"The Laryngeal Mask Airway: A Review and Practical Guide" (published 1997 and reviewed in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 1998) and the more concise "International Anesthesiology Clinics: The LMA Mask Airway" (published 1998 and reviewed in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 1999) written by Drs Archie Brain, Alison Berry and the present author. The author notes in the introduction that the new edition is now more than five times longer than its predecessor. This was necessitated, in part, by more than 1500 new publications on the LMA since the first edition and allowed more in-depth analysis of the literature and the formation of evidence based practical guidelines. Comprising twenty-two chapters, it covers every facet of the LMA's use in clinical practice. Each chapter includes an overview, detailed practical guidelines and a meticulous analysis of the literature. Plentiful colour diagrams and large photographs are more visually engaging than the previous "concise" IAC edition. Colour-coded tables showing findings from individual (or groups of) studies, metaanalyses and "quick references" make for a userfriendly reference text when evidence based data is sought. Cross-referencing "links" to other relevant information within the text are included in each section. As with the previous editions the history of extraglottic airways detailing the invention and development of the LMA by Dr Archie Brain is especially fascinating. Whole chapters are devoted to traditionally controversial subjects relating to LMA usage including the seal with respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, resuscitation, intensive care and difficult airways. Likewise, a full chapter covers the newest member of the "LMA family", the Pro-seal LMA. While the author is as "pro-LMA" as Pavarotti is "pro-pasta", the author adds balance to this text with chapters considering other extra-glottic airway devices and problems associated with the LMA. Although the first edition has been described as "excellent", the second edition incorporating an analysis of all of the new LMA literature makes the use of words such as "thorough" or "comprehensive" seem an understatement. Brimacombe's exceptional text is a fitting tribute to Archie Brain's LMA and the impact that it has had on contemporary airway management. Though perhaps the level of detail is more than is required for some individuals, I am certain that departments across Australasia, and for that matter the world, will consider this text a worthy addition to their libraries as the ultimate reference on "all things LMA". M. WADDINGTON Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia


The ultimate objectives of shariah have been indicated (stated) in numerous verses of the Holy Quran and in the sacred traditions of Holy profit (SAWS) and a set of reforms have been highlighted for enforcement as a purpose of divine commands. Brillscholars and stalwarts of Islamic sciences like Imam Ghazali, Allama Azzedine bin Abdus salam Allama ibn e Qayyum, Allama Shatbi, and imam Shah Wali Ullah R.A have rendered their valuable services in the above-mentioned domain.
This article is an introductory study of that knowledge and in the article significance and essentiality of the purposes of shariah have been explained after detailed interpretations of these purposes. Opinions of ancient and modern experts of the concerned field of knowledge have also been incorporated. Finally, various types of objectives of shariah have been debated.


Hepatitis is a kind of inflammation which attacks the body's organ known as liver. Hepatitis itself is divided into commonly known types namely Hepatitis A, B, and C. however, there exist other types of hepatitis called D, E, G which are not familiar. The understanding of patients regarding hepatitis is an obstacle in healing. The thing that is needed is to regulate diet and avoid foods that are prohibited (high sodium, high saturated fat, high sugar, and high protein). Hepatitis sufferers must pay attention to food patterns, must control foods consumed daily, must consume food with low salt, low saturated fat, low in sugar, and low in protein to reduce the risk of not worsening the condition of people with hepatitis. The decision making system determines the hepatitis food criterion using 5 criteria's, namely the presence of high sodium, high saturated fat, high protein, high sugar, and high iron. While the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is a decision making model which defines the multi-factor problems or complex multi criteria into a hierarchy. With hierarchy, a complex problem could be partitioned into smaller groups which are then ordered in a hierarchy to arrange the problem in a structural and systematic way.


Purpose of review Glaucoma patients commonly suffer from ocular surface disease (OSD). As treatment strategies, medications and devices for the treatment of OSD as well as glaucoma surgical approaches evolve rapidly, it is important to consider their application to these patients. Recent findings OSD in glaucoma patients may lead to reduced reliability of diagnostic tests, decreased medication compliance, poor surgical outcomes, and overall decreased quality of life. Chronic use of topical glaucoma medications has been linked to the development of limbal stem cell deficiency, and the role of preservatives in OSD continues to be demonstrated. Preservative free glaucoma medications as well as new anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of OSD are now available. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and punctal plugs have been shown to benefit glaucoma patients with OSD. Drop burden may be reduced through the use of the new sustained-release delivery systems, selective laser trabeculoplasty, and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery. Summary There are multiple emerging strategies for managing OSD that may be applied to patients with glaucoma. With continued research and clinical experiences, we hope to better understand the multifaceted relationship between glaucoma and OSD and develop evidence-based algorithms for the management of these complex patients.


A method of obtaining the spectral aerosol optical thickness that uses a multispectral instrument and a crude instrument with one spectral band only, here the blue at 450 nm, is presented. The instrument in the blue range is calibrated from a stratospheric balloon. The method is shown to be efficient by using experimental data collected in West Africa, where the daily variations of the aerosol optical thicknesses are large because of frequent dust storms and where the classic Langley plot method could not be used.


Technological advances can significantly alter consumer behavior patterns. The proliferation of the Internet and personal mobile devices has allowed unparalleled access to information and to individuals worldwide sharing common interests or concerns. Many individuals today provide user-generated content online, communicating through technology in a form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Often, eWOM occurs through unsolicited consumer assessments of products, services, brands or companies. These evaluations can be positive or negative and may influence purchasing decisions, content sharing and other consumer behaviors. In the United States, several consumers have had to defend themselves against legal action after posting negative reviews warning others to avoid particular companies. This paper provides an appraisal of key elements in the development of eWOM communication and briefly reviews modern legal cases stemming from consumer online comments.


Chrysanthemum is a vegetative propagated culture in which viral transmission with planting material is important for its production. Chrysanthemum virus B (CVB) belongs to the viruses that strike this plant culture. Chrysanthemum virus B is found everywhere where chrysanthemum is cultivated. Damage to plants by CVB often leads to a complete loss of floral yield. Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat cv. White Snowdon) was transformed via Agrobacterium-mediated DNA delivery with the aim of improving resistance to CVB infection. Transformation vectors contain the nucleotide sequence of CVB coat proteins (CP) in sense, antisense, and double sense orientation. The transformative vectors also invert repeats of CVB coat protein gene fragments for the induction of RNA-interference. The transgenic chrysanthemum plants were successfully obtained. The integration of the target sequences in plant genomes was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot analyses. Chrysanthemum lines were transformed with antisense, sense, and double sense CVB CP sequences, as well as with hairpin RNA-interference constructs that were assayed for resistance to CVB. Infection of transgenic plants by CVB through the grafting of infected scions shows resistance only among plants with carried double sense (16.7%) and hairpin (12.5%) constructs. The plants transformed by sense and double sense sequences were observed and classified as tolerant.


The overarching goals for the UK in relation to global water security are to; tackle and reverse growing water insecurity and its consequences caused by depletion and degradation of natural water sources; and address poor water management and increasing demand. To do this, the UK has a well-developed water 'offer' that together can help reach the goal of global water security. This note details some of that water offer: UK water leadership: The UK developed the concept of modern sanitation and water supply, with an early example being the Victorian Bazalgette London sewer; Ownership and regulation: The UK has four models of ownership: government department in Northern Ireland, GoCo in Scotland, Mutual in Wales, and private companies in England. But the common thread is strong and clear, regulation to deliver the right outcomes for society; Competition and markets: The UK set up the world's first water retail markets for business customers, delivering savings and environmental benefits. Similar market mechanisms are being developed for sewage sludge, which will help drive circular economy solutions; Innovation: The UK has a huge number of water tech start-ups and most water companies have labs and pilot schemes to support these fledgling companies. At the same time, the English regulator, Ofwat, has established a huge innovation fund, which along with the Scottish Hydro Nation initiative has made the UK the best place in the world for water innovation and tech.


The Best Student Award is one of the incentives initiated by an institution to identify potential students who are not only excellent academically, but also possess great leadership skills. Moreover, these skills may also be enhanced which subsequently contribute to the future of society. Nonetheless, one of the greatest challenges faced by evaluators in the selection process include uncertainty and imprecise data in measuring the students' leadership competencies. Thus, this paper proposes the development of Initiative-Systematic Performance Evaluation (I-SPE) as an initiative tool to measure students' competencies based on Fuzzy Logic Approach. The study focuses on the selection of the best student based on data collected from a leadership programme – Program Kepimpinan Pewaris Bangsa  (PKPB) conducted at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Sarawak, Mukah Campus. In the current practice, tie and time-consuming challenges due to the subjectivity and complexity of measurement criteria are involved. Therefore, I-SPE will assist to provide an improved decision-making solution to evaluators during the evaluation process. Fuzzy logic tools used to develop I-SPE allow the experts to introduce any uncertainty and subjectivity into the evaluation system. The development of fuzzy rules in this model is based on five selected attributes, which include leadership, communication, teamwork, discipline and CGPA. Results obtained indicate that the proposed model I-SPE is able to improve decision-making efficiency that would lead to fairness in selecting the best candidate as compared to the conventional method.
Keywords: Evaluation, Fuzzy logic, Initiative, Leadership, Student's Award


characteristics of highly prevalent seizure disorders in the Gbawein and Wroughbarh clan region of Grand Bassa County, Liberia. Neuroepidemiology 2:35–44. WHO/APOC. (2007) Revitalising health care delivery in sub-Saharan Africa. The potential of community-directed interventions to strengthen health systems. Available at: http://www.who.int/apoc/ publications/HealthCare07_anglais_7_3_08.pdf [Accessed August 4, 2009]. Winkler AS, Friedrich K, Kçnig R, Meindl M, Helbok R, Unterberger I, Gotwald T, Dharsee J, Velicheti S, Kidunda A, Jilek-Aall L, Matuja W, Schmutzhard E. (2008) The head nodding syndrome-Clinical classification and possible causes. Epilepsia 49:2008–2015.


