Summary: Oral incompetence following composite reconstruction of total and subtotal lower lip defects without any functioning lower lip muscle is a difficult problem for reconstructive surgeons. The authors retrospectively reviewed the use of a novel bilateral temporalis suspension technique for oral incompetence following lower lip reconstruction over a 10-year period. The timing of the reconstruction, cause of the defect, period of follow-up, and any complications were noted. Three cases of lower lip resuspension using bilateral temporalis flaps and fascia lata grafts were performed from 2000 to 2010. Two cases were secondary to burn trauma and one was from ballistic trauma. All patients underwent traditional means of reconstruction using free microvascular composite tissue transfer with and without fascial slings. All three patients presented with persistent lower lip incompetence. The average interval between the initial reconstructive operations and the resuspension operations was 1.6 years. All patients achieved dynamic oral competence at the first postoperative visit. At a mean follow-up of 3.6 years, all patients had maintained lower lip function. Dynamic lower lip resuspension with bilateral temporalis flaps and fascia lata grafts is an option for refractory lower lip drooping following total and subtotal loss, especially after conventional static reconstruction and without any functional orbicularis muscle. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, V.


Abstract Chemical investigation of the anomalous fruits of Gleditsia sinensis led to the isolation and identification of a new triterpenoid saponin, 3-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1 → 6)-β-D-glucopyranosyl oleanolic acid 28-O-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-α-L-rhamnopyrano--syl-(1 → 4)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 4)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 → 3)-β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (1), along with other nine known compounds (2–10). All the isolates from this species were reported for the first time. The structure of Compound 1 was determined by a detailed analysis using various analytical techniques, including 1D and 2D NMR. In vitro antiproliferative activities of Compound 1 on MCF-7 and Hep-G2 tumor cell lines were evaluated. IC50 values against the two cell lines were 9.5 and 11.6 μM, respectively.


Several conditions, whose timely and appropriate therapy should decrease case fatality, have been proposed as indicators of medical care quality for the National Health Service. Mortality rates for these diseases vary widely within the UK. To evaluate the contribution of varying incidence rates to these mortality differences, routinely collected morbidity and mortality data for 1974-1978 were analysed for 98 Area Health Authorities (AHAs) in England and Wales. Although differences in morbidity (as measured by hospital discharge and disease registration rates) and socioeconomic factors account for some of the area variation in mortality, significant heterogeneity persists after these factors are taken into account. This finding suggests that morbidity and socioeconomic factors are not the only determinants of mortality variation among areas for these particular diseases. Variation in quality of medical care may account for this result, although regional diagnostic and reporting differences and variation in disease severity among areas must also be considered.


Estrogen deprivation by use of aromatase inhibitors is very effective in the treatment of hormone-responsive breast cancers, however, acquired resistance inevitable develops. We have previously reported the development of a long-term estrogen deprived breast cancer cell line, MCF-7:5C, which is resistant to estrogen withdrawal but undergoes apoptosis in the presence of physiologic concentrations of estradiol through activation of the mitochondrial death pathway. At present, however, it is not known whether MCF-7:5C cells respond to selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) such as 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4OHT), GW5638, raloxifene (ral), EM-652 (acolbifene) or bazedoxifene. We therefore determined the effects of the above mentioned SERMs on the growth of MCF-7:5C cells and examined whether these compounds are able to block the apoptotic effects of estradiol in these cells. We found that bazedoxifene and EM-652 dramatically reduced the growth of MCF-7:5C cells wheras 4OHT, ral, and GW5638 had no effect on the growth of these cells. Bazedoxifene at 1 \#956;M inhibited the growth of MCF-7:5C cells by more than 80% whereas EM-652 inhibited the growth by ~50%. Interestingly, EM-652 at 10 nM was able to completely reverse the apoptotic effect of 1 nM estradiol in MCF-7:5C cells. The pure antiestrogen fulvestrant also inhibited the growth of MCF-7:5C cells by ~50-60% and this compound was able to partially reverse the apoptotic effect of estradiol. Western blot analysis revealed that bazedoxifene completely downregulated estrogen receptor alpha (ER\#945;) protein expression but it significantly increased cyclin A and cyclin D1 expression in these cells. In contrast, EM-652 and fulvestrant completely inhibited ER\#945;, cyclin D1, and cyclin A protein expression. Overall, these results show that long-term estrogen deprivation alters the response of breast cancer cells to SERMs and that bazedoxifene and fulvestrant might be effective treatment options in these resistant cells. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 4606.


A method is described to obtain the static stiffness of the soil under a spread footing by using a hammer impact test. In the first part, the analytical background is presented. In the second part, a test setup is described and the associated results are discussed. The test consists of placing two geophones on the footing, hitting the footing with the instrumented hammer, and recording the force time and velocity time signals. The paper shows that the static stiffness obtained in a load test and the stiffness obtained from the impact test by Fourier transform analysis are reasonably close.


Ultratransparent electrodes have attracted considerable attention in optoelectronics and energy technology. However, balancing energy storage capability and transparency remains challenging. Herein, an in situ strategy employing a temporally and spatially shaped femtosecond laser is reported for photochemically synthesizing of MXene quantum dots (MQDs) uniformly attached to laser reduced graphene oxide (LRGO) with exceptional electrochemical capacitance and ultrahigh transparency. The mechanism and plasma dynamics of the synthesis process are analyzed and observed at the same time. The unique MQDs loaded on LRGO greatly improve the specific surface area of the electrode due to the nanoscale size and additional edge states. The MQD/LRGO supercapacitor has high flexibility and durability, ultrahigh energy density (2.04 × 10−3 mWh cm−2), long cycle life (97.6% after 12 000 cycles), and excellent capacitance (10.42 mF cm−2) with both high transparency (transmittance over 90%) and high performance. Furthermore, this method provides a means of preparing nanostructured composite electrode materials and exploiting quantum capacitance effects for energy storage.


The current trend toward robot assistants and the execution of autonomous tasks in minimally invasive surgery increases the operation complexity of telepresence systems. The available input channels are currently limited to traditional human-computer interfaces. We introduce two human-robot interfacing modalities that aim to make robotic surgery more intuitive. To reduce the surgeon's mental load, gaze-contingent camera control is implemented. Eye tracking is performed by means of head worn tracking goggles. The tracking goggles are tightly integrated with a stereoscopic visualization system, based on the polarization method. The second technique supports scrub nurses during surgical tool interaction, e.g. tool exchange, via haptic gestures executed on the robot. Strain-gauges sensors installed at the instrument are used to detect hand tapping sequences, which trigger activation of specified commands.


At the Surgical Clinic in Plzen in 1992 clinical trials were made to test drains manufactured in Rubena Náchod (plant in Velké Porící). These soft silicone X-ray contrasting drains were used in 40 patients. A total of 70 drains were used, all in abdominal operations incl. acute abdominal surgery and injuries. The mean drainage period was 9.2 days, the longest period was 38 days. In all instances the drainage was effective, none of the patients developed a residual abscess or intestinal fistula. The material from which the drains are made was well tolerated by all patients and none of them developed a reaction.


Reading and writing plays a fundamental role in our culture. Compared with, e.g. speech, written language has an immense impact as it offers the possibility to share information over unprecedented distance in time and space. By observing how the eyes move while reading we can obtain knowledge of the recognition process. To enable reading, not only moving the eyes are required, but also a good quality of fixation is essential. This thesis presents findings from four eye movement studies performed with the Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope (SLO) and Tobii Eye-tracker. The aims were to 1) investigate the fixational pattern in healthy subjects using the microperimetry technique obtained with the SLO in order to learn more about normal fixational pattern. This is important since changes in fixational pattern, due to pathology, can occur prior to detectable changes in the macula or visual pathway; 2) use the SLO to map solar induced scotomas and evaluate the fixational pattern after such injury; 3) evaluate if the Tobii system could be used to evaluate reading performance despite its relatively low resolution and sampling frequency; and 4) evaluate if patients with neovascular AMD, treated with Lucentis, gain a better reading ability by using the Tobii Eye tracker. The results from the SLO studies demonstrated that the fixational pattern in healthy subjects measured with the SLO had a mean centre of gravity located at a mean absolute distance of 0.27o from the fixation point (FP) and a directional predominance of the fixational pattern more frequently distributed vertically than horizontally. This means that computerized fixation control when performing microperimetry with the SLO provides information about the fixation pattern, which cannot be obtained with standard clinical perimetry techniques. The studies further showed that SLO microperimetry session with fixational mapping are useful in patients with unstable and/or extrafoveal fixation, which is a common situation in patients with a foveal lesion/injury. The Tobii Eye tracker studies showed that the Tobii system, despite its relative low resolution and sampling frequency, is suitable for evaluation of reading performance in clinical settings. Furthermore, that texts used for studying reading performance must be chosen carefully since even texts of similar linguistic difficulty, due to the nature of the text content, can yield the differences found in reading performance. When investigating AMD patients, the findings outlined that Lucentis treatment gave a significant better visual acuity, not necessarily connected with improved reading eye movements and reading ability. However, reading should be tested in order to fully understand a patient's complaints; however, as a direct measure of visual improvement after, for example Lucentis treatment, other tests should also be used.


This study aims to examine the annual income contribution of wood fuel production from small - scale plantation forestry in Fagta Lekoma district of Amhara region, Ethiopia. Household surveys were conducted by following the snowball-sampling technique. The data analyzed by using STATA software and multiple linear regression model also employed to evaluate the contribution of wood fuel annual income from the total annual income of the households. About 9000 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) household income comes from charcoal selling which is the highest average annual income. The result of multiple linear regression analysis indicates that an increase in one unit (ETB) income from charcoal making leads to an increase in total annual income by 0.972 units (ETB). Annual income contribution of wood fuel production is the largest amount of income recorded followed by annual income from crop production. Plantation forestry plays a significant role not only economically but also by the provision of alternative livelihood options for households. Plantation forestry used as a means of soil reclamation as well as means of households income. Inaction and implementation of policies supporting plantation forestry sustain rural livelihood by increasing their adaptive potential for shock and stress by creating alternative means of livelihood.


