In this paper, we propose to tackle egocentric action recognition by suppressing background distractors and enhancing action-relevant interactions. The existing approaches usually utilize two independent branches to recognize egocentric actions, i.e., a verb branch and a noun branch. However, the mechanism to suppress distracting objects and exploit local human-object correlations is missing. To this end, we introduce two extra sources of information, i.e., the candidate objects spatial location and their discriminative features, to enable concentration on the occurring interactions. We design a Symbiotic Attention with Object-centric feature Alignment framework (SAOA) to provide meticulous reasoning between the actor and the environment. First, we introduce an object-centric feature alignment method to inject the local object features to the verb branch and noun branch. Second, we propose a symbiotic attention mechanism to encourage the mutual interaction between the two branches and select the most action-relevant candidates for classification. The framework benefits from the communication among the verb branch, the noun branch, and the local object information. Experiments based on different backbones and modalities demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. Notably, our framework achieves the state-of-the-art on the largest egocentric video dataset.


Abstract—Over the past four decades, the fatigue behavior of nickel-based alloys has been widely studied. However, in recent years, significant advances in the fabrication process leading to grain size reduction have been made in order to improve fatigue properties of aircraft turbine discs. Indeed, a change in particle size affects the initiation mode of fatigue cracks as well as the fatigue life of the material. The present study aims to investigate the fatigue behavior of a newly developed nickel-based superalloy under biaxial-planar loading. Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) tests are performed at different stress ratios so as to study the influence of the multiaxial stress state on the fatigue life of the material. Full-field displacement and strain measurements as well as crack initiation detection are obtained using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) techniques. The aim of this presentation is first to provide an in-depth description of both the experimental set-up and protocol: the multiaxial testing machine, the specific design of the cruciform specimen and performances of the DIC code are introduced. Second, results for sixteen specimens related to different load ratios are presented. Crack detection, strain amplitude and number of cycles to crack initiation vs. triaxial stress ratio for each loading case are given. Third, from fractographic investigations by scanning electron microscopy it is found that the mechanism of fatigue crack initiation does not depend on the triaxial stress ratio and that most fatigue cracks initiate from subsurface carbides.


The predicting daily network traffic usage is a very important issue in the service activities of the university. This paper present techniques based on the development of backpropagation (BP) and radial basis function (RBF) neural network models, for modelling and predicting the daily network traffic at Universitas Mulawarman, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The experiment results indicate that a strong agreement between model predictions and observed values, since MSE is below 0.005. When performance indices are compared, the RBFNN-based model is a more accurate predictor with MSE value is 0.00407999, MAPE is 0.03701870, and MAD is 0.06885187 than the BPNN model. Therefore, the smallest MSE value indicates a good method for accuracy, while RBF finding illustrates proposed best model to analyze daily network traffic.


Liability for independent intermediaries, commonly referred to as brokers, is an issue highly relevant in modern trade. Despite the many harmonization efforts in EU consumer law it is often unclear what the rights and obligations of parties are in case they trade through independent intermediaries. It can be highly uncertain whether remedies are available against traders in case an intermediary has breached EU consumer law. In light of this legal uncertainty this paper will discuss who carries the risk for an independent intermediary's breaches of (EU) consumer law; the consumer or the trader. It will discuss two different legislative techniques that can be found in EU consumer law when dealing with liability for intermediaries. Firstly, there are various indications that the 'trader' definition in EU consumer law intends to provide for the trader's liability for independent intermediaries. In the second part of the paper, EU travel law will be discussed as another way of dealing with the topic. Rather than providing for a general liability rule in the 'trader' definition, this body of law tends to deal with the matter on a case-by-case basis in the individual provisions. In addition, it provides for a striking example of the current lack of consistency regarding liability for intermediaries in EU private law.


Gelsolin is an actin-binding protein with the abilities to sever and cap the barbed end of actin filaments and to promote the assembly of monomeric actin. It has been identified in vertebrates both as a cytoplasmic protein and as a protein secreted into the blood plasma. Here we report the nucleic acid sequence of the full-length complementary DNA for a secretory form of gelsolin from Drosophila. The deduced amino acid sequence of 790 residues (M(r) = 87,669) contains a predicted signal peptide of 20 amino acid residues. Comparison of the Drosophila gelsolin sequence with other members of the gelsolin family of actin-binding proteins reveals the characteristic segmental repeat structure found in this class of proteins. A 42% identity is observed between Drosophila secretory gelsolin and human plasma gelsolin when their primary structures are compared. Northern blots resolve a single 3000 base message in third instar Drosophila larvae, a message that appears to be encoded by a single gene located at 82A, B on the right arm of the third chromosome.


Aims: Hydroxyapatite (HA) is widely known in orthopaedic surgery and is proved to be safe and effective in bone substitution. Actually synthetic HA is a merely reproduction of the chemical constitutes of the natural HA (Ca, P). New technologies demonstrate that it is possible to assembly new materials starting from the primary microscopic unit (nano molecules) with a process called "bottom to the top", realizing macromolecules biologically active and smart. Even bone is nano structured in HA crystalline units (20–40 nm) regularly oriented upon collagen fibres (300 nm). Methods: This study concern a new nano structured HA realized by an auto assembled process "biologically inspired", like in human bone formation, of nano HA crystals and collagen as to realize a new material very similar to natural bone. Samples of the nano-HA were tested in living bone in vivo (rabbits) and compared with a synthetic Mg-HA (Ha added with Magnesium). Macroscopic, radiographic, light microscopic and SEM analysis were performed periodically. New osteogenesis, bone ingrowth and ongrowth, bone apposition rate were evaluated up to 12 weeks. :The preliminary results of this study showed for both the biomaterials optimal bone apposition and biocompatibility. In the first month an earlier osseointegration was observed in traditional Mg-HA samples. The histological examination revealed a primary direct bone apposition from the surrounding living bone. The Nano-HA samples showed a slower secondary bone apposition, may be because of the initial larger gap and consequent lesser direct contact between the material and the guest bone. No adverse effect or reactive phenomenon were observed. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the reliability of this new nano structured HA that demonstrates to be biologically active and useful in bone substitution. Further studies will reveal new promising improvements in bone substitution with interesting multidisciplinary innovations.


The increasing complexity of embedded applications combined with the advances in chip integration make the design process a very challenging task. Due to this rising complexity, the design under performance, area and consumption constraints of a system-on-a-chip (SOC) composed of mixed software-hardware units, becomes increasingly intricate. This paper presents a method and an associated tool (CODEF) which allow the designer to do an automatic and/or interactive system design space exploration in order to construct cost effective embedded real-time architectures dedicated to complex signal processing applications. The method is based on a recursive partitioning algorithm followed by a communication synthesis procedure.


We present the dialogue module of the speech-to-speech translation system VERBMOBIL. We follow the approach that the solution to dialogue processing in a mediating scenario can not depend on a single constrained processing tool, but on a combination of several simple, efficient, and robust components. We show how our solution to dialogue processing works when applied to real data, and give some examples where our module contributes to the correct translation from German to English.


Abstract. Earth observation satellites are equipped with navigation components (star trackers, gyroscopes) which estimates the attitude of the satellite, corresponding to its orientation in the orbital reference frame. This equipment is essential for the localisation of the images which is done a posteriori and for the registration of the different images for a pushbroom sensor. This concerns both the registration of the spectral bands and the registration of multi-temporal series. However, the required accuracy is not always compatible with the performance of the attitude restitution. Moreover, some specific applications need more stringent geometric control even if requirements are met. With a multi-spectral pushbroom instrument, the same object on ground is seen as many times as number of spectral bands at different time instants: the attitude profile of the platform can be completely reconstructed from the results of the mapping of the different spectral bands. An attitude reconstruction method is proposed based on space triangulation inversion technique. The framework of this study is low-frequencies noise perturbations applied to Venμs satellite. Cubic splines are used for the attitude error profile, with 60 free parameters. Provided the physical model is representative, we show on two test cases that the convergence is very good. The band registration quality is used as a proxy to assess the performances. Residuals errors are less than 0.05 pixel for all tested band couples.


The objective of this paper is to investigate the causes of heterogeneity in firm performance. In particular, the study decomposes unobserved heterogeneity in profitability into firm and industry effects and quantifies the relative importance of both these effects. For a sample of large Australian firms for the period 1995-2005, the estimation results indicate that almost two thirds of the heterogeneity can be explained by differences across firms, and that industry effects are of much less importance. Another result is that the level of total factor productivity, as a component of firm effects, significantly enhances profitability, but also that this relationship is not identical among firms.


To the Editor. —Patient-centered medicine is an ideal. However, there is not evolution toward this goal in several critical areas of medical practice. 1 Studies show that physicians communicate inadequately with both elderly and seriously ill patients. Brennan et al 2 reported that hospitalized elderly patients had the higher risk for negligence-related adverse events. The SUPPORT project 3 showed that physicians often failed to communicate with seriously ill hospitalized patients. In addition, physicians failed to incorporate patients' perspectives, and high technology was a risk to patients' quality of life. To improve the patient-physician relationship, we must change the physician. One strategy is teaching countertransference to reduce the potential harmful effect and enhance the positive effect of the physician on the patient. Physicians often have not wanted to treat elderly patients, have ignored normal aging, and have failed to recognize their own aging process. 4 Learning about normal aging and being


Some low power wide area network (LPWAN) developers such as Sigfox, Weightless, and Nwave, have recently commenced the integration of cognitive radio (CR) techniques in their respective LPWAN technologies, generally termed CR‐LPWAN systems. Their objective is to overcome specific limitations associated with LPWANs such as spectra congestion and interference, which in turn will improve the performance of many Internet of Things (IoT)‐based applications. However, in order to be effective under dynamic sensing conditions, CR‐LPWAN systems are typically required to adopt adaptive threshold techniques (ATTs) in order to improve their sensing performance. Consequently, in this article, we have investigated some of these notable ATTs to determine their suitability for CR‐LPWAN systems. To accomplish this goal, first, we describe a network architecture and physical layer model suitable for the effective integration of CR in LPWAN. Then, some specific ATTs were investigated following this model based on an experimental setup constructed using the B200 Universal Software Radio Peripheral kit. Several tests were conducted, and our findings suggest that no single ATT was able to perform best under all sensing conditions. Thus, CR‐LPWAN developers may be required to select a suitable ATT only based on the specific condition(s) for which the IoT application is designed. Nevertheless, some ATTs such as the forward consecutive mean excision algorithm, the histogram partitioning algorithm and the nonparametric amplitude quantization method achieved noteworthy performances under a broad range of tested conditions. Our findings will be beneficial to developers who may be interested in deploying effective ATTs for CR‐LPWAN systems.


