Emma Guffey Miller was a notable Democratic figure in Pennsylvania. For example, she has been known for her battle for women's voting rights, for her fight against prohibition, and for her leadership in organizing the Pennsylvania Federation of Democratic Women. Also she is famous for being the first American woman to receive a half vote for the presidential nomination at the national convention in 1924. However, unfortunately no attention has been paid to the fact that she lived in Japan from 1901 to 1906, and left continuous records of Meiji Japan. Relying upon her personal papers, I examine what brought her all the way to Japan and how she viewed Japanese society after the Mixed Residence Policy was put into effect. In some respects, as the paper indicates, Miller's "love" for Japan can be described as an enigma masked by cultured relativism on one side, and instinctive racial prejudice on the other.
Her experience in Bryn Mawr College enhanced her interest in Japan and the Japanese, and helped open avenues of cultural exchange and even for residence in Japan. Miller's interest in and favor toward Japan extended throughout her life and she was more open to diversity and more relativistic than many of her contemporaries at home in America.
However, that did not mean that she remained completely neutral; there was another side of her personality. As her observations of Japan were judicious and keen, but at the same time slightly myopia. Especially racially, Miller had never been driven to extremes, but at the same time, she couldn't cast away an instinctive hatred of Japanese. The episodes shown in the paper clearly exemplifies Miller's bias and racial prejudice, and she had never been able to cast them away. Reflection on this should lead us to a better understanding of her ambivalent attitude toward racial issues during the later period of her life.


After removal of N-type inactivation in Shaker K channels another inactivation process remains (C-type inactivation). The C-type inactivation time course is reversibly slowed when external [K+] increases. The effect of K+ is mimicked by Rb+ and, with less potency, by the less permeant ions Na+, Cs+, and NH4+. These results, which can be explained by the foot-in-the-door model of gating, could reflect the variable interaction of cations with amino acids in the ion-conducting pore. Mutations at position 449 (near the outer mouth of the pore) produce drastic changes in C-type inactivation kinetics and in its interaction with monovalent cations. Replacement of threonine in the wild-type by glutamic acid or lysine leads to a hundred-fold acceleration of inactivation (time constant approximately 25 ms). In contrast, placing valine at this position results in channels that do not inactivate in 45 s. Moreover, high K+, besides slowing down the inactivation kinetics, produces an increase in current amplitude despite a concomitant decrease in K+ driving force. This second effect, which is larger in mutants with faster inactivation kinetics, is caused by an increase in the number of channels that open on depolarization. Thus, C-type inactivation is a process influenced by the ionic composition of the external milieu which strongly depends on the amino acid at position 449 in the pore region. These findings may help to explain the variability in inactivation kinetics observed in the various types of K channels.


Abstract This document provides guidance for communicators on how to communicate the various expressions of uncertainty described in EFSA's document: 'Guidance on uncertainty analysis in scientific assessments'. It also contains specific guidance for assessors on how best to report the various expressions of uncertainty. The document provides a template for identifying expressions of uncertainty in scientific assessments and locating the specific guidance for each expression. The guidance is structured according to EFSA's three broadly defined categories of target audience: 'entry', 'informed' and 'technical' levels. Communicators should use the guidance for entry and informed audiences, while assessors should use the guidance for the technical level. The guidance was formulated using evidence from the scientific literature, grey literature and two EFSA research studies, or based on judgement and reasoning where evidence was incomplete or missing. The limitations of the evidence sources inform the recommendations for further research on uncertainty communication.


Abstract Styrax zhejiangensis is an endemic species to China and is only distributed in Jiande, Zhejiang Province. The species is on the verge of extinction. The chloroplast genome of S. zhejiangensis was determined from Illumina pair-end sequencing data. The sequence was 157,387 bp and consisted of one large (LSC, 87,193 bp) and one small (SSC, 18,286 bp) single-copy region region, separated by a pair of inverted repeat (IR, 25,954 bp) regions. The sequence included 116 genes, including 82 protein-coding genes, 19 rRNAs and 15 tRNAs. The overall GC content was 37.0%. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis showed that Styracaceae was more closely related to Symplocaceae than to Ebenaceae.


In order to recognize the soil and geomorphologic characteristics of the northeastern part of Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, and its implications on the runoff volumes in the region, 59 soil samples were collected from the first 5 cm of the soil layer, taking into account the surface relief, soil classification and vegetation cover of each sampling point. Soil moisture content and textural analyses were carried out in the laboratory for each sample. Three raster images were used to complement field data: an Ikonos image, an Aster Image and the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Geografia e Informatica digital geologic map I11D82. The Ikonos image was used to calculate the normalized differential vegetation index, the Aster image to evaluate the field slope, and the digital map to obtain geologic information for the study area. Following the runoff curve number method, a computational algorithm was developed (for Ermapper 6.4 software), by using the three raster images and the field data. The algorithm was employed to study


Resonance scattering techniques are very useful for high-resolution atomic spectroscopy. The applicability of these techniques has been much extended, particularly through the rapid development of tunable-laser technology. The use of a narrow-band tunable laser, acting on a collimated atomic beam, gives a direct method enabling, for example, hyperfine structure and isotope shift studies. The intensity of lasers allows stepwise excitations to be performed, and with the two-photon absorption technique, Doppler-free measurements on thermal gases are also possible. By using pulsed lasers, time-resolved measurements yielding radiative life-times and structural information can be performed. The basic resonance scattering methods can be combined with radiofrequency and coherence techniques to yield a resolution, limited only by the uncertainty relation. Optical double resonance and level-crossing techniques, not requiring a narrow-band light source, have been extensively used. Several examples of the application of resonance scattering methods are given.


Iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) are microelements essential for the proper functioning of living organisms. These elements participatein many processes, including cellular metabolism and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory defenses, and also influence enzyme activity, regulate gene expression, and take part in protein synthesis. Fe, Cu, and Zn have a significant impact on the health of pregnant women and in the development of the fetus, as well as on the health of the newborn. A proper concentration of these elements in the body of women during pregnancy reduces the risk of complications such as anemia, induced hypertension, low birth weight, preeclampsia, and postnatal complications. The interactions between Fe, Cu, and Zn influence their availability due to their similar physicochemical properties. This most often occurs during intestinal absorption, where metal ions compete for binding sites with transport compounds. Additionally, the relationships between these ions have a great influence on the course of reactions in the tissues, as well as on their excretion, which can be stimulated or delayed. This review aims to summarize reports on the influence of Fe, Cu, and Zn on the course of single and multiple pregnancies, and to discuss the interdependencies and mechanisms occurring between Fe, Cu, and Zn.


The geometry of Cantor systems associated with an asymptotically non-hyperbolic family $(f_\epsilon)_{0\le\epsilon\le \epsilon_0}$ was studied by Jiang (Geometry of Cantor systems. Trans. Amer. Math. Soc.351 (1999), 1975–1987). By applying the geometry studied there, we prove that the Hausdorff dimension of the maximal invariant set of $f_\epsilon$ behaves like $1- K\epsilon^{1/\gamma}$ asymptotically, as was conjectured by Jiang (Generalized Ulam–von Neumann transformations. PhD Thesis, CUNY Graduate Center, May 1999).


Absorption bands in the infrared reflectance spectra from the Galileo Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) which are attributed to the presence of CO2 and SO2 on the surface of Callisto have been analyzed and mapped in detail. CO2 of varying concentrations appears to exist everywhere on Callisto, except at higher latitudes, where it may be masked by frost. The CO2 concentration on the trailing hemisphere has a longitudinal distribution largely consistent with a sinusoid centered on the equator near 270° longitude. The approximately sinusoidal pattern suggests that exogenic effects related to Jupiter's corotating magnetic field are involved. Closer inspection of both hemispheres reveals that in many cases, visibly bright and ice-rich impact craters have high CO2 concentrations within or near them. The CO2 sometimes appears to be associated more with dark material near the craters than with the water ice. These correlations suggest impact processes may also affect the distribution of CO2 on the surface of Callisto. The center of the absorption band has been refined to be at 4.258±0.004 μm. The presence of a single band shape and band minimum wavelength position in all data sets for the CO2 absorption implies the physical state of CO2 is similar over the surface of Callisto. The distribution of SO2 on the surface is less well defined owing to characteristically shallower band depths, but it appears generally mottled, with some areas of high concentrations correlated with ice-rich impact craters. Large-scale patterns include the depletion of SO2 in the polar regions and a depletion of SO2 on the trailing side relative to the leading side. There is no sinusoidal pattern to this depletion. The center of the SO2 band is determined to be between 4.01 and 4.02 μm.


An eight-member family is presented with two female members suffering from the juvenile form of acid maltase deficiency (AMD), the diagnosis confirmed by biochemical study of muscle. Biochemical leucocyte investigation revealed reduced a-glucosidase activity in both patients, a brother and the parents. Endocrinological study of the family disclosed reduced levels of thyroxine binding globulin (TBG) in the father and the three daughters. We consider the co-existence of AMD and TBG deficiency interesting, as thyroxine seems to play a role in the activation of acid maltase.


Cannabis sativa plants contain a multitude of bioactive substances, which show broad variability between different plant strains. Of the more than a hundred naturally occurring phytocannabinoids, Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) have been the most extensively studied, but whether and how the lesser investigated compounds in plant extracts affect bioavailability or biological effects of Δ9-THC or CBD is not known. We therefore performed a first pilot study to assess THC concentrations in plasma, spinal cord and brain after oral administration of THC compared to medical marijuana extracts rich in THC or depleted of THC. Δ9-THC levels were higher in mice receiving the THC-rich extract. Surprisingly, only orally applied CBD but not THC alleviated mechanical hypersensitivity in the mouse spared nerve injury model, favoring CBD as an analgesic compound for which fewer unwanted psychoactive effects are to be expected.


