Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the main driver of a country's economic growth. SMEs are thought to be an important source and factor in job creation and they provide flexible working opportunities for the white collar workers. The importance of the SMEs is growing since they have an important impact on the economy which is recently in crises. The rising unemployment rates of the countries cause many social and economic problems in the world. Therefore, SMEs, as an engine in economies, should be studied in terms of their adaption of new technologies which are the most important means to enter new markets and create new jobs. With the globalization, SMEs couldn't go beyond their national borders as much as big companies did and lagged behind of the new global markets. To be able to reach new customers who are far from their countries and to compete with their rivals in both national and international arena, SMEs should adapt to the information and communication technologies. These technologies make them faster and stronger by establishing new channels, reducing time to market, providing opportunities to work more flexible and creating new jobs. In order to catch up with these new developments, which make the firms more competitive, SMEs should consider the ICTs as a strategic integral part. In this study, it is aimed to find out to what extend small and medium companies use information technologies, if they integrate these technologies into their business processes, cut their costs by using ICTs and want to invest more for information technologies. In this work, the subject is separated into 2 sections. In the first section, the literature is reviewed and some explanations and examples are given from the world and Turkey. In the second section of the study, the survey is used to find answers to the questions mentioned above in relation to SMEs and their integration with information * Primary version of this paper presented at EconAnadolu 2009: Anadolu International Conference in Economics O. Koçak / İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi 3/3 (2011) 58-75 59 and communication technologies. This survey was conducted on January in 2009, with 288 small and medium companies in Istanbul -is the biggest city of commerce in Turkey. The SPSS program is to be used to compile this data which is cross-examined and then results will be obtained to be used for the present study.


Although nearly ubiquitous in nature, the precise biological significance of endogenous melatonin is poorly understood in phylogenetically basal taxa. In the present work, we describe insights into the functional role of melatonin at the most "basal" level of metazoan evolution. Hitherto unknown morphological determinants of melatonin distribution were evaluated in Nematostella vectensis by detecting melatonin immunoreactivity and examining the spatial gene expression patterns of putative melatonin biosynthetic and receptor elements that are located at opposing ends of the melatonin signaling pathway. Immuno-melatonin profiling indicated an elaborate interaction with reproductive tissues, reinforcing previous conjectures of a melatonin-responsive component in anthozoan reproduction. In situ hybridization (ISH) to putative melatonin receptor elements highlighted the possibility that the bioregulatory effects of melatonin in anthozoan reproduction may be mediated by interactions with membrane receptors, as in higher vertebrates. Another intriguing finding of the present study pertains to the prevalence of melatonin in centralized nervous structures. This pattern may be of great significance given that it 1) identifies an ancestral association between melatonin and key neuronal components and 2) potentially implies that certain effects of melatonin in basal species may be spread widely by regionalized nerve centers.


This paper presents a simple approach to quality of service control in telecommunication networks. A new model is proposed which is analyzed using concepts from perturbation theory. It is shown that under certain assumptions the model is exponentially stable. The application of optimal control to the proposed model is outlined.


Glycerol hydrogenolysis to 1,3-propanediol is identified to follow the dehydration-hydrogenation pathway with the rate-determining step (RDS) of H* + OH* → H2O* over an IrRe catalyst. The positive effects of solid acids are elucidated to originate from the reduced energy barrier of the RDS by H protons, while the negative ones of liquid acids are from excessively strong adsorption of anions.


The Pancasila Student Profile is a graduate profile that aims to demonstrate the character and competencies that are expected to be achieved and strengthen the noble values of Pancasila for students and stakeholders. The Pancasila Student Profile has six competencies which are formulated as key dimensions. The six are interrelated and mutually reinforcing so that efforts to realize a complete Pancasila Student Profile require the development of the six dimensions simultaneously, not partially. The six dimensions are: 1) faith, fear of God Almighty, and have noble character, 2) global diversity, 3) work together, 4) independent, 5) critical reasoning, 6) creative. These dimensions show that the Pancasila Student Profile does not only focus on cognitive abilities, but also attitudes and behavior according to identity as a nation of Indonesia as well as citizens of the world. Indonesia's Education Vision To Realize an advanced Indonesia that is sovereign, independent, and has personality through the creation of Pancasila Students. Profile of Pancasila Students Indonesian students are also lifelong students who are competent, have character, and behave according to Pancasila values. Islamic Religious Education does not only teach material or concepts to be understood by students, but also enhances appreciation and practice in everyday life. Islamic Religious Education is a benchmark, how Islam and its people have played its role in various social, political and cultural aspects. Therefore, by following the development of this modern era, Islamic religious education throughout Indonesia must be increasingly developed and distributed in all areas of life in today's world. The position of Pancasila Education and Islamic Religious Education is very important, which is related to Islamic sciences which


Oral mucositis is a major toxic effect related to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) therapy. Clinical studies have attempted to identify an effective antidote for this untoward side effect. Early pilot studies suggested that an allopurinol mouthwash could lessen 5-FU-induced mucositis. However, a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study did not suggest that an allopurinol mouthwash had any prophylactic value in this clinical situation. An ongoing, randomized clinical protocol is testing cryotherapy as a method of inhibiting 5-FU-induced stomatitis. No clinically appropriate prophylactic measure for preventing 5-FU-induced mucositis has been found to date.


4 ORIGINAL PROF-2834 ABSTRACT: Introduction: This study has focused to know the learning preferences among faculty considering different methodologies and considering about CME to improve healthcare. Objectives: To identify the gaps in knowledge regarding CME in medical faculty of Lahore and to see the awareness of the CME among them. Study Design: This is a cross-sectional study of medical faculty in Lahore. Settings: Three hospitals in Lahore are included from both private/ public sectors. Period: It was conducted over a period of 2 months from JULY, 2014 to August, 2014 Methods: A questionnaire comprising of 21 questions was distributed at random for data collection among doctors having done post graduation. Results: Most of the faculty members who attended CME found it as useful tool for improving the knowledge and techniques for better patient care. Conclusions: Majority teachers are not interested in CME and do not participate and ask for some incentives.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is linked to an extensive neuron loss via accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) as senile plaques associated with reactive astrocytes and microglial activation in the brain. The objective of this study was to assess the therapeutic effect of WS-5 ethanol extract in vitro and in vivo against Aβ-induced AD in mice and to identify the extract's active constituents. In the present study, WS-5 exerted a significant inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that WS-5 prevented Aβ oligomerization via inhibition of Aβ1-42 aggregation. Evaluation of antioxidant activities using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) demonstrated that WS-5 possessed a high antioxidant activity, which was confirmed by measuring the total antioxidant status (TAS). Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory properties of WS-5 were examined using lipopolysaccharide-stimulated BV-2 microglial cells. WS-5 significantly inhibited the lipopolysaccharide–induced production of nitric oxide and two proinflammatory cytokines, TNF-α and IL-6. The memory impairment in mice with Aβ-induced AD was studied using the Morris water maze and passive avoidance test. Immunohistochemistry was performed to monitor pathological changes in the hippocampus and cortex region of the mouse brain. The animal study showed that WS-5 (250 mg/kg) treatment improved learning and suppressed memory impairment as well as reduced Aβ plaque accumulation in Aβ-induced AD. HPLC analysis identified the extract's active compounds that exert anti-AChE activity. In summary, our findings suggest that WS-5 could be applied as a natural product therapy with a focus on neuroinflammation-related neurodegenerative disorders.


Abstract The dynamic interfacial tensions between crude oil from Liaoning Daqing Oil Field of China and solution of unsymmetrical bolaamphiphile surfactants were measured. It was found that the added surfactants are greatly effective in reducing the interfacial tensions and can reduce the tensions of oil/water interface to ultra-low (under 10−2 mN/m) at the low surfactant concentration. Otherwise, different aromatic rings attached in the surfactant molecule play an important role on the surfactant capability in reducing crude oil/water interface. The results show that the surfactants with the larger aromatic ring can obtain the lower interfacial tension for their strong adsorption at crude oil/water interface, which provides further examination of this kind of surfactant in reducing crude oil/water interface.


Background There are several studies on seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in adults in the Middle East. Objectives To determine seroprevalence of HAV among adult population in Fars province, southern Iran. Patients and Methods In a cross-sectional study, we checked anti-HAV antibody (IgG) in subjects refereed to our health care centers to perform laboratory tests before getting married between March 2008 and March 2009. Age-specific seroprevalence was also determined. Some risk factors like level of education, type of residence, job, numbers of family members, and access to treated water were also evaluated in these participants. Results From 1050 subjects studied, 927 (88.2%) had ant-HAV antibody; 123 (11.8%) were antibody negative. Among subjects aged < 20 years, the anti-HAV seroprevalence was the lowest (79.3%) followed by subjects aged 20-30 years (91.3%) and those > 30 years (99%) (p = 0.01). 85.1% of studied individuals in urban areas had anti-HAV IgG while 95.9% of subjects in rural regions were anti-HAV positive (p = 0.001). The seroprevalence of HAV antibody was significantly associated with number of family members (p = 0.001). Conclusion HAV is highly prevalent in our region especially in rural areas. It is better to vaccinate the children for HAV by the time they receive HBV vaccine or when they are five years.


