It is demonstrated that de-gassed water is more effective at dispersing hydrophobic "dirt", such as liquid hydrocarbons or oils. This effect appears to be due to the reduction of natural cavitation, which would otherwise oppose the dispersion of hydrophobic liquid droplets into water. De-gassing of the oil enhances this effect still further, and this has led to a proposal for a novel cleaning process, based on using a combination of a de-gassed (hydrophobic) solvent followed by rinsing in de-gassed water. This method might be useful as an effective, detergent-free cleaning process. Also reported are some initial studies which suggest that the effect of "inert" dissolved gases on the electrical conductivity of water may need to be reconsidered.


In the realm of out-of-distribution generalization tasks, finetuning has risen as a key strategy. While the most focus has been on optimizing learning algorithms, our research highlights the influence of pre-trained model selection in finetuning on out-of-distribution performance and inference uncertainty. Balancing model size constraints of a single GPU, we examined the impact of varying pre-trained datasets and model parameters on performance metrics like accuracy and expected calibration error. Our findings underscore the significant influence of pre-trained model selection, showing marked performance improvements over algorithm choice. Larger models outperformed others, though the balance between memorization and true generalization merits further investigation. Ultimately, our research emphasizes the importance of pre-trained model selection for enhancing out-of-distribution generalization.


Artificial molecular motors have recently attracted considerable interest from the nanoscience and nanoengineering community. These molecular-scale systems utilize a 'bottom-up' technology centered around the design and manipulation of molecular assemblies, and are potentially capable of delivering efficient actuations at dramatically reduced length scales when compared to traditional microscale actuators. When stimulated by light, electricity, or chemical reagents, a group of artificial molecular motors called bistable rotaxanes - which are composed of mutually recognizable and intercommunicating ring and dumbbell-shaped components - experience relative internal motions of their components just like the moving parts of macroscopic machines. Bistable rotaxanes' ability to precisely and cooperatively control mechanical motions at the molecular level reveals the potential of engineering systems that operate with the same elegance, efficiency, and complexity as biological motors function within the human body. We are in a process of developing a new class of bistable rotaxane-based electroactive/photoactive biomimetic muscles with unprecedented performance (strain: 40-60%, operating frequency: up to 1 MHz, energy density: ~50 J/cm3, multi-stimuli: chemical, electricity, light). As a substantial step towards this longterm objective, we have proven, for the first time, that rotaxanes are mechanically switchable in condensed phases on solid substrates. We have further developed a rotaxane-powered microcantilever actuator utilizing an integrated approach that combines "bottom-up" assembly of molecular functionality with "top-down" micro/nano fabrication. By harnessing the nanoscale mechanical motion from artificial molecular machines and eliciting a nanomechanical response in a microscale device, this system mimics natural skeletal muscle and provides a key component for the development of nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS).


Abstract Background Inhaled corticosteroids(ICS) are the most effective treatment for children with persistent asthma .However adverse effects of ICS on Hypothalamo Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) axis, growth and bone metabolism are a concern. Hence the primary objective of this study was to describe the effects of long term inhaled corticosteroid therapy (ICS) on adrenal function, growth and bone health in children with asthma in comparison to an age and sex matched group of children with asthma who were not on long term ICS. .Describing the association between the dose of ICS and duration of therapy on the above parameters were secondary objectives. Method Seventy children with asthma on ICS and 70 controls were studied. Diagnosis of asthma in selected patients was reviewed according to the criteria laid down by GINA 2018 guidelines .The estimated adult heights were interpreted relative to their Mid Parental Height (MPH) range. Serum calcium, alkaline phosphatase and vitamin D levels were analyzed in both groups and cortisol value at 30 minutes following a low dose short synacthen test was obtained from the study group. The average daily dose of ICS (Beclamethasone) was categorized as low, medium and high (100-200, 200-400, >400 ug /day) respectively according to published literature. Results Heights of all children were within the MPH range. There was no statistically signi�cant difference in the bone pro�les and vitamin D levels between the two groups (Ca: p=0.554, vitamin D: p=0.187) but vitamin D levels were insu�cient (<50 nmol/l) in 34% of cases and 41% of controls. Suppressed cortisol levels were seen in 24%. Doses of ICS were low, medium and high in 56%, 32% and 12% of children respectively. The association between adrenal suppression with longer duration of therapy (p<0.01) and with increasing dose of ICS (p<0.001) were statistically signi�cant. Conclusion ICS had no impact on the growth and bone pro�les but its dose and duration were signi�cantly associated with adrenal suppression.


The surgical management of disseminated atheroembolism was studied in seven patients. The diagnosis of disseminated atheroembolism from extensive degeneration of the thoracic and abdominal aorta was based on clinical evidence of cutaneous atheroembolism, angiographic demonstration of irregular aortic plaques, and findings of cholesterol emboli in tissue specimens. All patients had severe cardiopulmonary disease. In four cases treatment consisted of palliative axillobifemoral bypass with ligation of the external iliac arteries to exclude the proximal aortic source of emboli to the feet. Three patients underwent intestinal resection for visceral atheroembolism. Permanent access for hemodialysis was required in four patients. All patients died within 6 months of the diagnosis of disseminated atheroembolism. Surgical therapy has three roles in disseminated atheroembolism: prevention of further atheroembolism with its attendant peripheral or visceral organ damage; amputation or resection of irretrievably damaged tissue; and provision of chronic hemodialysis access. The optimal treatment is thoracoabdominal reconstruction of the aorta. In the high-risk patient, axillobifemoral bypass with iliac ligation may be used to treat recurrent painful atheroembolism to the feet. Continuing atheroembolism to the visceral and pelvic circulation, renal failure, and progressive asthenia are associated with the poor prognosis of patients with this disease.


The study's objectives were to compare nursing workload among adults, elderly and very elderly patients, including in the analyses the interventions and evolution of the workload between admission and discharge. This prospective longitudinal study involved 600 adult patients in general ICU in four city hospitals in Sao Paulo. The results showed that, independent of the age, it had the similarity of the nursing workload in the admission, as well as in the evolution of the patients' care. Differences between the groups were observed in the NAS on ICU's discharge and the following instrument's items: Monitoring and titration and Hygiene procedures in admission, Respiratory support and Intravenous hyperalimentation in discharge and Mobilization and positioning in discharge and admission. In conclusion, the results evidenced that the age interfered only in specific aspects of the nursing workload required by patients in ICUs.


Whether changes in internal body environment affect kidney aging remains unclear. Specifically, it is unknown whether transplanted kidneys from older donors recover from tissue damage after placement in younger recipients. In this study, a parabiosis animal model was established to investigate the effects of a young internal body environment on aged kidneys. The animals were divided into six groups: young (Ycon) and old control (Ocon) groups, isochronic youth-youth group (Y-IP), elderly-elderly group (O-IP), and heterochronic youth (Y-HP) and elderly (O-HP) groups. After parabiosis, tubule and interstitial tissue scores in the O-HP group were significantly lower than in the Ocon and O-IP groups. The expression of aging-related protein p16 and SA-β-gal in the O-HP group was significantly reduced compared with the Ocon and O-IP groups. Autophagy factors Atg5 and LC3BII were significantly upregulated, whereas the expression of the autophagic degradation marker (P62) was significantly downregulated in the O-HP group compared with the Ocon and O-IP groups. With the same comparison, the positive cells of TUNEL staining and the expression of IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly reduced, whereas the total/cleaved caspase-3 and total/pNF-κB were significantly increased in the O-HP group. The results demonstrated that a young blood environment significantly reduces kidney aging. These findings provide new evidence supporting an increase in the upper age limit for human kidney transplantation donors.


Since 2002, the year when the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power, the Turkish criminal justice system has undergone major transformations. Between 2002 and 2016, the number of incarcerated people increased from around 60,000 to more than 187,000, raising the rate of incarceration from 85 to 238 per 100,000 people, which places Turkey on fifth place among European countries in terms of incarceration rate (International Centre for Prison Studies 2016; Turkish Statistical Institute 2016) (see Table 1). Interestingly, this upward trend has stayed more or less constant during the entire period that AKP has governed the country, irrespective of the dose of authoritarianism that the party has used, which significantly increased after 2009. To cope with this dramatic rise, the government built 105 new prisons, appointed more than 5,000 new judges and prosecutors and institutionalized new mechanisms of control, such as probation and electronic surveillance of released criminals, for the first time in the county's history.1 However, none of these measures has conclusively resolved the recurring twin problems of the criminal justice system-i.e., overpopulation of prisons and very heavy workload of courts. A recent report shows that despite new prison construction there are currently only 565 beds available for new prisoners.2 Moreover, the number of cases brought to courts increased from 4.7 million in 2,000 to 6.5 million in 2012. Turkish judges are responsible for 1,078 cases annually whereas the average in European countries is only 200 (Ministry of Justice 2011:22).The traditional mechanism of dealing with the overburdened criminal justice system and overcrowded prisons in Turkey has been the issuance of general amnesties for people convicted of criminal offences. In fact, with 157 amnesties since 1923, 11 of which were general amnesties, the country tops the world in the number of amnesties passed (Ankara Chamber of Commerce 2004; Cengiz and Gazialem 2000).3 Amnesty, in a sense, acted as an "emergency button" to be utilized whenever the system got clogged (Kocasakal 2010: 94). Even though the surge in incarceration rates since 2002 exacerbated the systemic challenges to the criminal justice system, the AKP has strongly rejected amnesty as a policy of alleviating these structural problems. Leading party members have repeatedly claimed that the state will no longer grant amnesty to criminals and that a new general amnesty is entirely out of question. As the founder and the uncontested leader of the party, Mr. Erdogan has stated during his time as Prime Minister (PM), "For a long time, I've been saying that there is no such thing as general amnesty on our agenda. I have said it so many times.. .There is no such thing, definitely not".4What makes the Turkish experience with amnesty more interesting is the fact that even though amnesty is granted across the world almost exclusively for "political crimes," particularly during periods of regime transition or collapse (Lessa and Payne 2012; Mallinder 2008; Popkin and Bhuta 1999), Turkish amnesties have rarely covered political crimes, or "crimes against the state" until the AKP period.5 AKP's approach, however, reverses this past trend and stresses that the state can only "pardon" offences committed against itself-i.e., political crimes and should not interfere when the criminal act concerns another person's right to life or property. Since the government has not granted any form of amnesty yet, AKP's approval of political amnesty remains so far at the discursive level. However, we argue that this discursive shift regarding political amnesty is significant because it amounts to a redefinition of the politically legitimate boundaries of amnesty, which makes it quite likely for a political amnesty to be issued in the future.In this article, we use the changes in the Turkish amnesty field to understand how a developing country government committed to a "tough-on-crime" agenda manages the increasing tension between the instrumental requirements of its overburdened criminal justice system and its ideological and political commitment to increased punitiveness. …


