Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) is associated with a chromosomal translocation, t(9;22)(q34;q11.2), that produces the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph).

The molecular consequence of this translocation is the generation of the BCR/ABL oncogene, which encodes a chimeric protein of 210 kDa (p210Bcr/Abl) with elevated tyrosine kinase activity. BCR/ABL exerts its oncogenic effect in CML cells essentially by stimulating cell proliferation, inhibiting apoptosis and altering cell adhesion to bone marrow stroma. Despite of this consistent molecular abnormality, a marked heterogeneity in prognosis and response to treatment has been reported.

Different molecular markers have been studied, such as: BMI1, ELA2, PR3, E2F1 and apoptotic genes ( BCL-2, BCL-XL, BAX, BAD, BAK ) in order to predict progression and overall survival in myeloid leukemia.

The polycomb group gene BMI1 plays an essential role in regulating the proliferative activity in leukemic stem cell. The expression of this gene is related to a higher degree of malignancy. On the other hand, BCL-2 family genes involved in the mitochondrial-apoptotic pathway are related with clinical response and treatment failure. Enhanced expression of the apoptotic inhibitor BCL-2 or its homolog BCL-XL lead to tumor cells having a decreased susceptibility to cell death. Other BCL-2 family members such as BAX are able to induced apoptosis, so that the ratio of expression of proapoptotic and anti-apoptotic members might determine the apoptotic potencial of cancer cells.

In this study we evaluated the expression of BMI1 and BAX/BCL-XL ratio (apoptotic index) to determine whether these genes could behave as biomarkers to predict disease aggressiveness and progression from chronic phase to more advanced phases.

Total RNA was extracted from leucocytes of peripheral blood. using Trizol method. cDNA was synthesized with random hexamer primers and reverse transcriptase. The expression was assessed by quantitative real time (QRT-PCR) using the LightCycler 2.0 instrument (Roche), based on the Syber-Green method.

All QRT-PCR reactions were performed in 20ul volume. The β-actin expression was used as the endogenous cDNA quality control. Groups of patients were compared using the Mann-Whitney test.

The study was performed in 31 patients: 16 in chronic phase (CP), 15 in advanced phases (accelerated and blast crisis) and 10 healthy donors (control group).

BMI1 expression levels were significantly lower in CP (mean ± SEM: 0.54±0.15) than in more advanced stages of CML (mean ± SEM: 4.54±1.4) ( P<0.0005 ). In peripherical blood of healthy donors, the expression of this gene was similar to CML-CP patients (0.4±0.13). The relationship of BAX/BCL-XL values were higher in CP (mean ± SEM: 13.81± 1.85) and lower in advanced phase (mean ± SEM: 0.88±0.17) than in the control group (mean ± SEM: 4.82 ± 0.49) (P<0.0044 and P< 0.0002, respectively).

The CP patients showed a low BMI1 expression level and a high apoptotic index, this inverse correlation is associated with a benign stage of the disease and good treatment response. On the contrary, cases in more advance stage displayed overexpression of BMI1 gene and low BAX/BCL-XL ratio suggesting an aggressive stage and poor response. The identification of a genetic hostile profile in CP phase could predict an impending disease progression. Our results show that the simultaneous use of two biomarkers: BMI1 and the ratio BAX/BCL-XL represent sensitive indicators of clinical outcome in CML-CP. Therefore, the prospective screening of these biomarkers would help to refine CML disease staging and would be useful prognostic indicators for optimizing therapeutic strategies.


Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy among women in the US and causes 14,600 deaths annually. Unfortunately, despite intensive research towards detection and treatment of ovarian cancer, long term survival has only fractionally improved. Lack of a model animal, early detection, and curative chemotherapy has hampered progress in the fight against ovarian cancer. The laying hen is proving to be a robust model of spontaneous ovarian cancer that mimics human disease. Nutritive intervention with flaxseed, high in omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), has shown promise for reducing severity and incidence of ovarian cancer, by reprogramming cellular metabolism, ameliorating inflammatory pathways in comparison with a diet high in omega 6 PUFA, such as corn oil. We have demonstrated that omega 3 fatty acids and phytoestrogens lignans has greatly reduced cancer incidence and severity in the laying hen by targeting inflammatory pathways. Another finding from our flaxseed feeding study, is that the overall wellbeing of the hens was also improved by the diet. Mortality was significantly reduced and the lean body mass of the hens was improved and maintained. The objective of this study was to determine if 6 different diets consisting of: control meal, defatted flax meal, whole flax seed, corn oil, fish oil, and flax oil affect the plasma metabolomics profile compared to a control diet, hence contributing to their anti and pro-carcinogenic effects on ovarian cancer. Old, cancer prone hens were fed a diet for one year, after 6 months, blood was collected through wing vein, plasma was prepared. Samples were snap frozen within 5 minutes or less of collection. Plasma was subjected to one-carbon base metabolomics analysis at UT Southwestern by Ralph DeBerardinis and Zeping Hu. Discovery based metabolomic analysis results indicate that a host of differences among 125 metabolites were found. 63% of the variability in the metabolites can be accounted for by the 6 diets. The analysis indicates that there are suites of metabolites associated with the different dietary treatments. Principal component analysis and hierarchal clustering revealed within the flax fed group urea, hypoxanthine adenosine, and myo-inositol metabolites increased compared to the control diet. This could be indicative of a protective effect. Conversely, homoserine, lysine, methionine, and sulfoxide were decreased in the flax diet compared to the control diet. Hens fed a corn oil diet gave rise to an increase in homoserine, lysine, methionine sulfoxide metabolites compared to the control diets, which has been associated with systemic oxidative stress. Also with the corn oil diet, a decrease in the concentration of urea, hypoxanthine, adenosine, and myo-inositol metabolites was observed, compared to the control diet. Interestingly, it has been previously reported that a reduction in these metabolites has been observed from patients with non-Hodgkin Lymphomas. The changes in the concentration of metabolites are suspected to be the result of the diet-driven alterations in surrogate cancer endpoints. To further map observable changes in the metabolic profile of tumor metabolism, analysis of tissue level metabolites will be assessed next with emphasis on malignant tissue versus normal tissues within the respective diets. [Supported by NIH AT004085, AT005295] Citation Format: Stephanie M. Eastwood, Lacey Gibson, Dale Buchanan Hales. Dietary reprogramming of the metabolome of the laying hen: Prevention and suppression of ovarian cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Metabolism and Cancer; Jun 7-10, 2015; Bellevue, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(1_Suppl):Abstract nr B74.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the clinical outcome of deantigenated equine bone (DEB) grafts in a series of patients treated with DEB at six months postaugmentation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
One hundred DEB grafts were inserted in 81 patients between January 2004 and December 2006. Thirty-two DEBs were blocks and 68 were granules (52 sinus lift and 16 guided bone regeneration [GBR] procedures performed). A total of 147 implants were inserted. A Pearson chi-square test was used to detect any statistically significant correlation between the studied variables and early and/or late failures.

RESULTS
There were 6 early and 26 late graft failures and another 16 failures after prosthesis placement. The overall failure rate was 25% in the GBR procedures, 31.9% in sinus lift, and 54.3% with blocks, for a total complication rate of 39.5%. A statistically significant relation was detected with respect to graft type and early complications (p = .005), with a worse outcome for DEB blocks compared to granules. After provisional prosthesis restoration, 23 implants were lost, and another 41 failed after definitive prosthesis delivery, for an overall failure rate of 43.5%. The follow-up period was 3 years after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS
DEB grafting material had a very high rate of complications. Blocks had more than 50% failures, mainly in the immediate postoperative period. Other procedures such as GBR and sinus lift also showed more than 25% infections and resorption, and late failures (i.e., after-implant placement) were also common. Our results show that DEB is less than ideal for crestal bone reconstruction.


The condition of the present-day modern society with its huge advances in science and technology indicates that such advances in very influential for the management of organizations, especially in terms of leadership transformational and performance of the managers in an organization. It means that managing an orphanage should be based on professional leadership. The leadership transformational style of an organization should be able to lead to a process of building a collective and individual effort in mutual cooperation to implement the activities and achieve the common objectives. The question of this research is related to the paradigm of the effect of leadership transformational style, organizational culture and innovation towards performance. This research aims to contribute ideas for the leaders in orphanages in terms of leadership transformational style, organizational culture and organizational performance. Considering the problems of the research, this research can be classified as explanatory research that is a research that aims to describe the relation between variables. This research requires primary and secondary data and the respondent for this research is all leaders of orphanages in the municipality of Tomohon and Regency of Minahasa, altogether 216 respondents. The sample was taken using purposive method. In order to test the impact of each variable, structural equation modeling (SEM) is used. The result of the research shows that there are six points of findings. The result of research shows that leadership transformational styles influence organizational culture, leadership transformational styles influence innovation, organizational culture influence innovation, leadership transformational style is not influence management performance, organizational culture influence management performance, innovation influence management performance. The six findings indicate that the proposed hypotheses are acceptable. This research offer a model of leadership based on review of literature and the proposed model basically emphasizes the importance of a leadership transformational style that is oriented towards innovation, an organizational culture can adapt to innovation, and innovation that always brings renewal of organization to facilitate the achievement of management's performance. Keywords: Leadership transformational, organizational culture, innovation, performance, adaptation


The mechanical and semiconductor properties of amorphic diamond can be employed to improve the photoconductive semiconductor switch longevity by coating the switch cathode or anode areas or both. In this paper, issues concerning the switch longevity were studied by fabrication and testing the GaAs photoconductive switches treated with the amorphic diamond under different switch configurations, gap settings, and diamond coating thickness. The tunneling of electrons from amorphic diamond to GaAs during the off-state stage of operation provided preavalanche sites that diffused conduction current upon switch activation. A significant improvement in switch lifetime was demonstrated by testing the diamond-coated switch performance in a prototype pulser. Elementary processes involved in conduction of diamond treated switch and other design options such as coating of switch anode area are examined and discussed.


