Bentonite-based organic amendments may have the potential to enhance soil microbial properties. The experiment was carried out from 2014 to 2017 comprising four treatments: NPK fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium mineral fertilizer as a control), NPK + cattle manure, NPK + bentonite, and NPK + combination of manure with bentonite (MB) to verify this hypothesis. The effect of treatments on seven different soil microbial properties was measured: dehydrogenase activity (DHA), bacterial phospholipid fatty acid content, fungal phospholipid fatty acid content, microbial biomass carbon (C mic ), 16S rDNA, 18S rDNA, and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in soil. The results showed that solely bentonite treatment increases the bacterial and fungal biomass, which was further confirmed by the increased 16S rDNA and 18s rDNA gene copy numbers. The only significantly decreased values upon treatment with solely bentonite were recorded for DHA and C mic . The ammonia-oxidizing bacteria population increased with the sole application of bentonite and reached its maximum value when bentonite was applied with manure. The MB treatment showed the highest value for all seven measured properties. In summary, the application of bentonite solely might increase or decrease the soil activity, but its addition, along with manure, always promotes an abundance of soil microorganisms and their activity. The co-application of bentonite with manure altered the soil microbial properties in a 3-year field experiment in favor of increased microbial biomass, which is beneficial for agriculture and environment and reveals the potential for the restoration of polluted lands.


OBJECTIVE
Caregivers for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) can experience high burden, which underlies the importance of examining the needs of caregivers to be able to support them in the caregiving role. The current study aims to assess the relationships among PD symptoms and four measures of caregiver quality of life (QOL; i.e., personal and social activities, anxiety and depression, self-care, and strain).

METHOD
Data from 181 caregiver/care recipient dyads (N = 362) were collected at a multidisciplinary PD clinic in a public, academic medical center in the southeastern United States at the time of the care recipient's first neuropsychological evaluation.

RESULTS
All PD symptoms were positively correlated with each other, as were all forms of caregiver QOL, and all PD symptoms were associated with each measure of caregiver QOL. A series of regressions suggested that demographics and PD symptoms predicted all four types of caregiver QOL, explaining 33% of the variance in caregiver personal and social activities, 24% in anxiety and depression, 28% in self-care, and 36% in strain. Female caregivers and those who provided care to male care recipients generally had worse QOL. Greater PD-related symptoms including difficulties with mobility, decreased emotional well-being, and greater nonmotor functioning impairment were unique predictors of reduced caregiver QOL.

CONCLUSIONS
PD symptoms are robustly related to caregiver QOL, with mobility and nonmotor symptoms as the primary drivers of this relationship. Interventions for PD caregivers should include strategies for managing mobility and nonmotor symptoms, as well as their QOL effects on caregivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).


A simple incoherent optical method of character recognition, which normally uses transparencies of an array of characters and of the character to be recognised, is shown to work equally well when the array is opaque, and also to work in reflected light.


The development of microtips with controlled geometry at the atomic level has led to the realisation of electron point and teton tip sources. The authors study the properties of electron emission from microtips of which the size is comparable to the electron wavelength inside the tip and for which quantum effects play an important role in determining the nature of the emitted beam. Numerical integration of the time-independent and time-dependent Schrodinger equation is used to calculate the emitted beam properties such as the energy distribution, the angular width, etc. for several models. It is shown that for some particular geometries it is possible to get a significant reduction of the angular width of the emitted beam. They discuss in more detail the electron emission from plane emitting sources, and show that they are particularly well suited to focus the emitted beam. Such electron sources might be very suitable for performing electron holography and interferometry in the reflection mode. Experiments are proposed to test these findings.


BACKGROUND Regeneration of adult tissues requires the activity of rare, mitotically quiescent somatic stem cells. These features are illustrated by the muscle stem cell (MuSC), also known as the satellite cell for its satellite position underneath the basal lamina of the myofiber. Isolation of MuSCs results in their rapid activation of the myogenic program and their subsequent culture ex vivo leads to loss of stem cell regenerative capacity. These shortcomings make MuSCs difficult to study, manipulate and prevent cell based therapies. We have previously shown that muscle stem cells (MuSCs) require tightly regulated protein synthesis through the phosphorylation of eIF2α. Sal003, an analog of salubrinal that blocks eIF2α dephosphorylation, promotes ex vivo expansion of MuSCs retaining regenerative capacity after engraftment into the Dmdmdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. METHODS Since micromolar concentrations of sal003 (10μM) are required to expand MuSCs ex vivo, we undertook a structure relations study to identify novel sal003 analogs with efficacy at lower concentrations. We demonstrate ex vivo expansion of MuSCs isolated from wild-type and mdx mice using new compounds, and use CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing tools to restore dystrophin expression in cultured MuSCs. RESULTS Here, we have synthesized and screened chemical analogs of sal003 to identify a novel compound promoting the ex vivo expansion of MuSCs. The novel compound expands wild-type and mdx MuSCs more efficiently than sal003 and also prolongs culture of primary myoblasts from isolated MuSCs. CONCLUSIONS We identify a novel sal003 analog, C10, with increased potency at lower concentrations. Culture conditions including sal003 or C10 can extend culture of primary myoblasts from isolated MuSCs, which we predict will enable their further study, genetic manipulation and cell based therapies.


Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an indicator of soil fertility. Global warming accelerates SOC decomposition, consequently, resulting in land degradation. Characterization of the response of SOC decomposition to temperature is important for predicting land development. A simulation model based on temperature sensitivity (Q10) of SOC decomposition has been used to predict SOC response to climate warming. However, uncertain Q10 leads to substantial uncertainties in the predictions. A major uncertainty comes from the interference of rainfall. To minimize this interference, we sampled surface (0–5 cm) soils along an isohyet across a temperature gradient in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The Q10 of bulk soil and the four soil fractions, such as light fraction (LightF), particulate organic matter (POM), hydrolyzable fraction (HydrolysF), and recalcitrant fraction (RecalcitF), were studied by 14C dating. Turnover time follows the order: LightF < POM < bulk soil < HydrolysF < RecalcitF. The Q10 follows the order: LightF (1.0) = POM (1.0) < HydrolysF (3.63) < bulk soil (5.93) < RecalcitF (7.46). This indicates that stable fractions are much more sensitive to temperature than labile fractions. We also suggest that protection mechanisms rather than molecular composition regulate SOC turnover. A new concept 'protection sensitivity' of SOC decomposition was proposed. Protection sensitivity relates to protection type and primarily controls Q10 variation. A simulation model based on the Q10 of individual fractions predicted SOC change and land development in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau in the next 100 years much effectively as compared to simulations based on one‐pool model (Q10 = 2) or bulk soil (Q10 = 5.93).


From the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, New York, New York. Address reprint request to Betsy McCaughey, PhD, Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, 185 East 85th Street, Suite 35B, New York, NY 10028 (email@example.com). Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2009; 30:927-928 © 2009 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved. 0899-823X/2009/3009-0024$ 15.00. DOI: 10.1086/605679


ABSTRACT There have been widespread concerns over the decline of modern languages and waning interest in learning languages other than English (LOTEs) around the world, thought to be partly due to recent political events including Brexit and Trump's aggressive isolationism in the United States. By contrast, governments in Greater China have energetically renewed their investment in promoting LOTE education, driven by globalisation initiatives such as Mainland China's 'Belt and Road' initiative and Taiwan's 'New Southbound Policy'. Thus, it remains pertinent to explore the policies and practices of multilingual education expansion in this region, as the success or failure of the globalisation initiatives may have profound consequences for the prospects of multilingual and multicultural development at universities in the Greater China region and perhaps around the world. This special issue presents empirical studies in which the authors, as insiders engaged in the new wave of language policy shifts, offer diverse perspectives on issues including foreign language curricula, learners' motivational identities and teachers' professional development. We contend that to sustain the increase in multilingual education, the tensions between global English and LOTEs, between individual identity and contextual variation, and between instrumental orientation and translanguaging/transcultural values of language learning need to be addressed.


The implementation of continuity of care recommended in Changing Childbirth has not been easy and in practice varies from hospital to hospital. A computer model being developed at St Thomas' Hospital, allows users to consider the implications of different scenarios, for example: -different midwives' rotas -different caseloads per midwife -size of the team if team midwifery is being implemented. This model can be used to identify the benefits and disadvantages of different policies for both the midwives and the women in their care.


This research examine the relationship between knowledge taxpayer, moral taxpayer, tax sanctions, taxpayers Compulsory. Objects in this study are Taxpayer Knowledge, Taxpayer Moral, Tax Sanctions, and Taxpayer Compliance. This research was conducted at KPP Pratama Bandung. Therefore the authors use population data from taxpayers who are active in reporting taxes even though it may not be in every year. Sample determination technique used in this research is non probability sampling. Sampling is done by distributing questionnaires to taxpayers who are paying annual tax return. The sample in this study is taken from the population of Individual Taxpayers in the Tax Office Pratama Tegalega Bandung. The results of research in the field, can be known partially knowledge of taxpayers have a positive effect on taxpayer compliance of individuals in KPP Pratama Tegalega Bandung.


Traditional financial-ratio analysis is a popular after-the-fact look at financial and managerial performance. This case introduces a means for incorporating rates of improvement, growth, or change into traditional financial-ratio analysis. Indeed, the Delta Factor tables presented in the case easily transform financial-ratio analysis into a forward-looking planning tool.


A risk evaluation model in software project investment based on Bayesian networks (BNs) is presented in this paper. The BNs parameter learning is applied to the modeling process based on sample data set, so that the BNs is more accordant with the project feature in the software project investment phase. In addition, the validity of the parameter learning is validated with algorithm precision and convergence. Practice proves that the risk evaluation model can provide the accurate risk information for decision-makers in the process of software project investment.