The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago?s Consumer and Community Affairs department has, since the mid- 1990s, worked with various Seventh District organizations and agencies to address foreclosures and their harmful impact in communities. Most notably, the Reserve Bank has supported and partnered with Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Chicago to mitigate the destabilizing effect that foreclosures have on vulnerable communities ? those with older housing stock, lower income, largely minority (and/or recent immigrant) populations, and little commercial or retail investment. The Homeownership Preservation Initiative (HOPI) was conceived and established by NHS, and is the organization?s principal vehicle to address foreclosures in vulnerable Chicago communities. The partnership?s results have generated national attention, and strong interest in adapting its methods to other parts of the country, which is ongoing. HOPI?s success is due in large part to committed partners that include the City of Chicago, which has made critical investments in call centers for homeowners, among other steps, and financial institutions such as JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, HSBC, and GMAC/RESCAP, which have committed staff and resources, and worked with NHS creatively to open lines of communication and assistance between investors and servicers on one side, and counselors and homeowners in default on the other.


Gastrointestinal dysmotility is a common cause of functional dyspepsia. As two kinds of polysaccharides derived from brown algae, fucoidan and laminarin possess many physiological properties; however, their relative abilities in regulating gastrointestinal motility have not been illustrated yet. In this study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory effect of fucoidan and laminarin on functional dyspepsia mice induced by loperamide. Mice with gastrointestinal dysmotility were treated with fucoidan (100 and 200 mg per kg bw) and laminarin (50 and 100 mg per kg bw). As a result, fucoidan and laminarin reversed the dysfunction mainly through regulating gastrointestinal hormones (motilin and ghrelin), the cholinergic pathway, the total bile acid level, c-kit protein expression, and gastric smooth muscle contraction-related gene expression (ANO1 and RYR3). Moreover, fucoidan and laminarin intervention modulated the gut microbiota profile including the altered richness of Muribaculaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Streptococcus. The results indicated that fucoidan and laminarin may restore the rhythm of the migrating motor complex and regulate gut microecology. In conclusion, we provided evidence to support that fucoidan and laminarin might have potential abilities to regulate gastrointestinal motility.


Fifty-three depressed inpatients received placebo treatment as part of a multicenter double-blind placebo-controlled study of an investigational antidepressant, bupropion. Groups of placebo responders and nonresponders were identified based on percentage change on the Hamilton Depression Scale and validated against the Clinical Global Impression Scale. Although the diagnostic and demographic features of responders and nonresponders were generally similar, some differences emerged. Placebo nonresponders were more often associated with male gender, lack of college education, diagnosis of manic-depressive illness and greater lack of insight at baseline. Placebo responders largely consisted of females with a diagnosis of depressive neurosis. When the individual symptoms as measured by the Hamilton Depression Scale were examined, the nonresponders showed improvement only in psychological symptoms (i.e., lack of interest, guilt, and suicide). The responders showed consistent improvement in most symptoms except middle insomnia, loss of weight, and diurnal mood change. These results suggest that depressions of an endogenous nature are unlikely to respond to placebo and when they do respond, the vegetative symptoms are least likely to improve.


In this paper we propose a combination between collaborative tagging and semantic web technologies for the development of an image repository system. The proposed system will be part of the WESONET project which will also handle other types of resources like video and audio. Our approach combines low level features extracted by automatic means, high level descriptions provided by the content creators and sets of tags dynamically added by end-users.


Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury is a complicated systemic process that affects several tissues and organs in addition to being a pathologic process that affects the liver. Several studies have shown that hepatic reperfusion severely impairs liver function. That also produces irreversible damage that causes dysfunction of many organs. The regulation of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is influenced by various factors, such as mitochondrial damage, anaerobic metabolism, intracellular Ca2+ overload, oxidative stress and ROS production, and chemokines as well as cytokines generation. Most of the cytokines are generated by helper T cells and neutrophils. A target of Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) in chronic and acute liver injury caused by ischemia can be a significant facilitator of early leukocyte recruitment. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and MMPs could be employed as indicators of the severity of ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injuries. This review examines the relationship between the components of hepatic IRI, MMPs, and the available pharmaceutical treatments for this condition.


Background Stent thrombosis (ST) is a recognised cause of ST Elevation Myocardial infarction (STEMI) in patients with previous percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI). The incidence is increasing and to date outcomes are not well characterised. We therefore sought to compare STEMI caused by ST vs de novo coronary thrombosis to evaluate procedural risk and clinical outcome. Method Clinical information was analysed from a prospective database on 1718 patients who underwent Primary PCI following STEMI between October 2003 and March 2009 at a London centre. Information was entered at the time of procedure and outcome assessed by all-cause mortality information provided by the Office of National Statistics via the BCIS CCAD national audit. Results Stent thrombosis (ST) accounted for 6.9% (119/1718) of all STEMIs with a frequency that has increased over time (5.4% in 2005 to 9.8% 2008). Drug-eluting stents (DES) accounted for 42% of ST overall and 67% over the past 3 yrs. ST occurred early (0-30d) in 30% (36/119), late (30d-1 yr) in 31% (37/119) and very late (> 1 yr) in 39% (46/119) of pts. Pts with ST compared to native artery occlusion had higher rates of previous MI (50.9% vs 12%, p<0.0001) and previous CABG (6% vs 2.4%, p=0.002). There was no difference in age, diabetes or cardiogenic shock. Pts with STEMI due to ST had higher in-hospital MACE (9% vs 2%, p= 0.0001), MACE at 1 year (21% vs 9%, p<0.0001), this persisted up to 3 years (26% vs 10%, p<0.0001). MACE was driven by higher rates of MI (4% vs 1%, p=0.0007), TVR (12% vs 2%, p<0.0001) and death (15% vs 6%, p=0.0001). Conclusion Stent thrombosis accounts for an increasing proportion of STEMI and is associated with worse outcomes compared with native artery occlusion. New strategies are needed to address this growing problem. Abstract 122 Figure 1 All MACE after PCI for STEMI.


We investigate entanglement between collective operators of two blocks of oscillators in an infinite linear harmonic chain. These operators are defined as averages over local operators (individual oscillators) in the blocks. On the one hand, this approach of 'physical blocks' meets realistic experimental conditions, where measurement apparatuses do not interact with single oscillators but rather with a whole bunch of them, i.e., where in contrast to usually studied 'mathematical blocks' not every possible measurement is allowed. On the other, this formalism naturally allows the generalization to blocks which may consist of several noncontiguous regions. We quantify entanglement between the collective operators by a measure based on the Peres-Horodecki criterion and show how it can be extracted and transferred to two qubits. Entanglement between two blocks is found even in the case where none of the oscillators from one block is entangled with an oscillator from the other, showing genuine bipartite entanglement between collective operators. Allowing the blocks to consist of a periodic sequence of subblocks, we verify that entanglement scales at most with the total boundary region. We also apply the approach of collective operators to scalar quantum field theory.


In 622 cases of endometrical adenocarcinoma treated between 1974-1977 and in 1428 age-matched controls the total use of synthetic and conjugated estrogens was determined from case reports interviews and written enquiries. It was found that conjugated estrogen use has increased especially in the cancer group. For the years 1974 1975 1976 and 1977 the percentage of cancer patients with more than 6 months use of estrogens (not contraceptives) was 8.1 17.0 23.0 and 35.6 respectively as compared to 6.6 8.6 12.6 and 16.7 for controls. Use of less than 3 years duration was similar in controls and cases but use for 3-6 years increased significantly among cancer patients (during 1974 1975 1976 and 1977 respectively 2.3% 4.5% 11.5% and 20.2% of the cases used estrogen as compared with 1.6% 1.3% 2.5% and 3.5% of the controls). These initial findings indicate that long-term administration of estrogen should be limited to patients with distinct indications.


Incidence of animal poisoning cases in the Czech Republic: current situation This article reports the most frequent cases of poisoning in farm animals, horses, cats, dogs, wild animals, fish and honey-bees in the Czech Republic. At present, there are fewer cases of acute poisoning caused by high doses of toxic substances but there are more and more cases of chronic poisoning as a consequence of environmental pollution.