The purpose of this study was to use a qualitative participatory action research method – Photovoice – to identify perceived barriers and facilitators to school functioning among school-based physical therapists of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Seven physical therapists made up the participants in this study. The researchers followed the nine-step methodology recommended for Photovoice. During the training session, participants were educated on the background of Photovoice and the purpose of the study. They were given 14 days to take photographs after which researchers used a focus group interview structured by the SHOWeD method. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was used to analyze the transcript and identify common themes. Perceived barriers included lack of inclusiveness, restricted independence, and limited accessibility of equipment and resources. Facilitators included support and relationships and education and training services. Photovoice serves as a powerful tool to initiate change to improve the ability of children with CP to function in school.


Polyacrylamides (PAM) are synthetic products capable of improving soil physical properties. During the past three decades, they have been used in many countries as soil conditioners. In Australian cotton fields, PAM has been identified as a potentially useful tool in preventing soil erosion and reducing off-farm movement of chemicals during irrigation. Improved irrigation efficiency of flood irrigated cropping under PAM treatment in northern Australia has been reported. Improved seedling emergence of irrigated perennial pasture was observed due to PAM treatment of the soil. Since 1998, a series of experiments have been conducted at Charles Sturt University (CSU) to assess the potential benefits of PAM to Australian agriculture, and this article reports some of the major findings of these studies.


Voice-based assistants are becoming increasingly widespread all over the world. However, the performance of these assistants in the interaction with users of languages and accents of developing countries is not clear yet. Eventual bias against specific language or accent of different groups of people in developing countries is maybe a factor to increase the digital gap in these countries. Our research aims at analysing the presence of bias in the interaction via audio. We carried out experiments to verify the quality of the recognition of phrases spoken by different groups of people. We evaluated the behaviour of Google Assistant and Siri for groups of people formed according to gender and regions that have different accents. Preliminary results indicate that accent and mispronunciation due to regional differences are not being properly considered by the assistants we have analyzed.


The tolerance of aligning a single mode fiber to a laser in a fiber pigtailed laser diode module is extremely tight, a sub micron misalignment can often lead to a significant reduction in the power coupled into the fiber. Among various fiber-optic assembly approaches, laser welding is the one with submicron accuracy and is most conducive to process automation. However, the solidification and materials shrinkage during the laser welding process lead to a relative movement of the pre-aligned components: the welding-induced-alignment-distortion (WIAD). The WIAD is a serious issue and may significantly affect the packaging yield. Our previous investigation has demonstrated that an elimination or minimization of the WIAD in a butterfly laser module package is possible if laser welding process: the welding sequence, can be optimized. In this work, by means of numerical method of finite element analysis (FEA), the influence of the laser welding sequence on the WIAD in a dual-in-line package (DIP) is investigated using a realistic physics based laser-materials interaction model. The model combines the spatial and temporal characteristics of the laser beam and the thermophysical properties of the material. It is found that the influence of the welding sequence on the WIAD in packaging of the DIP could not be neglected, the WIAD can be minimized by the proper design of the welding process, for both of the butterfly and DIP packaging.


We evaluated the hypothesis that postischemic renal failure is caused primarily at reperfusion by oxygen-derived free radicals in a swine model designed to realistically mimick human cadaveric renal transplantation. Both kidneys were removed, flushed with Euro-Collins solution, stored 24 hr at 4† C, and then transplanted to a second pig. Experiments were paired, each pig receiving one treated and one control kidney. All pigs received the optimal conventional regimen of hydration, phenoxybenzamine, furosemide, and mannitol to allow assessment of free radical treatment superimposed thereupon. Two days later creatinine clearance (CCr) was measured from each kidney via separate ureterostomies. Untreated kidneys developed severe functional impairment, CCR falling from a normal level of 25.5\pm 6.3 ml/min (n=8) to 7.7\pm0.9 ml/min (n=14, P<.05 vs. control). The infusion of 20 mg of the free radical scavenger superoxide dismutase (SOD) into the renal artery at reperfusion substantially ameliorated this injury (CCR=15.9\pm1.7 ml/min, n=18, P<0.05 vs. control). A dose-response curve to SOD showed no effect of doses of 0.2 mg (CCR=8.0\pm1.1 ml/min, n=4) or 2 mg (CCR=7.7\pm 0.9, n=5), and no greater benefit from 100 mg (CCR=16.1\pm2.1 ml/min, n=3, P<0.05 vs. control). Blocking the generation of superoxide radicals from xanthine oxidase with allopurinol (50 mg/kg) afforded similar protection (CCR=18.2\pm1.8; n=11, P<0.01 vs. control). On the other hand, following an 18-hr period of cold ischemia, little damage was sustained by the untreated (control) kidneys (CCR=22.1\pm0.6 ml/min). Consequently, under these conditions the ablation of free radical generation with allopurinol provided no significant benefit. These findings suggest that after a critical period of cold ischemic preservation, metabolic changes take place within the kidney that lead to free radical generation and consequent tissue injury upon reperfusion, despite optimal preservation by conventional methods. This damage can be prevented by simple nontoxic measures—which, therefore, show great promise for use in the prevention of early renal failure following cadaveric renal transplantation.


IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a chronic-fibroinflammatory disorder affecting a wide range of organs. Elevation of serum IgG4 concentrations and abundant infiltration of IgG4-expressing plasma cells are key diagnostic features of this autoimmune disease. Although common organ involvement of IgG4-RD includes the salivary glands, pancreas, and bile duct, hepatic involvement is less well established. Recently, five studies identified a subtype of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), called IgG4-associated AIH (IgG4-AIH). IgG4-AIH is diagnosed based on significant accumulation of IgG4-expressing plasmacytes in the liver in patients who met the diagnostic criteria for classical AIH. Although four of the five reports regarded IgG4-AIH based on hepatic accumulation of IgG4-positive cells alone, one report diagnosed IgG4-AIH based on both hepatic accumulation of IgG4-positive cells and elevated serum concentrations of IgG4. IgG4-AIH diagnosed based on the latter criteria may be a hepatic manifestation of IgG4-RD whereas IgG4-AIH diagnosed based on the former criteria may be a subtype of AIH. In this review article, we summarize and discuss clinicopathological features of IgG4-AIH.


The present paper describes a study investigating the ethnic identity development of Latino immigrant children (n = 155) in middle childhood (ages 8–11) in a predominantly White community. The study examined how ethnic identity was related to children's school context. School context was operationalized at the structural level, as the ethnic composition of the teachers and peers, as well as the schools' implicit messages about their valuing of multiculturalism; and the proximal interpersonal level, as children's perceptions of peer discrimination and teacher fairness. Results indicated that both the structural and proximal context predicted children's ethnic label choices, the importance placed on their ethnic identity, the positivity of their ethnic identity, and their American identity.


Because of the low dimensional power of its force scaling law, surface tension is appropriate for carrying out reshaping and assembly in the microstructure size domain. This paper reviews work on surface tension powered self-assembly of microstructures. The existing theoretical approaches for rotational assembly are unified. The demonstrated fabrication processes are compared. Mechanisms for accurately determining the assembled shape are discussed, and the limits on accuracy and structural distortion are considered. Applications in optics, electronics and mechanics are described. More complex operations (including the combination of self-assembly and self-organization) are also reviewed.


[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to compare joint angles between normal children and those with spastic diplegia using three-dimensional gait analysis. [Subjects and Methods] The study subjects were eight patients with spastic diplegia and eight normal children. Three-dimensional gait analysis was used for the survey. The measured gait variables were the joints of the lower extremity in the sagittal plane, frontal plane, and transverse planes and the maximum and minimum angles of their stance phase and swing phases. [Results] In the sagittal plane, the maximum angles of both the right and left pelvis and hip joint in the stance phase and swing phases were significantly greater for children with spastic diplegia than for normal children. In the stance phase of the right side of the hip joint, the maximum angles of the hip in the swing phase and the knee joint's minimum angles in the stance phase differed significantly. In the transverse plane, there were a significant differences on the left side of the pelvis in the maximum angles in the swing and stance phases. There were also significant differences on the right side pelvis, in the maximum and minimum angles in the stance phase and minimum angles in the swing phase. [Conclusion] Children with spastic diplegia employ a different gait strategy and pattern from normal children.


This case is reported because the findings of a positive PaulBunnell test delayed the relevant treatment for the patients real illness. It also illustrates the point that a negative biopsy specimen from one area of the pathological tissue does not always exclude malignancy in other areas. On reviewing the literature we were unable to find previous reports of lymphosarcoma presenting with a positive Paul-Bunnell test.


The choice of furniture in a retail store is usually based on a product catalog and simplistic product renderings with different configurations. We present a preliminary field study that tests a Multi-Sensory In-Store Virtual Reality Customer Journey (MSISVRCJ) through a virtual catalog and a product configurator to support furnishings sales. The system allows customers to stay immersed in the virtual environment (VE) while the sales expert changes the colors, textures, and finishes of the furniture, also exploring different VEs. In addition, customers can experience realistic tactile feedback with in-store samples of furniture they can test. The journey is implemented for a furniture manufacturer and tested in a flagship store. Fifty real customers show positive feedback in terms of general satisfaction, perceived realism, and acceptance. This method can increase purchase confidence, reduce entrepreneurial costs, and leverage in-store versus online shopping.


