Efficient alignment of aqueous carboxyl-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes having remanent iron catalyst particles are carried out in relatively low external magnetic fields (B ≤ 1017 mT). The nanotubes were grown by catalytic chemical vapor deposition and then functionalized in a multistep oxidation process using nitric acid and potassium permanganate. In the field-induced ordering, the ferromagnetic property of iron nanoparticles entrapped in the inner-tubular cavity of nanotubes is exploited. Considerable dichroism of nanotube solutions (up to 3.02) is measured and deposition of aligned CNT networks from the solutions on silicon substrates is demonstrated.


Natural propagation of all fish species native to a particular lake is an ecological requirement of prime importance. Salmonid fish are particularly vulnerable to environmental degradation since egg development takes place on or in the bottom substrate. Dissolved oxygen concentration on the spawning site is commonly considered the main factor limiting egg development. In order to assess the relationship between trophic state, hypolimnetic oxygen concentration, and salmonid egg development, whitefish (Coregonus sp.) eggs were sampled just prior to hatching in late winter. Eggs were collected in 13 Swiss lakes of different trophic state, using a sled-dredge. The proportion of viable eggs among the total number of eggs found was taken as a measure of reproductive success. The results indicate that successful in situ embryogenesis is not primarily governed by hypolimnetic oxygen concentration which tends to be high anyway during egg incubation, but by trophic state in terms of total phosphorus concentration in spring. The findings are explained by the production-related oxygen uptake of the sediment, creating an oxygen gradient of varying steepness in the diffusive boundary layer. Implications for the restoration of lacustrine ecosystems are discussed.


We examine the impact of ownership concentration on firm performance using panel data for firms listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange, where ownership tends to be highly concentrated and frequently involves multiple blocks. Fixed-effects estimates imply that the size of the largest block increases profitability and efficiency strongly and monotonically, but the effects of total blockholdings are much smaller and statistically insignificant. Controlling for the size of the largest block, point estimates of the marginal effects of additional blocks are negative. The results suggest that the marginal costs of concentration may outweigh the benefits when the increased concentration involves "too many cooks."


Numerically optimized specific absorption rate (SAR) distributions in a source-free three-dimensional multilayered concentric cylindrical (MCC) model are presented. The fields were expanded in the modes of the MCC. Cost functions which mathematically specify the relative weight assigned to differences between an SAR distribution and a desired SAR distribution were defined. The coefficients of the modes, which minimize the cost function, were obtained using gradient search optimization methods. The optimized SAR distributions shown were computed using three cost functions and two radial locations for the center of the region where the desired SAR is largest. A five-layered model, including the outer water layer for cooling and improved matching with the source, was used. The frequency was 70 MHz. The current and charge distributions computed on a perfectly conducting cylindrical surface just outside the model are given. The surface current and charge distributions depends strongly on the relative importance of the cost for acute heat and systemic heat. A technique is developed for generating a new set of basis functions for reducing the number of unknowns to be optimized.<<ETX>>


The Radar Cross Section (RCS) of a phased array comprises of two scattering modes, the antenna (or the radiation mode), and the structural mode [1]. The antenna mode RCS depends on the radiation behavior of the antenna array. The structural mode arises from the currents induced on the antenna and the platform. In case of phased array, the structural RCS also signifies the case when the antenna array is matched with the feed network. However, it is not practically possible to achieve such perfectly matched antenna array. The feed structure of the phased array itself contributes to most of the impedance mismatches and hence scattering. When the incident energy strikes the phased array, it traverses through the components of feed network, viz. phase shifters, couplers, and load impedances. Each feedline of a certain feed width acts as a transmission line having finite input and characteristic impedance. At every junction of impedance mismatch, a portion of incident wave is reflected and rest is transmitted further in to the feed network. The coherent sum of all these reflections within the array and its feed structure contributes to the total radiation mode RCS [2], which is significantly higher than the structural mode RCS. This makes the study of radiation mode RCS most important especially for a radiating phased array. This paper proposes a novel analytical method to estimate the radiation mode RCS of a low profile patch array. The incident wave is traced as it travels from the array aperture into the feed network. The scattered field contribution from each component of feed network is expressed in terms of the reflection and transmission coefficients. The individual contributions are then coherently superimposed to arrive at total array RCS, given by