Farmed juvenile blue foxes were housed either singly, in pairs, or in quartets at a stocking density of either 0.6 m2 or 1.2 m2 per animal. The effects of group size and space allocation on physiological, behavioural and production-related parameters were assessed. The results showed that the larger space allocation, although having only minor effects on the measured parameters, allowed the foxes to maintain their individual space even in the larger group sizes. Social tension within the groups affected the behavioural and production-related parameters to a greater extent than did space allocation. The sex-related dominance order, with males having easier access to feed than females, and females having more bite scars and higher serum cortisol levels than males, appears to be the major factor affecting the general performance of mixed-sex group-housed farmed blue foxes. These results suggest that group housing of farmed juvenile blue foxes could be considered as an alternative, socially enriched way of housing these animals.


Exposure of HeLa or Chinese hamster ovary cells to drugs (novobiocin, nalidixic acid, or oxolinic acid) which inhibit the nuclear enzyme topoisomerase II resulted in a sensitization of both cell lines to hyperthermic heating at 41 and 45 degrees C. Exposure to 0.5 mg/ml novobiocin decreased the reciprocal slope (T0) of the survival curve of HeLa cells heated at 41 and 45 degrees C by a factor of 7.5 and 2.4, respectively. Exposure to 0.5 mg/ml novobiocin decreased the T0 of the survival curve of Chinese hamster ovary cells heated at 41 and 45 degrees C by a factor of 9.8 and 1.8, respectively. Exposure of HeLa cells to 0.5 mg/ml novobiocin delayed thermotolerance development for 1.5 h and depressed by a factor of 27 the survival of cells heated at 45 degrees C once thermotolerance had developed. Coincident with the sensitization to heat-induced cytotoxicity, an enhancement of a heat-induced increase in the total protein mass co-isolating with the nuclei or nuclear matrices from heated cells was observed. A log-linear correlation was found between the reduction in cell survival and the relative nuclear matrix protein mass increase in cells heated at 41 or 45 degrees C in the presence or absence of these drugs. The results are consistent with the notion that exposure to these drugs disrupts the cell's capacity to regulate nuclear structure and composition, and thus enhances heat-induced cytotoxicity.


We present our Multi Point Of vieW Evaluation Refinement Studio (MPOWERS), an application framework for Spoken Dialogue System evaluation that implements design conventions in a user-friendly interface. It ensures that all evaluator-users manipulate a unique shared corpus of data with a shared set of parameters to design and retrieve their evaluations. It therefore answers both the need for convergence among the evaluation practices and the consideration of several analytical points of view addressed by the evaluators involved in Spoken Dialogue System projects. After introducing the system architecture, we argue the solution's added value in supporting a both data-driven and goal-driven process. We conclude with future works and perspectives of improvement upheld by human processes.


A cross-sectional study was done in two different areas to assess the association between air pollution with respirable dust (PMI0) and respiratory health of primary school children, which was held in September 1998. The study was done in two areas of different air quality status, i e, Kampong Tasek, Ipoh which is located within a 2 km radius from cement factory, while the other area is Kampong Ayer Puteh, located nearly 80 km north of Ipoh. The aim of the study is to assess the relationship between air pollution by respirable dust (PMIO), and respiratory health of primary schoolchildren living in both areas. Respiratory symptoms were assessed with a guided questionnaire while pulmonary functions were measured with a 'Pony" spirometry. Respirable dust was measured with a portable 'MiniVol' air sampler, at 4 locations in each study area. Prevalence of acute respiratory symptoms was high, around 30 % and forced expiratory volume in I second (FEVI) was lower among children from Kampong Tasek. An association between prevalence of respiratory symptoms especially coughs and levels of PMIO were derived and there was a significant difference between both areas. Children in Kampong Tasek were also detected to have significantly high prevalence of eye and skin diseases. Although there was no different of forced vital capacity (FVC) observed, but there were significance differences of FEVI compared to both assessed areas. In conclusion, air pollution caused by respirable dust (PM10) is associated with increase in respiratory symptoms and reduced FEVI of primary school children.


Background Anhedonia, as the core endophenotype of major depressive disorder (MDD), is closely related to poor prognosis, but the mechanism of this feature remains to be understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the inflammatory factors and brain structural alterations in MDD patients with anhedonia and evaluate the relationship between these factors. Methods We assessed the plasma levels of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in MDD patients with anhedonia (n = 22), MDD patients without anhedonia (n = 20), and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs, n = 20) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. All participants underwent high-resolution brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to evaluate their gray matter volume (GMV). We compared inflammatory factors and GMV among the three groups and explored their relationships in MDD patients with anhedonia. Results Compared with those of HCs, plasma levels of IL-1β were increased in patients with MDD independent of anhedonia features, while plasma levels of IL-6 were elevated in MDD patients with anhedonia only. Meanwhile, MDD patients with anhedonia exhibited reduced GMV in the left striatal structures compared to MDD patients without anhedonia and HCs. Moreover, a significant association was observed between increased plasma levels of IL-6 and decreased GMV of the left putamen in MDD patients with anhedonia. Conclusions The present research outcomes suggest that anhedonia is associated with increased plasma levels of IL-6 and decreased GMV in the left striatal structures. In addition, this study demonstrates that GMV loss in the left putamen is related to increased plasma levels of IL-6 in MDD with anhedonia, which provides further insights into the possible mechanisms of anhedonia.


Most electric power cooperatives have old power cable in their underground distribution systems that is particularly prone to water-tree damage. At risk is the medium-voltage cable installed across the USA between the '60s and the '80s with insulation of high-molecular-weight polyethylene (HMWPE) or cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE). Here, the authors describe the use of CableCure fluid, a dielectric enhancement technology that restores water-damaged stranded cable, within a cost-effective utility power cable reliability program.


Abstract The present paper discusses the key role of creativity as a form of engagement and categorisation in interaction. One important way to display engagement 'at talk' is via resonance, that is when speakers re-use linguistic features that they heard from one another. Speakers constantly imitate and creatively recombine the utterances and the behaviors of their interlocutors. Recombinant creativity is a key cognitive mechanism subserving this, as it involves speakers' re-elaboration of utterances and illocutionary forces of others, but also, more generally, the creative intervention on observed patterns of behaviour in context. Recombinant creativity is crucial for primarily two pragmatic and conceptual mechanisms: relevance acknowledgement and schematic categorization. A persistent tendency towards the proactive reformulation of an interlocutor's speech is a textual indicator of relevance acknowledgement. This is because what is said by the other speaker is overtly treated as useful information for the continuation of the interaction. The opposite trend – to be measured on a large scale – is an indicator of lack of engagement. Recombinant creativity varies intra- and inter-culturally and is decisive for speakers' enactment of socio-pragmatic schemas and the generalisation of form and meaning as a process of shared categorization.


A spectral analysis has been performed on the exospheric temperature derived from incoherent scatter data gathered at St. Santin for two unusually long observation campaigns. It is found that the main components of the oscillations are diurnal and semidiurnal, with amplitudes of respectively 10 and 2.5% of the steady component. Based on this evidence the bulk of the data, corresponding to 84 shorter experiments of only about 40 hr, has been Fourier-analyzed in terms of the abovementioned components. The long-term variations of the characteristics of each steady state and of the oscillation components are then analyzed and their implications for the temperature structure are discussed.


ABSTRACT We report the genome, in a single chromosome, of Lactococcus lactis strain AI06, isolated from the mesocarp of the açaí fruit (Euterpe oleracea) in eastern Amazonia, Brazil. This strain is an endophyte of the açaí palm and also a component of the microbiota of the edible food product.


The authors have studied the effects of physical exercise on extracellular substances of several tissues in animals. Hydroxyproline (Hyp) exist in the form of peptide and the free state in blood. It is generally thought that Hyp in blood derived from the decomposition of collagen in tissue. To clarify the influence on collagen metabolism due to aging and exercise training, we attempted to see the changes of Hyp content of serum before and after exercise in human being. Subjects were 51 adult aged 20 to 74 years, and 10 nonathletes and 51 athletes, aged 18 to 22 years. The Hyp content in serum was measured by woessner's method. The Hyp content of serum decreased with age. This fact suggests that the formation of intramolecular and intermolecular cross-links in collagen of tissue is accelerated by aging. And there is a possibility that the proportion of insoluble collagen increased in tissue of aged human being. Before the exercise, Hyp content of serum in athlete was lower than that in nonathletes. Hyp content of serum increased remarkably after the exercise in athlete. These results suggest that the collagen metabolism may be accelerated by continuous exercise training.


The term 'Industry 4.0' or the fourth Industrial Revolution refers to the addition of smart technology to traditional manufacturing and industrial practices. This practice was first introduced by the German government in the year 2011 to empower its economy. The trend steadily gained roots and spread to other countries across the globe. This study explores the preparedness of select Indian industries to implement Industry 4.0, or in other words, build smart factories using innovative technologies. It also throws light on the benefits, challenges, drivers and barriers to Industry 4.0 in the Indian context. Based on data from corporate executives, it also highlights issues and challenges related to investment cost, skills gap and data security in implementing Industry 4.0. The study also provides a framework for a mapping application to map the qualities, benefits and challenges faced by selected Indian industries at two levels: concept implementation and the full implementation.


