This study investigated the relationship between hospital exposures, intestinal microbiota, and subsequent risk of Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD), with use of a nested case-control design. The study included 599 patients, hospitalized from September 2006 through May 2007 in Montreal, Quebec, from whom fecal samples were obtained within 72 h after admission; 25 developed CDAD, and 50 matched controls were selected for analysis. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotic use were associated with CDAD. Fecal specimens were evaluated by 16S ribosomal RNA microarray to characterize bacteria in the intestinal microbiota during the at-risk period. Probe intensities were higher for Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria in the patients with CDAD, compared with controls, whereas probe intensities for Bacteroidetes were lower. After epidemiologic factors were controlled for, only Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes remained significantly and independently associated with development of CDAD. Hospital exposures were associated with changes in the intestinal microbiota and risk of CDAD, and these changes were not driven exclusively by antimicrobial use.


Studies in the literature support the practice of having clinical pharmacists work in direct patient care and the value of these services within the health care system.1,2 Although most pharmacists want to provide pharmaceutical care in collaboration with other health care professionals, some hospitals lack the staff that would be necessary. In Canada, the burden of a recently documented shortage of pharmacists3 has been felt across the country, but it has also prompted the innovative use of pharmacy technicians and expansion of their role.4-6 For example, some rural hospitals have empowered pharmacy technicians to fulfill medication dispensing requirements in rural settings, without on-site pharmacists. A clinical pharmacy technician has been described as a technician who takes on the clerical responsibilities of the pharmacist7 (including medication historytaking, 6 drug-use evaluation, investigational drug services,4 and clinical management tasks5), thereby allowing the pharmacist to provide more clinical services. Most experiences with this practice model have been in larger centres where pharmacists are on site.4-6 Rural centres present a unique opportunity to enhance patient care at sites where a pharmacy technician is present but clinical pharmacy services would not otherwise be possible. This model may free up pharmacist time for other tasks, enhance patient care, increase the number of proactive interventions by an off-site pharmacist, and increase utilization of pharmacy technicians' skills at a time when pharmacists are in short supply. With direction and training, technicians would be able to alert nurses to potential pharmaceutical problems and triage problems for the clinical pharmacist (i.e., assign values to problems and alert the pharmacist according to their severity and urgency). Technicians would also be able to collect information more efficiently, giving off-site pharmacists more time to review patients at their own sites. A project was conceived whereby an off-site pharmacist would work with on-site pharmacy technicians to provide clinical pharmacy services intended to optimize patient care. The purpose of the project was to increase and assist with pharmacists' clinical interventions by educating pharmacy technicians to identify clinical pharmacy problems and collect patient information.


Research on mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) has proliferated in recent years and the integration of mindfulness-based programs in school settings has been at the forefront of implementation research. Recent reviews of studies evaluating the efficacy of school-based mindfulness programs have produced mixed findings, which may in part be due to methodological differences across studies to date, as well as adaptations of MBIs in order to implement them within school settings. For example, there are vast differences across studies in the content, delivery, and training requirements of school-based MBIs, which may influence both fidelity and efficacy. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the literature on the implementation of school-based MBIs and determine the degree to which the interventions align to standards for MBIs. A systematic search identified studies evaluating the effects of a school-based MBI on mental health outcomes in schools, utilizing quantitative and qualitative designs. The results draw comparison across the identified MBIs in relation to intervention integrity, and teacher training and competence according to existing standards. The findings indicate a poor alignment to all standards; for example, intervention integrity was indicated in 45% of studies that included core mindfulness practices, and standards of teacher training were met in 26% of studies. In addition, the feasibility design of studies is critiqued against recommended standards. Despite claims from many studies, feasibility has not yet been established for school settings. Feasibility studies have failed to adequately assess organizational factors that influence implementation. The lack of detail and consistency in reporting across studies is a particular limitation of the field of research, which may have disadvantaged the assessment of studies against stringent guidelines. The ongoing challenges to developing an evidence base for school-based MBIs as well as to implementation are discussed. Recommendations for future directions in implementation science of mindfulness interventions within a school context are provided.


We present VLA radio continuum observations at 3.6 and 6 cm of a ~0.65 sq. deg. field in the galactic plane at l = +45°. These observations are meant to be used in a comparison with ISO observations at 7 and 15 μm of the same region. In this paper we compare the radio results with other radio surveys and with the IRAS-PSC. At 3.6 and/or 6 cm we detect a total of 34 discrete sources, 13 of which are found in five separate extended complexes. These are all multiple or single extended thermal ultra-compact HII (UCHII) regions. While for each of these complexes an IRAS counterpart could be reliably found, no IRAS counterpart could be reliably identified for any of the remaining 21 sources. Of these 21 compact sources, six are candidate UCHII regions, and the other 15 are most probably background extragalactic non-thermal sources. The five IRAS sources associated with the radio continuum complexes all satisfy the [Wood & Churchwell (1989a]WC89; WC89) color criteria for UCHII. None of the other 38 IRAS point sources present in our surveyed field show the same colors. This fraction of WC89 type to total IRAS sources is consistent with what is found over the entire galactic plane. The fact that, when observed with a compact VLA configuration, the IRAS sources with "UCHII colors" are found to be associated with arcminute-scale extended sources, rather than with compact or unresolved radio sources, may have important implications on the estimated lifetime of UCHII regions.


Abstract Pervious concrete is a unique and effective material used to tackle important environmental problems, to maintain green, sustainable growth, and to reduce storm water runoff and pollutants. Clogging of pervious concrete is an important potential issue in serviceability, considered one of the primary limitations of pervious concrete systems. The sediment deposition pattern of pervious concrete was determined using three clogging materials: clay, sand, and clayey silty sand. The clogged specimens were cleaned by pressure washing, vacuuming, and a combined method. In total, ten clogging and cleaning cycles were carried out on each sample to evaluate the draining capacity of the pervious concrete. The clogging test was assessed by measuring the infiltration rate during clogging and after cleaning, for each cycle. The experiment results showed that a reduction in permeability due to different types of sedimentation material as well as recovery in permeability was achieved after applying various cleaning methods.


Lactoferrin (LF) is an 80 kD iron-binding glycoprotein that is most highly produced in human and bovine milk and is also widely distributed in mammals. Researches of more than 70 years on lactoferrin prove that the molecule, as a nutritional molecule for mammals, possesses several physiological roles, including maintaining iron absorption, anti-microbial activity and immune modulation. Recent studies have demonstrated that LF can protect against cancer in experimental animals and has anticarcinogenic activity in many human tumors. As a natural nutrition, the "old" gene-lactoferrin has attracted attention from medical community for its "new"anticarcinogenic role.


Metastatic disease after successful treatment of the primary tumor continues to be a therapeutic challenge. Enhancement of therapeutic effects by the administration of unlabeled monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) after radioimmunotherapy (RIT) may provide a means of preventing or delaying the development of metastatic disease. In the present study, Brown Norway rats with syngeneic grafted colon carcinomas were administered the minimal effective therapeutic dose of 400 MBq/kg lutetium-177 ((177)Lu)-DOTA-BR96. After 2 weeks, half of the animals were given 15 mg/kg unlabeled mAb BR96 as consolidation therapy. Treatment response and toxicity were monitored 100 days after the treatment with unlabeled BR96. The treatment with unlabeled mAb after RIT resulted in a complete response (CR) in 19 of 19 animals, while RIT alone resulted in a CR in 17 of 19 animals. The additional treatment did not affect the number of animals with metastatic disease or the time to clinical symptoms of metastases. RIT resulted in reversible myelotoxicity. The unlabeled mAb BR96 did not cause any additional toxicity, making it possible to repeat the consolidation therapy.


Abstract In behavioral testing, system functionalities underrepresented in the standard evaluation setting (with a held-out test set) are validated through controlled input-output pairs. Optimizing performance on the behavioral tests during training (behavioral learning) would improve coverage of phenomena not sufficiently represented in the i.i.d. data and could lead to seemingly more robust models. However, there is the risk that the model narrowly captures spurious correlations from the behavioral test suite, leading to overestimation and misrepresentation of model performance—one of the original pitfalls of traditional evaluation. In this work, we introduce BeLUGA, an analysis method for evaluating behavioral learning considering generalization across dimensions of different granularity levels. We optimize behavior-specific loss functions and evaluate models on several partitions of the behavioral test suite controlled to leave out specific phenomena. An aggregate score measures generalization to unseen functionalities (or overfitting). We use BeLUGA to examine three representative NLP tasks (sentiment analysis, paraphrase identification, and reading comprehension) and compare the impact of a diverse set of regularization and domain generalization methods on generalization performance.1


A N intramedullary epidermoid with a dermal sinus is an unusual association. We have been unable to find a previously reported coincidence of these malformations although there are many definitive papers on these uncommon entities.a,lz,2~,-o~,37 Cruveilhier as early as 1835 coined the eponym, "Perless Tumeur, ''14 while Muller 3~ suggested the term "cholesteatoma" a little later in the 19th Century. Seventy years ago Bostroem discussed the pathogenesis of epidermoids much as we understand it today, as an error of medullary fold closure during the third to fifth fetal week with inclusion of maturing epidermis deep to the surface. ~,9,3~ The earlier literature, in general agreement, is replete with flowery description such as "a dysrafism," "disembryonic malformation, '''-'a and "pseudotumor of epithelial grafts. ''3~ The pathogenesis of dermal sinuses is similar to that of epidermoids in that they represent a malformation in the lines of closure of the medullary folds. Holmdahl 's observations on the formation of the spinal cord suggested that the lower portion of the cord formed from a solid mass of germinal cells not belonging to a specific germ layer? s He felt this unique formation of the caudal medullary tube was an explanation for the propensity of both dermal sinuses and dermoid tumors to develop in the lumbosacral area. Other authors in the earlier literature suggested that dermal sinuses arose from downgrowths of epithelium to the neuraxisY 8,~9 Neither of these views is as commonly accepted today as the medullary fold malformation theory. The position of the epidermold in a spectrum of differentiation of cell rests and multipotential cells with dermoids and teratomas has been discussed by French and Peyton, 1~ Rewcastle and Francoeur, 33 Reeves, 32 and others.