In order to investigate a viable approach to fully exploit the wind speed, the present work investigates the application of a novel wind turbine consisting of dual doubly-fed induction generators (DFIG). The model can be further used to apply in areas where the winds are high to achieve high conversion efficiency in order to produce large electric power and increase the wind turbine capacity with an economy of hardware on the one hand, and to reduce the installation cost on the other. Furthermore, this model is always guarantees the continuity of power production because if one generator fails, the second generator will keep working until the broken one is repaired. The proposed model of the wind turbine based on dual doubly-fed induction generators (WT-dual-DFIG) were using the indirect field-oriented control (IFOC) was validated by wind turbine based on single doubly-fed induction generator (WT-single-DFIG) in MATLAB/Simulink. The results of simulation show that the simulated responses of the WT-dual-DFIG increased the power by a factor of about 14.3% compared to a WT-single-DFIG due to the use of a variable speed dual-DFIG. Finally, we can say that the WT-dual-DFIG model is strongly developed and could be applied in the coming years.


Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a promising desalination technology, and metal-organic framework (MOF)-derived carbon as an electrode material has received more and more attention due to its designable structure. However, MOF-derived carbon materials with single-pore structures have been difficult to meet the technical needs of related fields. In this work, the ordered hierarchical porous carbon framework (OMCF) was prepared by the template method using zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8 (ZIF-8) as a precursor. The pore structures, surface properties, electrochemical properties, and CDI performances of the OMCF were investigated and compared with the microporous carbon framework (MCF), also derived from ZIF-8. The results show that the hierarchical porous carbon OMCF possessed a higher specific surface area, better hydrophilic surface (with a contact angle of 13.45°), and higher specific capacitance and ion diffusion rate than those of the MCF, which made the OMCF exhibit excellent CDI performances. The adsorption capacity and salt adsorption rate of the OMCF in a 500 mg·L-1 NaCl solution at 1.2 V and a 20 mL·min-1 flow rate were 12.17 mg·g-1 and 3.34 mg·g-1·min-1, respectively, higher than those of the MCF. The deionization processes of the OMCF and MCF closely follow the pseudo-first-order kinetics, indicating the double-layer capacitance control. This work serves as a valuable reference for the CDI application of N-doped hierarchical porous carbon derived from MOFs.


We study the minimum time control problem of a series of two interconnected chemostats under the input constraint u2<=u1, where ui are the respective dilution rates in the tanks. This constraint brings controllability issues in the study of the optimal strategies. We encounter this difficulty by splitting the state domain into two sub-domains, one with no lack of controllability of the target, and its complementary is such that any optimal control fulfills u1=u2. We explicit the complete optimal synthesis that depends on the position of the target with respect to semi-permeable curve that passes through a steady-state singular point.


THE RCN has defended hospitals from an MP's claims of a cover-up of thousands of deaths from methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus (MRSA).


Practices within the area of migration and border control are often analysed through a spatial lens. This is understandable: migration studies deal with movement of people across different places and spaces. International migration involves movement across a very specific type of space: states and their borders. This contribution argues that, despite its apparent emphasis on spatiality, migration, and more specifically migration control, has a distinct temporal element. This temporal element needs to be analysed and understood in a close relationship to the spatial aspect of migration and border control. This will lead to a more multifaceted view of migration and border control practices and assist in revealing their discriminatory or inadequate nature more clearly and easily. The paper also proposes a conceptual grid as an initial framework for such an integrated analysis of spatiotemporality of migration and border control.


Drought causes not only the decrease of tobacco yield and quality, but also the lowering of net photosynthetic rate, leading to reactive oxygen species accumulation and even the death of plants. Salicylic Acid is involved in regulating many plant physiological processes and has increasingly been applied to improve tolerance in plants exposed to drought stress. To explore the regulating mechanism of SA, flue-cured tobacco K326 was used in the hydroponic experiments to design PEG drought stress. The photosynthetic characteristics, antioxidant enzymes activities and osmotic regulatory substances contents of tobacco seedlings under drought stress were investigated after 0.3 mmol L-1 SA treatment. Transcriptome sequencing and GO/KEGG analysis were also performed. The main results showed that SA-applied greatly increased the activities of SOD, POD, CAT activity, Pn, proline and soluble protein by 44.27%, 50.18%, 26.23%, 45.74%, 34.67% and 24.91% while reduced the MDA content by 23.89%. GO and KEGG analysis showed that SA treatment was able to up-regulate the genes involved in photosynthesis, carbon metabolism, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, photosynthesis-antenna proteins. The conclusion is that SA application would effectively improve the ability of pigment biosynthesis and photosystem repair of tobacco under drought conditions, thus enhance the photosynthesis, reduce the accumulation of ROS and increase drought resistance, which would provide a measure for alleviating the damage of tobacco caused by drought stress.


Velocity profiles generated from a non-motion compensated Doppler current profiler in a moving shipboard reference frame are subject to a number of systematic distortions. The effect of neglecting the instantaneous static orientation of an AMETEK STRAZA DCP4400A/300 shipboard profiler is illustrated using an approximate numerical model and reference to pitch and roll ground truth data collected aboard C.S.S. DAWSON under heavy sea conditions. Motion compensation algorithms are outlined based on use of a 50 s period compound pendulum and pendulum stabilized accelerometers for inertial reference. These algorithms are presently being implemented on an enhanced IBM PC-XT realtime data acquisition and display system. Included are provisions for static beam geometry correction and noise rejection based on beam redundancy. First order dynamic motion correction is also discussed.


Spectra emitted from laser produced plasmas of Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn have been recorded in the region 170-800 A. In magnesium-like Ca IX to Mn XIV transitions establishing the 1D, 3F and 1G terms of 3d2 have been identified. The 3F and 1G terms are reported also for Fe XV to Zn XIX. Ab initio calculations support the identifications and provide LSJ eigenvector components for the energy levels.


In self-encryption, a device encrypts some piece of information for itself to decrypt in the future. We are interested in security of self-encryption when the state occasionally leaks. Applications that use self-encryption include cloud storage, when a client encrypts files to be stored, and in 0-RTT session resumptions, when a server encrypts a resumption key to be kept by the client. Previous works focused on forward security and resistance to replay attacks. In our work, we study post-compromise security (PCS). PCS was achieved in ratcheted instant messaging schemes, at the price of having an inflating state size. An open question was whether state inflation was necessary. In our results, we prove that post-compromise security implies a super-linear state size in terms of the number of active ciphertexts which can still be decrypted. We apply our result to self-encryption for cloud storage, 0-RTT session resumption, and secure messaging. We further show how to construct a secure scheme matching our bound on the state size up to a constant factor. 2012 ACM Subject Classification Security and privacy → Cryptography


Two diamond-shaped and partially fluorinated dehydrobenz[18]annulene macrocycles have been synthesized through a one-pot synthesis relying on fourfold Sonogashira coupling. Single crystal structures of the prepared macrocycles show continuous columnar stacks of these molecules that are mediated by the fluoroarene–alkyne, arene–alkyne, fluoroarene–fluoroarene, and alkyne–alkyne [π···π] interactions instead of the expected fluoroarene–arene [π···π] interaction.


Hattie: You know, I had some things happen in my life growing up where I just kind of tried to trudge forward. I didn't want to make it harder for, you know, my loved ones or my parents or my friends whoever it was. So I always I never would ask for help. I felt that strength to me was never asking, having to ask for help. Like that in my mind growing up was what I equated to being a strong person and that's all I wanted to be.


Event camera has an enormous potential in challenging scenes for its advantages of high temporal resolution, high dynamic range, low power consumption, and no motion blur. However, event-based learning is hindered by insufficient generalization ability. In this paper, we first analyze the influence of different brightness variations on event data. Then we propose two novel augmentation methods: EventReverse and EventDrift. By reversing and drifting events to their corresponding positions in the spatiotemporal or polarity domain, the proposed methods generate samples affected by different brightness variations, which improves the robustness of eventbased learning and results in a better generalization. Extensive experiments on N-CARS, N-Caltech101 and CIFAR10-DVS datasets demonstrate that our method is general and remarkably effective.


Abstract. In 2020, 17.1% of the population in the European Union was at risk of poverty ( Eurostat, 2021 ). Poverty is often assessed using objective measures such as absolute and relative income levels. However, different individuals may experience different levels of financial stress at the same income level. Therefore, it is crucial to have measures that capture the subjective components of poverty. In this multinational study, we tested the validity and measurement invariance of the Personal Financial Wellness (PFW) scale across six European countries (Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK) and the US, and six languages (German, Italian, Dutch, Slovenian, Spanish, and English). Results provided mixed evidence for the fit of the expected one-factor structure. Exploration of a modified one-factor structure indicated an improved fit. The scale showed excellent reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. This suggests that the PFW scale captures subjective financial stress and is a dependable self-report measure. Measurement invariance testing of the modified one-factor model showed metric invariance across Slovenia, Spain, the UK, and the US. Given that scalar invariance was not achieved and the invariance testing was based on an exploratory model, we do not advise the use of the scale for comparisons between countries.


