DURING 1954 THE CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS (CDH) INTRODUCED IMPROVED SPECIFICATIONS FOR PAVING GRADE ASPHALTS. AS PART OF A PROGRAM TO DETERMINE PERFORMANCE UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS TEN DIFFERENT ASPHALTS WERE PLACED ON A MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECT CONSISTING OF ENTIRELY NEW CONSTRUCTION AND AN OVERLAY OVER AN OLD PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE PAVEMENT. THE TEST SECTIONS WERE CONSTRUCTED UNDER NEARLY IDENTICAL PROCEDURES AND HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO COMMON CLIMATIC AND TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. ALL OF THE ASPHALTS WERE OF THE 200 TO 300 PENETRATION GRADE AND REPRESENTED DIFFERENT CRUDE SOURCES AND METHODS OF PRODUCTION AS FOUND IN CALIFORNIA WITH ONE EXCEPTION. THE EXCEPTION IS A MID- CONTINENT CRUDE SOURCE ASPHALT PRODUCED IN A REFINERY IN ARKANSAS. OF THE NINE CALIFORNIA ASPHALTS TWO COMPLIED WITH THE 1954 STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS BUT NOT WITH THE NEW SPECIAL PROVISION SPECIFICATIONS AND SEVEN COMPLIED WITH BOTH THE OLD AND NEW PROPOSED SPECIFICATIONS, WHICH SINCE THAT DATE HAVE BEEN USED BY CDH FOR THE PURCHASE OF PAVING GRADE ASPHALTS. MOST OF THE ASPHALTS WERE PLACED IN 2,500-FT TEST SECTIONS ON BOTH THE NEW AND BLANKET PAVEMENTS. COMPLETE FIELD STUDIES WERE CARRIED ON DURING CONSTRUCTION AND ABSON RECOVERY TESTS WERE MADE ON THE PAVING MIXTURES. OBSERVATION AND TEST RESULTS CONFIRM THE FACT THAT ASPHALTS MANUFACTURED BY DIFFERENT METHODS AND FROM DIFFERENT CRUDE SOURCES, ALTHOUGH PLACED UNDER VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL CONDITIONS, EXHIBIT VARYING DEGREES OF HARDENING DURING THE MIXING PROCESS. A DESCRIPTION OF TESTS PERFORMED ON FIELD CORES DURING THE PAST THREE YEARS OF SERVICE LIFE IS PROVIDED. THESE RESULTS INDICATE QUITE MARKED DIFFERENCES IN THE WEATHERING RATES OF THE VARIOUS ASPHALTS WHEN COMPARED UNDER EQUIVALENT CONSTRUCTION, TRAFFIC AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. FIELD PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS OF THE TEST SECTIONS TO DATE ARE PROVIDED TOGETHER WITH A SHORT DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE FAILURE OF THREE TEST SECTIONS.


The development of information and computer technology (ICT) in recent decades has rendered digital game-mediated teaching a natural tendency in second language (L2) education. Sykes, Reinhardt and Thorne (2010) pointed out that the interactive design of digital games could greatly enhance learner motivation and make learning a highly engaging experience. L2 educational researchers and practitioners have explored the pedagogical use of commercial games of diverse genres for enhancing L2 teaching. Meanwhile serious games, or games designed specifically for L2 education have also gained ground. Some studies have investigated the incorporation of serious games into L2 curriculum. So far, learning through digital games has quite rightly focused on the learners, and so the perspective of the students in or outside classrooms is prominent in the literature. When the games are intended to be used as part of the L2 curriculum, though, the attitudes, beliefs and methodologies of the teachers can also be examined. Where this requires acceptance of technologies, it can be intimidating (Neville, 2009). As an attempt to gain insight into teachers' views of incorporating game-mediated learning into L2 curriculum, a research was conducted in 6 primary schools in Harbin, China. The research is part of a larger project of Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) funded by Innovate UK. Liaised with the University of Edinburgh, the project aims to design a digital platform of animated games to enhance English teaching in Chinese primary schools. The purpose of the study is two-fold: first, it serves as a systematic review of past studies on game-mediated L2 teaching and brings in research on teachers' technology acceptance model (TAM) to discuss the feasibility of incorporating teachers' perspective in digital game-mediated L2 research. Second, it illustrates a broader picture of the project and presents some initial tentative conclusions from research into the views of teachers from experience of an animated game for English teaching.


Abstract This paper considers Arbib's hypothesis that (oral) language has its roots in gesture in light of recent research on demonstratives, joint attention, and deictic pointing (Michael Arbib. 2012. How the brain got language: The Mirror System Hypothesis. Oxford: Oxford University Press). It is argued that demonstratives provide an important link between gesture, discourse, and grammar that rests on their communicative function to coordinate the interlocutors' focus of attention. Combining evidence from linguistic typology and historical linguistics with evidence from research on social cognition, the paper argues that demonstratives constitute a universal class of linguistic expressions that are commonly used in combination with a deictic pointing gesture to establish joint attention, a cognitive phenomenon that is closely related to Arbib's notion of "complex imitation". No other class of linguistic expressions is so closely tied to the speaker's body and gesture than demonstratives. However, demonstratives are not only used to focus the language users' attention on concrete entities in the surrounding situation, they are also used to organize the information flow in discourse, which in turn underlies their frequent development into a wide range of grammatical markers, e.g. definite articles, third person pronouns, relative markers, complementizers, subordinate conjunctions, copulas, and focus markers. In this way, demonstratives provide an explicit link between gesture, imitation, and grammar that is consistent with Arbib's theory of the evolution of language.


Cowden syndrome (CS; also known as multiple hamartoma syndrome) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by multiple hamartomas and a high risk of development of thyroid, breast, endometrial and other cancers. The cardinal features of the disease, which often lead to diagnosis, include mucocutaneous papillomatous papules and trichilemmomas. Most affected people develop these characteristic lesions by the age of 20 years. Once diagnosed, gene identification can be offered to family members of affected patients. We report a case of the disease and briefly review the current literature.


Sixty-eight nations, accounting for more than two thirds of global trade, follow international legal rules which govern contracts for the international sale of goods.1 In light of the recent trends in globalisation and liberalisation of international trade, business managers, previously accustomed to their own local or domestic laws, must deal with the perils and traps that arise from these international rules. Most of Europe, the United States, Russian Federation, Mexico, Australia, Canada and China have adopted the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG); an international agreement between these nations that embodies the new rules of international trade agreements involving the sale of goods.2 The CISG pre-empts a country's domestic law, including the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) in the United States, which could present precarious results for business managers who are unaware of its existence (Mather, 2001).


In theoretical calculation of ARXPS spectra, the plane wave Debye-Waller factor has been mostly used. However, recent theoretical researches have shown the importance of spherical wave Debye-Waller factor in ARXPS spectra. We calculated Ge 3 p ARXPS spectra of Ge(111) surface and studied the effects of the spherical wave Debye-Waller factor. The calculation using the spherical wave Debye-Waller factor explains temperature dependence of the ARXPS spectra. In particular, the spherical wave Debye-Waller factor explains the observed decrease of forward scattering intensity with increasing of temperature below the bulk melting temperature, where the plane wave approximation for the Debye-Waller factor fails to describe this phenomenon. We also estimated the mean square relative displacement around the temperature of high-temperature surface phase transition.


Electrostatic double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) with room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) as electrolytes are among the most promising energy storage technologies. Utilizing atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that the capacitance and energy density stored within the electric double layers (EDLs) formed at the electrode-RTIL electrolyte interface can be significantly improved by tuning the nanopatterning of the electrode surface. Significantly increased values and complex dependence of differential capacitance on applied potential were observed for surface patterns having dimensions similar to the ions' dimensions. Electrode surfaces patterned with rough edges promote ion separation in the EDL at lower potentials and therefore result in increased capacitance. The observed trends, which are not accounted for by the current basic EDL theories, provide a potentially new route for optimizing electrode structure for specific electrolytes.


Participants will learn ways that digital resources can eliminate boundaries, excite imagination, and engage minds. They will leave this session with innovative tools that can support content curriculum and Technology Application TEKS.


To date, no screening tests for gambling disorders have been adapted and validated in Central and Eastern Europe. The aim of this study is to adapt the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) and Lie/Bet questionnaire (Lie/Bet) and assess their psychometric properties once translated for use with the Polish population. A mixed sample (N = 300) was drawn from venues, social media, snowballing and treatment centers. PGSI had a higher coefficient of predictive power than Lie/Bet. However, differences between validated tests are not significant. Validation of screening tests of gambling disorders showed the necessity for verification of the scale of interpretation of results when conducting tests in Poland, changing cutoff values. The PGSI and Lie/Bet tests are short and easy to apply, they can be implemented in various types of institutions: for screening patients in primary health care facilities and for identifying comorbid gambling disorders in alcohol- and drug-dependence treatment facilities, and in social welfare centers.


Sodium and potassium ion batteries hold promise for next-generation energy storage systems due to their rich abundance and low cost, but are facing great challenges in optimum electrode materials for actual applications. Here, ultrathin nanoribbons of sodium titanate (M-NTO, NaTi1.5O8.3) and potassium titanate (M-KTO, K2Ti4O9) were successfully synthesized by a simultaneous oxidation and alkalization process of Ti3C2 MXene. Benefiting from the suitable interlayer spacing (0.90 nm for M-NTO, 0.93 nm for M-KTO), ultrathin thickness (<11 nm), narrow widths of nanoribbons (<60 nm), and open macroporous structures for enhanced ion insertion/extraction kinetics, the resulting M-NTO exhibited a large reversible capacity of 191 mAh g-1 at 200 mA g-1 for sodium storage, higher than those of pristine Ti3C2 (178 mAh g-1) and commercial TiC derivatives (86 mAh g-1). Notably, M-KTO displayed a superior reversible capacity of 151 mAh g-1 at 50 mA g-1 and 88 mAh g-1 at a high rate of 300 mA g-1 and long-term stable cyclability over 900 times, which outperforms other Ti-based layered materials reported to date. Moreover, this strategy is facile and highly flexible and can be extended for preparing a large number of MXene-derived materials, from the 60+ group of MAX phases, for various applications such as supercapacitors, batteries, and electrocatalysts.