The Chinese government has recently focused on the need to increase consumption to rebalance the economy. A widely held view is that despite China's remarkably high growth, the share of consumption in total expenditure has been low and declining due to high and rising saving rate of Chinese households as uncertainty over provision of pensions, and healthcare and education costs have increased since the mid-1990s. This paper finds that the rise in saving rate has been a minor factor. Much larger has been the role of the declining share of household income in national income, which has occurred across-the-board in wages, investment income, and government transfers. The paper finds that financial sector weaknesses, by restricting firms' access to bank financing for working capital, have played quantitatively a major role in keeping wage and investment income shares low and on a declining trend.


In order to ensure the supply chain information can flow to transfer the entire supply chain members need to evaluate the efficiency of information transmission. This paper constructs a supply chain information system user satisfaction evaluation index system, and establishes a comprehensive AHP fuzzy evaluation model based on customer satisfaction. A case study was finally made showing the effectiveness of the method.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Ovarian cancer is the second leading gynecological cancer with poor prognosis. By the time of detection, it usually metastasizes to peritoneum or organs such as stomach and liver. Detachment of a cell from extracellular matrix (ECM) allows the cells to travel and lodge at metastatic site. Anoikis is an emerging form of cell death that is associated with the apoptosis of cells detached from ECM. Normal or immortal epithelial cells are sensitive to anoikis. However, carcinomas are generally associated with resistance to anoikis. Hence, induction of anoikis is an important step in preventing metastasis. We have recently shown that diindolylmethane (DIM), a compound present in cruciferous vegetables reduces the survival of ovarian cancer cells by inducing apoptosis. Here, we evaluated the effect of DIM in inducing anoikis in ovarian cancer cells. A2780, SKOV-3 and OVCAR-429 cells were grown on low attachment plates and treated with various concentrations of DIM for 24 hours and analyzed. Our results show that DIM treatment resulted in the concentration-dependent anoikis in all the cell lines. For example, anoikis induction was approximately 50-70% in all the cell lines treated with 75µM DIM. Furthermore, Integrin Linked Kinase 1 (ILK-1), an important regulator of anoikis was significantly down-regulated by DIM treatment. Western blotting revealed cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP by DIM treatment, confirming anoikis induction in our model. Few recent studies showed that Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) pathway is activated in ovarian tumors. Shh pathway is also associated with metastasis of various cancers. We therefore next determined whether Shh pathway was involved in anoikis induction by DIM. Our results demonstrated that DIM treatment reduced the expression of Shh and Gli1 in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, Shh secretion as well was reduced by DIM treatment in ovarian cancer cells. Importantly, Shh pretreatment significantly inhibited DIM-induced anoikis in A2780 ovarian cancer cells. Treatment of cells with Shh also reduced the cleavage of caspase-3 or PARP induced by DIM treatment indicating the involvement of Shh pathway in anoikis. Taken together, these results suggest that DIM induces anoikis in ovarian cancer cells by regulating sonic hedgehog signaling. Further in-depth mechanistic studies are in progress to establish anoikis induction by DIM and to validate it in an in vivo model. [Supported in part by R01 grants CA 1065953 and CA 129038 awarded to S.K.S by National Cancer Institute, NIH]

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2567. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2567


Children's understanding of sugar water solutions may progress through universal stages: from nonpreservation to preservation to liquefaction to atomism. This claim was investigated in the current study; the claim was originally prefigured in the work of Piaget and Inhelder (1974) and more recently consolidated by Slone (1987). Our sample consisted of 270 South African children drawn from three cultural groups and ranging in age from 4 to 14 years. Children watched a demonstration in which a sugar lump was dissolved in water. Then, using structured interviews, we explored their understanding of this phenomenon. The results generally confirmed the hypothesized developmental sequence. Moreover, because the sequence was consistent across cultural groups, the claim that physical knowledge evolves through universal stages also was supported. Perhaps significantly, however, the progression of knowledge development did not unequivocally lead to the concept of atomism. Developmental implications of these findings are discussed.


The objective of this thesis is to reduce the alarms in the control rooms of the processing industry and to investigate a strategy for working with the alarms. The problem with the alarms in the automation system is a result of the highly automated production and failure to design the alarms for the operator. The situation analysis showed problems with badly tuned alarms and cascade of alarms. The badly tuned alarms result in alarms triggers without any danger for the process or personal, it also results in silent alarms never signaling although the risk for failure is high. The cascades of alarms occur when one fault triggers many alarms due to the correlation of process parameters. From the situation analysis was concluded that a structured work with alarms and forming groups addressing the problems would be the best way to reduce troubles with alarms. To structure the work with alarms a document with guidelines were created. This document includes the personnel of the alarm group and their tasks. It also describes the definition of an alarm which is a signal sent to the operator showing that the process doesn't behave as it should and the system therefore call for the operators' attention to act. A part of the alarm document also describes how to organize the information about the alarm points. The alarm points were documented by extracting data from the automation system to Excel and formatted by VB-script. To make it easy to update the information the script can automatically compare the data in the automation system with the data stored in documentation. The personnel will add information about the intention of the alarm and the measure to take when the alarm is signaling. The user added information is to justify the alarm. A pilot project with forming an alarm group documenting and structuring the alarms was conducted. Results are promising and show the working with alarms really can cut the alarm frequency and improve the working environment for the operator. (Less)


In order to face the stress due to the traffic, the driver's weariness should be reduced as far as possible. The driver's seat as workplace in the motor-vehicle is of the utmost importance. In order to make an estimation of the seats of different construction, static measurements and vibration tests have been carried out. To simulate vibration conditions such as they happen in a motor-vehicle on a normal road, a work bench has been built which consists of a partial car body fitted on a hydro-pulsator cylinder. This cylinder can produce sinusoidal vibrations and irregular (aleatory) vibrations. The hydro-pulsator system operates in accordance with the principle of the regulation in hydro-electric series. In order to be able to carry out tests from the point of view of work physiology, the subjects have been submitted to vibrations while showing them on a screen traffic situation simulated by light-impluses. The subjects had to react by using the steering-wheel and the pedals just like in a car. The sum of the mechanical and physical loads gives an ergological load corresponding to that which is produced in a real motor-vehicle. Six current seats of different makes have been examined (seats with springs and seats in cellular tissue). The covering material and the exterior shape were the same for the physiological tests. The static tests have shown that the elasticity characteristics are progressive, as well as for the spring seats as for those in cellular tissue. Their characteristics are hardly any different. The vibration tests have shown a resonance marked at approximately the 2 to 3 Hz in the diagramme of the vibrations, but the amplitudes of the vibrations are different. They are less important for the seats in cellular tissue than for the spring seats. During the tests from the point of view of work physiology, a comparative estimation of both seat types has been carried out while basing oneself upon certain criterions such as: the reaction capacity of the driving simulator, the temperature and the humidity at the seat level, the muscular tensions and the cardiac frequency. These tests show that the seat in cellular tissue generates a larger motor agitation. In consequence, the muscular potentialities are more important for the seat in cellular tissue than for the spring seat. The temperature and humidity conditions are more favourable for the spring seats. This important fact is the result as much of the objective measurements as of the subjective estimations of the seats carried out after each test by the subjects. /Author/


This perspective provides an overview of the micro-/nanofabrication methods developed for structural biopolymers, highlighting recent advances in the rapid and ease construction of complex and multifunctional silk fibroin-based devices by integrating top-down manufacturing with bottom-up molecular self-assembly. Of particular interest is the development of a new nanofabrication strategy that employs templated crystallization to direct silk fibroin folding and assembly from a suspension of disordered, random coil molecules to ordered, hierarchical mesostructured materials. Such advancements in structural biopolymers fabrication provide the basis for engineering a new generation of technical materials that can be interfaced with food and plants.


abstract
 Recent psycholinguistic studies on the reality of alternative sets in processing focus NPs have shown that focus particles like 'only' play a special role in activating the mental representation of alternatives to focused nouns. In this paper we present a new corpus study which provides converging evidence to support psycholinguistic findings and suggests that alternatives preceded by a focus particle are not only more activated in experimental contexts, but are also more likely to be discussed in the subsequent context. To this end we develop and evaluate inter-annotator agreement on two novel annotation tasks in naturally occurring German corpus data: recognition of nominal alternatives in general without any context, and recognition of alternatives in the context of sentence pairs. We show that while annotators agree poorly on the first, they agree strongly on the second. We also develop a concept of 'alternative density', the number of alternatives realized in a sentence following a target NP, and present a mixed-effects model showing a very significant rise in density after the presence of German nur 'only' independently of other factors.


We report the results of a prospective study of the surgical release of 45 knee flexion contractures in 28 patients with myelomeningocele. The neurosegmental level was thoracic in ten patients, L1/2 in one, L3/4 in 11, and L5/S1 in six. In walkers the indication for surgery was a fixed flexion contracture impeding walking, and in non-walking patients it was a flexion contracture impeding transfers or sitting balance, or likely to do so with increasing deformity. The mean age at surgery was 6.4 years (3 to 21) and the mean period of follow-up 13 years (4 to 20). The mean knee flexion contracture before surgery was 39 (25 to 70) which improved to 5 degrees at maximum correction and to 13 degrees at latest follow-up. We conclude that surgical release of knee flexion contractures in myelomeningocele improves gait in all children who walk, particularly those with low lumbar lesions. Recurrence of knee flexion contractures after surgical release is most common in those with thoracic lesions who do not achieve independent walking.