Modafinil is becoming increasingly popular as a cognitive enhancer. Research on the effects of modafinil on cognitive function have yielded mixed results, with negative findings for simple memory and attention tasks and enhancing effects for more complex tasks. In the present study we examined whether modafinil, due to its known effect on the dopamine level in the striatum, alters feedback-related choice behaviour. We applied a task that separately tests the choice of previously rewarded behaviours (approach) and avoidance of previously punished behaviours. 18 participants received a single dose of 200 mg modafinil. Their performance was compared to a group of 22 participants who received placebo in a double-blind design. Modafinil but not placebo induced a significant bias towards approach behaviour as compared to the frequency of avoidance behaviour. General attention, overall feedback-based acquisition of choice behaviour and reaction times in high vs low conflict choices were not significantly affected by modafinil. This finding suggests that modafinil has a specific effect on dopamine-mediated choice behaviour based on the history of feedback, while a contribution of noradrenaline is also conceivable. The described change in decision making cannot be considered as cognitive enhancement, but might rather have detrimental effects on decisions in everyday life.


The inhibitory effects of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neurotransmission in the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) are mediated, at least partly, by metabotropic GABAB receptor subtypes whose cellular and subcellular localization is still unknown. We performed immunohistochemical experiments with an antibody against GABAB receptor subtype 1a/b (GABABR1a/b) by using light and electron microscopy. On light microscopy, GABABR1a/b immunoreactivity (IR) was in all columns, defined by cytochrome oxidase histochemistry. Neuropil labeling was strongest in the lateral portion of dorsolateral PAG. Labeled neurons, albeit not numerous, were in ventrolateral, dorsal, and medial subdivisions and were sparser in dorsolateral PAG. Labeling was mostly on the soma of PAG neurons. Sometimes GABABR1a/b IR spread along proximal dendrites; in these cases bipolar neurons were the most common type. On electron microscopy, GABABR1a/b IR was mainly on dendrites (54.92% of labeled elements) and axon terminals (21.90%) making synapses with labeled and unlabeled postsynaptic elements. Presynaptic labeling was also on unmyelinated and myelinated axons (overall 8% of all labeled elements). Postsynaptically, GABABR1a/b IR was at extrasynaptic sites on dendritic shafts; spines were always unlabeled. On axon terminals, GABABR1a/b IR was on extrasynaptic membranes and sometimes on presynaptic membrane specializations. Of the labeled elements, 13.03% elements were distal astrocytic processes (dAsPs) surrounding both symmetric and asymmetric synapses whose pre‐ and postsynaptic elements were often labeled. Immunoreactive dAsPs were around the soma and dendrites of both labeled and unlabeled neurons. These findings provide insights into the intrinsic PAG organization and suggest that presynaptic, postsynaptic, and glial GABAB receptors may play crucial roles in controlling PAG neuronal activity. J. Comp. Neurol. 505:478–492, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


We investigated the quantitative accuracy of the model-based dual-isotope single-photon emission computed tomography (DI-SPECT) reconstructions that use Klein–Nishina expressions to estimate the scattered photon contributions to the projection data. Our objective was to examine the ability of the method to recover the absolute activities pertaining to both radiotracers: Tc-99m and I-123. We validated our method through a series of phantom experiments performed using a clinical hybrid SPECT/CT camera (Infinia Hawkeye, GE Healthcare). Different activity ratios and different attenuating media were used in these experiments to create cross-talk effects of varying severity, which can occur in clinical studies. Accurate model-based corrections for scatter and cross-talk with CT attenuation maps allowed for the recovery of the absolute activities from DI-SPECT/CT scans with errors that ranged 0–10% for both radiotracers. The unfavorable activity ratios increased the computational burden but practically did not affect the resulting accuracy. The visual analysis of parathyroid patient data demonstrated that our model-based processing improved adenoma/background contrast and enhanced localization of small or faint adenomas.


