Abstract: Of a wide variety of international forest research and monitoring networks, several networks are dedicated to the effects of climate change on forests, while the effects of anthropogenic pollutants on forests have been a major area for both monitoring and research for decades. The large amounts of data already obtained within existing monitoring programmes and large-scale international projects can be used to increase understanding of the state and potential of forest mitigation and adaptation to climate change in a polluted environment, and a major challenge now is to evaluate and integrate the presently available databases. We present a meta-database with the main goal to highlight available data and integrate the information about research and monitoring of selected European Research and Monitoring Networks (ERMNs). Depending on the selected ERMNs, the list of variables and the measurement units differ widely in the databases. As a result, activities related to the identification, evaluation and integration of the presently available databases are important for the scientific community. Furthermore, and equally important, the recognition of current knowledge gaps and future needed research is made easier. This analysis suggests that: ground-level ozone is under-investigated, although it is one of the pollutants of greatest concern to forests; in addition to CO2, long-term other greenhouse gasses (GHG) flux measurements should be carried out; there is still a need of improving links between monitoring of atmospheric changes and impacts on forests; research-oriented manipulative experiments in the forests are missing.


Complex oxide heterointerfaces can host a rich of emergent phenomena, and epitaxial growth is usually at the heart of forming these interfaces. Recently, a strong crystalline-orientation-dependent two-dimensional superconductivity was discovered at interfaces between KTaO3 single-crystal substrates and films of other oxides. Unexpectedly, rare of these oxide films was epitaxially grown. Here, we report the existence of superconductivity in epitaxially grown LaVO3/KTaO3(111) heterostructures, with a superconducting transition temperature of ∼ 0.5 K. Meanwhile, no superconductivity was detected in the (001)- and (110)-orientated LaVO3/KTaO3 heterostructures down to 50 mK. Moreover, we find that for the LaVO3/KTaO3(111) interfaces to be conducting, an oxygen-deficient growth environment and a minimum LaVO3 thickness of ∼ 0.8 nm (∼ 2 unit cells) are needed.


Henoch-Schönlein Purpura (HSP) is a leucocytoclastic vasculitis of unclear aetiology characterised by symmetrical, non-traumatic, nonthrombocytopenic purpura mostly involving the lower limbs and buttocks, as well as arthritis, gastrointestinal manifestations, and occasional nephritis. A 35 years old male presented with purpuric rash on the lower extremities, abdominal pain, fever, arthralgia, and melaena. A diagnosis of HSP with appendicitis was made, which is an exceedingly rare phenomenon.


Automated microscopy image analysis is a fundamental step for digital pathology and computer aided diagnosis. Most existing deep learning methods typically require post-processing to achieve instance segmentation and are computationally expensive when directly used with 3D microscopy volumes. Supervised learning methods generally need large amounts of ground truth annotations for training whereas manually annotating ground truth masks is laborious especially for a 3D volume. To address these issues, we propose an ensemble learning and slice fusion strategy for 3D nuclei instance segmentation that we call Ensemble Mask R-CNN (EMR-CNN) which uses different object detectors to generate nuclei segmentation masks for each 2D slice of a volume and propose a 2D ensemble fusion and a 2D to 3D slice fusion to merge these 2D segmentation masks into a 3D segmentation mask. Our method does not need any ground truth annotations for training and can inference on any large size volumes. Our proposed method was tested on a variety of microscopy volumes collected from multiple regions of organ tissues. The execution time and robustness analyses show that our method is practical and effective.


Over the years Moltmann' s vision of human selfhood has unfolded in the context of his overall theology. Accordingly there are shifts of emphasis, depending upon the decade of his work. It seems best to summarize his thought on the two sides of a watershed which occurred, he states, in the late 1 970s. This was the time in which he began sketching his Systematic Contributions series and in which he experienced a "theological turning point"' resulting from a 1978 conference in Mexico City with liberation theologians. That date may serve as a rough marker for accentuating a shift already underway, a relaxing of his earlier political theology utilizing some Marxist categories and instead a new celebration of trinitarian thought. The same shift is also discemable in his emerging doctrine of what it means to be human.


Network centrality measures are concerned with evaluating the importance of nodes, paths, or cycles based on directed or reciprocal interactions inherent within graph structures encoded by vertices and edges. To accommodate higher-order connections between nodes, Estrada and Ross extended graph-based centrality measures to simplicial complexes by expanding node centrality to simplices. We follow this extension but digress in the approach in that we propose novel centrality measures by considering algebraically-computable topological signatures of cycles and their homological persistence. We apply tools from algebraic topology to extract multi-scale signatures within cycle spaces of weighted graphs by tracking homology generators that persist across a weight-induced filtration of simplicial complexes built over graphs. We take these persistent signatures, as well as the merge information of homology classes along the filtration to design centrality measures that quantify cycle importance not only via its geometric and topological significance, but also by its homological influence on other cycles. We also show that these measures are stable under small perturbations allowed by an appropriate metric.


Baicalein, one of the major flavonoids in Scutellaria baicalensis (Chinese Skullcap), is well known for its effects on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammation. Here we show that baicalein also inhibits the adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Baicalein inhibited triglyceride accumulation during adipogenesis and significantly decreased the mRNA expression of fatty acid-binding protein (FABP), a marker of adipogenesis. Microarray analysis revealed that several genes, which are differentially expressed during adipogenesis, were modulated by baicalein treatment in 3T-L1 cells. The expression of FABP, apolipoprotein D, and insulin-like growth factor 2, which was markedly up-regulated during adipogenesis, was down-regulated by baicalein. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 mRNA expression, which was decreased during adipogenesis, was up-regulated by baicalein. These COX-2 mRNA expression patterns were mirrored by the expression of COX-2 protein and its enzymatic activity. NS-398, a COX-2 inhibitor, partially abrogated the baicalein-induced inhibition of adipogenensis. Thus, the anti-adipogenic effect of baicalein may be mediated by its ability to enhance the expression of COX-2, which is normally down-regulated during adipogenesis.


Microarray technology results in high-dimensional and low-sample size data sets. Therefore, fitting sparse models is substantial because only a small number of influential genes can reliably be identified. A number of variable selection approaches have been proposed for high-dimensional time-to-event data based on Cox proportional hazards where censoring is present. The present study applied three sparse variable selection techniques of Lasso, smoothly clipped absolute deviation and the smooth integration of counting, and absolute deviation for gene expression survival time data using the additive risk model which is adopted when the absolute effects of multiple predictors on the hazard function are of interest. The performances of used techniques were evaluated by time dependent ROC curve and bootstrap .632+ prediction error curves. The selected genes by all methods were highly significant (P < 0.001). The Lasso showed maximum median of area under ROC curve over time (0.95) and smoothly clipped absolute deviation showed the lowest prediction error (0.105). It was observed that the selected genes by all methods improved the prediction of purely clinical model indicating the valuable information containing in the microarray features. So it was concluded that used approaches can satisfactorily predict survival based on selected gene expression measurements.


I. Introduction. The faulted inliers of Carboniferous Limestone at Luckington, Upper Vobster, and Tor Rock, Vobster, respectively, are three small masses lying in the Coal Measures of the southernmost portion of the East Somerset Coalfield, at distances varying from about a mile and a quarter to half a mile north of the main outcrop of the Carboniferous Limestone in the Eastern Mendips. The highly disturbed condition of the Carboniferous strata in this coalfield is well known. Throughout the district east of Nettlebridge, in which these inliers are situated, the strata of the Coal Measures are overfolded and in places greatly contorted, as was shown by Buckland & Conybeare in 1824. The anomalous position of these masses of Carboniferous Limestone has given rise to much comment and speculation by geological writers. Since attention was drawn to two of them by Buckland & Conybeare, the inliers have been the subject of several papers, apart from many incidental references made to them. The contributions of Mr. H. B. Woodward and Mr. James McMurtrie are particularly noteworthy, on account of the conflicting theories advanced by these authors to explain the position of the masses. Mr. Woodward has invoked a fan-shaped anticline broken by faults to explain the phenomena. Mr. McMurtrie, strongly combating this explanation, has elaborated an 'overthrow theory' in its place. The latter writer has given descriptive notes on each of the three inliers, and recorded many important facts in regard to them. Two papers by the Rev. H. H. Winwood, which give


Pulmonary lesions compatible with adenovirus infection were detected by gross and microscopic examination of autopsy tissues from children aged from 5 to 34 months. Hepatic lesions indicative of systemic infection were also found in four of the children. The viral etiology was confirmed in three cases by in-situ hybridization, electron-microscopy and immunofluorescence performed in paraffin-embedded tissues, and in one case by cell culture isolation of adenovirus type 2 from nasopharyngeal exudate. Routine testing by methods additional to conventional light microscopy would probably have revealed a larger number of adenovirus infections among the 1,103 autopsy records analyzed in this study.


AIM
Acute pancreatitis (AP) is the most common and often severe complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The early step in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis is probably the capillary endothelial injury mediated by oxygen-derived free radicals. N-acetylcysteine - a free radical scavenger may be potentially effective in preventing post-ERCP acute pancreatitis and it is also known that N-acetylcysteine (ACC) can reduce the severity of disease in experimental model of AP.

METHODS
One hundred and six patients were randomly allocated to two groups. Fifty-five patients were given N-acetylcysteine (two 600 mg doses orally 24 and 12 h before ERCP and 600 mg was given iv, twice a day for two days after the ERCP). The control group consisted of 51 patients who were given iv. isotonic saline twice a day for two days after the ERCP. Serum and urine amylase activities were measured before ERCP and 8 and 24 h after the procedure. The primary outcome parameter was post-ERCP acute pancreatitis and the secondary outcome parameters were differences between groups in serum and urine amylase activity.