Effects of space radiation on space systems have been considered as the main challenge in designing sustainable space systems, and investigations have been done about the mitigation methods against various types of radiation effects. On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami hit the eastern Japan, particularly Tohoku area. Since then, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has been facing a crisis. To respond to this situation, Tohoku University conducted studies to redesign mobile robots for disaster response missions, and has realized the fact that there was no practical information available about the radiation effects on electronic devices to be installed on those mobile robots and the mitigation methods against them, which revealed the importance of establishing a knowledge-base about the way of designing radiation-tolerant or radiation-hard electronics systems even for terrestrial applications. Space Robotics Laboratory of Tohoku University has been conducting researches on space systems engineering and has gathered knowledge about the radiation effects on space system's electronics devices through its real-life microsatellite development and operation activities. Based on this background, this paper summarizes the general radiation effects on electronics devices and the cost-effective way of their mitigation methods, together with the application example of microsatellite systems developed by the Space Robotics Laboratory. This paper aims to contribute to establish such kind of knowledge-base together with a variety of aerospace and terrestrial engineering communities.


The main purpose of this chapter is to give information about the Distance Education System at Anadolu University (DESA), which has nearly two million students from diverse backgrounds. By the 1990s, the number of people of postgraduate age employed in Turkey had gradually increased to over 60 percent. The shortage of funds for educational services such as adequate classroom spaces and well-qualified instructors was already creating difficulties across the country. Higher educational institutions of all types had to decide on the principles, which were to guide them in dealing with this tremendous increase in the population. In this context, Anadolu University made provocative recommendations in 1982, defended the Distance Education system as the most appropriate milieu for the continuous education of the postgraduate students of Turkey, established the first College of Open Education in Turkey, and became one of the mega universities in the world. In short, the founding fathers of the Distance Education System of Anadolu University were able to critically analyze new priorities and needs in the area by just thinking big!


We propose a new, novel unsupervised clustering technique based on traditional Kohonen self organization, competitive Hebbian learning (CHL), and the Hebbian based maximum eigenfilter (HME). This method fits into the family of dynamic self-generating, self-organizing map (SOM) algorithms. The approach uses a vigilance based, global parsing strategy as a guide for the hierarchical partitioning of an underlying data distribution into a set of dominant prototypes: each consisting of a dual memory element for the online estimation of both position and maximal local variance. A co-operative scheme exploits the interplay between global vigilance and maximal local variance such that an informed choice may be made regarding insertion sites for new nodes into the map. The network is related to self-organizing tree maps (SOTM), growing neural gas (GNG) and their variants. A framework is presented and performance demonstrated against GNG


Background Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) affects up to 15% of patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD) and is one of the leading causes of mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD). Previous recommendationswere developed as part of larger efforts in PAH and did not provide detailed recommendations in CTD-PAH. Objectives To develop recommendations for screening and early detection of CTD-PAH using rigorous data-driven and consensus-building methodology. Methods We performed a systematic review for the screening and diagnosis of PAH in CTD by searching available databases. Using the RAND/UCLA methodology, we developed case scenarios followed by 2 stages of voting—first one was voted anonymously by 10 international experts on 1 (inappropriate) -9 (appropriate) scale and 2nd voting after face-to-face meeting. Results The key recommendations include: All patients with SSc should be screened for PAH. MCTD or other CTD's with scleroderma features (referred hereon as scleroderma-spectrum disorders) should be screened similar to patients with SSc. Screening of asymptomatic patients is not recommended for MCTD or other CTD patients without features of scleroderma. RHC is mandatory for diagnosis of PAH. Acute vasodilator testing is not required as part of the evaluation of PAH in patients with SSc, SSc-spectrum disorders, or other CTDs. Initial screening evaluation in patients with SSc and scleroderma-spectrum disorders include pulmonary function test (PFT) including diffusion capacity carbon monoxide (DLCO), Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), NT- Pro BNP, and DETECT algorithm if DLCO% < 60% and >3 years disease duration. In SSc and SSc-spectrum disorders, TTE and PFT should be performed on an annual basis or TTE, PFT, and NT-Pro BNP if new signs or symptoms develop. Recommendations for RHC for SSc and scleroderma-spectrum disorders Conclusions We provide consensus-based and evidence-driven recommendations for screening and early detection of CTD-PAH. It is our hope that these recommendations will lead to early detection of CTD-PAH and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


ore than half the cost of the development of complex computer-based information systems (IS) is attributable to decisions made in the upstream port ion of the software d e v e l o p m e n t process; namely , requirements specification and design [20]. There is growing recognition that research on how teams actually go about making requirement determinations and design decisions can provide valuable insights for improving the quality and productivity of large-scale c o m p u t e r b a s e d IS development efforts [9, 12, 23]. Traditional models of group dynamics, group decision making, and group development are not rich enough to thoroughly explain the real-world complexities faced by software design teams. Most of this research was performed on tasks that were shorter, less complex and did not require the extensive integration of knowledge domains that characterizes software systems design [9, 12]. Knowledge is the raw material of software design teams. For complex projects, knowledge from multiple technical and functional domains is a necessity [12]. Ideally, a software design team is staffed so that both the levels and the distribution of knowledge within the team match those required for the successful completion of the project. Because of knowledge shortfalls such as the thin spread of application domain knowledge in most organizations, however, this is seldom the case [12]. In general, individual team members do not have all of the knowledge required for the project and must acquire additional information before accomplishing productive work. The sources of this information can be relevant documentation, formal training sessions, the results of trial-and-error behavior, and other team members. Group meetings are an important environment for learning, since they allow team members to share information and learn about other domains relevant to their work. Productive design activities need to revolve around the integration of the various knowledge domains. This integration leads to shared models of the problem under consideration and potential solutions. A software design team seldom starts its life with shared models of the system to be built. Instead, these models develop over time as team members learn from one another about the expected behavior of the application and the computational structures required to produce this behavior. This means that team members need to be speaking the same language (or, at least, dialects whose semantics are similar enough to facilitate communication and understanding) in order to share knowledge about the system. Knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing, and knowledge integration a r e significant, t ime-consuming activities that precede the development of a design document. The purpose of this article is to examine how these activities unfolded over time inside an actual software design team. Two related questions with respect to this team will be resolved: 1) How do the group members acquire, share, and integrate project-relevant knowledge? 2) Do the levels of participation in these activities differ across team members? The f ind ings r epo r t ed h e r e challenge some of the conventional wisdom and common practices of managing software design teams. An initial caveat is that the design team studied here worked in a research and development environment where knowledge acquisition, sharing, and integration activities are accentuated. However, to varying degrees, these activities characterize most software projects [12]. A better understanding of the role and process of knowledge acquisition, sharing, and integration in software design has very real implications for managing large software projects, particularly in the areas of planning, staffing, and training.


Prostate cancer (PC) is a serious public health problem in the United States, especially in African-American men (AAs). AAs have higher incidence and mortality rates and present with higher stage and grade of PC than other racial/ethnic groups. Given the importance of serum prostate-specific antigen level (PSA) as a screening tool for PC and its prognostic value among patients with PC, exploring the relationship between PSA and race has gained enormous interest lately. The number of studies addressing such relationships has increased tremendously over the past few years. Most of these studies indicate a higher PSA in AAs than whites in men with or without PC even after adjustment for patients' age and prostate volume (in men without PC) and for PC grade and stage (in men with PC). The etiology of higher PSA levels in AAs is not completely understood and might be secondary to biological, environmental/socioeconomic reasons, or both. Studying serum PSA dynamics among AAs may help in elucidating the epidemiological features of PC in AAs.


From a pragmatic point of view, literary text has a specifc nature since the dialogue between the author and the addressees (the readers) is rarely conducted directly. Te writer creates a fctional world, where the characters enter into a dialogue not only with one another, but also, in a more implicit form - with the author and the reader. Te author himself can stand on the position of one of the characters, observing the situation from his point of view. Tis character, therefore, is the possessor of author's empathy. Tere is a number of linguistic indicators of the narrative acting as markers of the position of the speaker. Among the leading ones are spatial and temporal deictic words, orienting the narration in the coordinates «me-here-now». In this article, on specifc examples taken from the works of the French authors of the XX-XXI centuries, the functioning of deixis reveals the positions of the character, a carrier/possessor of author's empathy. Te article emphasizes the complexity and variety of the relationships between the author and his fctional character, which are reflected on the linguistic level. Te research is of interest for specialists and future philologists who study linguistic pragmatics, stylistics and analysis of the literary text.