The aim of this study is to investigate the biochemical changes during oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) empty- fruit-bunches (EFB) composting when using decanter sludge or chicken manure as a nitrogen source. We found that the use of decanter sludge did not have an effect on any biochemical conditions of either aerobic or anaerobic EFB composting. The oil palm EFB compost with decanter sludge in an aerobic condition completed within 30 days whereas compost in the anaerobic condition failed to complete composting within 90 days. Adding red soil to the compost pile did not affect the microbial activity or enhance the composting time, but it reduced the odour generated from the pile. Bacteria played an important role in decomposing with a high organic degradation rate occurring within the first two weeks of composting. The composting product obtained met the compost nutrient standard.


Direct shear tests were conducted to investigate the influence of shearing rate on interface friction angle between sand and steel. A total of forty-five shear tests were carried out using the conventional direct shear test apparatus. The tests were performed under three values of normal stress on smooth and rough steel surfaces. Samples were sheared at five different rates. In addition, uplift model pile tests were conducted using the same materials and under the same loading rates used in the direct shear tests. Experimental results showed that both the internal friction angle (φ) of the sand and the interface friction angle (δ) increase with increasing the shearing rate. The relationship between angles φ and δ and the shearing rate can be represented by a straight line on a semilogarithmic plot. The values of the interface friction angles were backcalculated from the measured uplift capacity in the model pile tests and compared with the corresponding interface friction angles obtained from direct shear tests.


The structural changes accompanying the early genesis of the mouse hindlimb bud have been studied in serial Epon thick sections at five successive somitic stages collected during the 10th developmental day. As early as the 14 somite stage, increased proliferative activities occurring in a limited area of the embryonic somatopleure close to the caudal end of the coelomic cavity point out the onset of limb morphogenesis. From its very beginning on, up to its ceasing at the 27 somite stage, the somatopleural proliferation is more active in the caudal part of the prospective limb territory; in the whole area, it appears stronger ventrally than dorsally. Discrete structural changes occur during this period in the mesoderm interposed between the hindlimb bud territory and the overlying unsegmented sheet of somitic mesoderm, in relation to the genesis of the mesonephritic constituents and of the posterior cardinal vein. A detailed analysis of this area in serial sections reveals that the unsegmented somitic mesoderm does not provide any cell to the limb bud mesoderm. As soon as the somitic mesoderm becomes organized into segmented somites, obvious histological changes located on the lateral aspect of the ventro lateral somitic edge reveal that numerous undifferentiated somitic cells invade the proximal area of the limb bud mesoderm. Starting at the 27 somite stage in the first two metameres adjacent to the precordonal portion of the limb bud, this process extends to the five somites of the limb territory at the 33 somite stage. In each metamere, cell migration takes place near the caudal border of the somite and, from one somite to the other, the number of migrating cells increases in a cephalo caudal direction. No sign of a similar cell migration was observed in the somites located cranially or caudally to the hindlimb bud.


Population growth and changing consumption patterns have resulted in an increasing demand for animal protein, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In meeting this demand, efforts have been geared towards intensifying the production of conventional livestock species, namely cattle, sheep, and goats, as well as pigs and poultry. However, trade-offs that negatively impact the environment, human nutrition, gender relations and other socio-economic dimensions are associated with increased conventional livestock production. These negative trade-offs make it expedient to explore the production potentials of other livestock species, which have been neglected. Drawing parallels with neglected or "orphan" crops which have attracted increased research attention in recent years, there are still major knowledge gaps on the role that neglected livestock species could play in improving the sustainability of livestock production in SSA. To address these knowledge gaps, we present a systematic review of the literature on five neglected species, which could play a larger role in SSA: grasscutter, guinea fowl, guinea pig, rabbit, and donkey. Applying the checklist for "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" (PRISMA) and using Boolean search operators for relevant terms in academic search engines, 128 studies were selected for this review. Criteria used to filter the search items included year of publication, Africa-centric reports, and a specific focus on the selected species. The results show that the opportunities for promoting neglected livestock species include their nutritional importance (high quality protein, low fat, high dressing percentage), high economic gross returns, environmental sustainability, and importance for women's empowerment. However, the results also show considerable barriers including production challenges such as feed and nutrition as well as diseases and pests; institutional problems, such as exclusion from policies and development strategies, lack of research and extension, unavailability of credit facilities, inadequate markets, and animal welfare issues. We conclude that there are often fewer negative trade-offs in the production of these neglected categories of livestock than in the production of conventional livestock species. This study derives four policy recommendations to promote the improved production of neglected livestock species, namely: (1) institutional and policy inclusion; (2) research, development and genetic improvement; (3) awareness creation; and (4) strengthened value chains. If systematically implemented, these policy instruments could enhance the sustainable adoption of - and benefits from - these livestock for non-farm families, children, men and women farmers. Our review shows that neglected livestock species offer a high and largely unexploited economic and nutritional potential, which could yield considerable benefits in the future if given attention.


The importance of modularity in product innovation is analyzed in this paper. Through simulations with an agent-based modular economic model, we examine the significance of the use of a modular structure in new product designs in terms of its impacts upon customer satisfaction and firms' competitiveness. To achieve the above purpose, the automatically defined terminal is proposed and is used to modify the simple genetic programming.


One thermotolerant Bacillus strain SFLV-ZM107 which could produce large amounts of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) at 50°C was identified as Bacillus licheniformis by 16S rDNA sequencing and physiological and biochemical experiments. The EPS was identified as levan fructan by monosaccharides determination, NMR and FTIR. Strain SFLV-ZM107 can be grown in the range of 35-55°C and it is efficient to produce levan from 400-500 g l-1 of sucrose. The production of levan can reach 158 g l-1 in a 5 L tank fermentation with an initial sucrose concentration of 450 g l-1 at 50°C for 12 hours with a maximum productivity of 13.17 g l-1 h-1. To the best of our knowledge, the strains obtained in this study are the most productive and efficient, which has great prospects for industrial application.


This is an abridged version of Powell's four volumes memoirs, which were published between 1976 and 1982. Anthony Powell earnt the reputation of being a literary giant within the generation of Waugh, Orwell and Greene. He is probably best known for his 12 volume work "A Dance to the Music of Time". These memoirs reveal Powell the man and author, and also provide an inside view of the British literary scene and social elite, from the 1920's to the 1980s. Powell observes the obsenity trial sparked by "Lady Chatterley's Lover" and Shirley Temple's libel suit after Graham Greene reviewed "Wee Willie Winkie" with "more than his usual verve". He also paints vivid portraits of other authors, such as Kingsley Amis, V.S. Naipaul, T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf.


Background Covid-19 virus activity appears to have affected some parts of the United Kingdom more than others. Dumfries and Galloway (D&G) has seen fewer hospitalised cases than predicted. We wondered whether this might be related at least in part to population density. Methods We compared Covid-19 hospitalisation rates/100,000 population in D&G with those of the other 10 mainland Scottish health boards. We chose two time points: 19th April which was the peak of the pandemic in Scotland and 15th May, seven and a half weeks after lockdown. We used chi square and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals to test for differences in hospitalisation rates and Pearson correlation coefficient to examine the relation between hospitalisation rates and population density. Population density for each health board was provided by National Records of Scotland. Results Hospitalisation in D&G was 13.4/100,000 on 19th April, falling to 1.3/100,000 by 15th May. Corresponding hospitalisation rates in Greater Glasgow & Clyde (GGC) were 50.1/100,000 and 38.9/100,000. Compared to GGC, hospitalisation rates in D&G were 3 times lower at peak (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.17, 0.42) and 30 times lower by 15th May (OR 0.03, 95% CI 0.01, 0.14). Hospitalisation rates for the other health boards lay in between values recorded for D&G and GGC and fell in 10 of the 11 boards between these two dates. There was a positive association between hospitalisation rate and population density (r=0.756, p=0.007 on 19th April and r=0.840, p<0.001 for 15th May). Conclusion We have confirmed there are large differences in Covid-19 hospitalisation rates across the 11 mainland Scottish health boards, that are in part related to population density. These data support a regional rather than one nation approach to easing Covid-19 restrictions.


The focus of this thesis is broadly on the alignment of lexicographical data, particularly dictionaries. In order to tackle some of the challenges in this field, two main tasks of word sense alignment and translation inference are addressed. The first task aims to find an optimal alignment given the sense definitions of a headword in two different monolingual dictionaries. This is a challenging task, especially due to differences in sense granularity, coverage and description in two resources. After describing the characteristics of various lexical semantic resources, we introduce a benchmark containing 17 datasets of 15 languages where monolingual word senses and definitions are manually annotated across different resources by experts. In the creation of the benchmark, lexicographers' knowledge is incorporated through the annotations where a semantic relation, namely exact, narrower, broader, related or none, is selected for each sense pair. This benchmark can be used for evaluation purposes of word-sense alignment systems. The performance of a few alignment techniques based on textual and non-textual semantic similarity detection and semantic relation induction is evaluated using the benchmark. Finally, we extend this work to translation inference where translation pairs are induced to generate bilingual lexicons in an unsupervised way using various approaches based on graph analysis. This task is of particular interest for the creation of lexicographical resources for less-resourced and under-represented languages and also, assists in increasing coverage of the existing resources. From a practical point of view, the techniques and methods that are developed in this thesis are implemented within a tool that can facilitate the alignment task.


In this paper, arc thermal spray coating was conducted onto the SS400 steel using Inconel 625 wires in order to improve the durability of marine steel structures, and then investigated cavitation damage behavior of Inconel 625 coating layer in sea water. For the Inconel 625 coating layer, surface hardness appeared similar to that of existing high velocity oxy-fuel coating technology with 380~480 H V, but the porosity of about 6 % was larger relatively. During the cavitation experiment, pit damages were originated and grown at the rough surface and pore defect area of Inconel 625 coating layer. And, after the 72 hours of experimental time, weight loss of Inconel 625 coating layer exhibited gradually increasing tendency due to surface damage effect of the undercut.


