The main concrete result of this paper is the first explicit construction of constant degree lossless expanders. In these graphs, the expansion factor is almost as large as possible: (1—ε)D, where D is the degree and ε is an arbitrarily small constant. The best previous explicit constructions gave expansion factor D/2, which is too weak for many applications. The D/2 bound was obtained via the eigenvalue method, and is known that that method cannot give better bounds.The main abstract contribution of this paper is the introduction and initial study of randomness conductors, a notion which generalizes extractors, expanders, condensers and other similar objects. In all these functions, certain guarantee on the input "entropy" is converted to a guarantee on the output "entropy". For historical reasons, specific objects used specific guarantees of different flavors. We show that the flexibility afforded by the conductor definition leads to interesting combinations of these objects, and to better constructions such as those above.The main technical tool in these constructions is a natural generalization to conductors of the zig-zag graph product, previously defined for expanders and extractors.


Occupational classification has been a subject of many experiments. From the definition of a worker to their attribution to a particular category of occupation. Multiple attempts have been made in understanding and explaining the same. The present paper attempts to take the case of female workforce and delves into the subject of categorizing their prevalence across the Kashmir valley (geographic unit), which by and large corresponds to Kashmir Division (administrative unit) in a comprehensible manner. The researcher adopts the Standard deviation method to do so. Using the standard deviations observed for each occupational category, the researcher proposes a rank table visualizing the target area employing a standard deviation-based occupational coding. Based on the rank table it is observed that amongst the female workforce the primary sector is dominant in Ganderbal and Kulgam districts, secondary sector in Shopian, Pulwama and Kulgam, tertiary sector in Srinagar and Budgam and the Quaternary/Quinary sectors in Srinagar, Anantnag and Pulwama districts. The standard deviation method adopted in this paper has led to a satisfactory representation of the occupational distribution observed in the sample area. The occupational coding of the target districts using this method not only makes it easier to visualize the occupational trends but also gives us a clear sense of variation (positive and negative) amongst these categories across the districts.


Background: The need to determine prognostic factors that can predict a particularly severe or, conversely, the benign course of COVID-19 is particularly perceived in the Emergency Department (ED), considering the scarcity of resources for a conspicuous mass of patients. The aim of our study was to identify some predictors for 30-day mortality among some clinical, laboratory, and ultrasound variables in a COVID-19 patients population. Methods: Prospective single-center pilot study conducted in an ED of an University Hospital. A consecutive sample of confirmed COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory failure was enrolled from March 8th, to April 15th, 2020. Results: 143 patients were enrolled. Deceased patients (n = 65) were older (81 vs. 61 years, p <0.001), and they had more frequently a history of heart disease, neurological disease, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p-values = 0.026, 0.025, and 0.034, respectively) than survived patients. Troponin I and presepsin had a significant correlation with a worse outcome. Troponin achieved a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 82% for a cut-off value of 27.6 ng/L. The presepsin achieved a sensitivity of 54% and a specificity of 92% for a cut-off value of 871 pg/mL. Conclusion: In a population of COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory failure in an ED, presepsin and troponin I are accurate predictors of 30-day mortality. Presepsin is highly specific and could permit the early identification of patients who could benefit from more intensive care as soon as they enter the ED. Further validation studies are needed to confirm this result. (www.actabiomedica.it)


The market for pharmaceuticals is in constant evolution. We are interested not only in the price and quantity effects of generic drug entry, but also the ones concerning patients and physicians choices, namely about treatment continuity. Following the work of both Frank and Salkever (1992 and 1995) and Wiggins and Maness (2004), we derive a model of vertical differentiation in which consumers/patients may opt to be out of treatment (technically, the market is not fully covered). We have found three relevant effects from entry of generics entry: market size increases and both price and market share of brand-name drugs decrease. The model fits different NHS drug-financing systems, such as reference pricing and proportional cost-sharing; the effects have the same sign under both systems, but the former has higher impact over the market than the latter. While the last two effects are relatively well-known, the existence of a fringe of consumers that may stop treatment for higher prices, introduces potentially a different strategic interaction between entrants and incumbents (the former may grow at the cost of market expansion) We present an empirical analysis based on Portuguese pharmaceuticals market, and in specific therapeutical classes. The choice of classes is based on relevance (representative classes among the total sales volume of the generic pharmaceuticals market), the presence of generic drugs and the treatment of a chronic condition being involved (so that continuity of treatment is an issue) On methodological terms, the analysis is split into two different parts. The first one is the traditional study of price and quantity evolution; the second discusses the effects over the agent's - both physician and patient - decision. Concerning the former, we present empirical data, from the mid-90s to 2005, which suggest there might be both vertically differentiated and traditional markets. This is surely consistent with the work previously done in the literature. The estimation of models of price responses to generic entry in the market for both brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals confirm these results. As for the second part of our analysis, a careful look at market data and a questionnaire delivered at pharmacies suggest the importance of the effects initially pointed out. Patients, pharmacists and physicians react in a different way when it is possible for generic drugs to enter the market. It becomes clear that benefits from generic entry must include continuity of treatment aspects, besides lower prices of generics (that may induce a strategic response from incumbent drugs). The strength of the effects is also related to the existence of a reference pricing system.


Nowadays, the best methods for protein secondary structure prediction are based on neural network and support vector machine, and both of them incorporate the information from multiple sequences alignment. However the two methods were executed on different training and testing data sets. A comparison between the two methods has been carried on here. We use the most stringent cross validation test procedure to assess the two methods on CB513, which is one of the most popular used data sets. Neural network achieved a Q/sub 3/ accuracy of 74.2%, while support vector machine got Q/sub 3/ of 76.6%, which was slightly better than NN.


Generational diversity has become the norm in many organizations. As baby boomers retire and millennials enter and take over the workforce, it becomes imperative for managers to learn more about their job satisfaction and organizational commitment levels. The authors of this study surveyed 148 millennials who work in the I.T. industry. A total of 74 males and 74 females were surveyed. Results show that males have higher job satisfaction levels than their female counterparts and females have higher organizational commitment levels than their male counterparts. Furthermore, millennials with a graduate degree are more likely to stay at their organization than millennials without a graduate degree. Recommendations and implications are discussed for managers hiring, leading, and managing millennials in the workforce.


Beethoven's professional life in Vienna was largely defined by his lack of institutional employment. Only his deafness had an equal impact on his career. In Bonn he had served the electoral court, playing organ and viola, and was expected to resume his duties after a period of study with Haydn that began in 1792. But the cessation of his salary in 1794 (perhaps for misleading the Elector Max Franz about his progress and refusing to return home) and the collapse of the electoral court in the French controlled Rhineland later in that year did not bode well for his prospects in Bonn, and the freedom and opportunities he enjoyed in the imperial city outweighed the strength of long friendships and familial obligations he had left behind. His concerted attempt to secure an appointment, with the Vienna Court Theater in December 1806, not surprisingly failed: after the problems and acrimony surrounding the performance of the first two versions of Leonore (Beethoven's original title of Fidelio ) in 1805 and 1806, the directors apparently did not even respond to his multi-year offer to compose one opera and a smaller dramatic or choral work per annum. Beethoven sought the position, which would have allowed him ample time to compose instrumental music of his own choosing, despite continuing material and social support from a group of Viennese aristocrats who in the 1790s had eased his entry into Viennese cultural life.


The use of video feedback is popular, even usual, in fields involving social behaviour and interaction or physical performance. In other academic subject areas, the use of video as feedback is, as yet, uncommon. The work of others in this field covers group work, generic feedback, small numbers of students, samples and trials. We believe this may be one of the first studies on returning individual personalised feedback to a sizeable number of first year undergraduate students taking Computer Programming, or any other academic subject, for every assessment submitted on the unit. Student engagement with feedback is often lacking and in that case, a valuable learning opportunity is missed. Previous work using audio as feedback showed 80% of students would prefer audio to written feedback. However, the separation of submitted programming code from audio comments still limits ease of reference to the work. The next natural step was to use video screen capture to augment the student experience by improving easy reference to work by simultaneously providing contextually relevant narrative and visually referring to elements of the work.


BackgroundWith the influence of factors such as ovarian surgery, high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy, environmental degradation, and bad living habits, the occurrence of premature ovarian insufficiency(POI) is getting younger and younger, and many young women's ovaries have entered the aging stage earlier. While many studies have investigated the patients with POI, which is still a challenge in reproductive medicine as the treatments available now are not ideal. POI patients have varying amounts of residual dormant follicles in the ovaries. Therefore, it is critical to further our understanding of primordial follicle activation in order to treat.This study aimed to investigate the activation of residual follicles in POI patients with injection of HCG, whether they could obtain embryos and become pregnant.Methods Four patients with POI were pretreated with dehydroepiandrosterone, Coenzyme Q10, estrogen and medroxyprogesterone. The prescribed amounts of estrogen and medroxyprogesterone were adjusted to maintain the level of FSH at ˂15 mIU/ml and the level of LH˂10 mIU/ml. When the treatments failed to induce the appearance of follicles after 3 months, the patients received treatment with 10000 IU of HCG. Results The residual dormant follicles in POI patients can be activated using our approach to obtain embryos and conceive by injection of HCG. ConclusionsPOI patients may conceive their own genetic children by activating dormant follicles in vivo. These findings may represent a new simple and feasible solution for the treatment of patients with POI to conceive their own genetic children.