RESULTS
There were no significant differences in the rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis between two groups (10 patients overall, 4 in the ACC group and 6 in the control group). There were also no significant differences in baseline and post-ERCP serum and urine amylase activity between ACC group and control group.

CONCLUSION
N-acetylcysteine fails to demonstrate any significant preventive effect on post-ERCP pancreatitis, as well as on serum and urine amylase activity.


The main objective of this study was to clarify the topical mechanisms underlying diclofenac-induced gastric toxicity by considering for the first time both ionization states of this nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. 1,2-Dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) liposomes were the model system chosen to mimic the protective phospholipid layers of the gastric mucosa and to describe the interactions with diclofenac, considering the pH gradient found in the gastric mucosa (3 < pH < 7.4). Complementary experimental techniques were combined to evaluate the drug's affinity for DMPC bilayers, as well as to assess the drug's effects on the structural properties of the phospholipid bilayer. The diclofenac-DMPC interactions were clearly dependent on the drug's ionization state. Neutral diclofenac displayed greater affinity for DMPC bilayers than anionic diclofenac. Moreover, the protonated/neutral form of the drug induced more pronounced and/or distinct alterations in the structure of the DMPC bilayer than the deprotonated/ionized form, considering similar membrane concentrations. Therefore, neutral diclofenac-induced changes in the structural properties of the external phospholipid layers of the gastric mucosa may constitute an additional toxicity mechanism of this worldwide-used drug, which shall be considered for the development of safer therapeutic strategies. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neutral or anionic diclofenac exerted distinct alterations in phosphatidylcholine bilayers, which are used in this work as models for the protective phospholipid layers of the gastric mucosa. Remarkable changes were induced by neutral diclofenac in the structural properties of the phospholipid bilayer, suggesting that both ionized and neutral states of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs must be considered to clarify their mechanisms of toxicity and to ultimately develop safer anti-inflammatory drugs.


The main aim of the present study is to draw attention to the possibilities and to the measures of appropriate utilization of renewable energy to achieve what is called "water self-sufficient" for arid regions in Jordan. Also to put efforts of increasing the use of renewable energy sources to lower cost of potable water pumping and gives more economical benefits. Another aim of the current research is to utilize the new control algorithm and the developed computer capabilities in the field of sun tracking in order to improve the efficiency of solar distillers. The new tracking method is utilized for water distillation taking advantage of high possible concentration of parabolic trough collector to reach high levels of daily yield per square meter. The present research utilizes the techniques of image processing to catch the core of the sun as the target, also used artificial intelligence techniques to predict the sun position in abnormal conditions (i.e. cloudy, dusty, rainy). The results of sun tracking using image processing found to be accurate and reliable according to the self monitoring of the focus point validated by the solar radiation results. Water distillation yield shows high percentage output of distillate of about 65% of water supplied to distiller. Mechanical design was tested for high ability to withstand the extra loading. It was found that the output yield reached to noticeable levels, because of the use of the parabolic collector that promoted the solar still efficiency.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


In the context of the United Arab Emirates, the paper explores an emerging synergy between models of business excellence (BE) and the people management framework Investors in People (IIP), within organizational HRD policy and practice. Since the 1990s, driven by the need to enhance international competitiveness, UAE organizations have been encouraged to adopt quality initiatives, often reinforced with prestigious awards. HRD policy and practice has responded accordingly. However, despite its introduction in the late 1980s IIP, an overtly people standard, it is only in recent years that it has begun to be adopted in the UAE. The paper argues that it is by establishing and consciously promoting the links between BE and IIP that provides the basis for the increasing adoption of IIP in the UAE. IIP has been used by UAE organizations to lever effective implementation of BE and lead them toward further learning and performance excellence. This, the first of a two-part article, establishes the strength of the relationship between BE and IIP. Part 2 draws on case study data to highlight the dynamics of the process in more detail.


OBJECTIVE To establish whether exercise improves quality of life (QOL) in individuals with type 2 diabetes and which exercise modalities are involved. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Health Benefits of Aerobic and Resistance Training in individuals with type 2 Diabetes (HART-D; n = 262) was a 9-month exercise study comparing the effects of aerobic training, resistance training, or a combination of resistance and aerobic training versus a nonexercise control group on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in sedentary individuals with type 2 diabetes. This study is an ancillary analysis that examined changes in QOL after exercise training using the Short Form-36 Health Survey questionnaire compared across treatment groups and with U.S. national norms. RESULTS The ancillary sample (n = 173) had high baseline QOL compared with U.S. national norms. The QOL physical component subscale (PCS) and the general health (GH) subscale were improved by all three exercise training conditions compared with the control group condition (resistance: PCS, P = 0.005; GH, P = 0.003; aerobic: PCS, P = 0.001; GH, P = 0.024; combined: PCS, P = 0.015; GH, P = 0.024). The resistance training group had the most beneficial changes in bodily pain (P = 0.026), whereas physical functioning was most improved in the aerobic and combined condition groups (P = 0.025 and P = 0.03, respectively). The changes in the mental component score did not differ between the control group and any of the exercise groups (all P > 0.05). The combined training condition group had greater gains than the aerobic training condition group in the mental component score (P = 0.004), vitality (P = 0.031), and mental health (P = 0.008) and greater gains in vitality compared with the control group (P = 0.021). CONCLUSIONS Exercise improves QOL in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Combined aerobic/resistance exercise produces greater benefit in some QOL domains.


A fusion processing of remote sensing image data is carried out based on IHS principle, by using MATLAB experiment tool, in order to resolve the problem which can not give consideration to both the spatial resolution and spectral information in remote sensing. This paper proposes a fusion method by combining generalized intensity-hue-saturation (GIHS) transformation and maximum a posteriori (MAP) analysis in order to improve the fusion quality of multispectral (MS) and panchromatic (Pan) images from a new type of remote sensing platforms. The proposed method is compared with the GIHS fusion method, the wavelet transform (WT) fusion method, and the combined WT-GIHS fusion method. The experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve better fusion result than exiting fusion methods.


Background: An individual's ability to live independently is commonly measured in health research interested in identifying risk factors associated with disablement processes. In order to inform clinical practice, population research has attempted to identify the contraction of "lived-space" by using various survey instruments. Problem: Studies assessing habitual movements over the environment with the Life-Space Assessment (LSA) survey instrument should carefully consider how the LSA Composite Score (LSA-CS) is computed. Until now, no publication has carefully delineated the assumptions guiding the internal logic used in the computation of the LSA-CS. Core argument: Because the internal logic of the LSA may need further justification, a non-data-editing scoring algorithm should be considered. Solution: Compute LSA-CS by only using non-edited data. Specific aim: Paper first delineates the logic guiding the algorithm used in the formation of the LSA-CS and explains how the scoring creates and changes participant responses when they conflict with its internal logic. An easy-to-use SAS® 9.3 program for estimating a Non-Data-Edited LSA-CS (NDE-LSA-CS) is also presented. Conclusion: Researchers interested in assessing lived-space should carefully consider if the internal logic of the LSA-CS is warranted. Clinicians should know it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of outcome measures used when deciding on whether to apply the results of research to direct clinical practice.


Delay-and-sum (DAS) beamforming of backscattered echoes is used for conventional ultrasound imaging. Although DAS beamforming is well suited for imaging in soft tissues, refraction, scattering, and absorption, porous mineralized tissues cause phase aberrations of reflected echoes and subsequent image degradation. The recently developed refraction corrected multi-focus technique uses subsequent focusing of waves at variable depths, the tracking of travel times of waves reflected from outer and inner cortical bone interfaces, the estimation of the shift needed to focus from one interface to another to determine cortical thickness (Ct.Th), and the speed of sound propagating in a radial bone direction (Ct.ν11). The method was validated previously in silico and ex vivo on plate shaped samples. The aim of this study was to correct phase aberration caused by bone geometry (i.e., curvature and tilt with respect to the transducer array) and intracortical pores for the multi-focus approach. The phase aberration correction methods are based on time delay estimation via bone geometry differences to flat bone plates and via the autocorrelation and cross correlation of the reflected ultrasound waves from the endosteal bone interface. We evaluate the multi-focus approach by incorporating the phase aberration correction methods by numerical simulation and one experiment on a human tibia bone, and analyze the precision and accuracy of measuring Ct.Th and Ct.ν11. Site-matched reference values of the cortical thickness of the human tibia bone were obtained from high-resolution peripheral computed tomography. The phase aberration correction methods resulted in a more precise (coefficient of variation of 5.7%) and accurate (root mean square error of 6.3%) estimation of Ct.Th, and a more precise (9.8%) and accurate (3.4%) Ct.ν11 estimation, than without any phase aberration correction. The developed multi-focus method including phase aberration corrections provides local estimations of both cortical thickness and sound velocity and is proposed as a biomarker of cortical bone quality with high clinical potential for the prevention of osteoporotic fractures.


