We report measurements of total flux for six circumstellar SiO maser sources. Both polarizations were measured simultaneously for these highly polarized sources. We compare SiO curves with the infrared flux, especially the infrared minima, which are observed to coincide in phase with the optical minima. The comparisons of SiO and infrared flux at light minimum are the most stragithforward and indicate a characteristic phase lag for several of our sources. When interpreted in terms of observed physical motions associated with these stars, the SiO-infrared phase lag of 63--129 days can be used to infer a scale size on the order of 10/sup 13/ cm. The corresponding light-travel time is of the order of 10/sup 17/ cm, which is well outside the SiO line formation region.


Purpose of reviewProgressive neurological deterioration is the ultimate cause of premature death in Niemann-Pick type C disease. Yet it remains unknown why a defect in basic cellular lipid homeostasis would lead to such profound neurological dysfunction and degeneration. The established belief that the central nervous system disorder of Niemann-Pick type C disease is secondary to lipid accumulation has led to a deficiency of research and information on the neurological manifestation of the disease. Lipid and vesicular trafficking have been studied extensively in non-neuronal cells such as fibroblasts and significant advances have been summarized in excellent reviews. The purpose of the present review is to consolidate the findings on brain lipid metabolism and Niemann-Pick type C disease neuropathology, so as to generate a current picture of the central nervous system disease, and emphasize potential aspects for future research. Recent findingsSome key findings in the last couple of years have brought the neurological features of Niemann-Pick type C disease into focus. Most importantly, multiple strategies for reducing lipid overload have proven ineffective in preventing the onslaught of neurodegeneration, while efficiently reducing lipid disturbances in extracerebral tissues. Of much significance was the finding that the central nervous system disease is brain autonomous. Finally, investigation of lipid defects and neuropathological changes in Niemann-Pick type C disease gene-1-deficient mice has shed light on some novel putative therapeutic targets. SummaryThe independence of brain pathology from visceral complications in Niemann-Pick type C disease has implications for its treatment. Further studies of the neurological mechanisms underlying the disease will have a significant impact on future clinical diagnosis and management of patients.


Abstract Approaching freelancing, a topical subject in regards to human resources, especially after the economic crisis of 2008, places emphasis on the main advantages of integrating it in HR activity. The economic crisis has represented a critical moment for Romanian organisations and their HR activity, thus generating a series of negative effects on profit and the employees' individual performances. Ameliorating these negative effects is the top managers' task, just as much as it is the HR departments, whose role has evolved towards that of a mediator in charge of creating the most appropriate climate for achieving performance, efficiency and optimal results. In order to propose a healthy implementation process, with a view to indicating the phenomenon subjected to analysis, the first step was to analyze each employee's individual performance metrics. Then, a mathematical modeling of performance with the human resource was developed, by applying an additional linear model on 4 major tasks of human resources spending and a report on performance was calculated - the cost being connected to implementingfreelancing in HR activity in the marketing department.The present study, therefore, provides a concrete solution to the great challenge found in HR management, which is assuring that there is concordance between making spending in HR as efficient as possible and ensuring a high level of motivation and increasing performance with human resources in the organization.


Low vision and blindness is a vision disorder that becomes an important issue with regard to a person's independence. According to data owned by the World Health Organization in 2011, the number of blind people in the world reached 39 million, 246 million for low vision and 285 million for blindness. The purpose of this study was to know the incidence of risk factors in children with low vision in Low Vision Service Center Pertuni Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This study was an observational analytic study employed cross sectional design. The subject participated in this study was 139 children. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis. The instrument used was check list. There were relationships between the sex with low vision (p = 0.028, RR = 1.308), there was no relationship between regular eye checkup with low vision incidence (p = 0.801, RR = 1.054). There was relationship between the use of vision aids with low vision (p = 0.000, RR = 0.640), there was a relationship between the cataract with low vision (p = 0.000, RR = 1.472), there was a correlation between the refractive disorderwith low vision (p = 0.000, RR = 0.625).There should be an awareness of health behaviours in the use of vision aids as needed and balanced diet with sufficient physical activity and regular.


The current thesis explores the construct of resilience amongst visually impaired people who participate in social life. Three studies were used to investigate the resilience factors and processes involved in social participation for visually impaired people living in the UK. Study one set out to identify the factors associated with an increased risk of social isolation. Taking social participation as a proximal indicator of social participation, a secondary analysis of survey data compared the social support status of participants taking part in three surveys (Network 1000, RNIB needs survey and Household Survey England). The results indicate visually impaired people who are registered are least likely to have access to social support. Study two, a two round Delphi study sought the views of twenty-two experts to define social participation as well as the risk and protective factors underpinning social participation and specifically, those relating to visual impairment. The findings suggest that whilst independence and confidence were amongst the protective factors located at an individual level, a number of risk factors located across a visually impaired person's ecologies pose a challenge to their participation. The findings also revealed the emergence of resilience processes. The final study (Study 3) further explores resilience processes using data collected by six visually impaired people whilst participating in their local communities. Reflecting the findings of the Delphi, the findings indicated that the personal attributes of individuals played an important role in being able to participate independently such as planning ahead and positive attitude even when things go wrong.


Polio once was a problem that plagued the world in the 1950s, and it was also a serious problem in China. Chinese medical scientists such as Gu Fangzhou went abroad to study.After returned to China, they kept carrying research work and making production test in a tough environment, and developed a technical route and immunization strategy suitable for China. Therefore, in millions and tens of millions of Chinese children were kept away from polio by the sugar pill vaccine. In 2000, the World Health Organization conformed that China became polio-free country.


An acute inflammatory response begins during the reperfusion phase following an ischemic insult in which polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) play an important role and the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) causes further damage and a reduction in endogenous antioxidant storage. The ability of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and some phenolic, aliphatic and aromatic BHA derivatives to reduce the human PMN oxidative burst evoked by particulate (Candida albicans and zymosan) or soluble stimulants [N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)] was investigated using luminol-amplified chemiluminescence. BHA and the derivative dt-BHA [3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole] significantly reduced the PMN oxidative burst at concentrations ranging from 5 × 10–6 to 5 × 10–5 mol/l for C. albicans stimulation, while for zymosan stimulation, reduction was seen at concentrations ranging from 5 × 10–6 to 5 × 10–5 mol/l for BHA, and at concentrations ranging from 5 × 10–7 to 5 × 10–5 mol/l for dt-BHA, with dt-BHA being the most active. Another BHA derivative, Bu GAM 1, was active at 5 × 10–5 mol/l for C. albicans and at 5 × 10–6 to 5 × 10–5 mol/l for zymosan. The findings obtained with fMLP and PMA were very similar to those previously reported. ROS release is related to PMN killing activity, but the inhibition of the PMN oxidative burst induced by BHA and BHA derivatives did not significantly modify PMN phagocytosis or killing. It has recently been observed that dt-BHA has a spasmolytic action by inhibiting the influx of Ca2+ into cells through L-type Ca2+ channels, which means that a single molecule is capable of counteracting two major steps in the sequence of events triggered by ischemia-reperfusion injury, i.e. free radical release and Ca2+ overload.


The shearing strength and the void ratio of serial solder joints are discussed in this paper. Pb-containing solders, Sn-90Pb, Sn-95Pb, Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu Pb-free are soldered with MoCu substrate using vacuum soldering. Results show that, Sn-90Pb, Sn-95Pb solder joints have many voids in the joint interface, and resulting low shearing strength. Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joints have less voids and larger shearing strength. The Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joint has the largestlow shearing strength shear strength in all those 4 kinds of solders.


The products and services provided by trees have always been used in farming. In the past, trees grew naturally on farm lands. The rise in population, and resulting increased demand for wood products, has led to loss of tree cover through cutting down of trees without replacement. Land shortage is common in most parts of Uganda, and therefore land for establishing separate wood plantations is not available. Agroforestry becomes the most obvious and appropriate alternative. Agroforestry is a term used for land-use systems in which trees or shrubs are grown together with crops or combined with livestock. Trees can be combined with other components, either simultaneously being grown in a field with crops, or in rotation where trees are grown first then cut and replaced with crops. Agroforestry is a technology through which the problems of poor agricultural production, wood shortages and environmental degradation can be addressed. Trees provide many products such as fuelwood, poles, shade, fodder, fruits, medicine and timber. Trees planted as contour hedges for soil and water conservation help reduce water and soil loss and improve infiltration rate. Trees also maintain soil fertility through nutrient recycling, nitrogen fixation and improving soil structure. Trees are also used as windbreaks, for providing shade and beautifying the landscape. Trees suitable for agroforestry should have characteristics that are highly beneficial to farmers. This usually depends on the technology or tree arrangement desired by the farmer and the final products needed. For instance, a fast-growing aggressive tree species may be very useful for rotational systems but may compete too much with crops. Table 9. Desirable characteristics of agroforestry trees for selected practices Tree characteristics Improved Boundary Scattered in Contour fallow planting crop fields planting Nitrogen fixing – – Fast growing – – – Coppicing – – – Deep rooted – – – Light canopy – – Suitable for fodder – – Compatibility with crops – – – Quick recovery – – – Lots of biomass – – 6.3 Propagation of trees There are three methods of propagating trees: ● Seed ● Vegetative propagation ● Collecting wild seedlings (wildings). Most trees are raised from seed. Successful raising of seedlings and growing of trees depends on timely availability of good-quality seed. Seed collection should be from trees growing over a large area in a similar ecological zone. The seed is then bulked together into one seedlot and mixed thoroughly. When collecting seed, the following …