Graded doses of M. balsamina aqueous leaf extract were administered orally and intraperitoneally (i.p) to separate groups of rats to determine the acute toxicities. The effects of the prolonged (3 weeks) oral administration of M. balsamina
aqueous extract on serum electrolytes and plasma trace elements were also tested. No toxic clinical signs were observed in the animals given the extract orally. Sixteen grams per kilogram body weight (16 g/kg) was the maximum amount that was physically administered. The i.p LD50 with confidence interval of 95% was estimated to be 3750 mg/kg. Clinical signs observed before mortality included weakness, sleepiness and depression, dilation of the pupils, urination and death within 24 hours. The extract did not produce any statistically significant change in serum electrolytes (Na + , K + , HCO 3 + and Cl - ) after prolonged oral administration. However, the effects of M. balsamina extract on plasma Zn and Mn were significantly increased (p 0.01). It was, therefore, concluded that Momordica balsamina at low dosages is safe (not toxic). Keywords : Acute toxicity, M. balsamina , electrolytes, trace elements Sahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences Vol. 5 (1) 2006 pp. 13-19


This article examines Martin Heidegger's concept of conscience in Being and Time as it is manifested by the characters Don Draper from the television series Mad Men (Matthew Weiner, 2007-2013) and Chauncey Gardiner in the film Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979). The article suggests that Draper hears and occasionally responds to what Heidegger terms the "call of conscience," whereas Gardiner neither hears this call nor responds to it. Gardiner poses a problem case for Heidegger's account of Dasein by virtue of failing to exhibit conscience. A question latent in Gardiner's makeup is what causes him to be this way. The contrast of the characters Draper and Gardiner is approached through the lens of the portrayal of secret identity in filmic media. Both characters live public lives that are at odds with their genuine selves, but they react to this disconnect differently. Core concepts addressed vis-a-vis Heidegger's account of conscience include facticity, falling, discourse, authenticity, and death. The article concludes that Draper hears and responds to conscience's call because he has a discursive comprehension of the disconnect between his true self and the public life he has lived; a crucial component of the phenomenon of conscience according to Heidegger is the existential capacity for discourse. Gardiner, in contrast, does not hear conscience at all because his Dasein lacks the discursive element that conscience requires in order to be activated. Gardiner's being-in-the-world is such that he fails to understand the divide between his lived self and his public self. For Gardiner, these are the same.


ABSTRACT In this study, permeability and capillary pressure of copper micropillar structures (height: 50 µm, diameter: 50 µm) in different arrangements (hexagonal, rectangular, and square) and different porosities (0.45/0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8) are compared experimentally and numerically. The micropillar structures are fabricated on copper clad printed circuit board with electroplating, and the samples are coated with silica nanoparticles to enhance wettability. A forced liquid flow test is used to measure permeability of the samples, and capillary rate-of-rise measurement technique is used to determine the capillary pressure of the wicks. In the permeability model, the effect of meniscus curvature is considered, and the results are compared with other permeability models. Capillary pressure is predicted by using surface energy minimization tool, Surface Evolver. The test results show that the micropost array in rectangular arrangement have the highest permeability, and similar capillary pressure compared to other pillar arrangements with the same porosity, and thus show the highest capillary performance parameter. The effect of gravity on the sample characterization with capillary rate-of-rise test is also studied to investigate the feasibility of applying Washburn's equation to test data.


We present a human-in-the-loop approach to generate counterfactual (CF) explanations that preserve global and local feasibility constraints. Global feasibility constraints refer to the causal constraints that are necessary for generating actionable CF explanation. Assuming a domain expert with knowledge on unary and binary causal constraints, our approach efficiently employs this knowledge to generate CF explanation by rejecting gradient steps that violate these constraints. Local feasibility constraints encode end-user's constraints for generating desirable CF explanation. We extract these constraints from the end-user of the model and exploit them during CF generation via user-defined distance metric. Through user studies, we demonstrate that incorporating causal constraints during CF generation results in significantly better explanations in terms of feasibility and desirability for participants. Adopting local and global feasibility constraints simultaneously, although improves user satisfaction, does not significantly improve desirability of the participants compared to only incorporating global constraints.


Due to the difficult methodological issues it presents, political historians are wary of using television - the most important mass medium of the later twentieth century - as a means of exploring vernacular political thinking. Attempting to show how television audiences were encouraged to think politically, the article outlines a method generated through an engagement with the work of disciplines beyond history, to help political historians more systematically assess the medium's popular impact. The article takes as its case study Britain during the 1970s, one of the most ideologically contested periods in the country's history. It analyses how television critics employed by the Daily Mirror and Daily Express encouraged their millions of readers to respond to the dramas of socialist playwrights Jim Allen and Trevor Griffiths, thereby giving historians an insight into the shape of those conversations spawned by their work, such private dialogues being the place where the full political meaning of television was ultimately created.


you watch, find answers to the following questions according to your workshop instructor's directions. 1. What helpful resources does the library have to offer you? 2. How long can you check-out group study rooms for? 3. How much does it cost to print or photocopy in the library? 4. What mobile technology does the library have available for check-out? 5. How long can you check-out Textbooks for? 6. How are circulating books arranged at GCC? 7. How long is the check-out period for circulating books? 8. Which tool can you use to find the location, availability, and call number for items in the library? 9. If GCC library does not have the item you are looking for, what other options do you have? 10. What e-resources does the library provide access to? Introduction to the Library– GCC Library


quinquennium 1896-1900 the rate in Scotland was 20% lowerthan in England and 16% lower than in Holland. In the period 1934-8 the rate in Scotland was 35% higher than in England and almost 100% higher than in Holland. There is no evidence of any drastic change in climate which would cause these changes in the relative infant mortality rates. The last point made by Mr. Markham is one in which he refers to " Wooltonized diets." In this connexion he says that, although the diets have been " Wooltonized " and there is little unemployment or poverty in Scotland, the infant mortality rat6s are still excessively high, while the English figures are now the " lowest on record, in spite of housing difficulties of an unprecedented degree." This argument is not very clear unless, indeed, it is that bad housing and poverty are not important factors in a high infant mortality rate, and that improvement of the diet by the Government food policy, which makes special provision for mothers and infants, has had a marked effect in England but none in Scotland. As a matter of fact, the changes in infant mortality in Scotland during the war run roughly parallel with those in England. In both cases the rates rose in the beginning of the war, and in the last two years have fallen by about the same proportion. The provisional rate in Scotland for 1943 is 65 per 1,000 compared with 77 in the pre-war quinquennium.


In our previous work, we proposed an autonomous decentralized control mechanism (ADCM) to be able to control the probability distribution of a system performance variable on the Markov chain Monte Carlo method. As interesting features of our ADCM, we proved the probability distribution controlled by our ADCM is described by a few macro parameters, and discovered a law between the macro parameters and the external environment of the system in our ADCM. In this paper, on the basis of the law, we design an autonomous decentralized adaptive function to adapt to change in the external environment. This function ensures the robustness of our ADCM against changing environment. We apply our ADCM with the proposed adaptive function to a virtual machine placement problem in data center networks (DCNs). Simulation experiments confirm that the proposed adaptive function effectively deals with several DCN scenarios with changing environment.


Aging has been associated with progressive molecular and structural changes causing loss of function in several organs. There is a general hypothesis that very old individuals suffer profound modifications where different domains (immune, metabolic and cognitive) loose the tight functional interconnection present in younger bodies. However, it is not clear how this interconnection is affected at the very early stage of ageing and whether gender plays a role. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate some biological markers in non-institutionalized "healthy individuals" at the very early stage of aging (60 to 65 years old, female and male). Blood was collected and serum creatinine, albumin and glucose were measured. In addition, we evaluated these individuals for lymphocytes phenotype (T CD4+, T CD8+, CD19+) by flow cytometry in peripheral mononuclear blood cells. It was observed that at the early stage of ageing male present higher creatinine and albumin serum levels compared to female. In addition, male had higher percentages of effector memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and lower percentages of naive CD8+ T cells. No differences were observed for B cells. These findings suggest that metabolic functions and immune system are compromised in male individuals at the very early stage of ageing and thus gender differences should be considered for the design of new therapies to the elderly.


The impact of anticipated solo status on women's spatial performance was investigated in an experimental study. The study was designed to test whether the underperformance of women entering testing situations who find themselves to be the only woman present is related to a tendency to individuate the self. Women performed a test of spatial ability under conditions of anticipated solo or non-solo status and responded to a measure of self-construal. In line with previous research, we found a disrupting solo status effect on women's performance on the spatial ability test. Most importantly, the negative effect of solo status on performance was partially mediated by individuation tendencies as reflected in a decreased predominance of the interdependent (as compared to the independent) level of the self under solo status conditions. These findings indicate that individuation tendencies play a crucial role in the process triggered in test takers under threatening performance situations. Copyright # 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This study presents development of European mythical culture, which began with the cults of the Great Goddess some 30,000-20,000 B.C. and flourished in Europe for millennia. This matriarchic culture - invaded by the patriarchic Indo-Europeans (Pre-Aistians), the worshippers of sky deities (3,000 B.C.) - remained alive in the souls of the Indo-Europeans, especially the Aistians. Moreover, during the break-down of the patriarchic order, the matriarchic deities surfaced and became dominant again. Thus they closed the cycle of mythical development. At its end this study shows philosophy's cyclic development, analogous to that of the mythical. Ultimately, this study suggests Old Europe's matriarchic culture as the cradle of Western civilization.


