We present a novel approach to honest majority secure multiparty computation in the preprocessing model with information theoretic security that achieves the best online communication complexity. The online phase of our protocol requires 12 elements in total per multiplication gate with circuit-dependent preprocessing, or 20 elements in total with circuit-independent preprocessing. Prior works achieved linear online communication complexity in n, the number of parties, with the best prior existing solution involving 1.5n elements per multiplication gate. Only one recent work packing [28] achieves constant online communication complexity, but the constants are large (108 elements for passive security, and twice that for active security). That said, our protocol offers a very efficient information theoretic online phase for any number of parties. The total end-to-end communication cost with the preprocessing phase is linear in n, i.e., 10n + 44, which is larger than the 4n complexity of the state-of-the-art protocols. The gap is not significant when the online phase must be optimized as a priority and a reasonably large number of parties is involved. Unlike previous works based on packed secret-sharing to reduce communication complexity, we further reduce the communication by avoiding the use of complex and expensive network routing or permutations tools. Furthermore, we also allow for a maximal honest majority adversary, while most previous works require the set of honest parties to be strictly larger than a majority. Our protocol is simple and offers concrete efficiency. To illustrate this we present a full-fledged implementation together with experimental results that show improvements in online phase runtimes that go up to 5x in certain settings (e.g. 45 parties, LAN network, circuit of depth 10 with 1M gates).


Data mining is the process of analyzing and retrieving meaningful information from a database. Temporal data mining deals with time stamped data. In the real world, temporal data obtained may contain noisy, inconsistent data and in most cases the data may be missing; hence data preprocessing is one of the important steps that has to be carried out in data mining. Missing values may generate biased results and affect the accuracy of classification. In order to overcome this it is necessary to impute the missing values based on other information in the dataset. The work focuses on imputing missing values using Inverse Distance Weighted Interpolation method which best suits for data sampled at uneven intervals of time. This method assigns values to unknown points from a weighted sum of values of known points. Machine learning techniques applied to the imputed dataset will give better accuracy than that of the incomplete dataset.


Introduction/Background A new legislation on Hospice, Palliative Care and Life-sustaining Treatment Decision (LSTD) has been enforced in Korea since early 2018. This study is to investigate the incidence and timing of LSTD registration among recurrent gynecologic cancer patients. Methodology Retrospective observational study was performed of patients that were treated for recurrent gynecologic cancer at a tertiary hospital from February 2018 to January 2019. The number, type and the main person to sign the LSTD form, previous number of treatments, time from last treatment to end-of-life (EOL) care decision and time from decision to death were analyzed. Results Among 1,162 patients admitted during the study period, 309 patients had recurrent disease. Among them, 51 patients (16.5%) made EOL care decisions by themselves (n=44) or by the family (n=7). In detail, the number of LSTD registration was made in 30 (58.8%) patients during terminal phase and in 19 (37.3%) patients during dying phase and the number of previous advance directives had been documented in only 2 patients (3.9%). Only seven out of 49 patients (14.2%) stated previous knowledge of the new LSTD Act. The majority (92.2%) of patients were in disease progression state, and the median number of chemotherapy regimen was 4 (range 1–9). Among those who have stopped treatment, the median time from the last palliative treatment to LSTD was 42 days (range 7–468). Time from LSTD registration to death was median 10 days (range 0–232). EOL decisions that were made within 3 days of death occurred in 10 patients (19.2%) and most (n=8) of them were surrogate decision-making by the family. Conclusion The median time from LSTD to death was 10 days. Completion rate of advance directives by the patient was very low. These findings suggest that early patient-family-doctor discussions on LSTD is needed to help patients make advance EOL care decisions. Disclosure Nothing to disclose


Head lice infestation is a public health issue. In the effort to compile an evidence-base about the physiology, detection, treatment, effects and management strategies of head lice infestations we reviewed current literature. This literature signalled significant evidence gaps and these gaps provide incentives for further research. Our conclusions from the literature are that parents of children are responsible for head lice detection and treatment but have varying access to advice about how best to treat this condition. Concern is exacerbated by misconceptions surrounding the circumstances of infestation. Head lice are a low priority for health professionals in Australia, whereas parents and teachers believe the problem necessitates greater attention. It is important to provide a unified evidence-based approach to good information. It is timely for health care professionals to re-examine and prioritize this public health issue. They should research and work collaboratively towards the eradication of head lice.


Conventional routing cache systems store destination IP addresses in their cache directory. We present a routing cache technique that stores the most recently used route prefixes, instead of IP addresses, to achieve a significantly smaller cache size. A nesting prefix is partially represented in this cache by its minimal expansions. Such expanded prefixes are obtained using an incremental technique without any modifications to the routing table. Consequently, our cache works with most of the common route lookup algorithms and efficiently maintains coherency with the routing table. Experiments show that, for a hit ratio over 0.96, our design can achieve more than 33 times reduction in cache size, compared to a conventional routing cache.


At the age of 16, many young people in the UK decide to leave school and enter vocational education or training, either at a Further Education (FE) college, or on a Government training scheme. In spite of the size and importance of this group, the current debate about education and training standards has tended to focus more on how to improve schools, largely neglecting the potential contribution to be made by the FE and vocational training sectors. This study seeks to begin to redress this imbalance by examining the extent to which those young people leaving school and entering vocational education or training at 16 obtained further qualifications up to the age of 18. In particular, there is an examination of whether the choice between FE and Government training schemes at age 16 influences the subsequent success of young people in terms of gaining additional qualifications. Adopting an ordered probit approach to modelling qualifications levels, the results contradict the (somewhat pessimistic) common perception of Government training schemes. In particular, no significant differences per se are found between the value added performance of FE colleges and Government training schemes.


The organoselenium-induced ring-closure reaction of O-allyl oximes gave cyclic iminium salts, which reacted with Grignard reagents to produce N-alkyl-4-phenylselenoisoxazolidines. 2,5-Dihydroisoxazoles could be obtained in good yields by subsequent selenoxide syn-elimination.


Background: Blood group has been found to associate with different traits, behavioral types as wells as proneness to certain diseases. Gender-wise differences in personality and behavior are also likely.

Aim and Objective: In this study, we have compared personality factors of medical students of different blood groups using big five models of personality. We have also studied gender-wise differences in personality of medical students.

Materials and Methods: In total, 246 medical students were recruited to participate in this study. Personality traits were assessed by NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI), consisting of five subclasses: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Blood group- and gender-wise comparison of five personality factors were performed using one way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey HSD and independent t-test, respectively.

Results: There were no significant differences of personality scores of the big five personality factors among students of different blood groups. Females had a higher score than male participants in agreeableness (P = 0.002). Scores of other personality factors were comparable in both groups.

Conclusion: We conclude that blood group-wise differences in personality factors may not be observed in medical students, but females may be more agreeable than male students.


The current study aims to understand the experiences of the preschool children attending forest school in relation to the school phenomenon. To this end, the current study was conducted on a study group comprised of 32 children. The study was carried out on the basis of the phenomenological model, one of the qualitative research methods. The data of the study were collected through the children's drawings and interviews. The collected data were analyzed by using the triangulation technique, one of the researcher-centered methods built on post-positivist philosophy. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the children perceive the forest as a place and experience it in this way. The forest schools were found to have some strengths in terms of childnature relationship, sense of discovery, friendship relations and the place of the play in the child's school life. Moreover, a significant number of children stated that they feel good in the forest school. On the basis of all these findings, the researchers point out the importance of the studies to be conducted with different associates and it can be argued that the forest school can reshape the phenomenon called the school and that this is worth researching.


This article is intended to help students understand the concept of a coverage probability involving confidence intervals. Mathematica is used as a language for describing an algorithm to compute the coverage probability for a simple confidence interval based on the binomial distribution. Then, higher-level functions are used to compute probabilities of expressions in order to obtain coverage probabilities. Several examples are presented: two confidence intervals for a population proportion based on the binomial distribution, an asymptotic confidence interval for the mean of the Poisson distribution, and an asymptotic confidence interval for a population proportion based on the negative binomial distribution.


The development of autonomous vehicles or advanced driving assistance platforms has had a great leap forward to get closer to human daily life over the last decade. Nevertheless, it is still challenging to achieve an efficient and fully autonomous vehicle or driving assistance platform due to many strict requirements and complex situations or unknown environments. One of the main remaining challenges is a robust situation awareness in autonomous vehicles when the environment is unknoen. An autonomous system with a poor situation awareness due to low quantity or quality of data may directly or indirectly cause serious consequences. For instance, a person's life might be at risk due to a delay caused by a long or incorrect path planning of an autonomous ambulance. Internet of Everything (IoE) is currently becoming a prominent technology for many applications such as automation. In this paper, we propose an IoE-based architecture consisting of a heterogeneous team of cars and drones for enhancing situational awareness in autonomous cars, especially when dealing with critical cases of natural disasters. In particular, we show how an autonomous car can plan in advance the possible paths to a given destination, and send orders to other vehicles. These, in turn, perform terrain reconnaissance for avoiding obstacles and dealing with difficult situations. Together with a map merging algorithm deployed into the team autonomous vehicles, the proposed architecture can help to save traveling distance and time significantly in case of complex scenarios.


UNLABELLED
PURPOSE/MATERIAL AND METHOD: We present two cases of vascular ocular occlusion occurring during oral contraceptive use. Different contraceptive related risk factors are discussed.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS
Although ocular complications are rare, they should be kept in mind since these drugs (contraceptives) are not recommended when vascular occlusion risk factors are present.