Conceptual models or semantic data models were developed to capture the meaning of an application domain as perceived by someone. Moreover, concepts employed in semantic data models have recently been adopted in object-oriented approaches to systems analysis and design. To employ conceptual modeling constructs effectively, their meanings have to be defined rigorously. Often, however, rigorous definitions of these constructs are missing. This situation occurs especially in the case of the relationship construct. Empirical evidence shows that use of relationships is often problematical as a way of communicating the meaning of an application domain. For example, users of conceptual modeling methodologies are frequently confused about whether to show an association between things via a relationship, an entity, or an attribute. Because conceptual models are intended to capture knowledge about a real-world domain, we take the view that the meaning of modeling constructs should be sought in models of reality. Accordingly, we use ontology, which is the branch of philosophy dealing with models of reality, to analyze the meaning of common conceptual modeling constructs.Our analysis provides a precise definition of several conceptual modeling constructs. Based on our analysis, we derive rules for the use of relationships in entity-relationship conceptual modeling. Moreover, we show how the rules resolve ambiguities that exist in current practice and how they can enrich the capacity of an entity-relationship conceptual model to capture knowledge about an application domain.


Five specimens of Epigonus constanciae (Giglioli, 1880) (deepwater cardinalfish) were captured first time during a bottom trawl survey in Sigacik Bay and off Karaburun, Aegean Sea. This is the first record of the species from the Aegean Sea. A short description certain of morphometric and meristic features of specimens are given.


This Technical Note provides a guide for rounding numbers used in the agreement, narrative and tables of Watershed Work Plans and River Basin Reports. Rounded numbers improve appearance and creditability, and reduces errors and conflicts. Ideas presented herein and in the attachments can serve as a guide. However, they will not rule out the necessity for prudent judgment in each case. Therefore, in review of the examples attached, recognize that rodding of values for a particular Watershed Work Plan must be tailored for that particular plan.


Scattered reports, both clinical and experimental, have been accumulating in the past 20 years indicating that true seizures may, indeed, originate from the brain stem and its immediate connections. Four cases are reported that give further strong presumptive evidence that this is so. All the seizures were confined to axial structures (face, tongue, palate, pharynx, diaphragm, and abdomen), and in one case each seizure had an identical "Jacksonian march." The phenomena were documented by 16-mm motion pictures, brain stem signs, and electroencephalography. The EEG consisted of periods of burst activity followed by relative interictal electrocerebral silence.


Residential construction plays major role in making people's dwelling as the basic need. Different cultures perform their construction differently, depending on their available materials and technology. Most typical residential construction use wood or timber as the material because it is easy to work with. However, timber becomes harder to find and get expensive. They also take up to two decades to harvest. Industry is trying to find alternatives to substitute timber uses, such as laminated lumber and all engineered lumbers. These engineered materials do not offer access to everyone. This research explores opportunity for local people to do construction using their available local materials, yet effective. Bamboo is also local and abundant material to most tropical areas. Bamboo is light and strong, yet renewable because it only takes 3 years to produce. The research proposed the composite beams made by bamboo with local lumber. This is to take advantage of the properties of bamboo to increase the structural performance. This research explored five designs of composite beams, using bamboo compositing with lumber and plywood beams. Different bamboo configurations are added to top and bottom of lumber beams. Webs of beam are either dimensional lumber or plywood. Five composite beams were then tested in structural laboratory. It is found that bamboo composite beams significantly made the loading improvement in bending capacity from 1.9 to 3.9 times, comparing to lumber beams alone.


Cobalt ferrite can be synthesized using several techniques. However, to have wide applications in electronic, medical fields etc., the synthesis technique should be simple and inexpensive. The synthesis technique used to prepare nanoparticles should not consume lot of time and energy. Also it should yield narrow particle size distribution and homogeneity in the prepared material. It was observed that surface modification such as with silica coating on the cobalt ferrite will have significant effect on the structural and magnetic properties. It is also observed that, silica coated nanoparticles could be used in biomedical applications (Hong et al., 2013). In this work we have chosen sol-gel method to synthesize pure cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) and silica coated (CoFe2O4 / SiO2) nanoparticles. To observe the effect of silicate coating on the structural and magnetic properties of CoFe2O4 we have carried out the present study. CoFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized with SiO2 coating and in pure form by sol-gel method. The obtained particle sizes were 24 and 26 nm in both the cases. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed the formation of CoFe2O4 spinel structure without any traces of SiO2 in the prepared samples. The Infrared spectra showed the bands corresponding to tetrahedral and octahedral sites as feature of typical spinel ferrites and also band due to SiO2. The particle size and morphology of CoFe2O4 / SiO2 was found to be uniform but in the case of pure CoFe2O4 somewhat agglomerated which is accounted for magnetization of ferrites. The magnetization value for CoFe2O4 / SiO2 showed a drastic decrease when compared to pure CoFe2O4 due to presence of non-magnetic coating layer.


Electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) have been reported inside reconnection jets, but their source and role remain unclear hitherto. Here we present the first observational evidence of ESWs generation by cold ion beams inside the jet, by using high‐cadence measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft in the Earth's magnetotail. Inside the jet, intense ESWs with amplitude up to 30 mV m−1 and potential up to ~7% of the electron temperature are observed in association with accelerated cold ion beams. Instability analysis shows that the ion beams are unstable, providing free energy for the ESWs. The waves are observed to thermalize the beams, thus providing a new channel for ion heating inside the jet. Our study suggests that electrostatic turbulence can play an important role in the jet dynamics.


The Culture and beach tourism in indonesian, is very desirable to indonesian people and turis, beach tourism in indonesian from sabang to merauke, are beach that has unique traits which are different from the other beach in indonesian. To show the characteristic of the coast and can differentiate with other beaches in Indonesian as Hunimua Beach, Hunimua Beach is one of the beaches that are located in eastern Indonesian Ambon of Malucas level mask, Hunimua Beach has something unique, different beaches in Indonesian which has white sand 1km and 300m wide and can see dolphins, whales, and sea birds Hunimua Beach, with the Hunimua Beach has beautiful scenery and not be could forget the memory of every visitor who visit the beach Hunimua. With the media promotion to promote Hunimua Coast to Indonesian, Foreign Affairs and especially in Eastern Indonesian, in the presence of the media promotion can improve and attract consumers even higher, and the people of Indonesian and abroad can know Hunimua Beaches, which requires a media in which contains the characteristic of the coast and provide a brand to consumers in order to establish a brand identity that is able to give a special image for the consumer who then embedded in the minds of consumers. The purpose of this design is how to design a media promotion to increase Hunimua Beach Brand Awareness.


The effectiveness of Clonostachys rosea against Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae) and early blight (Alternaria solani) diseases, as the two most important problems in tomato cultivation with significant economic losses, was determined. It was determined that C. rosea was effective on A. solani and V. dahliae and suppressed mycelial growth. Also, the C. rosea on wheat grains inoculated to plants at 20 g, 30 g, and 40 g concentrations before and after pathogens inoculation. Then, fungal discs (2 mm in diameter) from V. dahliae growing colonies were inoculated on the host plant root zone. A. solani was also inoculated (1x106 conidia ml-1) by spraying the foliar parts of the plants. Results showed that V. dahliae caused 76.0% disease severity in control plants, while the disease severity indices were 58.3%, 55.3%, and 25.3% at 20 g, 30 g, and 40 g C. rosea application, respectively. In A. solani x C. rosea treatments, the disease severities were determined as 96.6%, 63.3%, 43.6% and 46.6% in control, 20 g, 30 g, and 40 g application of C. rosea, respectively. The pathogen suppression rates by C. rosea at 30g application dose was 54.8% against A. solani and at 40 g application dose was 66.6% against V. dahliae. The effects of C. rosea on plant growth parameters were also determined. Results showed that C. rosea had a positive effect on the morphological parameters in tomato plants.


Introduction: Anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies have led to improved response rates, progression-free and overall survival in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of multiple myeloma (MM) patients. However, CD38 is expressed on both malignant and normal plasma cells, so anti-CD38 therapy can lead to hypogammaglobulinemia (HGG). Already present at baseline in many MM patients, HGG can increase the risk of infections. In RCTs, daratumumab containing arms have been associated with an increased risk of infections, particularly in the respiratory tract. To date, there have been no studies on interventions to reduce this risk. In this retrospective case-crossover study of patients receiving daratumumab, we compared the rates of infection while on and off intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) replacement therapy.
 Methods: We retrospectively identified consecutive MM patients who received at least 3 doses of IVIG while receiving daratumumab. Patients served as their own controls and time periods were divided between 'ON IVIG', defined as within 30 days of last IVIG administration, and observation periods ('OFF IVIG'). The evaluation period for each patient began at the time of first daratumumab dose and ended 6 months after the last dose to account for lasting effects. HGG was defined as IgG< 700 mg/dL for non-IgG MM, and [IgG - M-spike mg/dL] < 700 mg/dL qfor IgG MM to account for the nonfunctional, monoclonal IgG. Infections were identified by new antimicrobial prescriptions and microbiological data. Baseline characteristics, infections during daratumumab treatment along with concurrent MM treatments and labs were collected. The primary outcome was annualized rate of infection ON IVIG vs OFF IVIG, with a secondary outcome comparing rates of grade 3-5 infections (per Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v5.0). Generalized Estimating Equations with a log link function and Poisson distribution were used to compute incidence rate ratios (IRR) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals to compare infection rates between ON and OFF IVIG periods.
 Results: 43 patients met the inclusion criteria. Baseline characteristics are listed in Table 1. Median age was 66 years (range, 37-85) and 44% were female. 37%/21% had light chain only/IgA MM, 46% had high-risk cytogenetics, and patients had a median of 2 prior lines of therapy (range, 0-9), with broad prior exposures to common MM agents. 56% had prior autologous stem cell transplant at a median of 35 months (range, 3-153) prior to daratumumab therapy. The median number of infections in the 12 months preceding daratumumab was 2 (range, 0-6). The median functional IgG at the start of daratumumab was 566 mg/dL (range, 115-1108 mg/dL).
 Patients were on daratumumab for a median of 21.1 months (range, 3-61 months) and on the present study period of interest for a median of 27.1 months (range, 9-62.6). The median proportion of time ON IVIG was 35% (range, 8-93%). 98% of patients had HGG at any point during the study and the median functional IgG prior to start of IVIG was 363 mg/dL (range, 200-1104 mg/dL).
 There were a total of 176 infections during the evaluation period, most commonly in the upper respiratory tract (53%) and lower respiratory tract (35%). There were no deaths due to infections. The median time to first infection on daratumumab was 2.5 months (range, 0.1-18.7); at which time the median absolute neutrophil and lymphocyte counts were 2.8 and 0.9 x103/uL respectively.
 The annualized rate of infections ON IVIG was 1.21, compared with 1.96 OFF IVIG (IRR 0.61 [0.45-0.83], p=0.0015) [Figure 1]. There were a total of 54 grade 3-4 infections, with an annual rate of 0.20 ON IVIG vs 0.71 OFF IVIG (IRR 0.28 [0.15-0.55], p=0.0002).
 Discussion: Use of IVIG during daratumumab treatment for MM was associated with a 39% reduction in all infections and a 72% reduction in serious (grade 3-4) infections. Despite the small cohort, the results are highly statistically significant. While the case-crossover design allows each patient to serve as an internal control, this study is limited by its retrospective nature, and IVIG was initiated at the discretion of the treating physicians. While additional retrospective or, preferably, prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings, IVIG may have the potential to significantly reduce the risk of infections during treatment with daratumumab.