A growing number of people are diagnosed with cancer over time. A better understanding of educational inequalities in cancer is becoming increasingly important. However, only a few studies have focused the attention on the causal effect of education on cancer risk and mortality. This quasi-experimental design exploits the exogenous variation in compulsory schooling due to policy changes in 1947 and 1972 in England and Wales using data from the ONS Longitudinal Study (ONS LS). These educational reforms affected a large proportion of the population. The identification of the causal effect of education on cancer risk and survival is achieved using the regression discontinuity framework with categorical outcomes. Therefore, this work aims at studying the effect of education on the probability of developing, surviving and dying from cancer. Results show that the 1947 and 1972 educational reforms do not seem to be causally related to cancer incidence and mortality. This study suggests the absence of a causal role of one additional year of compulsory schooling on cancer outcomes. Among the reasons for the absence of causal evidence there are the heterogeneity by cancer site as well as the local effect of the compulsory school reforms.


The use of standardised patients has become integral in the contemporary healthcare and medical education sector, with ongoing discussion on exploring ways to improve existing standardised patient programs. One potentially untapped group in society that may contribute to such programs are persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities have journeyed through the healthcare system, from injury to post-rehabilitation, and can provide inputs based on their experiences beyond their conditions. This paper draws on our experiences gained from a two-phase experiential learning research project that involved occupational therapy students learning from persons with disabilities. This paper aims to provide eight highly feasible, systematic tips to involve persons with disabilities as standardised patients for assessments and practical lessons. We highlight the importance of considering persons with disabilities when they are in their role of standardised patients as paid co-workers rather than volunteers or patients. This partnership between persons with disabilities and educators should be viewed as a reciprocally beneficial one whereby the university and the disability community learn from one another.


OBJECTIVES
We describe rates and trends in kidney cancer incidence and mortality and identify disparities between American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and White populations.

METHODS
To improve identification of AI/AN race, incidence and mortality data were linked with Indian Health Service (IHS) patient records. Analysis focused on residents of IHS Contract Health Service Delivery Area counties; Hispanics were excluded. We calculated age-adjusted kidney cancer incidence (2001-2009) and death rates (1990-2009) by sex, age, and IHS region.

RESULTS
AI/AN persons have a 1.6 times higher kidney cancer incidence and a 1.9 times higher kidney cancer death rate than Whites. Despite a significant decline in kidney cancer death rates for Whites (annual percentage change [APC] = -0.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.5, 0.0), death rates for AI/AN persons remained stable (APC = 0.4; 95% CI = -0.7, 1.5). Kidney cancer incidence rates rose more rapidly for AI/AN persons (APC = 3.5; 95% CI = 1.2, 5.8) than for Whites (APC = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.4, 2.8).

CONCLUSIONS
AI/AN individuals have greater risk of developing and dying of kidney cancers. Incidence rates have increased faster in AI/AN populations than in Whites. Death rates have decreased slightly in Whites but remained stable in AI/AN populations. Racial disparities in kidney cancer are widening.


Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a prototype of a chemo refractory tumour. It remains the most lethal of the common urologic cancers and is highly resistant to conventional therapy. Here, we confirmed the efficiency of anti-Fas monoclonal antibody (CH11) as alternative therapeutic approach for the treatment of RCC and investigated the molecular mechanism(s), whereby CH11 induces apoptosis of RCC cells. The present study shows an essential role for apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1), together with both c-jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 pathways, and caspase-8 in this process. Furthermore, CH11-dependent induction of the ASK1–JNK/p38 pathways was found to activate the transcription factors AP-1 and ATF-2, and FADD-caspase-8-Bid signalling, resulting in the translocation of both Bax and Bak proteins, and subsequently mitochondrial dysregulation that is characterized by the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), cytochrome c release and cleavage of caspase-9, caspase-3 and PARP. Thus, the described molecular mechanisms of CH11-induced apoptosis suggest the reliability of Fas activation as an alternative therapeutic approach for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.


The history of Chinese migration goes back nearly as long as colonial settlement. The first major wave, which brought a noticeable number of Chinese to Australia, was the gold rush. Although the Chinese were the first non-British migrants they were heavily discriminated and looked down upon. Under the 'White Australia Policy', it was guaranteed that the Chinese would not become in any real way, part of the Australian population. Yet despite all these difficulties, by 2010-2011 Chinese migrants became the largest migrant group in Australia. This change is significant as it was a turning point in Australia's demographic makeup (Armillei & Mascitelli, 2016). This paper examines the phenomenon of Chinese migration into Australia and how it evolved from the early years of discrimination to more recent years when the Chinese are seen in more economic opportunist forms. The true motivations of the Australian authorities for opening up to the Chinese are indeed questionable which can aptly be summarised as "we may still not like you but we want your money".


The role of the external third of helix VI of the angiotensin II (AII) AT1 receptor for the interaction with its ligand and for the subsequent signal transduction was investigated by individually replacing residues 252-256 by Ala, and residues 259 or 261 by Tyr, and permanently transfecting the resulting mutants to Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Binding experiments showed no great changes in affinity of any of the mutants for AII, [Sar1]-AII, or [Sar1, Leu8]-AII, but the affinity for the nonpeptide antagonist DuP753 was significantly decreased. The inositol phosphate response to AII was remarkably decreased in mutants V254A, H256A, and F259Y. These results indicate that AT1 residues Val254, His256, and Phe259 are not involved in ligand binding but participate in signal transduction. Based in these results and in others from the literature, it is suggested that, in addition to the His256 imidazole ring, the Phe259 aromatic ring interacts with the AII's Phe8, thus contributing to the signal-triggering mechanism.


Until the late 60s and early 70s of the last century, medical trauma care received very little attention in most communities or from health care providers. Emergency medical care became a focus of widespread and continuing attention following publication in 1966 of the landmark report of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Research Council (NRC): Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society. Morticians provided up to 50% of prehospital transport before that time, perhaps largely because hearses were the only available vehicles to accommodate stretchers.3 The need for and success of emergency trauma care was firmly established by military surgeons on the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam.


The presence of light and the presence of a mutation are two of several factors that influence the growth rate of A. thaliana. Light affects the rate of photosynthesis directly whereas the presence of the cer10 mutation affects photosynthesis indirectly. In the case of the cer10 mutation, there is an absence of epicuticular wax that is responsible for water retention. As such, we sought to investigate the factors of light and the cer10 mutation on the growth rate of A. thaliana seedlings. We set up four different treatment groups: wild type with light, wild type with no light, mutant with light, and mutant with no light. The lengths of A. thaliana stems were measured five times during a two-week period. From this, the growth rates of each treatment group was calculated to be 0.20 ± 0.08 mm/day for the wild type light treatment, 0.07 ± 0.06 mm/day for the wild type no light treatment, 0.17 ± 0.08 mm/day for the mutant light treatment, and 0.05 ± 0.02 mm/day for the mutant no light treatment. Our results indicate that the presence of light increases the growth rate of both wild-type and mutant A. thaliana (two-way ANOVA , p =  0.00124); however the presence of the cer10 mutation does not affect the growth rate of A. thaliana , and the effect of light is the same in the wild type and mutant ( p >  0.05).


ABSTRACT Introduction Epilepsies are disorders of neuronal excitability characterized by spontaneously recurrent focal and generalized seizures, some of which result from genetic mutations. Despite the availability of antiseizure medications, pharmaco-resistant epilepsy is seen in about 23% of epileptic patients worldwide. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel therapeutic strategies for epilepsies. Several epilepsy-associated genes have been found in humans. Seizure susceptibility can also be induced in Drosophila mutants, some showing features resembling human epilepsies. Interestingly, several second-site mutation gene products have been found to suppress seizure susceptibility in the seizure genetic model Drosophila. Thus, these so-called 'seizure-suppressor' gene variants may lead to developing a novel class of antiseizure medications. Area covered This review evaluates the potential therapeutic of seizure-suppressor gene variants. Expert opinion Studies on epilepsy-associated genes have allowed analyses of mutations linked to human epilepsy by reproducing these mutations in Drosophila using reverse genetics to generate potential antiseizure therapeutics. As a result, about fifteen seizure-suppressor gene mutants have been identified. Furthermore, some of these epilepsy gene mutations affect ligand-and voltage-gated ion channels. Therefore, a better understanding of the antiseizure activity of seizure-suppressor genes is essential in advancing gene therapy and precision medicine for epilepsy.


Fibromyalgia (FM) has been explained as a result of gene-environment interactions. The present study aims to verify DNA methylation differences in eleven candidate genome regions previously associated to FM, evaluating DNA methylation patterns as potential disease biomarkers. DNA methylation was analyzed through bisulfite sequencing, comparing 42 FM women and their 42 healthy sisters. The associations between the level of methylation in these regions were further explored through a network analysis. Lastly, a logistic regression model investigated the regions potentially associated with FM, when controlling for sociodemographic variables and depressive symptoms. The analysis highlighted significant differences in the GCSAML region methylation between patients and controls. Moreover, seventeen single CpGs, belonging to other genes, were significantly different, however, only one cytosine related to GCSAML survived the correction for multiple comparisons. The network structure of methylation sites was different for each group; GRM2 methylation represented a central node only for FM patients. Logistic regression revealed that depressive symptoms and DNA methylation in the GRM2 region were significantly associated with FM risk. Our study encourages better exploration of GCSAML and GRM2 functions and their possible role in FM affecting immune, inflammatory response, and central sensitization of pain.


