The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of a 12-week low intensity aerobics dance exercise intervention in the treatment of physiological and psychological well-being among sedentary overweight employed women. Forty subjects were recruited from both the government and private sectors of Putrajaya, Bangi, Serdang and the surrounding community. Subjects were between the ages of 40 and 55 years, had a diagnosis of total stress score above the mean, were not enrolled in any exercise program over the period of one year (sedentary), overweight (Body Mass Index 25 and above) and had a cardiovascular endurance score below the mean. Subjects were randomly either assigned to a 12-week low intensity aerobics dance exercise intervention ("SenamSeri") or a conventional aerobics dance exercise as the control group. A pretest-post test control research design was utilized. Both groups met for 50 minutes, three times a week (36 sessions). The Transactional Approach Multidimensional (Derogatis Stress Profile) examined Total Stress Score while Rosenberg's Scale measured self-esteem; both were to assess changes in the
psychological well-being. Additionally, physical fitness for health related components (ACSM) which included body composition, flexibility, muscle strength & endurance, cardiovascular endurance and the selected health parameters namely body mass index, resting heart rate and blood pressure were used to assess changes in the physiological well-being, respectively, as a result of the intervention at one, eight and 12-weeks. Statistical analysis included
(group x time) repeated measures ANOVA and MANOVA to determine between and within group mean differences. The hypotheses of the thesis received significant support. When the results for physiological well-being variables were considered separately, the only difference to reach statistical significance, using a Bonferroni adjusted alpha level of 0.01, was body composition, F (1, 38) = 6.65, p < .01, eta square = .149, and Flexibility F (1, 38) =13.72, p < .01, eta square = .265. An inspection of the mean scores indicated that the treatment group reported an improvement for body composition (M =27.85, SD = 1.15) and for flexibility (M = 49.85, SD = 1.63) compared to the control group which reported body composition of (M = 27.85, SD = 1.14) and flexibility of (M = 49.85, SD = 1.63). Interestingly, the most obvious finding to emerge from this thesis was that the intervention group benefited significantly in terms of psychologically well-being, total stress score, F (1, 38) = 4.69, p < .05,quare = .11, and self-esteem F (1, 38) = 4.27, p < .05, eta square = .10. An
inspection of the mean scores indicated that the treatment group "SenamSeri"reported lower levels of stress after 12 weeks (M = 39.00, SD = 2.36) and improvement in self-esteem (M = 34.45, SD = 1.18) than the control group which underwent the conventional aerobics dance exercise and charted a higher total stress level (M = 40.75, SD = 1.94) and lower self-esteem (M = 30.50, SD = 2.36). It is concluded that low intensity aerobics dance exercise intervention of "SenamSeri" had contributed greatly to the positive findings concerning the physiological and psychological well-being among sedentary overweight employed women.


This paper reconsiders structural contingency theory. It presents a discussion of the methodological underpinnings which surround the research activities of this theory. Two research strategies are reviewed. They entail a multivariate examination of the structure-environment-effectiveness relationship. One of these strategies examines deviations from ideal structural profiles, while the second one involves a canonical correlation analysis between structural and environmental attributes for low and high effectiveness units. The results from field research in a commercial bank are used to illustrate the two analysis strategies. They indicate that effective organizational units show strong structure-environment interrelationships and lead one to conclude that there are indeed effectiveness-induced constraints on the choice of an organization's design or its environment. The methodological and conceptual implications of the findings are then discussed.


Nowadays, there is growing awareness about reduced fat food as well as free fat products. Low fat milk products, particularly low and salt cheese represent a good choice for the development of new products with functional properties. Consumers are always looking forward to desirable and healthy products. Therefore, consumer's demand for low-fat/calorie products has significantly raised in an attempt to limit health problems, to lose or stabilize their weight and to work within the frame of a healthier diet. Removing all or only part of the fat and salt from cheese can negatively affect its taste, texture, and functionality. Many of the low-fat and salt cheeses have an uncharacteristic taste, greater transparency, less melting, rubbery and resinous texture. To overcome these shortcomings, during the production of low-fat and salt cheese, safe and convenient ingredients have been introduced in the dairy industry that improve its texture and taste, increase its shelf life, improve its appearance, while the product is not inferior to the characteristics of the standard type of cheese. However, despite the efforts made to improve the sensory and functional properties of low-fat and salt cheese, it is ageneral finding that users are still skeptical about its selection and consumption. To that purpose, reducing fat and sodium in cheese and maintaining its safety and quality continues to be a challenge for the dairy industry in highly developed countries.


The existence of multiple active levels in a photorefractive Bii2TiO20 crystal is here investigated at 514.5nm wavelength. We carry out two-wave mixing experiments using symmetrically incident beams of equal intensities. A large amplitude fast phase modulation in one of the beams reduces the fringes visibility and improves the detection of the generated frequency modulated signals in both (R and S) output directions. Diffraction efficiencies of the phase (photorefractive) and the absorption (photochromic) gratings are quantitatively computed as functions of the grating period. Results show that the absorption grating has two distinct components: one associated to the photorefractive trap density modulation and another related to local light-induced effects between different levels. The photorefractive grating was also investigated at 633nm and 594nm (besides 514.5nm) and a significant quenching of the photorefractive effect was observed at these wavelengths.


BACKGROUND
Adults who experienced childhood sexual abuse frequently find dental treatment difficult to tolerate. Increased understanding of common long-term effects of this trauma may help dental professionals to respond more sensitively to patients who have experienced it.

METHODS
The authors recruited 58 men and 19 women with self-reported histories of childhood sexual abuse from social agencies serving this population and interviewed the participants about their experiences with health care professionals, including dentists. The authors analyzed interview transcripts using the constant comparative method to identify main themes and patterns.

RESULTS
Participants reported aspects of dental treatment that can be particularly difficult for them and offered ideas about how dental health professionals could make the experience more tolerable for them. The data analysis produced suggestions about how dentists might respond sensitively to patients who frequently cancel appointments, are distressed by certain body positions, need a sense of control and fear judgment. The authors also report participants' thoughts about questions from dental practitioners regarding a history of childhood sexual abuse.

CONCLUSIONS
Adults who report a history of childhood sexual abuse are more likely to experience dental treatment more positively when dental professionals have some understanding of the long-term effects of such abuse, including how it can affect dental treatment interactions. Such knowledge enables dental professioinals to respond to their needs in a sensitive manner.


The paper reviews international scientific research on the delineation of local labour market areas (LLMAs) used in a range of contrasting countries for administrative and statistical purposes. The concept of LLMA is discussed, emphasising the spatial 'clustering' of interaction between labour supply and demand. The paper develops a taxonomy of methods and suggests that identifying best practice has so far been held back by a lack of clear criteria for objectively evaluating different methods. The paper then outlines a research agenda for further development of LLMA delineation methods, including the suggestion of more cross-national research.


The soybean is a legume that contains no cholesterol and is low in saturated fat. Soybeans have been consumed as a major source of protein by people in Asia for centuries, while their consumption in the West only spans several decades. The soybean is the only vegetable food that contains all eight essential amino acids. It is also a good source of fibre, iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamins. In 2009, the world soybean production was 210.9 million metric tons, about 53% of the world oilseed production [American Soybean Association, 2010]. Soybeans are made up of about 40% protein and 20% oil and are therefore considered to be a major source of proteins and oils. They are also an important source of three natural surfactants: soy lecithin, soy protein, and soy saponin. However, the use of saponin has some limitations [Oleszek & Hamed, 2010]. In this chapter, we are focusing on soy lecithin and soy protein. A surfactant is a surface-active substance. The molecular structure of a surfactant is characterised by the presence of hydrophilic heads and lipophilic tails. This structural property enables surfactant molecules to adsorb at surfaces or interfaces. Surfactants are generally classified according to the type and charge of the hydrophilic groups, namely, anionic, cationic, nonionic, and amphoteric surfactants. Surfactants are involved in many aspects of our lives, including detergents, cosmetics, foods, and drinks. Not only natural surfactants but also a wide range of synthetic surfactants are used in various applications. The world surfactant market was valued at about $14.3 billion [Karsa & Houston, 2006] with a market volume of about 18 million tons [Cirelli et al., 2008] in 2003, and it reached $23 billion in 2007 [Acmite Market Intelligence, 2008]. However, the market has recently been experiencing stricter regulations and has been hit by the current financial crisis. Surfactants can be produced both from oleochemical and petrochemical feedstocks. The use of natural renewable materials (e.g., seed oils and animal fats) to produce surfactants coupled with the development of new production methods may provide a solution to these challenges. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated by life cycle analysis that the use of renewable resources for surfactant production is more cost-effective and eco-friendly than petrochemical resources. The substitution of the use of seed oils for surfactant production would lead to a significant reduction in surfactant-associated CO2 emissions [Patel, 2004]. Therefore, it is expected that the production of seed oil-based surfactants will continuously increase and that surfactants with novel and improved properties will be developed.


The relaxation due to Coulomb collision of the plateau of the electron distribution function in the post-r.f. phase, after the lower hybrid r.f. power has been removed, is investigated numerically. The authors show that in the process of this collisional relaxation, a positive slope is formed to the distribution function. This offers a mechanism by which plasma waves can be excited during the relaxation process, via the Cerenkov resonance interaction in the velocity region with the positive slope.


Population estimates are rarely constructed for ecological regions. The recent establishment of a Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) generates a need for such estimates. This paper obliges by presenting Indigenous and total population projections for the Australian desert to 2016. The desert is found to be a region of relatively low population growth in national terms, contrary to the experience of many other parts of non-metropolitan Australia where population decline is prevalent. Also noted is the markedly different growth observed for the Indigenous and non-Indigenous components of the desert population, with the former projected to increase much more rapidly over time. It is likely that virtually all of the increase in the desert population over the next 15 years will arise from natural increase among Indigenous peoples. As a consequence, the Indigenous share of the regional population is projected to rise from 20 per cent in 2001 to 24 per cent by 2016, with attendant consequences for social and economic policy.


