Employee motivation is one of the most popular discuss in management and organizational psychology studies with several motivational theories developed over the past seven decades. However, the universal validity of these motivational theories including Herzberg's Two Factor motivation theory is controversial. The purpose of the current study is to analyse the factors affecting employees' motivation based on Herzberg's hygiene factors theory and to ascertain the viability of the Herzberg's hygiene theory in today's scenario. Survey design together with convenience sampling was employed to select respondents working at the Nigerian Institutes for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) in Benin City. The instrument used is a well-constructed questionnaire designed by the researcher to solicit responses from a sample size of 67 employees working at the main station of NIFOR. Using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, the reliability was calculated to be 0.60. Friedman's' test results show that among all Herzberg' hygiene factors affecting motivation, salary and wages is most perceived while job security is ranked lowest. Furthermore, the regression analysis results obtained from this study show that only the hygiene factor of Job Security revealed a statistically significant positive effect on employee motivation. Hence, the study recommends among others that management should consider policies that will promote the level ofjob security of staff in the course offormulating reward policies. This should be mixed with policies that will enable growth-inducing tasks in job content. By implication, a proper mix of this combination will spark positive responses from the employees and automatically stimulate work motivation in the workplace.


Background and importance It is well documented that direct acting antiviral (DAA) combinations in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) achieve high rates of sustained virologic response. However, studies on retreatment options for patients who have failed several DAA treatment regimens that include non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) inhibitors remain scarce. Aim and objectives To assess the efficacy of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir plus sofosbuvir and ribavirin for 12 weeks in genotype 1b patient with compensated cirrhosis who had virologic failure to multiple treatments including regimens containing NS5A inhibitors. Material and methods A 50-year-old man failed multiple hepatitis C treatments, including peginterferon plus ribavirin (2003) for 9 months, sofosbuvir/ledipasvir plus ribavirin (2014) for 24 weeks, sofosbuvir/simeprevir plus ribavirin (2015) for 24 weeks and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir plus ribavirin (2018) for 24 weeks. Adherence to these treatments was correct according to the dispensing records. Headache, fatigue, anaemia, nausea and pruritus were reported with oral treatments, but drug withdrawal was not required. However, peginterferon was stopped due to anxiety and depression. There are no specific algorithms to guide retreatment decisions. These must be guided by the drugs administered in previous treatment courses or, if resistance testing is performed, by probabilities of response according to the resistance profile and the treating team's experience. Resistance testing showed resistance to NS5A inhibitors: daclatasvir, elvasvir, ledipasvir, ombitasvir and velpatasvir, but not to pibrentasvir. The multidisciplinary team decided on a new treatment with glecaprevir/pibrentasvir plus sofosbuvir and ribavirin for 12 weeks and it was started in November 2019. Prior to treatment, drug interactions were checked. An undetectable HCV RNA level 12 weeks after completion of therapy (SVR12) defined treatment success. Results Two potential drug interactions were detected: (1) gemfibrozil was discontinued because of the increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects; (2) due to the potential increase in carvedilol concentrations, close monitoring of heart rate and blood pressure was recommended. The patient achieved SVR12 with the fifth hepatitis C treatment with glecaprevir/pibrentasvir plus sofosbuvir and ribavirin for 12 weeks. The treatment was well tolerated, and adherence was correct. Conclusion and relevance In this particularly difficult to cure cirrhotic patient previously exposed to NS5A inhibitors, the combination of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir plus sofosbuvir and ribavirin administered for 12 weeks achieved SVR12. References and/or acknowledgements Conflict of interest No conflict of interest


Where and how have precolonial institutions of conflict resolution remained intact? Although it is often argued that "traditional" institutions can play a key role in managing communal conflicts, little is known about the conditions of their "survival." This article argues that historical, political, and cultural topographies are essential to understanding patterns of the persistence and demise of precolonial institutions. Traditional modes of conflict resolution remain strong where they have been internalized over centuries: in the cultural and political centers of precolonial states. I use original geocoded survey data and historical spatial information on precolonial Burundi to analyze this hypothesis. The estimations yield robust correlations between the geographic patterns of the precolonial kingdom and current modes of resource-related conflict resolution.


Prioritising emergency bridgeworks assessment has been a key to winning battles in combat circumstances because of soldier safety, attack or defence tactics, and logistic supply ability. However, an imprecise or vague satisfaction level of importance of criteria may also affect the prioritising evaluation of bridgeworks under military consideration. In this paper, the fuzzy set theory is employed to treat this aspect. With linguistic variables, fuzzy numbers and an enhanced fuzzy weighted average approach will be used. The proposed approach is used to investigate an example to illustrate its applications in emergency bridgeworks assessment. The approach is shown to be useful and effective. In order to make computing and ranking results easier and to increase recruiting productivity, a computer-based decision support system has been developed, which may help the commander make decisions more efficiently. Defence Science Journal, 2010, 60(4), pp.451-461 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.60.485


Abstract Gastralia are dermal ossifications situated in the ventral abdominal wall. Gastralia may be plesiomorphic for tetrapods, but are only retained in extant Crocodylia and Sphenodon, and possibly as part of the chelonian plastron. In contrast to previously published reports, a similar structural configuration of the gastralia is shared throughout prosauropods and (non-ornithurine) theropods. Within the Prosauropoda and Theropoda, the gastralial system consists of approximately 8 to 21 metameric rows. Each row consists of four bones: two lateral and two medial rods. Gastralia of the cranialmost or caudalmost rows may coalesce, forming a median chevron-shaped gastralium. The lateral gastralia articulate in parallel with the medial gastralia in an elongated groove. The medial gastralia imbricate with contralateral gastralia along the ventral midline, creating a series of cranially directed chevrons. Thus all the gastralia are connected to one another, and operate as a single functional unit. The bones recently identified as sauropod gastralia show no morphological similarities with the gastralia of prosauropods and theropods and are probably sternal elements. No gastralia have been recovered in the Ornithischia. In contrast to the reduction of the gastralia in other amniote groups, theropod gastralia show elaborate modification. The anatomy of the gastralial system indicates a more active function than abdominal support or protection. The gastralia may have affected the shape and volume of the trunk in theropods, and may have functioned as an accessory component of the aspiration pump, increasing tidal volume. Moreover, if the caudal region of the lungs in some theropods had differentiated to form abdominal air-sacs, the gastralia might have ventilated them. Gastralial aspiration may have been linked to the generation of small pressure differences between potential cranial and caudal lung diverticula, which may have been important for the evolution of the unidirectional airflow lung of birds.


Introduction The delivery of services to improve Aboriginal health and well-being must centre culture and integrate a social and emotional well-being understanding and approaches. These approaches are essential in increasing access to, and engagement with, health services, as well as ensuring culturally safe, person-centred and community-centred care. This study will evaluate the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia's social and emotional well-being model of service being piloted in five Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services across five of Western Australia's regions. The model of service includes the establishment of interdisciplinary social and emotional well-being teams and a four-pillar approach to service delivery. Methods and analysis An Aboriginal Participatory Action Research methodology will be undertaken which calls for Indigenous leadership and governance, capacity-building of community co-researchers and engagement in reflexive practice. The evaluation will take a mixed-methods approach to data collection, including at each pilot site, yarns with up to five clients engaging with social and emotional well-being services; qualitative interviews with up to five service providers at each site, and up to five key knowledge holders from stakeholders including funders and commissioning bodies; the collection of clinical data; facilitated discussion using the social and emotional well-being Systems Assessment Tool; and document analysis and cost-estimation. Analysis will be guided by a client journey mapping framework, and data will be collectively analysed through a socioecological framework to understand the connections and inter-relatedness between client outcomes and experiences, social and emotional well-being team and service provider experiences, service systems and governance structures. Ethics and dissemination This evaluation was approved by the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (HREC1204). The findings will be disseminated through the production of an evaluation report and academic publications and presentations. Findings will also be disseminated through community forums and plain language summaries. These outputs will detail evaluation findings and recommendations, the process of evaluation through an Aboriginal Participatory Action Research approach and the collaborative stakeholder relationship-building that underpinned the project.


The Republic of Benin strives to become an agricultural power and emerging economy in the medium term. Many reforms were undertaken in various sectors to achieve this vision and numerous partnerships created regionally and internationally. However, the implementation of state policies involves different interpretations that can empower some actors over others in access to natural resources. Through an ethnographic study conducted for ten months in Gogounou district (North Benin), we scrutinized how state policies influence the relationships between grassroots actors who co-use resources. We adopted a political ecology perspective, assuming that ecological changes at the local level are highly correlated with the unbalanced power relations between actors. We also borrowed elements from actor-network theory that uses the concept of "translation" to show how a technology promoted in a given context can acquire meanings that the designers had never imagined. We found that the translation power with regard to different technologies provided through state policies is crucial in the way farmers and pastoralists use and control resources and thus impact on their peaceful interactions. The farmers in Gogounou were able to use herbicides supplied by private businesses for crop production to contest with herders by spraying the chemicals on large cultivated and uncultivated areas. They were also able to use seedlings provided through reforestation and environmental projects to increase their cashew plantations on rangeland, animal corridors and Fulani settlement areas. The farmers of Gogounou could also use the Rural Tenure Plans established in some villages within a context of new land policy to reassert their autochthony over Fulani pastoralists, and thereby challenge the latter's citizenship and claim ownership of local land. These strategies led to forms of farmers' acquisition of rangeland that make it difficult for pastoralism to continue in the region. The future seems increasingly uncertain for the Fulani of northern Benin, who are sometimes forced to migrate to other countries (Togo and Ghana). Our results could help create greater awareness of the ways farmers are giving different meanings to the promoted technologies and could lead to political action that allows more equitable access to local resources for all users.