The same study reported that the patients who relapsed during the follow up period had a significantly shorter pre-inclusion duration of remission than those who subsequently remained in remission. It should be noted that this laboratory index, besides the limited number of patients, was not adjusted for other patient and disease characteristics like the duration of remission, disease topography, age, etc. More recently, the Italian group investigated the predictive value of 10 biological variables.2 For each variable various possible threshold values were tested with respect to predicting relapse at 18 months. To construct the prognostic index, they stated that 'all possible combinations of the most predictive laboratory test, dichotomised, were compared in terms of relapse prediction'. This methodology, although leading to nicely separated time to relapse curves, is based on the most discriminating combination of the most predictive variables. It suffers from the multiplicity of tests and the results are most probably an overfit of the data. Indeed, these biological variables would not provide such good results if applied to an independent data set. Also, no justification was provided for opting for this methodology instead of using a time to event analysis, for example, the Cox proportional hazards regression model.3 One also notices that the three variables that constituted their first model were also available in their second study but no attempt was made to validate the first prognostic model. Finally, we do not think that the debate is closed with respect to the prognostic value of biological variables. Moreover, we are convinced that repeatedly collecting laboratory measures, for instance every three to six weeks during the course of the disease and using a repeated measures analysis technique, for example, Cox model with time dependent covariates, would be more suitable for investigating the prognostic importance ofthe different biological variables. T SAHMOUD R SYLVESTER R MODIGLIANI J-Y MARY EORTC Data Center, Av E Mounier 83/11, 1200 Brussels, Belgium


Neutron fluxes and energy distributions around a betatron were estimated from the activity induced in irradiated foils. The dose equivalent to the eyes and gonads were calculated.


Calculations of spectroscopic properties of the CnO and FlO molecules are performed using ab initio all-electron 4c and 2c-relativistic coupled-cluster approaches with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations. The corresponding calculation for HgO are also accomplished for comparison with the published data. The dependence of the results on the parameters of the basis set and approximations used is investigated in detail. The overall relative uncertainties of the recommended values on the level of 1-2% are reached. The calculated spectroscopic constants are indicative of the following trend in the reactivity of the oxides HgO > FlO > CnO. This is confirmed by the trend in the adsorption energies, E ads , of these molecules on the surfaces of gold, quartz and Teflon. The predicted rather low E ads values for the latter case should guarantee their delivery from the recoil chamber to the chemistry set up in gas-phase experiments.


Transition of 3T3 mouse fibroblasts from a quiescent to a growing state was induced by the addition of 10% fresh bovine serum to the culture medium. The number of DNA-synthesizing cells began to increase 10-11 h after the addition of serum and reached a maximum of 70-80% around 24 h. In quiescent cells, maintained in 0.5% serum, residual RNA synthesis represented mainly nucleoplasmic transcription (hnRNA, 5-S RNA and tRNA). Synthesis of tRNA was 2-3-fold increased by 1-2 h after addition of serum; however, a significant stimulation of hnRNA, 5-S RNA and 45-S pre-rRNA synthesis could only be observed around 4h. The experimental data also revealed a close temporal relationship between the onset of serum-stimulated hnRNA and overall protein synthesis. Determined colorimetrically, the cellular RNA and protein content began to increase by 4-5 h and had doubled by 24 h. Virtually the same results on RNA and protein synthesis were obtained when the experiments were performed in the presence of cytosine arabinoside, an inhibitor of DNA synthesis. From our results we concluded that serum-stimulated overall RNA and protein synthesis preceded by several hours serum-induced S phase and was independent of DNA replication.


In this study we have determined the density of states below the Fermi level in hydrogenated amorphous germanium thin films by different capacitance techniques. In order to realize the goal, a-Ge:H films were first deposited on c-Ge substrates and later they were converted into Cu/c-Ge/a-Ge:H/Al sandwich structures. The current–voltage and capacitance–voltage–frequency characteristics of the samples were measured at various temperatures. The forward current initially increased exponentially with an increase in the applied voltage up to 0.25 V and then continued to increase nonexponentially. It was found that the carrier transport mechanism in the exponential region is limited by tunnelling and the activation energy of the junction was obtained from this region to be 0.57 eV. The gap states below the Fermi level were determined by three different methods: differential capacitance–voltage method, drive-level capacitance method and capacitance–energy method. Defect densities of the order of 2 × 1017 eV−1 cm−3 at just below the Fermi level have been obtained for our a-Ge:H samples.


Reversible data-embedding embeds data into a digital content (such as digital image, audio or video) such that an authorized party could decode the embedded data and completely restore the original content. In this paper, we present a hierarchically structured, multi-layer algorithm for digital images. Its basic component is an invertible sharpen filter called the difference expansion. The embedding capacity of this algorithm is substantially higher than results reported in previous reversible data-embedding algorithms. The visual quality of images after data-embedding is also among the best in the literature.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the site- and patient-level factors that impact on the response to non-surgical periodontal therapy in patients with chronic periodontitis.

METHODS
A retrospective evaluation of clinical outcomes following non-surgical periodontal therapy delivered by dental hygienists in training was undertaken. Case notes from 195 patients with chronic periodontitis were reviewed and clinical data pre- and post-treatment abstracted. Patients were categorized as 'responders' or 'non-responders' according to defined outcome criteria, and the relationship between clinical and demographic variables and treatment outcomes was assessed.

RESULTS
Overall, there was a good response to the periodontal treatment. At deep sites (those with pretreatment probing depth ≥5 mm), the mean probing depth reduction was 1.6 ± 0.9 mm. Seventy-one (36%) patients were classified as non-responders (indicating that at least 30% of their deep sites did not improve by at least 2 mm following treatment). The non-responding group contained a significantly greater proportion of smokers (28%) than the responding group (16%). Plaque scores did not differ significantly between responders or non-responders either pre- or post-treatment. Regression analyses indicated that smoking status (odds ratio, OR: 2.04), mean pretreatment probing depth (OR: 1.49) and percentage of deep sites ≥5 mm at pretreatment (OR: 1.02) were significantly associated with response to treatment.

CONCLUSION
This study supports the benefits of non-surgical therapy in the treatment of chronic periodontitis by dental hygienists in training. Better responses to treatment tend to be observed in non-smokers and in those with less advanced periodontitis at baseline.


We tested the usefulness of name-letter preference scores as indirect indicators of self-esteem by exploring whether multiple unsupervised self-administrations of letter rating tasks within a short period of time yield useful data. We also examined whether preferences for initials and noninitial name-letters tap different aspects of self-esteem. Participants from a community sample (N = 164; 58 men and 106 women, 17-67 years, Mage = 34.57, SD = 13.28) completed daily letter rating tasks and state self-esteem questionnaires for 7 consecutive days. They also completed a trait self-esteem questionnaire on the first measurement day as well as 6 months later. Preference scores for first-name initials were stronger but more unstable than preference scores for other name-letters. Preferences for first-name initials were primarily associated with directly measured state self-esteem whereas preferences for noninitials were primarily associated with directly measured trait self-esteem even if the latter was measured 6 months later. Thus, we showed that preferences for initials and noninitials are not simply interchangeable. Previous letter rating studies, which almost exclusively used initial preferences, should be interpreted in terms of state rather than trait self-esteem. In future studies, researchers should focus on the name-letter preference that reflects the aspect of self-esteem they wish to address.


ABSTRACT This article describes the normative system that attempts to regulate online behaviour in the sphere of premarital romantic relationships of the second-generation migrants whose parents came to Russia from societies of the South Caucasus which regulate female behaviour more strictly. Based on a mixed-method study, which included a survey, a series of semi-structured interviews and digital ethnography, we describe the norms as well as the means by which they are enforced. We show that this normative system is rooted in the cultural concept of namus, which regulates the behaviour of females, while the control function is imposed mainly on their male relatives. We argue however, that these norms are widely circumvented and e-namus (manifestation of namus on the web) can barely prevent second-generation migrant females from having online romance. This brings about a radical change in gender relations altogether. The article contributes to the literature related to offline-online normative transfer, online dating, second-generation migrants' romantic relationships and intergenerational value change.


In order to study 1) the mechanisms responsible for generating free ubiquitin monomer and 2) the function of ubiquitin carboxyl extension proteins in eukaryotes, we have developed a system for expression of human ubiquitin carboxyl extension proteins in prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. When expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the intact ubiquitin carboxyl extension proteins were rapidly processed to free ubiquitin monomer and extension protein. Furthermore, expression in this host conferred a slow growth phenotype mediated by the extension protein. Expression in Escherichia coli did not result in processing of the fusion proteins. However, when the expressed fusion proteins were purified from E. coli and incubated with a rabbit reticulocyte extract, the proteins were rapidly processed to free ubiquitin monomer and extension protein. These results show that human ubiquitin carboxyl extension proteins are processed to ubiquitin and extension protein when expressed in eukaryotic but not prokaryotic cells and that pre- and co-translational events are not necessary for their processing. Establishment of this system will allow for large scale purification of these proteins which will aid future studies on the function and structure of ubiquitin carboxyl extension proteins, as well as the mechanisms responsible for their processing.


ate the efficiency of temperature as the controlling factor in the ripening process, it was decided that the exponential indices furnished the best criterion. The time ratio for the ripening periods of the two crops was practically the same as the ratio of the averages of the daily exponential indices for the two periods. This ratio was 2.57, so the rate of ripening seems to follow the Van't Hoff-Arrhenius law. The exponential indices were used to predict for different localities and different seasons of the same locality the maximum number of days that sweet corn will remain in the best edible condition, as well as the approximate number of days required for corn to pass from the beginning of kernel formation to the stage of best quality for canning or edible purposes. These results should be of practical value to canners of sweet corn.-S. V.