Changes in the optical characteristics in synthetic sapphire specimens produced by microsecond pulse irradiation with a stream of hydrogen ions of energies ranging up to tens keV have been observed. Data on decrease in the optical reflection, measured within the wavelength range of 200−900 nm, are presented. This characterization is compared with the data received by optical and atomic force microscopy as well as by lattice structure analysis performed with X-rays. The measurements indicate that the changes of optical parameters are not a consequence of absorption increase and/or sapphire decomposition. They result from modifications of the morphology and structure of surface layer of the sapphire samples, induced by irradiation.


We investigate the oxidation of, and the reaction of ethylene with, Ni(111) with and without sub-monolayer Ag adlayers as a function of temperature. The addition of Ag to Ni(111) is shown to enhance the activity towards the ethylene epoxidation reaction, and increase the temperature at which ethylene oxide is stable on the surface. We present a systematic study of the formation of chemisorbed oxygen on the Ag-Ni(111) surfaces and correlate the presence and absence of O(1-) and O(2-) surface species with the reactivity towards ethylene. By characterizing the samples with low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) in combination with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), we have identified specific growth of silver on step-edge sites and successfully increased the temperature at which the produced ethylene oxide remains stable, a trait which is desirable for catalysis.


Different schemes used in property transactions raised concern in New Zealand that insufficient goods and services tax (GST) was being paid on the sale of property. To improve tax compliance in the property sector, various measures have been undertaken. Tax auditing of property transactions has been strengthened since 2007 and in 2009 the government issued a discussion document that proposed a legislative solution to some specific GST problems. Moreover, several court cases have ruled against abusive GST schemes. This paper estimates the impact on GST collection and compliance in the property sector following these actions. The findings suggest that GST compliance in the property sector has increased.


Maize production is directly linked to the genetic potential of the variety and management practices, among them, sowing density and soil fertility. The objective of this work was to analyze the effect of the application of nitrogen doses and its efficiency and use in maize genotypes grown under over - densification conditions, in the city of Rio Largo, Alagoas. The experiment was carried out from November 2015 to March 2016, and a randomized complete block design was used in the 3 x 4 factorial scheme (three maize genotypes: Branca, Viçosense and Nordestino, and four nitrogen doses: 80, 160, 240 and 320 kg ha-¹) with three replications, at seeding density of 167 thousand plants per hectare. The dry matter production of the forage and its qualitative characteristics were evaluated: dry matter, mineral matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and hemicellulose. Under the conditions of over-counting, it is concluded: (a) the corn genotypes Viçosense, Branca and Nordestino, for the productive and qualitative characteristics of the forage, presented similar and satisfactory behavior, except for the variable HC, where the genotype Branca stood out in relation to the others, presenting the highest levels of hemicelluloses, which gives it the highest concentrations of energy and digestibility of its forage; (b) the dose 80 kg ha-¹ of nitrogen was the most satisfactory for the productive and qualitative characteristics of maize fodder, since its effect was similar to increasing nitrogen dosages, in addition to providing a higher percentage of NDF.


The background of this research is the need to know the ability of Chemistry Education students, who would be chemistry teacher in the future, in using laboratory equipments, especially in acid-base titration. This study aims to describe the psychomotor ability of Chemistry Education students in acid-base titration. The research method used is descriptive with the instrument which is observation sheet and interview guide. The analyses result shows that the average psychomotor ability of Chemistry Education students is 82.16%, which is categorized as very well. These skills include assembling titration tools which is categorized well with an average percentage of 76.38%, pouring NaOH solution into the burette which is categorized very well with an average percentage of 81.94%, taking the solution which is going to be analyzed into the Erlenmeyer flask which is categorized well with an average percentage of 77.78%, conducting titration which is categorized very well with the average percentage of 86.11%, observing the volume of titrant and the color of analyte which is categorized as enough with average percentage of 60.41%.


An electrochemical method has been developed for determining NADH in whole blood for dehydrogenase-based assays by flow-injection analysis. NADH generated by dehydrogenase is oxidized by an electron-transfer coupling reagent, 2,6-dichloroindophenol (DCIP). The reduced form of DCIP (DCIPH2) is measured amperometrically by flow-injection analysis. Endogenous interferents were inhibited by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate. Electrode fouling by proteins was not observed under assay conditions. The Emit theophylline enzyme immunoassay and the hexokinase glucose assay were used as models. For the glucose assay, the intraassay CVs were 15% at 0.31 g/L and 3.5% at 1.82 g/L. Recoveries of glucose from whole blood (compared with that for aqueous standards) were 109%, 97.9%, and 101% at 0.050, 2.00, and 5.00 g/L glucose, respectively, and 104%, 101%, and 102% for theophylline at concentrations of 5.0 (low), 16.4 (medium), and 30.2 (high) mg/L, respectively, with corresponding precisions of 12%, 9.5%, and 8.8%. Both assays correlated well with results by reference methods. These studies demonstrate that this method can measure NADH in whole blood without prior separation and that it is potentially applicable to other dehydrogenase-based assays in whole blood.


The aquaporin (AQP)-9 gene was recently isolated from human and rat liver cDNA libraries as a member of the water channel family for water and neutral solutes. Although the expression of AQP9 mRNA has been demonstrated in several organs including the liver and testis by Northern blot analysis, the cellular and subcellular localization of the AQP9 protein remains unclear. In the present light and electron microscopic immunohistochemical study, the localization of the AQP9 immunoreactivity was examined in fifteen kinds of rat organs using an antibody against rat AQP9 synthetic peptide. The antibody immunostained a major band of approximately 33 kDa in the liver by Western blot analysis. Immunoreactivity for AQP9 was found exclusively in the liver and testis among the organs examined. In the liver, positive staining appeared selectively along the space of Disse. Immunoelectron microscopy confirmed the localization of AQP9 on the surface of hepatocyte microvilli facing the space of Disse. In the testis, the plasma membrane of Leydig cells located between seminiferous tubules was conspicuously immunoreactive to the antibody. Intense mRNA expression was detected in the liver and testis but not in other organs by ribonuclease protection assay. These findings suggest a specific role for AQP9 in the transport of water and non-charged solutes in hepatocytes and Leydig cells.


Objective To compare the limits of agreement between the SpaceLabs 90207 oscillometric blood pressure measurement device and the sphygmomanometer for patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) versus healthy control subjects. Design A retrospective analysis of six simultaneous blood pressure measurements in 106 IDDM patients aged 32.6 ± 12.0 years (mean ± SD) and 92 healthy control subjects aged 27.1 ± 8.9 years with the SpaceLabs device and a sphygmomanometer. Results For both groups, overestimation of the systolic blood pressure occurred with the SpaceLabs device, being more severe for the IDDM group (1.7 mmHg more overestimation, P = 0.009). Mean arterial blood pressure was underestimated for the control group and overestimated for the IDDM group (2.7 mmHg underestimation and 0.8 mmHg overestimation, respectively). Diastolic blood pressures for both groups were underestimated by use of the SpaceLabs device, but less severely so for the IDDM group (4.2 mmHg, P < 0.0001 less underestimation). Multiple regression analysis revealed that these differences were mainly due to the presence of diabetes. Other determinants of these limits of agreement were age (for control group subjects) and duration of diabetes (for IDDM group patients). Conclusion Limits of agreement between the SpaceLabs 90207 device and the sphygmomanometer differ between IDDM patients and healthy controls. These limits are influenced by the presence of diabetes, age and duration of diabetes. Available protocols for the evaluation of automated blood pressure measurement devices of the British Hypertension Society and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation do not consider limits of agreement in subpopulations such as diabetic patients. Therefore, we recommend that tests for the limits of agreement of blood pressure measurement devices for subgroups should be added to these protocols.


The colonic mucus bilayer is the first line of innate host defense that at the same time houses and nourishes the commensal microbiota. The major components of mucus secreted by goblet cells are MUC2 mucin and the mucus-associated protein, FCGBP (IgGFc-binding protein). In this study, we determine if FCGBP and MUC2 mucin were biosynthesized and interacted together to spatially enhance the structural integrity of secreted mucus and its role in epithelial barrier function. MUC2 and FCGBP were coordinately regulated temporally in goblet-like cells and in response to a mucus secretagogue but not in CRISPR-Cas9 gene-edited MUC2 KO cells. Whereas ~85% of MUC2 was colocalized with FCGBP in mucin granules, ~50% of FCGBP was diffusely distributed in the cytoplasm of goblet-like cells. STRING-db v11 analysis of the mucin granule proteome revealed no protein-protein interaction between MUC2 and FCGBP. However, FCGBP interacted with other mucus-associated proteins. FCGBP and MUC2 interacted via N-linked glycans and were non-covalently bound in secreted mucus with cleaved low molecular weight FCGBP fragments. In MUC2 KO, cytoplasmic FCGBP was significantly increased and diffusely distributed in wounded cells that healed by enhanced proliferation and migration within 2 days, whereas, in WT cells, MUC2 and FCGBP were highly polarized at the wound margin which impeded wound closure by 6 days. In DSS colitis, restitution and healed lesions in Muc2+/+ but not Muc2-/- littermates, were accompanied by a rapid increase in Fcgbp mRNA and delayed protein expression at 12- and 15-days post DSS, implicating a potential novel endogenous protective role for FCGBP in wound healing to maintain epithelial barrier function.