We presented a formal system which is intended to capture the essence of the set theory in the alternative version given by Vopenka.Our purpose start from Sochor's remark that in the formalization presented as AST,the notions of set and class correspond respectively to element of the universe of sets and to object from the extended universe.


In this study, researchers wanted to know how the communication patterns of parents
with children who are achievers who live in the area of online game rental. Along with
technological developments, the type of game is also capable dimankan online or better
known as the Online Game. With the rise of online gaming circulated in Indonesia especially
in Surabaya making a new phenomenon among fans of the game. Background of any person
who plays her life ranging from the chaotic to the school or college kids who did not pass.
Playing the game does have two sides, negative and positive. On the positive side can train a
pattern of thinking, reflexes, and may also be used as a place to earn money by following the
game or sell items and characters in the game. But what happens when playing games over a
certain effect could be very fatal. Starting from a chaotic real life, do not pass the school
(college) for a still a student or students or other matters such crimes because it ran out of
money to play online games. This online game was much loved by children, and the most
dominant ntuk play this online game is a little child, the child who is in the range of age 12-
15 years. Where a lot of people who think that children - children who love playing online
games will only get negative impact. But on the contrary, in fact, such an assumption is not
entirely true. The research was concerned with the problem child online game users who have
a place to live performance that is close to pnyewaan online game.
Data collection techniques used were depth interview included in the qualitative
research. Here a qualitative method using the theory of Joseph A. DeVito describing
communication patterns used by parents with children who play online games that have
achievements.
The data contained in the object of the research described in the identity of
informants. The division includes the informant's name, age, address, last education,
employment.
The results of this study based on analysis of data obtained from interviews with
informants. Authoritative use the Communication Patterns, communication patterns show a
balance between acceptance (acceptance) with kontroling parents, children are given the
opportunity to communicate openly in order to convey their opinions and what they feel,
punsihment given by parents of children who make mistakes are also on the grounds that
clearly and without using physical violence. Authoritative Communication Patterns of
success used by parents is a factor that can make children successful accomplishment. The
attitude of parents who understand the potential of children, child's potential direct and
develop the potential of children toward better is what makes the children acquire some
achievements. Also from the wawncara the researchers did note a parent can find out the
wishes of children and vice versa children also know the personal wishes of parents in
shaping a child, they are consistent with the theory of causality tribusi, parental attitude is
influenced by personal and situational.


Melanocyte differentiation antigens are attractive candidates for melanoma immunotherapy, but because they are expressed by malignant cells as well as their normal counterpart eliciting effective immune responses is challenging.
 Here we evaluated an alphavirus replicon vector system as a potential melanoma immunotherapy. Use of propagation-defective virus-like replicon particles (VRP) based on an attenuated strain of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) virus is especially attractive because VRP express heterologous proteins to high levels and target expression to dendritic cells. VRP vaccines have been shown to elicit both humoral and cellular immune responses to the vectored gene products in many animal disease models and in phase I clinical trials.
 The efficacy of VRP expressing the melanocyte differentiation antigens tyrosinase, gp100 or TRP-2/DCT was analyzed against challenge with the poorly immunogenic and highly aggressive B16 murine melanoma. TRP-2/DCT-expressing VRP were the most effective in delaying tumor occurrence when compared to the other antigens tested. Although both TRP2/DCT-specific CD8+ T cells and IgG are induced, the data suggest that B-cells may play a more important role in the effector phase of tumor protection.
 These studies demonstrate that VRP vaccines present a promising approach for melanoma immunotherapy.


Comparative studies on stability parameters and sustainability index for selecting stable genotypes in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was carried out accordinag to Eberhart and Russell model with sustainability index model. Stability analysis was carried out on 12 intra-hirsutum hybrids for seed cotton yield, number of bolls/plant, boll weight, 2.5% span length, and bundle strength on three years data viz., 2001, 2002 and 2003. Based on the linear component (bi), non linear response (S2di) and high mean performance (x), CSHH 198, CSHH 238, CSHH 825 and Om Shankar were found stable for seed cotton yield. While based on sustainability index and best performance, the hybrids CSHH 238, CSHH 243, CSHH 4311 and CSHH 825 were found to be stable. Similarly, for number of bolls/plant deviation from regression was non significant for CSHH 198, CSHH 243, CSHH 825 and Ankur 651 whereas, on the basis of sustainability index and mean performance Om Shankar, CSHH 198, Ankur 651 and LHH 144 were found stable. For boll weight, all the hybrids recorded very high sustainability index, which indicated that this character is least influenced by the environmental factors, whereas, analysis of variance in the Eberhart and Russell model indicated absence of G x E interaction and hence no stability parameters can be estimated for boll weight. For quality traits like 2.5% span length and tenacity had very high sustainability index in all the hybrids tested, indicating that these characters are least affected by environmental fluctuations. These results were found to be contrary with the findings based on Eberhart and Russell model and hence sustainability index model may not be used for selecting the stable genotypes.


We used a recently described all-dry silicon etch process for SOI wafers to fabricate 64-site electrode arrays in stereotrode arrangement for acute cortical recordings. The fork-like probes are connected to preamplification units by flexible, Y-shaped interconnects. This facilitates maximal experimental flexibility for simultaneously recording from all available channels from the cortex of anaesthetised rats. Preconditioned signals are amplified by a novel modular main amp, which may be software or dial controlled. Signals are 16bit digitized, recorded, analyzed, stored and processed on a DSP-based modular data acquisition system. Digital data is processed, filtered and denoised on all up to (4*32) 128 channels based on an extremely fast wavelet transformation framework.


Phosphaplatins, a group of non-DNA binding platinum compounds, exhibit excellent in vivo and in vitro efficacies against a variety of cisplatin- and carboplatin-sensitive and resistant ovarian cancers. Although, combinations of cis- or carbo-platin and paclitaxel therapies continue to be the choice of treatment for many ovarian cancer patients, many develop resistance to treatment. Phosphaplatins are pyrophosphate bound platinum-(II) and (IV)-platinum complexes that bi-negatively charged at or near neutral pH. Both Platinum (II) and platinum (IV) complexes did not overexpress any DNA repair genes consistent with the no-DNA binding property of phosphaplatins. In this report, we show the apoptotic properties of two representative compounds, (R,R-1,2-cyclohexanediamine)-(dihydrogen pyrophosphato)platinum (II) (RRD2) and (R,R-1,2-cyclohexanediamine)-trans-dihydroxo(dihydrogen pyrophosphato)platinum (IV) (RRD4) through a variety of experiments as described below. Phosphaplatins activate and upregulate death receptors on cell surface such as FAS, DR5, and TNFR1. These three death receptors follow the common signaling path to trigger apoptosis by an extrinsic pathway via Death Inducing Signaling Complex (DISC) by recruiting FADD and procaspase-8 and activating caspase-8. A direct binding of FAS by platinum is implicated as the platinum compound was found to be co-localized in the lipid rafts. The PTEN-PI3K pathway involvement was confirmed by the down regulation of both PI3K and p-AKT. Phosphoplatins also upregulate tumor suppression genes P53 and PTEN. Apoptosis by p53 signaling follows intrinsic pathways involving BCL-proteins. In particular up regulation of BAX, PUMA, and downregulation of BCL2 were observed. To further confirm p53-signailng, we have identified a number of p53 target genes that include AEN, CYFIP2, TP53I3, TP53INP1, DPYSL4, LRDD, DRAM1, and a few others. Our data shows that phosphaplatins have the potential to not only treat resistant but also advanced metastatic ovarian cancers. Citation Format: Homa Dezvareh. Apoptotic properties of platinum antitumor agents phosphaplatins. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5319. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5319


The importance of scavenging chicken production in the national economy of developing nations of Africa and its role in improving the nutritional status and income of many smallholder farmers has been recognised by several scholars and policy makers the world around. Scavenging chicken production is a profitable enterprise that contributes to poverty reduction especially among the resource challenged rural communities in most parts of the developing world. It is particularly suitable to smallholder farmers and landless peasants due to low capital investment, high cost efficiency, flexible production systems and low production risks. It has also a symbolic significance within the context of socio-cultural as well as religious functions and economically empowers the rural youth and women. Chicken meat and eggs provide a readily available, high-quality source of proteins, vitamins and micronutrients which are particularly essential for children, pregnant women and nursing mothers. Moreover, meat and egg from scavenging chicken present one of the most environmentally efficient animal protein production systems. The major challenges of the scavenging chicken production in Africa include high chicken mortality due to predation and regular outbreaks of diseases notably Newcastle disease; imbalanced nutrition due to poor quality and quantity of feed materials; lack of organised marketing system and low performance related genetic potentials. The growing demand for scavenging chicken products in urban areas, identification and promotion of ethno-veterinary medicines, developing locally made and appropriate housing structures, selection among the scavenging chickens, organising farmers to increase bargaining power and shortening the marketing chain are considered as the major opportunities for the improvement of scavenging chicken production in Africa. The significance of indigenous chickens for farmers in African countries combined with many consumers' preference for their eggs and meat suggests that these genetic resources are promising options for food security in the rural communities.