The prevalence of endoparasites, their control and clinical relevance in donkeys can often cause confusion and concern to vets and owners alike. While donkeys can be affected by the same parasite species as horses, infection characteristics, presenting signs and symptoms of disease can differ. Donkeys do not always show obvious signs of disease until it is severe so it is important to know what to look out for when clinically assessing a donkey and how best to diagnose potential infection with parasites. There is a limited selection of anthelmintic products available for use in the donkey, so prescribing using the cascade is sometimes warranted. Careful consideration should be given to the choice and frequency of anthelmintic treatments in order to balance controlling disease with preserving anthelmintic efficacy.


The five-level PWM inverter has many advantages such as ability to operate the AC motors or the power compensator with very large capacity in nearly sinusoidal current waveforms. For these reasons, these applications have just begun to study. However, this circuit must provide four DC power supplies for supplying the active power. In this paper, we propose a novel double power supply method, in which both power supplies are inter-connected by DC capacitors. The voltages of the inter-connected DC capacitor are controlled by a novel third order harmonic injection method, where the phase of modified third order harmonic signal having positive or negative polarity is controlled individually


Abstract Distributional, biological and nomenclatural notes are presented for 113 species of Buprestidae from the U.S. and Canada in the following 29 genera and subgenera: Acmaeodera (s. str.) Eschscholtz 1829, Acmaeoderopsis Barr 1974, Actenodes Dejean 1833, Agaeocera Saunders 1871, Agrilaxia Kerremans 1903, Agrilus (s. str.) Curtis 1825, Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) Reitter 1911, Anthaxia (Melanthaxia) Richter 1949, Aphanisticus Latreille 1829, Brachys Dejean 1833, Buprestis (s. str.) Linnaeus 1758, Buprestis (Cypriacis) Casey 1909, Buprestis (Knulliobuprestis) Kurosawa 1988, Buprestis (Stereosa) Casey 1909, Chalcophora Dejean 1833, Chrysobothris (s. str.) Eschscholtz 1829, Dicerca (s. str.) Eschscholtz 1829, Hesperorhipis Fall 1920, Mastogenius Solier 1849, Pachyschelus Solier 1833, Paratyndaris (s. str.) Fisher 1919, Paratyndaris (Knulliella) Cobos 1980, Phaenops Dejean 1833, Polycesta (s. str.) Dejean 1833, Polycesta (Arizonica) Cobos 1981, Spectralia Casey 1909, Taphrocerus (s. str.) Solier 1833 and Xenorhipis LeConte 1866. Records include one new record for Canada, 65 new U.S. state records, 52 new larval hosts, 34 new adult hosts and 31 new flower associations. Comments on and corrections to previous literature records for other species are also made, and Agrilus neoprosopidus Knull 1938 is confirmed as a correct original spelling.


Latest epidemiological data suggests that 1.5 billion adults worldwide are obese or overweight. Excess weight and adipocyte hypertrophy have long been associated with contributing to low-grade systemic inflammation through elevated adipokine secretion. These increased endocrine signals further augment the metabolic dysfunction related to the presence of obesity. A chronic exposure to obesity mediated inflammation is also suggested to be responsible for progression of renal pathology and eventual end-stage organ failure. In human clinical statistics, these factors indicate a gender disparity, as males demonstrate much faster progression rates of obesity-linked renal disease than females. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to investigate the role of gender in obesity mediated inflammation in the development of renal disease using a large animal model i.e. sheep.

Post-natal female and male sheep were exposed to a lean or obesogenic environment by restricting physical activity from ≈3 months to ≈17 months of age. Analysis of body composition and adipose tissue physiology, morphology and deposition identified the development of moderate obesity following chronic exposure to a low physical environment, although no differences were observed with gender. With obesity, both genders demonstrated metabolic irregularities; males showed hyperinsulinaemia and females displayed hypercortisolism. Gene expression analysis identified an up-regulation of inflammatory related genes in perirenal adipose tissue (PAT) and kidney in obese males, a finding not seen in females, although obese females exhibited an up-regulation in glucocorticoid receptor abundance in PAT. Furthermore, the males demonstrated adaptations in renal structure and function with obesity, modifications not observed in females.

The main conclusion of my thesis is that after the development of obesity, males appear much more sensitive to the metabolic, inflammatory and renal adaptations associated with an obese condition. Females displayed a down-regulation of inflammatory genes with obesity which I propose acts as a protective mechanism against the progression of renal disease, perhaps mediated by an immunosuppressive glucocorticoid action in adipose tissue. It is also possible that sex hormones play a role in obesity inflammatory renal disease development, postulated to occur through HPA activation and epigenetic alterations.


Software architecture reviews are effective in identifying potential problems in architectures, however, are expensive, time-consuming, and generally rely on extensive architecture documentation. An architecture review that accommodates projects with very short development cycles, minimal documentation, or frequently changing requirements could be useful if it identifies important architectural issues. We developed a useful, inexpensive architecture review method that uses the architecture patterns in a system to identify important issues in the achievement of quality attributes.


We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine whether childhood family structure experiences influence the development of romantic relationships during adolescence and whether adolescent relationships, in turn, help to shape long-term relationship trajectories. Young people who live in "nontraditional" families during their childhood are more likely than their peers to engage in romantic relationships during adolescence. Family-related mechanisms are significant mediators of this association. Individuals who were raised in stepparent and single-parent families are also more likely to cohabit during adulthood, and those who were raised in single-parent families are less likely to have ever married. Childhood family structure is not associated with serious relationship conflict during adolescence or adulthood, however. Moreover, although adolescent relationship experiences have long-term effects on relationship trajectories, they do not significantly mediate the associations between childhood family structure and relationship outcomes in adulthood.


Trace concentrations of cadmium and lead have been determined in dissolved samples of National Research Council of Canada Marine Certified Reference Materials BCSS 1 Coastal Marine Sediment, DORM 1 Dogfish Muscle and TORT 1 Lobster Hepatopancreas by furnace atomisation plasma emission spectrometry. No spectral interferences were evident at either the Cd 228.8- or Pb 217.0-nm lines. Matrix interferences were effectively compensated for by the method of additions, leading to good agreement between the analytical results and the certified values. Estimated procedural detection limits for the determination of Cd and Pb in BCSS 1 are 68 ng g–1 and 3.1 µg g–1, respectively, for an integrated signal response.


Complexities in the diagnosis and treatment of late‐life depression have stimulated various strategies for assisting the primary care physician to fulfil these tasks more effectively. The role of Health Specialist was developed for this purpose in a study to reduce suicidality among older depressed patients. This role includes clinical and case management tasks which aim to provide the physician with timely, patient‐specific information and recommendations. Evolution of this role and its rewards/stressors during the study's first year are described. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Background and aims:Adverse effects are leading causes of treatment failure with antiepileptic drugs(AEDs).We studied the cosmetic effects of AEDs and their association with medications adherence and quality of life .MethodsThe study was performed on Sudanese epilepsy patients attending Daoud charity (June-September2014). Five main variables were used(1)Cosmetic effects profile;(2) Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8);(3)WHO Quality of Life Brief-26;(4)Socio-demographic data ,and (5)Epilepsy related data. A senior neurologist assessed the cosmetic effects through clinical examination of the patients. Consents have been obtained from all patients.ResultOut of 420 patients male were (54.15%) and female were (45.85%),mean age 34.1+-10.4 years. Hair loss was the most commonly reported cosmetic effect by female patients (75%) who were taking sodium valproate.(26.2%)of patients had weight gain and none of them thought weight gain is an adverse effect. Neither of life score, nor adherence score were correlated with any of the cosmetic effects of AEDs (P > 0.05).A significant positive correlations was found between the duration from the last attack and the quality of life score (P = 0.03). The Gum overgrowth was correlated with hirsutism and Acne(P > 0.05).Conclusion: We concluded that our patients prioritize medications intake in spite of the presence of cosmetic effects, and this-together with absence of association between quality of life and the cosmetic effect-may be attributed to different Sudanese patients perception to these cosmetic effects from other populations in addition to the unique Sudanese culture.


This investigation was designed to determine whether serum isoamylase measurements can aid in establishing the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis in renal failure patients. Twenty-two hemodialysis patients were studied, four of whom had documented acute pancreatitis. Total serum amylase and pancreatic isoamylase concentrations were significantly higher (p less than 0.02) in the pancreatitis patients than in the 18 patients without pancreatitis, but there was appreciable overlap between these two groups. In each of the four patients with pancreatitis, the percentage of serum amylase derived from the pancreas (range, 80% to 90%) was well above the highest value (67%) observed in the patients without pancreatitis. These results suggest that determination of the percentage of serum amylase represented by pancreatic isoamylase is of assistance in establishing the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis in renal failure patients.


Acoustic rhinometry could numerically describe up- per
airway condition of air draft by drawing a graph plotting the distance from the
nostril vs. the cross-sectional area. Some decreases on the graph correspond
to the typical anatomic structures of human nasal cavity. The 3-dimensional,
computing fluid dynamic model of the same person was developed based on
computed tomography scans. The veracity of the CFD model was valued by
contrasting the relevant areas of stenosis site between the model and the AR
graph. The aim in this study is to make clear how to use an AR to help improve
and enrich the CFD model with the information of graph acquired from the
measurement. The combination of AR and CT can be used to establish a living
human nasal cavity model with higher significant information content.