Background and Aim Seizures in the neonatal period represent a neurological emergency but it is often challenging for the clinican to recognize it with only visual inspection. Our aim is to evaluate the use of amplitude integrated EEG (aEEG) as a prognostic tool in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients with clinical seizures in the two years follow-up. Method Twenty-four infants with clinical seizures (Group I) and 67 infants with suspected seizure activity (Group II) were included in the study. All infants were monitored with aEEG at least 24 hours after the seizure activity were stopped. aEEG was analysed for background activity, sleep-wake cycle and seizure activity. All infants were followed up in our outpatient clinic had neurologic examination and Bayley II Infant Development Scale were done by the same neuropsychologist on the 6th, 12th, 15th and 18th months of age. Results Median gestational age of the infants were 36.0 weeks (261/7–413/7). There was no significant difference between groups regarding to Bayley scores. Mechanical ventilation, sepsis, inotrope use were more in Group I in which there were more critically ill infant. These critically ill infants tend to have lower Bayley scores in Group I. In Group I infants with normal background activity tend to have higher Bayley scores than those of whom had discontinuous, low valtage, burst supression activity. Conclusion aEEG helps management of infants with seizure activity allowing continuous long-term monitoring of brain functions. Continous background activity seems to be a good predictor of aEEG in infants with neonatal seizure.


The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is extremely poor compared to other cancers. One of the reasons for this is the difficulty of early diagnosis. Surveillance using cancer biomarkers and image diagnosis can enable early detection and has improved the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in Japan. However, it is very difficult to detect pancreatic cancer at an early stage using cancer biomarkers and image diagnosis alone. Fucosylation is one of the most important types of glycosylation involved in cancer and inflammation. We have developed a novel glycocancer biomarker, fucosylated haptoglobin (Fuc‐Hpt), and have investigated its usefulness for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer over approximately 10 years. Recently, we also found that most pancreatic tissues surrounding pancreatic cancer exhibit chronic pancreatitis with fibrosis and/or fatty degeneration. Certain forms of chronic pancreatitis might indicate high risk for the development of pancreatic cancer. In this review, we provide a historical summary of our research on Fuc‐Hpt as a cancer biomarker, and discuss a potential early detection system for pancreatic cancer.


Girard's theory about myths is clearly verifiable: there are plenty of myths where, in the midst of a sacrificial crisis, a victim is executed, social peace is reestablished, and the victim emerges as a god. But, it is doubtful that such a theory can be falsified: Girard himself has written that those myths where there is no violence, are also founded on the scapegoat mechanism, but community has erased any traces of violence. If we are to follow Popper's falsasionist criterion, then mimetic theory is not scientific. To illustrate this difficulty, I evaluate Hugo Chavez's recent theory according to which Simon Bolivar was murdered.


We have investigated the optical properties of InxGa1xAs/GaAs V-shaped quantum wires (0.1<x< 0.2) by time integrated and magneto-photoluminescence experiments as a function of excitation power density and applied magnetic field at different temperatures. The experimental results indicate the different nature of the radiative recombination processes depending on the In concentration: in the deep quantum wires (x ≥ 0.15) the recombination is excitonic, whereas free carriers seem to dominate in the shallow wires (x = 0.10). We demonstrate that the actual recombination mechanism is primarily effected by the competition between confinement and built-in piezoelectric field which governs the exciton binding energy. Specific theoretical models have been developed to interpret the experimental data.


A model was used to clarify the causal relationship between variables concerning utilization and degree of satisfaction towards information related to home welfare services for the elderly in order to obtain a guideline to assist in future provision of information concerning home welfare services. Subjects were selected by stratified random sampling from 2,200 elderly people (over 65 years old) in five districts of Hokkaido. Valid responses were obtained from 1,536 people (mean age: 72.1 years; gender composition: 58.2% men, 41.8% women). The items of the survey were: gender, age, educational background, family composition, income, health status (self-rated health, history of treatment at medical institutions), needs concerning information on home welfare services for the elderly, and degree of satisfaction with availability of information outlets and information services. The results of path analysis showed that: 1) the tertiary factors of age, educational background and income affect the secondary factor of needs concerning information on home welfare services for the elderly, 2) this secondary factor controls the primary factor of mass and personal media, and 3) the way of obtaining information affects the degree of satisfaction towards the information.


A generator of fringes of variable frequency is described as consisting of only two Wollaston prisms W1 and W2 with attached polarizers P1 and P2. A properly oriented half-wave plate H1 is situated between W1 and W2. When the two Wollaston prisms are counterrotated by an equal angle ϕ about an axis joining the geometrical centers of their faces, fringes appear of variable frequency f=4(Ne − N0) tanα cosϕ, where α is the angle of the prisms, Ne and N0 are the principal indices. When the fringe pattern is projected by a demagnifying microscope lens, the contrast remains constant up to 280 lines/mm.


Technology has dominated the world by extensive improvements in audio/visual mass media such as TV and radio. TV and radio are not just entertainment tools anymore, but can be used as pedagogically valuable technology that can provide authentic language input for language learning. This study examines the effect of exposure to TV and radio news on improving EFL learners' speaking proficiency. To achieve this purpose, a speaking proficiency test is administered to 200 language learners, with 60 intermediate language learners selected and randomly divided into Groups 1 and 2. During the experiment, Group 1 participants are exposed to TV and radio news inside and outside the classroom, while Group 2 participants are only exposed to selected utterances extracted from different kinds of TV and radio programs other than news. At the end of the experiment, both groups take another sample speaking proficiency test to determine any significant improvement in their speaking proficiency. The results of the post-test indicate that Group 1 participants performed better than Group 2 participants, proving that exposure to TV and radio news promotes EFL learners' speaking proficiency.


Background Due to limitations of traditional microbiological methods and the presence of the oropharyngeal normal flora, there are still many pathogens that cause lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) cannot be detected. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) has the potential capacity to solve this problem. Methods This retrospective study successively reviewed 77 patients with LRTI and 29 patients without LRTI admitted to Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, China from August 2020 to June 2021. Pathogens in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) specimens were detected adopting mNGS and traditional microbiological assays. The diagnostic performance of pathogens was compared between mNGS and BALF culture. The value of mNGS for aetiological and clinical impact investigation in LRTI was also evaluated. Results Among 77 patients with LRTI, 22.1%, 40.3%, and 65.0% of cases were detected as definite or probable pathogens by culture, all conventional microbiological tests, and mNGS, respectively. Using the final diagnosis as a gold standard, mNGS exhibited a sensitivity of 76.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 65.6–85.5%), which was considerably superior to that of BALF culture (76.6% vs 18.2%; P < 0.01); specificity of 79.3% (95% CI, 60.3–92.0%), which was similar (79.3% vs 89.7%; P = 0.38); positive-predictive value of 90.8% (95% CI, 81.0–96.5%), and negative-predictive value of 56.1% (95% CI, 39.7–71.5%). According to our data, mNGS identified potential microorganisms in 66.7% (42/63) of culture-negative samples. Among 59 patients with pathogens identified by mNGS, conventional microbiological methods confirmed pathogenic infections in less than half (28/59) cases. Within the 77 patients, 34 (44.2%) patients received pathogen-directed therapy, 7 (9.1%) patients underwent antibiotic adjustment, and 3 (3.9%) patients stopped using antibiotics due to mNGS results. Conclusion mNGS exhibits high accuracy in diagnosing LRTI, and combine with traditional microbiological tests, causative pathogens can be detected in approximately 70.0% of cases, thus yields a positive effect on antibiotic application.


Depressive symptoms are very common in patients with a chronic medical illness such as sickle cell disease (SCD). Clinicians may fail to recognize depression in such patients when, as in SCD, the two conditions have many overlapping symptoms. Based on a Medline database search, we review papers addressing the relationship between depression and SCD. Data regarding this relationship are conflicting. We provide recommendations for improving the treatment of patients with SCD and depression.


Objective: An elevated serum uric acid (SUA) was observed in patients with primary hypertension (HT) and prehypertension (PHT). SUA was associated with blood pressure (BP) values in general population starting from childhood, while treatment with xanthine oxidase inhinitors (XOi) proved to decrease BP indicating on causative role of SUA on development of HT. As data for European, particularly rural, population is lacking our aim was to analyze association of SUA with BP in two rural areas in Croatia and Italy. Design and method: In this international prospective long-term follow up study data on 5162 subjects from BrEna cohort formed from original cohorts of Brisighella Heart Study (Italy) and ENAH study (Croatia) were analysed. Out of them 1596 (754 m 842 w) were eligible for further analyses. Subjects treated with antihypertensive drugs and XOi were excluded. There were 139 subjects with PHT (high normal BP). Subjects with diabetes, eGFR <60 ml/min (MDRD equation), XOi and antihypertensive therapy were exluded. Results: Significant trend in SUA was observed across BP categories NT, PHT and HT (276 (IQ 228–330) vs. 294 (IQ 240–342) vs. 307 (IQ252–360) (p for trend <0.001). Significant correlations of SUA with systolic and diastolic BP were observed (r = 0.192; p < 0.001, r = 0.08; p < 0.001). In mulitvariate linear regression analyses SUA was independently associated with systolic BP after adjustment for age, gender, waist circumference, HDL, LDL, TG, eGFR (beta = 0.11 p < 0.001), each increase of 100 umol/l SUA increase systolic BP for 2.8 mmHg. In adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyses SUA was an independent predictor for HT, i.e. subjects in 4th Q of SUA had higher risk for being HT (1.9 [1.2–3.0]), but not for being PHT. Conclusions: In European rural population without CKD and diabetes SUA is associated with BP and is an independent predictor for HT, but not for PHT. Our results are in agreement with vast majority surveys pointing on possible causative role which should be evaluated in prospective study.