Thirty-two cases of esophageal cancer were treated with thermochemotherapy from August 1984 to June 1985. A combination of bleomycin (20 mg per session iv) and cisplatin (0.5-0.9 mg/kg per session as low dose and 1.0-2.0 mg/kg per session as high dose), or of bleomycin, cisplatin (high dose), and cyclophosphamide (400-600 mg per session) were the treatment regimens. A 915-MHz microwave applicator was inserted into the lumen of the esophagus for heating. The temperature at normal adjacent tissue to the cancer was at 43-44 degrees C, while the temperature of the cancer was at 45 degrees C-50 degrees C. Chemotherapy and hyperthermia were administered simultaneously, once a week for six to eight sessions. The response rate in the low-dose group was 36.4% (four of 11) and 81% (17 of 21) in the high-dose group. The complete response rate in the low-dose group was zero of 11 patients, with 38.1% (eight of 21) in the latter group. The relationship between power output and tumor response is also discussed.


Flow separation is a major parameter affecting the compressor performance. It reduces the compressor efficiency, limits static pressure rise capability and contributes to instability in compressors. In applied research, there is a lack of understanding of the nature and mechanism of the three-dimensional (3-D) flow separation in the axial compressor especially on the juncture of the endwall and blade corner region. In the present study, the 3-D flow field in an axial compressor cascade has been studied experimentally as well as numerically.
 For the experimental study part, a linear compressor cascade has been installed in an open loop wind tunnel. The experimental data was acquired for a Reynolds number Rec = 2.98 × 105 based on the blade chord and the inlet flow conditions. The total pressure loss progress through the blade passage has been measured by using calibrated five and seven-hole pressure probes connected to ATX sensor module data acquisition system. The static pressure distribution on the endwall has been measured employing static pressure taps connected to digital micromanometers. To investigate the loss mechanism through the cascade, the total pressure loss coefficient has been calculated from the measured data.
 The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study of the flow field was performed to gain a better understanding of the flow features. Two turbulence models, Spalart-Allmaras (S-A) and shear stress transport SST (k-ω) were used. From both parts of study, the flow field development and total pressure loss progress through the cascade have been investigated and compared. Moreover, the received data demonstrated a good agreement between the experimental and computational results. The predicted flow streamlines by numerical calculations showed regions characterized by flow separation and recirculation zones that could be used to enhance the understanding of the loss mechanism in compressor cascades. All measurements taken by 5-hole and 7-hole pressure probes have been analyzed and compared. It was found that their readings were almost the same and there are no excellences for using 7-hole probe. Furthermore S-A turbulence model calculations showed more consistencies with experimental results than SST (k-ω) model.


Background Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a commonly occurring complication associated with the use of contrast media in radiological studies. It impairs clinical outcome in patients undergoing angiographic procedures. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate whether short-term high-dose atorvastatin would decreases the incidence of CIN after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods Statin-naive patients with STEMI undergoing PCI (n=268) randomly received high-dose atorvastatin (80 mg 12 h before intervention, n=130) or low-dose group (20 mg 12 h before intervention, n=138). All patients had long-term atorvastatin treatment thereafter (40 mg/day in high-dose group and 20 mg/day in low-dose group). Primary end point was incidence of CIN defined as postintervention increase in serum creatinine ≥0.5 mg/dl or >25% from baseline. Results Baseline demographic characteristics and nephropathy risk factors were similar between groups. 4.8% of patients in the high-dose group developed CIN versus 7.6% of those in the low-dose group (p<0.05). In the high-dose group, postprocedure serum creatinine was significantly lower (1.08±0.42 vs 1.14±0.38 mg/dl, p<0.05), creatinine clearance was decreased (78.9±22.2 vs 72.0±36.6 ml/min, p<0.05), multivariable analysis showed that high-dose atorvastatin pretreatment was independently associated with a decreased risk of CIN (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.86, p<0.05). Conclusions Short-term pretreatment with high-dose atorvastatin prevents CIN in patients with STEMI undergoing PCI.


Background: The selection of the students as recommended by the Medical Council of India (MCI) is based on the merit of candidate at qualifying examination and/or a competitive medical entrance. The selection criteria do not take care of non-scholastic abilities of the students, there is diversity in cultural backgrounds and they also face difficulty in adapting to the new environment, introduction of foundation course would be of benefit and so the present study was conducted to review the from the students their inference of this foundation course at entry level.

Aims and Objectives: This study aims to explore the student's feedback on foundation course in the 1st year MBBS.

Materials and Methods: A foundation course and orientation program of 1 month (August 2–August 31) was conducted in Government Medical College, Nagpur, as per the MCI modification in the curriculum of MBBS program. This has been implemented for the 1st time in August 2019. The foundation course had different modules including orientation module, skill module, community visits, and stress management. Two feedbacks were taken from the students in the form of questionnaires (first regarding the topics of the modules and the other for the delivery of the module). The results were analyzed after 30 days.

Results: The overall rating for the topics in the foundation course was satisfactory (score 4) by the students with few topics needed more understanding (score 1). Feedback questions for the assessment of teaching and learning methods were also reflected in the positive way.

Conclusion: The students appreciated the inception of foundation course at entry level, with effective understanding and application of basic science knowledge, the feedback given by the students would certainly be of help in improvisation and betterment in future.


Punk is usually thought of as a radical reaction to local circumstances. This article argues that, while this may be the case, punk's celebration of nihilism should also be understood as an expression of the acknowledgement of the cultural trauma that was, in the late 1970s, becoming known as the Holocaust. This article identifies the disproportionate number of Jews who helped in the development of the American punk phenomenon through the late 1960s and 1970s. However, the effects of the impact of the cultural trauma of the Holocaust were not confined to Jews. The shock that apparently civilised Europeans could engage in genocidal acts against groups of people wholly or partially thought of by most Europeans as European undermined the certainties of post-Enlightenment modernity and contributed fundamentally to the sense of unsettlement of morals and ethics which characterises the experience of postmodernity. Punk marks a critical cultural moment in that transformation. In this article the focus is on punk in the United States.


In many psychoacoustical tasks, hearing-impaired subjects display abnormal audiograms and poor understanding of speech compared to normal listeners. Existing models that ex‐ plain the performance of the hearing impaired indicate that possible sources for cochlear hearing loss may be the dysfunction of the outer and inner hair cells. In this study, a model of the auditory system is introduced. It includes two stages: (1) a nonlinear time domain cochlear model with active outer hair cells that are driven by the tectorial mem‐ brane motion and (2) a synaptic model that generates the auditory nerve instantaneous rate as a response to the basilar membrane motion and is affected by the inner hair cell transduction efficiency. The model can fit both a normal auditory system and an abnor‐ mal auditory system with easily induced pathologies. In typical psychoacoustical detection experiments, the ability of subjects to perceive a minimum difference in a physical property is measured. We use the model presented here to predict these performances by assuming that the brain behaves as an optimal pro‐ cessor that estimates a particular physical parameter. The performance of the optimal processor is derived by calculating its lower bound. Since neural activity is described as a nonhomogeneous Poisson process whose instantaneous rate was derived, the Cramer– Rao lower bound can be analytically obtained for both rate coding and all information coding. We compared the model predictions of normal and abnormal cochleae to human thresh‐ olds of pure tones in quiet and in the presence of background noise.


We measured the regional distribution of pulmonary extravascular and interstitial water to examine the possibility that regional differences in microvascular pressure or tissue stress may cause regional differences in lung water. We placed chloralose-anesthetized dogs in an upright (n = 6) or supine (n = 7) position for 180 min. We injected 51Cr-labeled EDTA to equilibrate to the extracellular space and 125I-labeled albumin to equilibrate with plasma. At the end of the experiment, the lungs were removed, passively drained of blood, and inflated before rapid freezing. Lungs were divided into horizontal slices, and extravascular, interstitial, and plasma water, red cell volume, and dry lung weight were determined for each slice. We found that regional extravascular and interstitial water were constant throughout the lungs in both groups and that there were no significant differences between upright and supine dogs. There were no significant differences in hematocrit between slices. We conclude that gravity and body position have no measurable effect on either the total size of the extravascular and interstitial compartments or their regional distribution.


Manual film processing systems produce their own types of artefacts. The authors report accidental transfer of an image-bearing emulsion from one film to another. The films were lying in close apposition in the darkroom washing tank. Forcible separation of the two films resulted in the "transplant".


Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) is used to regulate traffic signs, warn a driver, and command or prohibit certain actions. Fast real-time and robust automatic traffic sign detection and recognition can support and disburden the driver and significantly increase driving safety and comfort. Automatic recognition of traffic signs is also important for an automated intelligent driving vehicle or for driver assistance systems. Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. There are many more other types of traffic signs such as special regulation signs, signs for direction and position, welcome sign etc. This report work aims to present a colour segmentation approach for traffic sign recognition based on Linear Vector Quantization (LVQ) neural network and also focuses on triangular edge detection and feature extraction based on Hough transformation and Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) respectively. At first samples of images in different weather conditions are collected and then Red Green Blue (RGB) images are converted into Hue Saturation Value (HSV) colour space. The samples are then trained using LVQ depending on the hue and saturation values of each pixel and then tested for colour segmentation. The edges of the triangular segmented images are then detected using Hough Transformation. Then samples are taken to extract features using HOG. Finally they are trained and tested using Support Vector Machine (SVM) to get the output image. The algorithms were applied to around 100 sampled images which are taken in different Despite the varying conditions, the algorithms worked almost accurately in all situations and the success rate was quite satisfactory with a very good response time of a few milliseconds. Individual text characters are detected as Maximally Stable External Region (MSER) and are grouped into lines, before being interpreted using optimal character recognition (OCR). Recognition accuracy is vastly improved through the temporal fusion of text results across consecutive frames. Keywords— TSR, LVQ, SVM, HOG.