Bis(1-R-imidazol-2-yl)disulfides, (mim(R))2 (R = Ph, Bu(t)), and diselenides, (seim(Mes))2, serve as bidentate N,N-donor ligands for main-group and transition metals. For example, [kappa2-(mim(Bu)(t))2]MCl2 (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Zn), [kappa2-(mim(Ph))2]MCl2 (M = Co, Zn), [kappa2-(mim(Bu)(t))2]CuX (X = Cl, I), and [kappa2-(seim(Mes))2]MCl2 (M = Fe, Co, Ni) are obtained by treatment of (mim(Bu)(t))2 or (seim(Mes))2 with the respective metal halide and have been structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. On the other hand, the zerovalent nickel complex Ni(PMe3)4 effects cleavage of the disulfide bond of (mim(Bu)(t))2 to give square-planar trans-Ni(PMe3)2(mim(Bu)(t))2 in which the (mim(Bu)(t)) ligands coordinate via nitrogen rather than sulfur, a most uncommon coordination mode for this class of ligands. Although [kappa2-(mim(R))2]MCl2 (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Zn) are not subject to homolytic cleavage of the S-S bond because the tetravalent state is not readily accessible, the observation that [kappa2-(mimPh)2]CoCl2 and [kappa2-(mim(Bu)(t))2]CoCl2 form an equilibrium mixture with the asymmetric disulfide [kappa2-(mim(Ph))(mim(Bu)(t))]CoCl2 indicates that S-S bond cleavage via another mechanism is possible. Likewise, metathesis between disulfide and diselenide ligands is observed in the formation of [kappa2-(mim(Bu)(t))(seim(Mes))]CoCl2 upon treatment of [kappa2-(mim(Bu)(t))2]CoCl2 with [kappa2-(seim(Mes))2]CoCl2.


Introduction: The use of biomaterial implants in medicine is becoming ever more popular, and on many occasions the use of biomaterial implants becomes a lifesaving procedure. A primary obstacle to a wider use of biomaterial implants is their risk of infection and unsuccessful tissue integration with the surface of biomaterials. For the creation of new substances various combinations of materials are used nowadays, thus forming composite materials. Composite materials are materials which consist of two or more components or phases, which according to their characteristics vary considerably, but they are mutually dissolvent or little solvent, and they have a distinct border surface.1 Most often titanium (Ti) and titanium fused implants are covered, as they are bioinert materials.2-4 HAp/TiO2 composite ceramic layer shows better linkage strength with the material if compared with pure HAp. By increasing TiO2 amount in the composite, its strengths also enhances, as well as TiO2 addition can decrease attachment of bacteria to the biomaterial, thus decreasing the possible infection risk of the implant; however infection risk around TiO2 containing implant is still a problem in medicine.5
 Objective: The objective of the study was to determine Staphylococcus epidermidis (S.epidermidis) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Ps.aeruginosa) adhesion and colonisation intensity on hydroxyapatite (HAp) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) commercial composite material surfaces originally synthesised by Biomaterial Development and Innovation Centre of Riga Technical University. Materials used: Composite material samples used: No 1 100% HAp – burned 1000oC, No 2 50% HAp and 50% TiO2 – burned at 1000oC, No 3 80% HAp and 20% TiO2 – burned at 1000oC, No 4 100% TiO2 – burned at 1000oC, No 5 20% HAp and 80% TiO2 – burned at 1000oC, No 6 100% TiO2 – burned at 1200oC, No 7 20% HAp and 80% TiO2 – burned at 1200oC, No 8 80% HAp and 20% TiO2 – burned at 1200oC, No 9 50% HAp and 50% TiO2 – burned at 1200oC, No 10 100% HAp – burned at 1200oC
Method: Ps.aeruginosa ATCC 27853, S.epidermidis ATCC 12228 reference cultures were used in the study. Bacterial suspensions were prepared from bacterial pure cultures of 1 ml TSB (Trypto-Casein-Soy Broth) volume with a concentration of 10, 102 and 103 CFU/ml (colony forming units). Samples were cultivated at 37oC temperature for 2 h in order to determine adhesion intensity, and a sample with a concentration of 102 CFU/ml for 24 h – to determine colonisation intensity. For adhesion evaluation and determination of colonisation amount, sonication and culture method was used. For determination of colonisation intensity sonicationculture method was used as well as scanning electron microscope.
Result: In general, adhesion intensity on HAp and TiO2 composite material surface is not big. S.epidermidis adhesion starts at 10 CFU/ml/2h/37oC exposition only for biomaterial types 2, 3, 4 (from 0.0027-0.003 CFU/mm2), at 102 CFU/ml/2h/37oC – better adhesion is observed on surfaces of biomaterials 3 and 4, and worse adhesion on surfaces of biomaterials 6, 7, 8. At 103 CFU/ml/2h/37oC exposition the greatest adhesion is observed on surfaces of biomaterials 3 and 10 (0.093 and 0.094 CFU/mm2 respectively). Ps.aeruginosa adhesion intensity was lower than S.epidermidis and at 10 CFU/ml/2h/37oC exposition happened only on biomaterial surfaces 1 and 4 (0.028 and 0.001 CFU/mm2 respectively). At 102 CFU/ml/2h/37oC exposition also demonstrated a low adhesion level, and at 103 CFU/ml/2h/37oC exposition the lowest adhesion intensity was demonstrated on biomaterials 3, 6, 9, 10, and the greatest one on biomaterial 1.
Conclusion: Used bacteria have low adhesion abilities on HAp and TiO2 containing biomaterials. Pseudomonas aeruginosa show even lower adhesion ability on biomaterials with HAp and TiO2 mixture. Optimal HAp/TiO2 composite ceramics composition, which ensures the lowest contamination risk of microorganisms is with a 50% and 80% TiO2 content after a thermal processing at 1200 ?C.


Understanding the interfacial properties of soft poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels covering an oil-water interface is essential for engineering stimuli-responsive emulsions stabilized by soft microgel particles. This study presents a systematic study on the interfacial properties of the PNIPAM-microgel-laden heptane-water interface as a function of temperature. We measured the interfacial tensions as well as dilatational rheology properties of the microgel-laden heptane-water interface using a pendant drop tensiometer. From fresh droplet experiments, the anomalous interfacial tension minima of the microgels covered oil-water interface were observed around the volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) of the PNIPAM microgels. Such interfacial tension minima are observable regardless of the microgel aggregates. Both dynamic and static parameters contributed to the observed interfacial tension minima around VPTT. The PNIPAM microgel deformability dynamically dominated the microgel spreading at the heptane-water interface in the early states, while PNIPAM microgel packing and interactions dominated the final static equilibrium states. Combining the interfacial tension and the dilatational rheology properties, we propose that the microgels would approach three distinctive states at temperatures below, around, and above VPTT at the heptane-water interface. Single droplet experiments further demonstrate that there exists an irreversible transition among these three states. The results of this study deepen our understanding of soft, porous, and deformable microgels' behaviors at the oil-water interface and have important implications for engineering microgels as stimuli-responsive emulsion stabilizers.


The number of studies to ensure the security when life-threatening unexpected events are encountered increases. Increasing of time spent under the water can cause the death of people. Thus, people who are in a risk of suffocation in the water must be found for early intervention and this process must be quick. The main contribution of this study is to detect and to track the people under the water quickly. Thresholding, Background Subtraction, Interframe Difference and Foreground Detection methods have been applied to create the silhouette of the people under the water. These methods have been demonstrated on videos which are found from internet.


Purpose: Interpretation of ultrasound (US) images is crucial during their acquisition. Typically, a trained operator needs to verify if the correct anatomical structures are visualized with sufficient quality. This is one of the key reasons why US imaging is not widely used in radiotherapy workflows. In this study, we explored the feasibility of providing the operator with patient-specific US probe setups for 4D transperineal (TPUS) imaging of prostate cancer patients. These setups were automatically calculated based on a CT scan of the patient. Methods: After bone mask extraction from a CT volume of a prostate cancer patient, internal perineum boundaries and the perineal area on the patients' skin were automatically identified. Subsequently, the areas on which the US probe could not be positioned in clinical practice (e.g. around the anus) were removed resulting in a skin area accessible for TPUS imaging. Translation and rotation of a virtual probe on this skin area, while taking into account probe pressure effects, resulted in 7546 possible probe setups. Finally, we used anatomical structure delineations to assess if these setups allowed visualization of the prostate, the seminal vesicles, and the adjacent edges of bladder and rectum, as clinically required. Results: In total 392 of the suitable setups potentially allowed visualization of all clinically required structures without bone blockage. The best setup (out of 392) potentially allows visualization of 100% of the prostate and seminal vesicles, 78% of the bladder and 69% of the rectum. Conclusion: In this proof-of-concept study, we showed that it is feasible to provide the operator with patient-specific probe setups (based on a CT scan) that satisfy all clinical requirements. In future steps, we will investigate the clinical requirements for implementation in the radiotherapy workflow. In the end, the use of these setups can potentially remove the need for skilled operators.