Background: Most gastric cancer (GC) patients were diagnosed in the advanced stages without obvious symptoms, which resulted in the increased risk of death. Although the combination therapies have showed survival benefit of patients, there is still urgent need to explore the underlying mechanisms of GC development and potential novel targets for clinical applications. Numerous studies have reported the upregulation of Wnt signaling pathway in human GC, which play important role during GC development and progression. However, the current understanding of Wnt signaling pathway is still limited due to its complexity and contradictory effect on different stages of GC tumor microenvironment. Method: We used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset to screen Wnt signaling pathway-associated genes by ssGSEA and correlation analysis. Three molecular subtypes were constructed based on a consistent clustering analysis. The key Wnt-related genes were screened through univariate cox analysis, lasso, and stepwise regression. In addition, the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) were performed to explore potential molecular pathways regulated by the Wnt-related gene signatures. ESTIMATE was utilized for evaluating the immune cell populations in GC tumor microenvironment. Results: Three molecular subtypes associated to Wnt were identified, and 7 key Wnt-related genes were screened to establish a predictive RiskScore model. These three molecular subtypes showed significant prognostic differences and distinct functional signaling pathways. We also found the downregulated immune checkpoint expression in the clust1 with good prognosis. The RiskScore model was successfully validated in GSE26942 dataset. Nomogram based on RiskScore and Gender had better prognostic predictive ability. Conclusion: In summary, our study showed that the Wnt-related genes could be used to predict prognosis of GC patients. The risk model we established showed high accuracy and survival prediction capability.


Recently, a transform domain communication system (TDCS) that based on spectrum-dependent complex spreading sequence (SS) has been proposed for low probability of interception (LPI) and cognitive radio applications. This technique requires both sides of a wireless link to estimate current spectrum condition and select unused spectrum holes for generating a multi-carrier based spreading sequence. This paper analyzes the effect of discrete spectrum estimation errors on one or both sides of such a TDCS link. The discrete spectrum estimation is carried out in a per-channel detection manner, i.e., both sides independently determine which subcarriers (channels) within the SS band are available. Our analysis indicates that an irreducible error floor arises due to spectrum estimation errors. The bit error probability performance improves and the error floor is reduced when the probability of single subcarrier detection error p decreases and/or the number of subcarriers increases. We also find that the system performance is more sensitive to the receiver's than to the transmitter's spectrum estimation error.


In recent years, regional libraries in Surabaya have been encouraged to support Gerakan Literasi Nasional (GLN), a national program to cultivate literacy in Indonesia. One of these libraries is the Herbal Library on Nginden Jangkungan street in Surabaya that provides various active literacy activities through a literacy stage facility. However, this facility was lacking identity in terms of visual and spatial character and more sub-facilities were needed to accommodate activities for performing, presenting, conducting workshops and other literacy activities. This research aimed to redesign the literacy stage facility of the Nginden Herbal Library using a regionalism approach combined with a community co-design method. The co-design method is a collaborative process between designers and the community to produce designs that truly answer the needs of the community, promote transfer of knowledge and create a shared sense of ownership. The result of this study is an iconic design of a literacy stage that could accommodate the flexibility of literacy activities while representing the local culture of the community. The regionalism approach was adopted through the implementation of natural elements (leaves, bamboo, red ginger, etc.) originating from the herbal library's site, and the use of Javanese language and culture. Crafts from plastic waste were also co-designed with the community's art works. It is hoped that the design product can support the Herbal Library to become a new literacy icon in Surabaya.
Keywords: literacy stage, regionalism, co-design, local culture


In this paper, a multi-stream paradigm is proposed to improve the performance of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems. Our goal in this paper is to improve the performance of the HMM-based ASR systems by exploiting some features that characterize speech sounds based on the auditory system and one based on the Fourier power spectrum. It was found that combining the classical MFCCs with some auditory-based acoustic distinctive cues and the main peaks of the spectrum of a speech signal using a multi-stream paradigm leads to an improvement in the recognition performance. The Hidden Markov Model Toolkit (HTK) was used throughout our experiments to test the use of the new multi-stream feature vector. A series of experiments on speaker-independent continuous-speech recognition have been carried out using a subset of the large read-speech corpus TIMIT. Using such multi-stream paradigm, N-mixture mono-/tri-phone models and a bigram language model, we found that the word error rate was decreased by about 4.01%.


A series of N-substituted 2-mercaptoacetamidines was synthesized and evaluated for gastric antisecretory activity in dogs stimulated with gastrin tetrapeptide. The most potent analogues showed 80--95% inhibition of acid secretion after an oral dose of 8 mg/kg. Thus, these compounds represent a new structural type having significant antisecretory activity. Disulfides had essentially the same antisecretory potency as the corresponding mercaptoacetamidines, indicating a metabolic interconversion. Alkylation of the mercapto group decreased potency. Higher carboxamidine homologues such as 2- and 3-mercaptopropionamidines had very low activity. Hydroxyacetamidines and mercaptoacetamides also had low potency. Side effects observed with this series of compounds included emesis, tachycardia, and gastric bleeding.


The aim of the study was to assess the supply chain management of anti-malarials in the five district hospitals in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area (KMA) including the Regional Medical Store (RMS) and also to assess the level of knowledge of respondents on malaria in these facilities. Cross sectional study was conducted at the facilities and purposeful sampling technique was applied to select the clients and interviewed. All the hospitals sourced their anti-malarials from the regional medical store (RMS) with tablet artemether-lumefantrine, tablet artesunate-amodiaquine, injection artesunate and sulphadoxinepyrimethamine (SP) being dispensed by all the hospitals from January to December 2015. All health facilities transport their anti-malarials from RMS by vans. The commonly known anti-malarials by respondents were tablet artemether-lumefantrine (84.08%, n=169) and tablet artesunate-amodiaquine (81.09%, n =163), with 5.47% (n =11) of respondents not knowing any type of anti-malarial. Antimalarials used for the treatment of malaria was given to 65.67% (n=132) of the clients at the hospital. Most of these anti-malarials were available at the hospitals though some facilities encountered periodic shortages and also had stocks expiring within the studied period. Respondents had fair knowledge of the side effects of a few of the anti-malarials. There is a need to ensure proper and effective supply chain management of these anti-malarials in these hospitals to maintain adequate quantities of these medications in these hospitals and RMS.

 Key words: Malaria, anti-malarial, supply chain management, plasmodia, female anopheles mosquito.


The methods of supergravity allow us to derive a multi-field F-term potential. Using this, we denote a generic and non-positive single-field F-term potential. We insert our theory into the scalar-gravity part of the (2,1|1) invariant superconformal action. That action leads us to a de Sitter solution at the inflationary trajectory. One can denote stabilization of fields in terms of the Kähler kinetic terms and single-field slow-roll inflation parameters. We combine these with the de Sitter swampland conjecture to generate a bounded conjecture. This approach allowed us to show that the single field slow-roll inflation works in harmony with bounded de Sitter conjecture for any concave inflation potential.


PURPOSE
To compare the informed consent processes for phase III pediatric and adult oncology clinical trials in view of the critical importance of human subjects protection in both pediatric and adult cancer care. Findings are discussed in terms of the opportunities for improving pediatric and adult oncology informed consent.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 219 subjects are reported on. Adult oncology patients made up 36.1% (n = 79) of the sample. Pediatric surrogates made up the remaining 63.9% (n = 140). Subjects in both studies were observed and audiotaped in conversation with their oncologists, and interviewed afterwards. Comparisons between the adult and pediatric subjects were done using chi(2) statistics and t tests.

RESULTS
Differences between the pediatric and adult informed consent processes were found. Adult oncology decision makers were, on average, more fully informed and more actively engaged by their oncologists. Pediatric decision makers were, however, given more information about survival/cure, randomization, and voluntariness. Comprehension difficulties were more frequent among pediatric decision makers. Suggestions for improvement are made in view of the differences between adult and pediatric oncology research environments.

CONCLUSION
Ongoing efforts to improve the ethical framework of clinical cancer research need to take into account the key differences between pediatric and adult oncology informed consent. More research needs to be done to explore the differences between adult and pediatric informed consent processes in oncology.


This study aimed to design, construct and develop a meat quality detector. Features are to be evaluated as regards its functionality and performance efficiency in measuring pH level, ammonia content, and quality of the meat. This project was done using the experimental development method. Further, the researchers employed the descriptive approach to determine the functionality of the developed device. The development of the meat quality detector was done in the University of Immaculate Conception Annex and Main Campuses, especially in the Engineering and Pharmacy Laboratories. This study was conducted in the meat section of Piapi Public Market, Davao City. The evaluators of the study included the 3 meat inspectors from the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) of Davao City, 4 meat vendors from the Piapi Public Market, 4 Engineering faculty and 9 local consumers who were purposively chosen by the researchers. The participants mentioned were chosen for this study because of their awareness and knowledge about purchasing meat products. As testified by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), the device is functional, reliable, and accurate with respect to its measurement of pH level and ammonia content as indicators of meat freshness.


The literature on estimating macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy requires suitable instruments to identify exogenous and unanticipated spending shocks. So far, the instrument of choice has been military build-ups. This instrument, however, largely limits the analysis to the US as few other countries have been involved in mainly extraterritorial conflicts. Moreover, the expenditure associated with military build-ups affects primarily the defense sector so that the resulting multiplier does not necessarily approximate the effects of changes to general government spending. We propose an alternative instrument: government relief expenditure in the wake of natural disasters which is more similar in its scope to general government spending. We construct a rich data set of natural disasters and the corresponding government responses at the US state level. We apply this methodology both at the state as well as national levels and show that natural disasters serve as a powerful instrument for identifying government spending shocks. Furthermore, we show that the multiplier pertaining to non-defense government spending is higher than the defense-spending multiplier estimated in the literature using military build-ups. JEL-Code: E220, E620, H300, H500, H720.