The rapid growth of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks in the past few years has brought with it increases in transit cost to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), as peers exchange large amounts of traffic across ISP boundaries. This ISP oblivious behavior has resulted in misalignment of incentives between P2P networks--that seek to maximize user quality--and ISPs--that would seek to minimize costs. Can we design a P2P overlay that accounts for both ISP costs as well as quality of service, and attains a desired tradeoff between the two? We design a system, which we call MultiTrack, that consists of an overlay of multiple \emph{mTrackers} whose purpose is to align these goals. mTrackers split demand from users among different ISP domains while trying to minimize their individual costs (delay plus transit cost) in their ISP domain. We design the signals in this overlay of mTrackers in such a way that potentially competitive individual optimization goals are aligned across the mTrackers. The mTrackers are also capable of doing admission control in order to ensure that users who are from different ISP domains have a fair chance of being admitted into the system, while keeping costs in check. We prove analytically that our system is stable and achieves maximum utility with minimum cost. Our design decisions and control algorithms are validated by Matlab and ns-2 simulations.


A new and basic theory o f ion—ion recombination as a function of gas density is developed from basic microscopic principles. A key equation for the distribution in phase space of ion pairs is derived together with an expression for the resulting rate x o f recombination. Further development of the theory leads to interesting insights into the full variation with N of a ,which is shown to yield the correct limits at low and high N .The recombination rate a is determined by the limiting step of the rate arn for ion reaction and of the rate a tr for ion transport to the reaction zone. A n analytical solution of the time-dependent Debye—Smoluchowski equation, which is a natural consequence o f this theory, is provided for transport—reaction under a general interaction V, for an instantaneous reaction ( a rn > atr) and for a finite rate ( arn ~ atr) of reaction with in a kinetic sink rendered compressible by variation of gas density. Expressions for the transient recombination rates are then derived, and are illustrated . The exhibited time dependence lends itself to eventual experimental verification at high N. A theory that investigates the variation o f a with ion density is also developed. Here the ion—ion interaction V can no longer be assumed ab initio to be pure coulomb but is solved self-consistently with the recombination . Recombination rates for various systems are illustrated as a function of N by a simplified method for the reaction rate. Finally, two theoretical procedures are proposed for the solution o f the general phasespace ion distributions.


Background: To evaluate the correlations between serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and anthropometric indices including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and a new body index, the A Body Shape Index (ABSI) in Chinese adults. Methods: A multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted in rural areas of China in 2012–2013, and 11,331 adults were included in our final analysis. Results: BMI, WC, HC, WHtR, WHR and ABSI were significantly positively correlated with ALT levels. Spearman rank test showed that WHtR (r = 0.346 for men, r = 0.282 for women, both p < 0.001) had the highest correlation coefficient for ALT level, whereas ABSI showed the lowest, and the correlation coefficient of each measure was higher in men than that in women. Comparing the lowest with the highest quintile of each anthropometric measure, the multivariate logistic model presented that WHtR had the superiority of identifying the presence of elevated ALT (OR 4.38; 95% CI 3.15–6.08 for men, OR 4.29; 95% CI 2.91–6.33 for women, both p < 0.001), and the ABSI was the poorest predictor in men (OR 2.51; 95% CI 1.93–3.27, p < 0.001). No association was observed for ABSI in women. Conclusions: Our results indicated that BMI, WC, HC, WHtR and WHR were able to determine elevated ALT presence, while ABSI was not capable. WHtR and to some extent BMI were the best body indices, for predicting the ALT levels in this population. Nevertheless, the predictive ability of ABSI as a novel body index was not superior compared to established anthropometric indices.


In this article, the role of periodicals in the propaganda activities of the occupation authorities of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine and the military administration zone has been revealed; the content and types of periodicals have been shown; the task set before them by the Nazi occupation authorities in forming appropriate ideological structures to influence the population of the occupied territories of Ukraine has been disclosed. It is shown that Hitler's governance used the press as one of the effective means of influencing not only the opinion, but also the consciousness of the population of the temporarily occupied territories. The subject of the study is the content of periodicals and their influence on the behaviour, moral and psychological condition of the population of the Ukrainian territories occupied by the Nazi army. The main aspects of Nazi Germany's information policy in the occupied territories have been revealed with the use of comparative-historical and problem-chronological methods, as well as content analysis, which allowed to analyse the content of periodicals and to highlight the features of their content lines. The occupation administration used various forms of propaganda: publishing newspapers and magazines in Ukrainian; demonstrating special films in cinemas; releasing visual agitation in the form of posters and leaflets, as well as documentary exhibitions; through theatre plays, radio broadcasts in Ukrainian, Russian and other languages. It resorted to the modern methods of using the press in times of the war. The population of the temporarily occupied territories of the USSR demanded news as the only opportunity to navigate in those difficult conditions. That is why Hitler's governance used the press as one of the effective means of influence not only the opinion, but also the consciousness of the population of the temporarily occupied territories. The German occupation authorities tried to take advantage of the "information hunger" that prevailed after the retreat of Soviet troops and to fill the information vacuum with their own propaganda. In order to spread the necessary information among the population, the Nazi occupation authorities published newspapers and magazines in each region, district, city.


Temporal and spatial changes of green water (GW) security due to climate and land-use/land-cover (LULC) changes can be used to make the best decisions for sustainable GW management. In this study, simultaneous effects of climate and LULC changes on water resources in Kashafrood Basin were evaluated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). A land change modeler was set up to monitor LULC, assess changes and make predictions. The MIROC-ESM model derived from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 under two representative concentration pathway (RCP) emission scenarios RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 was applied to evaluate the effects of climate change. Two indices of GW-Scarcity and GW-Vulnerability, representing GW-Security, were quantified using the GW-Footprint concept in Kashafrood Basin. The results show that the annual average of blue water was predicted to increase by 142–350%, and GW storage and the annual averages of GW flow were predicted to decrease by 12–65 and 8–20%, respectively, depending on emission scenarios and time. The GW-Security estimates in the entire basin suggest a better condition in the future by indicating 24–45 and 16–52% decreases in GW-Scarcity and GW-Vulnerability, respectively, depending on emission scenarios and time.


In many places of Kerala state the topography is sloping especially in the districts of Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kasaragod etc. A sloping ground is in unstable equilibrium, when compared with a level ground. When we construct structures on sloping ground, foundations will be placed on the slope at various levels. Applying loads on a slope of various levels may further degrade its stability and in addition, there will be interference between adjacent footings. Since the foundations are at different levels the stressed zones will overlap which may lead to differential settlement. This paper investigates the load - settlement behavior of footing resting on slopes, by carrying out a series of laboratory scale load tests on model footings resting at various levels along the slope surface. The parameters varied are eccentricity and slope angles. Finite element analyses are carried out with the FE software PLAXIS 2D and the results are compared with those obtained from laboratory scale load tests for validation.


The video-based action recognition task has been extensively studied in recent years. In this paper, we study the vulnerability of deep learning-based action recognition methods against the adversarial attack using a new one frame attack that adds an inconspicuous perturbation to only a single frame of a given video clip. We investigate the effectiveness of our one frame attack on state-of-the-art action recognition models, along with thorough analysis of the vulnerability in terms of their model structure and perceivability of the perturbation. Our method shows high fooling rates and produces hardly perceivable perturbation to human observers, which is evaluated by a subjective test. In addition, we present a video-agnostic approach that finds a universal perturbation.


E-Commerce development is very rapid in china now. The quantity of e-Commerce trade gets more and more attention; however, trustworthiness problem in trade is a very important factor that affects the trade quality of e-commerce. E-commerce is a kind of new business trade mode, which is anonymous, implying that the requirements toward the credibility are much more than general business trade. This paper use s game theory to analyze the one transaction of the honest behavior of the game based on e-commerce, and establish honest game model, know that the regulatory and credit rating system is very important in the outside world. The conclusion is that not only the effectiveness of supervision is relevant on-line goods, but also require to monitor the process to increase the penalties which equivalent to the intensity of efforts to intensify supervision.


The allele-based association test, comparing allele frequency difference between case and control groups, is locally most powerful. However, application of the classical allelic test is limited in practice, because the method is sensitive to the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) assumption, not applicable to continuous traits, and not easy to account for covariate effect or sample correlation. To develop a generalized robust allelic test, we propose a new allele-based regression model with individual allele as the response variable. We show that the score test statistic derived from this robust and unifying regression framework contains a correction factor that explicitly adjusts for potential departure from HWE, and encompasses the classical allelic test as a special case. When the trait of interest is continuous, the corresponding allelic test evaluates a weighted difference between individual-level allele frequency estimate and sample estimate where the weight is proportional to an individual's trait value, and the test remains valid under Y - dependent sampling. Finally, the proposed allele-based method can analyze multiple (continuous or binary) phenotypes simultaneously and multi-allelic genetic markers, while accounting for covariate effect, sample correlation and population heterogeneity. To support our analytical findings, we provide empirical evidence from both simulation and application studies.


The chemical effects of ultrasound originate from acoustic cavitation, which produces extremely energetic local transient conditions. In cavitating clouds of bubbles, both sonochemistry and sonoluminescence occur. Spectroscopic analysis of sonoluminescence from hydrocarbons and from metal carbonyls reveal temperatures of /spl sim/5000 K, /spl sim/1000 atm, with heating and cooling rates that exceed 10/sup 10/ K/s. Single bubble sonoluminescence produces much more symmetric bubble collapse with subsequently much higher effective temperatures during collapse. In cold liquids, bubble cloud cavitation is able to drive reactions that normally occur only under extreme conditions. Examples include activation of liquid-solid reactions and synthesis of amorphous and nanophase metals, and the synthesis of novel biomaterials, especially protein microspheres. Another remarkable phenomena occurs during ultrasonic irradiation of liquid-solid slurries: extremely high speed inter-particle collisions occur from cavitational shock waves at roughly half the speed of sound with effective temperatures of /spl sim/3000 K at the point of impact.