All the identified feeding motoneurons of Lymnaea respond to bath or iontophoretically applied acetylcholine (ACh). Three kinds of receptors (one excitatory, one fast inhibitory and one slow inhibitory) were distinguished pharmacologically. The agonist TMA (tetramethylammonium) activates all three receptors, being weakest at the slow inhibitory receptor. PTMA (phenyltrimethylammonium) is less potent than TMA and is ineffective at the slow inhibitory receptor, which is the only receptor sensitive to arecoline. At 0.5 mM the antagonists HMT (hexamethonium) and ATR (atropine) selectively block the excitatory response, while PTMA reduces the response to ACh at all three receptors. d-TC (curare) antagonizes only the fast excitatory and the fast inhibitory responses, but MeXCh (methylxylocholine) blocks the fast excitatory and slow inhibitory responses solely. For each of the feeding motoneurons, the sign of the cholinergic response (excitation or inhibition) is the same as the synaptic input received in the N1 phase of the feeding rhythm.


Intracellular peroxynitrite anions (ONOO-) and microenvironments (such as viscosity and polarity) play an important role in maintaining redox homeostasis, regulating diffusion, transportation, and signal transduction in living cells. The abnormality of these factors is often closely related to various physiological/pathological processes. However, owing to the lack of suitable probes, the simultaneous visualization of ONOO-, viscosity, and polarity in ferroptosis and cancer models has not been achieved. To meet urgent needs, we presented a multifunctional near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe, named MQA-P, for simultaneously detecting ONOO-, viscosity, and polarity within mitochondria. The probe exhibited a remarkable turn-on response to ONOO- with the far-red emission of about 645 nm and was highly sensitive to viscosity/polarity in the NIR channel with λem > 704 nm. Facilitated by MQA-P, for the first time, we revealed that erastin-induced ferroptosis was accompanied by a significant upregulation of ONOO- and an increase of viscosity (or decrease of polarity) at the same time. Moreover, the concurrent use of ONOO-, viscosity, and polarity for the diagnosis of cancer has been successfully achieved not only at cell/tissue levels but also in tumor mice models. Compared with detecting only one factor, this simultaneous detection of multimarkers provides a more sensitive and reliable method/tool for tracking ferroptosis-related pathological processes and cancer diagnosis, holding great potential in preclinical research, medical diagnosis, and imaging-guided surgery.


Recent experiments suggest that an amino acid sequence encodes not only the native fold of a protein but also other forms that are essential for its function or are important during folding or association. These various forms populate a multifunnel folding and association landscape where mutations, changes in environment, or interaction with other molecules switch between the encoded folds. We introduce replica exchange with tunneling as a way to efficiently simulate switching between distinct folds of proteins and protein aggregates. The correctness and efficiency of our approach are demonstrated in a series of simulations covering a wide range of proteins, from a small 11-residue large designed peptide to two 56-residue large mutants of the A and B domains of protein G.


The discussion process plays an important social task in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) where participants can discuss about the activity being performed, collaborate with each other through the exchange of ideas that may arise, propose new resolution mechanisms, and justify and refine their own contributions, and as a result acquire new knowledge. Indeed, learning by discussion when applied to collaborative learning scenarios can provide significant benefits for students in collaborative learning, and in education in general. As a result, current educational organizations incorporate in-class online discussions into web-based courses as part of the very rationale of their pedagogical models. However, online discussions as collaborative learning activities are usually greatly participated and contributed, which makes the monitoring and assessment tasks time-consuming, tedious and error-prone. Specially hard if not impossible by humans is to manually deal with the sequences of hundreds of contributions making up the discussion threads and the relations between these contributions. As a result, current assessment in online discussions restricts to offer evaluation results of the content quality of contributions after the completion of the collaborative learning task and neglects the essential issue of constantly assessing the knowledge building as a whole while it is still being generated. In this paper, we propose a multidimensional model based on data analysis from online collaborative discussion interaction that provides a first step towards an automatic assessment in (almost) real time. The context of this study is a real on-line discussion experience that took place at the Open University of Catalonia.


Abstract Keiner, M, Kadlubowski, B, Sander, A, Hartmann, H, and Wirth, K. Effects of 10 months of speed, functional, and traditional strength training on strength, linear sprint, change of direction, and jump performance in trained adolescent soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 36(8): 2236–2246, 2022—The current study aimed to compare the effects of plyometric and sprint vs. functional vs. strength training on linear sprint (LS 20 m), change of direction (COD; i.e., turning right and left), jump (squat jump [SJ]), and maximum strength (1 repetition maximum [1RM] for a squat) performance in elite adolescent soccer players. A longitudinal design was chosen, and 48 elite male youth were recruited. The athletes were divided into 4 groups (a traditional strength training group [STG], a plyometric and sprint training group [PSTG], a functional training group [FTG], and a control group [CG]). The intervention groups trained for 10 months with additional sessions added to their regular soccer training (4–5 sessions per week); the additional training (2 sessions a week [each about 60 minutes]) consisted of plyometric and sprint training, functional training, and traditional strength training for the PSTG, FTG, and STG, respectively. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance with repeated measurements. The effect sizes were calculated using Hedges g. This study showed significantly superior performance increases with traditional strength training compared with sprint and jump training and functional training for maximum strength (compared with all other groups g = 0.98–1.61), SJ (g = 0.52–0.87 compared with FGT and CG; not significantly different from PSTG), COD (direction of rotation right: compared with all other groups g = 1.58–2.12; direction of rotation left: no significant differences), and 20-m LS (compared with all other groups g = 0.86–1.39) performance over time. Traditional strength training is recommended to increase strength and speed-strength variables and should therefore be given high priority in athletic training programs for elite youth soccer players.


Polyurethanes (TPUs) containing carbon–carbon double bonds are synthesized for use as novel materials with the ability to form functionalizable ultrafine fibers via electrospinning. By adjusting the molecular structure, a series of TPU products with different amounts of carbon–carbon double bonds are obtained. After investigating the reactivity of the TPU with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctanethiol, all of the TPU samples exhibit effective functionalizability. The more carbon–carbon double bonds contained in the molecular structure, the stronger the functionalizability. Besides, these TPUs can easily form uniform ultrafine fibers via electrospinning. Upon comparison, the functionalizability of the electrospun fibers is similar to that observed in the bulk TPU materials. This work suggests a feasible methodology to produce a functionalized ultrafine fibrous carrier. Accordingly, TPU containing carbon–carbon double bonds is expected to be exploited as a fibrous carrier of solid catalysts in the future.


A new, potentially cost efficient, concept for improving the attraction flow to a fish ladder has been investigated in a case study. For the upstream migrating Atlantic salmon to reach the fish ladder and by-pass the case study hydropower plant, it must be able to localize the attraction flow where it enters the main flow from the tailrace of the hydropower plant in the so-called confluence area. Here the comparatively small and limited attraction flow from the old river channel must be improved in order to be able compete with the substantially larger main flow. The objective of the present study is to investigate the feasibility of a new concept for further improvement of the attraction flow using guiding walls forming a contraction channel. Field measurements were performed tracing tagged fish in the confluence area downstream of the case study hydropower plant in order to understand the movement pattern of the fish. Based on the results, and results from bathymetry measurements in the same area, a physical scale model was constructed where it was experimentally demonstrated that it is hydraulically feasible to construct guiding walls, forming a contraction, which accelerate the attraction flow and generate a concentrated turbulent jet with a higher velocity, while keeping the flow rate unchanged. The attraction flow penetrates about half-way (70 m) into the main flow and reaches the position where most fish are positioned according to fish position measurements and therefore potentially has a good ability to attract upstream migrating fish. There is no negative impact on the water level in the confluence area and thereby not on electricity production. It was shown that the results can be scaled up to prototype conditions and the strategy can presumably be generalized to similar flow situations, existing at other hydropower plants, allowing for improved upstream fish migration in coexistence with a sound hydropower production.


Activation of spinal microglia following peripheral nerve injury is a central component of neuropathic pain pathology. While the contributions of microglia-mediated immune and neurotrophic signalling have been well-characterized, the phagocytic and synaptic pruning roles of microglia in neuropathic pain remain unknown. Here, we show that peripheral nerve injury induces engulfment of dorsal horn synapses by microglia, leading to a preferential loss of inhibitory synapses. This synapse removal is dependent on the microglial complement-mediated synapse pruning pathway, as mice deficient in complement C3 do not exhibit synapse elimination. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of the complement protein C1q prevents dorsal horn inhibitory synapse loss and attenuates neuropathic pain. Thus, these results demonstrate that the complement pathway promotes persistent pain hypersensitivity via microglia-mediated engulfment and loss of inhibitory synapses in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, revealing C1q as a novel therapeutic target in neuropathic pain.


Spatial light modulator is an essential electro-optical device in applications that require to modulate the amplitude, phase, or polarization of light. Its proper use requires to determine its Mueller matrix. In this work, we compare different methods to calculate the condition number of Mueller-Stokes polarimetry techniques, which defines their maximum relative error. Combining experimental and calculated values, we determined the most suitable method for calculating the condition number.


Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a dominant architecture for today software development architecture. The companies must adapt their systems to face the changes in the business processes. In SOA, each business process may be represented by one or more services. To achieve greater automation of enterprises business processes, enterprises need an integration engine that integrates and harmonizes an enterprise's business processes and services within the enterprise. In this paper, a new framework is built to address this integration problem to integrate new service within an existing business process workflow. This framework measures the level of integration and tests whether that service is fully, partially, or not integrated at all with the other services in the workflow. Also, a new adapted business process workflow is generated using a real case study obtained from SADAD (Saudi Payment System).