 Jagannath: BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria; Legend Biotech: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria. Madduri:Janssen: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy; Legend: Consultancy; Sanofi: Consultancy; GSK: Consultancy; Foundation Medicine: Consultancy; Kinevant: Consultancy. Parekh:Karyopharm: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Foundation Medicine: Consultancy. Richter:Adaptive biotechnologies: Consultancy; Secura bio: Consultancy; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Oncopeptides: Consultancy; X4 pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Sanofi: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Antengene: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy. Chari:Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy; Sanofi Genzyme: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Oncopeptides: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Secura Bio: Consultancy; Novartis: Honoraria; Array BioPharma: Honoraria; The Binding Site: Honoraria; Glaxo Smith Kline: Consultancy; Antengene: Consultancy; Adaptive Biotechnology: Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding.


Abstract Early stress exposure is proposed to have significant lasting effects on cognitive development. The glucocorticoid hormone cortisol, a product of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, is a particular focus of research, however, the majority of past research has been based on studies of older children and adults. Evidence linking cortisol levels in infancy with cognitive development is lacking. In a large cohort sample of infants (N = 1091) oversampled for psychosocial risk, we tested whether basal cortisol levels and cortisol reactivity to emotional stressors administered at 7 and 15 months of age were associated with cognitive development measured at 15 months. Cognitive development was measured using the Mental Development Index of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Multiple regression analyses indicated that basal cortisol levels at 15 months, and to a lesser extent at seven months, were inversely associated with infant cognitive development after adjusting for psychosocial and obstetric risk. The findings provide some of the first evidence that HPA axis activity in infancy is associated with early cognitive development.


BACKGROUND
Research has shown that discrimination is prevalent in many countries and associated with poorer mental health. However, little is known about discrimination and its effects in Japan.

AIMS
To address this deficit this study examined the association between perceived discrimination and mental health outcomes in the Japanese general population and the role of general stress in these associations.

METHOD
Data were analyzed from 1,245 individuals (age 18-89) that were collected in an online survey in 2021. Perceived discrimination was assessed with a single-item measure as was lifetime suicidal ideation. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were respectively measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale. General stress was assessed with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14). Logistic regression was used to assess associations.

RESULTS
Perceived discrimination was prevalent (31.6%) in the study sample. In fully adjusted analyses discrimination was associated with all of the mental health outcomes/general stress with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 2.78 (suicidal ideation) to 6.09 (general stress) among individuals with a high level of discrimination. When the analyses were adjusted for general stress (as a continuous score) there was a large reduction in the ORs although high discrimination continued to be significantly associated with anxiety (OR: 2.21), while a mid level of discrimination was related to depressive symptoms (OR: 1.87) and had a borderline association with suicidal ideation.

CONCLUSION
Perceived discrimination is common in the Japanese general population and associated with worse mental health, with stress possibly playing a role in this association.


To reverse the effects of deforestation, tropical areas have expanded restoration efforts in recent years. As ecological restoration positively affects the structure and function of degraded ecosystems, understanding to what extent restoration recovers ecosystem services (ES) is an important step in directing large-scale restoration actions. We evaluated the effect of restoration in increasing the provision of ES in tropical forests. We performed a global meta-analysis of ecological indicators of the ES provided in restored areas, degraded areas and reference ecosystems. We tested for the effects of different restoration strategies, different types of degradation and for the effects of restoration over time. Overall, restoration actions contributed to a significant increase in levels of ecological indicators of ES (carbon pool, soil attributes and biodiversity protection) compared to disturbed areas. Among the restoration strategies, the natural regeneration was the most effective. Biodiversity protection and carbon recovered better than soil attributes. All other restoration strategies recovered ES to a substantially lesser degree, and reforestation with exotics decreased the ES of areas degraded by agriculture. In areas degraded by pasture, restoration was more effective in recovering the biodiversity protection, whereas in areas degraded by agriculture, the restoration recovered mainly the carbon pool. Our results show that by choosing the correct strategy, restoration can recover much of the ES lost by the degradation of tropical forests. These results should be considered for large-scale conservation and management efforts for this biome.


The odd-A nuclei 153Eu and 153Gd are studied together with the doubly even nucleus 154Gd using a microscopic method of variation after angular momentum projection with conversation of the nucleon number in each projected state. The calculated energies of the yrast bands in 154Gd and the ground and excited bands in 153Gd and 153Eu are in fair agreement with the corresponding experimental data. The role played by the i13/2 neutron pair in these nuclei is discussed.


The addition of oxalate to blood stored in Citrate-phosphate-dextrose (CPD) produces a marked improvement in 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) preservation; an increase in 2,3-DPG levels can also be documented in short-term incubation studies. Oxalate is a potent in vitro inhibitor of red cell lactate dehydrogenase, monophosphoglycerate mutase, and pyruvate kinase (PK). In the presence of fructose 1,6-diphosphate the latter inhibitory effect is competitive with phospho(enol)pyruvate (PEP). Determination of the levels of intermediate compounds in red cells incubated with oxalate suggest the presence of inhibition at the PK step, indicating that this is the site of oxalate action. Apparent inhibition at the glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase step is apparently due to an increase in the NADH/NAD ratio. Oxalate had no effect on the in vivo viability of rabbit red cells stored in CPD preservatives for 21 days. Greater understanding of the toxicity of oxalate is required before it can be considered suitable as a component of preservative media, but appreciation of the mechanism by which it affects 2,3-DPG levels may be important in design of other blood additives. Malonate, the 3-carbon dicarboxylic acid analogue of oxalate late did not inhibit pyruvate kinase nor affect 2,3-DPG levels.


: A higher frequency of complications has been observed among pregnant women with IUDs in situ. These complications include maternal death (more frequently observed among users of the Dalkon shield), ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, and partus immaturus or prematurus. Partus prematurus or immaturus was observed in 7 of 19 pregnant women with IUDs in situ observed in the Wilhelmina Clinic. In 6 of these cases, the birth began with premature rupture of the amniotic sac, probably caused by the IUD. Pregnancy in IUD patients should be diagnosed as soon as possible. The IUD should be removed by gentle pressure on the control thread, if possible. If the IUD remains in situ, the woman and her partner should be thoroughly informed of the possible risks of the pregnancy. If it is decided to carry the pregnancy to term, frequent control check-ups should be given and the patient should be thoroughly instructed of possible symptoms of complications.


Introduction Osteoporosis is common in Crohn's disease patients.1 Autophagy genes have so far never being studied as potential risk factors for osteoporosis in Crohn›s disease. Methods We have analysed the risk for osteoporosis among Crohn's disease patients expressing the rs2241880 polymorphism of the ATG16L1 gene. Patients diagnosed with Crohn's disase through histological, radiological and endoscopic findings were recruited. A blood sample for genotyping was taken and a DEXA Bone Density scan was performed in each patient. Genotyping for this variant involved: – DNA extraction – Gradient Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) – Quantitative PCR and High Resolution Melt (HRM) – Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) of PCR product Results 83 Crohn's patients were included in the study. Following genotyping, 33 patients were found to have no mutation (wild type), 44 were heterozygous and 6 were homozygous for the rs2241880 variant of the ATG16L1 gene. The table below shows the mean T and Z scores at the hip and spine of patients with the wild type, heterozygous and homozygous variants. Patients Homozygous for the rs2241880 variant had lower mean T and Z scores at the hip than those Heterozygous or Wild Type. Using t-test, there was no statistical difference between the Homozygous, Heterozygous and Wild Type patients' hip T scores (p:0.314), Z scores (p:0.441), and spine T scores (p:0.751) and Z scores (p:0.822). Using χ2 test, the relationship between the 3 different variants (homozygous, heterozygous and wild type) and the risk of osteoporosis (T score < –2.5), osteopoenia (T score: –1.0 to –2.5) and normal (Tscore > –1.0) was not statistically significant (p:0.978). Conclusion We found no significant difference between the T and Z scores of patients with ATG16L1 Homozygous, Heterozygous and Wild Type alleles. However, there is a trend in the mean T and Z scores at the hip with lower scores in patients with Heterozygous/Homozygous alleles. Such a trend is not present in the spine. While the authors can offer no explanation for this difference, studies on larger populations are needed to better investigate the relationship between ATG16L1 mutations and the risk of osteoporosis. Abstract PWE-107 Table rs2241880 variant of ATG16L1 (95% Confidence Interval) T Score, Hip T Score, Spine Z Score, Hip Z Score, Spine Wild Type (n = 33) -1.48 (–1.91 - –1.05) -0.96 (–1.41 - –0.51) -0.75 (–1.20 - –0.31) -0.45 (–0.91 -+0.01) Heterozygous (n = 44) -1.68 (–2.32 - –1.22) -0.94 (–1.41 - –0.47) -0.92 (–1.38- –0.46) -0.34 (–0.82 - +0.14) Homozygous (n = 6) -1.84 (–2.71 - –0.97) -0.14 (–1.10- 0.82) -0.99 (–1.86 - –0.14 -0.34 (–0.62 - +1.33) Disclosure of Interest None Declared. Reference Lewis NR, Scott BB. British Society Guidelines for osteoporosis in inflammatory bowel disease and celiac diseas. BSG guidelines in Gastroenterology. June 2007; 1–12.


