Background
Radiology reporting of emergency whole-body computed tomography (CT) scans is time-critical and therefore involves a significant risk of pathology under-detection. We hypothesize a relevant number of initially missed secondary thoracic findings that would have been detected by an artificial intelligence (AI) software platform including several pathology-specific AI algorithms.

Methods
This retrospective proof-of-concept-study consecutively included 105 shock-room whole-body CT scans. Image data was analyzed by platform-bundled AI-algorithms, findings were reviewed by radiology experts and compared with the original radiologist's reports. We focused on secondary thoracic findings, such as cardiomegaly, coronary artery plaques, lung lesions, aortic aneurysms and vertebral fractures.

Results
We identified a relevant number of initially missed findings, with their quantification based on 105 analyzed CT scans as follows: up to 25 patients (23.8%) with cardiomegaly or borderline heart size, 17 patients (16.2%) with coronary plaques, 34 patients (32.4%) with aortic ectasia, 2 patients (1.9%) with lung lesions classified as "recommended to control" and 13 initially missed vertebral fractures (two with an acute traumatic origin). A high number of false positive or non-relevant AI-based findings remain problematic especially regarding lung lesions and vertebral fractures.

Conclusions
We consider AI to be a promising approach to reduce the number of missed findings in clinical settings with a necessary time-critical radiological reporting. Nevertheless, algorithm improvement is necessary focusing on a reduction of "false positive" findings and on algorithm features assessing the finding relevance, e.g., fracture age or lung lesion malignancy.


The pharynx of the child may serve as a reservoir of pathogenic bacteria, including beta-haemolytic group A streptococci (GAS), which can give rise to upper airway infections and post-streptococcal diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of beta-haemolytic Streptococcus spp. in pharyngeal samples stemming from children aged 3–14 years in Bouaké, central Côte d'Ivoire. Oropharyngeal throat swabs for microbiological culture and venous blood samples to determine the seroprevalence of antistreptolysin O antibodies (ASO) were obtained from 400 children in March 2017. Identification was carried out using conventional bacteriological methods. Serogrouping was performed with a latex agglutination test, while an immunological agglutination assay was employed for ASO titres. The mean age of participating children was 9 years (standard deviation 2.5 years). In total, we detected 190 bacteria in culture, with 109 beta-haemolytic Streptococcus isolates, resulting in an oropharyngeal carriage rate of 27.2%. Group C streptococci accounted for 82.6% of all isolates, whereas GAS were rarely found (4.6%). The ASO seroprevalence was 17.3%. There was no correlation between serology and prevalence of streptococci (p = 0.722). In conclusion, there is a high pharyngeal carriage rate of non-GAS strains in children from Bouaké, warranting further investigation.


The analysis of real mechanical system of the bridge crane with vacuum-sucker equipment is made and the design scheme for the mathematical model of dynamic processes created on the basis of the analysis is offered.


Applying a form of genealogical method rooted in Nietzsche's use of history, this article seeks an understanding of 'marking' punishments in our own mass-mediated culture. First, Foucault's analysis of the punitive tactic of marking in his 1973 course, The Punitive Society, will be considered. Second, his concept of 'virtual marking' will be extended and applied to the case of the pitture infamante in the early renaissance. Third, I will use these insights in a genealogical spirit in order to examine the rise of virtual marking in modernity. We will discover that Foucault was mistaken to tether marking punishments so closely to sovereign power. Instead, with certain antecedents in ancient Rome, virtual marking emerged in a largely bourgeois society during the early renaissance and re-emerges in our own society of mass, photographic spectacle.


The results of observations of the amplitude variations of pulses transmitted by a powerful VLF transmitter (ƒ = 15 kHz) at different distances are given. The duration of the pulses varied from 5 to 120 sec. The observed variations may be explained as the self-action of a powerful wave in the lower ionosphere.


The pricing task force organized by Tom Jordan in the (A) case, UVA-OB-0925, recognizes the opportunity to adopt a new price strategy and become the price leader. It decides to use ABC SKU categorization to manage pricing. Many executives in his office products company thought it was an insane strategy and would destroy the business. But within six months, the company met its profit objective, every competitor matched the higher prices, and the company retained all its business.


THIS STUDENT-PRODUCED 'diary' provides a record of the 1950 Summer Seminar-Workshop conducted by the Institute of General Semantics. Held at The Barrington School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, from August 14th to September 5th, this seminar is noteworthy as the first after Alfred Korzybski's sudden death six months earlier. The original manuscript, found recently among the Institute's archives, contains more than 40 photographs and roughly twice as much material as that edited and excerpted here. All of these photos can be viewed online at: http://www.dfwcgs.net/etc/ 1950.html. The contributing authors are credited as: Diary Editor: Bob Kenyon; Contributors: O. R. Bontrager, Ph.D., Dick Brenneman, Gwenn Hermann, Stanley Rittenoure. - STEVE STOCKDALE DIARY EDITOR'S STATEMENT This first summer seminar-workshop after the death of Alfred Korzybski had been anticipated by students and members of the Institute with somewhat of a wary attitude - how might this seminar without Korzybski turn out? Certainly there must have been a number who, in the past, gathered to Korzybski in the cultish way they would have gathered to anyone who symbolized some certain something-or-other to them. I think, rather, that the major portion of his students felt important and valuable implications in their study of general semantics. However, I have learned to extensionalize and shall do so in terms of this particular seminar-workshop. I observed, during the first day or so, an atmosphere of questioning and speculation as to just how effective this seminar would be without AK, who had formulated general semantics and introduced the notion of non-Aristotelian systems. The man chosen to present the seminar was Dr. J. S. A. Bois, a clinical psychologist of Montreal. Dr. Bois attended several of Korzybski's seminars and has been applying the principles of general semantics professionally for the last four years. As I saw it, after the first day the students began to warm to Dr. Bois, with his French-Canadian mannerisms and expressive gesticulations. The students seemed to get the idea, after a while, that Bois could not attempt to teach general semantics as Korzybski had; he must give them his own brand simply because Bois is not Korzybski is not Kendig is not Bontrager, etc. This critical point, I believe, was passed during the first week, because at the first Saturday night party a characterization of Bois was given and received with apparent delight by the whole crowd. Toward the end of the seminar-workshop I heard a number of people comment to the effect that the seminar hadn't collapsed without Korzybski after all; they seemed quite satisfied with the activities of the three-week period. I would say there was a structural similarity to be seen in comparing Korzybski's "Theory of Happiness" ["Happiness = Minimum Expectations + Maximum Motivation"] and the semantic reactions of the students toward events related to the seminar. Coming to the first seminar after the 'coagulation' of Korzybski induced a sort of automatic 'minimum expectation' such that there was a high probability the seminar would turn out effectively. At any rate, what has happened has happened. A group of forty people lived together for three weeks with a common bond. We studied a non-Aristotelian system for evaluation that promises much toward future successes in all areas of our life-efforts. I overheard several students remark that this was one of the most intellectually stimulating sessions of their lives. We each met people from all parts of the country who were curious, who liked to think and who felt that general semantics might provide them with a valuable tool for evaluation and adjustment in life. Now we've returned to our own fields. Many of us will contribute, in our capacity as Time-binders, to the growth and development of general semantics and its applications to the welfare of people. I have heard people say that general semantics is now only in its adolescence. …


We view Web-based Support Systems (WSS) as a multidisciplinary research area that focuses on supporting human activities in specific domains or fields based on computer science, information technology, and Web technology. Research on WSS is motivated by the challenges and opportunities of the Internet and the Web. The recent advancements of computer and Web technologies make the implemen- tation of WSS feasible. This paper presents the fundamental issues of WSS, a framework of WSS, and research on WSS. We also present preliminary studies on two examples of WSS, Web-based research support systems (WRSS) and Web-based information retrieval support systems (WIRSS). Keywords- Web-based systems, information retrieval, Web technologies


The scattering S matrix of a periodic structure is derived from its reflection and transmission coefficients. The transition terms depending on the eigenvalues of S are assigned to period or structures modes respectively. The influence of those modes on the position and width of the band gaps are studied in the case of a multilayer composed of N periods of two isotropic layers. Mots clefs : milieux périodiques, résonances, bandes interdites


The purpose of this study is to examine the funding policy decision taken by the management company or whether it should use alternate equity financing or debt financing altematives using analysis of EBIT-EPS indifference point through calculations and conduct analyzes related to EBIT-EPS indifference point and corporate funding in the period 2006-2011. The analytical method used is the ratio analysis to determine the value of each variable, correlation coeficient to determine the relationship between variables, coefficient of determination to measure the relationship between variables, and the regression coeficient, where the authors used a simple linear regression with t-test and f-test to measure the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable.
Keywords: EBIT-EPS indifference point, funding decisions


Technical components are subjected to cyclic loading conditions that can be arbitrarily complex in the most general case. For analytical fatigue strength verifications in the finite life regime both the uniaxial material characteristics by means of Wohler curves as well as a representative equivalent fatigue damage parameter (FDP) for multiaxial cyclic loadings have to be determined. For simple loading conditions, the fatigue assessment can be performed using well-known and verified strength hypotheses for quasi-static loading conditions. However, for complex non-proportional cyclic loading conditions with rotating principle stress directions the application of these hypotheses is not sufficiently verified. Hence, advanced stress, strain or energy based strength hypotheses in critical plane formulation are used. These hypotheses require considerable numerical efforts.The fatigue concept (MPA AIM-Life) enables an assessment of complex fatigue loading conditions with different advanced strength hypotheses. An interface to the finite element code ABAQUS allows the fatigue assessment of complex component geometries. Based on fatigue tests of specimens made from ferritic and austenitic materials under uniaxial and multiaxial loading conditions (tension/torsion) the accuracy of different strength hypotheses is demonstrated. Therefore the fatigue analysis assessment included in codes and standards is compared to different advanced fatigue damage parameters.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


In the title compound, C10H10ClNO3, the conformation of the amide O atom and the carbonyl O atom of the acid segment are anti to each other and further, they are anti to the H atoms of their adjacent –CH2 groups. The C=O and O—H bonds of the acid group are in the syn position relative to each other. In the crystal, molecules are packed into infinite chains through intermolecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.