Abstract To study possibility of protection of sweet cherry fruit against cracking several rows of 'Lapins' sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) trees grafted on 'Colt' rootstock, spaced 5 × 2.5 m and trained to a central leader were covered with a plastic foil to a height of 5 m. Several rows were left uncovered as a control. In the years 2016 and 2018, sun irradiation, air temperature and fruit quality were evaluated. The plastic cover reduced solar irradiation under the tunnel roof by around 40%. Light distribution within tree canopies was depleted by roughly 50%, but in the lower parts of the tree canopies, it was reduced to 6%, which is below the critical level (20%) estimated for apple trees. These results indicate the necessity to remove the covers as soon as possible after harvesting. Mean daily temperature near the ground was lower under the covers than outside, but at the height of 4.0 m, daily mean temperature was 0.4 °C higher and mean temperature during midday hours was 1.5 °C higher. The plastic covering reduced the fruit cracking from about 20% to 2% in both seasons but did not affect the fruit yield. The plastic covering did not affect the firmness and antioxidant activity and total anthocyanin content, but in the year 2018, it reduced the mean fruit weight, soluble solid, titratable acidity, dry matter and total polyphenols content.


We have reviewed the clinical presentation of 100 consecutive culture positive cases of brucellosis which came under our care during the last two years. Of these, six had atypical presentations and but for the routine practice of sending blood for brucella culture, the diagnosis would have been missed. The unusual presentations included a 19 year old boy presenting as an acute abdomen ending in laparotomy, a 52 year old man presenting with a psoas abscess, a 29 year old woman presenting with a transient perinephric mass, a 75 year old man with an acute flare up of his osteoarthritis, a 65 year old diabetic man presenting in an insulin-resistant diabetic state and a 35 year old man presenting with a cauda equina syndrome.


The continental lithosphere of China is situated at the junction of the Marginal-Pacific and Tethys-Himalayan tectonic domains. The most manifest tectonic movements responsible for the deformation of the continental lithosphere of China are taphrogenic, collisional, and shearing. These movements played an important role in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonic evolution of China and formed various types of Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins in China. The Marginal-Pacific crust in eastern China was attenuated by rifting and developed north-northeast-trending Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins, e.g., the Songliao, Bohai Bay, and Jianghan basins. Rifting mainly followed preexisting lineaments or shear zones in the basement. Then basin-range (graben-horst) structures and large fault-bounded basins developed. Extensional structural styles have prevailed in Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins in eastern China, with listric faults and tilted blocks in the basement, and detached faults, growth faults, and rollover anticlines or drape folds in the cover rocks. These structures are favorable for hydrocarbon accumulation; thus, the famous Daqing and Zhongyuan oil fields formed in Songliao basin and Bohai Bay basin, respectively. In western China the continental crust thickened by collision and formed a series of Mesozoic and Cenozoic intermontane and foreland basins, such as the Junggar (Dzungaria), Tarim, and Qaidam basins. Contraction structural styles are predominant in Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins in western China, with shortened fault blocks and ramps in basement, and thrust faults and folds in the cover rocks. The Kelamayi and Laojunmiao oil fields formed in these compressional basins. In addition, many great wrench faults played an important role in the evolution of China, such as the Tan-Lu fault in eastern China and the Altunshan and Talaso-Fergana faults in western China. Many Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins of China were characterized by transtension and transpression. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins of China have undergone numerous tectonic events. The extensional structures have been changed into contractional structures, or conversely. Thus, tectonic inversion occurred in successive events, and different structural styles may be found in different tectonic levels of these basins. These superposed deformations and structures have complicated petroleum exploration, but they also enlarge prospective exploration targets and potential hydrocarbon reserves in China.


Erythrocyte osmotic fragility is a laboratory test which evaluates the stability of the erythrocyte membrane to osmotic stress. The aim of this review is to highlight research findings on the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence erythrocyte osmotic fragility. The extrinsic factors include the type, ionic strength and pH of incubation media, type of anticoagulant and storage time of the blood, ambient temperature, drugs, medicinal plant extracts, xenobiotics, chemical agents; whereas intrinsic factors are age, sex, breed, species, pregnancy, lactation and genetic factors. Membrane composition, ion transports, aquaporin action, lipid peroxidation, and eryptosis of erythrocytes are involved in the variability of osmotic fragility. Increased osmotic fragility and improved osmotic stability of erythrocytes are pathophysiological phenomena that require appropriate interpretation in research or clinical investigation and the understanding of the factors affecting osmotic fragility will aid in the laboratory assessment of conditions related to erythrocytes where erythrocyte osmotic fragility test is used. Keywords: Erythrocyte, Extrinsic factors, Intrinsic factors, Osmotic fragility, Osmotic stability


This paper proposes a framework for modeling sound change that combines deep convolutional neural networks and iterative learning. Acquisition and transmission of speech across generations is modeled by training generations of Generative Adversarial Networks (Goodfellow et al. arXiv:1406.2661,Donahue et al. arXiv:1705.07904) on unannotated raw speech data. The paper argues that several properties of sound change emerge from the proposed architecture. Four generations of Generative Adversarial Networks were trained on an allophonic distribution in English where voiceless stops are aspirated word-initially before stressed vowels except if preceded by [s]. The first generation of networks is trained on the relevant sequences in human speech from the TIMIT database. The subsequent generations are not trained on TIMIT, but on generated outputs from the previous generation and thus start learning from each other in an iterative learning task. The initial allophonic distribution is progressively being lost with each generation, likely due to pressures from the global distribution of aspiration in the training data that resembles phonological pressures in natural language. The networks show signs of a gradual shift in phonetic targets characteristic of a gradual phonetic sound change. At endpoints, the networks' outputs superficially resemble a phonological change -- rule loss -- driven by imperfect learning. The model features signs of stability, one of the more challenging aspects of computational models of sound change. The results suggest that the proposed Generative Adversarial models of phonetic and phonological acquisition have the potential to yield new insights into the long-standing question of how to model language change.


Background Objectives Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a severe chronic disease characterised by inflammation of synovial tissue, which causes pain and dysfunction of joints and leads to their destruction. In RA, complement has been implicated in inflammation and joint destruction based on studies showing reduced levels of native complement components and increased levels of complement metabolites in plasma, synovial fluid and synovial tissue of RA patients. However, there is limited information on local production and activation of key factors of the complement cascade in RA synovium and their potential modulation by novel anti-cytokine therapies. Methods Using in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and Western blot techniques, the presence of complement proteins C3, factor B and Sc5b-9 and of the complement receptors C3aR and C5aR were evaluated in RA and osteoarthritic (OA) synovium. In addition, C3 and factor B levels in synovial fluid were determined by ELISA. Functional assessment was performed by examination of the effects of adenovirus-based sTNF-R p55 gene transfer into RA synovial fibroblasts in the SCID mouse model. Results Complement proteins C3 and factor B were synthesised mainly around terminal vasculature in all (6/6) RA synovial specimens whereas complement receptors C3aR and C5aR were expressed in adjacent inflammatory infiltrates. In contrast, only limited local production of these factors could be observed in OA. Different activation of the complement cascade was illustrated by more intensive degradation of factor B in RA as compared to OA synovial fluid (mean: 28 vs. 48 μg/ml). Overexpression of sTNFRp55 revealed upregulation of C5 but not C3 receptor expression in the transduced RA synovial fibroblasts indicating differential effects of anti-cytokine therapies on complement factors in RA synovium. Conclusion We conclude that local complement production and activation may play an important role in RA synovium. Moreover, modulation or inhibition of local complement production, e.g. by biologic agents and anti-C5 antibodies, which are currently investigated in clinical trials, could be an attractive therapeutic approach for RA.


We propose a solvable model of topological characteristics for a microwave signal transmitting system, which is named as a repairable linear m-consecutive-k-out-of-n:F system with l repairers. It is assumed that both the working time and repair time of each component are exponentially distributed, and the repair is perfect. The transition rate matrix is determined by defining the generalized transition probability. Furthermore, some important reliability indices are evaluated. Finally, the proposed approach is illustrated by a numerical example. The results are helpful to guide the stability of network nodes and the reliability of microwave signal transmitting systems.


We discuss the results of endoscopic endonasal sinus surgery for chronic pan-sinusitis characterized by nasal polyposis, especially the effects of post-operative long-term administration of low-dose erythromycin (EM) therapy. The subjects analysed in this retrospective study are surgical cases who had initially been operated for chronic pan-sinusitis. They are classified into one group who has received a post-operative long-term, low-dose EM regimen and into another group who has not received this treatment. The groups have been compared with respect to: (1) the degree of improvement in the post-operative subjective symptoms; (2) postoperative objective findings of the ethmoidal sinus and the ostium of the frontal sinus; and (3) the degree of improvement in the maxillary sinus lesion. Better improvement is achieved in subjective symptoms and objective findings in the EM group than in the non-EM group.


Introduction: With the aim of reducing the rate of readmissions within 30 days of discharged for COPD exacerbation, our chronic outpatient respiratory care unit (UCCRA) was created. Material and Methods: One year prospective study in which patients admitted for COPD exacerbation are included in UCCRA if they fit our criteria, based on our Readmission Risk Scale (RRS) that incorporates these variables: age, exacerbations (hospitalization or not) in the last year, FEV1, bacterial colonization, chronic bronchitis, Karnofsky index and cardiovascular comorbidity. Patients were included in UCCRA if they had suffered two or more hospitalizations in the last year or had reached a score of 7 or more in our RRS. A telephone follow-up at home every week for a month was made. Results: 232 patients discharged after an exacerbation of COPD were included, 76 of them in UCCRA (Mean (M) age: 71.5. M stay: 7.8 days) while 156 did not have criteria (M age: 71.2. M stay: 5.8 days). The percentage of readmissions was 21.5%, 44.7% in UCCRA group and 10.2% in not UCCRA-included patients. There was no significant difference in RRS score between the patients included in UCCRA that were readmitted due to a COPD exacerbation against the ones that were not. About the predictive capacity of RRS, it is obtained an area under curve ROC (AUC) of 0.75, and bacterial colonization, age and number of hospitalizations were the variables that better predict readmission (AUC 0.78). Conclusions: UCCRA with telephone follow-up has not been valid to reduce readmissions in COPD patients. However, our RRS was useful to identify readmissions. Age, hospitalizations and bacterial colonization were the variables that better predict readmission.