The present study analyses the reproductive behaviour of Pinus pinaster at different ages of the parent trees after subjecting the seeds to variations in environmental factors and inhibitory substances. An experiment was designed in which seeds from mature (43 years old) and young (13 years old) trees were subjected to different environmental factors: darkness, thermal shocks and the presence of inhibitory substances from the needles and the undergrowth humus of P. pinaster. A control treatment was also carried out for the seeds of each age. The results obtained indicate that the age of the parent trees has a significant effect on mean germination time after experimental treatments: shock temperatures, darkness, and leaf and humus exudates. Seeds from young populations have shorter mean germination times than those from adult populations. Similarly, mature P. pinaster populations show more diversity in the length of innate dormancy of their seeds than younger populations. However, age has no significant effect on total percentage germination. Significant reductions in germination were observed when seeds from mature and young trees were exposed to temperatures equal to or above 150°C for 5 min. Increased temperature also produces a delay in the onset of germination in both populations.


The thesis presents the analysis of dependency parsing systems that are used for parsing German. We restrict ourselves to four parsers operated on the same input data: two of the parsing systems are data-driven; other two are grammar-driven parsers. The main similarity of these parsers is that all of them are based on the same linguistic framework – the dependency theory described in the second chapter of the thesis. In the next chapters we analyze basic features, behavior and performance of each parsing system separately and the considerable part of the thesis is dedicated to the description of errors made by the parsers. Then we summarize their performance, their drawbacks and advantages in comparison to each other. One of our tasks is to show the ways for improving the performance of each parser. Even the MST parser, that shows the best parsing results (about 90% accuracy), can be improved. For future work we suggest to combine the described parsers as one of the possible ways to achieve better parsing results.


In the past, poultry nutrition has focussed on increasing the production efficiency to meet the progress achieved in the genetic potential of broilers and layers. Future directions in poultry nutrition will be driven by not only by the need to maximise biological and economic performance of birds, but also by societal issues (environment, antibiotic growth promoters, welfare, traceability and use of genetically modified ingredients). Key advances in poultry nutrition are discussed and future directions, which can be expected, are highlighted. Given the tightening supply and ever-increasing cost of raw materials, there will be more pressure to extract every unit of energy and nutrients from feed ingredients. In this context, a number of feed additives are expected to play an increasingly significant role. Feed enzymes and crystalline amino acids, in particular, will have a profound effect on future sustainability of the poultry industry. Future nutritional research need to focus on identifying the barriers to effective digestion and utilisation of nutrients and, to achieve this objective, nutritionists must combine their expertise with those of specialising in other biological sciences, including immunology, microbiology, histology and molecular biology.


Monomeric, oligomeric and polymeric electrically conductive compounds and methods of making the compounds having a repeating unit having formula P1, as follows:
where X is S or Se, Y is S or Se, wherein one or both of X and Y is Se, R is a substituent group capable of bonding to the ring structure. R may include hydrogen or isotopes thereof, hydroxyl, alkyl, including C 1 to C 20 primary, secondary or tertiary alkyl groups, arylalkyl, alkenyl, perfluoroalkyl, perfluororaryl, aryl, alkoxy, cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, alkanoyl, alkylthio, aryloxy, alkylthioalkyl, alkynyl, alkylaryl, arylalkyl, amido, alkylsulfinyl, alkoxyalkyl, alkylsulfonyl, aryl, arylamino, diarylamino, alkylamino, dialkylamino, arylarylamino, arylthio, heteroaryl, arylsulfinyl, alkoxycarbonyl, arylsulfonyl, carboxyl, halogen, nitro, cyano, sulfonic acid, or alkyl or phenyl substituted with one or more sulfonic acid, phosphoric acid, carboxylic acid, halo, amino, nitro, hydroxyl, cyano or epoxy moieties. Electrical devices utilizing the electrically conductive polymers is also disclosed.


From the 12C(π+, K+)12ΛC reaction, the γ-rays of 261.6±0.24 keV (7/2+→5/2+) and 1481.7±0.7 keV (1/2+→5/2+) of 11ΛB, and 2667.3±2.8 keV (12−→21−) of 12ΛC hypernuclei have been identified using a large germanium detector array Hyperball2 at K6 beam line of KEK. The observed energies of the transitions 1481.7 keV and 261.6 keV are significantly different from the values predicted by the shell model using the Δ and SN parameters determined from the 7ΛLi data.


Tractive force models at different tillage speeds were developed using dimensional analysis, describing the tractor tyre - soil interaction. In this research study, disc ploughing on an experimental plot at twenty different soil moisture levels in loamy sand soil was carried out using trace tractor techniques. The independent variables: drawbar pull force, rolling (motion) resistance, wheel slip, moisture content, cone index, wheel numeric, contact pressure, speed, width of plough, depth of plough, and dependent variable (Tractive force) were measured and compared to computed values. High coefficients of determination R 2 = 0.9492, 0.9555 and 0.9447 for ploughing at tillage speeds of 1.94m/s, 2.22m/s and 2.5m/s were obtained respectively. Standard errors of 0.3672552, 0.8628 and 0.8047 and the percentage (%) errors of -2.272608059 and 2.45655144,-2.304946155 and 2.523126085,-1.424947801 and 2.020155232 at minimum and maximum values, were obtained. These results are clear evidence of the test of goodness of fit of the models between predictive and measured parameters for ploughing at different tillage speeds. The models were verified and validated by comparing the predicted with the measured tractive forces, and shown to closely followed the experimental results.


We apply the result of the model of time and frequency resource scheduling in downlink LTE development. The given model is directed upon securing the wireless network users being served by the allocation to user equipment required transmission rates. We completed comparative analysis of the offered model with existing methods from the point of view of securing the common productivity of downlink, level of bandwidth balancing, possibility of allocation to users equipment required transmission rate.


A fundamental question about locomotion in the presence of moving objects is whether movements are guided based upon perceived object motion in an observer-centered or world-centered reference frame. The former captures object motion relative to the moving observer and depends on both observer and object motion. The latter captures object motion relative to the stationary environment and is independent of observer motion. Subjects walked through a virtual environment (VE) viewed through a head-mounted display and indicated whether they would pass in front of or behind a moving obstacle that was on course to cross their future path. Subjects' movement through the VE was manipulated such that object motion in observer coordinates was affected while object motion in world coordinates was the same. We found that when moving observers choose routes around moving obstacles, they rely on object motion perceived in world coordinates. This entails a process, which has been called flow parsing (Rushton & Warren, 2005; Warren & Rushton, 2009a), that recovers the component of optic flow due to object motion independent of self-motion. We found that when self-motion is real and actively generated, the process by which object motion is recovered relies on both visual and nonvisual information to factor out the influence of self-motion. The remaining component contains information about object motion in world coordinates that is needed to guide locomotion.


Adaptation in a technical form and meaning is no longer enough if world populations are to be able to live with, reduce and withstand the impacts of climate change (Pelling, 2011). Various approaches to adaptation, such as Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) initiatives, are increasingly promoted as a solution to climate change for farming communities. They intend to both strengthen resilience and reduce emissions from agricultural activities, as well as enable poor households to manage climatic variability and change (Khatri-Chhetria, et al. 2017). Some scholars view CSA as a tool for agricultural transformation that promote equitable approaches in the face of climate change. However, it remains unclear whether CSA initiatives address the root causes of vulnerability to climate change, such as the link between power, vulnerability, inequality, and inequity – the interrelated factors that make people vulnerable to climate change in the first place (Karlsson, et al. 2017). This study investigates how CSA can open up or close down spaces for agricultural transformation towards equitable approaches to climate change, and addresses CSA through three spheres of transformation. These include the personal (worldviews, values) the political (policy and governance) and the practical sphere (measurable or observable adaptation outcomes on the ground) (O'Brien og Sygna 2013). The concept of subjectivities is then used as an analytical tool, or as a lense, to explore how the values and worldviews that underlie the socio-political relations in the case of a Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) project in Hoima District, western Uganda, interacts across the spheres. This study explores the social reality of CSA stakeholders and the local population, including members and non-members of the project, project staff and authorities, to gain empirical insight to how their worldviews, values shape power relations in and around the CSA project. Lessons drawn from the examination of this case study aimsto add to our understanding of the ways in which transformation may be support ed or undermined through climate interventions, and provide an example of how power relations can open up or close down spaces for agricultural transformation in a smallholder farming community. Findings suggest that the power relations in and around the CSA project in Hoima risk reinforcing an expert-hierarchy, where subjectivities deriving from worldviews and values cast small-scale farmers, especially women, in passive roles as receivers. Without contestation, these subjectivities risk closing down spaces for transformation.


Clinical risk management constitutes a central element in the healthcare systems in relation to the reverberation that it establishes, and as regards the optimization of clinical outcomes for the patient. The starting point for a right clinical risk management is represented by the identification of non-conforming results. The aim of the study is to carry out a systematic analysis of all data received in the first three years of adoption of a reporting system, revealing the strengths and weaknesses. The results emerged showed an increasing trend in the number of total records. Notably, 86.0% of the records came from the medical category. Moreover, 41.0% of the records reported the possible preventive measures that could have averted the event and in 30% of the reports are hints to be put in place to avoid the repetition of the events. The second experimental phase is categorizing the events reported. Implementing the reporting system, it would guarantee a virtuous cycle of learning, training and reallocation of resources. By sensitizing health workers to a correct use of the incident reporting system, it could become a virtuous error learning system. All this would lead to a reduction in litigation and an implementation of the therapeutic doctor–patient alliance.


The case of a 10 year old girl widening of mediastinal shadow in X-ray examination is presented. Allergic pulmonary alveolitis as a primary disease was found. The broadening of the mediastinal shadow depended on lymphadenopathy in the course of associated mycoplasma infection and vasculature pattern.