Objective: Yikgeebohyul-tang (Yìqìbǔxuè-tāng) is one of the representative prescriptions for invigoration of vitality and nourishing of the blood. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of Yikgeebohyul-tang (Yìqìbǔxuè-tāng) on hair regrowth and cytokine changes in a shaving model of C57BL6 mice. Method: Five-week-old mice were acclimated for 1 week at a temperature between 21-23°CÉ, 40-60% relative humidity, and 12h of a light/dark cycle before beginning of the experiment. There were two groups including normal saline (control) and a positive control of oral intake of Yikgeebohyul-tang (Yìqìbǔxuè-tāng) extract (sample) in 18 female mice. The test compounds were topically treated once a day over 14 days. The hair regrowth was photographically and histologically determined during the experimental period of 14 days. Revelation of TGF-β1 and EGF were also determined using immunohistochemistry. In addition to that, IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10 were determined in serum. Results: Hair regrowth in the sample group was promoted earlier and faster than the control group, as shown by concentrations of hairs and thick-hair ratio in the sample group. TGF-β1 was not revealed in either control orsample group. EGF was strongly positive in out root sheath of some thick hair of the sample group. Serum IFN-γ was significantly decreased in the sample group compared with the control group at 7 experimental days. However, it was not significantly decreased at 14 experimental days. Serum IL-4 was significantly increased in the sample group compared with the control group at 7 experimental days. However, it was not significantly decreased at 14 experimental days. Serum IL-10 was decreased in the sample group compared with the control group, but with no real statistical significance. Conclusion: These results suggest that Yikgeebohyul-tang (Yìqìbǔxuè-tāng) has hair growth promoting activity and it can be used for treatment of alopecia. Also, these effects relate to EGF revelation of hair roots, a decrease in serum IFN-γ, and an increase of serum IL-4.


We have identified a mutant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) CRF01_AE that contains a single nucleotide mutation in gag gene from 4 HIV-1 seronegative drug users in Thailand. We found A to G mutation at the nucleotide position 75 of gag p17 gene (A75G) not changing the amino acid sequence. The mutant HIV-1 molecular clones were examined for their replication capability. Although the mutation dramatically reduced the level of virion production, it did not affect the amounts of viral protein synthesis within the transfected cells. In addition, this mutation did not affect the levels of Gag polyproteins. Furthermore, electron microscopic examinations have revealed a dramatic reduction of the virion production and perturbation of viral morphogenesis at the cytoplasmic membrane. These results indicate that the A75G mutation is attributable to the long-term sero-negativity of individuals at high risk of HIV-1 infection and suggest a novel mechanism that regulates HIV production.


The article deals with the analysis of the problem of information and communication competence (IC-competence) of secondary school students in the aspect of quality monitoring in Ukraine and abroad; the results of domestic and foreign experience studies mainly concerning ONDP, European Commission, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement as well as the monitoring studies of IС-competencies of students' identified characteristics, general trends and future development.


Background: During the last 15 years there has been a substantial improvement in treatment options for patients with multiple myeloma. For patients younger than 65 years high dose chemotherapy with melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation is still regarded as the standard therapy. This very effective treatment regimen is now widely used for more than 20 years. However, the therapy of elderly patients (> 70 years) with HDT-ASCT has only been a reserved option for a selected group of patients with a lower biological age. Therefore, for these patients only few studies have analyzed the role of HDT-ASCT regarding overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS) and risk assessment-which is our study subject. In addition we want to compare HDT-ASCT with the current standard of treatment for older patients like the continuous lenalidomide and dexamethasone regime (Rd) or bortezomib based regimes. Method: We retrospectively analyzed 62 elderly patients with a median age at ASCT of 71.3 years with multiple myeloma who underwent HDT-ASCT treatment at the Asklepios Hospital Altona in Hamburg, Germany between 2004 and 2013 (3 previously treated with HDT-ASCT and 59 previously untreated). Overall these patients received 86 ASCT. Primary scopes of interest were OS, PFS and treatment related mortality (TRM). Secondary outcome variables were melphalan-dosage, chronic renal failure (Durie Salmon stage A/B), tandem-therapy, ISS-Score, as well as best response after therapy. OS was calculated from beginning of therapy until death of any cause. PFS was calculated from beginning of therapy until progression. Results: The median OS was 60.8 months. TRM was 0%. Median PFS was 33.3 months (n=40). The following factors were significant regarding OS: 1. Chronic renal failure (39 vs. 65.6 months; p=0.03). 2. Higher ISS-Score (ISS III: 33.7 vs. ISS I/II: 76.7 months; p= 0.013). The following factors showed a non statistically significant trend regarding OS: 1. High melphalan dosage, at least once 200mg/m² melphalan, during HDCT-ASCT (70.3 vs. 53 months; p=0.1). 2. Response after therapy (complete remission (CR) / very good partial remission (VGPR): 74.6 vs. partial remission / minimal remission / stable disease: 59.4 months; p= 0.088). 3. Tandem therapy (single transplantation: 60.6 vs. tandem transplantation: 96.3 months; p= 0.127). Conclusion: With a median OS of more than 5 years and a TRM of 0% high dose chemotherapy with melphalan is a valid treatment option for selected elderly patients with multiple myeloma aged > 70 years. The median OS and PFS (60.8 months; 33.3 months) in our patient group was higher than published data with lenalidomide or bortezomib based treatments (e.g. Rd), which has a median OS of 58.9 months and a of PFS 26 month (Facon et al. 2015, Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma and Leukemia, Vol: 15, p: e134). At relapse fewer patients are eligible for HDT-ASCT than de novo patients, therefore HDT-ASCT should be used as first line therapy for suitable patients. Adverse effects of long time glucocorticoid, bortezomib and lenalidomide treatment also have a negative impact on the quality of life for myeloma patients and can lead to irreversible medical consequences. Of note, the treatment duration with high dose melphalan is shorter and has a lower cost than other treatment options for multiple myeloma, which can lead to long treatment free intervals and therefore improve the quality of life for patients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Carding is an important step in processing line of jute spinning. A cylinder is the heart of the whole carding machine due to the carding action, which causes from its cylinder speed and other rollers. This action occurs in breaker card and finisher card machine. This study was carried out to find out the effectiveness of various delivery roller speeds of finisher card cylinder on quality of jute-blended yarn 275 tex (8 lbs/spy). An assessment of the quality of 275 tex (8 lbs/spy) yarns spun from the 100% raw jute and jute acrylic blend were made in terms of their physical properties. The results were compared with those of the 100% jute yarns. Raw jute was blended with acrylic and their blended yarns were manufactured mainly to take advantage of value addition and to produce better yarn of jute fibre. For spinning jute acrylic blended yarn, jute fibre was mixed with acrylic in the ratio of 80% jute and 20% acrylic. Medium delivery roller speed (1830 inch/min) of the finisher card cylinder is better than any other speeds for good quality of jute blended yarn. The physical properties of the produced yarns such as load at break, strain percentage, tenacity at break, textile modulus, and quality ratio were tested. Some empirical relations have been developed between the processing parameters of the machine and physical properties of the yarn. The developed equations are valid within the experimental region.


Mathematical models of the electronically controlled injector are given based on the characteristics of the system. The models have included solenoid, valve and injector. Then simulation program was built with matlab simulink. The influences of structure parameters on the system performance are studied with simulation program. The approximation model of injector was established based on the regression function, which had considered responsibility and economy. The parameters of the system configuration are optimized with mutiobject program. The whole injector was designed based on the optimized results. The dynamic response characteristic of optimized injector was tested on testing equipment. Testing results were the same with simulation results. The optimized injector, who's open and close response time are both 0.2ms, has a very good injection wave shape which is similar to that of the control signal.


Diversity and structure of ciliate communities in the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia) were investigated based on a survey of 15 nearshore stations along 237 Km, by monthly sampling over a 1-year. Ciliated protozoa were identified to genus and/or species level and enumerated. Statistic tools were used to explain the ciliates assemblage. High ciliates species richness from 133 taxa was recorded, including new records of 76 species. This study showed a longitudinal distribution of ciliate communities, which are organized in northern stations (from Tabia to Harbor of Gabes) and southern stations (from Zarrat to Jabiat Haj Ali). The number of taxa increased significantly in northern stations but decreased in the southern. This distribution was mainly influenced by the salinity and phytoplankton abundance. Ciliate taxa were grouped into fives size-classes: 15-30 µm, 30-50 µm, 50-100 µm, 100-200 µm and >200 µm. In terms of abundance, most abundant size groups were small ciliates (15-30 μm) accounted from 15 to 79 %, while the greatest biomass contribution came from the 50-100 μm size classes. We thus conclude high diversity of ciliates communities that showed a geographical distribution influenced by abiotic and biotic factors along the coast of Gulf of Gabes.


This paper presents WNH, the Web Navigation Helper, which is based on CoScripter, a collaborative macro recorder for the web. WNH helps blind and func- tionally illiterate users interact with websites by interpreting previously generated scripts for achieving various kinds of tasks. We report the results of a preliminary em- pirical study carried out during formative evaluation steps and discuss some of the challenges and promises associated to our findings.


It is well known that urban relative humidity has continuous decreasing trend owing to the influence of urbanization. The change of relative humidity is directly influenced by two factors, namely, temperature effect and water vapor effect in various urban effects. In this study, the temperature and tile water vapor effects on the relative humidity change were analyzed by using monthly mean relative humidities for a long period() in Daegu and Chupungnung. The major results obtained in this study can be summarized as follows. Firstly, the urban dryness was caused mainly by water vapor effect in summer. But, for the other seasons, the urban dryness is mainly due to the temperature effect. Secondly, the relative humidity in Daegu is on the decrease until now. This phenomenon is similar to another Korean huge cities such as Seoul, Daejeon and Incheon. But, it is different compared with Japanese huge cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, indicating a standstill in relative humidity change after 1980s.


