[Background] Lifestyle, including diet and physical activity, and birth/breastfeeding history are known to affect the risk for breast cancer. A correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and breast cancer risk has also been suggested in some reports, but the gene-environment interaction with breast cancer risk has not been examined widely. [Methods] The subjects were 476 breast cancer patients and 528 controls who attended a health check and had no history of breast cancer. Lifestyle was examined using a questionnaire with 48 questions about diet, physical activity, smoking habits, alcohol intake, and birth/breastfeeding history, etc. Based on past reports, we analyzed 6 SNPs (TNRC9-rs3803662, LSP1/11q-rs3817198, MAP3K1-rs889312, 8q24-rs13281615, 5p12-rs981782, and TGFβ1-rs1800470) using blood samples, and calculated age-adjusted odds ratios in a multiple logistic regression analysis. [Results] The study was performed from December 2010 to November 2011. Lifestyle factors (age-adjusted odds ratio, [95% confident interval]) found to have a significant correlation with development of breast cancer included BMI (1.041, [1.00–1.08]), smoking history (2.28, [1.45–3.65]), small number of births (1.18, [1.05–1.34]), no exercise during leisure time (1.36, [1.06–1.77]), low intake of green and yellow vegetables (1.69, [1.01–2.85]), and low intake of mushrooms (1.58, [1.05–2.39]). Stratified analysis based on menopause status showed that smoking history (1.85, [1.00–3.49]) and low intake of green and yellow vegetables (2.5, [1.03–5.88]) were significant risk factors before menopause, and that smoking history (2.28, [1.45–3.65]), low intake of green and yellow vegetables (2.24, [1.09–4.68]), no exercise during leisure time (1.67, [1.19–2.36]), small number of births (1.49, [1.25–1.78]), and no breastfeeding history (1.03, [1.01–1.06]) were significant risk factors after menopause. The results of SNP analysis suggested that TNRC9-rs3803662 was a significant risk factor in women before menopause (2.29, [1.25–4.25]). However, in multivariate analysis including lifestyle factors and SNPs, only smoking history emerged as a significant risk factor in women before menopause. [Conclusion] A correlation between lifestyle and breast cancer risk was found in this study, consistent with previous findings. Lifestyle and environmental factors such as births and breastfeeding may be more important than SNPs as risk factors for breast cancer. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-07-10.


Using an I/sub ddq/ test methodology on circuits with dynamic logic tends to be problematic, mainly due to charge leakage related problems. A new Design for current Testability (DcT) method has been developed, which overcomes these problems by switching the circuit into a static mode during test. The method referred to as clock switching is applicable to both domino logic and True Single-Phase Clock (TSPC) circuits. This paper shows that this technique can lead to higher levels of I/sub ddq/ testability and a reduced test vector set for the detection of bridging faults.


This paper empirically examines what corporate governance, financial and transaction variables lead target companies to negotiate for reverse termination fees (RTFs) in mergers and acquisitions. RTFs, which must be paid by buyers if they walk away from a merger, are used by target companies to reduce transaction uncertainty. We examine 1518 merger agreements for the period from 2010 to 2019, and find that 44.86 percent of these transactions included RTFs. First, we find that larger and more mature target companies with higher market capitalizations and lower cash ratios are more likely to successfully negotiate for RTFs. Second, the presence of a controlling shareholder increases the size of an RTF and ensures it is "efficiently" priced, suggesting that these actors play a monitoring role. Third, targets with dual class stock are less likely to efficiently price RTFs. Finally, deals with private equity acquirers are more likely to feature RTFs, and these RTFs are larger and more efficiently priced. These findings have implications for practitioners involved in crafting deal protection mechanisms, as well as Delaware courts considering how to view RTF provisions in merger litigation.


ABSTRACT Question: How can long-term monitoring of hydrological and ecological parameters support management strategies aimed towards wetland restoration and re-creation in a complex hydrological system? Location: Newham Bog National Nature Reserve, Northumberland, UK, a site with a long history of active management, and recorded as drought-sensitive over the last 100 years. Methods: Water level readings are correlated with longer-term hydrological databases, and these data related to vegetation data collected intermittently over a 12 year period. Two analyses are undertaken: (1) a composite DCA analysis of 1993 and 2002 survey data to assess plant community transitions within the wetland and over time, and (2) analysis of recent vegetation data to explore wider vegetation gradients. This allows (3) communities to be classified using NVC classes and (4) integrated with revised Ellenberg F-values. Results: Drought impact and subsequent hydrological recovery over a 22-year period are quantified. Vegetation data display strong moisture and successional gradients. Analysis shows a shift from grassland communities toward mire communities across much of the site. Conclusion: The site is regionally unique in that it has a detailed long-term monitoring record. Hydrological data and vegetation survey have allowed the impact of the most recent 'groundwater' drought (1989–1997) to be quantified. This information on system resilience, combined with eco-hydrological analyses of plant community-water regime/quality relationships, provide a basis for recommendations concerning conservation and restoration. Nomenclature: Tutin et al. (1992).


The son of John Beckley, the first clerk of the House of Representatives under George Washington, Alfred Beckley is widely recognized as the founder of Raleigh County. The man for whom the county seat of Beckley is named, Beckley served in a variety of capacities – as school commissioner (1837-50); deputy clerk of Superior and County courts (1838-50), commissioner of forfeited and delinquent lands (1839-50) for Fayette County, Virginia (of which Raleigh County was a part until West Virginia became a state during the Civil War). As commissioner of forfeited and delinquent lands, he auctioned off the famed Rutter and Etting Land Grant in 1841. The Rutter and Etting tract, along with the Dewitt Clinton and William Whitcroft grants, comprised much of the land on the Marsh and Clear Forks of the Big Coal River. Francis Granger, a U.S. representative from Canandaigua County, New York, bought much of the Rutter and Etting land in 1841. Until his death in 1888, Beckley served as an agent for Granger and his heirs, selling off parcels of land to residents in the Marsh Fork district. Some of Beckley's diaries, now in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, contain descriptions of those transactions. These images are selected from the diaries.
Event: Archival research.


This paper updates and extends the Docquier-Marfouk data set on international migration by educational attainment. We use new sources, homogenize definitions of what a migrant is, and compute gender-disaggregated indicators of the brain drain. Emigration stocks and rates are provided by level of schooling and gender for 195 source countries in 1990 and 2000. Our data set can be used to capture the recent trend in women's brain drain and to analyze its causes and consequences for developing countries. We show that women represent an increasing share of the OECD immigration stock and exhibit relatively higher rates of brain drain than men. The gender gap in skilled migration is strongly correlated with the gender gap in educational attainment at origin. Equating women's and men's access to education would probably reduce gender differences in the brain drain.


The durability of consolidated highly porous limestones was tested after salt and freeze–thaw cycles. Three porous limestone lithotypes that were commonly used in construction in the Central-European region during previous centuries were selected for the tests. Specimens of Miocene limestone were consolidated with four different types of ethyl silica-based consolidants (KSE 100, KSE 300, KSE 300 E, KSE 300 HV). After consolidation, the samples were exposed to freeze thaw cycles and salt crystallization tests. Water saturation under atmospherically pressure, capillary water absorption and splitting tensile strength were measured on treated and untreated samples to assess change attributed to consolidation in the open porosity and mechanical parameters. The increase in the tensile strength of the medium-grained samples was higher than that of the consolidated fine-grained lithotypes. The effect of consolidation treatment was very different in terms of pore-size distribution as obtained by Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). Untreated and consolidated samples were subjected to 10 cycles of sodium sulphate crystallization (EN 12370) and 10 freeze–thaw cycles (EN 12371) tests. Experiments concluded that in addition to the initial strength increase after the conservation, the modified pore structure is the crucial factor to evaluate the long-term efficiency of stone conservation.


The decline in the unskilled share of French employment is chiefly due to the slackness of domestic demand for those industries with the highest proportion of unskilled workers. The spread of computers has not been particularly conducive to substitution between skilled and unskilled labor. We test and accept the hypothesis of technical-progress neutrality within French industries. The mechanisms that generate inequality do not appear to be the same in France and in the United States. The source of inequality isn't so much technical progress per se as its interaction with the institutions that regulate the labor market.


Abstract When most African countries became independent in the early 1960's, they were driven by a strong nationalistic desire to be united, sovereign and developed. After realizing that many languages were spoken within their borders, they had to come up with language policies, which would meet their aspirations. Although many countries selected the demographically and socio-politically dominant indigenous languages to be national media, in most cases, the national language remained functionally symbolic. Botswana is one of the African countries which selected its dominant indigenous language, Setswana, to be the national language (Republic of Botswana, 1994). This paper examines the position of Setswana, whose role has remained largely symbolic, as a national language (Bagwasi, 2012; Chebanne et al., 1993). However, in order to ensure maximal utilization of the national medium, as a vehicle for development and mass mobilization, Botswana needs to accord Setswana more control of the country's socio-political, economic and technological domains for sustainable development. The paper proposes ten possible measures, that it terms "commandments", which ought to be followed for Setswana to become a resourceful and effective national and primary official language. Keywords: capacity planning, national language, norm planning, official language, status planning


Perloff and Persons (1988) have recently states that the use of equal-weight indexes (aggregated variables) in regression-correlation analysis will result in biased tests of statistical significance unless the variables aggregated are extremely highly correlated. Referring to psychometric theory, this article shows that the size of the intercorrelations among variables has little bearing on the propriety of using unit weights to aggregate them into a composite. What is important in that regard is the form of those intercorrelations. A statistical test by Wilks (1946) is presented that evaluates the presence in a data set of 3 preconditions for unit-weight aggregation


First Global Lake Temperature Collaboration (GLTC) Workshop; Lincoln, Nebraska, 1–5 June 2012 It is widely recognized that climate change is affecting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Recent studies have revealed significant warming of lakes throughout the world, and this rate of warming is often larger than that of the ambient air temperature (up to 2–3 times more rapid). Although hypotheses have been proposed to explain these high rates of lake warming (e.g., ice albedo feedbacks or changes in cloud cover), the fundamental drivers remain poorly understood. Furthermore, these rapid warming rates have profound implications for lake hydrodynamics, productivity, and biotic communities. It is essential therefore that global data sets of water temperature be compiled to monitor and understand these long-term changes in lakes, reservoirs, and other inland water bodies.