ON SEPTEMBER 4, 1957, ARKANSAS GOVERNOR ORVAL E. FAUBUS placed Arkansas National Guard troops around Central High School in Little Rock in order to prevent the entry of African American students to the all-white school. At that moment Little Rock became a national and international symbol of violent resistance to federal authority and to racial change. The governor's decision initiated a round of legal and political maneuvering that ended with a federal court decision enjoining Faubus, the Arkansas National Guard, and specific others from interfering further with the admission of black students to Central High School. After Faubus removed the state troops, Little Rock police attempted unsuccessfully to maintain order when the African American students entered the school on September 23. Confronted by a menacing segregationist mob that the officers did not believe they could control, local police removed the black students at midday. In order to enforce federal authority, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army to Little Rock. With the assistance of the troops, the nine African American students entered again on September 25, eight of them for the duration of the academic year. (1) When Ernest Green in May 1958 became the first black student to receive a diploma from Central High School, the crisis remained unresolved. Discipline in the school had deteriorated badly as a group of white students tried to use harassment and intimidation to drive the African American students from Central High. School officials confronted frequent bomb threats and spent inordinate amounts of time dealing with the disciplinary and political problems that arose in the wake of massive resistance. In the fall of 1958 Little Rock's public high schools were closed following a referendum in which the city's citizens refused to vote for integration in order to keep their schools open. The future of public education was clearly at risk. (2) In addition, the national notoriety that resulted from Little Rock's turmoil threatened its nascent economic development program. Since World War II the business leaders of Little Rock, in alliance with the state government, had worked to attract new businesses and jobs from outside the South. The national business elite was unwilling to invest in a community experiencing the social instability, violence, and threats to the public schools that accompanied massive resistance. By endangering Little Rock's economic and educational base, the crisis had placed the future of the city's middle class in jeopardy. (3) The unsettling events also placed local leaders in a dilemma. As in other American cities, effective political power in Little Rock rested with a small number of businessmen who took for granted their right to decide the city's fate. This group of business leaders generally tried to exercise power from behind the scenes, thus distancing itself from public visibility and accountability as a political actor. In this way businessmen could deny the connections between their economic and political roles and minimize the risks to their businesses that public activism entailed. These men were socially conservative and sought to avoid public association with controversial issues. Not surprisingly, the school desegregation crisis made it virtually impossible for them to act effectively while remaining behind the scenes. (4) The business leaders in Little Rock were divided over the importance of segregation and over how to safeguard their economic and political interests; their uncertainty left them virtually paralyzed during the first two years of the crisis. Most supported segregation but were unhappy about the high cost of retaining it. When violence erupted in 1957, they were willing to condemn it but were not willing to engage in public discussion of the issue that had occasioned the unrest. Unable to act, they faced various challenges to their local monopoly on power, ranging from segregationists in the Capital Citizens' Council and the Mothers' League of Central High to the middle-class white women who organized the moderate Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) in September 1958. …


Comprehensive studies of the well-preserved, paleo-Arehean (3.6-3.2 Ga) Panorama volcanic-hosted massive sulfide district of Western Australla provide compelling evidence that metals were leached from the hase of the volcanic pile and redeposited at its top in volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposits. This leaching provided more than enough metal
to form known deposits, implying that direct magmatic input of metal is not required.
Sulfur depletion from the base of the volcanic pile was associated with an increase in Fe2O3/FeO and hematitic alteration. These data, combined with sulfur isotope data, indicate that seawater sulfate reduction was facilitated by the olddation of rock FeO to hematite at high temperature in the H2S stability field. This is the first time that seawater sulfate reduction has been demonstrated regionally in an ancient volcanic-hosted massive sulfide mineral system. The data presented here require pah-Archean seawater to be sufate bearing.


During the last decade, while national homicide rates have remained flat, New York City has experienced a second great crime decline, with gun violence declining by more than 50 percent since 2011. In this paper, we investigate one potential explanation for this dramatic and unexpected improvement in public safety—the New York Police Department's shift to a more surgical form of "precision policing," in which law enforcement focuses resources on a small number of individuals who are thought to be the primary drivers of violence. We study New York City's campaign of "gang takedowns" in which suspected members of criminal gangs were arrested in highly coordinated raids and prosecuted on conspiracy charges. We show that gun violence in and around public housing communities fell by approximately one third in the first year after a gang takedown. Our estimates imply that gang takedowns explain nearly one quarter of the decline in gun violence in New York City's public housing communities over the last eight years. © 2021 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management


BACKGROUND
Delirium is associated with increased mortality and length of hospital stay. Limited data are available from HIV-infected acute hospital admissions in developing countries. We conducted a prospective study of delirium among acute medical admissions in South Africa (SA), a developing country with universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) access and high burdens of tuberculosis (TB) and non-communicable disease.

OBJECTIVES
To identify the prevalence of, risk factors for and outcomes of delirium in HIV-infected individuals in acute general medical admissions.

METHODS
Three cohorts of adult acute medical admissions to Groote Schuur and Victoria Wynberg hospitals, Cape Town, SA, were evaluated for prevalent delirium within 24 hours of admission. Reference delirium testing was performed by either consultant physicians or neuropsychologists, using the Confusion Assessment Method.

RESULTS
The study included 1 182 acute medical admissions, with 318 (26.9%) HIV-infected. The median (interquartile range) age and CD4 count were 35 (30 - 43) years and 132 (61 - 256) cells/µL, respectively, with 140/318 (44.0%) using ART on admission. The prevalence of delirium was 17.6% (95% confidence interval (CI) 13.7 - 22.1) among HIV-infected patients, and delirium was associated with increased inpatient mortality. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, factors associated with delirium were age ≥55 years (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 6.95 (95% CI 2.03 - 23.67); p=0.002), and urea ≥15 mmol/L (aOR 4.83 (95% CI 1.7 - 13.44); p=0.003), while ART use reduced risk (p=0.014). A low CD4 count, an unsuppressed viral load and active TB were not predictors of delirium; nor were other previously reported risk factors such as non-opportunistic acute infections or polypharmacy.

CONCLUSIONS
Delirium is common and is associated with increased mortality in HIV-infected acute medical admissions in endemic settings, despite increased ART use. Older HIV-infected patients with renal dysfunction are at increased risk for inpatient delirium, while those using ART on admission have a reduced risk.


The formation and growth of intermetallic compounds of Sn-2.0Ag-2.5Zn solder on Cu and Ni substrates after soldering and subsequent aging process have been investigated in this study. Ni films were electrodeposited on copper substrates. The interfacial micrographs of solder joints prepared at 250°C for 15s and aged for 24h, 96h and 216 h respectively. Double-layer IMC composed with Cu5Zn8 and Ag3Sn was observed at the interface of Sn-2Ag-2.5Zn and Cu couple, which was compact and acted as a barrier layer to confine the further growth of Cu-Sn IMC. On Ni barrier layer, a thin Ni3Sn4 film appeared between the solder and Ni-W layer, which is thin and smooth. After aging process, the thickness increased slowly and steadily, which revealed that Ni barrier layer acts as a promising barrier layer.


The name is not only a denotation but also a connotation of life that a hunan being participated in Nature's nourishing. So the name can represent a personal story that symbolized the previous life, this present life, the future life. This study tries to explain my name with a religiously holy mood in order to listen to remote forgotten information and awake inner spirit. Whoever may so, the myth perhaps a true past over what the history recorded.


This article represents an open repository of human enamel data collected/reconstructed from seven populations covering a 2000 year time period in Britain via five temporally distinct periods. In total data was collected from 285 permanent teeth, including maxillary and mandibular first molars, and maxillary canines and first incisors. Data was gathered through thin histological methods using standard procedures for sectioning human dental material. In regards to enamel growth, data is collected for daily secretion rates (DSRs) for the inner, mid, and outer areas of lateral and cuspal enamel. For enamel thickness average (AET) and relative (RET) enamel thickness, cuspal linear thickness (CT), and lateral linear thickness (LT) was collected. Alongside the data presented this article also provides clear and transparent explanations for all the methods involved in its production, in order to ensure understanding of the rigorous protocol and consistency associated with the data provided. The novel data is also contextualised with a compilation of equivalent data published in past articles.


Our aim was to investigate thyroid:thyroid (T:T) ratio and visual inspection for assessing thyroid-lobe asymmetry in suspected hyperthyroid cats. Although thyroid-salivary asymmetry is a preferred test, inherent thyroid symmetry may assist image interpretation. Association was determined using a scatter plot and Spearman's rank correlation. Agreement was assessed using the kappa (K) statistic. Accuracy was assessed by sensitivity and specificity. Hyperthyroidism was diagnosed in 33/48 (69%) cats based on elevated serum total thyroxine level. Using two Wilcoxan rank-sum tests, a significant difference (P < 0.0001) was detected between cats with and without hyperthyroidism for both methods of assessing thyroid symmetry. For the 18 cats with T:T ratios < or = 1.5, there was poor correlation between the two methods (r(s) = 0.39). Using a cut-point of 1.5 for the T:T ratio, the test accurately predicted hyperthyroidism in 28/33 cats (sensitivity, 85%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 71-99%) and correctly predicted that hyperthyroidism was absent in 14/15 cats (specificity, 93%; CI, 77-100%). For visual inspection, agreement for diagnosing hyperthyroidism was excellent between methods (kappa = 0.82), within the same examiner (weighted kappa = 0.85) and between examiners (weighted kappa = 0.89). Considering cats with only definitely asymmetric thyroid lobes as positive, visual inspection accurately predicted hyperthyroidism in 28/33 cats (sensitivity, 85%; CI, 71-99%) and correctly predicted that hyperthyroidism was absent in 11/15 cats (specificity, 73%; CI, 48-99%). Thyroid-lobe asymmetry occurs more frequently in hyperthyroid than in euthyroid cats but caution should be exercised because some euthyroid cats have asymmetric thyroid glands.