Since more than 60% of patients with cancer at some time will experience pain that requires medical or surgical intervention, pain control is an important priority for these patients. Demand analgesia literally places pain control in the hands of the patient. Based on their experience with patients who have used this system of pain treatment, the authors discuss the therapeutic advantages, economic considerations, and guidelines for use of patient-controlled analgesia.


Silica–titania (SiO2–TiO2) aerogel beads are synthesized by a single-step sol–gel reaction, followed by supercritical drying. The SiO2–TiO2 aerogel beads consist of nanoparticles, which interconnect to form mesoporous networks. The TiO2 nanoparticles distributed in the mesoporous networks have anatase phase. The SiO2–TiO2 aerogel beads with large adsorption capacities and high photocatalytic activities can efficiently remove Rhodamine B (RhB) from water. They can be easily recovered from the reaction solution and retain excellent removal capabilities even after several successive adsorption–photodegradation cycles.


Author(s): Lin, Jyun-Liang | Advisor(s): Wheeldon, Ian R. | Abstract: Chemical biosynthesis with enzymes and microorganisms holds great promise for renewable production of chemicals, fuels, and therapeutics. To achieve high productivity, identification of active enzymes and engineering of efficient metabolic or synthetic pathways are essential for massive production. Enzyme co-localization orchestrated by synthetic DNA and protein scaffolds have been shown improvement of pathway yields in vitro and in vivo. However, an investigation of the effect of DNA scaffold to enzyme activity of enzyme-DNA nanostructure and development of tools for enzyme co-localization on intracellular membranes are limited. Using a model system of horseradish peroxide and a multi-valent DNA scaffold, we demonstrated that DNA-conjugated horseradish peroxidase (HRP) activity can be enhanced by tuning the binding between substrates and DNA. The concept extracted from this work can be extended to rational designing of enzyme activity toward given substrates. Biological production of esters can be accomplished by the enzymatic reaction catalyzed by alcohol-O-acetyltransferase (AATase) with condensation of acyl-CoA and alcohol. Ethyl acetate synthesized by Atf1, an AATase, in S. cerevisiae relies on the availability of acetyl-CoA metabolized by aldehyde dehydrogenase (Ald6) and acetyl-CoA synthetase (Acs1) from acetaldehyde and ethanol produced by alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh). Both Ald6 and Acs1 have been shown to localize to the cytosol or mitochondria, whereas Atf1 is found on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and lipid droplets (LDs). To engineering enzyme co-localization of Ald6, Acs1, and Atf1, we first elucidated molecular transport of Atf1 to the ER and LDs, and essential domains required for membrane association. We then developed an Oleosin-Cohesin-Dockerin based synthetic protein scaffold that functionally localizes Ald6 and Acs1 to Atf1 on LDs. Such intracellular organization of the engineered pathway has improved the yield of ethyl acetate production. In addition, we also developed a spectrophotometric-based high throughput screening assay for determination of AATase activity and discovered a previously unexplored Atf-Sl from tomato with high activity toward a diverse set of alcohols and acyl-CoAs. This work not only broaden our understanding of LD biology, but also expand our capabilities to control intracellular localization of enzymes for efficient chemical conversion and to rapidly investigate enzyme activity of AATase.


Geo-polymer concrete (GPC) is a concrete manufactured without using cement. This type of concrete has environmental benefit as it has very low greenhouse gas emission compared to that resulted from the production of Portland cement. In addition, it also utilizes the by-product materials which makes it more environmentally friendly. Geo-polymer concrete in the present study is manufactured by using the industrial by products such as Ground Granulated Blast Furnace (GGBS), fly-ash as source materials which are rich in silica and aluminium; alkaline solution and aggregates normally used for ordinary Portland cement concrete. In this paper, the strength and drying shrinkage characteristics of geo-polymer concrete have been compared with that of ordinary Portland cement concrete.


This paper describes the principles, methods and strategies for the design of everyday objects that embody data – or Data Objects. The work presented in the paper connects the fields of industrial design and data physicalisation to introduce the concept of using data as a design material. To support the creative synthesis of Data Objects the paper provides a literature review, methods and guidance on the creation of Data Objects alongside examples - and possible opportunities, challenges, and future scenarios - for the practice, use and the study of Data Objects.


Network on chip (NoC) is emerging as a new trend for a System on chip (SoC) design. The key advantages of NoC are high performance and scalability. Despite those improvements over the conventional shared-bus based systems, NoC are not shown as the ideal solution for the future SoC. Recently, with the three dimension (3D) technology. The 3D NoC has been designed to overcome the high power consumption, highcost communication and low throughput. This paper present a 3D router design which can support seven requests simultaneously. The traditional Turn Model technique used in 2D NoC has been extended in the case of 3D NoC in order to avoid deadlock conflicts. Experimental results in terms of area, power and clock frequency, relatively to 2D NoC and others famous 3D routers has been discussed.


The authors consider the problem of testing the validity of the logistic regression model using a random sample. Given the values of the response variable, they observe that the sample actually consists of two independent subsets of observations whose density ratio has a known parametric form when the model is true. They are thus led to propose a generalized‐moments specification test in detail. In addition, they show that this test can be derived using Neyman's smooth tests for goodness of fit. They present simulation results and apply the methodology to the analysis of two real data sets.


Water quality was assessed for five subregions of Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair in Georgia, USA. The areas were chosen for their levels of human impact, including: (i) suburban development >30 years old; (ii) modern suburban development; (iii) industry; (iv) agriculture; and (v) an area of low human activity. The measured temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration and turbidity values were normal for oligotrophic lakes. Faecal pollution in the lakes was determined using the membrane filtration method (Method 1600) on mEI plates for enterococci. There was a positive correlation between turbidity and the number of faecal enterococci in the lakes. The faecal pollution level was higher for the old suburban and agricultural areas. Faecal pollution in the agricultural region of Lake Oconee exceeded EPA regulatory standards. The faecal pollution source was identified using polymerase chain reaction detection, with Bifidobacterium adolescentis being a marker of human faecal pollution, and bovine-associated Bacteroides (BoBac) as a marker of cattle faecal pollution. Human faecal pollution was detected in the agricultural, old suburban and industrial areas of the lakes. In contrast, bovine faecal pollution was detected only in the agricultural area of Lake Oconee. Measurements of chlorophyll-a and relative algal community abundance indicated the least-impacted and modern suburban areas had significantly lower numbers of primary producers, being dominated by diatoms.


The nancial crisis that has engulfed the world over the past three years started out in a relatively small set of sectors in a select number of countries, with a particularly important contribution from the real estate sector in the United States. At rst (February 2007 to May 2008), nancial problems seemed to stay conned to their sectors and countries of origin, with little repercussion on other sectors in the United States or on emerging countries. In fact, policymakers in the developing world would brag about this "decoupling" from the United States as a sign of the economic maturity reached by their domestic economies.1 Starting around May 2008, however – and particularly after the collapse of Lehman (September 15, 2008) – the nancial crisis began to spread like wild re, affecting countries all around the world, with asset and stock prices collapsing in unison.2 This paper develops a stylized model of decoupling and recoupling that captures these phenomena in an environment where heterogeneous entrepreneurial sectors face nancial constraints in their relationship with a common set of lenders. In response to adverse shocks, a nancially constrained sector must reduce its borrowing and cut down on production. In particular, as the constrained sector can absorb less and less capital, the interest rate in the economy declines. Other sectors that compete for the same inputs (including capital) experience positive terms of trade ef-


The efficient and timely access to patient data is essential for successful patient treatment in clinical wards. Even though, most of the patient data is stored electronically, e.g. in the electronic health record (EHR), relevant patient information is frequently captured, processed and passed in non-electronic form in day-to-day ward routines, e.g. during ward rounds or at shift handover. Following a disruptive design mode, we present a design and development approach comprising a fundamental visualization concept that is refined in a feedback-loop between computer scientists, sociologists and physicians in order to support peri-operative collaborative workflows on a neurosurgical hospital ward. The resulting prototype realizes on-patient visualization methods using an anatomical avatar. It allows for the visual access of medical data with spatial reference relevant for spinal disc herniation and it handles various quantitative and qualitative medical data related to the same anatomical structure as well as referring to hidden and/or small anatomical structures with limited detectability. Furthermore, temporal changes of medical data are made accessible.