IT outsourcing enables companies to contract out IT services, such as infrastructure and application management to external providers. IT services delivery relies on knowledge that is in the collective possession of application and infrastructure specialists. With recent advances in harnessing the expertise of network-connected humans, services businesses have also started to seek strategies to efficiently utilize the collective knowledge of their employees. In this paper, we present the application of collective intelligence to three different service types: 1) automation (translation solution), 2) infrastructure management (asset inventory discovery) and 3) application management (software development). We extrapolate a set of salient properties (i.e., input, output, and size of the collective input) as the key elements for employing collective intelligence within the services business. We discuss some of the differences amongst the disparate collective intelligence services and present the resulting distinctive properties as challenges that may inspire further research in services business.


Provides comprehensive coverage of operant and classical conditioning, relevant fundamental theory, and applications including the latest techniques Features chapters by leading researchers, professionals, and academicians Reviews a range ...


The majority of large companies are adopting Service Oriented Architectures, mainly to automate their business processes, both centralized and distributed. This paper will focus on distributed business processes. At the moment there are two interesting ways to implement a distributed business process, via orchestration or choreography. Whereas an orchestration can be thought of as a service composition with a single participant taking the lead, a choreography is a decentralized collaboration between different autonomous participants. One of the most prominent remaining issues, associated with both approaches, is the correlation problem, which is addressed in this paper. We will show that the abstract overall view, provided by a choreography description, makes it possible to determine (even at design time) whether its interactions can be unambiguously correlated. It is shown that this correlation validation is more feasible to realize in case of choreographies than with orchestrations, due to the orchestration's limited view on the overall business process.


Face burns expose patients to a higher respiratory risk, and early prophylactic intubation before they enter the burn unit might be life-saving. However, unnecessary intubation may compromise their clinical evolution. Hence, the decision to perform pre-burn centre endotracheal intubation remains a clinical challenge. A retrospective study was developed to characterize the experience of the tertiary burn unit of the Hospital da Prelada with face burn patients arriving endotracheally-intubated between January 2009 and September 2013. Specific goals included assessment of whether these intubations were clinically appropriate and if these procedures determined significant changes in clinical course and outcome. A total of 136 patients were admitted to our burn centre with facial burns. 38.2% (n=52) of them arrived endotracheally-intubated, with 75% (n=39) intubated at the scene of the burn injury and 25% (n=13) in the emergency room because of the suspicion of smoke inhalation injury. In only 23% of the cases (n=12) was the lesion confirmed by bronchoscopy. The overall mortality rate was 12.5% (n=17): 3.6% (n=3) were patients who had not been subjected to pre-burn centre intubation, and 27% (n=14) were in the group of patients arriving intubated. A face burn is a warning sign of a possible upper airway injury, and pre-burn centre prophylactic intubation might be life-saving. However, unnecessary intubation may impair clinical evolution. Therefore, it is imperative that updated practice guidelines for pre-burn centre airway management are adhered to, and that these guidelines are subject to revision in order to improve airway management in burn patients.


In a learning experiment 10 Ss as receivers judged looking signals of a sender. Providing feedback about the real direction of gaze produced learning in the direction of an improvement of discrimination performance; the improvement was independent of visual acuity of receivers and was not correlated to extraversion and neuroticism. Performance at the beginning was poorer and learning progress better for fixation points which were further away from the face. Results are discussed with reference to improving accuracy of observers on the variable 'looking behavior', important in studies on nonverbal communication. A pre-training of observers which allows explicit feedback about the real direction of gaze is proposed.


BACKGROUND
Many immigrants from the former USSR arrived in Israel during the period 1989 to 1992 and now comprise 10% of the Israeli population. They are expected to cause a change in the health profile of the country due to their different patterns of disease and an analysis was undertaken to predict these expected changes.

METHOD
Official mortality statistics from Israel and the USSR were compared for differences in major causes of death. Russian mortality rates were then incorporated into a calculation taking into account the total size of the Israeli population and the relative size of the immigrant population to give the expected overall age-adjusted mortality in Israel following the wave of immigration.

RESULTS
Reported mortality rates in the European republics of the former USSR were found to be higher, by about 40%, than mortality rates in Israel. Cardiovascular diseases (40%) and cancer (20%) were found to contribute equally to male mortality in Israel and the USSR, but cardiovascular diseases were more important in females in the USSR (65% versus 44% in Israel). Cerebrovascular disease was three times more common as a cause of death in the USSR than in Israel, in both sexes. Cancer, though similar in overall rate, was differently distributed in the two countries with lung and stomach cancer predominating and causing much higher mortality in the former USSR. Projections from these observations showed an expected immediate increase in mortality of 6% in males and 4.4% in females, assuming the mortality patterns reported are valid for Russian immigrants to Israel.

CONCLUSION
Massive immigration to a country has the potential to significantly affect the overall health picture of the host country. Therefore, an evaluation of the health status and health-related habits of the immigrant population is warranted to target areas requiring intervention in order to both protect the host country and to facilitate assimilation.


We report the anomalous bulk transformation of vapor deposited stable glasses into the liquid state. The transformation proceeds through two competing parallel processes: partial rejuvenation of the stable glass and nucleation and growth of liquid patches within the glass. The kinetics of the transformation extracted from heat capacity curves after isothermal runs is dominated by the heterogeneous nucleation and growth process that initiates at preexisting seeds and propagates radially at a velocity proportional to the alpha relaxation time. Remarkably, the distance between the activation seeds is independent of temperature within experimental uncertainty and amounts to several micrometers, a value in close agreement with the crossover length for TPD glasses. We speculate the initiation sites for the transformation of the glass into the supercooled liquid are localized regions of lower stability (or density).


TiO2 was synthesized on biochar derived from wood waste assisted by ionic liquids (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C4mim][BF4])). We compared the effects of photocatalysts synthesized with [C4mim]Cl (Ti–WB–Cl) and [C4mim][BF4] (Ti–WB–BF4) on the degradation of methyl orange. Using XRD, the nanoparticles of anatase TiO2 in Ti–WB–Cl and Ti–WB–BF4 were formed. Within 120 min under UV, the 88.1 and 99.8% of methyl orange were degraded, respectively. Moreover, by-products were barely observed using Ti–WB–BF4 photocatalyst. By XPS spectra, the Ti–WB–BF4 with carbon and fluorine incorporation suggests that enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange had occurred.


Formal models are necessary to capture the semantics and behavior of processes of various systems. They characterize and provide insight into the behavior of real systems and thus identify their deterministic and non-deterministic features. The design and deployment of healthcare systems utilize the current technology development in order to improve healthcare services and accommodate the increasing demand on these services while maintaining high quality and error free service. However, healthcare systems lack a formal model that can precisely define specification requirements about their design and operation. This paper introduces a formal axiomatic model for ubiquitous healthcare systems. This formal model precisely defines the formal specification requirements for healthcare systems including functional and security related requirements.


The author reviews some literature data available on discovery, morphology and physiology of the atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) with special emphasis on the morphology of specific ANF granules, mechanisms of secretion and deposition in cardiomyocytes. The granules formation during embryogenesis, ANF structure and physiologic effect on the kidney, smooth muscles, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system are analysed. Molecular mechanisms of ANF action are suggested. Current knowledge about ANF system significance in the genesis of some disorders, arterial hypertension in particular, is evaluated.


Background: Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), a member of the mycobacteriaceae family, causes Johne's disease in ruminants, which resembles Crohn's disease (CD) in humans. MAP was proposed to be one of the causes of human CD, but the evidence remains elusive. Macrophages were reported to be the only cell where MAP proliferates in ruminants and humans and is likely the major producer of TNFα-associated inflammation. However, whether human dendritic cells (DCs), another major antigen-presenting cell (APC), have the ability to harbor MAP and disseminate infection, remains unknown. Methods: Human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) were infected with MAP and phagocytosis and intracellular survival were quantified by immunofluorescence (IF) and colony counts, respectively. MoDC cytokine expression was measured via ELISA and their activation state was measured via flow cytometry. Results: We showed that MAP can infect and replicate in human moDCs as means to evade the immune system for successful infection, through inhibition of the phago-lysosome fusion via the secretion of protein tyrosine phosphatase PtpA. This mechanism initially led to a state of tolerance in moDCs and then subsequently caused a pro-inflammatory response as infection persisted, characterized by the upregulation of IL-6 and TNFα, and downregulation of IL-10. Moreover, we showed that moDCs have the ability to phagocytose up to 18% of MAP, when exposed at a multiplicity of infection of 1:1. Conclusion: Infection and subsequent proliferation of MAP within moDCs could provide a unique means for the dissemination of MAP to lymphoid tissue, while altering immune responses to facilitate the persistence of infection of host tissues in CD.


PURPOSE
To identify sources of motion artifacts (MA) in 4-D CT reconstruction when patient breathing is irregular.

METHODS
A simulation study with a wire phantom was designed to quantify MA in phase-sorted 4D CT. Motion in the inferior-superior with cos4tɷt variation and 1 cm motion range was assumed. Motion frequency, expressed in breaths per minute (BPM) was assumed to be 15 for most of our cases, and always higher than 10 in order to exclude undersampling artifacts due to slow breathing and violate data sufficiency. The simulation included variations in motion period, amplitude and baseline drift; these variations were assumed to be affecting phantom and surrogate motion simultaneously. A varying phase shift between the phantom motion and the surrogate motion was also studied. The effect on MA derived from the variation of the above parameters was evaluated.

RESULTS
No noticeable MA was observed when the breathing period is changing during scanning. Variations of the amplitude and the base line drift play little role in generating MA. MA only becomes noticeable when the variation of the amplitude becomes larger than 30% of the motion range - or 3mm in our simulation. MA, however are sensitive to the variation in the phase difference between surrogate and phantom motion. Change of only 10 degrees in phase or 0.1 seconds shift during scanning generated significant MA.