Alcoholism is one of the major health problems in the world. The organ most affected by alcohol is the brain. It has been shown that alcohol causes neuronal loss in the brain and reduces brain blood flow and oxygen use. Electroencephalography is a method that measures the instantaneous electrical activity of the brain. It is known that valuable information can be obtained by observing the biological effects of alcohol through EEG. As their methods of signal processing and analysis have evolved, Electroencephalography signals have attracted the attention of researchers in this field. In this study, methods of the time-frequency analysis were applied to Electroencephalography signals obtained from normal and alcoholic subjects. For this purpose, the Cohen's class distribution was examined. Ambiguity function analysis, which was in the structure of the distribution, was applied to the signals. Then, from the kernel structure inside the distribution, the Wigner-Ville distribution, which was very common, was reached and this distribution was examined. The inadequacy of the distribution resolution was seen and analysis of the new time-frequency distributions, which were obtained by making convolution with 4 types of kernel functions (nonseparable, separable, Doppler independent, lag independent), was performed. As a result, it was shown that the resolution of time-frequency distributions could be improved with proper kernel functions. Thus, at the end of these analyses, changes that alcohol caused in brain functions were revealed.


Recombinant human parathyroid hormone [rhPTH(1-84)] represents a new class of anabolic agents for the treatment of osteoporosis. The present study was designed to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of rhPTH(1-84) after single- and multiple-dose subcutaneous administration in healthy Chinese volunteers. Six cohorts of 32 volunteers received a single dose of rhPTH(1-84) at 0.5-5.0 μg/kg, and two cohorts of 12 volunteers received 2.0 and 3.0 μg/kg of rhPTH(1-84) once daily for 7 consecutive days to assess its safety and tolerability. The results indicated that rhPTH(1-84) appeared to be safe and well tolerated. Additionally, pharmacokinetics of rhPTH(1-84) and its active N-terminal fragment rhPTH(1-34) were investigated after administration of single 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 μg/kg doses of rhPTH(1-84) in 30 other volunteers and after multiple doses of 2.0 μg/kg once daily for 7 consecutive days. The pharmacokinetic parameters for rhPTH(1-84) and rhPTH(1-34) after subcutaneous administration of a single dose of 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 μg/kg were as follows: Cmax = (110.54 ± 59.18), (149.70 ± 50.61) and (372.52± 94.96) pg/mL; (53.93±6.27), (61.12±11.28) and (89.04 ± 7.08) pg/mL, respectively. AUC0-10  =  (268.87 ± 47.72), (538.93 ± 146.89) and (1364.11 ± 176.82) pg hr/mL; (197.20 ± 50.78), (207.15 ± 72.08) and (344.05 ± 77.06) pg hr/mL, respectively. t1/2  =  (2.34 ± 1.93), (2.58 ± 1.18) and (2.74 ± 1.31) hr; (3.37 ± 1.82), (4.39 ± 3.79), and (3.99 ± 1.85) hr, respectively. Plasma Cmax and AUC values of rhPTH(1-84) and rhPTH(1-34) were found to be dose proportional. The pharmacokinetic parameters for rhPTH(1-84) and rhPTH(1-34) after administration of multiple doses of 2.0 μg/kg were as follows: Css_max  = (164.96 ± 52.61) and (75.05 ± 7.31) pg/mL; Css_min  = (6.99 ± 7.73) and (2.05 ± 2.82) pg/mL; AUCss  = (567.26 ± 118.41) and (306.02 ± 77.55) pg hr/mL; t1/2  =  (1.81 ± 0.89) and (2.27 ± 1.11) hr; DF = (6.93 ± 2.64) and (6.00 ± 1.37), respectively. After multiple doses, the pharmacokinetic parameters for rhPTH(1-84) were consistent with those after single dose. However, the mean Cmax and AUC0-10 of rhPTH(1-34) after multiple dosing were significantly higher than the corresponding values obtained after single-dose administration. Serum total calcium and phosphate concentrations increased and decreased significantly at 4 hr post-dosing, respectively.


Nature prefers simplicity. Streptococcal cytoplasmic pH is regulated in a simple biological manner: change in the amount of the adenosinetriphosphatase (H(+)-ATPase). This enzyme is identical to the F0F1-complex of oxidative phosphorylation, which synthesizes adenosinetriphosphate in mitochondria and most of bacteria, whereas it is used as a regulator of the cytoplasmic pH in streptococci which have no respiratory chain. Eukaryotes use the another type of H(+)-ATPase to regulate the internal pH. Thus, the evolutional process of H(+)-ATPase is quite interesting.


Two approaches have been applied for numerical calculations of total added resistance both in regular and irregular long crested waves for Series 60 ships, parent form. In the first approach, total added resistance in regular waves has been determined by adding separately Maruo's method for ship motion to that of Fujii-Takahashi's method for wave reflection. In the second approach, Maru-Ishi's method for ship motion has been added to that of Fuji-Takhashi's method for wave reflection. Computed results have been compared with experimental ones in regular waves and other investigator in irregular waves. Average added resistance in a seaway is obtained from the analytically obtained mean response curve and the ISSC (International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress) spectrum applying linear superposition technique. Effects of speed, wave direction and block coefficients on added resistance have been examined and the percentage added resistance with respect to calm water resistance in different sea states has been determined. A relative comparison between the two approaches has also been highlighted.


Fowl adenoviruses (FAdVs) have long been recognized as critical viral pathogens within the poultry industry, associated with severe economic implications worldwide. This specific group of viruses is responsible for a broad spectrum of diseases in birds, and an increasing occurrence of outbreaks was observed in the last ten years. Since their first discovery forty years ago in South Korea, twelve antigenically distinct serotypes of fowl adenoviruses have been described. This comprehensive review covers the history of fowl adenovirus outbreaks in South Korea and updates the current epidemiological landscape of serotype diversity and replacement as well as challenges in developing effective broadly protective vaccines. In addition, transitions in the prevalence of dominant fowl adenovirus serotypes from 2007 to 2021, alongside the history of intervention strategies, are brought into focus. Finally, future aspects are also discussed.


The initial clinical experience of using a technique of prolonged interval jet ventilation is reported. Periodic pulses, of from three to nine breaths, were delivered in rapid sequence from a jet ventilator during one‐lung ventilation. The expiration phase was free to atmosphere, without added artificial expiratory assist or resistance, and of from 30 to 50 s duration before delivery of the next pulse of jet ventilation. The aim of the technique was to evaluate during anaesthesia the practicalities of securing a prolonged period during which intrathoracic pressure is low and hence optimal for venous return and deflation of pathological pulmonary regions with long time constants. The system used is flexible enough to allow for conventional positive pressure techniques to be applied if necessary. As the gas delivery was of oxygen of high concentration, episodes of hypoxaemia were minimal in this group of high risk patients and due to technical rather than physiological causes. The delivery of a minute volume adequate to prevent hypercapnia was not always possible and the technique may be contraindicated in those conditions in which a raised carbon dioxide concentration is disadvantageous.


Disjunct, pantropical distributions are a common pattern among avian lineages, but disentangling multiple scenarios that can produce them requires accurate estimates of historical relationships and timescales. Here, we clarify the biogeographical history of the pantropical avian family of trogons (Trogonidae) by re‐examining their phylogenetic relationships and divergence times with genome‐scale data. We estimated trogon phylogeny by analysing thousands of ultraconserved element (UCE) loci from all extant trogon genera with concatenation and coalescent approaches. We then estimated a time frame for trogon diversification using MCMCTree and fossil calibrations, after which we performed ancestral area estimation using BioGeoBEARS. We recovered the first well‐resolved hypothesis of relationships among trogon genera. Trogons comprise three clades, each confined to one of three biogeographical regions: Africa, Asia and the Neotropics, with the African clade sister to the others. These clades diverged rapidly during the Oligocene‐Miocene transition. Our biogeographical analyses identify a Eurasian origin for stem trogons and a crown clade arising from ancestors broadly distributed across Laurasia and Africa. The pantropical ranges of trogons are relicts of a broader Afro‐Laurasian distribution that was fragmented across Africa, Asia and the New World in near coincident fashion during the Oligocene‐Miocene transition by global cooling and changing habitats along the Beringian land bridge and North Africa.


ABSTRACT Titanates may be selectively used as inorganic adsorbents for heavy metal ions owing to their stability and fast adsorption kinetics. Nevertheless, the synthesis of such materials usually requires extreme reaction conditions. In this work, a new titanium-based material was rapidly synthesized under mild laboratory conditions. The obtained amorphous hydroxo titanate was tested for heavy metal sorption through kinetic and equilibrium batch tests, which indicated that the new material had high adsorption rates and adsorption capacities towards Cu2+, Ni2+ and Pb2 ions. Adsorption kinetics were pseudo-second order, and equilibrium data fitted the Langmuir isotherm model. The calculated maximum adsorption capacities of Cu2+, Ni2+ and Pb2+ in deionized water were around 1 mmol g−1, and they decreased for Cu2+ and Ni2+ in the presence of Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions, whereas the alkali metal ions did not influence Pb2+ uptake. The efficiency of adsorption and recovery of lead ions were evaluated through column dynamic tests, by feeding the column with groundwater and tap water spiked with Pb2+. The high performance of the hydroxo titanate over several cycles of retention and elution suggested that the product is potentially useful for the solid phase extraction of lead at trace levels in natural water samples, with potential use in metal pre-concentration for analytical applications.


The modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) has been proposed as an alternative to the dark matter paradigm; the philosophy behind is that there is no dark matter and we witness a violation of the Newtonian law of dynamics. In this Letter, we interpret differently the phenomenology sustaining MOND, as resulting from an effect of "gravitational polarization", of some cosmic fluid made of dipole moments, aligned in the gravitational field, and representing a new form of dark matter. We invoke an internal force, of non-gravitational origin, in order to hold together the microscopic constituents of the dipole. The dipolar particles are weakly influenced by the distribution of ordinary matter; they are accelerated not by the gravitational field, but by its gradient, or tidal gravitational field. Subject headings: dark matter – gravitational theory


Penetration measurements through commercially available filtering facepieces were performed with monodisperse DEHS aerosols ranging from 0.03 μm to 0.40 μm (either singly charged or neutralized), before and after 500 mg of paraffin oil loading. The distinct behavior of Coulomb and polarization capture efficiency is studied: as in the case of non loading also in the case of loading 500 mg of paraffin oil, the electrostatic capture mechanisms are mainly due to the Coulomb contribution up to aerosol particle diameter of about 0.10 μm, just when the polarization contribution becomes substantial. Both Coulomb and polarization capture mechanisms are influenced by the presence of 500 mg of paraffin oil, resulting less effective than the oil unloaded case of about 12% and 11%, respectively. By the occupational hygiene point of view, there is a degradation in the filter performance due to oil loading that the user does not realize because there is no remarkable variation in the breathing resistance.


