As financial markets have increasingly globalised, the regulatory framework is still nationally fragmented. One core regulatory element is the provision of assurance services by accounting firms. The Big 4 - the leading international providers of audit services Ð are not as international as are accounting standards or their clients. The paper traces three facets of the transnationalization of accounting firms: explanations for internationalization rooted in the theory of the firm, their modes of internal organization and limits to further transnationalization. Accounting firms are professional service firms with low fixed and high intangible assets. This limits the theories that can explain the internationalization of firms. We examine which theories are the most promising to explain the internationalization of the Big 4. Regarding their internal structures, our empirical analysis suggests that Big 4 accounting firms aspire to develop an integrated network structure which is known from the transnational corporation of the Bartlett and Ghoshal typology. This becomes particularly manifest in international staff exchange. Accounting firms are also deeply embedded in the regulatory framework. Its national fragmentation sets limits to further globalisation of assurance services.


"The Hannatoma fauna is an assemblage of marine and brackish-water mollusks present in Tertiary strata at several widespread points in northwestern South America. The distinctiveness and wide geographic range of the fauna combine to make it important in stratigraphic correlation, but its value in this respect has been impaired by difference of opinion as to whether its age is middle Oligocene, as originally claimed, or upper Eocene. The seven papers in this symposium comprise the response to a circular requesting current opinions as to the age of the Hannatoma fauna. Different aspects of the age-relationships of associated mollusks and Foraminifera in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru are discussed. The authors conclude that the Hannatoma fauna occurs mainly in upper Eocene but locally in Oligocene beds."


Abstract. A melanistic forest dormouse Dryomys nitedula was recorded among 125 individuals marked in a small isolated local population in central Lithuania. Until now, a totally black individual of D. nitedula was captured only in western Ukraine. A review of the literature on colour anomalies in European dormouse species has shown that this phenomenon is rare in dormice. Several black hazel dormice Muscardinus avellanarius were recorded in the same locality in northern Germany in 1972 and 2015, and one such dormouse was captured in the UK. Partial albino M. avellanarius was recorded in Germany. Two melanistic garden dormice Eliomys quercinus were collected in the Czech Republic, an albino specimen in France and a flavistic specimen in Germany. In the edible dormouse Glis glis, melanistic, albino, isabelline and flavistic individuals were recorded, all from Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Among aberrant-coloured European dormice, melanistic individuals were documented most often. Tail-tip albinism is more frequent among M. avellanarius, and this trait was recorded in several countries.


A $(d,k)$ set is a subset of $\rea^d$ containing a translate of every $k$-dimensional plane. Bourgain showed that for $k \geq \kcrit(d)$, where $\kcrit(d)$ solves $2^{\kcrit-1}+\kcrit = d$, every $(d,k)$ set has positive Lebesgue measure. We give a short proof of this result which allows for an improved $L^p$ estimate of the corresponding maximal operator, and which demonstrates that a lower value of $\kcrit$ could be obtained if improved mixed-norm estimates for the $x$-ray transform were known.


Mental Abacus (MA) is a popular arithmetic technique in which students learn to solve math problems by visualizing a physical abacus structure. Prior studies conducted in Asia have found that MA can lead to exceptional mathematics achievement in highly motivated individuals, and that extensive training over multiple years can also benefit students in standard classroom settings. Here we explored the benefits of shorter-term MA training to typical students in a US school. Specifically, we tested whether MA (1) improves arithmetic performance relative to a standard math curriculum, and (2) leads to changes in spatial working memory, as claimed by several recent reports. To address these questions, we conducted a one-year, classroom-randomized trial of MA instruction. We found that first-graders students struggled to achieve abacus expertise over the course of the year, while second-graders were more successful. Neither age group showed a significant advantage in cognitive abilities or mathematical computation relative to controls, although older children showed some hints of an advantage in learning place-value concepts. Overall, our results suggest caution in the adoption of MA as a short-term educational intervention.


The field of circadian research on Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movements (PLMs) is reviewed in general. RLS has five obligatory criteria for diagnosis: (1) an urge to move the legs often accompanied by uncomfortable leg sensations; (2) symptoms are worse at rest, i.e., lying or sitting; (3) there is a least partial and temporary relief of symptoms by activity, e.g., walking or stretching or bending the legs; (4) symptoms are worse later in the day or at night; and (5) mimics of RLS such as leg cramps and positional discomfort should be excluded by history and physical. In addition, RLS is frequently accompanied by PLMs, either periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS) as determined by polysomnography or periodic limb movements while awake (PLMW) as determined by the suggested immobilization test (SIT). Since the criteria for RLS were based upon clinical experience only, an early question after the development of the criteria was whether criteria 2 and 4 were the same or different phenomena. In other words, were RLS patients worse at night only because they were lying down, and were RLS patients worse lying down only because it was night? Early circadian studies performed during recumbency at different times of the day suggest that the uncomfortable sensations, PLMS, and PLMW as well as voluntary movement in response to leg discomfort follow a similar circadian pattern with worsening at night independent of body position and independent of sleep timing or duration. Other studies demonstrated that RLS patients get worse when sitting or lying down independent of the time of day. These studies as a whole suggest that the worsening at rest and the worsening at night criteria for RLS are related but separate phenomena and that criteria 2 and 4 for RLS should be kept separate based upon the circadian studies, as had been the case previously based upon clinical grounds alone. To more fully prove the circadian rhythmicity of RLS, studies should be conducted to see if bright light shifts the signs and symptoms of RLS to a different circadian time in concert with circadian markers.


There have, by now, been a number of thorough-going critiques of what has variously been called the 'equality', 'equity' or 'liberal' approach to understanding 'the woman problem in technology' by those who would prefer to focus on 'the technology question in feminism'. Most of these critiques adopt deconstructivist techniques to expose the limitations of equality approaches, including, most centrally, their assumptions about the neutrality of technology and the limited nature of equality programmes designed simply to increase access for women to that technology. However, the critiques themselves have so far failed to come up with convincing alternative interventionist strategies, either because the universalizing tendency of their theoretical perspective gives rise to interventions that fail to deal with the diverse and fragmented nature of women's experiences and needs, or because recognition of this diversity and fragmentation leaves very little common ground on which to build successful intervention strategies. This article addresses this dilemma in the context of computing and IT education and draws on empirical research on women's experiences of computing and IT in two different educational settings where issues of gender difference and equality were managed in very contrasting ways. It then offers some suggestions for how both a critical and constructivist discourse on technology might be made to coexist in educational programmes designed to promote gender equality.


INTRODUCTION
The aim of our study was to identify risk factors associated with the development of Clostridium difficile colitis and determining the severity of clostridial colitis in a group of surgical patients. Identification of its predispositions is necessary for preventive interventions and effective treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
51 patients diagnosed with clostridial colitis were included in our study. The inclusion criterion was based on laboratory detection of clostridial toxin in each patient. We analysed age, concomitant malignancy, recent surgical intervention, antibiotic and proton pump inhibitors treatment. The severity of clostridial colitis and its correlation to possible risk factors mentioned above was described and statistically evaluated. Non-parametric Fischer test was used for the statistical evaluation.

RESULTS
We confirmed the importance of potential risk factors in the evaluated group of surgical patients with Cl. difficile colitis. The course of the disease was described as serious in 39.2% of patients in the study group. Recurrent attack of colitis was diagnosed in 4 patients, in 2 of them the second recurrence, in 1 patient the third relapse occurred. 2 patients with clostridial colitis evaluated in our group died, but the relation of their death to the clostridial GIT infection was not causal and the primary cause of death in both of them was multiple organ failure caused by serious comorbidities. We did not indicate any surgical intervention and no toxic megacolon developed in our study group. We did not detect any statistical correlation between the described risk factors and the severity of colitis.

CONCLUSION
Clostridium difficile colitis needs to be recognised as a serious complication, especially in hospitalised patients. Its increased frequency and severity should not be underestimated. Although we can identify potential risk factors, we cannot exclude some of them completely (e.g. antibiotic and PPI treatment). On the other hand, a rational approach to antibiotic treatment in particular can be helpful in reducing the frequency and severity of clostridium difficile colitis.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate rapid automatized naming skills (RAN) and immediate memory processes in 243 Chinese Mandarin—speaking elementary readers (ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 5). For RAN subtests, the mean naming time decreased monotonically with grade level in good and average readers, and a similar trajectory was found in poor readers, even though they were generally slower in rapid naming. Regardless of grouping methods (counting all participants or counting good readers only), RAN Character emerged as a significant predictor of various Chinese reading measures. Different from classical findings in English readers indicating that RAN Number was a better correlate of reading than RAN Object, RAN Object outperformed RAN Number and became a significant predictor of Chinese reading speed and spelling, suggesting that the differences in predictive power of RAN tasks may be language specific. Comparison of memory profiles for good, average, and poor readers revealed that the patterns varied depending on mode of stimulus presentation or response. Poor readers performed poorly on subtests involving a visual component and did relatively better on subtests involving verbal cues only, whereas a reversed pattern was shown in the group of good readers. The findings were interpreted to suggest that good and poor Chinese readers may be essentially different in applying visual strategies and verbal mediation during visual-verbal intra- and intermodal processing, and visual skills appear to be particularly important in reading of Chinese.