Simple Summary Concurrent administration of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy with one or two fractions of ultra-hypofractionated (8 Gy/fraction) radiotherapy for patients with locoregionally recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after radical chemo-radiotherapy was examined in a cohort of 11 patients. This immuno-radiotherapy scheme was safe and provided 81.8% objective response rates. The complete response rate was 27.2%, while tumor regression by 80–100% of initial dimensions was noted in 63.5% of patients. The 22-month locoregional relapse-free rate was 54.5%, while the projected 2-year disease-specific overall survival was 62%. These encouraging results provide the basis to pursue immuno-radiotherapy trials with ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy schemes in this ill-fated group of NSCLC patients. Abstract Large fractions of radiotherapy of 8 Gy (ultra-hypofractionated RT, ultra-hypoRT) promote anti-tumor immune responses that have been clinically substantiated in combination trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). In the current study, we postulated that ultra-hypoRT in combination with ICIs may enhance tumor clearance in NSCLC patients with locoregional relapse after radical chemo-RT. Between 2019 and 2021, eleven patients received re-irradiation with one or two fractions of 8 Gy concurrently with anti-PD1 immunotherapy (nivolumab or pembrolizumab). RT-related toxicities were negligible, while immune-related adverse events enforced immunotherapy interruption in 36% of patients. The overall response rate was 81.8%. Tumor reduction between 80 and 100% was noted in 63.5% of patients. Within a median follow-up of 22 months, the locoregional relapse-free rate was 54.5%, while the projected 2-year disease-specific overall survival was 62%. The results were independent of PD-L1 status. The current report provides encouraging evidence that a relatively low biological dose of RT delivered with 8 Gy fractions is feasible and can be safely combined with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Despite the low number of patients, the significant tumor regression achieved and the long-lasting locoregional control and overall progression-free intervals provide a basis to pursue immuno-RT trials with U-hypoRT schemes in this group of NSCLC patients of poor prognosis.


The importance of skills development for national economic growth has been increasingly emphasized. Skills development system and strategy are critical in enhancing individual worker's productivity, national competitiveness and consequently people's economic wellbeing. Vocational education and training systems in many developing countries, however, are not properly responding to labor market skill demand. The budget for the skills development, which mainly relies on the government, is not secured and appropriately managed either. This study attempts to provide valuable guidance to designing and implementing effective skills development and its finance system of developing countries based on the Korea's experience. It points out that when designing the skills development finance system the government needs to take into account critical factors such as close linkage with private sector, utilization of training fund borne by private firms, incentives to induce employer's, employee's and unemployed's active participation in training, government's fair and transparent management including monitoring and evaluation, constant adaptation of national skills development system and finance scheme according to national economic development(changes in skill demands), application of the 'choice and competition' principle, special support to the SMEs, priority industry sectors and the disadvantaged, and the participation of employers and employees in skills development policy making and implementation.


The efficiency of phase locking of 2D waveguide CO2 laser arrays as a function of the number of lasers in the array and parameters of the spatial filter is measured. The phase-locking stability is analysed on the basis of far-field-zone intensity distributions obtained.


Background The experienced increase of drug shortages (DS) in recent years has obliged pharmacists to monitor the actual market situation. This is significant since there is currently no reliable central database in Germany which lists DS in time. The kind of DS in the hospital setting demands a rapid and focused management in order to ensure continuity of care. Purpose Our aim was to develop a method to provide internal transparency over DS affecting our clinic (a 1600-bed maximum acute care facility), to cooperate with the physicians for a proper and efficient decision flow, and to adapt correspondingly to the drug-supply chain (DSC). Material and methods We created a colour-coded algorithm on how to react to DS, depending on certain factors: Yellow/orange: Therapeutic alternative is available. Consider brief information for the affected units. Red: Therapeutic alternative is available but with relevant changes (e.g. import, internal compounding in the pharmacy), there is a very limited supply or no drug left at all. Consider interprofessional consultation. The information was handed out by our drug information department via a drug-information sheet. The data was recorded in an EXCEL sheet and updated upon each report from the manufacturers. Moreover, relevant changes had to be made depending on the classification of the DS (e.g. master-data-management, ward-order-system, Kanban-system, handling instructions) in order to ensure the DSC. Results Between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2018, 273 DS were recorded. Existing DS from 2016/2017 (38) were also included. One-hundred and seventy were resolved by 1 July 2018. Sixty-two were classified as red (critical or threatening to patient safety), 22 of which led to an interprofessional consultation. There was no alternative at all for five DS. Each consultation lasted 1 hour on average. Twenty-two of the recorded DS did not affect our clinic due to length and sufficient stock. Conclusion The situation in everyday practice is so complex that standard procedures and interdisciplinary communication paths are necessary to manage DS in a way that does not impact the quality and continuity of patient care. Therefore, restrictions on therapeutic alternatives need to be determined and the close collaboration among pharmacists, nurses and physician is inevitable. References and/or acknowledgements No references. No conflict of interest.


Potato producers in Colorado (and nationwide) have been facing a continued downward trend in potato commodity prices. In an attempt to increase demand for potatoes, these growers had Colorado State University (CSU) researchers perform a market study regarding the viability of marketing a value-added potato. A survey was performed which asked consumers to identify important potato characteristics, their willingness to pay for these characteristics, and what might prompt them to purchase more fresh or processed potatoes in the future. This paper discusses the results and recommendations that CSU made to the Colorado potato producers.


Autoconvolution equations of the third kind are derived for some classes of special functions as generalized Mittag–Leffler functions E α, β, error functions, and generalized Volterra functions ν, μ. These equations generalize the well-known equation by Bernstein and Doetsch for the Mittag–Leffler function E α and an equation by Janno and the author for the Volterra function ν. In addition, some autoconvolution equations of the first kind for error functions and two integro-differential equations with autoconvolution integral for the derivative of Volterra functions are given.


Selecting appropriate teaching and learning strategies within an overarching teaching philosophy is 1 way of influencing nursing students' self-directedness. We conducted research to compare the self-directed learning readiness and learning attributes in different years of study of undergraduate nursing students who are exposed to traditional, lecture-based learning and problem-based learning strategies. We found that readiness for self-directed learning is not dependent on the dominant teaching-learning strategy used in the nursing program.


Parametric images are generated from the analysis of image data to help characterize the functional information present in the original images. They address the need for enhancing the spatial and temporal resolutions for analysis. Parametric fields provide an underlying (usually smooth) model that can be evaluated at any image location using its analytical formulation. To facilitate interactive display and analysis of such fields, we developed a visualization scheme that can help directly render the parametric field using graphics interpolation methods. This eliminates the need for high resolution storage of such data for visualization purposes. The major advantage of such an approach is that graphics hardware can be used to accelerate the interpolation, thus achieving substantial improvement in the performance. Successive derivative parametric images, such as velocity or acceleration maps from the motion fields, can be displayed in real-time. The example presented here is the 4D B-spline based motion field representation of the cardiac-tagged MR images. A motion field with 7x7x7x15 control points shown to adequately describe the full motion of the heart during cardiac cycle. Using this field, material points can be tracked over time and local mechanical properties (e.g.: strain) can be computed. The visualization method presented here utilizes the similarity between the B-spline representation of the motion fields and the graphics hardware support for NURBS display with texture mapping to achieve high performance visualization of these parametric fields.


The cornerstone of a strong soybean management strategy is diligent and timely scouting for insect and disease problems. With a proactive approach, yield losses may often be avoided or reduced. However, when scouting for evidence of diseases in soybeans, many difficulties may be encountered. Because most plant pathogens are microscopic, a grower or consultant must rely on symptoms observed on plants. Therein lies a challenge; often symptoms of diseases are not distinct from each other, nor are they always "typical." Additionally, incorrect diagnosis may result in an ineffective control method, wasting time and money and not preventing yield loss. Ineffective control may allow the pathogen to maintain a presence in subsequent years. It is critical then that soybean producers are able to quickly and accurately diagnose disease conditions in the field.


A differential equivalent of the inverse-square force law is Gauss's law for the field, , where . Thus, by summing the outputs of an in-line gravity gradiometer rotated in three orthogonal directions, one can perform a near-null test of the inverse-square law. The primary advantage of this type of experiment is its reduced sensitivity to the density and metrology errors of the source. We have developed a three-axis superconducting gravity gradiometer and carried out such a test using a lead (Pb) pendulum to produce a time-varying field. This experiment places a new () limit of at , where and are parameters of the generalized potential . This result represents an improvement of an order of magnitude over the best existing limit at . To achieve further improvement in the resolution of with the present instrument, a near-null source is needed. We plan to carry out an improved test of the inverse-square law using a long cylindrical shell as the source. Looking farther into the future, we hope to be able to conduct a geological-scale null experiment by moving the gradiometer up and down a tower above a plain.


In this paper, we present Solus Forge, a system for designing and generating 3D Lego models from a decomposition of the model into pieces and a series of spatial constraints over those pieces. We also include a style specification, which provides a series of transformations to perform on the initial model; adding, removing or modifying various pieces. To generate the models, we use a two-stage constraint solving process in which we first solve for the layout of the final model before then solving for the specific layout of the individual Lego pieces. In this way, we provide a framework for models that incorporates a specific set of criteria but also can be modified to fit a designer's needs.