The LBD is classic, timeless and a fashion failsafe. But where to find one which is tailor-made, that fits you perfectly and complements your body shape? The answer is to make it yourself! Even if you have never before sewn a stitch, expert dressmaker Simon Henry will guide you through the process of making the perfect little black dress. The book begins with the materials and sewing techniques you need to get started. Simon then shows you how to construct and fit a body block, based on your personal measurements. The block forms the basis for all the patterns in the book and you can go on to make your first LBD. There are three classic styles to work from: a chic shift; a stylish wraparound and an elegant strapless cocktail dress, with a jacket and hat to match!


Blockchain technique, with the novelties of decentralization, smart contract, security and cooperative autonomy, is expected to play great effects on promoting the development of energy local networks (ELNs). This paper presents an automated demand response (ADR) framework for decentralized scheduling and secure peer-to-peer (P2P) trading among energy storage systems in ELNs. Different from most existing works that trade electricity over long distances and through complex meshes, this proposed work performs decentralized and automated demand response through energy sharing of P2P executors. We explore for the first time the benefits of a promising blockchain to conduct the overall ADR framework and increase the P2P trading security. To achieve decentralized scheduling without relying on a central entity, a price-incentive noncooperative game theoretic model is introduced to produce equilibrium solutions for energy storage systems. Moreover, we develop a schedulable ability evaluation system to match trading pairs involving buying and selling nodes. On this basis, a state-machine-driven smart contract mechanism is built to realize P2P trading without reliance on a trusted third party. To illustrate the implementation details of the ADR method, a distributed algorithm is designed. Case studies are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.


J. L. Woodard and B. N. Axelrod (1995) and B. N. Axelrod, S. H. Putnam, J. L. Woodard, and K. M. Adams (1996) have presented formulas for estimating the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised General Memory and Delayed Recall Indexes using the initial and delayed portions of only 3 subtests. The original work found nearly perfect estimates. The present study indicated excellent cross-validation for the original formulas with correlations of.99. Over 85% of the estimated scores were within 6 points of the actual score. Using estimates from only 2 subtests rather than 3, correlations were only slightly lower with 85% of the estimated scores within 10 points of the actual scores. Age, education, diagnosis, and IQ had no effects on the accuracy of these equations. Although the initial 3 test formulas are robust, the results suggest that using only 2 subtests results in higher estimation errors, which can be used when less accurate estimates are acceptable (such as in group research).


Controlling is primarily a phenomenon found in practice. The interesting question of how controlling develops in practice has received respectable attention in research and corresponding literature. In this paper we explore controlling in the light of empirical research. Moreover, the unexplored question of how controlling develops in practice in Croatian companies is the main inspiration for this paper. The objective of this paper is to provide an insight into the role of controlling and its understanding, function, tasks, instruments and information flow. We analyse the perceived contribution of controlling to business success as well as incentives and obstacles to its development. This study is based on the analysis of primary data with the aim of describing the development of controlling (explorative study). The research study covers the time span of 15 years in three different points in time: 2001, 2007 and 2015. The study is a retrospective longitudinal study, and this allows us to explore the process of change related to particular aspects of controlling. The study is at the same time a trend study since it enables the analysis of changes at the level of the researched sample. In this paper, we observe, describe and explain findings from the controlling practice in Croatian companies. Our results show that controlling in Croatian companies is most frequently understood as assurance of management rationality. In general, operative tasks and operative instruments dominate with internally-oriented focus. What is still needed is a more strategic and normative orientation, more external orientation and more freedom for controllers to create tasks and activities. Controlling is also recognized as a business success factor in Croatian companies. Management has the main influence over the development of controlling while IT support is discovered as the main obstacle in its development. The contribution of this paper is threefold: firstly, we provide insight into the controlling function; secondly, we explore the dynamic perspective in controlling over the last 15 years in Croatian companies, and thirdly, with this paper we hope to provide design guidelines and recommendations that have to be concretized in organizations by taking into account the specific conditions of each


A field experiment was conducted at the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture (FSA) In Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Sandakan, from September to November 2016. The study was carried out to Investigate the performance of broiler fed with fermented com kernel silage. The experimental design used in this experiment was by using randomized complete block design (RCBD). Two treatments were used for this experiments, which lndude fermented com kernel silage (FCKS) (T2) and dry corn (T2). A total of 36 broilers were used for both treatments. Each of the treatment have 18 broilers in which each treatment has three cages with six broilers In each cage. Data and observation were taken daily for two weeks starting from day 21 until day 35. Feed were given twice daily In which In the morning and at dusk. Results showing that dry matter (DM) basis for dry com was 97 .36% while FCKS with 20. 99%. The body weight gain for broilers for dry com was heavier with mean of 458.33g than FCKS with mean of 344.44g. Dry corn has the higher mean value of feed Intake (560.28g) when compare with FCKS (203.0lg) when calculated In DM basis. For average dally gain (ADG), the mean calculation showed that dry com had the higher ADG than FCKS. However, FCKS give lower mean of feed conversion ratio with the value of 1.45 when comparing with dry corn (3.02). In the case of carcass weight, FCKS had heavier carcass weight than dry com. The last parameter taken which was weight of feather, the result showed that T2 has heavier mean of feathers weight than Tl. From the result obtained, it can be known that FCKS was better than dry corn by comparing the FCR and feed Intake when calculated In DM basis.


Being capable of finding a set of pareto–optimal solutions in a single run, which is a necessary feature for multi–criteria decision making, Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) has attracted many researchers and practitioners to address the solution of Multiobjective Optimization Problems (MOPs). In a previous work, we developed a Pareto Differential Evolution (PDE) algorithm to handle multiobjective optimization problems. Despite the overwhelming number of Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithms (MEAs) in the literature, little work has been done to identify the best MEA using an appropriate assessment methodology. In this paper, we compare our algorithm with twelve other well-known MEAs, using a popular assessment methodology, by solving two bench-mark problems. The comparison shows the superiority of our algorithm over others.


We combine Herschel/SPIRE submillimetre (submm) observations with existing multiwavelength data to investigate the characteristics of low-redshift, optically red galaxies detected in submm bands. We select a sample of galaxies in the redshift range 0.01 ≤ z ≤ 0.2, having >5σ detections in the SPIRE 250 μm submm waveband. Sources are then divided into two sub-samples of red and blue galaxies, based on their UV-optical colours. Galaxies in the red sample account for ≈4.2 per cent of the total number of sources with stellar masses M* ≳ 1010 M⊙. Following visual classification of the red galaxies, we find that ≳30 per cent of them are early-type galaxies and ≳40 per cent are spirals. The colour of the red-spiral galaxies could be the result of their highly inclined orientation and/or a strong contribution of the old stellar population. It is found that irrespective of their morphological types, red and blue sources occupy environments with more or less similar densities (i.e. the Σ5 parameter). From the analysis of the spectral energy distributions of galaxies in our samples based on magphys, we find that galaxies in the red sample (of any morphological type) have dust masses similar to those in the blue sample (i.e. normal spiral/star-forming systems). However, in comparison to the red-spirals and in particular blue systems, red-ellipticals have lower mean dust-to-stellar mass ratios. Besides galaxies in the red-elliptical sample have much lower mean star formation/specific star formation rates in contrast to their counterparts in the blue sample. Our results support a scenario where dust in early-type systems is likely to be of an external origin.


Beans (Vigna unguiculata) are commonly known as the cowpea, black-eyed pea, catjang, china-pea, cow-gram or southern-peas that were mainly grown in the tropics and subtropics regions. Globally, beans are great source of protein for human, and are found in curry dishes, cooked with rice, in desserts or as paste. This is a popular legume grown in Nigeria which were mainly dried and stored for either local consumption or traded and exported to various countries around the world, especially the European Union. Nigeria was among the leading beans exporting nation of the world. Since 2013, the EU has placed temporary import suspension on dried-beans originating from Nigeria due to the discovery of higher pesticides residue found in them (between 0.03mg/kg and 4.6mg/kg). This study assesses the key techniques used in preserving dried-beans in Nigeria. Based on the qualitative nature of the data involved, the study employed survey research design that depend on in-depth interview with open ended questions and personal observations. This study discovered that high illiteracy among the dried-beans merchants and storekeepers lead to direct application of various toxic pesticide in high doses onto the dried-beans with a sole intention of protection from pest. The study finally recommends the provision modern grain storing facilities.


Shoulder dysfunction is unusual in osteoarthritis and usually responds to conservative treatment. The primary indication for surgery is pain unresponsive to medical management. The procedure of choice for degenerative changes in the glenohumeral joint is hemiarthroplasty or total shoulder replacement depending on the condition of the glenoid. Shoulder fusion is rarely necessary for osteoarthritis and is recommended for chronic infection, flail shoulder, and failed total shoulder replacement not amenable to revision. Joint resection is reserved for infected joints with massive bone loss. The results of shoulder arthroplasty are good to excellent in 86 to 94 per cent of all patients. The results of shoulder arthrodesis are less predictable, but are usually satisfactory in approximately 75 per cent of patients with 10-year follow-up. The treatment of AC and SC joint arthritis is conservative with rest, local heat, and medication. Pain unresponsive to this regimen is an indication for resection of the joint. Good results with this procedure directly correlate with pain relief on injection of the joint with local anesthetic.