CONCLUSION
Change of phase between the breathing surrogate and the organ motion during scanning is the main source of the MA if patient breathing period is not too slow, i.e. if the data sufficiency condition is not violated. NIH R01 CA133539.


Political activism and political culture provide great insight into how movements not only form but attempt to enact change within society. However, political culture will vary by nation due to the divergent historical foundations and the use of tactics that resonate with citizens as the most effective way to promote change in a government. Therefore, it is critical to cross-nationally examine the effect that political culture can have on current social movements. In this thesis, I examine the impact of political culture on recent social movement activity in France and the state of Maine, with a focus on debates over the legalization of same-sex marriage. Through firsthand experience and case study analysis, this thesis demonstrates the different strategies movements utilize to promote the same cause, adopting different tactics and framing strategies. I argue that this reflects differing cultural influences in each society. In fact, I will argue that divergent collective memories of respective revolutions and the forms of government that resulted from the framers of each nation contribute to the organization and execution of same-sex marriage social movements today.


Like many other countries, the presence of wasteful activities is very common in Kazakhstan's construction industry. This severely affects the productivity of construction processes. Lean methodology maximizes the value of a process by minimizing wasteful or non-value adding (NVA) activities. This study aims to explore and quantify the impact NVA items on construction productivity. Several observations were made for construction processes in Astana, Kazakhstan to investigate and quantify various types of wasteful activities. Moreover, a survey was conducted to examine the general understanding of wasteful activities and Lean methods within the construction industry in Kazakhstan. In terms of wasteful activities, a similarity was found between the observed construction processes and survey results. Furthermore, apart from the commonly found seven types of wasteful activities, some other sources of waste, such as "preparation" and "break", were found from the observations. Finally, wasteful activities were mapped with commonly used Lean tools, as found in the literature, so that productivity can be improved by minimizing NVA activities. From the mapping and the survey results, value stream mapping (VSM) was found to be the most effective Lean tool, since it facilitates increased visualization.


Understanding the context of complex and cluttered scenes is a challenging problem for semantic segmentation. However, it is difficult to model the context without prior and additional supervision because the scene's factors, such as the scale, shape, and appearance of objects, vary considerably in these scenes. To solve this, we propose to learn the structures of objects and the hierarchy among objects because context is based on these intrinsic properties. In this study, we design novel hierarchical, contextual, and multiscale pyramidal representations to capture the properties from an input image. Our key idea is the recursive segmentation in different hierarchical regions based on a predefined number of regions and the aggregation of the context in these regions. The aggregated contexts are used to predict the contextual relationship between the regions and partition the regions in the following hierarchical level. Finally, by constructing the pyramid representations from the recursively aggregated context, multiscale and hierarchical properties are attained. In the experiments, we confirmed that our proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance in PASCAL Context.


In the collections of the National Trust for Scotland's (NTS) David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre, is a vial of
coloured solid particulate material, described in the collection record as:
 "Glass tube of dye, found by plot holders on the site of the old Dye Works" (Object 384)
It has no strong provenance for where or when it was found, but it is speculated to relate to the dye works and
textile mills that operated in this part of Blantyre from 1794 until 1904, mainly by the Menteith family. Like other
Scottish textile producers around Glasgow of that era, these works produced Turkey red cloth. Hence it has
long been expected that the vial contents relate to the Turkey red processes undertaken there. The NTS
asked the CTCTAH to analyse the contents to understand the artefact's significance and legitimacy of its
association with Blantyre's past dye and textile works.
Initial low-power light microscopy revealed the hard granular contents as an inhomogeneous mixture of yellow,
red-brown, purple-red and white particulates that looked more inorganic than organic. Infrared
microspectroscopy of one white particle indicated a carbonate, but gave no result for a purple particle which
was thought to be an organic colorant. With the new dye analysis facility at the CTCTAH under development at
the time, the analytical investigation continued in collaboration with the State Service for Cultural Heritage
(RCE).
Ultra performance liquid chromatography with photo diode array detection (UPLC-PDA) revealed an early
synthetic dye, either Methyl Violet, a pararosaniline basic dye in commercial production from 1866, or partially
photo-degraded Crystal Violet, a related dye available from 1883. There was no detectable evidence for
natural madder or synthetic alizarin which were widely used in nineteenth century Europe for Turkey red
textiles.
Particulates that might be calcium carbonate and quartz were identified by scanning electron microscopy with
energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), also at the RCE. Yellow and red-brown particles in the mix
were composed of iron oxides and iron hydroxides. These might be coloured pigments. Further analysis by xray
diffraction (XRD) at National Museums Scotland is planned to identify the minerals to shed light on any
relevance to textile dyeing and printing.
To date the vial does appear to be connected to textile dyes, maybe indicating dyeing and printing activity for
Turkey red cloth or other textiles, but not the Turkey red dyeing process itself. With the significance of the vial
now revealed, conservation considerations for display and access are important because both of the possible
synthetic dyes are light-sensitive.
It is remarkable that this fragile vial seems to have survived on exposed ground for some years, and
fascinating that it might provide us with primary source evidence of past Scottish textile production.
Understanding what the mixture represents requires more investigation into the dyed textile activities of
nineteenth century Scotland, through the likes of the research network ReCREATE
http://www.gla.ac.uk/recreate/.


The large domain discrepancy between faces captured in polarimetric (or conventional) thermal and visible domain makes cross-domain face recognition quite a challenging problem for both human-examiners and computer vision algorithms. Previous approaches utilize a two-step procedure (visible feature estimation and visible image reconstruction) to synthesize the visible image given the corresponding polarimetric thermal image. However, these are regarded as two disjoint steps and hence may hinder the performance of visible face reconstruction. We argue that joint optimization would be a better way to reconstruct more photo-realistic images for both computer vision algorithms and human-examiners to examine. To this end, this paper proposes a Generative Adversarial Network-based Visible Face Synthesis (GAN-VFS) method to synthesize more photo-realistic visible face images from their corresponding polarimetric images. To ensure that the encoded visible-features contain more semantically meaningful information in reconstructing the visible face image, a guidance sub-network is involved into the training procedure. To achieve photo realistic property while preserving discriminative characteristics for the reconstructed outputs, an identity loss combined with the perceptual loss are optimized in the framework. Multiple experiments evaluated on different experimental protocols demonstrate that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance.


The glaciated Mount Rainier volcano in southwestern Washington State (United States) has a rich history of outburst floods and debris flows that have adversely impacted infrastructure at Mount Rainier National Park in the 20th and 21st centuries. Retreating glaciers leave behind vast amounts of unconsolidated till that is easily mobilized during high-precipitation-intensity storms in the fall months, and during outburst floods during warm summer months. Over 60 debris flows and outburst floods have been documented between 1926 and 2019 at Mount Rainier. Debris-flow activity has led to the closure of campgrounds and visitor destinations, which has limited visitor access to large swaths of the park. This paper documents efforts to characterize and seismically monitor debris flows, map hazards, and develop forecasting approaches for wet and dry weather debris flows. Using the day-of and historic antecedent weather conditions on past debris-flow days, we developed a debris-flow hazard model to help predict those days with a higher relative hazard for debris-flow activity park-wide based on prevailing and forecasted weather conditions. Debris flows are detected in near-real-time using the U.S. Geological Survey Real-time Seismic Amplitude Measurement (RSAM) tool. If an event is detected, we can then provide evacuation alerts to em*Corresponding author email: email@example.com ployees and visitors working and recreating in the areas downstream. Our goal is to accurately forecast the debris-flow hazards up to 7 days ahead of time and then use RSAM to detect debris flows within minutes of their genesis.


We give a systematic derivation of positive lower bounds for the expected entropy production (EP) rate in classical statistical mechanical systems obeying a dynamical large deviation principle. The logic is the same for the return to thermodynamic equilibrium as it is for steady nonequilibria working under the condition of local detailed balance. We recover there recently studied "uncertainty" relations for the EP, appearing in studies about the effectiveness of mesoscopic machines. In general our refinement of the positivity of the expected EP rate is obtained in terms of a positive and even function of the expected current(s) which measures the dynamical activity in the system, a time-symmetric estimate of the changes in the system's configuration. Also underdamped diffusions can be included in the analysis.


Changes in beam geometry during the calibration and subsequent testing of optical detector standards can cause errors which appear as uncertainties in the responsivities of the detectors. These uncertainties, caused by non-ideal detector input characteristics and changes in input beam geometry, can be decreased significantly if the detector response is always corrected to a reference beam geometry such as a collimated beam normally incident on the detector surface. An integral directional error can be determined for radiant power, luminous flux, irradiance and illuminance detectors by calculating the weighted integral of the product of the measured source radiance and the directional error over the solid angle produced by the light source. A conical directional error is introduced, and used to describe the case of circular and uniform radiant sources (e.g. exit port of an integrating sphere) and circularly symmetric detectors. An evaluation is presented of the conical directional error, a directional response correction factor, the results of directional response measurements, and directional response correction factors for some practical standard detectors (such as diffuser-input InGaAs and integrating-sphere-input silicon irradiance meters, silicon photodiodes, and pyroelectric radiant power and irradiance measuring detectors).


BACKGROUND
Anal fissure is a common proctological condition that is usually defined as an anodermal ulcerative process starting from the posterior commissure to the dentate line. The objective of this study was to evaluate the resolution rate of anal fissure through the use of conservative management in patients grouped according to our newly proposed classification. A secondary purpose was to quantify the recurrence rates at 2-years follow-up in each group.

METHODS
A retrospective analysis was carried out on patients in our general database. Diagnosis was based on symptoms, clinical observation, anal manometry and transanal ultrasounds. After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, patients were assigned to different groups. Follow-up was carried out at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months.