This paper describes research into the low strain rate mechanical properties of polymer bonded explosives (PBXs) and follows on from that presented by Palmer and co-workers in 1993. PBXs are highly filled composite materials comprised of crystals of a secondary explosive supported in ca.5–10% (by mass) polymeric binder. In general, the modulus of the binder is 105 times lower than that of the crystalline explosive, resulting in the behaviour of the composite being heavily influenced by the properties of the binder despite the low concentration present. The Brazilian test, in which a disc of material is loaded diametrically in compression, has been used to generate tensile failure in the materials studied. Three methods of microscopy have been used to examine the nature of failure in two UK compositions and one US material (PBX 9501). Pre– and post–failure optical and electron microscopy examinations of the materials have been undertaken to gain a greater understanding of the role of the microstructure and this has been aided by the use of an environmental scanning electron microscope to follow real-time failure in the PBXs. Failure in all three compositions has been observed to start around the edges of larger filler particles perpendicular to the direction of tensile strain. Compositions with rubbery binders have been observed forming binder filaments which bridge the crack walls, while clean crystal faces are observed on the larger particles. In a composition with a nitrocellulose-based binder, hair-like features of nitrocellulose have been seen sticking out from the failure surfaces and the rougher crack walls.


In this paper we present the results from an experiment designed to characterize the Leap Motion movement in 2D pointing tasks and compare it to a mouse and touchpad. We used the ISO 9241-9 multi-directional tapping test for comparing the devices, and we analyse the results using standard throughput and error rate measures as well as additional accuracy measures such as target re-entry, task axis crossing, movement direction change, orthogonal direction change, movement variability, movement offset, and movement error. We also present the results from the ISO 9241-9 assessment of comfort questionnaire, and our observations from the participant's postures when using the Leap Motion device. Results indicate that the Leap Motion performs poorly in these tasks when compared to a mouse or touchpad.


The Development of a Materials Training Framework for English for Academic Purposes Shameem Mohd. Rafik Khan There seems to be a significant gap in research on how teachers develop EAP teaching learning materials and the various types of problems they encounter when developing these materials. This is regardless of whether the teaching is for English for General Purposes or English for Academic Purposes( EAP). This study explores how training in EAP materials development might be improved, and it sets out: (1) to develop a task-based materials Framework and then (2) to explore its effectiveness with trainees in the context of a Malaysian university (Universiti Pertanian Malaysia [UPM]). In devising the Framework, guidance was sought from task and content-based approaches to language teaching, genre theory, Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives, a needs survey and various other sources. The Framework was trialled with Malaysian teachers studying at various British universities and further revised. To evaluate and explore the effectiveness of the Framework an intact group or within subjects design and workshop procedures were used. A materials design course already exits at UPM and hence the method taught could be compared with the use of the Framework. One hundred and seven pre and in-service TESL teachers participated in this comparison and they designed materials by the existing method, and then using the Framework. The attitudes of the teachers, their perceptions of the Framework, and the materials produced, were compared and analysed using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods. These included questionnaires before and after the experience, a 'Materials Evaluation Checklist' and a collaborative progress log which the teachers kept. The results show a significant improvement in the materials produced, and in the attitudes, beliefs and perception of the teachers, when the Framework is used. The work has implications for future teacher education programmes in materials design for Malaysia, where the focus is on English for Academic Purposes.


Much of our knowledge about the electric field distribution in transcranial current stimulation (tCS) still relies on results obtained from layered spherical head models. In this work we created a high resolution finite element model of a human head by segmentation of MRI images, and paid particular attention to the representation of the cortical sheet. This model was then used to calculate the electric field induced by two electrodes: an anode placed above the left motor cortex, and a cathode placed over the right eyebrow. The results showed that the maxima of the current density appear located on localized hotspots in the bottom of sulci and not on the cortical surface as would be expected from spherical models. This also applies to the components of the current density normal and tangential to the cortical surface. These results show that such highly detailed head models are needed to correctly predict the effects of tCS on cortical neurons.


Offset wells in this region for the past 20 years were used as water disposal wells, having 40,000 bpd water production. Past decade observed remarkable decline in production leading to the development of the current well as a replacement while abandoning the previous well. The well was ranked as medium critical considered from its long water disposal period as no integrity test were performed due to the well location. The lithology of anhydrite alternation with limestone, dolomite and thin shale layers caused a risk of losses and differential sticking. In addition, this was a H2S bearing (100 - 119ppm) salt-water flow formation.
 With a rotating control head in place with the flow line valve closed providing a closed loop system, the return is dumped to the sea through the extended diverter lines, ensuring that the H2S emissions are diverted away from the rig floor and from the manned complexes.
 Total losses and sour water flow made closed loop flow drilling an engineering solution for its ability to ensure no H2S migration to the rig floor and continuity of the drilling operation with returns diverted away from the rig at all times. The introduction of side entry flow line on the rotating control device (RCD) allowed utilization of an additional fill up line planned to bullhead back to the formation preventing excessive gas migration.
 Extensive planning of rig interface with rotating control head with side inlet connection from the standpipe manifold to manage time and space constraints in addition to losses management providing well continuity.
 The well drilled successfully with a rotating control device- RCD at surface and returns diverted safely. The closed system with rotating control device - RCD and a well head pressure monitoring gauge provided an additional security of analyzing well conditions, though risk of having gas influx was initially identified as a medium hazard being a top hole section with a higher chances of losses while drilling.
 As circulation and conditioning was done traces of gas and H2S were observed with an increase in pressure observed at the RCD. Bullheading from the side inlet of the RCD from standpipe was utilized to balance the well eliminating the risk of high exposure of H2S gas at surface. Having the only pressure monitoring system in place with the RCD the overhead pressure could be identified to raise the mud weight and to balance the well. This operation was successful and resulted in zero gas at surface with casing and cementing operations on the well conducted safely without any quality, health or safety issues.
 Understanding the risk of less information about the formation led to the approach of utilizing a low pressure rotating head system to drill safely into a H2S risk zone. This paper identifies how a previously used system, could have an innovated approach to drill safely in a total loss and H2S prone formations.


The volume provides a modern synthesis of foreland basin stratigraphy and structural geology. It covers the foothills and foreland basins of the northwestern Alps, the Pyrenees and the Betic thrust belt. The multidisciplinary approach includes both sedimentological and structural studies, plus numerical modelling as a tool to quantify and integrate the geological data. This book reults from the Integrated Basin Studies Project, which was funded by the European Commission. More than 200 researchers from 38 institutions in 15 countries have collaborated in the IBS project. Several papers from outside the project have also been included to provide the reader with a more comprehensive overview of Western Europe's Cenozoic foreland basins. This volume concentrates on scientific research, but many oil companies are actively exploring the foothills of thrust belts throughout the world, and this book will be an invaluable reference work for exploration geologists as well as for academics.


Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The standard of care for patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer is radiation plus chemotherapy. The nationally accepted standard radiation prescription dose has remained at 60-63 Gy for more than 30 years, with local failure rates reaching 85% and median survival rates of approximately 17 months. With smaller treatment volumes and the increased conformality of radiation delivery, the administration of higher radiation doses to the target while minimizing dose to critical structures is feasible. Clinical outcome is improved while minimizing toxicity. Recent prospective trials escalating doses to 74 Gy with concurrent chemotherapy have demonstrated promise with improved survival rates and acceptable toxicity rates.


The management of anemia in patients with chronic renal failure has greatly improved with the availability of recombinant human erythropoietin in the late 1980s, leading to a considerable reduction in mortality and morbidity and to an improvement in quality of life. The findings from recent controlled clinical outcome trials have resulted in a rather narrow, generally accepted therapeutic hematocrit target range. However, currently available dosing algorithms do not permit achievement and maintenance of target values within the therapeutic range in many patients. One possible explanation for this failure may be the ignorance of a finite erythrocyte lifespan not integrated into most algorithms. The purpose of this article is to underline the essential role played by the erythrocyte lifespan in the erythropoietic response to recombinant human erythropoietin and to encourage the integration of this concept in the future development of computer-assisted decision support systems.


This paper has as main objective to build a composite metric of financial soundness for the private corporate sector in Colombia. Instead of relying on the individual and sometimes restrictive financial ratio analysis approach, the purpose of this document is to provide a single metric aimed at measuring the financial health of firms. Said metric, the financial soundness index, is derived by employing the cross-section approach of principal component analysis. For the time period of 2000-2013, the results allow to identify which industries have a weak, strong or similar balance sheet performance relative to that observed for the private corporate sector as a whole. Furthermore for firms that are debtors of the Colombian financial system, validation tests on the index confirm the apparent relationship between accounting data and the credit risk perception of and materialization for financial intermediaries.