Risk assessment of chemicals needs reliable scientific information and one source of information is the characterization of the metabolic fate and toxicokinetics of a chemical. Metabolism is often the most important factor contributing to toxicokinetics. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are a superfamily of microsomal proteins playing a pivotal role in xenobiotic metabolism. In the present study, pesticides were used as representative xenobiotics since exposure to pesticides is a global challenge to risk assessment. Human and animal in vitro hepatic models were applied with the advantage of novel analytical techniques (LC/TOF-MS and LC/MS-MS) to elucidate the in vitro metabolism and interaction of selected pesticides. The results of these studies demonstrate that CYP enzymes catalyze the bioactivation of profenofos, diuron and carbosulfan into their more toxic metabolites desthiopropylprofenofos, Ndemethyldiuron and carbofuran, respectively. The suspected carcinogenic metabolite of metalaxyl, 2,6-dimethylaniline, was not detected. CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 activities may be important in determining the toxicity arising from exposure to profenofos and carbosulfan. Individuals with high CYP1A2 and CYP2C19 activities might be more susceptible to diuron toxicity. Qualitative results of in vitro metabolism were generally in agreement with the results obtained from the published in vivo data, at least for the active chemical moiety and major metabolites. Considerable differences in the quantities of the metabolites produced within the species, as well as in the ratios of the metabolites among the species, were observed. These findings illustrate that in vitro screening of qualitative and quantitative differences are needed to provide a firm basis for interspecies and in vitro-in vivo extrapolations. Based on our findings, in vitro-in vivo extrapolation based on the elucidation of the in vitro metabolic pattern of pesticides in human and animal hepatic models could be a good model for understanding and extending the results of pesticides metabolism studies to human health risk assessment.


Abstract The unique, double-retina, concave mirror eyes of scallops are abundant along the valve mantle margins. Scallops have the most acute vision among the bivalve molluscs, but little is known about how eyes vary between scallop species. We examined eye morphology by immunofluorescent labeling and confocal microscopy and calculated optical resolution and sensitivity for the swimming scallops Amusium balloti (Bernardi, 1861), Placopecten magellenicus (Gmelin, 1791), Argopecten irradians (Lamarck, 1819), Chlamys hastata (Sowerby, 1842), and Chlamys rubida (Hinds, 1845) and the sessile scallops Crassadoma gigantea (Gray, 1825) and Spondylus americanus (Hermann, 1781). We found that eye morphology varied considerably between scallop species. The eyes of A balloti and P. magellenicus had relatively large lenses and small gaps between the retinas and mirror, making them appear similar to those described previously for Pecten maximus (Linnaeus, 1758). In contrast, the other five species we examined had eyes with relatively small lenses and large gaps between the retinas and mirror. We also found evidence that swimming scallops may have better vision than non-swimmers. Swimming species had proximal retinas with inter-receptor angles between 1.0 ± 0.1 (A. balloti) and 2.7 ± 0.3° (C. rubida), while sessile species had proximal retinas with inter-receptor angles between 3.2 ± 0.2 (C. gigantea) and 4.5 ± 0.3° (S. americanus). Distal retina inter-receptor angles ranged from 1.7 ± 0.1 (A balloti) to 2.8 ± 0.1° (C. rubida) for swimming species and from 3.0 ± 0.1 (C. gigantea) to 3.6 ± 0.2° (S. americanus) for sessile species, but did not appear to correlate as strongly with swimming ability as proximal retina inter-receptor angles did. Finally, we found that optical sensitivity differed between species, measuring from 3 ± 1 (A. balloti) to 21 ± 10 µm2 · sr (C. hastata) for proximal retinas and from 2 ± 1 (C. gigantea) to 8 ± 5 µm2 · sr (C. hastata) for distal retinas. These differences, however, did not appear to correlate with ecological factors such as a scallop species' swimming ability, preferred substrate type, or range of habitat depth. In light of these and previous findings, we hypothesize that scallop distal retinas may perform tasks of similar importance to all species, such as predator detection, and that proximal retinas may perform tasks more important to swimming species, such as those associated with the visual detection of preferred habitats.


This paper describes the design, development and implementation of a Data Communication Link to interconnect the SCADA's of the main oil companies located on the east coast of the Maracaibo Lake (Maraven, Lagoven and Pequiven) with the Energy Management System of the oil sector, called OFIPET. The Data Link was developed over a Wide Area Network (WAN) concept. The protocol used to support this WAN is called ELCOM-90. This high level protocol fulfills all the ISO/OSI standard specifications both at the Application and Presentation Layers. This Data Link allows Electrical-based information interchange among all the computers (partners) connected to the network. Under this scheme, all the partners can request and send information to another partner. Each partner, independently, can perform a series of tasks like Dispatch and Load Prediction, Global Planing, State Prediction, Customer Charges, etc.


Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) mRNA modification triggers malignant behavior in tumor cells, which promotes malignant progression and migration of gastric cancer (GC). Nevertheless, studies on the prognostic value of m6A-related long non-coding RNA (MRlncRNA) in GC remain quite restricted. The study aimed to develop a reasonable predictive model to explore the prognostic potential of MRlncRNAs in predicting the prognosis of GC patients and monitoring the efficacy of immunotherapy. Methods: Transcriptomic and clinical data for GC were derived from TCGA. Next, univariate Cox, LASSO and multivariate Cox regression analyses were next used to identify prognostic MRlncRNAs, calculate risk scores and build risk assessment models. The predictive power of the risk models was then validated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, ROC curves, DCA, C-index, and nomogram. We attempted to effectively differentiate between groups in terms of immune cell infiltration status, ICI-related genes, immunotherapy responses, and common anti-tumor drug sensitivity. Results: A risk model based on 11 MRlncRNAs was developed with an AUC of 0.850, and the sensitivity and specificity of this model in predicting survival probability is satisfactory. The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the low-risk group in the model had a significantly higher survival rate, and the model was highly associated with survival status, clinical features, and clinical stage. Furthermore, the model was verified to be an independent prognostic risk factor, and the low-risk group in the model had a remarkable positive correlation with a variety of immune cell infiltrates. The expression levels of ICI-related genes differed significantly between the different groups. Lastly, immunotherapy responses and common anti-tumor drug sensitivity also differed significantly between different groups. Conclusion: The risk model on the basis of 11-MRlncRNAs can serve as independent predictors of GC prognosis and may be useful in developing personalized treatment strategies for patients.


The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) collects images of the sky at radio wavelengths with an unprecedented field of view, combined with a high angular resolution and sub-millijansky sensitivities. The large quantity of data produced is used by the ASKAP Variables and Slow Transients (VAST) survey science project to study the dynamic radio sky. Efficient pipelines are vital in such research, where searches often form a 'needle in a haystack' type of problem to solve. However, the existing pipelines developed among the radio-transient community are not suitable for the scale of ASKAP datasets. In this paper we provide a technical overview of the new "VAST Pipeline": a modern and scalable Python-based data pipeline for transient searches, using up-to-date dependencies and methods. The pipeline allows source association to be performed at scale using the Pandas DataFrame interface and the well-known Astropy crossmatch functions. The Dask Python framework is used to parallelise operations as well as scale them both vertically and horizontally, by means of a cluster of workers. A modern web interface for data exploration and querying has also been developed using the latest Django web framework combined with Bootstrap.


Purpose. Combined biological therapy with 13-cis-retinoic acid (13-cRA) and interferon alpha-2a (IFN α-2a) was reported to be highly effective in squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix and skin. Squamous cell carcinoma of the penis is rare in the United States, accounting for less than1/2% of all male malignancies. Because of the association of infection with human papillomavirus with both carcinomas of the cervix and penis and their shared squamous cell histology, we carried out a phase II study of 13-cRA and IFN α-2a in carcinoma of the penis. Materials and Methods. Eighteen ambulatory patients with surgically unresectable, recurrent, and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the penis were treated with IFN α-2a, 3 MU/day administered subcutaneously and 13-cRA, l mg/kg orally daily for at least eight weeks, unless intolerable toxicity occurred. Results. One patient was ineligible; one patient withdrew prior to treatment. Among the 16 eligible, treated patients, there was one complete response. Fourteen patients had progressive disease as their only treatment effect. Two patients were unevaluable for tumor response because they had no follow-up tumor measurements. No unexpected treatment-related toxicities were found on study. The only common form of grade 3 toxicity was hypertriglyceridemia found in eight of the 17 patients (47%). No toxicities above grade 3 were observed. Conclusion. In contrast to its benefit in squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix and skin, the combination of 13-cRA and IFN α-2a has low efficacy in advanced carcinoma of the penis.


Progress in the digital area has been quite significant in the past few years in terms of data monitoring, remote collaborative work, telecommunications and robotics to the point that disruptive ways to operate and to design surface installations can now be envisioned with HSE benefits and substantial cost reductions without compromising production efficiency.
 Normally Unattended Installations with presence of people on site only once a year (NUI-1Y) for maintenance campaigns is the ultimate aim of unmanned concepts and a new frontier for cost reduction. This approach is particularly relevant for remote production sites where operations usually require a continuous presence of a large crew and heavy logistical means.
 Although, this concept seems very challenging, it is in fact a natural extension of what has been applied with success on subsea developments starting over twenty years ago where wells, valves, separators, pumps and now compressors have been remotely operated from a host facility, together with the occasional assistance of Remote Operated Vehicles. A NUI-1Y development, in its philosophy, is very similar to a subsea architecture that would be applied to a surface installation.
 A successful NUI-1Y development would also be the result of an optimization where from the initial design phase, the project would try to reduce as much as possible Site Working Hours, both planned and unplanned. This is accomplished through careful selection of new architectures, a fully electrified concept, extensive use of digitalization, low maintenance and highly reliable components or technologies. These technologies exist or are under development and include autonomous ground robots which can operate in routine or downgraded situations during the period between site visits. Along with the design, traditional operating philosophies must also be amended to address operations in a fully remote mode.
 This paper will give an overview and examples on how Total is:
 – Maturing new designs, focusing first on reduction of Site Working Hours as a new Key Performance Indicator, alongside other KPIs such as topside weight reduction and equipment uptime. – Challenging traditional safety concept and bases of design and philosophies which were previously biased towards design and safety of permanently manned installations. This includes developing remote or automated technical solutions that previously required human presence for specific operations. – Piloting autonomous ground robots and adapting installations so that they can be robotically operated.