Workplace assessment is a critical issue in small firms, and even in bigger ones if workers are scattered in large working areas. The traditional "top-down" approach, based on centralized risk assessment and hardly understandable documents, may have limited impact on workers' safety behaviour. The Local Sanitary Unit RMF tried to improve workers' participation to risk assessment, through auditing techniques. Waste workers signalled occupational condition of biological and chemical risk, which had not been taken into account in the Corporate Risk Assessment Document. The participatory approach to workplace risk assessment proved to be an easy and not expensive method to increase workers' awareness of risk and compliance to hygienic measures.


This paper reports on the development of the Cloud Oriented Data Analytics (CODA) framework which has functions for composing, managing, and processing workflows for data analytics in cloud computing. The framework provides a number of reusable software components for data analytics to users which can be composed as workflows through well-known workflow composers, e.g., RapidMiner, Taverna, and JOpera. In particular, workflow scheduling, workflow recommendation, resource provisioning, resource monitoring, data locality, and security for the workflow computation are addressed by the framework. By using the framework, we demonstrate that workflows can be easily composed and processed in cloud computing. By coordinating the submitted workflows, we can obtain a significant improvement in performance.


Purpose: To study the rates and severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR), rates of nondiabetic ocular disease, and rates of referral to eye care providers in the context of nonmydriatic retinal screening performed in primary care and endocrinology clinics. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective chart review of patients who had nonmydriatic retinal imaging in the primary care setting. Presence and severity of DR as well as detection of nondiabetic ocular diseases were analyzed. Referral rates for different types of pathology were determined. Results: A total of 324 patients were imaged and 294 (90.7%) had gradable images. Mild DR was found in at least one eye of 71 (24.1%) patients, moderate in 20 (6.8%), severe in 3 (1.0%), and proliferative DR in 2 (0.6%). Macular edema was found in 13 (4.4%) patients. Nondiabetic ocular diseases were suspected in 106 (36.1%) patients. The most prevalent findings included glaucoma suspect (10.9%), age-related macular degeneration suspect (8.8%), and hypertensive retinopathy (5.4%). Seventy (23.8%) patients were referred to an eye care provider for DR, 66 (22.4%) were referred for nondiabetic eye disease, and 21 (7.1%) were referred for both. Conclusion: One-third of patients were found to have some degree of DR. Suspected nondiabetic disease or other pathologies were found in one-third of the study population. Referral for examination by an eye care provider was recommended for approximately half of the patients.


Determination of mechanical properties with the use of sub-sized specimens is a topic of high interest nowadays. The application of the sub-sized samples is quite wide for all cases where only limited amount of the experimental material is available such as evaluation of additively manufactured products properties, residual life of in-service components, properties determination of developed nanostructured materials, assessment of dilatometric samples used for thermal and thermo-mechanical treatment development, local properties of components, weld joints, etc. Concerning this large application field, it would be very useful to prepare a standard for small size samples, especially for most demanded material properties: tensile properties, notch impact transition temperature, fatigue properties, fracture toughness and creep. The current work is dealing with fracture toughness employing master curve and J-R curve approaches for fracture toughness parameters determination with the use mini specimens. The experimental material is reactor pressure vessel steel provided in the form of 2T-CT specimens. These specimens are tested and from the broken halves 1T-CT specimens are machined as well as full-size Charpy specimens, mini 0.16T-CTs and mini Charpy specimens. Results of fracture toughness tests achieved for different size specimens are subsequently compared and the size effect in assessed.


Management of drug resistant epilepsy (DRE) requires a systematic approach consisting of (1) investigation of potential causes of DRE, (2) determination of the degree of DRE on the basis of previous drug therapy, (3) rational pharmacotherapy consisting of both monotherapy and combination therapy, and (4) referral to surgery or other alternative therapy. The scheme of rational pharmacotherapy consists of (1) first drug monotherapy (2) second drug monotherapy, (3) two drug combination therapy, (4) triple drug combination therapy, and (5) addition of second-line drug. With the introduction of many new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) having different mechanisms of action, the combination therapy has become more effective and safer, which made the use of triple drug combination therapy feasible in practice if it includes at least one new AED. It should be acknowleged that the rational combination therapy may achieve a seizure free outcome in a significant proportion of patients with less severe DRE. For patients with surgically remediable epileptic syndromes, a systematic trial of two to three drugs may suffice an earlier referral to surgery.


Relying on network theory and power dependence theory, we develop a series of hypotheses that focus on determinants of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) turnover in IPO firms. We studied CEOs who had been with their companies at the IPO with a sample of 120 firms. The results indicate that having outsiders on the board of directors, selling shares at the time of the IPO, and being a part-time CEO all increase the risk of CEO turnover. CEO tenure at the time of the IPO, however, reduces turnover. Contrary to what we expected, being the founder of the company has no effect on CEO turnover.


IgM deficiency has been reported in patients with many autoimmune diseases treated with Rituximab (RTX). It has not been studied, in detail, in autoimmune mucocutaneous blistering diseases (AIMBD). Our objectives were: (i) Examine the dynamics of IgM levels in patients with and without RTX. (ii) Influence of reduced serum IgM levels on clinical and laboratory parameters. (iii) Explore the possible molecular and cellular basis for reduced serum IgM levels. This retrospective study that was conducted in a single-center from 2000 to 2020. Serial IgM levels were studied in 348 patients with five AIMBD (pemphigus vulgaris, pemphigus foliaceus, bullous pemphigoid, mucous membrane pemphigoid, and ocular cicatricial pemphigoid) and found decreased in 55 patients treated with RTX, IVIG, and conventional immunosuppressive therapy (CIST). Hence the incidence of decreased serum IgM is low. The incidence of decreased IgM in patients treated with RTX was 19.6%, in patients treated with IVIG and CIST, it was 52.8% amongst the 55 patients. IgM levels in the post-RTX group were statistically significantly different from the IVIG group (p<0.018) and CIST group (p<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in other clinical and laboratory measures. Decreased serum IgM did not affect depletion or repopulation of CD19+ B cells. Patients in the three groups achieved clinical and serological remission, in spite of decreased IgM levels. Decrease in IgM was isolated, since IgG and IgA were normal throughout the study period. Decreased IgM persisted at the same level, while the patients were in clinical remission, for several years. In spite of persistent decreased IgM levels, the patients did not develop infections, tumors, other autoimmune diseases, or warrant hospitalization. Studies on IgM deficiency in knockout mice provided valuable insights. There is no universally accepted mechanism that defines decreased IgM levels in AIMBD. The data is complex, multifactorial, sometimes contradictory, and not well understood. Nonetheless, data in this study provides novel information that enhances our understanding of the biology of IgM in health and disease.


expect one editor at least to take account of his colleague's interpretation in arriving at his own? This is a courtesy—to the reader, if not to the other interpreter—which is usually extended even where the interpretations are not jointly published. In general, Schiller's interpretations are interesting and ingenious, and it may seem ungrateful to say that the foundations are, in isolation, usually too flimsy for such an elaborate structure.


The function of mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, a burgeoning member of innate-like T cells abundant in humans and implicated in many diseases, remains obscure. To explore this, mice with a rearranged T cell receptor (TCR) α or β locus, specific for MAIT cells, were generated via induced pluripotent stem cells derived from MAIT cells and designated Vα19 and Vβ8 mice, respectively. Both mice expressed large amounts of MAIT cells. The MAIT cells from these mice were activated by cytokines and an agonist to produce IFN-γ and IL-17. While Vβ8 mice showed resistance in a cancer metastasis model, Vα19 mice did not. Adoptive transfer of MAIT cells from the latter into the control mice, however, recapitulated the resistance. This has implications for understanding the role of MAIT cells in health and disease and in developing treatments for the plethora of diseases in which MAIT cells are implicated.


Fast and reliable wireless communication has become a critical demand in human life. When natural disasters strike, providing ubiquitous connectivity becomes challenging by using traditional wireless networks. In this context, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based aerial networks offer a promising alternative for fast, flexible, and reliable wireless communications in mission-critical (MC) scenarios. Due to the unique characteristics such as mobility, flexible deployment, and rapid reconfiguration, drones can readily change location dynamically to provide on-demand communications to users on the ground in emergency scenarios. As a result, the usage of UAV base stations (UAV-BSs) has been considered as an appropriate approach for providing rapid connection in MC scenarios. In this paper, we study how to control a UAV-BS in both static and dynamic environments. We investigate a situation in which a macro BS is destroyed as a result of a natural disaster and a UAV-BS is deployed using integrated access and backhaul (IAB) technology to provide coverage for users in the disaster area. We present a data collection system, signaling procedures and machine learning applications for this use case. A deep reinforcement learning algorithm is developed to jointly optimize the tilt of the access and backhaul antennas of the UAV-BS as well as its three-dimensional placement. Evaluation results show that the proposed algorithm can autonomously navigate and configure the UAV-BS to satisfactorily serve the MC users on the ground.