The ring-slot-element cell for reflectarray antennas is investigated. The mathematical model of the unit cell is based on the integral equation that is solved by the moment method with the use of the spectral domain Green's function. Coaxial-line higher modes expressed in terms of cylindrical functions are used as the basis for magnet-current representation. It is shown that "stricken" frequencies at which resonance modes occur are an inherent part of slot elements. These frequencies are determined by the Green's function poles. Moreover, the lowest resonance mode may occur in the operating band under certain conditions. Reflection-phase dependencies on the ring-slot size are provided, demonstrating that at "stricken" frequencies the unit cell does not operate properly. Field plots are presented, which show that the resonance-mode field distribution on the ring slot is significantly different from the normal-mode field distribution. It is found that the "stricken" frequencies might be shifted beyond the operating band by means of thorough selection of unit-cell geometric parameters.


Background: Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is one of the main indicators of the millennium development goals and its accurate estimation is very important for the countries concerned. The objective of this study is to evaluate the applicability of capture-recapture (CRC) as an analytical method to estimate MMR in countries. Methods: We used the CRC method to estimate MMR in Iran for 2004 and 2005, using two data sources: The maternal mortality surveillance system and the National Death Registry (NDR). Because the data registry contains errors, we defined three levels of matching criteria to enable matching of cases between the two systems. Increasing the matching level makes the matching criteria less conservative. Because NDR data were missing or incomplete for some provinces, we calculated estimates for two conditions: With and without missing/incomplete data. Results: According to the CRC method, MMR in 2004 and 2005 were 33 and 25 in the best-case scenarios respectively and 86 and 59 in the worst-case scenarios respectively. These estimates are closer to the ones reported by United Nations Agencies published in 2010, 38 and Hogan's study, 30 in 100,000 live births in 2005. Conclusions: The MMR estimation by CRC method is slightly different from the international studies. CRC can be considered as a cost-effective method, in comparison with cross-sectional studies or improvement of vital registration systems, which are both costly and difficult. However, to achieve accurate estimates of MMR with CRC method and decrease the uncertainty we need to have valid databases and the absence of such capacities will limit the applicability of this method in developing countries with poor quality health databases.


Abstract We examine how communication affects cooperation with the help of seven standard public goods experiments that only differ with respect to the medium of pre-play communication. Our treatments include bidirectional and unidirectional communication via (mostly electronic) auditory and/or visual channels. The results suggest that successful cooperation is attributable to the opportunity of 'coordinating' behavior in the communication phase. Furthermore, both the level and the stability of cooperation significantly interact with the communication medium, even though the content of communication is remarkably similar across the communication treatments.


Effects of age on cyclosporin A- (CsA) induced gingival overgrowth were investigated in Fischer rats. Rats 15, 30, 45, and 60 days old were fed a diet containing cyclosporin A (120-200 micrograms/g) for 40 days. Gingival overgrowth was estimated by measuring the gingival sulcus depth with a thin color slide probe under a stereoscopic dissecting microscope. The youngest group (15 days old) of rats developed the most significant gingival overgrowth (buccal sulcus depth of mandibular first molar, CsA-treated rat/untreated rat: 875 +/- 78/275 +/- 25 micron, mean +/- SD, P < 0.001), followed by those in which CsA treatment was initiated at age 30 days (505 +/- 29/267 +/- 56, P < 0.001) and 45 days (400 +/- 45/267 +/- 25, P < 0.001). Significant gingival overgrowth was not induced in rats when CsA treatment had been started at age 60 days (310 +/- 38/292 +/- 18). Average body weight gain of CsA-treated rats during this experiment period was not different from untreated rats of the same age group. These results suggest that CsA-induced gingival overgrowth in rats is age dependent.


Background Between 1997 and 2017 the number of middle-aged people living alone in the UK increased by 53% and loneliness is now recognised as an important policy area. We aimed to understand the interrelationships between loneliness, living arrangements and emotional support in predicting suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Methods Between 2006 and 2010 sociodemographic and health data were collected from 5 00 000 participants, aged 40–69, in UK Biobank. These data were linked to hospital admission records for self-harm and suicidal ideation until March 2015, and records for death by suicide until February 2016. Additionally, in 2016–2017, 1 50 000 participants completed an online questionnaire which probed thoughts of self-harm, self-harm behaviour and attempted suicide. Exposures assessed were baseline measures of self-reported loneliness, living arrangements and emotional support (frequency of confiding). Deaths by suicide and hospital admissions were investigated with Cox proportional hazards models and logistic regression was used for self-report outcomes. Analyses were adjusted for socio-demographic factors including deprivation and employment, and multimorbidity. Results In adjusted analyses loneliness was the risk most consistently related to all outcomes including death by suicide, (hazard ratio (HR) 1.75, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.51), hospital admissions (HR 4.41, 95% CI 2.50 to 7.76) and self-reported suicide attempts (HR 5.38, 95% CI 3.35 to 8.63). After adjustment, not living with a partner was associated with increased risks of hospital admissions and dying by suicide, but not with the self-report measures of suicidality. Not living with a partner had a stronger relationship with death by suicide for men (HR 2.08, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.18) than for women (HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.59 to 2.31). After adjustment, emotional support was associated with the self-report but not administrative measures of suicidality. For example, when people with the least emotional support were compared to those with the most, the odds ratio was 3.00 (95% CI 1.71 to 5.28). Statistical interactions indicated that people who were lonely despite living with a partner had the highest risk of contemplating self-harm and that loneliness eliminated the protective effects of living with a partner for deaths by suicide. Conclusion Loneliness was the strongest predictor of suicide risk irrespective of living arrangements and emotional support and loneliness explained the relationships between living arrangements and self-reported suicidality but not suicidality as indicated by administrative records. A limitation is that selective participation may bias the results for self-reported suicidality; however, the large sample size enabled participants to be followed up using death records, which are less vulnerable to bias.


A planar phase shifter with ultra‐wideband performance is presented.The proposed device utilizes a single‐section broadside‐coupled coplanar waveguide structure that can be implemented using a double‐sided printed circuit board. The conformal mapping technique is used to find the proper dimensions of the device. The simulated and measured results of a 45° phase shifter designed using the proposed structure show more than 110% fractional bandwidth with a maximum phase deviation of ±3.3° and maximum insertion loss of 0.8 dB. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:114–116, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26451


Indices of the tomato seedling quality maintenance level after production before field planting were studied through simulated experiments, small—scale operation, indoor analyses and measurements, and field observation. The results showed that under simulated shipping and storage conditions, seedling quality change following different durations (days) of shipping and storage was correlated significantly or even very significantly with certain physiological and morphological indices. With various measured indices following different periods of shipping and storage treatment subjected to multinomial successive regressive correlation analysis, the principal factors influencing seedling quality maintenance level are identified to be chlorophyll content →dry short weight → leaf freshness index in order of their importance. Significance analysis with multinomial fitted equation indicated that correlations between any one of above three factors and the growth index after field planting reached very significant difference level.


Gender classification is one of the most challenging problems in the field of pattern recognition. The pixel-based gray image recognition method is quite sensitive to illumination variation and has high dimensions for computation. PCA-based image feature recognition algorithm can reduce the image dimension, but it is only on the basis of optimal entropy to choose face features which neglects the different gender information between the male and female. In order to overcome the disturbance of non-essential information such as illumination variations and facial expression changing, a new algorithm is proposed in this paper. That is, the 2-D Gabor transform is used for extracting the face features; a new method is put forwards to decrease dimensions of Gabor transform output for speeding up SVM training; finally gender recognition is accomplished with SVM classifier. Good performance of gender classification test is achieved on a relative large scale and low-resolution face database. KeywordsGender-Classification; 2-D Gabor-wavelet Transform; SVM ; PCA Analysis


Abstract Cardiac computed tomography (CT) is vital for safety and efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We aimed to determine the accuracy of fully automated CT analysis of aortic root anatomy before TAVI by Philips HeartNavigator software. This prospective, academic, single-centre study enrolled 128 consecutive patients with native aortic valve stenosis considered for TAVI. Automated HeartNavigator software was compared to the standard manual CT analysis by experienced operators using FluoroCT software. The sizing of the aortic annulus by perimeter and area significantly differed between both methods: mean perimeter was 76.43 mm vs. 77.52 mm (P < 0.0001) using manual FluoroCT vs. automated HeartNavigator software; mean area was 465 mm2 vs. 476 mm2 (P < 0.0001). Interindividual variability testing revealed mean differences between the two operators were 1.21 mm for the aortic annulus perimeter and 9 mm2 for the aortic annulus area. The hypothetical self-expandable transcatheter prosthesis sizing resulted in 80% agreement in 80% of cases. The time required to perform the automated CT analysis was significantly shorter than the time required for manual analysis (mean 17.8 min vs. 2.1 min, P < 0.0001). Philips HeartNavigator fully automated software for pre-TAVI CT analysis is a promising technology. Differences detected in aortic annulus dimensions are small and similar to the variability of manual CT analysis. Automated prediction of optimal fluoroscopic viewing angles is accurate. Correct transcatheter prosthesis sizing requires clinical oversight.


As the digitization of HR processes in companies continues to increase, at the same time, the underlying technical basis is also developing at a rapid pace. Electronic human resources (e-HRM) solutions are used to map a variety of HR processes. However, the introduction of such systems has various consequences, which are not only technical but also imply organizational and functional changes within the organization. Additionally, the cloud environment contributes to enhancing e-HRM capabilities and introduces new factors in its adoption. A systematic review of the available literature on the different dimensions of electronic resources management was conducted to assess the current state of research in this field. This review includes topics such as the evolution of e-HRM, its practical application, use of technology, implementation as well as HR analytics. By identifying and reviewing articles under e-HRM, IT technology, and HR journals, it was possible to identify relevant controversial themes and gaps as well as limitations.