Objective Cytochrome P450 is one of the major drug metabolizing enzyme families and its role in metabolism of cancer drugs cannot be less emphasized. The association be- tween single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CYP1A1 and pathogenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has been investigated in several studies, but the results observed vary based on varied risk factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the risk factors associated with the CYP1A1*2C [rs1048943: A>G] polymorphism in CML patients and its role in therapeutic response to imatinib mesylate (IM) affecting clinico-pathological parameters, in the Indian population. Materials and Methods In this case-control study, CYP1A1*2C was analysed in CML patients. After obtaining approval from the Ethics Committee of oncology hospital, we collected blood samples from 132 CML patients and 140 matched controls. Genom- ic DNA was extracted and all the samples were analysed for the presence of the CYP1A1*2C polymorphism using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction, and we examined the relationship of genotypes with risk factors such as gender, age, phase of the disease and other clinical parameters. Results We observed a significant difference in the frequency distribution of CYP1A1*2C genotypes AA (38 vs. 16%, P=0.0001), AG (57 vs. 78%, P=0.0002) and GG (5 vs. 6%, P=0.6635) between patients and controls. In terms of response to IM therapy, significant variation was observed in the frequencies of AA vs AG in major (33 vs 67%) and poor (62 vs 31%) hematological responders, and AA vs AG in major (34 vs. 65%) and poor (78 vs. 22%) cytogenetic responders. However, the patients with the GG homozygous genotype did not show any significant therapeutic outcome. Conclusion The higher frequency of AG in controls indicates that AG may play a protec- tive role against developing CML. We also found that patients with the AG genotype showed favorable treatment response towards imatinib therapy, indicating that this polymorphism could serve as a good therapeutic marker in predicting response to such therapy.


As a part of a just-in-time, single-source procurement plan, a supplier agreed with the hospital that the supplier would hold at its warehouse the bulk of a large order for medical supplies. The hospital signed a contract for the entire amount of the order and, under the terms of the contract, title passed at once to the hospital. Each day the hospital was to advise the supplier by telephone of the quantities consumed. The supplier would deliver to the hospital daily the items needed. In this dialogue, Dr. Decker discusses the legal issues in such an arrangement, including a word of warning.


Purpose. The concept of alexithymia which is expressed as individuals having difficulty defining, regulating, and expressing their emotions, is believed to be on the rise in organizational life. It is argued that it is not possible for employees who have difficulty defining their emotions to build positive relationships in the workplace. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether alexithymia has an impact on counterproductive work behaviors. Study design. Data were collected through the convenience sampling method from 334 employees working in public and private sector organizations in Turkey. The mean age of the participants is 34.1 years, the mean seniority in the profession is seven years, and the mean seniority in their organizations is three years. The data was collected through asurvey form. The Counterproductive Work Behaviors Scale (CWB) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were used in the data collection tool. Findings. The study revealed that alexithymia has a significant contribution to counterproductive work behaviors. Moreover, it was found that alexithymia has a stronger contribution to organizational deviance (Cwb-O) than employee deviance (Cwb-P). As a result of the simple regression analysis carried out to determine to what extent the sub-dimension of alexithymia predicts counterproductive work behaviors in the workplace. "Having difficulty recognizingand verbalizing emotions" significantly predicted counterproductive work behaviors towards the organization (β = .65, t = 15.7, p = .00) and counterproductive work behaviors towards the employee (β = .42, t = 8.52, p = .00). Value of results. The findings of the study will provide a new perspective on counterproductive work behaviors in organizations and contribute to the industrial and organizational psychology literature as it is the first study in Turkey regarding the relationship between alexithymia and counterproductive work behaviors.


A cognitive approacti to metaphors concerning oid age Old age is a universal experience. Poets in general and certain Afrikaans poets in particular use imagination and metaphor to understand and interpret the experience of old age and approaching death. To understand one domain of experience in terms of another we need metaphor which unites reason and imagination. The purpose of this article is to apply the cognitive approach to disclose the main conceptual domains which act as source domains and are projected onto the target domain of old age. The resulting metaphors describe the experience of old age and its physical and psychological infirmities and decay. The poet as abstract author, but also the reader, creatively and imaginatively recognize a schema in a new situation and contrive metaphorical connections between various conceptual structures. Thus a metaphorical expression links two or more domains o f experience. Structures from rn'o or more input source domains are projected onto a separate "blended" space, which inherits structure partially from the inputs, and has emergent structure of its own. It is argued that creativity shows rationality and structure. The examples reveal that the path, cycle and time domains are the more important source domains for the old age metaphors. The metaphors do not only describe the authors' emotions on experiencing old age, but also create emotions in the reader. The conclusion arrived at is that language is


ABSTRACT This article investigates the degree of involuntariness in the entrepreneurial activity of the dependent solo self-employed, as well as its association with the country's wealth and labour market institutions. Using the unique information available in the 2017 European Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) for 29 countries, we can properly identify the dependent solo self-employed and analyse to what extent they behave in accordance with an occupational choice model when making their self-employment decision. For that, we account for the reasons why they enter into self-employment (voluntarily or involuntarily either out of necessity or requested by the former employer). The results indicate that involuntary self-employment, mostly due to being required by previous employer, significantly increases the probability of being dependent solo versus non-dependent self-employed. The wealthiest countries have a lower incidence of this group of workers, mainly if they are involuntary self-employed. Moreover, labour market institutions that decrease the flexibility of paid employment tend to increase the incidence of dependent solo self-employment. These results point to this group of workers being particularly vulnerable with the degree of vulnerability significantly increasing for those self-employed with a lesser degree of occupational choice.


Film for oral,skin or mocous membrane administration can be considered as a thin strip of postage stamp size with an active pharmaceutical ingredient and other excipients.This paper is emphasized on the preparation,package and evaluation of the oral dissolvable films.The research,application and future potential of this dosage form are briefly reviewed.


Water scarcity is a huge problem in Africa, and hence rainwater becomes a crucial water source for fulfilling basic human needs. However, less attention has been given by African countries to the effectiveness of common rainwater treatments to ensure the population's health. This study investigates the impact of different household treatment techniques (HHTTs), i.e. treatments by chlorine, boiling, alum, and a combination of alum and chlorine, on its storage system using a case study at the Ikorodu area of Lagos state, which is a rural area in Nigeria. The first-flush quality has been particularly studied here, where the microbial reduction through its practice has been examined from five different roofs. One of the investigated roofs was from a residential building, and four were constructed for the purpose of this study. In this study, the physical parameters (i.e. total suspended solids and turbidity) and the microbial parameters (i.e. total coliform and Escherichia coli) of the collected rainwater have been investigated. From the results, it has been observed that: (1) the water quality at the free phase zone is better than that at the tank's bottom; (2) the combination of chlorine and alum gives the best rainwater quality after comparing the application of different HHTTs; and (3) a reduction of about 40% from the original contaminant load occurs in every 1 mm diversion.


The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that provides movement and feeling to the shoulder, armand hand. The majority of acute brachial plexus injuries occur when the plexus is stretched violently or torn. This happens as result of the shoulder being pressed down forcefully while the head is pushed up and away from that shoulder. Such injuries frequently result from automobile or motor-cycle accidents or from falls and usually affect one side. Nerve injuries vary in severity from a mild stretching of the nerve to a tearing of the nerve root away from the spinal cord. We experienced a 50-year-old woman with weakness in both upper extremities after an attempted hanging. A consecutive workup revealed bilateral brachial plexus injuries. Six months after the incident, she had fully recovered. This is a very rare case of bilateral brachial plexus injuries after an attempted hanging. [ J Trauma Inj 2014;27:79-83 ]


Objective: To investigate the effects of electromagnetic fields on some hematological parameters of Male white mice. Methods: In this study two experiments were used as short-term and long-term experiments. Short-term experiments were carried out in 80 male white Balb/c mice exposed to two types of mobile phone for a period time up to 60 min a day for 2 weeks. Long-term experiments was carried out in 30 male white Balb/c mice exposed to two types of mobile phone for a period time up to 90 min a day for a day for a month, two months, three months. Result: The present result found that a decline in hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cells count, in addition to the platelets count after short and long exposure to both types of mobile phone (Alcatel, Nokia,). It was observed that the average number of white cells and lymphocytes increased significantly, indicating the increase to the body's immune response to radiation. Also, when exposed to both devices (Alcatel, Nokia) for 15 minutes, the red blood cells began to take roles formation due to an increase in the viscosity of the blood and the ability of the cells adhesion. Increased duration of exposure to 30-minute to both devices revealed disparities in the sizes of red blood cells with the appearance of a large proportion of cells with pale colors due to lack of hemoglobin. In the group exposed for 45 minutes showed clearly the influence of mobile phones on examining blood smears which observed a proportion variation in the cell sizes with the emergence of forms of abnormal forms, including pellets cleft with many areas empty of red blood cells, With increasing in of exposure duration to 60 minutes, red blood cells appeared completely different from the natural form and took the forms resembling the eye and tear that appear in the case of anemia. After three months of exposure to both types of mobile phone showed pathological changes in red blood cells where gripped the outer membrane of the red corpuscle changes and become serrated. Conclusion: Exposure to electromagnetic fields is responsible for the variations of some hematological parameters in rats.


How readers consume and recall news presented in online and print versions of two newspapersin the Netherlands are investigated in this experimental study. Few differences are found between the online and print versions in terms of news supply. Reader attention to the news stories varies, depending on the newspaper and news category. No consistent reading pattern is evident and the print version readers do not read more than the online version readers. News Consumption seems to be more dependent on the news category, reader gender and interest in a particular topic than on whether the news appears in print or online. Finally, on the basis of cued and free recall questions, no consistent pattern differentiates readers of the print newspapers from the online versions. In conclusion, evidence has not been found that online readers consume and retain news differently from readers of the print versions examined in this study.