The glucocorticoid dexamethasone suppresses antigen-induced degranulation, cytokine production, and intermediate signaling events in RBL-2H3 mast cells, although the exact mechanisms are uncertain. By microarray analysis, we discovered that expression of the inhibitory adaptor protein, downstream of tyrosine kinase (Dok)-1, was up-regulated 4-fold in dexamethasone-treated RBL-2H3 cells. The up-regulation was apparent with as little as 1 to 10 nM dexamethasone. Treatment with dexamethasone also enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation of Dok-1, augmented recruitment of Ras GTPase-activating protein (RasGAP) by Dok-1, and inhibited activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway in antigen-stimulated cells. The same effects were obtained by transient overexpression of Dok-1 but not by overexpression of Dok-1 that was mutated in RasGAP-binding domain. The negative regulatory role of Dok-1 was further validated by the expression of small interfering RNA directed against Dok-1, which enhanced activation of MAP kinase and subsequent release of arachidonic acid and tumor necrosis factor-α. These findings identify Dok-1 as mediator of the antiallergic actions of dexamethasone and as a negative regulator of the MAP kinase pathway and downstream release of inflammatory mediators.


Progress is very briefly summarized in these areas: Drell-Yan production of W and Z; inclusive spectra of jets; angular distribution of two jet final states; Dalitz plot analysis of three jet final states; interior structure of jets; minijets; issues and relevent data in soft-collision physics; structure of the pomeron; W, Z, and electroweak theory; heavy quark physics; extinct exotica; extant exotica, including monojets, the top quark, and possibly anomalous same-sign isolated dimuons. Future directions are anticipated for the Sp anti pS, Tevatron I, instrumentation and detectors, group theory, and the physics at SSC energies. 39 refs., 18 figs. (LEW)


The addition of h- BN to a polycrystalline Si3N4 was to increase the fracture toughness and other mechanical properties such as flexural strength and hardness of the material. The hot pressed samples were prepared from the mixture of α-Si3N4, AlN, MgO and h-BN. The composite contained from 0 to 2 wt.% BN powder with sintering aids (9% AlN + 3% MgO). The transparency, mechanical properties and microstructure of hot pressed polycrystalline Si3N4-BN composite materials were investigated by UV/VIS spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The transparency decreased with increasing the content of h-BN into Si3N4.


Clean and sustainable renewable energy technology is going to take responsibility of energy supply in electrical power systems. Using renewable sources improve the environment and reduce dependence on oil and other fossil fuels. In distribution power system, utilizing of wind and solar DGs comprises some advantages; consist of loss and emission reduction, and also improvement of voltage profile. So, in expansion planning of distributed generations, improvement of each of these parameters can be the objective of planner. In this paper, a mathematical model for sizing and placement of wind and solar DGs is proposed. The formulation is based on a probabilistic load-generation model. The stochastic nature of the wind and solar resources are considered in the proposed scenario-based model. This mathematical framework is used to minimize total annual loss as an objective function. All the network constraints in different operational conditions are regarded. The model is applied on a typical rural distribution network using GAMS software which illustrated the effectiveness of the model.


Abstract In the Lower Mino River basin a 15-m thick sandy fluvial sequence is found at the town of Chan de Vide, some 55 km upstream from the Atlantic Ocean. The deposit is exceptional because it is the only known sandy deposit in the upstream reaches of the Lower Mino area, which is dominated by coarse gravel deposits. The deposit is probably preserved because of its location in a structurally-controlled bend of the Mino River, shielding the deposit from the high-energy, erosive currents of the Mino River. A total of 8 samples were OSL-dated in the upper 9 m of the deposit. The oldest age obtained at the base of the deposit centres around 3.1 ka ago and the youngest sample 2 m under the top around 200 years ago. A linear sedimentation rate is observed from 3.1 ka until 1.0 ka ago, but from 1.0 ka onwards the sedimentation rate increases significantly. The deposit could be the result of increasing sea level during the Holocene, but the lower part of the deposit needs to be dated to confirm the onset of sedimentation. The most important result is that the increase in sedimentation rate around 1.0 ka is probably the result of the construction of a series of dams (pesqueiras) used for fishing purposes, just downstream of the studied deposit, which were first described around the 12th century. It is a strong indication that the pesqueiras indeed originate from the Middle Ages and not from Roman times, as postulated by some authors. Keywords Minho, sea-level changes, damming, sediment, OSL-dating


Economic egalitarianism is, as I shall construe it, the doctrine that it is desirable for everyone to have the same amounts of income and of wealth (for short, "money"). 1 Hardly anyone would deny that there are situations in which it makes sense to tolerate deviations from this standard. It goes without saying, after all, that preventing or correcting such deviations may involve costs which-whether measured in economic terms or in terms of noneconomic considerations-are by any reasonable measure unacceptable. Nonetheless, many people believe that economic equality has considerable moral value in itself. For this reason they often urge that efforts to approach the egalitarian ideal should be accorded-with all due consideration for the possible effects of such efforts in obstructing or in conducing to the achievement of other goods-a significant priority.2 In my opinion, this is a mistake. Economic equality is not, as such, of particular moral importance. With respect to the distribution of economic assets, what is important from the point of view of morality is not that everyone should have the same but that each should have enough. If everyone had enough, it would be of no moral consequence whether some had more than others. I shall refer to this alternative to egalitarianism-


BACKGROUND
An association between cervical fractures and thoracolumbar fractures after blunt trauma has long been assumed, but not adequately demonstrated. We sought to determine the actual association between these injuries in a large nationwide data set.

METHODS
The National Trauma Databank (NTDB) was queried for victims of blunt vehicular trauma with at least minimal injury. An odds ratio was calculated for the association between cervical spine fractures and thoracolumbar fractures.

RESULTS
Overall 190,183 NTDB patient records met the criteria of a motor vehicle crash with more than minimal injury. Of these 7.51% (14,292) had cervical spine fractures, 4.73% (8,996) had thoracic spine fractures, 5.93% (11,280) had lumbar spine fractures, and 9.79% (18,623) had either thoracic or lumbar fractures. Of patients with a cervical spine fracture, 13.06% (2,433) also had a thoracic or lumbar fracture, whereas among patients without cervical spine fracture only 6.91% (11,859) had a thoracolumbar fracture. The odds ratio (OR) for a thoracolumbar fracture in the presence of a cervical spine fracture was 2.02 (p < 0.0001) (95% confidence interval 1.9318-2.1201).

CONCLUSION
These data confirm a strong association between cervical spine fractures and thoracolumbar fractures after blunt vehicular trauma, and support the practice of imaging the complete spine when a cervical fracture is identified.


HYPERTROPHIC pyloric stenosis is a relatively rare cause of gastricoutlet obstruction in adults. Although various classifications and possible causes have been described, 1 when the secondary forms are eliminated, there remains an entity that appears to be distinct and truly congenital in origin. 1-4 As in infants with the congenital form, the pylorus in the adult disorder is characterized by thickening and hypertrophy of the pyloric muscle, but with absence of fibrosis, which would imply inflammation. 1 The two conditions differ mainly in that obstructive symptoms in the adult form become manifest much later in life. Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis is well known, and its surgical management seems clearly defined. However, probably because experience is limited, the most appropriate surgical approach for the adult form is as yet undetermined. We describe a case that is, to our knowledge, the first to be managed by the double pyloroplasty technique, and it


Ion pairs are key stabilizing interactions between oppositely charged amino acid side chains in proteins. They are often depicted as single conformer salt bridges (hydrogen-bonded ion pairs) in crystal structures, but it is unclear how dynamic they are in solution. Ion pairs are thought to be particularly important in stabilizing single α-helix (SAH) domains in solution. These highly stable domains are rich in charged residues (such as Arg, Lys, and Glu) with potential ion pairs across adjacent turns of the helix. They provide a good model system to investigate how ion pairs can contribute to protein stability. Using NMR spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray light scattering (SAXS), and molecular dynamics simulations, we provide here experimental evidence that ion pairs exist in a SAH in murine myosin 7a (residues 858–935), but that they are not fixed or long lasting. In silico modeling revealed that the ion pairs within this α-helix exhibit dynamic behavior, rapidly forming and breaking and alternating between different partner residues. The low-energy helical state was compatible with a great variety of ion pair combinations. Flexible ion pair formation utilizing a subset of those available at any one time avoided the entropic penalty of fixing side chain conformations, which likely contributed to helix stability overall. These results indicate the dynamic nature of ion pairs in SAHs. More broadly, thermodynamic stability in other proteins is likely to benefit from the dynamic behavior of multi-option solvent-exposed ion pairs.


Furosemide (FSM) is commonly used in the treatment of edema associated with congestive cardiac failure, cirrhosis of the liver, renal disease, including the nephrotic syndrome and hypertension. However, in ascites, it is clinically limited due to its frequent dosing and short biological half-life and its prolonged-release preparations are not available. Therefore, the main objective behind the present research work is to develop chitosan coated and conjugated poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanocarriers, to sustain the delivery of FSM with improved systemic circulation. Emulsion-solvent evaporation technique was used for the preparation of nanoparticles. In-vivo pharmacokinetic study showed 2.6, 3.10, and 4.30 folds enhancement in relative availability of FSM for FSM-PLGA, FSM-chitosan-coated-PLGA and FSM-chitosan-conjugated- PLGA nanoparticles, respectively than FSM. The present research work concluded that FSM loaded chitosan conjugated PLGA nanoparticles could enhance the systemic circulation of FSM with improved pharmacokinetics parameters.


This article offers the first characterisation of mixed Nash equilibria (MNE) for a wireless system with full-duplex capable terminals that share a common channel via Aloha-based contention. Focussing on a simple grid topology, we prove that mixed MNE exist only if proportionality, driven by the accuracy of self-interference cancellation, is granted between the cost undergone for full- and half-duplex operations. The analysis shows how a proper selection of such costs allows MNE that are also optimal from a network viewpoint in terms of aggregate throughput. The sensitivity of system performance to costs is tackled and discussed considering the price of anarchy.