In this paper, a newly developed moth search optimization (MSO) technique is introduced to solve the complex distributed energy resources (DER) integration problems of distribution systems. In order to overcome some of the limitations observed in the standard variant of MSO, minor corrections are also suggested. On the other hand, a new optimization problem is formulated for optimal deployment of dispatchable distributed generations and shunt capacitors while simultaneously optimizing the tap positions of on-load tap-changing transformers, already deployed in grid substations. The objective of this work is to minimize the cost of annual energy loss and node voltage deviations over multiple load levels. The proposed model is implemented and solved for two benchmark test distribution networks of 33 and 118 buses. The suggested corrections are also validated by comparing the performance of the proposed approach with standard MSO and other available optimization methods. The simulation results show that the developed model optimally utilizes the existing distribution system resources and generates higher deployment benefits at lesser DER penetration as compared to the planning model which ignores these resources.


A scaleable synthesis of 2-bromo-3-fluorobenzonitrile via the NaOMe-catalyzed bromodeboronation of 2-cyano-6-fluorophenylboronic acid was developed. The generality of this transformation was demonstrated through the halodeboronation of a series of aryl boronic acids. Both aryl bromides and aryl chlorides were formed in good to excellent yields when the corresponding aryl boronic acid was treated with 1,3-dihalo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin and 5 mol % NaOMe.


The rapid development of commercial aviation produced the contemporary airport in its wake: a synthesis of culture, consumerism and infrastructure. While airports have remained for the most part in peripheral locations, they have developed to a scale and complexity comparable with that of the city/town centre. Isolated, internalized, edge cites. The Queenstown International Airport is the fourth busiest in New Zealand, with passenger traffic figures set to double in the next 25 years; the Wakatipu Basin in which it resides is currently the 2nd fastest growing population in New Zealand. A subsequent design hypothesis is established in line with the projected growth of both environments, questioning if an urban centre and an airport, two physically antithetical environments, can be synthesized if planned synonymously. A critique of the conventional terminal program is the primary initiator of a new form of development, along with design strategies for injecting the airport terminal into an urban environment. The physical design output of this thesis takes the form of an urban masterplan, contextualizing the town centre in relation to the existing built regions of the Wakatipu Basin, forming a framework to outwork the design of a new international airport at an architectural scale, investigating the implications of the program opened to a pedestrian environment.


Big Data Analytics has been a hot topic in computing systems and varies systems have emerged to better support Big Data Analytics. Though databases have been the data hub for decades, they fall short of Big Data Analytics due to inherent limitations. This dissertation present GLADE-ML, a scalable and efficient parallel database that is specifically tailored for Big Data Analytics. Different from traditional databases, GLADE-ML provides iteration management and explicit or implicit randomization in the execution strategy. GLADE-ML provides in-database analytics which outperforms other in-database analytics solutions by several orders of magnitude.GLADE-ML also introduces dot-product join operator in GLADE-ML. Dot-product join operator is specifically designed for Big Models. Big Data analytics has been approached exclusively from a data-parallel perspective, where data are partitioned to multiple workers – threads or separate servers – and model training is executed concurrently over different partitions, under various synchronization schemes that guarantee speedup and/or convergence. The dual -- Big Model -- problem that, surprisingly, has received no attention in database analytics, is how to manage models with millions if not billions of parameters that do not fit in memory. This distinction in model representation changes fundamentally how in-database analytics tasks are carried out.GLADE-ML supports model parallelism over massive models that cannot fit in memory. GLADE-ML extends the lock-free HOGWILD!-family of algorithms to disk-resident models by vertically partitioning the model offline and asynchronously updating the resulting partitions online. Unlike HOGWILD!, concurrent requests to the common model are minimized by a preemptive push-based sharing mechanism that reduces both the number of disk accesses as well as the cache coherency messages between workers. Extensive experimental results for three widespread analytics tasks on real and synthetic datasets show that the proposed framework achieves similar convergence to HOGWILD!, while being the only scalable solution to disk-resident models.Another distinct feature of GLADE-ML is Hyper-Parameter Tuning. Identifying the optimal hyper-parameters is a time-consuming process that the computation has to be executed from scratch for every dataset/model combination even by experienced data scientists. GLADE-ML provides speculative parameter testing which applies advanced parallel multi-query processing methods to evaluate several configurations concurrently. The number of configurations is determined adaptively at runtime, while the configurations themselves are extracted from a distribution that is continuously learned following a Bayesian process. Online aggregation is applied to identify sub-optimal configurations early in the processing by incrementally sampling the training dataset and estimating the objective function corresponding to each configuration.


Olfactory stimuli are experienced primarily in terms of their hedonic tone and the assessment of olfactory hedonic estimates is a prevalent task in scientific and industrial contexts. However, measuring conditions are poorly standardized. Our study aims to fill this gap, focusing on the influence of anchor stimuli on olfactory hedonic evaluations, frequency of anchor presentation, and temporal stability of results. In n = 31 subjects, hedonic estimates for the 16 odors of the Sniffin' Sticks identification task were assessed on a visual analog rating scale under 4 measuring conditions (nonanchor, pleasant anchor, neutral anchor, unpleasant anchor). To test for stability over time, n = 10 subjects were reassessed 2, 4, and 6 months after original testing. To analyze for possible effects of single versus repeated anchor presentation, n = 15 subjects were retested 2 months after the original session in a multiple anchor presentation format. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between the 4 anchor conditions, thus highlighting the necessity of specifying assessment methods in scientific research. No significant differences between timepoints were observed, indicating a high temporal stability of olfactory hedonic evaluations, especially from timepoint T2 onward. No overall significant effects of single versus multiple anchor presentation were detected. Findings might help to further standardize testing procedures.


This paper deals with the use of a continuous wavelet transform to detect and analyze voltage sags and transients. A recursive algorithm is used and improved to compute the time frequency plane of these electrical disturbances. Characteristics of investigated signals are measured on a time-frequency plane. A comparison between measured characteristics and benchmark values detects the presence of disturbances in analyzed signals and characterizes the type of disturbances. Duration and magnitude of voltage sags are measured, transients are located in the width of the signal. Furthermore, meaningful time and frequency components of transients are measured. The whole method is implemented and tested over a sample representing recorded disturbances. Detection and measurement results are compared using classical methods.


An enzyme which degrades native collagen at neutral pH has been isolated from cultures of rheumatoid synovium in vitro, but little or no collagenolytic activity has been found in homogenates of fresh rheumatoid synovium. Similar to most other mammalian collagenases this synovial enzyme is readily inhibited by serum proteins. Proteins of synovial fluid are derived largely from serum and synovial fluid from noninflamed joints was found to inhibit synovial collagenase; the inhibitor was destroyed by trypsin, but not by hyaluronidase. Inhibitory activity was reduced in approximately one-half of the fluids from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In a total of nine synovial fluids, collagenolytic activity was detectable. This activity was not present in constant amounts in synovial fluids aspirated at different times from the same patient and tended to vary inversely with the titer of inhibitory proteins. The collagenolytic activity in the synovial fluids from different patients was variably inhibited by serum proteins. Two distinct collagenases were detected in some rheumatoid synovial fluids and separated by gel filtration. One, labeled "B" enzyme, with an estimated molecular weight 20,000-25,000 resembled the collagenase obtained from synovial cultures. The other, labeled "A" enzyme degraded collagen fibrils as well as collagen in solution. Disc electrophoresis on acrylamide gels and electron microscopy of segment long spacing (SLS) aggregates of reaction products of the enzymes at 27 degrees C demonstrated that both "A" and "B" enzymes cleaved collagen molecules at a point three-quarters from the amino terminal end of the molecule. Thus collagen degradation in rheumatoid arthritis could result from the operation of these two collagenases.


In this article, the authors examine the evolution of America's varied and often conflicting responses to the needs of its children--more specifically, the historical responses to dependent, neglected, and emotionally disordered children. The authors discuss America's historical ambivalence about whether to institutionalize children or keep them with their families, the relationship between social work professionals and clients, and the lessons that can be learned and applied to current practice. The analysis suggests that social work challenge some of the assumptions upon which prior service and advocacy efforts have been based. The magnitude of the current service system problems warrants a family-centered advocacy stance aimed at improving community-based services. This approach could free social workers to operationalize key values of the profession.


The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment aims to measure the neutrino mass with a sensitivity of 0.2 eV (90 % CL). This will be achieved by a precision measurement of the endpoint region of the β-electron spectrum of tritium decay. The β-electrons are produced in the Windowless Gaseous Tritium Source (WGTS) and guided magnetically through the beamline. In order to accurately extract the neutrino mass the source activity is required to be stable and known to a high precision. The WGTS therefore undergoes constant extensive monitoring from several measurement systems. The Forward Beam Monitor (FBM) is one such monitoring system. The FBM system comprises a complex mechanical setup capable of inserting a detector board into the KATRIN beamline with a positioning precision of better than 0.3 mm. The electron flux density at that position is on the order of 106 s-1 mm-2. The detector board contains two silicon detector chips of p-i-n diode type which can measure the β-electron flux from the source with a precision of 0.1 % within 60 s with an energy resolution of FWHM = 2 keV. The unique challenge in developing the FBM arises from its designated operating environment inside the Cryogenic Pumping Section which is a potentially tritium contaminated ultra-high vacuum chamber at cryogenic temperatures in the presence of a 1 T strong magnetic field. Each of these parameters do strongly limit the choice of possible materials which e.g. caused difficulties in detector noise reduction, heat dissipation and lubrication. In order to completely remove the FBM from the beam tube a 2 m long traveling distance into the beamline is needed demanding a robust as well as highly precise moving mechanism.