Purpose – as the largest share of national money assets is concentrated in banks, their profitability is important not only for shareholder but also for the whole economy. The aim of this paper is to analyse the influence of the structure of total assets and its liquidity on overall success in the Croatian banking industry.
Research methodology – in order to achieve the main purpose the cross-section regression models will be estimated which will include standard profitability indicators and various liquidity and assets indices.
Findings – the results of the analysis show that the level and the structure of total assets, as well as the level of its liquidity, significantly influence its profitability.
Research limitations – the analysis in this paper is limited to the influence of the asset side of the bank balance sheet in cross-section conditions. Therefore this research could be considered as a preliminary one and should be expanded by introducing the other indicators from liability in wider time horizons.
Practical implications – the results outlined in this paper could be practical guidelines for successful asset management which is prerequisite for achieving an adequate financial performance in the banking business.
Originality/Value – according to our knowledge, research of this phenomenon is very rare, so this is one of the first papers considering the impact of asset structure on bank performance for the Croatian banking system.


Hard carbon, as the most promising commercial anode materials of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), has suffered from the coupling limitations on initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE), capacity, and rate capability. Herein, to break such coupling limitations, sulfur-rich nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials (S-NC) were synthesized by a synergistic modification strategy, including structure/morphology regulation and dual heteroatom doping. The small specific surface area of S-NC is beneficial for inhibiting excessive growth of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film and irreversible interfacial reaction. The covalent S can serve as active electrochemical sites by Faradaic reactions and provide extra capacity. Benefit by N, S co-doping, S-NC shows large interlayer spacing, high defects, good electronic conductivity, strong ion adsorption performance, and fast Na+ ion transport, which combined with a more significant pore volume result in speedier reaction kinetics. Hence, S-NC possesses a high reversible specific capacity of 464.7 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 with a high ICE of 50.7%, excellent rate capability (209.8 mAh g-1 at 10.0 A g-1), and superb long-cycle capability delivering a capacity of 229.0 mAh g-1 (85% retention) after 1800 cycles at 5.0 A g-1.


This book presents a sweeping view of boxing in the United States and the influence of the sport on American culture.
 Boxing has long been a popular fixture of American sport and culture, despite its decidedly seedy side (the fact that numerous boxing champions acquired their skills in prison or reform schools, the corruption and greed of certain boxing promoters, and the involvement of the mob in fixing the outcome of many big fights). Yet boxing remains an iconic and widely popular spectator sport, even in light of its decline as a result of the recent burgeoning interest in mixed martial arts (MMA) contests. What had made this sport so enthralling to our nation for such a long period of time?
 This book contains much more than simple documentation of the significant dates, people, and bouts in the history of American boxing. It reveals why boxing became one of America's leading spectator sports at the turn of the century and examines the factors that have swayed the public's perception of it, thereby affecting its popularity. In Boxing in America, the author provides a compelling view of not only the pugilist sport, but also of our country, our sources of entertainment, and ourselves.


The bioactive glass, 45S5, has been proposed for the treatment of dentine hypersensitivity due to its ability to physiochemically occlude dentinal tubules. However, its biological effects on the dentine-pulp complex require further elucidation. The aims of this study were to characterise the ionic dissolution products of bioactive glass and observe their effects on both pulpal cells and the dentine extracellular matrix. The ability of bioactive glass to release dentine matrix components (DMCs) in the presence of a physiological fluid, saline, was investigated. The bioactive glass-released DMCs were characterised biochemically and compared with those released by EDTA, a well-established extractant, using high-throughput proteomic techniques. Results revealed the differential solubilisation of a broad range of proteins, including growth factors and other bioactive molecules, many of which had not previously been identified in dentine. In vitro analysis of dental pulp cells exposed to DMCs released by bioactive glass in saline solution demonstrated a dose-dependent increase in cell proliferation, whilst the direct effects of the ionic dissolution products of bioactive glass were also stimulatory to OD-21 cells. The positive responses of cells to bioactive glass-released DMCs and its ionic dissolution products indicates exciting potential to harness bioactive approaches therapeutically for dentine tissue repair and regeneration.


The activity of cyanide-sensitive, Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) was studied in liver sytosols from H-2 congenic strains of mice. Higher SOD activity was found in livers of mice having H-2b/A.BY, B10, and C3H.SW/haplotypes than in those of H-2a, H-2k and H-2d haplotypes. Segregation studies supported these correlations. In H-2 recombinant strains of mice, the genes influencing the liver SOD activity occur, as ascertained by mapping techniques, at or near the H-2d region of the major histocompatibility complex.


Burnt mounds and copper arrived on the scene in the British Isles at about the same time, at the beginning of the Neolithic to Bronze Age transition in the mid-3(^rd) millennium BC. Burnt mounds disappeared from that scene when iron was in process of replacing copper as the pre-eminent metal of the British Isles by about 500BC. Are burnt mounds and copper, then, directly related? Specifically, were burnt mound sites locations where some or all of the stages of the earliest forms of copper production took place? The research described in this paper is an initial attempt to find out. The first three chapters review and examine what is known both of burnt mounds in the British Isles and of the earliest copper production, the latter mainly from other pans of the world, since so few early copper processing sites have yet been discovered in the British Isles. Chapter 3 also compares features found at burnt mound sites with the requirements of early copper production, as far as they are known. In Chapters 4 and 5 attempts are made to test, by geochemical and geographic means, whether there is a direct relationship between burnt mounds and copper production. In Chapter 4, EDXRF is used to determine concentrations of copper and other elements in three burnt mounds, and in Chapter 5 known locations both of burnt mounds and copper sources are mapped and compared to find out whether burnt mounds are grouped close to copper sources. Chapter 6 evaluates the overall results and recommends a variety of additional types of research to more closely approach an answer to the title of this paper.


PurposeRestoration of walking ability is a key goal to both stroke survivors and their therapists. However, the intensity and duration of rehabilitation available after stroke can be limited by service constraints, despite the potential for improvement which could reduce health service demands in the long run. The purpose of this paper is to present qualitative findings from a study that explored the acceptability of a haptic device aimed at improving walking as part of an extended intervention in stroke rehabilitation.Design/methodology/approachPre-trial focus groups and post-trial interviews to assess the acceptability of Haptic Bracelets were undertaken with seven stroke survivors.FindingsFive themes were identified as impacting on the acceptability of the Haptic Bracelet: potential for improving quality of life; relationships with technology; important features; concerns; response to trial and concentration. Participants were interested in the haptic bracelet and hoped it would provide them with more confidence making them: feel safer when walking; have greater ability to take bigger strides rather than little steps; a way to combat mistakes participants reported making due to tiredness and reduced pain in knees and hips.Originality/valueHaptic Bracelets are an innovative development in the field of rhythmic cueing and stroke rehabilitation. The haptic bracelets also overcome problems encountered with established audio-based cueing, as their use is not affected by external environmental noise.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon 10.1108/JET-01-2021-0003


In public health, it is desirable that scientists and policy makers communicate their knowledge effectively or run the risks of barriers in language and understanding. More incentives and opportunities to collaborate will help scientists and policy makers appreciate their different goals, career paths, attitudes towards information, and perception of time.1 2 Knowledge brokers can also bring scientists and policy makers closer to understanding each other and the contribution each can make to the other.1 2

Based on a consideration of three types of key players (scientists, policy makers, and knowledge brokers), each divided into two categories (content and people) (table 1), six ways are suggested to bridge the gap between scientists and policy makers.

View this table:

Table 1 Six ways to bridge the gap between scientists and policy makers

1. Convey science contents to policy makers

Research outputs should be made accessible to policy makers.1 In some cases, complex analyses must be simplified3 and stepped …


Abstract Genetic diversity of a red clover global collection was assessed using 36 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers representing all seven linkage groups (LGs). The number of fragments amplified ranged from 1 to 6 for all the primers. Primer RCS0060 detected highest number of fragments, whereas four SSRs viz., RCS0899, RCS1594, TPSSR40 and RCS6927 amplified single fragment. Size range of amplicons generated by all the primers varied from 100 to 400 bp. Polymorphism information content values ranged from 0.301 to 0.719 with an average value of 0.605. LG wise diversity analysis showed that LG 3 was most diverse (I = 0.65, Ht = 0.44), whereas LG-1 showed minimum diversity (I = 0.48, Ht = 0.26) for the microsatellites used. Bayesian model-based clustering inferred three genetically distinct populations in the red clover germplasm holding and showed considerable admixture in individuals within clusters. Neighbour-joining analysis showed intermixing of accessions within groups. Principal component analysis plot complemented the clustering shown by Structure and distinguished three populations to greater extent. Analysis of molecular variance showed that 91% of the genetic variation was residing within populations, while 9% variation was among populations. Overall, the results showed that a high level of genetic diversity is prevailing in this worldwide collection of red clover, which can be exploited for its genetic improvement through breeding approaches.