This paper investigates the punching shear strength of lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) slabs through a series of experimental study. Five full scale slabs were constructed using normal concrete and four different types of LWAC. Each lightweight aggregate (LWA) used in this study had different sources (clay, shale, or slate) and shapes (crushed or spherical shape). Based on the test results, the effect of the lightweight aggregates (LWA) on the punching shear behavior was investigated. From the test results, it was found that the punching shear failure surface of LWAC slab with spherical shape coarse aggregate was less inclined than that with crushed shape coarse aggregate, which resulted in an increase of the area of the shear failure surface. As a result, it leads to the increased punching shear strength of the slab. On the other hand, the failure surfaces of LWAC slab with crushed shape coarse aggregate and normal coarse aggregate were inclined similarly. Finally, the test results of this study were compared with the punching shear strength obtained from current design models, such as ACI and CEB-FIP, to examine the validation of current design model to predict the punching shear strength of the LWAC slab.


Purposes - This study aims to analyze the influence of understanding taxpayers and taxpayer awareness of tax revenue success, either directly or mediated by taxpayer complianceMethods  - This study is associative research. The sample of this study amounted to 100 taxpayers. Technique of collecting data was using questionaire, while technique of data analysis was using path analysis.Findings - The results of this study indicate that understanding and awareness of taxpayers had a positive and significant impact on taxpayer compliance. Understanding taxpayers, awareness and compliance taxpayers had a positive and significant impact on tax revenue success. Taxpayer compliance is not an intervening variable.Keywords - Understanding, Awareness, Compliance, Taxpayer, Success, Acceptance, Income Tax


We present a self-adaptive, hybrid Dynamic Power Management (DPM) scheme for many-core systems that targets concurrently executing applications with what we call "expanding" and "shrinking" resource allocations as, for example, in [13]–[15] [27]. To avoid frequent allocation and de-allocation, it enables applications to temporarily reserve their resources and to perform local power management decisions. The expand-to-shrink time periods and resource demands are predicted on-the-fly based on the application-specific knowledge and the monitored system information. Experimental results demonstrate up to 15%-40% Energy-Delay2 Product reduction of our scheme compared to state-of-the-art power management schemes like [4][8]. Self-adaptive local power-management decisions make our scheme scalable for large-scaled many-core systems as illustrated by numerous experiments.


3 Abstract: The arrangement, structure and formation of nanocrystals depend on the thermal treatment. This work focuses on the influences of the thermal treatment of manganese-doped zinc sulphide (ZnS:Mn) nanocrystals on their self-arrangement. A film was prepared by the sol gel method and layered by spin coating after 48 hours of stirring. We have found that a nanocrystalline layer of good quality can be obtained if a longer annealing treatment is applied.


PURPOSE
To retrospectively analyze the morphologic changes of hepatitis C-related cirrhosis, which commonly show macronodular cirrhosis, in relation to the portal venous supply and hepatic venous drainage, by using multidetector computed tomographic volumetry.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Institutional ethics committee approval and informed consent were obtained. The volume of the entire liver, each portal segment, and hepatic venous drainage area with the respective proportion relative to the entire liver and the volume of hepatic area with the respective proportion relative to the anterior segment of the right lobe were measured in 74 patients without cirrhosis and with normal liver function and in 64 patients with cirrhosis classified as Child-Pugh class A and in 68 with that classified as Child-Pugh class B. The diameter and length of each hepatic vein were measured in normal liver. All measurements were statistically analyzed by using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and multiple comparisons were made by using a Bonferroni correction (P < .05).

RESULTS
The entire liver volume was significantly smaller in patients with Child-Pugh class B cirrhosis (P = .002), whereas there was no significant difference in volume between the normal liver and the liver with Child-Pugh class A cirrhosis (P > .99). Middle hepatic venous (MHV) drainage area revealed significant atrophy in cirrhosis (P < .0001), more markedly in Child-Pugh class B. The right hepatic venous (RHV) and left hepatic venous drainage areas showed significant hypertrophy in cirrhosis (P < .0001). The anterior and medial segments showed significant atrophy (P < .0001), and the lateral and posterior segments and caudate lobe showed significant hypertrophy in cirrhosis (P < .05). In the anterior segment, the MHV drainage area showed significant atrophy (P < .0001), and the RHV drainage area demonstrated relative hypertrophy in cirrhosis, more definitely in Child-Pugh class B. The diameter of MHV was significantly the smallest (P < .0001), and the length of MHV was relatively longer in normal livers.

CONCLUSION
The morphologic changes in hepatitis C-related cirrhosis (mainly macronodular cirrhosis) were attributed to a selective volume reduction of the MHV drainage area and relative enlargement of the other areas.


The purpose of this article is to explore the political dynamics of employer coordination in three well-known "coordinated market economies." We examine differences in how employer coordination has been organized in Sweden, Germany, and Japan in the area of industrial relations, and we examine the extent to which such coordination represents a self-sustaining equilibrium, as some of the most influential treatments suggest. To preview the findings, we argue that precisely the intensification of cooperation between labor and management in some firms and industries (that the "varieties of capitalism" literature correctly emphasizes) has paradoxically had deeply destabilizing collateral effects that have undermined or are undermining these systems as they were traditionally constituted. All three cases are characterized not so much by a full-blown breakdown of coordination so much as a very significant reconfiguration of the terms and scope of such coordination. Specifically, all three countries feature the emergence of new or intensified forms of dualism—different in each case based on different starting points—in which continued coordination within a smaller core has in some ways been underwritten through the breaking off of other, more peripheral, firms and workers.


[structures: see text] A short and efficient synthesis of the polyhydroxylated macrolactone (+)-aspicilin 1 using a stereoselective lithium perchlorate mediated addition of allyltributyltin to the equatorially disposed carboxaldehyde of 3 (derived from (R',R',R,S) butane diacetal protected butane tetrol 2) as the key step is described. Terminal group manipulation and Masamune-Roush olefination using phosphonate ester 4 followed by macrocyclization via ring closing metathesis afforded the natural product after partial hydrogenation and global deprotection.


Abstract We propose a novel approach using airborne image sequences for detecting dense crowds and individuals. Although airborne images of this resolution range are not enough to see each person in detail, we can still notice a change of color and intensity components of the acquired image in the location where a person exists. Therefore, we propose a local feature detection-based probabilistic framework to detect people automatically. Extracted local features behave as observations of the probability density function (PDF) of the people locations to be estimated. Using an adaptive kernel density estimation method, we estimate the corresponding PDF. First, we use estimated PDF to detect boundaries of dense crowds. After that, using background information of dense crowds and previously extracted local features, we detect other people in noncrowd regions automatically for each image in the sequence. To test our crowd and people detection algorithm, we use airborne images taken over Munich during the Oktoberfest event, two different open-air concerts, and an outdoor festival. In addition, we apply tests on GeoEye-1 satellite images. Our experimental results indicate possible use of the algorithm in real-life mass events.


This article is the result of an analytical study on the video streaming platform: Libreflix. A digital platform based on freedom of expression, free screening of films and series, sharing of independent audiovisual productions and productions that help in critical thinking. We researched and analyzed the interface of the platform, it show the interaction between her and the public occurs, and its importance for the diffusion of film products for those who do not have many financial conditions. In conceptualization and association Ideas were consulted articles, books, reports and opinions of scholars in the area. There was also Free Culture research, the Free Software movement, the role of Web 3.0 in consumer Data Science, the Culture of Convergence, Collective, Collaborative and participatory. The purpose of this paper is to understand and investigate the assumptions of Libreflix thatway this format makes art and culture available to the community, its etymology, as everything began, which concepts were used for the idealization and creation of the platform. Also, as procedures for selection and dissemination of copyright productions are given, and what are the differences between Libreflix and the current major movie and series production company, Netflix. The analysis is developed from site visits, platform Android app, conversations with the creator of the free service, comparing other sites that agree with the idea of the platform, such as also tabulating data on how many accounts have already been created and what type of audience houses theirown footage on the site.


This work describes a working fluid selection process for an ORC based power plant that uses as heat source waste heat from a petroleum distillation furnace. Sixteen (16) organic fluids previously considered for similar applications are analyzed based on environmental, safety and physical properties. Two different power plants layouts, a basic one and another featuring an internal heat exchanger (IHE), are analyzed. The combinations between working fluids and plant layouts seek to maximize the ORC-based power plant thermal efficiency. ORC exergy destruction and exergy efficiency are also accounted for. In this work, the close interrelation between working fluids thermo-physical properties and expander dimensionless characteristics is also assessed. The main results indicate that R245ca and R245fa are the working fluid leading to both the highest thermal (∼16%) and exergy efficiencies (∼23%), and the lowest exergy destructions (∼703 kW). Based on required properties of the selected working fluid, an axial turbine design seems to be the most appropriate ORC expander technology for the particular application discussed in this paper. The outcomes from this work will be used as the basis for the detailed design of the components of an ORC-based power plant focused on increasing the overall efficiency of petroleum distillation processes.


Abstract An optimization program for least-squares estimation of nonlinear parameters is applied to the problem of atmospheric temperature sounding. From simulated sets of intensity measurements at 12 frequencies in the 15μ CO2 atmospheric band, this program is used to solve for the temperatures at 5 altitudes throughout the troposphere. Both temperature and altitude can be treated as variables in order to obtain the best match to the real profile.