Determining the amount of tibial resection is an important aspect of knee arthroplasty. The tibial sulcus is a reference point that should be unaffected by degenerative processes. This study compared the tibial sulcus and plateau height for 50 arthritic knees to 50 normal knees on magnetic resonance imaging. The tibial sulcus measured 17.09 mm in arthritic knees and 17.88 mm in normal knees. Sulcus height differences were not statistically significant. Based on these findings, a tibial cut 12 to 14 mm from the sulcus is recommended as a reference point in arthritic knees. This measuring technique has application in limited incision knee arthroplasty.


Films of fullerenes and fullerene-containing materials have been synthesized from their solutions of various volumes in aromatic and non-aromatic solvents. The photographs and the sizes of the resulting microstructures have been presented. The comparison of IR spectra has been given. Specific conductivity values have been considered.


Several derivatives of γ‐aminopropyl silatrane containing acyclovir in their molecular structure were synthesized and evaluated for their immunomodulatory and antiviral activities. The structures of all these derivatives were confirmed by mass spectra, IR, and 1H NMR. Based on WST‐1 assay in vitro, these compounds could stimulate proliferation of splenic lymphocytes at certain concentrations. Furthermore, compound 3d could also potentiate the expression of IFN‐γ, IL‐2, CD4+, CD8+, and CD4+/CD8+ in vivo. Our results show that these derivatives possess antiviral activity against herpes simplex viruses with a similar potency to acyclovir without a cellular immune response.


Baumiller, Tomasz K. & Plotnick, Roy E. 1989 07 15: Rotational stability in stalked crinoids and the function of win2–. plates in Pterotocrinus depressus. Lethaia, Vol. 22, pp. 317–326. Oslo. ISSN 0024–1164.

An unusual feature of the Mississippian camerate crinoid Pterotocrinus depressus is its tegmen with five wing-like appendages (wing plates). It has been suggested that the wing plates served as anti-predatory devices, hydrodynamic baffles, or outriggers for stabilization and support on the substrate. We propose two alternative hypotheses. First, the wing plates may have served as splitter plates, which would have acted to reduce drag on the organism. Second. wing plates served as stabilizing fins or rudders, allowing the passive maintenance of an efficient feeding posture in moving water. Experimental analyses of the forces acting on model crinoids, with and without the wing plates, support the hypothesis of the rudder function. A model developed for maintenance of stability in moving water should be applicable to all suspension feeders. *Crinoids, paleobiomechanics, biological rudders.


This paper explores a potential approach to fast classifying power system events using online synchrophasor measurements. The approach is based on dimensionality reduction of the emerging ambient phasor measurement unit (PMU) data. In contrast with model-based analysis, the proposed approach does not require a system model. It projects real-time PMU data onto the core subspace constructed from pre-event data, and then utilizes their scatter plots to detect and classify the system events. Projections lying outside the core subspace indicate the occurrence of an event, and the topological shapes of these projections classify the events. Numerical examples using synthetic PMU data are conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.