A method to detect low levels of infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) in environmental samples has been developed. The method is based on concentrating the viruses by tangential flow filtration and ultracentrifugation prior to amplification of the extracted viral RNA by nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In the current investigation, seawater samples from salmon holdings were used for ISAV identification. ISAV was detected in seawater samples from a salmon holding site and from a vessel transporting salmon in 2 consecutive trials of the methodology. When known concentrations of ISAV were added to 21 of sea water, 5.5 viruses ml(-1) (corresponding to a tissue culture titer of TCID50 1.6 x 10(-2) ml(-1)) were detected using this method.


We present results on the design, fabrication, and measurement of 1.5 THz waveguide niobium titanium nitride (NbTiN) superconducting hot electron bolometer (HEB) mixers. The NbTiN HEB mixer element is made from a 12 nm thick NbTiN thin film deposited on a crystalline quartz substrate at room temperature. The Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) measurement shows that the response of the HEB mixer is centered near 1.3 THz with a bandwidth of about 400 GHz. The uncorrected DSB receiver noise temperature is measured to be 1700 K at 1.5 THz, whereas the mixer noise temperature is 1000 K after correction of quasi-optical and IF chain losses. The required LO power absorbed in the HEB mixer is evaluated to be 340 nW by using an isothermal technique. The IF gain bandwidth is supposed to be about 1.3 GHz or higher. The present results show that good performance can be obtained for the NbTiN HEB mixer even with a relatively thick film (12 nm) fabricated at the room temperature.


Abstract A coupled atmosphere-ocean model is used to investigate some important effects of a steep sloping thermocline in the, central Pacific. It is found that the coupled modes are very sensitive to the steepness of the thermocline in the central Pacific Ocean. The wave reflection and modal decomposition processes play an important role in the initial development of the unstable mode and dramatically affect the fates of the oscillation. A sensitivity test is conducted to test the role of western boundary reflection in this particular model. The insensitivity of the western boundary reflection seems to agree with the results of previous research that showed that coupled unstable modes do not necessarily depend on Rossby wave reflections.


Internal audit function (IAF) effectiveness can be improved by embracing Audit Analytics (AA). However, despite its promises, AA implementation remains limited. Although there is research on AA implementation in general, there needs to be an overview of insight into inhibiting and driving factors for internal auditing. This paper examines those driving and inhibiting factors by exploring the literature on AA implementation. The initial search revealed 98 uniquely identified papers. Further filtering and the additional search returned 42 articles, which were analyzed in detail. The analysis resulted in 12 driving and 23 inhibiting factors, grouped into internal, regulation, data, infrastructure, and audit practice categories. The literature shows that IAF encounters multiple and intertwined factors in AA implementation and needs to anticipate those factors. Moreover, AA implementation affects IAF's parts and stakeholders differently, requiring internal and external collaboration. Building on these insights, we provide recommendations for further research.
 JEL Classifications: M42; M49; O32.


Purpose - This paper deals with flexibilisation of work and employment in large-scale retailing. Its aim is two-fold: first, to highlight how an authoritarian workplace regime and normative forms of control interact, in the attempt to achieve workforce alignment to flexibility. Second, to explore how employees make sense of experienced workplace conflicts, and to what extent they are able to develop capacities to act and to influence their working conditions. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on a qualitative study undertaken in four large-scale retailing companies in the Italian city of Milan. It is based on 45 semi-structured, problem-centred interviews with employees, shop stewards and union officers. Findings - Analysis reveals how control manifests in "forced availability" based on individualised, informal daily flexibilisation, and sustained by resulting precarisation. Employees are active participants, as the functioning of the work organization depends on their capacity to balance in-built contradictions. Yet, their capacity to act remains limited. They are trapped by individualised concepts of labour relations: a merit-oriented understanding of work as a "fair exchange" and a personalised perception of social relations and interactions at the work place. Research limitations/implications - The research encountered challenges in accessing temporary employees due to their fear of negative repercussions. This makes the sample slightly biased towards permanent, part time and fulltime, employment. Yet, it is also an opportunity, as it makes it possible to map experiences of precarisation across different employee groups. Originality/value - Using the concepts of "coping practices", "common sense" and "capacity to act", the paper proposes to go beyond the dualisms of the resistance-control debate. It points at the contradictory and interlinked character of employees' coping practices of adaptation, appropriation, conflictive negotiation and resistance.


Built laundry detergent compositions containing specific mixtures of selected anionic, nonionic and water-soluble cationic surfactants. The compositions are especially effective in removing greasy soil from fabrics.


Background Levosimendan is a positive inotropic drug that was approved in our country for the short term treatment of acute decompensation in chronic heart failure in situations where conventional treatment is not sufficient. There are few studies on off-label levosimendan use. Purpose To analyse the use of levosimendan in medical and surgical patients assigned to cardiology and surgery cardiac care units. Material and methods Descriptive observational study from January to December 2014 in a general teaching hospital with 717 functioning beds. All patients who received levosimendan infusion were included. The following variables were recorded: age, gender, indication, type of patient, New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), creatinine clearance (CrCl) by Cockcroft-Gault and death from any cause during the study period. The medical records were reviewed by the computer application Clinical Records v.5.41 Results 145 patients were included (29% female, 71% male), average age 68.5 ± 11.3 years. 46 patients were medical (31.7%) and 99 were surgical (68.3%). In the 46 medical patients, 33 received authorised use of levosimendan infusion; 24 with NYHA III and 9 with NYHA IV. Only 13 patients on the waiting list used levosimendan for its off-label use. Average LVEF was 26% and in 34/46 cases LVEF was <35%. In the 99 surgically treated patients, the main indications were post-surgery low output cardiac syndrome (92%), cardiogenic shock (7%) and right ventricular failure (1%). 19 patients died during the study (19%). In this group, 20% of patients had Clcr <30 mL/min. Thus the use of levosimendan was contraindicated in these cases of renal failure. Conclusion Levosimendan is used according to the label indications in most patients and only off-label use was found for patients on waiting lists for heart transplants. In our study, the majority of uses of levosimendan were in patients after cardiac surgery where one of the most common complications is postoperative renal failure. No conflict of interest.


This study describes a system for human sensibility evaluation using PPG(photoplethysmogram) signal and biofeedback algorithm to respond the bad(negative) mood. For this objective, PPG signals for two emotional states(positive/negative) are collected. To evoke the test emotions, happy(or joyful) and sad(or irritating) movie files are collected and played in subjects' monitor. From the acquired PPG signal, the heart rate variability(HRV) is calculated. Using the HRV and its FFT spectra, the human sensibility is evaluated. Since the heart is a representative organ which is controlled by the autonomic nervous system(ANS), the ANS may reflect the changes in emotion. The biofeedback algorithm is designed with motion image player interacting with the results of the sensibility evaluation. It was shown that HRV was changed according to the subject's emotions. Accordingly, the sensibility evaluation test showed feasibility of the our method.


This article argues that in the first verse of Catullus' epigram 85, the commonly found translation of quare as 'why' in English versions since the 17 th century, but particularly in translations produced in the last fifty years, cannot be accepted. In the context of Catullus's poetry, with poems 72 and 75 offering an explicit background to and rationale for the contradiction in the poet's feelings between love and hate, and in the light of the incontrovertible connotation of quare (or qua re ) as 'how' in a passage of Terence's Eunuchus , the correct translation of the word can only be 'how'. Some suggestions are made to account for the origins and the persis-tence of the mistranslation. The translation as 'why' in the prose version in the 1912 Loeb edition edited by F. W. Cornish is suggested to have influenced a generation of English-speaking students, and Martial's epigram 1.32 is invoked as a cause. But it is further argued that in taking Catullus's epigram as a model for his own, Martial may have expressly intended to suggest that the meaning of quare as 'why' that was current in his time was different in that very respect from the connotation 'how' clearly intended by his predecessor.


The fouling mechanism of rotating sieves (also called spinfilters) in suspended mammalian cells reactors is still poorly understood, and their design is consequently largely empirical. A laboratory set-up enabling constant flowrate filtration experiments is reported and its use described in order to study the fouling kinetics of 10 microns opening sieves by suspended hybridomas. Significant differences were obtained depending upon cell type and cell viability, under similar operating conditions. A roughly linear pressure drop increase, as predicted by constant flowrate incompressible cake filtration models, was obtained for most experiments. However, the influences of pumping flowrate and cell concentration on pressure drop evolution do not obey incompressible cake constant flowrate filtration laws; a surface colonization approach could possibly lead to a better description in that case.


This investigation was based on the working hypothesis that calcium phosphate intimately mixed into food has a caries-preventing ability. This hypothesis had its origin first in an experiment showing the retardation of enamel dissolution by the presence of calcium or phosphate ions, and, second, in a series of experiments in hamsters showing the inhibition of animal caries by the addition of various phosphates into the diet.


The purpose of this study was to determine the meaning of leisure of wife caregivers of older husbands. A sample of sixteen participants was developed through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed according to the constant comparative method. Loss of leisure and the connection between centrality of caregiving to identity and integration of leisure into everyday life emerged as predominant issues. Although all participants sacrificed leisure in order to provide care, some participants retained leisure. Two groups with different perspectives of leisure were discovered: integrated caregivers and non-integrated caregivers. Leisure had little meaning for non-integrated caregivers consumed by caregiving. Leisure was an important tool for integrated caregivers to cope with stress and maintain an identity separate from caregiving. Distinguishing between the two groups of women was not accomplished on the basis of a systematic pattern related to the caregiving. Individual personality and beliefs about caregiving were most indicative.