Polypeptides such as growth factors, differentiation factors, and hormones are crucial components of the regulatory system that coordinates development of multicellular organisms. Many of these factors mediate their pleiotropic actions by binding to and activating cell surface receptors with an intrinsic protein tyrosine kinase activity. The receptor activation due to ligands binding are translated across the membrane barrier into activation of intracellular domain functions. All receptor tyrosine kinase are composed of three major domains; an extracellular domain connected via a single membrane-spanning domain to a cytoplasmic domain. The extracellular domain is responsible for ligand binding and transmission of the biological signal to the cytoplasmic domain, whose role is to transmit the biological signal to intracellular target proteins. The cytoplasmic domain contains, in addition to the catalytic protein tyrosine kinase, distinct regulatory sequences with tyrosine, serine, and threonine phosphorylation sites. It appears that ligand-induced activation of the kinase domain and its signaling potential are mediated by receptor oligomerization. Ligand binding and the subsequent conformational alteration of the extracellular domain induce receptor oligomerization, which stabilizes interaction between adjacent cytoplasmic domains and leads to activation of kinase function and autophosphorylation of themselves. These receptor and substrate phosphorylation create binding sites for SH2 containing signaling molecule, such as Grb2, Shc, PI3 kinase and SHP-2. Binding of SH2 domains to tyrosine-phosphorylated regions of receptors or adaptor proteins, and a number of protein, such as SH3 containing protein, cytosol protein tyrosine kinase, protein tyrosine phosphatase and serine/threonine kinase, mediate intracellular signaling cascade and play critical roles in activated receptor protein tyrosine kinase to downstream signaling pathways.


The distributed real-time services are developing as a new programming paradigm of the distributed object computing systems. For supporting these services, we construct a new model of a real-time object group (RTOG) platform that can manage and group distributed objects for reducing their complicated managements and interfaces, and add distributed real-time requirements to real-time objects without modifying the ORB itself To construct our RTOG platform, we designed the RTOG structure, defined the timing constraints of real-time objects, and explained the functional definitions and interconnections of the components from the following viewpoints: object managements and real-time services. As results, we showed the real-time executing procedures and verified our findings by using an EDF mechanism to see whether real-time services can be applied to our platform.


Despite malignant gliomas are highly invasive tumors, extracranial metastatases are extremely rare. We report herein four cases (two glioblastomas, a gliosarcoma and an anaplastic oligodendroglioma) with systemic dissemination occurring 3 to 13 months after surgery. Metastases involved liver, lung, kidney, bone and bone marrow. Survival time after metastatic dissemination ranged from 2 to 5 months for glioblastomas and gliosarcoma. Metastases from the anaplastic oligodendroglioma which displayed 1p and 19q chromosome codeletion, responded to chemotherapy and the patient survived 8 months.


This study aims to identify the effect of liquidity ratios, leverage, and profitability on stock prices of property and real estate companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The results of the F test obtained the value of Sig. F- Calculate 0.002 < 0.05, which means that the variables Current Ratio (CR) (X1), Debt to Equity Ratio (DER) (X2), and Return On Assets (ROA) (X3) simultaneously affect stock prices. ( Y) Property and Real Estate company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. On the other hand, the t test results show Sig. t-count, Current Ratio (CR) = 0.776> 0.05, Debt to Equity Ratio (DER) = 0.047 <0.05, and Return On Equity (ROE) = 0.003 < 0.05. From the partial calculation, the variable Debt to Equity Ratio (DER)(X2) and Return On Assets (ROA)(X3) have a significant influence on the Stock Price (Y) of the Property and Real Estate Industries listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The Variable Current Ratio (CR) (X1) does not significantly affect the Stock Price (Y) of the Property and Real Estate Industries listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.


ABSTRACT In a survey of DNA fingerprints of indigenous Bradyrhizobium japonicum with the species-specific repeated sequences RSα and RSβ, 21 isolates from three field sites showed numerous RS-specific hybridization bands. The isolates were designated highly reiterated sequence-possessing (HRS) isolates, and their DNA hybridization profiles were easily distinguished from the normal patterns. Some HRS isolates from two field sites possessed extremely high numbers of RSα copies, ranging from 86 to 175 (average, 128), and showed shifts and duplications of nif- and hup-specific hybridization bands. The HRS isolates exhibited slower growth than normal isolates, although no difference in symbiotic properties was detected between the HRS and normal isolates. Nucleotide sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes showed that HRS isolates were strains ofB. japonicum. There was no difference in the spectra of serological and hydrogenase groupings of normal and HRS isolates. Some HRS isolates possessed a tandem repeat RSα dimer that is similar to the structure of (IS30)2, which was shown to cause a burst of transpositional rearrangements in Escherichia coli. The results suggest that HRS isolates are derived from normal isolates in individual fields by genome rearrangements that may be mediated by insertion sequences such as RSα.


In this research, we propose a nonparametric test procedure for the right censored and grouped data under the additive hazards model. For deriving the test statistics, we use the likelihood principle. Then we illustrate proposed test with an example and compare the performance with other procedure by obtaining empirical powers. Finally we discuss some interesting features concerning the proposed test.


The emergence of new centers of economic growth, which will unite scientific, educational and industrial potentials, and would also enhance the competitiveness of enterprises and the region organizations as research and education in the future will have a multiplier effect on the shaping of economic processes, which helps to attract investment. This trend of building new centers, implementing efficient activities will affect the transition of Russian economy to innovative type of development. The relevance of the implementation of innovative type of economy development on the basis of innovative territorial clusters is dictated by the need to ensure balanced and sustainable development of national economic systems through the unwinding of selected innovative areas of the state. Such territories are actively formed at the present time can become innovative territorial clusters. These formations of the modern world, they had a different policy and the implementation of its activities, to present the latest shapes and signs of competitiveness are a kind of "springboard" in the economy of the future. The competitiveness of the economy of the region, the state, the region now depends not only on technical achievements, inventions, but also on organizational changes that contribute to their business results and marketing innovation in the field of promotion and implementation of regional clusters. Keywords : cluster, innovation, region, competitiveness, cluster policy, efficiency JEL Classifications : F63, O10, O22, O29, L59


Thangavel P, Vadivukkarasi S. et al. Characterization of partially purified alkaloids from Cucurbita maxima seed and evaluation of their antioxidant activity in human erythrocytes and leukocytes. J Food Biochem. 2020;44:e13225. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfbc.13225. The above article from the Journal of Food Biochemistry, published online on 17 April 2020 in Wiley Online Library as Early View (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfbc.13225), has been retracted by agreement between the Editor-in-Chief, Rotimi Aluko, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The retraction has been agreed because the article has been submitted and approved for publication by Palanisamy Vasudhevan without consent of the co-authors.


Derrick "D-Bow" Bowen is now a sophomore and, after his flirtation with upscale Hamilton Academy (in Next, BCCB 3/14), he's fully committed to his Indianapolis public school, Marion East. His starting position on the basketball team is unassailable, but the same can't be said for the team as a whole. One starter is nursing an ankle sprain, and although a long, tall freshman is trying to plug the gap, it's just not working. Coach Bolden continues to read his antsy players his old-school playbook, and Derrick in particular is chafing under the discipline of a slow-paced game. Finally, the team starts grinding out wins. Perhaps Derrick should have tried a slower approach with his girlfriend Jasmine, too; he's been raised too well by his parents to pressure her for sex, but it's getting difficult for both of them to kiss and say goodnight, and after some heavy action in a parked car that leads nowhere, he makes a crude remark that sparks a break-up. Also getting between him and his game is his father's slow rehab after a seizure, which has left the family cash-strapped, edgy, and beholden to shady Uncle Kid for financial help. As in the series debut, Waltman wrings drama from believable day-to-day trials and triumphs, and he spikes the plot with extended play-by-plays called in Derrick's voice, putting readers on court in the middle of the action. Things are far from settled with arch-rival Hamilton, or with Jasmine, for that matter, and teens who have now reached series halftime will certainly be back for third period. EB


The rapid latex test recently marketed by Marion Scientific (Div. Marion Laboratories, Inc., Kansas City, Mo.) for the detection of Clostridium difficile toxin A does not react with the toxin, based on the following findings: culture filtrates from nontoxigenic strains of C. difficile gave positive reactions in the test, culture filtrate in which toxin A had been removed gave positive reactions, purified toxin A did not react in the test, and the latex reagent bound an antigen which is distinct from toxin A and which is produced in various amounts by both toxigenic and nontoxigenic strains of C. difficile.


Background and aims

Leaf nutrients resorption is critical for considerations of how plants use and recycle nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems. However, information on nutrient resorption and adaptation strategies of the same plant species growing in areas with different geological backgrounds remain poorly understood.
Methods

We investigated one natural plantation of Pinus yunnanensis Franch. (PY) and one introduced plantation of Eucalyptus maideni F. Muell. (EM) growing under the same climatic conditions but different geological backgrounds (limestone, karst area vs clasolite, non-karst area) in Yunnan Province, China. The C, N, and P concentrations, nutrient restriction, nutrient resorption efficiency, stoichiometric homeostasis, and plant adaptation strategy indicators were investigated.
Results

The results showed that soil concentrations of C, N, and P were significantly higher in the karst areas compared to the non-karst areas both of the two plantations. Elemental composition of specific plant organs differed significantly between the two sites, while within sites, different organs showed different elemental compositions. In addition, leaf N: P ratios and leaf P resorption efficiencies indicated that plantations in subtropical China are mainly limited by P, which was more evident in the non-karst area. The PY plantation in both areas showed a "conservative consumption" nutrient use strategy, whereas the EM plantation in the two areas showed a "resource spending" nutrient use strategy.
Conclusions

Plants need to adapt physiologically and morphologically to the harsh conditions in karst areas, resulting in lower growth rates and biomass, more conservative nutrient use, and a high capacity to retain nutrients in the biomass. The findings of this study indicated that trees could synergistically accommodate leaf stoichiometry and nutrient resorption efficiencies in response to different soil types. Overall, our results provide support that the geological background should be considered during the process of vegetation restoration.


In response to the complex challenges of understanding and managing the effects of human activities on coastal ecosystems, the research establishment has produced a plethora of reports and implemented a bewildering array of government-sponsored research and monitoring programs that are not cost-effective on regional or national scales. Consequently, the gap between national needs and the capacity of the nation's research institutions to respond is growing rapidly, and environmental policies are ambiguous at a time when coastal habitats and living resources are being lost or degraded at accelerating rates. A case is made that a grassroots effort is needed to develop cost-effect programs that are responsive to both local needs and national priorities.