ABSTRACT For decades, programs targeting the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities (URM) have had local success in broadening participation in the geosciences. Meanwhile, national graduation rates of URM geoscience majors fall below the national graduation rates of URM STEM majors, generally. In this literature review, we summarize methods used to investigate the efficacy of geoscience recruitment and retention programs, and we propose avenues of future investigation into why programs are successful. First, we categorize a decade of recent publications in the Journal of Geoscience Education (JGE) according to Astin's Input–Environment–Output (IEO) model. This model offers a classification scheme to evaluate how inputs (e.g., student characteristics) and environment (e.g., program attributes) may influence desired outputs (e.g., results of programs). Next, we discuss a set of social, cognitive, and psychological theories that support deeper investigation into the reasons why recruitment and retention programs are successful with particular groups. There is an observable trend in the geoscience literature after 2009 toward interventions that include all components of the IEO model and random assignment (i.e., "natural experiments"). We argue that self-efficacy, identity, microaggressions, stereotype threat, and social cognitive career theory offer perspectives that can guide future programmatic interventions and support the geoscience community in broadening participation in the geosciences.


Background The BACHD rat is a novel animal model of Huntington disease expressing the full-length human huntingtin gene with 97 CAG/CAA repeats. We are investigating whether these rats are impaired during strategy shifts, as this is common among Huntington disease patients. We have previously found that BACHD rats are impaired during reversal learning in the simple swimming test. Aims We aim at further characterising the phenotype found in the simple swimming test. Methods/techniques We compared BACHD and wild-type rats in a Skinner box test that used multiple shifts. The boxes contained two cue lights with associated levers placed on either side of a food crib. One of the cue lights, randomly picked, would shine during trials. Rats were initially trained to respond either on the lever situated below the shining cue light, or on the lever of a particular side regardless of whether the cue light above it shined or not. Rats from both groups where then trained on a reversal of the original setting and finally on a shift to the setting of the other group. Results/outcome All rats learnt the initial tasks at a similar rate. There was a trend indicating that BACHD rats were impaired during side reversal, while no differences were seen in the light reversal. BACHD rats were faster than wild-type rats at switching from side- to light-based strategy, while no differences where seen when the shift was made in the opposite direction. At certain steps, there were indications that BACHD rats were less motivated to work for the food reward. Conclusions The results are not conclusive and it is unclear if BACHD rats are impaired during reversals and strategy shifts. There are however indications of other relevant phenotypes, such as a lowered or more sensitive motivational state.


The design of the Sparcle chip, which incorporates mechanisms required for massively parallel systems in a Sparc RISC core, is described. Coupled with a communications and memory management chip (CMMU) Sparcle allows a fast, 14-cycle context switch, an 8-cycle user-level message send, and fine-grain full/empty-bit synchronization. Sparcle's fine-grain computation, memory latency tolerance, and efficient message interface are discussed. The implementation of Sparcle as a CPU for the Alewife machine is described.<<ETX>>


Morphological changes occurred in myofibrils prepared from the glycerinated psoas muscle of rabbit during incubation with a serine protease crystallized from rat skeletal muscle. Two notable phenomena were observed: (1) loss of the Z band in the early stage of incubation and (2) complete disappearance of the A band after swelling of the myofibrils. The results indicate that the serine protease has an action on myofibrils different from that of Ca2+-dependent neutral protease.


A technique for correction of motion between images which are obtained in high-speed digital subtraction or cine angiographic acquisitions is being tested. The method is based on the application of quadratic polynomial equations which transform one image so that it matches a reference image. Images which have been processed in this manner can be summed to improve the signal-to-noise ratios over individual images. The technique for motion correction currently being tested uses operator interaction to establish the appropriate polynomial transformation. An operator selects fiducial (reference) points on an image which will be the reference. Then he selects the corresponding fiducial points on the image to be processed. The algorithm calculates the coefficients of a pair of quadratic polynomial equations and applies them to each pixel in the image. Results demonstrate the application of the technique in phantoms and in digitized cine angiograms.


Online courses are becoming more common at institutions of higher education, yet teaching online creates many challenges, including how to foster instructor immediacy in the online learning environment. Student feedback on audio and video teaching techniques were collected in two undergraduate online classes. Students thought that using video in multiple ways (weekly announcements and assignment feedback) provided increased immediacy and motivation for online students in two Communication courses: Mass Media and Society and Communication Theory. Ultimately, instructors can make a positive difference in perceived instructor immediacy and presence with small changes through general class directed videos and short weekly video announcements (roughly 3 minutes in length) periodically throughout the semester. Use of short videos for feedback as opposed to longer lecture-based videos can be a useful instructional technique for a wide range of online courses within higher education.


We investigate the photon number distribution of squeezed chaotic field (SCF) (a mixed state), by converting the density operator of SCF into its normally ordered bivariate distribution form we find that it is a Legendre distribution. This is a remarkable result.


rate an ovarian cyst is therefore suitable for laparoscopic salpingotomy. At the Birmingham and Midland Hospital for Women, 40 ectopic pregnancies have been treated by laparoscopic salpingotomy or salpingectomy by eight junior medical staff during the last 18 months with the above-mentioned basic instruments and endoloops for salpingectomy in 12 cases. Conservative surgery was possible in 28 cases. All the staff had received adequate training and supervision in these techniques. Extra-corporeal laparoscopic salpingectomy offers no advantage over laparoscopic assessment and micro-laparotomy, for example using a Cusco's speculum which for many was a standard practice for tubal ligation. The important factor is the mobility of the tube and the site of the ectopic pregnancy. Although the author wishes not to enter the debate over conservative tubal surgery, his procedure commits his patients to salpingectomy. Conservative surgery preserves future fertility and therefore should be the primary aim of the surgeon dealing with ectopic pregnancies (De Cherney et al. 1982). Mr Johnson's procedure condemns the tube to the histology pot. Following laparoscopic salpingotomy or salpingectomy, the majority of our patients are discharged after an overnight stay with rapid return to work and reproductive function. Outcomes in terms of pregnancy rates (Vermesh et al. 1989) and adhesion formation following laparoscopic surgery are at least as good as following open surgery (Lundorff et al. 1991) and financial savings from reduced bed occupancy (Zouves et al. 1992) should encourage hospital managers to support investment in equipment required for laparoscopic surgery and encourage appropriate training of junior staff. In our experience, basic instruments, simple supportive training and enthusiasm have facilitated laparoscopic surgery. An alternative need not be sought. Richard Penketh Linga Dwarakanath Academic Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology The University of Birmingham


Deep brain stimulation involves the surgical insertion of electrodes to stimulate targeted areas of the brain. It is recommended to help control movement-related symptoms of Parkinson disease with certain indications and contraindications to consider.
This rapid Environmental Scan describes the landscape of deep brain stimulation surgery across Canada and identifies conditions other than Parkinson disease that can benefit from the therapy. It also provides an overview of cost-effectiveness studies on deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease.
Emerging indications for deep brain stimulation include refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder, refractory epilepsy, treatment-resistant Tourette syndrome, certain types of pain, refractory major depressive disorder, tardive dyskinesia, and essential tremor.
In Canada, there are deep brain stimulation surgery programs in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The number of qualified neurosurgeons for deep brain stimulation surgery ranges from 1 to 5 (at least) across jurisdictions.
Overall, deep brain stimulation is considered cost-effective for people living with advanced Parkinson disease. The risk of developing Parkinson disease increases with age, with onset typically occurring in late adulthood. The number of people eligible for deep brain stimulation in Canada is expected to increase with the aging population and emerging indications. Information related to existing surgery programs can help support capacity planning for deep brain stimulation surgery in Canada.


The periodontal status of 14 regular dental attenders who had been wearing removable partial dentures was compared with a matched group of non-denture wearers. Most partial dentures were mucosally supported. Reported plaque control practices, levels of plaque, subgingival calculus and gingival bleeding, mean pocket depth and mean loss of periodontal attachment were similar in both groups. Severe destructive periodontal disease was present in five (36%) of the denture wearers compared with seven (50%) of the non-denture wearers. We conclude that regular dental attenders with partial dentures were no more likely to have poorer periodontal health than comparable non-denture wearers.