Abstract. Drought is a ubiquitous and reoccurring hazard that has wide ranging impacts on society, agriculture and the environment. Drought indices are vital for characterizing the nature and severity of drought hazards, and there have been extensive efforts to identify the most suitable drought indices for drought monitoring and risk assessments. However, to date, little effort has been made to explore which index(s) best represents drought impacts for various sectors in China. This is a critical knowledge gap, as impacts provide important 'ground truth' information. They can be used to demonstrate whether drought indices (used for monitoring or risk assessment) are relevant for identifying impacts, thus highlighting if an area is vulnerable to drought of a given severity. The aim of this study is to explore the link between drought indices and drought impacts, using Liaoning province (northeast China) as a case study due to its history of drought occurrence. To achieve this we use independent, but complementary, methods (correlation and random forest analysis). Using multiple drought indices – Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Soil Moisture (SoilM) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) – and drought impact data (on crop yield, livestock, rural people and the economy) correlation and random forest analysis were used to identify which indices link best to the recorded drought impacts for cities in Liaoning. The results show that the relationship varies between different categories of drought impacts and between cities. SPEI with a 6-month accumulation (SPEI6) had a strong correlation with all categories of drought impacts, while SPI12 had a weak correlation with drought impacts. Of the impact datasets, drought suffering area and drought impact area had a slightly strong relationship with all drought indices in Liaoning province, while population and number of livestock with difficulty in accessing drinking water had weak correlations with the indices. Based on the linkage, drought vulnerability was analyzed using various vulnerability factors. Crop cultivated area was positively correlated to the drought vulnerability for five out of the eight categories of drought impacts, while the total population had a strong negative relationship with drought vulnerability for half the drought impact categories. This study can support drought planning efforts in the region, and provides a methodology for application for other regions of China (and other countries) in the future, as well as providing context for the indices used in drought monitoring applications, so enabling improved preparedness for drought impacts.


Abstract : This is the first annual report on the grant Resetting the T cell repertoire in prostate cancer bearing host. A major obstacle to effective anti-tumor immune response is immune tolerance to tumor antigens, mostly caused by the defective cancer-reactive T-cell repertoire and increased immune suppression by regulatory T cells. We proposed to reset the immune system of cancer-bearing host by rescuing cancer-reactive T cells and by eliminating the generation and survival of Treg. (1). To rescue cancer-reactive T cells by preventing clonal deletion of tumor-reactive T cells in the thymus. (2). To block the Treg production using anti-B7 antibodies and to optimize the immunotherapy of prostate cancer using antibodies and fusion proteins. In the past funding period, we have submitted two papers that summarized our results from specific aim 2 in modulating Treg production in anti-tumor immunity and related subject on the role of costimulatory molecule B7 on NKT cell development. We are in the process to finish the data analyses for specific aim 1.


Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of diarrhea among Kenyan infants. Ceramic water filters (CWFs) are used for household water treatment. We assessed the impact of CWFs on diarrhea, cryptosporidiosis prevention, and water quality in rural western Kenya. A randomized, controlled intervention trial was conducted in 240 households with infants 4-10 months old. Twenty-six weekly household surveys assessed infant diarrhea and health facility visits. Stool specimens from infants with diarrhea were examined for Cryptosporidium. Source water, filtered water, and filter retentate were tested for Cryptosporidium and/or microbial indicators. To estimate the effect of CWFs on health outcomes, logistic regression models using generalized estimating equations were performed; odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported. Households reported using surface water (36%), public taps (29%), or rainwater (17%) as their primary drinking water sources, with no differences in treatment groups. Intervention households reported less diarrhea (7.6% versus 8.9%; OR: 0.86 [0.64-1.16]) and significantly fewer health facility visits for diarrhea (1.0% versus 1.9%; OR: 0.50 [0.30-0.83]). In total, 15% of intervention and 12% of control stools yielded Cryptosporidium (P = 0.26). Escherichia coli was detected in 93% of source water samples; 71% of filtered water samples met World Health Organization recommendations of < 1 E. coli/100 mL. Cryptosporidium was not detected in source water and was detected in just 2% of filter rinses following passage of large volumes of source water. Water quality was improved among CWF users; however, the short study duration and small sample size limited our ability to observe reductions in cryptosporidiosis.


We examine maternal life-course mediators of the impact of a nurse home visitation program on reducing child maltreatment among participants in the Elmira trial of the Nurse Family Partnership program from the first child's birth through age 15. For women having experienced low to moderate levels of domestic violence, program effects on the number of confirmed maltreatment reports were mediated by reductions in numbers of subsequent children born to mothers and their reported use of public assistance. Together, the two mediators explained nearly one half of the total effect of nurse home visiting on child maltreatment. The long-term success of this program on reducing child maltreatment can be explained, at least in part, by its positive effect on pregnancy planning and economic self-sufficiency.


Background Green tea and salt had been known for a long time as an effective home remedy for common cold and flu. We aimed to evaluate the effect of gargling with warm salty green tea on signs and symptoms of acute upper respiratory tract infection (AURTI) among children. Materials and Methods A two group, quasi-experimental research design was adopted. Tools: (1) structured interview to collect socio-demographic data of children, and history of the child's disease (2) signs and symptoms of AURTI inventory. Samples: A purposive sample of 200 school age children who attended the outpatient clinics in Cairo University Specialized Pediatric Hospital (CUSPH), Cairo, Egypt. 200 cases were assigned randomly as follows: 100 children as controls for whom analgesics were prescribed, and 100 children as intervention group, who were given salty green tea gargling in addition to analgesics; data of signs and symptom severity were collected on daily basis for three consecutive days. Results There was a highly significant difference between controls and intervention group regarding total mean score of signs and symptoms (p-value<0.01). In addition, there was a highly significant positive correlation between children's age, sex, residence, presence of a smoking family member and presence of another family member with similar condition and the total mean signs and symptoms score in control and intervention groups. Conclusion Children with AURTI in intervention group showed less total mean signs and symptoms scores than those in the control group.Recommendations: Experimental studies on larger random samples need to be conducted to explore the effect of gargling with salty warm green tea on the signs and symptoms of AURTI.


Diabetes mellitus is one of the most important world health problems, especially in developing co untries where prevalence and incidence rates are highest. Diabetic patients are particularly prone to cardiovascular diseases including hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetic cardiom yopathy, congestive heart failure and cardiac autonomic neuropathy. The p resent study investigated the effects of Momordica charantia ( M. charantia ) on histological changes of the left ventricle of the heart in streptozotocin - induced diabetic Wistar rats. Forty healthy adult Wistar rats of both sexes were randomly assigned into five groups A, B, C, D and E of eight rats each. Group A were the control (normal rats); B were the experimentally - induced diabetic rats; C were diabetic rats treated with methanolic extracts of M. charantia for two weeks (withdrawal group); D were diabetic rats treated with m ethanolic extracts of M. charantia for four weeks. E was diabetic rats treated with glimepiride for four weeks. Tissues were harvested, processed routinely in paraffin wax and stained with routine and special stains. Histological studies revealed disorgan i z a tio n of myofibril in the left ventricle of diabetic rats. Histochemical analysis also revealed abnormal deposition of glycogen in left ventricle of diabetic rats. M. charantia and glimperide attenuated the morphological alterations and reduced the glycogen de posits.


Overcoming conventional stormwater management problems and finding appropriate control methods for safely discharging excess runoff from impervious areas is an essential part of any sustainable urban planning. This study aims to analyze the performance of different storm control measures (SCMs) applied to Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) campus situated in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, which is a highly urbanized catchment. Different SCMs were designed for the VIT campus based on low impact development (LID) options available in stormwater management model (SWMM) software. The most suitable SCM was selected based on its ability to match pre-urbanized hydrographs as close as possible. The SCM location was identified by a localized survey, in such a way that there is least disturbance to the existing storm sewer network. The percentage reduction of peak flow under each proposed SCM were obtained as follows: bio-retention (19.8%), rain garden (18.69%), green roof (49.17%), infiltration trench (20.02%), permeable pavement (22.6%), rain barrel (12.95%), rooftop-disconnection (10.79%) and vegetative swales (17.23%). The results indicated that Option 9 (combination of permeable pavement and bioretention) and Option 10 (permeable pavement and infiltration trench) were better at reducing peak runoff and increasing infiltration. The peak runoff reduction for Options 9 and 10 were observed to be 32.05 and 39.81%, whereas the percentage increase in infiltration was observed to be 25.7 and 29.45% respectively.


Abstract Life table data of the green pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) reared on four different resistant alfalfa varieties, i.e., 5S43,TG4 CW044026 (abbreviated asTG4),TG7 CW2883 (abbreviated asTG7), and Aurora were analyzed using the age-stage, two-sex life table. A higher proportion of alate adults were observed on 5S43, TG7, and Aurora; while a higher proportion of apterous adults occurred on TG4. The contributions of alate aphids to the finite rate of increase (λ), intrinsic rate of increase (r), and net reproductive rate (R0) were higher than apterous aphids on 5S43,TG7, and Aurora, while apterous aphids contributed more to λ, r, and R0 onTG4. The highest population parameters were observed onTG4 (r = 0.208 d–1, λ = 1.231 d–1, and R0 = 18.8 offspring/individual), while the lowest values were onTG7 (r = 0.129 d–1, λ = 1.138 d–1, and R0 = 9.9 offspring/individual). Because the age-stage, two-sex life table is capable of describing the stage differentiation, it enables the calculation of the stable stage distribution (SSD). A higher proportion of adult A. pisum was observed in SSD than in fourth instar nymphs. Population simulation showed the stage structure will approach SSD. Because the R0 and the mean generation time (T) values do not reflect the population growth rate, their use as population fitness parameters should be avoided.These findings can be utilized in helping to select resistant alfalfa varieties to effectively manage the pea aphid.