The is a collective effort of Burmese economists living both inside and outside the country to offer a long-term vision for the economic development of Burma. Bringing together their own intimate knowledge of the country's problems and the possibilities that lie ahead, the scholars ?most of whom are widely travelled and have achieved professional eminence as development specialists in leading universities of the world ?attempt to analyse the main factors which have stood in the way of Burma's participation in the worldwide surge of economic growth in the second half of the twentieth century, and to devise ways in which the country can overcome these obstacles in the future.


In the processes of implosions of argon gas-puff and tungsten wire-array Z-pinches at the ldquoQiang Guang Irdquo facility, the delivered electrical energy, inductance, and its relevant stored energy, and the effective work done by the Lorentz force, as well as the effects of the load type and its parameters on them, are investigated by making use of the measured current and voltage. The effective work becomes largest when using a wire array of 8-mm diameter with a fixed wire number of 32. For a given diameter of the wire array, the effective work becomes larger if the load consists of more wires. A 0-D model was used to optimize the mass per unit length for the wire array at the ldquoQiang Guang Irdquo facility on 1.6-MA current level. The calculated results show that the tungsten wire array with 8-mm diameter should be a suitable load for this generator. It is consistent with the analyzed results based on electromagnetic energy conversion, as well as with the measured results of X-ray yield in wire-array Z-pinches at the facility.


Observations by the Voyager 1 and 2 plasma wave instruments may have provided evidence of the edge of the solar system by "remote sensing." The two plasma wave receivers detected a weak signal near 3 kHz during late 1983 and early 1984 while the spacecraft were approximately 13 AU (Voyager 2) and 21 AU (Voyager 1) from the sun. The radio emissions remained fixed in frequency and varied only slightly in amplitude over the time scale of several months. The bandwidth of the emission was about 1 kHz.


Tree structure and diversity at the protected natural area La Martinica, Veracruz, México. Introduction: The Humid Mountain Forest (HMF) has the largest number of plants per unit area, which vegetation grows in heterogeneous environmental conditions and has a high variation flora, physiognomy and structural. The conservation of the HMF is important due to the biodiversity it harbors and the environmental regulation services it provides. Objective: This work evaluated the effect of the direction of sun exposure (aspect) of the terrain and the density of the forest canopy (canopy opening type) on the structure and tree diversity in La Martinica Protected Natural Area, in Veracruz, Mexico. Methods: stratified sampling was performed in four aspects of the terrain and two canopy density conditions. In total, 25 20 x 25 m sampling units were considered (subdivided into 10 x 5 m units), in which the normal diameter (ND), total height and the largest and smallest diameters of the crown of the individuals with a ND ≥10 cm were registered. The diversity was estimated by means of rarefaction curves and the structure was analyzed through the importance value index and the forest value index. Results: We recorded 37 species belonging to 30 genera and 24 families, Zenithal and South aspects had the highest floristic similarity. Greater diversity was observed in the North aspect and in the Closed canopy. The tree species with the highest structural values were different between aspects and canopy types; Carpinus tropicalis presented the highest values in the Zenithal aspect, Lippia myriocephala in the East and South aspects, and Liquidambar styraciflua in the North. In both types of canopy Lippia myriocephala obtained the highest values in the Importance Value Index (IVI) and only Forest Value Index (FVI) in the Open canopy; Carpinus tropicalis reached a higher FVI in the Closed canopy. Conclusions: The tree structure was different in the four aspects studied, as well as in the two conditions of the canopy. The greatest difference in species composition and diversity was observed between the North and East aspects, of these, the North presented the highest richness values, equally frequent species and dominant species.


Vacuum distillation is shown to be useful for the quantitative extraction of dissolved inorganic carbon (as CO2) and water from sediments of the unsaturated zone in the Coastal Aquifer of Israel. Several tests of vacuum extractions from tap water and sediments are presented, including standard addition, which show that the distillation procedure is quantitative, with minimal or no carbon isotope fractionation. The optimal temperature of the sediment during the extraction was also defined. Examples of vacuum extractions of sediments are shown.


Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the status of visual health behavior of school-age children and to identify the predicting variables of the school-age children's visual health behavior. Method: The subject was 764 children in grades 4 to 6, enrolled in 2 elementary schools located in urban area. The data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and stepwise multiple regression. Result: The findings were as follows: 1. The mean of the score of the visual health behavior of school-age children was 41.59(SD=7.22) and there was a significant difference according to grade. 2. There were significant correlations between visual health behavior and self-efficacy for visual health behavior (r=.51, p=.000), motivation for visual health(r=.45, p=.000), perceived benefits(r= .34, p=.000), self-concept(r=.32, p=.000), knowledge of visual health(r=.30, p=.000), health perception for vision(r=.16, p=.000), health locus of control(r=.11, p=.002), and perceived barriers(r=.-.12, p=.000). 3. Self-efficacy for visual health behaviors, knowledge of visual health, motivation for visual health, self-concept, health perception for vision, and perceived benefits were identified as predictor variables of the visual health behavior of the school-age children from the stepwise multiple regression analysis. The total percent of variance accounted by these 6 variables were 36.9%. Conclusion: From the result, it is suggested that the development of comprehensive visual health education program including the component of self- efficacy, health motivation and self-concept to promote the visual health of school-age children.


We calculate energy spectra of a two-dimensional electron system in a perpendicular magnetic field and periodic potentials of short periods. The Coulomb interaction is included within a screened Hartree-Fock approximation. The electrostatic screening is poor and the exchange interaction amplifies the energy dispersion. We obtain, by numerical iterations, self-consistent solutions that have a hysteresis-like property. With increasing amplitude of the external potential the energy dispersion and the electron density become periodic, and they remain stable when the external potential is reduced to zero. We explain this property in physical terms and speculate that a real system could memorize short-range potential fluctuations after the potential has been turned off.


We used radio telemetry to track the movements and habitat use of Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) as they traveled south through the Bitterroot Valley during fall migration. We deployed 38 units over the course of 3 weeks in late September and early October 2014. We hypothesized that owls would use the Bitterroot River floodplain as a travel route, because this landscape feature offers continuous vegetative cover the whole length of the Bitterroot Valley. Instead, many owls traveled along the periphery of the valley, through the forested foothills of both the Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountains. In many cases, their locations suggested that they crossed over landscapes offering little vegetative cover.  Our greatest nightly distance moved was 26 miles. We tracked one owl a distance of approximately 60 miles from the banding station. Many owls exhibited stopover behavior, staying in the same general area for several days between movements. Some owls did not migrate; we do not know if these individuals were year-round residents or overwintering owls arriving from other areas. Our ability to document roost-site characteristics of both migratory and resident owls was constrained by the common use of tall ponderosa pines for roosting, limiting our ability to precisely locate owls, even with telemetry equipment. This result suggests that methods relying on passive observation to detect owls and/or roost sites likely miss the majority of roost sites, at least during migration. We documented one communal roost containing at least three individuals.


Background Depression is usually managed in primary care, but most antidepressant trials are of patients from secondary care mental health services, with eligibility criteria based on diagnosis and severity of depressive symptoms. Antidepressants are now used in a much wider group of people than in previous regulatory trials. We investigated the clinical effectiveness of sertraline in patients in primary care with depressive symptoms ranging from mild to severe and tested the role of severity and duration in treatment response. The PANDA study was a pragmatic, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial of patients from 179 primary care surgeries in four UK cities Liverpool, London, York). We included patients aged 18 to 74 years who had depressive symptoms of any severity or duration in the past 2 years, where there was clinical uncertainty about the benefit of an antidepressant. This strategy was designed to improve the generalisability of our sample to current use of antidepressants within primary care. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) with a remote computer-generated code to sertraline or placebo, and were stratified by severity, duration, and site with random block length. Patients received one capsule (sertraline 50 mg or placebo orally) daily for one week then two capsules daily for up to 11 weeks, consistent with evidence on optimal dosages for efficacy and acceptability. The primary outcome was depressive symptoms 6 weeks after randomisation, measured by Patient Health Questionnaire, 9-item version (PHQ-9) scores. Secondary outcomes at 2, 6 and 12 weeks were depressive symptoms and remission (PHQ-9 and Beck Depression Inventory-II), generalised anxiety symptoms (Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment 7-item version), mental and physical health-related quality of life (12-item Short-Form Health Survey), and self-reported improvement. All analyses compared groups as randomised (intention-to-treat). The study is registered with EudraCT, 2013-003440-22 (protocol number 13/0413; version 6.1) and ISRCTN, ISRCTN84544741, and is closed to new participants.


Purpose: the main goal of the work is to study conceptual approaches to the essential basis, architectonics and conditions for the formation of intelligent companies, as well as to identify criteria for assessing the maturity of intelligent systems at micro and macro levels.Methods: the study is based on a systematic approach to the understanding of intellectual capital, which defines it as a complete structured system, which is the basis of an intellectual company. The concept of intellectual organization was considered in logical connection with the concept of learning organization, which, in turn, was the result of the evolutionary development of the theories of human and intellectual capital, organizational culture, the theory of network organization.Results: the analysis of conceptual approaches to the interpretation of the basic categories of research – "intellectual capital" and "intellectual company". The conceptual scheme is presented and the structural and functional analysis of intellectual organization is carried out. Conditions of formation of the intellectual company are revealed, the contour of application of intellectual systems in a number of spheres of economic activity is outlined. Examples of foreign and Russian companies positioning themselves as intellectual are given. A review of methodological approaches to assessing the maturity level of intellectual systems of companies with the possibility of building national and global ratings of intellectual companies. The assessment of a real situation on indicators of intellectual assets of the Russian companies at the national and global levels is given. The measures aimed at Russia becoming one of the leaders of intellectual progress are proposed.Conclusions and Relevance: in the context of the growing intellectual trend of the global economy, Russia has no other way than the way of intellectualization of the national economy, the key resource of which is the human intellect. The increase in the number of companies implementing the latest technological solutions in their business processes, expanding the scope of application of intelligent systems in their production activities, creating and maintaining an intellectual culture of work focused on meeting the needs of modern society, including innovative products, is certainly the measure that can bring the country into the mainstream of technological progress.At the same time, the analysis of Rospatent data shows an ambiguous situation: in 2018, the marked increase in patent activity occurred at the expense of Russian applicants only in respect of industrial designs, in respect of utility models and patents for inventions – a significant backlog from foreign applicants. In the globalaspect, the gap in Russia's patent activity from foreign countries is even more threatening. All this makes urgent measures to stimulate the activity of Russian companies to increase their intellectual assets and increase their competitive power in the intellectual property market.