One of the most relevant measures for climate change mitigation is the conservation and regeneration of forests in our countries. The amount of stored carbon in the forest biomass becomes a relevant variable for public policy. The present article analyses the association of some dasometric variables, easily obtained, with tree biomass with the purpose of indirectly estimating it, given that direct measurement of tree biomass is a complex and very expensive task. The general objective of this study was to analyze the pattern shown by dasometric variables, easily obtained, with tree biomass to estimate it by using data from two tropical forests in Costa Rica, with the purpose of analyzing its potential general application in tropical forests in the entire country. The bibliographic review helped to identify four possible models which estimate biomass in tropical forests. 907 trees were used with diameter at breast height (dbh) greater than 10 cm in two tropical forests in Costa Rica (Corcovado National Park at the SW of the country, and Fila Carbon at the SE part, Caribbean slope), generating a biomass estimate as precise as possible. Dasometric variables (wood density, total height and dbh) were used to analyze their relationship with biomass with the objective of finding a model that could predict it. The final model uses, as independent variables, dbh and density. Dbh has a high correlation with tree total height, which is very difficult to obtain in the field, therefore it was not used. The variable density is very important as it varies between trees having the same structure but of different species. To estimate the model, a segmented regression technique was used as well as weighted mean squares to solve for heteroscedasticity. The final model met all statistical assumptions for a linear model according to the residual and parametric analysis. The determination coefficient resulted in 0,992. As a conclusion, the study proposes a methodological approach to estimate forest biomass, which is very useful to support decision-making on carbon storage in tropical forests. Biomass determination in the field in future plots is going to help the calibration of this approach to estimate biomass stored in tropical forests.


The study's overarching objective was to identify the pitfalls and bottlenecks in ensuring environmental justice on an equal basis embedded in the existing legal, policy, and institutional framework. The environmental victims were examined, and the line experts' opinions were garnered. The study revealed that ordinary people could not seek justice to the court directly for environmental damage due to bubbles in the legal and policy framework. The courts suffer from various challenges like fuzziness in the jurisdiction, lack of legal advisor, and workloads. On the other hand, the court has no power to take cognizance of an offense independently. The wealthy and influential polluters are reluctant to respect the law due to insufficient punishment prescribed by the statutes. The victims are rarely compensated, and there are a few options to resolve the dispute in alternative ways. The provision of legal aid for the poor and disadvantaged people is not much helpful. The public departments are stuck with a lack of logistics and human resources. The jurisdictional overlapping, underlapping, and conflict of interest among the departments worsen monitoring, control, surveillance (MCS), and effective coordination. The regulatory framework does not welcome the community in decision making and natural resource management. Hence, the study recommends legal and institutional reform. Policy initiatives are warranted for effective environmental governance, green growth, campaign, and volunteerism.


ABSTRACT This short communication identifies some inconsistencies in the numerical predictions of three advanced soil constitutive models. The chosen constitutive models are subject to simple numerical tests in the small-strain range relevant to the cyclic response of soil in seismic, offshore and urban applications. The numerical tests comprise a cyclic simple shear test in the small-strain range, a simple shear test with very small strain unloading-reloading loops and a test on the dependence of the rate of the shear stiffness degradation on the changing mean confining stress. The results are briefly discussed and, in some cases, the reasons for the observed inconsistencies and potential improvements in the formulations of the investigated constitutive models are initially drafted.


A quantitative approach to risk acceptance criteria and risk management is proposed for activities involving risk to individuals not receiving direct benefits, such as employment, from the activity. Societal activities are divided into major facilities or technologies, all or part of which are categorized as essential, beneficial, or peripheral, and a decreasing level of acceptable risk to the most exposed individual is proposed (say, 0.0002/year for essential, 0.00001/year for beneficial, and 0.000002/year for peripheral activity). The risk would be assessed at a high confidence level (say, 90%), thereby providing an incentive to the gaining of better knowledge. Each risk-producing facility, technology, etc., would have to undergo assessment both of risk to the individual and to society. The cost of the latter would have to be internalized, probably via a tax paid to the Federal Government, which in turn would redistribute the benefit as national health insurance or reduced taxes to the individual. Risk aversion to large events would be built into the internalization of the cost of risk.


This paper attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of a keyword or descriptor in the title, from the viewpoint of document selection and information retrieval for scientists engaged in contraception research. A total of 2152 document titles recorded in the Index Medicus during 1973-75 was examined. Another set of 567 contraception titles published in the Index Medicus during 1963-65 was also studied to determine if there were any changes in the information content of the titles over a 10-year period. Employing the Montgomery-Swanson method, it was found that 92.2% of the documents from the later period and 88.0% of those from the earlier period had at least one "contraception term" in their titles. The data obtained in this study exceed those of published reports. A brief review of some of the previous studies dealing with the retrieval capabilities of titles in various branches of medical and life sciences is presented. It is concluded that the title search method is a very effective means of retrieving pertinent documents in the field of contraceptive technology. A trend of improvement in the information content of the scientific titles is also noted.


Rheological properties in steady planar elongational flow of CTAB/NaSal aqueous solutions were investigated using a 4-roll mill flow cell. The planar elongational stress was measured by using a flow-birefringence technique, which is based on the stress-optic rule. On the other hand, the rate of planar elongation was accurately determined by the analysis of the tracer particles in the system. The planar elongational viscosity showed elongational thinning as well as shear thinning. The planar elongational viscosity measured in the 4-roll mill flow cell was compared with that measured in a squeeze flow cell, and both well agreed with each other. Trouton ratio was evaluated to be 4 in both the Newtonian and elongational thinning region. Flow instability is observed in the 4-roll mill flow cell at a planar elongation rate lower than the shear rate at which the shear flow instability takes place.


In this study, the effect of two alternative growing substrates (corncob and Azolla anabaena) on some vegetative parameters (days to emergence, stem diameter, plant height and root volume) in seedlings of broccoli hybrid Coronado were evaluated. Both materials were ground and used according to the following treatments: 100% corncob (T1), 100% Azolla (T2), 50% corncob + Azolla 50% (T3), corncob 75% + Azolla 25% (T4), 25% corncob + Azolla 75% (T5) and then compared to a commercial substrate (BM2) (T6). Substrates were uniformly mixed, deposited in germination trays and watered at field capacity. Additionally, physic-chemical characteristics were determined in the different substrates used for broccoli seedling production. Stem diameter, height plant and root volume showed to be statistically higher in seedlings grown in commercial substrate (0.18 cm, 5.27 cm and 0.61 cm3, respectively) followed by those seedlings grown in 100% Azolla (0.17 cm, 4.92 cm and 0.49 cm3, respectively) (p< 0.001). Seedlings growing in substrates with higher corncob proportion showed lower values in these vegetative parameters. Based on our results, Azolla showed potential to be used as a seed substrate for production of broccoli seedlings, thus decreasing the use of peat and consequently the production costs in nurseries.


Bovine prochymosin (bPC) is an inactive precursor of the milk clotting enzyme chymosin (EC 18.104.22.168), that is present in the abomasum of suckling calves. We investigated the pattern of bPC mRNA expression in the calf stomach tissues by RT-PCR assay and sequence analysis of cloned RT-PCR products. We identified multiple isoforms appearing due to alternative splicing of bPC mRNA. Alternative mRNA forms were generated by skipping one to four full exons within the bPC gene. Various splicing events resulted in seven bPC transcripts, which are 99, 114, 213, 237, 336, 351 and 450 nucleotides shorter compared to full-length mRNA. Analysis of amino acid sequences deduced from alternatively spliced mRNA sequences showed no amino acid transversions and no protein reading frame shift for any splice forms.


Children's picturebooks about war explore the encounter with death through the animation, destruction, and mending of symbolic toys. To empower the child caught in the machinery of war and loss, these stories oscillate between breaking and remaking, as they articulate cycles of adventure and return, explosive victories and traumatic suffering. By layering verbal and visual narratives, as well as inversions in the relationships of power, some stories invite complexly ironic readings. Animals mediate between human and inhuman, and codes of size evoke latent vulnerabilities. Toys perform cultural work that includes the reinscription of disrupted gender roles and the naturalization of a social order that depends upon disorderly violence.


After being arrested in 1952 for public indecency and sexual perversion, Alan Turing was sentenced to estrogen injections that the Hollywood film Imitation Game (Tyldum 2014) portrays as destroying his manhood as well as his mind. Homosexuality was coincident with Turing's greatness, The Imitation Game insists, but endogenous hormones were intrinsic to his brilliance.1 Yet the film also offers a glimpse into the larger political machinery in which Turing operated, a system that new queer studies scholarship on biopower helps illuminate. This broader frame renders Turing a figure unwittingly located at the nexus of three major vectors of Foucauldian biopower: the emergence of the homosexual as a medicaljuridical subject, the administration of the population through the calculation of risk, and


The volcanological significance of seismicity within Katmai National Park has been debated since the first seismograph was installed in 1963, in part because Katmai seismicity consists almost entirely of high-frequency earthquakes that can be caused by a wide range of processes. I investigate this issue by determining 140 well-constrained first-motion fault-plane solutions for shallow (depth < 9 km) earthquakes occurring between 1995 and 2001 and inverting these solutions for the stress tensor in different regions within the park. Earthquakes removed by several kilometers from the volcanic axis occur in a stress field characterized by horizontally oriented σ1 and σ3 axes, with σ1 rotated slightly (12°) relative to the NUVEL1A subduction vector, indicating that these earthquakes are occurring in response to regional tectonic forces. On the other hand, stress tensors for earthquake clusters beneath several Katmai cluster volcanoes have vertically oriented σ1 axes, indicating that these events are occurring in response to local, not regional, processes. At Martin-Mageik, vertically oriented σ1 is most consistent with failure under edifice loading conditions in conjunction with localized pore pressure increases associated with hydrothermal circulation cells. At Trident-Novarupta, it is consistent with a number of possible models, including occurrence along fractures formed during the 1912 eruption that now serve as horizontal conduits for migrating fluids and/or volatiles from nearby degassing and cooling magma bodies. At Mount Katmai, it is most consistent with continued seismicity along ring-fracture systems created in the 1912 eruption, perhaps enhanced by circulating hydrothermal fluids and/or seepage from the caldera-filling lake.