ABSTRACT Objective: To understand the contributing factors for the consolidation of the patient safety culture, from a management perspective, in an accredited hospital. Method: A qualitative study developed in a hospital institution of size IV, accredited by the National Accreditation Organization as level II, located in the northwest region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil. The inclusion criteria were the following: having been in the leadership position of the institution for over a year and actively participating in the accreditation process. Leaders on vacation or absent due to illness in August 2018 were excluded. The collection was performed using the Focus Group technique in August 2018. Data were explored by thematic analysis. Results: The group reported teamwork, professional appreciation, management support, implementation of protocols, professional satisfaction, and working conditions as factors that contributed to the consolidation of the safety culture. Conclusions and implications for practice: The identified factors allowed for a cultural change in the institution through participatory management in processes and results that encourage workers to assume significant roles in advancing patient safety by assimilating and taking responsibility for change, which plays a crucial role in developing safe care.


Loss-of-function studies have determined that Notch signaling is essential for hematopoietic and endothelial development. By deleting a single allele of the Notch1 transcriptional activation domain we generated viable, post-natal mice exhibiting hypomorphic Notch signaling. These heterozygous mice, which lack only one copy of the transcriptional activation domain, appear normal and have no endothelial or hematopoietic phenotype, apart from an inherent, cell-autonomous defect in T-cell lineage development. Following chemotherapy, these hypomorphs exhibited severe pancytopenia, weight loss and morbidity. This phenotype was confirmed in an endothelial-specific, loss-of-function Notch1 model system. Ang1, secreted by hematopoietic progenitors after damage, activated endothelial Tie2 signaling, which in turn enhanced expression of Notch ligands and potentiated Notch1 receptor activation. In our heterozygous, hypomorphic model system, the mutant protein that lacks the Notch1 transcriptional activation domain accumulated in endothelial cells and interfered with optimal activity of the wildtype Notch1 transcriptional complex. Failure of the hypomorphic mutant to efficiently drive transcription of key gene targets such as Hes1 and Myc prolonged apoptosis and limited regeneration of the bone marrow niche. Thus, basal Notch1 signaling is sufficient for niche development, but robust Notch activity is required for regeneration of the bone marrow endothelial niche and hematopoietic recovery.


The development of stent has been a major advance in the treatment of obstructive coronary artery disease since the introduction of balloon angioplasty. However, neointimal hyperplasia occurring within the stent leading to instent restenosis is a main obstacle in the long-term success of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The recent introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES) contributes a major breakthrough to interventional cardiology. Many large randomized clinical trials using DES have shown a remarkable reduction in angiographic restenosis and target vessel revascularization when compared with bare metal stents. The results of these trials also appear to be supported by evidence from everyday practice and noncontrolled clinical trials. However, the expanded applications of DES, especially in treating complex lesions such as left main trunk, bifurcation, saphenous vein graft lesions, or in-stent restenosis, are still under evaluation with on-going studies. With the availability of different types of DES in the market, the issue of cost should not be a deterrent and DES will eventually be an economically viable option for all patients. The adoption of DES in all percutaneous coronary intervention may become a reality in the near future. In this review article, we summarize the recent development and progress of DES as well as compare and update the results of clinical trials.This review focuses on describing next-generation drug-eluting stent systems based on the use of novel coatings and carrier systems developed to enhance DES safety.


The phenome non of high corruptionis a roblem that manyin developing countries. The Economic growt his expected reduce poverty and in comeine quality through the mechanism of trickle-down effect. The requirement for sustainable economic growth is to control the system of governance and equity. The objectives of the research are to improve understanding of the relationship between corruption, poverty, andeconomic growth based oncross-country data. The technique used panel data analysis with crosscountry data. The main data sources are secondary data publication results. International country Risk Guide (ICRG), Business International (BI), Transparency International (TI), and World Bank.The analysis showed that: 1) Poverty isno impactoneconomicgrowth, 2) Corruptionhas no impacton economic growth, but economic growth give impacton corruption, 3) Poverty isno impacton corruption, and corruption had no impactonpoverty, 4)The combination of poverty and corruption have an impacton economic growth, 5) The combination of poverty and economic growth give impacton corruption. The advicecan be given, among others: 1) poverty and corruption need to beconsideredas animportant variable inforecastin geconomic growth in the future, 2) We recommend that in future research used data corruption that comesfrom th esame source to avoidbiased in terpretations, 3) In further research models can be augmented by including macroeconomic variables such as inflation, population, and education level as control variables.


Since Mainwaring and Scully's resurrection of the concept in 1995, party system institutionalisation has become something of a buzzword to which many refer without a proper definition. Indeed, most scholars simply assume that its meaning is clear and unproblematic, focusing all subsequent efforts on developing operational indicators, but without really concerning themselves with its conceptual refinement. However, an in-depth literature review of all major works dealing with the concept reveals that in reality there is very little agreement on what party system institutionalisation actually is or how it should be measured. In fact, since Huntington introduced the notion of institutionalisation some 50 years ago, party system institutionalisation has been characterised as a multi-dimensional (mostly four, but also three and two) as well as a uni-dimensional (around stability) concept. Now that half a century has passed, the time has come to look back and, with the benefit of hindsight, take stock of the wa...


The aims of this research are to find of reading intensity, to examine the student' writing skills, and to probe the influence of the students' reading intensity toward the students' writing skill. By applyingdescriptive quantitative approach and using correlation research, the subject of the study are the third year students of SMP N 1 Grabag, Kab. Magelang, in the academic year of 2008/2009. Meanwhile, the sample of the research are 40 students of two classes that are taken by applying stratified sampling technique. Furthermore, there are two variables that are analyzed. They are students' reading intensity as independent variable and students' writing skill as dependents variable. Based on the calculation of the critical r in the level of significant of 5%, the writer found that rxy aritmethical is higher than rxy table. Therefore, there is influence of reading intensity toward writing skill. Keywords: Reading; Intensity; Writing


Recent studies have identified critical roles for B cells in triggering autoimmune germinal centers (GCs) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other disorders. The mechanisms whereby B cells facilitate loss of T cell tolerance, however, remain incompletely defined. Activated B cells produce interleukin 6 (IL-6), a proinflammatory cytokine that promotes T follicular helper (TFH) cell differentiation. Although B cell IL-6 production correlates with disease severity in humoral autoimmunity, whether B cell–derived IL-6 is required to trigger autoimmune GCs has not, to our knowledge, been addressed. Here, we report the unexpected finding that a lack of B cell–derived IL-6 abrogates spontaneous GC formation in mouse SLE, resulting in loss of class-switched autoantibodies and protection from systemic autoimmunity. Mechanistically, B cell IL-6 production was enhanced by IFN-&ggr;, consistent with the critical roles for B cell–intrinsic IFN-&ggr; receptor signals in driving autoimmune GC formation. Together, these findings identify a key mechanism whereby B cells drive autoimmunity via local IL-6 production required for TFH differentiation and autoimmune GC formation.


This work presents an open source database with suitable retention parameters for prediction and simulation of GC separations and gives a short introduction to three common retention models. Useful computer simulations play an important role to save resources and time in method development in GC. Thermodynamic retention parameters for the ABC model and the K-centric model are determined by isothermal measurements. This standardized procedure of measurements and calculations, presented in this work, have a useful benefit for all chromatographers, analytical chemists, and method developers because it can be used in their own laboratories to simplify the method development. The main benefits as simulations of temperature-programed GC separations are demonstrated and compared to measurements. The observed deviations of predicted retention times are in most cases less than 1%. The database includes more than 900 entries with a large range of compounds such as VOCs, PAHs, FAMEs, PCBs, or allergenic fragrances over 20 different GC columns.


. We describe two leprosy cases in Mexican siblings caused by a new species Mycobacterium lepromatosis . This is likely the first report of family clustering of this infection. The patients showed severe prolonged leprosy reactions after antimicrobial treatment, raising a challenge for clinical management. The current status of M. lepromatosis infection is reviewed.


The stalking: a relational phenomenon - Harassing behaviours, intrusive and repeated, against someone are known for a long time. Despite this, we have few research or systematic studies on this issue; the Italian law has recently introduced the voice "crime of persecution", that provides the legitimacy to start a legal action when the harassment represents a distress that could change the lifestyle of the offended person in a negative way. The word "stalking" means "hunt, shadow", and it has been applied to the obsessive following, observing or contacting of another person, or the obsessive attempt to engage in any of these activities. In Italian we have not a way to indicate this kind of behaviour; for this reason Curci et al. (2001) introduced the definition of "Tormenting Harassment Syndrome", which highlights the relational and communicative meaning of a phenomenon that involves two actors at least: the stalker and the victim. Key words: stalking, tormenting harassment, sexuality, surveillance, control, psychological counselling. Parole chiave: stalking, molestie assillanti, sorveglianza, controllo, counselling psicologico.


The effect of pancuronium on the cardiovascular system of the dog was studied in 12 greyhounds who were anaesthetized with pentobarbitone 30–40 mg/kg body weight. During the study, the animals were artificially ventilated to give an end-tidal carbon dioxide in the range 4·0–4·5 per cent. Duplicate cardiac output measurements were made before and ten minutes after the intravenous administration of pancuronium (0·18 mg/kg). There was a slight (but statistically insignificant) fall in cardiac output. Heart rate, aortic and pulmonary arterial pressures remained substantially unaltered. It is suggested that pancuronium should be used in the dog when muscle relaxation is required during pentobarbitone anaesthesia. In this way cardiovascular changes related to the drugs themselves will be minimized.