Objective: Biomarkers uPA and PAI-1 are guideline recommended by ASCO, USA, and AGO, Germany, to be used in primary breast cancer to avoid unnecessary CTX in medium risk recurrence patients [G2, N−, HR+, Her2neu−, >35 years]. For quality assurance of uPA/PAI-1 testing an analysis of test-therapy concordance was performed. Methods: Prospective, non-interventional, multi-center study over two years among six Certified Breast Centers in Germany to analyze application of uPA/PAI-1 and use of the result in consecutive decision making in Tumor Board decision and actual therapy in the clinical setting for AOK Bayern-insured patients. Concordance and discordance rates of uPA/PAI-1 testing in daily clinical setting were calculated and individual reasons for decision making analyzed. Results: Among n=93 uPA/PAI-1 tests evaluated n=42/93 (45.2%) were uPA+PAI-1 negative and n=51/93 (54.8%) uPA and/or PAI-1 positive. In the group of uPA+PAI-1 negative test result in n=35/42 (83.3%) CTX was avoided and and in n=7/42 (16.7%) CTX performed. In the group of uPA and/or PAI-1 positive test result in n=26/51 (51.0%) CTX was performed and in n=25/51 (49.0%) not. Concordance of uPA/PAI-1 test result vs. consecutive therapy was (35+26)/93=65.6% and discordance of uPA/PAI-1 test-therapy (7+25)/93 = 34.4%. However, discordance of uPA/PAI-1 test result vs. Tumor Board recommendation was only n=21/93 (22.6%). As reasons for discordance a variety of influencing and/or interference factors were indentified, affecting use of test and test results or even changing therapy decision, e.g. individual therapy decision by physician, parallel use of competitive biomarkers, study participation, missing CTX therapy option in advance (like advanced age), wrong target group, timing of uPA/PAI-1 test too early, test result in contradiction of physicians9 expectations (expected negative result) and rejection of CTX recommended by patients despite uPA/PAI-1 test-proven benefit. Conclusions: Individual process optimization of uPA/PAI-1 test indication, performance and result assessment could improve quality of care, reduce costs and lead to an improved application of uPA/PAI-1 test results as well as more stringency and consistency of test-therapy decisions in daily clinical setting. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-14-06.


The Athenian politician Alcibiades was held by Thucydides to be only person capable of saving Athens during the latter phases of the Peloponnesian War. While we glean from Plato that Alcibiades is not particularly knowledgeable in political or military matters, in Thucydides' History, we find a different Alcibiades. Although still headstrong, ambitious and vain, Alcibiades' rhetorical and military skills are of particular value to Athens (and to Sparta as well) at critical times during the war. Thucydides seems to be clear that the Athenian public distrusted Alcibiades to the point of exiling him twice when, according to Thucydides, he was only person capable of saving Athens from Sparta's forces. If political skill is of value to democracies, can citizens utilize it for their own good? Alcibiades was a complicated character in that while he was talented, he was also was transparent about his desire for glory. His personal life was one of excess and it made him an easy target for rebuke. Athens, we might say, became overly concerned with questions of personal character rather than expediency. How can a democracy make use of the political skills of leaders while at the same time maintaining a check on their authority? The Athenian public is the subject of considerable mockery in ancient thought for being too easily duped by politicians and, at the same time, not being able to recognize when a policy is in their interest.


Background: Illustrative handouts and self-drawing have been shown to improve learning outcomes from lectures. The objective of this study was to compare the test scores among students taught using these two methods in anatomy lectures and to assess the students' perceptions about the same. Methodology: This was a quasi-experimental pre- and post test study done among 1st-year medical undergraduates to evaluate the effectiveness of illustrated handouts. For two of the lectures (Group 1 lectures), students were asked to draw along with the teacher, while for the other two lectures (Group 2 lectures), they were given illustrative handouts and were required to progressively color and label. The multiple-choice questions were administered prior to the lectures and 4 months after completion of the lectures. The paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Mann–Whitney U-test were used to estimate score differences. Students' perceptions were assessed using a questionnaire. Results: There was a significant improvement in post test scores for both handout and self-drawing sessions. The score improvement was significantly higher for the handout session when compared to the self-drawing session. No significant gender differences were noted. More than 80% of the students had positive opinions about all aspects of the handouts that were assessed. Conclusion: Supplementing lectures with illustrative handouts resulted in higher knowledge retention when compared to self-drawing. Students felt that illustrated handouts facilitated their learning from lectures.


Planning surgery for patients with medically refractory epilepsy often requires recording seizures using intracranial EEG. Quantitative measures derived from interictal intracranial EEG yield potentially appealing biomarkers to guide these surgical procedures; however, their utility is limited by the sparsity of electrode implantation as well as the normal confounds of spatiotemporally varying neural activity and connectivity. We propose that comparing intracranial EEG recordings to a normative atlas of intracranial EEG activity and connectivity can reliably map abnormal regions, identify targets for invasive treatment and increase our understanding of human epilepsy. Merging data from the Penn Epilepsy Center and a public database from the Montreal Neurological Institute, we aggregated interictal intracranial EEG retrospectively across 166 subjects comprising >5000 channels. For each channel, we calculated the normalized spectral power and coherence in each canonical frequency band. We constructed an intracranial EEG atlas by mapping the distribution of each feature across the brain and tested the atlas against data from novel patients by generating a z-score for each channel. We demonstrate that for seizure onset zones within the mesial temporal lobe, measures of connectivity abnormality provide greater distinguishing value than univariate measures of abnormal neural activity. We also find that patients with a longer diagnosis of epilepsy have greater abnormalities in connectivity. By integrating measures of both single-channel activity and inter-regional functional connectivity, we find a better accuracy in predicting the seizure onset zones versus normal brain (area under the curve = 0.77) compared with either group of features alone. We propose that aggregating normative intracranial EEG data across epilepsy centres into a normative atlas provides a rigorous, quantitative method to map epileptic networks and guide invasive therapy. We publicly share our data, infrastructure and methods, and propose an international framework for leveraging big data in surgical planning for refractory epilepsy.


Free tyrosine in the rat uterine endometrial cytosol at different phases of the oestrous cycle was measured by HPLC. It was found that the content of tyrosine varied at different phases of the oestrous cycle in the normal rat, i.e. being lowest in proestrus and highest in metestrus, while the progesterone receptor content in the same cytosol sample determined by radio-receptor technique showed an opposite relationship. Experiments showed that the tyrosine content and progesterone receptor content displayed periodic but opposite changes at the two phases of the oestrous cycle. Furthermore, administration of tyrosine to the uterine lumen decreased significantly the contents of progesterone receptor in proestrus, oestrus and diestrus, but not in metestrus. It is suggested that tyrosine might exert a certain regulatory influence on the progesterone receptor content in rat uterine endometrium.


A very sensitive glucose electrode was developed using a glucose-oxidase membrane and an anodically polarized platinum disk. Calibration curves were linear over 4.5 concentration decades. It was adapted for human blood samples. The lifetime of glucose-oxidase collagen membranes was greater than 3 yr at 4°C and was ∼6 mo at 20–30°C.


To understand the mechanism of transcriptional regulation, it is essential to identify and characterize the promoter, which is located proximal to the mRNA start site. To identify the promoters from the large volumes of genomic sequences, we used mRNA start sites determined by a large-scale sequencing of the cDNA libraries constructed by the "oligo-capping" method. We aligned the mRNA start sites with the genomic sequences and retrieved adjacent sequences as potential promoter regions (PPRs) for 1031 genes. The PPR sequences were searched to determine the frequencies of major promoter elements. Among 1031 PPRs, 329 (32%) contained TATA boxes, 872 (85%) contained initiators, 999 (97%) contained GC box, and 663 (64%) contained CAAT box. Furthermore, 493 (48%) PPRs were located in CpG islands. This frequency of CpG islands was reduced in TATA(+)/Inr(+) PPRs and in the PPRs of ubiquitously expressed genes. In the PPRs of the CGM2 gene, the DRA gene, and the TM30pl genes, which showed highly colon specific expression patterns, the consensus sequences of E boxes were commonly observed. The PPRs were also useful for exploring promoter SNPs.


Malignant tumors in cholangiocarcinoma are diagnosed and staged using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and clinical analysis. However, comprehensive analysis, including pathological analysis, has not yet been sufficiently performed. In the present study, the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was calculated using FDG-PET and its relationship with clinicopathological factors was analyzed. The present study included 86 patients who underwent preoperative FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT) and did not receive chemotherapy among 331 patients with hilar and distal cholangiocarcinoma. Receiver operating characteristic analysis with recurrence events was used to determine the SUVmax cutoff of 4.9. Immunohistochemical staining of glucose transporter 1 (Glut1), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and Ki-67 was performed for pathological analysis. The standardized uptake value (SUV)-high group (SUVmax ≥4.9) had a higher postoperative recurrence rate (P<0.046) and higher Glut1 and Ki-67 expression rates (P<0.05 and P<0.0001, respectively). Furthermore, SUVmax and Glut1 expression (r=0.298; P<0.01) and SUVmax and Ki-67 expression rates (r=0.527; P<0.0001) were positively correlated. The preoperative measurement of SUVmax by PET-CT is useful in predicting recurrence as well as cancer malignancy.