Manuscript received 25 April 2002.


Introduction . Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major public health issue that is frequently underestimated. The primary objective of this multicenter study was to identify patients at risk for VTE, and to define the rate of patients receiving appropriate prophylaxis in the regions of Kazakhstan. Materials and methods . Standardized case report forms were filled by trained medical doctors on one predefined day in selected hospitals. Data were analyzed by independent biostatistician. Risk of VTE was categorized according to Caprini score which was recommended by 2004 American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) guidelines. Results . 432 patients from 4 regions of Kazakhstan; 169 (39.10%) medical patients and 263 (60.9%) surgical patients were eligible for the study. Patients were at low (10%), moderate (19.2%), high (33.6%) and very high risk (37.3%) for VTE. The main risk factors (RF) of VTE among hospitalized patients were heart failure (HF), obesity, prolonged bed rest, and the presence of acute non-infective inflammation. From total number of hospitalized patients with RF with indications to VTE prophylaxis, 58.1% of patients received pharmacological prophylaxis and only 24.6% of them received VTE prophylaxis according ACCP. On the other hand, 23.5% patients with the risk of VTE but who were not eligible for it received pharmacological prophylaxis. Conclusion . These results indicate the existence of inconsistency between eligibility for VTE prophylaxis on one hand and its application in practice (p < 0.001). Risk factors for VTE and eligibility for VTE prophylaxis are common, but VTE prophylaxis and guidelines application are low.


The attitude motion of a spin-stabilized, upper-stage spacecraft is investigated based on a two-body model, consisting of a symmetric body, representing the spacecraft, and a spherical pendulum, representing the liquid slag pool entrapped in the aft section of the rocket motor. Exact time-varying nonlinear equations are derived and used to eliminate the drawbacks of conventional linear models. To study the stability of the spacecraft`s attitude motion, both the spacecraft and pendulum are assumed to be in states of steady spin about the symmetry axis of the spacecraft and the coupled time-varying nonlinear equation of the pendulum is simplified. A quasi-stationary solution to that equation and approximate resonance conditions are determined in terms of the system parameters. The analysis shows that the pendulum is subject to a combination of parametric and external-type excitation by the main body and that energy from the excited pendulum is fed into the main body to develop the coning instability. In this paper, numerical examples are presented to explain the mechanism of the coning angle growth and how angular momenta and disturbance moments are generated.


Sentiment analysis is a computational study of opinions and emotions expressed textually. Sentiment analysis will group text in sentences or documents to find out the opinions expressed in the sentence or document, whether negative or positive. This sentiment analysis research was conducted on the online taxi transportation service. Gojek uses a lot of social media to communicate with its customers, one of the social media used is Instagram. This research takes 1000 comments from the Instagram of the Gojek page which is used to see the public opinion of the online Gojek transportation services. Comments from the page are processed by doing text preprocessing and then classified using the Naive Bayes Classifier (NBC) method to obtain the value of the public value for online transportation services. The results of this study using the Naive Bayes method resulted in an accuracy value of 81.00%, which means that from all the comments on the Instagram page, the subject of the NBC method could be accurately classified by 81.00% whether the comments were negative or positive comments.


In this paper, we propose a non-invasive and nonrestrictive human vital-signs sensory system using an electrically-conductive fiber. To maintain health, it is important to monitor our physical condition daily. Even during sleep, a person's condition is not constant and sometimes it can change suddenly. Therefore, we are developing a human vital-signs sensory system for monitoring purposes. Our proposed system consists of a sensing part, data collection part and signal processing part. The sensing part is composed of electrically-conductive fibers incorporated in a conventional bed sheet. Since the sensors are arranged in a grid structure, we can detect the pressure distribution on the sheet. We utilize this sheet to acquire human vital signs such as respiration and heart rate continuously. With a preliminary prototype, we show the basic properties of the proposed sensory system.


In this paper, we put forward a new term similarity algorithm which automatically extracts context patterns by sentence dependency analysis, and then calculates term similarity by mapping those patterns. The algorithm provides better way to extract term context patterns with stronger context expression ability than current algorithms. Meanwhile, the length of patterns is modest, which makes it convenient to be matched. We also evaluate the algorithm on the basis of gene engineering field experiment data set. Experiment result shows that the algorithm evidently improves the calculating performance.


A 44-year-old male patient, a cardiothoracic surgeon by profession, presented with a tumor arising from the deep lobe of the right parotid gland. Investigations confirmed its para-pharyngeal location and its dumbbell shape. A total conservative parotidectomy was performed preserving full function of the facial nerve. The case is presented because of the unique technique used for this procedure.


In this paper, we introduce Context-aware Adaptive Embedded Systems (CAES) and illustrate the complexity of early design space exploration (DSE) process using examples of two real systems that are being implemented in our group. Next, we give an overview of the proposed approach and present some preliminary results.


Executive summary: This report presents the results of Australian Institute of Criminology research on issues and challenges of policing alcohol and illicit drug use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in metropolitan environments. This report is a companion to the 2006 National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund project The policing implications of cannabis, amphetamine and other illicit drug use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The main purpose of both pieces of research was to contribute to police service knowledge of substance use by Indigenous people and to provide a framework for good practice policing of the issues associated with alcohol and drug misuse. Report structure The first section of this report provides a summary of available data on Indigenous alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in metropolitan areas. The second section reports on the challenges that police and other stakeholders identified through survey results and focus group/interview consultations that relate to policing Indigenous substance use in metropolitan areas. The final section of the report presents a suggested framework for adapting the good practice framework developed in Delahunty and Putt's research for general use within metropolitan areas.


Among those elements which occur only in minor amounts in the human body, none has such an interesting history or has been the subject of so much research as iodine. Although there can be no doubt concerning its physiological significance, actually very little is known about the requirement of various cells and tissues for this element in both its organic and inorganic forms. In view of the fact that the human body not only contains chlorine and iodine, but also fluorine and bromine, the question naturally arises whether all are vital elements and to what extent they can replace one another. The experiments reported in this article were undertaken to determine the interchange-ability of chlorine and iodine in culture media for human thyroid fibroblasts.

The effect of iodine and iodides on tissue cultures has been studied by various investigators. Pitini (12) observed a stimulating effect of potassium iodide on the growth of spleen and sciatic nerve of young guinea-pigs. Glass capillaries filled with a 10 per cent solution of the iodide were placed in close proximity to the cultures. In the interpretation of the results obtained with such a method it must be borne in mind that divers uncontrollable factors may affect the tissue growth, such as local changes in the osmotic pressure and in the pH of the culture medium.


AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN THE MACEDONIAN MOBILE SERVICE MARKET Nikolina Palamidovska-Sterjadovska, Anita Ciunova-Shuleska The main objective of this paper is to develop and test an integrated model of customer loyalty in the Macedonian mobile service market, analysing its determinants and their interrelationships and effects on customer loyalty. The proposed research model integrates service quality, customer satisfaction, switching costs and switching barriers as the main determinants of customer loyalty, further analysing their different effects (direct/mediating/moderating) on customer loyalty. Confi rmatory factor analysis (CFA) is used in order to assess the validity of the measurement model, and the developed structural model is tested with structural equation modelling (SEM). The reported results indicate that the proposed research model as a whole has a satisfactory level of adequacy and most of the hypothesized realtionships are confi rmed. The results suggest that customer satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty and also service quality has a direct and positive effect on customer loyalty. The satisfactionloyalty relationship is not mediated nor moderated by switching barriers, but switching barriers have a direct and positive effect on customer loyalty. The presented results would be of great importance for managers for the successful development of strategies for creating mobile service users' loyalty. The empirical evidence obtained in this study suggest that Macedonian mobile operators should have in mind alternative strategies in creating customer loyalty, emphasising the fact that customer satisfaction has a stronger positive infl uence in creating customer loyalty than switching barriers. The present research provides an integrated approach in examining customer loyalty and explores the different roles of switching barriers in the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty. In order to further develop the integrated approach of customer loyalty modelling, some additional concepts should be incorporated and examined in the future.


The aim of this study was to introduce the experience of diagnosis and treatment for patients with migrated acupuncture needle to pleural cavity and or lung parenchyma. We had treated 5 patients who had acupuncture needles in their thoracic cavity from January 2000 to September 2009. The mean age was 55.8 yr old. All patients suffered from the sequelae of the cerebrovascular accident and had been treated with acupuncture. They had drowsiness and hemiplegic or quadriplegic motor activity. Fever and dyspnea were main symptoms when referred to us. Diagnosis was made by the chest radiography and chest computed tomography which revealed straight metallic materials in their thoracic cavity. The needles were removed via thoracotomy or thoracoscopic procedures. Pleural decortications were also needed in four patients. Thoracoscopic surgery was successfully performed in two patients. After the removal all patients became symptomless. Although we experienced only five patients who have migrated acupuncture needles in thoracic cavity, we suggest that thoracoscopic removal of the needle with or without pleural decortication is the most optimal modality of treatment in those patients.