The Saccharomyces cerevisiae vacuolar proton-translocating ATPase (V-ATPase) is composed of 14 subunits distributed between a peripheral V1 subcomplex and an integral membrane V0 subcomplex. Genome-wide screens have led to the identification of the newest yeast V-ATPase subunit, Vma9p. Vma9p (subunit e) is a small hydrophobic protein that is conserved from fungi to animals. We demonstrate that disruption of yeast VMA9 results in the failure of V1 and V0 V-ATPase subunits to assemble onto the vacuole and in decreased levels of the subunit a isoforms Vph1p and Stv1p. We also show that Vma9p is an integral membrane protein, synthesized and inserted into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which then localizes to the limiting membrane of the vacuole. All V0 subunits and V-ATPase assembly factors are required for Vma9p to efficiently exit the ER. In the ER, Vma9p and the V0 subunits interact with the V-ATPase assembly factor Vma21p. Interestingly, the association of Vma9p with the V0-Vma21p assembly complex is disrupted with the loss of any single V0 subunit. Similarly, Vma9p is required for V0 subunits Vph1p and Vma6p to associate with the V0-Vma21p complex. In contrast, the proteolipids associate with Vma21p even in the absence of Vma9p. These results demonstrate that Vma9p is an integral membrane subunit of the yeast V-ATPase V0 subcomplex and suggest a model for the arrangement of polypeptides within the V0 subcomplex.


Experimental entropy of melting values for physical property estimation schemes, such as solubility and vapor pressure, are not readily available. In this study a semiempirical equation, which contains two molecular parameters, is used to estimate the total entropy of melting for a variety of pharmaceutically and environmentally relevant compounds. A database of experimental entropy values consisting of over 370 different compounds was compiled from literature. A molecular rotational symmetry number and a molecular flexibility number for each compound were defined. The simple equation does very well in predicting the total entropy of melting for the complex set of molecules with an average error of 21%.


Abstract A 6.3 m tsunami swept through Kitimat Arm, British Columbia in 1974. An even larger wave struck and damaged the Northlands Navigation dock at Kitimat and the Haisla First Nation docks at Kitamaat Village the following year. Further down the fjord, two large coastal block failures were observed on the fjord walls across from the Gitga'at village of Hartley Bay. Several large infrastructure projects have recently been proposed for the Kitimat Arm coastal areas. The Geological Survey of Canada has therefore embarked on a five-year project to understand the magnitude and frequency of submarine mass movements in this fjord system to provide information regarding the risks from these events and to propose mitigation measures that may reduce these risks. We provide here an overview and the main results to date of an ongoing multidisciplinary study, which includes palaeotsunami studies, geomorphological and sub-seabed mapping, subaerial landslide hazard assessment, tsunami modelling, in situ and laboratory geotechnical testing, and the real-time tracking of seismic activity and seafloor movement. Some of these activities are reported in greater detail elsewhere in this book. The results of this research are summarized as a list of conclusions and recommendations to the Government of Canada.


On 28 November 1992, at age 77, Timothy Idlout died at home in Resolute, Northwest Territories. Born in the spring of 1916 near Pond Inlet, as a young man he traveled extensively in the area of Baffin and Somerset islands. He lost his first wife and six children to disease in the early 1940s. In 1946 he married Naomi Nangat, who was born near Repulse Bay and grew up in the Igloolik area. The couple lived in the Fort Ross/Creswell Bay/Aston Bay area of Somerset Island, along with a handful of other Inuit. The last of their camp partners moved away in 1967, leaving them as the only residents of Somerset Island. Idlout and Nangat had 12 children of their own, of whom 7 are still living, and adopted several more from relatives. Nangat recalls that Idlout always worked very hard to support his family. Virtually all their food was game and fish, and what little income they had was derived from fox trapping and the sale of polar bear skins and narwhal tusks. Idlout was extremely self-reliant, able to travel and survive no matter what the weather. In mid-winter, sometimes before the polar dawn, he and his family traveled by dog team in a circuitous route from Somerset to Resolute to trade. The trip took up to a week each way, often over shifting ice, which did not consolidate until February or March. Idlout passed on his hardy self-reliance to each of his children, boys and girls alike being able to handle their own dog team, build an iglu, or flense a narwhal. ... Idlout preferred camp life to the hustle and bustle of town, so when virtually all other Inuit surrendered to the enticements of the new settlements in the fifties and sixties, Idlout stayed on the land. With the exception of the winter of 1974-75, he and Nangat remained on Somerset until the fall of 1991, when age and illness forced him to move to Resolute. He and Nangat were the last Inuit who had never left the land, and 1991 was therefore an historic year, the end of a chain of continuous Inuit occupancy that lasted for some 4000 years. Idlout was well known among the scientific community. Ethnographically he was of great interest as an example of traditional Inuit living. Geologists, geographers, biologists, and archaeologists all passed through his camp and sought his extensive knowledge. Occupying the narrow waist of Somerset where Stanwell Fletcher Lake and Creswell Bay pinch the island, he represented Inuit land claims in an area critical to the proposed Arctic Islands Pipeline Project. Idlout was a remarkable man, remnant of a traditional Inuit society not far removed from the Stone Age, yet his children have bridged the gap and are outstanding citizens in their own right. With his passing goes a certain knowledge of the land and sea that the rest of us will never know. It is a humbling thought.


We have previously described the design and development of CI-988, a peptoid analogue of CCK-4 with excellent binding affinity and selectivity for the CCK-B receptor. Due to its anxiolytic profile in animal models of anxiety, this compound was developed as a clinical candidate. However, during its development, it was determined that CI-988 had low bioavailability in both rodent and nonrodent species. In the clinic, it was further established that CI-988 had poor bioavailability. Thus, there was a need to identify an analogue with an improved pharmacokinetic (PK) profile. The poor bioavailability was attributed to poor absorption and efficient hepatic extraction. We envisaged that reducing the molecular weight of the parent compound (5, MW = 614) would lead to better absorption. Thus, we synthesized a series of analogues in which the key alpha-methyltryptophan and adamantyloxycarbonyl moieties, required for receptor binding, were kept intact and the C-terminus was extensively modified. This SAR study led to the identification of tricyclo[22.214.171.124(3,7)]dec-2-yl [1S-[1 alpha(S*)2 beta]-[2-[(2-hydroxycyclohexyl)amino]-1-(1H-indol-3- ylmethyl)-1-methyl-2-oxoethyl]carbamate (CI-1015, 31) with binding affinities of 3.0 and 2900 nM for the CCK-B and CCK-A receptors, respectively. The compound showed CCK-B antagonist profile in the rat ventromedial hypothalamus assay with a Ke of 34 nM. It also showed an anxiolytic like profile orally in a standard anxiety paradigm (X-maze) with a minimum effective dose (MED) of 0.1 microgram/kg. Although the compound is less water soluble than CI-988, oral bioavailability in rat was improved nearly 10 times relative to CI-988 when dosed in HP beta CD. The blood-brain permeability of CI-1015 (31) was also enhanced relative to CI-988 (5). On the basis of the overall improved pharmacokinetic profile as well as enhanced brain penetration, CI-1015 (31) was chosen as a development candidate.


Soil organic matter is the largest carbon (C) pool in the terrestrial C cycle, and soil CO₂ emissions surpass anthropogenic emissions from fossil fuel combustion by a factor of nine. Therefore, mechanisms controlling C stabilisation in soils and its feedback to climate change are widely debated. During decomposition, microbial substrate-use efficiency is an important property because it determines the allocation of substrate C to biosynthesis and respiratory losses. High efficiency values indicate that C primarily remains in soils while low efficiency implies that C is primarily lost into the atmosphere. Despite empirical evidence that efficiency is temperature sensitive, traditional Earth system models treat this property as a constant.

The aim of this thesis was to improve our mechanistic understanding of drivers regulating substrate-use efficiency with special consideration to climate change. It investigated the impacts of (i) temperature, (ii) microbial community composition and (iii) substrate quality on substrate-use efficiency. Within the thesis, a microbial energetics approach was applied and further developed using isothermal calorimetry. Further, the thesis compared common approaches for measuring microbial substrate-use efficiency, and the implications of the resultant empirical data for projected C stocks were tested using a modelling approach.

Substrate-use efficiency was generally temperature sensitive and decreased with increasing temperature. The observed temperature responses were non-linear and varied across land use management systems. The changes in substrate-use efficiency with temperature were driven rather by changes in microbial physiology than by shifts in active microbial communities. Nevertheless, fungi and Gram-negative bacteria tended towards relatively higher efficiencies. Efficiencies varied among utilised substrates, but substrate quality per se was a poor proxy for efficiency. Projected losses from soil C stocks varied across land use management systems and were up to 39 % and 15 % for grassland and forest systems, respectively. Results from the modelling approach confirmed that substrate-use efficiency is one of the factors to which soil C stocks react most sensitively. Findings from this thesis emphasise the importance of furthering our understanding of substrate-use efficiency for reliable climate projections.