The holistic approach encourages the client to include rehabilitation strategies that support the general person condition. In this approach in every condition of physical and mental health, decreasing stress and increasing person's immunity and psychological resilience can help the whole body cope better, rehabilitate more quickly, and maintain better health (1). Holistic treatment means that the rehabilitation treatment should offer recovery treatment that addresses the needs of the whole person body and mind (2, 3). Having an understanding of holistic approaches in rehabilitation and health is very important (4-5). Understanding of relational approaches in rehabilitation, developing skills with integration of emotional and social factors have been emphasis in this issue of Iranian Rehabilitation Journal. Most researchers believe that it is essential to treat physical and mental disability in a broader context than physical aspects alone. Even coping techniques, emotion regulations and other conventional methods have a great role (6-7). In this issue, Rezaei Dogahe compared the early maladaptive schemas in patients with and without Migraine, Namaee showed the influence of the olfaction, audition and tactile senses in blinds, Ghazvini and others investigated Joint Attention in typically developing children, Lotfi and his coauthors evaluated the saccular function implant surgery using VEMPs, and Paknia and others tested the effectiveness of a rehabilitation method based on Cognitive Existential approach on women with Multiple sclerosis. Vameghi, et al, studied the validity and reliability of disciplines clinical training, Ghadimianfar tested the well being of rehabilitation nurses, Saadati and others found the application of high and low frequency rTMS with rehabilitation in patients with sub-acute stroke, Mohamadi et al compared the Passive structureregarding specific language impairment, Tajrishi and her co-authors studied Verbal Self-Instruction Training on Math ProblemSolving of Intellectually Disabled, Safaeepour and others evaluate a viscoelastic ankle-foot prosthesis at slow and normal walking speeds, Delavarian and her friendsinvestigated working memory training in children with mild intellectual disability, Doostian and others found the association between Emotional Expressiveness Style and Addiction Potential in Students, and valizadeh et al studied intelligibility of Speech in Persian children with Down syndrome. Eyni investigated the effectiveness of verbal selfInstruction method in children with dyslexia, Dashteleiand others compared the phonemic awareness skills of cochlear implant children and children with normal hearing, Bahramizadehand his co-authors studied the effect of modified floor reaction ankle foot orthosis on walking abilities in children with cerebral palsy, Mehrpour and his colleague investigated the Narrative Skills of Sequential Picture Stories by Late Talkers, Pourhidar and her co author studied the effects of Individual and Group Training on Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Farhadian and others tested the effect of gait retraining on balance, activities of daily living,


To better understand the numerous solutions related to watershed transform (WT), this paper shows the relationships between some discrete denitions of the WT: the watersheds based on image foresting transform (IFT), topographic distance (TD), local condition (LC), and minimum spanning forest (MSF). We demonstrate that the tie-zone (TZ) concept, that unies the multiple solutions of a given WT, when applied to the IFT-WT, includes all the solutions predicted by the other paradigms: the watershed line of TD-WT is contained in the TZ of the IFT-WT, while the catchment basins of the former contain the basins of the latter; any solution of LC-WT or MSF-WT is also solution of the IFT-WT. Furthermore, the TD-WT can be seen as the TZ transform of the LC-WT.


BACKGROUND
Over the past decade, the Internet has become a powerful and effective tool for public health surveillance. The objectives of this project were to develop secure Web-based applications for Birth Defects Surveillance and to integrate them into routine surveillance activities of the New York State (NYS) Congenital Malformations Registry (CMR).

METHODS
The Web-based applications were developed on infrastructure of New York State Health Provider Network using JAVA programming language. In addition, SAS/IntrNet software (SAS Institute Inc, Cary, NC) was also used to leverage the data analysis and processing capabilities of SAS for generating real-time reports and performing statistical and spatial analyses.

RESULTS
Congenital Malformations Registry staff have developed and implemented a Web-based integrated birth defect surveillance system, which enables staff to routinely perform surveillance activities including monitoring the quality, timeliness, and completeness of case reporting by hospitals; matching the CMR cases to the vital records; conducting trends analysis on birth defect prevalence and mortality with data query and visualization capabilities; and performing temporal and spatial analysis.

CONCLUSIONS
The CMR's Web-based integrated birth defects surveillance system empowers authorized users to perform routine surveillance activities using only a PC and a Web browser. This system will help NYS public health professionals and epidemiologists perform trend analyses and identify possible clusters of birth defects in space and time that may be related to environmental toxins.


Anthropogenic activities pose a significant threat to wildlife, including hunting, trading, overexploitation of docile species, climate change, habitat loss from deforestation, encroachment into natural habitats, and general construction. The loss of wild animal species has far-reaching impacts on the environment and its inhabitants. This study assessed the hunting, trading, and values of wild animals in the FCT, and its implications for conservation and sustainability. The research focused on six selected areas because of their diverse species and rapid development. The study took a mixed methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative research. Data analysis involved SPSS for quantitative data and a non-parametric Chi-Square test for qualitative data. Stakeholders' perceptions were analyzed using the Likert scale. The results showed that most respondents were unskilled males under 35 years old. Mammals, birds, and reptiles were the most hunted and traded animals, with uncertainty about the present status of many species. Human activities were identified as the main cause of population decline, with trapping being the most common hunting method. The trade of wild animals for food was prevalent, and the awareness of wildlife conservation was low. The study emphasized the need for targeted conservation awareness programs to enhance people's understanding of the dangers associated with trading and consuming wild animals in the study areas. These findings revealed a bleak future for threatening wild animal populations and highlighted the potential risk of zoonotic disease transmission between animals and humans.