Compares two categories of tools: spreadsheets and simulation analysis techniques, as a means to study and improve manufacturing systems. The author shows that despite the popularity of spreadsheets, they are clearly insufficient to model the design and performance of manufacturing systems because of their static approach. Then the author presents an example of a manufacturing system: a high speed packaging line, and discusses the issues that one can try to address with simulation analysis.


DOI: 10.15580/GJER.2018.3.041918059 This study examined the contribution of co-curricular activities a as determinants of holistic education of students in secondary schools in Kiambu and Samburu Counties, Kenya. An explanatory mixed methods research approach that involves both quantitative and qualitative was adopted for the study. The study utilized a sample of 624 participants. The research instruments employed during the first quantitative strand of the study were questionnaires for principals, students and senior teachers. The qualitative data in the second phase were collected using observation checklist and an interview guide for principals, senior teachers, members of Board of Management (BoM) as well as Quality Assurance and Standards Officers. Quantitative data from questionnaires were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while the qualitative data were analysed with the assistance of Atlas.ti Software. The major finding was that majority of respondents in Samburu County compared to their counterparts in Kiambu County considered co-curricular activities as one of the determinants of holistic education. The results, based on regression analysis and corroborated by qualitative data from interviews and observations, led to the conclusion that, the use of a combination of diverse co-curricular engagements was one of the determinants of holistic education. It was, thus, recommended that School Management Boards should incorporate a well-balanced combination of diverse co-curriculum activities in the formal curriculum in order to achieve holistic education. Submitted: 19/04/2018 Accepted: 28/04/2018 Published: 30/04/2018


We develop a new geometric approach for high resolution Doppler processing based on the Riemannian geometry of Toeplitz covariance matrices and the notion of Riemannian p -means. This paper summarizes briefly our recent work in this direction. First of all, we introduce radar data and the problem of target detection. Then we show how to transform the original radar data into Toeplitz covariance matrices. After that, we give our results on the Riemannian geometry of Toeplitz covariance matrices. In order to compute p-means in practical cases, we propose deterministic and stochastic algorithms, of which the convergence results are given, as well as the rate of convergence and error estimates. Finally, we propose a new detector based on Riemannian median and show its advantage over the existing processing methods.


Antiangiogenic and cytotoxic effects are considered the principal mechanisms of action of sorafenib, a multitarget kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We report that sorafenib also acts through direct immune modulation, indispensable for its antitumor activity. In vivo cell depletion experiments in two orthotopic HCC mouse models as well as in vitro analysis identified macrophages (MΦ) as the key mediators of the antitumoral effect and demonstrate a strong interdependency of MΦ and natural killer (NK) cells for efficient tumor cell killing. Caspase 1 analysis in sorafenib‐treated MΦ revealed an induction of pyroptosis. As a result, cytotoxic NK cells become activated when cocultured with sorafenib‐treated MΦ, leading to tumor cell death. In addition, sorafenib was found to down‐regulate major histocompatibility complex class I expression of tumor cells, which may reduce the tumor responsiveness to immune checkpoint therapies and favor NK‐cell response. In vivo cytokine blocking revealed that sorafenib efficacy is abrogated after inhibition of interleukins 1B and 18. Conclusion: We report an immunomodulatory mechanism of sorafenib involving MΦ pyroptosis and unleashing of an NK‐cell response that sets it apart from other spectrum kinase inhibitors as a promising immunotherapy combination partner for the treatment of HCC.


"Vetting" is the commonest definition used to describe the oil and chemical companies'
process of selecting tankers for their cargoes. This is a process which recently tends to be
harmonized but has not been described or treated to any greater extent in literature, especially not
from an operator's point of view.
The first stage of vetting process is a physical inspection of the vessel. The inspection
report is entered into an electronic database (OCIMF) but does not yield a result of pass or fail.
Rather, this report is used as one integral part of the selection process. The other parts of this
process refer to an overall review of the historical data of the tanker in question, including also
completion of oil company's questionnaires, as well as the evaluation of the tanker Operator as
an entity. Operator's performance in safety matters, being examined via TMSA audits by the Oil
Companies plays a major role in the final decision of selection.
The vetting as a vessel selection process has earned its place in the industry as a safety
net which collects and reviews all the information gathered from the other safety nets; Flag State
Control, classification, Port State Control and others. As such, it has become a valuable addition
to the regimes of incident prevention as well as a most effective manner in which to raise the
quality level of tankers.
A case study will be presented in order to describe the tools that Vetting Department of a
tanker Management Company uses to keep the highest standards onboard and ashore; so that
they will always offer incident- free transportations and environmental protection. A connection
with the TMSA Element 12 and Company's Safety Management System is considered as the
most trustworthy and efficient way to maintain a continuous and consistent improvement.


This paper is an attempt to derive just what kind of an age characteristic can be expected of a particular design and why this is obtained. To do this the paper examines the processes used for agc in transistor broadcast receivers, their limitations, their application to typical receivers, the results obtained and the various circuits that can be used to develop the age. This information is presented in such a form that it should assist a designer to go from a performance specification to a circuit arrangement specification or vice versa and to avoid incompatibility between these two sets of specifications. It is shown in the paper that certain circuit arrangements have very definite advantages and that it is possible to design receivers with extremely large signal handling capabilities without the use of variable damping elements and with age figures of merit of the order of 100 db.


. In this paper, we propose a multigrid algorithm based on the full approximate scheme for solving the membrane constrained obstacle problems and the minimal surface obstacle problems in the formulations of HJB equations. A Newton-Gauss-Seidel (NGS) method is used as smoother. A Galerkin coarse grid operator is proposed for the membrane constrained obstacle problem. Comparing with standard FAS with the direct discretization coarse grid operator, the FAS with the proposed operator converges faster. A special prolongation operator is used to interpolate functions accurately from the coarse grid to the fine grid at the boundary between the active and inactive sets. We will demonstrate the fast convergence of the proposed multigrid method for solving two model obstacle problems and compare the results with other multigrid methods.


A QR code is a two‐dimensional barcode that encodes information. A standard QR code contains only regular black and white squares, and thus is unattractive. This paper proposes a novel framework for embellishing a standard QR code, to make it both attractive and recognizable by any human while maintaining its scanability. The proposed method is inspired by artistic methods. A QR code is typically embellished by stylizing the squares and embedding images into it. In the proposed framework, the regular squares are reshaped using a binary examplar, to make their local appearances resemble the example shape. Additionally, an error‐aware warping technique for deforming the embedded image is proposed; it minimizes the error in the QR code that is generated by the embedding of the image to optimize the readability of the code. The proposed algorithm yields lower data error than previous global transformation techniques because the warping can locally deform the embedded image to conform to the squares that surround it. The proposed framework was examined by using it to embellish an extensive set of QR codes and to test the readability with various commercial QR code readers.


Optimal plans of delete-free planning tasks are interesting both in domains that have no delete effects and as the relaxation heuristic h+ in general planning. Many heuristics for optimal and satisficing planning approximate the h+ heuristic, which is well-informed and admissible but intractable to compute. In this work, branch-and-bound and IDA* search are used in a search space tailored to delete-free planning together with an incrementally computed version of the LM-cut heuristic. The resulting algorithm for optimal delete-free planning exceeds the performance of A* with the LM-cut heuristic in the state-of-the-art planner Fast Downward.


The dynamics of a freely jointed chain in the continuous limit is described by a field theory which closely resembles the nonlinear sigma model. The generating functional Ψ[J] of this field theory contains nonholonomic constraints, which are imposed by inserting in the path integral expressing Ψ[J] a suitable product of delta functions. The same procedure is commonly applied in statistical mechanics in order to enforce topological conditions on a system of linked polymers. The disadvantage of this method is that the contact with the stochastic process governing the diffusion of the chain is apparently lost. The main goal of this work is to re-establish this contact. For this purpose, it is shown here that the generating functional Ψ[J] coincides with the generating functional of the correlation functions of the solutions of a constrained Langevin equation. In the discrete case, this Langevin equation describes as expected the Brownian motion of beads connected together by links of fixed length.


We give a new and elementary proof that the graphs of treewidth at most two can be seen as a free algebra. This result was presented last year at MFCS and was proved through an elaborate analysis of the structure of K4-free graphs, ultimately reproving the well-known fact that the graphs of treewidth at most two are precisely those excluding K4 as a minor. Our new proof is based on a confluent and terminating rewriting system for treewidth-two graphs and does not involve graph minors anymore. The new strategy is simpler and robust in the sense that it can be adapted to subclasses of treewidth-two graphs. It could also be amenable to handle graphs of larger treewidth, where the excluded minors are typically unknown.


Various numerical techniques have been developed for modeling electromagnetic field propagation in various novel complex media. The validity of these techniques is usually verified by comparison to the exact solutions of canonical problems. Recently, research has focused on chiral media, a subclass of materials known as bianisotropic materials, and numerical techniques have been developed in order to calculate the interaction of electromagnetic fields with chiral objects. One canonical problem for these techniques is plane-wave scattering from a chiral sphere. This work presents a software package that displays and saves the calculated data for the scattering from a chiral, dielectric, or perfectly conducting sphere using a friendly graphical user interface (GUI).


The treatment with desmopressin prior to surgery of patients with mild haemophilia A (HA) and Von Willebrand's disease (VWD) was retrospectively evaluated in a general hospital, from 1978 until 1987. From a group of 87 treated patients, 40 patients are reported (21 VWD, 19 HA) of which plasma factor VIII (FVIII) and Von Willebrand factor (VWF) concentrations were determined before, and twice after desmopressin treatment. Desmopressin was administered intravenously at a dose of 0.4 micrograms/kg body weight. Tranexamic acid was used only when surgery in the mouth cavity was performed, at a dose of 1 gram three times a day. Side effects were seen only in 5 patients (3 VWD, 2 HA). No significant difference between both groups was seen in bleeding tendency, transfusion necessity and side effects (chi 2 test). In both groups, FVIII and VWF concentrations increased significantly after 20 and 60 minutes following DDAVP administration (paired t-test). After 360 minutes, the FVIII concentration increased significantly in both groups, however, only in the VWD patients did VWF increase significantly. In neither group did initial FVIII concentrations correlate with the increase in FVIII (linear regression analysis). One female patient reacted differently to DDAVP, with a decrease in FVIII and VWF values. Desmopressin is a safe and effective agent in the management and prophylaxis of bleeding tendency in patients with mild HA and mild VWD.