This research aims to determine the use of various estrus detection devices before artificial insemination as measured by pregnancy rate. The researcher used a sample of 60 cows were used in this research which is divided into four groups as a control and treatment groups (Thermopin®, Hauptner and Draminski groups), and each cow was detected for the sign of estrus by three devices that were Thermopin®, Hauptner and Draminski prion when doing an artificial insemination. The cows were observed to 45 days after artificial insemination for observing pregnancy. This research method is the exploration scope to prove the effect of various estrus detection tool against pregnancy rates. The result of ANOVA test, there is the effect of using a various estrus detection devices against pregnancy rates. Samples tested by Draminski with average (1.53±0.51) resulted in a 53.3% pregnancy rate, the samples were tested with Hauptner with average (1.67±0,48) resulted in pregnancy rate 66.7%. Without treatment or control, sample with an average of (1.67±0.48) resulted in a  73.3% pregnancy rate. While samples were tested with Thermopin® with average (2.00±0.00) resulted in a 100% pregnancy rate. In conclusion, Thermopin® the best detection tool than other estrus detection devices. Keyword: estrus detection, artificial insemination, dairy cow, pregnancy rate


Demonstrate your expertise with the 2007 Microsoft Office system! This comprehensive study guide covers all the Microsoft Certified Application Specialist exams for Microsoft Office, including Word 2007, Excel 2007, Outlook 2007, PowerPoint 2007, and Access 2007. For each exam, you ll build the skills and knowledge measured by its objectives through a series of step-by-step exercises, practice questions, and real-world scenarios. Easy-to-follow screen shots and explanations bring key concepts to life and expertly guide you through the material. The CD includes the practice files for all the book's lessons. You ll even get a voucher for a practice pre-test. Earn the premier credential and showcase your expertise in the popular Microsoft Office programs!


Seven botanical starches; cassava, sweet potato, Irish potato, maize, rice, wheat and sorghum were characterized to determine physicochemical properties influencing gel formation for preparation of tissue culture media. Total starch, protein, fat, amylose content, swelling power and pH were determined using acid hydrolysis, enzymic and spectrophotmetric methods. Each type of starch was tested for ability to support in vitro plant growth and 0.8% agar (w/v) was used as standard. Nodal explants cultures were initiated in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 3% sucrose and 0.5 mg/l benzylaminopurine (BAP). After 21 days, number of leaves and nodes, plant height and fresh weight were determined for each  treatment. Significant (0.05) differences were observed between starch types in total starch, protein content and fats. Cassava had the highest starch content (81.5%) and irish potato had the lowest (29.3%). Highest protein content (12%) was observed in maize starch and the lowest (3.4%) in cassava. Fat content was highest (6.2%) in wheat and lowest in cassava (0.2%). Starch extract from rice had the highest amylose content (31.12%) while the cassava starch extracts had the lowest (20.75%). The starch extracted from wheat had the highest swelling power (105.1%) while irish potato starch had the lowest (52.1%). Sorghum starch had the lowest pH of 4.57 while the highest (6.92) was recorded in Irish potato starch. The growth of shoots in vitro on agar gelled media outperformed those of starch gelled media except for the number of leaves per shoot which cassava starch media recorded significantly the highest response (P = 0.05). Of all the starch gelled media, the best growth response was observed with cassava. Good performance was observed in starches with high starch content, low amylose content and high swelling powers. Key words : Starch, agar, gelling agent, in vitro plant growth.


AIM
To compare the damage pattern of the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) and the macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL) between early glaucomatous and non-glaucomatous optic neuropathy (EGON and NGON).

METHODS
It is a cross-sectional study. Thirty-eight healthy controls, 74 EGONs and 70 NGONs with comparable average pRNFL loss were included. The NGON group included 23 eyes of optic neuritis (ON), 13 eyes of hereditary optic neuropathy (HON), 19 eyes of toxic optic neuropathy (TON) and 15 eyes of compressive neuropathy (CON). The sectoral pRNFL and mGCIPL thickness obtained by high definition optical coherence tomography were analyzed.

RESULTS
Compared to normal controls, the pRNFL thickness in all quadrants showed a decrease in both EGON and NGON group (P<0.001), but the average pRNFL thickness of EGON group was not different to that of NGON group (P=0.94). The inferior and superior pRNFL was thinner in EGON group compared to NGON group (P<0.001). The temporal pRNFL was thinner in NGON group compared to EGON group (P<0.001). No statistically significant difference was found in nasal pRNFL between EGON and NGON. While the nasal pRNFL was thinner in CON than other three types of NGON (P=0.01), no statistically significant difference was found in other three quadrantal pRNFL among the four types of NGON (P>0.05). The mGCIPL of EGON and NGON group were thinner than control group (P<0.001). In EGON group the severest sites of mGCIPL reduction was located at inferotemporal and inferior sectors. While, compared to EGON group, the average mGCIPL of NGON group were significantly thinner, especially in superonasal and inferonasal sectors (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION
The damage pattern of pRNFL and mGCIPL caused by glaucoma is distinct from other NGON such as ON, TON, HON and CON, and this characteristic damage pattern is helpful in differentiating early glaucoma from other NGON.


Abstract This paper explores the relationship between economic growth and intergenerational mobility in the United States. Data from metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. is used to examine how two measures of intergenerational mobility impact growth rates. More precisely, I examine how absolute income mobility and relative income mobility are related the growth rate of real gross metropolitan product (RGMP) from 2001 to 2011. I find that absolute mobility has a positive relationship with RGMP growth over the time period, and that relative mobility exhibits a negative relationship with RGMP. Results are found to be robust to two stage least squares estimation.


Silage is a feed for ruminants resulting in the preservation of fresh forage crops by acidification, which is achieved under anaerobic environment. The process of ensiling is mainly depends upon the chemical and microbial composition of forage. During the fermentation process, changes in chemical composition of forage occur mainly due to bacterial activities. These changes are always accompanied with losses commonly expressed as DM losses. Another way to express these losses is in form of gross energy losses. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of quality of silage fermentation influenced by silage additive application on the gross energy value of silages after the fermentation process and after aerobic stability test. Clover-grass mixture in 22 % DM treated with silage additive at the rate 1L, 2L, 3L and 5 L per ton fresh forage was compared with untreated control. Forage was ensiled in 1.7 glass jars with water lock for 90 days. Chemical and microbiological analyses were performed to determine fermentation quality of silages. In addition, silages were weighed to determine DM losses as well as aerobic stability test was performed on silages. The gross energy was analyzed by bomb calorimetric method. The pH of control silages was significantly higher (P<0.001) than the additive treated silages. The production of propionic acid (P<0.001), butyric acid (P<0.001), 2,3-butanediol (P<0.001) and ethanol (P<0.001) was significantly reduced in all additive treated silages in comparison with the control silage. The concentration of lactic acid (P<0.001) and acetic acid (P<0.001) was higher in additive treated silages than in control. The concentration of ammonia-N was found lower (P<0.04) in S2 and S3 silages in comparison with the rest of silages. Clostridia spore count was significantly reduced (P<0.001) in all additive treated silages in comparison with the control silage. The DM losses in control silages were found to be higher (P<0.001) during the whole storage time in contrast with treated silages. No differences in aerobic stability were found between additive treated and control silages. There were no statistical differences between gross energy of all silages and gross energy of fresh forage in both after fermentation and after the stability test. Energy losses expressed in % of initial energy concentration in the silo showed no significant variations among both silages, after fermentation (P=0.5) and after the stability test (P=0.2). The improved the silage fermentation by the application of silage additives was reflected in reduced DM losses. However, the improvement in silage fermentation had no effect on energy losses formation in silages.


Event extraction (EE), which acquires structural event knowledge from texts, can be divided into two sub-tasks: event type classification and element extraction (namely identifying triggers and arguments under different role patterns). As different event types always own distinct extraction schemas (i.e., role patterns), previous work on EE usually follows an isolated learning paradigm, performing element extraction independently for different event types. It ignores meaningful associations among event types and argument roles, leading to relatively poor performance for less frequent types/roles. This paper proposes a novel neural association framework for the EE task. Given a document, it first performs type classification via constructing a document-level graph to associate sentence nodes of different types, and adopting a graph attention network to learn sentence embeddings. Then, element extraction is achieved by building a universal schema of argument roles, with a parameter inheritance mechanism to enhance role preference for extracted elements. As such, our model takes into account type and role associations during EE, enabling implicit information sharing among them. Experimental results show that our approach consistently outperforms most state-of-the-art EE methods in both sub-tasks. Particularly, for types/roles with less training data, the performance is superior to the existing methods.