The research that had been done by International Labour Organization (ILO) concude that 6.000 person died in a day, it equal to to 1 person per 15 seconds or 2.2 million people per year due to the work accident or occupational disease. The government have to apply the proposition of PP No. 50 2012 that concerning on employee's insurance and protection. The Proposition of PP No. 50 2012 is the fundamental sase regulation to measuring how's the application of SMK3 in every Company (private corporation). There is a Issue lack in PT. X specially in reporting and review and optimize of the PT. X. These research executed for reason to analyze the SMK3 advanced reporting and review and optimize based on PP No. 50 2012. This research is a descriptive qualitative research with indepth interview. The subject of this research is a staff safety and risk as a key informant and an operation services manager as triangulation informant. The research showed that there isn't a reporting and review and optimize procedure and warning of accident procedure and problem solving system. The staff safety and risk need to build a scheme that contains warning of accident procedure and problem solving on a solid written regulations, and also improve the team work with central K3 unit and other branch in order to optimize the SMK3.


This paper is not so much about research on school leadership delivery systems as it is about instructional methodologies, concepts, and ideas for rethinking the relationship between theoretical frameworks and the broader issue of practical applications for quality educationabout what it means to restructure schools or meet the needs of today's students and tomorrow's society. It is based on the authors' experiences in both the world of educating school leaders of the future and the pressing needs for schools that are designed differently, and teachers are disposed to accommodate the new realities. In a case study approach, 39 graduate students in educational leadership were asked to analyze four selected case studies about organizational behaviors and structures using the five elements of the model of school restructuring they were being taught. Cases were presented through a listserv. The global examination of the 4 cases by these 39 students led to findings five critical ingredients to create high-impact educational institutions: (1) sense of purpose, mission, and possibility; (2) sense of belonging, safety, and participation; (3) access and contribution to support systems for everyone; and (4) teaching and learning that is authentic, engaging, and empowering. (Contains 11 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Of lice of Educational Research and Improvement EDU ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Doing School Differently: The Leadership Factor World Association for Case Method Research and Application Bordeaux, France June 29-July 02, 2003


The forward order assumption postulates that the ranking process of the items is carried out by sequentially assigning the positions from the top (most-liked) to the bottom (least-liked) alternative. This assumption has been recently relaxed with the Extended Plackett-Luce model (EPL) through the introduction of the discrete reference order parameter, describing the rank attribution path. By starting from two formal properties of the EPL, the former related to the inverse ordering of the item probabilities at the first and last stage of the ranking process and the latter well-known as independence of irrelevant alternatives (or Luce's choice axiom), we derive novel diagnostic tools for testing the appropriateness of the EPL assumption as the actual sampling distribution of the observed rankings. Besides contributing to fill the gap of goodness-of-fit methods for the family of multistage models, we also show how one of the two statistics can be conveniently exploited to construct a heuristic method, that surrogates the maximum likelihood approach for inferring the underlying reference order parameter. The relative performance of the proposals compared with more conventional approaches is illustrated by means of extensive simulation studies.


The importance of characterological disturbances, that contribute towards individual patterns of law breaking behavior, to legal systems in all countries should be self-evident. Contributors to this international perspective issue represent Canada, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States, and data from several additional European countries were included in Hare's article. This issue addresses emotional deficiency, molecular genetics, construct and predictive validity of the PCL-R, psychosocial predictors and treatment. Critical analyses of current models for civil commitment and criminal responsibility vis-à-vis psychopathic disorders contribute towards informed dialectic on these compelling public policy issues. We hope that readers will find that these articles collectively advance our understanding of the nature of these disorders, currently available therapeutic interventions, and today's critical social issues.


Before investing in any company, an investor should have a basic understanding of how the stock market works. With the introduction of Machine Learning (ML), more resources have been spent to this area of research and it has been proved that stock market prediction is achievable. Although studies have been conducted in this area, there has not been a study to forecast banking sector security prices in Kenya using SVM – ML. Therefore, using the Machine Learning technique, this study aimed to forecast the banking sector security prices in Kenya. The study aimed at fitting ARIMA and SVM models for forecasting banking sector security prices in Kenya. The study targeted all banks listed by the Nairobi Securities Exchange and a sample of three banks was taken – Kenya Commercial bank, Equity bank, and Co-operative bank. To determine the models' performance capability, accuracy error metrics were used to assess them. SVM had an error of 0.01482, 0.1217, 0.1114 and 0.01922 for MSE, RMSE, MAE and MAPE respectively which were lower compared to ARIMA's error results. SVM was recommended for forecasting banking sector security prices in Kenya as it proved reliable for forecasting.


Maternal exposure to sevoflurane can impose significant neurocognitive risks on the developing brain of infants. Several studies have indicated that oligodendrocytes may be involved in sevoflurane-induced neurotoxicity, but the concrete effects of sevoflurane on the development and myelination of oligodendrocytes remain unclear. In this study, we assessed fetal myelination and neural behavior after maternal exposure to sevoflurane. Pregnant C57BL/6J mice (gestational day 15.5) were exposed to sevoflurane (2.5%) for 6 h. The cognitive function and motor coordination of offspring (8 weeks of age) were determined via the novel object recognition test, the Morris water maze test and the accelerating rotarod test. Proliferation and differentiation of cultured oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) were detected via immunocytochemistry. Expression and ultrastructure of myelin in the fetal hippocampus were analyzed using immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Myelin-associated genes and proteins were tested via qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence and western blotting. The functionality of myelin was evaluated by electrophysiology. The results showed that maternal exposure to sevoflurane induced cognitive and motor impairments in infants, accompanied by inhibitions of OPC proliferation and differentiation, and damages of myelin structure. Myelin-associated genes and proteins (including MBP, Olig1, PDNFRα, Sox10, etc.) were downregulated. The conduction velocity of axons also declined. These results suggested that maternal exposure to sevoflurane could induce detrimental effects on cognitive and motor functions in offspring, which might be associated with disrupted myelination of oligodendrocytes in the hippocampus.


Transgenic Brassica napus harboring the synthetic chitinase (NiC) gene exhibits broad-spectrum antifungal resistance. As the rhizosphere microorganisms play an important role in element cycling and nutrient transformation, therefore, biosafety assessment of NiC containing transgenic plants on soil ecosystem is a regulatory requirement. The current study is designed to evaluate the impact of NiC gene on the rhizosphere enzyme activities and microbial community structure. The transgenic lines with the synthetic chitinase gene (NiC) showed resistance to Alternaria brassicicola, a common disease causing fungal pathogen. The rhizosphere enzyme analysis showed no significant difference in the activities of fivesoil enzymes: alkalyine phosphomonoestarase, arylsulphatase, β-glucosidase, urease and sucrase between the transgenic and non-transgenic lines of B. napus varieties, Durr-e-NIFA (DN) and Abasyne-95 (AB-95). However, varietal differences were observed based on the analysis of molecular variance. Some individual enzymes were significantly different in the transgenic lines from those of non-transgenic but the results were not reproducible in the second trail and thus were considered as environmental effect. Genotypic diversity of soil microbes through 16S–23S rRNA intergenic spacer region amplification was conducted to evaluate the potential impact of the transgene. No significant diversity (4% for bacteria and 12% for fungal) between soil microbes of NiC B. napus and the non-transgenic lines was found. However, significant varietal differences were observed between DN and AB-95 with 79% for bacterial and 54% for fungal diversity. We conclude that the NiC B. napus lines may not affect the microbial enzyme activities and community structure of the rhizosphere soil. Varietal differences might be responsible for minor changes in the tested parameters.


article i nfo Ultrafiltration (UF) Nanofiltration (NF) Reverse osmosis (RO) Membrane fouling simulator (MFS) Adenosine tri phosphate Total organic carbon The influence of polydopamine- and polydopamine-graft-poly(ethylene glycol)-coated feed spacers and membranes, copper-coated feed spacers, and commercially-available biostatic feed spacers on biofouling has been studied in membrane fouling simulators. Feed spacers and membranes applied in practical mem- brane filtration systems were used; biofouling development was monitored by feed channel pressure drop increase and biomass accumulation. Polydopamine and polydopamine-g-PEG are hydrophilic surface modifi- cation agents expected to resist protein and bacterial adhesion, while copper feed spacer coatings and biocides infused in feed spacers are expected to restrict biological growth. Our studies showed that polydo- pamine and polydopamine-g-PEG coatings on feed spacers and membranes, copper coatings on feed spacers, and a commercial biostatic feed spacer did not have a significant impact on feed channel pressure drop in- crease and biofilm accumulation as measured by ATP and TOC content. The studied spacer and membrane modifications were not effective for biofouling control; it is doubtful that feed spacer and membrane modi- fication, in general, may be effective for biofouling control regardless of the type of applied coating.


Cancer immunotherapy, which reactivates weakened immune cells of cancer patients, has yielded great success in recent years. Among immunotherapeutic agents, immune checkpoint inhibitors have been of particular interest and have gained approval by the FDA for treatment of cancers. Immune checkpoint blockade through targeting programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) has demonstrated promising antitumor effects in cancer immunotherapy of many different solid and hematologic malignancies. However, despite promising results, a favorable response is observed only in a fraction of patients, and there is still lack of a single therapy modality with curative ability. In this paper, we review the current and future perspectives of PD-1/L1 blockade in cancer immunotherapy, with a particular focus on predictive biomarkers of response to therapy. We also discuss the adverse events associated with PD-1/L1/2 inhibitors, ranging from severe life-threatening conditions such as autoimmune myocarditis to mild and moderate reactions such as skin rashes, and explore the potential strategies for improving the efficacy of immunotherapy with PD-1/L1 checkpoint inhibitors.