We present long-term ($\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{4}M$) axisymmetric simulations of differentially rotating, magnetized neutron stars in the slow-rotation, weak magnetic field limit using a perturbative metric evolution technique. Although this approach yields results comparable to those obtained via nonperturbative (BSSN) evolution techniques, simulations performed with the perturbative metric solver require about $1/4$ the computational resources at a given resolution. This computational efficiency enables us to observe and analyze the effects of magnetic braking and the magnetorotational instability (MRI) at very high resolution. Our simulations demonstrate that (1) MRI is not observed unless the fastest-growing mode wavelength is resolved by $\ensuremath{\gtrsim}10$ gridpoints; (2) as resolution is improved, the MRI growth rate converges, but due to the small-scale turbulent nature of MRI, the maximum growth amplitude increases, but does not exhibit convergence, even at the highest resolution; and (3) independent of resolution, magnetic braking drives the star toward uniform rotation as energy is sapped from differential rotation by winding magnetic fields.


This research investigated the leadership styles of hotel managers in Yangon, Myanmar. Since this research can be considered as one of the pioneer studies in the selected subject, it is exploratory. The primary purpose was to provide an overview of manager leadership styles from the perspective of the research participants. This research used attributes and aspects of three leadership styles - autocratic, democratic and paternalistic as a base to determine the manager leadership styles. The research adopted a qualitative approach and a semi-structured interview method was used in collecting data. In total, nine managers and 24 employees from seven different organisations participated in the research. The research found that the leadership style of managers reflects the attributes of the 'autocratic style' and 'paternalistic style' overwhelmingly.


Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) reportedly exerts beneficial effects on the heart following myocardial infarction and during nonischemic cardiomyopathy, but the precise mechanisms underlying the latter have not been well elucidated. We generated nonischemic cardiomyopathy in mice by injecting them with doxorubicin (15 mg/kg ip). Two weeks later, when cardiac dysfunction was apparent, an adenoviral vector encoding human HGF gene (Ad.CAG-HGF, 1x10(11) particles/mouse) was injected into the hindlimb muscles; LacZ gene served as the control. Left ventricular dilatation and dysfunction normally seen 4 wk after doxorubicin administration were significantly mitigated in HGF-treated mice, as were the associated cardiomyocyte atrophy/degeneration and myocardial fibrosis. Myocardial expression of GATA-4 and a sarcomeric protein, myosin heavy chain, was downregulated by doxorubicin, but the expression of both was restored by HGF treatment. The protective effect of HGF against doxorubicin-induced cardiomyocyte atrophy was confirmed in an in vitro experiment, which also showed that neither cardiomyocyte apoptosis nor proliferation plays significant roles in the present model. Upregulation of c-Met/HGF receptor was noted in HGF-treated hearts. Among the mediators downstream of c-Met, the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) was reduced by doxorubicin, but the activity was restored by HGF. Levels of transforming growth factor-beta1 and cyclooxygenase-2 did not differ between the groups. Our findings suggest the HGF gene delivery exerts therapeutic antiatrophic/degenerative and antifibrotic effects on myocardium in cases of established cardiac dysfunction caused by doxorubicin. These beneficial effects appear to be related to HGF-induced ERK activation and upregulation of c-Met, GATA-4, and sarcomeric proteins.


A comparative investigation of the hydrodynamic instability development on the shock-driven square and rectangular light gas bubbles is carried out numerically. In contrast to the square bubble, both horizontally and vertically aligned rectangular bubbles with different aspect ratios are taken into consideration, highlighting the impacts of aspect ratios on interface morphology, vorticity production, and bubble deformation. Two-dimensional compressible Euler equations for two-component gas flows are simulated with a high-order modal discontinuous Galerkin solver. The results show that the aspect ratio of rectangular bubbles has a considerable impact on the evolution of interface morphology in comparison with a square bubble. In horizontal-aligned rectangular bubbles, two secondary vortex rings connected to the primary vortex ring are produced by raising the aspect ratio. While in vertical-aligned rectangular bubbles, two re-entrant jets are seen close to the top and bottom boundaries of the upstream interface with increasing aspect ratio. The baroclinic vorticity generation affects the deformation of the bubble interface and accelerates the turbulent mixing. Notably, the complexity of the vorticity field keeps growing as the aspect ratio does in horizontal-aligned rectangular bubbles, and the trends are reversed in the vertical-aligned rectangular bubbles. Further, these aspect ratio effects also lead to the different mechanisms of the interface characteristics, including the upstream and downstream distances, width, and height. Finally, the temporal evolution of spatially integrated fields, including average vorticity, vorticity production terms, and enstrophy are analyzed in depth to investigate the impact of aspect ratio on the flow structure.


Safety incentive programs have been around for decades, and until recently, companies in and outside of the power industry have widely supported them as helpful initiatives that motivate employees to work safely. But in the past few years, people have started to question this belief. At the core of their concerns is a fundamental question : Do safety incentive programs effectively reduce accidents?


In this paper, we propose a new sampling strategy for hyperspectral signals that is based on dictionary learning and singular value decomposition (SVD). Specifically, we first learn a sparsifying dictionary from training spectral data using dictionary learning. We then perform an SVD on the dictionary and use the first few left singular vectors as the rows of the measurement matrix to obtain the compressive measurements for reconstruction. The proposed method provides significant improvement over the conventional compressive sensing approaches. The reconstruction performance is further improved by reconditioning the sensing matrix using matrix balancing. We also demonstrate that the combination of dictionary learning and SVD is robust by applying them to different datasets.


CONTEXT
Cardiogenic shock remains the major cause of death for patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Although survival in patients with cardiogenic shock complicating acute MI has been shown to be significantly higher at 1 year in those receiving early revascularization vs initial medical stabilization, data demonstrating long-term survival are lacking.

OBJECTIVE
To determine if early revascularization affects long-term survival of patients with cardiogenic shock complicating acute MI.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS
The Should We Emergently Revascularize Occluded Coronaries for Cardiogenic Shock (SHOCK) trial, an international randomized clinical trial enrolling 302 patients from April 1993 through November 1998 with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (mean [SD] age at randomization, 66 [11] years); long-term follow-up of vital status, conducted annually until 2005, ranged from 1 to 11 years (median for survivors, 6 years).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
All-cause mortality during long-term follow-up.

RESULTS
The group difference in survival of 13 absolute percentage points at 1 year favoring those assigned to early revascularization remained stable at 3 and 6 years (13.1% and 13.2%, respectively; hazard ratio [HR], 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57-0.97; log-rank P = .03). At 6 years, overall survival rates were 32.8% and 19.6% in the early revascularization and initial medical stabilization groups, respectively. Among the 143 hospital survivors, a group difference in survival also was observed (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.36-0.95; P = .03). The 6-year survival rates for the hospital survivors were 62.4% vs 44.4% for the early revascularization and initial medical stabilization groups, respectively, with annualized death rates of 8.3% vs 14.3% and, for the 1-year survivors, 8.0% vs 10.7%. There was no significant interaction between any subgroup and treatment effect.

CONCLUSIONS
In this randomized trial, almost two thirds of hospital survivors with cardiogenic shock who were treated with early revascularization were alive 6 years later. A strategy of early revascularization resulted in a 13.2% absolute and a 67% relative improvement in 6-year survival compared with initial medical stabilization. Early revascularization should be used for patients with acute MI complicated by cardiogenic shock due to left ventricular failure.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00000552.


We feel proud and pleased to introduce you to the launch of International Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation (IJPI), a peer-reviewed and quality focusing publication of InPharm Association. The motto behind the launch of this journal is to help the students, researchers, and scientists worldwide to benefit from the high-quality and peer-reviewed articles and to communicate their high-performing works in the entire arena of pharmaceutics.
At present a number of journals are devoted to publish topics related to pharmaceutics. Although not all, some are of high standards. Then what is the need for IJPI? Our answer is that, compared to the research outcomes, the number of quality journals are less. So researchers have either to compromise with the quality of the journal or they have to wait for much time before their findings are published. IJPI is aimed to solve both by providing a platform for peer-reviewed high-quality manuscripts and rapid processing of these manuscripts toward publication. Also authors are facing a lot of problems, such as delayed response from journals, which decelerates their research activity. In this regard, we would like to say to the contributors that we will thrive to give a rapid response to your submissions in our journal. Authors can directly submit the manuscripts through our journal site http://www.jpionline.org. Read more...


We prove the Turaev-Viro invariants volume conjecture for complements of fundamental shadow links: an infinite family of hyperbolic link complements in connected sums of copies of S1×S2. The main step of the proof is to find a sharp upper bound on the growth rate of the quantum 6j−symbol evaluated at e 2πi r . As an application of the main result, we show that the volume of any hyperbolic 3-manifold with empty or toroidal boundary can be estimated in terms of the Turaev-Viro invariants of an appropriate link contained in it. We also build additional evidence for a conjecture of Andersen, Masbaum and Ueno (AMU conjecture) about the geometric properties of surface mapping class groups detected by the quantum representations.


The scientific journal and scientific paper reconfiguration inside the new prices model transition emphasize a change that opens up the open access environment. With the opening of new managerial chronologies. In the open space authority editors, librarians and authors explain, in the disparity, the responsibility and the models of the information sources. A sustainable and profitable industry search for the kind of interaction that is necessary to the full understanding of the problem. The uneasy relationship between the oceanographic and fisheries problems, its insularity, is a case of variation of the degree of integration that is well exemplified by the "closeness" between the free of charge electronic publications and the costs of the paper publications.