SMARCB1/BAF47/INI1 is a core subunit of the mammalian SWI/SNF (BAF) family of ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes, which remodel nucleosome architecture to achieve coordinated regulation of gene expression. Genetic loss of SMARCB1 has been identified in several cancer types, including malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT, 98%) and epithelioid sarcoma (EpS, 90%), strongly implicating this event as the oncogenic driver in these malignancies. However, the precise mechanism underpinning the tumor suppressive function of BAF47 to date remains unclear. In order to elucidate the underlying mechanism and to identify direct genetic targets of aberrant BAF complexes in this context, we comprehensively evaluated the effects of BAF47 reintroduction in BAF47-deficient sarcomas with respect to complex subunit and associated protein factor composition and stability, global chromatin structure, and gene regulation. Reintroduced BAF47 stably integrated into BAF complexes, and remarkably, stabilized a highly specific set of BAF subunits, resulting in an increased complex molecular weight and stoichiometric nuclear abundance. These biochemical changes inducing the formation of wild-type complexes in MRT and EpS cell settings were directly linked to reproducible changes in BAF complex localization genome-wide, particularly, in the targeting to H3K4me3-marked promoter regions of direct target genes to establish DNA accessibility. Importantly, changes in BAF47-dependent BAF complex targeting between oncogenic and induced wild-type conditions were reproducibly associated with differential chromatin architecture and gene expression signatures hallmark to both MRT and EpS, and uniformly resulted in proliferative senescence of MRT and EpS cell lines in culture. These studies highlight, for the first time, the full spectrum of structural and functional contributions of the BAF47 subunit, implicating its role as a keystone in heteromorphic BAF complex assembly; BAF47 is required for the stable integration of several BAF subunits and novel interacting factors, which we determine govern specific genome-wide targeting mechanisms and chromatin-templated activities. These results reveal the mechanisms underlying the oncogenesis of BAF47-deficient sarcomas and point toward novel therapeutic strategies for this group of human sarcomas. Citation Format: Robert Nakayama, Robert T. Williams, Seth H. Cassel, Mingxiang Teng, Rafael A. Irizarry, George D. Demetri, Cigall Kadoch. Genome-wide mistargeting of oncogenic SWI/SNF(BAF) complexes in SMARCB1(BAF47)-deficient sarcomas. [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 2658.


This study quantifies the uncertainty in discharge calculations caused by uncertainty in precipitation input for 294 river basins worldwide. Seven global gridded precipitation datasets are compared at river basin scale in terms of mean annual and seasonal precipitation. The representation of seasonality is similar in all datasets, but the uncertainty in mean annual precipitation is large, especially in mountainous, arctic, and small basins. The average precipitation uncertainty in a basin is 30%, but there are strong differences between basins. The effect of this precipitation uncertainty on mean annual and seasonal discharge was assessed using the uncalibrated dynamic global vegetation and hydrology model Lund‐Potsdam‐Jena managed land (LPJmL), yielding even larger uncertainties in discharge (average 90%). For 95 basins (out of 213 basins for which measurements were available) calibration of model parameters is problematic because the observed discharge falls within the uncertainty of the simulated discharge. A method is presented to account for precipitation uncertainty in discharge simulations.


ABSTRACT The increase in number of airlines industry in Indonesia has caused  price competition between airlines company, especially for the Jakarta – Surabaya route. In order to survive in this industry, the airlines company has made efficiency to reduce the costs. So that, as the result service quality became lower, and it will affecting consumer satisfaction.  The objectives of this research are to analyze the effect of service quality dimension (SERVQUAL), which consist of tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, towards consumer concern in choosing air transportation service (airlines industry), for Jakarta – Surabaya route, and to analyze which of those five variables has the dominant effect to the consumer for selecting air transportation service, for Jakarta – Surabaya route. This research took place in Jakarta International Airport, Soekarno – Hatta by using the purposive sampling method, with involving 150 respondents as sample. The F – test and t – test  with α 5 % was used to examined the significance level of variables. The hypothesis was examined by using multiple regression analysis. The result of this research shows that service quality (SERVQUAL) dimension, which consist of tangible, reliability, responsiveness, and assurance has affecting consumer concern partially in choosing air transportation service, for Jakarta – Surabaya route, whereas the empathy doesn't affecting consumer concern in choosing air transportation service. Among those five variables, the reliability is the dominant factor that affecting consumer concern in choosing air transportation service, for the Jakarta – Surabaya route.


We present extensive optical and near-infrared photometric and spectroscopic observations of the stripped-envelope supernova SN 2010as. Spectroscopic peculiarities such as initially weak helium features and low expansion velocities with a nearly flat evolution place this object in the small family of events previously identified as transitional Type Ib/c supernovae (SNe). There is ubiquitous evidence of hydrogen, albeit weak, in this family of SNe, indicating that they are in fact a peculiar kind of Type IIb SNe that we name "flat-velocity Type IIb. The flat-velocity evolution—which occurs at different levels between 6000 and 8000 km s−1 for different SNe—suggests the presence of a dense shell in the ejecta. Despite the spectroscopic similarities, these objects show surprisingly diverse luminosities. We discuss the possible physical or geometrical unification picture for such diversity. Using archival Hubble Space Telescope images, we associate SN 2010as with a massive cluster and derive a progenitor age of ≈6 Myr, assuming a single star-formation burst, which is compatible with a Wolf–Rayet progenitor. Our hydrodynamical modeling, on the contrary, indicates that the pre-explosion mass was relatively low, ≈4 M☉. The seeming contradiction between a young age and low pre-SN mass may be solved by a massive interacting binary progenitor.


A novel desiccation-tolerant, xeroprotectant-producing bacterium, designated strain 4J27T, was isolated from a Nerium oleander rhizosphere subjected to seasonal drought in Granada, Spain. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing placed the isolate within the genus Arthrobacter, its closest relative being Arthrobacter phenanthrenivorans Shep3 DSM 18606T, with which it showed 99.23 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. DNA–DNA hybridization measurements showed less than 25 % relatedness between strain 4J27T and Arthrobacter phenanthrenivorans DSM 18606T. The DNA base composition of strain 4J27T was 65.3 mol%. The main fatty acids were anteiso C15 : 0, anteiso C17 : 0, C16 : 0 and iso C16 : 0 and the major menaquinone was MK-9 (H2). The peptidoglycan type was A3α with an l-Lys–l-Ser–l-Thr–l-Ala interpeptide bridge. The bacterium tested positive for catalase activity and negative for oxidase activity. Phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic analyses indicated that the desiccation-tolerant strain 4J27T represents a novel species within the genus Arthrobacter, for which the name Arthrobacter siccitolerans is proposed. The type strain is 4J27T ( = CECT 8257T = LMG 27359T).


Only small amounts of added interferon bind to the cell surface as a necessary prelude to the development of antiviral activity. Experiments described later have shown that while this step is necessary, it is not sufficient for the development of antiviral activity which still may be blocked by an inhibitor of cellular RNA synthesis, dactinomycin, even after binding. Chick cells incubated with interferon at 1 C for several hours only developed antiviral activity after a subsequent incubation at 37 C following removal of interferon by repeated washings. Therefore a period of incubation at 37 C is required for development of antiviral activity, but it was possible that some interaction between interferon and the cell had occurred in the cold. 1-3 In order to investigate this possibility, interferon was incubated at 1C with cells which were then washed many times and incubated at 37 C. The cells were found to develop


Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. is widely used for studies of genetics and molecular genetics because of its many advantages: the small plant size, short life cycle, and small genome. The low genome size, measured as nuclear DNA content, is convenient for molecular analysis because some 60% of the genome consists of single-copy DNA sequences, most of which are genes or associated sequences (Leutwiler et al. 1984). However, the small genome makes the examination of the chromosomes, their activity, segregation, pairing, and aberrations in number or structure – that is, cytogenetics – difficult (Fig. 1). Nevertheless, using the highest powers of light microscopy (limited by the wavelength of light), the five pairs of chromosomes in the diploid plant (2 n = 10) have been investigated both at mitosis and meiosis for many years (Laibach 1907, named as Stenophragma thalianum ; Steinitz-Sears 1963; Ambros and Schweizer 1976). In other organisms, particularly humans and cereals, cytogenetic analysis has led molecular analysis and has been widely used to understand the structure, organization, and behavior of the genome (Heslop-Harrison 1991). In Arabidopsis, the chromosome size has made such analysis difficult; even for distinguishing between diploid and tetraploid strains, alternative methods such as weighing seeds or measuring pollen grains are widely used. The use of trisomic stocks with an extra chromosome (2 n = 2 x + 1 = 11; Sears and Lee-Chen 1970) has been of great value in gene mapping in Arabidopsis (Koornneef and van der Veen 1983; see Koornneef, this volume), as in other species. By examining the...


In notable contrast to the splintered nature of Protestantism and the countless theological fads found within her borders, contemporary Protestants who otherwise have very little in common nevertheless share common ground in their opposition to natural-law thinking. This opposition, moreover, is not limited to revisionist thinkers; it characterizes those who are confessionally orthodox as well. [1] Across Protestantism one can find a broader consensus that rejects the natural law as a metaphysical notion of moral reality, namely, a law that God communicates to all without the need for special revelation (such as the Bible), and that therefore applies to all people at all times and in all places. [2] For this reason, one is hard-pressed to identify a single major figure in Protestant theological ethics who has developed and


BACKGROUND: The coronavirus epidemic originated in China, having its epicenter in Wuhan. This was the first place in the world to adopt social distancing measures to contain the disease on January 23rd, 2020. After the initial isolation, several countries started making diplomatic plans to evacuate and repatriate their citizens, with the permission of the Chinese authorities. Due to the high risk of exposure of the transported passengers, evacuations were conducted with preventive measures against contamination by biological agents.CASE REPORT: We report the air evacuation of 39 passengers from China to Brazil. Five passengers were transported to Poland and the remaining 34 went to Brazil, where they remained in quarantine for 14 d. The mission was triggered on February 4th, named "Operation Return to Brazil" (Operação Regresso à Pátria Amada Brasil), and conducted by military personnel of the Brazilian Air Force. The mission was accomplished in 6 days; the flight from Wuhan lasted 25 h 20 min; and, additionally, there were on-ground preparations.DISCUSSION: Only with adequate isolation and protective measures was it possible to air evacuate the potentially contaminated passengers in the initial phase of the pandemic. Specific protective equipment (Personal Protective Equipment - PPE) is mandatory for missions in which the properties of the potentially contagious biological agent are not fully known, as was the case. Due to the risk of contamination of passengers and the likely evolution of the transport into an aeromedical evacuation, protocols stating the minimum safety conditions for this kind of patient transport must be followed, with consideration for the patient as well as the crew.Gomes ED, Ronconi MABR, Santos MB, Júnior PP, Franco AZP, Haberland DF, Borges LL. Air evacuation of citizens during the COVID-19 epidemic. Aerosp Med Hum Perform 2022; 93(2):94-98.