Abstract. It has been demonstrated that the dynamics of hydrological model parameters based on dynamic catchment behavior significantly improves the accuracy and robustness of conventional models. However, the calibration for the dynamization of parameter set involves critical components of hydrological models, including parameters, objective functions, state variables, and fluxes, which usually are ignored. Hence, it is essential to design a reliable calibration scheme regarding these components. In this study, we compared and evaluate five calibration schemes with respect to multi-metric evaluation, dynamized parameter values, fluxes, and state variables. Furthermore, a simple and effective tool was designed to assess the reliability of the dynamized parameter set. The tool evaluates the convergence processes for global optimization algorithms using violin plots (ECP-VP), effectively describes the convergence behaviour in individual parameter spaces. The different types of violin plots can well match to all possible properties of fitness landscapes. The results showed that the reasons for poor model performance included time-invariant parameters oversimplifying the dynamic response modes of the model, the high-dimensionality disaster of parameters, the abrupt shifts of the parameter set, and the complicated correlations among parameters. The proposed calibration scheme overcome these issues, characterized the dynamic behaviour of catchments, and improved the model performance. Additionally, the designed ECP-VP tool effectively assessed the reliability of the dynamic parameter set, providing an indication on recognizing the dominant response modes of hydrological models in different sub-periods or catchments with the distinguishing catchment characteristics.


Web framing attacks such as clickjacking use iframes to hijack a user's web session. The most common defense, called frame busting, prevents a site from functioning when loaded inside a frame. We study frame busting practices for the Alexa Top-500 sites and show that all can be circumvented in one way or another. Some circumventions are browser-specific while others work across browsers. We conclude with recommendations for proper frame busting.


We studied the growth from amplified spontaneous emission of stimulated Raman scattering in air using a 20-cm-diameter, linearly polarized, 1053-nm laser beam propagating over a 20-150-in air path. For 2.5-nsec square pulses we found about 1% conversion on the S(8) and S(10) rotational Raman lines of nitrogen at an intensity-length product of 12 TW/cm, which implies a small-signal gain coefficient of 2.5 cm/TW. For 1-nsec square pulses, 1% conversion requires an intensity-length product of about 16 TW/cm. The beam quality deteriorates severely above Raman threshold.


The middle-ear in human ear converts and transmits acoustically-induced sound stimuli to the inner ear. The middle-ear structures can be damaged by various middleear pathologies. The damaged middle-ear structures are frequently reconstructed by surgical procedures to rearrange or to replace the impaired middle-ear structures with an implantable prosthesis. Especially, the partial ossicular reconstruction prosthesis (PORP) and total ossicular reconstruction prosthesis (TORP) are used to provide direct connection between the tympanic membrane and the stapes. While such tympanoplasty surgeries are common these days, stable positioning of the prosthesis and reliable connection between the prosthesis and the remaining ossicular structure are still difficult to achieve. In this study, four newly-introduced prostheses for tympanoplasty were assessed in cadaveric temporal bones; two PORPs with a ball joint and a notch for placement under the malleus and two supplemental devices for TORP, Omega Connector and TotalOption Connector. All the prostheses were implanted to the temporal bones in sequence, and time for implantation was measured for each of the prostheses. With each of the prostheses implanted, motion of the stapes footplate and the volume displacement at the round window membrane were measured using a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV). The measured quantities were assessed as the functional outcomes of the surgical reconstruction with the corresponding prosthesis, in comparison with sound transmission in normal ears Preliminary results indicate that middle-ear reconstructions with the newly-developed prostheses resulted in surgical outcomes comparative to normal middle-ear. Further, they provide relatively easy handling of the prostheses during the surgeries and relatively secure connection between the prostheses and the remaining middle-ear structures and thus relatively small risk of postoperative dislocation compared to current prostheses for tympanoplasty.


N-Acylphosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE), an unusual acylated derivative of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), was recently shown to be synthesized from PE and free fatty acids in cotyledons of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) seedlings (K.D. Chapman, T.S. Moore [1993] Plant Physiol 102: 761–769). Here we report that NAPE is present in dry seeds of cotton and increases with time of imbibition from 2.31 nmol/seed in dry seeds to 4.26 nmol/seed in 4-h-soaked seeds. Total phospholipid/seed also increased such that the relative percentage of NAPE was similar in dry and soaked seeds (2.3 mol% compared to 2.6 mol%, respectively). The major molecular species of NAPE were identified in both dry and soaked seeds by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and collisionally activated dissociation tandem mass spectrometry as 16:0/18:2-PE(N-palmitoyl), 16:0/18:2-PE(N-linoleoyl), and 18:2/18:2-PE(N-palmitoyl). The specific activity of NAPE synthase in seed extracts increased with increasing time of imbibition from 35 pmol h-1 mg-1 protein in dry seeds to 129 pmol h-1 mg-1 protein in 4-h-soaked seeds. Collectively, our results indicate that NAPE is present in dry cottonseeds and synthesized during imbibition. The biosynthesis of NAPE provides a mechanism for maintaining membrane integrity during seed rehydration and may indicate that NAPE plays a protective role in intracellular membranes of plant tissues, as has been suggested for intracellular membranes of animal tissues.


The reaction of [Pd(MeCN)4][BF4]2 with NHR2(R = Et or Pri) and carbon dioxide in toluene led to the dialkylcarbamato complexes [Pd(O2CNR2)2(NHR2)2]. The derivative trans-[Pd(O2CNEt2)2(NHEt2)2] was studied by X-ray diffraction methods. The square-planar geometry of the palladium atom involves one oxygen atom of each monodentate carbamato group and two amine nitrogen atoms. An intramolecular N–H ⋯ O bond is probably responsible for a further stabilization within the molecule, for the features of the IR bands associated with the carbamato ligand and for the 1H NMR non-equivalence observed within the amine alkyl group at room temperature.


The accretion of massive star clusters via dynamical friction has previously been established to be a likely scenario for the buildup of nuclear stellar clusters (NSCs). A remaining issue is whether strong external tidal perturbation may lead to the severe disruption of loosely bound clusters well before they sink deeply into the center of their host galaxies. We carry out a series of N-body simulations and verify our early idealized analytic models. We show that if the density profile of the host galaxies can be described by a power-law distribution with an index of α < 1, the cluster would be compressed in the radial direction by the external galactic tidal field. In contrast, the galactic tidal perturbation is disruptive in regions with a steep, α > 1, density falloff or in the very center where gravity is dominated by the point-mass potential of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). This sufficient criterion supplements the conventional necessary Roche-lobe-filling condition in determining the preservation versus disintegration of satellite stellar systems. We simulate the disruption of stellar clusters that venture onto nearly circular, modestly, or highly eccentric orbits into the center of galaxies with a range of background density profiles and SMBHs. We obtain the spatial distribution of the stellar cluster remnants. We apply these results to the NSC within a few parsecs from SMBH Sgr A* at the Galactic Center. Recent observations indicate the coexistence of two populations of stars with distinctively separate ages and metallicities. We verify that the subsolar-metallicity population can be the debris of disrupted stellar clusters.


Use of chatbots for emotional exchange is recently increasing in various domains. However, as existing chatbots have been considered in terms of natural language processing techniques for interaction with text-based chatting, chatbot interaction with users is lacking in terms of considering the emotions of users and managing turn-taking in conversation. This paper suggests an interaction technique having touch interactions with graphic interfaces (TwG) to solve these problems. In the system, users send their emotions and manage turn-taking through TwG technique. We conducted a Wizard of Oz study to evaluate user experience on emotional expression and turn-taking with TwG technique. Results showed that TwG interaction improved emotional expression compared to a traditional text-based chatbot interaction. Furthermore, the results showed that TwG positively affects natural turn-taking of the conversation.


In this paper we study the link between business model set of choices and the way these choices and the resulting business model configuration influence its behaviour, including the consequences. In particular, we study social capital formation as a potential outcome of the business model configuration. Social capital is an important resource that might contribute to the firm sustainability. A conceptual framework is developed. In this preliminary
study we have applied it to a real situation and developed an exploratory case study. By focusing on social capital and by building on prior work we introduce a innovative way
to interpret managerial choices, and try to explain how managerial choices can represent
path to attain sustainable competitive advantage in the organization


Cloud computing is an emerging paradigm with three basic service models such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This paper focuses on different kinds of PaaS frameworks. PaaS model provides choice of cloud, developer framework and application service. In this paper, detailed study of four open PaaS frameworks like AppScale, Cloud Foundry, Cloudify, and OpenShift are explained with the architectural components. We also explained more PaaS packages like Stratos, mOSAIC, BlueMix, Heroku, Amazon Elastic Beanstalk, Microsoft Azure, Google App Engine and Stakato briefly. In this paper we present the comparative study of PaaS frameworks.


OBJECTIVE
The present study evaluated the relative clinical validity of two interpersonal models of the maintenance of eating disorders, IPT-ED (Rieger et al., ) and the interpersonal model of binge eating (Wilfley, MacKenzie, Welch, Ayres, & Weissman, ; Wilfley, Pike, & Striegel-Moore, ). While both models propose an indirect relationship between interpersonal problems and eating disorder symptoms via negative affect, IPT-ED specifies negative social evaluation as the key interpersonal problem, and places greater emphasis on the role of low self-esteem as an intermediate variable between negative social evaluation and eating pathology.

METHOD
Treatment-seeking individuals (N = 306) with a diagnosed eating disorder completed measures of socializing problems, generic interpersonal problems, self-esteem, eating disorder symptoms, and negative affect (depression and anxiety). Structural equation models were run for both models.