Purpose: Circulating tumors cells (CTC) have been recently proposed as a new dynamic blood marker whose positivity at baseline is a prognostic factor and whose changes under treatment are correlated with progression-free survival (PFS) in metastatic breast cancer patients. However, serum markers levels are also used for the same purpose, and no clear comparison as been reported to date. Patients and methods: The IC 2006–04 enrolled prospectively 267 metastatic breast cancer patients treated by first line chemotherapy and confirmed that CTC levels are an independent prognostic factor for PFS and Overall survival (OS). A pre-planned endpoint was to compare prospectively the positivity rates and the value of CTC (CellSearch®), of serum tumor markers (CEA, CA 15–3, CYFRA 21.1), and of serum non-tumor markers (LDH, ALP) at baseline and under treatment for PFS prediction, independently from the other known prognostic factors, using univariate analyses and concordance indexes. Results: Table 1 shows the incidence of each of the 6 blood markers. Assessing all the 6 markers retrieved 90% of patients with at least one elevated marker at baseline. Interestingly, a combination of two markers (CA 15–3 and CYFRA 21.1, often used in lung cancer) retrieved 86% of patients with at least one marker elevated at baseline. All 6 markers were correlated with poor performance status, high number of metastatic sites and with each other. Each marker was associated, when elevated at baseline, with a significantly shorter PFS in univariate anlaysis. Serum marker changes during treatment, assessed either between baseline and week 3 or between baseline and week 6–9, were significantly associated with PFS, as reported for CTC. Concordance indexes comparison showed no clear superiority of any of the serum marker or CTC for PFS prediction. Conclusion: In the largest prospective CTC study in metastatic breast breast cancer, we previously reported that CTC count, but not serum markers, is an independent prognostic factor for PFS and overall survival. However, for the purpose of PFS prediction by measuring blood marker changes during treatment, currently available blood-derived markers (CTC and serum markers) had globally similar performances. Besides CEA and CA 15–3, CYFRA 21.1 is commonly elevated in metastatic breast cancer and has a strong prognostic value. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-07-18.


Sound generation by a grazing flow over a cavity without and with a grid of louvers in the opening is investigated. Simple vortex models are presented that describe the hydrodynamic resonance condition of self-sustained flow oscillations for rigid and elastic louvers. Calculations show that in both cases resonance can occur in distinct intervals of the Strouhal number based on the louver distance. The sound power radiated by elastic louvers is analysed. It is shown that flow-induced vibration of the louvers can be eliminated by increasing louver thickness.


In this paper, a novel predictive-based lossless image compression algorithm is presented. Lossless compression must be applied when data acquisition is important and expensive, as in aerial, medical and space imaging. Besides requirements of high compression ratios as much as it is possible, lossless image coding algorithms must be fast. Proposed algorithm is developed for efficient and fast processing of 12-bit medical images. Comparison with standardized lossless compression algorithm, JPEG-LS is done on a set of 12-bit medical images with different statistical features. It is shown that proposed solution can achieve approximately same bitrates as JPEG-LS even though it is much simpler.


Iodine-131 is successfully used in the treatment of hyperthyroidism and differentiated thyroid cancer. Thyroid is the critical organ for iodine. Iodine is taken up by the thyroid follicular cells. Radioactive isotope iodine-131 simultaneously emits two types of radiation: radiation beta minus (β-) used for the treatment and gamma (γ) used for diagnosis. Due to the penetration of beta particles in tissue, damaging effect of β-radiation is restricted to thyroid cells. In this article, characteristic of iodine-131, mechanism of action and mechanism of tissue damage is presented. HIGH energy γ-ray emission, contributes to the dose of both: patient's body and the personnel. In accordance with the principles of radiation protection, reducing exposure to ionizing radiation should be achieved by: use of proper shieldings, organization of work, appropriate distance from the radiation source and reducing the time of exposure. Treatment with I-131, depending on medical indications, may be carried out on stationary or outpatient basis. All activities conducted in the exposure to radiation must comply with the principles of radiation protection, in accordance with the applicable regulations, that are also presented in this article.


"Huo" 或 in "Heng Xian" 恆先 of the Chu bamboo slips in the Shanghai Museum is a significant concept in cosmology and cosmogony. "Huo," as a cosmogonic period, is after "heng" 恆 (the permanent), but prior to qi 氣 (material force), hence it is relatively important. This term in the manuscript is used as an indefinite pronoun, meaning "something", rather than "exist" (as a verb), "indefinitely/ maybe" (as an adverb) or "a state between being and nothingness". However, in the cosmogonic sequence, it is indeed intermediate between nothingness ("heng xian", the permanent beginning) and being (qi, or you 有, being/to be). That "huo," as an indefinite pronoun, can be used as a philosophical concept is testified by "Bai Xin" 白心(Purifying the Heart-mind) in the Book of Guanzi 管子 and "Ze yang" 則陽 in the Book of Zhuangzi, in which the term "huo" also means "something." "Heng Xian" uses an indefinite pronoun "huo" to refer to a stage in the genesis of the cosmos. This shows, on the one hand, that its author has contemplated cosmology more profoundly; on the other hand, it shows that the author's knowledge about the structure of cosmogony has not yet been fully developed. Moreover, the concepts "huo" and "heng xian" both develop the notion implicit in the concept of "heng."


This chapter presents an overview of ground-based SAOZ spectrometer for measurements of O3 and NO2 total vertical columns. Due to instrument conception (zenith measurement in the Visible), the SAOZ is the only instrument that could measure continuously and at all latitudes up to the polar circle in winter. It can be operated in bad weather conditions (cloudy, rainy or snowing) and it has the advantage of spectral self-calibration and completely automatic mode. Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy technique is used allowing a self-calibration of different atmospheric constituents on the respective absorption cross-section.


The UK Department For International Development (DFID) Technical Development and
Research (TDR) programme funded a three-year project between 1995 and 1998 entitled
"Cerium & Endomyocardial Fibrosis in Tropical Terrains" (Project R6228). The presence of
elevated levels of dietary Ce, and deficient levels of dietary Mg in southern India have been
assigned as potential environmental cofactors in the aetiology of Endomyocardial Fibrosis,
which is also endemic in certain areas of Uganda. One of the aims of the project is to assess
the relative importance of various exposure scenarios for the Ugandan population to Ce to
define protective measures if required.
Initial assessments of dietary intakes of Ce in Ugandan soils and foodstuffs have indicated
that soils are a significant exposure pathway. A review is presented of exposure to soil and its
ingestion both world-wide and specifically in Uganda. The deliberate consumption of soil by
pregnant women and children (during the crawling stage of their development and between
the ages of 4 and 8) is common in Uganda. However, prior to this study no information was
available concerning the bioavailability of Ce in ingested soil or soil contaminated food.
A Physiologically Based Extraction Test (PBET) has been used to determine the
bioaccessibility of Ce in soil and dust samples from two districts in Uganda. The PBET
incorporates gastro-intestinal tract parameters representative of a human for predicting the
bioaccessibility of metals from an ingested solid matrix . Results showed there was a large
degree of variation in Ce bioaccessibility between the samples, and between the different size
fractions of individual samples. There was a marked increase in bioaccessibility when the pH
was increased between the stomach and small intestine phases of the PBET for the smaller
size fractions between >20 and <1 μm. Variations in mineralogy are considered to have
caused the variations in Ce bioacessibility, although it was not possible to accurately
determine specific mineral phases due to the small size of the minerals in the finest soil
fractions.


Strongyloides stercoralis infection is a common infection in tropical and subtropical regions and is considered one of the "neglected tropical diseases." Owing to its life cycle, this infection can remain undetectable for years, preventing an early diagnosis and prompt treatment. We report the case of a 65-year-old woman who presented to us with a history of nausea, abdominal pain, bloating, and weight loss and, after initial radiologic and laboratory workup, was diagnosed with a periampullary mass with no secondary spread. She underwent an uneventful pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy, and on histopathological study of the lesion, a diagnosis of S. stercoralis infection was confirmed. This case stands out because of the importance of keeping S. stercoralis infections as a differential diagnosis of periampullary masses, particularly when the patient comes from regions where S. stercoralis is prevalent.


We investigated the effects on human keratinocytes (HaCaT) of exposure to a sinusoidal magnetic field of 2 mT (50 Hz). These cells are a good model for studying interaction of nonionising radiation, because they are not shielded from fields in vivo and also because they are resistant to both mechanical and thermal stimuli. We performed scanning microscopy which showed modification in shape and morphology in exposed cells. This modification is related to differential actin distribution as revealed by phalloidin fluorescence analysis. Moreover, the exposed cells show increased clonogenic capacity, as well as increased cellular growth as showed by clonogenicity assays and growth curves. Indirect immunofluorescence analysis using a fluorescent antibody against involucrin and β4 integrin, which are respectively differentiation and adhesion markers, revealed an increase of involucrin expression and segregation of β4 integrin in the cell membrane in cells exposed to 50 Hz; a higher percentage of the exposed cells shows a modified pattern of adhesion and differentiation markers. We also present evidence that exposure of HaCaT cells can interfere with protein kinase activity. Our observations confirm the hypothesis that electromagnetic fields at 50 Hz may modify cell membrane morphology and interfere with initiation of the signal cascade pathway and cellular adhesion. Bioelectromagnetics 23:298–305, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


We examined the stratigraphy of the top 2100 m of the Great Isaac 1 well, tied it to recent seismic surveys of the area, and correlated it with ODP Site 626, 60 km to the southwest. The succession at Great Isaac includes shallow-water carbonate-evaporite deposits (mid-Cretaceous and older) overlain by deep-water deposits with upward-increasing neritic debris (Late Cretaceous-Tertiary) and capped by bank-margin deposits (Plio-Pleistocene). This succession is interpreted as a restricted carbonate platform that was drowned in the late Albian or Cenomanian, subsided to over 600 m water depth, and was subsequently reintegrated into Great Bahama Bank by westward progradation of the platform. Seismic surveys support this interpretation. The carbonate-evaporite platform appears as high-amplitude parallel reflections, the pelagic chalk as parallel-layered drape over the platform, and the slope as prograding clino forms where coherence of reflections decreases upward with decreasing distance from the platform; the bank margin is a zone of incoherent reflections. In the late Oligocene and Miocene, ODP Site 626 and Great Isaac display almost identical deep-water facies and horizontal time lines, suggesting that both sites lay in the Florida Straits at the same water depth. The older section was not recovered at Site 626, but parallel time lines and similar depositional history are also indicated for the Paleogene and Late Cretaceous: the top of the drowned platform at Great Isaac, which is a high-amplitude seismic reflector there, coincides in depth with the target reflector at Site 626, interpreted on seismostratigraphic grounds as a drowned platform. Borehole stratigraphy and seismic profiles at Great Isaac and Site 626 clearly show that the present margin of Great Bahama Bank in this area is controlled not by tectonics but by platform progradation and that the drowned Cretaceous platform recovered at Great Isaac also underlies the Florida Straits in this area. Both observations strongly support the hypothesis that until the mid-Cretaceous, Florida and the Bahamas were welded into a single vast platform, the megabank.