Further chemical investigation of the whole plants of Gentiana loureirii led to the isolation and characterization of three new compounds, cyclic 4-O-beta-D-glucopyranosylcaffeic acid dimer (1), a new alpha-tetralone, 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-alpha-tetralone 4-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), and 3beta,30-dihydroxy-12-ursen-28-oic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (3), along with five known compounds. To the best of our knowledge, compound 1 is the first cyclic phenolic acid glycoside dimer.


The authors have acquired experience with many thousands of cytological examinations of the cervix by obtaining smears from all gynecologic and obstetric patients. They are convinced that every woman deserves a cytological examination on the first visit, regardless of age or whether or not she is pregnant. The evidence indicates that positive cytological findings in the pregnant patient are fully as significant as in the nonpregnant. Punch biopsy is done in all cases of cervical lesions. When a histological diagnosis of intraepithelial carcinoma is made or when there is an unexplained positive smear, a cold conization of the cervix is performed. With the expanding number of such examinations, there are large groups of women who have positive findings on cytological examination and in whom frank malignancy does not exist. Management of these patients looms as the newest challenge gynecology has to meet.


Background Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most severe complications of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In recent years, the morbidity and mortality of LN have improved considerably owing to more appropriate use of traditional drugs, such as corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide, and the incorporation of new ones, such as mycophenolate mofetil and biologic agents. Renal relapses are part of the natural history of LN and represent a significant challenge not only because they are associated with an increased risk of decline in renal function, but also there is a cumulative toxicity of immunosuppressive treatments. Objectives The aim of this study was to review renal flare frequency, to identify potential risk factors for relapses, to assess the value of serological tests during flares and to analyse their impact on global outcome in LN patients. Methods Patients with biopsy proven LN diagnosed between 1985 and 2015 were identified from our database. All patients (pts) met the ACR criteria for SLE. LN classes based on glomerular pathology were defined according to the ISN/RPS classification. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from the records of patients. According to the response to treatment, LN pts were divided into 3 groups of complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR) and no response (NR). Those in remission were divided into 2 groups of relapsing and non-relapsing during maintenance period. Associated factors for remission and relapse were analyzed. CR was defined as proteinuria less than 0.5 g/24 h and stable or improved serum creatinine, whilst PR was defined as more than 50% reduction in baseline proteinuria achieving less than 1,0 g/24 h with stable or improved creatinine. We defined proteinuric flares as proteinuria above 1 g/24 h in pts with CR, and doubling of proteinuria in cases of PR. Results 218 (70,64%) of 276 SLE pts (250 females and 26 males) with biopsy proven LN (class I ISN/RPS LN – 18 pts, class II – 45 pts, class III – 56 pts, class IV – 75 pts, class V – 54 pts, class VI – 2 pts, mixed forms – 26 pts) achieved either CR (n=154; 55,8%) or PR (n=64; 23,2%). 47 pts (38 had preceding CR and 9 had PR) with LN had one flare, 36 (26 had preceding CR and 10 - PR) – two flares, 27 (14 had preceding CR and 13 - PR) – three flares, 17 (7 had preceding CR and 10 - PR) ≥4 flares. The median time between remission and relapse was 23,5 ± 21,9 months in pts with CR, and 11,4 ± 9,3 months in pts with PR. The maintenance immunomodulating drugs at the time of flare was low dose (<10 mg/24 h) corticosteroids and/or azathioprine. 123 LN pts (48%) had angiotensin blockers in therapy. Non-adherence to treatment at time of relapse was documented in 26 pts. At the time of first flare, the median proteinuria was 1,84 ± 0,97 g/24 h in pts with CR, and 2,78 ± 1,25 g/24 h in pts with PR. 42 LN pts had raised serum creatinine, 65 had raised anti-double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid, 94 had low complements at flare. Conclusions Renal flares in patients with LN are common, have a negative impact on outcome, but cannot be readily predicted. Our study shows that 58,83% of LN patients develop at least one relapse after reaching remission, usually within 2 years. The length of time to flare tends to be shorter in cases of preceding PR than in CR. Lack of adherence to long term immunosuppression was identified as a significant factor in LN flare (20,47%). Patients with LN in remission require close follow-up. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are intriguing approaches to nitrogen fixation and hydrogen production under ambient conditions, given the need to discover efficient and stable catalysts to light up the "green chemistry" future. However, bottlenecks are often found during N2/H2O activation, the very first step of NRR/HER, due to energetic electron injection from the surface of electrocatalysts. It is reported that the bottlenecks for both NRR and HER can be tackled by engineering the energy level via low‐valent transition‐metal doping, simultaneously, where rhenium disulfide (ReS2) is employed as a model platform to prove the concept. The doped low‐valent transition‐metal domains (e.g., Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) in ReS2 provide more active sites for N2/H2O chemisorption and electron transfer, not only weakening the NN/OH bonds for easier dissociation through proton coupling, but also elevating d‐band center toward the Fermi level with more electron energy for N2/H2O reduction. As a result, it is found that iron‐doped ReS2 nanosheets wrapped nitrogen‐doped carbon nanofiber (Fe‐ReS2@N‐CNF) catalyst exhibits superior electrochemical activity with eightfold higher ammonia production yield of 80.4 µg h−1 mg−1cat., and lower onset overpotential of 146 mV and Tafel slope of 63 mV dec−1, when comparing with the pristine ReS2.


Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) is a core NP-complete problem in logic synthesis. Several heuristic software and hardware approaches have been proposed to solve this problem. In this paper, we present a hardware solution to the SAT problem. We propose a custom IC to implement our approach, in which the traversal of the implication graph as well conflict clause generation are performed in hardware, in parallel. In our approach, clause literals are stored in specially designed cells. Clauses are implemented in banks, in a manner that allows clauses of variable width to be accommodated in these banks. To maximize the utilization of these banks, we initially partition the SAT problem. Our design is flexible in that it can implement various Boolean Constraint Propagation (BCP) engines on the same die, at the same time, allowing the user to switch BCP engines dynamically. Our solution has significantly larger capacity than existing hardware SAT solvers, and is scalable in the sense that several ICs can be used to simultaneously operate on the same SAT instance, effectively increasing capacity further. Our area and performance figures are derived from layout and SPICE (using extracted parasitics) estimates. Additionally, the approach presented in this paper have been functionally validated in Verilog. Preliminary results demonstrate that our approach can accommodate instances with approximately 63K clauses on a single IC of size 1.5cmx 1.5cm. The approach re suits in over 4 orders of magnitude speed improvement over BCP based software SAT approaches (2-3 orders of magnitude over other hardware SAT approaches). The capacity of our approach is significantly higher than most hardware based approaches.


Objective: Classroom teachers can play an important role in supporting the implementation of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programme (CSPAP) by integrating physical activity (PA) into academic lessons, providing PA opportunities at recess and becoming role models for school-aged children. Grounded in the expectancy-value model, the goal of this study was to explore preservice classroom teachers' perspectives towards the programme in terms of their expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values. Setting: A large public research university in the southwestern region of the USA. Method: Participants were 192 preservice classroom teachers (Mage = 19.85 years, SD = 0.6; female = 92%) enrolled in a public university. Participants responded to open-ended questions about their beliefs and values related to the CSPAP after learning about the programme model. Using thematic analysis, initial codes were generated from participants' responses, and three researchers who were knowledgeable in the CSPAP approach identified the final main themes. Results: The results revealed several overarching themes for understanding preservice classroom teachers' expectancy-related beliefs and subjective task values towards implementing CSPAP in schools, including the essential role of CSPAP in the family and community, innovation in pedagogy and the influence of the CSPAP on daily PA. Conclusion: Our study adds to the literature on preservice classroom teachers' beliefs and values towards the CSPAP using an expectancy-value model. Potential applications and suggestions for future practice are discussed.


Background: Kindergartens can potentially contribute substantially to the daily level of physical activity and development of motor skills and might be an ideal setting for improving these as a public health initiative. We aimed to examine whether children from rural outdoor kindergartens had a lower risk of motor difficulties than children from urban conventional kindergartens. Methods: Motor test results were measured during the first school year by school health nurses using a six-item test of gross- and fine motor skills (jumping, handle a writing tool, cutting with a scissor following a line, one-leg stand on each leg, throwing and grabbing). Register-based information was available on potential confounding factors. Results: We included 901 children from outdoor kindergartens and 993 from conventional kindergartens with a mean (SD) age of 6.5 years (0.4). The children from the two types of kindergarten differed according to demographic information, with outdoor kindergarten children more often being from more affluent families (long maternal education level: 47.5% vs. 31.0%, p < 0.0001) and fewer girls attending the outdoor kindergartens (42.7% vs. 49.5%, p = 0.003). In the adjusted models, we found no evidence of differences in the risk of motor difficulties between children attending either type of kindergarten (OR: 0.95, 95%CI: 0.71; 1.27, p = 0.72). Conclusion: Our results do not support outdoor kindergartens as a potential intervention to improve motor abilities among children. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.


Protein functional modules are fundamental units in protein interaction networks. High-throughput Mass Spectrometry (MS) technology has become valuable for discovery of protein functional modules. Yet, their computational inference from MS pull-down data and biological significance evaluation are still challenging. This paper introduces an integrated multi-step framework for (1) assessing protein-protein interaction affinities, (2) constructing a genome-wide protein association map, (3) finding putative protein functional modules, and (4) evaluating their biological relevance. The protein affinity score utilizes co- purification pattern of two proteins and adopts an information theoretic-approach to build the protein affinity map. Putative protein modules are then derived using a graph-theoretical approach. A two-stage statistical procedure assesses biological relevance of identified modules. On Saccharomyces cerevisiae's pull-down data (Nature, vol. 415, pp. 141-7, 2002), the scoring scheme outperformed other methods by at least 10% in F1-measure, and statistical tests identified 489 protein modules enriched in all of three general GO categories with p-values less than 0.05.