This article describes a structural examination of the interaction among different imaginative capacities and the entrepreneurial intention of electrical and computer engineering students. Two studies were combined to confirm the factor structure of survey items and test the hypothesised interaction model. The results indicated that imaginative capacity has 3 dimensions: conceiving, initiating, and transforming, whereas entrepreneurial intention comprises 2 factors: conviction and preparation. In addition, the results indicated that initiating imagination strongly affected entrepreneurial conviction and preparation; conceiving imagination positively predicted entrepreneurial conviction, whereas transforming imagination negatively predicted entrepreneurial preparation. The results also indicated that students possessing high, as well as those possessing low, conceiving and transforming imaginations demonstrated a high level of entrepreneurial preparation. In addition, an increase in transforming imagination increases the preparation of students possessing low initiating imagination and reduces the preparation of students possessing high initiating imagination. For developing a novel approach to conduct research on entrepreneurial intention and for discussing the practical implications of the findings, this study explicates alternative methods of cultivating students, promoting their interests, and enabling entrepreneurial behaviour in them by stimulating their imaginative capacities.


The art of diagnosis is of great importance in the management of any disease. This includes preventive and therapeutic strategies. To make an accurate and effective diagnosis, knowledge about the health-disease process is fundamental. This paper reviews the important aspects for periodontal diagnosis in a contemporary approach, and endeavors to establish challenges for improving periodontal diagnosis, especially in Latin America. Considering that contemporary periodontal diagnosis should be based on knowledge of the etiopathogenesis of periodontal diseases, this paper highlights that the recently proposed classification system for periodontal diseases and conditions was based on the best available evidence. This system was conceived for individual diagnosis, therefore, its use in research and epidemiological settings might be limited. The system leads to a practical implication that stresses the importance of interviewing the patient, thorough periodontal charting, and requesting any imaging and other complementary tests necessary. An important observation is that partial periodontal data recordings usable for screening are not diagnostic methods and might underestimate disease. The goals of utmost importance for Latin America are to increase the awareness of both the population and the profession and to prioritize correct periodontal diagnosis. In addition, learning how to use the new classification system will help with diagnosing periodontal diseases.


A radio frequency transponder (28) includes at least one battery (60), which is coupled to provide electrical power for operating the transponder and at least one antenna (52), which is configured to receive and backscatter RF interrogation radiation from an interrogation device (32). An integrated circuit (56) is arranged to store a code including information and, powered only with energy provided by the battery, to vary a radiation characteristic of the antenna responsively to the code so as to modulate the information onto the backscattered radiation.


OBJECTIVE
Tuberculum sellae meningioma (TSM) represents a complex skull base tumor. The primary goals of surgical treatment are represented by maximal safe resection and visual recovery; therefore, appropriate patient selection is critical to optimize results. In the last 2 decades, the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) has appeared as a successful and viable strategy for the management of these tumors. The authors identified preoperative factors associated with extent of resection and visual outcome after EEA for TSM.

METHODS
In this retrospective cohort study, the authors analyzed patients who underwent extended endoscopic endonasal surgery for TSM between January 2005 and April 2022 at the Division of Neurosurgery, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy. Tumor size, vessel encasement, and optic canal involvement were classified according to University of California, San Francisco, score. Visual acuity and visual fields were analyzed according to the visual impairment score (VIS), defined as a four-level classification: grade 1 (VIS 0-25), grade 2 (VIS 26-50), grade 3 (VIS 51-75), and grade 4 (VIS 76-100). Ophthalmological functions were tested preoperatively and during the early postoperative period (within 6 months after surgery) and late postoperative period.

RESULTS
A total of 48 patients were enrolled. Forty-one (85.4%) patients experienced blurred vision or visual field defect as a presenting sign. Gross-total resection was achieved in 40 (83.3%), near-total resection in 2 (4.2%), and subtotal resection in 6 (12.5%). Visual defect improved in 82.9% (34/41) of cases, 12.2% (5/41) had no significant changes, and 2.4% (1/41) had worsened visual defect. The mean change in VIS was 42% (95% CI 58.77-31.23). Visual outcome was poorer when preoperative VIS (VIS-pre) was greater than 25 (p = 0.02). Six postoperative CSF leaks occurred (12.5%), and 1 patient (2.1%) required revision surgery.

CONCLUSIONS
The EEA is a safe and effective approach for TSM removal, with the advantage of preserving optic apparatus vascularization, and can promote gross-total resection and visual improvement. The authors have defined four categories based on VIS that relate to postoperative outcome: the lower the VIS-pre, the higher the rate of postoperative VIS improvement. This finding may be useful for predicting a patient's visual outcome at the preoperative stage.


Artemisia, a plant widely used as traditional herbal medicine in many countries, has drawn attention of the researchers. And its extracts or compounds are known to have an efficacy of antioxidant, anti-diabete, anti-cancer, anti-inflammation and neuroprotection. Sumaeyaksuk is a variant of the Artemisia argyi and major constituents are eupatilin and jaceosidin. This study was performed to investigate the effects of the sumaeyaksuk aqueous extract on inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in human hepatoma HepG2 cells. To examine the potential hepatoprotective properties of sumaeyaksuk extract, cell viability, as well as nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels, alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase (AST) activities, were measured. Cytotoxic activity of extracts on HepG2 cells was measured by MTT assay. Sumaeyaksuk extract did not induce cytotoxicity at concentrations of 0~400 μg/mL. NO and ROS levels significantly decreased with increasing concentration of the extract. The secretion levels of M-CSF and IL-8 were suppressed by sumaeyaksuk extract in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, ALT (75.4%) and AST (61.6%) levels significantly decreased in sumaeyaksuk extract-treated cells at 400 μg/mL. These results suggested that the sumaeyaksuk extract attenuates the LPS-induced hepatotoxicity resulting from regulation of inflammatory factors and could potentially be used as a hepatitis therapeutic agent.


We have previously identified unrokinase plasminogen activator receptor [uPAR] as one of several genes differentially induced in human aortic endothelial cells [HAEC] by Oxidized-L-alpha-1-Palmitoyl-2-Arachidonoyl-snglycero- 3-Phosphorylcholine [Ox-PAPC], which is a key biologically active component oxidized low-density lipoprotein [Ox-LDL]. The role of uPAR in the development of atherosclerosis is not known. In this report, we show that uPAR message and protein are induced in HAEC within hours of Ox-PAPC treatment. We developed uPAR-/- mice on an LDLR-/- background [uPAR-/-/LDLR-/-] and show that uPAR plays a proatherogenic role in the aortic vascular milieu. When compared to LDLR-/- mice, uPAR-/-/LDLR-/- mice fed a Western diet for 12 weeks had i] an anti-atherogenic serum lipid profile, ii] less atherogenic lipoproteins, iii] reduced accumulation of macrophages in the aortic sinus lesions, and iv] significantly reduced atherosclerosis in the entire aortic tree and the aortic sinus. Our results suggest, for the first time, that uPAR inhibition is a potential therapeutic approach to prevent atherosclerosis development.


The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of male age on treatment outcomes and neonatal birthweight following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This study included 2,474 ICSI cycles. Male partners were stratified into 5‐year age categories (up to 25, 26–30, 31–35, 36–40 and 41 and up). Multilevel logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between male age and treatment outcomes. After adjusting for confounders, we found no difference in the clinical pregnancy rate. However, we observed that the 31‐ to 35‐year group had a higher odds of live birth than that of the >41‐year group (aOR 1.63, p = .03), and that the risk of abortion in the 31‐ to 35‐year group was lower than that of the reference group (aOR 0.41, p = .02). A total of 754 single‐foetus newborns and 556 twin newborns were analysed. Among the singletons, none of the variables differed among the five groups (p > .05). Among the twins, the infants in the 36‐ to 40‐year group had a lower neonatal birthweight and a higher low‐birthweight rate than those of the other groups (p < .05). Our study indicates that increased paternal age negatively affects the live birth and miscarriage rates. In addition, advanced paternal age may affect the birthweight of twins.


Young and middle-aged males with lower education levels, unemployed, poor and laborers are most susceptible to progressive pulmonary tuberculosis. The most severe forms of the disease are more common in single persons. The factors that promote its progression are as follows: poor living conditions, migration, chronic alcoholism, which shows these population groups to be at risk for poor prognosis forms. The disease is detected mainly on patients' referral. Pulmonary lesions were primarily bilateral and frequently primary. They are characterized by acute onset, marked intoxication, cathexis, excessive rale, scanty sputum, anemia, lymphopenia, drastically accelerated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Sputum Mycobacteria tuberculosis are occasionally found. The outcomes of acute progressive tuberculosis are chiefly poor, which requires that effective methods of treatment and prevention should be developed for risk groups.