New solutions in plant protection applications are still highly desirable. Aiming at higher efficiency, environmental safety and profitability of production which, in addition to reducing the costs of the application of plant protection products, limits the destruction of soil structure combined use of agrochemicals seems to be one of the most important method in modern agriculture. In 2016 and 2017, the Plant Protection Institute – National Research Institute in Poznań, Poland, conducted field experiments on the possibility of combining two popular herbicides used to control monocotyledonous weeds: pinoxaden and fenoxaprop-P-ethyl, with a two-component plant growth and development regulator (mepiquat chloride and prohexadione calcium) on KWS Ozon winter wheat. The tested substances were applied at the BBCH 24 stage of winter wheat – herbicide only, and at the BBCH 31 stage – a mix of herbicides with a plant growth and development regulator. Regardless of the method of application of pinoxaden (herbicide only or mixed), high effectiveness of Apera spica-venti control was obtained in both years of the study. The mix of pinoxaden with mepiquat chloride and prohexadione calcium reduced the wheat crop height to a similar extent as separate application of the substances. The combined application of fenoxaprop-P-ethyl with mepiquat chloride improved the effectiveness of wheat crop height control. The method of application of the substances had no significant effect on winter wheat yield. Grain yields harvested from plots treated with the above substances were significantly higher than control only in the case of high weed infestation of winter wheat. The technological value of wheat grain depended on the year of study, while the method of application did not have a significant impact on the evaluated parameters.


Measurements are fundamental to the advancement of knowledge. In turn, measurements in general need equations that relate measurable physical quantities. The requirement that measured results be widely understandable needs the employment of units, and hence constants. An understanding of the concept of units can thus be of significant help in appreciating the fundamentals of science. With this background, this paper discusses units within the overall context of measurements, and presents the fundamentals of electromagnetic units. The discussion naturally involves a consideration of the electromagnetic constants, namely ε0 (generally called the permittivity of free space), μ0 (generally called the permeability of free space), and c (the velocity of light).


Hospitals adjusted their admitting practices and treatment protocols in response to the prospective payment system (PPS) enacted by the Health Care Financing Agency over a decade ago. Under PPS it is often not profitable for a hospital to admit and treat chronically ill individuals, with Medicare coverage, who may require extended periods of in‐patient care. It has been suggested in the literature that hospitals engage in "patient dumping", or shifting high‐cost Medicare patients to public hospitals, to minimize loses. Institutional factors and market deficiencies result in discriminatory practices towards poor, elderly and disabled patients with limited or no health insurance coverage in the provision of health care. US Department of Veteran Affairs medical centers, however, provide an alternative, or safety net, for poor, elderly and disabled veterans who would be prime Medicare candidates for patient dumping.


Neuromuscular function and body temperature were measured in five groups of rats: 1 ) hyperthyroid, 2 ) thyroidectomized hypothyroid, 3 ) saline control (euthyroid), 4 ) propylthiouracil hypothyroid and 5 ) propylthiouracil control (thyroxine plus propylthiouracil). Significant differences occurred among the five groups in twitch and 30/sec. tensions and percentage tension remaining after 5 seconds of stimulation (but not in tetanic tension); the groups ranking in the order one to five (hyperthyroid lowest). Body temperature differences occurred in the inverse order. Twitch and 30/sec. tension, and tension remaining at 5 seconds showed significant inverse temperature coefficients. When the contribution of temperature differences among groups is removed, only the tension elicited during 30/sec. stimulation is a function of treatment. Propylthiouracil exerts nonthyroidally mediated neuromuscular effects, blocked by curare. It is hypothesized that hyperthyroidism reduces muscle tension by reducing the duration of active state of muscle by a ) a direct effect on the mechanism controlling the duration and/or b ) an indirect effect on the mechanism by an increase in muscle temperature.


Analysis of zinc (In) cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) in drinking and irrigation waters by potentiometric stripping analysis (PSA) is described. The pH and EC of waters were also determined. The results for zinc and copper were compared with those obtained by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) which indicated a significantly (P<0.01) strong correlation (r = 0.994 and 0.984 for In and Cu). The waters widely varied in pH, EC, In, Cd, Pb and Cu contents. The range values observed were; pH (7.5-8.7), EC (3.2-16.6 urnhos crrr" x100), In (18.2-89.2 ppb) , Cd (0.5-2.9 ppb), Pb (1.3-10.3 ppb) and Cu (9.2-70.2 ppb). Water of river-Kabul contained generally higher levels of heavy metals and lower EC than others. Lowest Pb was in the tubewell water at Nowshera.


Purpose : The purpose of this study is change of lumbar multifidus muslce recorded simultaneously by ultrasound imaging during upper extremity functional movement in chronic low back pain patients. The subject were consisted of 10 women patients with chronic low back pain and healthy asymptomatic subject 10 women. Methods : 10 women patients with chronic low back pain and healthy asymptomatic subject 10 women is voluntary participated for the research. Subjects were positioned in standing. Multifidus size were measured from L4 vertebral segement. The ultrasound imaging apparatus(Sonoace 6000, Medison, Korea) was epuipped with a 5-MHz convex array transducer. The upper extremity lifting movement used to activate the multifidus was then measured. Results : Results of the analysis showed that at the L4 vertebral leves, healthy asymptomatic subjects had significantly larger multifidus muscle compared with chronic LBP subjects. Conclusion : This study will be used as treatment method of patient with chronic LBP. The multifidus muscle in chronic LBP patients clinical significance. Most of chronic LBP patients have multifidus contraction pattern. Especially multifidus contraction in L4 vertebral segement. So chronic LBP patients necessary multifidus muscle release treatment.


To produce an acceptable work of translation that is easily understood, an interpreter is required to have a strong word sense in order to determine whether the translation is in accordance with the tastes and expectations of the target reader or not. Likewise in translating Arabic, an interpreter is expected to be the bridge between the author of the source language to the target of language readers. In other words, the translator instead of summarizing a text into a new writing, he/she must be able to be a facilitator of communication transmitter of messages contained in the source language to the target language appropriately. Hence, he/she is able to produce a work of translation which is free from any literal translations and language structure rigid. However, in fact, some Indonesian translations to Arabic –or the vise verse- are still stiff and unfamiliar to the readers of the source language or the readers of the target language.


Extramedullary haematopoiesis is a physiologic response to chronic anaemia, commonly observed in various haematological disorders. This phenomenon is habitually asymptomatic but it may induce compression of adjacent organs such as the spinal cord. We present the cases of two patients suffering from chronic anaemia, who developed foci of ectopic hematopoiesis, and we discuss through a review of literature, the presentation and the management of this disease, with focus on the role of decompressive radiotherapy.


Human psychophysical detection thresholds for ten frequencies of sinusoidal vibration ranging from 10 to 400 Hz were obtained on the left index fingertip and thenar eminence of young and older observers using a three-alternative forced-choice tracking procedure. The first experiment utilized a 7-mm (0.38 cm2) contactor and rigid surround with 1-mm gap. In the second experiment, three contactor sizes (1.6-, 7.0-, and 25.4-mm diameter) and two surround configurations (1-mm gap between contactor and surround, and no surround) were used. The results indicate that, although the shapes of the threshold versus frequency functions were similar in the two age groups, there was a reduction in sensitivity for the older group at all frequencies. Furthermore, taking into account the difference in sensitivity between the two age groups, spatial summation and the effects of a surround did not seem to differ between the two groups. These results are discussed in the context of physiological models of cutaneous sensitivity and changes in receptor function with age.


Neurologic disorders in feedlot cattle are common. These "brainer" cases often occur sporadically and do not warrant diagnostic investigation. The occurrence of this recently recognized neurologic disorder warrants investigations to establish a definite diagnosis when purebred Simmental calves are affected and parentage data may be available. In excess of 30 cases have been confirmed since this disorder was first reported in the USA in 1991.3 Many more cases were reported by owners but no data was available to confirm the diagnosis. Due to its clinical similarity to many currently recognized conditions and lack of familiarity with the disease it likely goes undiagnosed in most feedlots. The disease was first described in Australia in 1989 and Australian cases were clinically and pathologically similar to those reported in North America.2,3,4,5 The American cases have been reported in Oregon, Iowa, Kansas and North Dakota. As diagnostic criteria were well established by 1994, cases may have been diagnosed at other laboratories and not reported to the program.5 Most recent cases were examined in the fall of 1997 indicating the problem persists in North American cattle populations.


In nonaqueous emulsion, moisture-sensitive polymerizations are performed in order to generate nanoparticles, which are not accessible by common aqueous emulsion polymerization. A nonaqueous emulsion, consisting of two immiscible aprotic organic solvents, is stabilized by amphiphilic block copolymers, such as PIb-PEO or PIb-PMMA copolymer, and lead to formation of nanosized dispersed droplets. They act as dispersed "nanoreactors" for the one-step synthesis of poly(urethane) nanoparticles in a polyadditon reaction as well as poly(L-lactide) nanoparticles through ring-opening polymerization, catalyzed by a moisture-sensitive catalyst. The well-dispersed particles possess average diameters below 100 nm and have narrow size distributions owing to the long-term stability of the dispersed droplets in the continuous phase.


Placing security cameras in buildings, finding good locations for cameras to enforce speed limits or placing guards to defend a border are some of the problems we face everyday. A nation that wishes to defend its border with armed guards wants to be sure the entire border is secure. However, hiring more guards than necessary can be costly. A start-up company moving into a new building wants to be sure every room in the building is seen by some security camera. Cameras are expensive and the company wants to install the smallest number of cameras; at the same time the company wants to be sure the building is secure. These problems, and many other visibility type problems, are not easy to solve in general. In some specific cases, optimal solutions can be obtained quickly. In general, finding an optimal solution may take a very long time. The original results of this thesis address some of these problems. We show some positive results for solving some of these visibility problems. We also give some negative results for some of these problems. These negative results are useful because they tell us that we are unlikely to find a fast algorithm to solve a particular problem optimally. 2 Abstract Approved: Thesis Supervisor Title and Department


Our aim in this chapter is to suggest how the idea of 'negative capability' may contribute to an understanding of the creative leader. We begin by exploring the origins of the term negative capability and its meaning in the creative arts and in psychoanalysis. We then assess its value as a concept in relation to leadership. Creative leadership is called for at the edge between certainty and uncertainty, both a necessary and a difficult place to work in the current context of organizational life. Whereas, positive capabilities direct leaders and followers toward particular forms of action rooted in knowing, negative capability is the ability to resist dispersing into inappropriate knowing and action. We suggest that appropriate combinations of positive capabilities and negative capability can generate and sustain a 'working space' or 'capacity' for creative thought at this edge between knowing and not knowing. Creative leaders are characterised by their ability to generate such spaces not merely for themselves but also for others within the organization. Some of the problems for organizational leaders in working with negative capability are raised and explored.