This paper presents the design and properties of a robust wavelet-neural-network sliding-mode control (RWSC) system for an indirect field-oriented induction servo motor drive to track periodic commands. First, a total sliding-mode control (TSC) system with an integral-operation-switching surface, which is insensitive to uncertainties in the whole control process, is introduced. In the TSC system the controlled system has a total sliding motion without a reaching phase. Moreover, to relax the requirement for the bound of uncertainties, a wavelet-neural-network sliding-mode control (WSC) system is investigated to control the induction servo motor. In the WSC system, a wavelet neural network (WNN) is utilized to estimate the bound of uncertainties on line. In addition, an RWSC system is proposed to alleviate the chattering phenomena in the control effort. In the RWSC system, a boundary layer is introduced into the TSC system, and a WNN is used to estimate the width of the boundary layer and the uncertainty bound. Numerical simulation and experimental results due to periodic commands show that the dynamic behaviors of the proposed control systems are robust with regard to uncertainties. Furthermore, the advantages of the proposed RWSC system are indicated in comparison with the TSC and WSC systems.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical outcomes of total en-bloc spondylectomy (TES) in recurrence spinal tumor.

METHODS
The study was a retrospective study of recurrence spinal tumor from January 2010 to October 2013. A total of 6 patients with recurrent spinal tumor underwent TES procedures, with 5 cases located in thoracic spine and 1 case located in L1. There were 3 male and 3 female patients, with a mean age of 33.2 years. Pathological diagnosis included giant cell tumor of bone in 3 cases, breast cancer, lung cancer and nasopharyngeal carcinoma with 1 case in each. The operation time, bleeding loss, resected segments, cutting edge, spinal cord function and complications was evaluated.

RESULTS
Single segment resected in 1 case, 2 segments resected in 2 cases and 3 segments resected in 3 cases. The average operation time was 8.9 hours (7.5 to 12.0 hours). The average blood loss was 3 116 ml (2 500 to 4 500 ml). The average follow-up period was 23.2 months (12 to 47 months) without recurrence. There was no spinal cord injury during operation. The neurologic function was significantly improved in 2 cases (American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade C to grade D), unchanged in 1 cases (ASIA grade B) and no deteriorated case in 3 cases (ASIA grade E). There was no perioperative deaths case. Complications included 2 cases pleural rupture, 1 case dural tear and 1 case massive haemothorax. No peri-operation death case.

CONCLUSION
Some of the recurrent spinal tumors are still suitable for en-bloc resection and TES procedure with the extent of its applicability under strict control.


We present an analytical framework for analyzing the functions of failure and success ascriptions in public administration. The framework incorporates concepts and insights from Michel Foucault, Mieke Bal, and other discourse theorists, enriched with notions derived from Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems. The Dutch system of spatial planning serves as a context to investigate the rhetorical functions, performance, discursive configurations, and consequences of success and failure. Two cases nested in the Dutch context are used to elaborate on the performance and performativity of success and failure. We discuss the performance of success and failure in terms of productive competition between discourses and organizations, and emphasize the self-reinforcing nature of success and failure ascriptions in the creation of developmental pathways of the governance system.


A long-standing hypothesis in ecology and evolution is that trichromatic colour vision (the ability to distinguish red from green) in frugivorous primates has evolved as an adaptation to detect conspicuous (reddish) fruits. This could provide a competitive advantage over dichromatic frugivores which cannot distinguish reddish colours from a background of green foliage. Here, we test whether the origin, distribution and diversity of trichromatic primates is positively associated with the availability of conspicuous palm fruits, i.e. keystone fruit resources for tropical frugivores. We combine global data of colour vision, distribution and phylogenetic data for more than 400 primate species with fruit colour data for more than 1700 palm species, and reveal that species richness of trichromatic primates increases with the proportion of palm species that have conspicuous fruits, especially in subtropical African forests. By contrast, species richness of trichromats in Asia and the Americas is not positively associated with conspicuous palm fruit colours. Macroevolutionary analyses further indicate rapid and synchronous radiations of trichromats and conspicuous palms on the African mainland starting 10 Ma. These results suggest that the distribution and diversification of African trichromatic primates is strongly linked to the relative availability of conspicuous (versus non-conspicuous) palm fruits, and that interactions between primates and palms are related to the coevolutionary dynamics of primate colour vision systems and palm fruit colours.


Choice experiments (CEs) are one of the most widely used methods of consumer valuation of both private and public goods. In a CE, participants are asked to consider a product that is defined by several attributes and a no-choice alternative (Hensher et al., 2015). Conventionally, the attributes and attribute levels are treated as relevant to the estimation of individual level utility (Hess and Hensher 2010); however, a recent research has focused on how people process attributes presented to them in choice experiments. Respondents may attend some attributes and ignore others during each choice task (Hess and Hensher 2010; Scarpa et al. 2013) and therefore respondents may not make the trade-offs between all the attributes as assumed. Overlooking respondents' attendance to attributes in choice models can affect coefficient estimates, model fit, performance measures and welfare estimates (Hensher and Rose 2009; Scarpa et al. 2013). Accounting for patterns of attendance to attributes is essential for estimation of reliable results. Some previous studies have examined the strategies used by respondents in choice experiments (Balcombe et al. 2015; Bello and Abdulai 2016; Hess and Hensher 2010; Scarpa et al. 2013). While much research has been devoted to various methods for identifying attribute attendance (AA) and non-attendance (ANA), it is still unclear how best to account for individual attribute processing strategies in CEs. Our study contributes to the literature by comparing three approaches to account for patterns of AA. The first two represent common approaches: 1) the self-reported or "stated" approach and 2) the inferred approach using methods proposed by Hess and Hensher (2010). In the third approach, we use Query Theory (Johnson et al., 2007) to examine the thought processes of individuals in our CE and then attempt to apply these data as a new approach to accounting for patterns of AA. We suggest that respondents go through a series of mental queries when confronted with choice tasks and that the content of these queries, as well as the order in which they are processed, influences choice behavior. We use a verbal reporting method called aspect-listing to gain information on the thought processes of individuals and to explore the effectiveness of Query Theory in helping us understand the information processing strategies of individuals in a CE. In each choice task, respondents were asked to: "please tell us what you were thinking of as you made this decision" and we then recorded the content and order of the responses to approximate the thought processes of respondents in each treatment. The aspect-listing is designed to capture the effect of the unobservable queries by documenting what they produce. More sophisticated measures exist but the aspect-listing method is easy to implement particularly in large sample market settings like the one used in this study. Our study employs a between-sample design where respondents are randomly assigned to one of the two groups: 1) the query approach group or 2) the stated approach group. The experiment consists of two tasks. First, respondents participate in a CE where they make choices between poultry products differentiated by various labels regarding the presence of genetically modified ingredients, production location, and carbon footprint. Respondents in the query approach group are also given the aspect-listing task after each choice task.  The stated approach group is asked to respond to a question regarding their "attendance" or "ignoring" of each attribute after each choice task. Second, respondents are asked a series of survey questions covering basic demographics, policy questions and food preferences. We targeted primary grocery shoppers in US households. The data were collected through a national, web-based choice experiment survey built using the software package Sawtooth Software and collected by Survey Sampling International using their nationally representative consumer panel. The design of the CE follows Scarpa et al. (2007), where the assignment of attributes and attribute levels to product alternatives is determined using a sequential Bayesian design. Respondents' preferences and WTPs are analyzed using a discrete choice framework consistent with random utility theory and Lancaster Consumer Theory. A Mixed (Random Parameters) Logit model (MXL) with correlated errors and variance enhancing error components are used to estimate preferences and WTP. We estimate various MXL models using data from the query approach treatment and the stated approach treatment. We then compare model structures, model fit, patterns of heterogeneity and WTP measures to assess the effectiveness of the query and stated approaches in accounting for AA. Preliminary results indicate that the Query Approach may help us better understand the attribute processing strategies of individuals in a CE. References Balcombe, K. G., Fraser, I. M. and McSorly, E. (2015). Visual attention and attribute attendance in multi-attribute choice experiments. Journal of Applied Econometrics 30:447–467. Bello, M., and Abdulai, A. (2016). Impact of Ex-Ante Hypothetical Bias Mitigation Methods on Attribute Non-Attendance in Choice Experiments. American Journal of Agricultural Economics , aav098. Hensher, D.A. and Rose, J.M. (2009). Simplifying choice through attribute preservation or non attendance: Implications for willingness to pay. Transportation Research Part E 45:583-590. Hensher, D.A., Rose, J.M. and Greene, W.H. (2015). Applied choice analysis. Second edition. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. Hess, S. and Hensher, D.A. (2010). Using conditioning on observed choices to retrieve individual-specific attribute processing strategies. Transportation Research Part B 44:781-790. Johnson, E. J., Haubl, G., and Keinan, A. (2007). Aspects of endowment: a query theory of value construction.  Journal of experimental psychology: Learning, memory, and cognition ,  33 (3), 461. Scarpa, R., Campbell, D. and Hutchinson, W.G. (2007). Benefit estimates for landscape improvements: Sequential Bayesian design and respondents' rationality in a choice experiment. Land Economics 83:617-634. Scarpa, R., Zanoli, R., Bruschi, V. and Naspetti, S. (2013). Inferred and stated attribute nonattendance in food choice experiments. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 95:165-180.