The effect of temperature on stilbite synthesis was investigated systematically in the temperature range 80-C by hydrothermal treatment of artificial glasses of the same composition (1O-8CaO-9O) at 1 kbar O pressure. The zeolite was always formed with monoclinic symmetry (, a = 13.61 A, b = 18.24 A, c = 11.27 A and ; or , a = 13.61 A, b = 18.24 A, c = 17.8 A and in the pseudo-orthorhombic setting) in the temperature range 155-C . A systematic change of crystal habit with temperature was observed while wairakite, another zeolite, coexisted with stilbite dependent on the temperature of synthesis. The well defined hydrothermal synthesis conditions with certain crystal shapes of stilbite at given temperatures allow predictions for the temperature range of formation of natural stilbites.


We evaluated the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy used as a supplement to the first-line medical treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). We tested 68 patients suffering from SSNHL within seven days of hearing loss: 21 patients received the standard treatment protocol of our department (control group) and 47 individuals were treated with an additional application of HBO2 therapy. Treatment success was assessed using pre- and post-treatment audiograms. Outcomes of our study showed a statistically significant improvement in auditory threshold in all frequency groups for the HBO2 group (P ⟨ 0.001), whereas in the control group the statistically significant mean auditory gain was observed only for the frequency zone 1,000 to 2,000 Hertz (P = 0.01). Furthermore, the rate of hearing gain in the HBO2 group was more than doubled (61.7%) compared to the control group (28.6%). Complete recovery of the hearing gain in the control group was observed only in the first two frequency groups (14.29%; 4.76%; 0.00%), whereas in the HBO2 group complete recovery was seen in all the frequency groups (19.15%; 21.13%; 6.38%) as well as in the whole frequency range (6.38%). The efficiency of both treatment protocols was statistically significant (P ⟨ 0.001) in both groups of patients, but supplementation of the therapy with HBO2 demonstrated a statistically significantly increase in the effect of pharmacotherapy (P ⟨ 0.001) by 11.5 decibels (dB) up to the final hearing gain of 20 dB. HBO2 is therefore a promising modality of SSNHL treatment, but specific mechanisms of HBO2 in patients with SSNHL are still unknown. Further investigations are warranted to explore the mechanisms of action.


Counterfactual explanations are a prominent example of post-hoc interpretability methods in the explainable Artificial Intelligence research domain. They provide individuals with alternative scenarios and a set of recommendations to achieve a sought-after machine learning model outcome. Recently, the literature has identified desiderata of counterfactual explanations, such as feasibility, actionability and sparsity that should support their applicability in real-world contexts. However, we show that the literature has neglected the problem of the time dependency of counterfactual explanations. We argue that, due to their time dependency and because of the provision of recommendations, even feasible, actionable and sparse counterfactual explanations may not be appropriate in real-world applications. This is due to the possible emergence of what we call "unfortunate counterfactual events." These events may occur due to the retraining of machine learning models whose outcomes have to be explained via counterfactual explanation. Series of unfortunate counterfactual events frustrate the efforts of those individuals who successfully implemented the recommendations of counterfactual explanations. This negatively affects people's trust in the ability of institutions to provide machine learning-supported decisions consistently. We introduce an approach to address the problem of the emergence of unfortunate counterfactual events that makes use of histories of counterfactual explanations. In the final part of the paper we propose an ethical analysis of two distinct strategies to cope with the challenge of unfortunate counterfactual events. We show that they respond to an ethically responsible imperative to preserve the trustworthiness of credit lending organizations, the decision models they employ, and the social-economic function of credit lending.


Autoencoders are unsupervised deep learning models used for learning representations. In literature, autoencoders have shown to perform well on a variety of tasks spread across multiple domains, thereby establishing widespread applicability. Typically, an autoencoder is trained to generate a model that minimizes the reconstruction error between the input and the reconstructed output, computed in terms of the Euclidean distance. While this can be useful for applications related to unsupervised reconstruction, it may not be optimal for classification. In this paper, we propose a novel Supervised COSMOS Autoencoder which utilizes a multi-objective loss function to learn representations that simultaneously encode the (i) "similarity" between the input and reconstructed vectors in terms of their direction, (ii) "distribution" of pixel values of the reconstruction with respect to the input sample, while also incorporating (iii) "discriminability" in the feature learning pipeline. The proposed autoencoder model incorporates a Cosine similarity and Mahalanobis distance based loss function, along with supervision via Mutual Information based loss. Detailed analysis of each component of the proposed model motivates its applicability for feature learning in different classification tasks. The efficacy of Supervised COSMOS autoencoder is demonstrated via extensive experimental evaluations on different image datasets. The proposed model outperforms existing algorithms on MNIST, CIFAR-10, and SVHN databases. It also yields state-of-the-art results on CelebA, LFWA, Adience, and IJB-A databases for attribute prediction and face recognition, respectively.


The current status and perspective of diamond as wide bandgap semiconductor in microwave power and high temperature electronics is reviewed. Predicted RF power densities above 50 W/mm and diode operation above 1000 /spl deg/C characterize this extraordinary material. In addition, the properties predistine diamond films also for RF MEMS. A bi-stable in-line switch is discussed.


This paper presents the results of the structural analysis and the optimization of a 6,500m manned submersible. Nonlinear structural analysis for imperfect spheres with the maximum allowable out-of-roundness was performed to calculate the thickness of the pressure hull. Dimensions of viewports was determined according to ASME PVHO standard. The design optimization of the spherical hull with openings was divided into two steps - the optimization of the detailed shape of the viewport reinforcements and the optimization of the viewport location in the spherical pressure hull.


The aortic and mitral valves function in a reciprocal interdependent fashion. However, the impact of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) on the aortic–mitral continuity and severity of mitral regurgitation (MR) are poorly understood. In this study, a comprehensive engineering analysis was performed to investigate the impact of TAVR on MR severity and left heart dynamics in a retrospective patient case who harbours bicuspid aortic valve stenosis and concomitant functional MR. The TAVR procedure was computer simulated using a balloon-expandable valve, and the impact of three implantation heights on aortic–mitral coupling, MR severity and device performance were analysed. The accuracy and predictability of the computer modelling framework were validated with pre- and post-operative echo data. The highest deployment model resulted in higher stresses in the native leaflets, contact radial force and stent recoil, while the midway implantation model gave better haemodynamic performance and MR reduction in this patient case. Although the regurgitant volume decreased (less than 10%) for the three deployment configurations, no significant differences in MR severity improvement and mitral leaflet tethering were found. Acute improvement in MR was (i) due to the mechanical compression of the stent against the aortic–mitral curtain, (ii) due to an immediate drop in the ventricular pressure and transmitral pressure gradient. Albeit a single real clinical case, it is our hope that such detailed engineering computational analysis could shed light on the underlying biomechanical mechanisms of TAVR impact on MR.


Ectopic pregnancy and the rupture of corpus hemorrhagicum are fatal gynecological emergencies that comprise an important part of the causes of referring to the emergency services. 26 year old-gravida 1, para 1 woman was referred to our clinic with lower quadrant abdominal pain. In her medical history there were no delayed menstruation and the pregnancy test which practiced in an outside clinic, was reported as negative. According to the acute abdomen signs in the medical examination, emergency laparatomy has been performed. There was a mass that pretends to be ruptured hemorrhagic cyst prediagnostically was observed and excised. Pathology results of the patient, whose AŸhCG value was measured post operatively as 2090mIU/mL, was compatible with ovarian ectopic pregnancy. The case of ovarian ectopic pregnancy, which is a rare situation and can be interfering with the rupture of corpus hemorrhagicum cyst, is presented with a brief literature review.


Given the assumption of opposite movements in stock prices due to the behavior of investors, who can use this strategy to take advantage of times of downturn in the economy, this study consisted of an analysis of overreaction in Brazil, which consists in buying loser stocks with the expectation of future long-term reversals. Based on literature studies in key North American market and Brazil, we calculated the monthly returns of shares traded on the São Paulo Stock Exchange – BOVESPA, for the period from January 1995 to December 2010, being rebalanced portfolios formed each year until 2005, and analyzed the performance during periods of thirty-six and sixty months later. We obtained survey data in the system Economática, in particular prices and company size, gauged from the market value. With the aid of SPSS 17.0 and Eviews 7.0, statistical tests were performed to compare means between the returns during periods of formation and testing, regression and time series and panel data. The tests compare the means and time series indicated that there was support for the strategy of overreaction in the analyzed period, not to reject his hypothesis. Additionally it was found that the opposite strategy can 't be explained by the market value of companies as a result of regression analysis on panel, other than the return reversals explained by size of business.


Matching laser range scans observed at different points in time is a crucial component of many robotics tasks, including mobile robot localization and mapping. While existing techniques such as the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm perform well under many circumstances, they often fail when the initial estimate of the offset between scans is highly uncertain. This paper presents a novel approach to 2D laser scan matching. CRF-Matching generates a Condition Random Field (CRF) to reason about the joint association between the measurements of the two scans. The approach is able to consider arbitrary shape and appearance features in order to match laser scans. The model parameters are learned from labeled training data. Inference is performed efficiently using loopy belief propagation. Experiments using data collected by a car navigating through urban environments show that CRF-Matching is able to reliably and efficiently match laser scans even when no a priori knowledge about their offset is given. They additionally demonstrate that our approach can seamlessly integrate camera information, thereby further improving performance.