Objective To apply a socioecological approach to identify risk and protective factors across levels of the "sports-ecosystem," which are associated with mental health outcomes among athletes in para-sports and non-para sports. A further aim is to determine whether para athletes have unique risks and protective factor profiles compared to non-para athletes. Methods A cross-sectional, anonymous online-survey was provided to all categorized (e.g., highest level) athletes aged 16 years and older, registered with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). Mental health outcomes included mental health symptoms (GHQ-28), general psychological distress (K-10), risky alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C) and eating disorder risk (BEDA-Q). Risk and protective factors across multiple levels of the socioecological model, including individual, microsystem, exosystem and macrosystem level factors were assessed via self-report. Results A total of 427 elite athletes (71 para and 356 non-para athletes) participated in the study. No significant differences in the rates of mental health problems were observed between para and non-para athletes. Both differences and similarities in risk and protective factor profiles were found across the multiple levels of the sports-ecosystem. Weak evidence was also found to support the hypothesis that certain risk factors, including experiencing two or more adverse life events in the past year, sports related concussion, high self-stigma, inadequate social support and low psychological safety conferred a greater risk for poorer mental health outcomes for para athletes in particular. Conclusion Risk factors occurring across various levels of the sports ecosystem, including individual, interpersonal and organizational level risk factors were found to be associated with a range of poorer mental health outcomes. The association between mental ill-health and certain risk factors, particularly those at the individual and microsystem level, appear to be greater for para athletes. These findings have important implications for policy and mental health service provision in elite sports settings, highlighting the need for more nuanced approaches to subpopulations, and the delivery of mental health interventions across all levels of the sports ecosystem.


In this article, we discuss Swedish crisis management from the perspective that public administration has evolved from a government steering structure to a governance structure. The power to govern crisis policy has been partly transferred from "government" to autonomous policy networks, which may include both public and private actors. Geographic area responsibility is assigned to the Government at the national level, the county councils at the regional level and the municipalities at the local level. In addition to this distinctly hierarchical division of responsibility by coordination area and geographic area, the system strongly emphasises interaction between actors and coordination areas. Thus, the emergency management system includes elements of both government (or hierarchy) and governance (or networking). The paper focuses on the interaction that has evolved among county administrative boards and municipalities in the networks, or regional emergency management councils, that have been established in several regions as a way for county administrative boards to fulfil their coordination responsibility. We will focus on two problem areas related to interaction in the councils: Which issues and actors are included or excluded in these networks? To what extent are councils characterised by negotiations and agreements among network actors and to what extent are council actors and issues characterised by hierarchical structures? We have chosen to more closely examine two regional emergency management councils and have made use of printed materials and conducted in-depth interviews. We can conclude that the relationship between the county administrative boards and the municipalities has elements of both hierarchical and network governance. Who is included in the councils seems to depend on a combination of hierarchy, by reason of an actor's formal role or position, which more or less mandates interaction with the county administrative board, and tradition, as it becomes clear that the emergencies that have affected the county in recent years, such as the severe winter storms Gudrun and Per, have resulted in the energy system being amply represented in both councils while other system representatives have been more poorly represented. Small municipalities have greater need for the County Administrative Board's support and resources than the larger ones, but are not considered able to contribute as much to the regional network and are excluded for that reason. The importance to municipalities of having their own network representatives is most clearly apparent in the statements of actors who lack representation. They lack knowledge and information about what is occurring in the councils. (Less)


CORNELL AND REINGANUM (1981), hereafter CR, report that price differentials for future contracts and forward contracts are statistically insignificant in foreign exchange markets. Based on this finding, CR conclude that marking-to-market is insignificant in the formulation of currency futures prices. This note identifies two potential concerns with the CR tests. One problem relates to the timing of delivery dates for "matched" contracts. A second problem relates to the time period for the CR study. We show that correcting for these problems does not affect the overall conclusions of the CR study; marking-to-market does not appear to have a significant effect on currency futures prices.


Fick's first law is modified with an additional term df(x)/dx to describe the segregation phenomenon, f(x) is a local, analytical function related to the depth profile at equilibrium. It thus can be determined experimentally by depth profiling technique. Segregation starting in an initially homogeneous solid is described by an inhomogeneous diffusion equation on the half-infinite domain. Segregation with and without formation of overlayer suggests different boundary conditions. The solution for the Ansatz f(x) = as exp(-x/ds) is in perfect agreement with experimental results on sulphur segregation to the surface of titanium. Independent from the detailed kinetics, activation energy can be inferred from the surface concentration evolution under different temperatures. For sulphur segregation in titanium, Eact = 718 meV/atom.


The ability to extract numerical information from different representation formats (e.g., equations, tables, or diagrams) is a key component of mathematical competence but little is known about its neural correlate. Previous studies comparing mathematically less and more competent adults have focused on mental arithmetic and reported differences in left angular gyrus (AG) activity which were interpreted to reflect differential reliance on arithmetic fact retrieval during problem solving. The aim of the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study was to investigate the brain correlates of mathematical competence in a task requiring the processing of typical mathematical representations. Twenty-eight adults of lower and higher mathematical competence worked on a representation matching task in which they had to evaluate whether the numerical information of a symbolic equation matches that of a bar chart. Two task conditions without and one condition with arithmetic demands were administered. Both competence groups performed equally well in the non-arithmetic conditions and only differed in accuracy in the condition requiring calculation. Activation contrasts between the groups revealed consistently stronger left AG activation in the more competent individuals across all three task conditions. The finding of competence-related activation differences independently of arithmetic demands suggests that more and less competent individuals differ in a cognitive process other than arithmetic fact retrieval. Specifically, it is argued that the stronger left AG activity in the more competent adults may reflect their higher proficiency in processing mathematical symbols. Moreover, the study demonstrates competence-related parietal activation differences that were not accompanied by differential experimental performance.


5G is the next step in the evolution of mobile communication and a key component of the future networked society. With capabilities such as massive system capacity, higher data rates, very low latency and ultra-high reliability, 5G will provide significantly enhanced mobile-broadband experience but also support a wide range of new wireless applications and use cases. In this paper, a trial system for 5G mobile broadband operating at 15 GHz is outlined, together with initial experimental results showing that data rates of many Gbit/s are possible.


This book is the second volume of a critical edition of the writings of Thomas Reid, an edition that will include many of his manuscript remains as well as his previously published works. These volumes are intended to displace the heretofore standard 8th edition of Reid's works edited by Sir William Hamilton (1788–1856). Hamilton's edition is marred by his numerous, often intrusive, and obtuse footnotes. Reid's spelling and punctuation were also sometimes "corrected" by Hamilton, so his edition does not present a fully accurate version of the original editions whose publication was superintended by Reid. The type in the Hamilton edition is also archaic and very small, making reading the text excessively difficult. The present and subsequent volumes are intended to present canonical texts free of the flaws in the Hamilton text. This volume succeeds admirably in that project.


The present study investigated the teachers' attitudes towards children with voice disorders. Three groups of listeners participated in this study: 15 primary school teachers, 15 speech therapy students, and 15 general university students. They were required to make attitude judgments for 12 children voices (6 with normal voice; 2 with mild voice disorder; 2 with moderate voice disorder; and 2 with severe voice disorder) on semantic differential scale with 22 adjective pairs about personality, social characteristics, and physical appearance. 10-cm long visual analog scale was used in measuring the attitude ratings. The result revealed that teachers, as the other two groups of listeners, reported a significantly more negative attitude towards children with voice problems. The result aroused the awareness on the adverse effect from the teachers' negative attitudes on academic, social, and emotional development of school age children with voice disorders.


Background: Infectious diseases continuously emerge and/or reemerge, resulting in epidemics of varying sizes and scope. Infection preventionists undertake preparedness activities to ensure that the healthcare facilities and communities are well-prepared to recognize and respond to an infectious disease epidemic. Infectious disease epidemic preparedness is an ever evolving process that addresses the four principles of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. This study aimed to determine the relationship between resource mobilization within community and preparedness to control DHF.
Subjects and Method: A cross sectional study was carried out in Medan, North Sumatera. A sample of 100 household heads was selected for this study by random sampling. The dependent variable was preparedness to control DHF. The independent variable was resource mobilization within the community. The data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by chi-square with Odd Ratio (OR) as the measure of association.
Results: Preparedness to control DHF was positively associated with resource mobilization within the community (OR= 3.22; 95% CI= 1.32 to 7.85; p= 0.001).
Conclusion: Preparedness to control DHF is associated with resource mobilization within the community.

Keywords: dengue haemorrhagic fever, control, preparedness, resource mobilization.


Development is the enterprise of triggering economic, social and political improvements through policy design and planned interventions and ameliorating negative effects of change. Feminist and anthropological studies of development encounters tend to concentrate on power relations at the same time as they leave only limited room to agency. This ethnographic study examines the relationship between development intervention rationales and the everyday dialogues of the intended beneficiaries. The study takes as its point of departure conversations with 17 women farmers who have participated in various development projects in the Quispicanchi Province in highland Peru. The research focuses on the rationales of a gender-based development intervention implemented in two phases between 2010 and 2014 by the "Centre for the Peruvian Woman Flora Tristan" (henceforth Flora). The thesis draws on anthropological and feminist studies of development to scrutinize interventions' rationales stressing Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of dialogism and Michel de Certeau's theories of everyday life to investigate how ordinary people exist in the world. The study shows that Flora encases the women's lives and identities in its construal of Third World Women disregarding that women transcend any possible status of victims of their gender, rural condition or cultural perspectives. The farmers creatively discard and use interventions in various often unplanned ways. Women's lives are moreover not limited to the ideological and material conditions development projects establish. In all, women take an active role in the implementation and practice of development, but their dialogues also thwart any pretention of either governing their lives or reducing their identities to existing inequalities.