The objective of this study was to determine the socio-demography (age, race and gender) of a group of Malaysian patients who were diagnosed as suffering from oral lichen planus (OLP). The occurrence of malignancy was also investigated. A total of 77 clinical and biopsy records of patients with OLP were studied. Females were affected more than males, with the female to male ratio being 2:1. Middle-aged Indian and Chinese females tend to be affected by OLP when compared with the rest of the population. Only 19 patients returned for further follow-up. One adult Indian female with a six-year history of lichenoid reaction showed the presence of malignancy.


As smartwatches gain popularity in the marketplace, various smartwatch context studies have been conducted. *e use of smartwatches can be divided into situations with and without constraint both physically and psychologically. Notably, in constrained situations, if the user wants to check the information received in the smartwatch visually, a high cognitive load is involved. To solve this problem, we propose a method to encode and transmit information from the smartwatch with haptic pulses. First, we determine the informational category of the smartwatch and generate various haptic pulses. Next, we propose and verify a haptic pulse set that can represent the informational category of the smartwatch. Using the proposed haptic pulse set, users can receive smartwatch information in constraint situations. *e use of encoded haptic pulses needs to be considered to provide information effectively from the smartwatch to the wearer.


The purpose of this study was to test effects of traditional play based physical activity program on social competence. To obtain this purpose, the following research hypotheses were established. First, experimental group will show higher level of social activity than control group. Second, experimental group will show higher level of stability than control group. Third, experimental group will show higher level of cooperation than control group. Fourth, experimental group will show higher level of hypersensitiveness than control group. Forty eight four year children participated in this study. Iowa Social Competency Scale(Preschool Form) was used to measure children's social competence. Collected data were analyzed using t-test and analysis of covariance. The results of this study showed that program was effective in improving children's socal competence. These results were discussed in relation to previous study. Finally research questions for future study were suggested with comment on limitations of this study.


The aim of this paper is to analyze a series of formative experiences with technologies which are offered to teachers in initial and continuous formations. The corpus, analyzed by Grounded Theory principles, integrates a wide-ranging collection of teacher formation courses. Based on the analysis, categories are elaborated to characterize experiences regarding different levels of technology inclusion. The analysis could be central to future teacher practices with ICT.


The dismal prognosis of pancreatic cancer and the development of new, minimally invasive bypass techniques require a differentiated indication for open pancreatic resection. Diagnostic modalities, which facilitate an accurate assessment of resectability, have to be found. Modern imaging and endoscopic techniques fullfill these requirements in only about 50% of cases. Diagnostic laparoscopy is the only method for visualization of peritoneal metastases. The use of diagnostic laparoscopy and laparoscopic sonography raises the resectability rate to between 75% and 100%. 33% up to 67% of patients deemed resectable by preoperative imaging show signs of irresectable cancer at laparoscopy and can be spared a negative laparotomy. These patients can be treated by laparoscopic or endoscopic bypass techniques.


The paper presents the development of a simulation system composed of a real-time plant simulator with real-time controller included in the software-in-the-loop structure using web-based communication. The client-server architecture build in a TCP/IP network environment was introduced, where the server is a computing unit for real-time high temporal resolution plant simulation (and optionally also as controllers' platform) and the web browser application is a client for controller purposes and user interface. Such a structure allows to familiarize user with the simulated plant but also to perform simulation with wide variety of control algorithms and control structures. Division of code into functional groups allows easy modifications and application of new plants and controllers for simulation. A communication latency is crucial element and can be critical in case of specific processes to correctly perform the simulation. Simulator uses previously developed mechanism of step adaptation for keeping up with real-time which allows to follow real-time operation at the expense of results quality. Clear and easy interface for signals exchange between the simulated plant and controllers and simulation was introduced. Management console, which has the ability to present data in form or numerical data or dynamically updated graphs was provided. Users have ability to manage simulation parameters and control chosen variables of the simulation through web browser GUI. Some classic control schemes of the nuclear reactor have been chosen as benchmarks and used with simple test scenarios to present capabilities of the proposed structure.


The dynamic stability improvement of a longitudinal power system using a power system stabilizer (PSS) and a static VAr (reactive volt-ampere) compensator (SVC) is reported. An analytical approach is developed for the determination of PSS parameters. The effect of static VAr compensators installed at several different locations along 345 kV trunk lines on system responses is examined. Results from time-domain simulations indicate that the PSS and the SVC are very effective in damping system oscillations. >


Correction for 'Single atomic Fe-N4 active sites and neighboring graphitic nitrogen for efficient and stable electrochemical CO2 reduction' by Leta Takele Menisa et al., Nanoscale Horiz., 2022, https://doi.org/10.1039/D2NH00143H.


There is growing concern to ensure that the results of health services research reach, and are understood by, those who plan and provide health services. Because of the complexity and variability of services, it is often difficult to translate findings from one setting to another. This paper discusses an attempt to disseminate the findings of one study, Patterns and Pathways of Care of Old People, by visiting local health services on request. The main conclusion is that, for a qualitative study such as this, considerable effort is needed to predetermine which relevant research aspects and local people to bring together to make the exercise useful to either party. If dissemination of National Health Service (NHS) funded research is to be promoted, a central issue to be addressed is who is responsible for initiating and funding this stage. The paper raises a number of options.


A 30-year-old woman had bilateral anterior ischemic optic neuropathy after undergoing large-volume liposuction. Visual function remained stable over a four-month follow-up, with decreased visual acuity and marked constriction of the visual fields. To our knowledge, this is the second reported case of ischemic optic neuropathy in this setting.


The Family Service Centre, a voluntary social work agency attached to the University of Western Australia first opened its doors to clients on the 16th May 1977. The idea of establishing a broadbased family centre attached to the Social Work Department at U.W.A. was first mooted in 1974 in the Department's Triennium Submission for 1976-78 to the Australian Universities Commission and still remains a novelty in the Australian social work education scene. The sixth A.U.C. Report, in fact, expressed considerable interest in the idea by stating that "it might support a contribution to the academic staffing of such a development on the same basis as a University teaching hospital". Unfortunately, the lapse of this Report for political reasons, meant that this and other proposals contained in it were either shelved, lapsed or had to be reactivated within a different policy framework.


Objectives Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients suffer from various clinical manifestations with the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). APS may manifest itself as a primary disease (PAPS) or as a secondary disease (SAPS), most commonly in the context of Systemic Lupus Erythemathosus (SLE) Methods We analyzed 488 patients: 346 PAPS (70.9%) (77.7% female and 22.3% male) average age 44.1±13.0 years and 142 patients with secondary APS (SLE) patients (29.1%) (90.8% female and 9.2% male) average age 47.2±14.8 years. aPL analysis included analysis of aCL (IgG/IgM), β2GPI (IgG/IgM) and LA. aPL analysis included analysis of aCL (IgG/IgM), β2GPI (IgG/IgM) and LA. In all patients data considering cardiac, vascular, pulmonary, neurological, skin and hematological disorders were collected. Results There was 30.8% aCL-IgG, 49.7% aCL-IgM, 31.4% β2GPI IgG, 40.4% β2GPI IgM and 54.0% LA positive PAPS patients. Among SAPS patients 57.9% were aCL-IgG, 61.4% aCL-IgM, 40.7% β2GPI IgG, 45.0% β2GPI IgM and 51.1% LA positive. We observed 56.3% with neurological, 23.0% patients with skin, 27.3% with cardiac, 20.8% with hematological and 15.2% with pulmonary disorders. 54.3% of patients had peripheral vascular thrombosis (arterial, venous or both) in PAPS and 70.4% SAPS patients with skin, 77.3% with neurological, 40.8% with cardiac, 64.8% with hematological and 12.0% with pulmonary disorders. 57.9% of SAPS patients had peripheral vascular thrombosis. Between SAPS and PAPS patients we observed highly statisticaly significant difference considering neurological (p=0.0001), cardiac (p=0.002), skin (p=0.0001) and hematological manifestations (p=0.0001) in favour of patients with SAPS. Conclusions Patients with SAPS suffer more often from various clinical features comparing to patients PAPS. Additional autoimmune burden in those patients presented through aPL presence besides actual autoimmune disease pannel, could be an explanation. References Stojanovich L, Djokovic A, Marisavljevic D, Ilijevski N, Stanisavljevic N, Mikovic Z, Petkovic M, and Kovcin V. Association between Systemic Non-criteria APS Manifestations and Antibody Type and Level: Results from the Serbian National Cohort Study. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, 2013 Sep-Oct;31(5):756-60. Stojanovich L, Markovic O, Marisavljevic D, Elezovic I, Ilijevski N and Stanisavljevic N. Influence of antiphospholipid antibody levels and type on thrombotic manifestations: results from the Serbian National cohort study. Lupus 2011;0: 1–8. Acknowledgements This work was supported by research grant number 175041 for 2011-2014, issued by the Ministry of Science of the Republic of Serbia. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.2428


CONTEXT AND PURPOSE
Depression among rural women is a major public health concern. The purpose of this study was to test the competing theories of social causation and social selection to assess the relationship between depression and economic status for a sample of rural, low-income women in the United States.