A naphthoquinone derivative, β-lapachone (βL; 3,4-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-2H-naphthol[1,2-b]pyran-5,6-dione), is receiving huge attention for its potent therapeutic effects against various diseases. However, during the preclinical safety evaluation, repeated oral treatment of βL in rats induced anemia, i.e., a significantly decreased erythrocyte count. In this study, in an effort to elucidate the mechanism underlying the βL-induced anemia, we investigated the effects of βL on erythrocytes with freshly isolated human erythrocytes in vitro and rat in vivo. βL did not induce erythrocyte hemolysis, indicating that direct hemotoxicity was not involved in βL-associated anemia. Meanwhile, phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure along with spherocytic shape change and microvesicle generation, important factors in the facilitation of erythrophagocytosis, were increased significantly by βL. The PS exposure on erythrocytes was from βL-induced reactive oxygen species generation and subsequent depletion of reduced glutathione and protein thiol, which culminated in the modified activities of phospholipid translocases, i.e., inhibition of flippase and activation of scramblase. It is important to note that coincubation of macrophage with βL-treated erythrocyte in vitro showed increased erythrophagocytosis, demonstrating that the removal of erythrocyte by macrophage can be facilitated by βL-induced PS exposure. In good accordance with these in vitro results, after oral administration of βL in rats, increased PS exposure and depletion of glutathione were observed along with enhanced splenic sequestration of erythrocytes. In conclusion, these results suggest that βL-induced anemia might be mediated through the PS exposure and subsequent erythrophagocytosis, providing novel insight into the drug-induced anemia.


Preface. Conference Papers in order of Presentation: Big Bang Nucleosynthesis D.N. Schramm. Light Elements Abundances: New Insights on Stellar Mixing and Galactic Production F. Primas. The First Stars D. Arnett. Type 1A Supernovae and Chemical Evolution of Galaxies K. Nomoto, et al. The Chemical Evolution of Light Elements in Our Galaxy N. Prantzos. Nucleosynthesis in Red Giant Stars N. Mowlavi. Fluorine Production from AGB and WR Stars N. Mowlavi, G. Meynet. Deuterium Abundance in the Local ISM J.L. Linsky, B.E. Wood. Abundances in Halo Population Stars C. Sneden. Abundances in the Galactic Disk B. Edvardsson. Abundances in a Hot Horizontal-Branch Star in the Old Open Cluster NGC/6791 R.C. Peterson, E.M. Green. On the Progenitors of Type Ia Supernovae X.-D. Li, E.P.J. van den Heuvel. Abundances from z = 0 to z = 5 D.G. York. Enrichment of Heavy Elements in Clusters of Galaxies Y. Ishimaru. On the Origin of Metallicity in Lyman-Alpha Forest Systems M. Chiba, B.B. Nath. A Metal Enriched Dark Cluster of Galaxies at Z = 1 M. Hattori. Are Elliptical Galaxies Really Metal-Rich? M. Loewenstein, R.F. Mushotzky. Chemical Evolution of Spiral Galaxies from Redshift 4 to the Present U. Fritze-v. Alvensleben, et al. Age Problem Based on the Abundance Ratio from a High-Redshift QSO T. Tsujimoto, et al. Stellar Yields and Chemical Evolution B.K. Gibson. The Formation of First Generation Stars and Globular Clusters in Protogalactic Clouds D.N.C. Lin, S.D. Murray. Constraints on Galaxy Formation from Extragalactic Globular Clusters J.P. Brodie. The Evolution of Old Stellar Populations in Our Galaxy S.R. Majewski. Chemical Evolution of the Magellanic Clouds B. Barbuy, et al. Global Evolution of the Stars, Gas, Metals, and Dust in Galaxies S.M. Fall. Conference Summary B.E.J. Pagel. Conference Abstracts in Alphabetical Order. Nitrogen Abundance in Oxygen-Rich Giants through K to late M W. Aoki, T. Tsuji. Asymmetrical Delayed Detonation From a 3D Hydrosimulation of a White Dwarf Explosion E. Bravo, D. Garcia-Senz. Numerical Simulations of the Chemical Evolution of Galaxies Using Treecode-SPH D.K. Churches, et al. Chemical Evolution of Damped Lyman a Systems K. Denda. Abundances in Metal-Rich Stars S. Feltzing. Abundance Pattern of Supergiants in the Field of the Small Magellanic Cloud and in the Cluster NGC 330 V. Hill. Age and Metallicity Distribution of the Disk Stars from Edge-on Galaxies A. Just. Evolution of the Colour-Magnitude Relation of Elliptical Galaxies T. Kodama, et al. The Optical Properties of Carbon and Graphite depend on Crystal Structure and Temperature C. Koike, et al. Improved Theoretical Stellar Library for Population Synthesis Models T. LeJeune, R. Buser. Chemical and Spectrophotometric Evolution of Optically Identified QSO Absorption Systems U. Lindner, et al. Comparison of Nucleosynthesis Models O. Nakamura. The Galactic Disc Age-Metallicity Relation Y.K. Ng, et al. Analysis of Elemental Carbon and Oxygen Abundances in Carbon Stars -- They have turned out to be more Carbon-Rich than believed K. Ohnaka, T. Tsuji. Abundances in Evolved Intermediate Mass Stars M. Perinotto, et al. Spectral Energy Distributions of z > 2 Galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field M. Sawicki, H.K.C. Yee. Blue 'Elliptical' Galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field Y. Shioya, T. Yamada. The Symbiotic-Barium Stars Link V.V. Sm


This article aims to stimulate research on business process oriented knowledge infrastructures by pointing to the power of visualizations. It claims that business process oriented knowledge infrastructure research is stuck and therefore needs to reinvent and revitalize itself with new impulses. One such stimulus is the use of visualization techniques in business process oriented knowledge infrastructures, with the aim to improve knowledge transfer, knowledge communication, and knowledge creation. First, this article presents an overview on related visualization research. Second, it proposes the Knowledge Visualization Framework as a theoretical backbone where business process oriented knowledge infrastructure research can anchor itself. The framework points to the key questions that need to be answered when visual methods are used in business process oriented knowledge infrastructures. Finally, the article compares the Tube Map Visualization with the Gantt Chart, and proves that the new format excels the traditional approach in regards to various tasks. The findings from the evaluation of 44 interviews indicates that the Project Tube Map is more effective for (1) drawing attention and keeping interest, (2) presenting overview and detail, (3) visualizing who is collaborating with whom, (4) motivating people to participate in the project, and (5) increasing recall. The results presented in this paper are important for researchers and practitioners in the fields of Knowledge Management, Knowledge Visualization, Project Management, and Visual Communication Sciences.


Endocrine disruption (ED) has become a serious public health issue and also poses a significant threat to the ecosystem. Due to complex mechanisms of ED, traditional in silico models focusing on only one mechanism are insufficient for detection of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), let alone offering an overview of possible action mechanisms for a known EDC. To remove these limitations, in this study both single-label and multilabel models were constructed across six ED targets, namely, AR (androgen receptor), ER (estrogen receptor alpha), TR (thyroid receptor), GR (glucocorticoid receptor), PPARg (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma), and aromatase. Two machine learning methods were used to build the single-label models, with multiple random under-sampling combining voting classification to overcome the challenge of data imbalance. Four methods were explored to construct the multilabel models that can predict the interaction of one EDC against multiple targets simultaneously. The single-label models of all the six targets have achieved reasonable performance with balanced accuracy (BA) values from 0.742 to 0.816. Each top single-label model was then joined to predict the multilabel test set with BA values from 0.586 to 0.711. The multilabel models could offer a significant boost over the single-label baselines with BA values for the multilabel test set from 0.659 to 0.832. Therefore, we concluded that single-label models could be employed for identification of potential EDCs, while multilabel ones are preferable for prediction of possible mechanisms of known EDCs.


This thesis examines whether speech rhythm sensitivity is related to children's reading development, phonological awareness, and non-speech rhythm sensitivity, whether children at risk of reading difficulties have a specific speech rhythm sensitivity deficit, and whether speech rhythm sensitivity is predictive of children's reading development over time. Study One investigated the relatedness of speech rhythm, non-speech rhythm, reading ability and phonological awareness. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that non-speech rhythm sensitivity was unable to predict unique variance in reading attainment after controlling for speech rhythm sensitivity and phonological awareness. In contrast, sensitivity to speech rhythm was able to predict a significant amount of unique variance in reading attainment after age, vocabulary, phonological awareness, short-term memory, and non-speech rhythm had been accounted for. These results suggest that speech rhythm sensitivity is not merely an aspect of general phonological awareness or rhythmic appreciation; it is a skill that is explaining new variance in reading ability. Study Two investigated whether a measure of speech rhythm sensitivity administered to 5 to 7-year-old children could predict the different components of reading ability one year later. A series of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that speech rhythm sensitivity was able to predict a significant amount of unique variance in word reading, reading comprehension, and the phrasing component of a reading fluency measure after controlling for receptive vocabulary, age and phonological awareness. Study Three investigated whether apparent speech rhythm sensitivity deficits in young poor readers represent a specific deficit in these children who were at risk of reading difficulties. It was found that after controlling for receptive vocabulary and phonological awareness, the 'at risk' children were outperformed by their chronological-age matched controls. but not by their reading-age matched controls on measures of speech rhythm sensitivity. This is suggestive of a maturational lag as opposed to a specific deficit in speech rhythm sensitivity. The overall findings from these concurrent, longitudinal, and cross-sectional data suggest that speech rhythm sensitivity is an important, yet neglected aspect of English-speaking children's phonological representations, which needs to be incorporated into theoretical accounts of reading development.


Type II diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia arising from defective insulin signaling. Several synthetic drugs are being used for diabetes treatment, but they have adverse effects. So as an alternative approach, compounds from plants with lesser/no side effects and comparatively cheaper are gaining momentum. Terpenes comprise a class of diversified phytochemicals, which have beneficial effects and important functions in plants. They have shown a series of biological properties that healthpromoting conduct in humans. Besides, a lot of terpenes have also been reported to be much less toxic as compared to synthetic compounds. Diabetic people could be benefited from terpenes obtained either from the diet or from plant-derived herbal medicines. Due to the natural origin of terpenes, they are supposed to be a safe and promising agent in eliminating the causes and effects of diabetes. This paper reviews the research reports of terpenes as their antidiabetic potential, mechanistic action, preclinical profile, shortcomings, and prospect in the effective management of diabetes.