We present an experimental study exploring how to best guide users when playing RealDance, a next generation dancing game prototype. It uses four Nintendo Wii remotes, attached to the wrists and ankles, to create a 3D spatial interface utilizing the entire body to more closely mimic real dancing. Since RealDance requires a player to use both arms and legs, the player needs to know which of their four limbs to use, where they are expected to move, and when they are expected to move in the dance sequence. To understand the best way to present this information, we implemented three visual interface methods: Timeline, Motion Lines, and Beat Circles, that are based on existing rhythm video games but extended to support RealDance's 3D interaction requirements. Our study explores each visual interface's effectiveness in conveying dance sequence information and assisting the player in providing a rewarding experience. Our evaluation is based on points scored in the game, and post-questionnaires used to solicit reactions about each visual interface including which was preferred and why. The results of the study show that players had significantly higher scores when using Motion Lines and Beat Circles than with the Timeline. The results also indicate that players found Motion Lines and Beat Circles significantly easier to follow than Timeline and icon position significantly less confusing than the Timeline interface. From these results, we believe that Motion Lines and Beat Circles are more appropriate visual interfaces than the traditional Timeline interface for full body, rhythm dance games.


Abstract Background Therapeutic cancer vaccines targeting tumour associated antigens (TAAs) offer a potential method to activate cytotoxic T-cells. A vaccine using a novel Ad5 vector (E1-, E2b-) targeting 3 TAAs, PSA, MUC-1 and Brachyury, has been constructed. Both the C-terminus of MUC-1 and Brachyury have been shown to play an integral role in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, metastasis, and chemotherapy resistance. Both antigens are overexpressed in mCRPC. The transgenes for PSA, MUC-1 and Brachyury contain modifications for the expression of CD8+ T-cell enhancer agonist epitopes. This vaccine has not been previously tested in humans. Methods Pts with mCRPC were treated with the combination of 3 vaccines targeting PSA, MUC-1 and Brachyury at 5 x 1011 viral particles (VP) each, SQ every 3 weeks for maximum of 3 doses (dose de-escalation cohort) and followed by boost every 8 weeks for 1 year (dose expansion cohort only). The primary objective was to determine the safety and tolerability and to establish the recommended phase 2 dose. Immune assays were conducted in the first 5 enrolled patients. Results 12 pts were enrolled (6 in each cohort) between 07/2018 and 04/2019 and received at least 1 dose. Median PSA was 37.8 (range, 5.81 – 1006 ng/mL). Vaccine was safe and tolerable, no DLTs or grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were observed. All other TRAEs were Grade 1 or 2; the most common was injection-site reaction in all pts. Two chemotherapy naive pts had confirmed PSA declines (89% and 50%, respectively) observed after only 1 dose. Third had unconfirmed 12% PSA decline at week 3. 5/5 patients mounted responses to at least 1 TAA while 3/5 mounted immune responses to all 3 TAAs. Multifunctional T-cell responses to PSA, MUC-1 and Brachyury were also detected post-vaccination. Conclusions Ad5 PSA/MUC-1/Brachyury vaccine is safe and well tolerated. The recommended Phase 2 dose is 5 x 1011 VP. Confirmed PSA decline was observed in 2 pts. Multifunctional TAA specific T-cell responses to all 3 antigens were seen in a patient with 89% PSA decline. Further research is warranted to evaluate immunogenicity and eventual clinical benefit. Future trials will involve the use of this vaccine in combination with other immuno-oncology agents. Clinical trial identification NCT03481816. Editorial acknowledgement Debra Weingarten. Legal entity responsible for the study Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Funding Intramural Research Program of the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and by Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) between the NCI and NantCell/Etubics, and the NCI and NantBioscience. Disclosure E.S. Gabitzsch: Full / Part-time employment: Etubics Corporation. F.R. Jones: Full / Part-time employment: Etubics Corporation. J.P. Balint: Full / Part-time employment: Etubics Corporation. P. Soon-Shiong: Full / Part-time employment, Founder and an executive: NantCell; Full / Part-time employment, Founder and an executive: NantBioscience. S. Rabizadeh: Full / Part-time employment: NantCell. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


Objectives: To determine what measures were introduced by emergency departments in response to the national monitoring week in March 2003, and which, if any, of these were most effective in reducing waiting times. Methods: A postal survey of all emergency departments in England was undertaken to gather data on measures taken. Department waiting times before, during, and after monitoring week were determined from data held by the Department of Health and linked to the survey data for analysis. Results: A total of 111/198 responses (56%) were received. Departments had taken a wide range of measures to improve waiting times. The commonest were additional senior doctor hours (39%), creation of a "four hour monitor" role (37%), improved access to emergency beds (36%), additional non-clinical staff hours (33%), additional junior doctor hours (32%), additional nursing hours (29%), and triage by senior staff (28%). In 35 departments (32%) no changes were made at all to usual practice. The biggest influence on improved performance during monitoring week was the number of measures that a department took, rather than any specific measure, although there was weak evidence that additional junior medical and non-clinical staff time may have contributed more than other measures. Conclusions: Improved waiting time performance may depend, at least in the short term, more on the amount of effort expended than on introducing a single effective change. In addition, those measures most likely to be helpful are likely also to require additional resources.


In the modern enterprise management, knowledge management is a new management philosophy and management style, its unique mode of management plays an important role in the cultivation of science and technology talents. This study, based on building the knowledge management model systemof scientific and technological persons, examinesknowledge management model having important implications to cultivate and improve the science and technology persons' knowledge, abilities and qualities by empirical research methods.


In this letter we study the exponentially decaying corrections to saturation of the second R\'enyi entropy of one interval of length L in minimal E8 Toda field theory. It has been known for some time that the entanglement entropy of a massive quantum field theory in 1+1 dimensions saturates to a constant value for m1 L <<1 where m1 is the mass of the lightest particle in the spectrum. Subsequently, results by Cardy, Castro-Alvaredo and Doyon have shown that there are exponentially decaying corrections to this behaviour which are characterised by Bessel functions with arguments proportional to m1 L. For the von Neumann entropy the leading correction to saturation takes the precise universal form -K0(2m1 L)/8 whereas for the R\'enyi entropies leading corrections which are proportional to K0(m1 L) are expected. Recent numerical work by P\'almai for the second R\'enyi entropy of minimal E8 Toda has found next-to-leading order corrections decaying as exp(-2m1 L) rather than the expected exp(-m1 L). In this paper we investigate the origin of this result and show that it is incorrect. An exact form factor computation of correlators of branch point twist fields reveals that the leading corrections are proportional to K0(m1 L) as expected.


We propose a mathematical model for an infestation of a wooded area by a beetle species in which the larvae develop deep in the wood of living trees. Due to the difficulties of detection, we presume that only a certain proportion of infested trees will be detected and that detection, if it happens, will occur only after some delay, which could be long. An infested tree once detected is immediately cut down and burned. The model is stage structured and contains a second time delay, which is the development time of the beetle from egg to adult. There is a delicate interplay between the two time delays due to the possibility in one case for a larva to mature even in a tree destined for destruction. We present conditions sufficient for infestation eradication and discuss the significance of the conditions, particularly in terms of the proportion of infested trees that need to be detected and removed. If the infestation is successfully eradicated, there are always a number of trees that completely escape infestation, and we compute lower bounds and an approximation for this number. Finally, we present the results of some numerical simulations.


The effect of megestrol acetate 160 mg daily was studied in 49 previously treated post-menopausal patients with advanced carcinoma of the breast. An overall response of 31% was obtained with 1 complete and 14 partial remissions, chiefly in soft tissue and bone. The median duration of response was in excess of 10 months. Toxicity was minimal and the only notable side effect was mild weight gain without fluid retention. Megestrol acetate is safe and well tolerated, with useful activity in the palliation of advanced breast cancer.


Austerity policies and austere socio-economic conditions in the UK have had acute consequences for everyday life and, interconnectedly, the political and structural regimes that impact upon the lives of women and marginalised groups. Feminist geographies have arguably been enlivened and reinvigorated by critical engagements with austerity, bringing to light everyday experiences, structural inequalities and multi-scalar socio-economic relations. With this paper I propose five areas of intervention for further research in this field: social reproduction, everyday epistemologies, intersectionality, voice and silence, and embodied fieldwork. To conclude, I argue for continuing feminist critique and analyses given the legacies and futures of austerity.


Two-component velocity vector maps of single- and multi-phase turbulent impinging jets were acquired using particle image velocimetry (PIV). Mean and turbulent characteristics were explored with the impingement surface located at three strategic positions; 2 (within the potential core), 6 (just outside the core) and 10 h/d (fully developed jet).
Single-phase trials present the first extensive exploration of all three regions of an impinging jet. As jet height increased, the more advanced the jet expansion, and the centreline mean axial velocity decreased as the jet spread radially with increasing mean radial velocity. An increase in turbulence levels was seen from 2 to 6 h/d as the end of the potential core was exceeded where turbulence from the mixing layer penetrated to the centre, followed by a decrease at 10 h/d as the jet continued to grow before impingement.
A liquid impinging jet laden with 69μm sized glass particles was explored, the particles were found to not follow the turbulent flow. Particle axial velocities were generally smaller than their single-phase counterparts. As the jet height increased the stagnation region broadened, similarly for the single-phase trials. The particles exhibited considerably lower turbulent velocities. The near-field radial wall jet saw the deflection and acceleration to a greater extent for the smallest jet height (2 h/d) than the larger two (6 and 10 h/d). Particle turbulence intensities in the near-field radial wall jet increased as the jet height increased. The particle turbulence was smaller than that of the single-phase, the greatest difference seen for the middle jet height of 6 h/d.
A sensitivity study of particle size effect on a particle-laden turbulent impinging jet with jet-to-plate separation of six diameters has been completed, three particle sizes used; 20, 46 and 69μm. Within the impingement region, the particles do not decelerate as rapidly as the single-phase due to the particle inertia. Turbulent velocities of the particle phases were considerably lower than the single-phase, the turbulent velocity normal to the impingement surface larger than the radial component.
And finally, a preliminary assessment of the feasibility of using fluorescent particle image velocimetry (fPIV) for the purpose of studying turbulence modulation in impinging liquid jets has been undertaken.