The objective of this study was to identify the body regions most affected in traffic accident victims and to map the trauma and severity of the lesions. A systematic literature review using key words related to traffic accidents, transportation accidents, wounds and injuries found a total of 248 articles. The electronic bases LILACS, MEDLINE, and PAHO were surveyed between the years 1990 and December 2006. This review emphasized a series of conclusive studies about the most frequent body regions involved and the major injuries occurring in these situations. It also indicated information gaps in the Brazilian literature. We believe that these findings are valuable for pre-hospital and intra-hospital teams and point the way to new investigations.


Restricted non-monotonicity has been shown beneficial for the projective arc-eager dependency parser in previous research, as posterior decisions can repair mistakes made in previous states due to the lack of information. In this paper, we propose a novel, fully non-monotonic transition system based on the non-projective Covington algorithm. As a non-monotonic system requires exploration of erroneous actions during the training process, we develop several non-monotonic variants of the recently defined dynamic oracle for the Covington parser, based on tight approximations of the loss. Experiments on datasets from the CoNLL-X and CoNLL-XI shared tasks show that a non-monotonic dynamic oracle outperforms the monotonic version in the majority of languages.


So long as the risks to human health from transgenic plants remain potential rather than actual, and, in any event, appear lower than those from traditional plant breeding, hazard assessment need not be extensive. However, in view of current public attitudes to transgenic plants, it is necessary that those tests that are required, be based on logic, on sound science, and in accordance with the best scientific methodology. This is particularly the case with testing for food allergenicity. Current testing is largely indirect and based on comparisons with other known food allergens. Development of direct tests that involve interaction between the actual transgenic protein in question and the immune system is essential if confidence in the regulatory system is to be restored.


Automated decision making systems take decisions that matter. Some human or legal person remains responsible. Looking back, that person is accountable for the decisions made by the system, and may even be liable in case of damages. That puts constraints on the way in which decision making systems are designed, and how they are deployed in organizations. In this paper, we analyze computational accountability in three steps. First, being accountable is analyzed as a relationship between an actor deploying the system and a critical forum of subjects, users, experts and developers. Second, we discuss system design. In principle, evidence must be collected about the decision rule and the case data that were applied. However, many AI algorithms are not interpretable for humans. Alternatively, internal controls must ensure that a system uses valid algorithms and reliable data sets for training, which are appropriate for the application domain. Third, we discuss the governance model: roles, responsibilities, procedures and infrastructure, to ensure effective operation of these controls. The paper ends with a case study in the IT audit domain, to illustrate practical feasibility.


The Top 100 Young CAs is a fantastic opportunity not only to recognise the fantastic talent among the CA community but also the great work they deliver for their firms.


Secondly, a partnership is dissolved when the nature of the assets (l. verum. ss. fin. ff. pro soc.) constituting the basis of the partnership is changed e.g. where it is withdrawn from private ownership (Gl. in d. ss. fin. in ver. conditione. per tex. in l. actione. ss. fin. ff. eod.) or where the assets cease to exist because nobody can be a partner in a partnership non-existing property or property incapable of private ownership (in d. l. verum. ss. fi & ibi Gl. & habetur per Gl. in l. si non fuerint. in ver. solus. ff. pro soc. Petr. de Ubald. in tract. de duobus fratr. part. 11. sub nu. 1. Bald. in l. 1. quaest. 6. C. pro socio. Socin. jun. cons. 58. nu. 9. lib. 4). This is said about legacies, fideicommissa and usufructs which are completely or partially destroyed in this way (l. Titiae. ss. fin. ff. de leg. 1. l. 2. & l. quoties. ss. fin. ff. de usufruct. Gabriel. cons. 63. n. 19. lib. 2.). But a partnership is only dissolved by the total destruction of the property which constitutes the basis thereof and not otherwise; therefore if the cow is killed the partnership will continue to exist as far as the calf is concerned (Petr de Ubald. in tract. de duob fratr. part. 8. n. 22.), and if the partnership has been entered into for a period of ten years it is nevertheless dissolved, if the capital constituting the basis of this partnership, is lost (Castra. in tract. de societ. offic. cap. 39. num. 2.) and the partnership cannot be saved by pouring in additional funds (Angel. de Pingl. in tract. de societ. quaestio 14).


Continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices/systems (LVADs/LVASs) reduce symptoms and mortality in severe heart failure. The impeller or centrifugal designs provide challenges in assessing and titrating pump speed (revolutions per minute [RPM]), flow, and native heart pulsatility, and contribution to cardiac output. The Thoratec HeartMate II (HM II) LVAS is the most commonly used LVAD worldwide. The user sets the RPM and the monitor provides online data on RPM, power consumption, flow, and pulsatility. These parameters are routinely used by clinicians to assess native heart function and to optimize pump settings. However, little is known about their reliability, reproducibility, and variability. Therefore, we assessed HM II controller parameters and concurrent echocardiography during titrations of RPM to low and high values. We found that data displayed on the monitor and logged in the controller are consistent for power consumption and for flow at settings above 8,000 RPM but inconsistent and unreliable for flow at or below 8,000 RPM and for pulsatility throughout a range of common settings and specifically at 9,000 RPM. These findings have implications for clinicians attempting to optimize settings and assess pump and native heart function.


Community of Practice (CoP) is one of the communities (research groups) from various disciplines and have an interest in a particular subject. The existence of this CoP is not always permanent. The amount was not observed. Communities can be dispersed when the research is complete, and may be flocking back when they have other interests are the same. CoP presence is not always planned, but its activities must be well planned. According to Weber, a person becomes a member of CoP when she played a man practicing something (practitioners) and interact with fellow members to exchange experiences, learn to solve practical problems, and exchange information. The communication system is similar to the CoP members of the scientific comunication. CoP always associated with learning activities together (collective learning), where the library has an important role. Library as a learning resource provider become an important asset for the CoP. According Pendit (2003) in the context of shared learning, CoP theory to develop a view on access to learning resources and the right to participate in activities of a CoP. Learning resource librarian is what makes it is possible to collaborate with the CoP. Librarians can engage in activities CoP with a role as a facilitator, mediator, and subject specialist, without being a member of the CoP. The existence of a CoP, peripherals process each member is an interesting and unique process. The whole process can be monitored and recorded by the librarian becomes tacit knowledge institution.


In orthodontic treatment, extraction of premolars is needed to achieve the proper treatment goals. However, it remains unknown how occlusion without the first premolars affects human jaw biomechanics during function. This study aimed to simulate the effect of premolar-loss on dynamic interaction between muscle force, occlusal and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) loads during biting by means of a dynamic modeling of the human jaw. The TMJ load related to the slight rotatory jaw displacement during biting. The 8.5% heavier TMJ load was determined for the model without the premolars as compared to that for normal model. The greater load derived from the relative anterior location of the posterior teeth in the premolar extraction model. Reduction of anterior temporalis muscle activation prevented the 8.5% increase in the joint loading. It can be concluded that the model allows us to document analytically the effect of changes in a key occlusal variable (premolar-loss) on the biomechanics of the human jaw.


Duckweed-based ponds (DWBPs) have the potential for nitrogen (N) removal from wastewater; however, operational problems such as duckweed die-off regularly occur. In this study, effluent recirculation was applied to the DWBPs to solve the above problem as well as to investigate N removal mechanisms. Two pilot scale recirculated DWBPs were employed to treat municipal wastewater. The average removal efficiencies for TN, TKN and NH4-N were 75%, 89% and 92%, respectively at TN loading of 1.3 g/m2.d and were 73%, 74% and 76%, respectively at TN loading of 3.3 g/m2.d. The effluent of the system under both operational conditions had stable quality and met the effluent standard. Duckweed die-off was not observed during the study, which proves the system stability and effluent recirculation which is thought to be a reason. N-mass balance revealed that nitrification-denitrification and duckweed uptake play major roles in these recirculated DWBPs. The rates of nitrification-denitrification were increased as TN loading was higher, which might be an influence from an abundance of N and a suitable condition. The rates of N uptake by duckweed were found similar and did not depend on the higher TN loading applied, as the duckweed has limited capacity to assimilate it.


AIM
The aim of this study was to design and validate a questionnaire to analyze students' expectations, along with their level of interest and overall satisfaction with their nursing studies.