The importance of research on misinformation has received wide recognition. Two major challenges faced by this research community are the lack of theoretical models and the scarcity of misinformation in support of such research. This paper aims to address the aforementioned challenges by conceptualizing misinformation and enabling the interoperability of misinformation. In particular, a representation and a model of misinformation are proposed through surveying, synthesizing, and explicating existing work in the field. Moreover, ontology is used to represent the proposed model. The ontology-supported misinformation model can not only guide future misinformation research but also lay the foundation for building a digital misinformation library by advancing our knowledge on misinformation and by improving its sharing, management, and reuse. In addition, we present a formal methodology for managing misinformation in a digital library, and suggest future research directions related to the misinformation model.


Natural organic matter (NOM) in drinking water sources causes several problems in water consumption and distribution, and decreases the efficiency of water treatment steps. Ion exchange (IEX) with anion resin can be used to remove NOM in combination with or as an alternative to other techniques, such as coagulation and activated carbon. IEX resins require periodic regeneration with an electrolyte solution that is usually made of sodium chloride. A crucial problem of IEX for NOM removal is related to waste management of the regenerant electrolyte. The regenerant solution is reused several times before disposal, which increases the concentrations of NOM and anions like sulfate. The resulting spent IEX brine is a pollutant and is expensive to dispose, which hampers full-scale applications. In this research, we proposed a spent IEX brine treatment that is based on ceramic nanofiltration. Ceramic membranes have potential advantages over polymeric membranes, such as higher fluxes and lower fouling characteristics. The treatment aims to recover a permeate of a reusable IEX regeneration salt solution, which is typically sodium chloride, by removing NOM and other anions from the spent IEX brine. Also, concentrated NOM could be used in agriculture and industry, due to the presence of humic substances.


In this paper, we investigate the problem of grouping the sensor nodes into clusters to enhance the overall scalability of the network. A selected set of nodes, known as gateway nodes, will act as cluster-heads for each cluster and the objective is to balance the load among these gateways. Load balanced clustering increases system stability and improves the communication between the various nodes in the network. We call the problem addressed in this paper as the load-balanced clustering problem (LBCP). We first show that a special case of LBCP (whereby the traffic load contributed by all sensor nodes are the same) is optimally solvable in polynomial time. We next prove that the general case of LBCP is NP-hard. We then proposed an efficient 2/3-approximation algorithm for the problem.


Inactivation of alpha2-adrenoceptors by N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ) has been shown to induce an increase in brain regulatory G alpha(i1/2) proteins, which was related to biphasic recovery of agonist binding sites. To investigate further the nature of this phenomenon, the chronic effects of clorgyline (a monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressant) on the recovery of alpha2-adrenoceptors after EEDQ and on EEDQ-induced up-regulation of G alpha(i1/2) proteins were assessed in rat brain. Clorgyline (1 mg kg(-1) for 7-35 days) induced a time-dependent down-regulation (20% to 55%) of the density of cortical alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist sites ([3H]UK 14304/bromoxidine binding) but not of antagonist sites ([3H]RX 821002/2-methoxy idazoxan binding). However, chronic clorgyline did not alter the immunoreactive levels of G alpha(i1/2), G alpha(i3), and G alpha(o) proteins in cortex. In clorgyline-treated rats, the turnover functions for agonist and antagonist binding sites (receptor recovery after EEDQ) were different and indicated that the reduced density of alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist sites induced by clorgyline was due to a greater rate of receptor disappearance. The recovery of [3H]UK 14304 binding in clorgyline-treated rats did not fit a biphasic recovery model and the turnover parameters were very similar to those obtained for the second phase of recovery (biphasic model) of agonist binding sites in naive rats. This suggested that clorgyline down-regulated only the alpha2-adrenoceptors of rapid turnover which is associated with the increases in the expression of G alpha(i1/2) proteins induced by EEDQ. In this context, clorgyline (1 mg kg(-1) for 7 days) fully prevented the up-regulation (50%) of brain G alpha(i1/2) proteins induced by EEDQ. The results indicate that one relevant mechanism involved in the in vivo desensitization of brain alpha2-adrenoceptors is an effective impairment of receptor-G protein coupling.


A patient who presents voluntarily at an emergency department should be assumed to want treatment. If relatives or friends bring in a patient we can again assume that they want the person in their care to receive attention. The situation is more difficult if a patient is brought in by the police or by a carer from an institution. However, in the two cases reported here the casualty officer would have known that friends or relatives were responsible for each patient's presentation. In such cases the doctor must therefore take into account the broader perspectives of each case rather than the short term demands of a patient.

Decisions must be taken on the basis of previously agreed, evidence based protocols and should …


Type 2 diabetes is characterized by a twoto fourfold increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This is generally attributed to the adverse effects of hyperglycemia and oxidative stress on vascular biology. It has also been shown that patients with prediabetic conditions, such as impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance, are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease as well (1). This result suggests that abnormalities in carbohydrate metabolism form a continuum that progressively worsens cardiovascular health; the first step of the adverse sequence of events that leads to the atherosclerotic process is thought to be endothelial dysfunction (2). Vascular endothelial cells play a major role in maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis. In addition to providing a physical barrier between the vessel wall and lumen, the endothelium secretes a number of mediators that regulate platelet aggregation, coagulation, fibrinolysis, and vascular tone. The term "endothelial dysfunction" refers to a condition in which the endothelium loses its physiological properties: the tendency to promote vasodilation,fibrinolysis, and anti-aggregation. Endothelial cells secrete several mediators that can alternatively mediate either vasoconstriction, such as endothelin-1 and thromboxane A2, or vasodilation, such as nitric oxide (NO), prostacyclin, and endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor. NO is the major contributor to endothelium-dependent relaxation in conduit arteries, whereas the contribution of endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor predominates in smaller resistance vessels. In patients with diabetes, endothelial dysfunction appears to be a consistent finding; indeed, there is general agreement that hyperglycemia and diabetes lead to an impairment of NO production and activity. The endothelium has a limited intrinsic capacity of self-repair, being built up by terminally differentiated cells with a low proliferative potential. That is why endothelial repair is accomplished through the contribution of circulating cells, namely endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), in physiological and pathological conditions. In this review, we will outline the mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction in diabetes, the role of EPCs in cardiovascular homeostasis, and the implications of EPC alterations in diabetes and its complications (Fig. 1) (3).


CONTENTS I. Nitrogen fixation induced by ionising radiation in the presence of water 235 II. Radiolysis of ammonia, hydrazine, and hydroxylamine solutions 236 III. Radiochemical oxidation of nitrite to nitrate 237 IV. Radiolytic reactions in aqueous nitrate and nitric-acid solutions 237


Most prior event studies find that the announcement of a new alliance is accompanied by a positive stock market response for the partners. This result has usually been interpreted as evidence for the prevailing view that alliances are effective vehicles for partners to acquire or access new skills and thus become stronger competitors. However, partners should also earn positive abnormal returns if alliances are used to shape competitive interactions, attenuating competitive intensity industry-wide.

In this study, we disentangle these different mechanisms by examining how alliance announcements affect the stock market's evaluation of allying firms' rivals: if an alliance is expected to make partner firms more competitive, this should lead to negative abnormal returns for partners' rivals; if an alliance is expected to facilitate a reduction in competitive intensity, this should lead to positive abnormal returns for rivals. Results from an event study analysis of research and development alliances in the telecommunications and electronics industries during 1996--2004 provide evidence consistent with competition attenuation in some alliances. Our research thus challenges the increasingly narrow focus on learning and resource accumulation through alliances, and calls for broader consideration of the roles and effects of collaboration, both for individual firms and for industry structure.


What measures have homeland states taken to protect their nationals serving as domestic workers abroad? Specifically, what have been the positions and actions of the Sri Lankan and Philippine states with respect to their female citizens who (along with some men) carry out household duties in the Middle East, Asia, and Southern Europe? What explains the states' varying roles? There is general consensus among scholars and other observers that the Philippine state has been more forceful and effective than its Sri Lankan counterpart in defending overseas workers, including female domestics. Internal factors that have been mentioned as possible causes include the Philippines' longer emigration history, the larger share of Filipinos living outside their homeland and their ability to vote in homeland elections, and the greater importance of migrant workers' remittances to that country's gross domestic product. As for external factors, analysts note that more female migrant domestic workers (FMDWs) from the Philippines have labored in European countries with stronger migrant labor laws; more Sri Lankan women have migrated to the less benevolent Middle East. A most-similar case comparison has been constructed between the Sri Lankan and Philippine states' responses to "their" FMDWs, with archival research; data from expert interviews; and content analysis of policies, speeches, and official statements employed to understand what measures officials have taken and why. It turns out that the most persuasive explanations for why the Philippine state has been more active and successful in defending the rights of FMDWs overseas do not involve the factors most commonly cited in the literature. Instead, aspects of migrants' human capital (their stock of competencies, knowledge, and social and personality attributes) valued in the international market for domestic labor seem to make the biggest difference. Sending-country states are engaged in an ongoing struggle to channel migratory flows driven by global market forces so as best to reconcile what can loom as contradictory goals: protecting both their citizens and their share of the lucrative, competitive market for FMDWs and their remittances — increasingly needed to acquire vital imports and pay off foreign debts.


This article intends to analyze treatment and functions assigned to the penalty by our Peruvian Constitution and the way this legal institution is conducted at the prescribed basic penalty level (imposed by the legislator ineach type of criminal offence), the specific penalty level (imposed by the judge according to its individual characteristics in each case) and at the penitentiary enforcement level. Finally recommends some considerations for carrying out a possible legislative reform in accordance with a criminal policy plan within our constitutional framework.