Background Despite recommendation from the World Health Organization that all malaria suspected patients undergo a parasitological confirmation using rapid diagnostic test or light microscopy prior to treatment, health facilities in remote malaria endemic settings sometimes resort to presumptive diagnosis of malaria for clinical management for various reasons. Following observation of this practice, we undertook a cross-sectional study aimed at comparing presumptive diagnosis based on axillary temperature, SD Bioline™ rapid test, and light microscopy as strategies for malaria diagnosis in the coastal region of Mutengene in the South West of Cameroon with the overall goal of supporting improved malaria diagnosis at local levels. Methodology Venous blood from 320 participants was used to detect the presence of malaria parasite using SD Bioline™ mRDT and Giemsa stained microscopy or spotted on filter paper for PCR amplification of the 18s rRNA gene of Plasmodium sp following standard procedures. The axillary temperature of each participant was also measured. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values and their confidence intervals were determined for each of the methods with PCR as the reference. The area under the curve was used to estimate accuracy of diagnostic method and compared between test method using the X2 test with P<0.05 considered significant. Results The overall diagnostic sensitivities of presumptive diagnosis using axillary temperature, light microscopy, and SD Bioline™ were observed to be 74.30% (95%CI: 67.90-80.01), 94.86% (95%CI: 90.99-97.41), and 95.33% (95%CI: 91.57-97.74), respectively, and their respective diagnostic specificities were 53.77% (95%CI: 43.82-63.51), 94.34% (95%CI: 88.09-97.87), and 94.34%(95%CI: 88.09-97.89). SD Bioline™ had a diagnostic sensitivity of 91.80% [95%CI: 81.90-97.28] at a parasitaemia of less than 500 parasites/μl of blood but a sensitivity of 100% for parasite counts above 500 parasites/μl of blood. The predictive values of the positive test were highly comparable between light microscopy (90.09%, [95%CI: 83.61-94.18]) and SD Bioline™ mRDT (90.91%, [95%CI: 84.50-94.83]), P=0.98 with kappa values of 0.898 but lower for presumptive diagnosis (50.89%, [95%CI: 43.72-58.03]), P<0.0001, and kappa value of 0.277. Perfect agreement was observed between SD Bioline™ mRDT and light microscopy (Cohen kappa= 0.924). Conclusions The study showed that SD Bioline™ was as good as light microscopy in the diagnosis of malaria in remote areas of perennial transmission in South West Cameroon. This study equally revealed the limitations of presumptive diagnosis of malaria (as opposed to the use of RDTs or microscopy). Efforts should be made in such areas to promote parasitological confirmation of malaria using quality assured rapid tests or light microscopy for case management of malaria. The presence of nonnegligible levels of Plasmodium ovale in this study area indicate that treatment guidelines may require revision if same trend is proven in several other areas of same ecology.


Purpose
The term "carbon footprint" emerged during the early 2000s, but many hotels remain unaware of what they should do to implement a comprehensive programme to reduce carbon footprint despite having some environmental measures. This study aims to investigate the barriers to reducing hotel carbon footprint and to explore why many hotel managers remain bystanders.

Design/methodology/approach
In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with hotel executives to understand what hinders hotels' implementation of comprehensive programmes to reduce their carbon footprint. The NVivo 11 software package was used to organise data and code the transcribed interviews to identify patterns and themes.

Findings
The findings identified several main barriers. They were (1) a lack of understanding, (2) a lack of owner initiative, (3) difficulty with measurements, (4) a lack of stakeholder coordination and support, (5) a lack of a strong mediator, (6) balancing interests and (7) risky investment. The findings of this study suggest some specific strategies for overcoming these barriers.

Research limitations/implications
The study sample was restricted to the Hong Kong hotel executives interviewed; therefore, the findings will not reflect the full picture of managerial perceptions. Drawing on the foundations laid by this study, researchers could collect quantitative data from hotels in other countries to conduct a cross-cultural study.

Originality/value
Very few studies have investigated barriers to carbon-footprint reduction programmes. Specifically, none have been published in the hotel environmental management literature. This study represents a preliminary step towards understanding the barriers that prevent hotels from implementing the programmes.


To improve the tribological properties of ba-salt-fabric-reinforced phenolic composites, solid lubricantsof MoS2 and graphite were incorporated, and the tribologi-cal properties of the resulting basalt-fabric composites wereinvestigated on a model ring-on-block test rig under drysliding conditions. The effects of the filler content, load, andsliding time on the tribological behavior of the basalt-fabriccomposites were systematically examined. The morpholo-gies of the worn surfaces and transfer films formed on thecounterpart steel rings were analyzed by means of scanningelectron microscopy. The experimental results reveal thatthe incorporation of MoS2 significantly decreased the fric-tion coefficient, whereas the inclusion of graphite improvedthe wear resistance remarkably. The results also indicatethat the filled basalt-fabric composites seemed to be moresuitable for friction materials serving under higher loads.The transfer films formed on the counterpart surfaces dur-ing the friction process made contributions to the reduction of the friction coefficient and wear rate of the basalt-fabric composites.


The chronic kidney disease (CKD) population is aging. Currently a high percentage of patients treated on dialysis are older than 65 years. As patients get older, several conditions contribute to the development of malnutrition, namely protein energy wasting (PEW), which may be compounded by nutritional disturbances associated with CKD and from the dialysis procedure. Therefore, elderly patients on dialysis are vulnerable to the development of PEW and awareness of the identification and subsequent management of nutritional status is of importance. In clinical practice, the nutritional assessment of patients on dialysis usually includes methods to assess PEW, such as the subjective global assessment, the malnutrition inflammation score, and anthropometric and laboratory parameters. Studies investigating measures of nutritional status specifically tailored to the elderly on dialysis are scarce. Therefore, the same methods and cutoffs used for the general adult population on dialysis are applied to the elderly. Considering this scenario, the aim of this review is to discuss specific considerations for nutritional assessment of elderly patients on dialysis addressing specific shortcomings on the interpretation of markers, in addition to providing clinical practice guidance to assess the nutritional status of elderly patients on dialysis.


This paper applies Gestalt psychology and associative network theory to examine the effect of eclipsing in celebrity endorsement on consumer attitude towards the endorsed brand. Eclipsing occurs when the celebrity overshadows the endorsed brand by dominating in an advertisement and diminishing the associative link between the celebrity and endorsed brand. Three studies take into account match-up, celebrity attachment, brand familiarity, and the moderating role of eclipsing, through manipulating two levels of eclipsing in advertising: (1) high eclipsing, when the celebrity is the focus, and (2) low eclipsing, when both the celebrity and brand are emphasized. Consumers who have a weak attachment to the celebrity endorser report a more positive brand attitude when they see the celebrity and endorsed brand both emphasized in an advertisement (low eclipsing) than when the celebrity overshadows and dominates the brand (high eclipsing), irrespective of whether consumers perceive the celebrity and brand to match or mismatch. For consumers with strong celebrity attachment, high eclipsing enhances brand attitude, regardless of whether they perceive the celebrity and brand to either match or mismatch. The findings of these studies have significant implications for advertisers and brand managers in the execution of their advertisements featuring endorsements.


The aim of this present paper is to establish the Poincar´e-Bertrand formula for the double-layer potential on piecewise Lyapunov curve of integration.


Orbital fibroblasts have been reported to be an important effector cells for the development of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO). Orbital fibroblasts secrete various inflammatory cytokines in response to an inflammatory stimulation, leading to TAO-related tissue swelling. It has also been reported that (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a major polyphenolic constituent of green tea, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In the current study, we investigated the issue of whether or how EGCG affects the interleukin (IL)-1β-induced secretion of IL-8 in human orbital fibroblasts from TAO patients. Treatment with EGCG significantly reduced the level of IL-1β-induced secretion of IL-8 and the expression of IL-8 mRNA. IL-1β-induced the degradation of IκBα, and the phosphorylation of p38 and ERK, and the IL-1β-induced expression of IL-8 mRNA was inhibited by specific inhibitors, such as BAY-117085 for NF-kB, SB203580 for p38, and PD98059 for ERK. In addition, treatment with EGCG inhibited the IL-1β-induced degradation of IκBα, and the phosphorylation of p38 and ERK. However, pre-treatment with antioxidants, NVN and NAC, which suppressed ROS generation, did not reduce IL-8 expression in IL-1β-treated orbital fibroblasts, suggesting that the IL-1β-induced IL-8 expression is not mediated by the generation of ROS. These results show that EGCG suppresses the IL-1β-induced expression of IL-8 through inhibition of the NF-κB, p38, and ERK pathways. These findings could contribute to the development of new types of EGCG-containing pharmacological agents for use in the treatment of TAO.


Pickering emulsions (particle-stabilized emulsions) are usually considered because of their unique properties compared to surfactant-stabilized emulsions including better stability against emulsion aging. However, the interesting feature of particle-stabilized emulsions could be revealed during their magnetic heating. When magnetic particles constitute a shell around droplets and the sample is placed in an alternating magnetic field, a temperature increase appears due to energy dissipation from magnetic relaxation and hysteresis within magnetic particles. We hypothesize that the solidity of the magnetic particle shell around droplets can influence the process of heat transfer from inside the droplet to the surrounding medium. In this way, particle-stabilized emulsions can be considered as materials with changeable heat transfer. We investigated macroscopically heating and cooling of oil-in-oil magnetic Pickering emulsions with merely packed particle layers and these with a stable particle shell. The change in stability of the shell was obtained here by using the coalescence of droplets under the electric field. The results from calorimetric measurements show that the presence of a stable particle shell caused a slower temperature decrease in samples, especially for lower intensities of the magnetic field. The retarded heat transfer from magnetic Pickering droplets can be utilized in further potential applications where delayed heat transfer is desirable.


There is a tension between conducting comprehensive systematic reviews and completing them in time to meet policy-making deadlines. The 'rapid evidence assessment' has been proposed as a solution to this; offering rigorous reviews in a condensed timescale. While used frequently in healthcare, this mode of reviewing presents considerable challenges in social policy. We describe some potential problems and suggest reviewing strategies that can overcome some of them. There are situations, however, in which it may not be feasible to embark on a rapid review, and caution should be exercised when selecting this method.


A statistical model estimating the mean and standard deviation of each drop-size canting angle, assuming Gaussian canting angle distributions, is presented. The model utilises the one-dimensional energy spectrum of horizontal turbulence given by F.B. Smith, and, using the differential equation for the horizontal drop movement, it calculates the mean and standard deviation of each drop-size canting angle. Comparison with M.J. Saunders's work shows good agreement. Application of the model to terrestrial and satellite links shows that, for rain alone, the crosspolarisation discrimination variations for satellite paths are much higher than in the terrestrial case, and that the crosspolarisation discrimination mean values are lower for terrestrial paths.