RESULTS
A total of 136 patients (54 female and 82 male) were included in the statistical analysis. At the end of the treatment period, all patients in groups 1 and 2 had a complete resolution of illness and a normal basal sphincterial tone, while those in groups 3 and 4 had a higher rate of recurrence at the 2-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION
Based on our series, we propose a definitive non-surgical management for all group 1 and 2 anal fissures according to our protocol. For groups 3 and 4, we recommend a primary non-surgical approach with follow-up. This was a retrospective study and further randomized controlled studies will be necessary to confirm our results.


The experimental investigation for the purpose of studying the possibility of intervertebral osseous adhesion formation when demineralized osseous sawdust is introduced in the intervertebral disk in case of penetrating fractures of bodies of vertebra has been carried out. In 70% of cases the osseous adhesion is formed at the level of disks which demineralized osseous sawdust was introduced to (adhesion was formed, mainly, as perifocal osseous stratifications). Osseous adhesion, in case of introduction of lekozim to the damaged disk, was noted in 20% of cases (1 animal). Osteogenesis in disks was absent in all observations in the control group. When used in clinics in 12 patients with injuries of vertebral column in 63.6% of them perivertebral osseous connection has been formed during 8-12 months.


Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been linked to tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Objectives: The Sleep Apnea in Lung Cancer (SAIL) study (NCT02764866) was designed to determine the prevalence of OSA in patients with lung cancer. Methods: Cross-sectional study including consecutive patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. All patients were offered home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) and administered a sleep-specific questionnaire prior to initiating oncologic treatment. Sleep study-related variables, symptoms, and epidemiologic data as well as cancer related variables were recorded. Results: Eighty-three patients were enrolled in the SAIL study. Sixty-six completed HSAT. The mean age was 68 ± 11 years and 58% were male with a mean body mass index of 28.1 ± 5.4. Forty-seven percent were current smokers, 42% former smokers, and 11% never smokers with a median tobacco consumption of 51 pack-years. Fifty percent had COPD with a mean FEV1 of 83 ± 22.6% of predicted and a mean DLCO of 85.5 ± 20.1%. Adenocarcinoma was the most common histologic type (46.7%), followed by squamous cell (16.7%) and small cell (16.7%). Most patients were diagnosed at an advanced stage (65% in stages III–IV). The vast majority (80%) had OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] > 5), and 50% had moderate to severe OSA (AHI > 15) with a mean Epworth Sleepiness Score of 7.43 ± 3.85. Significant nocturnal hypoxemia was common (Median T90: 10.9% interquartile range 2.4–42.2). Conclusions: Sleep apnea and nocturnal hypoxemia are highly prevalent in patients with lung cancer.


This study investigated regulation of L-type calcium channels (Cav1.2b) by acetylcholine (ACh) in rabbit portal vein myocytes. Whole-cell currents were recorded using 5 mmol/L barium as charge carrier. ACh (10 mol/L) increased peak currents by 40%. This effect was not reversed by the selective muscarinic M3 receptor antagonist 4-DAMP (100 nmol/L) but was blocked by the M2 receptor antagonist methoctramine (5 mol/L). The classical and novel protein kinase C (PKC) antagonist calphostin C (50 nmol/L) abolished ACh responses, whereas the classical PKC antagonist Gö6976 (200 nmol/L) had no effect. ACh responses were also abolished by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 (20 mol/L), by the c-Src inhibitor PP2 (10 mol/L) (but not the inactive analogue PP3), and by dialyzing cells with an antibody to the G-protein subunit G . Cells dialyzed with c-Src had significantly greater currents than control cells. Current enhancement persisted in the presence of LY294002, suggesting that c-Src is downstream of PI3K. Phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu, 0.1 mol/L) increased currents by 74%. This effect was abolished by calphostin C and reduced by Gö6976. The PDBu response was also reduced by PP2, and the PP2-insensitive component was blocked by Gö6976. In summary, these data suggest that ACh enhances Cav1.2b currents via M2 receptors that couple sequentially to G , PI3K, a novel PKC, and c-Src. PDBu stimulates the novel PKC/c-Src pathway along with a second pathway that is independent of c-Src and involves a classical PKC. (Circ Res. 2004;94:626-633.)


An analysis of noise in passive sampling mixers is presented, which is based on derivations of auto- and cross- correlation functions that capture statistical co-dependence of noise components during the tracking and hold phases of sampling mixer operation. This study accurately predicts the noise-folding due to cyclostationarity of the sampling noise of the mixer. As will be discussed, notwithstanding its simple form, the proposed approach yields an accurate noise model, which will simplify to existing noise models presented by prior work under their adopted assumptions.


Fuzzy-trace theory has been developed by Brainerd and Reyna (1998, this issue) to explain a variety of findings. Here we explore the way that fuzzy-trace theory handles three phenomena concerning the creation and maintenance of false memories. We show that fuzzy-trace theory can account for seemingly paradoxical findings, thus providing theoretical clarity that has heretofore been lacking in the developmental literature.


SUMMARY Reliable estimates of the burden of 2009 pandemic influenza A(pH1N1) cannot be easily obtained because only a small fraction of infections were confirmed by laboratory tests in a timely manner. In this study we developed a Poisson prediction modelling approach to estimate the excess mortality associated with pH1N1 in 2009 and seasonal influenza in 1998–2008 in the subtropical city Hong Kong. The results suggested that there were 127 all-cause excess deaths associated with pH1N1, including 115 with cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and 22 with pneumonia and influenza. The excess mortality rates associated with pH1N1 were highest in the population aged ⩾65 years. The mortality burden of influenza during the whole of 2009 was comparable to those in the preceding ten inter-pandemic years. The estimates of excess deaths were more than twofold higher than the reported fatal cases with laboratory-confirmed pH1N1 infection.


Four experiments were conducted to evaluate the nutrient contributions and physiological health benefits of spray-dried egg (SDE) containing only unfertilized eggs as a protein source in nursery pig diets. In all experiments, all diets were formulated to the same ME and Lys content, and each pen within a block (by BW) housed the same number of barrows and gilts. In Exp. 1 and 2 (168 and 140 pigs, respectively; 5 kg BW; 16 d old; 14 replicates/experiment), conducted at a university farm, treatments were with or without 5% SDE in a nursery control diet, which included antibiotics and zinc oxide. Pigs were fed for 10 d after weaning to measure ADG, ADFI, and G:F. The SDE increased (P < 0.05) ADG (Exp. 1: 243 vs. 204 g/d; Exp. 2: 204 vs. 181 g/d) and ADFI (Exp. 1: 236 vs. 204 g/d; Exp. 2: 263 vs. 253 g/d) compared with the control diet but did not affect G:F. In Exp. 3 (1,008 pigs; 5.2 kg BW; 20 d old; 12 replicates/treatment), conducted at a commercial farm, treatments were in a factorial arrangement of with or without SDE and high or low spray-dried plasma (SDP) in nursery diets, which included antibiotics and zinc oxide. Pigs were fed for 6 wk using a 4-phase feeding program (phases of 1, 1, 2, and 2 wk, respectively) with declining diet complexity to measure ADG, ADFI, G:F, removal rate (mortality plus morbidity), and frequency of medical treatments per pen and day (MED). The diets with the SDE increased (P < 0.05) ADFI during phase 1 only (180 vs. 164 g/d) compared with the diets without the SDE but did not affect growth performance during any other phases. The diets with SDE reduced MED during phase 1 (0.75% vs. 1.35%; P < 0.05) and the overall period (0.84% vs. 1.01%; P = 0.062) compared with the diets without the SDE but did not affect removal rate. In Exp. 4 (160 pigs; 6.7 kg BW; 21 d old; 10 replicates/treatment), conducted at a university farm to determine whether SDE can replace SDP, treatments were in a factorial arrangement of with or without SDP or SDE in nursery diets, which excluded antibiotics and zinc oxide. Pigs were fed for 6 wk using the same schedule used in Exp. 3 to measure ADG, ADFI, and G:F. The diets with SDE increased (P < 0.05) ADFI during phase 1 only (195 vs. 161 g/d) compared with the diets without SDE but did not affect growth performance during any other periods. In conclusion, SDE can be an efficacious protein and energy source in nursery pig diets and improves health and, in some instances, increases growth rate.


Due to the dramatic growth in industrial development and population, the natural atmospheric environment has become polluted and is rapidly deteriorating. Thus, the monitoring and control of such pollutants is imperative to prevent environmental disasters. Conventional analytic instruments for this purpose are time consuming, expensive, and seldom used in real-time in the field. As such, a solid-state gas sensor that is compact, robust, with versatile applications and a low cost, could be an equally effective alternative. Accordingly, this paper presents a brief overview of solid-state gas sensors, which can be classified into semiconductor, capacitor, and solid-electrolyte type sensors, based on their sensing mechanisms and a simple NDIR instrument. Furthermore, the sensing properties of solid-state gas sensors to environmental gases, such as NO X, SOX, CO2, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), plus certain other gases, are also classified and summarized.


Bisphenols, which are environmental endocrine disruptors, are widely found in food packaging materials and the environment, polluting the ecological environment and inducing harm to human health. Bisphenol residues constitute an important food safety problem at present. Hence, detecting the bisphenol content in food and environmental samples is of great significance for protecting human health. Because of the low concentration and matrix interference, a combination of sample pretreatment and instrumental analysis is imperative for improving the detection efficiency and enhancing the analytical sensitivity and reliability. Common pretreatment and analysis methods mainly include liquid-liquid extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, solid-phase extraction, solid-phase microextraction, matrix-dispersive solid-phase extraction, and QuEChERS. Common instrumental analysis methods include liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, immunoassays, and biosensors. In this paper, various methods for sample pretreatment and instrumental analysis of bisphenols in food and environmental samples are reviewed, with the aim of providing a reference for the residue monitoring of bisphenols.