RESULTS
Consistent with IPT-ED, a significant indirect pathway was found from socializing problems to eating disorder symptoms via low self-esteem and anxiety symptoms. There was also a direct pathway from low self-esteem to eating disorder symptoms. Using a socializing problems factor in the model resulted in a significantly better fit than a generic interpersonal problems factor. Inconsistent with both interpersonal models, the direct pathway from socializing problems to eating disorder symptoms was not supported.

DISCUSSION
Interpersonal models that included self-esteem and focused on socializing problems (rather than generic interpersonal problems) explained more variance in eating disorder symptoms. Future experimental, prospective, and treatment studies are required to strengthen the case that these pathways are causal.


English:) The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine students' perception towards their certified English teachers in Jambi, Indonesia. The data of this study were collected through questionnaire and focus group discussion. The data collected were senior high students' perception on the certified English teachers' personal, pedagogical, social, and professional competences. 95 participants consisting of 78 female and 17 male students were involved in this study. The questionnaire data were analyzed statistically and the focus group discussion data were analyzed qualitatively to support the primary data. The findings of the study indicated that students gave their positive responses through questionnaire to four teachers' competences consisting of personal, pedagogical, social, and professional competences while the results of focus group discussion exhibited negative responses to personality of the teachers, and professional competences. This study provides information for policymaker to evaluate the certification policy in Indonesia. Policy recommendations and implications of findings and future research are also discussed. 7. Development of Teachers' Alternative Certification in the USA . Authors: Pazyura, Natalia1


The LISA test-mass (TM) is sensitive to weak forces along all 6 Degrees of Freedom (DoFs). Extensi ve ground test ing is required in order to evaluate the influence of cross-talks of read-outs and actuators operating on different DoFs. To best represent the flight conditions, we developed in Firenze a facility with 2 soft DoFs. Using this facility we measure the forces and stiffnesses acting simultaneously along the 2 soft DoFs, and, more specifically, we will be able to de b ug residual couplings between the TM and the capacitive position sensor that reads the TM position, and to measure actuation cross talks with closed feedback loop. The facility is now ready, and here we report on the co mmi ssioning test s, and on the first measurements.


This essay was prepared for a panel discussion on The Goldstone Report and the Modern Law of War at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law.The essay briefly examines the controversial Goldstone Report's treatment of four legal issues: (1) collective punishment; (2) terrorism; (3) distinction and proportionality and (4) human shielding and perfidy.The essay finds that the Goldstone Report's treatment of these issues does not comport with commonly accepted understandings of the meanings of the doctrine. Specifically, on collective punishment, the Report expands the term to cover legal acts of retorsion such as economic and political sanctions. On terrorism, the Report rejects recent treaties and Security Council Resolutions and creates legal duties to support terrorist organizations and respect their alleged rights of free association. The Report erases the intent and anticipation components of distinction and proportionality, and also appears to find all collateral damage disproportionate. And the Report functionally grants some parties immunity from the rules of human shielding and perfidy by finding such acts unworthy of investigation or notice.In addition, the essay highlights several problems in the Report's treatment of evidence, as well as its decision to apply its revolutionary new legal standards only to Israel.


Understanding implications of passive smoke exposure during pregnancy is an important public health issue under the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease paradigm. In a prospective cohort of low-risk non-smoking pregnant women (NICHD Fetal Growth Studies—Singletons, 2009–2013, N = 2055), the association between first trimester passive smoke exposure and neonatal size was assessed by race/ethnicity. Plasma biomarker concentrations (cotinine, nicotine) assessed passive smoke exposure. Neonatal anthropometric measures included weight, 8 non-skeletal, and 2 skeletal measures. Linear regression evaluated associations between continuous biomarker concentrations and neonatal anthropometric measures by race/ethnicity. Cotinine concentrations were low and the percent above limit of quantification varied by maternal race/ethnicity (10% Whites; 14% Asians; 15% Hispanics; 49% Blacks). The association between cotinine concentration and infant weight differed by race/ethnicity (Pinteraction = 0.034); compared to women of the same race/ethnicity, per 1 log-unit increase in cotinine, weight increased 48g (95%CI -44, 139) in White and 51g (95%CI -81, 183) in Hispanic women, but decreased -90g (95%CI -490, 309) in Asian and -93g (95%CI -151, -35) in Black women. Consistent racial/ethnic differences and patterns were found for associations between biomarker concentrations and multiple non-skeletal measures for White and Black women (Pinteraction<0.1). Among Black women, an inverse association between cotinine concentration and head circumference was observed (−0.20g; 95%CI −0.38, −0.02). Associations between plasma cotinine concentration and neonatal size differed by maternal race/ethnicity, with increasing concentrations associated with decreasing infant size among Black women, who had the greatest biomarker concentrations. Public health campaigns should advocate for reducing pregnancy exposure, particularly for vulnerable populations.


McBlare is a robotic bagpipe player developed by the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. McBlare plays a standard set of bagpipes, using a custom air compressor to supply air and electromechanical "fingers" to control the chanter. McBlare is MIDI controlled, allowing for simple interfacing to a keyboard, computer, or hardware sequencer. The control mechanism exceeds the measured speed of expert human performers. On the other hand, human performers surpass McBlare in their ability to compensate for limitations and imperfections in reeds, and we discuss future enhancements to address these problems. McBlare has been used to perform traditional bagpipe music as well as experimental computer generated music.


The bulldozer is a heavy-duty earthmoving machine generating tractive force between its tracks and ground to cut and push soil with an onboard blade. The productivity of the machine is determined by the amount of soil moved per hour, which is influenced by the travel speed and the amount of material carried by the blade. In this paper, we present a high-level controller for a hydraulic bulldozer to drive the machine's track slip to a value corresponding to maximum soil removal power. The proposed system sets online reference signals for the blade elevation and track velocity to produce a smooth ground profile and high productivity. The primary traction control strategy manipulates the load on the machine by blade adjustments. When a track slip threshold is exceeded, track velocity control is used to limit the slip to the said value. A comparison to blade-only control strategy shows improvements in ground profile smoothness and productivity on uneven terrain without any prior knowledge of the worksite ground profile.


A mono-specific antibody may recruit a second antigen binding specificity, thus converting to a dual-specific Two-in-One antibody through mutation at the light chain complementarity-determining regions (CDRs). It is, however, unknown whether mutation at the heavy chain CDRs may evolve such dual specificity. Herein, we examined the CDRs of a humanized interleukin 4 (IL4) antibody using alanine scanning and structural modeling, designed libraries of mutants in regions that tolerate mutation, and isolated dual specific antibodies harboring mutation at the heavy chain CDRs only. We then affinity improved an IL4/IL5 dual specific antibody to variants with dissociation constants in the low nanomolar range for both antigens. The results demonstrate the full capacity of antibodies to evolve dual binding specificity.


1. A 46-year-old woman, because of post-traumatic pain in her right knee, applied comminuted buttercups under oilcloth. In spite of burning, she kept them on for six h. At the time of removal she observed erythema, and on the next day large blisters. Her temperature rose to 38°C. She was given 30 mg of prednisone per day. The skin changes did not spread beyond the site of contact and cleared completely after ten days.


We exploit the transition matrix technique, based on the multipole expansions of the electromagnetic fields, to calculate the optical properties of interstellar dust, modelled as composite, irregularly shaped particles. We consider two diffrent mechanisms of aggregation leading to clusters with a diffrent structure and degree of fluffiness: ballistic particle-cluster aggregation and ballistic cluster-cluster aggregation. We study how the morpholgy and chemical composition of such aggregates might affect their dynamical behaviour, leading to the removal of dust from the circumstellar radiation field or to the possibility of confining it in stable regions where gravitational and radiation forces balance.


Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is recently found in the most authentication and identification applications. In the last decade, different RFID authentication protocols have been proposed. In 2007, Chien and Chen proposed an improved authentication protocol for RFID systems that is one of the most challenging protocols in the last few years. In 2012, two different protocols have been proposed based on Chien and Chen's protocol by Zhang et al. and Huang-Jiang. In this paper, the privacy of Zhang et al.'s and Huang-Jiang protocols that both are under Electronic Product Code Class1 Generation 2 (EPC C1 G2) standard is analyzed. It is shown that the privacy of both protocols has some weaknesses and both protocols are not secure against different traceability attacks. Then, in order to enhance the privacy of the analyzed protocols, two improved versions of them are proposed. The analyses show that the improved protocols omit all existing weaknesses of Zhang et al.'s and Huang-Jiang protocols and can provide privacy for RFID users.


ABSTRACT The growing power of the media to define social values and perceptions is a conspicuous feature of contemporary life. Radio is one such shaper of social reality perceptions. While much of the media research focuses on secular organisations operating in a Western, liberal context, not much attention has been paid to this tension between religion and modernity within media outlets. This article examines representations of Israel's Jewish ultra-orthodox minority in Israel's daily radio satire shows, a popular and intuitive medium. It shows that content is usually based on the broadcasters' spontaneous feelings contrary to other media. The findings in the article depict an isolated community out of touch with public consensus and mainstream society.


Distribution of limited smart grid resources among electric vehicles (EVs) with diverse service demands in an unfavorable manner can potentially degrade the overall profit achievable by the operating charging station (CS). In fact, inefficient resource management can lead to customer dissatisfaction arising due to prolonged queueing and blockage of EVs arriving at the CS for service. In this paper, a dynamic electric power allocation scheme for a charging facility is proposed and modeled as a bi-variate continuous-time Markovian process, with exclusive charging outlets being allotted to EVs of different classes in real-time. The presented mechanism enables the CS to guarantee the quality-of-service expected by customers in terms of blocking probability, while also maximizing its own overall revenue. By adopting a practical congestion pricing model within the defined profit function, the revenue optimization framework for a single CS is further extended to a load-balanced network of CSs. Simulation results for the single CS and networked models reveal considerably higher satisfaction levels for congested fast charging EV customers and improved attainable system revenue as compared to a baseline scenario which assumes no classification based on EV service preferences.