Incremental semantic segmentation aims to continually learn the segmentation of new coming classes without accessing the training data of previously learned classes. However, most current methods fail to address catastrophic forgetting and background shift since they 1) treat all previous classes equally without considering different forgetting paces caused by imbalanced gradient back-propagation; 2) lack strong semantic guidance between classes. To tackle the above challenges, in this paper, we propose a Gradient-Semantic Compensation (GSC) model, which surmounts incremental semantic segmentation from both gradient and semantic perspectives. Specifically, to address catastrophic forgetting from the gradient aspect, we develop a step-aware gradient compensation that can balance forgetting paces of previously seen classes via re-weighting gradient backpropagation. Meanwhile, we propose a soft-sharp semantic relation distillation to distill consistent inter-class semantic relations via soft labels for alleviating catastrophic forgetting from the semantic aspect. In addition, we develop a prototypical pseudo re-labeling that provides strong semantic guidance to mitigate background shift. It produces high-quality pseudo labels for old classes in the background by measuring distances between pixels and class-wise prototypes. Extensive experiments on three public datasets, i.e., Pascal VOC 2012, ADE20K, and Cityscapes, demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed GSC model.


The review results from many reading about identity and national identity what along many reading on the she took the act a part a visit the theories of the 20th century on the subject of conceptions identity and how the discourses can render the " brasilidade" on a epoch what the subject newly is call the assume positions , political , religious and nationalists. About to as many a study of Dante Moreira Leite and the Stuart Hall it works like a " chamariz" for a discussion again major on the subject of the thresholds from identiy.


We present an agent-based computer simulation that extends a previous experimental simulation (Mesoudi and O"Brien 2008) of the cultural transmission of projectile-point technology in the prehistoric Great Basin, with participants replaced with computer-generated agents. As in the experiment, individual learning is found to generate low correlations between artifact attributes, whereas indirectly biased cultural transmission (copying the point design of the most successful hunter) generates high correlations between artifact attributes. These results support the hypothesis that low attribute correlations in prehistoric California resulted from individual learning, and high attribute correlations in prehistoric Nevada resulted from indirectly biased cultural transmission. However, alternative modes of cultural transmission, including conformist transmission and random copying, generated similarly high attribute correlations as indirect bias, suggesting that it may be difficult to infer which transmission rule generated this archaeological pattern. On the other hand, indirect bias out-performed all other cultural-transmission rules, lending plausibility to the original hypothesis. Importantly, this advantage depends on the assumption of a multimodal adaptive landscape in which there are multiple locally optimal artifact designs. Indeed, in unimodal fitness environments no cultural transmission rule outperformed individual learning, highlighting how the shape of the adaptive landscape within which cultural evolution occurs can strongly influence the dynamics of cultural transmission. Generally, experimental and computer simulations can be useful in answering questions that are difficult to address with archaeological data, such as identifying the consequences of different modes of cultural transmission or exploring the effect of different selective environments.


Since its dawn several decades ago, quality management (QM) has become established as a concept for improving organisations. It is often manifested in companies today in various initiatives, such as "lean", "Six Sigma" or "the Company Production System". However, adoptions of QM are scarce in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Historically, some research has considered QM as universally applicable. This thesis demonstrates how characteristics of individual organisations, and different parts of QM adoption processes, influence what practices that are favourably applicable in SMEs. Furthermore, because of resource and competence scarcity, external interventions have been suggested as being valuable for supporting the adoption processes of QM in SMEs. The purpose of this thesis is to identify critical factors of, and functions of external interventions in, QM adoption in SMEs.
The results of the thesis are based on six research papers: one literature review, three company cases and two external intervention programme cases. These studies have helped identify a number of important stages of the QM adoption process: awareness and need, competence, adaptation, implementation, study, and action. Importantly, adoption processes should be viewed as complex and iterative in nature. In order to understand adoption processes, it is critical to recognise them as non-linear, and that they are not exclusively progressing but may also regress. These findings are further synthesised into a model that may provide practical guidance and inspiration for planning an adoption, as well as structure for analysing adoption processes.
Six categories of factors are identified as critical for adoption: gradual implementation using realistic goals, involvement and training of employees, involvement of external support, management involvement, and fact-based follow-up. Perhaps the most common characteristic of the SME context seems to be the need for external support, as many SMEs demonstrate a scarcity with resources, both financial and competence in adopting QM. It is also noted that publically financed improvement programmes can support in these regards, as well as in ensuring structure, and long-term planning.


Microstructures of GaN buffer layers grown on Si (111) substrates using rapid thermal process low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition are investigated by an atomic force microscope (AFM) and a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). AFM images show that the islands appear in the GaN buffer layer after annealing at high temperature. Cross-sectional HRTEM micrographs of the buffer region of these samples indicate that there are bunched steps on the surface of the Si substrate and a lot of domains in GaN misorienting each other with small angles. The boundaries of those domains locate near the bunched steps, and the regions of the film on a terrace between steps have the same crystal orientation. An amorphous-like layer, about 3 nm thick, can also be observed between the GaN buffer layer and the Si substrate.


Background The involvement of a multidisciplinary team in the management of a patient's transfer from hospital to hospital has been shown to improve patient outcomes and reduce readmissions. Hospital pharmacy discharge medicines review aims to improve patient compliance and comprehension. NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS) are considering whether hospital pharmacists should be sent a copy of the discharge advice letter (DAL). Purpose The study aimed to evaluate and quantify the views of the public on hospital pharmacist's access to the patients' DAL. Material and methods A pre-piloted questionnaire was sent to a total of 4000 participants across the whole of Wales. The participants' agreement was sought using a Likert scale, to share information related to hospital admission details, hospital discharge details, clinical information, medication information and recommendations. Sampling clusters were identified based on population size, and then categories were purposively assigned to local authorities to obtain a representative sample of the whole of Wales. Random sampling using Excel was used to select participants from the edited electoral roll. Quantitative data were analysed by SPSS 20 and qualitative free text comments were analysed via inductive thematic analysis. Results 12.5% questionnaires were returned. The majority of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed to all types of hospital discharge information being shared with the hospital pharmacist to increase patient safety; 30% preferred this information to be shared electronically. Almost half of the public (49.7%) felt that consent should explicitly be provided for every hospital discharge. Five broad themes were identified, each containing a number of sub-themes. These included personal details, relationship with hospital pharmacy, sharing information with a hospital pharmacy, patient consent and opinions of hospital pharmacists having access to hospital discharge information. The study revealed a low usage of pharmacy services and further education about the role of the pharmacist should help to integrate the services with that of other health professionals. Conclusion The results will be fed back to NWIS for review in the hope hospital pharmacists will gain access to DALs which would be expected to improve patient care and potentially save costs. References and/or acknowledgements Katikireddi SV, Cloud GC. Planning a patient's discharge from hospital. BMJ2008;337:a2694. No conflict of interest


The authors report a series of 10 cases of a stone in the bladder in women and describe the main characteristics of this condition. They point out that infection in particular plays a role not only in the causation of these stones but also in the development and complications. They emphasize that early treatment of the stone is important and that the urine should be sterilised as this will reduce the risk of morbidity especially in pregnant women.


A companion paper (Jiang and Reddy 2007) presents a general and computationally efficient methodology for dynamic scheduling and optimal control of complex primary HVAC&R plants using a deterministic engineering optimization approach. The objective of this paper is to complement the previous work by proposing a methodology by which the robustness of the optimal deterministic strategy to various sources of uncertainties can be evaluated against non-optimal but risk averse alternatives within a formal decision analysis framework. This specifically involves performing a sensitivity analysis on the effect of various stochastic factors that impact primary HVAC&R plant optimization, such as the uncertainty in load prediction and the uncertainties associated with various component models of the equipment. This is achieved through Monte Carlo simulations on the deterministic outcome, which allow additional attributes, such as its variability and the probability of insufficient cooling, to be determined along with the minimum operating cost. The entire analysis is then repeated for a specific non-optimal but risk-averse operating strategy. Finally, a formal decision analysis model using linear multi-attribute utility functions is suggested for comparing both these strategies in a framework that explicitly models the risk perception of the plant operator in terms of the three attributes. The methodology is demonstrated using the same illustrative case study as the companion paper.


The project focusses on the problems of low productivity and associated poverty in off-road areas (ie: areas away from good paved roads). Off-road rural areas and populations are frequently markedly poorer than those in comparable roadside locations in the same region, at least in part due to problems and costs of market access. Lack of appropriate intermediate rural transport is a common cause of post-harvest loss for many poor households. Evidence of this problem was widely reported in project R7149 (which focussed on the same districts as the current proposal). Transport availability, reliability and cost were identified as major constraints on access to markets, particularly for women who undertake most of the produce marketing in Ghana. Non-motorised transport was found to consist principally of head-loading. Bicycles were few in number and almost wholy owned by men: the few hand carts in operation were also owned by men. This pattern of poor transport availability, unreliability and high cost, with consequent low usage rates, has particularly severe implications for women. They usually have less funds than men to pay transport fares or purchase vehicles or IMT of any kind, yet they generally have a major responsibility for produce evacuation and marketing in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly West Africa. Generally, the result is overwhelming dependence on headloading of produce by women, from farm to village, and onward at least as far as the nearest good paved road, with direct effects on their health and time budgets, and with consequent knock-on implications for agricultural productivity. This is a widespread and under-researched development problem. For poverty-focussed development initiatives, off-road communities - and particularly women in off-road communities - will represent an important priority, given the substantial populations resident off-road and the above-average incidence of poverty in such locations. The potential for IMT to alleviate women's transport burden is often suggested, but the difficulties and implications of adoption - in technical, socio-economic and environmental terms - are largely unexplored.