Are nearby places (e.g., cities) described by related words? In this article, we transfer this research question in the field of lexical encoding of geographic information onto the level of intertextuality. To this end, we explore Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) to model texts addressing places at the level of cities or regions with the help of so-called topic networks. This is done to examine how language encodes and networks geographic information on the aboutness level of texts. Our hypothesis is that the networked thematizations of places are similar, regardless of their distances and the underlying communities of authors. To investigate this, we introduce Multiplex Topic Networks (MTN), which we automatically derive from Linguistic Multilayer Networks (LMN) as a novel model, especially of thematic networking in text corpora. Our study shows a Zipfian organization of the thematic universe in which geographical places (especially cities) are located in online communication. We interpret this finding in the context of cognitive maps, a notion which we extend by so-called thematic maps. According to our interpretation of this finding, the organization of thematic maps as part of cognitive maps results from a tendency of authors to generate shareable content that ensures the continued existence of the underlying media. We test our hypothesis by example of special wikis and extracts of Wikipedia. In this way, we come to the conclusion that geographical places, whether close to each other or not, are located in neighboring semantic places that span similar subnetworks in the topic universe.


The COVID-19 pandemic pushed physicians to modify conventional practices to reduce the exposure and risk of infection among patients and health workers. Telemedicine is one of the safest methods, and telerehabilitation could prevent the sequelae of COVID-19. A quasi-experimental study with randomized sampling without masking/blinding was conducted. The study was conducted from August 2021 to March 2022 at Hospital A in Pekanbaru, Hospital B in Jayapura, and Hospital C in Jakarta, Indonesia. A total of 27 patients were recruited and divided into control and intervention groups. The control group was given conventional education on therapeutic exercise at home, while the intervention group was shown educational videos about therapeutic exercise at home. The comparison of all functional outcomes between the two groups after the intervention showed a significant difference. The intervention group improved more than the control group, except for the fatigue severity scale. Most of the responses showed that this video was feasible and useful and did not need to be supervised by health workers. Therapeutic exercise educational videos can be an option to deliver rehabilitation programs for post-COVID-19 hospitalized patients.


Adult northern grass lizards (Takydromus septentrionalis) were collected at Mt.Xiaohe,Hangzhou in three periods of the breeding season,2001.They were dissected to determine sex,and storages of lipids in abdominal fat bodies,carcass,tail and liver.According to the stage of egg development (non-vitellogenetic follicles,yolked follicles,and oviductal eggs),females started vitellogenesis in later March (T1),produced eggs of the first clutch in early May (T2),and partly (37% of the sex) ceased reproduction in mid-June (T3).From T1 to T2,the abdominal fat body of females decreased from 17.3 mg on average to zero,and that of males changed from 6.3 mg to 0.8 mg.The decline of the lipid in females was 3 times of that of males.However,there was no significant change in lipid contents of the carcass,tail and liver in the three periods.It is very likely that the abdominal fat body of females is used for the first clutch of eggs,and earlier production of eggs means more clutches in the season and higher reproductive success.


This work presents the first fabricated and characterized MEMS in polycrystalline silicon-germanium (poly-SiGe) for biosensing applications. The devices, clamped-clamped microresonators, combine the possibility of above-IC MEMS-CMOS integration with a stiction-free design that enables biomolecule mass sensing in air. By perforating the resonant beam with square or hexagonal holes, a higher surface-to-volume ratio is achieved leading to an increased relative frequency shift for a certain analyte surface density. A minimum detectable mass of ∼2pg in air was calculated. A mass sensing test was performed on these perforated devices by immobilization of biotin and the extraction of the resulting resonance frequency shift.


Background eHealth increasingly affects the delivery of health care around the world and the quest for more efficient health systems. In Finland, the development of eHealth maturity has been systematically studied since 2003, through surveys conducted every 3 years. It has also been monitored in several international studies. The indicators used in these studies examined the availability of the electronic patient record, picture archiving and communication system, health information exchange, and other key eHealth functionalities. Objective The first aim is to study the national development in the maturity level of eHealth in primary health care and specialized care between 2011 and 2020 in Finland. The second aim is to clarify the regional differences in the maturity level of eHealth among Finnish hospital districts in 2020. Methods Data for this study were collected in 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020, using web-based questionnaires from the Use of information and communication technology surveys in Finnish health care project. In total, 16 indicators were selected to describe the status of eHealth, and they were based on international eHealth studies and Finnish eHealth surveys in 3 areas: applications, regional integration, and data security and information and communications technology skills. The indicators remain the same in all the study years; therefore, the results are comparable. Results All the specialized care organizations (21/21, 100%) in 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020 participated in the study. The response rate among primary health care organizations was 86.3% (139/161) in 2011, 88.2% (135/153) in 2014, 85.8% (121/141) in 2017, and 95.6% (130/136) in 2020. At the national level, the biggest developments in eHealth maturity occurred between 2011 and 2014. The development has since continued, and some indicators have been saturated. Primary health care lags behind specialized care organizations, as measured by all the indicators and throughout the period under review. Regionally, there are differences among different types of organizations. Conclusions eHealth maturity has steadily progressed in Finland nationally, and its implementation has also been promoted through various national strategies and legislative changes. Some eHealth indicators have already been saturated and achieved an intensity of use rate of 100%. However, the scope for development remains, especially in primary health care. As Finland has long been a pioneer in the digitalization of health care, the results of this study show that the functionalities of eHealth will be adopted in stages, and deployment will take time; therefore, national eHealth strategies and legislative changes need to be implemented in a timely manner. The comprehensive sample size used in this study allows a regional comparison in the country, compared with previous country-specific international studies.


The attractiveness of majority-logic decoding is its simple implementation. Several classes of majority-logic decodable block codes have been discovered for the past two decades. In this paper, a method of constructing a new class of majority-logic decodable block codes is presented. Each code in this class is formed by combining majority-logic decodable codes of shorter lengths. A procedure for orthogonalizing codes of this class is formulated. For each code, a lower bound on the number of correctable errors with majority-logic decoding is obtained. An upper bound on the number of orthogonalization steps for decoding each code is derived. Several majority-logic decodable codes that have more information digits than the Reed-Muller codes of the same length and the same minimum distance are found. Some results presented in this paper are extensions of the results of Lin and Weldon [11] and Gore [12] on the majority-logic decoding of direct product codes.


The aim of this thesis is to investigate the influence of ageing process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminium-silicon alloys. The investigation was carried on Al-9%Si-3%Cu and Al-9%Si-0.4%Mg. To obtain different DAS with low content of oxide films and micro shrinkage, gradient solidification has been used. The specimens were treated according to T6 heat treatment.In this thesis it has been shown that solidification rate has great influence on mechanical properties since it controls microstructure. To reach peak level of mechanical properties different times of artificial ageing were used depending on the alloy.In peak value condition Yield's Strength of alloys was 197MPa for Al-Si-Cu alloy and 243MPa for Al-Si-Mg one. These results can be compared to these presented in other papers concerning aluminium silicon alloys. Such comparison shows that when talking about potential of alloy, these results are more or less the same as in other articles in this field.The work was conducted within 10 weeks and for this reason not all the necessary data was collected. Further work will be conducted to obtain missing results, like overaged state for Al-Si-Cu alloy.


Previous studies have found that LMX1B rs10733682 polymorphism is associated with Body Mass Index (BMI) in European and American Indian adults. In this study, the association of rs10733682 polymorphism with obesity-related indicators, and its interaction with macronutrients and dietary patterns (DPs) were explored in Chinese children (n = 798). The rs10733682 polymorphism was genotyped by improved Multiple Ligase Detection Reaction (iMLDR). Four DPs were identified by factor analysis. The AA genotype had a higher incidence of overweight/obesity than GG+GA genotypes (P = 0.010) in girls (n = 398), but no difference in boys. The AA genotype in girls could interact with intake of energy, fat and carbohydrate, causing an increased triglyceride (TG), (P = 0.021, 0.003, 0.002, respectively), and also could interact with energy from protein, causing an elevated BMI (P = 0.023) and waist (P = 0.019). Girls inclining to the HED (high-energy density)-DP were associated with increased TG (P = 0.033), and girls inclining to the VEF (vegetables, eggs, and fishes based)-DP were associated with decreased total cholesterol (TC, P = 0.045) and decreased low density lipoprotein cholesterin (LDL, P = 0.016). The findings indicated that the AA genotype of rs10733682 and the HED-DP are potential risk factors of obesity in Chinese girls.