Electrochemically grown anodic oxides on Hg0.85Zn0.15Te are characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The use of a simple model dielectric function gives the best extraction of parameters defining the dielectric response of the oxides with three onsets of electronic transitions. At least two molecular compounds constitute the anodic oxide; their relative ratio varies monotonically with the layer thickness. One of the constituents is more soluble in the anodization solution than the other. Comparison of these results with those obtained on anodic oxide grown on HgCdTe and the consideration of the Zn-Hg-Te-O phase diagram leads us to propose ZnTeO3 and HgTeO3 as the major constituents of the anodic oxide on HgZnTe.


Despite solid evidence regarding the large benefits of reducing disaster risk, it has remained difficult to motivate sustained investment into disaster risk reduction and resilience. Recently, international policy debate has started to emphasize the need for focusing DRR investment toward actions that generate multiple dividends, including reducing loss of lives and livelihoods, unlocking development, and creating development co-benefits. We examine whether available and innovative decision support tools are fit-for-purpose. Focusing on the Asia region, we identify evidence of multiple dividends crafted using expert-based methods, such as cost–benefit analysis for selecting and evaluating "hard resilience-type" interventions. Given a rising demand for "softer" and systemic DRR investments in projects and programs, participatory decision support tools have become increasingly relevant. As one set of tools, resilience capacity (capital) measurement approaches may be used to support actions and decisions throughout all stages of the project cycle. Measuring capacity for resilience dividends, not outcome, such tools can serve as participatory decision support for organizations working at community and other levels for scoping out how development and disaster risk interact, as well as for supporting the co-generation of multiple resilience dividend-type solutions with those at risk.


Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype. In the last years, navitoclax has emerged as a possible treatment for TNBC. Nevertheless, rapid navitoclax resistance onset has been observed thorough Mcl-1 overexpression. As a strategy to overcome Mcl-1-mediated resistance, herein we present a controlled drug co-delivery system based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) targeted to TNBC cells. The nanocarrier is loaded with navitoclax and the Mcl-1 inhibitor S63845 and capped with a MUC1-targeting aptamer (apMUC1-MSNs(Nav/S63845)). The apMUC1-capped nanoparticles effectively target TNBC cell lines and successfully induce apoptosis, overcoming navitoclax resistance. Moreover, navitoclax encapsulation protects platelets against apoptosis. These results point apMUC1-gated MSNs as suitable BH3 mimetics nanocarriers in the targeted treatment of MUC1-expressing TNBC.


This study aims to develop an educational dance learning model for basic education with a model called ICOSRIE. The method used was research and development. This research was conducted in small-scale and large-scale trials. In developing this model, the test was carried out twice, namely the pre-test and the post-test (before and after being given treatment). The stages carried out in the trial include: (1) conducting a pre-test to measure the initial ability of college students about educational dance courses for kindergarten and elementary school using instruments that have been tested, (2) providing treatment of the ICOSRIE learning model in Educational Dance Courses for Kindergarten and Elementary School, (3) holding a post-test to measure the ability of college students after being treated. Based on statistical calculations, the average cognitive pre-test learning outcomes in large group trials were 39.82, mode 12, median 40, standard deviation 4.02, and variance 16.18. While the average cognitive post-test learning outcomes in large group trials were 80.01, mode 24, median 81.66, standard deviation 4.81, and variance 23.14. Histograms of pre-test and post-test cognitive learning outcomes were obtained in large group trials. Based on statistical calculations, the average value of cognitive pre-test learning outcomes in small group trials was 33.66, mode 50, median 35, standard deviation 14.69, and variance 219.92. Meanwhile, the average cognitive post-test learning outcomes in small group trials were 71.33, mode 80, median 71.66, standard deviation 8.04, and variance 64.70. The average difference in small-group cognitive learning outcomes among students during the pre-test was 10, with a standard deviation of 4,408. While the average cognitive learning outcomes of students during the post-test were 21.10 with a standard deviation of 2,025. The results of the statistical test obtained a p-value of 0.001, asserting that it can be concluded that there are small group cognitive learning outcomes in students during the pre-test and post-test after being given the ICOSRIE learning model. The average difference in cognitive learning outcomes of large groups of students during the pre-test was 11.95, with a standard deviation of 1,207. Meanwhile, the average cognitive learning outcomes of students during the post-test were 24.61 with a standard deviation of 1,443. The results of the statistical test obtained a p-value of 0.001, asserting that there are cognitive learning outcomes in large groups of students during the pre-test and post-test after being given the ICOSRIE learning model.


A new and efficient organization of the early preventron of rabies in man can be proposed thanks to the serum prepared by the Razi Insti~ute in the dried form. This serum, highly concentrated, has therefore an outstanding potency, but a complete innocuity; its dry state allows a perfect c~nservation without special precautions. All medical centers, e.ven the m?st re~ote m the parts Of,the country where rabies remains enzootic, WIll be provided WIth a reserve of this serum, so that eventlhe peasants of the most distant vmages can receive the saving injection .in time, i.e. during the seventy two hours after the inoculation of the virus by the biting animal. Under the protection of the serum the sending of the wounded tow~rds Teheran is 'not, as in the past, a dramatic emergency and would be avoided in many cases. ThLis paper gives then to the physicians the necessary hints, not only for the use of the serum and the wound treatment, but also for the observation of the wounded and of the biting animal.


AIM: Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) increasingly use complementary and alternative Medicine (CAM). So far, gastroenterologists' view towards CAM is not known. This study aimed to investigate the attitude towards use of CAM in IBS amongst Italian gastroenterologists. METHODS: E-mail survey of randomly selected academic and non-academic Italian gastroenterologists by a 12 items-questionnaire regarding demographics, knowledge about CAM and CAM use by IBS patients. RESULTS: 96/105 (65.6% male, age 48 years) gastroenterologists completed the questionnaire. Knowledge about CAM was rated as none, low, medium or good by 12.5%, 61.5%, 21.9% and 4.2%, no difference was found between academic and non-academic gastroenterologists. Overall, 67% had a positive attitude towards CAM, which was suggested to patients with gastrointestinal disorders in general by 30.2%. With regard to IBS in particular, the percentage of IBS patients using CAM was estimated as over 50% by 19.8% and as less than 10% by 43.7% of gastroenterologists. Homeopathy, herbal medicine and nutrition-based therapies were held as the most frequently used CAM treatments in IBS. According to 14.6% and 13.5% of gastroenterologists, CAM was felt to be often or sometimes helpful to their patients. CAM was suggested as therapy for IBS by 20.8% of gastroenterologists. CONCLUSIONS: 26% of Italian gastroenterologists feel confident with CAM irrespective of age, gender or academic affiliation and about 30% consider CAM a therapeutic option for patients with IBS and other gastrointestinal disorders. High quality studies on CAM's effectiveness are needed to produce reliable evidence about usefulness of these therapeutic tools in IBS.


There is a growing need to model interactions between data modalities (e.g., vision, language) — both to improve AI predictions on existing tasks and to enable new applications. In the recent field of multimodal medical AI, integrating multiple modalities has gained widespread popularity as multimodal models have proven to improve performance, robustness, require less training samples and add complementary information. To improve technical reproducibility and transparency for multimodal medical tasks as well as speed up progress across medical AI, we present ViLMedic, a Vision-and-Language medical library. As of 2022, the library contains a dozen reference implementations replicating the state-of-the-art results for problems that range from medical visual question answering and radiology report generation to multimodal representation learning on widely adopted medical datasets. In addition, ViLMedic hosts a model-zoo with more than twenty pretrained models for the above tasks designed to be extensible by researchers but also simple for practitioners. Ultimately, we hope our reproducible pipelines can enable clinical translation and create real impact.The library is available at https://github.com/jbdel/vilmedic.


The method expounded in the preceding paper is applied to the calculation of the scattering of elastic waves from axially symmetric voids and rigid obstacles. The eigenfunctions and surface tractions are presented in detail. Results are exhibited for direct and mode‐converted cross sections for a variety of scatterer shapes, including oblate and prolate spheroids with aspect ratios up to 7, pillboxes, and cones for ka varying from 0.1 to 10. Accuracy, computer time, and convergence properties are discussed.


ABSTRACT Community antimicrobial resistance rates are high in communities with frequent use of nonprescription antibiotics. Studies addressing nonprescription antibiotic use in the United States have been restricted to Latin American immigrants. We estimated the prevalence of nonprescription antibiotic use in the previous 12 months as well as intended use (intention to use antibiotics without a prescription) and storage of antibiotics and examined patient characteristics associated with nonprescription use in a random sample of adults. We selected private and public primary care clinics that serve ethnically and socioeconomically diverse patients. Within the clinics, we used race/ethnicity-stratified systematic random sampling to choose a random sample of primary care patients. We used a self-administered standardized questionnaire on antibiotic use. Multivariate regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of nonprescription use. The response rate was 94%. Of 400 respondents, 20 (5%) reported nonprescription use of systemic antibiotics in the last 12 months, 102 (25.4%) reported intended use, and 57 (14.2%) stored antibiotics at home. These rates were similar across race/ethnicity groups. Sources of antibiotics used without prescriptions or stored for future use were stores or pharmacies in the United States, "leftover" antibiotics from previous prescriptions, antibiotics obtained abroad, or antibiotics obtained from a relative or friend. Respiratory symptoms were common reasons for the use of nonprescription antibiotics. In multivariate analyses, public clinic patients, those with less education, and younger patients were more likely to endorse intended use. The problem of nonprescription use is not confined to Latino communities. Community antimicrobial stewardship must include a focus on nonprescription antibiotics.