The spectrum of neoplastic disease seen in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is similar to that seen in several congenital and iatrogenic immunodeficiency states and provides a human model for studying neoplastic transformation in the immune compromised host. High grade lymphoid neoplasia, particularly of the central nervous system (CNS), as well as a virulent form of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and several types of squamous cell carcinomas, are appearing at an alarming rate in patients with AIDS. There is substantial serologic, pathologic and molecular evidence linking cytomegalovirus (CMV) to KS and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to squamous cell carcinoma and high-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy associated virus (HTLV-III/LAV) may be responsible for the permissive immune deficient state allowing for opportunistic neoplasia and the aggressive biologic behavior and atypical anatomic distribution these neoplasms exhibit. The clinical features as well as potential etiopathogenetic mechanisms of these malignancies are reviewed.


A 57-year-old man was transferred due to abdominal pain. He was a heavy drinker (ethanol 190 g/day) and presented with Child-Pugh class-B. Computed tomography (CT) showed cirrhosis, esophageal varices, fluid collection with hematoma (Picture 1, arrow), and enlarged collateral veins with saccular dilatation from the umbilical portion of the portal vein to the right femoral vein. We presumed he had bleeding from acquired portosystemic collaterals with cirrhosis. His vital signs were stable, and careful monitoring of intraperitoneal fluid volume was deemed prudent. Three days after admission, he developed shock and was subsequently reimaged with CT. Based on the findings, he was diagnosed with increasing hematoma (Picture 2A, B, arrows) and intraperitoneal re-hemorrhaging from ectopic varices (Picture 2B, C, arrowheads). We attempted to achieve hemostasis using balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration, but he had progressive hemodynamic instability, so we had to stop the procedure before the culprit vessel could be detected. He ultimately died from intraperitoneal bleeding. Intraperitoneal ectopic varices rupture is a rare and lethal complication brought on by portal hypertension. If a diagnosis of impending rupture is made, immediate interventional radiological or surgical treatment should be performed (1, 2).


Background: Antral packing cannot support fractures of the zygomatic arch properly because of the position, therefore the aim of this report was to document a new method by which both the zygomatic bone and arch can be stabilized. Method and Materials: Iodine soaked gauze was placed in the subzygomatic space beneath the arch, via an intra-oral lateral coronoid incision. This was used for stabilizing the bone and the arch after reduction. Results: The pack was removed after one week and was not replaced due to satisfactory stability and support achieved. Application of honey also helped in the healing and smoothening of the face. Conclusion: subzygomatic space packing is a new and reliable method of stabilizing zygomatic bone and arch fractures. The subzygomatic space packing offered an additional advantage compared to antral pack because it also contributed to the support of zygomatico-maxillary suture fracture anteriorly obviating the need of invading the maxillary antrum. Keywords: Subzygomatic space, packing, stable zygomatic fractures


Abstract Objective The main purpose of this article is to study the effect of a change in the dominant side of chewing after prosthetics with fixed structures on implants on the main indicators of osseointegration, adaptation to dentures, and the clinical dental status of patients. Materials and Methods In a clinical trial, an analysis was made of the adaptation of 64 patients to intraosseous implant-supported fixed dentures and 56 apparently healthy volunteers. The examination complex included determination of the functionally dominant side of chewing, gnathodynamometry and electromyography indicators of masticatory muscles, and radiological osseointegration criteria. The overall treatment outcomes were evaluated using a visual analogue scale and an objective medical questionnaire, "Prognosis of Adaptation to Orthopedic Structures." Results Patients were divided into two subgroups: with a change in the dominant side of chewing after completion of orthopaedic treatment (40 cases) and without a change in the dominant side of chewing (24 cases). In the second subgroup of patients, in contrast to the first subgroup, relatively better indicators of gnathodynamometer and electromyography were observed. So, in the first group, gnathodynamometry indicators on the dominant side were 255.7 N and in the second group 225 N after 9 to 12 months. Electromyography indices amounted to (198.5 μV s) to (166.3 μV s) after 9 to 12 months. Bone density remained at the required level, and overall treatment outcomes were higher. Namely, the compact plate of the alveolar ridge was preserved, and the condition of the bone tissue around the implants testified to stable osseointegration. The participation of surface masticatory muscles in adaptation of patients to intraosseous implant-supported fixed orthopaedic structures and the necessity and importance of changing the dominant chewing side for the general outcomes of orthopaedic treatment have been discussed. Conclusions It has been established that a change in the functionally dominant chewing side is accompanied by relatively unstable indicators of chewing function, which is combined with increased loads on the installed prostheses during 3 to 6 months of adaptation. This must be taken into account when planning an individual patient adaptation complex for dental orthopaedic structures.


Essential oils (EOs) have excellent antibacterial activity and are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use in food preservatives. However, the application of EOs is limited because of their strong volatility and easily oxidized. Encapsulation of EOs into nanoemulsions could effectively prevent oxidative deterioration. In this study, lemon essential oil-based nanoemulsion (LEO/NE) was prepared by high-pressure homogenization. FT-IR and encapsulation efficiency analysis indicated that LEO was effectively encapsulated in the nanoemulsion. The results of zeta potential changes after 35 d storage indicated that LEO/NE exhibits good stability at room temperature. The effect of LEO/NE on the main soft rot pathogens of kiwifruit Phomopsis sp. was investigated, and the results showed that LEO/NE significantly inhibited spore germination and mycelia growth of Phomopsis sp. by promoting ROS accumulation, intracellular antioxidant enzyme activities, and cell apoptosis. The preservation experiment was carried out by inoculating Phomopsis sp. spores into fresh kiwifruit, and the LEO/NE effectively inhibited soft rot development in kiwifruit in a LEO dose dependent manner. LEO/NE with 1% LEO loading amount has a good effect on preventing postharvest decay of kiwifruit caused by Phomopsis sp.


Summary Study aim: to evaluate the differences in H-reflex parameters in lying and standing positions in canoeists. Material and methods: twenty seven male canoeists (age 17.2 ± 1.6 year, body mass 73.7 ± 7.6 kg, height 180.9 ± 6.1 cm, training experience 6.5 ± 3.6 years) participated in the study. None of the subjects had any history of neuromuscular disorders. The soleus H-reflex was examined in each subject twice: in lying and standing position. H-reflex was elicited by one-millisecond electrical stimulation of a posterior tibial nerve in the popliteal fossa. A recruitment curve for each subject was obtained by gradually increasing the stimulus intensity. Results: the results obtained in the present study showed statistically significant differences of the variables characterising effects of stimulations performed in lying and standing positions (F4,23 = 8.063; p < 0.001). H/M ratio was 0.50 ± 0.25 and 0.64 ± 0.27 for lying and standing positions, respectively. Our results support previous findings. Conclusions: the lying position is recommended for measurements as more comfortable for subjects and providing a greater level of the elicited H-reflex.


Successful performance on potential tourism markets requires that regions which are both sufficiently large and easily recognizable to Bulgarian and foreign tourists be presented. It is a common objective of the European Commission and the governments of the fourteen EU countries along the Danube to enhance the cooperation and communication between local citizens by designing a Danube Strategy that will integrate the markets within the EU and promote interregional and international cooperation. Sustainable tourism development, which has become a major priority for Bulgaria, requires the efficient exploitation of the tourism potential of the country and active intercultural collaboration. It also entails developing integrated cross-border and transnational projects to design a common Danube Tourism Strategy, develop a common tourism market and initiate a range of initiatives to promote Danube tourism products in different spheres of tourism - cultural, wine, agricultural, cruise, balneo, spa and wellness, biking and hiking. Some of the key activities within the framework of the Danube Tourism Strategy include improved infrastructure planning and development; establishing the Danube region as a European tourism brand and a major destination; promoting cultural tourism and cultural exchange; developing eco-tourism and active tourism. The Concept about Tourism Zoning of Bulgaria has identified nine tourism regions in the country. One of them is the Danube region where more than a quarter of all Bulgarian municipalities are situated. This paper studies the dynamics of the major indicators of tourism development in the Danube tourism region in the period from 2010 to 2015. We review current trends and conduct a factor analysis of changes in receipts from overnight stays. We also identify key factors which contribute to or hinder tourism development in the region. The paper compares the indicators of the region with the indicators of the other tourism regions in the country and highlights a major strategic issue, i.e. the noticeable contrast in the development of different regions in Bulgaria.


A compact, robust and efficient nanosecond pulsed optical parametric oscillator (OPO) generating radiation in the midIR spectral range is reported. The OPO is based on periodically poled material for the efficient non-linear processes of up-converting 1064 nm radiation to 1538 and 3450 nm respectively. Pulsed emission exceeding 130 mW average power at the idler (3450 nm) with a total conversion efficiency of 30%, including both signal and idler, has been reached. The maximum pulse energy of the idler is 11 μJ, pulse duration around 4 ns and peak power close to 3 kW. The results are achieved for an optical pump power of 1.4 W at the entrance of the OPO and an electrical pump power of 14 W. The total size of the OPO device is only 125x70x45 mm 3 (LxWxH) including the pump laser at 1064 nm. The idler output radiation is narrowed by spectral filtering to < 1.5nm and temperature tuneable over > 50 nm. The OPO has a robust design and withstands shocks up to 60g at 8 ms and the storage temperature is -20 °C to + 60 °C. The compact size and low power consumption make this OPO device suitable for many kinds of molecular spectroscopy applications in the areas of environmental monitoring and pollution control as well as in combustion physics and process control. Integration of the OPO source into compact equipment for Photo Acoustic Spectroscopy (PAS) allowing fast and highly sensitive detection of methane and ethanol at ppb-levels is also described.