OBJECTIVE
To explore and evaluate the technique of performing interventional bronchoscopy by using mechanical ventilation with larynx mask or tracheal intubation under general anesthesia.

METHODS
From July 2009 to January 2010, 29 patients received interventional bronchoscopy by using mechanical ventilation with larynx mask or tracheal intubation under general anesthesia. Airway pressure and tidal volume before and after bronchoscope insertion, arterial blood gas analysis during interventional bronchoscopy, complications and operation time were recorded. The factors influencing ventilation effects were evaluated.

RESULTS
All the patients' condition were kept stable during interventional bronchoscopy and no severe complications occurred. Tidal volume was reduced by 27.1%, while peak airway pressure, plateau pressure and mean airway pressure were increased by 63.1%, 43.7% and 32.4% following insertion of the bronchoscope respectively. Patients using tracheal intubation had their peak pressure increased by 79.3%, which was higher than that of patients using larynx mask (55.3%).

CONCLUSIONS
Interventional bronchoscopy by using mechanical ventilation with larynx mask or tracheal intubation under general anesthesia was safe and reliable. Although peak airway pressure increased following insertion of bronchoscope, the mean airway pressure was maintained in a low level. When performing interventional bronchoscopy during mechanical ventilation, the inside diameter of larynx mask and tracheal intubation should be as large as possible to minimize airway pressure and auto-PEEP.


1. A FOURTH-CENTURY CHRISTIAN LIBRARY: THE NAG HAMMADI CODICES The Nag Hammadi Manuscripts: Some Specifics Why a Codex or Book? Making Sense of a Coptic Gnostic Library How Unusual Is It to Have These Books? How Good Were These Scribes? Who Were These Scribes? Dating and Locating the Codices Were These Texts Really Gnostic Scripture? 2. THE PROBLEM WITH GNOSTICISM Did Gnosticism Really Exist? Hans Jonas and Gnosticism as a Typological Category The Messina Definition Rethinking Gnosticism: Michael Williams and Karen King The "Yale School" "Heresy" versus "Orthodoxy" Is There Any Truth to the Reconstructions of the Heresiologists? Modern Christianity and Ancient Gnosticism 3. THE ROMAN EMPIRE: RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPES The Nag Hammadi Library in Context The Roman Empire Religious Contexts Other Religions of the Roman Empire Elements of Roman Life that Affected Christianity 4. CHRISTIANITY IN THE SECOND-CENTURY EMPIRE: AN OVERVIEW How did Christianity Work? Accommodation versus Non-Accommodation: A Christian Dilemma Regional Christianities A Glimpse Forward 5. GNOSTIC PRAYER: PRAYER OF THE APOSTLE PAUL AND PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING The Prayer of the Apostle Paul: Background The Prayer of Thanksgiving: Background What Constituted Prayer in the Ancient World? Why Did Its Ancient Copyist Choose Prayer of the Apostle Paul to Begin Codex I? The View of Jesus in Prayer of the Apostle Paul God in the Prayer of Thanksgiving The Invisible Aspects of Prayer Other Prayers in the Nag Hammadi Library Other Prayers Outside the Nag Hammadi Library 6. VALENTINUS AND THE VALENTINIANS Irenaeus on Valentinus and the Valentinians What Kind of a Christian Was Valentinus? The Writings of Valentinus Valentinian Teachers and Later Valentinianism What Happens to the Valentinians? 7. SOME VALENTINIAN WRITINGS FROM NAG HAMMADI: TRIPARTITE TRACTATE, INTERPRETATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND A VALENTINIAN EXPOSITION Tripartite Tractate: Background Interpretation of Knowledge: Background A Valentinian Exposition: Background What Makes a Text Valentinian? Other Signs of Valentinianism from Nag Hammadi Valentinians on the Ground 8. TWO VALENTINIAN GOSPELS: GOSPEL OF TRUTH AND THE GOSPEL OF PHILIP The Gospel of Truth: Background Language and Imagery in the Gospel of Truth The Gospel of Truth's Creation Myth Jesus in the Gospel of Truth Gospel of Philip: Background Jesus in the Gospel of Philip Ritual and Sacrament in the Gospel of Philip 9. THE THOMAS LITERATURE: THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS, BOOK OF THOMAS THE CONTENDER Who Was Thomas? The End of the World in the Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Thomas's Relation to the New Testament Gospels What's Second-Century about This Gospel? The Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of John: An Early Christian Conflict? Gnosis and Self-Knowledge in the Gospel of Thomas Understanding Thomas as Jesus's Twin 10. SETHIAN GNOSTICISM: THE THREE STELES OF SETH How the Heresiologists Don't Help How to Recognize a Sethian (Text) Sethian Typologies Four Elements of Sethianism A Sethian Case Study: Three Steles of Seth Finding Those Elusive Sethians 11. IN THE BEGINNING. TWO CREATION MYTHS: HYPOSTASIS OF THE ARCHONS AND ON THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD Hypostasis of the Archons: History of the Text On the Origin of the World: History of the Text The Question of Literary Relationship Between Hypostasis of the Archons and On the Origin of the World The Nature of the Archons in Hypostasis of the Archons and On the Origin of the World Are These Texts "Retakes" of Genesis or Are They Anti-Genesis? Genesis: Questions and Qualms Answering Questions, Addressing Qualms Reading Genesis Like an Ancient Reader Gender and Power: The Rape of Eve Rape and Ancestry: Founding a People Where Does the Tripartite Division of Humankind in These Texts Come From? The Enthronement of Sabaoth The End of the Story 12. A CLASSIC TEXT: THE APOCRYPHON OF JOHN Relationship Between the Manuscripts of the Apocryphon of John The Secret Book of John and Not-So-Secret Revelations Apophatic Theology and the Problem of Creation The Structure of the Cosmos The Creation of Ialdabaoth and the Repentance of Sophia The Creation of Humankind Biblical Exegesis in the Apocryphon of John The Pronoia Hymn Ways Out (of Enslavement) Who Wrote, and Read, This Text? EXCURSUS: TABLE OF GENESIS COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE APOCRYPHON OF JOHN, HYPOSTASIS OF THE ARCHONS, AND ON THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD 13. A CLASSIC TEXT: THE GOSPEL OF THE EGYPTIANS Background and Structure of the Text Cosmology of the Gospel of the Egyptians The Lower Cosmos and Its Beings Recounting Sacred History: A Sethian Mass What Are Those Strings of Vowels? The Three Descents of Seth Baptism in the Gospel of the Egyptians How Christian is the Gospel of the Egyptians? 14. DEALING WITH DEATH: FIRST APOCALYPSE OF JAMES, SECOND APOCALYPSE OF JAMES, APOCRYPHON OF JAMES, TREATISE ON THE RESURRECTION Afterlife Conceptions in the Roman Empire What Happened in Rome When Someone Died? Did Gnostics Have Their Own Death Rites? 15. DECONSTRUCTING THE DIVINE FEMININE: THUNDER: PERFECT MIND AND TRIMORPHIC PROTENNOIA The Narrative Structure of Thunder: Perfect Mind The Trimorphic Protennoia in Brief Wisdom Sayings and "I-sayings" Who Is Protennoia/Ennoia? The Ending of the Trimorphic Protennoia The Trimorphic Protennoia and the Gospel of John Thunder: Perfect Mind and Social Violence The Question of Audience Last Thoughts 16. WHAT ARE PAGAN TEXTS DOING IN A CHRISTIAN LIBRARY? DISCOURSE ON THE EIGHTH AND NINTH PLATO'S REPUBLIC ASCLEPIUS SENTENCES OF SEXTUS The Hermetica Asclepius A Few Hermetic Themes 17. APOSTOLIC TRADITIONS IN CONFLICT: LETTER OF PETER TO PHILIP, ACTS OF PETER AND THE TWELVE APOSTLES, APOCALYPSE OF PETER The Letter of Peter to Philip: Background Peter and the Tradition of the Twelve Apostles Peter (and Paul) in Acts of the Apostles Acts of the Twelve Disciples and Apocryphal Acts Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles: Background Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles and Allegory Apocalypse of Peter: Background Are These Petrine Texts Gnostic? Authority and Visions: The Post-Resurrection Appearances 18. VISIONS OF THE END! APOCALYPSES IN NAG HAMMADI: APOCALYPSE OF PAUL, APOCALYPSE OF ADAM Building a Social Context Judaism and Apocalyptic Literature Features of Ancient Apocalyptic Literature The End of the World as We Know It? Apocalypses at Nag Hammadi Apocalyptic Passages in Other Nag Hammadi Writings 19. THE SETHIAN PLATONIZING APOCALYPSES Zostrianos, Allogenes, and Marsanes Greek Philosophy and Gnosticism What's Apocalyptic about Sethian Apocalypses? Baptism in Sethian Apocalypses 20. BEYOND NAG HAMMADI: GOSPEL OF JUDAS AND THE GOSPEL OF MARY MAGDALENE Background of the Codex Tchacos Gospel of Judas: Background WHO WAS JUDAS? The Cosmology of the Gospel of Judas Is the Gospel of Judas Sethian? What the Gospel of Judas Tells Us about Proto-Orthodox Christianity A Gospel without Salvation? The Gospel of Mary Magdalene Gospel of Mary: Background Who Was Mary? The Cosmology of the Gospel of Mary Jesus in the Gospel of Mary Salvation in the Gospel of Mary What the Gospel of Mary Tells Us about Proto-Orthodox Christianity