A major goal of next-generation physical protection systems is to extend defenses far beyond the usual outer-perimeter-fence boundaries surrounding protected facilities. Mitigation of nuisance alarms is among the highest priorities. A solution to this problem is to create a robust capability to Automatically Recognize Malicious Indicators of intruders. In extended defense applications, it is not enough to distinguish humans from all other potential alarm sources as human activity can be a common occurrence outside perimeter boundaries. Our approach is unique in that it employs a stimulus to determine a malicious intent indicator for the intruder. The intruder's response to the stimulus can be used in an automatic reasoning system to decide the intruder's intent.


China has always served Western thinkers as a lens through which to project convenient contrasts and exemplars for their self-aggrandizement and self-realization. Weber's treatment in The Religion of China is no exception. Weber's purpose in this text is to demonstrate the exclusive provision in Europe of the conditions for the development of modern or industrial capitalism. To achieve this purpose Weber presents a distorted vision of both Confucianism and Daoism, even against the limited sinological material at his disposal. The discussion of Chinese 'mentality', as Weber calls it in The Religion of China, functions in terms of European categories drawn from his discussion of historical and classical cases that are alien to Chinese developments but which serve the purpose of his argument. Indeed, the details of his earlier work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, are similarly distorted by Weber in The Religion of China to permit him to more forcefully demonstrate the unsuitability of Confucianism to inculcate a sense of calling parallel to the Protestant ideal of vocation discussed in the Protestant Ethic. The paper shall both discuss Weber's sinological sources and his use of them. It shall also show that late-imperial Chinese entrepreneurial activity was capitalistic in its institutional form and that the absence of industrial capitalism in China during the Qing dynasty was a consequence of demographic and political factors rather than resulting from the absence of religious values.


ABSTRACT This study evaluates the effectiveness of potassium sulphate (K2SO4) fertilization under salt stressed conditions on physiological and biochemical characteristics and sugar contents of two soybean cultivars (Pioneer and Jack). The treatments including 0 mM K2SO4, 9 mM K2SO4, 0 mM salinity and 90 mM salinity were tested in combination with both cultivars of soybean. Analysis of electrical conductivity, photosynthetic parameters, gas exchange parameters, antioxidant enzymes, malondialdehyde (MDA), sugar contents and glutamine synthetase activities were measured. The results depict that salinity negatively affected the growth, physiological and biochemical attributes of both soybean cultivars, but application of potassium induced salt tolerance in soybean cultivars as the production of MDA contents and electrolyte leakage decreased, while growth parameters, chlorophyll contents, antioxidant enzymes, gas exchange characteristics and sugar contents were improved relative to control plants under saline environment. However, the cultivar Pioneer was more responsive to K2SO4 fertilization as it showed minimum production of MDA contents while maximum antioxidants, gas exchange parameters and sugar contents as compared to Jack. In crux, the salt tolerant cultivar Pioneer was better in utilizing potassium as compared with salt sensitive variety Jack under salt tolerant environment and could be used effectively under salt-affected soils.


The idea of compressed sensing is to exploit representations in suitable (overcomplete) dictionaries that allow to recover signals far beyond the Nyquist rate provided that they admit a sparse representation in the respective dictionary. The latter gives rise to the sparse recovery problem of finding the best sparse linear approximation of given data in a given generating system. In this paper we analyze the iterative hard thresholding (IHT) algorithm as one of the most popular greedy methods for solving the sparse recovery problem, and demonstrate that systematically perturbing the IHT algorithm by adding noise to intermediate iterates yields improved results. Further improvements can be obtained by entirely rephrasing the problem as a parametric deep-learning-type of optimization problem. By introducing perturbations via dropout, we demonstrate to significantly outperform the classical IHT algorithm, obtaining $3$ to $6$ times lower average objective errors.


Humans routinely confront the following key question which could be viewed as a probabilistic variant of the controllability problem: While faced with an uncertain environment governed by causal structures, how should they practice their autonomy by intervening on driver variables, in order to increase (or decrease) the probability of attaining their desired (or undesired) state for some target variable? In this paper, for the first time, the problem of probabilistic controllability in Causal Bayesian Networks (CBNs) is studied. More specifically, the aim of this paper is two-fold: (i) to introduce and formalize the problem of probabilistic structural controllability in CBNs, and (ii) to identify a sufficient set of driver variables for the purpose of probabilistic structural controllability of a generic CBN. We also elaborate on the nature of minimality the identified set of driver variables satisfies. In this context, the term "structural" signifies the condition wherein solely the structure of the CBN is known.


: Clustering is the process of grouping similar object from the large dataset. It helps to arranging data into its logical group based on an attribute or a set of attributes. Clustering is the subject of active research in several fields such as statistics, pattern recognition, and machine learning. This survey focuses on different methods on clustering. The technique adds to clustering the complications of very large datasets with very many attributes of different types. This imposes unique computational requirements on relevant clustering algorithms. A variety of algorithms have recently emerged that meet these requirements and were successfully applied to real-life data mining problems. This paper is going to explore a variety of clustering methods and brief their working styles. The different techniques discussed here are just a snap shot of clustering algorithms. The Partitional clustering algorithms are have been used to develop clustering methods like K-Means, Clara, Clarans and implemented using Matlab environment.


Transition metal oxide nanostructures are current research focus for energy storage applications. We herein report the synthesis of MnO2–NiO nanoflake-assembled tubular array on stainless steel substrate to function as pseudocapacitor electrode by programmed three-dimensional (3D) interfacial reactions, in which the ZnO nanowire array is employed as the low-cost in situ sacrificial template. In this 3D nanoelectrode, MnO2 and NiO nanoflakes share the same "root" and form an integrated hierarchical structure, which adheres robustly to the substrate. Importantly, both MnO2 and NiO contribute to the charge storage. The highly porous structure, which allows easy penetration of the electrolyte, gives additional merits. Detailed electrochemical characterization reveals that the assembled MnO2–NiO array exhibits good rate performance and cycle life. In particular, it displays an areal capacitance that is four orders of magnitude higher than that of carbonaceous materials and significantly superior to those of previous directly-grown pseudocapacitive nanostructure films.


Deworming is one of the routine healthcare iquine management especially for stable horses. Even healthy horses harbor some adult worms and eggs and the incidence of clinical and sub0clinical diseases of horses can be minimized through controlling the gastrointestinal parasites. It was the objective of this study to determine the prevalence and species of gastrointestinal parasites in stable horses in Malaysia. In this study efficacy of ivermectin and mebendazole in reducing faecal egg count (FEC) under field condition was also evaluated. Ninety-four male and female horses of mixed breed, 11.8 ± 4.36 years of age from two stables were selected in this study. Fresh faecal samples were collected at pretratment period for initial screening and these data were used to determine the prevalence rate. Fifty more than two-year old hoses with positive epg from both stables were selected for field evaluation of mebendazole and ivermectin. Commercially available mebendazole and ivermectin paste were administered orallyaccording to manafacturer's recommended dosage, in which the pre-treatment and day 10 post-treatment epg was utilized to determine the percentage of FEC reduction. Of the 94 fecal samples, 51 (54.3%) were positive and 3(3.2%) had fecal egg count of more than 2000 epg. There are significant association (p<0.05) between the age groups, sex and breeds. Stronglyloides westeri and cyathostome were the most prevalence worm cultures. Ivermectin showed 100% reduction while mevendazole only showed 65% reduction in FEC. This study revealed that in these stables, there is low prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites. However nine species of worms were identified. The study also showed that ivermectin had efficacy then mevendazole in reducing FEC.


Motorised individual transport strongly contributes to global CO2 emissions, due to its intensive usage of fossil fuels. Current political efforts addressing this issue (i.e. emission performance standards in the EU) are directed towards car manufacturers. Concretely, the whole car industry has to comply with an average of 120 grams of CO2 per kilometre between 2012 and 2015, with interim targets. The long-term target for 2020 is an average of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre (by way of comparison, passenger cars currently emit 160 grams of CO2 per kilometre on average). Manufacturers who exceed the specified standard will have to pay fines. From an economic point of view this measure has to be regarded critically. But given the present EU regulation the question arises as to what the optimal strategy for car manufacturers is. Exceeding the emission standard generates costs (through the payment of fines) { but so does complying with the emission standard (through costly abatement measures). Depending on the amount consumers are willing to pay for a specific reduction in CO2 emissions it could well be optimal for manufacturers to exceed the mandatory standard. This paper focuses on the demand side. It examines whether CO2 emissions per kilometre is a relevant attribute in car choices. Based on a stated preference experiment among potential car buyers from Germany, different mixed logit specifications are estimated. In addition, distributions of willingness to pay measures for an abatement of CO2 emissions are obtained. The results suggest that the emissions performance of a car matters substantially, but its consideration varies heavily across the sampled population. In particular, some evidence on gender, age and education effects on climate concerns is provided. So, we find that women are willing to pay more for an abatement of CO2 than men, people under 45 years more than people 45 and older, and people who possess a higher education entrance qualification more than those who do not.


Development organizations work within a complex system where they have to show their expertise and ensure that their interventions have a positive impact, while simultaneously prioritize different accountabilities to both their patrons, clients and themselves. This case study of the Danish Red Cross Youth is focused on their participatory youth-leadership project in rural Zimbabwe; particularly the design and development of the project. The study is concerned with how the organization uses evidence and other types of knowledge within their work, and how their different accountabilities affect their engagement with evidence. The research shows that the organization uses not just evidence but also experience in their work. Through the monitoring and evaluation they work to create context specific evidence in order to show the impact of their work, but they also manipulate their experience to resemble evidence in order to appear evidence-based. Furthermore, the organization prioritizes their accountabilities differently at different stages of the project and for different purposes. This has a direct impact on how they use the evidence and experience they have. (Less)