Abstract A total of 236 schools participated in the Project P.A.T.H.S. in the 2010/2011 school year. After completion of the Tier 1 Program, subjective outcome evaluation data were collected from 3275 program implementers. Based on the consolidated findings based on schools as units, results showed that participants had positive perceptions of the program, implementers, and benefits of the program. More than four-fifths of the implementers regarded the program as helpful to the program participants. Multiple regression analysis revealed that perceived qualities of the program and the program implementers predicted perceived effectiveness of the program. Grade differences were not significant. The present study provides additional support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.


Blockchain has become the most revolutionary technology in the 21st century. In recent years, one of the concerns of world energy isn't just sustainability yet, in addition, being secure and reliable also. Since information and energy security are the main concern for the present and future services, this thesis is focused on the challenge of how to trade energy securely on the background of using distributed marketplaces that can be applied. The core technology used in this thesis is distributed ledger, specifically blockchain. Since this technology has recently gained much attention because of its functionalities such as transparency, immutability, irreversibility, security, etc, we tried to convey a solution for the implementation of a secure peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading network over a suitable blockchain platform. Furthermore, blockchain enables traceability of the origin of data which is called data provenience. In this work, we applied a secure blockchain technology in peer-to-peer energy sharing or trading system where the prosumer and consumer can trade their energies through a secure channel or network. Furthermore, the service management functionalities such as security, reliability, flexibility, and scalability are achieved through the implementation. This thesis is focused on the current proposals for p2p energy trading using blockchain and how to select a suitable blockchain technique to implement such a p2p energy trading network. In addition, we provide an implementation of such a secure network under blockchain and proper management functions. The choices of the system models, blockchain technology, and the consensus algorithm are based on literature review and it carried to an experimental implementation where the feasibility of that system model have been validated through the output results.


A semiautomated method combining intensity normalization with effective elimination of the solvent signal and non-Raman background is presented for Raman spectra of biochemical and biological analytes in aqueous solutions. The method is particularly suitable for rapid and effortless preprocessing of extensive datasets taken as a function of gradually varied physicochemical parameters, e.g. analyte and/or ligand concentration, temperature, pH, pressure, ionic strength, time, etc. For intensity normalization, the strong Raman OH stretching band of water in the range of 2700–3900 cm−1 recorded together with the analyte spectrum in the fingerprint region below 1800 cm−1 is employed as internal intensity standard. Concomitant dependences of the solvent Raman spectra are taken into account and, in some cases, turned into advantage. Once the Raman spectra of the solvent are acquired for a particular range of the parameter varied, solvent contribution can be subtracted correctly from any analyte spectrum taken within this range. The procedure presented can be efficiently applied only for the analytes having their own Raman signal in the range of OH stretching vibrations much weaker than that of the solvent. However, this is the case for a great number of biochemical and biological samples. Accuracy, reliability and robustness of the method were tested under the conditions of spontaneous Raman, resonance Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering. Serviceability of the method is demonstrated by several real-world examples. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


NO CENTURY in the history of medicine has seen such revolutionary changes in our conception of disease, especially in the realm of treatment, as has the twentieth century, particularly in the last 30 years. New discoveries have given rise to fresh approaches to diseases which hitherto were considered incurable, and many of these diseased conditions have surrendered to the combined forces of applied physiology, biochemistry, and experimental and clinical medicine. Within the last 35 years diabetes, pernicious anemia, bacterial endocarditis, septicemia, plague, typhus, and malaria have all come within the realm of curable diseases. Even in the more chronic infective conditions, such as tuberculosis and leprosy, there is a hope and an expectation of cure, which has never been experienced before. It is, therefore, with the sense of one treading on the verge of a new world that I approach this subject of leprosy and acknowledge the honor and privilege


Previous research has established that when engaged in episodic memory retrieval, people frequently look at locations associated with the sought-after memory trace, even if those locations no longer contain any information. While it has been further demonstrated that gaze positions showing compatibility between encoding and retrieval increase the likelihood of successful remembering (Johansson & Johansson, 2014), virtually nothing is known about the neurocognitive bases subserving this "looking at nothing" effect. The present study combined electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking to investigate oscillatory brain activity for 30 participants who retrieved information from a previously encoded spatial arrangement of objects. Critically, participants were directed to fixate on a location of a blank screen, where the location was either congruent or incongruent with the original encoding location of the to-be-retrieved object. The results replicate previous findings, by showing superior episodic memory performance when looking at a congruent location, and further demonstrate that this facilitatory effect of gaze direction is associated with increased cortical desynchronization in the alpha/beta-band. Such desynchronization of oscillatory power in the alpha/beta band is considered to reflect successful encoding and retrieval of an episodes' sensory information (e.g., Hanslmayr, Staresina, & Bowman, 2016). Gaze direction showing compatibility between encoding and retrieval would thus increase the specificity of neural reactivation and ultimately increase the likelihood of successful remembering. To our knowledge, this is the first causal evidence that gaze direction is functionally relevant for cortical reconstruction during episodic remembering. (Less)


To effectively participate in modern collaborations, member organizations must be able to share specific data and functionality with collaboration partners, while ensuring their resources are safe from inappropriate access. This requires access control models, policies, and enforcement mechanisms for the shared resources. This paper specifically addresses how to reduce the information leaks caused by authorization policies used in collaborative computing environment. The basic principle is defining some labels that specify the information flow constraints, and assigning them to authorization policy components. The usages of labeled policy components must obey the information flows constraints defined by the labels in order to avoid authorization policy components being misused. This label can also improve the authorization policy administration


Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) are small regulatory molecules, which play key roles in fine-tune of all cell functions. In late 1970s and early 1980s, it was first deter mined that non-coding RNAs contribute to the cellular regulatory processes. The king - dom of sncRNAs is very numerous and it is clear that functions of different members of this family is different from each other and may be involved in normal and pathologic processes in cell. Recently it was investigated that sncRNAs and long non-coding RNAs play roles in cellular differentiation, proliferation, metabolic processes, bioenergetic regulation, cell death and inter-cellular communications, etc. In embryos, non-coding RNAs control maternal-zygotic transition, the maintenance of pluripotency, the patter - ing of the body axes, the specification and differentiation of cell types and morpho genesis of organs. Development of hematologic malignancies in humans, their course and regulation of resistance and sensitivity of tumorous cells to therapy are under the control of sncRNAs.


Approximately 10% of patients with Peyronie's disease require surgery for penile angulation or erectile failure severe enough to make coitus difficult or impossible. The results of three different operations performed on 200 patients over the period 1975 to 1984 have been reviewed. The results of plaque excision and dermal grafting in nine patients were disappointing and since 1977, Nesbit's procedure has been performed in 179 patients with excellent results in 53% and moderate results in 19%. Poor results (28%) were usually due to erectile failure and this was usually present pre-operatively. Such patients are better treated by the implantation of penile prostheses and excellent (8) or moderate (2) results were seen in 12 patients so treated. The number of patients with poor results after a Nesbit's procedure increased from 14% at 3 months to 28% at 36 months, but then remained fairly constant. Prolonged follow-up is therefore needed to allow valid conclusions about the ultimate outcome of surgery.


A seven-year-old, female German shepherd mixed-breed dog was presented with weakness, inappetence, and a distended abdomen. Right-sided heart failure with pleural, pericardial, and abdominal effusions; dyspnea; and tachycardia were identified. The radiographic and electrocardiographic examinations did not allow a conclusive diagnosis. Echocardiographic findings included a mass in the wall of both the right atrium and right ventricle, partially occupying the right heart cavities. A diagnosis of cardiac tumor was made, and the owner elected euthanasia. The necropsy confirmed a tumor mass located in the right atrium and right ventricle. A definitive diagnosis of primary cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma was based on histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses.


In neuroscience, researchers have developed informal notions of what it means to reverse engineer a system, e.g., being able to model or simulate a system in some sense. A recent influential paper of Jonas and Kording, that examines a microprocessor using techniques from neuroscience, suggests that common techniques to understand neural systems are inadequate. Part of the difficulty, as a previous work of Lazebnik noted, lies in lack of formal language. We provide a theoretical framework for defining reverse engineering of computational systems, motivated by the neuroscience context. Of specific interest are recent works where, increasingly, interventions are being made to alter the function of the neural circuitry to both understand the system and treat disorders. Starting from Lazebnik's viewpoint that understanding a system means you can ``fix it'', and motivated by use-cases in neuroscience, we propose the following requirement on reverse engineering: once an agent claims to have reverse-engineered a neural circuit, they subsequently need to be able to: (a) provide a minimal set of interventions to change the input/output (I/O) behavior of the circuit to a desired behavior; (b) arrive at this minimal set of interventions while operating under bounded rationality constraints (e.g., limited memory) to rule out brute-force approaches. Under certain assumptions, we show that this reverse engineering goal falls within the class of undecidable problems. Next, we examine some canonical computational systems and reverse engineering goals (as specified by desired I/O behaviors) where reverse engineering can indeed be performed. Finally, using an exemplar network, the ``reward network'' in the brain, we summarize the state of current neuroscientific understanding, and discuss how computer-science and information-theoretic concepts can inform goals of future neuroscience studies.