Sepsis is well known to cause a high patient death rate (up to 50%) during the intensive care unit (ICU) stay. In addition, sepsis survival patients also exhibit a very high death rate after hospital discharge compared to patients with any other disease. The addressed question is then: why septic patients remain ill after hospital discharge? The cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the high rate of septic patient deaths are still unknown. We described herein the studies that investigated the percentage of septic patients that died after hospital discharge ranging from 90 days up to 5 years. We also reported the symptoms of septic patients after hospital discharge and the development of the recently called post-sepsis syndrome (PSS). The most common symptoms of the PSS are cognitive disabilities, physical functioning decline, difficulties in performing routine daily activities, and poor life quality. The PSS also associates with quite often reinfection and re-hospitalization. This condition is the cause of the high rate of death mentioned above. We reported the proportion of patients dying after hospital discharge up to 5 years of followed up and the PSS symptoms associated. The authors also discuss the possible cellular and metabolic reprogramming mechanisms related with the low survival of septic patients and the occurrence of PSS.


The high-speed communication service in future mass transportation systems is a challenging target for the design of next generation protocols. Especially bullet trains are promising, but the details of the real environments are little known to us. In this paper, we address the estimation of quality of service (QoS) in real mobile environments, assuming a radio link is proprietor and using only commercially available network devices. Firstly, we make a definition of invariant communication qualities in bullet trains, which are not dependent on each measurement. Then we propose a two buffer model-based QoS estimation method for the link qualities of commercial 3G wireless IP networks, even though the radio link is a black box to users and the protocol is proprietary. Finally, using this estimation method, we measured the raw packet transmission characteristics of CDMA2000 1timesEV-DO in bullet trains.


Optical time-domain astronomy is in the midst of
significant developments due to new instruments, data processing
techniques, and space missions. The Kepler mission has identified
thousands of exoplanet systems with the transit technique, allowing
the first statistical analyses of the exoplanet population. The
upcoming Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission will
complement Kepler by identifying the brightest transiting exoplanet
systems on the sky. These planets will offer the most insight into
their radius, mass, and composition. At approximately the same time
that TESS launches, the Advanced Laser Interferometer
Gravitational-Wave Observatory (aLIGO) will reach full operation,
allowing the detection of gravitational waves from the mergers of
compact objects out to hundreds of Mpc. Finding the electromagnetic
counterparts to gravitational-wave sources, which may appear as
kilonovae events, will give far greater insight into these mergers.
While the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will be a capable
facility for following up triggers from gravitational-wave
observatories at [lambda] < [mu]m, a wide-field infrared
telescope operating at [lambda] > [mu]m would complement its
capabilities. In this Thesis, I first describe a simulation of the
TESS mission. The simulation predicts TESS should find hundreds of
small transiting planets; those with the brightest host stars will
be favorable for radial-velocity determinations of their masses and
spectrophotometric measurements of their atmospheres. However,
approximately half of the transit-like signals that TESS detects
will turn out to be astrophysical false-positives arising from
stellar eclipsing binaries. I will discuss how planets can be
distinguished from eclipsing binaries using the TESS data and a
ground-based follow-up campaign. Secondly, I describe the
development of InGaAs detectors for near-IR imaging and photometry.
These detectors are a less-expensive alternative to the HgCdTe
detectors in current use, enabling wide-area IR surveys and IR
observations with small telescopes to take place. Using camera
hardware that I designed and constructed, I have tested InGaAs
detectors as they have matured into an appropriate technology for
near-IR time-domain astronomy. I will discuss their possible use
for following up the TESS detections and gravitational-wave
triggers.


Important progress is being made in endoscopic methods which allow clinicians to predict the presence of Helicobacter pylori based on characteristics of gastric mucosa and to obtain targeted biopsies. There are also important developments in molecular methods with various techniques derived from standard PCR, applied both on gastric biopsies and stool specimens. Progress is being made in microfluidic systems to get a reliable diagnosis in a very short time. The interest of the 13C urea breath test has been confirmed as well as stool antigen tests. Attempts are being made to find biological markers of premalignant conditions by serology, other than pepsinogens.


Lung cancer is a global epidemic and the number one cause of death among all cancers, with a very high morbidity. A new strategy for the treatment of lung cancer is the detection and eradication of pre-invasive bronchial lesions before they become invasive carcinomas. We conducted a detailed investigation into the use of fluorescence bronchoscopy in the detection of pre-invasive bronchial lesions in patients with sputum cytology suspicious or positive for malignancy. We also studied the distinctive cytological findings in the sputum specimens corresponding to the pre-invasive bronchial lesions. Sputum examinations were performed by mass screening a high-risk group of participants. From 1997 to 1999, 61 participants with sputum cytology suspicious or positive for malignancy were referred to our institute, and were examined with both white-light and fluorescence bronchoscopy. For the cytological findings, the collection of sputum was performed in the early morning. Conventional white-light examinations were first performed, and areas with abnormal findings were recorded for subsequent biopsy. Fluorescence bronchoscopy examinations were then carried out. Biopsy specimens for a pathological examination were taken from all the suspicious or abnormal areas discovered by the white-light bronchoscopy, or fluorescence bronchoscopy examination, or both. The laser-induced fluorescence bronchoscopic examination showed a high sensitivity for invasive carcinoma, carcinoma in situ, as well as severe, moderate, and mild dysplasia. In the sputum cytological findings, a thickened cytoplasm and slight hyperchromasia were frequently observed in the mild dysplasias compared with the squamous cells without atypia. Hyperchromasia and an Orange G (OG)-philic cytoplasm of squamous cells were frequently observed in the moderate compared with the mild dysplasias. A thickened cytoplasm, a nuclear pleomorphism, a thickened nuclear rim, a coarse chromatin, an uneven chromatin distribution, and an OG-philic cytoplasm were frequently observed in the carcinomas in situ and severe dysplasias compared with the moderate dysplasias. We found that the use of fluorescence bronchoscopy in addition to conventional white-light examination can enhance the detection and localization of pre-invasive bronchial lesions in patients with sputum cytology suspicious or positive for malignancy. Sputum cytology is therefore a potential approach to diagnosing pre-invasive bronchial lesions.


BACKGROUND: With the development of advanced endovascular techniques and materials, neurointerventionalists can perform challenging and complex cases that were previously difficult to perform. Transcirculation approaches could be a useful tool used in complicated cases, providing access to the target vessel, through the contralateral or opposite circulation, when anterograde access is difficult or nonachievable. OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively review cerebrovascular interventions performed through a transcirculation approach performed by staff at our Institution. METHODS: English-language studies, published until August 2022, reporting transcirculation interventions in the cerebrovascular circulation were retrospectively collected. Type of intervention, number of cases, rationale, and complications were analyzed. Furthermore, similar cases performed by staff currently at our institution were also reviewed and described. RESULTS: Including our cases, a total of 273 transcirculation treatment approaches have been reported. Intracranial aneurysm embolization, stroke thrombectomies, intra-arterial ophthalmic chemotherapy, arteriovenous malformationss, arteriovenous fistulas embolizations, and intracranial angioplasty and stenting are common indications. Reason for using a retrograde approach were stent/balloon–assisted coiling of wide neck aneurysm in 116 cases, difficult angulation of branch in 91 cases, occlusion of parent vessel in 55 cases, and bailout/other in 11 cases. CONCLUSION: Transcirculation approaches can be considered for cases where conventional anterograde treatment options are not feasible or as a bailout strategy in failed or complicated treatment attempts. They represent a strategy to consider when facing challenging cases, and if performed by experienced and dedicated neurointerventionalists, they can represent a safe alternative.


Using a very short laser pulse and camera gate in a range-gated optical imaging system, we have demonstrated an improvement in imaging in turbid water. A 0.5-ns FWHM laser pulse at 532 nm and a camera gate time ranging down to 120 ps were used to record images of 0.635-cm-bar-resolution targets at 6.5 attenuation lengths through 4.572 m of turbid water. With a four-channel version of this camera, coupled to a CCD camera, we can observe a quasi-three-dimensional image in real time.


The IEEE 802.11p wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE) is defined to provide a networked environment supporting very high speed transactions to enable safety and mobility applications. Adaptive Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) mechanism based on IEEE 802.11p WAVE for vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET) to improve medium access ratio is proposed in this paper. The priority categories are re-classified from safety information for driver life to non-safety information. When the existing IEEE 802.11 EDCA mechanism operates, it will be referred by priority level. In case of collision, the Contention Window (CW) values increase. But this concept is designed to control CW depending on the density of the vehicles for improving throughput of each access category.