Constant Envelope OFDM provides a solution to the issue of a high peak-to-average power ratio in OFDM by using angle modulation to transform the OFDM signal to a constant envelope signal. However, Constant Envelope OFDM is based on nonlinear angle modulation and therefore presents its own unique set of challenges. These challenges are studied in this dissertation and addressed through the application of signal reception, equalization and error correction coding techniques to enable robust Constant Envelope OFDM performance. The impact of the threshold effect on Constant Envelope OFDM is studied. More specifically, the impact of cycle slip noise, both due to the threshold effect and phase wrapping issues, on Constant Envelope OFDM performance is considered. A novel cycle slip mitigation technique is developed which results in significant threshold extension. Novel receivers for Constant Envelope OFDM are also developed which allow for a lower complexity receiver implementation. These receivers alleviate the need to employ a phase demodulator at the receiver also resulting in immunity from the threshold effect and phase wrapping issues. The performance of these linear receivers is studied in additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and multipath fading channels and they are shown to perform well compared to the conventional arctangent based receiver. In frequency selective fading channels, a frequency domain equalizer is applied to Constant Envelope OFDM and shown to provide good performance in all cases. Since the performance of the frequency domain equalizer depends on the quality of the channel estimate, the effect of the amplifier nonlinearities on the channel estimate is studied for the case of alternate channel estimation training symbols. Furthermore, the application of error correction coding to Constant Envelope OFDM is also studied for the alternate receivers in AWGN and multipath fading channels. Finally, the impact of narrowband interference on Constant Envelope OFDM is studied. A prediction error filter (PEF) is employed to mitigate the narrowband interference resulting in significant performance improvement at low signal to interference ratios


Exact land cover inventory data should be extracted for future landscape prediction and seismic hazard assessment. This paper presents a comprehensive study towards the sustainable development of Tabriz City (NW Iran) including land cover change detection, future potential landscape, seismic hazard assessment and municipal performance evaluation. Landsat data using maximum likelihood (ML) and Markov chain algorithms were used to evaluate changes in land cover in the study area. The urbanization pattern taking place in the city was also studied via synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data of Sentinel-1 ground range detected (GRD) and single look complex (SLC). The age of buildings was extracted by using built-up areas of all classified maps. The logistic regression (LR) model was used for creating a seismic hazard assessment map. From the results, it can be concluded that the land cover (especially built-up areas) has seen considerable changes from 1989 to 2020. The overall accuracy (OA) values of the produced maps for the years 1989, 2005, 2011 and 2020 are 96%, 96%, 93% and 94%, respectively. The future potential landscape of the city showed that the land cover prediction by using the Markov chain model provided a promising finding. Four images of 1989, 2005, 2011 and 2020, were employed for built-up areas' land information trends, from which it was indicated that most of the built-up areas had been constructed before 2011. The seismic hazard assessment map indicated that municipal zones of 1 and 9 were the least susceptible areas to an earthquake; conversely, municipal zones of 4, 6, 7 and 8 were located in the most susceptible regions to an earthquake in the future. More findings showed that municipal zones 1 and 4 demonstrated the best and worst performance among all zones, respectively.


Abstract Kainulainen, K., P.E. Berry & B. Van Ee (2017). Rediscovery of two species of Croton (Euphorbiaceae) from littoral habitats of eastern Madagascar. Candollea 72: 35–44. In English, English and French abstracts. Two species of Croton L. (Euphorbiaceae) previously reported only from their type specimens, Croton chapelieri Baill. and Croton vatomandrensis Leandri, are reevaluated here and found to be geographically widespread along the eastern coastline of Madagascar. We provide updated descriptions, lists of selected additional specimens, distribution maps, and photographs of both species. We also designate an epitype for Croton chapelieri and a lectotype for Croton vatomandrensis. Croton chapelieri was the source of considerable taxonomic confusion, and we treat as synonyms here for the first time Croton aymoninorum Leandri, Croton louvelii Leandri, Croton daphniphylloides Radcl.-Sm., Croton daphniphyllum Radcl.-Sm., Croton daphniphyllum var. hirsutus Radcl.-Sm., and Croton rhododendroides Radcl-Sm. Croton chapelieri var. longepetiolata Radcl-Sm. is considered to be a synonym of Croton submetallicus Baill. With our improved understanding of the geographical ranges of Croton chapelieri and Croton vatomandrensis, we provide IUCN Red List conservation assessments for both species.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease, which is likely to be driven by activated pro-inflammatory Th1 cells. In contrast, Th2 cells and their cytokines, in particular IL-4 are rarely found in RA. It could recently be demonstrated that memory T cells from patients with early RA manifest a profound functional deficit in that they cannot differentiate into Th2 cells even at very early stages of the disease. The inability of memory T cells to mount immunomodulatory Th2 effectors might contribute to the Th1 bias in RA and, thus, might by critically involved in the initiation of chronic autoimmune inflammation. The mechanisms, however, involved in this abnormality have not been delineated in detail. We have recently established a system to analyse T cell differentiation in vitro and have identified molecular mechanisms regulating Th2 effector generation in healthy individuals. In the current proposal, molecular mechanisms will be identified that are involved in the development of Th1 mediated immunity in patients with very early rheumatoid arthritis (symptoms at time of blood collection of ≤2 weeks) using gene chip microarray technology. Selected candidate genes associated with the Th2 cell differentiation defect will be tested for their functional significance in biological assays. The definition of mechanisms contributing to the Th1 differentiation bias in very early RA will provide important insights into the pathogenesis of the disease, in particular into the initial steps of the evolving immune response, and might lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies.


The H. H. T. Jackson Award was established in 1977 for the purpose of providing recognition to individuals who have rendered long and outstanding service to the American Society of Mammalogists. Previous awardees are William B. Davis, William H. Burt, Bryan P. Glass, J. Knox Jones, Jr., Oliver Pearson, Sydney Anderson, Murray Johnson, Donald F. Hoffmeister, Karl F. Koopman, Marie A. Lawrence, John O. Whitaker, Jr., B. J. Verts, J. Mary Taylor, Robert J. Baker, James A. Lackey, Don E. Wilson, Clyde Jones, Gordon L. Kirkland, Jr., Elmer C. Birney, Richard W. Thorington, Jr., Suzanne B. McLaren, H. Duane and Dahnelle B. Smith, Hugh H. Genoways, Alfred L. Gardner, David M. Leslie, Jr., Barbara H. Blake, Michael A. Mares, Glennis A. Kaufman, and Thomas J. McIntyre. Nominations and letters of support should contain specific information on the nominee's service to the ASM. A complete nomination package includes: 1) a nomination letter; 2) a recent version of the nominee's curriculum vitae; and 3) no more than 5 letters of support. All of these materials should be incorporated by the nominator into a single PDF document and transmitted via e-mail to ensure receipt be Guy N. Cameron (E-mail: email@example.com) no later than 15 March 2011. The awardee is announced at the banquet of the annual meeting of the society.


A~stract-Minority-carrier lifetime and diffusion coefficient are determined by a new method using the Fourier transforms of transient responses following optical excitation. We demonstrate the method (frequency-domain transient analysis, FDTA) and show that it is more plausible and accurate than other time-domain techniques. The diffusion coefficient in a p-type 0.16-Q.cm base was measured and found to be 17 + 1 cm*/s. The method can be applied to characterize bulk wafers, epitaxial layers, solar cells, and other bipolar devices. Extension to devices operating in the dark is discussed.


Crops Research Division, Chungcheongnam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, Chungnam 340-861, KoreaAbstractStephania delavayi Diels. (S. delavayi Diels.) has been used as a drug for pain-relieving and acute gastroenteritis treatment in China. Because the major therapeutic mechanism of anti-inflammatory drug is to inhibit the cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and because COX-2 proteins inhibit apoptosis, COX-2 inhibitor has been thought as the anticancer drug candidate. For this reason, we examined S. delavayi Diels. as an anticancer drug. S. delavayi Diels. was fractionated with methanol and then partitioned with ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and reducing power. DPPH radical scavenging activities of the crude fractions at the concentration of 1,000 μg/mL were 75.23% (n-butanol), 68.11% (methanol), 63.58% (ethyl acetate), and 50.13% (water). The reducing power increased according to the concentration in dose-dependent manner. Also, when the anti- proliferation effects of each fraction against human breast cancer cell-lines MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 were examined, methanol extract, n-butanol fraction and ethyl acetate fraction exhibited cell proliferative inhibition effects in both cell-lines whereas water fraction did not. Among the crude fractions, the n-butanol fraction exhibited the most potent anti-proliferation effect. In conclusion, fractions from S. delavayi Diels. are promising anticancer drug candidates.Key words: Stephania delavayi Diels., fraction, antioxidant, anti-proliferation against cancer cell-line


The evaluation of inbred lines within a program of hybrid maize requires not only the determination of lines production per-se but also that of the average behaviour of their hybrid combinations (General Combining Aptitude) and their capacity to produce higher hybrid combinations among them (Specific Combining Aptitude). The aim of this work was the analysis of the General Combining Aptitude (GCA) of eleven forage maize inbred lines derived from the original crossing between Zea mays L. x Zea diploperennis Iitis , Doebley and Guzman, and the Specific Combining Aptitude (SCA) of the progeny of a pimple and direct diallelic among them. The total aerial plant forage mass and their morphological components are evaluated in comparison with a commercial hybrid. The GCA/SCA rate was high for all the production characters evaluated, showing low dominance effect or over-dominance, maybe due to a slight difference among lines. GCA was found to be significant for the production of leaves -line 4 (LE 785) presented the highest values and was also favoured with the GCA highest values for stem and whole plant. Line 2 (LE 769) GCA was found satisfactory for corncob production. The crossing (2 x 4) showed good behaviour in the production of forage and since this is due to the genetic contribution of their progeny lines, it would be interesting to begin a recurrent selection program, starting with the first segregating generation of this crossing, trying a favourable gene recombination of the forage mass.