Background Successful management of HIV infection as a chronic condition has resulted in a demographic shift where the proportion of people living with HIV (PLWH) over 50 years of age is steadily increasing. A dedicated clinic to PLWH over 50 years of age was established at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in January 2009 and then extended to HIV services across the directorate. We report the results of a service evaluation reviewing 10 years of activities of this clinic. Aims and Methods Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of clinical records from patients attending the HIV over 50 service between January 2009-2019. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of major non-infectious comorbidities, polypharmacy [≥5 medications] and multi-morbidity [≥2 non-HIV related comorbidities] and describe algorithms devised for use in HIV outpatient clinics across the directorate. Results A cohort of 744 PLWH over 50 years of age attending this service were analysed (93% male; mean age of 56 ± 5.5 years; 84% white ethnicity); 97.7% were on antiretroviral treatment and 95.9% had undetectable HIV-RNA at the time of evaluation. The most common comorbidities diagnosed were dyslipidaemia (50.1%), hypertension (21.5%), mental-health disorders (depression and/or anxiety disorders, 15.7%), osteoporosis (12.2%), obesity (11.9%), chronic kidney disease (7.5%) and diabetes (5.8%). Low vitamin D levels were found in 62% of patients (43% with vitamin D deficiency [<40 mmol/L] and 57% with vitamin D insufficiency [40-70 mmol/L]. The overall prevalence of polypharmacy and multi-morbidity was 46.6% and 69.3%, respectively. Conclusions This study showed significant rates of non-HIV related comorbidities and polypharmacy in PLWH over the age of 50, leading on to the implementation of clinical care pathways and new joint HIV/specialty clinics (cardiology, nephrology, neurology, metabolic, menopause, geriatric) to improve prevention, diagnosis and management of major comorbidities in people aging with HIV.


To The Editor:

We would like to raise the following points regarding the article entitled "Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation and Osteochondral Cylinder Transplantation in Cartilage Repair of the Knee Joint" (2003;85:185-92), by Horas et al.

A German-language paper by the same authors presents what appears to be the same study comparing osteochondral cylinder transplantation (OCT) with autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI)1 and concludes that the two methods have equally good results. We would like to know why the paper published in The Journal comes to a different conclusion.

We commend the authors for publishing their raw data on the Internet. We note that the mean preoperative Lysholm score was lower in the ACI group.

If this is accounted for by analyzing the mean change in score, we find no significant difference between the two treatment groups at …

Corresponding author: U. Horas, MD, Department of Trauma Surgery, University of Giessen, Rudolf-Buchheim-Strasse 7, D-35385 Giessen, Germany, E-mail address for R. Schnettler:, reinhard.schnettler{at}chiru.med.uni-giessen.de


Numerical simulations of the active medium of an XeF(C—A) amplifier were used to determine the conditions for its spatially uniform excitation. It is shown that in the transient regime of the bleaching wave formation, the excitation efficiency increases with increasing steepness of the pump pulse leading edge. An optical source for pumping an XeF(C—A) amplifier was developed and investigated. The source is based on a radically new approach to the production of a large-area surface discharge (of the order of 100 cm2 and over) without using switches in the feed circuit connected in series with the discharge. Radiation pulses of the shortest duration (0.6–0.7 μs) for this kind of sources were obtained. There are grounds to believe that applying this source in a 50-cm long multipass amplifier will provide an overall gain of ~103.


Political campaigns running during the Israeli general elections of 2013 saw a rapidly growing use of new media. According to reports, most of the electronic campaign activity focused on candidates' or their respective party's Facebook page. This article explores the rhetorical dimensions of electronic campaigns and particularly focuses on the formation of the public image of three candidate, all of whom were identified with the promise of a 'new politics': Yair Lapid, head of the newly formed 'middle class party' Yesh Atid; Shelly Yachimovich, head of the Israeli Labour Party; and Naftali Bennett, newly elected head of the religious Zionist party, Habayit Hayehudi. The rhetorical analysis uncovers three discursive strategies used by all three candidates: informality, meta-textuality and narrativity. These discursive strategies transform the campaign microblogs into personal 'campaign diaries' used by the candidates to account for 'behind the scenes' anecdotes, impressions and insights. The analysis shows that candidates used personal Facebook microblogs to strengthen their image as authentic and complex characters, rather than mediated personas engineered by campaign managers. This article argues that such political images were strategically designed in order to support the campaigns' promise to break from the 'old politics' and warrant the candidates' commitment to the 'new politics'.


We show the equivalence between the Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian forms of a fourth-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation for a particular example of the physical system described by the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation with cubic nonlinearity.


The vibration control and health monitoring of building structures have been actively investigated in recent years but often treated separately according to the primary objective pursued. In this study, a time-domain integrated vibration control and health monitoring approach is proposed based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF) for identifying the physical parameters of the controlled building structures without the knowledge of the external excitation. The physical parameters and state vectors of the building structure are then estimated and used for the determination of the control force for the purpose of the vibration attenuation. The interaction between the health monitoring and vibration control is revealed and assessed. The feasibility and reliability of the proposed approach is numerically demonstrated via a five-story shear building structure equipped with magneto-rheological (MR) dampers. Two types of excitations are considered: (1) the EI-Centro ground excitation underneath of the building and (2) a swept-frequency excitation applied on the top floor of the building. Results show that the structural parameters as well as the unknown dynamic loadings could be identified accurately; and, at the same time, the structural vibration is significantly reduced in the building structure.


Indium oxide and indium zinc oxide composite (IZO) were prepared by sol-gel method and deposited on quartz substrate by dip coating technique. Two annealing temperatures (200 and 400C) and compositions were done. The structure and surface morphology of particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), FT-IR measurements. The XRD and AFM indicate decreasing in the particle size and improve of optical and electrical properties of composite with increasing of zinc oxide addition. The results of Hall measurements show that the In2O3 and its composite (IZO) have n-type.


The process of studying a foreign language in Russian higher education institutions is carried out in a specially organized linguo-didactic language environment which is understood as a methodological framework designed in accordance with the peculiarities of a linguo-cultural community. It is aimed at combining learning methods and techniques to implement them into pedagogical practice, ensuring the level-by-level development of students' language skills and complying with the international standards of language proficiency. The necessary modern basis for a linguo-didactic language environment is the use of Information and Communications Technology, which makes it possible to access the world of native speakers. The linguo-didacticlanguage environment creates socio-cultural communication patterns, provides an opportunity to become familiar with a different communication behavior, ensures students' participation in real communication expanding the boundaries of language learning situations and enriching their communication experience. The attributes of the language environment include audiovisual materials, speaking practice, spoken and written language as well as cultural background knowledge and different learning components. The subjective attributes of the language environment include students' cognitive activity, motivation and individual learning abilities. The conceptual model is aimed at teaching oral communication in a second foreign language in an artificial language environment which is based on the analysis and description of a current situation in the field of teaching a second foreign language at Russian universities, on perceiving a language situation as a basic education unit; on choosing the model of cross-cultural communication; on selecting the components of a natural language environment which have teaching potential and comply with the learning aims; on defining the learning methods; on creating the model of the designed environment.


Stem cell‐based regeneration of the heart has focused much scientific and public attention being cardiac diseases the major cause of disability and death in industrialized countries. Innumerable efforts have been taken to unveil the mechanisms undergoing stem cell proliferation and fate, but much remains to be endeavoured for their application in clinical practice. Nevertheless, the discovery of progenitor cells resident within the cardiac tissue has sparked off enthusiasm about the possibility of efficiently and safely engineering them to repair the injured myocardium. Indeed, the early applications of the cardiac progenitor cells, mostly based on simplistic concepts and techniques, have failed highlighting the prerequisite of expanding the knowledge about progenitor cell features and microenvironmental conditioning. In this review, recent information on resident cardiac progenitor cells has been systematically gathered in order to create a valuable instrument to support investigators in their efforts to establish an efficient cardiac cell therapy. J. Cell. Physiol. 224: 590–600, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