This research examines the emergence and evolution of foreign Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) subsidiaries, their strategies, contribution, and sustainability practices in Pakistan. Research argues that international business research has failed to answer some big questions regarding the emergence, evolution and strategies of foreign MNEs, and how MNEs from western economies respond to the pressures for sustainability in their international operations in emerging economies which are also referred to as pollution havens due to their cheaper land, resources and labor. Emerging economies are much relevant as the world economic center of gravity and the international business activity are now shifting from west to east, and in this regard, certain ignored contexts such as Pakistan, which is potentially a large and an important marketplace, and can play an important role for the multinational activity, are much interesting. Based on in-depth interviews from CEOs of 22 foreign subsidiaries in Pakistan, the study shows that foreign subsidiaries in Pakistan are well established having their presence in the country for quite some time, however, since the subsidiary entrepreneurial initiatives are mainly focused on the local market, and their innovativeness and contribution to the MNE in terms of knowledge and expertise are limited, they may be seen as rather less evolved in terms of roles and strategies. Furthermore, the foreign MNEs in Pakistan do adopt environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable practices, perhaps just like they do in their home (western) countries, although the foreign subsidiaries also experience pressures to adopt sustainability practices, as well as barriers in the adoption of such practices. Finally, the foreign subsidiaries in Pakistan do not at large have a broader role, although there is much potential for a broader role for subsidiaries. The lack of innovativeness of foreign subsidiaries suggests rather limited contribution on part of the competitiveness of the local industry and, hence, there is much scope for improvement.


[AuCl(P(C6H5)(C6H11)2)), Mr = 506.8, orthorhombic, P2(1)2(1)2(1), a = 8.476 (5), b = 13.747 (2), c = 15.951 (3) A, V = 1858.8 (3) A3, Z = 4, Dx = 1.81 g cm-3, lambda (Mo K alpha) = 0.71073 A, mu = 81.24 cm-1, F(000) = 984, T = 296 K, final R = 0.031 for 1860 unique observed reflections. The complex Cy2PhPAuCl adopts the two-coordinate linear geometry typical of AuI complexes. The P-Au-Cl angle is 178.3 (1) degrees while Au-P and Au-Cl distances are 2.234 (2) and 2.281 (3) A, respectively. The geometry of the P atom is tetrahedral with an average Au-P-C angle of 112.1 (3) degrees and an average P-C distance of 1.827 (8) A.


One of the critical tasks in object tracking is the tracking of fast-moving object in random motion, especially in the field of machine vision applications. An approach towards the hybrid of particle filter (PF) and mean shift (MS) algorithm in visual tracking is proposed. In this proposed system, complete occlusion and random movement of object can be handled due to its ability in predicting the object location with adaptive motion model. In addition, the PF is capable to maintain multiple hypotheses to handle clutters in background and temporary failure. However PF requires a large number of particles to approximate the true posterior of the target dynamics. Therefore, MS algorithm is applied to the sampling process of the PF to move these particles in gradient ascent direction. Consequently a small sample size will be sufficient to represent the system dynamics accurately. The proposed approach is aimed to track the moving object in random directions under varying conditions with acceptable computational time.


Opportunity serves as the core of entrepreneurship, and opportunity entrepreneurship is an entrepreneurial activity to pursue new opportunities for new value creation. The opportunity-based entrepreneurship is of vital significance for China's high-quality economic development. Compared with the developed countries, the technological content and innovation component of entrepreneurship in China are relatively low, so more college students with high knowledge level and passion are required to participate in innovative opportunity entrepreneurial activities. There is a lack of endogenous motivation for Chinese college students to start their own businesses. Therefore, it is very important to explore how to enhance their entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial intention from the perspective of motivation. However, the existing studies pay more attention to the influencing factors of entrepreneurial intention and the effect of entrepreneurial passion. The specific research on the formation mechanism of college students' entrepreneurial intention and the source of entrepreneurial passion is relatively rare. Given this, our study integrates Woodworth's motivation theory, Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and the motivation differentiation theory, constructing a model of "internal needs-emotion-motivation", analyzing the relationship between internal needs, including achievement needs and learning orientation, entrepreneurial passion and opportunity entrepreneurial intention, and the moderating role of family financial support, and forming hypotheses based on the model.The research uses the validated scales to obtain variables, and chooses college students as the research samples, collecting data through questionnaire. Before the formal survey, 76 college students from different regions were selected as the research samples, and the variables and structure of the questionnaire were improved and adjusted according to the survey results and the feedback of the research samples. Finally, 307 useable samples were obtained through formal investigation, and empirical tests were carried out by confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and hierarchy regression analysis. The robustness of the results was tested by the structural equation method.The findings show that: (1) The need for achievement, learning orientation and their interaction has a positive impact on opportunity entrepreneurial intention; (2) The need for achievement and learning orientation promotes the formation of opportunity entrepreneurial intention by enhancing entrepreneurial passion; (3) Family financial support positively strengthens the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and opportunistic entrepreneurial intention, that is, the more family financial support, the stronger the positive effect of entrepreneurial passion on opportunity entrepreneurial intention. In sum, this study examines the mediating role of entrepreneurial passion and the moderating role of family financial support.Our study makes several contributions to the literature: Firstly, taking entrepreneurial passion as the key path, this study explores the influence mechanism of the need for achievement and learning orientation on college students' opportunity entrepreneurial intention, making up for the deficiency of existing research, and opening the black box of the formation mechanism of college students' opportunity entrepreneurship intention based on the motivation perspective. Secondly, the study explores the impact of the need for achievement and learning orientation on entrepreneurial passion. It proves the role of entrepreneurial passion in the formation of opportunity entrepreneurial intention, so as to make up for the lack of research on the antecedents of entrepreneurial passion, and expand the research on the role of entrepreneurial passion. Thirdly, this study combines the internal needs of college students with external situational factors to explore the strengthening role of family financial support in the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and opportunity entrepreneurial intention. Therefore, it also provides a situational theoretical explanation for the differences of college students' entrepreneurial intention.


New antituberculosis (anti-TB) drugs are urgently needed to battle drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains and to shorten the long treatment regimen. A series of isoxazole-based compounds, bearing a carboxy moiety at the C3 position, are highly potent and versatile anti-TB agents. Several members of this compound class exhibit submicromolar in vitro activity against replicating Mtb (R-TB) and thus comparable activity to the current first-line anti-TB drugs. Remarkably, certain compounds also show low micromolar activity in a model for nonreplicating Mtb (NRP-TB) phenotype, which is considered a key to shortening the current long treatment protocol. The series shows excellent selectivity towards Mtb and, in general, shows no cytotoxicity on Vero cells (IC50's > 128 μM). Selected compounds retain their activity against isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RMP), and streptomycin (SM) resistant Mtb strains. The foregoing facts make derivatives of 3- isoxazolecarboxylic acid esters a promising anti-TB chemotype, and as such present attractive lead compounds for TB drug development.


Objectives We validated the usefulness of beam hardening (BH) reduction with a rapid kV switching dual energy CT (DECT) protocol in quantitative myocardial perfusion (MP) imaging against microspheres measurement of MP. Methods Normal pigs were scanned using a Discovery 750HD scanner (GE Healthcare (GE)) with a DECT protocol: 140/80 kilovolts (kV) alternating at 0.2 ms intervals, 640 mA and 0.35 s gantry period. In each study, 22 axial scans covering 40 mm of the heart were triggered under normal physiologic conditions every 1–2 heart beat at mid-diastole together with contrast injection at 4 ml×s-1. Single energy CT (SECT) and DECT monochromatic 70 keV images were reconstructed with 140 kV and both 80 and 140 kV projections respectively. The SECT images were also corrected for BH using an image-based correction algorithm (iBHC). Each image set was analysed using CT Perfusion (GE) to derive MP functional maps. Fluorescent microspheres were injected into the left atrial appendage of the heart after the CT perfusion studies to measure MP. Mean MP in the lateral, apical and septal segments over 4 to 6 consecutive 5-mm-thick slices measured by microspheres and from the three CT image sets were compared using linear regression and Bland-Altman analysis. A total of 57 segments in 19 slices in four pigs were analysed in this study. Results DECT exhibited the highest correlation with microspheres (R = 0.77) compared to SECT with (R = 0.56) and without (R = 0.49) iBHC. DECT also had the smallest difference in mean MP from microspheres (2.2 ml × min-1 × 100 g-1) compared to SECT without iBHC (29.2). Despite a comparable mean difference from microspheres (-2.0), SECT with iBHC showed a wider limits of agreement (-45.0 to 41.0 ml × min-1 × 100 g-1) than DECT (-30.7 to 35.2). Conclusions In SECT MP imaging, BH induced significant shifts in CT number in different myocardial segments lead to spatially inconsistent overestimation of MP. While such BH errors are reduced after iBHC is applied, DECT provides better BH correction and more accurate MP measurements that are better correlated with and have smaller differences from the gold standard microspheres measurements of MP. DECT minimises beam hardening in contrast-enhanced cardiac images which leads to a more accurate MP measurement with CT Perfusion to facilitate reliable assessment of ischemic heart disease.


The influence of overaging to the T7451 temper on the microstructure, the mechanical properties, and the corrosion susceptibility of friction‐stir‐welded 7075 aluminum alloy was investigated by means of transmission electron microscope (TEM), SEM investigations, constant extension rate tests (CERT), alternate immersion tests, and potentiodynamic scans. The overaging that occurs during welding within the heat‐affected zones of the friction‐stir‐welded 7075‐O tempered plates promotes a slight formation of intragranular and grain boundary precipitates and increases the mechanical as well as the corrosion resistance properties as compared to the T7451 welded plates. The "double" overaging treatment, consisting of the T7451 temper and the thermal transient experienced by the heat‐affected zones of the 7075‐T7451 welded plates, increases the size of the intragranular and the grain boundary precipitates as well as the precipitate‐free zones. These facts decrease the mechanical and corrosion properties of the 7075‐T7451 weld. The T7451 thermal treatment applied after the welding of the 7075‐O plates promotes the high presence of small precipitates and reduces the size of the precipitate‐free zones. This fact increases the general corrosion resistance, but decreases the mechanical properties. Therefore, the corrosion as well as the mechanical properties are greatly correlated with minute changes in the microstructure, which can arise by short‐term heat exposure as for instance during welding. It was also found that the environmental susceptibility measured by means of CERTs may be influenced by "solution‐strengthening" corrosion mechanisms which increase the strain. This fact is present in weld microzones particularly susceptible to corrosion.