Purpose
Consumers frequently use electronic payments (e-payment) as their first step into formal financial services. The advancement of information and communication technology, on the other hand, has resulted in several achievements for human civilization, altering people's lives, behaviors and societal measures. This study's main aim is to investigate issues and identify the factors that are likely to influence customers' acceptance of implementing e-payment in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research approach was adopted to test the influence of e-payment data security, trust, ease of use, usefulness and accessibility on customers' acceptance of the service. A questionnaire survey was electronically administered to a purposive sample, and 531 responses were returned, achieving the required sample size for the study. Descriptive statistics analysis was used to ascertain data validity and consistency, and regression analysis was used to test the model's hypotheses.

Findings
The findings of this study demonstrated a high influence of the mentioned factors on the e-payment acceptance of the customers in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The main recommendations are to increase the adoption of e-payment; focus highly on the security factor in e-payment adoption; create a trustworthy e-payment service; strive to make the e-payment services more user-friendly; increase the longevity of the e-payment services by focusing on usefulness; and make e-payment services more accessible.

Originality/value
This study's potential contribution is to identify the factors that influence e-payment acceptance by customers in Bahrain and draw attention to issues to be considered in adopting new e-payment services.


Abstract : This document is one of a series in the Final Report of Phase I in a project to develop design guidelines and criteria for user/operator transactions with battlefield automated systems. The report is organized in five volumes as follows: Executive Summary (RR 1320), Technical Report (TR 536), In-Depth Analyses of Individual Systems, Provisional Guidelines and Criteria (TR 537), and Background Literature (this report). Volume I presents a succinct review of activities and products of the project's first phase. Volume II contains a technical discussion of the project's objectives, methodologies, results, conclusions, and implications for the design of user/operator transactions with battlefield automated systems. Volume III documents analyses of four unique battlefield automated systems selected to represent different stages of system development and different Army functional areas. Volume IV presents provisional guidelines and criteria for the design of transactions. Volume V provides a brief review of selected literature related to guidelines and criteria.


We define a second-order neural network stochastic gradient training algorithm whose block-diagonal structure effectively amounts to normalizing the unit activations. Investigating why this algorithm lacks in robustness then reveals two interesting insights. The first insight suggests a new way to scale the stepsizes, clarifying popular algorithms such as RMSProp as well as old neural network tricks such as fanin stepsize scaling. The second insight stresses the practical importance of dealing with fast changes of the curvature of the cost.


The deadly combination of male supremacy and toxic masculinity (MSTM) systemically and culturally promotes, supports, and defends violence against women, girls, femmes, and "lesser" men. This article provides working definitions for male supremacy and toxic masculinity and explores the damage they can do on their own and when combined. Multivalent masculinity offers a new way to navigate gender identity and expression by allowing for a spectrum of experiences. The infographic of the gender unicorn, developed by Trans Student Educational Resources, is a useful tool for "men's" groups to employ as they seek to cultivate multivalent masculinity. The most important work of multivalent masculinity is: (i) to break open the definition, understanding, and recognition of what it means to "be a man"; (ii) to be painfully cognizant of the harm done by MSTM; and (iii) actively to resist being shackled or defined by MSTM.


Pulmonary artery sarcomas are rarely seen and frequently misdiagnosed as pulmonary thromboembolic disease due to the presence of similar clinical manifestations and radiologic findings. As making the certain diagnosis is very important in order to determine the treatment strategy, one needs close follow-up to make a definite diagnosis. However, most of the cases are diagnosed during the surgery or autopsy. We report the surgical outcome of a patient with pulmonary artery angiosarcoma causing severe obstruction of the pulmonary valve and main pulmonary artery.


Elemental chemical identification of a specimen and its quantification is fundamental to obtain information in the characterization of the materials (Angeles et al., 2000; CortesJacome et al., 2005). Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) is the technique that allows obtaining information concerning the elemental chemical composition using the EDX spectrometer. Generally is attached to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) (Goldstein & Newbury, 2003) and/or in a transmission electron microscope (Williams & Barry-Carter, 1996). The technique is very versatile because the spectrometer gives results in few minutes. The instrument is compact, stable, robust and easy to use and its results can be quickly interpreted. The analysis is based in the detection of the characteristic X-rays produced by the electron beam-specimen interaction. The information can be collected in very specific local points or on the whole sample. So, both electron microscopy and EDXS, give valuable information about the morphology and chemical composition of the sample. In order to give an accurate interpretation of the data collected by the instrument is important to know the fundaments of the technique. The characteristic X-rays are produced by the atoms of the sample in a process called inner-shell ionization (Jenkins & De Dries, 1967). This process is carried out when an electron of inner-shell is removed by an electron of the beam generating a vacancy in the shell. At this moment the atom remain ionized during 10-14 second and then an electron of outer-shell fills the vacancy of the inner-shell. During this transition a photon is emitted with a characteristic energy of the chemical element and its shell ionized. The emitted photons are named by the shell-ionized type as K, L, M lines.... and ┙, ┚, ┛... by the outer-shell corresponding to the electron that filled the inner-shell-ionized. For atoms with high atomic numbers, is important to note that some transitions are forbidden. Permissible transitions can be followed by the quantum selection rules and the notation can be followed by Manne Siegbahn and/or, IUPAC rules (Herglof & Birks, 1978). During the beam-sample interaction, another X-ray source is produced and it is known as Bremsstrahlung radiation or continuum X-rays which are generated for the deceleration of the electron beam in the Coulombic field of the specimen atoms. When the electrons are braked, they emit photons with any energy value giving rise to a continuous electromagnetic spectrum appearing in the EDX spectrum as


There is a great deal of diversity in AAF hospitals regarding the management of the period of convalescence after rheumatic fever. It varies from a prolonged restriction of physical activities to an early participation in special exercise which often may require a great deal of exertion. This difference in attitude regarding physical activity can be explained easily. On the one hand, it has been a medical tradition, based mainly on observation among children, that rest is an essential part of the rheumatic fever regimen not only during the active stage of the disease but also during a long period of time afterward. On the other hand, accumulated experience with rheumatic fever has indicated that this disease affects adults in a lesser degree than children, and therefore the management of the patients in the two instances may not be the same. Moreover, the present attacks on the "abuse of bed rest"


Since a basestation transceiver subsystem (BTS) is located far (over several kilometers) from a base station controller (BSC) in code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile communication network, a trunk is used for transmission path between them. Therefore, the data transmission rate is limited to the speed of 1.544 Mbps (for T1) or 2.048 Mbps (for E1). So it is desirable to configure multiple links in order to reduce queue delay for the heavy traffic. In the case of link failure, it is necessary to reconfigure links in order to maintain the on-going mobile call service. In this paper, we propose a reconfiguration method based upon a self-routing applied to the interconnection network in the BSC and the BTS. The method includes the case of not only link failure but also link recovery. The proposed method is simply achieved by the bit modification of bridge link identification (ID) in the address field of frames for routing. We also show the traffic distribution over the available links as the number of failed links varies.


Presentation of a test rig, designed by SKF, used to determine the noise generated by lubricating greases in anti-friction bearings. The testing procedure, developed on the basis of extensive tests, permits a good reproducibility of results. This test procedure allows the grease manufacturer to optimize a grease formulation with regard to the thickener, base oil, additives, and production method, as well as the required post-treatments. The noise behaviour of several lubricating greases commonly used for the lubrication of instrument bearing was presented


An algorithm for the recursive evaluation of expectation values for a given state of the relativistic one-electron atom with a point-like nucleus of charge number Z is proposed. In contrast to previous approaches, the present algorithm is based on only a single recurrence relation, which is a recurrence relation for a special type of generalized hypergeometric series. Two sequences of values of such series are generated. Finally, the members of these two sequences are assembled to yield the expectation values. The algorithm can be considered as a relativistic analogue of the Kramers - Pasternack recursion for expectation values for states of the non-relativistic hydrogen-like atom. As an application closed-form expressions for , were derived. In addition, numerical values for are given for some representative states of one-electron atoms with Z = 1, 80 and 137.


The available machines used to recycle this waste are very costly. They pack this waste and give them to the local processing plants. So the process of packaging and transporting is much costly. So our intension behind this project is to process the plastic waste as cheap as possible by cutting where it is made for reducing of labour work which results in cost reduction. A cutting machine is designed to reduce large solid material objects into a smaller volume or small pieces. In this project there describes about the experimentation of plastic bottle cutting machine and analysis of mechanism used in machine. Plastic bottle cutter is a machine used for cutting the plastic in small pieces to make waste management easier. We are making this project model for recycling of plastic wastage in domestic area; industries as well as it can be useful to the scrap collectors. This machine is solution on the problem of space.