ABSTRACT Escherichia coli was metabolically engineered by expanding the shikimate pathway to generate strains capable of producing six kinds of aromatic compounds, phenyllactic acid, 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid, phenylacetic acid, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 2-phenylethanol, and 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethanol, which are used in several fields of industries including pharmaceutical, agrochemical, antibiotic, flavor industries, etc. To generate strains that produce phenyllactic acid and 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid, the lactate dehydrogenase gene (ldhA) from Cupriavidus necator was introduced into the chromosomes of phenylalanine and tyrosine overproducers, respectively. Both the phenylpyruvate decarboxylase gene (ipdC) from Azospirillum brasilense and the phenylacetaldehyde dehydrogenase gene (feaB) from E. coli were introduced into the chromosomes of phenylalanine and tyrosine overproducers to generate phenylacetic acid and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid producers, respectively, whereas ipdC and the alcohol dehydrogenase gene (adhC) from Lactobacillus brevis were introduced to generate 2-phenylethanol and 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethanol producers, respectively. Expression of the respective introduced genes was controlled by the T7 promoter. While generating the 2-phenylethanol and 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethanol producers, we found that produced phenylacetaldehyde and 4-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde were automatically reduced to 2-phenylethanol and 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethanol by endogenous aldehyde reductases in E. coli encoded by the yqhD, yjgB, and yahK genes. Cointroduction and cooverexpression of each gene with ipdC in the phenylalanine and tyrosine overproducers enhanced the production of 2-phenylethanol and 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethanol from glucose. Introduction of the yahK gene yielded the most efficient production of both aromatic alcohols. During the production of 2-phenylethanol, 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethanol, phenylacetic acid, and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, accumulation of some by-products were observed. Deletion of feaB, pheA, and/or tyrA genes from the chromosomes of the constructed strains resulted in increased desired aromatic compounds with decreased by-products. Finally, each of the six constructed strains was able to successfully produce a different aromatic compound as a major product. We show here that six aromatic compounds are able to be produced from renewable resources without supplementing with expensive precursors.


The ninth and tenth type III domains of fibronectin each contain specific cell binding sequences, RGD in FIII10 and PHSRN in FIII9, that act synergistically in mediating cell adhesion. We investigated the relationship between domain-domain orientation and synergistic adhesive activity of the FIII9 and FIII10 pair of domains. The interdomain interaction of the FIII9-10 pair was perturbed by introduction of short flexible linkers between the FIII9 and FIII10 domains. Incremental extensions of the interdomain link between FIII9 and FIII10 reduced the initial cell attachment, but had a much more pronounced effect on the downstream cell adhesion events of spreading and phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase. The extent of disruption of cell adhesion depended upon the length of the interdomain linker. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the wild type and mutant FIII9-10 proteins demonstrated that the structure of the RGD-containing loop is unaffected by domain-domain interactions. We conclude that integrin-mediated cell adhesion to the central cell binding domain of fibronectin depends not only upon specific interaction sites, but also on the relative orientation of these sites. These data have implications for the molecular mechanisms by which integrin-ligand interactions are achieved.


Somatic embryos of borage (Borago officinalis L., Boraginaceae) were induced directly from immature zygotic embryos and indirectly from callus. Embryogenic callus maintained on liquid basal medium supplemented with 4.5 μm 2,4-D and 10% (v/v) coconut water (CW) produced globular structures that became rhizogenic upon transfer to 2,4-D-free basal medium. Embryogenic callus maintained on semisolid basal medium supplemented with 4.5 μm 2,4-D and 10% CW continued to produce somatic embryos, but development was abnormal. Globular structures often failed to develop cotyledons, and those that developed were small and fused; hypocotyls tended to be large and elongated. Root meristems appeared normal, but shoot meristems were not formed. Carbon source (sucrose, glucose, or maltose) and ABA did not normalize somatic embryogenesis. A highly embryogenic, non-browning clone produced various tissue types when 2,4-D was withdrawn that varied in total fatty acids: white nodular structures (12.6%), cotyledonary structures (22.5%), white callus (5.0%), green leafy growth (3.1%), and translucent globular growth (5.1%). γ-Linolenic acid, as a percentage of total fatty acids, was highest in cotyledonary structures (19.9%) and lowest in white callus (10.2%). Chemical names used: abscisic acid (ABA); 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D); coconut water (CW).


Survivors of myocardial infarction with less than 2 PVC/h on 24-h ambulatory electrocardiography were followed up for an average of 25 months (11 to 40 months) while receiving a placebo (1,222 patients) or propranolol, 180 or 240 mg/day (1,234 patients). Three quarters of the participants with PVCs had an average of less than 2 PVC/h. Only 16 percent did not have any ventricular ectopic activity during the 24 h. Analysis of total mortality according to the number of premature ventricular complexes per hour showed that patients who had PVCs with a very low frequency (less than 0.5/h) had 49 percent higher mortality than patients who did not have any PVC. Patients who had greater than 0.5 PVC/h but less than 1 PVC/h had a statistically significant higher mortality rate, 11.7 vs 4.1 percent (p less than 0.0001) than patients who had no PVC. These data indicate that low ventricular ectopic activity frequency is associated with increased mortality in survivors of acute myocardial infarction.


This paper deals with the problem of obtaining the optimal scheduling of a pumped storage hydroelectric plant in combination with, several interconnected power systems. A special case of interest is the scheduling of pumped storage when the plant is jointly owned by several electric utilities. A mnathematical model is developed in order to determine the power flows between the different power systems and the pumped storage plant as well as the water flows inside the plant.


Recently, affinity magnetic beads have been widely used in immunomagnetic cell sorting (IMCS) technology. Today, we can easily sort and analyse DNA and antibodies (immunoglobulin) using various types of affinity magnetic beads available in the market. The diameters of the affinity magnetic beads used in immunomagnetic cell sorting are above approximately 1 ¿m because of the low magnetic fields induced by permanent magnets. At present, nanosized affinity magnetic beads are strongly desired to achieve high resolutions. We have been studying and attempting to develop a high-gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) system that employs a superconducting magnet to induce a considerably higher magnetic field than that induced by a permanent magnet. The objective is to trap smaller nanosized affinity magnetic beads using a filter made of fine stainless steel wool. In a previous study, we constructed a prototype of a desktop-type HGMS system using a cryocooler-cooled LTS magnet; we conducted preliminary experiments on trapping nanosized magnetic particles and investigated the magnetic field distribution and magnetic force around a magnetic wire in the filter by means of a numerical simulation. In this study, we succeeded in producing prototype nanobeads covered with the biosurfactant of a high-affinity ligand system for immunoglobulin G and M. Furthermore, we attempted to improve the recovery of nanobeads by adding a resonance circuit to the HGMS system. In practice, the trapped nanobeads attract one another and agglomerate due to their remaining magnetization when the magnetic field is decreased to 0 T. Therefore, the nanobeads and wire are demagnetized in the AC magnetic field by the resonance circuit, making good use of the superconducting magnet of the HGMS system.


This article focuses on the establishment of an accurate and sensitive quantitation method for the analysis of furan fatty acids. In particular, the sensitivity of GC/MS and UPLC/ESI/MS/MS was compared for the identification and quantification of furan fatty acids. Different methylation methods were tested with respect to GC/MS analysis. Special attention needs to be paid to the methylation of furan fatty acids, as acidic catalysts might lead to the degradation of the furan ring. GC/MS analysis in full-scan mode demonstrated that the limit of quantitation was 10 μM. UPLC/ESI/MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring mode displayed a higher detection sensitivity than GC/MS. Moreover, the identification of furan fatty acids with charge-reversal derivatization was tested in the positive mode with two widely used pyridinium salts. Significant oxidation was unexpectedly observed using N-(4-aminomethylphenyl) pyridinium as a derivatization agent. The formed 3-acyl-oxymethyl-1-methylpyridinium iodide derivatized by 2-bromo-1-methylpyridinium iodide and 3-carbinol-1-methylpyridinium iodide improved the sensitivity more than 2,000-fold compared with nonderivatization in the negative mode by UPLC/ESI/MS/MS. This charge-reversal derivatization enabled the targeted quantitation of furan fatty acids in human plasma. Thus, it is anticipated that this protocol could greatly contribute to the clarification of pathological mechanisms related to furan fatty acids and their metabolites.


The demographic composition of North Carolina has changed dramatically in the past three decades. Because of trends in immigration and refugee resettlement, our state is more diverse than ever before. Immigrants and refugees in North Carolina face unique challenges within the health care system, as well as increasing political and social pressures. Although often discussed as a homogenous group, newcomers comprise a varied mix of peoples from many cultures. The ability to connect across cultural barriers remains a key point when working with these populations. Despite myriad backgrounds, practice recommendations do exist when working with refugees and immigrants, and clinicians and other health care providers should adhere to these standards when working with these underserved individuals.


Chemical signatures in the otoliths of teleost fishes represent natural tags that may reflect differences in the chemical and physical characteristics of an individuals' environment. Otolith chemistry of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) was quantified to assess the feasibility of using these natural tags to discriminate juveniles (age 0 and age 1) from putative nurseries. A suite of six elements (Li, Mg, Ca, Mn, Sr and Ba) was measured in whole otoliths using solutionbased inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Otolith chemistry of age-1 T. thynnus collected from the two primary nurseries in the Mediterranean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean differed significantly, with a cross-validated classification accuracy of 85%. Spatial and temporal variation in otolith chemistry was evaluated for age-0 T. thynnus collected from three nurseries within the Mediterranean Sea: Alboran Sea (Spain), Ligurian Sea (northern Italy), and Tyrrhenian Sea (southern Italy). Distinct differences in otolith chemistry were detected among Mediterranean nurseries and classification accuracies ranged from 62 to 80%. Interannual trends in otolith chemistry were observed between year classes of age-0 T. thynnus in the Alboran Sea; however, no differences were detected between year classes in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Age-0 and age-1 T. thynnus collected from the same region (Ligurian Sea) were also compared and distinct differences in otolith chemistry were observed, indicating ontogenetic shifts in habitat or elemental discrimination. Findings suggest that otolith chemistry of juvenile T. thynnus from different nurseries are distinct and chemical signatures show some degree of temporal persistence, indicating the technique has considerable potential for use in future assessments of population connectivity and stock structure of T. thynnus.