METHODS
Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data from Rural Families Speak, a US Department of Agriculture-funded multi-state, longitudinal study of rural low-income families (N = 413).

FINDINGS
Results indicated that the social causation theory yielded a better approximation of the relationship between economic status and depression (RMSEA = 0.50 for a model based on this theory) than the social selection theory (RMSEA = 0.067).

CONCLUSIONS
The association between lesser economic status and depressive symptoms is pressing in rural areas, given the high prevalence of both depression and poverty. These findings further emphasize the need for improved mental health services in this vulnerable population.


We have previously demonstrated that when cultured in Dexter-type Long-Term Marrow Cultures (LTMC), hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) from patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) show a defective proliferation, as compared to HPC from normal marrow. In that study it was also demonstrated that functional alterations were present in the hematopoietic microenvironment developed in culture; thus, it was not clear whether such a defective proliferation in vitro was due to an intrinsic defect in the HPC compartment of DLBCL patients, or to an altered microenvironment, or both. In order to address this question, in the present study we have assessed the proliferation and expansion potentials of HPC present in bone marrow from patients with DLBCL, in cytokine-supplemented liquid cultures initiated with a cell population enriched for CD34+ Lin- cells, in the absence of stromal cells and in the presence of reduced numbers of accessory cells. Our results demonstrated that bone marrow-derived HPC from patients with DLBCL, both before and right after chemotherapy, possessed reduced proliferation and expansion potentials in vitro, as compared to their normal counterparts. Interestingly, in patients analyzed 18 months after treatment the proliferation and expansion levels were similar to those of normal HPC, indicating a complete restoration of the hematopoietic function. Although the reason for these observations is not clear, our results suggest the possibility that primitive CD34+ progenitor cells present in bone marrow, which show deficient proliferation and expansion potentials in vitro, are involved in the origin/progression of DLBCL.


As many as 139 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy were examined for the effect of the clinical, ECG, x-ray, phono-, echo- and angiocardiographic indicators and heart catheterization data on the disease outcomes for 3 years after the examination. Risk factors of an unfavorable prediction were distinguished. They include pronounced impairment of heart function, proneness to thromboembolism, appreciable dilatation of the left ventricle, dramatic reduction of its contractility during expulsion and rise of the filling pressure.


The paper deals with the relation between verbal expressions and mental images. As claimed by cognitive linguists, "understanding a verbal message" requires that two kinds of mental imagery be evoked: rich images, which are encoded in individual lexemes, and schematic images, conventionally related to grammatical structures. Based upon this principle, an analysis of a Polish poem and its English translation is carried out, in order to demonstrate that a complicated interplay between the two kinds of mental imagery underlies the texts and accounts for their interpretation.


The use of the very efficient nonlinear medium of dye molecules held in glue films is described for optical phase conjugation (OPC) experiments using an argon ion laser. The medium is attractive because it is inexpensive, easy to prepare and a large signal-to-noise ratio can be obtained. It is suitable for introducing OPC in postgraduate laboratory courses.


ZrSiS is a nodal-line semimetal, whose electronic band structure contains a diamond-shaped line of Dirac nodes. We carried out a comparative study on the optical conductivity of ZrSiS and related compounds ZrSiSe, ZrSiTe, ZrGeS, and ZrGeTe by reflectivity measurements over a broad frequency range combined with density functional theory calculations. The optical conductivity exhibits a distinct U shape, ending at a sharp peak at around 10000~cm$^{-1}$ for all studied compounds, except for ZrSiTe. The U shape of the optical conductivity is due to transitions between the linearly dispersing bands crossing each other along the nodal line. The sharp high-energy peak is related to transitions between almost parallel bands, and its energy position depends on the interlayer bonding correlated with the $c$/$a$ ratio, which can be tuned by either chemical or external pressure. For ZrSiTe, another pair of crossing bands appears in the vicinity of the Fermi level, corrugating the nodal-line electronic structure and leading to the observed difference in optical conductivity. The findings suggest that the Dirac physics in Zr$XY$ compounds with $X$=Si, Ge and $Y$=S, Se, Te is closely connected to the interlayer bonding.


Title of Document: MEASURING TEACHING PRACTICES: DOES A SELF-REPORT MEASURE OF INSTRUCTION PREDICT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? Jill M. Berger, M.A., 2010 Directed By: Professor Gary D. Gottfredson, Department of Counseling and Personnel Services Teachers affect student achievement. Measuring what makes teachers "effective" is a challenge without a clear definition of the construct or constructs involved. Selfreports cost little and allow for data collection from large samples, but the reliability and validity of self-report measures for studying teacher effectiveness have not been adequately examined. This study explored the utility of a self-report measure of instruction (Instructional Practices Scale). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the effects of the scale on students' reading and math standardized test scores and report card grades. Although the scale showed small to moderate relationships with teacher characteristics, results suggested little predictive validity and little discriminant validity. Further, the effects of teacher-reported instruction on achievement were not dependent on students' entering level of achievement. When measuring loosely defined constructs such as "effective instruction," the cost of using a self-report measure may outweigh the benefits. MEASURING TEACHING PRACTICES: DOES A SELF-REPORT MEASURE OF INSTRUCTION PREDICT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT?


Abstract Bathside Bay, situated between Harwich and Parkeston Quay, has been the subject for many plans for reclamation and development. Following a period of inactivity by developers Essex County Council commissioned an independent study into alternative routes for a road between Parkeston and Harwich to relieve traffic congestion in Dovercourt. The comprehensive geological, geotechnical, engineering and environmental studies carried out by G. Maunsell and Partners had been completed when a large volume of spoil from a channel dredging contract to be carried out in Harwich Harbour became available at short notice. There were benefits to both Essex County Council and owners of Bathside Bay, Sealink British Ferries Ltd., if this spoil could be used to reclaim part of Bathside Bay. Negotiations with the various statutory bodies, authorities and affected groups were started while further geotechnical and engineering work was competed. The reclamation of approximately 40 hectares of Bathside Bay was completed using 1.2 million cubic metres of material. Observations of settlement show that about 0.2 m settlement took place immediately with a further 0.4 m taking place during the following year. Several minor slips occurred during the filling operation partly attributable to geological features. Having completed the reclamation work Essex County Council are now proceeding with plans for the new road. Sealink are preparing for port development, including reclamation of the remaining area in Bathside Bay.


The first objective of this study was to determine the influence of dietary composition on the in situ disappearance of phytate (InsP6) from wheat, corn, soybean meal, and rapeseed meal [solvent-extracted, without (RSM) or with (hRSM) heat treatment] in the rumen of dairy cows. The second objective was to assess the primary degradation products of InsP6 in the rumen. Three diets differing in phosphorus and InsP6 concentration (basal diet = 0.38% P in dry matter; high-P diet = 0.56% P; high-InsP6 diet = 0.39% P) were fed to 3 ruminally fistulated lactating Jersey cows in a 3 × 3 Latin square. Ground concentrates (sieve size = 2 mm) were incubated in polyester bags in the rumen for 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 h. The bag residues were analyzed for P, InsP6, isomers of lower inositol phosphates (InsP5, InsP4, InsP3), and crude protein. The InsP6 disappeared more rapidly from cereal grains than from oilseed meals; however, after 24 h of incubation ≥95% InsP6 had disappeared from all concentrates except hRSM (57%; diet average). Feeding the high-InsP6 diet increased InsP6 disappearance for oilseed meals, but not for corn and wheat. The predominant InsP5 isomer in all bag residues was Ins(1,2,4,5,6)P5 followed by Ins(1,2,3,4,5)P5 and Ins(1,2,3,4,6)P5. A further InsP5 isomer [Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5] was detected in both rapeseed meal bag residues. Feeding the high-InsP6 diet led to lower concentrations of Ins(1,2,4,5,6)P5 and Ins(1,2,3,4,5)P5, whereas an interaction between diet, concentrate, and time occurred for Ins(1,2,3,4,6)P5 and Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5. The results confirm the high potential of rumen microorganisms to hydrolyze InsP6; however, increasing the amount of InsP6 in the diet can further enhance InsP6 hydrolysis, which may be relevant when concentrates with slowly degradable InsP6, such as RSM or heat-treated concentrates, are fed to dairy cows. Based on the concentrations of InsP5 isomers, 3 and 6 phytases appear to play a major role in the rumen. Conversely, intrinsic plant phytase activity appears to be less relevant as the percentage of its primary hydrolysis product, Ins(1,2,3,4,5)P5, changed only slightly upon using wheat known for high intrinsic phytase activity instead of the other concentrates. Additional information regarding the factors influencing the extent of ruminal InsP6 disappearance will require further studies to determine the phytase activity of rumen microorganisms and the characteristics of their respective phytases.


Underground geological sequestration of CO2 is considered as one of the most promising solutions for overcoming the global warming problem. Time lapse seismic monitoring enables us to monitor the CO2 plume migration and is considered as an integral component of a geological CO2 sequestration project because the seismic behavior of the rock is a function of both mineralogical composition and also the physical properties of the pore fluids. CO2 can be presented as gaseous, liquid and supercritical states at the uppermost kilometer of the sedimentary basin while in CO2 sequestration operation the supercritical and liquid states of CO2 are preferred due to the higher sweep efficiency. In this study, both compressional (Vp) and shear (Vs) wave velocities of a CO2 saturated Red Wildmoor sandstone sample under different temperature and pressure conditions are measured in a uniaxial hydrostatic cell equipped with acoustic transmitting and receiving transducers. The observed velocities illustrate that by introducing CO2 into the dry core, the resultant wave velocities decrease up until the critical condition in which by further increasing the CO2 pressure the Vs remains unchanged while the Vp gradually increases up to the maximum pressured applied in this study. Also it was observed that at lower temperature, the gas to liquid CO2 phase transition occurs with a sudden decrease in the amounts of the observed velocities while at higher temperature the velocity reduction is smoother possibly due to reaching the supercritical state. The observed velocities are in good agreement with Gassmann predicted velocities as well as literature data.