According to a widespread view, Russia is coming through the age of "wild markets," with entrepreneurs having no well-established, shared rules and conventions. This view is certainly too simplistic. Both advanced and emerging markets are never able to exist without trust and commitment among economic agents. However, economic actions are based upon different institutional arrangements. These arrangements are described by three types of ethical theories that treat the motives of economic agents; namely, egoistic ethics; utilitarian ethics; and deontological ethics. When following the logic of egoism, the agents are pursuing their own perceived economic self-interests, disregarding the moral codes and future consequences of their actions. In this sense, they are constrained mainly by external sanctions, including coercive pressures. Utilitarian modes of action seek to maximize the good. At the same time, they take care of future consequences and pay respect to business reputations ("organization capital"), following the norm "honesty pays." Deontological modes of action presume that the moral dimension is independent of economic interests and that moral codes are not necessarily backed by external sanctions. Actors are driven by their duties and commitments, which in turn are based upon customs and values. "Honesty is, in fact, primarily a moral choice.... We keep promises because we believe it is right to do so, not because it is good business." (1) I believe that all these analytical frames are applicable--that three modes of action normally coexist in business relationships, even though their combination may vary. In societies that are more or less stable, there is more ground for deontological motivations. In a time of rapid social change, when long-standing norms and customs are eroded, the relative significance of egoism increases. When following egoistic behavioral patterns, agents pursue their own perceived economic self-interests, disregarding the moral codes and future consequences of their actions. In this sense, they are constrained mainly by external sanctions, including coercive pressures. A certain shift toward egoism in business can be seen in the case of today's post-Communist Russia. Still, it does not lead to the absence of business ethics, but rather to specific forms of business in which moral codes are established. Using fragments from the most recent empirical data available, this article will consider the spread of violence in Russian business and the specific relationships that have been established in the field of business protection. This analysis is based on data collected in the course of two main surveys of nonstate enterprise managers and entrepreneurs (henceforth referred to simply as entrepreneurs) conducted in 1997 and 1998. These surveys have been specifically focused on the issues under consideration and include a standardized survey (in which 227 questionnaires of entrepreneurs from twenty-one regions of Russia were collected) and a semistandardized survey (in which ninety-six in-depth interviews with the entrepreneurs were recorded). These surveys were conducted by the author and a research team from the Center for Political Technologies, Moscow, headed by I. Bunin. The U.S. Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) funded the research. The most recent data is supplemented by the outcomes of some previous surveys: a survey of 277 Moscow entrepreneurs conducted in 1993 by the author and a research team from the Institute of Economics in Moscow; and a survey of the heads of 887 small enterprises and 210 medium and large enterprises conducted with the participation of the author at the First Russian Congress of SME representatives (supported by the Russian Federation Chamber for Commerce and Industry). (2) Violence in Russian Business The Spread of Threats and Violence The use of informal means of persuasion, threats, and demonstrations of force are reported to play an important part in present-day Russian entrepreneurship. …


First principles multiconfigurational restricted active space (RAS) self-consistent field (SCF) or configuration interaction (CI) approaches, augmented with a treatment of spin-orbit coupling by state interaction, were used to calculate the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) , , and/or for closed- and open-shell transition metal complexes: PdCl42-, PdBr42-, AuCl4-, AuBr4-, MnO4-, CuCl42-, CuBr42-, and Fe(CN)63-. The were determined with a sum-over-states approach. It is shown that reasonably accurate MCD spectra can be obtained directly at a RAS level or at a RAS level augmented with corrections for the dynamic correlation. The sign and magnitude of the individual MCD terms can be unambiguously determined and assigned to particular electronic transitions.


SUMMARY AIM: Carbamazepine is associated with a wide range of hematological toxicity which includes leucopenia, aplastic anemia, megaloblastic anemia, agranulocytosis, pancytopenia and thrombocytopenia due to oxidative stress. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of vitamin C on diminution of hematological abnormalities and oxidative stress induced by chronic administration of carbamazepin. METHODS: Carbamazepin (50 mg/kg, p.o) was administered for a period of 45 days. On 45 th day of carbamazepin and carbamazepin plus vitamin C (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) treatment, blood was withdrawn from retro orbital plexus of rats and was subjected to estimation of enzymatic, non enzymatic antioxidants, total antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation. RESULTS: Administration of carbamazepin produced significant reduction in total erythrocyte, hemoglobin content, leucocyte and platelet count whereas vitamin C supplementation significantly increased the above hematological parameters in a dose dependent manner. Vitamin C improved the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and increased the levels of reduced glutathione, total antioxidants and thereby reversed the oxidative stress induced by carbamazepin. Vitamin C prevented oxidative stress induced by carbamazepin possibly through its ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species. CONCLUSION: These results are of great significance in view of the high prevalence of oxidative stress associated with the long term carbamazepin therapy. Antioxidant treatment with vitamin C significantly reduced the lipid peroxidation as well as increased the superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in rat brain. Our findings suggest that supplementation of ascorbic acid reverse the hematotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by carbamazepine and also imply that a strong protective effect could be achieved using vitamin C.


These notes have as their goal a broad overview and a framework for consideration of the many contemporary issues surrounding vaccines and immunization. The devil, however, is in the details. Even as the critical review of pharmaceuticals and the production of safe food from medically well-cared-for animals emerged as a topic nearly 20 years, so too will the present vaccine concerns demand study and understanding by the profession. There is much to know. Hopefully, this paper can serve as a starting point.


Background: Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (SAH) has been shown to have a global incidence of 2-49 cases per 100 000 population, and it is associated with a high morbidity and mortality. There is a scarcity of data regarding this condition in Kenya. This paper presents the causes and risk factors for this condition in patients presenting to our hospital. Methods: This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Kenyatta National Hospital in Kenya. All patients admitted between December 2010 and March 2011 with a diagnosis of SAH, were included in the study. A total of 55 patients with SAH were recruited in the study. Results: Slightly more females suffered from SAH than men, with a male: female ratio of 1: 1.1. The mean age was 47.6 years with a modal age group being 41-50 years. Intracranial aneurysms were seen in 29% of patients, the commonest location being in the anterior communicating artery (31%). Arteriovenous malformations were seen in 4% of patients. 51% of the patients had poorly controlled hypertension. Other risk factors included alcohol intake (31%), cigarette smoking (15%), and use of hormonal contraceptives was reported in 22% female study subjects. Conclusion: In our population, the commonest cause of spontaneous SAH is aneurysmal bleeds mainly in the anterior circulation. Further, most of the risks involved in causation of SAH are modifiable therefore interventions such as proper blood pressure control should be put in place so as to reduce the burden of this disease. East and Central African Journal of Surgery . 2011 Nov/ December;16 (3)


Negative-output KY Boost converter, which can obtain the negative output voltage and could be driven easily, is a good topology to overcome traditional Boost and Buck-Boost converters and it is believed that this converter will be widely used in engineering applications in the future. In this study, by using the averaging method and geometrical technique, the average and small signal model of the negative-output KY Boost converter are established. The DC equilibrium point and transfer functions of the system are derived and analyzed. Finally, the effectiveness of the established model and the correctness of the theoretical analysis are confirmed by the circuit experiment.


The placebo effect, a beneficial effect attributable to a treatment containing no specific properties for the condition being treated, has been demonstrated in a variety of medical conditions. This thesis includes four studies aimed at increasing our knowledge on the neurobiology of placebo. Study I, a review of the placebo neuroimaging literature, suggested that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) may be a common site of action for placebo responses. However, because placebo neuroimaging studies in clinical disorders are largely lacking, the clinical relevance of this needs further clarification. The subsequent three empirical studies were thus designed from a clinical perspective. Using positron emission tomography (PET) these studies investigated the underlying neurobiology of sustained placebo responses in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD), a disabling psychiatric condition that nonetheless may be mitigated by placebo interventions. Study II demonstrated that serotonergic gene polymorphisms affect anxiety-induced neural activity and the resultant placebo phenotype. In particular, anxiety reduction resulting from placebo treatment was tied to the attenuating effects of the TPH2 G-703T polymorphism on amygdala activity. Study III further compared the neural response profile of placebo with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), i.e the first-line pharmacological treatment for SAD. A similar anxiety reduction was noted in responders of both treatments. PET-data further revealed that placebo and SSRI responders had similar decreases of the neural response in amygdala subregions including the left basomedial/basolateral (BM/BLA) and the right ventrolateral (VLA) sections. To clarify whether successful placebo and SSRI treatments operate via similar or distinct neuromodulatory pathways, study IV focused on the connectivity patterns between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex that may be crucial for normal emotion regulation. In responders of both treatment modalities, the left amygdala (BM/BLA) exhibited negative coupling with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the rostral ACC as well as a shared positive coupling with the dorsal ACC. This may represent shared treatment mechanisms involving improved emotion regulation and decreased rumination. This thesis constitutes a first step towards better understanding of the neurobiology of placebo in the treatment of anxiety, including the neural mechanisms that unite and segregate placebo and SSRI treatment.


John Alexander Aitken died on the 3 August 2010 at the age of 81 years. A devout and open minded Christian, he was a highly respected and influential geriatrician whose long career firmly placed Clatterbridge Hospital as a centre for excellence in geriatric medicine. He was a highly respected professional who inspired all who came into contact with him. Although most of his contributions were to his local service, he was a role model to those he trained, and his influence is still seen in the work of leading geriatricians whom he educated.

He was born on the 29 March 1929, and was brought up in Stranraer, Scotland, where he was an active member of the Scottish Presbyterian Church. He qualified at Edinburgh University in medicine in 1952. Six months after qualifying he became a medical missionary in Nyasaland (modern day Malawi), before returning to train in medicine in Galashiels and in …


Abstr Act In this paper the effects of gypsum (CaSO 4 x 2H 2 O) in the growth medium were tested on two non-gypsophilous selected bryophyte species: Bryum argenteum Hedw. and Atrichum undulatum (Hedw.) P. Beauv. With aim to test if some bryophytes are exclusive for gypsum enriched substrates, the difference in gypsum effect on moss development were examined. In vitro cultures of two selected species were initiated from nearly mature spores within unopened capsules. Half strenght Murashige and Skoog media with added gypsum in concentrations of 50, 350 and 500mM were used to test bryophyte develepment. Plants were grown on media with gypsum for 3 days or 3 weeks to compare short and long term effect of salt exposure. Tested bryophytes, non-adapted to gypsum and exposed to various gypsum concentrations in MS medium, did not show to have a problem in surviving the new environment conditions. Moss species selected in this study and exposed to gypsum enriched MS medium showed variation in morphological parameters to some extent (index of multiplication, secondary protonemal production and survival rate) and chlorophyll content and slightly altered chlorophyll a/b ratio. In general, both tested species could survive gypsum enriched medium: secondary protonema was developed and new shoots were formed in both species, but slight differences were recorded between short and long term exposure to gypsum. Acording to data obtained, gypsum is not the stressor (at least not alone) which can separate some interesting bryophytes into the ecological group of gypsophytes.