The variable dose (VD), Tm–Tstop, initial rise, variable heating rate, peak shape and computerized glow curve deconvolution (CGCD) methods were used to determine the number of peaks, the order of kinetics (b), the activation energy (Ea) and attempt-to-escape frequency (s) associated with the dosimetric glow peak of α-Al2O3 : C after β-irradiation at a dose level between 0.02 and 288 Gy. The Ea–Tstop and CGCD methods indicated that the dosimetric peak of this crystal is the superposition of at least two components (peak 2a and 2b). When the dose level reaches and exceeds saturation point, a third peak (peak 2c) is also evident on the low temperature side of the dosimetric peak. The VD and CGCD methods indicated that both components of the dosimetric peak have general-order kinetics that change with doses. The dose responses of peak 2a follow linear, supralinear, saturation and sublinear patterns, whereas peak 2b does not exhibit supralinear behaviour. They are saturated at different dose levels, peak 2a at D = 10 Gy and peak 2b at D = 5 Gy. Ea–Tstop plots obtained at two different dose levels (D = 10 and 1 Gy) indicated that the efficiency of thermal quenching effect on this sample is highly dependent on the dose level and decreases with increasing dose level, which also has pronounced effects on the evaluated kinetic and thermal quenching parameters of the dosimetric peak.


Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) is used to probe the distribution of sputtered copper atoms in the body of a discharge cell specially constructed to reproduce the environment of a hollow-cathode lamp. The use of a reconstruction in the treatment of data obtained from absorption measurements is detailed and demonstrated. Sample data from sputtering cells filled with argon and neon are evaluated. The resulting backprojection data set enables a numerical density of atoms at the top of the cathode bore to be determined. To illustrate the effectiveness of the technique, this value is calculated for data taken from copper cathodes operating in sputtering cells filled with argon and neon. Comment is made upon the usefulness and accuracy of the method.


In this paper, we consider a power allocation problem for iterative multiuser decoding in a coded code-division multiple access (CDMA) system. Subject to given bit error rate performance targets for all users, the power allocation problem is formulated based on previously proposed large system analysis results for iterative multiuser decoding. The resulting power allocation problem is in general nonconvex and cannot be solved efficiently. However, under certain assumptions the problem can be reformulated into a quasiconvex optimization problem, which in turn can be solved efficiently by a sequence of convex feasibility problems. The approach is applied to a complexity reduced belief propagation multiuser detector as well as to popular interference cancellation based detectors. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed power allocation algorithm in finite-size systems. It is found that the belief propagation detector is more power and complexity efficient than the interference cancellation based detectors.


In this work, we study the elimination of three bivalent metal ions (Cd2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+) by adsorption onto natural illitic clay (AM) collected from Marrakech region in Morocco. The characterization of the adsorbent was carried out by X-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The influence of physicochemical parameters on the clay adsorption capacity for ions Cd2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+, namely the adsorbent dose, the contact time, the initial pH imposed on the aqueous solution, the initial concentration of the metal solution and the temperature, was studied. The adsorption process is evaluated by different kinetic models such as the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and Elovich. The adsorption mechanism was determined by the use of adsorption isotherms such as Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin models. Experiments have shown that heavy metals adsorption kinetics onto clay follows the same order, the pseudo-second order. The isotherms of adsorption of metal cations by AM clay are satisfactorily described by the Langmuir model and the maximum adsorption capacities obtained from the natural clay, using the Langmuir isotherm model equation, are 5.25, 13.41, and 15.90 mg/g, respectively for Cd(II), Cu(II), and Pb(II) ions. Adsorption of heavy metals on clay is a spontaneous and endothermic process characterized by a disorder of the medium. The values of ΔH are greater than 40 kJ/mol, which means that the interactions between clay and heavy metals are chemical in nature.


The providing of financial services to the poor and the very-poor, particularly in rural areas, is the purpose of microfinance institutions (MFIs), and the assessment of the regulatory framework for MFIs is part of broader assessment of adequacy of access. Access, however, is multidimensional, and assessing its adequacy requires a review of (a) the range of financial services provided—and target groups served—by several tiers of formal, semiformal, and informal financial institutions; (b) the demand for financial services from households, microenterprises, and small businesses at different levels of the income strata; and (c) the different combinations of financial service providers, the users of those services, and the range of services that prevail in different geographical segments of the market. The primary objectives of the assessment of the adequacy of access are (a) to identify the gaps that exist (and that need to be corrected) in the range of products that are available for different layers of households, microenterprises, and small businesses in various geographic markets; and (b) to assess whether the regulatory framework for financial transactions helps expand or restrict access to the needed financial services.


ABSTRACT Over the past several decades, prominent public management and policy scholars have repeatedly identified institutional analysis as a promising tool for empirical research, particularly for the study of 'new governance' phenomena where policy is enacted and implemented by actors that span organizations, sectors, jurisdictions, and governance levels. Yet, relatively few empirical studies directly measure and model institutions in management and policy settings. In a systematic review of the literature, we identify challenges and barriers that may prevent management and policy scholars from engaging with institutional analysis, along with examples of studies that illustrate how to overcome these challenges in practice.


The Nearctic and Neotropical realms converge in central Mexico, where many areas have not been adequately characterized. Our objective was to revise the distribution and conservation status of carnivores in the state of Puebla, central Mexico. Between September 2008 and January 2011, we conducted interviews and fieldwork on seven previously selected areas. We complemented our data with bibliographical research. We obtained 733 records for 21 species, representing 63% of the carnivores reported for Mexico. We expanded known ranges of three species: Ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis ), Bobcat ( Lynx rufus ), and Tropical Ringtail ( Bassariscus sumichastrii ). Fifty percent of the carnivore species we recorded in Puebla are considered under some risk category. We found that carnivores in our study area are vulnerable to hunting pressure, human-carnivore conflicts that result in lethal control practices, and extensive habitat loss.


Using unbalanced panel data from the small and medium enterprise surveys in Vietnam in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015, this paper investigates factors associated with informality in Vietnam. We assume that household businesses, especially the top tier firms, become formal either because they perceive benefits of formalization such as an increase in the household performance, or because they want to escape bribes and harassment. Using the random effects model with controlling for the pre-formalization trends, our results show that productive household businesses stay informal because net costs from tax payment may surpass net benefits from formalization. Moreover, government controls do not promote formalization, especially among the 'upper' tiers of informal households. Our findings raise a suspicion of collusion corruption between informal households in the top tiers and government tax officials. This opens room for future qualitative and quantitative studies to investigate collusion corruption as a determinant of informality in developing countries.


In this thesis we present a distributed algorithm designed for peer-to-peer (P2P) networks that can efficiently solve the problem of minimum k-center. The algorithm iteratively improves the deployment of service access points and by that the quality of service (QoS) for the service clients. Algorithm autonomously adapts to changes in the network and converges towards better service deployment. By doing so, it improves the QoS for the clients in P2P networks. The main goals of our work was development of a distributed algorithm solving the facility location problem of minimum k-centers. The algorithm was applied to the problem of service deployment location in the PlanetLab globally distributed research network.

In the development of the algorithm, we used a simulator for distributed algorithms PeerSim and our own communication framework DCenter. We analyzed the solutions of the new distributed algorithm by simulating the algorithm in the networks of up to 1500 nodes. We found out that the quality of solutions to these problems follow the trends of existing serial 2-approximation algorithms solving the problem of the minimum k-center. We tested the algorithm on static networks provided by the standard OR-LIB library on different values of the parameter k. It was observed that in cases of small value of k the new distributed algorithm yielded better results than the serial 2-approximative Gonzalez algorithm. We tested the algorithm on dynamic networks where we noticed that removing the nodes from the network was not the most time consuming operation (20 to 50 percent more messages). Adding the nodes introduced up to 2-times more network traffic than removing the nodes. The implementation was tested in PlanetLab research network running the algorithm in generic networks of up to 40 nodes. Networks were created using the universal network generator BRITE which was also used in the case of dynamic networks.

Using the proposed distributed algorithm we have approximately solved the NP-hard minimum k-center problem. Moreover, we have shown that the usage of this algorithm would provide better user experience in the distributed environment in P2P networks by improving on the QoS in the network.


Abstract More than 98 million adolescent girls are not in school. Can girls influence their schooling without changes in their family's economic environment? In Rajasthan, India, we examine the impact of a school-based life skills program that seeks to address low aspirations, narrow societal roles for girls and women, restricted networks of social support, and limited decision-making power. We find the intervention causes a 25% decline in school dropout that persists from seventh grade through the transition to high school. Improvements in socioemotional support among girls exposed to the intervention seem especially important in their decision to stay in school.


Theory predicts respiratory instabilities at elevated system loop gain (G), determined by such factors as ventilatory CO(2) sensitivity, set-point PCO(2), and metabolic rate. In anesthetized rabbits, the effects on G of carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibitors and of different sodium/proton exchanger type 3 (NHE3) inhibitors were studied. Acetazolamide significantly reduced G by 42.0 +/- 9.3% and methazolamide by 35.0 +/- 9.5% (each n = 7, P<0.01). Irrespective of the substance, NHE3 inhibition reduced G by 33.0 +/- 7.8% (n = 10, P<0.01) at 35.5 +/- 1.6 mmHg PaCO(2) (mean +/-SE), but not at lower arterial CO(2) levels (n=5). Since high baseline PCO(2) coincides with elevated brainstem NHE3 mRNA expression, this may also account for a higher risk of sleep apnea (or even occurrence of sudden infant death). Therefore, NHE3 inhibitors may gain similar therapeutic importance in the treatment of irregular breathing as CA inhibitors. Generally, effective treatment should aim at a low system loop gain, by reducing respiratory chemosensitivity, improving blood gases and preventing low metabolic rates.