Utilization of naturally available raw materials for the fabrication of eco-friendly functional materials has long been desired. In this work, a series of superabsorbent nanocomposites were prepared by radical solution copolymerization of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), partially neutralized acrylic acid (NaA), and rectorite (REC) in the presence of initiator ammonium persulfate (APS) and crosslinker N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA). The optimal reaction variables including themassratioofacrylicacid(AA)toCMC,MBAconcentration,andRECcontentwereexplored.FTIR spectra confirmed that NaA had been grafted onto CMC and REC participated in polymerization. REC was exfoliated and uniformly dispersed in the CMC-g-PNaA matrix without agglomeration as shown by XRD, TEM, and SEM analysis. The thermal stability, swelling capabilities, and rate of the nanocomposites were improved after introducing REC, and the gel strength greatly depended on the concentration of crosslinker MBA. The nanocomposite showed excellent responsive properties and reversible On–Off switching characteristics in various saline, pH, and hydrophilic organic solvent/water solutions, which provided great possibility to extend the application domain of the superabsorbent nanocomposites such as drug delivery system. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The toxinogenicity of fifty coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from various clinical syndromes was compared, using lysis of human erythrocytes, leakage of a radio-active marker from human embryonic lung fibroblasts by culture filtrates, and direct cytotoxicity of growing bacteria towards mouse skin fibroblasts in an agar overlay assay. Good correlation was obtained between those strains which elaborated greater than or equal to 16 HU/ml delta-toxin in culture, measurable also in terms of radioactive nucleotide leakage from tissue culture cells and those strains which caused a direct cytotoxicity effect in the colony overlay test. delta-toxin was implicated in the genesis of such cellular damage. Speciation of the coagulase-negative staphylococci revealed that isolates identified as S. epidermidis, S. saprophyticus and S. haemolyticus were most active in each of these tests. The colony overlay technique is suggested as being a potential screening assay for toxinogenic coagulase-negative staphylococci associated with clinical infections.


: The purpose of this study is to identify the formation and evolution patterns of a trading zone and to explore the difficulties teachers experience in the trading zone and their perceptions of the experience. Seven teachers involved in the 'STEAM Teacher Community' in a middle school located in the southern part of South Korea participated in this study. Participant observation and in-depth interviews were carried out, and reflective essays were collected for analysis. The results show that teachers successfully formed a trading zone to share their expertise when they developed teaching materials for the convergence of different subject matters. Moreover, such a trading zone evolved in the order of pre-trading zone, trading zone under elite control, trading zone with boundary object, and trading zone of shared mental model. The difficulties teachers experienced in the trading zone were categorized under the difference of culture and opinion across subject matters, the lack of motivation for convergence, the hegemony of convergence and far-fetched factors for convergence, and difficulty of communication due to jargons. Also teachers in this study experienced perceptual changes in the trading zone. The trading zone model drawn from the results of this study bring forth implications for voluntary teachers' learning community activity for the convergence of different subject matters.


Precision control of the width of slabs is vital for product quality and production economy in steel rolling mills. However, the formation of so called 'dog-bone' at the edge of the slab would affect the final width during the horizontal rolling that follows. Therefore, it is essential to predict and control the dog-bone shape. In this paper, a model is derived by using a number of finite element simulations for edge rolling and a least square regression analysis. The prediction accuracy of the proposed model is examined by comparing the predictions from finite element simulation with experiment results in the literature.


The diffusion of health care technology is influenced by both the total market share of managed care organizations as well as the level of competition among them. This paper differentiates between HMO penetration and competition and examines their relationship to the adoption of cardiac catheterization laboratories in all non-federal, short-term general community hospitals in the U.S. between 1985 and 1995. Results show that a hospital is less likely to adopt the technology if HMO market penetration increases but more likely to adopt if HMO competition increases. Further, the latter effect is non-linear in the number of adopters. In markets where fewer than a critical number of neighboring hospitals have already adopted, the probability of adoption increases with the number of HMOs, but in markets where more than the critical number of neighbors have already adopted, the probability of adoption decreases with the number of HMOs. Thus, in markets where technology is rare, HMO penetration and competition have countervailing effects on the diffusion of technology such that the net effect could be small.


This PVA-shortpaper introduces an enhancement to the Keystroke-Level Model (KLM) by extending it with three new operators to describe interactions on mobile touchscreen devices. Based on Fitts's Law we modelled a performance measure estimate equation for each common touch screen interaction. Three prototypes were developed to serve as a test environment in which to validate Fitts's equations and estimate the parameters for these interactions. A total of 3090 observations were made with a total of 51 users. While the studies confirmed each interaction fitted well to Fitts's Law for most interactions, it was noticed that Fitts's Law does not fit well for interactions with an Index of Difficulty exceeding 4 bits, highlighting a possible maximum comfortable stretch. Based on results, the following approximate movement times for KLM are suggested: 70ms for a short untargeted swipe, 200ms for a half-screen sized zoom, and 80ms for an icon pointing from a home position. These results could be used by developers of mobile phone and tablet applications to describe tasks as a sequence of the operators used and to predict user interaction times prior to creating prototypes.


To interpret and explain the mechanism of an engineering problem, the redundant observations are carried out by scientists and engineers. The functional relationships between the observations and parameters defining the model are generally nonlinear. Those relationships are constituted by a nonlinear equation system. The equations of the system are not solved without using linearization of them on the computer. If the linearized equations are consistent, the solution of the system is ensured for a probably global minimum quickly by any approximated values of the parameters in the least squares (LS). Otherwise, namely an inconsistent case, the convergence of the solution needs to be well-determined approximate values for the global minimum solution even if in LS. A numerical example for 3D space fixes coordinates of an artificial global navigation satellite system (GNSS) satellite modeled by a simple combination of firstdegree polynomial and first-order trigonometric functions will be given. It will be shown by the real example that the convergence of the solution depends on the approximated values of the model parameters.


Background Hepatic ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury is commonly associated with surgical liver resection or transplantation, and represents a major cause of liver damage and graft failure. Currently, there are no effective therapies to prevent hepatic I/R injury other than ischemic preconditioning and some preventative strategies. Previously, we have revealed the anti-inflammatory activity of a sweat gland-derived peptide, dermcidin (DCD), in macrophage/monocyte cultures. Here, we sought to explore its therapeutic potential and protective mechanisms in a murine model of hepatic I/R. Methods Male C57BL/6 mice were subjected to hepatic ischemia by clamping the hepatic artery and portal vein for 60 min, which was then removed to initiate reperfusion. At the beginning of reperfusion, 0.2 ml saline control or solution of DCD (0.5 mg/kg BW) or DCD-C34S analog (0.25 or 0.5 mg/kg BW) containing a Cys (C)→Ser (S) substitution at residue 34 was injected via the internal jugular vein. For survival experiments, mice were subjected to additional resection to remove non-ischemic liver lobes, and animal survival was monitored for 10 days. For mechanistic studies, blood and tissue samples were collected at 24 h after the onset of reperfusion, and subjected to measurements of various markers of inflammation and tissue injury by real-time RT-PCR, immunoassays, and histological analysis. Results Recombinant DCD or DCD-C34S analog conferred a significant protection against lethal hepatic I/R when given intravenously at the beginning of reperfusion. This protection was associated with a significant reduction in hepatic injury, neutrophilic CXC chemokine (Mip-2) expression, neutrophil infiltration, and associated inflammation. Furthermore, the administration of DCD also resulted in a significant attenuation of remote lung inflammatory injury. Mechanistically, DCD interacted with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a key regulator of liver inflammation, and significantly inhibited hepatic I/R-induced phosphorylation of EGFR as well as a downstream signaling molecule, protein kinase B (AKT). The suppression of EGFR expression by transducing Egfr-specific shRNA plasmid into macrophages abrogated the DCD-mediated inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production induced by a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP), cold-inducible RNA-binding protein, CIRP. Conclusions The present study suggests that human DCD and its analog may be developed as novel therapeutics to attenuate hepatic I/R-induced inflammatory injury possibly by impairing EGFR signaling.


Supercritical fluid extraction and chromatography measurements were made on pieces of disk drive actuator components in order to understand how to clean and analyse these parts. Extract analyses were made by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and flame ionization detector measurements. Hydrocarbons, silicones, and fluorocarbons were seen on various pieces of different samples using FTIR, time‐of‐flight static secondary‐ion mass spectrometry (TOF‐SSIMS), and x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition TOF‐SSIMS detected di‐isooctyl phthalate. Silicones and di‐isooctyl phthalate could be removed by CO2 extraction.


We report on the observation of the magneto-photogalvanic effect (MPGE) due to inter-subband transitions in (001)-oriented GaAs quantum wells. This effect is related to the gyrotropic properties of the structures. It is shown that inter-subband absorption of linearly polarized radiation may lead to spin-related as well as spin-independent photocurrents if an external magnetic field is applied in the plane of the quantum well. The experimental results are analysed in terms of the phenomenological theory and microscopic models of MPGE based on either asymmetric optical excitation or asymmetric relaxation of carriers in k-space. We observed resonant photocurrents not only at oblique incidence of radiation but also at normal incidence, demonstrating that conventionally applied selection rules for the inter-subband optical transitions are not rigorous.