We investigated the effects of magnet errors in the beam transport line connecting the post linac to the driver linac (P2DT) in the Rare Isotope Accelerator in Korea (RAON). The P2DT beam line is bent by 180-degree to send the radioactive Isotope Separation On-line (ISOL) beams accelerated in Linac-3 to Linac-2. This beam line transports beams with multi-charge state 132Sn45,46,47. The P2DT beam line includes 42 quadrupole, 4 dipole and 10 sextupole magnets. We evaluate the effects of errors on the trajectory of the beam by using the TRACK code, which includes the translational and the rotational errors of the quadrupole, dipole and sextupole magnets in the beam line. The purpose of this error analysis is to reduce the rate of beam loss in the P2DT beam line. The distorted beam trajectories can be corrected by using six correctors and seven monitors.


Different methods of estimating the LS-coupling validity are compared using the results obtained within the conguration interaction approach. The techniques used earlier and proposed in the present paper were applied to evaluate the validity of LScoupling for description of energy levels of the ground and excited congurations of ions of the long isoelectronic sequences of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, uorine, and scandium. The performed investigation revealed that the methods proposed in present paper provide the more physically-based results.


The focus of my research was to explore the teaching of linear algebra to a large group
of mathematics undergraduates (> 200). With this thesis I present a characterisation
of a university mathematics teaching practice in the context of linear algebra.
The study took place over a twelve week period, one academic semester, at a UK university
with a strong tradition in engineering and design technology. Two researchers working
closely with a mathematician, the lecturer of linear algebra, collected data in interviews
with the lecturer, and in observations of his lectures (which were audio-recorded).
Students' views were sought via two questionnaires and focus group interviews. Data
analysis was largely qualitative.
Linear algebra is an introductory module in most standard first year undergraduate degree
courses in mathematics. Research shows that students nd the highly conceptual
nature of linear algebra very difficult and challenging. The lecturer, a research mathematician,
had re-designed the linear algebra module based on his own experience of
students' dfficulties with the topic in the previous year. He followed an inductive approach
to teaching instead of a more traditional DTP (definition-theorem-proof) style.
He based his teaching on informal reasoning about examples that were designed to engage
students conceptually with the material.
Through this research I gained insight into the lecturer's motivation, intentions and
strategies in relation to his teaching. In applying an activity theory analysis alongside
a traditional grounded theory approach to my research, I conceptualised the lecturer's
teaching practice and presented a model of the teaching process. This takes account of
the lecturer's didactical thinking in planning and delivering the linear algebra teaching.
Findings from the study give insight into the educational practice of a mathematician
in his role as a teacher of university mathematics. I present some of the outcomes
of the study in terms of mathematics (three linear algebra topics - subspace, linear
independence and eigenvectors), in terms of the didactics of mathematics and in terms
of the theoretical basis of Mathematics Education as a discipline.


Fracture healing is a complex process influenced by a multitude of factors and expression of several thousand genes. Polymorphisms in these genes can lead to an extended healing process and explain why certain patients are more susceptible to develop non‐union. A total of 16 SNPs within five genes involved in bone repair pathogenesis (FAM5C, BMP4, FGF3, FGF10, and FGFR1) were investigated in 167 patients with long bone fractures, 101 with uneventful healing, and 66 presenting aseptic non‐unions. Exclusion criteria were patients presenting pathological fractures, osteoporosis, hypertrophic and infected non‐unions, pregnancy, and children. All genetic markers were genotyped using TaqMan real‐time PCR. Chi‐square test was used to compare genotypes, allele frequencies, and haplotype differences between groups. Binary logistic regression analyzed the significance of many covariates and the incidence of non‐union. Statistical analysis revealed open fracture to be a risk factor for non‐union development (p < 0.001, OR 3.6 [1.70–7.67]). A significant association of haplotype GTAA in BMP4 (p = 0.01) and FGFR1 rs13317 (p = 0.005) with NU could be observed. Also, uneventful healing showed association with FAM5C rs1342913 (p = 0.04). Our work supported the role of BMP4 and FGFR1 in NU fracture independently of the presence of previously described risk factors. © 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 31:1971–1979, 2013


Routing in wireless ad hoc networks is a challenging issue because it dynamically controls the network topology and determines the network performance. Most of the available protocols are based on single-rate radio networks and they use hop-count as the routing metric. There have been some efforts for multirate radios as well that use transmission-time of a packet as the routing metric. However, neither the hop-count nor the transmission-time may be a sufficient criterion for discovering a high-throughput path in a multirate wireless ad hoc network. Hop-count based routing metrics usually select a low-rate bound path whereas the transmission-time based metrics may select a path with a comparatively large number of hops. The trade-off between transmission time and effective transmission range of a data rate can be another key criterion for finding a high-throughput path in such environments. In this paper, we introduce a novel routing metric based on the efficiency of a data rate that balances the required time and covering distance by a transmission and results in increased throughput. Using the new metric, we propose an on-demand routing protocol for multirate wireless environment, dubbed MR-AODV, to discover high-throughput paths in the network. A key feature of MR-AODV is that it controls the data rate in transmitting both the data and control packets. Rate control during the route discovery phase minimizes the route request (RREQ) avalanche. We use simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed MR-AODV protocol and results reveal significant improvements in end-to-end throughput and minimization of routing overhead.


We consider the phenomenon of distributed denial of service attacks that occur through design defects (and poorly chosen defaults) in legitimately operated, entirely secure systems. Particular reference is made to a recently discovered "attack" on stratum 1 Network Time Protocol servers by routers manufactured by D-Link for the consumer market, the latest example of incidents that stretch back for decades. Consideration is given to how these attacks might have been avoided, and why such failures continue to occur.


The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) plays a pivotal role in fluid and electrolyte movements across ducts and tubes lined by epithelia. Loss of CFTR function causes the common life-limiting genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF) and a spectrum of disorders termed CFTR-related diseases, while unphysiological CFTR activity characterises secretory diarrhoea and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The prevalence of these disorders argues persuasively that small-molecule CFTR modulators have significant therapeutic potential. Here, we discuss how knowledge and understanding of the CFTR Cl− channel, its physiological role and malfunction in disease led to the development of the CFTR potentiator ivacaftor, the first small molecule targeting CFTR approved as a treatment for CF. We consider the prospects for developing other therapeutics targeting directly CFTR including CFTR correctors to rescue the apical membrane expression of CF mutants, CFTR corrector-potentiators, dual-acting small-molecules to correct the processing and gating defects of F508del-CFTR, the commonest CF mutant and CFTR inhibitors to prevent fluid and electrolyte loss in secretory diarrhoea and cyst swelling in ADPKD. The success of ivacaftor provides impetus to other CFTR drug development programmes and a paradigm for the creation of therapeutics targeting the root cause of other genetic disorders.


Purpose
This study aims to explore the reasons behind the lengthy delays in completing a single public-private partnership (PPP) project in Indonesia and investigates how the transaction costs play a significant role in hindering the project's success.

Design/methodology/approach
To broaden insight into the transaction cost theory, the authors used a single case study approach to provide a more in-depth analysis of a context whose complexity can be fully explored. As the primary data sources, 16 face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with the stakeholders directly involved in the project's initiation, design and execution.

Findings
This case study demonstrates that transaction cost issues, both political and economic, play a significant role. This study has identified four main problems associated with transaction costs hindering project success, namely, executing agencies' lack of knowledge and experience, lack of coordination for such a complex governance structure that links too many stakeholders and the financial and political risk that increase the uncertainty and public distrust.

Research limitations/implications
This study contributes mainly to the PPP and transaction costs economics literature, providing empirical evidence on why major PPP projects may fail to be procured. The Greater Bandung waste to energy (WTE) Project case demonstrates that transaction costs, both political and economic, have played a significant role in the lengthy delay of the PPP project.

Practical implications
As the project involves many transaction cost issues, mapping the failure factors at the project sites can significantly contribute to the practitioners/stakeholders involved in the PPP WTE projects. Therefore, this study provides a lesson to the policymakers at all levels interested in PPPs to consider the issues of transaction costs related to the PPP projects. It can be used as guidance as well as a reference for future PPP WTE projects in Indonesia.

Social implications
Mapping the failure factors also signifying the response of the public in the PPP WTE projects undertaken. As the citizens become more rule-conscious and rights-conscious, they demand the opportunity to participate in creating rules and project plans. If the project failed to consult with affected communities and undermined democratic accountability, the angry citizens will confront the government to cancel the project. Therefore, political and economic influences for public attitude play significant roles in making the PPP WTE projects successful.

Originality/value
This study provides insight into the transaction cost issues that have hindered the completion of Indonesia's PPP WTE project over the past 15 years. Additionally, the project feasibility analysis should include an understanding of transaction costs for partnering in PPP.


Processes that can de-polymerise lignin efficiently to yield low molecular mass compounds have received considerable attention in recent years owing to their potential in generating aromatic compounds from a renewable resource. Widely employed protocols for the acidolysis of lignocellulosic biomass can generate numerous products owing to the re-condensation of enol ether intermediates formed during the decomposition of structures containing β-O-4 linkages. Here, we show that the acid-catalysed degradation of lignin in Japanese cedar and Eucalyptus globulus wood samples in a hydrophobic solvent toluene, containing a small amount of methanol at 140 °C–170 °C by microwave heating, yields the lignin monomers homovanillyl aldehyde dimethyl acetal and homosyringaldehyde dimethyl acetal selectively. The maximum combined yield of lignin monomers and oligomers is >10%, based on the weight of the wood sample. Furthermore, when de-polymerisation is performed in hydrophobic media, hydrolysis and hydroxylation of cellulose and lignin fragments are suppressed, wherein methanol serves as an in situ trapping agent for the enol ether intermediate, generating oligolignols and the dimethyl acetal derivatives.