It is known that the adhesive interface testing of the rocket motor using the ultrasonic wave is superior to the other testing methods about the ability to economical detect the defects. But, the signal analysis of the ultrasonic wave takes a lot of time and efforts because the time interval of the transmitted pulse and the received pulse is too short to separate the reflected signals due to the multi-layers of the rocket motor. The ultrasonic testing of rocket motor have only applied to the automatic system about extremely limited areas like the debond in adhesive interface between the motor case and the insulator. In this study the new technique to detect the debond between the liner and the propellant using the property of the resonance and the lamb waves instead of the existing ultrasonic testing was described.


This guide will help you find reference resources, books, journal articles, census data and websites related to study of statistics.


Recent advances in numerical algorithms and computational power have enabled first-principles simulations of pulsar magnetospheres using particle-in-cell techniques. These ab initio simulations seem to indicate that pair creation through photon–photon collision at the light cylinder is required to sustain the pulsar engine. However, for many rotation-powered pulsars, pair creation operates effectively only near the stellar surface where magnetic field is high. How these "weak pulsars" fill their magnetospheres without efficient photon–photon pair conversion in the outer magnetosphere is still an open question. In this paper, we present a range of self-consistent solutions to the pulsar magnetosphere that do not require pair production near the light cylinder. When pair production is very efficient near the star, the pulsar magnetosphere converges to previously reported solutions. However, in the intermediate regime, where pair supply is barely enough to sustain the magnetospheric current, we observe a time-dependent solution with a quasi-period about half of the rotation period. This new quasi-periodic solution may explain the observed pulsar death line without invoking multipolar components near the star, and can potentially explain the core versus conal emission patterns observed in pulsar radio signals.


Background Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most common birth defects and the leading cause of deaths among individuals with congenital structural abnormalities worldwide. Both Methionine synthase reductase (MTRR) and Methionine synthase (MTR) are key enzymes involved in the metabolic pathway of homocysteine, which are significant in the earlier period embryogenesis, particularly in the cardiac development. Evidence is mounting for the association between MTRR A66G (rs1801394)/MTR A2756G (rs1805087) and the CHD risk, but results are controversial. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis integrating case-control and transmitted disequilibrium test (TDT) studies to obtain more precise estimate of the associations of these two variants with the CHD risk. Methods To combine case-control and TDT studies, we used the Catmap package of R software to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results A total of 9 reports were included in the final meta-analysis. Eight of them comprised of 914 cases, 964 controls, and 441 families that were germane to MTRR A66G polymorphism; and 4 reports comprised of 250 cases, 205 controls, and 53 families that were relevant to MTR A2756G polymorphism. The pooled OR for the MTRR 66 G allele versus A allele was 1.35 (95% CI = 1.14–1.59, P<0.001, P heterogeneity = 0.073). For MTR A2756G, the G allele conferred a pooled OR of 1.10 (95% CI = 0.78–1.57, P = 0.597, P heterogeneity = 0.173) compared with the A allele. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to asses the effects of each individual study on the pooled OR, indicating the stability of the outcome. Moreover, positive results were also obtained in all subgroups stratified by study type and ethnicity except the subgroup of TDT studies in MTRR A66G variant. Conclusions This meta-analysis demonstrated a suggestive result that the A66G variant in MTRR, but not the A2756G in MTR, may be associated with the increase of CHD risks.


As known, the modulus of subgrade reaction of soil, ks, is an essential parameter in designing flexible, shallow foundations based on the Winkler spring hypothesis, where, the foundation soil is modeled as a series of independent (elastic) springs having constant ks. In this paper the various methods for calculating the ks value are discussed, indicating that the more suitable one is Vesic's ks=0.65[EB4/(EbIb)]1/12E/[B(1–v2)], where, E and v are the elastic constants of soil and Eb, Ib and B are the modulus of elasticity of the foundation material, the moment of inertial of the cross-section of the foundation and the foundation width respectively. In addition, it is recommended that, the proper soil modulus value is the one corresponding to v=0 for consistency with the deformation pattern of Winkler's springs (compression with no lateral deformation). In this respect, the author offers an effective method for calculating the equivalent elastic constants (Eeq, veq) for horizontally stratified soil mediums supporting shallow foundations. The same method can also be applied to reducing any homogenous (E, v) soil medium to an equivalent one having veq=0 and modulus Eeq.


Background/Aim: Attempts have been made to enhance treatment with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) for osteosarcoma. We have previously shown that VSV incorporated with miRNA143 enhanced the antitumor effect at some doses; however, the range of the doses was narrow. This has not been evaluated in vivo, and the synergistic effect of this antitumor effect in animals is unknown. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the oncolytic effect of VSV-miRNA on osteosarcoma cells in vivo. Materials and Methods: A novel oncolytic VSV was developed by incorporating the tumor-suppressor microRNA143 (rVSV-miR143). In order to compare the antitumor effects of administration methods (intravenous and intratumoral administration) of rVSV-miR143 with those of VSV, a comparative analysis of primary tumor volume, metastatic lesions and survival rate was performed in mouse models of osteosarcoma. Results: Following intratumoral injection, rVSV-miR143 showed a significant reduction in primary tumor volume, but no significant difference was observed in metastatic lesions and survival rate compared to VSV. Following intravenous injection, rVSV-miR143 revealed no significant difference in primary tumor volume, metastatic lesion and survival rate compared to VSV. Conclusion: VSV incorporating tumor-suppressor miRNA143 demonstrated a slightly synergistic antitumor effect on osteosarcoma in vivo.


Le Ortique or of the Deformed Canon is a collective and digital project that aims to give a second voice to forgotten female writers and artists of the 20th century. The project revolves around a blog where the eight founders, who are authors themselves as well as scholars, publish critical readings of works in poetry and prose, unpublished translations, interviews, podcasts, online and live events, musical interpretations and visual works. The aim of this article is to thoroughly present the project in its conceptual foundations, tangible outcomes and international connections, while highlighting its novelty in the context of other similar projects aiming at questioning and deconstructing literary canons.


Intangible resources have raised the interests of scholars from different research areas due
to their importance as crucial factors for firm performance; yet, contributions to this field still
lack a theoretical framework. This research analyses the state-of-the-art results reached in the
literature concerning intangibles, their main features and evaluation problems and models. In
search for a possible theoretical framework, the research draws a kind of indirect analysis of
intangibles through the theories of the firm, their critic and developments. The heterodox
approaches of the evolutionary theory and resource-based view are indicated as possible
frameworks. Based on this theoretical analysis, organization capital (OC) is identified, for its
features, as the most important intangible for firm performance.
Empirical studies on the relationship intangibles-firm performance have been sporadic and have
failed to reach firm conclusions with respect to OC; in the attempt to fill this gap, the effect of OC
is tested on a large sample of European firms using the Compustat Global database. OC is
proxied by capitalizing an income statement item (Selling, General and Administrative expenses)
that includes expenses linked to information technology, business process design, reputation
enhancement and employee training. This measure of OC is employed in a cross-sectional
estimation of a firm level production function - modeled with different functional specifications
(Cobb-Douglas and Translog) - that measures OC contribution to firm output and profitability.
Results are robust and confirm the importance of OC for firm performance.


The presence of two or more landed or orbiting spacecraft at a planet provides the opportunity to perform extremely accurate earth-based navigation by simultaneously acquiring Doppler data and either Same-Beam Interferometry (SBI) or ranging data. Covariance analyses were performed to investigate the accuracy with which lander and rover positions on the surface of Mars can be determined. Simultaneous acquisition of Doppler and ranging data from a lander and rover over two or more days enables determination of all components of their relative position to under 20 m. Acquiring one hour of Doppler and SBI enables three-dimensional lander-rover relative position determination to better than 5 m. Twelve hours of Doppler and either SBI or ranging from a lander and a low circular or half synchronous circular Mars orbiter makes possible lander absolute position determination to tens of meters.


The urinary albumin (UMALB) is the most reliable diagnostic indicator of renal injury in clinical. Attempting to realize the rapid and free reagent measurement of UMALB, the visible-near infrared multiple optical path length spectra of 207 urine samples were collected. By the nonlinear characteristics of multiple optical path length spectra, more information about the component of sample contents can be obtained. The PLS model of the spectra and UMALB was firstly established. Based on it, the PLS-ANN modeling method was built to introduce nonlinear information. By contrast, the PLS-ANN modeling method can obtain a better model to improve the accuracy of quantitative analysis. The R2 of predicted model was 0.951 1 and the RMSEP was 5.02 mg x L(-1). The results showed the feasibility of the visible-near infrared multiple optical path length spectroscopy technique for urinary albumin analysis. This research establishes the foundation of detecting the urinary albumin and other components free of reagent conveniently and rapidly.


of this kind, as its editor readily admits, is that of focus and integration. Contributions, for example, are to be found here to such broad subject areas as the cultural hurdles to development and to such specifics as 0 and M improvement in India and Pakistan. Several of the papers make notable "ideal" contributions, which, if for no other reason, justifies their being shared beyond the ivy of any particular university. Two of the most thoughtful chapters are clearly those of Pye, with his concern for broadening the base of development to include the "non-bureaucratic components" of the society, and Meadows, a sociologist, who sees development administration as essentially "an act of imagination which attracts, fires, holds, and elaborates the loyalties of human beings engaged in goal-directed change." Bharati makes a useful contribution also by calling attention to the "multiple configuration expectancy principles" which explain how local people view the change agent who has come among them. Finally, Swerdlow himself should be mentioned for some rather pointed comments on the "mis-identities" which have too often fuzed the idea of national development with economic growth.—DAVID S. BROWN, The George Washington University.