In the White Paper on Transport 2011 the European Commission stressed the concept of green transport corridors, i.e. transshipment routes with concentration of freight traffic between major hubs and by relatively long distances of transport marked by reduced environmental and climate impact while increasing safety and efficiency with application of sustainable logistics solutions. Green transport is based on inter-modality, powerful logistics hubs and advanced ICT-systems improving traffic management, increase efficiency and better integrate the logistics components of a corridor. Sustainable hub development along the transshipment routes of green corridors is one of the major tasks of green corridors in order to safeguard and meet the necessary corridor performance for the current and future transport demand. The main corridor hubs represent logistics clusters in the sense of Yossi Sheffi, comprising ports, logistics centers and other transshipment nodes. The paper will present results about the development of core logistics clusters representing hubs in green transport corridors and it will indicate actions for hub development with a future-oriented compilation of sustainable development measures of infrastructural, legal or organizational nature. Since the author took part in some important green transport corridor initiatives around the Baltic Sea, including "East-West Transport Corridor (EWTC II)" initiative, representing the first European project which delivered a green corridor manual formulating recommendations and requirements of green transport corridors to European level, some case studies from EWTC project will be discussed.


According to macroscopical appearances of the gastric lesions, we classified Borrmann-4 Type of gastric carcinoma into 4 subtypes; (1) giant rugae type, (2) IIc surface type, (3) erosion type, and (4) stricture type. The important points of treatment for each subtype are as follows: For carcinomas of the giant rugae type and the stricture type, neighboring organs and surrounding tissues of the stomach should be resected with total gastrectomy and a long-term chemotherapy should be performed postoperatively. For IIc surface type and erosion type, regional lymph nodes should be thoroughly cleaned up and the aggressive adjuvant therapies should be given from the early day after the surgical operation.


In a conventional cellular network underlaid with femtocells, the authors employ interference alignment (IA) to restrict cross-layer co-channel interference (X-interference). In their scenario, locally obtained channel state information is allowed to be conveyed between heterogeneous nodes to construct a decentralised IA-based scheme. Furthermore, they provide closed-form formulas for the upper bounds of X-interference in both uplink and downlink directions and characterise how they asymptotically approach zero for big enough channel dimensions used by individual nodes. Simulation results demonstrate that X-interference is always bounded by the above-mentioned limits and prove accuracy of their analytical formulas.


Coronary manifestations of polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) are rarely identified pre-mortem. We report a 51-year-old female with PAN causing a coronary dissection and new lesions developing over the next 5 days. PAN should be added to the list of differential diagnoses for spontaneous coronary dissections.


Until now limited research has been conducted to address the mechanisms leading ionizing radiation exposure induced bone loss. This is relevant for cancer radiotherapy and human spaceflight. Exposure to radiation can result in elevated bone fracture risk in patients receiving cancer radiotherapy. In human spaceflight, astronauts are exposed to space radiation which is a very complex mixture consisting primarily of high-energy charged particles.
Osteoblasts are of mesenchymal origin and responsible for creating and maintaining skeletal architecture; these cells produce extracellular matrix proteins and regulators of matrix mineralization during initial bone formation and later bone remodeling.
The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of ionizing radiation on pre-osteoblasts including cellular survival, cell cycle regulation and differentiation modification.
Experiments with the pre-osteoblast cell line OCT-1 and the mesenchymal stem cell line C3H10T1/2 showed that radiation cell killing depends on dose and linear energy transfer (LET) and is most effective at an LET of ~150 keV/μm.
High-LET radiation has a much more pronounced ability to induce cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. After both X-rays and heavy ions exposure, expression of the cell cycle regulator CDKN1A was significantly up-regulated in a dose-dependent manner. The findings suggest that cell cycle regulation is more sensitive to high-LET radiation than cell survival, which is not solely regulated through elevated CDKN1A expression.
Radiation exposure enhances osteoblastic differentiation and maturation, and mediates Runx2 and TGF-β1 expression during early differentiation of pre-osteoblasts. Osteogenic differentiation did not alter cellular radiosensitivity, DNA repair of radiation-induced damages and the effects of radiation on proliferation.
Further experiments are needed to elucidate possible synergistic effects of microgravity and radiation on osteoblast differentiation. This may provide the necessary foundation for the development for space travel countermeasures.


We thank Dr Dhir et al for their kind words and would like to address some of the points raised. First, in patients without markers of poor prognosis, the COBRASlim scheme with methotrexate (MTX) and prednisone bridging led to a more rapid response than initial MTX monotherapy in the first 16 weeks. Subsequently, remission rates did not differ until year 5, but patients starting a COBRASlim scheme had a lower disease activity and better functionality longitudinally over 5 years. This longterm effect of prednisone bridging seems counterintuitive to Dr Dhir, given the results of the 'BehandelStrategieën in Reumatoïde Arthritis' (BeSt) study and the 'Treatment of Early Aggressive Rheumatoid Arthritis' (TEAR) trial, showing that longterm outcomes were essentially determined by treatingtotarget. 7 Unfortunately, differences in design and followup duration hamper direct comparisons of the Care in early Rheumatoid Arthritis (CareRA) study with these trials. The 2year TEAR trial did not include a glucocorticoid bridging scheme in its MTX stepup arms, but 40% of patients were already on lowdose oral glucocorticoids at baseline, which was prohibited per protocol in the MTXTightStepUp (TSU) arm of CareRA. Moreover, only about one in six CareRA participants used oral glucocorticoids for >6 months after the bridging period, during 5 years. Additionally, the treattotarget algorithm in BeSt and TEAR was different from CareRA. In theory, the better outcomes on COBRASlim could have resulted from a stricter treattotarget application than on initial MTX monotherapy. Therefore, we analysed rheumatologists' treattotarget adherence in a posthoc analysis of the 2year CareRA trial. Adherence was defined as dose escalation or changing/ adding diseasemodifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in case of Disease Activity Score based on 28 joints calculated with Creactive protein (DAS28CRP)>3.2 and was assessed at every visit. Adherence rates were calculated as a number of visits where treattotarget was applied divided by the number of visits with a DAS28CRP>3.2. Adherence rates did not differ significantly between the COBRASlim and TSU regimen (63% (27/43) vs 51% (39/76); p=0.23), making it unlikely that this would explain the difference in outcomes. We agree with Dr Dhir that our results reignite interest in the windowofopportunity theory, because they reaffirm that an early response is essential for optimal longterm clinical outcomes. We showed this previously in an observational early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cohort and many others confirmed this. Recently Bergstra et al demonstrated that earlier treatment with fastacting combination therapy results in better RA outcomes with higher chances to achieve sustained diseasefreeremission. Importantly, this windowofopportunity also seems to exist in terms of psychosocial outcomes. Based on CareRA data, we demonstrated that patients with an early persistent response reported significantly higher vitality, better social functioning and more positive beliefs about disease consequences and treatment effect than patients with a delayed response, 1 year after treatment initiation. We acknowledge that the analyses in patients without factors of poor prognosis were based on a limited population. This is due to the setup of the original CareRA trial that was powered for a superiority analysis in the more prevalent highrisk group. The patients not meeting the criteria for poor prognosis were stratified into a lowrisk group on which an explorative analysis was performed. This population is seldom looked at separately in a setting of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and many question(ed) the necessity of intensive therapies in this patient group. We attempted to bridge this knowledge gap, and our favourable results with COBRASlim in this subpopulation warrant further investigation in larger trials with similar intensive treatment strategies. We deliberately chose not to include an MTX monotherapy arm in the highrisk group, because at the time of conceptualisation of CareRA, it was already clear from the COBRA and BeSt trial that intensive combination strategies were more effective. Initiating only MTX as monotherapy for patients with markers of poor prognosis would, in our opinion, have led to unnecessary delays in symptom relief and more concomitant glucocorticoids and/or analgesics use. Indeed, previous work of our group pointed towards less longterm glucocorticoid use in patients treated strategically with initial glucocorticoid bridging. Therefore, we had sufficient evidence to justify glucocorticoid bridging in all treatment arms for highrisk patients in CareRA. Meanwhile, we have demonstrated that CareRA patients on initial MTX monotherapy had indeed a significantly higher risk at chronic nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug and analgesic consumption than those treated with COBRASlim. Moreover, according to a detailed healtheconomic analysis, COBRASlim was more costeffective compared with MTX monotherapy with a significantly higher quality of life at a lower cost. Finally, we analysed all treatment escalations during the 2year CareRA RCT and the 3year observational followup. We considered all treatment changes independent from protocolspecified escalation steps. All treatment intensifications (switching/ adding conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs) or initiating biological DMARDs were already depicted in figure 4 of the paper on the 5year outcomes. In response to Dr Dhir's question, we add treatment taken at year 5 in figure 1: 62% (125/203) were on csDMARD monotherapy.


We present a study of the extent to which the Sellwood & Binney radial migration of stars is affected by their vertical motion about the mid-plane. We use both controlled simulations in which only a single spiral mode is excited, as well as slightly more realistic cases with multiple spiral patterns and a bar. We find that rms angular momentum changes are reduced by vertical motion, but rather gradually, and the maximum changes are almost as large for thick disc stars as for those in a thin disc. We find that particles in simulations in which a bar forms suffer slightly larger angular momentum changes than in comparable cases with no bar, but the cumulative effect of multiple spiral events still dominates. We have determined that vertical action, and not vertical energy, is conserved on average during radial migration.


This study adopts the mixed method research design to investigate the interaction between libraries and library users on Facebook. The research objectives are: (1) To find out the performance of Facebook as a tool for interaction between libraries and library users; (2) To find out the differences in using Facebook to interact with library users between libraries in two regions: English-speaking countries and Greater China; (3) To find out the differences between academic and public libraries in using Facebook to interact with library users; (4) To find out the challenges for libraries in using Facebook to interact with library users. The study finds that quality interaction between libraries and users, like conversations and group networking, is still relatively rare on Facebook. Libraries in English-speaking countries seem more sophisticated in using this tool than their counterparts in Greater China, regarding the diversity of usages of Facebook, and the identification of the main audience on Facebook and their interests. Differences also exist between academic and public libraries, in the respects of the characteristics of user groups on Facebook and the usages of Facebook. Several challenges for libraries using Facebook are also identified, which are related to aspects of privacy, administration and the tool itself.