The objective of the present work was to investigate the antioxidant enzyme activities and the occurrence of lipid peroxidation during storage of J. curcas seeds obtained from fruits at different maturity stages. Seeds extracted from fruits collected at three stages of maturity were used, i.e., yellow, brownish-yellow, and brown (dry fruits). The seeds were subsequently stored for 18 months in Kraft paper bags in a laboratory environment. Initially as well as every three months, the seeds were evaluated for germination and electrical conductivity, and the seed embryos were evaluated for lipid peroxidation; protein content; and superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase enzyme activity at the same time points. In general, the seeds from the three stages of fruit maturity did not differ regarding germination throughout the entire period of storage, although a reduction in viability was observed after nine months of storage. The electrical conductivity increased during storage and was greater for the seeds obtained from brown fruits. There was a reduction in protein content and in enzyme activities in the seed embryo, except for superoxide dismutase. No relationship was observed between reduction in seed viability and lipid peroxidation. Thus, J. curcas seeds with high initial quality can be stored under environmental conditions for up to 9, 15 and 15 months for brown (dry), yellow and brownish-yellow fruits, respectively, without a significant reduction in germination but with a reduction in seed vigour.


We developed a multiplex system capable of simultaneously quantifying different target sequences by applying an electrochemical DNA chip that consists of single liquid-flow channel with primers designed for loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). We applied this system for detecting mature microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs extracted from serum were enzymatically lengthened to about 100 base pairs by reverse-transcription and elongation reactions. The LAMP primers for amplifying the lengthened miRNAs were adsorbed and immobilized on the surface of the liquid-flow channel at five different positions. A LAMP solution containing the lengthened miRNAs, Tin DNA polymerase, and ruthenium hexaamine (RuHex) as a redox compound was injected into the DNA chip. The electrochemical reaction of RuHex in the LAMP solution was then measured continuously via linear-sweep voltammetry at 65 °C. The LAMP reaction of the positive control revealed that the cathodic peak current of RuHex increased. Additionally, the initial number of miRNA copies was correlated with the time when the cathodic current began to increase. Five miRNAs were simultaneously detected at 103-106 copies per 50 μL within 2 h. We expect these results will be useful for developing a simple and stable electrochemical-based method for the real-time monitoring of miRNAs, while also facilitating the implementation of electrochemical DNA chips for molecular analyses.


Background Aortic stiffness is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality; thus, simple, rapid and preferably automated techniques are indispensable for pursuing a global risk stratification approach. We present an oscillometric technique for determination of the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), including the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, with emphasis on the training curve and procedural duration. Methods In a single-centre crossover study, we evaluated subjects free of known cardiovascular disease (CVD), subjects with CVD and a subgroup of subjects with peripheral artery disease (PAD) in terms of ankle-brachial index (ABI) and PWV measurements determined by oscillometry compared to tonometry. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship of the PWV measurements determined by both methods. Moreover, the time and cost of the examinations were compared. Results A total of 176 study subjects underwent assessments to obtain oscillometric and tonometric PWV measurements. The CVD-free subjects (n = 59) were younger (60.4±15.6 vs. 67.5±12.9 years, p = 0.003) than the subjects with CVD (n = 117). The PWV measurements showed significant correlations in CVD-free subjects (r = 0.797, p<0.001), in subjects with CVD (r = 0.817, p<0.001) and in the subgroup of subjects with PAD (r = 0.807, p<0.001). The examination duration was shorter for the oscillometric method than the tonometric method (4.4±0.5 vs. 9.2±0.8 min, p<0.001). Conclusion Using a simple and rapid automated oscillometric method, we achieved good diagnostic accuracy for the determination of aortic stiffness through the PWV in both subjects with and without CVD. This method might be helpful in daily practice in terms of saving time and reducing procedural complexity for screening for cardiovascular morbidities and vascular damage in cases of atherosclerosis.


The article offers a review of mitochondrial biogenesis in hereditary optic neuropathies. It covers the mechanisms of mitochondrial biogenesis, factors affecting it and tools for mitochondrial turnover assessment.


The activity of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) was investigated in 80 patients with chronic non-A, non-B liver diseases. Serum anti-HCV titer was determined by the "Ortho-HCV" enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with some modifications to quantify the activity. Anti-HCV was positive in 82.5% of cases (66/80). Anti-HCV occurred significantly less often in the patients with chronic persistent hepatitis (8/13, 61.5%) than in those with chronic active hepatitis (42/49, 85.7%) (p less than 0.05). Anti-HCV titer of the patients with chronic persistent hepatitis and that with chronic active hepatitis was significantly higher than that with liver cirrhosis (p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.05). There was no correlation between anti-HCV titer and histology activity index in chronic hepatitis. Serial study demonstrated that anti-HCV titer decreased more frequently in the patients who responded to IFN alpha therapy (11/22, 50.0%) than in those who did not respond to IFN alpha therapy (0/10, 0%) (p less than 0.01). These results indicate that anti-HCV level does not correlate with the activity of hepatitis, but that it decreases in accordance with the disease progression to liver cirrhosis or with the response to IFN alpha therapy.


To investigate the ability of numerical models to simulate the behavior of moored ships subjected by ship-wake waves, use is made of scale model tests where a ship model sails with constant speed along a straight path at a constant distance from an otherwise motionless ship.
 The tests were carried out at one of the wave tanks of the Portuguese Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC). The moving ship is a self-propelled scale model of the "Aurora" chemical ship whereas the otherwise motionless ship is a scale model of the "Esso Osaka" tanker. The free-surface elevation was measured with a set of resistive wave gauges and ADVs. The tanker's movements, induced by the wake waves, were measured along the six degrees of freedom with a gyroscope deployed inside the ship.
 The numerical model WAMIT provides, in the frequency domain, the quantities required to estimate the hydrodynamic forces associated to the interaction of a free-floating ship with waves. The BAS model uses those hydrodynamic forces to study in the time domain the ship interaction with any sea-waves acting on it. Wind and current actions can also be accounted for.
 The results of these numerical models are compared to the measurements made in the several repeats of one of those scale-model tests, in terms of the response amplitude to several wave components. These comparisons enabled the evaluation and validation of the numerical models parameters' calibration process.


Patients with follicular carcinoma of thyroid may have asymptomatic involvement of adrenal gland and associated metastases to other organs, which may remain undetected for long time if not diagnosed, treated and followed up properly. A very rare case of adrenal metastasis from follicular carcinoma of thyroid, five years after total thyroidectomy is presented. The patient also had synchronous involvement of bones including an unusual site in upper end of left tibia. Here, emphasis is given on awareness of the possibility of unique metastatic deposits of follicular carcinoma of thyroid at unexpected sites as this has a significant impact on clinical decision-making and prognosis of the patients. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjnm.v17i1.22499 Bangladesh J. Nuclear Med. 17(1): 97-103, January 2014


This paper presents a formulation based on simple first-order shear deformation theory (S-FSDT) for large deflection and buckling of orthotropic single-layered graphene sheets (SLGSs). The S-FSDT has many advantages compared to the classical plate theory (CPT) and conventional FSDT such as needless of shear correction factor, containing less number of unknowns than the existing FSDT and strong similarities with the CPT. Governing equations and boundary conditions are derived based on Hamilton's principle using the nonlocal differential constitutive relations of Eringen and von Kármán geometrical model. Numerical results are obtained using differential quadrature (DQ) method and the Newton–Raphson iterative scheme. Finally, some comparison studies are carried out to show the high accuracy and reliability of the present formulations compared to the nonlocal CPT and FSDT for different thicknesses, elastic foundations and nonlocal parameters.


In this paper, we develop a rigorous and efficient method for risk evaluation. Our risk evaluation method is an adaptive Monte Carlo estimation method implemented as a rectangular random walk, which is derived from a mixed error criterion and the concept of relative entropy from information theory. Our proposed method of risk evaluation can be orders of magnitude more efficient as compared to existing methods in literatures and widely used softwares. This new method makes it possible to evaluate risk of systems so that in a strict statistical sense, either the absolute error can be controlled below 10−6 or the relative error can be controlled below 0.01, that is, the error of risk evaluation can be rigorously certified at extremely low level, which is impossible by using existing methods.


In the last decade wireless network solutions have become even more widespread than ever. Along with emergence of new applications and network services end users' demands for higher data rate continue to increase. 802.11n technology has grown into potentially best solution for wireless system realization which upholds effective transmission of multimedia content.


This qualitative research study explores the experiences of project managers in IT projects, using an investigative approach to explore the intricacies of knowledge transfer in these contexts. The research framework emphasizes the complexity of social dynamics and the need for a deeper understanding, prompting the use of qualitative methods. Expert interviews were chosen as the primary data collection technique due to their alignment with the research objectives. The study adopts an exploratory perspective, with online interviews conducted using a co-expert approach. The philosophical stance of the study is based on phenomenalist principles and aims to gain insights into the personal experiences of project managers. The experts selected for the study met specific criteria, including certification and experience in IT project management. Thematic analysis revealed key categories: Forms of knowledge transfer, challenges, and opportunities. Personalized spontaneous knowledge transfer emerged as the dominant form, facilitated by informal interactions, and efforts to codify this knowledge in a documented form were observed. Challenges included issues of quantity, distribution, team dynamics, technology platforms, organizational culture, and time constraints. Successful knowledge transfer was associated with increased efficiency, improved quality, faster project completion, and continuous improvement of methods and standards. The study suggests that project-based organizations should develop strategies to improve knowledge transfer, incorporate it into project management standards and focus on facilitating effective communication between team members.