We now live in a world where non-investment grade industrials do and really should trade at 2-3x EBITDA. This is true, despite historical market multiples and precedent transactions being in the 5-7x EBITDA range. It all starts with the fixed income markets. We have entered a new era for corporate valuations, where the impact of fixed income market illiquidity has culminated in dramatically lower enterprise values through a multitude of mechanisms. All this has had a profound impact on corporate strategies to maximize shareholder value. We outline six new imperatives for the Finance strategic agenda in light of these changes in corporate valuation.


Pancreatic cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in both men and women in western countries due to its unresponsiveness to available therapeutics. It is well documented that smoking, diabetes and pancreatitis from chronic alcohol consumption are risk factors for this type of cancer. More than 95% of pancreatic cancers are pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) that arise from pancreatic ductal epithelia. Our lab has previously shown that nicotine stimulates the proliferation and migration of human small airway epithelial cells and the adenocarcinomas derived from them in vitro due to nicotine induced changes in the sensitivity of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Such changes caused an increase in the production and secretion of excitatory neurotransmitters, but decreased the production and secretion of inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In analogy to these findings in lung cells, both nicotine and ethanol stimulated cell proliferation in PDAC cell lines Panc-1 and BXPC-3 and in immortalized pancreatic duct epithelial cells HPDE6-C7. Acute and chronic treatment of all cell lines with nicotine or ethanol alone and in combination significantly increased the production of noradrenaline and adrenaline by the cells while significantly reducing GABA production. Western blots are currently underway to assess the potential modulation of nicotinic receptor protein expression as well signaling pathways. Our findings suggest a potential role for these pathways contributing to the development of smoking and alcohol related pancreatic carcinogenesis and may result in the identification of novel targets for the prevention and therapy of this malignancy. Supported by R01CAo42829 with the National Cancer Institute. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1949. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1949


Objective: To test whether the larvicidal activity of citral against Fasciola varies by season. Methods: Mortality of Fasciola larva in different month of year (2011-2012) in in vitro and in vivo condition were observed at 2 h, 4 h, 6 h and 8 h exposure of citral. Results: In vitro toxicity of citral against redia was highest in between the June to August (8 h LC50: 2.58-2.62 mg/L), whereas against cercaria 8 h LC50 was in between 3.44-2.62 mg/L. Highest in vivo toxicity against redia was noted in between June to August (8h LC50: 4.20-5.09 mg/L). The lowest toxicity was observed from November to April. The highest temperature, free carbon dioxide, and lowest pH, dissolved oxygen were observed from June to August. Conclusions: The present study conclusively shows that varying a biotic factor can significantly alter the in vitro and in vivo toxicity of citral against sporocyst redia and cercaria larva. Article history:


The global burden of diabetes mellitus and its related complications are currently increasing. Diabetes mellitus affects the heart through various mechanisms including microvascular impairment, metabolic disturbance, subcellular component abnormalities, cardiac autonomic dysfunction, and a maladaptive immune response. Eventually, diabetes mellitus can cause functional and structural changes in the myocardium without coronary artery disease, a disorder known as diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). There are many diagnostic tools and management options for DCM, although it is difficult to detect its development and effectively prevent its progression. In this review, we summarize the current research regarding the pathophysiology and pathogenesis of DCM. Moreover, we discuss emerging diagnostic evaluation methods and treatment strategies for DCM, which may help our understanding of its underlying mechanisms and facilitate the identification of possible new therapeutic targets.


Objective: To investigate the effects of phosphonoformic acid (PFA) and sevelamer hydrochloride (Renagel) on renal type IIa sodium-dependent phosphate cotransporter (NaPi-2) mRNA expression in hyperphosphatemia rats. Methods: Thirty rats were randomly divided into five groups based on the diet for 2 weeks after 5/6 nephrectomy (Nx): Nx + high-phosphate (HP; 1.2% P) diet; Nx + low-phosphate (LP; 0.2% P) diet; HP + PFA (injected with 0.15 g/kg PFA daily); HP + Saline (injected with the same amount of saline daily); and HP + Renagel (2%) group. Another 12 rats were sham operated and divided into Sham + HP and Sham + LP groups. Serum ionized calcium, phosphorus (P), and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were measured on days 2, 7, and 14. Serum 1,25(OH)2D3 was measured on day 14 and NaPi-2 mRNA levels were assayed by RT-PCR. Results: PFA decreased iPTH level but had no effect on NaPi-2 mRNA expression. Renagel decreased serum P and iPTH levels, but upregulated renal NaPi-2 mRNA expression. Conclusions: Both PFA and Renagel are effective drugs to decrease iPTH level and they might be potential candidates for treatment of clinical secondary hyperparathyroidism. Renagel can also decrease serum P and upregulate renal NaPi-2 mRNA expression.


The present work focusses on the best source of radiation and optimization of the process parameters in the photocatalytic degradation of the dye in a slurry reactor. For the photocatalytic degradation of dyes in water, a cylindrical slurry photoreactor has been fabricated in glass of two litter capacity. The performance of a reactor in the degradation of orange M2R (OM2R) dye was evaluated under visible light irradiation using ZnO as a photo-catalyst. ZnO was obtained by thermal decomposition of ZnCO 3 and characterized for its crystalline structure, surface morphology, and the band gap. Different parameters affecting the degradation of the dye in the reactor were optimized. The pH of the dye solution, catalyst dose, and concentration of the dye solution were found to be dominating experimental parameters affecting the dye degradation in the reactor. Taguchi L 9 (3 4 ) orthogonal array method was used to design the degradation experiment. The pseudo-first-order decolourization rate constant was evaluated by applying the Langmuir–Hinshelwood equation. The results of the experiments were statically analysed and compared to obtain the optimal experimental conditions for the degradation of the dye in the reactor. The research finding proved that metal halide lamp is the best source for the process.


It was shown in experiments using a canine model that intramuscular administration of unithiol (monohydrate sodium salt of 2,3-dimercapto-I-propansulfonic acid, 50 mg/kg) before cystamine (cystamine dihydrochloride, 100 mg/kg, calculation on the salt, intragastric administration) decreases the toxic effect of this radioprotector. The frequency of manifestations of the toxic effects of cystamine (change of behavior, vomiting reaction, decrease-of body temperature and so on) is not decreased, but the severity of expression and duration are decreased. The period of agitation induced by cystamine is shortened, and the period and expression of vomiting induced by this preparation are decreased. Respiratory frequency and condition of the heart are less changed (according to EKG data).


Seismic velocities have been measured at confining pressures to 600 MPa for eight samples of sheeted dike rock ob tained from Hole 504B during Leg ODP 111. The compressional- and shear-wave velocities are, in general, higher than the velocities measured in overlying dike rocks obtained from the hole during DSDP Leg 83. The velocity gradients ob served in Layer 2C result from decreasing porosity with depth and increasing metamorphic grade. The laboratory-mea sured velocities of the Leg 111 dike rocks are similar to those of dike rocks reported for the Bay of Islands, Samail, and Troodos ophiolites.


A method for producing a prescribed acoustic pressure field from a piezoelectric array was investigated. The array consisted of 170 elements placed on the inner surface of a 15 cm radius spherical cap. Each element was independently driven by using individual pulsers each capable of generating 1.2 kV. Acoustic field customization was achieved by independently controlling the time when each element was excited. The set of time delays necessary to produce a particular acoustic field was determined by using an optimization scheme. The acoustic field at the focal plane was simulated by using the angular spectrum method, and the optimization searched for the time delays that minimized the least squared difference between the magnitudes of the simulated and desired pressure fields. The acoustic field was shaped in two different ways: the -6 dB focal width was increased to different desired widths and the ring-shaped pressure distributions of various prescribed diameters were produced. For both cases, the set of delays resulting from the respective optimization schemes were confirmed to yield the desired pressure distributions by using simulations and measurements. The simulations, however, predicted peak positive pressures roughly half those obtained from the measurements, which was attributed to the exclusion of nonlinearity in the simulations.


The binding of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to the urothelial surface is a crucial initial event for establishing urinary tract infection because it allows the bacteria to gain a foothold on the urothelial surface, thus preventing them from being removed by micturition. In addition, it triggers bacterial invasion as well as host urothelial defense. This binding is mediated by the FimH adhesin located at the tip of the bacterial type 1-fimbrium, a filamentous attachment apparatus, and its urothelial receptor. We have prepared a biotinylated, recombinant FimH-FimC adhesin:chaperone complex and used it to identify its mouse urothelial receptor. The FimH-FimC complex binds specifically to a single 24 kDa major mouse urothelial plaque protein, which we identified as uroplakin Ia by mass spectrometry, cDNA cloning and immunoreactivity. The terminal mannosyl moieties on Asn-169 of uroplakin Ia are responsible for FimH as well as concanavalin A binding. Although FimH binds to uroplakin Ia with only moderate strength (K(d) approximately 100 nM between pH 4 and 9), the binding between multiple fimbriae of a bacterium and the crystalline array of polymerized uroplakin receptors should achieve high avidity and stable bacterial attachment. The FimH-FimC complex binds preferentially to the mouse urothelial umbrella cells in a pattern similar to uroplakin staining. Our results indicate that the structurally related uroplakins Ia and Ib are glycosylated differently, that uroplakin Ia serves as the urothelial receptor for the type 1-fimbriated E. coli, and that the binding of uropathogenic bacteria to uroplakin Ia may play a key role in mediating the urothelial responses to bacterial attachment.