It is shown that the potential-energy surface in K 2 ZnCl 4 contains a double-well structure, very similar to some of the other A 2 BX 4 compounds (e.g., K 2 SeO 4 , Rb 2 ZnCl 4 ), except that the double well is much deeper and broader, giving rise to a highly disordered high-temperature phase as observed experimentally. A lattice-dynamics study of the Pna2 1 structure shows an instability with the wave vector q=0.5b * + (0.5±δ)c * , providing an explanation to the incommensurate phase transition reported recently


Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction is a relatively new treatment for patients with severe COPD, a chronic and progressive lung disease. The aim of this treatment is to decrease the increased residual volume, in order to improve disease symptoms and quality of life. Not every patient with COPD is eligible to undergo this treatment, and treatment outcomes vary between patients. The aim of this thesis was to improve patient selection for bronchoscopic lung volume reduction, and to improve the identification of patients who achieved a relevant treatment effect. Only one out of five patients that are referred, are actually eligible for treatment. This finding highlights the importance of the development of new treatments for the large group of patients that are currently not eligible for bronchoscopic treatments. In one of the studies in this thesis, we have introduced an innovative approach to measure oxygen uptake capacity of individual lobes of the lung, which can prove a valuable contribution to the identification of the least functional lobe, and thus best treatment target. Two other studies demonstrated that the measurement of interlobar collateral ventilation, an essential measurement before treatment with endobronchial valves, is easier and faster to perform under general anesthesia than under conscious sedation. This finding supports the clinical practice to perform both this measurement as well as the treatment in one session under general anesthesia. Finally, we have introduced a new threshold for a clinically relevant treatment effect for two important outcome parameters after treatment: lung volume reduction measured on a CT scan and a quality of life questionnaire.


The target of this work is to research risks impact on the commercial activity of the accommodation and food services sector's enterprises. Classification of technological process risks of the accommodation (hotel) and food services are created in the article. The authors have carried out a survey of the most important risks' factors in the stages of the technological process. Classification of Latvian accommodation and food services sector's economic and financial risks are created in the period from year 2012 till year 2013. Risks ranking method, experts' method and special coefficient method are used to analyse risks impact on Latvian accommodation and food services sector enterprises' development. The risks matrixes are used as risks assessment tools. Risks are arranged by the size of potential losses. The risks assessments by using the special coefficient method are made in the period from year 2007 till year 2012. The authors have offered rating of external and internal risks by their impact on the commercial activity of enterprises. The authors have used their own created model of enterprises' risks identification, classification and assessment that to research risks impact on Latvian accommodation and food services sector enterprises' development.


Currently, there are no studies investigating the issue of speed optimization of gain-boosted cascode amplifier in low voltage applications. This is mainly because of the complicated transfer function of high-swing gain-boosted cascode amplifier structures. This paper proposes a novel and generic model for this amplifier and presents a thorough analysis of its behavior. The aim of this optimization is to eliminate the well-known slow timing component in the step response and obtain the minimum achievable settling time. An ultra high-speed amplifier is presented finally.


Up to date, Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEA) have been mostly based on either silicone or acrylic elastomers, whereas the potential of DEAs based on inexpensive, wide-spread natural and synthetic rubbers has been scarcely investigated. In this paper, a DEA based on a styrene-based rubber is demonstrated for the first time. Using a Lozenge-Shaped DEA (LS-DEA) layout and following a design procedure previously proposed by the authors, we develop prototypes featuring nearly-zero mechanical stiffness, in spite of the large elastic modulus of styrenic rubber. Stiffness compensation is achieved by simply taking advantage of a biaxial pre-stretching of the rubber DE membrane, with no need for additional stiffness cancellation mechanical elements. In the paper, we present a characterization of the styrene rubber-based LS-DEA in different loading conditions (namely, isopotential, isometric, and isotonic), and we prove that actuation strokes of at least 18% the actuator side length can be achieved, thanks to the proposed stiffness-compensated design.


Percutaneous Transluminal Caval-flow Regulation (PTCR) is an emerging alternative therapy to treat patients with acute heart failure (AHF). AHF represents the first cause of hospitalization in elderly persons and is the main determinant of the huge healthcare expenditure related to heart failure (HF). Despite therapeutic advances, the prognosis of AHF is poor, with in-hospital mortality ranging from 4% to 7%, 60 to 90-day mortality. To reverse this situation, a balloon catheter medical device has been designed to produce cyclic occlusions of the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) supported by the phases of respiration, thus having subtotal occlusion during expiration and total occlusion during inspiration, producing an intermittent regulation of venous return or preload from the IVC to the right atrium. This PTCR procedure is minimally invasive. It is performed through the insertion of the balloon catheter via the femoral vein. This catheter is advanced to the IVC guided by echocardiogram or fluoroscopy to be placed prior to drainage of the hepatic vein. At this point, the balloon is inflated up to 70% to 80% of the diameter of the IVC in expiration, which has to be previously evaluated by echocardiography. Then inspiratory collapse (20 to 30% average) of the IVC diameter produces total occlusion during inspiration and a partial or subtotal occlusion during expiration, thereby regulating caval flow in an intermittent manner. This innovative procedure is aimed at regulating the hypervolemia present in the IVC, normalizing venous return, preload, intracardiac pressures, biventricular diastolic and systolic diameters, diastolic and systolic volume, thus, obtaining reduction of total cardiac burden (TCB) and producing a reversal of ventricular remodeling. In this manner the heart returns close to its original design, with improvement in ejection fraction (EF) and cardiac output.


The issue of risk management has gained attention in the field of administration due to the dissemination of international frameworks. In Brazilian federal public administration, risk management is a recent and expanding practice. This research analyzes how international corporate risk management frameworks have been adopted by the federal government through regulations and guidelines. The study adopts the concepts of coercive, normative, and mimetic forces from the neo-institutional theory, and examines the presence of international norms in the Brazilian regulations. Through a qualitative approach, content analysis in documents, norms, interviews, and seminars was used to identify traits of the COSO ERM and ISO 31000/2009 frameworks, which were chosen based on relevance. Results identify important actors pushing for the use of international frameworks, such as international organizations, professional associations, and public agencies, especially those related to government audits. Despite the strong international influence, the Brazilian norms are adapted to the organizations' context and allowing the maintenance of national autonomy.


. We study the Whitham equations for all the higher order KdV equations. The Whitham equations are neither strictly hyperbolic nor genuinely nonlinear. We are interested in the solution of the Whitham equations when the initial values are given by a step function.


BACKGROUND When Echinococcus multilocularis infects humans as a false intermediate host, alveolar echinococcosis (AE) usually manifests primarily intrahepatically and is initially asymptomatic. If the disease remains undiagnosed and untreated, progressive growth occurs, reminiscent of malignant tumours. The only curative therapy is complete resection, which is limited to localised stages, and palliative drug therapy is used otherwise. Consequently, early diagnosis and reliable detection of AE lesions are important. For this reason, abdominal ultrasonography, as the most common primary imaging for AE, relies on classification systems. AIM To investigate how hepatic AE lesion sonomorphology changes over time in the Echinococcosis Multilocularis Ulm Classification (EMUC)-ultrasound (US) classification. METHODS Based on data from Germany's national echinococcosis database, we evaluated clinical and US imaging data for 59 patients according to the AE case definition in our preliminary retrospective longitudinal study. There had to be at least two liver sonographies ≥ 6 mo apart, ≥ 1 hepatic AE lesion, and complete documentation in all US examinations. The minimum interval between two separately evaluated US examinations was 4 wk. The AE reference lesion was the largest hepatic AE lesion at the time of the first US examination. To classify the sonomorphologic pattern, we used EMUC-US. In addition to classifying the findings of the original US examiner, all reference lesions at each examination time point were assigned EMUC-US patterns in a blinded fashion by two investigators experienced in US diagnosis. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, United Stated). P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS The preliminary study included 59 patients, 38 (64.5%) women and 21 (35.6%) men. The mean age at initial diagnosis was 59.9 ± 16.9 years. At the time of initial ultrasonography, a hailstorm pattern was present in 42.4% (25/59) of cases, a hemangioma-like pattern in 16.9% (10/59), a pseudocystic pattern in 15.3% (9/59), and a metastasis-like pattern in 25.4% (15/59). For the hailstorm pattern, the average lesion size was 67.4 ± 26.3 mm. The average lesion size was 113.7 ± 40.8 mm with the pseudocystic pattern and 83.5 ± 27.3 mm with the hemangioma-like pattern. An average lesion size of 21.7 ± 11.0 mm was determined for the metastasis-like pattern. Although the sonomorphologic pattern remained unchanged in 84.7% (50/59) of AE reference lesions, 15.3% (9/59) showed a change over time. A change in pattern was seen exclusively for AE lesions initially classified as hemangioma-like or pseudocystic. A total of 70% (7/10) of AE lesions initially classified as hemangioma-like showed a relevant change in pattern over time, and 85.7% (6/7) of these were secondarily classified as having a hailstorm pattern, with the remainder (1/7; 14.3%) classified as having a pseudocystic pattern. A total of 22.2% (2/9) of AE lesions initially classified as pseudocystic showed a relevant change in pattern over time and were classified as having a hailstorm pattern. For AE lesions initially classified as having a hailstorm or metastatic pattern, no pattern change was evident. All patients with pattern change were on continuous drug therapy with albendazole. CONCLUSION The sonomorphology of hepatic AE lesions may change over time. The hemangioma-like and pseudocystic patterns are affected.


A genetic-algorithm (GA)-based fuzzy proportional-plus-integral-proportional-plus-derivative (PI/PD) controller is proposed for an automotive active suspension system (AASS). The fuzzy PI- and PD-type controllers are combined to cope with the different road conditions. By using the merit of GAs, the optimal decision-making rules for both types of controllers are constructed. The real-time simulation results demonstrate that the fusion of GAs and fuzzy controller for an AASS can provide passengers much more ride comfort.