Previous studies on foreign exchange (forex) risk management have tended to focus on multinational enterprises; while how SMEs manage their forex risk is still largely unexplored. As small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly involved in international markets, they have become a new research setting on forex risk management. Given that SMEs have limited access to resources, skills and capabilities, internal hedging techniques could be favoured by SMEs. There is limited research on this matter, and the extant literature on forex management generally considers derivatives as major hedging techniques for large firms. This thesis primarily investigates how exporting SMEs manage forex risk. In addition, approaches to forex management could be changed as a firm becomes more experienced internationally. Following the basic principles of internationalisation theory, the thesis also examines the impact of the internationalisation degree of the firm on forex management decisions.   This thesis sheds new light on SMEs' hedging practices by providing a better understanding of SMEs' choices of forex risk management. Three research questions have been raised: (1) what determinants influence SMEs' choice to hedge as a way of managing forex risk; (2) what strategies do SMEs use when they choose hedging to manage forex exposure; and (3) how does the degree of internationalisation impact the choice of forex management.  The thesis draws on two theoretical perspectives to help address these overarching questions. It extends the use of the resource-based view (RBV), and combines this with internationalisation theory. The setting of SMEs is a context for using the RBV. New Zealand and Australian exporting SMEs provide the sample for testing the hypotheses.   The contributions of this thesis are twofold. Firstly, the thesis identifies four determinants of forex risk strategy by exporting SMEs, i.e. degree of internationalisation (specifically, export ratio), forex exposure, perceived forex risk, and resources. Secondly, it extends the use of the RBV and the internationalisation theory in forex risk management of SMEs. In addition, the thesis uses a research approach combining an exploratory qualitative study and a main quantitative study.


The article serves to highlight the growing trend to visit abandoned places, presently existing without purpose and external actor, but with remnants of previous activity which was ongoing for a limited time. There is a research gap regarding abandoned places which have fallen into oblivion and which have therefore become a tourist attraction. It is therefore important to discuss how non-planned tourist places are expressed and challenged in the process of gradually ceasing to exist. The aim of this article is to discuss how former activity in rural places expected to disappear can develop from being a problem to becoming a tourist attraction, without a clear producer perspective driving the process. Our overall focus is to highlight visitors' experience of place that involves a transition from the expected disappearance to a "legal", non-planned attraction with a preservation tourist value. The article is based on qualitative interviews with key individuals because they were expected to be able to summarise and represent various perspectives. The article concludes that this form of tourism represents a substantial deviation from the traditional relationships that constitute the tourism industry but is perceived to have a potential in the tourism industry.


Background Young women in Malawi face many challenges in accessing family planning (FP), including distance to the health facility and partner disapproval. Our primary objective was to assess if training HSAs in couples counseling would increase modern FP uptake among young women. Methods In this cluster randomized controlled trial, 30 HSAs from Lilongwe, Malawi received training in FP. The HSAs were then randomized 1:1 to receive or not receive additional training in couples counseling. All HSAs were asked to provide FP counseling to women in their communities and record their contraceptive uptake over 6 months. Sexually-active women <30 years of age who had never used a modern FP method were included in this analysis. Generalized estimating equations with an exchangeable correlation matrix to account for clustering by HSA were used to estimate risk differences (RDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results 430 (53%) young women were counseled by the 15 HSAs who received couples counseling training, and 378 (47%) were counseled by the 15 HSAs who did not. 115 (26%) from the couples counseling group had male partners present during their first visit, compared to only 6 (2%) from the other group (RD: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.33, p<0.01). Nearly all (99.5%) initiated a modern FP method, with no difference between groups (p = 0.09). Women in the couples counseling group were 8% more likely to receive male condoms (RD: 0.08, 95% CI: -7% to 23%, p = 0.28) and 8% more likely to receive dual methods (RD: 0.08, 95% CI: -0.065, 0.232, p = 0.274). Conclusion Training HSAs in FP led to high modern FP uptake among young women who had never used FP. Couples counseling training increased male involvement with a trend towards higher male condom uptake.


Abstract Introduction: To date more than 180 different mutations in the SOD1 gene have been described in ALS; some of these mutations are associated to peculiar clinical features and have contributed to the understanding of disease heterogeneity. Only 5% of SOD1 mutations involve exon 3. Here we report a novel mutation c.197A > C in the exon 3 of the SOD1 gene in two apparently unrelated ALS families with early respiratory and cognitive impairment. Case report: In the first family two brothers developed ALS in their seventies, with arm weakness followed by bulbar involvement and behavioral breakdown. An unrelated 57-year-old man presented with progressive leg weakness and mild compromised executive functions without known family history for ALS/FTD and underwent invasive ventilation in a few months. A novel missense mutation A to C at codon 197 in exon 3 causing aminoacid substitution of arginine by threonine (N66T) was found for all of them. Harmful consequences of c.197A > C mutation on SOD1 function were suggested by in silico prediction and homology with other known mutations at the same position. Discussion and conclusion: Here, we report two apparently unrelated ALS families carrying a novel SOD1 mutation (N66T), supporting its pathogenic role by primary analysis, and characterized by early bulbar, respiratory, and cognitive involvement. Early cognitive impairment has been rarely described in ALS caused by SOD1 mutations, and mainly in the later phases of the disease. This report provides additional data on the SOD1 mutation spectrum and clinical presentation of ALS, widening phenotypical characterization of SOD1 ALS.


In any space in the future, or any thing, that the purchase of hard to draw consumers away from the product without design is good value. It is simply time to think through marketing and sales planning and sales performance will only draw the outline as well as designers of this era. Recent advances in writing only to the internal design of the Samsung mobile phone sales, while still boasting the world No. 1 and in the spotlight, I was born in 2007 to a typical example let"s make your phone without Jobs, Apple"s iPhone is bound to love and care , can be described as the reason that the customer receives the outer surface of such a design mothayeo not satisfied any more the design of appearance. Recent trends of the era can be said that industry, however, is not to be the driving force that dominated the industry in the future design dangyeonjisa As such the case of Apple and Samsung phones only, not. But much has yet to develop a force not to spill this design Korea. The first problem is most do not feel the need to design a whole society, a reality in raising these points is the social atmosphere of creativity in design education environment lacks many of the country. To look at the case of international design education space and looks at what point you need to learn the difference between domestic education space, are important elements of design to support it through the composition of induced creativity in design education space industry this study aims to provide a framework for the spatial planning of the design space, improve education and the future direction of the existing educational space again reminded to give.


Existing roads require periodic evaluation in order to ensure safe transportation. Estimations of the available sight distance (ASD) are fundamental to make sure motorists have sufficient visibility to perform basic driving tasks. Mobile LiDAR Systems (MLS) can provide these evaluations with accurate three-dimensional models of the road and surroundings. Similarly, Geographic Information System (GIS) tools have been employed to obtain ASD. Due to the fact that widespread GIS formats used to store digital surface models handle elevation as an attribute of location, the presented methodology has separated the representation of ground and aboveground elements. The road geometry and surrounding ground are stored in digital terrain models (DTM). Correspondingly, abutting vegetation, manmade structures, road assets and other roadside elements are stored in 3D objects and placed on top of the DTM. Both the DTM and 3D objects are accurately obtained from a denoised and classified LiDAR point cloud. Based on the consideration that roadside utilities and most manmade structures are well-defined geometric elements, some visual obstructions are extracted and/or replaced with 3D objects from online warehouses. Different evaluations carried out with this method highlight the tradeoff between the accuracy of the estimations, performance and geometric complexity as well as the benefits of the individual consideration of road assets.


Although the incidence of pulmonary hypertension is higher in female patients, numerous experimental studies have demonstrated better outcome in female animals, exacerbation of the disease after ovariectomy, and a strong protective effect of estrogen: a phenomenon known as the "estrogen paradox" of pulmonary hypertension. On the other hand, some clinical studies have indirectly linked estrogen to increased risk of portopulmonary hypertension, whereas others implicate increased estrogen metabolism and high levels of certain estrogen metabolites in promoting pulmonary vascular remodeling in familial pulmonary arterial hypertension. In this review we investigate the estrogen paradox through highlighting the differential receptor-mediated effects of estrogen. Although estrogen and estrogen receptor-based therapies have shown promise in rescuing preexisting pulmonary hypertension in animals, their role is yet to be defined in humans.


This paper presents a novel database comprising representations of five different biometric characteristics, collected in a mobile, unconstrained or semi-constrained setting with three different mobile devices, including characteristics previously unavailable in existing datasets, namely hand images, thermal hand images, and thermal face images, all acquired with a mobile, off-the-shelf device. In addition to this collection of data we perform an extensive set of experiments providing insight on benchmark recognition performance that can be achieved with these data, carried out with existing commercial and academic biometric solutions. This is the first known to us mobile biometric database introducing samples of biometric traits such as thermal hand images and thermal face images. We hope that this contribution will make a valuable addition to the already existing databases and enable new experiments and studies in the field of mobile authentication. The MobiBits database is made publicly available to the research community at no cost for non-commercial purposes.


Typing methods to evaluate isolates in relation to their phenotypical and molecular characteristics are essential in epidemiological studies. In this study, Candida albicans biotypes were determined before and after storage in order to verify their stability. Twenty C. albicans isolates were typed by Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), production of phospholipase and proteinase exoenzymes (enzymotyping) and morphotyping before and after 180 days of storage in Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and sterilised distilled water. Before the storage, 19 RAPD patterns, two enzymotypes and eight morphotypes were identified. The fragment patterns obtained by RAPD, on the one hand, were not significantly altered after storage. On the other hand, the majority of the isolates changed their enzymotype and morphotype after storage. RAPD typing provided the better discriminatory index (DI) among isolates (DI = 0.995) and maintained the profile identified, thereby confirming its utility in epidemiological surveys. Based on the low reproducibility observed after storage in SDA and distilled water by morphotyping (DI = 0.853) and enzymotyping (DI = 0.521), the use of these techniques is not recommended on stored isolates.