New right discourses about a welfare underclass advance the idea that a significant proportion of the long-term unemployed prefer benefit dependency to working for a living. The alternative to this `dependency culture' is the `enterprise culture', the most tangible manifestation of which is the rapid growth in self-employment and the number of new, small firms in the UK over the past fifteen years. Whilst sociologists have engaged with debates abut the `underclass', surprisingly few studies have examined the motivations, values and experiences of those who appear to have moved out of `benefit dependency' into self-employed enterprise. Qualitative research explored the experiences of working-class people in Teesside who attempted to `become their own boss'. It follows the progress of `young entrepreneurs' over several years into the mid-1990s and complements this with an investigation of adults in business. The realities of survival self-employment developed in the face of permanently high rates of local unemployment do not accord with notions of an `enterprise culture', nor of a `dependency culture', but are better understood as part of a growing culture of informal and risky work.


The main purpose of this paper is to describe comparatively characteristic features and specific benefits of series, parallel and series-parallel resonant tank type inverter-fed DC-DC power converters with a high-voltage high-frequency transformer link, which are designed for 30kW to I00kW-class medical use X-ray high-voltage generators. The effective method to make the most of the harmful parasitic circuit components of the specially-designed high-voltage transformer used as the three types of resonant circuit topologies is discussed and evaluated on the basis of some simulation performance results for actual wide load variations required for the DC-DC converters in the X-ray generators. Finally, the dynamic output high-voltage responses of these resonant converters are indicated in experiments in order to confirm the unique effectiveness of the resonant tank types power converters treated here.


The purpose of this conceptual article is to advance theory and research on one critical aspect of the context of ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development: ethnic-racial settings, or the objective and subjective nature of group representation within an individual's context. We present a new conceptual framework that consists of four dimensions: (1) perspective (that settings can be understood in both objective and subjective terms); (2) differentiation (how groups are defined in a setting); (3) heterogeneity (the range of groups in a setting); and (4) proximity (the distance between the individual and the setting). Clarifying this complexity is crucial for advancing a more coherent understanding of how ethnic-racial settings are related to ERI development.


Advancements in VLSI technology allow for the digitization of communication systems and the utilization of more sophisticated signal processing algorithms, such as turbo codes for stronger forward error correction (FEC) processing. However, commiserate improvements must also occur in front-end processing for signal acquisition. A new architecture that merges the functionality of front-end and back-end signal processing for more VLSI efficient hardware in low SNR (LSNR) communications environments offering the potential to reduce the overall complexity and cost of the implementation is presented. Simulations show that this architecture is comparable in performance with current implementations.


To the Editor: We read with interest the article comparing volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) vs Gamma Knife (GK) radiosurgery treatment planning of multiple brain metastases, in which the authors erroneously conclude "4-arc VMAT produced clinically equivalent conformity, dose falloff, 12 Gy isodose volume, and low isodose spill." Their study applied different prescription isodose volumes for GK plans and VMAT plans, as is apparent in Figure 2, which shows significantly larger prescription isodose volumes for GK plans than for VMAT plans (P , .001). Had the same prescription isodose volumes been used, significantly larger normal tissue doses would have been delivered with VMAT, a result previously demonstrated in multi-institutional benchmark studies. In short, VMAT delivers faster treatment but with significantly increased normal tissue dose.


During methane hydrate exploration and research, remote and on-board acoustic surveying and monitoring of methane hydrate can be easily and economically conducted using a quantitative echo sounder. Simultaneously, the structure and the floating-up speed of methane plumes can be obtained from an analysis of acoustic data. We conducted a survey of methane plumes from 2004 through 2008 at a spur situated southwest off the coast of Sado Island (tentatively called Umitaka Spur) and at the Joetsu Knoll. In 2007 and 2008, we performed experiments by releasing methane hydrate bubbles and methane hydrate, and letting them float upward. Consequently, we demonstrated that acoustical reflection from the methane plumes correlates with water temperature and depth, that the floating-up speed is constant but depends on the conditions of methane hydrate, that the discharge of methane hydrate bubbles changes, and that there is a wide scattering of materials below the seafloor where methane plumes are located. Furthermore, the amount of methane hydrate bubbles seeping was estimated by a preliminary calculation. The method will be applied not only to basic research on methane hydrate but also to assessments of the environmental impact of methane hydrate exploitation.


Posthumous conception - when a deceased person's gametes are used for procreative purposes - made its debut in South African (SA) courts in NC v Aevitas Fertility Clinic. A widow was granted the right to use her deceased husband's sperm for procreation. Against the background of legislative ambiguity, this case creates legal certainty that posthumous conception is legally permissible in SA - at least where deceased persons provided written consent that their gametes can be used by their surviving spouses or life partners after their death, and where there is no controversy about such consent.


In February 2003, the SEC officially certified a fourth credit rating agency, Dominion Bond Rating Service ("DBRS"), for use in bond investment regulations. After DBRS certification, bond yields change in the direction implied by the firm's DBRS rating relative to its ratings from other certified rating agencies. A one notch better DBRS rating corresponds to a 39 basis point reduction in a firm's debt cost of capital. The impact on yields is driven by cases where the DBRS rating is better than other ratings and is larger among bonds rated near the investment-grade cutoff. These findings indicate that ratings-based regulations on bond investment affect a firm's cost of debt capital.


Response of potassium (K) correlated with extracted K using five laboratory methods: neutral N NH4OAc pH 7.0; NH4OAc pH 4.8, 0.01M CaCl2, 1N Hot HNO3 and 0.5N NaHCO3 pH 7.0 by sorghum were determined in four selected soils from twenty locations in Kwara State, Nigeria in the green house to ascertain the ideal procedure for routine analysis. Regression equations were derived for each soil between K uptake by sorghum and level of K applied and, by extrapolation, the A-value, which represented the amount of soil K available as applied K, was determined. The data from the five laboratory methods were correlated with A-value, the zero-level K uptake, and with one another. The results showed that 0.01M CaCl2 only, extracted more K than the A-value, which was greater than the K extracted by the other methods. The data of all methods were, however, significantly correlated (p<0.05) with A-value while zero-level K uptake had a highly significant correlation with data of 0.01M CaCl2 (0.99) and low values with that of the other methods. The neutral normal NH4OAc pH 7.0 correlated relatively high and positively with N NH4OAc pH 4.8, 0.01M CaCl2, and 0.5N NaHCO3 pH 7.0, but negatively (-0.60) with 1N Hot HNO3. However, the neutral N NH4OAc pH 7.0; NH4OAc pH 4.8 correlated relatively higher and positively with one another (0.93) although they both extracted unequal amounts of K. Thus, both could be conveniently handled in the routine work in place of hot 1 N HNO3 for the evaluation of K availability indices for sorghum in the region.


We study the accelerating cosmology in massive F(R) bigravity via the reconstruction scheme. The consistent solution of the FRW equations is presented: it includes Big and Little Rip, quintessence, de Sitter and decelerating universes described by the physical g metric while the corresponding solution of the universe described by the reference f metric is also found. It is demonstrated that in general the cosmological singularities of g metric are not always manifested as cosmological singularities of the reference f metric. We give two consistent ways to describe the Big and Little Rip, quintessence, de Sitter and decelerating universes. In one of the consistent solutions, the two metrics g and f coincide with each other, which may indicate the connection with the convenient single metric background formulation. For another solution, where two metrics g and f do not coincide with each other, there always appears super-luminal mode.


Turoctocog alfa is an approved B‐domain truncated recombinant factor VIII concentrate for adults and children with haemophilia A. Clinical data for turoctocog alfa have been reported from the guardian™1, guardian™2 and guardian™3 phase III trials. guardian™1 and guardian™3 phase III trials enrolled 150 adolescents/adults (≥12 yr), and 63 children (<12 yr), respectively, with previously treated severe haemophilia A and no history of inhibitors; 188 of these patients continued into the ongoing guardian™2 extension trial. In the three trials, patients have received prophylaxis with turoctocog alfa three times weekly or every second day, with breakthrough bleeds resolved to an expected postinjection level of ≥0.50 IU/mL. No safety concerns have arisen, and no patients have developed confirmed inhibitors (primary endpoint). Indeed, no confirmed inhibitors have been detected in >200 patients treated for a cumulative total of >54 000 exposure days in the phase III trials. Pooled efficacy data show a favourable long‐term effect of turoctocog alfa on annualised bleeding rate and a success rate for haemostatic response of 86%; 90% of bleeds were resolved with 1–2 doses. This article reviews the clinical development of turoctocog alfa with reference to the guardian™ clinical programme, describing results obtained to date and ongoing trials.


The ability to handle evolving graph structures is important both for programming languages and modeling languages. Of various languages that adopt graphs as primary data structures, a graph rewriting language LMNtal provides features of both (concurrent) programming languages and modeling languages, and its implementation unifies ordinary program execution and model checking functionalities. Unlike pointer manipulation in imperative languages, LMNtal allows us to manipulate graph structures in such a way that the well-formedness of graphs is guaranteed by the language itself. However, since the shapes of graphs can be complex and diverse compared to algebraic data structures such as lists and trees, it is a non-obvious important task to formulate types of graphs to verify individual programs. With this motivation, this paper discusses LMNtal ShapeType, a type checking framework that applies the basic idea of Structured Gamma to a concrete graph rewriting language. Types are defined by generative grammars written as LMNtal rules, and type checking of LMNtal programs can accordingly be done by exploiting the model checking features of LMNtal itself. We gave a full implementation of type checking exploiting the features of the LMNtal meta-interpreter and confirmed that it works for practical operations on various graph structures, including single-step and multi-step operations on non-algebraic data structures and data structures with numerical shape constraints.