A 26-year-old man received a cadaveric renal transplant after three years of haemodialysis for chronic renal failure. Hypertension persisted postoperatively and was eventually controlled with hydrallazine 400 mg/day, propranolol 400 mg/day, methyldopa 2 g/day, frusemide 40 mg/day, and clonidine 2 mg/day. During the third to fourth weeks after transplantation the patient developed abdominal distension and obstipation unresponsive to bulk laxatives, mineral oil, and cathartics. Colonoscopy to 60 cm revealed only large amounts of soft, bulky stool. Colonic lavage temporarily lessened the distension but obstipation continued. Thirty days after transplantation the patient developed abdominal pain and vomiting. There were highpitched, tinkling bowel sounds and radiographic evidence of gross faecal distension of bowel with air-fluid levels (fig). Clonidine was discontinued and, despite continued therapy with other antihypertensive agents, the gastrointestinal signs and symptoms disappeared and bowel function returned to normal within 36 hours.


Analysis of mortality data based on underlying cause of death in epileptic patients is of limited value in view of the low case-fatality ratio of epilepsy. Recently the National Center for Health Statistics has made available all conditions mentioned on each death certificate for the entire US population. Using a case-control study design, we have analyzed all the associated conditions at the time of death in patients with epilepsy for the year 1978. Association between epilepsy and the following conditions reached statistical significance: mental retardation, cerebral palsy, cerebrovascular disease, myocardial ischemia, dementia, foreign body in pharynx and larynx, pneumonia, alcoholism and cirrhosis of liver. Early recognition and proper management of some of these factors could significantly reduce the mortality and morbidity in epileptic patients.


Motivations to gamble in the United Kingdom were examined in relation to gambling preferences and behaviour (gambling frequency, game choice, medium of play). A factor analysis delineated six motivational dimensions for gambling as a leisure activity: socialization through learning, escape, peripheral activity, fun/challenge, socialization through competition, and to win money. The motivational dimensions differed significantly for various gambling frequencies and across choice of games, though not across different media of play. More frequent gamblers chose to gamble for escape and/or fun/challenge purposes, while less frequent gamblers chose to gamble for socialization through learning and peripheral activities. Certain gambling motivations significantly affected decisions to play lottery, roulette, poker, betting and slots, but motivations were not significantly different from each other for bingo, blackjack, fixed-odds betting terminals and football pools. The research extends current knowledge of motivations in the UK and recreational gamblers, introducing a new motivational factor – activities indirectly related to gambling – and emphasizing the relationship between gambling motivations and behaviours. Knowledge of motivations assists casino operators in creating effective marketing strategies and aids lawmakers in better understanding the gambling objectives of their citizenry. These motivational dimensions also serve as a baseline against which problematic motivations can be compared.


Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis is industrially important as a green source of high-purity hydrogen, for chemical applications as well as energy storage. Energy capture as hydrogen via water electrolysis has been gaining tremendous interest in Europe and other parts of the world because of the higher renewable penetration on their energy grid. Hydrogen is an appealing storage medium for excess renewable energy because once stored, it can be used in a variety of applications including power generation in periods of increased demand, supplementation of the natural gas grid for increased efficiency, vehicle fueling, or use as a high-value chemical feedstock for green generation of fertilizer and other chemicals. Today, most of the cost and energy use in PEM electrolyzer manufacturing is contributed by the cell stack manufacturing processes. Current state-of-the-art electrolysis technology involves two options: liquid electrolyte and ion exchange membranes. Membrane-based systems overcome many of the disadvantages of alkaline liquid systems, because the carrier fluid is deionized water, and the membrane-based cell design enables differential pressure operation.


Adsorption behavior of 59Fe and 195Au on the non-ionic macro-reticular resin, Amberlite XAD-7 is studied. Distribution coefficients (Kd) for both nuclides in hydrochloric acid or lithium chloride solutions above 6M are particularly high. In nitric acid solution below 2M, 195Au is highly adsorbed on the resin but 59Fe is negligible over any concentrations. This resin did not adsorb other important radionuclides such as 54Mn, 60Co, 65Zn, 90Sr, 106Ru, 137Cs and 144Ce at all. Based on such peculiar adsorption behavior, application to selective separation and determination of radio and stable iron in sea water was also studied.


Bioluminescence tomography (BLT) is a promising in vivo molecular imaging tool that allows non-invasive monitoring of physiological and pathological processes at the cellular and molecular levels. However, the accuracy of the BLT reconstruction is significantly affected by the forward modeling errors in the simplified photon propagation model, the measurement noise in data acquisition, and the inherent ill-posedness of the inverse problem. In this paper, we present a new multispectral differential strategy (MDS) on the basis of analyzing the errors generated from the simplification from radiative transfer equation (RTE) to diffusion approximation and data acquisition of the imaging system. Through rigorous theoretical analysis, we learn that spectral differential not only can eliminate the errors caused by the approximation of RTE and imaging system measurement noise but also can further increase the constraint condition and decrease the condition number of system matrix for reconstruction compared with traditional multispectral (TM) reconstruction strategy. In forward simulations, energy differences and cosine similarity of the measured surface light energy calculated by Monte Carlo (MC) and diffusion equation (DE) showed that MDS can reduce the systematic errors in the process of light transmission. In addition, in inverse simulations and in vivo experiments, the results demonstrated that MDS was able to alleviate the ill-posedness of the inverse problem of BLT. Thus, the MDS method had superior location accuracy, morphology recovery capability, and image contrast capability in the source reconstruction as compared with the TM method and spectral derivative (SD) method. In vivo experiments verified the practicability and effectiveness of the proposed method.


To deal with ambiguities in partial label learning (PLL), state-of-the-art strategies implement disambiguations by identifying the ground-truth label directly from the candidate label set. How-ever, these approaches usually take the label that incurs a minimal loss as the ground-truth label or use the weight to represent which label has a high likelihood to be the ground-truth label. Little work has been done to investigate from the perspective of how a candidate label changing a predictive model. In this paper, inspired by influence function, we develop a novel PLL framework called Partial Label Learning via Label Influence Function (PLL-IF). Moreover, we implement the framework with two specific representative models, an SVM model and a neural network model, which are called PLL-IF+SVM and PLL-IF+NN method respectively. Extensive experiments conducted on various datasets demonstrate the superiorities of the proposed methods in terms of prediction accuracy, which in turn validates the effectiveness of the proposed PLL-IF framework.


Abstract Chemical analyses, crystal structure refinement, cation order determination, and single-crystal optical absorption spectrum of synthetic galaxite are presented. New optical absorption spectra of natural Mn-bearing willemite, rhodochrosite, Mn-rich forsterite, and tephroite are reported for comparative purposes. The structure of a synthetic galaxite end-member is characterized by a relatively large unit-cell edge, a0 = 8.2104(3) Å, a u-parameter equal to 0.26588(7), a T-O distance of 2.0034(6) Å, and an M-O distance of 1.9310(5) Å. Mn2+ is strongly ordered at the tetrahedral T-site as demonstrated by the refined structural formula T(Mn2+0.90Al0.10)M(Mn2+0.10Al1.90)O4. The optical absorption spectrum of galaxite in the range 300.800 nm shows a set of five relatively sharp bands at 20 300, 22 250, 23 390, 25 970, and 27 780 cm-1 marking spin-forbidden transitions in Mn2+ at the tetrahedral site. The molar absorption coeficient of the field-independent 6A1(S) → 4Eg4A1g(G) absorption band at 23 390 cm-1 equals 1.90 L/(mol·cm), which is approximately an order of magnitude higher than for corresponding bands in spectra of compounds that contain isolated Mn2+-centered octahedra. The calculated crystal field splitting, 10Dq, for Mn2+ at the T-site in galaxite equals 5290 cm-1. This compares well with derived 10Dq-values of 5860 and 5510 cm-1 for Mn2+ at the tetrahedral T1- and T2-site in Mn-bearing willemite. In agreement with theory, the 10Dq for Mn2+ in MnO4 tetrahedra is ca. 30% smaller than corresponding values in MnO6 octahedra. The lower Racah B-parameters of the spectroscopic data indicate that the degree of covalency of Mn2+-O bonds is higher in tetrahedra than in octahedra.


Abstract The effect of process temperature on the bondability of stainless steel AISI 430 and nodular cast iron was studied. The diffusion bonding was investigated experimentally under a protective atmosphere at various temperatures and a prescribed constant pressure blow which would cause macro-deformation. Microstructure examinations were carried out with the help of optical microscopy, SEM and EDS. Hardness values were measured by HV scale under a load of 200 g. At the bond interface cross section, decarburized and dechromised regions were observed on the ductile cast iron side and the stainless steel side respectively. Best mechanical and metallurgical properties were observed for the specimen bonded at 1100 °C process temperature at 15 MPa, for 20 min. As a function of the process temperature elevation, an increase of graphite atoms, migrating towards the interface, and a reduction of graphite atoms at the nodular graphite diameters was noticed.