The experiment tested overconfidence in number skills among graduates and non-graduates. The data was collected on a residential management training programme for part-time professional students; half had a degree and half didn't. The research aimed to test whether graduate professionals, due to higher qualifications, overstated their numerical abilities compared to non-graduates. The experiment, conducted using E-prime, showed a significant interaction between the level of qualification and overstatement of numerical abilities. The results support the hypotheses and showed that graduate professionals rated themselves higher than their actual abilities. The performance of graduates in the numerical test wasn't consistent with their confidence estimates. The findings are significant for rethinking higher education curricula which are currently under pressure to align with the needs of the economy. We advocate more inclusive and interpretive research for greater understanding of the issues to offer useful data to policymakers and higher education institutions in preparing graduates for work and decision-making. A critical contribution of this study is to have actually tested the numerical abilities of graduates and not relied exclusively on employer feedback to draw conclusions, thus providing some hard evidence.


It is shown that the ratio of the Boyle temperature to the product of critical temperature and critical compressibility factor is equal to the number 9 with high accuracy for 21 real substances as predicted from Van-der-Waals equation of state. The relation is suggested to find the critical volume via the ratio of the Boyle temperature to the critical pressure. The formula is suggested also to define the critical volume via the critical temperature and the parameters of the linear line of unite compressibility.


Aims: Fat mass and lean mass are two main components that build our body weight which have different effects on bone mineral density (BMD). To investigate the relative contribution of lean and fat mass to BMD, 42 premenopausal military officers were studied. Methods: Fat mass, lean mass and BMD were measured by whole body scanning with dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Correlation of fat mass and lean mass with BMD through different parts and also whole body of the subjects were calculated. Results: A negative correlation existed between BMD and fat mass in both whole body and the lower limbs but was not statistically significant. However, our analysis demonstrated that BMD had a significant positive correlation with the lean mass through upper and lower limbs. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the Lean mass is a strong predictor of BMD in premenopausal women in the upper and lower limbs.


Research Question:- What is the magnitude of malaria in the study area Objectives:-  1. What is the prevalence of malaria in urban slums and rural areas. 2. To assess the influence of environmental factors in occurrence of malaria 3. To observe different clinical presentation of malaria Study Design:- Cross sectional study Setting:- The study was performed in five urban slums and two rural areas of kanpur Statistical Analysis:- Chi-square test Result:- The overall malaria problem in study area was 8.57% cases in total fever cases.Thc maximum percentage of cases ( 54.71%) were in age group 15 yrs and above.Total 62.62% of malaria cases were residing in kachcha houses in study population. The prevalence of malaria was KK.6s% where waste water drainage system was of open type  different symptomatics were chills (71.69%) rigor (60.37%), body ache (92.45%), nausea (33.96%),vomiting (18.86%).


Elevated resting heart rate is associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. In a 2-stage meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in up to 181,171 individuals, we identified 14 new loci associated with heart rate and confirmed associations with all 7 previously established loci. Experimental downregulation of gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio identified 20 genes at 11 loci that are relevant for heart rate regulation and highlight a role for genes involved in signal transmission, embryonic cardiac development and the pathophysiology of dilated cardiomyopathy, congenital heart failure and/or sudden cardiac death. In addition, genetic susceptibility to increased heart rate is associated with altered cardiac conduction and reduced risk of sick sinus syndrome, and both heart rate–increasing and heart rate– decreasing variants associate with risk of atrial fibrillation. Our findings provide fresh insights into the mechanisms regulating heart rate and identify new therapeutic targets. A high resting heart rate has been associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, as well as with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, independent of traditional risk factors1–3. There are several potential mechanisms by which higher heart rate may contribute to greater cardiovascular risk. For example, higher heart rate entails elevated myocardial oxygen requirement and a shift in cardiac control from parasympathetic to sympathetic dominance, which may increase the likelihood of myocardial ischemia and electrical instability4. In addition, experimental alteration of heart rate by sinoatrial node ablation has been shown to influence the progression of atherosclerosis induced by an atherogenic high-cholesterol diet in cynomolgus monkeys5,6. In humans, selective reduction of heart rate using ivabradine was shown to reduce clinical events in individuals with heart failure, suggesting that elevated heart rate is a clinically relevant and modifiable risk factor7. However, whether the association of higher heart rate with cardiovascular risk is causal remains to be clarified. © 2013 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved. Correspondence should be addressed to R.J.F.L. (firstname.lastname@example.com). COMPETING FINANCIAL INTERESTS The authors declare competing financial interests: details are available in the online version of the paper. Reprints and permissions information is available online at http://www.nature.com/reprints/index.html. URLs. PANTHER, http://www.pantherdb.org/; Gene Ontology (GO), http://www.geneontology.org/; Molecular Signatures Database (MsigDB), http://www.broad.mit.edu/gsea/msigdb/collections.jsp; Mascot Search algorithm, http://www.matrixscience.com; Ensembl, http://www.ensembl.org/index.html; SNIPPER, http://csg.sph.umich.edu/boehnke/snipper/. Note: Supplementary information is available in the online version of the paper. NIH Public Access Author Manuscript Nat Genet. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2014 June 01. Published in final edited form as: Nat Genet. 2013 June ; 45(6): 621–631. doi:10.1038/ng.2610. N IH -P A A uhor M anscript N IH -P A A uhor M anscript N IH -P A A uhor M anscript Large twin studies with electrocardiogram (ECG) data have shown that genetic factors contribute to interindividual variation in heart rate, with heritability estimates ranging from 55 to 77% (refs. 8–10). So far, 3 genome-wide association studies (GWAS)11–13, incorporating data from up to 38,991 individuals each, have identified variants in 7 loci that show evidence of association with heart rate. These variants are common in the general population (minor allele frequency (MAF) ≥ 10%) and together explain ~0.7% of the variance in heart rate12. To gain more comprehensive insight into the genetic regulation of heart rate, we performed a 2-stage meta-analysis of GWAS in data from up to 181,171 individuals. Loci convincingly associated with heart rate were subsequently tested for association with cardiac conduction, rhythm disorders and cardiovascular disease to elucidate potential mechanisms underlying the association between heart rate and cardiovascular disease and mortality. Furthermore, we undertook experimental studies in D. melanogaster and D. rerio models as a first step toward identifying the causal genes within the associated loci.


A 20-year-old Persian man with Middle Eastern lymphoma is described, and 84 additional cases from the literature are reviewed. Basically, the disease is a malignant lymphoma which involves the upper small intestine (duodenum and proximal jejunum). It is associated with clubbing of the fingers, abdominal pain, weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting, and malabsorption, and frequently occurs in a younger age group than "Western Hemisphere" intestinal lymphoma. Some patients also have alpha heavy chain disease. The sex ratio is equal, and the disease occurs only in Middle Eastern and North African Moslems and Jews. Upper gastrointestinal radiographs are frequently diagnostic, and per oral small intestinal biopsy is nearly always diagnostic. Pathologically, the following features are characteristic for Middle Eastern lymphoma: partial or total villous atrophy with only mildly abnormal surface epithelium, sparsity of crypts, lymphatic dilatation, and infiltration of lamina propria by pleomorphic mononuclear cells which pepetrate the muscularis mucosa. The etiology and pathogenesis of this disease are unknown, but several hypotheses are discussed. Treatment by a variety of modalities is far from satisfactory, and the prognosis is much poorer than that observed in patients with the "Western" form of intestinal lymphoma. Other differences between Middle Eastern lymphoma and Western lymphoma are described in detail,


This study describes the removal of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb) from a synthetic wastewater effluent by consortium culture (CC), an environmental bacterial consortium. The metal removal capability of growing (active) and non-growing (inactive) CC cells in heavy metal containing synthetic wastewater (SWW) and deionised distilled water (ddH2O) were examined by determining percentage metal removal (% MR) over a 7 day period. Metal removal capability was tested at both high (1/5) and low (1/10) metal concentration strengths to imitate occurrence of heavy metal pollution in the natural environment due to industrial activities. Growing cells of CC showed higher removal of Pb (49-69 %), Cu (45-61 %) and Cr (55-67 %) in SWW whereas non-growing cells removed more of Cd (100 %) and Ni (7294%) (p < 0.05). It was observed that non-growing cells achieved equilibrium earlier with quicker metal removal (by day 1-3) as opposed to growing cells. However, % MR by growing cells was higher in samples with elevated initial concentration of total metals (p < 0.05). Results of this study indicate the possibility of employing CC in both growing (active) and non-growing (inactive) variety to fulfill varying waste conditions and to cater for in situ and ex situ heavy metal laden waste treatment.


The UK has in recent years seen considerable growth of facilities management (FM) outsourcing across a range of industries. This paper considers the legal problems and risks inherent in FM outsourcing. It also suggests ways to facilitate the transactional negotiating process and discusses the methods by which business and legal risks can be fairly apportioned (between the user and the provider), how to ensure good contract management and, importantly, managing risks on contract termination and exit. The paper is relevant to both users and providers in terms of best negotiating practice and risk management. From a legal perspective, both the UK (and the European Union) are more highly regulated jurisdictions for FM deals than are the US and Canadian markets, and this paper focuses on UK (and European) issues. Cross‐border legal issues are also considered.


Abstract Although much mention has been made of the importance of ICTs for transnational migrants, we know relatively little about how these technologies affect or change everyday transnational communications. Tracing the shift from community phone boxes to individually owned mobile (cell) phones in rural Jamaica, in this article I focus on the integration of mobile phones in Jamaican transnational communication. Equipped with a mobile phone, rural Jamaicans no longer rely on collect phone calls and expensive calling cards to initiate the connections between their friends and relatives living abroad. For many Jamaicans without access to a regular or reliable phone service prior to 2001, the mobile phone is viewed as an unadulterated blessing, transforming the role of transnational communication from an intermittent event to a part of daily life. For others, however, the mobile phone remains an object of ambivalence, bringing unforeseen burdens and obligations.