Background The regenerative capacity of the skin, including the continuous replacement of exfoliated cells and healing of injuries relies on the epidermal stem cells and their immediate cell descendants. The relative contribution of the hair follicle stem cells and the interfollicular stem cells to dermal wound healing is an area of active investigation. Recent studies have revealed that the small GTPase Rac1, which regulates cell migration and nuclear gene expression, is required for hair follicle stem function but not for the normal homeostasis of the interfollicular skin. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we explored whether Rac1 contributes to wound healing in the skin and in the oral mucosa, the latter an anatomical site that presents similar architecture to that of the skin but is devoid of any hair follicle structures, and hence lacks hair follicle stem cells. Epidermal Rac1 gene excision led to the clearly delayed closure of cutaneous wounds. Remarkably, genetic ablation of Rac1 from the oral mucosa resulted in the complete inability of oral wounds to heal. We present evidence that the lack of oral mucosal re-epithelization may result from the reduced migratory capacity of cells lacking Rac1 together with altered expression of injury-induced proliferative and cellular stress-related expression programs. Conclusions/Significance Together, these observations support that while the normal development and homeostasis of the interfollicular skin and oral mucosa do not require Rac1 function, the interfollicular and oral epithelial stem cells may require a Rac1-dependent program to orchestrate the tissue response to injury and ultimate for wound closure. Ultimately, these findings may enable the molecular characterization of the acute tissue regenerative response of these stem cell populations, thus facilitating the identification of novel molecular-targeted strategies aimed at accelerating wound closure.


As part of ongoing programme on the development of a sustained release (SR) formulation of theophylline (200 mg capsule) and determination of its bioavailability, a specific, sensitive and simple HPLC method has been developed for the estimation of lower mg levels of theophylline in plasma. 8-Chlorotheophylline was used as an internal standard. With simple extraction of theophylline from plasma, the method has a, linearity range of 0.5 to 30 mg/ml and an average recovery of 79.32% for theophylline and 88.49% for the internal standard, respectively. Theophylline plasma concentration versus time data is presented for the test formulation (T) (SR capsule, 200 mg) and a standard formulation (S) (SR tablet, 200 mg). Different pharmacokinetic parameters for formulation T and formulation S were estimated and compared statistically for determination of their bioequivalence.


Five iodoargentate hybrids, {[MC][Ag2I3]}n (1), {[EC][Ag2I3]}n (2), {[PC]2[Ag4I6]}n (3), {[BC]2[Ag4I6]}n (4), and {[IPC]2[Ag4I6]}n (5) (MC+ = N-methyl-4-cyanopyridinium, EC+ = N-ethyl-4-cyanopyridinium, PC+ = N-propyl-4-cyanopyridinium, BC+ = N-butyl-4-cyanopyridinium, and IPC+ = N-isopentyl-4-cyanopyridinium), have been solvothermally synthesized. Built up from μ-I bridging cubane-like Ag4I4 nodes, 1 and 2 present similar two-dimensional grid-like layers with the MC+ and EC+ cations located at the apertures of inorganic layers and interlayer space, while 3, 4, and 5 possess three-dimensional open frameworks with the PC+, BC+, and IPC+ cations intercalated in the channels. 1–5 exhibit reducing band gaps with respect to the bulk β-AgI and interesting low temperature reversible thermochromism, which can be ascribed to the temperature effects directly on the population of intermolecular charge transfer. Variations in structure and property reveal delicate modulating effect of N-alkyl-4-cyanopyridinium cation...


Using a 64Cu complex, we obtained human basal ganglia scans in three normal volunteers and in one patient with Wilson's disease with an oral dose of 1 mCi. The method with this new radioactive compound was simple and safe and the results were very encouraging.


It is proposed that glucagon, a polypeptide hormone, is delicately balanced between two major conformational states. Utilizing a new predictive model [Chou, P.Y., and Fasman, G.D. (1974), Biochemistry 13, 222] which considers all the conformational states in proteins (helix, beta sheet, random coil, and beta turns), the secondary structural regions of glucagon are computed herein. The conformational sensitivity of glucagon may be due to residues 19-27 which have both alpha-helical potential (mean value of Palpha = 1.19) as well as beta-sheet potential (mean value of Pbeta = 1.25). Two conformational states are predicted for glucagon. In predicted form (a), residues 5-10 form a beta-sheet region while residues 19-27 form an alpha-helical region (31% alpha, 21% beta) agreeing well with the circular dichroism (CD) spectra of glucagon. The similarity in the CD spectra of glucagon and insulin further suggests the presence of beta structure in glucagon, since X-ray analysis of insulin showed 24% beta sheet. In predicted form (b), both regions, residues 5-10 and residues 19-27, are beta sheets sheets (0% alpha, 52% beta) in agreement with the infrared spectral evidence that glucagon gels and fibrils have a predominant beta-sheet conformation. Since three reverse beta turns are predicted at residues 2-5, 10-13, and 15-18, glucagon may possess tertiary structure in agreement with viscosity and tritium-hydrogen exchange experiments. A proposal is offered concerning an induced alpha yields beta transition at residues 22-27 in glucagon during receptor site binding. Amino acid substitutions are proposed which should disrupt the beta sheets of glucagon with concomitant loss of biological activity. The experimental findings that glucagon aggregates to form dimers, trimers, and hexamers can be explained in terms of beta-sheet interactions as outlined in the present predictive model. Thus the conflicting conclusions of previous workers, concerning the conformation of glucagon in different environments, can be rationalized by the suggested conformational transition occurring within the molecule.


We consider the framework of average aggregative games, where the cost function of each agent depends on his own strategy and on the average population strategy. We focus on the case in which the agents are coupled not only via their cost functions, but also via affine constraints on the average of the agents' strategies. We propose a distributed algorithm that achieves an almost Nash equilibrium by requiring only local communications of the agents, as specified by a sparse communication network. The proof of convergence of the algorithm relies on the auxiliary class of network aggregative games and exploits a novel result of parametric convergence of variational inequalities, which is applicable beyond the context of games. We apply our theoretical findings to a multi-market Cournot game with transportation costs and maximum market capacity.


Piggybacking codes are a special class of MDS array codes that can achieve small repair bandwidth with small sub-packetization by first creating some instances of an $(n,k)$ MDS code, such as a Reed-Solomon (RS) code, and then designing the piggyback function. In this paper, we propose a new piggybacking coding design which designs the piggyback function over some instances of both $(n,k)$ MDS code and $(n,k')$ MDS code, when $k\geq k'$. We show that our new piggybacking design can significantly reduce the repair bandwidth for single-node failures. When $k=k'$, we design piggybacking code that is MDS code and we show that the designed code has lower repair bandwidth for single-node failures than all existing piggybacking codes when the number of parity node $r=n-k\geq8$ and the sub-packetization $\alpha<r$. Moreover, we propose another piggybacking codes by designing $n$ piggyback functions of some instances of $(n,k)$ MDS code and adding the $n$ piggyback functions into the $n$ newly created empty entries with no data symbols. We show that our code can significantly reduce repair bandwidth for single-node failures at a cost of slightly more storage overhead. In addition, we show that our code can recover any $r+1$ node failures for some parameters. We also show that our code has lower repair bandwidth than locally repairable codes (LRCs) under the same fault-tolerance and redundancy for some parameters.


This study investigates small firm internationalization from a developing country perspective. Despite the vast literature on small firm internationalization, the differences that exist between developing countries and developed countries remain unexplored. Therefore, current theories are influenced by processes and practices in developed countries, which are then applied blindly to developing countries. This study therefore asks: What are the factors that owners/managers in developing countries understand to influence the scope and pace of internationalization of their small firms? An interpretive approach is adopted to explore the factors that influence internationalization of small firms from developing countries. Consequently, case data from four Botswana firms were collected and analyzed. The literature review and case studies are used to propose a framework of a small firm internationalization from a developing country. The framework identifies major factors that influence small firm internationalization in this context as being; national\entrepreneurial culture, government policies, networks, innovative products, market knowledge and commitment.


See Article on Page 103-105

Injection therapy has a long history of being used for the treatment of hemorrhoids. However, the previous results on injection therapy for its complication rates and severity were not promising [1]. In this respect, aluminum potassium sulfate and tannic acid (ALTA) therapy could be a new promising option for the treatment of internal hemorrhoids [2]. However, some complications have been reported for ALTA therapy [3]. Thus, the learning of a precise surgical procedure and careful selection of the patients are vital. In addition, over-dosage and injection at an inappropriate location or depth frequently lead to serious complications. Application of ALTA therapy for the treatment of internal hemorrhoids may be a good choice, but still its efficacy for the treatment of external hemorrhoids and skin tags is limited. Thus, the surgeon should consider combined therapy (a hemorrhoidectomy and ALTA therapy) for the treatment of mixed hemorrhoids. Even though ALTA therapy has better treatment results than PAO therapy, well-controlled surgery and patient selection are still needed.


Efforts to alleviate unemployment and poverty must be done comprehensively, cover various aspects of community life, and be implemented in an integrated manner. The research aims to explain the relationship between variables directly, indirectly, and as a whole, to find out how much influence the minimum wages, education, and inflation rates on unemployment and poverty. The analytical approach through panel analysis based on the panel-common effect in 2015-2019 in 5 regions (West, Central, South, East, and North Borneo Island). Empirical findings state that minimum wages have a negative and significant effect on unemployment, while education has a positive and significant effect on unemployment, and inflation rates have a positive and not significant effect on unemployment. Unemployment has a positive and insignificant effect on poverty. Minimum wages have a negative and insignificant effect on poverty through unemployment, while education and inflation rates are both positive and not significant effects on poverty through unemployment. An increase in the informal sector is needed to reduce unemployment and poverty because the informal sector is the main solution to address this problem.