ABSTRACT As increasingly more Chinese kindergarten teachers attend continuing professional development (CPD) based on pedagogies of international early childhood education and care (ECEC), it is imperative to explore how to address the well-documented rhetoric/practice dissonance that teachers fail to enact what they learn from CPD to enhance their everyday practice. We used a CPD workshop based on English play-based pedagogy as an opportunity to collect first-hand data from Chinese kindergarten teachers through pre- and post-workshop questionnaires and semi-structured interviews at six-month follow-up, in order to shed light on characteristics of effective CPD provision. The findings suggest that CPD based on international ECEC pedagogies should endeavour to promote Chinese kindergarten teachers' agency at both collective and individual levels by providing integrated learning that aims at enhancing capability and reflexivity in cultural integration, that is, to integrate international pedagogies with culturally acceptable practices under the regimes of cultural and sociopolitical norms in Chinese ECEC system. Characteristics of integrated learning are proposed. To promote culturally sensitive teacher agency in CPD for Chinese kindergarten teachers has profound implications on building a quality workforce in Chinese ECEC.


Although inclusive education has been recommended for implementation in Kenyan schools, attitudes are threatening to add another impediment to the development and success. The purpose of the study was to explore the influence of socio-cultural factors on inclusive education among students & teachers in integrated educational programmes in Kenya. This study adopted cross-sectional survey design. The study employed a descriptive survey design. The study was carried out in two integrated primary schools in Nairobi with a population of 887.Comprising Ministry of Education officials, (MoE), head teachers, class teachers and learners. The sampling procedure employed comprised purposive sampling for all the participants. The sample size consisted of two MoE, two headteachers, seven class teachers, 12 learners with VI and 40 sighted learners. Data was collected through the use of two instruments namely questionnaires and interview guide. For reliability purpose, the researcher used split half techniques of assessing reliability. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows. The findings of this study indicated that headteachers and MoE officials view inclusive education as a good idea. However, most parents are not concerned with integration and are marginally involved. Majority of the teachers were of the view that the training they got did not prepare them adequately to meet the educational needs of learners


Literacy in India is a key for socio-economic progress. Since Independence, the literacy rate has been changed throughout the country. It is result of directed and undirected changes, taken place from time to time. The present paper Literacy in India is a key for socio-economic progress. Since Independence, the literacy rate has been changed examines the 'cause-effect relationship' of literacy growth and development in India which has been taken place during different successive periods. In this context, various historic past, education reforms, literacy missions and education policies have been formulated and executed for increasing the literacy rates in the different regions of the country. The paper also touches the areas and related literacy issues including new education policy, literacy mission, and national adult literacy programme which have been proved conducive to boost up the literacy rates in India. The paper also gives an insight to the institutional factors, which has given rise to inter-regional, inter-religious, male-female and schedule and non-scheduled caste variability in literacy rates in India. Keeping in view the literacy perspective, it becomes imperative to focus on qualitative education, so that the country may attain the position, not only in number, but in quality too. In this way, every number of human populations will ensure to become human resources, and ultimately lead to TQM, the total quality management to achieve the desired multiple objectives for development of the people belong to different rural and urban society in the changing scenario of India.


Digital fountain codes are record-breaking codes for erasure channels. They have many potential applications in both wired and wireless communications. Most existing digital fountain codes operate over binary fields using an iterative belief-propagation (BP) decoding algorithm. In this paper, we propose a new iterative decoding algorithm for both binary and nonbinary fields. The basic form of our proposed algorithm considers both degree-1 and degree-2 check nodes (instead of only degree-1 check nodes as in the original BP decoding scheme), and has linear complexity. Extensive simulation demonstrates that it outperforms the original BP decoding scheme, especially for a small number of source packets. The enhanced form of the proposed algorithm combines the basic form of the algorithm and a guess-based algorithm to further improve the decoding performance. Simulation results demonstrate that it can provide better decoding performance than the guess-based algorithm with fewer guesses, and can achieve decoding performance close to that of the maximum likelihood decoder at a much lower decoding complexity. Last, we show that our nonbinary scheme has the potential to outperform the binary scheme when choosing suitable degree distributions, and furthermore it is insensitive to the size of the Galois field.


A novel bit level systolic array is presented that can be used as a building block in the construction of recursive digital filters. The circuit accepts bit-parallel input data, is pipelined at the bit level, and exhibits a very high throughput rate. The most important feature of the circuit is that it allows recursive operations to be implemented directly without incurring the large m cycle latency (where m is approximately the word length) normally associated with such systems. The use of this circuit in the construction of both first- and second-order IIR (infinite-impulse-response) filters is described.<<ETX>>


The hydrolysis of 2-(2-trichlorosilylethyl)pyridine (TCSEP) or 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) yields a complex mixture of oligomers, the composition of which is a function of time. 29Si NMR measurements show that the same oligosilsesquioxanes can be obtained from both compounds after prolonged hydrolysis. Ion exchange by montmorillonite with the pillaring solution obtained from TCSEP results in partial intercalation, with a noticeable fraction of the clay exchange sites occupied by protons not by the Si cationic species. Calcination of this pillared clay results in a mixture of phases showing 1.86 or 1.56 nm basal spacings. Pillaring of the same montmorillonite by the solution obtained by partial hydrolysis of APTMS results in a homogeneous solid with a basal spacing of 2 nm, which reduces to 1.65 nm upon calcination above 773 K. The microporous volume (pores < 1 nm) of these Si-clays, determined after calcination at 773 K, 0.15 ml/g for the PILC obtained from TCSEP, and 0.186 ml/g for the PILC obtained from APTMS is comparable to that measured for Al or Zr pillared clays. A better thermal stability is observed for the clay pillared by APTMS, which retains a large microporosity (0.167 ml/g) up to 973 K in air. These Si-pillared clays show a small number of weakly acidic sites and some strongly acidic sites retaining ammonia up to 723 K, which are most likely localized on the clay layers.


A family with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa showing reduced penetrance is described. Reduced penetrance is established in patients who transmitted the gene defect to their offspring but are themselves clinically normal and beyond the age of risk for the disease. The electroretinograms (ERG) demonstrate rod responses reduced in amplitude and delayed in implicit time at an early stage similar to those seen in dominant retinitis pigmentosa with complete penetrance. Cone responses are also delayed in implicit time even when response amplitudes are normal. This cone ERG abnormality has not been found in dominant retinitis pigmentosa with complete penetrance.


The HNK‐1(Leu‐7) monoclonal antibody selectively identifies a population of human granular lymphocytes with natural killer (NK) cell activity. We previously reported that the HNK‐l+ cell fraction purified from blood mononuclear cells accounted for virtually all NK activity in six individuals. In this study we analysed additional normal individuals and found that in eight out of 14 donors HNK‐1+ cells, purified with a fluorescence‐activated cell sorter (FACS). exhibited greatly enriched NK cell activity, whereas HNK‐1 cells did not have significant activity. In four donors the HNK‐1+ cells were enriched in NK activity compared with HNK‐1‐ cells; however, the HNK‐1‐ cells also had moderate levels of activity. In the two remaining donors. NK activity was not enriched in the HNK‐1+ fraction in comparison with the HNK‐1‐ fraction. To determine the cell type responsible for NK activity in the HNK‐1 subset, these cells were further sorted with the FACS into OKM1+ and OMK1‐ tractions and analysed for morphology and function. HNK‐1‐ OKM1‐ cells were found to he small‐ to medium‐sized lymphocytes devoid of NK activity in all donors tested, whereas most HNK‐1‐ OKM1‐ cells were granular lymphocytes and in some donors demonstrated NK function at a level comparable to HNK‐1+ cells. Thus some individuals have an important subset of granular lymphocytes with NK‐cell activity and the HNK‐1‐ OKMl+ phenotype. It is important to account for these cells in studies involving granular lymphocytes and NK cell function.


An empirically based process modeling system is discussed for determining ion-implant conditions used to achieve specific IGFET thresholds. Experimental techniques are applied to insure consistency between physical process phenomenon and the numerical algorithms employed. Device threshold design results are presented for active and parasitic IGFET's in a dual polysilicon-gate technology. The utility of this design procedure in multistep processes for determining the effects of various parameters such as screen thickness, final peak concentration, dose, and energy are considered.


With the rapid development of tourism industry, tourism translation has recently gained more and more attention. Tourism translation involves cross-language and cross-cultural people-to-people exchanges. However, there is still room for improvement in tourism translation research based on local tourism resources. This paper adopts the functionalist perspective and conducts researches into tourism translation on the basis of narration texts from well-known scenic spots in Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Luoyang. This paper also proposes possible translation principles and strategies.


Purpose

A significant stream of research investigates the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on firm performance and consumer response to CSR programs. However, how CSR initiatives help build brand equity remains relatively unexamined. This study aims to demonstrate how CSR influences brand equity in response to perceptions of two types of brand–cause fit.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analyze two types of fit between a brand and a social cause (disaster relief): brand value–cause fit and brand function–cause fit. Structural equation modeling is used to estimate the fit of the data with the proposed model.

Findings

Survey evidence from 370 millennial undergraduate students in the USA suggests that the two types of brand–cause fit have differential effects on attitude toward the brand and ad, which in turn influence brand equity.