Block (2012) highlights two experimental studies of neglect patients which, he contends, provide 'dramatic evidence' for unconscious seeing. In Block's hands this is the highly non-trivial thesis that seeing of the same fundamental kind as ordinary conscious seeing can occur outside of phenomenal consciousness. Block's case for it provides an excellent opportunity to consider a large body of research on clinical syndromes widely held to evidence unconscious perception. I begin by considering in detail the two studies of neglect to which Block appeals. I show why their interpretation as evidence of unconscious seeing faces a series of local difficulties. I then explain how, even bracketing these issues, a long-standing but overlooked problem concerning our criterion for consciousness problematizes the appeal to both studies. I explain why this problem is especially pressing for Block given his view that phenomenal consciousness overflows access consciousness. I further show that it is epidemic—not only affecting all report-based studies of unconscious seeing in neglect, but also analogous studies of the condition most often alleged to show unconscious seeing, namely blindsight.


Abstract. Phase retarders normally exhibit strong wavelength dependence. However, for use with polychromatic light, achromatic retarders, which exhibit ideally nearly identical characteristics over a wide wavelength region, are in demand. Designing such a superachromatic retarder is a challenging task for an optical system designer where retardation will be almost constant within a wide range of wavelengths. The present investigation considers a system consisting of wave plates made of different materials, which focus on near-infrared wavelength range, viz. 800 to 2000 nm. Here, a flower pollination algorithm has been used for this nonlinear optimization problem. With the help of the mentioned optimization technique, the optimal values of thicknesses of wave plates are calculated for which the system act as a quarter-wave plate. The obtained result shows a significant improvement in terms of maximum deviation of retardation for the above-mentioned wavelength range. The proposed methodology holds promise for optimizing the design of optical systems.


Elementary and high schools can run their newspaper publications and Calapan City Division schools have been persistent in producing school papers through the years. This study sought to identify the extent of performance of the secondary school publications of Calapan City Division in terms of providing information to the students, providing information to the parents, and providing information to the community. This study used the descriptive-correlational method. The respondents of this study were the publication staff, school paper advisers, and secondary school heads of eleven (11) secondary at Calapan City Division. A self-structured survey questionnaire was used in gathering data. Results showed that the performance of secondary school publications at Calapan City Division in terms of providing information to the students, parents, and community is to a high extent. This proves that the school publications in the secondary level publish articles relevant to the reading public. The quality of the paper the school publishes depends on the capabilities of writers, the assistance of trained advisers, and the standing of the school publication itself. It is recommended that the school should continue honing the students writing capabilities through training and seminars not only for the sake of scholastic journalism but also to guide them in their career paths.


A rare case of Papillon-Lefevre syndrome is discussed with clinicoradiological presentation. The purpose of the case report is to make the medical community aware of this rare syndrome and its association with consanguinity. Papillon-Lefevre syndrome is an extremely rare genodermatosis of autosomal-recessive inheritance which usually manifests itself between the ages of 6 months to 4 years characterised by diffuse palmoplanter hyperkeratosis (keratoderma), and rapidly progressive and devastating periodontitis, affecting the primary as well as permanent dentition. Papillon-Lefevre syndrome results from a combination of host and bacterial factors, including recessive gene, consanguinity, specific periodontal pathogens and lack of thorough oral hygiene. The present case report describes Papillon-Lefevre syndrome and its association with consanguinity in a 3-year-old girl.


The slip casting process in advanced ceramics was observed using an NMR imaging system. After the Al2O3 water suspension (Al2O3 slip) was poured into the mould, cross section of the mould was imaged. In the sequentially taken NMR images the Al2O3 slip was clearly distinguishable from the deposit because of the difference in relaxation time T2 and an increase of the deposit thickness with time was observed. These results indicate that NMR imaging is useful in the nondestructive monitoring of the slip casting process.


Geomagnetic observatory data dates back more than 150 years. However, since the advent of digital recordings in the 1960s these data have become increasingly separated from their associated metadata. Traditionally, information about an observatory's instrumentation, data processing history, quality control methods, environment, housing, staffing etc. where noted annually in observatory yearbooks. Whilst many observatories still produce these documents many no longer record metadata in this way. In addition, subsequent changes made to datasets and then submitted to World Data Centres (WDC), have not been well documented leading to discrepancies between different data centres. Furthermore, known issues with particular datasets cannot be highlighted for current or future researchers as there are limited metadata held with or within digital data files.
This paper describes the current efforts by the WDC for Geomagnetism, Edinburgh, to improve its holdings with these vital metadata. We describe how we are now collecting and distributing various metadata via our WDC web pages. We also discuss some of the difficulties in capturing, storing and distributing geomagnetic metadata. The time-varying aspect to these data is a great challenge in this regard and is not something well captured in current metadata standards used for geospatial data. We wish to encourage observatory operators to record these vital metadata in some form or another (yearbooks, free-form text etc) and the geomagnetism community to help establish some standard for the level of metadata recorded.


In recent years, electric mobility is becoming a growing reality because of the increase of the oil demand and cost as well as the environmental effect of the conventional internal combustion engines. Since about a decade, in the USA, a public– private cooperative research initiative, called FreedomCAR (US Drive by mid 2012) has been working for developing high efficiency and cost competitive technologies for the electrification of private transport. This research presents the design and the comparison of two high performance, radial magnetisation, interior permanent magnets and synchronous motors, according to the FreedomCAR targets, equipped with different rotor shape geometries. The first is characterised by a nonuniform airgap, whereas the second presents a conventional rotor shape. Both the machines are equipped with the same stator and a fractional slot concentrated winding. This paper highlights the benefits for using a non-uniform airgap rotor design, especially concerning the efficiency, that represents the most difficult target to be satisfied.


This article presents results of a study that investigates egocentric network differences between female and male entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial outcomes in Tanzania. Based on a random sample of 272 micro-, small, and medium-size enterprises, the study reveals that female and male entrepreneurs have diverse networks. However, when compared to their male counterparts, female entrepreneurs' strong ties included more kin members. No significant gender difference in the composition of weaker ties was observed, suggesting gender differences in the choice of individuals with whom to have strong ties but not with whom to have weak ties. A significant gender difference in entrepreneurial outcomes at both start up and at the time of research was found, suggesting an antecedent networking behavior influence on performance.


Robotic wheeled rovers have been successfully controlled by activity execution systems that use plans with temporal flexibility to adapt to disturbances. These systems abstract away the detailed dynamic constraints of the controlled device. To control dynamic, devices, such as agile bipeds, we extend this execution paradigm to incorporate detailed dynamic constraints.

Building upon prior work on dispatchable plan execution, we introduce a novel approach to flexible plan execution that achieves robustness by exploiting spatial as well as temporal plan flexibility. To accomplish this, we first transform the high-dimensional system into a set of low dimensional, weakly-coupled systems. Second, to coordinate these systems, we compile a plan into a flow tube description, representing all legal trajectories and their temporal coordination. Finally, the problem of runtime plan dispatching is reduced to maintaining state trajectories in their associated flow tubes. The approach is validated using a high fidelity biped simulation.


Purpose of review To present the current state of knowledge concerning different laryngeal reinnervation procedures for unilateral and bilateral vocal palsy. Recent findings Recent reports show positive outcomes on both unilateral and bilateral reinnervations. The phrenic nerve is the most commonly used donor for bilateral vocal palsy, but use of the superior laryngeal nerve has also been suggested. Summary Reinnervation of the larynx is a complex undertaking that can be performed by ENT surgeons with skills in microsurgery. Advances in this this field represent a paradigm shift in laryngeal rehabilitation and a prerequisite for laryngeal transplantation. Advances in basic understanding of nerve regeneration and in particular the need to surgically manage competitive reinnervation make the results of laryngeal reinnervation more predictable.


Clinical assessment of an infant's heart rate (HR) in the delivery room (DR) has been reported to be inaccurate. We compared auscultation of the HR using a stethoscope with electrocardiography (ECG) and pulse oximetry (PO) for determining the HR in 92 low-risk newborn infants in the DR. Caregivers auscultated the HR while masked to the HR on the monitor. Auscultation underestimated ECG HR (mean difference (95% CI) by −9 (−15 to –2) beats per minute (bpm)) and PO HR (mean difference (95% CI) by −5 (−12 to 2) bpm). The median (IQR) time to HR by auscultation was 14 (10–18) s. As HR was determined quickly and with reasonable accuracy by auscultation in low-risk newborns, study in high-risk infants is warranted.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of combined therapy with Bailing Capsule (BC) and benazepril on the levels of urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) and C-reactive protein (CRP) for exploring its protective effect on early diabetic nephropathy.

METHODS
Sixty patients with early diabetic nephropathy were randomly assigned to the control group treated by benazepril alone, and the treated group treated by BC and benazepril, and the treatment lasted for 16 weeks. The changes of UAER and CRP levels were measured to estimate the protective effect of the combined therapy.