In this paper, temperature of the soot particles from the flame was determined using line of sight attenuation setup. The emission from the soot particles of the flame will be filtered using a three color pyrometry, in which three slits of different wavelengths will be placed in front of the AP-3200T-USB camera. The author did not use spectrometer to filter the wavelengths because, a spectrometer would give a spectrum consisting of 15 different colors, which is not required in this experiment, since calculation of temperature of the soot only requires two colors to be filtered from the soot. Each wavelength corresponds to RED, BLUE and GREEN color respectively. After the soot emission images are captured in all the three wavelengths, three images will be obtained from the camera. For reading these images, MATLAB code was used, and the pixel intensity values were read from which temperature could be calculated.


Pituitary function studies have been carried out in eight male and eight female patients with Down's syndrome who were suspected of having hypothyroidism secondary to pituitary deficiency. In all cases, the response of Human Growth Hormone to hypoglycaemia was adequate and the response of Lutenising Hormone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone to the injection of Lutenising Hormone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone was not signfiicantly greater than that in age and sex-matched institutionalised controls. Therefore there is no evidence that the relative hypothyroidism in these patients is due to pituitary hypofunction, nor do the results provide evidence of pituitary deficiency in Down's syndrome generally.


Abstract Despite significant advances in its detection, understanding and management, atrial fibrillation (AF) remains a highly prevalent cardiac arrhythmia with a major impact on morbidity and mortality of millions of patients. AF results from complex, dynamic interactions between risk factors and comorbidities that induce diverse atrial remodelling processes. Atrial remodelling increases AF vulnerability and persistence, while promoting disease progression. The variability in presentation and wide range of mechanisms involved in initiation, maintenance and progression of AF, as well as its associated adverse outcomes, make the early identification of causal factors modifiable with therapeutic interventions challenging, likely contributing to suboptimal efficacy of current AF management. Computational modelling facilitates the multilevel integration of multiple datasets and offers new opportunities for mechanistic understanding, risk prediction and personalized therapy. Mathematical simulations of cardiac electrophysiology have been around for 60 years and are being increasingly used to improve our understanding of AF mechanisms and guide AF therapy. This narrative review focuses on the emerging and future applications of computational modelling in AF management. We summarize clinical challenges that may benefit from computational modelling, provide an overview of the different in silico approaches that are available together with their notable achievements, and discuss the major limitations that hinder the routine clinical application of these approaches. Finally, future perspectives are addressed. With the rapid progress in electronic technologies including computing, clinical applications of computational modelling are advancing rapidly. We expect that their application will progressively increase in prominence, especially if their added value can be demonstrated in clinical trials.


The protective effects of cardioplegic solutions (CS) containing creatine phosphate (CP) were studied in a rat heart model of cardiopulmonary bypass and ischemic cardiac arrest. Isolated rat hearts were subjected to a 3-minute coronary infusion with CS containing CP in normothermic (37 degrees C) and hypothermic (4-6 degrees C) regimes. In the normothermia group, the postischemic functional recovery was 70-75% of the preischemic control value, while the cellular ATP and CP content was reduced but insignificantly. By contrast, in the hypothermia group, the postischemic functional recovery was markedly depressed, with the tissue high-energy phosphate content being appreciably lowered. The data obtained confirm high efficacy of CP-containing cardioplegic solutions administered under normothermia conditions.


Background
Versican (VCAN) is a large aggregating extracellular matrix proteoglycan implicated in the pathogenesis of most human cancers but its role in gastric cancer is not yet elucidated. We designed the present study to investigate the expression, prognostic value, relationship between genetic alterations and patient's outcome, disease associations, as well as genetic and protein interactions of VCAN in gastric cancer.
Methods
Expression of VCAN in tumor and normal tissues was studied with ONCOMINE, UALCAN, and GEPIA databases and the human protein atlas. UALCAN, GEPIA, OncoLnc and Kaplan-Meier plotter were used to assess the prognostic values of VCAN in gastric cancer. Subgroup analysis of the clinical significance of VCAN in gastric cancer was done using Kaplan-Meier plotter. Genetic alterations of VCAN and their associations with patient's outcome were studied with cBioPortal. Open targets platform was used to study diseases associated with VCAN, GeneMANIA was used to obtain the neighbor genes interaction network of VCAN, and STRING was used to examine VCAN interaction with other proteins.
Results
VCAN was upregulated and associated with clinical cancer stages. High VCAN expression predicted unfavorable outcome for all patients; subgroup analysis showed worse outcomes for patients treated with surgery or other adjuvants (other than 5-FU based adjuvant) but better outcome for patients treated with 5-FU based adjuvant, associating VCAN expression with chemosensitivity to 5-FU based adjuvants, but chemoresistance to other adjuvants. Genetic alteration of VCAN correlated with a favorable outcome in terms of disease-free survival for patients. Also, open targets platform showed that VCAN is associated with gastric cancer and is a potential therapeutic target for the disease. Finally, interaction of VCAN with neighbor genes and proteins revealed that VCAN interacts with genes and proteins that drive tumorigenesis and cancer progression.
Conclusion
The results of this study show that VCAN is an oncogene in gastric cancer whose expression can be applied as a biomarker for prognostic prediction, selection of appropriate chemotherapy drugs/monitoring of treatment response, and is a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer.


CD43 epitope expression was studied with a panel of monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) by immuno‐histochemistry on freeze sections of lymphoid tissues. The MoAb WEN3 stained most cells weakly in the T areas and scattered splenic red pulp cells strongly, whereas the other MoAbs strongly stained the majority of the cells in the T areas but gave variable staining patterns of cells in the non‐T areas. Flow cytometry on CD4 + and CD8 + T cells (T4 and T8 cells), freshly isolated NK cells and LAK cells showed distinct staining profiles for each cell type, with epitope expression patterns of T8 cells lying between those of T4 cells and NK/LAK cells. T8 cells were split by one of the MoAbs, the NK cells, but not LAK cells, were split by two other MoAbs.


SUMMARY
comb-p is a command-line tool and a python library that manipulates BED files of possibly irregularly spaced P-values and (1) calculates auto-correlation, (2) combines adjacent P-values, (3) performs false discovery adjustment, (4) finds regions of enrichment (i.e. series of adjacent low P-values) and (5) assigns significance to those regions. In addition, tools are provided for visualization and assessment. We provide validation and example uses on bisulfite-seq with P-values from Fisher's exact test, tiled methylation probes using a linear model and Dam-ID for chromatin binding using moderated t-statistics. Because the library accepts input in a simple, standardized format and is unaffected by the origin of the P-values, it can be used for a wide variety of applications.

AVAILABILITY
comb-p is maintained under the BSD license. The documentation and implementation are available at https://github.com/brentp/combined-pvalues.

CONTACT
firstname.lastname@example.com


The random response from hot-wire anemometers with a mean-square spectral output proportional to recently reported by Saddoughi and Veeravalli (1996 Meas. Sci. Technol. 7 1297 - 300) has been noted previously. A discussion is given of the relevant results.


The ground-state wave function for the electrons in a narrow $s$ band is investigated for arbitrary density of electrons and arbitrary strength of interaction. An approximation is proposed which limits all the calculations to counting certain types of configurations and attaching the proper weights. The expectation values of the one-particle and two-particle density matrix are computed for the ferromagnetic and for the non-ferromagnetic case. The ground-state energy is obtained under the assumption that only the intra-atomic Coulomb interaction is of importance. Ferromagnetism is found to occur if the density of states is large at the band edges rather than in the center, and if the intra-atomic Coulomb repulsion is sufficiently strong. The relation of this approximation to certain exact results for one-dimensional models is discussed.


This study was carried out to develop an oral colon specific, tablet to achieve site specific
release of ornidazole and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride. The basic design consists of coating of
ornidazole with eudragit to form microgranules and compressing the ciprofloxacin hydrchloride
powder into a tablet to release the ciprofloxacin hydrochloride in the stomach and finally with
film coating for stability and esthetic appeal. The ornidazole was enteric coated, so that the
variability in gastric emptying time can be overcome and a colon-specific release can be
achieved. The ornidazole microgranules were prepared with Eudragit®L-100, by varying drug
to polymer ratio and evaluated for the particle size, drug content and in vitro release profile and
from the obtained results; one better formulation was selected for further fabrication of tablet.
The aim behind developing this formulation was that when any patient suffers from amebiasis,
can be treated with conventional ornidazole tablet for instant release but after that the organism
resides at the lower GIT(colon) in the dormant phase and many times relapse of the condition
occur with the patient. Thus it can be avoided by targeting the drug at the colon after the initial
treatment.


The contribution of the Ott institute collab orators in formation and development of auxiliary reproduction technologies is elucidated in this article


Children differ from adults in their physiology and cognitive ability. Thus, they are extremely vulnerable to classroom thermal comfort. However, very few reviews on the thermal comfort of primary school students are available. Further, children-focused surveys have not reviewed the state-of-the-art in thermal comfort prediction using machine learning (AI/ML). Consequently, there is a need for discussion on children-specific challenges in AI/ML-based prediction. This article bridges these research gaps. It presents a comprehensive review of thermal comfort studies in primary school classrooms since 1962. It considers both conventional (non-ML) studies and the recent AI/ML studies performed for children, classrooms, and primary students. It also underscores the importance of AI/ML prediction by analyzing adaptive opportunities for children/students in classrooms. Thereafter, a review of AI/ML-based prediction studies is presented. Through an AI/ML case-study, it demonstrates that model performance for children and adults differs markedly. Performance of classification models trained on ASHRAE-II database and a recent primary students' dataset shows a 29% difference in thermal sensation and 86% difference in thermal preference, between adults and children. It then highlights three major children-specific AI/ML challenges, viz., "illogical votes", "multiple comfort metrics", and "extreme class imbalance". Finally, it offers several technical solutions and discusses open problems.