BACKGROUND
The expectations of students on entering university are closely related to the level of interest that they have in their area of study and their general satisfaction with it. This is certainly a conditioning factor in their learning. In this regard, there are few quantitative instruments that measure the expectations of first-year nursing students.

METHOD
A mixed questionnaire was constructed using items validated in previous studies, along with new items formulated following a review of the literature. The questionnaire was validated with a sample of 339 first-year degree program nursing students.

RESULTS
The scales of expectations and degree of interest showed strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α > .7).

CONCLUSION
The questionnaire to evaluate the expectations and interest of students demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties.


This investigation examined the adult's social network configuration and their satisfaction with their social relationships and their life satisfaction. We carried out an investigation with 21 adults with member amputation (mean age 42.62 years). The data collection included participants´ characterization, data about disability, measure of life satisfaction, evaluation of the social network. The results indicated that 3 persons (on average) are part of the adults' social network. The participants told to be very satisfied with their social involvement today, with their social involvement when compared with others in the same age and with the number of people who compose their social network. Most of the participants told high levels of satisfaction with health and physical capacity, mental capacity and social involvement. The people that present smaller network are those who told higher level of satisfaction with mental capacity, higher level of life satisfaction 5 years ago. © Ciencias & Cognicao 2007; Vol. 10: 164-177.


Giant cell myocarditis is an infrequent and serious illness, possibly of autoimmune etiology, characterized by the presence of multinucleated giant cells with inflammatory infiltrate and extensive necrosis in the endomyocardial biopsy. Its association with ventricular tachycardia is common and alterations in atrioventricular conduction are frequently solved through immunosuppressive treatment. Given the generally complex prognosis of this entity, the role of the resynchronization devices after the heart failure stabilization, is unclear. We reported a case in which the implant of one of these devices was a fundamental part of the therapy and patient recovery.


With the increasing growth of technology and the entry into the digital age, we have to handle a vast amount of information every time which often presents difficulties. So, the digital information must be stored and retrieved in an efficient and effective manner, in order for it to be put to practical use. Wavelets provide a mathematical way of encoding information in such a way that it is layered according to level of detail. This layering facilitates approximations at various intermediate stages. These approximations can be stored using a lot less space than the original data. Here a low complex 2D image compression method using wavelets as the basis functions and the approach to measure the quality of the compressed image are presented. The 2D discrete wavelet transform (DWT) has been applied and the detail matrices from the information matrix of the image have been estimated. The reconstructed image is synthesized using the estimated detail matrices and information matrix provided by the Wavelet transform. The quality of the compressed images has been evaluated using some factors like Compression Ratio (CR), Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR),etc.


To obtain higher phase accuracy with less computation time in phase-shifting interferometry, a random phase-shifting algorithm based on principal component analysis and least squares iteration (PCA&LSI) is proposed. The algorithm does not require pre-filtering, and only requires two-frame phase-shifted interferograms and less computation time to obtain a relatively accurate phase distribution. This method can still extract the phase with high precision when there are few fringes in the interferogram. Moreover, it eliminates the limitation that the PCA algorithm needs more than three frames of interferograms with uniform phase shift distribution to accurately extract the phase. Numerical simulations and experiments confirm that the method is suitable for complex situations with different fluctuations in background intensity and modulation amplitude. And it can still achieve accurate phase extraction compared with other methods under different noise conditions.


Objectives: This study was designed to present how to reduce the fear associated with dental treatment by analyzing the fear levels for dental treatment, the influential factors for the fear, the general characteristics of patients and the correlations between trust in dental care professionals and satisfaction with dental treatment. Methods: The subjects were 400 workers at 5 industrial sites, which got health management conducted by health management agencies, among small and medium industrial sites located in the Gyeongbuk region of South Korea during a period of February to March, 2009. Results & Conclusion: 1. Of the subjects, 134 (30.7%) and 303 (69.3%) persons had high and low fear levels of dental treatment respectively. 2. The fear levels of dental treatment were higher in women than men, and significantly high in proportion to the patients` subjective bad health levels and past dental care fear frequencies. 3. The fear associated with dental treatment was significantly correlated to the trust in dentists.


Ginseng root has been used as a tonic remedy in Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries. Modern studies have demonstrated that ginseng root has complex components and multiple pharmacological properties. The effects of ginseng leaf, however, are not well known. Recent studies show that compared to ginseng root, ginseng leaf and stem exhibit a higher content of active compositions such as ginsenosides, polysaccharides, triterpene flavonoids, volatile oil, polyacetylenic alcohols, peptides, amino acids and fatty acids. Ginseng leaf possesses multiple pharmacological effects in the central nervous, cardiovascular, growth and metabolism systems. Additionally, the leaf has anti-fatigue, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-oxidant, and anti-aged effects. In general, ginseng leaf is quite safe, but adverse effects may occur if it is abused or is of poor quality. Thus, attention must be paid to dosages, quality, and standardization of ginseng leaf products.


Perceptual asymmetries have been explained by structural, attentional bias and attentional advantage models. Structural models focus on asymmetries in the physical access information has to the hemispheres, whereas attentional models focus on asymmetries in the operation of attentional processes. A series of experiments was conducted to assess the contribution of attentional mechanisms to the right visual field (RVF) advantage found for word recognition. Valid, invalid and neutral peripheral cues were presented at a variety of stimulus onset asynchronies to manipulate spatial attention. Results indicated a significant RVF advantage and cueing effect. The effect of the cue was stronger for the left visual field than the RVF. This interaction supports the attentional advantage model which suggests that the left hemisphere requires less attention to process words. The attentional asymmetry is interpreted in terms of the different word processing styles used by the left and right hemispheres. These results have ramifications for the methodology used in divided visual field research and the interpretation of this research.


This paper estimates the impact of the introduction of the UK minimum wage on the working hours of low-wage employees using difference-in-differences estimators. The estimates using the employer-based New Earnings Surveys indicate that the introduction of the minimum wage reduced the basic hours of low-wage workers by between 1 and 2 hours per week. The effects on total paid hours are similar (indicating negligible effects on paid overtime) and lagged effects dominate the smaller and less significant initial effects within this. Estimates using the employee-based Labour Force Surveys are typically less significant.


The substantia nigra (SN) is a midbrain dopaminergic nucleus which has a critical role in modulating motor movement and reward functions as part of the basal ganglia circuitry. Projections from the SN to the putamen, called the nigrostriatal pathway, are critically involved in the motor deficits observed in Parkinson disease. These dopaminergic neural projections leave the SN via the medial forebrain bundle and forming synapses on multiple neuronal populations throughout the basal ganglia, but especially in the putamen. The basal ganglia are a grouping of interconnected subcortical nuclei that mitigate and control functions ranging from voluntary movement, cognitive planning, emotions and reward functions, and even cognition and learning. The substantia nigra is classically considered to be the primary input into the basal ganglia circuitry and a critical element to these functions. When these subcortical nuclei are damaged such as in stroke or during neurodegeneration, a multitude of neurological conditions can result, including Parkinson disease, Huntington disease, Tourette syndrome, schizophrenia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.


This article explores how one of the most typically hyper-masculine cultural arenas in Britain and America has evolved over the past 30 years, as rap artists decide to reject the stoicism of toxic masculinity in favour of promoting healthier conversations surrounding men's mental health and associated coping mechanisms. Though rap has always been vocal about mental distress, its dominant narratives have evolved over the past 30 years to talk more specifically and positively about mental health issues. Over time rap has begun promoting therapy, medication, self-care and treatment, rather than self-medication via drugs and alcohol, or violence against the self or others. This is symbiotically informing and being informed by society's changing ideas about masculinity and the construct of gender. In order to explore the evolution in discussions around men's mental health from the 1990s to the present day, this article is split into three sections, each focusing on a different decade. I closely analyse the lyrics of one rap song in each chapter, which has been selected to represent rap's general trends regarding discussions of mental health from that decade. I also briefly explore other songs that prove the decade's trends. This article draws upon academic research as well as personal interviews undertaken with Solomon OB (2016's National Poetry Slam champion), and Elias Williams, founder of MANDEM.com (an online media platform engaging with social issues and shining a light on young men of colour). I posit that rap culture is often wrongly overlooked as a forum for progressive social change, explaining why it is crucial that academia further appreciates and examines rap's potential for changing cultural perceptions of masculinity and mental health.

To cite this paper please use the following details: Hart, R. (2019), 'Man Down: The Evolution of Masculinity and Mental Health Narratives in Rap Music', Reinvention: an International Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume 12, Issue 1, https://reinventionjournal.org/article/view/430/388. Date accessed [insert date]. If you cite this article or use it in any teaching or other related activities please let us know by e-mailing us at email@example.com.