In previous studies, neurons in the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) were classified mainly into 2 types according to their intrinsic membrane properties in in vitro slice preparations. However, it has not been determined whether the classified neurons are excitatory or inhibitory ones. In the present study, to clarify the relationship between the chemical and electrophysiological properties of MVN neurons, we explored mRNAs of cellular markers for GABAergic (glutamic acid decarboxylase 65, 67, and neuronal GABA transporter), glutamatergic (vesicular glutamate transporter 1 and 2), glycinergic (glycine transporter 2), and cholinergic neurons (choline acetyltransferase and vesicular acetylcholine transporter) expressed in electrophysiologically characterized MVN neurons in rat brain stem slice preparations. For this purpose, we combined whole cell patch-clamp recording analysis with single-cell reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. We examined the membrane properties such as afterhyperpolarization (AHP), firing pattern, and response to hyperpolarizing current pulse to classify MVN neurons. From the single-cell RT-PCR analysis, we found that GABAergic neurons consisted of heterogeneous populations with different membrane properties. Comparison of the membrane properties of GABAergic neurons with those of other neurons revealed that AHPs without slow components and a firing pattern with delayed spike generation (late spiking) were preferential properties of GABAergic neurons. On the other hand, most glutamatergic neurons formed a homogeneous subclass of neurons exhibiting AHPs with slow components, repetitive firings with constant interspike intervals (continuous spiking), and time-dependent inward rectification in response to hyperpolarizing current pulses. We also found a small number of cholinergic neurons with various membrane properties. These findings clarify the electrophysiological properties of excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the MVN, and the information about the preferential membrane properties may be useful for identifying GABAergic and glutamatergic MVN neurons electrophysiologically.


The smart grid is the next-generation power grid with considerably improved efficiency, reliability, and safety through the state-of-the-art control and communication technologies. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is the crucial infrastructure in the smart grid to support two-way information flow, where Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications plays an essential role. In this paper, we study the smart grid M2M networks and focus on the optimal deployment strategy of M2M gateways. To indicate the unique characteristic of M2M networks in the smart grid, we propose a new metric the ratio of lifetime to cost (RLC) to evaluate the efficiency of deploying gateways. The simulation results indicate that our deployment algorithm can achieve the optimal number of M2M gateways. The proposed deployment strategy is able to achieve a balanced tradeoff between the network lifetime and the deployment cost.


Activation of nodal genes is critical for mesoderm and endoderm induction. Our previous study reported that zebrafish nodal genes ndr1/squint and ndr2/cyclops are coordinately regulated by maternal Eomesa, Hwa-activated β-catenin (Hwa/β-catenin) signaling, and Nodal autoregulation (Nodal/Smad2) signaling. However, the exact contribution and underlying mechanisms are still elusive. Here, we applied "causal inference" to evaluate the causal between the independent and dependent variables, and we found that Hwa/β-catenin and Smad2 are the cause of ndr1 activation, while Eomesa is the cause of ndr2 activation. Mechanistically, the different cis-regulatory regions of ndr1 and ndr2 bound by Eomesa, β-catenin, and Smad2 were screened out via ChIP-qPCR and verified by the transgene constructs. The marginal GFP expression driven by ndr1 transgenesis could be diminished without both maternal Eomesa and Hwa/β-catenin, while Eomesa, not β-catenin, could bind and activate ndr2 demonstrated by ndr2 transgenesis. Thus, the distinct regulation of ndr1/ndr2 relies on different cis-regulatory regions.


OTX1 and OTX2 are transcription factors containing a bicoid-like homeodomain and play crucial roles in brain development and in few other body districts as in the case of OTX1, which is required in hematopoiesis for development of the erythroid compartment. Previous studies indicated that in human OTX2 is functionally involved in the generation of anaplastic medulloblastomas; OTX1 expression strongly correlates with nodular/desmoplastic medulloblastomas; and none of them is expressed in other brain tumors. Here we have investigated whether OTX1 and/or OTX2 may potentially be involved in tumors of nonneural origin by focusing on human B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs). We analyzed 184 cases (fig 1)encompassing different NHL subtypes according to the World Health Organization classification and discovered that, while OTX2 expression was never detected, OTX1 was selectively activated in virtually all cases of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, Burkitt Lymphoma and a relevant fraction of Follicular Cell Lymphomas. In DLBCL lymph nodes and tissue infiltrations, OTX1 protein was detected in the nucleus of PAX5 + -CD20 + cancer cells. Conversely, in nonmalignant lymph nodes and tonsils, OTX1 was expressed in a numerically very small and non-proliferating cell population restricted to the germinal center. These OTX1 + cells were CD138 + -IgG + , about 50% of them also co-expressed both CD10 and CD20 and none of them exhibited PAX5 or BCL6 expression, thus suggesting that OTX1 expression identifies a subset of GC-restricted plasmacell-like cells (fig 2). Interestingly, in contrast with lymphomas, in these cells the OTX1 protein was prevalently localized to the cytoplasm. Collectively, our data suggest that activation of OTX1 expression and its nuclear localization represent together a newly described molecular event occurring in specific NHL subtypes of GC and early post-GC origin (FCL, DLBCL, BL), and lead us to hypothesize that it may be potentially involved (directly or indirectly) in the initiation and/or maintenance of these tumors.


Objective We aimed to investigate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and clinical significance of position and changes in morphology of the pituitary stalk following pituitary adenoma (PA) resection using a transsphenoidal approach. Methods We collected clinical and MRI data of 108 patients with PA after transsphenoidal surgery. Diameter, length, and coronal deviation of the pituitary stalk were measured pre-, post-, and mid-term post-operatively, to observe pituitary stalk morphology. Results Of 108 patients, 53 pituitary stalks were recognisable pre-operatively. The angle between the pituitary stalk and the median line was 7.22°-50.20° (average, 25.85°) in 22 patients with left-sided pituitary stalks and 5.32°-64.05° (average, 21.63°) in 20 patients with right-sided pituitary stalks. Of 42 patients with preoperative pituitary stalk deviation, 41 had an early postoperative recovery and 1 had increased deviation. In the mid-term postoperative period, 21 of 42 patients had pituitary stalks located centrally. In 53 patients, the pituitary stalk length was 1.41–11.74 mm (mean, 6.12 mm) pre-operatively, 3.61–11.63 mm (mean, 6.93 mm) in the early postoperative period, and 5.37–17.57 mm (mean, 8.83 mm) in the mid-term postoperative period. In the early postoperative period, 58 (53.70%) patients had posterior pituitary bright spots (PPBS) and 28 (25.92%) had diabetes insipidus (DI). Conclusion Pre-operatively, the pituitary stalk was compressed and thinned. Post-operatively, it could be stretched to a "normal state", and its position showed a gradual centring trend. Post-operatively, the length of the pituitary stalk gradually increased. The PPBS in the early postoperative period negatively correlated with postoperative DI.


This article discusses how transportation routes affect local relations with place and resources while being simultaneously shaped by the landscape. It focuses on Okinskii district (Oka) of Buriatiia in southcentral Siberia. The Mondy-Orlik road, which connected the district with the rest of Buriatiia, offered extended opportunities for the development of extractive businesses and tourism in the district. For many residents, the greater accessibility of Oka connotes a threat to local traditions and beliefs. The article examines the interconnectedness of economic, social, and cultural changes that the Mondy-Orlik road brought to Oka. The article demonstrates how the new road became entangled with the lines that previously existed in the landscape, the connections between human and nonhuman actors, and the patterns of informal jade extraction.


ABSTRACT
          The research deals with the perspectives of the scholars of Al-Jarh and Al-Ta'deel  who are specialized in describing some of the narrators whose narrations of compiled hadith are accepted or modified. The research demonstrates the ultimate accuracy of judging narrators who write and write not hadith. and preserves the knowledge the narrators relied upon and thus transmitted the Sunnah of the Prophet and his companions.  The research is divided into two sections: the first section clarifies the meaning of writing and not writing narration; section two tackles the comparative approach in Thua'fa' Al Sageer.  The research has two requirements divided between the topic of the narrators who are described as "writing their speech," and the narrators who are not writing". It relied heavily upon  the perspectives of   Al-Jarh and Al-Ta'deel scholars who preceded Imam Al-Bukhari, as well as those who came later after him.


The development objective of the Oromia Forested Landscape Program for Ethiopia is to reduce deforestation and net greenhouse gas emissions from land use in targeted large forested landscapes in Oromia. Some of the negative impacts are include : (i) increased deforestation and forest degradation due to absence of full collaboration of sectoral institutes with Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MEFCC) (e.g. law enforcement weakness); (ii) may bring increased forest degradation from organized illegal cuttings; (iii) may increase the value offorest land over agriculture land; (iv) create economically driven forest mismanagement that may lead to forest degradation; (v) intensive care for the various agroforestry practices consumes the time and energy of household members; (vi) affects human health due to agricultural chemicals; (vii) difficult to adopt the technology in abundant forest resource areas; (viii) environmentaldegradation during harvesting and transporting time; (ix) loss of assets (livestock) tobe used for emergency case by selling; Some of the mitigation measures are include : (i) coordination unit to be assigned at higher Level that check synergy of the sectoral institutes; (ii) educate and train the community on the value of the forest; (iii) synchronize traditionaland modern land use system get the best out of the combination; (iv) put in place where theundergrowth and natural regeneration of tree; (v) integrate several types of agroforestry crops andtrees to get increased products from diversified crops and trees; (vi) encourage agricultureintensification by the use of compost than fertilizer especially for smallholderfarmers; ( vii) use charcoal gadgets with chimney and lid that prevent entry of particulate into the environment; (viii) educate farmers on saving of what is earned (from the main income generating or alternative income sources activities)