A natural language interface to databases (NLIDB) enables users without technical expertise to easily access information from relational databases. Interest in NLIDBs has resurged in the past years due to the availability of large datasets and improvements to neural sequence-to-sequence models. In this survey we focus on the key design decisions behind current state of the art neural approaches, which we group into encoder and decoder improvements. We highlight the three most important directions, namely linking question tokens to database schema elements (schema linking), better architectures for encoding the textual query taking into account the schema (schema encoding), and improved generation of structured queries using autoregressive neural models (grammar-based decoders). To foster future research, we also present an overview of the most important NLIDB datasets, together with a comparison of the top performing neural models and a short insight into recent non deep learning solutions.


Background:Atelectasis is common during and after general anaesthesia. We hypothesized that a ventilation strategy with a combination of 1) continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and 2) a reduced end-expiratory oxygen fraction (FETO2) before extubation would reduce postoperative atelectasis.Methods:Sixty patients were randomized into two groups. During anaesthesia induction, inspiratory oxygen fractions (FIO2) were 1.0, and depending on weight, CPAP 6–8 cm H2O was applied in both groups via face mask. During maintenance of anaesthesia, a laryngeal mask airway was used, and depending on weight, PEEP was 6–8 cm H2O in both groups. Before extubation, FIO2 was set to 0.3 in the intervention groups and 1.0 in the control group. Atelectasis was studied by computed tomography approximately 13 min postoperatively.Results:The area of atelectasis was 5.5, 0–16.9 cm2 (median and range), and 6.8, 0–27.5 cm2 in the groups given FIO2 0.3 or FIO2 1.0 before extubation, a difference that was not statistically significant.Conclusion:Inducing anaesthesia with CPAP/PEEP and FIO2 1.0 and deliberately reducing FIO2 before extubation did not reduce postoperative atelectasis compared with FIO2 1.0 before extubation.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the pattern of various inherited metabolic disorders specifically through plasma amino acid and urine organic acid testing in high-risk paediatric population..

METHODS
The cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and comprised data from April 2015 to March 2018 of children referred to the Department of Chemical Pathology and Endocrinology for work-up of suspected inherited metabolic disorders. Complete clinical history, baseline biochemical investigations, plasma amino acid and urine organic acid profiles, where indicated, were collected. Quantitative plasma amino acid and analysis was carried out by Ion Exchange Chromatography on Biochrome 30+ amino acid analyser, and urine organic acid analysis by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Findings were linked to the identified disorders. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis.

RESULTS
Of the 805 cases reviewed, 49(6%) had an inherited metabolic disorder. Male:Female ratio of the cases was 1.5:1, and the median age was 240 days (interquartile range: 1-15695 days). The most common presenting symptom was seizures 316(39.3%) followed by lethargy 283(35.2%). Of the diagnosed cases, aminoacidopathies were 28(57%) and in them, non-ketotic hyperglycaemia accounted for 7(25%.). There were 12(24.5%) cases of organic acidurias followed by 9(18.4%) that were other than the two diagnoses.

CONCLUSIONS
The cases of inherited metabolic disorder detected indicated significant prevalence. Non-ketotic hyperglycinemia was the commonest disorder diagnosed.


Cannabis sativa L. is an annual herbaceous crop grown for the production of long extraxylary fibers, the bast fibers, rich in cellulose and used both in the textile and biocomposite sectors. Despite being herbaceous, hemp undergoes secondary growth and this is well exemplified by the hypocotyl. The hypocotyl was already shown to be a suitable model to study secondary growth in other herbaceous species, namely Arabidopsis thaliana and it shows an important practical advantage, i.e., elongation and radial thickening are temporally separated. This study focuses on the mechanisms marking the transition from primary to secondary growth in the hemp hypocotyl by analysing the suite of events accompanying vascular tissue and bast fiber development. Transcriptomics, imaging and quantification of phytohormones were carried out on four representative developmental stages (i.e., 6–9–15–20 days after sowing) to provide a comprehensive overview of the events associated with primary and secondary growth in hemp. This multidisciplinary approach provides cell wall-related snapshots of the growing hemp hypocotyl and identifies marker genes associated with the young (expansins, β-galactosidases, and transcription factors involved in light-related processes) and the older hypocotyl (secondary cell wall biosynthetic genes and transcription factors).


Recently, highway tunnel construction has rapidly been increased due to the limited ground usage and geographical characteristic in Korea, i.e. Korea consists of 70% mountains. In this paper, it was analyzed tunnel collapse patterns in the weathered rockmass. Recent tunnel collapse pattern is quite different from that of past ten years. Tunnels in past years have been collapsed at shallow valley area because of shear strength decrease after heavy rain. Tunnels, which have been constructed recently, were collapsed at even the deeper ground position after primary support. Also in the case that proper reinforcement was not applied, it caused excessive crack at shotcrete and local collapse near tunnel face. In this paper, it was analysed the cause of the recent tunnel collapses and proper reinforcement for the collapsed tunnels.


. ICT4D research is strongly oriented to practice but hardly ever explicitly uses the research paradigm of pragmatism. We argue that, though highly-relevant to ICT4D, pragmatism suffers some shortcomings in terms of its philosophy of the world, explanatory power, truth-testing, and values. We suggest that "pragmatist-critical realism" – a novel research paradigm combining pragmatism and critical realism – can address these shortcomings and provide a valuable foundation for ICT4D research; particularly action-oriented research. We outline a four-step operational methodology for pragmatist-critical realism based on a research project that created an "e-resilience" action plan applying ICTs to strengthen resilience of farming communities in Uganda. We hope other action- and design-oriented ICT4D researchers will be encouraged to assess whether pragmatist-critical realism could form a useful basis for their future research.


Abstract This article examines the determinants of chemical consumption by French winegrowers on an individual basis. We introduce criteria relating to the structure of vineyards and the financial situation of the winegrowers. Using data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN-RICA) for the period 2002–2007 from an annual sample of 607 winegrowers, we study the different factors that encourage winegrowers to use chemical inputs to protect or increase the yield of their vines. Drawing on transversal and longitudinal analyses, we illustrate the benefits derived from differentiating the demand for inputs according to their classification: pesticides or fertilizers. Climatic variables, physical size, and turnover all act as driving forces in the decision to use chemical inputs. We show that taking out crop insurance functions as a substitute for inputs and observe a double moral hazard effect: Winegrowers who increase their insurance coverage reduce their consumption of inputs the most and receive greater compensation; among insured winegrowers, those who use the most inputs make the most claims. As wine grape growing is a consistent activity conducted over a long period, we observe permanence in patterns of use of chemical inputs. (JEL Classifications: Q12, Q13, Q14)


For all diseases, prevalence has been carefully studied. In the "classic" paradigm, the prevalence of different diseases has usually been studied separately. Accumulating evidences have shown that diseases can be "correlated". The joint analysis of prevalence of multiple diseases can provide important insights beyond individual-disease analysis, however, has not been well conducted. In this study, we take advantage of the uniquely valuable Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), and conduct a pan-disease analysis of period prevalence trend. The goal is to identify clusters within which diseases share similar period prevalence trends. For this purpose, a novel penalization pursuit approach is developed, which has an intuitive formulation and satisfactory properties. In data analysis, the period prevalence values are computed using records on close to 1 million subjects and 14 years of observation. For 405 diseases, 35 nontrivial clusters (with sizes larger than one) and 27 trivial clusters (with sizes one) are identified. The results differ significantly from those of the alternatives. A closer examination suggests that the clustering results have sound interpretations. This study is the first to conduct a pan-disease clustering analysis of prevalence trend using the uniquely valuable NHIRD data and can have important value in multiple aspects.


BACKGROUND
Health systems, as part of the social system, consider public values. This study was conducted to examine the role of social values in the health priority setting in the Iranian health system.

METHODS
In this qualitative case study, three main data sources were used: literature, national documents, and key informants who were purposefully selected from health care organizations and other related institutions. Data was analyzed and interpreted using the Clark-Weale Framework.

RESULTS
According to our results, the public indirectly participates in decision-making. The public representatives participate in the meetings of the health priority setting as parliament members, representatives of some unions, members of the city council, and donors. The transparency of the decisions and the accountability of the decision makers are low. Decision makers only respond to complaints of the Audit Court and the Inspection Organization. Individual choice, although respected in hospitals and clinics, is limited in health care networks because of the referral system. Clinical effectiveness is considered in insurance companies and some hospitals. There are no technical abilities to determine the cost-effectiveness of health technologies; however, some international experiences are employed. Equity and solidarity are considered in different levels of the health system.

CONCLUSION
Social values are considered in the health priority decisions in limited ways. It seems that the lack of an appropriate value-based framework for priority setting and also the lack of public participation are the major defects of the health system. It is recommended that health policymakers invite different groups of people and stakeholders for active involvement in health priority decisions.


The article focused on the innovative technologies management problems investigation. The endogenous distribution of economic factors for research and development sectors have been evaluated in order to study the accumulation process of innovation and technologies. The research methodology is based on the system dynamics approach that gives the advantage to delve in dynamic problems for complex economic and social issues taking into account information and material delays as well as feedback and endogenous causality. The computer simulation model has been built to describe the dynamic of innovative technologies a-nd to perform the sensitivity analysis in order to investigate how change in different parameter of system affect the economic growth and its dynamic properties. The simulation results confirm that management policy decisions can change dramatically if parameters are influenced by unpredictable shocks but the behavior of technological growth does not depend on initial conditions of system if an effective management policy has been provided.