Background: CPX-351 is a liposomal formulation that delivers elevated concentrations of Cyt and Daun after administration in vivo and maintains the two drugs at a 5:1 molar ratio shown to be synergistic in preclinical studies. Pharmacokinetic analysis of CPX-351 in advanced leukemia patients demonstrated prolonged plasma exposure of the drugs with quantifiable concentrations of both agents being observed as long as 7 days after the final CPX-351 dose. Here we developed a method to separate liposome-bound from unencapsulated drugs, thereby allowing the pharmacokinetics of encapsulated agents to be determined in comparison to total plasma drug concentrations. Methods: CPX-351 was administered to female Sprague-Dawley rats via IV bolus injection. Plasma samples were harvested at five timepoints from 1 – 24 hours. Unencapsulated drug analysis was conducted by addition of internal standards (gemcitabine (Cyt) and doxorubicin (Daun)) to the plasma, followed by a 5-fold dilution in buffer and ultrafiltration using Microcon YM-30. Unencapsulated drug levels were determined by reversed-phase HPLC-MS (SIM, 244.2 m/z (Cyt) and 528.3 m/z (Daun)). Total analysis was conducted by protein precipitation and analysis was determined by reversed-phase HPLC-UV (Cyt) and reversed-phase HPLC-Fluorescence (Daun). Results: A separation method was developed to separate 0.22 – 4.33% unencapsulated Cyt and 0.13 – 2.50% unencapsulated Daun from liposome in plasma matrix. Encapsulated drug was calculated by subtracting the amount of unencapsulated analyte from the corresponding amount of total analyte. The total drug curves and the calculated encapsulated drug curves from 1 – 24 hours were superimposable for Cyt and Daun. A maximum of 1.9% unencapsulated Cyt and 0.4% unencapsulated Daun was measured in the plasma at any time point. Conclusions: Unencapsulated drug levels in rat plasma are insignificant compared to the total drug levels such that levels of total and encapsulated are within the spread of the data and therefore indistinguishable. These results suggest that CPX-351 remains in circulation in rats as intact liposomes at least 24 hours post administration. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5464. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-5464


We propose a novel scheme for slow light based on a resonant three-level lambda system (RTLS) in a p-doped semiconductor heterostructure. Numerical simulations show that a slow-down factor of 145 and a slow-down-bandwidth product exceeding 200 THz can be achieved in semiconductor quantum wells at room temperature. These figures of merit make the RTLS slow light especially useful for the enhancement of the optical nonlinearity in high bandwidth all-optical signal processing applications.


The objective of this research was to characterize the life-histories of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) and yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis L.) growing in association. Biweekly demographic attributes were monitored during 1991 (moist spring) and 1992 (dry spring). Data were arranged into life-history tables, and sensitivity analysis was performed to determine key transition phases. The entire cheatgrass seed crop reached the soil surface, 41% of yellow starthistle's seed output was lost during seed rain. Frost heaving reduced winter seedling populations of cheatgrass (53%) more than yellow starthistle (40%). All cheatgrass seedlings surviving the frost heaving period became adults. Yellow starthistle density was reduced by 75% during the juvenile phase. Cheatgrass adults appeared about 6 weeks before yellow starthistle adults. Cheatgrass seed output remained about 7,000 m2 with moist and dry spring conditions. Yellow starthistle seed output was about 21,600 m2 and 5,200 m2 with moist and dry spring conditions, respectively. Reduction of yellow starthistle seed output with dry spring conditions suggest oscillatory community dynamics. Key processes associated with life-history transitions were interference (competition), resource acquisition rates and duration, and reproductive allocation.


Evaporative Cooling (EC) is increasingly regarded as a powerful and effective method for building cooling, mitigation of Urban Heat Islands (UHI) and for urban adaptation to climate change (Kitano et al., 2011; Saneinejad et al., 2014). As this cooling technique depends on the adequate supply of water, it is notable that most research gives little attention to local water availability, and also that the research community largely ignores the Hot Humid Tropics, despite these being regions with significant water surplus. Evaporative Cooling is still generally omitted in the theory and practice of building and urban cooling for the Hot Humid Tropics, even though diverse experiments and practical applications have confirmed that it can be effective even in hot humid climates (Kitano et al., 2011). This paper argues that the problem of marginalization and stigmatization of EC techniques as unsuitable for these regions is rooted in an incomplete understanding of the nature of hot humid climates and their variations, which has historically permeated approaches to building cooling. The authors propose the need for a reconceptualization of climate classifications and climate analysis tools for architectural applications, which would allow a more detailed differentiation of hot humid climates than what is usually seen in conventional classifications. This finer grained differentiation is essential to overcome the problems referred to above, and to reconsider promising passive and low energy solutions for buildings and cities for the majority of the hot humid areas of the world, particularly those with less developed economies.


Using data alone, without knowledge of underlying physical models, nonlinear discrete time regional forecasting dynamical rules are constructed employing well tested methods from applied mathematics and nonlinear dynamics. Observations of environmental variables such as wind velocity, temperature, pressure, etc allow the development of forecasting rules that predict the future of these variables only. A regional set of observations with appropriate sensors allows one to forgo standard considerations of spatial resolution and uncertainties in the properties of detailed physical models. Present global or regional models require specification of details of physical processes globally or regionally, and the ensuing, often heavy, computational requirements provide information of the time variation of many quantities not of interest locally. In this paper we formulate the construction of data driven forecasting (DDF) models of geophysical processes and demonstrate how this works within the familiar example of a 'global' model of shallow water flow on a mid-latitude beta plane. A sub-region, where observations are made, of the global flow is selected. A discrete time dynamical forecasting system is constructed from these observations. DDF forecasting accurately predicts the future of observed variables.


The three-decade war in Sri Lanka left parts of the northern and eastern regions severely destroyed. Those regions are populated by minority and marginalized ethnic groups. The expectation is that aid flows to those regions to rebuild after the war as they need the aid more than other places. Nonetheless, the regions are underdeveloped, and the underlying issues which caused the war are yet to be addressed. Hence, this paper aims to answer the research question, 'Are conflict -affected districts a priority in aid allocation in postwar Sri Lanka?' This paper is primarily concerned about the aid allocation post -conflict. However, since the tsunami hit Sri Lanka in 2004, we use the aid allocation from the post-disaster environment to reveal aid patterns and potential biases. The paper uses GIS geocoding, mapping, spatial analysis, and econometric analysis to understand whether: (i) tsunami-affected districts received more aid than others, (ii) war-affected districts received more aid than others, (iii) economically developed districts receive less aid than others. The paper uses AidData on World Bank, Chinese, and the author's collected data on Asian Development Bank aid projects, 2002-2015. The study finds that donors do not respond to the needs of the recipient country. The maps and the analysis show that aid projects are predominantly in southern regions of the country and not in the war-affected districts.


We have identified a class of spinach plastid tRNA genes which do not require 5' upstream promoter elements for their expression in a chloroplast transcription system. The 5' DNA sequences flanking the trnR1 and trnS1 coding regions have little or no homology to previously characterized chloroplast promoter sequences. The deletion of the 5' DNA sequences from these genes to positions close to the start of the coding regions has little effect on their transcription in vitro. In addition, a synthetic DNA fragment homologous to the 5' region of trnS1 does not support the transcription of the promoter (-) trnM2 mutant 51 in a promoter/trnM2-51 fusion assay. In a dicistronic construct the wild type trnS1 gene does not support transcription of trnS1 transcription occurs immediately following the 3' end of the coding region. Both trnS1 and trnR1 compete with trnM2 for the same chloroplast RNA polymerase and/or common transcription factors.


Recent advances in signal processing methodologies have spawned the way for a high-speed home network power-line communication (PLC) system. In this paper, a novel signal processing method based on wavelet packet analysis is proposed to combat the adverse communication environment over power lines. A comparison research between wavelet transform and wavelet packet transform is presented. Since wavelet packet decomposition can provide more precise frequency resolution than wavelet decomposition, this paper proposes to use the wavelet packet analysis to deal with the highly polluted PLC communication signal. A hardware structure for the PLC system is presented as an experimental platform for sampling an actual communication signal. Simulation results based on these kinds of actual communication signals show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


This essay weighs up the efficiency of different forms of consumption taxes, and balances the positives and negatives to find the best approach for New Zealand. It considers the ease of use and low administrative cost of the current uniform consumption tax in New Zealand (GST). Conversely, the regressive nature and the effect it has on low income earners shows that it is not a perfect system. Possible improvements are put forward, such as imposing a zero tax on necessities, or compensating the poor with benefits. The conclusion reached is that GST is the most efficient system of consumption tax.


Idiopathic (Bell's) facial palsy is a self‐limiting, non‐life threatening, and spontaneously remitting disorder. The natural history of Bell's palsy is favorable: 84% of 1011 patients with Bell's palsy studied by one investigator recovered satisfactorily without treatment, and no valid clinical trials conducted to date have provided definitive evidence that treatment with steroids or surgery improves upon this figure. The authors studied 273 patients with Bell's palsy to evaluate the prognostic significance of evoked eleetromyography in predicting the possible benefit of transmastoid facial nerve surgical decompression. The results indicated that even when evoked electromyography was used to select those patients who might benefit most from transmastoid surgery, outcome in patients treated surgically was no better than can be expected to occur without treatment. Based upon these observations, transmastoid facial nerve surgery is not recommended to treat Bell's palsy because no benefits have been identified which outweigh the risks of surgery.