RESULTS
Levels of 24h urinary protein, UAER, CRP were (0.85 +/- 0.32) g/24 h, (83.34 +/- 38.27) microg/min, (2.67 +/- 1.72) mg/L before treatment in the control group, and (0.43 +/- 0.17) g/24 h, (71.22 +/- 31.12) microg/min, (1.05 +/- 0.78) mg/L after treatment and they were (0.87 +/- 0.31) g/24 h, (81.59 +/- 35.69) microg/min, (2.55 +/- 1.66) mg/L before treatment in treated group, and (0.25 +/- 0.29) g/24 h, (57.32 +/- 31.11) microg/min, (0.49 +/- 0.38) mg/L after treatment respectively, all of them decreased after treatment in both groups, showing significant differences as compared with those before treatment (P<0.05, P< 0.01), and the reduction in the treated group was more significant (P<0.01); meanwhile, levels of serum creatinine, fasting blood glucose and HbA1c had somewhat decrease, showing no statistical difference with those before treatment (P >0.05).

CONCLUSION
Combined use of BC and benazepril could significantly lower the UAER and CRP levels in patients with early diabetic nephropathy to alleviate the renal impairment, showing an effect better than that of using benazepril alone.


Maternal metabolic disease and diet during pregnancy and lactation have important implications for the programming of offspring metabolic disease. In addition, high-fat diets during pregnancy and lactation can predispose the offspring to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a rising health threat in the U.S. We developed a model of maternal high-fat feeding exclusively during the lactation period. We previously showed that offspring from dams, given lactational high-fat diet (HFD), are predisposed to obesity, glucose intolerance, and inflammation. In separate experiments, we also showed that lactational metformin treatment can decrease offspring metabolic risk. The purpose of these studies was to understand the programming implications of lactational HFD on offspring metabolic liver disease risk. Dams were fed a 60% lard-based HFD from the day of delivery through the 21-day lactation period. A subset of dams was also given metformin as a co-treatment. Starting at weaning, the offspring were fed normal fat diet until 3 months of age; at which point, a subset was challenged with an additional HFD stressor. Lactational HFD led male offspring to develop hepatic insulin resistance. The post-weaning HFD challenge led male offspring to progress to NAFLD with more severe outcomes in the lactational HFD-challenged offspring. Co-administration of metformin to lactating dams on HFD partially rescued the offspring liver metabolic defects in males. Lactational HFD or post-weaning HFD had no impact on female offspring who maintained a normal insulin sensitivity and liver phenotype. These findings indicate that HFD, during the lactation period, programs the adult offspring to NAFLD risk in a sexually dimorphic manner. In addition, early life intervention with metformin via maternal exposure may prevent some of the liver programming caused by maternal HFD.


Between February 1978 and December 1985 53 women with lost intrauterine devices (IUD) were treated. To exclude unrecognized expulsion and to locate the device sonography was primarily employed. In 90.6% of cases a correct diagnosis was established. Only in 9.4% of cases a plain X-ray of the abdomen was necessary because sonography was not diagnostic. In 47 patients (88.7%) the IUD could be located by hysteroscopy and was removed. Using biopsy forceps or curette. Of the remaining 6 cases there were 4 with perforation and intraabdominal dislocation, 1 spontaneous expulsion in the interval between diagnosis and admission to the hospital and 1 case of endometrial incrustation which escaped hysteroscopic diagnosis.


The human hepatoma cell PLC/PRF/5 contains cloned genomes of hepatitis B virus, one of which was transfected to mouse cells (LTK-) or to human carcinoma cells (HeLa). Expression of the viral surface proteins was measured using monoclonal antibodies. The large protein with the pre-S1 domain was best expressed in HeLa cells and least in LTK- cells. In vivo growth of parental hepatoma cells or transfected HeLa cells increased expression of large, and decreased expression of small protein. Secretion of large protein required an excess of small protein. The secreted HBsAg from transfected HeLa cells contained filaments. Since the virus contains a defined proportion of all three proteins, a special regulatory situation is necessary for maturation of its envelope and its secretion in vivo.


I) Endocrinological changes in girls during puberty are characterized by the progressive elevation of pituitary, ovarian and adrenal hormones except PRL. Longitudinal study revealed significant increases in both LH, FSH and estradiol occurred between 2 years to one year before menarche. PRL levels, however, increased between 3 to 2 years before menarche and the levels dropped significantly one year before the onset of the first menses. Serum levels of androstenedione and estrone in girls were higher than that in boys. Among steroids, the levels of 5 alpha-androstanediol decreased significantly before the menarche suggesting the physiological role of this hormone on the onset of puberty. In regard to the correlation between hormone levels and sexual developments, DHA-S levels and body weights correlated well with the breast development. Grasping power correlated well with serum testosterone levels in girls. II) The clinical and endocrinological aspect of menstrual disorders during adolescent were also examined. The majority of the patients complaining of functional uterine bleeding and amenorrhea showed high LH and normal FSH levels. Episodic secretion of LH was absent in girls of primary and secondary amenorrhea due to hypothalamic impairment.


Positron emission tomography (PET) has the unique ability to image bodily functions, such as blood flow, oxygen use, and glucose metabolism. PET imaging in combination with computerized tomography (CT) offers a high sensitivity scan for metabolic activity with precise anatomical localization. PET/CT with the glucose analog 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) has become an essential tool for the work-up of patients with cancer for clinical practice. F-18-FDG PET/CT provides valuable information about differential diagnosis, staging and therapy response of oncologic disease. Lung cancer remains the most common cause of death from malignant disease in the world. In this article, the role of F-18-FDG PET and F-18-FDG PET/CT in lung cancers have been reviewed.


U85 IA 505 Why Were We in Vietnam? Until the Afghan War, the American war in Vietnam was the United States' longest and most costly war in blood and treasure. This course will investigate the origins and ideological context of this war more than 45 years after its end. How and why did the American commitment begin? How did the conflict unfold? How did it end, and at what price? How did the American effort affect U.S. national security and American interests in Asia? Credit 3 units.


BACKGROUND
Paclitaxel is a general antineoplastic drug used against different types of experimental and human tumors. Several anti-cancer drugs have been shown to stimulate nitric oxide (NO) production, which has been shown to affect many aspects of tumor biology.

OBJECTIVE
This study was initiated to determine if paclitaxel stimulates NO production in HebG2 cells, and if so, whether NO interferes with the metastatic potential of HebG2 cells and contributes to paclitaxel cytotoxicity. In addition, we sought to determine the relationship between NO production and the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and matrix metaloproteinases (MMPs) in HebG2 cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The effects of paclitaxel (0.1-1000 nM) on surviving fraction, NO production and the expression of EGFR, MMP-2 and MMP-9 were studied in human liver cancer cells (HebG2).

RESULTS
Paclitaxel resulted in a significant dose dependent decrease in the surviving fraction of HebG2 cells. A 62% and 86% decrease in the surviving fraction was attained at 10nM and 100 nM paclitaxel, respectively. Paclitaxel produced a significant increase in NO production, starting from 1 nM. A 64% and 111% increase in NO production was attained after exposure to 10nM and 100 nM of paclitaxel, respectively. In all of the HebG2 cells treated with paclitaxel (1.0-1000 nM) mRNA specific for EGFR, MMP-2 and MMP-9 were undetectable. However, untreated HebG2 cells and those treated with paclitaxel (0.1 nM) expressed mRNA specific for these markers.

CONCLUSION
This study suggests that: (1) increased production of NO may contribute to paclitaxel's cytotoxicity against HebG2 cells, (2) paclitaxel may inhibit tumor metastasis via inhibition of the expression of EGFR and MMPs and (3) an inverse correlation exist between NO production and expression of EGFR and MMPs.


With the development of the intelligent transport system, it has become an inevitable trend to achieve dynamic navigation services in adapting real-time traffic information. ESRI shapefile digital map format is firstly introduced in this paper, and a real-time navigation data model based on user-defined layers in shapefile, which makes it feasible for vehicle navigation applications, is proposed next. Then various attributes of the layers, especially the ones support real-time traffic information on the road section layer, are discussed in order to meet the demand for dynamic navigation. A structure of the real-time vehicle navigation system is presented in the end for practical applications.


Elaborating on an analysis of a corpus of more than 1200 sonnets by Italian, French, Spanish, English and Russian authors, this article describes the general rhythmic-syntactic arrangement of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italian sonnets, European Petrarchist sonnets, and several experiments with this form in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It presents results obtained with the help of a computer program developed for the automated analysis of strophic syntax. The program was created using Boris Tomashevsky's method based on analyzing the punctuation at the end of poetic lines (the strength of the syntactic pause is evaluated depending on the absence or presence of a punctuation sign: i.e., a comma, a dash, a semicolon, or a full stop / question mark / exclamation mark). We supplemented this with two more indices also based on punctuation. The first characterizes the length of sentences (the percentage of sentences in one line, two lines, three lines, etc.), and the second characterizes the number of sentences that end with a full stop, which comes in the middle of a line followed by the beginning of the next sentence in the same line (or, which is the same, the number of such lines). This study demonstrates that both the number of lines with a strong pause in the middle and the number of short sentences have increased over time.


Time and space integrating folded spectrum techniques utilizing acousto-optic devices (AOD) as 1-D input transducers are investigated for a potential application as wideband, high resolution, large processing gain spectrum analyzers in the search for extra terrestrial intelligence (SETI) program. The space integrating Fourier transform performed by a lens channelizes the coarse spectral components diffracted from an AOD onto an array of time integrating narrowband fine resolution spectrum analyzers. The pulsing action of a laser diode samples the interferometrically detected output, aliasing the fine resolution components to baseband, as required for the subsequent CCD processing. The raster scan mechanism incorporated into the readout of the CCD detector array is used to unfold the 2D transform, reproducing the desired high resolution Fourier transform of the input signal.