L-Amino acid deaminase from Proteus myxofaciens (PmaLAAD) is a promising biocatalyst for enantioselective biocatalysis that can be exploited to produce optically pure D-amino acids or α-keto acids. In this study, we improved the catalytic efficiency of PmaLAAD on L-1-naphthylalanine (L-1-Nal), a synthetic amino acid of biotechnological interest. Eight evolvable positions were identified by a molecular docking and evolutionary conservation analysis. These positions were subjected to site-saturation mutagenesis, producing "smaller but smarter" libraries of variants. The best variant (F318A/V412A/V438P PmaLAAD) possesses a ∼5-fold lower Km (0.17 mM) and a ∼7-fold higher catalytic efficiency (9.2 s−1 mM−1) on L-1-Nal than the wild-type enzyme. Molecular docking analysis suggests that the substitutions increase the active site volume, allowing better binding of the bulky L-1-Nal substrate. Bioconversion reactions showed that the F318A/V412A/V438P PmaLAAD variant outperforms the wild-type enzyme in the deracemization of D,L-1-Nal: the complete conversion of 0.6 mM of the L-enantiomer was achieved in about 15 min, which is ∼7.5-fold faster than the wild-type enzyme. In addition, the F318A/V412A/V438P PmaLAAD is efficiently employed, together with the M213G D-amino acid oxidase variant, to produce 1-naphtylpyruvate from racemic D,L-1-Nal in one pot.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a novel algorithm for image inpainting, which has been widely used for removing unwanted objects from images or reconstructing damaged photographs.Design/methodology/approach – An image piecewise inpainting technique based on radial basis function (RBF) is used to transform the 2D image inpainting problem into 3D implicit surface reconstruction problem. And a RBF center reduction method is proposed. By RBF resampling, the algorithm can nicely fix the damaged image or remove specific objects.Findings – Experimental results show that the proposed algorithms can prevent the edge blur caused by the isotropic character of RBF, and effectively reduce the RBF centers without a loss in accuracy.Originality/value – The proposed inpainting approach is interesting for its combination of RBF method and region segmentation that can handle the restoring of high‐variation areas.


The constant fight against discrimination of any nature constitutes one of the most important objectives of the European Union. Special directives have been adopted with regard to this aspect, comprising measures for fighting discrimination generally and especially discrimination related to the labour market (Directives 76/207/CEE or 86/613/CEE). The article treats sex discrimination within the Romanian labour market from an economic perspective. We shall present the characteristics and particularities of the Romanian labour market, from the point of view of sex structure, in the period 1990-2006: the occupation rate of the population, the unemployment rate, income level, period of activity, retirement level and retirement receiving period. The analysis of sex discrimination within the Romanian labour market will take into account the differences between the two types of population considered, differences which are due to certain physiological and psychological characteristics. These characteristics may determine biases towards certain types of economic activities for which the income level, work schedule and work condition might differ.


Correction for 'Pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidinium ions - a novel bridgehead nitrogen heterocycles: synthesis, characterisation, and elucidation of DNA binding and cell imaging properties' by Susanta Kumar Manna et al., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2015, 13, 8037-8047.


Shifts in competitive balance between key functional groups may drive regime shifts in tropical and temperate marine ecosystems. On shallow reefs, regime shifts increasingly involve changes from spatial dominance by foundation species (e.g. reefbuilding corals, canopy-forming algae) to dominance by turf-forming algae differing in structural complexity. To disentangle competitive inter actions from other processes that may contribute to these shifts, we conducted a global meta-analysis of manipulative competition experiments between foundation and turf-forming species. Canopyforming algae had consistently negative effects on abundance of turfforming algae, particularly on subtidal reefs, but with a tendency towards larger effects on delicate filamentous forms compared to articulated coralline and corticated/ coarsely branching turf. Competitive effects of turf-forming algae on canopy species were limited to early life-history stages, and similarly varied be tween turf functional groups and between subtidal and intertidal reefs. Conversely, shorter filamentous turf assemblages typical of tropical reefs had no significant effect on settlement and survival of coral larvae. Interactions between turf-forming algae and established coral colonies were negative overall, but variable in magnitude. Mean effect sizes indicated that corals suppress turf abundance, but not vice versa. However, turf-forming algae significantly im pacted coral growth and tissue mortality. We suggest reefs with extensive cover of foundation species are resistant to proliferation of turf algae, but competition will inhibit recovery of reefs following disturbances that enable turf algae to establish. Therefore, competitive effects of foundation and turf-forming species must be accounted for to effectively evaluate the stability of these undesirable regime shifts and recovery potential under alternative climate and management scenarios.


C.S. Lewis explained the divine-human interface that occurs through the operation of the Holy Spirit in the experience of believers through his principle of transposition, exemplified in the practice of speaking in tongues. The main import of transposition is an adaptation from a higher to a lower medium. Transposition suggests tongues speech is an adaptation of a supernatural experience of the divine Holy Spirit to the natural medium of human expression. Being initially embarrassed by tongues but still intrigued by its biblical precedents, Lewis transports glossolalia from the realm of the hysterical into the realm of the holy. Taking Lewis' idea even further, a Pentecostal approach to transposition suggests tongues speech is an event including supernatural, incarnational, transformational, sacramental, and eschatological nuances far beyond the status of mere ecstatic speech. The principle of transposition holds incredible potential for Pentecostal theology and spirituality.


(Where are we and how did we get here?)

The Electronic Seismologist (ES) has been involved with the specification, modification, construction, adaptation, evaluation, and even use of seismic network recording and processing software since the early days of real-time digital seismology, a topic of (or perhaps only of) great interest to other techno-weenies like the ES; but so be it. It is a timely topic, as a major new software product has come on the scene increasing interest in reviewing the "state of the art" of such systems. This new major player is the Antelope system being developed by Boulder Real Time Technologies, Inc. and marketed by Kinemetrics, Inc. A review of Antelope was the original intent of this column, but in starting to write it the ES realizes that it is only appropriate to place Antelope in its historical context as well as to contrast it with other current...


Background:Food insecurity is common among HIV-infected individuals and has been associated with poor health. Little longitudinal research has examined the association of food insecurity with HIV clinical outcomes, or the extent to which adherence mediates these associations. Design:Observational cohort study Methods:HIV-infected homeless and marginally housed individuals in the San Francisco Research on Access to Care in the Homeless cohort completed quarterly structured interviews and blood draws. We measured food insecurity using the validated Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Primary outcomes were: antiretroviral therapy (ART) nonadherence (<90% adherence), incomplete HIV viral load suppression more than 100 copies/ml, and CD4+ cell counts less than 200 cells/&mgr;l. We estimated model parameters using generalized estimating equations, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables. Results:From May 2007 to March 2010, we followed 284 participants for a median of 22 months. At baseline 54.6% of participants were food-insecure. Food insecurity was associated with increased odds of ART nonadherence [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.48; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.19–1.85], incomplete viral load suppression (AOR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.04–1.61), and CD4+ cell counts less than 200 cells/&mgr;l (AOR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.01–1.56). When we included ART adherence in adjusted models for incomplete viral suppression and CD4+ cell counts less than 200 cells/&mgr;l, the magnitude of the effect decreased slightly. Conclusion:Food insecurity was associated with poor HIV outcomes, including nonadherence, in a longitudinal study of US-based HIV-infected unstably housed individuals. Efforts to address food insecurity should be included in HIV-treatment programs, and may help improve health outcomes.


We describe a case of hepatic giant cavernous hemangioma with both microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA) and consumption coagulopathy, but without thrombocytopenia, which was completely cured by surgical resection of the tumor. The patient was a 54-yr-old Japanese woman whose chief complaint was right upper abdominal discomfort. Angiography and dynamic computed tomography revealed typical findings of hepatic cavernous hemangioma. The patient also had hematological disorders. At surgery, we performed an atypical right lobectomy to preserve as much normal liver tissue as possible. The patient has been well, with no related complaints or abnormal laboratory findings, 5 yr since her operation. This case indicates that giant cavernous hemangioma of the liver should be considered in the differential diagnosis of MAHA, and if surgical treatment is adequate, hematological abnormalities may be eliminated.


The relationship between serum adipocytokines level and insulin resistance (IR) in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is unclear. Sixty-one patients with PCOS were divided into an IR group (n = 31) and a non-IR group (n = 30) using homeostasis model assessment (HOMA). Serum levels of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, estradiol, progesterone, total testosterone, insulin, glucose, and adipocytokines were measured by radioimmunoassay or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The serum adiponectin level in women with PCOS and IR was lower than that of non-IR PCOS patients (P < 0.05); however, there were no significant differences between the two groups with regard to resistin, leptin, and leptin receptor levels (P > 0.05). And the levels of adipocytokines and IR are significantly correlated; consequently, adipocytokines may be involved in the development of IR in PCOS patients.


Abstract In a 28-year-old female, seven recurrent pneumothoraces occurred during a period of 2 years despite multiple thoracic interventions, all on the left thoracic side. Despite profound differential diagnostic analysis, the underlying cause remains unclear. An accumulation of conditions in this patient affecting only the left half of the body is remarkable: sinistral glaucoma as an infant, a sinistral pigmentation disorder, and a sinistral Bochdalek hernia.


Most of today's public cloud services provide dedicated compute and memory resources but they do not provide any dedicated network resources. The shared network can be a major cause of the well known "noisy neighbor" problem, which is a growing concern in public cloud services like Amazon EC2. Network reservations, therefore, are of prime importance for the Cloud. However, a tenant's network demand would usually keep changing over time and thus, a static one-time reservation would either lead to poor performance or resource wastage (and higher cost). In this context, we present Equinox - a system that automatically reserves end-to-end bandwidth for a tenant based on the predicted demand and adapts this reservation with time. We leverage flow monitoring support in virtual switches to collect flow data that helps us predict demand at a future time. We use a combination of vswitch based rate-limiting and OpenFlow based flow rerouting to provision end-to-end bandwidth requirements. We have implemented Equinox in an OpenStack environment with OpenFlow based network control. Our experimental results, using traces based on Facebook's production data centers, show that Equinox can provide up to 47% reduction in bandwidth cost as compared to a static reservation scheme while providing the same efficiency in terms of flow completion times.