The study aims to the determination of the degree of customer awareness in relation to activities for customer social responsibility that should be undertaken by a company that is socially responsible, as well as to establish the influence that CSR has upon the loyalty of customers in the Libyan telecom sector. Given that, there is a great variety of developed countries that have well-developed telecom sectors which are closely monitored; however, the literature in developing countries that address the impact of CSR on customer loyalty is very limited. Therefore, the examination of the sector customers is of worth so that the meeting of needs for Libyan telecom sector customers can be assured. The survey was completed by 154 participants in total, and there was a recording of the web survey and analysis of the findings. Variables utilised for measurement of the influence of CSR upon the loyalty of customers were taken from the framework of theory with the inclusion of an economic CSR component, the legal CSR component, the philanthropic and ethical components of CSR and the loyalty of customers. The web-survey findings showed that customers had a great awareness of the activities of CSR that ought to be engaged in by responsible companies. In addition, the results showed that CSR did have an impact upon loyalty within the Libyan telecom sector and that customers had a willingness to buy from the firm because of the engagement of them in CSR activities.


ABSTRACT Homologous recombination in ES cells was employed to generate mice with targeted deletion of the first three exons of the γ-synuclein gene. Complete inactivation of gene expression in null mutant mice was confirmed on the mRNA and protein levels. Null mutant mice are viable, are fertile, and do not display evident phenotypical abnormalities. The effects of γ-synuclein deficiency on motor and peripheral sensory neurons were studied by various methods in vivo and in vitro. These two types of neurons were selected because they both express high levels of γ-synuclein from the early stages of mouse embryonic development but later in the development they display different patterns of intracellular compartmentalization of the protein. We found no difference in the number of neurons between wild-type and null mutant animals in several brain stem motor nuclei, in lumbar dorsal root ganglia, and in the trigeminal ganglion. The survival of γ-synuclein-deficient trigeminal neurons in various culture conditions was not different from that of wild-type neurons. There was no difference in the numbers of myelinated and nonmyelinated fibers in the saphenous nerves of these animals, and sensory reflex thresholds were also intact in γ-synuclein null mutant mice. Nerve injury led to similar changes in sensory function in wild-type and mutant mice. Taken together, our data suggest that like α-synuclein, γ-synuclein is dispensable for the development and function of the nervous system.


Ensuring that safety analysis needs are met in the future is likely to lead to the development of new codes and the further development of existing codes. It is therefore advantageous to define standards for data interfaces and to develop software interfacing techniques which can readily accommodate changes when they are made. Defining interface standards is beneficial but is necessarily restricted in application if future requirements are not known in detail. Code interfacing methods are of particular relevance with the move towards automatic grid frequency response operation where the integration of plant dynamic, core follow and fault study calculation tools is considered advantageous. This paper describes the background and features of a new code TALINK (Transient Analysis code LINKage program) used to provide a flexible interface to link the RELAP5 thermal hydraulics code with the PANTHER neutron kinetics and the SIBDYM whole plant dynamic modelling codes used by Nuclear Electric. The complete package enables the codes to be executed in parallel and provides an integrated whole plant thermal-hydraulics and neutron kinetics model. In addition the paper discusses the capabilities and pedigree of the component codes used to form the integrated transient analysis package and the details of the calculation ofmore » a postulated Sizewell `B` Loss of offsite power fault transient.« less


The matching pursuit method of Mallat and Zhang (1993) is applied to the analysis and synthesis of phonocardiograms (PCGs). The method is based on a classical Gabor wavelet or time-frequency atom which is the product of a sinusoid and a Gaussian window function, it decomposes a signal into a series of time-frequency atoms by an iterative process based on selecting the largest inner product of the signal (and the subsequent residues) with atoms from a redundant dictionary. The Gaussian window controls the envelope duration and time position of each atom; and the sinusoid represents the frequency. The method was applied to two sets of PCGs: one with very low-noise level and the other with 10% noise energy. Each database includes 11 PCGs representing the normal and the pathological conditions of the heart. The normalized root-mean-square error (NRMSE) was computed between the original and the reconstructed signals. The results show that the matching pursuit method is very suitable to the transient and complex properties of the PCGs, as it yielded excellent NRMSEs around 2.2% for the two sets of 11 PCGs tested.


INTRODUCTION International environmental lawmaking and regulation draws both from general sources of international law, and regulatory techniques developed in domestic environmental legal systems. This chapter identifies the sources of international legal obligation pertinent to environmental issues, and the regulatory techniques that have been adapted from domestic models to give effect to these obligations. International law is traditionally stated to comprise 'the body of rules which are legally binding on states in their intercourse with each other'. These rules derive their authority, in accordance with Article 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), from four sources: treaties, international custom, general principles of law, and subsidiary sources (decisions of courts and tribunals and the writings of jurists and groups of jurists). It is to these sources that international courts look in determining whether a particular legally binding principle or rule of international environmental law exists. The list of sources identified in Article 38(1) does not wholly reflect the sources of obligation, broadly understood, which have arisen in international environmental law. A list of sources of international environmental law is more properly reflected in the list proposed by the International Law Commission (ILC) in 1989, which included those identified in Article 38(1) as well as binding decisions of international organisations, and judgments of international courts or tribunals. Beyond these sources of 'hard law', which establish legally binding obligations, there are also so-called rules of 'soft law', which are not binding per se but which in the field of international environmental law can play an important role; they point to the likely future direction of formally binding obligations, by informally establishing acceptable norms of behaviour, and by 'codifying' or possibly reflecting rules of customary law. It is also worth recalling that, although the rules of public international law primarily govern relations between states, it is now widely accepted that states are no longer the only subjects of international law, and that the rules of international law can, and do, impose obligations upon other members of the international community, in particular international organisations and, to a more limited extent, non-state actors, including individuals and corporations.


Abstract Organic soil amendments are known to affect the composition and density of annual weed communities. The objective of this research was to measure the effect on emergence and growth of redroot pigweed seedlings when soil was amended with composted dairy manure at 18, 36, and 54 T/ha, or with raw dairy manure at 41, 82, and 123 T/ha. Data recorded (1) seedling emergence over 12 days, (2) number of leaves and total leaf area, (3) shoot and root dry weight, and (4) seed number. Maximum seedling emergence (32%) occurred in nonamended soil (the control). Emergence declined in a linear fashion when soil was amended with manure or with compost. Compost additions affected seedling emergence more severely than did manure additions. For every measure of redroot pigweed growth except seed production, amendment with manure at 123 T/ha retarded growth compared to soil alone or compost-amended mixes. Manure applied at 82 T/ha reduced leaf area and plant height relative to other treatments. Growth of redroot pigweed in soil amended with compost at 36 and 54 T/ha was always equal to or greater than growth in soil that was not amended. Seed production in one of two runs of the experiment was more than double in soils amended with compost at 36 and 54 T/ha compared to the nonamended soil. These results suggest that amending soils with raw dairy manure may decrease the competitiveness of redroot pigweed, whereas amending with composted manure is likely to increase competitiveness. Nomenclature: Redroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus L. AMARE


Abstract. Earthquake is one of the most divesting natural events that threaten human life during history. After the earthquake, having information about the damaged area, the amount and type of damage can be a great help in the relief and reconstruction for disaster managers. It is very important that these measures should be taken immediately after the earthquake because any negligence could be more criminal losses. The purpose of this paper is to propose and implement an automatic approach for mapping destructed buildings after an earthquake using pre- and post-event high resolution satellite images. In the proposed method after preprocessing, segmentation of both images is performed using multi-resolution segmentation technique. Then, the segmentation results are intersected with ArcGIS to obtain equal image objects on both images. After that, appropriate textural features, which make a better difference between changed or unchanged areas, are calculated for all the image objects. Finally, subtracting the extracted textural features from pre- and post-event images, obtained values are applied as an input feature vector in an artificial neural network for classifying the area into two classes of changed and unchanged areas. The proposed method was evaluated using WorldView2 satellite images, acquired before and after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The reported overall accuracy of 93% proved the ability of the proposed method for post-earthquake buildings change detection.


The single-slope analog-to-digital converter (SS-ADC) is the most commonly used column-level ADC for high-speed industrial, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based X-ray image sensors because of its small chip area (the width of a pixel), its simple circuit structure, and its low power consumption. However, it generally has a long conversion time, so we propose an innovative design: a complimentary dual-slope ADC (CDS-ADC) that uses two opposite ramp signals instead of a single ramp to double the conversion speed. This CDS-ADC occupies only 15% more area than the original SS-ADC. A prototype 12-bit CDS-ADC and a 12-bit SS-ADC were fabricated using a 0.35-µm 1P 4M CMOS process. During comparison of the two, the measured maximum differential non-linearity (DNL) of the CDS-ADC was a 0.49 least significant bit (LSB), the maximum integral non-linearity (INL) was a 0.43 LSB, the effective number of bits (ENOB) was 9.18 bits, and the figure of merit (FOM) was 0.03 pJ/conversion. The total power consumption was 0.031 uW. The conversion time of the new CDS-ADC was half that of the SS-ADC. The proposed dual-slope concept can be extended to further multiply the conversion speed by using multiple pairs of dual-slope ramps.