Versions of the folktale Zêrka Zêra (in Kurdish)/Stērka Zerá (in Ṭuroyo) circulate throughout southeastern Anatolia. The story belongs to a widely-disseminated tale type, the 'Bear's Wife', which concerns a young woman who is abducted by a bear (or other wilderness creature) and is forced to spawn and rear his children before escaping or being rescued. The following Ṭuroyo version was recorded during the 2018 winter field season of the Russian expedition to Ṭur Abdin in the village of Ḥaḥ/Anıtlı from a speaker of the dialect of Bequsyone. It represents the first scholarly publication not only of the Ṭuroyo version, but of any version of this folktale. In addition to the folktale and a translation, the study includes a glossary of the vocabulary used within the text, reflecting some Ṭuroyo words that have not been documented elsewhere. The paper also discusses the motifs of the Stērka Zerá folktale according to the standard classification scheme of folk motifs.


The dried fruits industry in South Australia is regulated under the Dried Fruits Act 1993 (SA). The principal effect of regulation is to impose a mandatory standards scheme on the processing and packaging of dried fruit produced in South Australia for sale in the Australian domestic market. The Act is currently under review in accordance with the requirements and principles of National Competition Policy. The economic analysis undertaken as part of the review addresses the question of who should be making decisions in respect of quality standards for dried fruit: individual industry participants, industry groups or the government. Economic theory of market failure, transactions costs and collective action suggests that the answer to such a question is an empirical one, dependent upon characteristics of the particular industry being examined. For the South Australian dried fruits industry, a small number of industry participants, existing precedents for a standards scheme and institutional support at a government level act to reduce the prospects of market failure in respect of product quality if decisions on product quality are left to either individual producers or industry collective associations. The characteristics of the dried fruits industry are such that mandatory quality standards imposed by legislation do not appear to be a necessary requirement for achieving desirable product-quality outcomes for the industry.


In  the  rabbit mesenteric  arterial  smooth  muscle skinned by saponin, Caa+ induced contraction in a concentration-dependent  manner.  Guanosine 5'-(3-0thio)triphosphate (GTPyS), a non-hydrolyzable GTP analogue, lowered the Ca2+ concentrations required for this contraction and increased the Ca" sensitivity of the skinned smooth muscle contraction. GTPyS alone did not induce the contraction in the absenoe of Ca". This GTPyS-enhanced Ca2+ sensitivity was completely abolished by an exoenzyme of Staphylococcus aureu8, named EDIN, and an exoenzyme of Clostridium botulinum, named C3, both of which are known to ADPribosylate the rho p21 family that belongs to the rm p21-like small GTP-binding protein superfamily. The GTPyS-bound form of rhoA p21 overcame the inhibitory action of EDIN. smg p21B, another small GTPbinding protein, was inactive. EDIN ADP-ribosylated a protein, which was most likely to be rho p21, in the skinned smooth muscle. The GTPyS-bound form of rhoA p21, but not the GDP-bound form, substituted for GTPyS and enhanced the Ca" sensitivity of the skinned smooth muscle contraction. smg p21B was inactive. These results indicate that rhoA p21 is involved in the GTPyS-enhanced Caa+ sensitivity of the smooth muscle contraction.


According to Miranda Fricker, a hermeneutical injustice occurs when there is a deficit in our shared tools of social interpretation (the collective hermeneutical resource), such that marginalized social groups are at a disadvantage in making sense of their distinctive and important experiences. Critics have claimed that Fricker's account ignores or precludes a phenomenon I call hermeneutical dissent, where marginalized groups have produced their own interpretive tools for making sense of those experiences. I clarify the nature of hermeneutical injustice to make room for hermeneutical dissent, clearing up the structure of the collective hermeneutical resource and the fundamental harm of hermeneutical injustice. I then provide a more nuanced account of the hermeneutical resources in play in instances of hermeneutical injustice, enabling six species of the injustice to be distinguished. Finally, I reflect on the corrective virtue of hermeneutical justice in light of hermeneutical dissent.


The main aim of this study is to describe and analyse the factors affecting the daily life activities of hearing-impaired students in Jordan from the point of view of hearing-impaired students, their teachers, and their parents. Two questionnaires were developed, one directed towards the activities, and the other to the factors affecting these activities. The two questionnaires were distributed among 248 hearing-impaired students, 89 teachers, and 261 parents. The results of hearing-impaired students indicated that the perceptions related to the psychosocial conditions, educational and instructional sevices, communication skills, and classroom environment are significant factors in the prediction of preferring and practising the different daily life activities. The total factors do not signifacantly differ compared to sex. It is significant if compared with the variables of placement, age and degree of hearing loss.

The findings of teachers of hearing-impaired students show that the educational value of the activities, perceptions related to the attitudes of others, psychosocial conditions, and classroom environment are the most important factors in the prediction of practising the daily life activities.

The finding of parents of hearing-impaired students reported that the educational value of the activities, and perceptions related to the attitudes of others are significant predictors in the prediction of practising daily life activities. The results also indicated that the total factors significantly differ when compared with the variables of qualification, and the degree of hearing loss of the child. On the other hand, the factors not significantly compared to their sex.


Collaborative filtering recommenders are highly vulnerable to malicious attacks designed to affect predicted ratings. Previous work related to detecting such attacks has focused on detecting profiles. Approaches based on profile classification to a large extent depend on profiles conforming to known attack models. In this paper we examine approaches for detecting suspicious rating trends based on statistical anomaly detection. We empirically show these techniques can be highly successful at detecting items under attack and time intervals when an attack occurred. In addition we explore the effects of rating distribution on detection performance and show that this varies based on distribution characteristics when these techniques are


ABSTRACT In this study, the effects of the nanoscaled boron phosphate (BP) addition to polypyrrole (PPy) were investigated. Firstly, the composites containing different weight ratios of BP were prepared and characterized using Fourier-Transform Infrared-attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR), UV-vis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy analyzes. FTIR-ATR analyzes indicated the electrostatic interactions between PPy and BP molecules whereas UV-vis analyzes showed that charge carrier concentration increased with the addition of BP. The electrical conductivity measurements indicated that the electrical conductivity of the pristine PPy increased from 11.1 Scm−1 to 160.6 Scm−1 with the addition of 20% BP by weight. Furthermore, with the addition of 20% BP, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH •) scavenging activity of PPy was significantly increased from 30.59 ± 0.5% to 49.18 ± 1.17% while 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical (ABTS•+) scavenging activity improved from 21.97 ± 1.07% to 29.70 ± 0.04%. The observed data have shown that electrically conductive PPy/BP nanocomposites can be a promising component for antioxidant materials.


Based on a sample of 126 recently promoted faculty, different standards for full professor are observed between top 20 finance departments and lower ranked departments. Full professors affiliated with a top 20 department place an average of 1 out of 3 articles in either "Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies", or "Journal of Financial Economics" compared to 1 out of 6 articles for professors at lower-ranked schools. Total citations and cites per year are also significantly different between top- and lower-ranked departments, but total articles and articles per year are not significantly different between these two groupings. Copyright The American Finance Association 1998.


: The effect of cortexin and epithalamin on the cell growth rate was investigated in the organotypic tissue culture of dorsal root ganglia (DRG), and of cortex and subcortical structures of 10-11-day old chick embryos. Cortexin in concentrations of 20 and 100 ng/ml is active, inducing a more intensive neurite outgrowth in DRG, compared to the control. Epithalamin was active in concentrations 20 and 200 ng/ml. Cortexin (100 ng/ml) was active in the cortex tissue culture, but inhibited the neurite growth in the subcortical structures culture. The stimulation of this culture to development was evident after using 200 ng/ml epithalamin. The neurite stimulating effect of cortexin and epithalamin is presumably associated with neurotrophic factors.


Anergy and apoptosis are major pathways of T cell tolerance. Impairments in these mechanisms are believed to contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases such as SLE and arthritis. Here we analyzed features of T cell anergy, activation and activation-induced cell death in lupus-prone and MHC-matched healthy mice. Unexpectedly, lupus mice exhibit reduced calcium flux, IL-2 production and proliferation in spleen cells upon anti-CD3 stimulation. Such T cell hyporesponsiveness is abrogated upon ionomycin stimulation, suggesting a specific impairment in TCR signaling pathway. This suggests that autoimmune T cells exhibit features of anergy, rather than resistance to it. In contrast, autoimmune T cells produce higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon-gamma, and exhibit features of activation, i.e., increased activation markers. Consistently, quantitative gene expression analyses show lower Il2, but higher Ifn-g, mRNA in lupus T cells than in controls. Further, lupus T cells exhibit increased constitutive phosphorylation of ZAP-70 and other T cell signaling molecules, which do not increase upon anti-CD3 stimulation. Finally, lupus T cells resist apoptosis upon specific TCR signaling. Thus, autoimmune T cells display features of activation as well as anergy. Such split anergic T cells display resistance to activation-induced cell death. These data lead us to posit that persistent in vivo T cell activation results in subsequent induction of anergy that manifests as impaired responsiveness to TCR mediated signaling and prevents T cells from undergoing activation-induced cell death. Thus, induction of anergy may actually prevent autoreactive T cells from being eliminated. Ongoing experiments will delineate mechanisms underlying this novel mechanism of autoimmune T cell persistence.