The city of Dundee has the highest teen pregnancy and abortion rate in Scotland. In the heart of the city, The Corner is a health and information drop-in center for people aged 12-25 years which has provided a range of health promotion activities, contraception services, and general information and advice since April 1996. 8000 inquiries were posed from young people in Dundee and the surrounding areas in The Corner's first full year of operation, one-third on sexual health. A survey conducted last December found that 55% of the center's clients were aged 12-15. Young people helped to design the center, creating a cafe atmosphere in the main drop-in area with tables, chairs, and loungers. Reference literature is on display, music plays, and a series of computers is linked to health information databases. In this environment, clients can hang out, ask questions, and receive condoms or other contraceptive services without the embarrassment of attending a local family planning clinic. The examination and counseling rooms are also relaxed and warmly-appointed. The Corner has also offered emergency contraception since January, one of the few places in Scotland where nurses can provide it. While The Corner has received some local criticism, it is operating within the laws and codes of professional practices. The center is jointly funded by Tayside Health Board, Dundee City Council, and the Scottish Office. Finally, the center has a travel program which offers a package of activities based upon a different foreign country each week.


Background: Oral care plays a significant role in reducing the incidence of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of three oral care protocols on the incidence of VAP in Mechanically-Ventilated (MV) patients hospitalized in ICUs. Materials and Methods: This parallel randomized clinical trial was performed in 2019 on 71 MV adult patients with endotracheal intubation hospitalized in ICUs. The patients were divided into three groups: a 7-day oral care by using swab (group 1), two-times-brushing group (group 2), and four-times-brushing group (group 3) by using chlorhexidine. The data related to the incidence of pneumonia were analyzed during several days using Chi-square and ANOVA tests. Results: The incidence of pneumonia on the fourth day of the intervention in the first group (35.00%) was significantly higher than that of the two intervention groups (10.00%) (χ2 = 5.86, df = 2, p = 0.03)). The mean score of modified clinical pulmonary infection in the third group was significantly lower seven days after the intervention than before the intervention (p = 0.04) and the fourth day of intervention (p = 0.003). In the first group, this score was significantly higher in the fourth day of the intervention than the seventh day (p = 0.003). Conclusions: Based on the results, the oral care protocol, including four-times-brushing, reduced the risk of VAP more than two times brushing. Therefore, the use of this protocol is recommended to provide a minimum level of oral care and reduce the risk of VAP in MV patients.


Roof falls in underground coal mines are a continuing source of trouble for mine operators. Fatalities and injuries are a prominent concern, but lost time due to cleanup and disruption of mining operations presents an economic problem as well. Many geologic and geomechanical factors contribute to mine roof instability. These may be seen in rock core during exploration, or in the roof as mining progresses. Once these features are recognized, remedial action can then be taken. Geologic parameters attributed to roof falls in underground coal mines include both lithologic and structural discontinuities. The roof may be weakened where different lithologic materials are in contact with one another, such as paleochannels, scours, rider seams, clay veins, or crevasse splay deposits. Fractures, i.e., joints and faults, also contribute to roof falls. The trend, dip angle, and density of fractures, and the presence of slickensides are important in determining roof stability. Stress fields underground, both tectonic and mining-induced, not only can determine whether failure will occur, but also the mode of such failure. Detrimental features of a more localized nature include kettlebottoms, coal balls, and moisture fluctuations. The use of paleoenvironmental studies is important in determining hazardous roof conditions. Particular hazards are moremore » likely to be present in one paleoenvironment than another. When that environment is determined in advance of mining, precautions can be taken during the mine-planning phase.« less


In 2004 and 2005, we studied winter habitat use and selection of wapiti in the Wandashan Mountains, Heilongjiang Province, China. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS), we measured habitat availability in terms of the area of each habitat category in the study area. We compared winter habitats used by wapiti and their availability. The results showed that the habits used by wapiti were disproportional to their availability. Wapiti preferred clear-cuttings, low vegetation coverage (No.2, 3 NDVI classes), 200-300m elevation range, south aspect, and 600-700 m distance range away from roads. They also showed different preference for feeding and resting. The feeding sites tended to be located at broadleaf stands and clear-cuttings, No. 2, 3 NDVI classes, south slope whereas the bedding sites tended to be clear-cuttings, No. 2, 3, 4 NDVI classes. Using logistic regression model to predict the probability of habitat use by wapiti in winter, we found that the overall prediction accuracy was 74.4% for total habitat plots, with 84.2% for the habitat plots used by wapiti and 62.4% for the control samples correctly predicted by this model.


: In today's Era, Web applications are one of the most part ubiquitous platforms for information sharing and services over Internet which play significant role in individual life as well as in any country's growth. Web applications have gone through a very rapid Growth As they are increasingly used for the financial organization, government, hospitality and many critical services. Web applications become a popular and precious target for security attacks. at the present time, billions of transactions are done online through net banking, online shopping, online billing and many more. Even though these applications are used by lots of people modern web applications often implements the complex structure requires for user to carry out actions in given order, in many cases the security level is too low, which makes them vulnerable to get compromised. Even though a large number of techniques have been developed to build up web applications and mitigate the attacks toward web applications, there is little effort constant to drawing relations among these techniques and building a big picture of web application security(WAS) research. In this paper, we present a survey on various types of web application vulnerabilities(WAV).


Human behavior in the social environment throughout the life cycle, analyzing theories of human development within an integrative multidimensional framework.


ABSTRACT:After explaining the rationale for bringing the author of The Old Drift, Namwali Serpell, and critical theorist Homi Bhabha into conversation, this interview with both of them explores some of the key themes of Serpell's novel in relation to its wider geopolitical and historical context. Beginning with how we can understand the state of the planet in the present historical moment, the discussion expands to explore the broad context of more themes in the novel, which includes the place of gender and sexual politics, a global pandemic in a time of national and financial closures, cosmopolitanism, the space race and reverberations of the Cold War in the present, and the continued relevance, if any, of postcolonial theory, technology, revolution, and futurity.


The effect of the anticoagulant rodenticide "Brodifacoum"on the bioindincators parameters inmale domestic
rabbits was investigated.Animals were dividedintofourequal groups. The first one served as a control while the
otherthree groups weredaily treated by Brodifacoumwithdoses of 0.01, 0.02 and 0.04 mg/kg of body weight. The
rodenticide was administered per os for three weeks after which the animals were sacrificed.The obtained results
reveal animportant decrease in body weight in treated groupsparticularly in those treated with the highest dose
(0.04 mg/kg), whilean increase in the weight of liver was observed, associated with a marked reduction in the weight
of spleen and kidney, compared to thecontrol one.Besides,levels of biochemical parameters were also significantly
altered.The same observations were made concerning hematological parameters and plasmatic calcium levels in
treated animals.Accordingly, it has been concluded thattreatment with Brodifacoum at the used doses and period
may alter hematological and biochemical parameters in male rabbits.


This study provides an up-to-date empirical account of Chinese female judges within the context of the Chinese legal system and wider society, revealing a deeper understanding of women in contemporary China. Shen explores the gendered nature of judging in post-Mao China by examining: who female judges are, what they do, and their position in relation to their profession. She goes on to argue for true representation of women in the judiciary, including their contributions in judging, and the importance of judicial diversity. The book examines the place held by female judges at home and women's place in society as a whole, and investigates gender equality, women's agencies, emancipation, and empowerment in the contemporary China.

Based on data resulting from original research, this book provides a much-needed contribution to contemporary women's studies. Addressing a broad range of issues surrounding gender and justice in the Chinese judicial system, this engaging study will be of special interest to scholars and activists involved with judicial diversity, gender politics, and gender equality.


ABSTRACT:At the beginning of the Vitellius occurs a long and unusually inconclusive discussion of the possible origins of the Vitellii. Throughout the long passage introducing Vitellius' family (1.1–2.2), the biographer lays out the terms of reference for his study of a family: are they uetus et nobilis ('ancient and noble') or nouus et obscurus ('new and obscure')? In the end, Suetonius can't decide. The topic of the Vitellii receives extended treatment even though it proves nothing about Vitellius' ancient pedigree. This intriguing opening prompts the reader to wonder what Suetonius sees as the role of this ancestry section. That it remains in the Life, despite its problems, shows that the family's status is a very important part of the format of a Suetonian Life. By pausing over Suetonius' Vitellius we can see the careful attention the biographer pays to the gradations of status, including mythical genealogy, nobility, maternal family, origo, patrician or plebeian status, and rank.


Research exploring the association between youth offending and education has largely focused on youth under the age of 18. Little previous research has examined the experiences of frontline staff working with children and young people (CYP) in the broad age range of 10 – 25 years old, that offend. What research there has been has tended to focus on the effects of imprisonment on CYP's education with limited research on the educational needs of those subject to community-based sentences.
This study aimed to elicit the views of the Youth Offending Service (YOS), National Probation Service (NPS) and Further Education (FE) college practitioners on appropriate interventions to support the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) of young people and young adults (YPA) subject to community-based sentences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants from a single YOS; six participants from the NPS and three participants from FE college. Participants were recruited based on criteria primarily relating to the level of experience within role.
Thematic Analysis was used to examine the data. The findings identified differences in support needs across the three services. YOS participants identified a need for specific and consistent interventions for the SEND of the CYP they supervised. NPS participants commented on the need for improved access to specialist support despite a work environment they perceived as not conducive to supporting SEND. FE college participants were content with their current SEND support arrangements but there was mention of the difficulties with parental input. Participants across the services highlighted the importance of relationships in supporting the SEND of YPAs.
Educational Psychologists are well positioned to assist other practitioners in supporting the SEND of YPAs who offend (Ryrie, 2006). This would include involvement at the individual level with the YPA, at an organisational level through consultation with practitioners and contributions through research.


Although a significant amount of research has investigated the benefits of distributed CEP in terms of scalability and extensibility, there is an ongoing reluctance in deploying distributed CEP in an industrial context. In this paper we present the DHEP system developed together with the IBM® laboratory in Böblingen. It addresses some of the key problems in increasing the acceptance of distributed CEP, for example supporting interoperability between heterogeneous event processing systems. We present the concepts behind the DHEP system and show how those concepts help to achieve scalable and extensible event processing in an industrial context. Moreover, we verify in an evaluation study that the additional cost imposed by the DHEP system is moderate and 'affordable' for the benefits provided.