Polydactyly of the foot is a congenital anomaly characterized by the appearance of all or part of 1 or more additional rays. A number of morphologically and anatomically based classifications exist. We present an unusual case of fibular (postaxial) polydactyly characterized by an extrametatarsal head with fused duplication of the proximal phalanx. We describe the method of surgical correction and emphasize the need for careful preoperative planning to achieve a good functional and cosmetic outcome.


The current economic system is dependent upon constant growth and consumption to function, but the planetary boundaries are finite (UNEP 2013). The resulting climate change is likely to influence companies' ability to do business in both positive and negative ways. The financial industry could be heavily impacted by the predicted consequences. This study seeks to identify the risks and opportunities that could arise as a result of climate change, and discuss whether the concept of green value creation could mitigate the risks and help companies reap the benefits. This study has looked aimed to answer the following research questions: 1. How can green value creation in the financial sector be defined? 2. Is green value creation present in SpareBank 1 SMN today? 3. What risks and opportunities arise for the financial sector due to climate change? 4. Can green value creation influence banks' ability to manage changes that stem from climate change? 5. Which measures can SpareBank 1 SMN implement to improve their green value creation? This has been a qualitative study of green value creation and the consequences of climate change on the financial sector. The research has been a case study of the large regional bank SpareBank 1 SMN. The information that is used was collected in two ways. The first was by doing a literature search for relevant academic literature on the topic of environmental sustainability in the financial sector. The second was through conducting interviews with the Executive Vice Presidents in SpareBank 1 SMN and the director of communications. Additionally, information gathered from a previous research project on stakeholder influence on CSR strategy in SpareBank 1 SMN was used as a supplement. The conclusion of this study is multifaceted. The research found that there is little green value creation in SpareBank 1 SMN today. The discussion showed that it was difficult to determine the impact of GVC on mitigating risk and benefitting from opportunities that arise from climate change because the topic is very complex. Several of the informants argued that they did not believe that it was possible to make a profit from providing green products and services to consumers, because consumers are not interested in it. Additionally, some of the informants argued that they did not believe that it was a part of the banks' responsibility to bear the costs for influencing their customers in a green direction. Based on this, a number of measures are suggested to help SpareBank 1 SMN achieve a more responsible business model. This was done by targeting areas where the bank is most exposed to consequences of climate change, as for example in terms of risk management.


As the commercially available microwave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers improve in output power and bandwidth a compact platform to combine a large number of these MMICs, becomes very desirable. A reduced size version of a coaxial waveguide combiner structure using an antipodal finline antenna array is investigated. The reduced size coaxial waveguide combiner structure is used to demonstrate an 80 Watt power amplifier at X-Band by combining 16, 6 Watt MMIC devices and the scalability of the overall combiner platform. Around 30% efficiency has been achieved for most of the band.


Change impact analysis, i.e., knowing the potential consequences of a software change, is critical for the risk analysis, developer effort estimation, and regression testing of evolving software. Static program slicing is an attractive option for enabling routine change impact analysis for newly committed changesets during daily software build. For small programs with a few thousand lines of code, static program slicing scales well and can assist precise change impact analysis. However, as we demonstrate in this paper, static program slicing faces unique challenges when applied routinely on large and evolving industrial software systems. Despite recent advances in static program slicing, to our knowledge, there have been no studies of static change impact analysis applied on large and evolving industrial software systems. In this paper, we share our experiences in designing a static change impact analysis framework for such software systems. We have implemented our framework as a tool called Imp and have applied Imp on an industrial codebase with over a million lines of C/ C++ code with promising empirical results.


Objective The purpose of this paper is to assess whether smokers adjust their beliefs in a pattern that is consistent with Cognitive Dissonance Theory. This is accomplished by examining the longitudinal pattern of belief change among smokers as their smoking behaviours change. Methods A telephone survey was conducted of nationally representative samples of adult smokers from Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia from the International Tobacco Control Four Country Survey. Smokers were followed across three waves (October 2002 to December 2004), during which they were asked to report on their smoking-related beliefs and their quitting behaviour. Findings Smokers with no history of quitting across the three waves exhibited the highest levels of rationalisations for smoking. When smokers quit smoking, they reported having fewer rationalisations for smoking compared with when they had previously been smoking. However, among those who attempted to quit but then relapsed, there was once again a renewed tendency to rationalise their smoking. This rebound in the use of rationalisations was higher for functional beliefs than for risk-minimising beliefs, as predicted by social psychological theory. Conclusions Smokers are motivated to rationalise their behaviour through the endorsement of more positive beliefs about smoking, and these beliefs change systematically with changes in smoking status. More work is needed to determine if this cognitive dissonance-reducing function has an inhibiting effect on any subsequent intentions to quit.


Objective. This study aimed to: 1) describe the current state of research activity/involvement and capacity among selected tertiary level government and private hospital dietitians; 2) identify factors associated with research capacity and involvement; and 3) develop policy recommendations to improve the current research activity/involvement towards evidence-based practice among hospital dietitians.
Methods. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. A total of randomly selected 181 hospital dietitians from selected hospitals in Metro Manila completed a pre-tested structured self-administered questionnaire, which elicited the socio-demographic characteristics, research activity/involvement, research capacity, perception, attitude and knowledge (PAK) of the respondents.
Descriptive statistics were generated. Pearson Correlation was determined between socio-demographic characteristics and research activity/involvement score and research capacity score. Linear multiple regression analysis was conducted to test whether perceptions, attitudes and knowledge score are factors that predicted research activity/involvement and research capacity.
Results. No significant difference was observed in hospital dietitians' research capacity scores based on gender, age, educational attainment, hospital affiliation, and job description. Majority (97%) of the hospital dietitians had very little participation (10%) or involvement in any type of research activity/involvement. The significant factors that were predictive of research activity/involvement scores and research capacity scores were percent of time for research and hours per week devoted to research, respectively. Percent of time for research was significantly predictive of research knowledge of respondents.
Conclusion. The findings in this present study showed the research activity/involvement and capacity of hospital dietitians in Metro Manila were dismally low. The significant factors that were predictive of research activity/involvement scores and research capacity scores were percent of time for research and hours per week devoted to research, respectively. To support the development of research capacity and involvement of hospital dietitians, policy-makers and healthcare organizations can optimize capability-building strategies at the academic level, hospital dietitian level, and institutional level.


Lymphoscintigraphy results in 35 stage I melanoma patients were compared with primary location and surgical management. Six of 25 primaries with potentially multidirectional lymphatic drainage had drainage to one regional node group. Three of 10 with expected unidirectional drainage showed multidirectional drainage. With unidirectional drainage, decision concerning lymphadenectomy was simplified.


Large service centers are becoming widely used to host many different services on a shared computing infrastructure, for which autonomic control and management are necessary to meet the service quality targets and maximize the overall profit. This paper presents the architecture, design and implementation of a framework for modeling and simulating virtualized autonomic service centers. This provides methods of estimating the system behavior for capacity planning before real establishment or execution. In addition, the performance of an existing service center can be efficiently evaluated. Performance analysis shows that our system is moderately efficient to perform large-scale simulation. Moreover, detailed evaluation results also depict various aspects of the feasibility and the efficiency of our modeling and simulation approaches, which can help to improve the productivity of researchers via quick proof of concepts.


Objectives: The purposes of this study is to examine the relationship between emotional labor and burnout among dental hygienists. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 247 dental hygienists from September 4 to October 9, 2014. The questionnaire consisted of emotional labor, job burnout, and job stress. Emotional labor included frequency of emotional expression, compliance with emotional regulation, emotional diversity, and emotional dissonance by the instrument pf Morris and Feldman. Job burnout was adopted from Maslach burnout inventory(MBI). Job stress was adpoted from instrument of Chang. Except 13 incomplete answers, 234 data were analyzed by AMOS 18.0 and SPSS 18.0 program. Results: The emotional labor has a significant positive relation to the job burnout. There was a statistical significance between emotional labor and job stress. Job stress had a positive relation to job burnout. Job stress had a mediating effect between emotional labor and job burnout. Emotional labor had a direct effect on the job burnout. Job stress also had a mediating effect on job burnout. Conclusions: It is necessary to improve working environment that can enhance emotional balance and to develop job stress management program.


Many studies on COVID-19 have been carried out, and it is interesting to apply methods and models to process the whole sequence of RNA. Similarity comparison of SARS-CoV-2 genomes plays a key role in naturally tracing its ori-gin in scientific exploration, and further explorations are required. In this paper, an innovative of transformation from a 2D density matrix to 1D measuring vector is proposed based on the A5 module of the MAS for visualization. The core transformation projects whole RNA sequences of multiple coronaviruses in 2D matrices and then forms 1D measuring vectors on variant maps. The relationships of SARS-CoV-2 genomes are compared by their similarity properties and genomic index of entropy quantities applied to classify relevant results into groups.