Historical accounting research is sometimes criticised for lack of relevance to contemporary accounting issues. One approach that researchers have adopted to demonstrate relevance is the use of theory and theorisation. This paper studies three frameworks for theorisation developed initially in the organisation studies literature: Ann Langley's "seven types of sensemaking", Sue Llewellyn's "five levels of theorising", and Mairi Maclean, Charles Harvey and Stewart Clegg's "four conceptions of history in organisation studies". These all emphasise the different forms that theorising can take in historical studies, from narrative reasoning, where much of the theory is "behind the scenes", to highly structured and general theories that may be drawn on and refined in specific historical studies. The paper suggests that theorisation can enhance historical accounting research by stimulating research ideas, identifying important variables, factors and relationships, suggesting existing concepts helpful for identifying relevant evidence, allowing for creativity in developing new concepts and refining existing ones; and ensuring a coherent narrative that is true to the evidence and sensitive to context.


Background and objective In recent years, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease become the major disease which is harmful to human health with a rising the trend of incidence. The world health organisation (WHO) predicts that by 2020 cardiovascular disease will become the primary cause of death in the world and Acute myocardial infarction as the most serious coronary heart disease type will become a culprit undoubtedly. Opening occlusion blood vessels early can effectively restore myocardial blood reperfusion, and can effectively save myocardial ischemic heart muscle, but ischemic reperfusion injury caused by reperfusion may lead to further myocardial cell death and cardiac function obstacle. Hyperbaric oxygen has been widely used in clinical, and played a good effect in the treatment of many diseases. The aim of this research is mainly to observe and discusses the influence and function mechanism of hyperbaric oxygen pretreatment on myocardial ischemia reperfusion (MIR) injury in rats. Methods Specific pathogen-free adult male Wistar rats weighing 200 to 250 g were used for the study provided by Laboratory animal center of Bethune medical college of Jilin University, and rats were divided into Control group, Irgroup, HBOpre+IR group randomly. Rats were exposed to 100% O2 (hyperbaric oxygenation, HBO) for 60 min in a hyperbaric chamber daily. Rats exposed to hyperbaric conditions were allowed to recover for seven days before heart preparation. The rats received intraperitoneal injection of 20% Urethane, hearts were excised and immediately connected to an aortic cannula, and then perfused at a constant pressure in a non-circulating Langendorff mode with Krebs- Henseleit buffer solution, connect to BL-420 Biological function system. We record the data of HR, LVSP, ±dp/dtmax for different periods. After each experiment, we determined the activity of SOD and the quality of MDA, calculated myocardial infarction size with TTC dyeing, and observed the change of myocardial ultrastructure with HE dyeing. Last, we detected the expression of caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax in myocardial cells with immunohistochemical, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis with TUNEL. Results (1) Before ischemia, HR of HBOPre+IR group was a litter lower compared with Control group and IR group with no difference (p>0.05); During reperfusion, HR of HBOPre+IR group was much lower compared with Control group and IR group with significant difference (p<0.05); after 5 min of reperfusion, LVSP, ±dp/dt of IR group and HBOPre+IR group increased gradually with significant difference (p<0.05), but obviously lower than Control group and level of before ischemia. (2) Compared with IR group, the activity of SOD increased and the quality of MDA decreased in HBOpre+IR group with significant difference (p<0.05). (3) Compared with IR group, myocardium infraction size of HBOpre+IR group reduced with significant difference (p<0.05). (4) Light microscopy: in Control group, Cardiac structure was complete, clear, myocyte aligned loose, accidentally saw slightly inflammatory cell; in IR group, Myocardial cells were arranged irregular, cell cytoplasm swelling visible myocardial eosinophilic and enhance and there were lots of inflammatory cells; in HBOpre+IR group, Myocardial cell lineaged more rules, cell slightly swollen visible myocardial cell cytoplasmic eosinophilic enhancement, with a little inflammatory cell. (5) Compared with Control group, AI of IR group increased obviously (p<0.05); Compared with IR group, AI of HBOPre+IR group decreased significantly (p<0.05). (6) Compared with Control group, the expression and apoptosis index of caspase-3 and Bax were significantly higher, the expression of Bcl-2 was reduced in IR group with significant difference (p<0.05); Compared with IR group, the expression and apoptosis index of caspase-3 and Bax were decreased, the expression of Bcl-2 was increased in HBOPre+IR group with significant difference (p<0.05). Conclusions (1) Hyperbaric Oxygen Pretreatment plays a role in the improvement of heart function, enhances the ability of antioxidation, reduces infarct size and infiltration of inflammatory cells. (2) Hyperbaric Oxygen Pretreatment may reduce cardiomyocyte apoptosis and MIRI by downer gulating the expression of caspase-3 and Bax and up-regulating the expression of Bcl-2


[Abstract]: Much contemporary teachers' work is located at the interface of complex systems of policy and provision. That interface is increasingly the site of broader discursive tensions as change is enacted, with profound implications for individual classes and courses.

If pedagogies are to be engaging in such a context, teachers need to be simultaneously facilitators and facilitated. Yet often those teachers are at both the forefront and the frontline of educational change, without sufficient ammunition in their armoury as they battle to enhance students' learning outcomes and find meaning in their work.

The paper illustrates this argument by reference to two cases of engaging pedagogies and facilitating pedagogues: graduate research students working as novice online tutors in a Masters management program; and experienced secondary teachers implementing new vocational education subjects for senior secondary students in schools in a Queensland regional community.

Deploying the concept of communities of practice (Wenger, 2000; Yamagata-Lynch, 2000), the paper traces some of the professional and personal challenges experienced by both groups of educators, as well as their respective strategies for making the pedagogies engaging for their students. They gain from these communities the support that is often absent from the systems that employ them.


the subject guide to family therapy provides information on resources available from the Martin and Gail Press Health Professions Divisions Library, both in the library and online, related to family therapy.


Many studies have developed Machine Learning (ML) approaches to detect Software Vulnerabilities (SVs) in functions and fine-grained code statements that cause such SVs. However, there is little work on leveraging such detection outputs for data-driven SV assessment to give information about exploitability, impact, and severity of SVs. The information is important to understand SVs and prioritize their fixing. Using large-scale data from 1,782 functions of 429 SVs in 200 real-world projects, we investigate ML models for automating function-level SV assessment tasks, i.e., predicting seven Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) metrics. We particularly study the value and use of vulnerable statements as inputs for developing the assessment models because SVs in functions are originated in these statements. We show that vulnerable statements are 5.8 times smaller in size, yet exhibit 7.5-114.5% stronger assessment performance (Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC)) than non-vulnerable statements. Incorporating context of vulnerable statements further increases the performance by up to 8.9% (0.64 MCC and 0.75 F1-Score). Overall, we provide the initial yet promising ML-based baselines for function-level SV assessment, paving the way for further research in this direction.


Summary. A crime has been committed, and a DNA profile of the perpetrator is obtained from the crime scene. A suspect with a matching profile is found. The problem of evaluating this DNA evidence in a forensic context, when the suspect is found through a database search, is analysed through a likelihood approach. The recommendations of the National Research Council of the U.S. are derived in this setting as the proper way of evaluating the evidence when finiteness of the population of possible perpetrators is not taken into account. When a finite population of possible perpetrators may be assumed, it is possible to take account of the sampling process that resulted in the actual database, so one can deal with the problem where a large proportion of the possible perpetrators belongs to the database in question. It is shown that the last approach does not in general result in a greater weight being assigned to the evidence, though it does when a sufficiently large amount of the possible perpetrators are in the database. The value of the likelihood ratio corresponding to the probable cause setting constitutes an upper bound for this weight, and the upper bound is only attained when all but one of the possible perpetrators are in the database.


Compared to scalar quantization (SQ), vector quantization (VQ) has memory, space-filling, and shape advantages. If the signal statistics are known, direct vector quantization (DVQ) according to these statistics provides the highest coding efficiency, but requires unmanageable storage requirements if the statistics are time varying. In code-excited linear predictive (CELP) coding, a single "compromise" codebook is trained in the excitation-domain and the space-filling and shape advantages of VQ are utilized in a nonoptimal, average sense. In this paper, we propose Karhunen-Loe/spl grave/ve transform (KLT)-based adaptive classified VQ (CVQ), where the space-filling advantage can be utilized since the Voronoi-region shape is not affected by the KLT. The memory and shape advantages can be also used, since each codebook is designed based on a narrow class of KLT-domain statistics. We further improve basic KLT-CVQ with companding. The companding utilizes the shape advantage of VQ more efficiently. Our experiments show that KLT-CVQ provides a higher SNR than basic CELP coding, and has a computational complexity similar to DVQ and much lower than CELP. With companding, even single-class KLT-CVQ outperforms CELP, both in terms of SNR and codebook search complexity.


A new class of mechanically coupled contour mode MEMS filters is demonstrated using a thin film piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) process. The use of contour modes, whose frequencies are set by lithographically defined dimensions, permits the co-fabrication of multiple filters at arbitrary frequencies on the same chip. The stronger electromechnical coupling of the thin film piezoelectric structural material vis-à-vis electrostatically transduced devices results in lower insertion losses (as low as 1.5 dB) with termination values of 1 to 2.5 kΩ. Finally, filters synthesized using mechanically coupled resonators are fundamentally capable of wider bandwidths than electrically coupled ladder filters without requiring external tuning elements. Two designs for bandpass filters are analyzed, fabricated, and tested. The filters have center frequencies of 40 and 100 MHz.