Links and content references form the foundation of the way that users interact today. Unfortunately, the links used today (URLs) are fragile since they tightly specify a protocol, host, and filename. Some past efforts have decoupled this binding to a certain degree; e.g., creating links that bind to byte-level data. We argue that these systems do not go far enough. Our key observation is that users really care about the intent of the referenced link and are relatively agnostic to the byte-level representation. Based on this observation, we argue that references should be bound to the underlying information associated with the referenced content. We call such references Information-Bound References (IBR). In this paper, we focus on the challenges of creating IBRs for multimedia data, since these form a dominant fraction of Internet traffic today. We explore the trade-offs of various alternatives for generating and using IBRs. We identify that it is possible to adapt multimedia fingerprinting algorithms in the literature to generate IBRs.


cis-Hinokiresinol (CHR) is a norlignan constituent from Anemarrhena asphodeloides BUNGE (Liliaceae), which shows hyaluronidase inhibitory activity. In the present studies, we have demonstrated that CHR selectively inhibited endothelial cell proliferation compared with cancer cells, and especially basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced endothelial cell proliferation. Furthermore, endothelial cell migration and tube formation, two important steps in the angiogenic process, were also inhibited by CHR. Moreover, CHR reduced the vessel growth induced by VEGF in the mouse corneal neovascularization model. These results suggest that CHR may prove useful for the development of a novel angiogenesis inhibitor.


Purpura fulminans (PF) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are rare and life-threatening diseases. TEN is a notorious epidermolytic condition, most cases of which are drug induced. TEN is a more severe variant of epidermal necrolysis than Stevens–Johnson syndrome, as it affects a greater percentage of skin surface area. PF occurs in acute severe infections, deficiencies of protein C and S, and rarely, is idiopathic. PF is a thrombotic disorder of hemorrhagic cutaneous infarction and disseminated intravascular coagulation. While the two diseases are distinct in etiology, their clinical presentations can be strikingly similar. This report illustrates the clinical overlap between PF and TEN and reveals the potential for the diseases to coincide. The case of a patient with biopsy-proven TEN who developed PF was reviewed in detail. The topics of PF and TEN were searched using the MEDLINE database to investigate the relationship between the two diseases. Our case report raises diagnostic suspicion for PF in cases of TEN, particularly in patients with rapid clinical deterioration and failure of conventional management. In addition to the case presented from our institution, a similar case has been reported in which biopsy-proven PF clinically mimicked the epidermolytic condition Stevens–Johnson syndrome. These observations reflect that, although rare, conditions of epidermal necrolysis and PF may coincide more frequently than currently recognized.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Pharmacists use PDAs for performing various activities related to their profession. The objective of this study was to examine pharmacists' utilization pattern and interest in usage of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in various facets of health care.

METHODS
A cross-sectional survey was conducted by distributing a pre-validated 23-item instrument to a convenience sample of pharmacists (n = 295) in the Houston area. Usage frequency (0 = never to 5 = frequently) and interest in future use (1 = extremely disinterested to 5 = extremely interested) of PDAs for various activities were evaluated and compared across pharmacy practice settings.

RESULTS
Most pharmacists reported maximum use of PDAs, as personal organizers (3.7 +/- 1.8), in obtaining drug information (2.9 +/- 1.8) and as medical calculators (2.6 +/- 1.9). Similar results were obtained while evaluating interest of pharmacists who did not have PDAs and have never used PDAs for these three activities. Hospital pharmacists owned and used PDAs significantly (P < 0.05) more often than community pharmacists.

CONCLUSIONS
Pharmacists used PDAs for basic functions in their profession role. Application of PDA technology in community pharmacy settings may result in its better adoption in both the settings.


We are developing a Natural Language Generation (NLG) system that generates texts tailored for the reading ability of individual readers. As part of building the system, GIRL (Generator for Individual Reading Levels), we carried out an analysis of the RST Discourse Treebank Corpus to find out how human writers linguistically realise discourse relations. The goal of the analysis was (a) to create a model of the choices that need to be made when realising discourse relations, and (b) to understand how these choices were typically made for "normal" readers, for a variety of discourse relations. We present our results for discourse relations: concession, condition, elaboration additional, evaluation, example, reason and restatement. We discuss the results and how they were used in GIRL.


Background School-age care, such as outside school hours care (OSHC), is the fastest-growing childhood education sector in Australia. OSHC provides a unique opportunity to deliver programs to enhance primary school–age children's social, emotional, physical, and cognitive well-being. Objective This study aimed to pilot the co-designed Connect, Promote, and Protect Program (CP3) and conduct formative and process evaluations on how well the CP3 achieved its intended aims, ascertain areas for improvement, and determine how the CP3 model could be better sustained and extended into OSHC settings. Methods A naturalistic formative and process evaluation of the CP3 implementation was undertaken at 1 and then 5 OSHC sites. Qualitative and quantitative feedback from stakeholders (eg, children, OSHC educators, volunteers, and families) was collected and incorporated iteratively for program improvement. Results The formative and process evaluations demonstrated high program engagement, appropriateness, and acceptability. Co-design with children was viewed as highly acceptable and empowered children to be part of the decision-making in OSHC. Feedback highlighted how the CP3 supported children in the 4 CP3 domains: Build Well-being and Resilience, Broaden Horizons, Inspire and Engage, and Connect Communities. Qualitative reports suggested that children's well-being and resilience were indirectly supported through the Broaden Horizons, Inspire and Engage, and Connect Communities CP3 principles. Matched-sample 2-tailed t tests found that children's prosocial behaviors increased (mean difference=0.64; P=.04; t57=−2.06, 95% CI −1.36 to −0.02) and peer problems decreased (mean difference=−0.69; P=.01; t57=2.57, 95% CI 0.14-1.13) after participating in the CP3. Program feasibility was high but dependent on additional resources and CP3 coordinator support. Conclusions To our knowledge, the CP3 is the first co-designed well-being program developed and evaluated specifically for OSHC services. This early evidence is promising. The CP3 may provide a unique opportunity to respond to the voices of children in OSHC and those that support them through creative and engaging co-designed activities. Our research suggests that CP3 provides OSHC with a framework and high-quality program planning tool that promotes tailored interventions developed based on the unique needs and preferences of those who will use them.


Speckle‐tracking echocardiography has recently emerged as a quantitative ultrasound technique for accurately evaluating myocardial function by analyzing the motion of speckles identified on routine 2‐dimensional sonograms. It provides non‐Doppler, angle‐independent, and objective quantification of myocardial deformation and left ventricular systolic and diastolic dynamics. By tracking the displacement of the speckles during the cardiac cycle, strain and the strain rate can be rapidly measured offline after adequate image acquisition. Data regarding the feasibility, accuracy, and clinical applications of speckle‐tracking echocardiography are rapidly accumulating. This review describes the fundamental concepts of speckle‐tracking echocardiography, illustrates how to obtain strain measurements using this technique, and discusses their recognized and developing clinical applications.


Objectives This study aims to evaluate the surgical and clinical outcomes of reversed cross-finger subcutaneous flaps applied to patients with dorsal digital defects. Patients and methods Between January 2015 and September 2018, 25 (22 males, 3 females; mean age 35.6±11.6 years; range, 19 to 65 years) out of 27 patients under prospective follow-up with finger dorsal digital defect were retrospectively screened and included in the study. The data, obtained by the same two surgeons at six months postoperatively in patients who had undergone reversed cross-finger subcutaneous flaps surgery, concerned cold intolerance, a static two-point separation test, and functional results using range of motion (ROM) and Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) scoring. Results The majority of the patients presented with occupational injury (64%), most commonly to the dominant hand (76%) and the fourth finger (36%) most frequently. Seven patients with extensor tendon defects underwent reconstruction with a palmaris longus autograft. At the six-week postoperative follow-up, all flaps were live, the donor site had no morbidity, and no additional intervention was performed. There was no statistically significant difference in finger joint ROM (p>0.05). Cold intolerance was observed in 14 patients (56%). The mean dynamic two-point distinction was 6.0±0.7 mm and the QuickDASH score was 22.3±5.0. Conclusion Due to reasons such as minimal donor site morbidity, satisfactory functional finger outcomes, and easy applicability, reversed cross-finger subcutaneous flap is a good option for reconstruction of defects in the dorsal aspect of the finger with or without extensor mechanism defects.


Equilibrium relative humidity-equilibrium moisture content (ERH-EMC) or moisture isotherms of solids is important in the drying, solid mixing, packaging and storage of such material. ERH-EMC isotherms of oil palm kernels are determined by using a constant environmental chamber for several combinations of air relative humidity (30-90%) and temperature (30-70°C). The isotherms are found to fit the Hasley and Henderson equations well.


In tropical regions, with the help of applying chemicals to induce dormancy, it is possible to obtain two grapevine annual harvests. However the effectiveness of the use of these products is questionable because of its high toxicity is a concern. In this sense, the objective of this study was evaluate the effect of a hydrolate obtained from Gallesia integrifolia in the sprouting, yield and enzyme activity of peroxidase and catalase on grapevines 'Benitaka'. The experiment was realized in commercial vineyard in the city of Marialva, state of Parana, Brazil, in two consecutive cycles: 2011, August to December and 2012, January to July. The treatments consisted of the following doses of Gallesia hydrolate: 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 mL L-1, besides the positive control with hydrogen cyanamid to 20 mL L-1. It was evaluated the following variables: percentage of sprouting, number of clusters, cluster weight, yield (t ha-1), activity of catalase and peroxidase and content of reducing sugars in the buds. For the percentage of sprouting, there was a quadratic effect depending on the doses of Gallesia hydrolate with budburst estimated maximum doses of 108.8 and 97 mL L-1 of hydrolate for the first and second cycle, respectively, with similar results to treatment with hydrogen cyanamid. Treatments with Gallesia hydrolate also increased the number and the mass of clusters and the yield, with a quadratic effect depending on the dose. It was also verified the reduced activity of catalase, peroxidase and for the reduced sugars in the buds for plants treated with Gallesia hydrolate, showing its mode of action via oxidative stress, similar to the effect of treatment with conventional hydrogen Cyanamid. Based on the results obtained the Gallesia hydrolate in the doses between 100 and 150 mL L-1 can be an alternative to break dormancy of grapevine 'Benitaka' in tropical regions for sustainable viticulture.


Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) and Internet of Things (IOT) have become subjects of much interest in recent years and are expected to gain momentum locally and internationally when they become part of the core initiative of various governments. With the advent of the 4th global industrial revolution, the government recognized the importance of integrating the IR 4.0 initiative into the national agenda as a mean to keep pace with the latest advancements. In this regard, is the Malaysian workforce ready for the change? How is this being perceive by the millennials? Are millennials familiar with internet of things, FINTECH, additive manufacturing, big data or smart manufacturing? This study attempts to investigate whether or not millennials studying at local public university are clear about IR 4.0. In addition, the study attempts to seek millennials on various issues pertaining IR4.0. A survey involving 400 students of public university in Malaysia are being undertaken. The finding of the study indicates that 90% of the respondents have heard about IR4.0. In addition, 70% expressed that they have some understanding on what is happening and expected to happen in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) in general. There are also concern with regard to the potential impact of IR4.0 on unemployment and the economy.


An investigation was conducted to determine the suitability of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for analyzing the complex mixture of elements in fly ash leachates. XRF analysis was found to provide reasonably accurate measurement with coefficients of variation ranging from 2 to 8% for most elements. Sources of error included interferences by stimulation of fluorescent emissions by strong secondary fluorescent radiation, overlap of emission peaks, and adsorption of fluorescent emission from one element by others. Standardization required preparation of complex mixtures of elements similar in composition to that of leachates. This required considerable preparation time and effort, but once the standards were stored in instrument memory, analysis for as many as 30 elements in leachate specimens required only about 60 min. This study showed that XRF potentially is a valuable tool for analysis of the complex elemental mixtures in fly ash leachates, but additional work is needed to reduce error and increase instrument sensitivity.


Objective To investigate the expression of Caspase-8 in laryngeal carcinoma and analyze the relation of Caspase-8 and apoptosis.Methods We measured the expression of Caspase-8 protein in 45 laryngeal carcinoma fresh samples and 45 para-carcinoma tissues(to cutting margin0.5cm) and 20 normal laryngeal mucosa samples by flow cytometere(Epics-XLⅡ),the apoptosis rate was also examined simultaneously.Results(1) The quantitative and qualitative expression of Caspase-8 protein in laryngeal carcinoma tissues is obviously lower than those in para-carcinoma and in normal laryngeal mucosa tissues respectively(P0.01).There is no significant difference between the expression of para-carcinoma and normal laryngeal mucosa tissues(P0.05).(2) In laryngeal carcinoma,the expression of Caspase-8 protein wasnt significantly related to patients' clinical classification,tumor size,smoking history,patients' age and sex(P0.05) but related to metastasis,pathological grade and clinical stage(P0.05).(3) The apoptosis rate in laryngeal carcinoma wasnt related to patients' clinical classification, tumor size,smoking history,patients' age and sex and pathological grade,but related to lymph nodes metastasis and clinical stage.(4) In laryngeal carcinoma,there was a positive correlation between the apoptosis rate and FI of Caspase-8(P0.01).Conclusion The low expression and inhibition of apoptosis of Caspase-8 may contribute to the carcinogenesis and development of laryngeal carcinoma.


⎯ Total Productive Maintenance is a methodology focused on the improvement of equipment performance. Is a concept mainly employed in the manufacturing operations in which the equipment performance is constantly monitored to reduce the impact in the yield. This research records the implementation of Total Productive Maintenance into the laboratory operation and how the equipment performance improved. The implementation consisted in the identification of equipment losses, performance indicator identification, the assessment of the preventive maintenance program and in the implementation of 5S tools. The focus relied in a reduction of equipment issues and malfunctions increasing the availability of the equipment issues and malfunctions increasing the availability of the equipment and improving the laboratory performance. Key Terms ⎯ Improvement, Laboratories, Performance, Total Productive Maintenance.


Being dynamic, open and so on of Educational Resource Grid brought in a lot of security risks. Trust Model of Educational Resource Grid based on fuzzy theory id brought in. Trust is divided into direct trust and indirect trust in this model,improving model of indirect trust value to get more accurate trust value. Experimental results show the validity of the model.


With the availability of effective antiviral therapies for chronic viral hepatitis B and C, cost-effectiveness studies have been performed to assess the outcomes and costs of these therapies to support health policy. It is now accepted that treatment of active CHB is cost-effective versus no treatment, although there are a variety of options. And with the new developments around CHC treatment and diagnostic tools it is of interest to both the clinician and policy makers to know both the costs and effects of these choices. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with an insight into the recent treatment developments and costeffectiveness issues related to chronic hepatitis B and C treatment, and an overview of recent cost-effectiveness studies evolving around HBV and HCV therapy.


This study aims to prove and analyze the effect of investment opportunity set, debt policy, profitability, devidend policy, and ownership structure, with company size as a moderating variable, on firm value in construction companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from 2011 to 2017. The population is 30 construction companies listed on the IDX in 2017, while 14 companies meet the requirements to be used as research samples. This is an explanatory research, which explains the causal relationship between independent variables and dependent variable strengthened by moderating variables, through hypotheses testing. The data analysis technique used in this study is WarpPLS. The results of this study showed that investment opportunity set has a positive significant effect on firm value, while dividend policy and company size has a negative significant effect on firm value. Whereas debt policy, profitability, and ownership structure have no significant effect on firm value. The smaller the score value of the company size, the greater the firm value. The company size is an absolute moderating variable. Keyword: Company Size, Debt Policy, Dividend Policy, Firm Value, Investment Opportunity Set, Ownership Structure, Profitability. ————————————————————


Triangle strips have been widely used for efficient rendering. It is NP‐complete to test whether a given triangulated model can be represented as a single triangle strip, so many heuristics have been proposed to partition models into few long strips. In this paper, we present a new algorithm for creating a single triangle loop or strip from a triangulated model. Our method applies a dual graph matching algorithm to partition the mesh into cycles, and then merges pairs of cycles by splitting adjacent triangles when necessary. New vertices are introduced at midpoints of edges and the new triangles thus formed are coplanar with their parent triangles, hence the visual fidelity of the geometry is not changed. We prove that the increase in the number of triangles due to this splitting is 50% in the worst case, however for all models we tested the increase was less than 2%. We also prove tight bounds on the number of triangles needed for a single‐strip representation of a model with holes on its boundary. Our strips can be used not only for efficient rendering, but also for other applications including the generation of space filling curves on a manifold of any arbitrary topology.


The author describes SAGE, an operating system designed for real-time supervisory control applications. The SAGE kernel runs on a Motorola 68020 processor board and provides a variety of services, including process and memory management, protocol support, and precise timing facilities. In addition, file system capabilities are provided through remote procedure calls made over a LAN interface. Development tools, which run on a Sun workstation, allow programs to be compiled and dynamically downloaded to the SAGE host as needed.<<ETX>>


The character of the cutaneous capillary structure in 1,100 schizophrenic persons was studied for the purpose of ascertaining whether a distinction can be made between the capillary structure in normal persons and that in persons with schizophrenia.1 Investigation of the role of the capillaries has for the most part been restricted to pointing out analogies between the balanced arteriovenous circulation and growth. Stricker,2as early as 1865, described the structure and function of the capillaries; Rouget,3in 1873, the developmental properties of the capillaries, and Ray and Brown,4in 1879, the capillaries in relation to blood pressure. Since that time many studies on capillary function have been reported; for example, Aby5discussed the effect of capillary function on circulation in the brain; Bremer6wrote on the nerve connections of the capillaries, and reports continue to appear on the role the capillaries play in the


In an approach directed to isolate and characterize key proteins of the transduction cascade in photoreceptors using the phosphoinositide signaling pathway, we have isolated the Calliphora homolog of the Drosophila InaD gene product, which in Drosophila InaD mutants causes slow deactivation of the light response. By screening a retinal cDNA library with antibodies directed against photoreceptor membrane proteins, we have isolated a cDNA coding for an amino acid sequence of 665 residues (M = 73,349). The sequence displays 65.3% identity (77.3% similarity) with the Drosophila InaD gene product. Probing Western blots with monospecific antibodies directed against peptides comprising amino acids 272-542 (anti-InaD-(272-542)) or amino acids 643-655 (anti-InaD-(643-655)) of the InaD gene product revealed that the Calliphora InaD protein is specifically associated with the signal-transducing rhabdomeral photoreceptor membrane from which it can be extracted by high salt buffer containing 1.5 M NaCl. As five out of eight consensus sequences for protein kinase C phosphorylation reside within stretches of 10-16 amino acids that are identical in the Drosophila and Calliphora InaD protein, the InaD gene product is likely to be a target of protein kinase C. Phosphorylation studies with isolated rhabdomeral photoreceptor membranes followed by InaD immunoprecipitation revealed that the InaD protein is a phosphoprotein. In vitro phosphorylation is, at least to some extent, Ca-dependent and activated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The inaC-encoded eye-specific form of a protein kinase C (eye-PKC) is co-precipitated by antibodies specific for the InaD protein from detergent extracts of rhabdomeral photoreceptor membranes, suggesting that the InaD protein and eye-PKC are interacting in these membranes. Co-precipitating with the InaD protein and eye-PKC are two other key components of the transduction pathway, namely the trp protein, which is proposed to form a Ca channel, and the norpA-encoded phospholipase C, the primary target enzyme of the transduction pathway. It is proposed that the rise of the intracellular Ca concentration upon visual excitation initiates the phosphorylation of the InaD protein by eye-PKC and thereby modulates its function in the control of the light response.