This paper presents 5 GHz LC VCO designs fabricated in 0.13 μm SOI and bulk CMOS process technolgies. Technology advantages, considerations, and trade-offs are compared for high performance VCO design. A methodology for designing a low FOM VCO is given. The SOI VCO achieves a phase noise of -131 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset and consumes 6 mW. The bulk VCO has a phase noise of -132 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset and draws 6.2 mW. Both of these VCOs achieve a FOM value of nearly -200 dBc/Hz.


Purpose: The Watson-Jones interval plane between tensor fascia lata (TFL) and the gluteus medius (GM) has come back into fashion in the past few years - Röttinger described the anterolateral minimal invasive approach (ALMI) for use in total hip replacement, in which the standard Watson-Jones interval was used, but with a completely intermuscular plane. However, the term anterolateral is often still utilised to describe intramuscular approaches in which the GM was violated, thus creating a potential misunderstanding in the literature. Accordingly, we have designed a study to answer the following questions: (1) are there articles in the recent literature that use the term "anterolateral" to describe different approaches; (2) which would be the correct description of the anterolateral approach? Methods: We did a systematic review of the literature based on PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, to look for peer reviewed papers of any evidence level focusing on the definition of anterolateral approach; MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched. Results: 73 manuscripts met the criteria of the systematic search. 53 papers (72.6%) reported the term anterolateral approach to describe a complete intermuscular approach between the interval between GM and TFL. Nonetheless, in the remaining 20 papers (27.4%) the term anterolateral was used to describe intramuscular approaches in which the gluteus medius was violated. Conclusion: In about 1 out of 4 papers in the recent literature, the term anterolateral was utilised to describe approaches that are completely different both in terms of anatomy and function.


Introduction and objectives (1): It is currently important to be able to establish logical plans for physical work and/or nutrition aimed at achieving optimal levels of performance and wellbeing. To achieve this, it is crucial to understand anthropometric data and how they relate to body type and, above all, how they associate with parameters linked to health. The present study, therefore, proposed to examine intersexual morphological differences and to determine the existing relationship between somatotype and BMI in a sample of school sports players from Huacho (Peru). Material and methods (2): A descriptive, comparative, correlational, and transversal study was delivered within a sample of 294 students (165 males and 129 females). Participants were aged between 12–16 years and regularly participated in team sports at competitive school level. All participants took part in the anthropometric examination in order to determine their somatotype and body mass index (BMI). Results (3): Significant differences were found to exist between the sexes in practically all of the anthropometric measures. The data demonstrated a high index of overweight and obesity. Further, the zones of occupation of the somatochart for both populations showed a displacement towards endomorphism, and that the level of typological similarity between populations was 30.54%. Conclusions (4): Results indicate a serious need for training so that adolescent students acquire healthy habits and lifestyles.


In this study a telemedicine system based on embedded computer system is presented, which is designed specially for the need of immediate medical treatment in remote areas. In the system embedded Linux is cut down, customized and ported into the monitor terminal. Data interchange between the monitor center and the terminal via Internet and GPRS is introduced. This system which is convenient, portable and high cost-effective, can tele-monitor four vital bio-signals, such as cardiograph, blood pressure, respiration and temperature through GPRS or Internet, which is of great improvement for development of telemedicine in developing countries


One strategy for population suppression seeks to use gene drive to spread genes that confer conditional lethality or sterility, providing a way of combining population modification with suppression. Stimuli of potential interest could be introduced by humans, such as an otherwise benign virus or chemical, or occur naturally on a seasonal basis, such as a change in temperature. Cleave and Rescue (ClvR) selfish genetic elements use Cas9 and guide RNAs (gRNAs) to disrupt endogenous versions of an essential gene while also including a Rescue version of the essential gene resistant to disruption. ClvR spreads by creating loss-of-function alleles of the essential gene that select against those lacking it, resulting in populations in which the Rescue provides the only source of essential gene function. As a consequence, if function of the Rescue, a kind of Trojan horse now omnipresent in a population, is condition dependent, so too will be the survival of that population. To test this idea, we created a ClvR in Drosophila in which Rescue activity of an essential gene, dribble, requires splicing of a temperature-sensitive intein (TS-ClvRdbe). This element spreads to transgene fixation at 23 °C, but when populations now dependent on Ts-ClvRdbe are shifted to 29 °C, death and sterility result in a rapid population crash. These results show that conditional population elimination can be achieved. A similar logic, in which Rescue activity is conditional, could also be used in homing-based drive and to bring about suppression and/or killing of specific individuals in response to other stimuli.


The increase in the reported cases of tuberculosis in Rhode Island from 1985 to 1991 has been striking. This rise has occurred at a faster rate than that for the United States overall. Although the HIV epidemic is largely to blame for the resurgence of tuberculosis nationwide, its impact on tuberculosis locally has been muted. The rise in reported cases in Rhode Island is attributable mainly to increased cases among minority groups, particularly Southeast Asians. Blacks and Hispanics are likewise at an increased risk for developing active disease. Especially alarming is the dramatic rise in the number of tuberculosis cases reported in children in Rhode Island, a reflection of active disease transmission in the community. The Rhode Island Tuberculosis Control Program, already functioning at full capacity, must find ways of curbing the growing tuberculosis problem.


The purpose of this study is to examine the structural relations between Turkish high school students' 'force and motion' specific epistemologies and their conceptual understanding of this topic. An instrument measuring connotative aspects of epistemological beliefs by adjectives have been adapted and distributed together with Force Concept Inventory. 284 students have participated. Exploratory factor analysis has revealed that the instrument has four dimensions in topic specific epistemologies: certainty, simplicity, source and justification. Structural equation modeling analysis has showed that sophistication in certainty and justification dimensions have positively related to conceptual understanding whereas sophistication in source dimension has negatively related. Additionally, simplistic beliefs have not significantly related to students' conceptual understanding of 'force and motion'.


Background: Rates of implant failure, wound healing delay, and infection are higher in patients having RT after tissue expander (TE) and permanent implant reconstruction. Some have suggested greater complications with increased body mass index (BMI) and with diabetes. Patients and Methods: 127 patients had bilateral TE reconstruction and radiation from 2003 to 2013 at two centers. In 95% (121/127) of cases RT was performed while the TE was in place with the permanent implant inserted after RT. 3D-CRT technique included 50 Gy with daily or every other day bolus and forward planned segments. The supraclavicular and/or internal mammary lymph node bearing regions were treated in 82.7% (105/127) cases. The non-irradiated breast provided an internal control. Chi-squared testing of pretreatment factors included radiation, chemotherapy, and medical history of hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular, and pulmonary disease. BMI, tobacco and alcohol use, use of antiestrogen, statin, antidepressant, antihypertensive, anxiolytics, and antidiabetic medications were also studied. Comparison of differences in means for continuous variables used analysis of variance, then multiple pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni correction of p-value. Results : Mean age was 53 ± 10.1 years with just 14.6% African- American. Twelve (9.4%) were BRCA positive (9 BRCA1, 4 BRCA2, 1 Both). Nearly all complications were in the radiated breast. Complications were: Grade 0 (no complication; 43.9%), Grade 1 (tightness and/or drifting of implant or Baker grade II capsular contracture; 30.9 %), Grade 2 (infection, hypertrophic scarring, or incisional necrosis; 9.8%), Grade 3 (Baker grade III capsular contracture, wound dehiscence, or impending exposure of implant; 5.7%), Grade 4 (implant failure, exchange of implant, or Baker grade IV capsular contracture; 9.8%). 15.3 percent (19 cases) experienced grade 3 or 4 complication and 9.8% (12 cases) had grade 4 complication. Considering non-irradiated breasts, there were two (1.6%) Grade 3-4 complications. For BMI, there was no significant difference by category as defined by the CDC (p=0.91). Patients history of HRT tended to be more likely to have Grade 3 or 4 complications (31.8% vs 12.4% respectively; p=0.08). Patients with depression were more likely to experience a Grade 3 or 4 complication (29.4% vs 13.2%; p=0.01). Multiple logistic regression was used to predict the probability of a Grade 3 or 4 complication with HR use and depression as independent variables. Patients with depression were 4.2 times more likely to have a Grade 3 or 4 complication (OR=4.2, p=0.03) and patients with a history of HRT use were 3.4 times more likely to experience a Grade 3 or 4 complication (OR = 3.4, p=0.04). Only clinical diagnosis of depression was considered as 12/31 (38.7%) with antidepressants used only venlafaxine. Neither BRCA status (p=0.72) nor chemotherapy factors (p=0.42) were associated with complication rates. Conclusions: Higher rates of TE reconstruction complications may be expected in patients receiving radiotherapy. Patients reporting medical history of depression or HRT use showed statistically significant increase in complication rates. This effect might be attributed to a drug effect or to patient factors such as body image. Citation Format: Wagner RM, Spzunar SM, Stefani WA, Falk JS, Williams JL, Edhayan E, Dul CL, Rodriguez D, Busuito MJ, Browne CH, Aref A, Rabbani AN, Chuba PJ. Radiation and depression associated with complications of tissue expander reconstruction. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-13-02.