Three US senators last week tried to push the administration into making emergency contraception available over the counter by blocking the appointment of a government nominee to a senior administrative post.

Immediately after a divided Senate committee approved the nomination of the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Lester Crawford, to become the permanent commissioner, the three senators said they would block necessary approval by the full Senate.

The senators said they would put a "hold" on his nomination—a Senate tradition that prevents a nomination moving forward. It is used to draw attention to an issue, to force negotiation, or to end an issue. It can be overridden by a vote of 60 of the …


ABSTRACT: Finite difference numerical simulations were used to characterise the rates of diffusion-controlled dissolution and growth of zircon in melts of granitic composition under geologically realistic conditions. The simulations incorporated known solubility and Zr diffusivity relationships for melts containing 3 wt% dissolved H2O and were carried out in both one and thre dimensions under conditions of constant temperature, linearly time-dependent temperature and for a variety of host system thermal histories. The rate of zircon dissolution at constant temperature depends systematically on time (t½−12;), temperature (exp T−1) and degree of undersaturation of the melt with respect to zircon (in ppm Zr). Linear dissolution and growth rates fall in the range 10−19 10−15 cm s−1 at temperatures of 650-850°C. Radial rates are strongly dependent on crystal size (varying in inverse proportion to the radius, r): for r>30 μm, dissolution and growth rates fall between 10−17 and 10−13 cm s−1. During crustal magmatism, the chances of survival for relict cores of protolith zircons depend on several factors, the most important of which are: the initial radius of the zircon; the intensity and duration of the magmatic event; and the volume of the local melt reservoir with which the zircon interacts. In general, only the largest protolith zircons (>120 μm radius) are likely to survive magmatic events exceeding 850°C. Conversely, only the smallest zircons (<50 μm radius) are likely to be completely consumed during low-temperature anatexis (i.e. not exceeding ≍700°C). The effects of stirring the zircon-melt system are unimportant to dissolution and growth behaviour; except under circumstances of extreme shearing (e.g. filter pressing?), zircon dissolution is controlled by diffusion of Zr in the melt.


This paper explores the application of Article 12 of the UNCRC to education in England, with specific emphasis on children's involvement in definitions of "suitable education" in the context of English schools. It is demonstrated that, despite a claimed commitment to children's rights by the UK government, little progress has been made in relation to Article 12 and pupil participation in education policy and practice. It is argued that this is because the school environment views children from within a paternalistic framework and the available mechanisms for children to participate are adult-defined and controlled and this limits what children are able to say. The paper concludes by suggesting some reasons why this state of affairs exists and what might be done to remedy it.


David Armitage's new monograph Civil Wars: A History in Ideas (2017) will undoubtedly long remain a standard reference work. It presents readers with a vision of civil war as part of the longue durée. The argument might be further strengthened, however, if a more inclusive Greco-Roman approach to ancient civil war is accepted. This essay focuses on stasis vs. bellum civile, the origins of the concept of civil war, the approach of later Roman writers (such as Appian and Cassius Dio) to the concepts of stasis and bellum civile, and, finally, the question of what makes a civil war a civil war. Whatever concepts were used, the Romans were not the first to experience internal war as a civil war—that is, a war between the citizens of a polity.


Introduction: There is a wealth of evidence from a number of sources that body weight and the proportion of energy from dietary fat are directly related. However, some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of low-fat diets versus other types of low-energy diets have found no difference in weight loss between treatment groups. Thus, the overall aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the effectiveness of low-fat diets as a means of achieving sustained weight loss, using all available randomized clinical trials. Methods: The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS and bibliographies will be systematically searched for relevant studies. Key journals will be hand searched and experts approached for additional studies. Interim results: The interim meta-analyses suggest that, in overweight and/or obese clients, ad libitum low-fat diets are not more efficacious than other types of low-energy diets in terms of weight loss, and also that, in the same population, low-energy low-fat diets are not more efficacious than low-energy diets which are not low in fat, in terms of weight loss. However, the studies included in the two interim meta-analyses revealed significant heterogeneity which will be examined in greater detail in the final meta-analysis. Conclusion: From our interim analyses of the data, we conclude that low-fat diets are as efficacious as other types of low-energy diets in promoting weight loss in the overweight and obese. Updates and the final report of this systematic review will be published in the Cochrane Library.


We consider the distortion in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) resulting from galactic winds at high redshift. Winds outflowing from galaxies have been hypothesized to be possible sources of metals in the intergalactic medium, which is known to have been enriched to 10(-2.5)Z(.) at z similar to 3. We model these winds as functions of mass of the parent galaxy and redshift, assuming that they activate at a common initial redshift, z(in), and calculate the mean y-distortion and the angular power spectrum of the distortion in the CMB, We find that the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect resulting from the winds is consistent with previous estimates. The distortion arising from the kinetic SZ (kSZ) effect is, however, found to be more important than the thermal SZ (tSZ) effect. We find that the distortion resulting from galactic winds is an important contribution to the power spectrum of distortion at very small angular scales (l similar to 10(4)). We also find that the power spectrum resulting from clustering dominates the Poisson power spectrum for l less than or equal to (4-5) x 10(5). We show explicitly how the combined power spectrum from wind dominates over that of clusters at 217 GHz, relevant for PLANCK, We also show how these constraints change when the efficiency of the winds is varied.


Purpose
To summarize and interpret a Risk Alert issued on April 12, 2018 by the US SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) on the most frequent advisory fee and expense compliance issues identified in recent examinations of investment advisers.

Design/methodology/approach
Summarizes deficiencies identified by the OCIE staff pertaining to advisory fees and expenses in the following categories: fee billing based on incorrect account valuations, billing fees in advance or with improper frequency, applying incorrect fee rates, omitting rebates and applying discounts incorrectly, disclosure issues involving advisory fees, and adviser expense misallocations.

Findings
In the Risk Alert, OCIE staff emphasized the importance of disclosures regarding advisory fees and expenses to the ability of clients to make informed decisions, including whether or not to engage or retain an adviser.

Practical implications
In light of the issues identified in the Risk Alert, advisers should assess the accuracy of disclosures and adequacy of policies and procedures regarding advisory fee billing and expenses. As a matter of best practice, advisers should implement periodic forensic reviews of billing practices to identify and correct issues relating to fee billing and expenses.

Originality/value
Expert guidance from experienced investment management lawyer.


Principal component analysis (PCA) is a typical unsupervised dimensionality reduction algorithm, and one of its important weaknesses is that the squared <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm cannot overcome the influence of outliers. Existing robust PCA methods based on paradigm have the following two drawbacks. First, the objective function of PCA based on the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm has no rotational invariance and limited robustness to outliers, and its solution mostly uses a greedy search strategy, which is expensive. Second, the robust PCA based on the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{2,1}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm and the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{2,p}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-norm is essential to learn probability weights for data, which only weakens the influence of outliers on the learning projection matrix and cannot be completely eliminated. Moreover, the ability to detect anomalies is also very poor. To solve these problems, we propose a novel discrete robust principal component analysis (DRPCA). Through self-learning binary weights, the influence of outliers on the projection matrix and data center estimation can be completely eliminated, and anomaly detection can be directly performed. In addition, an alternating iterative optimization algorithm is designed to solve the proposed problem and realize the automatic update of binary weights. Finally, our proposed model is successfully applied to anomaly detection applications, and experimental results demonstrate that the superiority of our proposed method compared with the state-of-the-art methods.


We report a 66-year-old man with progressive spinal paraplegia. He was well until June of 1991 when he had an onset of backache and right chest pain. On August 25, he lost sensation to void and he became unable to urinate. On the same day, he noted weakness in his legs which became progressively worse, and he was admitted to our hospital. Past medical history included diabetes mellitus which was found 3 years previously. He had upper gastrointestinal series 2 months before, which revealed a normal study. On admission, he was alert and general physical examination was unremarkable. Neurological examination revealed a mentally sound man with normal higher cerebral functions. Cranial nerves were also intact. He was unable to walk. No muscle atrophy was noted, but he had moderate to marked (2/5) weakness in both legs. No ataxia was noted in the upper extremities. Jaw jerk was normal, however, deep reflexes in the upper extremities were decreased, and absent in the lower extremities Babinski sign was present bilaterally. All sensory modalities were diminished below the Th 6 dermatome. No meningeal sign was present. Emergency myelography was performed on the day of admission, which revealed complete block from the Th4 to Th8 segments. CSF taken at that time was xanthochromic, positive Queckenstedt test containing 1,133 mg/dl of protein, 54 mg/dl of sugar and 1/3 microliters of lymphocyte. On August 31, laminectomy was performed from Th5 to Th7. The spinal bones in this area was very fragile and hemorrhagic. A soft yellowish vascular-rich tissue was surrounding the spinal cord in the epidural space. Despite surgery his weakness in legs worsened, and he became paraplegic by September 10th. He became somnolent with disorientation to time. In the subsequent course, he developed metabolic acidosis on September 26. On September 28, he became anuric and hypotensive. He expired later on that day.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)