Women not attending cervical screening programs are at increased risk of cervical cancer. We investigated in these nonresponders to what extent offering self‐sampling devices for cervicovaginal brushes for high‐risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing would induce participation and, if so, what the yield of precursor (i.e. CIN2 or worse) lesions following self‐sampling would be. In addition, we assessed screening history of participants and costs per detected high‐grade CIN2 or worse ("CIN2+") lesion in comparison to the regular program in the Netherlands. Nonresponders received a device for hrHPV testing (self‐sampling group, n = 2,546) or an extra recall for conventional cytology (control group, n = 284). The percentage of self‐sampling responders were compared with responders in the recall group. hrHPV positive self‐sampling responders were invited for cytology and colposcopy. CIN2+ yield and costs per detected CIN2+ were evaluated. Active response was higher in the self‐sampling than in the control group (34.2 vs. 17.6%; p < 0.001). hrHPV positive self‐sampling responders were less likely to have a prior screening history than screening participants (p < 0.001), indicating that they are regular nonresponders. hrHPV prevalence was similar (8.0 vs. 6.8%; p = 0.11), but CIN2+ yield was higher in self‐sampling responders compared to screening participants (1.67 vs. 0.97%; OR = 2.93, 95% CI 1.48–5.80; p = 0.0013). Costs per CIN2+ lesion detected via self‐sampling were in the same range as those calculated for conventional cytological screening (€8,836 vs. €7,599). Offering self‐sampling for hrHPV testing in nonresponders is an attractive adjunct to effectively increase population coverage of screening without the adverse effect of markedly increased costs per detected CIN2+ lesion. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


An observational analysis of the Northern Hemisphere circulation during winter reveals that the leading mode of variability depends on longitude. In particular, the first EOF of the zonal-mean circulation differs over the Atlantic and Pacific sectors. These results provide motivation for a series of model runs where a simple GCM is used to investigate the effects of the zonal jet structure on the leading mode of variability in the Northern Hemisphere. Model results indicate that the leading mode of variability depends on the distance between the eddy-driven and subtropical jets. When the jets are well separated, the leading mode of variability describes latitudinal shifting of the eddy-driven jet. However, when the two jets are nearly collocated, pulsing of the combined jet dominates the variability. This change coincides with a weakening of the positive feedback between the eddies and zonal flow anomalies. These results provide a possible explanation for the reduced amplitude of the Northern Annular Mode in the Pacific sector relative to that in the Atlantic sector during Northern Hemisphere winter.


PACT (parents and children together) is a broad-based intervention approach for children with phonological impairment, which involves the participation of caregivers in therapy. Its components are: Parent Education; Metalinguistic Training; Phonetic Production Training; Multiple Exemplar Training (minimal pair therapy and auditory bombardment); and Homework. Accommodating to the gradual nature of phonological change in typical development, PACT therapy is delivered in planned therapy blocks and breaks from therapy attendance, during which parents continue aspects of the therapy. A review of literature relevant to the theoretical underpinning, development and evaluation of PACT is provided, and unique features of the approach are highlighted. The processes of speech assessment using parent-observed screening, independent and relational analyses, treatment planning and scheduling, and target selection and goal-setting are presented and discussed in the context of Jarrod, a 7 year old boy with a severe, inconsistent phonological impairment. Difficulties in applying the PACT approach with Jarrod are noted, principally that PACT is most suited to the three to six year age-group. Alternative intervention approaches are suggested.


Physical model of slag foaming was developed by using results of cold and hot model experiments. The bubble size at the slag/metal interface, the void fraction of foam and the film life of a bubble at the top surface of slag were calculated. The governing factors of slag foaming have been clarified with this model. It was confirmed that the bubble size at the slag/metal interface is determined basically by the static balance between the buoyancy force and the adhesive force to the slag/metal interface. It was resulted that the slag/metal interfacial tension and the surface tension of metal also affect the foam height besides the surface tension and the viscosity of slag because they change the bubble size.


PURPOSE
This study was carried out to determine the burnout levels and sleep quality of nurses in the coronavirus disease-2019 process.

DESIGN AND METHODS
The population of this descriptive and cross-sectional study consisted of all nurses working in hospitals in Turkey.

FINDINGS
Nurses' mean scores were compared by gender. The emotional burnout and personal achievement scores of male nurses were higher than those of female nurses. Single nurses had significantly higher emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores than married individuals. Nurses mostly experienced emotional exhaustion, and burnout levels increased in line with insomnia.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE
Nurses struggling on the frontline during the pandemic were determined to be at risk of insomnia and burnout.


A new way was meticulously designed to utilize the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect and the light scattering effect of silver nanoplate (Ag-nPl) and core-shell Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles (Ag@SiO2-NPs) to enhance the photovoltaic performances of polymer solar cells (PSCs). To prevent direct contact between silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and photoactive materials which will cause electrons quenching, bare Ag-nPl were spin-coated on indium tin oxide and silica capsulated Ag-NPs were incorporated to a PBDTTT-C-T:PC71BM active layer. As a result, the devices incorporated with Ag-nPl and Ag@SiO2-NPs showed great enhancements. With the dual effects of Ag-nPl and Ag@SiO2-NPs in devices, all wavelength sensitization in the visible range was realized; therefore, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs showed a great enhancement of 14.0% to 8.46%, with an increased short-circuit current density of 17.23 mA·cm-2. The improved photovoltaic performances of the devices were ascribed to the LSPR effect and the light scattering effect of metallic nanoparticles. Apart from optical effects, the charge collection efficiency of PSCs was improved after the incorporation of Ag-nPl.


Within a cross-sectional study on the epidemiology of gallstone disease (GD) and its related factors, relation of GD to habitual dietary fat types has been investigated. Gallbladder status was assessed by ultrasound; fatty acid composition of the habitual diet was estimated by GLC of erythrocyte fatty acids. No differences in erythrocyte fatty acid composition were observed between women without gallstones, women with gallstones (aware and unaware of their condition), and women who had cholecystectomies. Multivariate analysis, including other diet-dependent and gallstone-related variables, showed no significant association between erythrocyte fatty acids and risk for gallstones. However, raised erythrocyte linoleic:saturated ratio was associated with increased risk for gallstones only in women with very low serum triglycerides. This latter finding needs further confirmation and is presently unexplainable. Our results suggest that dietary fatty acids do not play a major role in GD.


The core of the Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) protocol is the selection of Multipoint Relays (MPRs) as a flooding mechanism for distributing control traffic messages. A node in an OLSR network, selects its MPR set such that all two-hop neighbors are reachable through, at least, one MPR. However, if an MPR misbehaves during the execution of the protocol, the connectivity of the network is compromised. Additional coverage in the selection of the MPRs helps to mitigate the effect of control traffic attacks. RFC3626 defines the selection of MPRs with additional coverage. Nevertheless, the overhead of the network increases due to the added number of control traffic messages. In this paper, we propose an improved MPR selection with additional coverage. Every node selects, if it is possible, k + 1 disjoint MPR sets. The union of those sets, is a k-robust-MPR set. Thus, given a node, alternative paths are created to reach any destination two-hops away. We test both approaches against two kinds of adversaries misbehaving during the execution of the protocol. Our proposed MPR selection with additional coverage mitigates the effect of control traffic attacks by offering equivalent protection compared to the MPR selection with extra coverage presented in RFC3626, but reducing the overhead generated by redundant control information.


Ninety six 21 day- old unsexed broiler chickens were used for the study designed to evaluate the effect of different levels of pawpaw leaf meal on the serum biochemistry of broiler chickens. The experiment consisted of four treatment groups, each in three replicates of eight birds per replicate. The treatments reflect the different levels of inclusion of the pawpaw leaf meal: T1 (control 0 g/kg of PLM in feed), T2 (3 g/kg of PLM in feed), T3 (5 g/kg of PLM in feed) and T4 (7 g/kg of PLM in feed). The experiment was framed in a completely randomized design and lasted from the beginning of the fourth week till the end of the eight week (five weeks). Results showed that alanine amino transferase and globulin were significantly affected by treatments (p<0.05), though values were still within the normal range reported in the literature for best physiological functions of broiler chickens. Pawpaw leaf meal inclusion in the diet did not affect the other biochemical indices studied. It was concluded that the immune vigilance of the chickens appeared not compromised by the inclusion of pawpaw leaf meal in the diet up to 7 g/kg inclusion level.


Objective: In order to reduce blood loss during surgery while performing lower segment transverse cesarean section, two techniques of expansion of uterine incision (sharp versus blunt) and their effect upon intra-operative blood loss were studied.
 Methodology: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at District Headquarter Teaching Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan from July 15, 2016 to December 15, 2016. All women with term pregnancy who required primary lower segment cesarean section were taken in two groups. The study included 140 women; 70 had their uterine incision expanded by sharp method and 70 had it by the blunt method. Standard surgical techniques were used in both the groups. Demographic characteristics and clinical data were recorded. Two groups were compared regarding change in hematocrit after surgery.
Results: No significant difference was found between the two groups regarding their demographic characteristics and clinical data including age, parity, type and stage of labor and pre-operative hematocrit. There was a significant drop in post-operative hematocrit in the patients in whom a blunt expansion of uterine incision was made (p=0.00).
Conclusion: Sharp expansion of uterine incision during lower segment cesarean section was associated with lesser blood loss.


The intra-generic relationships within the intriguing genus Petrorhagia are currently debated, as the genus is underrepresented in recent taxonomic studies. In this study, we investigate the relationships among the species of Petrorhagia sect. Petrorhagia subsect. Saxifragae occurring in Greece. Based on a combination of ordination methods and discriminant analyses of 36 macromorphological characters, five species are recognized in Greece. The analyses showed that all currently known species from Greece (P. fasciculata, P. graminea, P. phthiotica and P. saxifraga) represent distinct taxonomic entities. According to our results, two recently collected populations from SE Peloponnisos represent a fifth, new Petrorhagia species, which is first described and illustrated here as P. laconica. It is related to the widespread P. saxifraga and the Peloponnesian endemic P. graminea, but clearly distinct from both species by a combination of morphological characters, including indumentums, inflorescence, calyx, capsule and seed characters.