Research implications/limitations

The research operationalizes brand–cause fit as a construct with two components: brand value–cause fit and brand function–cause fit. It tests these two types of fit and finds evidence for differential effects on consumer attitudes.

Practical implications

The findings offer practical considerations for managers about the importance of considering two types of brand–cause fit in selecting social causes and crafting effective corporate communications about the firm's CSR initiatives.

Originality/value

Results suggest that it is possible for firms to craft desirable win–win–win strategies that build brand equity by investing in a strategic approach to CSR initiatives.


In this study, we utilize plate tectonic history of Central Asia to constrain understanding of sedimentary basin development and to show how regional scale tectonic events affect play elements for major basins of greater China. Tectonic framework and paleogeography are used as a constraint on models for basin formation, climate distribution and accommodation which in turn control distribution of reservoir, source, seal and trap. Greater China is an artifact of Phanerozoic tectonics. It has a protracted history of continental deformation as amalgamation of crustal blocks and island arc/subduction and accretion complexes occurred. Early Paleozoic hydrocarbon systems are dominated by extensive carbonate platform and Permian and younger systems are dominated by continental and lacustrine sedimentation. The basement of greater China consists of continental and accretion crust. The crustal blocks include South and North China, Indochina, Tibet and Tarim, and accretion blocks include the Altaids and Manchurides. The relative positions and interactions of these blocks during Paleozic and Mesozoic time resulted in formation of greater China. Final amalgamation and deformation occurred in Eocene time when India collided with Asia. The discussions consist of presentation of a model for tectonic evolution of these blocks and their paleogeography through Phanerozoic time. This is donemore » with maps at 1:8 million scale covering nine time slices, three in the Paleozoic, three in the Mesozoic and three in the Cenozoic.« less


UNLABELLED
Radionuclide bone scanning (RNB) is considered to be the most practical screening technique for assessing the entire skeleton for skeletal metastases. However, RNB has been shown to be of lower sensitivity than MRI and CT in detecting osteolytic metastases. A prospective study was designed to evaluate the accuracy of planar RNB versus tomographic bone imaging with 18F-labeled NaF and PET (18F PET) in detecting osteolytic and osteoblastic metastases and its dependency on their anatomic localization.

METHODS
Forty-four patients with known prostate, lung or thyroid carcinoma were examined with both planar RNB and 18F PET. A panel of reference methods including MRI of the spine, 1311 scintigraphy, conventional radiography and spiral CT was used as the gold standard. RNB and 18F PET were compared by a lesion-by-lesion analysis using a five-point score for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

RESULTS
18F PET showed 96 metastases (67 of prostate carcinoma and 29 of lung or thyroid cancer), whereas RNB revealed 46 metastases (33 of prostate carcinoma and 13 of lung or thyroid cancer). All lesions found with RNB were also detected with 18F PET. Compared with 18F PET and the reference methods, RNB had a sensitivity of 82.8% in detecting malignant and benign osseous lesions in the skull, thorax and extremities and a sensitivity of 40% in the spine and pelvis. The area under the ROC curve was 0.99 for 18F PET and 0.64 for RNB.

CONCLUSION
18F PET is more sensitive than RNB in detecting osseous lesions. With RNB, sensitivity in detecting osseous metastases is highly dependent on anatomic localization of these lesions, whereas detection rates of osteoblastic and osteolytic metastases are similar. Higher detection rates and more accurate differentiation between benign and malignant lesions with 18F PET suggest the use of 18F PET when possible.


Using Waves one through fifteen of the PSII) data set, we investigate the pattern of housing mobility amongst the elderly. We focus especially on two issues: (1) Deterinining which household characteristics tend to increase the probability of a move; and (2) Whether elderly households systematically move to smaller, less expensive dwellings when they do move, and, if so, which characteristics make such "downsizing" particularly likely. We find that wealthier households are less likely to move and to downsize, and that changes in family composition or retirement status significantly increase the likelihood of a move. We do not find much evidence of imperfections in the housing market, or of pervasive liquidity constraints. Finally, we develop a Lagrange Multiplier test for unobserved heterogeneity amongst elderly households, and strongly reject the null hypothesis of homogeneity. Jonathan Feinstein Daniel McFadden Department of Economics Department of Economics Massachusetts Institute of E52—271 Technology Massachusetts Institute of Cambridge, MA 02139 Technology Cambridge, MA 02139 THE DYNAMICS OF HOUSING DEMAND BYThE ELDERLY I. WEALTH, CASH FLOW, AND DEMOGRAPHIC EFFECTS by Jonathan Feinstein Daniel McFadden Department of Economics Massachusetts Institute of Technology


Vertigo is a relatively uncommon pediatric complaint, with correct diagnosis made even more challenging by the patient's inherent difficulty in describing his or her symptoms. Confusion may exist among vertigo, dizziness, dysequilibrium, ataxia, pre-syncope or syncope, and seizure activity by both the pediatric patient and his or her family. A complete history and physical examination, as well as appropriate ancillary studies, may assist in clarifying the diagnosis. This paper attempts, via case report and literature review, to discuss the various etiologies of acute vertigo in the pediatric population, provide diagnostic clues, and evaluate some of the available diagnostic modalities.


Abstract Correlation of thermodynamic and secondary structural stability of proteins at various buffer pHs was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR). Recombinant human epithelial growth factor (rhEGF) was selected as a model protein at various pHs and in different buffers, including phosphate, histidine, citrate, HEPES and Tris. Particle size and zeta potential of rhEGF at each selected pH of buffer were observed by DLS. Four factors were used to characterize the biophysical stability of rhEGF in solution: temperature at maximum heat flux (Tm), intermolecular β-sheet contents, zeta size and zeta potential. It was possible to predict the apparent isoelectric point (pI) of rhEGF as 4.43 by plotting pH against zeta potential. When the pH of the rhEGF solution increased or decreased from pI, the absolute zeta potential increased indicating a reduced possibility of protein aggregation, since Tm increased and β-sheet contents decreased. The contents of induced intermolecular β-sheet in Tris and HEPES buffers were the lowest. Thermodynamic stability of rhEGF markedly increased when pH is higher than 6.2 in histidine buffer where Tm of first transition was all above 70 °C. Moreover, rhEGF in Tris buffer was more thermodynamically stable than in HEPES with higher zeta potential. Tris buffer at pH 7.2 was concluded to be the most favorable.


A long-standing problem for turbo-codes has been the efficient and accurate determination of the distance spectrum, or even just the minimum distance, for specific interleavers. This letter compares a number of distance estimation techniques and introduces two new approaches based on iterative processing. The new approaches are more reliable and are particularly useful for long blocks with high minimum distances. Distance measurement results are presented for random, high-spread random (HSR) and dithered relative prime (DRP) interleavers.


In this article, we consider a problem in which two suppliers can sell their respective products both individually and together as a bundle, and study the impact of bundle pricing. Four pricing models (centralized, decentralized, coop–comp, and comp–coop) are analyzed with regard to the competition formats and sequences. As one would expect, the firms are always better off when pricing decisions are centralized. However, rather surprisingly, we find that firms may be worse off if the bundle prices are set in a cooperative way; we provide analytical characterization of those instances. Numerical studies show that these insights also hold for some nonlinear demand. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013


The declaration of universal health coverage (UHC) as a sustainable development goal (SDG), in 2015 was a global resolution to building a world free of diseases and disease-related deaths. The goal is in tandem with many other work frames of the United Nations under the chaperone of the World health organization to create a healthier society. Hence, every country under the United Nations agreed to pursue this mission as part of the UN's sustainable development goals, targeting 2030 as the project finish line. Improving health service coverage and health outcomes depends on the availability, accessibility, and capacity of the healthcare system and care providers to deliver quality and people-centred integrated care. In this regard, Nigeria has adopted several approaches to ensure the implementation of the UHC even amidst enormous challenges. This article has critically examined common but prominent factors beclouding the attainment of UHC, SDG in Nigeria. Key factors such as the primary healthcare system and health insurance schemes have been identified as major concerns while few recommendations have also been prescribed to improve the existing structures.


Serum and interstitial fluid levels of antibiotic have been measured at various times following i.m. administration of equivalent doses of lysine cephalexin and sodium ampicillin, in a cross-over design, to dogs fitted with s.c. implanted silastic "tissue cages" and the results subjected to pharmacokinetic analysis. Serum concentrations of cephalexin were consistently higher than those of ampicillin and elimination half-lives were calculated as 1.73 h and 0.87 h, respectively. The rate of appearance of cephalexin in the interstitial fluid (Ka 1.741 h-1 was faster than that for ampicillin (Ka 0.946 h-1) and the maximum concentration obtained also proved to be higher. The half-life of cephalexin in the interstitial fluid (6.79 h) was almost four times longer than that in serum whereas that of ampicillin (2.03 h) was only a little more than twice as long. As a consequence a greater concentration and retention in interstitial fluid was obtained with cephalexin at all times tested. Since the interstitial fluid levels of cephalexin were still relatively high 8-12 h after the administration of a single dose repeated administration of lysine cephalexin 2 or 3 times daily is expected to result in a beneficial accumulation of cephalexin in the interstitial fluid.


Dermacoccus strain Tok2021 (Actinobacteria) is a soil bacterium, isolated from commercial Pinus radiata forest soil from Tokoiti, New Zealand. The bacterium has a draft genome size of 3,101,786 bp and harbors genes involved in antibiotic production, siderophore production, and N2 fixation. ABSTRACT Dermacoccus strain Tok2021 (Actinobacteria) is a soil bacterium, isolated from commercial Pinus radiata forest soil from Tokoiti, New Zealand. The bacterium has a draft genome size of 3,101,786 bp and harbors genes involved in antibiotic production, siderophore production, and N2 fixation.