In this thesis, I report studies investigating the neurobiology of conduct disorder (CD) – a disorder diagnosed in children and adolescents who display a persistent pattern of disruptive and aggressive behaviour. My particular focus is on the role of frontal, limbic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis systems, and especially whether CD-related alterations in these systems differ between males and females. A range of different imaging techniques were applied to data from the Neurobiological and Treatment of Adolescent Female Conduct Disorder study (Fem-NAT-CD). In study 1 (Chapter 4), we employed surface-based morphometry techniques to assess frontal and limbic (cortical and subcortical) brain structures. Similar patterns of CD-related related reductions in cortical volume, thickness, and surface area in the superior frontal gyrus were seen in both sexes. The second study (Chapter 5) assessed the shape of subcortical limbic structures. Youths with CD exhibited shape deformations (i.e., inward) in the shell of the nucleus accumbens compared to controls, independent of sex. The third study (Chapter 6) used spherical deconvolution basedtractography and virtually dissected key fronto-limbic white matter tracts, namely: the uncinate fasciculus, fornix, and the subgenual, retrosplenial and parahippocampal bundles of the cingulum. We observed reduced fractional anisotropy in the retrosplenial cingulum in the CD group relative to healthy controls. However, this result was moderated by sex: males with CD showed reduced, while females with CD showed increased fractional anisotropy compared to sex-matched healthy controls. Finally, we investigated sex differences in HPA axis function (Chapter 7) by measuring cortisol response during the Trier Social Stress Test for Children. Both males and females with CD showed blunted cortisol response to stress, and such effects were not explained by low levels of self-rated fear or anxiety. In a small, proof of concept analysis we observed a positive correlation between cortical volume of the superior frontal gyrus and cortisol reactivity. I conclude that the neurobiological basis of CD is relatively similar in males and females. Thus, previous findings in males with CD may also apply for females with CD. Suggestions for future research are presented and clinical implications are discussed.


ABSTRACT In post-registration, professional healthcare education, learning outcomes should reflect the needs of several stakeholders, including the professionals studying the programme, workplace managers aiming to develop their workforce, and the educators teaching the programme. This study aimed to gain a multifaceted view of how these different stakeholder groups understand the learning outcomes associated with four English, postgraduate healthcare modules designed to develop advanced healthcare practice. A concurrent mixed methodology research design was used. Online questionnaires were used to collect data from purposive samples of students and workplace managers, and semi-structured interviews were used with educators teaching on the four advanced practice modules in two English universities. The findings indicated that learning outcomes crystallise a variety of academic, regulatory and professional imperatives into a set of curriculum objectives. However, these learning outcomes-as-intended appear distinct from learning outcomes-as-enacted and as experienced. Furthermore educators, students and workplace managers have distinct perspectives on the module learning outcomes. Students and workplace managers prioritised clinical and work-specific skills, while the educators also focused on a broader range of underpinning academic outcomes. The challenges associated with shared understanding are discussed, including the inherent tension of meeting the demands and expectations of both higher education and clinical practice.


Leadership skills on the part of nursing managers are expected to improve care for patients under the care of registered nurses. To do so also requires all Saudi hospital nursing leaders to attract and retain qualified nursing staff during a time of global shortages.

 The purpose of this study is to explore and identify the staff nurse perceptions of the barriers to and facilitators of effective nurse leadership for a major Saudi hospital and make recommendations for change.

 An interpretative methodology guided by John Kotter's change theory. Qualitative data were collected from 14 participants using semi-structured interviews in 2016 and analysed using content analysis.

 Two main categories have been identified through the data analysis process. The first category was barriers to effective leadership, comprising an inadequate leadership education and skills development; a limited authority and clinical empowerment; an unawareness of the need for change; and poor communication. The second category was facilitators of effective leadership, encapsulated engaging and listening to staff and seeking their ideas; recognizing staff performance, and motivational strategies.

 Even though the staff nurses who participated in this study were dissatisfied with the quality of leadership shown by their nurse managers, nevertheless they proffered an abundance of data during the study which accentuated the variety of organizational obstacles encountered by their nursing managers. They also voiced opinions on the workplace factors which might serve to assist nurse managers to improve the efficacy of their guidance. These were included in the study recommendations which were forwarded to all nursing managers employed at the hospital.


I. Introduction In 1890, A. H. Foord described Palæozoic fossils from the Kimberley District, Western Australia. Amongst them were Devonian brachiopods and fragments of indeterminable goniatites. In 1924, A. Wade collected many goniatites at Mount Pierre. He figured seven specimens in his report (1924, pl. iii). The description of this plate, by Chapman (1925?), records: "Various Cephalopod shells, including ammonitoid forms as Aganides and (?) Gonioclymenia, and a cyrtoceracone (Nautiloid shell). Devonian or Carboniferous.' A number of the goniatites collected by Wade are preserved in the British Museum (Natural History), where they are registered under the numbers C.35270 to C.35365; they do not, however, include the figured examples. Recently, Professor E. de C. Clarke sent some goniatites to me from the same district, with the following note:— 'The specimens occur in a red limestone at Mount Pierre, on the Margaret River. At the same locality a white limestone occurs which is considered Devonian and contains Atrypa aspera, desquamata, Wilsonia cuboides and Pugnax pugnus. At present nothing is known of the relationship of the red limestone to the white Atrypa-limestone.' I am indebted to Dr. W. D. Lang and Dr. L. F. Spath for enabling me to study specimens in their charge at the British Museum (Natural History). Sixteen specimens of this species have been collected by Professor Clarke at Mount Pierre. The Wade collection contains many more specimens, 84 of them being in the British Museum (Natural History). Many of these goniatites, as, for example, the four specimens figured here,


BACKGROUND
Several important advances in general medical management both before and after renal transplantation have occurred over the last 5-15 years, however, few studies have formally examined trends in the outcomes of renal transplantation. We, therefore, aimed to determine the degree to which these advances have resulted in improved outcomes such as survival of patient and graft.

METHODS
We analyzed the rates of death and graft failure among the 11,482 Canadians with end-stage renal disease who received a kidney transplant in 1981-98. Patients were followed from the date of transplantation to the date of graft failure, the date of death or the end of the observation period, namely, Dec. 31, 1998, depending on which was the earliest. Rate ratios for mortality and graft failure--ratios of the rate for each calendar period to the rate for the arbitrarily chosen reference period, 1981-85--were estimated with a piece-wise exponential model that adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, primary renal diagnosis, follow-up time and donor-organ source.

RESULTS
The rates and adjusted rate ratios for death and graft failure decreased significantly and steadily over time. Relative to 1981-85, the adjusted mortality rate ratios were 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54-0.89), 0.65 (95% CI 0.52-0.82) and 0.53 (95% CI 0.41-0.67) for 1986-89, 1990-94 and 1995-98 respectively, and the adjusted graft failure rate ratios were 0.68 (95% CI 0.60-0.78), 0.62 (95% CI 0.54-0.70) and 0.51 (95% CI 0.44-0.58) respectively. The decrease was mostly among the cadaveric-organ recipients. Calendar period was as important a predictor of outcome as well-known prognostic factors such as age and primary renal diagnosis.

INTERPRETATION
Decreases in mortality rates are probably related to refinements in patient management. Decreases in graft failure rates are probably the result of a combination of improved immunotherapy and better management of nonimmunologic conditions such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia.


The most important aspect of biosensor development with high sensitivity is the oriented immobilization of antibodies on the solid substrate. Human IgG was immobilized on gold-coated silicon employing protein A, protein G and neutravidin immobilization procedures. The amount of human IgG immobilized was analyzed by 3, 3′, 4, 4′- tetramethyl benzidine (TMB) substrate assay and was maximum when protein A immobilization procedure was followed. Human IgG coated biosensing surface was regenerated by treatment with glycine-HCl buffer (50 mM, pH 2.2). Atomic force microscopy was used to analyze the distribution of biomolecules immobilized on gold-coated silicon. Our study indicates that human IgG molecules were uniformly bound to gold-coated silicon by protein A immobilization procedure.


Reproductive success in flowering plants is influenced by the morphology and timing of reproductive structures as well as the density of surrounding conspecifics. In species with separate male and female flower phases, successful pollen transfer is also expected to vary with the density and ratio of surrounding male and female flowers. Increased density of surrounding flowers may increase pollinator visitation rates, but the densities of male and female flowers will determine the availability of pollen and the strength of competition for pollen receipt. Here we (1) quantify the influence of surrounding plant density on total seasonal fruit and seed production, (2) quantify the influence of sexual neighborhood (surrounding sex ratio and densities of male- and female-phase flowers) on fruit and seed production for individual flowers presented within the season, and (3) compare the influence of plant density on fitness to that of focal plant phenotype, specifically stigma-nectary distance and plant height, in a natural population of the pollen-limited, hummingbird-pollinated hermaphrodite Lobelia cardinalis. These relationships were examined at four spatial scales (10, 20, 50, and 100 cm). By examining temporal and spatial scales we found that (1) total seed production per plant decreased with increasing plant density at the smallest scale but increased with increasing density at all larger scales; (2) at any given time, a female-phase flower benefited from a higher density of surrounding male-phase flowers and a lower density of surrounding female-phase flowers; (3) when sex ratio was explicitly analyzed, a female-phase flower benefited from a lower proportion of surrounding female flowers as well as a lower total flower density; and (4) at the whole-plant level, taller plants were more likely to produce fruit (even when accounting for total number of flowers produced), consistent with pollinator preference for taller floral displays. Our results suggest that the local density of male and female flowers (and surrounding sex ratio) influences successful pollen transfer, implying that the local floral environment may shape how attraction traits like plant height are related to fitness.


A new, decadally resolved record of the 10 Be peak at 41 kyr from the EPICA Dome C ice core (Antarctica) is used to match it with the same peak in the GRIP ice core (Greenland). This permits a direct synchronisation of the climatic variations around this time period, independent of uncertainties related to the ice age-gas age difference in ice cores. Dansgaard-Oeschger event 10 is in the period of best synchronisation and is found to be coeval with an Antarctic temperature maximum. Simulations using a thermal bipolar seesaw model agree reasonably well with the observed rela- tive climate chronology in these two cores. They also repro- duce three Antarctic warming events observed between A1 and A2.


Stain-free, single-cell segmentation and tracking is tantamount to the holy grail of microscopic cell migration analysis. Phase contrast microscopy (PCM) images with cells at high density are notoriously difficult to segment accurately; thus, manual segmentation remains the de facto standard practice. In this work, we introduce Usiigaci, an all-in-one, semi-automated pipeline to segment, track, and visualize cell movement and morphological changes in PCM. Stain-free, instance-aware segmentation is accomplished using a mask regional convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN). A Trackpy-based cell tracker with a graphical user interface is developed for cell tracking and data verification. The performance of Usiigaci is validated with electrotaxis of NIH/3T3 fibroblasts. Usiigaci provides highly accurate cell movement and morphological information for quantitative cell migration analysis.