The field of household finance has established a correlation between savings behavior and education, income, and race. This is partly explained by a high discount rate ultimately leading to low social status. Chapter 1 establishes causation in the opposite direction, with a relatively low social status position leading to a relatively high discount rate. The method used is experimental, with 154 subjects interacting in high- or low-status assignments. The subsequent change in intertemporal preference is significantly determined by the status assignment. The effect is strongest among the subjects who initially have higher discount rates and does not depend on the sex of the subject. This result implies low status consumers have higher discount rates and make worse financial choices because of their low social status, a finding that must be addressed in the regulation of consumer financial products.The evolution of uniquely exaggerated traits in humans is a topic that generates considerable interest and debate. In Chapter 2 I present an integrated theory that is based on the relationship between the individual and the group. This relationship involves diverse incentives---rewards and punishments---being applied by societies to their members, creating an evolutionary force. While the implications of direct incentives have been considered previously, I propose an indirect and potentially far more powerful incentive: social status. Through the awarding and withholding of social status, societies favor diverse psychological and morphological traits including intelligence, knowledge, norm-following, language ability, singing ability, and altruism towards one's group. Social status grants individuals proximate benefits in social interactions and ultimate benefits in inclusive fitness, at least in pre-industrial societies. Hence social status acts as a social incentive and is a component of a wider evolutionary force that I term prosocial selection. In discussing the social bases of prosocial selection, I highlight both the desire of group members to have incentive systems that benefit themselves, and group selection, here the selection of groups with fitter incentive systems. In discussing the psychological bases of prosocial selection, I highlight genetic predisposition, behavioral conditioning, awareness of intrinsic incentives, and awareness of social incentives. Finally, I discuss the altruism generated through prosocial selection, termed social altruism, and contrast it with established theories of altruism. As a coherent theory of the evolution of many human behaviors, prosocial selection requires a considered debate.Why are low-income households less likely to save than high-income households? In Chapter 3, I argue the cross-sectional relationship is explained by low status consumers being more impulsive. Formal tests using the Survey of Consumer Finances support this Status and Impulsiveness Hypothesis, while the Permanent Income Hypothesis and the Life Cycle Hypothesis are not supported. A decomposition of income allows me to determine the relative contributions of the different hypotheses towards the Income-Savings relationship: the SIH explains 85%; the PIH 14%; and the LCH 1%.


Infective neuropathies encompass neuropathies that are among the most common in the world. Retroviral infection, which includes infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, has now spread worldwide. This virus is responsible for a number of disabling peripheral neuropathies, either from the immune reaction that follows penetration of the virus into nervous system of the host, or by opportunistic infection secondary to the major cellular immunodeficit induced by gradual destruction of lymphocytes bearing the CD4 antigen on their surface. In the other class of retroviruses, human T lymphotrophic viruses (HTLV), which are responsible for the HTLV-l-associated myelopathy or tropical spastic paraparesis, peripheral nerve involvement and inflammatory myopathy are less common and milder than in HIV infection. Leprosy continues to pose problems concerning the understanding of the immune mechanisms that lead to the various patterns of nerve lesions encountered in this condition. Chagas' disease, which is due to infection with Trypanosoma cruzi, affects more than 15 million people in Latin America. It is accompanied by mostly subclinical peripheral nerve involvement and by cardiac manifestations from lesions of the autonomic nervous system and cardiac muscle.


A deterministic excitation (DE) paradigm is formulated, according to which the abrupt late Pleistocene glacial terminations correspond to the excitation, by the orbital forcing, of nonlinear relaxation oscillations (ROs) internal to the climate system in the absence of any stochastic parameterization. Specific rules are derived from the DE paradigm: they parameterize internal climate feedbacks, which, when activated by the crossing of certain tipping points, excite a RO. Such rules are then applied to the output of an energy-balance model simulating the fluctuations induced by realistic orbital forcing on the glacial state. The timing of the glacial terminations, thus, obtained in a reference simulation is found to be in good agreement with proxy records. A sensitivity analysis insures the robustness of the timing. The potential irrelevance of noise allowing DE to hold is discussed, and a possible explanation of the 100-kyr cycle problem based on DE is outlined. In conclusion, the DE paradigm provides the simplest possible dynamical systems characterization of the link between orbital forcing and glacial terminations implied by the Milankovitch hypothesis.


This paper presents an analysis of displacement damage produced in niobium, which has potential use as the first wall material of a fusion reactor. Lindhard's formalism was used together with cross sections taken from the UK nuclear data file on niobium. Data sets describing damage energy created at various neutron incident energies were generated. It was calculated that: The ratio of damage density (ie mean damage energy × cross section) at 14 MeV to that at 1 MeV is 3·5 to 1·00. The damage energy data sets were integrated over two different neutron spectra in order to compare the total effects. The spectra were taken from: (a) the first wall of a model fusion reactor, with a total flux of 2·8 × 1015 neutrons/cm2 s; (b) the core centre of the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR), total flux 2·5 × 1015 neutrons/cm2 s. Analysis showed that the number of atomic displacements per atom per year is 165 displacements for spectrum (a); 78 displacements for spectrum (b). The ratio of damage density (ie mean damage energy × cross section) at 14 MeV to that at 1 MeV is 3·5 to 1·00. The damage energy data sets were integrated over two different neutron spectra in order to compare the total effects. The spectra were taken from: (a) the first wall of a model fusion reactor, with a total flux of 2·8 × 1015 neutrons/cm2 s; (b) the core centre of the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR), total flux 2·5 × 1015 neutrons/cm2 s. Analysis showed that the number of atomic displacements per atom per year is 165 displacements for spectrum (a); 78 displacements for spectrum (b).


Flame-retardant epoxy resin (EP) composites were prepared by the incorporation of a phenethyl-bridged DOPO derivative (DiDOPO) and modified layered double hydroxide (OLDH). In addition, the flame-retardant behaviour, thermal stability, synergism between DiDOPO and OLDH, and mechanical properties of the flame-retardant EP composites were examined. The introduction of a specific amount of OLDH in the intumescent flame-retardant EP led to considerable enhancement in flame retardancy, thermal stability, and mechanical properties. Furthermore, the effects of DiDOPO and OLDH on the flame-retardant properties of the EP composites were characterised by the limiting oxygen index (LOI) as well as the UL-94 vertical burning and cone calorimeter tests (CCT). The LOI of the EP/DiDOPO5/OLDH5 composites increased from 21.8% to 31.5%, and the composites exhibited the V-0 rating in the UL-94 vertical burning test. Moreover, the EP/DiDOPO5/OLDH5 composite exhibited the highest tensile strength and a low peak heat release rate and the total heat release values. In addition, scanning electron microscopy observation revealed a considerably more continuous, compact char residue for the EP/DiDOPO/OLDH composite. Thermogravimetric analysis and CCT revealed that DiDOPO and OLDHs exert gas- and condensed-phase flame-retardant effects. Overall, different flame retardant performance is related to the characteristics of each composite; dispersion state in the EP matrix; and structural changes during burning.


AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
To identify the factors that predict maternal state anxiety when mothers and their sick children visit the outpatient unit of a paediatric hospital.

BACKGROUND
While previous studies have focused on predictors of anxiety in mothers with ill children, the existing literature is limited in study design, research timing, respondent characteristics, sample size and data analysis.

DESIGN
A cross-sectional design with self-administered questionnaires.

METHODS
Mothers were recruited from the outpatient unit of a Japanese paediatric hospital (N = 1077). Participants' state anxiety scores were collected using the Japanese version of Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The independent variables were the mothers' and sick children's background information.

RESULTS
Participants were 1077 mothers; 990 provided valid responses. Mothers' mean state anxiety score was 49·72. Significant predictors of maternal anxiety were mothers' childrearing anxiety, child age, the sick child having a fever, sick child having siblings, having a person providing childrearing support, the mother's first visit to the hospital, out-of-hours visit and severity of the child's illness. The overall model explained 21·6% of the variance (multiple regression analysis).

CONCLUSIONS
As various factors predicted maternal anxiety, identifying methods to address these factors may reduce maternal state anxiety.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
There is potential for improved understanding of the predictors of maternal state anxiety to aid in the development of materials that would best measure anxiety. The present findings may also suggest some means of providing appropriate information and support to anxious mothers. Our findings cannot demonstrate causation, however, and teaching methods and supportive practices were not investigated; therefore, a qualitative study on the concrete content of maternal anxiety and an intervention study to create support services for anxious mothers is required. In addition, prospective or longitudinal studies are also important for investigating causation.


Counterfactual fairness requires that a person would have been classified in the same way by an AI or other algorithmic system if they had a different protected class, such as a different race or gender. This is an intuitive standard, as reflected in the U.S. legal system, but its use is limited because counterfactuals cannot be directly observed in real-world data. On the other hand, group fairness metrics (e.g., demographic parity or equalized odds) are less intuitive but more readily observed. In this paper, we use $\textit{causal context}$ to bridge the gaps between counterfactual fairness, robust prediction, and group fairness. First, we motivate counterfactual fairness by showing that there is not necessarily a fundamental trade-off between fairness and accuracy because, under plausible conditions, the counterfactually fair predictor is in fact accuracy-optimal in an unbiased target distribution. Second, we develop a correspondence between the causal graph of the data-generating process and which, if any, group fairness metrics are equivalent to counterfactual fairness. Third, we show that in three common fairness contexts$\unicode{x2013}$measurement error, selection on label, and selection on predictors$\unicode{x2013}$counterfactual fairness is equivalent to demographic parity, equalized odds, and calibration, respectively. Counterfactual fairness can sometimes be tested by measuring relatively simple group fairness metrics.