The Fourier law implicitly assumes transient thermal disturbances are carried throughout the solid at an infinite velocity while not defining the carrier mechanism. Paradoxically, the phonon and electron carriers on which the Fourier law is based are limited to acoustic velocities. At the macroscale, the paradox is resolved by the thermal BB photons of QM that carry the Planck energy E = kT of the atoms in the disturbance throughout the solid at the speed of light. BB stands for blackbody and QM for quantum mechanics. The traditional Fourier equation in lattice temperature is expressed in terms of the Planck energy E of the atoms to show infinite carrier velocity is reasonably approximated by BB photons at the speed of light, thereby avoiding the unphysical alternative that absent BB photons the Fourier law is required to rely on thermal disturbances travelling at infinite velocity. Practically, the effect of BB photons on the accuracy of the Fourier solution is insignificant as the BB transient response of the semi-infinite solid is shown identical to that which includes the lag time caused by the speed of light. Fourier's law is not applicable at the nanoscale as by QM the Planck energy of the atom is not available to be carried through the solid by the BB photon.


We report on the multiple response of microgels triggered by a single optical stimulus. Under irradiation, the volume of the microgels is reversibly switched by more than 20 times. The irradiation initiates two different processes: photo-isomerization of the photo-sensitive surfactant, which forms a complex with the anionic microgel, rendering it photo-responsive; and local heating due to a thermo-plasmonic effect within the structured gold layer on which the microgel is deposited. The photo-responsivity is related to the reversible accommodation/release of the photo-sensitive surfactant depending on its photo-isomerization state, while the thermo-sensitivity is intrinsically built in. We show that under exposure to green light, the thermo-plasmonic effect generates a local hot spot in the gold layer, resulting in the shrinkage of the microgel. This process competes with the simultaneous photo-induced swelling. Depending on the position of the laser spot, the spatiotemporal control of reversible particle shrinking/swelling with a predefined extent on a per-second base can be implemented.


An acoustic Digital MONitor (DMON) has been integrated into a Seaglider autonomous underwater vehicle to serve as a general-use tool for passive acoustic sensing of marine mammal vocalizations. The system is being developed as a complement to conventional ship-based cetacean survey methods. The acoustic system includes three omnidirectional hydrophones, one located on centerline of the aft payload hatch and one on each wingtip. An onboard real-time detector has been implemented to record an audio sample if ambient noise has risen above a user-prescribed signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) threshold level. The data size and the number of detections are available in semi-real time, and the acoustic data are retrieved upon recovery of the instrument. Because the DMON system interfaces with the Seaglider firmware, the glider pilot has the capability to modify several operational parameters governing the collection of acoustic data while the glider is deployed to tailor the data recording to the desired mission objectives. This implementation is referred to as the Seaglider Customizable Sampling Configuration (SCSC) DMON and has recorded a wide variety of cetacean vocal activity offshore the Hawaiian Islands.


Orchid fleck virus(OFV) was isolated from Calanthe spp.(Cal. discolor,Cal. Bicolor,Cal. Hizen,Cal. triplicata,Cal longicalcarata,Cal Satusma) showing light-green and/or yellowish fleck mosaic on the leaves, which different from previously known viruses of Calanthe. OFV caused systemic infection in Calanthe, Chenopodium quinoa and Beta vulgasis var. cicla, and local infection in C.amaranticolor, C. murale, Spinacia oleracea, Tetragonia expansa, Nicotiana tabacum, N. clevelandii, N. glutinasa, N. rustica, Vigna unguiculata. C quinoa and T expansa are useful as indecator hosts and as a source of virus for inoculation, diagnosis and purification. Sap from C. quinoa was infective after dilution to 10-3 but not 10-4, after 10 min at 45 but not 50℃, and after 1 hr at 20℃ but not 2 hrs. For sap inoculation, it is best to use the homogenate of OFV-onfected leaves within about 7-8 min after homogenization in summer and within about 15 min in winter. The virus particles were bullet-shape or bacilliform, approximately 45-50×105-125 nm in a negatively stained praparations. In ultrathin sections, the viroplasms were observed in the nuclei, and the virus particles and the chracteristic spokewheel structures were found both in the nuclei and the cytoplasm. Antiserum (precipitin tiner:1/512) against the present virus reacted strongly with the isolates of OFV-Cy-50, similar to that of homologous virus. In agar gel diffusion tests, no spur formation occurred among Cal. 94-16 and OFV-Cy-50. In SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, one major band of Mr 55,000, probably viral nucleocapsid-protein, and three minor proteins were detected, similar to those of OFV・So from Cymbidium.


Networks-on-chip (NoCs) represent a promising solution to complex on-chip communication problems. The NoC communication architectures considered so far are based on either completely regular or fully customized topologies. In this paper, we present a methodology to automatically synthesize an architecture where a few application-specific long-range links are inserted on top of a regular mesh network. This way, we can better exploit the benefits of both complete regularity and partial customization. Indeed, our experimental results show that inserting application-specific long-range links significantly increases the critical traffic workload at which the network state transits from a free to a congested regime. This, in turn, results in a significant reduction in the average packet latency and a major improvement in the network achievable throughput.


Abstract This paper presents an approach to multi-channel processing of data recorded by a network of stations which represents an extension of the delay-and-sum beamforming traditionally applied in array processing. A number of geographical beam-steering points are defined, and for each beam a set of time-aligned traces derived from the network stations are processed together so as to extract, for each step in time, a set of features corresponding to that particular beam. Applying this approach to the network of the three regional arrays, NORESS, ARCESS, and FINESA, in Fennoscandia, we demonstrate its usefulness for associating regional phases detected at individual arrays and originating from the same event. We also address the problem of using a network to continously monitor the seismic noise field. The purpose here is to determine to what extent interfering events affect the monitoring of events within a target region. In this regard, we show that one can obtain, at a given confidence level, a continuous assessment of the upper limit of magnitudes of seismic events in the target region that would go undetected by such a network.


Background: Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disorder and
with time, it is appropriate for insulin therapy to be initiated in
the majority of people. Insulin is commonly initiated with
once-daily basal insulin. However, when glycaemic control
becomes unsatisfactory despite the introduction of basal
insulin, no clear guidelines exist for intensifying the insulin
regimen. In this article we aim to provide a clinician's
approach to both the optimisation of the basal insulin dose,
and strategies to intensify insulin therapy.
Methods: An expert consensus panel, consisting of the
authors, was convened to review the current practice of
insulin intensification in people with type 2 diabetes and to
develop a pragmatic algorithm for clinicians. The panel
reviewed the published literature on the use of insulin in
clinical practice, the evidence for different intensification
strategies, and the potential impact of patient-related factors
on insulin choices.
Results: Insulin intensification should only be considered
after the basal insulin dose has been optimised. This is
achieved by taking into account basal and prandial (pre
and post) blood glucose levels, individualised target
HbA1c, and dietary factors. If optimal basal insulin
together with oral medications is not sufficient to reach
glycaemic targets, the next step is to introduce a basal
plus 1 regimen or switch to twice-daily premixed insulin.
Each has advantages and disadvantages and existing
guidelines do not emphasise or support any particular
regimen. Therefore, it is important to individualise the
choice according to the individual's needs. A practical
algorithm has been developed to help clinicians choose an
appropriate second-line regimen.
Conclusion: As beta-cell failure progresses in people with
type 2 diabetes, basal insulin regimens need to be
optimised and then intensified when necessary to
maintain agreed glycaemic targets.


This retrospective study evaluated the different treatment options used in the management of haemorrhoids in a state government owned secondary hospital, Jericho Nursing Home, Ibadan, Nigeria. The study was conducted for a period of two weeks covering June 5 th – 17 th 2007. The total of 120 case notes available for patients treated for haemorrhoids were used and thoroughly studied. The case notes consist of Thirty four (28.3%) males and 86(71.7%) females who were aged between 21-40 years 57(47.5%), between 4160 years 41(34.2%) and between 61-80 years 22(18.3%). Among the nursing mothers whose case notes were studied, 57(47.5%) were pregnant while 63(52.5%) were not pregnant. The nursing mothers' occupations were marketing 4(3.3%), trading 36(30.0%), secretary 14(11.7%), teaching 16(13.3%), accounting 3(2.5%), student 7(5.8%), civil servant 6(5.0%), engineering 9(7.5%) and retirees 8(6.7%) with 17(14.2%) not indicating their occupation. Treatment options reviewed showed that those treated with sitzbath were 58(20.7%), with oral liquid paraffin they were 62(22.1%), with Anusol suppositories they were 48(17.1%), with dietary advice they were 87(31.2%), with Surgery (haemorrhoidectomy) they were 3(1.1%) and with TCP ointment/Xylocaine gel they were 22(7.9%). Statistical analysis was done using the SPSS version 11.0 software programmer for frequency and cross tabulation. There is a need to improve on these treatment options. More innovative methods should be developed for effective treatment of haemorrhoids.


A study was undertaken to investigate the effect of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on engine wear and lubricating oil degradation in a heavy duty diesel engine using a newly developed methodology that uses analytical ferrography in conjunction with short term tests. Laboratory engine testing was carried out on a Cummins NTC-300 Big Cam II diesel engine at rated speed (1800 RPM) and 75% rated load with EGR rates of 0, 5, and 15% using a SAE 15W40 CD/SF/EO-K oil. Dynamometer engine testing involved collecting oil samples from the engine sump at specified time intervals through each engine test. These oil samples were analyzed using a number of different oil analysis techniques that provide information on the metal wear debris and also on the lubricating oil properties. The results from these oil analysis techniques are the basis of determining the effect of EGR on engine wear and lubricating oil degradation, rather than an actual engine tear down between engine tests.