Area conservation is a concept to modify the shape or position of a geometrical figure without changing its area. Skipping the concept of area conservation in learning area measurement causes students' difficulties in this topic. One of students' activity in math class is problem solving which is a cognitive process of the brain to search a solution for a given problem. Cognitive process is an activity that consist of receiving, processing, and using information. Cognitive process may affected by mathematics anxiety. Mathematics anxiety is a condition in which students experience unexplained anxiety during learning mathematics. This study is qualitative descriptive research which aimed at describing the cognitive processes of high mathematics anxiety student in solving area conservation problem. The data were collected by using mathematics anxiety test, area conservation problem test, and interview. The result showed that at the stage of receiving information, high mathematics anxiety students read the given problem and observe the given figures. At the stage of processing the information, the students devising plan by linked the received information with their knowledge, solving the problem, and evaluating the obtained solution. Student with high mathematics anxiety use the concept of area conservation to modify some figures. Moreover, high mathematics anxiety student did a simple estimation to determine the area of the given figures. At the stage of using information, student with high mathematics anxiety re-explain the given problem, the idea to solve the problem, every single steps in solving problem, and the obtained solution.


In the crises of the past fifteen years, central bankers have become big public players in a drama that affects all our lives, involving financial market crashes, public health threats and devastating economic downturns. Having played a lead role in the global financial crisis and the coronavirus crisis, they are now being asked to broaden their appeal. But the key aim has always been one of simply ensuring monetary and financial stability. In this book, NIESR director Jagjit Chadha unpacks the world of central banking, explaining in accessible language the analytical techniques, policy toolkits or simple story-telling that they use to understand the economy, to implement monetary policy and to communicate their decisions to key decision-makers and the wider public.


Aims Heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common co-morbidities. The combination presents diagnostic challenges and has been linked with worse prognosis in patients admitted to hospital. There is hardly any prognostic data in patients with both co-morbidities in the community. Methods and Results We evaluated 783 patients (27.2%) with left ventricular systolic dysfunction under the care of a regional nurse-led community HF team between June 2007 and June 2010. 101 patients (12.9%) also had a diagnosis of COPD. 94% of patients were on loop diuretics; 83% on ACE inhibitors, 74% on β-blockers; 10.6% were on bronchodilators and 42% on aldosterone antagonists. Mean age of the patients was 77.9±5.7 years; 43% were females and mean NYHA class was 2.3±0.6. Mean follow-up was 28.2±2.9 months. β-Blocker utilisation was markedly lower in patients receiving bronchodilators compared to those without (overall 21.7% vs 81%; p<0.001). 24-month survival (Abstract P232 figure 1) was 93% in patients with HF alone and 89% in those with both co-morbidities (p=NS). The presence of COPD was associated with increased HF hospitalisations [HR 1.56 (1.4 to 2.1); p<0.001] and major adverse cardiovascular events [HR 1.23 (1.03 to 1.75); p<0.001].Abstract P232 Figure 1 Kaplan–Meier survival curve in patients with heart failure, comparing those with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for June 2007 to June 2010. Conclusions COPD is a common co-morbidity in ambulatory HF patients in the community and is a powerful predictor of worsening HF. It does not however appear to affect short-term mortality in ambulatory HF patients.


As dialysis membrane technologies have advanced, the ability to clear increasing numbers of uremic toxins has occurred. To date, however, the class of uremic toxins known as large middle-molecules has been classified as "difficult to remove." Expanded hemodialysis utilizes a new generation of high-retention-onset hemodialysis membranes; these membranes provide the ability to remove large middle-molecules effectively for the first time, without significant albumin loss. In this review, we evaluate the removal of large middle-molecules by the new high-retention-onset membranes, the clinical relevance of these molecules, and how expanded hemodialysis can be prescribed.


Governments all over the world have focused upon sustainable rural development in an organized way. Rural locations, in particular, need more economic development in order to match urban centric development. Poverty in rural areas has remained by and large, the main focal point of governments and development agencies. Sustainable rural development is the most effective way to eliminate this curse. Environment friendly growth stimulators have been provided to rural populations. This paper aims to: (a) give an insight into the linkages between the agricultural education and sustainable rural development , and (b) present strategies for sustainable rural development . Challenges in sustainable rural development for developing countries in the 21st century have also been looked into. The paper concludes that agricultural education institutions in developing countries will need to address not only immediate production needs, but also long-term food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development needs.


This study examined and analyzed several mine management software programs developed in domestic and oversea countries. In the oversea countries, many companies have developed and commercialized mine management softwares such as Dispatch, Cat ® MineStar™ and FARA. These softwares provide many functionalities including real-time machine tracking, machine assignment optimization, productivity management, equipment health monitoring and remote control. For the domestic cases, this study reviewed two software programs (i.e., GEMISIMS, Truck-Shovel fleet optimization) developed by several researchers because there is no mine management software currently commercialized in Korea. In addition, this paper reports the two cases at the Jwaneng mine in Botswana and at the Robinson mine in United States where mine management software programs are used to support mine operations.


The project aims to explore the relationship between social origin, habitus and study selection of successful German Economics students in order to better understand the disciplinary reproduction of academic Economics as well as its current state.
It uses Pierre Bourdieu's field theory, as applied to the areas of education and science, to develop a sketch of a theory of study selection that mirrors the relational, structural and analogical character of this particular viewpoint. In this, the work differs from the rather substantialist and subjectivist literature on the topic to be found in contemporary British and German Social Science. It questions common sense assumptions about study choice such as the concepts of an 'intrinsic' or 'extrinsic' motivation, as well as an easily distinguishable 'reflexivity' of structures on the part of agents. Indeed, it questions the very concept of study 'choice' in favour of a more relational approach.

Combining in-depth interviews with successful and interested ('recognised') German Economics students about their educational trajectory and study selections with socio-demographic descriptive statistics, the project attempts in essence to suggest a theoretical sociological interpretation concerning the 'subjective' viewpoint of the specific groups that make up this rather extraordinary group. To this end, it formulates three ideal-typical models that each link social origin, habitus and study selection differently. The Inheritors, coming from a 'cadre' origin, tend to favour technical-mathematical thinking while at the same time rejecting more 'literal' approaches, both of which attract them to Economics and its orthodox thinking. The Fallen Nobles, who come from more bourgeois backgrounds which have however lost parts of their capital, are geared towards symbolic ostentation and partial revolution, which in academic Economics tends to be bound up, at least at the moment, with ultraliberal positions. Finally, the Parvenus, coming from more petit-bourgeois backgrounds, tend to have a very faithful, that is, indulgent and docile relationship to their chosen ethical-academic framework which varies considerably even within Economics. They end up with rather technical specialisations.

In summary, it is suggested that the study selection of a group of students who are all 'intrinsically' motivated can in fact be attributed to quite different sociological processes and relations. This opens up new ways and fresh empirical questions to view and assess study selection.


Evidence of structural inhomogeneities in two high—transition-temperature superconductors, YBa2Cu3O7-δ and Nd2-xCexCuO4-y, is presented. When samples were illuminated by highly collimated x-rays produced on a synchrotron wiggler, small changes in the lattice were detected over a spatial scale of 10 micrometers. These changes are interpreted as evidence of variations in the oxygen content in one case and in the cerium content in the other; both affect the superconducting properties. The existence of such structural inhomogeneities brings into question whether exotic experimental results obtained from superconducting materials with high transition temperatures actually reflect intrinsic properties.


This research verified different methods of pre-conditioning and concentrations of tetrazolium solutions for evaluating of canafistula seed lot quality. Seeds collected in Lavras-MG- were submitted to the following methods of pre-conditioning: a) scarification and immersion in water of 25 o C for 14 hours; and b) immersion in water of 95 o C and left in the same water to rest without heating for 24 hours at 25 o C. The teguments of the seeds were removed and the embryos were immerged in 0.07, 0.1 and 0.3% tetrazolium solution during 150 minutes at 25 o C. To verify the reliability of the results through the tetrazolium test, germination test, first counting, index of germination velocity and nursery emergency were done. Scarification and immersion in water of 25 o C for 14 hours were efficient in pre-conditioning canafistula seeds and 0,1% tetrazolium solution for 150 minutes at 25 o C allowed evaluating


function tests were abnormal (bilirubin 17 IUJ, alkaline phosphatase 66 IU/l, aspartate transaminase 81 IU/1, gammaglutamyltranspeptidase 124 IU/1). The result of an intravenous pyelogram was normal. At operation the choledochus cyst was considerably shrunken, and was seen to have a definitely thickened wall. The gall bladder was not found and was therefore presumed to have been removed at the first laparotomy. The liver felt firm but was not obviously enlarged. There was considerable splenomegaly. A choledochocystojejunostomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis was performed. Histological examination of an operative liver biopsy specimen showed the typical changes of congenital hepatic fibrosis, with an essentially normal liver parenchyma divided by broad bands of fibrous tissue containing strikingly dilated abnormal bile ducts. The postoperative course was satisfactory once post-transfusion hepatitis (HBsAg negative) had resolved.


The research aims to know that influence of green marketing on brand image and customers purchase decision of PT Astra International Tbk.–TSO Malang Sutoyo. This research is an explanatory research. There are 116 respondents as sample of this research by using simple random sampling method. The data collection method conducted by questionnaire. The data was analyzed by using path analysis. Results showed that Green Marketing has direct and significantly effect on Perceived Value, Perceived Value has direct and significantly effect on Purchase Decision, Green Marketing has direct and significantly effect on Purchase Decision, and Green Marketing has significantly effect on Purchase Decision through the Perceived Value as mediator variable.