This article compares and contrasts three specific proposals that allocate taxing rights to market countries: (i) the OECD's "Unified Approach" (Pillar One); (ii) the United Nations' "Article 12B"; and (iii) Devereux et al.'s "residual profit allocation by income". The article aims to identify the similarities and differences between these proposals and their consequent strengths and weaknesses. More specifically, it has two objectives. First, it aims to identify the strengths and weaknesses that are particular to each proposal, distinguishing between features that are inherent to each proposal (that cannot be altered without altering its fundamental nature) and those that are not inherent (that can be altered without altering its fundamental nature). This lays the foundations for the second objective: to show how these proposals can be improved by drawing on the most useful features of each other, or how alternative proposals can be designed by combining these features.


Fasciola hepatica, is a helminth that excretes-secretes different proteins that modulate cells of the immune system, generating anti-inflammatory responses. It has been demonstrated that Fh12 achieves this anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the expression of TLR4 induced by LPS in macrophages. Fh12 target the CD14 co-receptor, thus blocking the LPS-CD14 binding, which stop the entire TLR4 activation cascade from the beginning of the LPS-stimuli. Concurrently, Fh12 suppress the phosphorylation of various kinases (p38, JNK and ERK) downstream the TLR4 signaling cascade and induce the activation of macrophages by an alternative pathway. Dendritic cells (DCs) are antigen-presenting cells that play a key role at early phase of innate immunity and that are essential in the development of adaptive immune response. The main objective of the current study was to investigate the effect of Fh12 on the activation of murine DCs matured in the presence of LPS. DCs were isolated from bone marrow of naïve C57BL/6 mice, cultured, differentiated and stimulated in vitro with Fh12 1h prior to stimulation with LPS for 18 hrs. ELISA was used to quantify the amount of a panel of secreted cytokines in culture supernatant. FACS was used to determine the activation of MHCII and co-stimulatory molecules. Results demonstrated that Fh12 significantly inhibits the production of IL-12 and IL-6 and reduced the expression of MHCII and co-stimulatory molecules like CD80 on DCs surface. All assays have a significant P value < 0.05. These results suggest that Fh12 exerts a strong suppressive effect on activation of DC cells, which could have relevant implications in the subsequent development of adaptive immune response to microbial pathogens.


This phenomenological study explored the experiences of rural school counselors as social justice advocates. The first author interviewed seven participants in their respective communities and identified five themes, including both positive and negative elements: the stability of place, community promise, mutual reliance, professional and personal integration, and a focus on individuals. The authors include implications for practice and future research on the ways that rural school counselors can use community resources to advocate for marginalized groups of students.


Background: Recently, we reported that using quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping in differentially susceptible rat strains, we identified Fry, the mammalian ortholog of the furry gene in Drosophila melanoganster, as a candidate mammary carcinoma susceptibility gene (Mcs30). Preliminary studies of rat Fry gene suggest that Fry may play a key role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), tumor progression and metastasis. Methods: In the present study, we modified and established multiple breast cancer cell lines with enhanced expression of either wildtype or mutated human FRY gene. We examined the anti-tumorigenic and anti-metastatic effects of enhanced FRY expression on these cell lines in vitro and in vivo. We also utilized RNA-seq and proteomic approach to dissect FRY-regulated signaling molecules and pathways. Results: Ectopic expression of wild-type FRY significantly diminished tumorigenicity and metastasis of breast cancer cells both in vitro and in animal studies, particularly in the triple negative breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231 cells. Relative to the rapidly tumors growth of MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro and in nude mice assay, the growth of MDA-MB-231 cells ectopically expressing the FRY significantly reduced. In comparison, the anti-tumorigenic effects of mutated FRY were compromised but remained significant. Further, we showed that FRY9s effects in suppressing proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of breast cancer cells were partially through the activation of Hippo signaling pathway. Conclusions: These results provide direct evidence in supporting the important role of FRY in breast cancer progression and metastasis, and first time reveal a connection between FRY and the Hippo signaling pathway. Citation Format: Hao Zhang, Fan Fei, Xushen Chen, Zi Ceng, Xiaojiang Tang, Helmut Zarbl, Xuefeng Ren. FRY Inhibits progression and metastasis of breast cancer through activating Hippo signaling pathway. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1160.


AIMS
To examine the relationship between inhalant abuse and other substances of abuse.

DESIGN
Survey using a structured interview administered by a single trained interviewer.

SETTING
A juvenile detention facility.

PARTICIPANTS
209 children incarcerated at the facility over a 3-month period.

SELECTION PROCEDURE
Consecutive sample.

INTERVENTIONS
None. MEASUREMENTS/FINDINGS: The structured interview was adapted from the American Drug and Alcohol Survey, which has been extensively used to obtain substance abuse epidemiologic data. We collected information on inhalants, alcohol, marijuana, downers, pep pills, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), cocaine, designer drugs, phencyclidine (PCP), Talwin and Ritalin, speed, and narcotics. The chi-square or Fisher exact test were used when appropriate. Mean ages of initial experimentation were as follows: inhalants, 9.7 years; marijuana, 11.9 years; alcohol (inebriated), 12.0 years; cigarettes, 11.2 years; for the remaining substances of abuse, the mean age was 13.2-14.7 years. Thirty subjects had used inhalants. Significant relationships were found between inhalants and cocaine (p = .004), Talwin and Ritalin (p = .001), downers (p = .01), and narcotics (p = .003).

CONCLUSIONS
For children incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility in our community, inhalant abuse is associated with the later use of other substances of abuse. If this finding is replicated in other populations, it underscores the need for effective preventive strategies.


Cnidarian toxic products, particularly peptide toxins, constitute a promising target for biomedicine research. Indeed, cnidarians are considered as the largest phylum of generally toxic animals. However, research on peptides and toxins of sea anemones is still limited. Moreover, most of the toxins from sea anemones have been discovered by classical purification approaches. Recently, high-throughput methodologies have been used for this purpose but in other Phyla. Hence, the present work was focused on the proteomic analyses of whole-body extract from the unexplored sea anemone Bunodactis verrucosa. The proteomic analyses applied were based on two methods: two-dimensional gel electrophoresis combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF and shotgun proteomic approach. In total, 413 proteins were identified, but only eight proteins were identified from gel-based analyses. Such proteins are mainly involved in basal metabolism and biosynthesis of antibiotics as the most relevant pathways. In addition, some putative toxins including metalloproteinases and neurotoxins were also identified. These findings reinforce the significance of the production of antimicrobial compounds and toxins by sea anemones, which play a significant role in defense and feeding. In general, the present study provides the first proteome map of the sea anemone B. verrucosa stablishing a reference for future studies in the discovery of new compounds.


Maternal mortality and infant mortality are important indicators to state the social welfare andpublic health status of country. The both are correlated with health status of pregnant woment, knowledgeof women and family of antenatal care; delivery assistant and accessibility of health facility. The objectiveof this study is to identify the practice of ANC and utilization of delivery assisstant. The study usedqualitative methode with indepth interview and focus group discussion (FGD) to pregnant women,neonatus's mother, key persons, traditional birth attendants (TBA) and midwife villages. The result of thisstudy showed that the community have the ANC awareness but some of them still prefer to ask TBA whendelivery. Factors influence TBA's preference were 1) economics; 2) culture; 3) geography reason; 4)psycology; 5) pragmatis; 6) Service satifaction.


Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS) are disorders that are common and disturbing to uremic patients. The treatment of these is problematic. Eight patients on chronic hemodialysis and continuous peritoneal dialysis completed a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study using incremental doses of pergolide up to 0.25 mg at bedtime for treatment of RLS and sleep disruption. Five patients (62.5%) noted subjective improvement in restless legs symptoms and sleep quality. Objective results were improved only slightly by treatment. The percentage of the first hour in bed during which leg movements occurred decreased from 20.5 +/- 6.0 to 11.5 +/- 3.3, p < 0.05. However, findings during sleep were less positive. The following measures were not significant between placebo and treatment: leg movements per hour of sleep [53.7 +/- 22.3 vs 35.8 +/- 11.8 (p = 0.2)]; and percentage of sleep time spent with leg movements [5.5% +/- 3.2 vs 4.4% +/- 1.4 (p = 0.37)]. Patients continued to have very disrupted sleep, and we could not document an objective improvement in sleep architecture. Thus, although pergolide at the dose of 0.25 mg at bedtime provided subjective improvement in symptoms of restless legs and quality of sleep, and objectively decreased leg movements during the first hour in bed, objectively sleep continued to be disrupted. In this small patient group, the response to pergolide was not uniform, and further investigation is required to test effectiveness at higher doses.


Добро пожаловать! Welcome to the Russian 601c – an intensive and unique adventure in language acquisition! This course is designed to bring you quickly to functional proficiency in the language and culture of one of the most influential and important regions of the world. More that 200 million people in the former Soviet Union, and an additional 150 million throughout the world, speak Russian. It is the language of some of the world's greatest literature: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Pasternak, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Gorky, and Solzhenitsyn, among others. It is the culture of some of the greatest scientists and innovators in the West: Lomonosov, Mendeleev, Pavlov, and Gagarin. And it is the country of some of most influential politicians of the Twentieth Century: Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev, and Putin. As the most recent addition to the G8 summit meetings, Russia is fast becoming a major player of the global economy. The major cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg attract thousands of tourists, businesspeople, and students each year, including a sizeable number of summer students from UT on our program "Moscow Plus." We hope you'll be among them next summer 2012! INTENSIVE RUSSIAN I