The problem of a point electric dipole moving over a dispersive dielectric half-space is studied. The dipole is located in the free space above the dielectric and is assumed to be time harmonic in its rest frame, oriented perpendicular to the interface, and moving parallel to it. Solutions for this problem are obtained by using integral transform techniques. Expressions for the electric and magnetic fields in the free space region are formulated for the reflected radiation field for the case of an arbitrary, dispersive dielectric and for the lateral wave and surface wave fields for the case of a lossless plasma dielectric. In the rest frame of the source, it is found that all three waves exhibit the frequency of the source and that the field patterns are distorted by the relative motion. In the rest frame of the dielectric, it is found that each of the waves exhibits some form of Doppler shift (different from the primary wave) and that their field patterns are also distorted. It is also found that the criterion for existence of the lateral wave is not modified by the relative motion of the source and dielectric but that the criterion for existence of the surface waves is greatly modified by the relative motion. In addition, for velocities greater than some critical velocity, it is found that a new type of surface wave comes into existence.


A miniature diamond anvil cell high-pressure system is described, together with loading, operating and experimental methods, making high pressure in the 100 kbar range an accessible and portable technique. Some applications are discussed.


Aim. To investigate whether body mass index (BMI) independently or in correlation with other risk factors is associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) progression. Methods. The study included 176 patients with type 1 diabetes divided into three groups according to DR status: group 1 (no retinopathy; n = 86), group 2 (mild/moderate nonproliferative DR; n = 33), and group 3 (severe/very severe NPDR or proliferative DR; n = 57). Results. A significant deterioration of HbA1c, an increase in total cholesterol, systolic, diastolic blood pressure, and diabetic nephropathy with the progression of retinopathy were found. DR progression was correlated with diabetes duration, HbA1c, hypertension, total cholesterol, and the presence of nephropathy. In patients without nephropathy, statistical analyses showed that progression of retinopathy increased significantly with higher BMI (gr. 1: 24.03 ± 3.52, gr. 2: 25.36 ± 3.44, gr. 3: 26.93 ± 3.24; P < 0.01). A positive correlation between BMI and a significant deterioration of HbA1c, an increase in cholesterol, triglycerides, and hypertension was observed. Conclusion. BMI in correlation with HbA1c, cholesterol, and hypertension appears to be associated with the progression of DR in type 1 diabetic patients without nephropathy. However, additional studies are required to investigate the pathogenic role of obesity and weight loss in retinal diabetic complications particularly relating to nephropathy.


The theme of this presentation has been to show that the control of transmitter release at the neuromuscular synapse is achieved by extracellular and intracellular calcium. For the fast information transfer represented by the end-plate potential, the electrochemical gradient for calcium across the presynaptic membrane and the associated calcium conductance seem to play the primary role. For slower processes such as tetanic and posttetanic potentiation, the combined effect of both sources for calcium determine the amount of transmitter liberated.


An ordinary business can be defined as an organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial, industrial or professional activities. A business can be a for-profit entity, such as a publicly-traded corporation, or a non-profit organization engaged in business activities, such as an agricultural cooperative. A non-governmental organization (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizen's group which is organized on a local, national or international level. It can be referred as a task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to Governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political participation through provision of information. Generally NGO's does not follow international accounting standards.  Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been urged to implement the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) specifically designed to improve accountability by producing respected financial reports. Even though nonprofit organizations aren't required to produce an annual report like publicly traded companies are; most nonprofit managers recognize the value of producing one. An annual report demonstrates accomplishments to current and future donors, cultivate new partnerships, and recognize important people. There are some differences among annual reports prepared by a normal business organization and non profit organizations. Differences in recording of cost, resources, revenues etc. are significant. For these differences an Ngo may involve in various corruptions. To mitigate such kind of problems corrective measures should be taken and should form IAS structures to reduce such differences.


A new capacitor and opamp sharing technique that enables a very efficient low-power pipeline ADC design is proposed. A new method to cancel the effect of signal-dependent kick-back or memory effect in capacitors in the absence of a sample and hold is also presented. Fabricated in a 0.18 ¿m CMOS process, the prototype 11-bit pipelined ADC occupies 2.2 mm2 of active die area and achieves 66.7 dB SFDR and 53.2 dB SNDR when a 1 MHz input signal is digitized at 80 MS/s. The SFDR and SNDR are unchanged for a 50 MHz input signal. The prototype ADC consumes 36 mW at 1.8 V supply, of which the analog portion consumes 24 mW.


To alleviate data sparsity in spoken Uyghur machine translation, we proposed a log-linear based morphological segmentation approach. Instead of learning model only from monolingual annotated corpus, this approach optimizes Uyghur segmentation for spoken translation based on both bilingual and monolingual corpus. Our approach relies on several features such as traditional conditional random field (CRF) feature, bilingual word alignment feature and monolingual suffixword co-occurrence feature. Experimental results shown that our proposed segmentation model for Uyghur spoken translation achieved 1.6 BLEU score improvements compared with the state-of-the-art baseline.


Visible-light-induced living radical polymerization of acrylates (MA, nBA, tBA), acrylamides (DMA, AMO), and vinyl acetate (VAc) at ambient temperature mediated by (salen)Co(II)/TPO was described. Effects of light intensity, feeding ratio of monomer and equivalent of TPO for the polymerization of MA were investigated. Well-defined homopolymers and block polymers with predetermined molecular weight and narrow polydispersity were obtained under mild conditions. The mechanism of the polymerization was proposed based on polymerization behavior and polymer structure analysis. The (salen)Co(II)/TPO system was suitable for both conjugated and unconjugated monomers under mild conditions.


Subcentres are dense concentrations of employment and services that appear across contemporary metropolitan areas, the resulting urban pattern is called polycentric. Polycentrism has become the keystone in a major number of regional and urban policies, since it has been seen as a sustainable and equilibrated urban model. In this paper, using as case study the biggest metropolitan areas in Spain we test whether employment subcentres effectively structure mobility patterns around them, and at the same time whether polycentric urban patterns reduce land consumed around subcentres. For this reason we use effective urbanised area and travel to work mobility matrix to assess whether polycentrism increases the efficiency of urbanisation. The results suggest that effectively employment subcentres do structure travel to work patterns, reducing urban mobility, and consequently being structural places. Nevertheless, from the perspective of land consumption little effect is detected after controlling other urban factors affecting this vector such as orography and urban fabric fragmentation.


The importance of determining the prevalence of modifiable health risk behaviours among specific populations for effective preventive and therapeutic measures has been emphasized in literature. Worksites have been identified as strategic locations for the delivery of interventions to decrease the prevalence of chronic diseases of lifestyle among adult populations. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of modifiable risks factors for cardiovascular diseases of employees at an urban university in Kigali, Rwanda. Physical activity levels were assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Body mass index was computed from weight and height measurements. Blood pressure readings were taken and hypertension for the study was defined as ≥ 140/90 for systolic and diastolic respectively. A total of 36 participants were classified as being hypertensive. Both systolic blood pressure (r=0.627; p<0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (r=0.598; p<0.05) significantly correlates with age. A total of 41% of the participants were classified as either overweight or obese and 28% as physically inactive. Factors found to be significantly associated with hypertension was current smoking, current alcohol use, self-reported diabetes mellitus, physical inactivity and overweight and obesity. This study confirms the high prevalence of modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among adults employed at an urban university in Kigaili, Rwanda. These findings further highlight the need for health promoting initiatives at the work place and specifically the benefits of such initiatives at institutions of higher education. Keywords: Modifiable Risk Factors, Cardiovascular Disease, Health Promotion, Work Place


Predictions, desires, or intentions have recently shown to strongly influence behavior, adaptation, and learning. These anticipations influence behavior mediating decision making and action execution as well as attention. Although it is not the future itself that influences the present but the anticipated future states or future properties, the difference to purely stimulus‐driven behavior and learning is highly significant. Recent analyses investigate under which environmental properties which type of anticipatory mechanism is helpful to improve behavior. Vice versa, since anticipatory mechanisms also bias attention, future sensory processing and thus future learning capabilities are immediately influenced by current anticipations. The impact on the understanding of the world, social systems, human learning and understanding, as well as education principles might be immense. The perspective of expectation and purpose as part of the cause in the general case might have been underestimated and requires further investigations and considerations.


Data mining has become increasingly popular and is widely used in various application areas. In this paper, we examine new developments in data mining and its application to personalization in E-commerce. Personalization is what merchants and publishers want to do to tailor the Web site or advertisement and product promotion to a customer based on his past behavior and inference from other like-minded people. E-commerce offers the opportunity to deploy this type of one-to-one marketing instead of the traditional mass marketing. The technology challenges to support personalization are discussed. These include the need to perform clustering and searching in very high dimensional data space with huge amount of data. We examine some of the new data mining technologies developed that can support personalization.


Rubrics, the topic of the first Collaboration and Connections column, are an authentic assessment method used by teachers to measure student performance on classroom tasks. As an occupational therapy intervention strategy, rubrics are easy to integrate within the classroom environment. Occupational therapists can use rubrics to support classroom performance, define performance expectations, and measure progress on goals. Rubrics can also be a self-evaluation tool for students. Rubric development involves collaborating with the teacher and student to: define the purpose of the rubric, analyze current performance, identify performance components, select a measurement scale, and define performance criteria.


This paper presents a novel technique to derive the filter parameters for removing signal dependent noise (SDN) in the image. In order to remove SDN, many de-noising algorithms rely on a priori knowledge of noise parameters, especially the variance sigman 2, and the gamma value gamma of the specific imaging technique. This paper proposes a technique to automatically derive the signal variance sigmaf 2 and use this parameter to construct the Local. Linear Minimum Mean Square Error (LLMMSE) filter without the need to know the values of sigman 2 and gamma. Two image instances of the same noisy scene are used to calculate the signal variance which is then used to construct the LLMMSE filter. Experiments with both the "Lena" image and real-life far-infrared (FIR) vein pattern images showed that the proposed technique can predict the signal variance consistently, and the constructed LLMMSE filter performs well in removing the signal dependent noise.