Abstract Background and study aims  Gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) is traditionally managed with surgical gastroenterostomy (surgical-GE) and enteral stenting (ES). Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gastroenterostomy (EUS-GE) is now a third option. Large studies assessing their relative risks and benefits with adequate follow-up are lacking. We conducted a comparative analysis of patients who underwent EUS-GE, ES, or surgical-GE for GOO. Patients and methods  In this retrospective comparative cohort study, consecutive patients presenting with GOO who underwent EUS-GE, ES, or surgical-GE at two academic institutions were reviewed and independently cross-edited to ensure accurate reporting. The primary outcome was need for reintervention. Secondary outcomes were technical and clinical success, length of hospital stay (LOS), and adverse events (AEs). Results  A total of 436 patients (232 EUS-GE, 131 ES, 73 surgical-GE) were included. The median duration of follow-up of the entire cohort was 185.5 days (interquartile range 55.25–454.25 days). The rate of reintervention in the EUS-GE group was lower than in the ES and surgical-GE groups (0.9 %, 12.2 %, and 13.7 %, P  < 0.0001). Technical success was achieved in 98.3 %, 99.2 %, and 100 % ( P  = 0.58), and clinical success was achieved in 98.3 %, 91.6 %, and 90.4 % ( P  < 0.0001) in the EUS-GE, ES, and surgical-GE groups, respectively. The EUS-GE group had a shorter LOS (2 days vs. 3 days vs. 5 days, P  < 0.0001) and a lower AE rate than the ES and surgical-GE groups (8.6 % vs. 38.9 % vs. 27.4 %, P  < 0.0001). Conclusion  This large cohort study demonstrates the safety and palliation durability of EUS-GE as an alternative strategy for GOO palliation in select patients.


the author herself. She clearly explains historical clown types (the white-face, the Auguste, etc.), and traces the development of the circus clown from Philip Astley's circus through to the Pickles Family Circus and Circus Oz, before analyzing her own four categories of modern clowning: 'Clown Shows' are like circus clowning, except that they take place in theatres; 'Clown Theatre' is similar but with more emphasis on plot and characteriz ation; 'Clown Actors' perform in more scripted shows alongside conventional actors; and straight plays which draw on clown imagery and tech niques are 'Clownesque'. Most interesting are the later chapters which move into more uncharted territory in discussing the use of clowning in religion (Clown Ministry, Roly Bain), political campaigning (CIRCA), and medicine (with 'clown doctors' such as Patch Adams). Although she is a clown-enthusiast who has been known to daub the odd bit of grease paint on her own face, Peacock's analysis is shrewd and balanced. She points out the artistic problems provided by transposing circus tech niques into theatrical settings, for example, and questions whether clown ministers are clown ing, given that they almost entirely avoid the kind of transgression which she argues is central to the form. This is a useful book, offering an accessible 'way in' to both well-known and more obscure aspects of clowning, and it's also attractive, being illustrated with a pleasant smattering of clown photographs. oliver double


Simulations of encounters between pairs of hard binaries, each containing a neutron star and a main-sequence star, reveal a new formation mechanism for double pulsars in dense cores of globular clusters. In many cases, the two normal stars are disrupted to form a common envelope around the pair of neutron stars, both of which will be spun up to become millisecond pulsars. We predict that a new class of pulsars, double millisecond pulsars, will be discovered in the cores of dense globular clusters. The genesis proceeds through a short-lived double-core common envelope phase, with the envelope ejected in a fast wind. It is possible that the progenitor may also undergo a double X-ray binary phase. Any circular, short-period double pulsar found in the galaxy would necessarily come from disrupted disk clusters, unlike Hulse-Taylor class pulsars or low-mass X-ray binaries which may be ejected from clusters or formed in the galaxy.


Empowered by rapid advance of high performance computer architectures and software, it is now possible for scientists to perform high resolution simulations with unprecedented accuracy. Nowadays, the total size of data from a large-scale simulation can easily exceed hundreds of terabytes or even petabytes, distributed over a large number of time steps. The sheer size of data makes it difficult to perform post analysis and visualization after the computation is completed. Frequently, large amounts of valuable data produced from simulations are discarded, or left in disk unanalyzed. In this paper, we present a novel technique that can retrieve the most salient time steps, or key time steps, from large scale time-varying data sets. To achieve this goal, we develop a new time warping technique with an efficient dynamic programming scheme to map the whole sequence into an arbitrary number of time steps specified by the user. A novel contribution of our dynamic programming scheme is that the mapping between the whole time sequence and the key time steps is globally optimal, and hence the information loss is minimum. We propose a high performance algorithm to solve the dynamic programming problem that makes the selection of key times run in real time. Based on the technique, we create a visualization system that allows the user to browse time varying data at arbitrary levels of temporal detail. Because of the low computational complexity of this algorithm, the tool can help the user explore time varying data interactively and hierarchically. We demonstrate the utility of our algorithm by showing results from different time-varying data sets.


Organizational Behavior in a Discontinuous World, by Knud S. Larsen, Kees van der Veer, Reidar Ommundsen & Krum Krumov, is a detailed analysis of both individual and group behavior at the workplace. The book is based on the premise that "Research must be reevaluated in the context of a world where change is rapid, global in nature and discontinuous" (back cover). In documenting the role of OB across years through history and the present, the book reports that we live and work in a fluid world and such a context calls for a deep, change-related understanding of Organizational Behavior issues.


Importance
Questions have recently arisen as to whether 30-day mortality is a reasonable metric for understanding institutional practice differences after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR).

Objective
To examine the utility of 30-day vs 90-day mortality after TAVR and SAVR as a mortality quality metric.

Design, Setting, and Participants
This nationally representative, multicenter, cohort study analyzed data from Medicare beneficiaries undergoing TAVR and SAVR procedures from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2015. Concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting and other heart valve or other major open-heart procedures were excluded. Hospitals that performed fewer than 50 TAVR or 70 SAVR procedures per year were excluded to ensure reliable estimates and to reduce the risks of inflated results because of small institutional sample sizes. Data were analyzed from October 2018 to August 2019.

Exposures
Hospitals were ranked into top- (10%), middle- (80%), and bottom-performing (10%) groups based on their 4-year mean 30-day mortality.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Changes in hospital performance rankings at 90 days and 1 year and correlation of 30- and 90-day mortality with 1-year mortality were examined.

Results
A total of 30 329 TAVR admissions at 184 hospitals and 26 021 SAVR admissions at 191 hospitals were evaluated. For TAVR, 40 hospitals (21.7%) changed performance rankings at 90 days: 13 (48.1%) in the top-performing group and 8 (29.6%) in the bottom-performing group. At 1 year, 56 hospitals (30.4%), which included 21 (77.8%) in the top-performing group and 12 (44.4%) in the bottom-performing group, changed rankings. Similar findings were observed for SAVR, with an overall 90-day conversion rate of 17.3% and a 1-year rate of 30.3%. These findings persisted after adjusting for the differences in patient risk profiles among the 3 groups. Capturing 90-day events was also more robustly informative regarding expected 1-year outcomes after both TAVR and SAVR, largely owing to the observed plateau in the instantaneous hazard observed beyond this point.

Conclusions and Relevance
The findings suggest that evaluation of hospital performance based on 30-day mortality may underestimate outcomes and therefore substantially misrepresent institutional performance after TAVR and SAVR compared with 90-day mortality, even after risk adjustment. Although 30-day mortality has been validated, 90-day mortality may be a more reliable outcome metric for measuring hospital performance and capturing procedure-related mortality.


An examination of the relationships between health behaviors (preventive and risk-related), physician-diagnosed medical problems, role-functioning impairment because of physical morbidity, and post-traumatic stress disorder was conducted on a large cohort of consecutive treatment-seeking cases (N = 826) presenting to an outpatient Veterans Affairs post-traumatic stress disorder clinic. Results revealed that the sample rates of several medical conditions were markedly elevated when compared with general population rates for men of comparable age. The rates of smoking and other behavioral risk variables were greater than rates among men in the general population. Moreover, the majority of the sample did not engage in preventive health behaviors such as exercise and medical screening at levels consistent with health care guidelines. Physical role functioning indices of the SF-36 reveal greater role-functioning impairment because of physical morbidity in this psychiatric sample relative to the age adjusted general population norms. The health care implications of these data are discussed, as are areas for future research.


Urban land expansion is the closest representation of urbanization in spatial dimension, and is one of the most important factors affecting land-use/cover change on a regional scale. China has experienced rapid urban growth, which can be monitored by the Landsat TM digital images. This paper measures urban land expansion in China using the high resolution Landsat TM digital images in three periods, 1989/1990, 1995/1996 and 1999/2000, and identifies four types of urban land expansion, namely neighborhood, axis-based, pole-based and multi-nucleus expansion which coexisted in the 1990s. The urban land expansion in China totals 817 thousand hectares, among which the expansion during the first half (1990-1995) is more than four times that of the latter half. This paper identifies the main factors contributing to the formation of the four types of urban expansion patterns based on cases studies of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Zibo, and gives a detailed account of the driving forces of urban land expansion in the 1990s.


1. A new method of purification of renin is described. This method employs the following procedures: ethanol precipitation; saline extraction; precipitation of renin with 40% ammonium sulphate; precipitation of impurities with 3% ammonium sulphate at pH2.5; chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and CM-Sephadex; gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 (both normal and superfine grade); finally, starch-gel electrophoresis. 2. The final renin preparation had a specific activity 10(4) times that of the initial saline extract. 3. A single band of stained protein corresponding to the renin activity was present on starch-gel electrophoresis in the final step and a single precipitin line was obtained to this material with rabbit anti-(pig renin) serum. 4. Double diffusion in agar with rabbit anti-(pig renin) serum showed one major precipitin line, probably due to renin-anti-renin complex, and in addition two minor components.


The camp nurse used many therapeutic interventions that enhanced growth of campers. Having a broad goal to build therapeutic alliances in each interaction with others helped the nurse in this experience to accomplish many unforeseen positive health outcomes. Each encounter can become an opportunity for growth by the participants. Camp nursing is truly an invigorating experience when the nurse enters the work place with a positive view that each person displays a variety of strengths. Through listening and providing encouragement, the nurse is able to assist campers to arrive at answers to difficult issues and leave the experience achieving growth and development.