Dynamic computation has emerged as a promising avenue to enhance the inference efficiency of deep networks. It allows selective activation of computational units, leading to a reduction in unnecessary computations for each input sample. However, the actual efficiency of these dynamic models can deviate from theoretical predictions. This mismatch arises from: 1) the lack of a unified approach due to fragmented research; 2) the focus on algorithm design over critical scheduling strategies, especially in CUDA-enabled GPU contexts; and 3) challenges in measuring practical latency, given that most libraries cater to static operations. Addressing these issues, we unveil the Latency-Aware Unified Dynamic Networks (LAUDNet), a framework that integrates three primary dynamic paradigms-spatially adaptive computation, dynamic layer skipping, and dynamic channel skipping. To bridge the theoretical and practical efficiency gap, LAUDNet merges algorithmic design with scheduling optimization, guided by a latency predictor that accurately gauges dynamic operator latency. We've tested LAUDNet across multiple vision tasks, demonstrating its capacity to notably reduce the latency of models like ResNet-101 by over 50% on platforms such as V100, RTX3090, and TX2 GPUs. Notably, LAUDNet stands out in balancing accuracy and efficiency. Code is available at: https://www.github.com/LeapLabTHU/LAUDNet.


Regularisation theory in Banach spaces, and non-norm-squared regularisation even in finite dimensions, generally relies upon Bregman divergences to replace norm convergence. This is comparable to the extension of first-order optimisation methods to Banach spaces. Bregman divergences can, however, be somewhat suboptimal in terms of descriptiveness. Using the concept of (strong) metric subregularity, previously used to prove the fast local convergence of optimisation methods, we show norm convergence in Banach spaces and for non-norm-squared regularisation. For problems such as total variation regularised image reconstruction, the metric subregularity reduces to a geometric condition on the ground truth: flat areas in the ground truth have to compensate for the fidelity term not having second-order growth within the kernel of the forward operator. Our approach to proving such regularisation results is based on optimisation formulations of inverse problems. As a side result of the regularisation theory that we develop, we provide regularisation complexity results for optimisation methods: how many steps N δ of the algorithm do we have to take for the approximate solutions to converge as the corruption level δ ↘ 0?


A set of symmetrically substituted multibranched chromophores composed of three quinoxaline-based congeners has been synthesized and experimentally shown to possess strong and widely dispersed two-photon absorptivities in the visible to near-IR region under the irradiation of femtosecond and nanosecond laser pulses. The electronic properties of the central π bridges incorporated into the final structures are closely connected to the molecular two-photon activities of these model compounds. Effective optical-power attenuation and stabilization behaviors in the nanosecond time domain of these dye molecules were also investigated. The structural motif of these compounds provides a useful approach for the molecular design of strong two-photon absorbing material systems with the potential for quick-responsive and broadband optical-control related applications, particularly for long-duration laser pulses in the near-IR region.


We determine the orbital elements for the K0 IV + white dwarf (WD) system IP Eri, which appears to have a surprisingly long period of 1071 d and a significant eccentricity of 0.25. Previous spectroscopic analyses of the WD, based on a distance of 101 pc inferred from its Hipparcos parallax, yielded a mass of only 0.43 M⊙, implying it to be a helium-core WD. The orbital properties of IP Eri are similar to those of the newly discovered long-period subdwarf B star (sdB) binaries, which involve stars with He-burning cores surrounded by extremely thin H envelopes, and are therefore close relatives to He WDs. We performed a spectroscopic analysis of high-resolution spectra from the HERMES/Mercator spectrograph and concluded that the atmospheric parameters of the K0 component are Teff = 4960 K, log g = 3.3, [Fe/H] = 0.09 and ξ = 1.5 km s-1. The detailed abundance analysis focuses on C, N, O abundances, carbon isotopic ratio, light (Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti) and s-process (Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Nd) elements. We conclude that IP Eri abundances agree with those of normal field stars of the same metallicity. The long period and non-null eccentricity indicate that this system cannot be the end product of a common-envelope phase; it calls instead for another less catastrophic binary-evolution channel presented in detail in a companion paper. © ESO, 2014.


Organic and psychogenic retrograde amnesia have long been considered as distinct entities and as such, studied separately. However, patterns of neuropsychological impairments in organic and psychogenic amnesia can bear interesting resemblances despite different aetiologies. In this paper, two cases with profound, selective and permanent retrograde amnesia are presented, one of an apparent organic origin and the other with an apparent psychogenic cause. The first case, DD, lost his memory after focal brain injury from a nail gun to the right temporal lobe. The second case, AC, lost her memory in the context of intense psychological suffering. In both cases, pre-morbid autobiographical memory for people, places and events was lost, and no feeling of familiarity was experienced during relearning. In addition, they both lost some semantic knowledge acquired prior to the onset of the amnesia. This contrasts with the preservation of complex motor skills without any awareness of having learned them. Both DD and AC showed mild deficits on memory tests but neither presented any anterograde amnesia. The paradox of these cases–opposite causes yet similar clinical profile–exemplifies the hypothesis that organic and psychogenic amnesia may be two expressions of the same faulty mechanism in the neural circuitry.


The injection of CO2 into geological formations triggers inherently coupled thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical processes. The reservoir pressure and temperature determine the CO2 density, the CO2-water interfacial tension, and the solubility of CO2 in water (hindered by salts and competing gases). The CO2-water interface experiences marked pinning onto mineral surfaces, and contact angles can range from the asymptotic advancing to receding values, in contrast to the single contact angle predicted by Young's equation. CO2 dissolves in water to form carbonic acid and the acidified water dissolves minerals; mineral dissolution enhances porosity and permeability, triggers settlement, may couple with advection to form "wormholes", produces stress changes and may cause block sliding and shear bands. Convective currents can emerge beneath the CO2 plume and sustain CO2 and mineral dissolution processes. On the other hand, mineralization is a self-homogenizing process in advective regimes. The crystallization pressure can exceed the tensile capacity of the host rock and create new surfaces or form grain-displacive lenses. Within the rock matrix, coupled reactive-diffusion-precipitation results in periodic precipitation bands. Adequate seal rocks for CO2 geological storage must be able to sustain the excess capillary pressure in the buoyant CO2 plume without experiencing open-mode discontinuities or weakening physico-chemical interactions. CO2 injection into depleted oil reservoirs benefits from time-proven seals; in addition, CO2 can mobilize residual oil to simultaneously recover additional oil through oil swelling, ganglia destabilization, the reduction in oil viscosity and even miscible displacement. Rapid CO2 depressurization near the injection well causes cooling under most anticipated reservoir conditions; cooling can trigger hydrate and ice formation, and reduce permeability. In some cases, effective stress changes associated with the injection pressure and cooling thermoelasticity can reactivate fractures. All forms of carbon geological storage will require large reservoir volumes to hold a meaningful fraction of the CO2 that will be emitted during the energy transition.


This paper attempts to place the programs of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences into correct perspective in relation to the other Federal environmental programs. Its goal is to illuminate the field of environmental health as a new field in science that confronts a wide variety of complex and diverse issues. It is unrealistic to believe these issues can somehow be rendered less complex and diverse. What is hoped is that the Institute will contribute to providing the tools which will make is possible for us to develop principles leading to an understanding of the underlying problems. Then we should be able to build a base for effective public health programs for the years ahead, years that should prove to be as eventful and challenging as those just past.


The fourth generation of bioethanol production is on a lookout for non-lignocellulosic biomass waste. One such candidate is chitin, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth. However, the crystalline nature of chitin hinders its application potential for bioethanol production. This limitation can be circumvented by hydrolysing this polymer into oligomers using chitinases. We used this hypothesis and isolated a Bacillus haynesii, a marine bacterium that utilizes colloidal chitin as a substrate and produces chitin oligosaccharides. Further, we utilized Mucor circinelloides to produce bioethanol using the chitin oligosaccharides in the shake flask. We investigated the effect of inoculum age, filling volume, different substrates, and substrate concentration on bioethanol production using Mucor circinelloides from Bacillus haynesii-produced chitin oligosaccharides. Bacillus haynesii demonstrated a maximum chitinase activity of 3.08 U/mL with specific activity of 96 U/mg at the 90th h. Chitin oligosaccharides produced by Bacillus haynesii were confirmed using mass spectrometry. Bioethanol concentration was determined using dichromate oxidation assay as well as gas chromatography. The research resulted in 7.4 g/L of ethanol from 30 g/L of chitin oligosaccharides, with a maximum ethanol yield of 0.25 g of ethanol/g substrate at the 55th h with 48 h inoculum in 80 mL of fermentation medium. Results suggest that chitin oligosaccharides from Bacillus haynesii are an effective and renewable substrate for bioethanol production.