Methods of performing time domain dielectric spectroscopy have been evaluated using both exponential and a t-n power law response. The exponential decay gave accurate results using both a complete transform and a numerical analysis algorithm based on overlapping parabolas over a time period truncated by typical experimental limitations. When this algorithm was used for the t-n response, it gave rise to a constant error term in the real part of the susceptibility, xi '( omega ), which was independent of frequency. It thus appears that the xi '( omega ) spectrum cannot be obtained reliably using time domain methods.


It has been found that the self-assembly of nonfluorescent peptides can generate fluorescent peptide nanoparticles (f-PNPs) to perform multiple functions, including drug delivery and imaging and tracking therapeutic agents. Both pharmacologically inactive peptides and tumor-targeting peptides have been explored to construct biocompatible f-PNPs; however, the application of this technology in delivering antitumor peptides has never been reported. Herein, the self-assembly of an antitumor dipeptide, carnosine, into fluorescent carnosine nanoparticles (f-Car NPs) in the presence of zinc ions is demonstrated. The generated f-Car NPs exhibit fluorescence in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) ranges for fluorescence tracing in vitro and in vivo. On the other hand, the f-Car NPs minimize the contact between the dipeptide and the serum, which overcomes the dipeptide instability resulted from inefficient antitumor activity. In addition, the preparation of f-Car NPs does not introduce extra carrier materials, so the f-Car NPs exhibit biocompatibility to normal fibroblast cells in vitro and negligible toxicity against major organs in vivo. This study provides a new peptide drug delivery strategy with NIR fluorescence tracing ability.


The term "minority" mainly refers to ethnicity and group size without taking into account that the groups referred to as minoritarian may show structural similarities and differences that allow their grouping along specific parameters. In this paper I will show that historical and present political and socio-cultural influences have an impact on the shape of the minorities of Armenia. The relevant parameters identified in this paper allow both to group minorities along similarities and, at the same time, account for their special structure and their future prospects.


The increasing availability of fully sequenced cyanobacterial genomes opens unprecedented opportunities to investigate the manifold adaptations and functional relationships that determine the genetic content of individual bacterial species. Here, we use comparative genome analysis to investigate the cyanobacterial pan-genome based on 77 strains whose complete genome sequence is available. Our focus is the co-occurrence of likely ortholog genes, denoted as CLOGs. We conjecture that co-occurrence CLOGs is indicative of functional relationships between the respective genes. Going beyond the analysis of pair-wise co-occurrences, we introduce a novel network approach to identify modules of co-occurring ortholog genes. Our results demonstrate that these modules exhibit a high degree of functional coherence and reveal known as well as previously unknown functional relationships. We argue that the high functional coherence observed for the extracted modules is a consequence of the similar-yet-diverse nature of the cyanobacterial phylum. We provide a simple toolbox that facilitates further analysis of our results with respect to specific cyanobacterial genes of interest.


We demonstrate the necessity of using realistic stellar models taken from stellar evolution codes, as opposed to polytropes, for starting models in smoothed particle hydrodynamics calculations of collisions between main-sequence stars. Evolved stars have mean molecular weight gradients, which affect their entropy profiles and therefore affect how they react during a collision. The structure of stellar collision products of polytrope parent stars is significantly different from that of collision products of realistic parent models. These differences strongly affect the future evolution of the collision products, particularly products of collisions between unequal mass stars which have undergone significant chemical evolution. The use of polytropes as parent star models is likely to result in qualitatively mistaken results for the structure of the collision product.


Climate change has caused the inefficient operation of a significant number of old weirs to pass large discharges. Therefore, this study aims to increase the discharge capacity of the labyrinth weir. A new approach was proposed by modifying a labyrinth weir structure. The data were obtained from the quarter-round crest and different sidewall angles ranging from 8° to 35°. A conventional labyrinth weir was used for comparison. The results showed that the percentage of the notches area to sidewalls area of the weir (An/Aw) does not exceed 8%. Also, the percentage of the notches' length to the total crest length (ΔL/Lc) does not exceed 32%. Also, the percentage of the notch depth to the sidewall depth (ΔP/P) does not exceed 30%. The other parameters are kept constant. These dimensionless terms provided a maximum compound discharge coefficient (Cdc) of 0.74. Also, the compound discharge coefficient initially increased at low water head ratios and decreased at higher values of water head ratios. The regression empirical equations were generated. A labyrinth weir with a larger sidewall angle was less efficient. The maximum increase in efficiency was 10% for a sidewall angle of 6° when compared to conventional labyrinth weirs.


This article contends that in crucial respects effective soldiers are ethical soldiers, that good soldiers in the military sense are good soldiers in the moral sense, and that this is so for quite traditional reasons. The thesis is defended by identifying and then resolving basic paradoxes regarding what soldiers must be trained to do or be, e.g.: be trained to kill but also not to be brutal; be trained to react in combat situations almost automatically but also to deliberate and decide if a command is unlawful; as peacekeepers, be trained to be impartial but also to know right from wrong and be firmly committed to upholding the former and opposing the latter. It is shown that contradictory things are not really thus being called for. With the aid of a blend of deontology and virtue theory, it is argued that certain standard qualities of effective soldiers have an associated moral dimension. For example, true military courage implies an unwillingness to engage in cruelty; the self-control on which success of missions depends implies eschewing motives of personal vengeance; and the capacity for comprehending complex equipment and data implies a mentality for assessing the validity of orders [1].


After the Civil War, the Democratic party carried an important electoral penalty from being associated with the war. To deal with this penalty, the party took increasingly anti-immigration positions to compete with Republicans. This led some Republican strongholds such as California to become competitive and also forced Republicans to embrace stricter immigration proposals. In this paper, we argue that adopting anti-immigration and raising awareness against immigration made California increasingly competitive in electoral terms. This electoral competitiveness can serve to explain the genesis of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.


The present study explores the possibilities of fabricating a graphite/polyetheretherketone (PEEK) composite coating on a Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy through duplex treatment consisting of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) and heat treatment. It has been found that the electrophoretic co-deposition of graphite and PEEK microparticles can be performed from environmentally-friendly pure ethanolic suspensions. Zeta potential measurements and a study of the interaction between both particle types with the use of transmission electron microscopy allowed potential mechanisms of particle co-deposition to be indicated. Microstructure characterization was performed on macro-, micro- and nanoscale using visible light microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and electron microscopy. This allowed the coating homogeneity and distribution of graphite particles in the polymer matrix to be described. Graphite particles in the form of graphene nanosheet packages were relatively evenly distributed in the coating matrix and oriented parallel to the coating surface. The heat-treated coatings showed high scratch resistance and no adhesive type destruction was observed, but they were highly susceptible to deformation. The corrosion measurements were performed with use of electrochemical techniques like open circuit potential and linear sweep voltamperometry. The coated alloy indicated better electrochemical corrosion resistance compared with the uncoated alloy. This work showed the high versatility of the electrophoretic co-deposition of graphite and PEEK particles, which combined with post-EPD heat treatment allows composite coatings to be fabricated with controlled distribution of graphite particles.


Introduction Open access endoscopy allows non-gastroenterologists to schedule elective endoscopies without prior consultation with a specialist and is widely used for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Our hospital has provided an open access service for colonoscopy (OAC) since May 2011. We analyse our initial data to determine the appropriateness of referral and proportion of clinically significant diagnoses found. Methods We retrospectively reviewed endoscopy reports from all open access colonoscopies between 01/05/2011 and 30/04/2012 performed in a local district general hospital. Patient demographic data was collected alongside indication for examination, completion rates and final diagnosis. Further information from all colonoscopies performed during this period was retrieved from our endoscopy database system for comparison. Appropriateness of open access colonoscopy was graded using the European Panel on the Appropriateness of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy criteria (EPAGE II). Primary endpoint: appropriateness of colonoscopy. Secondary endpoint: clinically significant diagnosis. Results 2895 colonoscopies were performed in total during the study period of which OAC accounted for 14% (407). 57% (231) patients were female, age range 24–89 years (median 56 years). Caecal intubation was achieved in 96% (389 patients). OAC had the lowest diagnostic yield for all outpatient referrals to colonoscopy compared to bowel cancer screening (86%), medical outpatients (61%) and surgical outpatients (57%). The indication was designated appropriate in 69% (279 patients), inappropriate in 6% (25 patients) and uncertain in 25% (103 patients) based on the EPAGE II criteria. Patients with appropriate or uncertain indications had more relevant endoscopic findings than those with inappropriate indications (45.8 vs 19.0% p = 0.005). Sensitivity and negative predictive value of the EPAGE II criteria for detecting clinically significant pathology were 97.7 and 83.3% respectively. The most common diagnosis was diverticular disease, followed by polyps and haemorrhoids (Table 1). Colorectal cancer was found in 0.5% (2 patients), both in the appropriate/uncertain EPAGE group based on indication. Abstract PTH-053 Table 1 EPAGE referral status Appropriate/Uncertain Inappropriate Diagnosis Diverticular Disease 77 1 Polyp (s) 53 - Haemorrhoids 19 2 Inflammatory Bowel Disease 13 1 Anal fissure 2 - Colorectal cancer 2 - Angiodysplasia 1 - Conclusion Open access to colonoscopy is useful to avoid delay in investigation of symptomatic patients but is associated with a low proportion of clinically significant findings compared to standard referral routes. Inclusion of the EPAGE II criteria in the referral form may help to avoid unnecessary examinations. Disclosure of Interest None Declared.