable skills that address employers' labour market needs.


The use of functional nucleic acids started two decades ago and nowadays their application in nanotechnology as smart building blocks is of great interest. The structure and function of nucleic acids are determined by the interactions with their liquid environment, which conventionally resembles physiological conditions. Conceiving DNA-based nanomachines that function in non-conventional liquid environments, however, bears a great degree of freedom for designing functional molecular devices. Ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents have emerged as alternative solvents due to their unique capacity in acting as electrolytes and solvents, as well as the possibility of fine-tuning their physico-chemical properties such as to maintain the stability and function of nucleic acids. While the long-term stability of the structure of nucleic acids has already been studied in the presence of ionic liquids, the stability of their function has so far been given little attention. It is, however, the latter that would offer a plethora of new applications exploring the molecular recognition capacity of DNA. This chapter will present deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as a smart, functional molecule and discuss its applications, particularly in the presence of ionic liquids.


This special issue of Metrologia on radionuclide metrology is the first of a trilogy on the subject of ionizing radiation measurement, a field that is overseen by Sections I, II and III of the CIPM's Consultative Committee for Ionizing Radiation (CCRI). The idea was first proposed at the 2003 series of CCRI Section meetings, with the general aim of showcasing the relevance and importance of metrology in ionizing radiation to a broader metrological audience. After the 2005 meeting of Section II (measurement of radionuclides), the radioactivity aspect of the project began to move forward in earnest. A working group was set up with the brief that the special issue should be of use by experienced metrologists as an overview of the 'state of the art' to compare progress and scientific content with those in other fields of metrology, as a resource for new metrologists joining the field and as a guide for users of radioactivity to explain how traceability to the international measurement system may be achieved. Since mankind first became aware of the existence of radioactivity just over a century ago (due to its discovery by Becquerel and further work by the Curies), much has been learnt and understood in the interim period. The field of radionuclide metrology that developed subsequently is broad-based and encompasses, amongst others, nuclear physics (experimental and theory), chemistry, mathematics, mathematical statistics, uncertainty analysis and advanced computing for data analysis, simulation and modelling. To determine the activity of radionuclides accurately requires elements of all of these subjects. In more recent decades the focus has been on the practical applications of radioactivity in industry and the health field in particular. In addition, low-level environmental radioactivity monitoring has taken on ever greater importance in the nuclear power era. These developments have required new detection instrumentation and techniques on an ongoing basis to ensure the improvement in accuracy and precision of measurement as demanded by the stringent requirements of the user community, such as the correct calibration of nuclear instrumentation. This leads into the need for traceability to national measurement standards maintained by the national metrology institutes. As part of the radioactivity traceability chain, as for all areas of metrology, it is vital that systems are in place to ensure that national standards can be checked for worldwide uniformity and measurement equivalence. Many of the resulting areas are covered by the topics in this special issue, although specifically excluded from the scope of the publication are topics that are widely covered in other publications due to their application in applied metrology—for example, radiochemistry, environmental gamma spectrometry and alpha spectrometry. There are three sections to this issue, starting with papers on how the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement has been implemented for radionuclide metrology, following into the bulk of the publication with articles on the `state of the art' in radionuclide metrology and ending with traceability to national/international standards in nuclear medicine, environmental monitoring, radiation protection and decommissioning. This special issue in essence follows on from earlier BIPM Monographies that were published in order to provide the base information for radionuclide metrology. In many respects they complement the special issue since much of their content is still valid today, particularly those published more recently as an aid to ensuring consistency of method and data. The BIPM Monographies are freely available to download from the BIPM website at http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/monographies-ri.html. The papers in the special issue draw on the experience of radionuclide metrologists who have been involved in their area of expertise for many years. The authors give readers an insightful account of the selected topics through in-depth review articles. We are indeed indebted to them for accepting this difficult and time-consuming task and also thank the many researchers recognized in the articles who have contributed to expanding the field over many years. The considerable effort put into this issue would not have been possible without input from the appointed referees, as well as the project team also comprising Yoshio Hino, Jose-Marie Los Arcos, Mike Unterweger and Brian Zimmerman. Thanks are also due to the Metrologia Editor, Jeffrey Williams, and the editorial staff for their sterling efforts in keeping the issue on track and the publication on schedule. Last, but not least, we thank Prof. Georgio Moscati, President of the CCRI, and Dr Penny Allisy-Roberts, Executive Secretary of the CCRI, for their continuous interest and support for the project.