Medicines' management is a priority in healthcare delivery, but weaknesses in the monitoring and management of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) cause unplanned hospital admissions, financial burdens on healthcare systems, patient discomfort, morbidity, and mortality. This paper suggests policies and strategies that would help nurses minimise and manage ADRs to prescription medicines. The literature was searched for strategies to promote nurses' engagement with monitoring patients for potential ADRs. This narrative review opens the discussion by exploring the potential for nurse policy makers to address this hiatus in care. Recognition, amelioration and reporting of ADRs are important components of safe care, areas where nurses could make important contributions through collaboration in policy development, healthcare reform and enhanced nursing practice. Minimising ADRs necessitates paying sufficient attention to their recognition and prevention. Healthcare providers, particularly nurse leaders, need to commit to strategies to identify and address any adverse consequences of treatments, including ADRs: the axiom primum non nocere (first, do no harm) should be applied to all healthcare delivery. The application of structured nurse-led medicines' monitoring in practice depends on the collaboration of all healthcare professionals, co-ordinated by nurses. Incorporation of strategies to identify and ameliorate preventable ADRs into routine work will require the support of policy makers.


This study drew on data from a large, randomized trial of Cognitive Tutor Algebra (CTA) in high-poverty settings to investigate how mathematics curricula and classroom achievement related to teacher reports of time spent on inquiry-based and lecture-based mathematics activities. We found that teachers using the CTA curriculum reported more time on inquiry-based activities and less time on teacher lecture activities overall compared to non-CTA teachers. However, both CTA and non-CTA teachers of the highest-achieving students spent more time on inquiry-based activities compared to teachers of lower-achieving students. Additionally, CTA teachers in classrooms with the most low-achieving and non-gifted students reported almost as much time on lecturebased activities as their non-CTA counterparts. Qualitative findings suggest that CTA teachers engaged in more traditional lecture-based activities and fewer inquiry-based activities when they thought their lower-achieving students could not tackle the reading open-ended activities in the curriculum without explicit demonstration and traditional practice problems. CTA thus appeared to increase inquiry-based activities in teachers' classrooms overall. However, lower-achieving students may have had needs unaddressed by the CTA curriculum. These findings thus imply that districts should think carefully about how to implement CTA and—potentially—other inquiry-based curricula in order to support teachers of students with the highest needs and least preparation.


The purpose of this research paper is to develop and examine a research model to understand the factors that affect the intention to use mobile banking services in Saudi Arabia. Based on a paper-based survey of 253 respondents, the study utilized a Partial Least Squares (PLS) to empirically test the model. The results indicated strong support for the validity of proposed model with 66,7% of the variance in intention to use mobile banking. The results also indicated that compatibility was the strongest facilitator of intention while perceived risk was a barrier to the intention to use mobile banking. Trust had strong negative relationship with perceived risk, indicating that trust may alleviate the risk barrier, which could influence intention to use mobile banking. Contrary to previous research, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use did not have significant effect on intention to use mobile banking. The implications of the findings were discussed and suggestions for future research were presented.


This study attempts to estimate the impact of mega sports events organization on the stock market. For this purpose, there were selected seven sporting events taking place in the World Cup and European Football Championships and summer and winter Olympic Games. Next their impact on national equity markets represented by the major stock indices was determined. The study was conducted in two periods of research, ie the date of publication decision to hold an event and during the event itself.


In this paper, a theory of multiple-valued threshold functions over the field of complex numbers is further developed. k-valued threshold functions over the field of complex numbers can be learned using a single multi-valued neuron (MVN). We propose a new approach for the projection of a k-valued function, which is not a threshold one, to m-valued logic (m≫k), where this function becomes a partially defined m-valued threshold function and can be learned by a single MVN. To build this projection, a periodic activation function for the MVN is used. This new activation function and a modified learning algorithm make it possible to learn nonlinearly separable multiple-valued functions using a single MVN.


Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory, immune-mediated, demyelinating, neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system. Despite the lack of an etiologic factor, it has been consistently demonstrated that the immune system plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of MS. The traditional description of immunopathogenesis of MS suggests a preferential CD4+ TH1 cell activity causing tissue damage by the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and subsequent demyelination and axonal loss. Recent evidence, however, suggests that other immune cells including TH17 cells, CD8+ effector T cells, CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells, and B cells may play a prominent role in MS immunopathology. A better understanding of the molecular and cellular components of the immunopathogenesis of MS is allowing the development of novel therapies.


Temperature-dependent Raman studies on Na2WO4and Na2MoO4 crystals were performed in order to obtain information on structural changes induced by temperature evolution. The stability of the cubic phase of Na2WO4and Na2MoO4crystals was assessed and our results indicate that this phase is stable in the 8–823 K and 15–773 K ranges for Na2WO4 and Na2MoO4, respectively. The crystal of Na2WO4 shows a phase transition occurring at 833 K. Na2MoO4undergoes a sequence of three phase transitions, which were observed at 783–803, 823–913 and 943–950 K. In both crystals, a strong first-order phase transition occurs as indicated by the behavior of the Raman modes: the Raman bands split and new bands appear below 100 cm−1. These transitions are connected with tilting and/or rotations of the WO4and MoO4 tetrahedra, which leads to a disorder at the WO4and MoO4 sites. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Technology Focus
 Maximizing recovery and production used to be the main goal of field development plans, but that may be in the past. Extended periods of low oil prices and the incumbent use of data-driven work flows have triggered changes in the development of field development plans toward maximizing economic margins.
 Recent advances in field development are not based on specific technical breakthroughs (although shale oil and gas and deep oil owe a lot to those) but on economic models and scenarios run at the very beginning, before any dollar is invested. This is true for companies large or small, public or private, and for national oil companies.
 Major SPE conferences in 2017 and 2018 were hubs for numerous technical papers that portray the new trends in field development, such as basing decisions on the analysis of economic models and profitability elements. Certainly, operating companies are migrating from complex, lengthy, and bureaucratic approaches to capital-expenditure (CAPEX) decisions and approvals for field development plans to more data-driven decisions based on economic analysis using new tools.
 Artificial intelligence, supervised/ guided machine learning, and massive and advanced data analytics play fundamental roles in the preparation of new field development plans, where well, field, and facilities information is shaped into high-resolution models that consider the micro and the macro elements. What previously was considered luxurious, such as high-resolution 3D seismic data and digital technologies, has become fundamental. Focusing on the maximization of margins using data-driven work flows enables better decisions at the field development stage and has yielded dramatic CAPEX/operational-expenditure optimizations and reductions, shrinking the time to first oil and triggering approvals of plans quicker.
 I am confident you will enjoy reading these articles outlining the new trends in field development. The industry is evolving toward a data-driven approach to profitability, and we need to catch the wave.
 Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
 OTC 28791 Optimized Field Development Through Integrating Field Network With Dynamic Reservoir Model by Mahanaz Hatvik, TechnipFMC, et al.
 SPE 190239 Machine-Learning-Based Optimization of Well Locations and WAG Parameters Under Geologic Uncertainty by Azor Nwachukwu, The University of Texas at Austin, et al.
 OTC 28970 A Universal Field Development Approach for Advancing Stalled GOM Deepwater Projects by Richard D'Souza, Granherne, et al.


The logistics and supply chains have affected worldwide businesses, particularly in pandemic locations and periods, unsettling supply and demand pursuits. Logistics of global markets have been irregular, with poorly aligned superstore outlets in different geographies. Businesses and their alliances have affected spatial-temporal dimensions. The research explores the significance of Information System (IS) articulations and how IS artefacts can motivate connecting global companies and boost market values. The study aims to improve the Logistics and Supply Chains (LSC) between companies and organizations through evaluable IS artefacts in industry scenarios. The use and reuse of IS articulations are investigated in spatial-temporal dimensions for LSC knowledge management. Further, the IS artefacts are assessed through the logistics performance in geographic dimensions using the Attribute Journey Mapping and Modelling (AJMM) method. The ability to track and trace the supply chain consignments is inferred proportional to attributes of quality of trade and transport systems.


In this research, we examine whether organizations of differing size (large vs. small) and market focus (regional vs. national/international) may differ on several variables related to the green movement and quality management in two cultures – Jamaica and the United States. The variables examined include individual green orientation, employee perceptions of organizational green orientation, organizational culture, quality management (QM) maturity, and outcomes, in terms of positive impacts of the green movement and organizational performance. We find evidence for differences in organizational green orientation, individual green awareness, organizational culture, use of total quality management (TQM) tools, and organizational performance for large vs. small organizations and for organizations differing in market focus.


This study intended to exploration for strategies for the adaptation of tourism in Korea in preparation against climatic changes to cope with tourism slow season by the effects of abnormal temperature phenomenon occurring due to climatic changes in the nation and abroad. With the study subject restricted to Jeju special self-governing province, the effects of the climatic change in Jeju island were examined, and activities that can be adapted to climatic changes were proposed in this study. In particular, strategies for mania and volunteer rather than general tourists were proposed to obtain the validity of the study. In other words, activities in areas that are judged increasingly dangerous due to climatic change were proposed in consideration of the trend that mania and volunteer tend to admit venturesome circumstances in association with specialization theory, serious leisure and locus of control. As major adaptation strategies, venture tourism as SIT, volunteer tourism program, utilization of natural snow sledge park etc were proposed. The strategies of adaptation of tourism over climatic changes proposed in this study require that safety be secured fundamentally.


Giant orbitoethmoidal osteoma in children is considered to be rare. This type of pathology can be associated with significant disfiguring proptosis and limitation of eye movement. Here, we report on a child who presented with a giant orbitoethmoidal osteoma that was removed through an orbitofrontal approach. The cosmetic result was excellent and evident immediately after surgery. A review of the literature complements this report.