ABSTRACT In this study we compared the performance of the Chagas Stat-Pak rapid immunochromatographic test with a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the serodiagnosis of Chagas' disease in Central America. Out of 3,400 blood donor samples, 156 (4.6%) were positive in both assays. Three sera out of 2,084 samples from reference laboratories were negative with the rapid test but positive with the ELISA (99.8% agreement). Agreement of 100% between the two tests was observed with 339 additional sera from patients with cardiopathies and 175 sera from potential blood donors in emergency surgical cases occurring on weekends or at night. In conclusion, Chagas Stat-Pak showed 99.6% and 99.9% sensitivity and specificity, respectively, when assayed with 5,998 serum samples. It is a sensitive and specific alternative to the ELISA, as required in medical emergencies and blood screenings in Central America.


The authors underlines some aspects of the life of children from the Fourth World, which explain their unavoidable failure in the actual scholar system. The social and cultural exclusion experienced in their milieu causes a lack of self confidence in the parents, a fact which disturbs heavily the physical, affective and intellectual development of the children, as well as their socialisation.


This study examines how controversies of the energy transition and climate change in the Southeast Asia region were portrayed in public perspectives using big data from the social media platform. This novel data source can then support mapping the emergence and predicting the acceptance of energy transition, which leads to the following research question, "How can social media inform social controversy and expectations associated with the energy-climate nexus in ASEAN?" As a case study, this paper will be limited to focusing on the ASEAN energy transition and climate change discussion on the Twitter platform between January 2015 and December 2020. This case has been selected for a number of reasons: (i) Climate change is a complex interdisciplinary issue that has gained much global attention recently, (ii) Energy transition is considered an important action by the ASEAN Member States to enhance the regional energy security and sustainability as stated in the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation blueprint, and (iii) Twitter is one of the world's most popular social media platforms. The study relies on two theoretical frameworks as the base for building its research problem: socio-technical transition multi-level perspective and social construction of technology. A multi-quantitative method was performed for data collection and data processing. The data was analysed using descriptive trend analysis, sentiment analysis, and co-word analysis.


Publisher Rights Statement: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: 'Henderson, A., Brown, S. D., & Pancer, S. M. (2012). Political and Social Dimensions of Civic Engagement: The Impact of Compulsory Community Service. Policy & Politics, 40(1), 93-130', which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.17471346.2011.00341.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.


The aim of the present study is to explore the association between food neophobia and chemosensory responsiveness and to determine whether this association translates into different food liking and preference patterns. Data were collected on 1225 respondents (61% females, age 20–60 years) as part of the Italian Taste project. Respondents completed the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS) as well as a food preference and familiarity questionnaire for a number of foods and beverages categorized as mild or strong tasting. Moreover, they evaluated attribute intensity and liking of an actual food (dark chocolate pudding) varying in the level of sweetness, bitterness and astringency. Taste function was evaluated by measuring fungiform papillae density (FPD), responsiveness to PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil) and to water solutions representing various oro-sensory qualities. High, medium and low neophobic subjects did not differ for FPD and chemosensory responsiveness. Reported liking was significantly lower for high neophobics than low neophobics mainly for those vegetables and beverages characterized by high levels of warning stimuli (i.e. bitterness, sourness, astringency and alcohol), whereas almost no differences were found for the bland versions of food items. High and medium neophobics rated astringency and, to a lesser extent, bitterness of the dark chocolate pudding, as more intense than low neophobics and liked the most bitter and astringent variants significantly less than low neophobics. Differences in liking, however, do not seem to be mediated by high food neophobics' superior taste functioning but rather by higher levels of arousal when eating food and/or drinking beverages that are perceived as unpleasant and potentially dangerous. Finally, the effect of food neophobia was evident not only for unusual items in the Italian food context, but even for items that might be considered highly familiar.


Oxygen consumption rates were measured in a school of 56 horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus while at rest and while swimming at steady sustained speeds. Resting values of 38.76 and 42.10mg O2 kg−1 h−1 were measured in a sealed cylindrical tank (535 l) while observing that the fish school remained neutrally buoyant and inactive with only gentle pectoral fin movements and no swimming motion. The same school was trained to swim with projected light patterns within a 10-m diameter annular doughnut respirometer. The oxygen consumption increased from the resting level through 51 mg O2 kg−1 h−1 at the slowest swimming speeds of 0.29 m s−1 (0.95 L s−1) to around 259 mg O2 kg−1 h−1 at the higher measured swimming speed of 0.87 m s−1 (2.82 L s−1). The data fitted a curve where oxygen consumption rose in proportion to velocity to the power of 2.56 with the intercept at the resting level. The maximum sustained speed (80 min) of 1.12 m s−1 (3.63 Ls−1) was not achieved within the respirometer but corresponded to an estimated oxygen consumption of 458.33 mg O2 kg−1 h−1 giving a scope for aerobic activity of 419.02 mg O2 kg−1 h−1. At a speed of 0.87 m s−1, there was a lower bound on the aerobic efficiency of at least 38% and at 1.12 m s−1, the highest aerobic speed, of 40%. Sustained speeds swum in a curved path as here should be increased by 5% for a straight path giving a maximum sustained 80 min speed of 1.18 m s−1.


OBJECTIVE
The authors present a case study involving a 21-year-old male collegiate wrestler diagnosed with cubital tunnel syndrome.

BACKGROUND
Cubital tunnel syndrome is a condition brought on by an increase in the pressure exerted upon the ulnar nerve at the elbow within the cubital tunnel. The wrestler was diagnosed with cubital tunnel syndrome after 6 weeks of increasing disability and dysfunction.

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
Ulnar nerve contusion, ulnar nerve neuritis, cubital tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome, C8 nerve root entrapment, double-crush syndrome, tumor.

TREATMENT
The subject was treated conservatively for 3 months without resolution of the symptoms. Surgical treatment then involved a subcutaneous ulnar nerve transposition performed to decompress the cubital tunnel. Following surgery, the athlete participated in an aggressive rehabilitation program to restore function and strength to the elbow and adjacent joints. He was cleared for full unrestricted activity 15 days following surgery and returned to varsity athletic competition in 1 month.

UNIQUENESS
Our literature review found no reported cases of cubital tunnel syndrome in wrestlers. Cubital tunnel syndrome is usually seen in throwing athletes and results from either acute trauma or repetitive activities.

CONCLUSION
The athletic trainer should consider cubital tunnel syndrome as a possible pathology for nonthrowing athletes when presented with associated signs and symptoms.


The improvement of mechanical respiration by surgical stabilization of the chest wall is an important measure to reduce disadvantages and complications of long time respiratory treatment. Indications are: (1) Chest wall instability with indication for emergency thoracotomy; (2) Respiratory insufficiency mainly caused by chest wall instability; (3) Respiratory insufficiency due to severe laceration of intrathoracical organs with additional chest wall instability as an obstacle for sufficient respirator treatment.


The author studies the writings of key Islamists, both traditional and modern, to determine the views that prompt radical Muslims to abhor Western influences. He finds that these spring from major differences in culture, and concludes that because Islam never experienced the European Enlightenment Islamists do not value individual freedom to the extent that the West does. Instead, Islamists believe that the state should adhere to and enforce Sharia, as reflecting the will of God, and that individuals should therefore submit to the moral principles of Sharia law. Key Words: Ethics; Western materialism; Islamist radicals; Sharia law; Osama bin Laden; Hasan al-Banna; Sayyid Qutb; Ayatollah Khomeini; Syed Abul A'La Mawdudi; Ali Shariati; Hasan al Turabi; Rachid al-Ghannouchi; Muslim Brotherhood; Egypt; Saudi Arabia; Iraq; Iran; Tunisia; Israel. In his classic study on The Origins of the World War, the late Harvard historian Sidney Fay noted that two sets of causes had to be taken into account when studying the events leading up to World War I. The first are the immediate causes surrounding the assassination of Austria's Archduke Ferdinand in 1914. The second are the underlying causes that can be traced back to events in the 19lh century. Similarly, in attempting to understand the events of September 11, 2001 two sets of causes must be understood. The immediate cause, as is now well known, is Osama bin Laden's and the radical Islamist objection to United States troops in Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden saw such troops as a desecration of Muslim holy places. This is made clear in his fatwas of August 1996 and February 1998, calling for war against America and the killing of any American no matter where he or she may be found,2 and the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. Bin Laden hoped that the September 11 attacks would pressure the United States to withdraw its troops from Saudi Arabia. However, like World War I, bin Laden's decree must be understood against the background of the belief by some prominent thinkers in the Islamic world that Western values must be rejected and that society governed under Sharia, Islamic law, is far superior to "corrupt" Western culture. When, in October 2002, Bin Laden called on the United States to accept Islam, he also stated: "We call you...to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling and usury...you are the worst civilization witnessed in the history of mankind."3 Abu Qatada, an Al-Qaeda leader, has stated that "[t]o strengthen the roots of religion in our nation is to reject the Western ideology."4 Muhammad Atta, the leader of the September 11 hijackers, was known to be angry at American cultural influence in Egypt.5 The eminent historian of Islam Bernard Lewis has noted that for Al Qaeda "it is the seduction of America and of its profligate .,. dissolute way of life that represents the greatest threat to the kind of Islam they wish to impose on their fellow Muslims."'' This study will analyze the anti-Western views of the four most prominent Islamists of the twentieth century. For purposes of this paper "Islamist" will refer to anyone who wants to govern society under Islamic law, also known as Sharia. While all of these individuals objected to what they referred to as Western imperialism, the focus of this study will be on their critique of what they perceived to be the underlying values of Western civilization. Their views have been the most instrumental in influencing radicals like bin Laden. These critics will be referred to as traditionalists. All of these individuals were contemporaries of one another. A second category of critic will be referred to as modernist. These individuals' ideas have also been influential in the Muslim world. While the modernists were influenced by the traditionalists, and have incorporated many of their ideas, they have attempted to place their Islamist ideas within a more moderate framework. …