Background: There are many patients, who start with the symptoms of ketosis or ketoacidosis, but their clinical and genetic characteristics are distinct. In this research, we studied the clinical, immune, and genetic characteristics of ketosis-onset diabetes, and the relationship between the clinical characteristics, anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase antibody, and microRNAs.Methods: To study the clinical characteristics, 200 patients with newly onset diabetes mellitus along with ketosis or ketoacidosis were randomly selected. The male population in this study was 60.9%, with ages ranging from 7 to 72 years old, where 27% of the patients' body mass index was ≥ 25 kg/m2 and the average HbA1c was 10.4 ±1.81%. Simultaneously, 50 healthy people with similar age and gender were chosen as the control group. Patients were divided into four subgroups based on the existing autoimmune antibodies and the preservation of β-cell function. The expression of microRNA-191 (miRNA-191) and microRNA-342 (miRNA-342) in plasma was detected by quantitative fluorescence PCR.Results: The frequency of anti-histidyl-tRNA synthetase antibody in A+ β+ and A+ β- subgroups was significantly higher than that in the other subgroups. There were no significant differences in the concentration of the anti-glycyl-tRNA synthetase antibody between the groups, but the frequency was higher in the A+ subgroup. The expression of miRNA-191 and miRNA-342 in plasma was up-regulated compared to the normal control group. Conclusion: The anti-histidyl and anti-glycyl-tRNA synthetase antibodies can be used as immunological markers to distinguish the subgroups of ketosis-onset diabetes mellitus, where anti-histidyl-tRNA synthetase antibody was more significant, comparatively. The miRNA-191 and miRNA-342 in plasma are related to ketosis-onset diabetes and can be used as biomarkers to predict ketosis-onset diabetes in the future.


Recently, it is observed that current account surplus in oil exporting countries have been rising with the help of peaking oil prices. Expansionary monetary policies of major central banks boosting the speculation on commodity prices, political turmoil in Middle East region which is called the "Arab Spring," and most importantly rising energy demand in the world economy due to high average growth rates of developing countries are argued to be the main reasons for the rising oil prices. This study aims to clarify the global stance of oil prices examining causes and how this affects Middle East economies (MEEs) separately from the rest of the world. The focus of the study will be on the demand pull factors for the rise in oil prices. As for causes, Chinese and Indian economic growth levels are examined since the oil demand of these countries constitutes a crucial ratio of the world oil demand. As for effects, the rise in oil price brings about a trade surplus which contributes to the growth of MEEs. Shortly, this study investigates whether there is a transmission mechanism from South and East Asia to MEEs via oil prices. For the time series analysis, Pesaran et al. (2001) bounds testing are used. Empirical findings confirm the link towards MEEs.


Abstract The spectra of large-scale eddy transfer of angular momentum and heat were constructed for seven levels, ranging from 700 mb to 50 mb over Belmar, N. J., and at the 300-mb and 200-mb levels over Cocoa, Florida. It is found that the frequencies of motion which were largely responsible for the eddy transport of heat shift toward lower frequencies with height. There was no such frequency shift indicated in the case of momentum transfer. The spectral intensity for the transport of angular momentum, when plotted against frequency, in general decreases with increasing frequency. The disturbances of long periods (say, longer than 20 days) were found to play a role as important as those of shorter periods in contributing to the total eddy transport of both heat and momentum.


The target population is a key concept for the planning and evaluation of health services. However, in developing countries, health professionals in the field are often uneasy with the determination of the population denominator. In Zaire, where reliable demographic data are hardly available, we make use of two different methods aimed to the determination of the size of the target population: (1) an exhaustive population based survey performed by trained interviewers, and (2) a rapid census of the target population performed by community health workers. This paper presents both the results of a demographic survey organized in 1984, and two consecutive census performed by community health workers in 1986 an 1988, in the same area (Northern-Kivu, Zaire). Our results suggest that community health workers under close supervision are able to perform rapidly and at low cost a reliable collection of the demographic data needed for the implementation and monitoring of health programmes at the local level.


ABSTRACT The upper secondary school for individuals with intellectual disability should prepare for an adult life as an active citizen with great self-determination and participation in democratic decision-making processes. The extent to which and in what way the schools work to prepare the students and develop their skills are likely of great importance for the students' adult life. The purpose of the study was to increase the knowledge of how students with intellectual disability in Sweden are prepared for adulthood, with special focus on self-determination. Case studies on three schools were carried out through observations of decision-making processes and interviews with students and staff. The main findings consist of three different approaches to self-determination for students with intellectual disability: 'Targeted and Conscious', 'Forward with Uncertainty' and 'Braking and Protecting'. Increased knowledge about, and analyses of, the processes that take place when young people with reduced decision-making capacity, due to intellectual disability, make decisions with the support of others are important. Implications underline the need to strengthen the awareness, knowledge and support of school staff when it comes to strengthening students' decision-making capacity. The students with intellectual disability need to be equipped for a society where they as adults will be surrounded by choices and expectations of making decisions.


Currently (2017), there is no single institution designated as a national library in Zambia. Although national library services are provided by some institutions, there is no legislation to support them. Efforts to foster the enactment of library legislation since 1976 have not resulted into this law being passed. This study measured the correlation between the lack of legislation and the provision of national library services in Zambia. The study comprised a cross-sectional survey to collect quantitative data through questionnaires administered to public library staff, interviews with senior government officials, executive members of the Library and Information Association of Zambia and the Zambia Library Consortium, and a document analysis on text from grey literature. The results of the survey revealed that enactment of library legislation in Zambia could help establish a national library and increase government funding to existing library services and facilities. It is recommended that the Library and Information Association of Zambia, the Zambia Library Consortium, and the Zambia Library Service relentlessly collaborate to push for the immediate enactment of the library bill.


Optical fiber has been used as typical
physical transmission medium in Colombian high power substations for effective
communication between substations and control centers. However, suita- ble
transmissions of tele-protection services continues to be a challenging area in
the electrical- supply sector since link stability as well as various performance
tests suggest that link recurrence requirements still exhibit limitations when
using Metroethernet networks in this context. At pre- sent, improvements have
been achieved via proprietary protocols such as Mirrored Bits, which matches
the performance of a tele-protection link transmission under normal operation
conditions. However, this imposes commercial limitations on the Colombian
electrical-supply sector since proprietary protocols hinder fair competition
among manufacturers. This is the rationale behind conducting trials with
precision time protocol as it is defined in IEEE 1588 standard. The main
purpose is to validate whether, under real operation conditions, it is possible
to substitute such tele-protection links via Metroethernet networks, yet
considering a standard protocol that allows incorporating various pieces of
equipment from different manufacturers into the system as well as providing
common benefits derived from using this type of communication networks. The
present work provides technical results obtained after conducting various
simulated tele-trigger tests, including stress tests, where results-stability
validation occurs through network-saturation simulations. These saturation
conditions are achieved by incorporating additional traffic, which involves
several switching events over link paths and permits validating tele-protection-response
timing when specifically using IEEE 1588 precision time protocol. Based on the
aforementioned reasons as well as on the resulting benefits, a series of
laboratory tests have been defined in order to evaluate delay and availability
on tele-protection services when transported over IP networks.


Experiments were carried out to compare fire blight resistance screening
methodologies used in the German and New Zealand pipfruit breeding programmes. The
small differences between the respective screening methodologies did not result in significant
differences in the incidence of fire blight infection or the amount of resistance observed
in plants. Differences in bacterial growth media, inoculum suspension and inoculation
technique did not have a significant effect on the incidence of fire blight infection or the
extent of resistance expression in various apple cultivars. Some of the Erwinia amylovora
isolates had a significant effect on the level of disease expression on different cultivars.
These differences can be used as tools to identify resistance quantitative trait loci in different
cultivars. Results from these experiments have led to standardisation of screening methods
between the two countries and provided confidence in comparing the findings of the New
Zealand/German collaborative resistance research programme.


Modern educational approaches and the widespread use of new technologies, as well as the adoption of social software services in our daily lives, require new e-education approaches. Web 2.0 technologies and services represent promising learning tools that support information sharing, communication, networking and collaboration, which transcend time and space, linking individuals in various and vast groups of networked participants. Also, tools and services must be easy to integrate and adapt to the specific needs of various learning settings. These advantages, paired with greater flexibility and lower costs for developing countries have motivated research to support second language learning and training. The prototype implementation presented in this work is based on the Liferay platform, which incorporates various social network tools and subject domain applications in a very flexible way that promotes learning communities and closed learning groups. Preliminary findings from both the development and usage points of views are promising. This paper outlines system requirements, discusses the development process and provides an overview of its usage for different groups of users.


Abstract It is often desirable to solve radiation transport problems in one-dimensional spherical geometries even if the actual object being modeled is not spherical. It may be possible to use perturbation theory to account for the difference between the real multidimensional system and the spherical approximation. This idea is tested using uncollided as well as multigroup inhomogeneous transport problems with upscattering. Asymmetric and nonuniform perturbations are made to the shielding (not the source) of spherical geometries, including transformations from a sphere to a cube (the surface transformation function is derived), and Schwinger, Roussopolos, and combined perturbation estimates are applied. For uncollided fluxes, perturbation theory, particularly the Schwinger estimate, worked very well when the response of interest was the flux measured at a symmetric spherical 4π detector external to the geometry, but perturbation theory did not work well when the response of interest was the flux measured at a single external point (unless extra care was taken to account for geometric effects). For neutron-induced gamma-ray line fluxes, the Roussopolos estimate worked well when the response of interest was the flux measured at an external 4π detector or an external point detector.