This paper describes several state-of-the-art real-time operating systems (RTOS) implemented in hardware that implement task scheduling, synchronization, multiprocessor dispatching, time management and event management. When designers develop RTOS support in hardware different levels of hardware usage are used. Many architects developing RTOS supporting hardware are opting for designs focused around determinism and avoid using Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) chips in building their RTOS supporting hardware. No matter the level of hardware support that was implemented for RTOS execution, real-time operating systems implemented in hardware provide significant speed-ups over those implemented in software.


Across the boreal forest of Canada, lynx populations undergo regular density cycles. Analysis of 21 time series from 1821 onward demonstrated structural similarity in these cycles within large regions of Canada. The observed population dynamics are consistent with a regional structure caused by climatic features, resulting in a grouping of lynx population dynamics into three types (corresponding to three climatic-based geographic regions): Pacific-maritime, Continental, and Atlantic-maritime. A possible link with the North Atlantic Oscillation is suggested.


ABSTRACT Introduction Historians of medicine and urology, sexology, and andrology in particular maintain that many other physicians, surgeons, anatomists, and pathologists have already described "Peyronie's disease" some centuries before the author after whom it has been called, Francois Gigot de La Peyronie (1678–1747). Aim To perform a brief historical survey of Peyronie's disease. Methods A literature review was performed. Results The main surgeons and anatomists who previously observed and described penile curvature prior to Francois Gigot de La Peyronie are Theodoricus Borgognoni (1205–1298), Guilielmus of Saliceto (circa 1210–1276), Gabriele Falloppio (or Falloppia) (1523–1562), Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), Giulio Cesare Aranzi (or Aranzio) (1530–1589), Claas Pieterzoon Tulp (Nicholaus Tulpius) (1593–1674), and Anton Frederik Ruysch (1638–1731), who was said to have left the first "postmortem" illustration of the disease in a copperplate engraving in 1691. Conclusion The original texts could easily prove that none of the alleged "precursors" of La Peyronie did ever describe, treat, and cure real cases of Peyronie's disease, and that to award them this merit was somewhat far-fetched, with only Guilielmus of Saliceto and Falloppio possibly excepted. Musitelli S, Bossi M, and Jallous H. A Brief Historical Survey of "Peyronie's Disease".


An automated continuous flow sample cleanup system intended for rapid screening of foods for pesticide residues in fresh and processed vegetables has been developed. Recovery and precision data for 8 pesticides in each of 3 crops are compared for the automated and manual procedures. Average recovery for samples fortified with pesticides between 0.026 and 0.277 ppm was 98% for the automated system and 92% for the manual procedure. Average coefficient of variation was 6.6% for the automated system and 4.2% for the manual procedure. In another evaluation, the automated system gave an average recovery of 95% for 12 pesticides commonly found in imported foods; the manual procedure gave an average recovery of 91%. Thus, the results obtained so far indicate that the automated system for sample cleanup gives results comparable to those obtained by manual procedures.


Two kinds of integrated circuit are described for use in FM demodulators of satellite TV receivers. The ICs, an automatic gain control amplifier (AGC AMP) and a phase-locked demodulator, include a signal level amplifier, a driver for the first AGC circuit, an automatic frequency tuning amplifier, and a voltage regulator. The ICs were fabricated using an advanced nitride self-aligned process with 2-μm design rules. The threshold level, the differential gain, and differential phase of the FM demodulator using those ICs are 6 db, 1%, and 1°, respectively.


The CCI Creative City Index (CCI-CCI) is a new approach to the measurement and ranking of creative global cities. It is constructed over eight principal dimensions, each with multiple distinct elements. Some of these dimensions are familiar from other global city indexes, such as the MORI or GaWC indexes, which account for the size of creative industries, the scale of cultural amenities, or the flows of creative people and global connectedness. In addition to these indicators, the CCI-CCI contributes several new dimensions. These measure the demand side of creative participation, the attention economy, user-created content, and the productivity of socially networked consumers. Global creative cities can often seem alike, in respect of per-capita measures of factors such as public spending on cultural amenities, or the number of hotels and restaurants. This is to be expected when people and capital are relatively free to move, and where economic and political institutions are broadly comparable. However, we find that different cities can register far larger differences at the level of consumer-co-creation and especially digital creative 'microproductivity'. To explain this finding, we review the logic and rationale of creative and global city index construction and present a review of previous and contemporary indexes.


A novel finite gain insensitive (FGI) switched capacitor (SC) integrator is presented. By sampling the error voltage produced due to finite gain of the amplifier in one phase and correcting for this error in the subsequent phase, highly accurate output is obtained. The resulting phase and gain errors are considerably smaller than those of other FGI-SC integrators. For high Q filters, the integrator exhibits same sample correction properties and can implement FGI pseudo-N-path (PNP) integrators with fewer components than other available FGI-PNP integrators.


The deformation tolerance of the hologram recording medium is evaluated analytically for small holograms. The deformation shape is supposed to be inclination or curvature. This simple supposition is justified for small holograms, which are in common use for high-density information recording. The relation is derived between the aberration types and the deformation types. It is shown that the only aberrations that need to be considered are distortion and astigmatism, which are caused by inclination and curvature of the medium, respectively. Numerical examples of the deformation tolerance for these aberrations are given and the dependence of the tolerance upon the recording arrangement is shown. For maximum deformation tolerance, there is an optimum arrangement, which corresponds to symmetrical or nearly symmetrical arrangement of the object and the reference beam.


Objective: To evaluate whether children's agricultural work practices were associated with agricultural injury and to identify injury and work practice predictors. Design: Analyses were based on nested case–control data collected by the Regional Rural Injury Study-II (RRIS-II) surveillance study in 1999 and 2001 by computer-assisted telephone interviews. Subjects: Cases (n  =  425) and controls (n  =  1886) were persons younger than 20 years of age from Midwestern agricultural households. Those reporting agricultural injuries became cases; controls (no injury) were selected using incidence density sampling. Main outcome measures: Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the risks of injury associated with agricultural work, performing chores earlier than developmentally appropriate, hours worked per week, and number of chores performed. Results: Increased risks of injury were observed for children who performed chores 2–3 years younger than recommended, compared to being "age-appropriate" (odds ratio (OR)  =  2.6, 95% confidence interval (CI)  =  1.4–4.5); performed any agricultural work (3.9 (2.6–5.6)); performed seven to ten chores per month compared to one chore (2.2 (1.3–3.5)); and worked 11–30 or 31–40 h per week compared to 1–10 h (1.6 (1.2–2.1) and 2.2 (1.3–3.7), respectively). Decreased risks of injury were observed for non-working children compared to children performing what are commonly considered safe levels of agricultural work. Conclusions: This study demonstrated elevated risks of agricultural injury among children who perform developmentally inappropriate chores. Results suggest that the efficacy of age restrictions for preventing the occurrence of childhood agricultural injuries warrants further evaluation.


The study was conducted to investigate the present solid waste management practice in Mymensingh municipal area especially in Ward 04 and 06. Huge solid wastes are generated every day in these wards but the waste management is not properly done because of their irregular waste management activities or unconsciousness. Maximum respondents discharged 1kg solid waste from their households per day and the respondents were 64%. Other 18% household discharged 0.5 kg and another 18% discharged 2 kg solid waste from their house per day. A majority percent of people dumps the produced solid waste in their living surroundings which produce various hazards in human health and environmental problems. This improper waste management can be managed by the regularity of management work, building awareness of the people and improving waste treatment. The municipality and other related NGOs should work together to solve these issues. It was revealed from the study that due to lack of people knowledge about solid waste management, lack of adequate budget for waste management, lack of available transport vehicles for waste management, lack of proper solid waste treatment plant etc. The total solid waste management system required following the recommendation which include proper planning, creating awareness, developing infrastructure, providing logistic support and finally involving NGOs, CBOs, public in this process. A sustainable solid waste management can be established which can lead the studied area to a healthy setting. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jesnr.v5i2.14813 J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 5(2): 193-198 2012


Substance abuse may slow-down economic growth if it affects the productive persons in the society. Identifying the characteristics of the substance user can help policy makers to develop targeted interventions. The aim of the study was to describe the Socio-demographic information, socioeconomic information, Cultural factors, substances used and relapses status of the psychoactive substance dependent patients admitted in substance dependence rehabilitation facilities in Nairobi. Methodology: This was a retrospective study conducted in November 2009 in four in-patient rehabilitation facilities in Nairobi. All the 170 in-patient files belonging to substance users admitted in the four selected rehabilitation facilities three months preceding the study were purposively included. The patient demographic variables: gender, age, occupation, income, social class, cultural beliefs and relapse status were reviewed. Data analysis methods included use of descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings were presented using charts, tables, and narrative form. Results: Males accounted for 114 (67%) of the patients. Approximately 136 (80%) of the patients were aged between 21 and 40 years. About 90 (53%) of the participants were single and 34 (20%) were divorced. Almost 114 (67%) of the patients used illegal sources of income to fund substance use. Forty percent (68) were influenced by friends to use substance and 142 (84%), indicated that the substance was easily available. Relapse rate was approximately 110 (65%) Discussion: Generally the research found that psychoactive substance abuse is common among males in the productive age bracket with most of them funding their substances using illegal means and experiencing relapses. Recommendation: Interventions to prevent and control substance abuse should put a lot of emphasis on young adults in the productive age (21-40) bracket. Rehabilitation and follow up services should also be strengthened to reduce relapses.