A novel monomer norbornene palm olein (NPO) was isolated from reaction of 5-norbornene-2-carboxylic acid with triglycerides from red palm olein, with one norbornene (NBE) unit per NPO. No polymer from ROMP of NPO with a 2nd generation Grubbs catalyst was produced. ROMP of NPO in the presence of free NBE at 30 °C with different amounts of each monomer resulted in products with different physical states. Viscous liquids, soft solids, and cracked solids resulted from reactions with 90%, 80–40%, and 20% NPO, respectively. The soft solids were insoluble in water, acetic acid, and typical organic solvents. Swelling experiments in slightly polar organic solvents resulted in a mass gain of up to 800%, as in chloroform at 30 °C for 48 h. SEM micrographic images showed non-porous materials, and TGA analyses indicated thermal stability up to 300 °C. A poly(NPO-co-NBE) type has been suggested as the resulting product.


Recent experiments in rotating convection have shown that the spatio-temporal bulk convective state with Küppers–Lortz dynamics can be suppressed by small-amplitude modulations of the rotation rate. The resultant axisymmetric pulsed target patterns were observed to develop into axisymmetric travelling target patterns as the modulation amplitude and Rayleigh number were increased. Using the Navier–Stokes–Boussinesq equations with physical boundary conditions, we are able to numerically reproduce the experimental results and gain physical insight into the responsible mechanism, relating the onset of the travelling target patterns to a symmetry-restoring saddle-node on an invariant circle bifurcation. Movies are available with the online version of the paper.


This article focuses on Indigenous communities in remote Australia who participate in the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme, a form of work-for-the-dole that was first established in 1977 and is now administered by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. At the time of the 1996 Census there were 265 CDEPs Australia-wide and about 31,000 participants. The analysis here focuses on the 70% of these CDEPs that are located in remote regions. Initially a census-based assessment is provided of the economic impacts of the scheme. This indicates that the scheme has discernible economic and employment benefits. Next, an attempt is made to reconcile the mutual obligation nature of the scheme with the emerging reform of social policy (also based on principles of mutual obligation) currently being implemented that is based on recommendations made by the McClure Committee and endorsed in the writings of influential Indigenous spokesperson Noel Pearson. The article ends by outlining how, in this reformist policy context, the CDEP scheme could itself be modified to provide a more effective framework for Indigenous economic development in remote regions and makes brief comment on lessons from the CDEP scheme for the wider Australian community.


Abstract Bird fecal matter is considered a potential source of pathogenic microbes such as yeast species that contaminate the environment. Therefore, it needs to be scrutinized to assess potential environmental health risks. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of the yeasts in pigeon fecal droppings, their antifungal susceptibility patterns, and virulence factors. We used culturing techniques to detect the yeasts in pigeon fecal droppings. The isolates were then characterized based on colony morphologies, microscopic examinations, and biochemical reactions. The molecular identification of all yeast isolates was performed by sequencing of the amplified ITS gene. Genes encoding virulence factors CAP1, CAP59, and PLB were also detected. Antifungal susceptibility patterns were examined by the disk diffusion method. A total of 46 yeast-like isolates were recovered, and they belonged to nine different genera, namely, Cryptococcus, Saccharomyces, Rhodotorula, Candida, Meyerozyma, Cyberlindnera, Rhodosporidium, Millerozyma, and Lodderomyces. The prevalence of two genera Cryptococcus and Rhodotorula was high. None of the yeast isolates exhibited any resistance to the antifungal drugs tested; however, all pathogenic Cryptococcus species were positive for virulence determinants like urease activity, growth at 37°C, melanin production, the PLB and CAP genes. This is the first report on the molecular diversity of yeast species, particularly, Cryptococcus species and their virulence attributes in pigeon fecal droppings in Saudi Arabia.


Hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor type 1 (HAI-1) is a membrane-bound serine proteinase inhibitor expressed on epithelial and carcinoma cell surface. HAI-1 regulates hepatocyte growth factor activator, kallikrein 1-related peptidase 4 and 5 and several membrane-anchored serine proteinases such as matriptase, prostasin, hepsin, TMPRSS13 and human airway trypsin-like protease. These proteases are reported to be involved in tumor progression, and among them, matriptase and prostasin are known to activate protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2). Previously, we reported that S2-CP8 cells, a metastatic variant of SUIT-2 pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells, showed decreased HAI-1 expression compared to SUIT-2 and acquired EMT phenotype. To assess the HAI-1 function in metastasis of S2-CP8 cells, we established a stable S2-CP8 subline that expressed HAI-1 under control of tetracycline-regulated promoter and analyzed in a nude mouse orthotopic xenograft model. S2-CP8 cells expressed matriptase, TMPRSS13, TMPRSS4, prostasin and PAR-2. Matrigel invasion assay revealed that S2-CP8 cells showed enhanced invasion compared to SUIT-2 cells. The enhanced invasiveness was significantly suppressed by forced HAI-1 expression. Moreover, the HAI-1 loss-induced invasiveness was partly alleviated by knockdown of matriptase or PAR-2. Then, we examined the effect of HAI-1 expression on metastasis in vivo using an orthotopic xenograft model. Four weeks after the transplantation, mice were sacrificed and prepared for histological evaluation. We found that 50% of control mice developed distant metastasis. However, mice treated with tetracycline to express HAI-1 did not develop the metastasis. Though there was no difference in cell proliferation rates in vitro, tumor size was decreased by the expression of HAI-1. These results suggested that, in SUIT-2 pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line, loss of HAI-1 enhances cell invasiveness, at least in part, through PAR-2/matriptase system in vitro, and HAI-1 plays a suppressive role in metastasis of the cells in vivo. Citation Format: Jing-Jia Ye, Makiko Kawaguchi, Yukihiro Haruyama, Ai Kanemaru, Tsuyoshi Fukushima, Hiroaki Kataoka. Hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor type 1 (HAI-1) suppresses tumor growth and metastasis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Invasion and Metastasis; Jan 20-23, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(3 Suppl):Abstract nr B24.


The origin and evolution of the Russian doctrine of international law have never been a focus of attention for the scientific community, despite a more than one thousand year history of the Russian national identity and the huge impact that the country has made on the development of human civilization. Meanwhile, it is obvious that without understanding and taking into consideration the Russian position on key issues of international law, the resolution of many present-day problems and challenges seems highly unlikely. In this light, the book reviewed not only proves to be essential from a theoretical point of view, but is of significant practical interest for a wide circle of readers. The utilitarian significance of it also lies in its being the result of the author's long-term research, in the course of which he had an opportunity to participate in a wide variety of scientific events in Russia and to form his own views of international law. The book is focused on examining three main spheres of Russia's interaction with international law: how it "has historically been construed in Russia, how it is theorized and understood in today's Russia, and ... how ideas about international law have shaped the state practice of post-Soviet Russia" (p. ). As a result, the author has managed to provide quite an interesting and balanced representation of the development of Russian international law doctrine from the era of Peter the Great through to today. The author's main conclusion is that the doctrine's content in certain historical periods has largely been determined by the attitude of Russian researchers and officials regarding "whether Russia construes itself as a part of Europe or as an independent civilization and even hostile to ('Romano-Germanic') Europe" (p. ). The book is divided into four parts. The first part covers the aims and goals of the research and describes the methodology of its conduction. The second is devoted to the history of international legal scholarship in Russia in the context of its encounter with Europe and the West. The third analyzes the theory of international law in contemporary Russia. Here the author states the fact of persisting differences between Russian and Western approaches to how international law is perceived in respective of expert circles, and notes that at the root of those differences lie different interpretations of "the balance point between the principles of state sovereignty and human rights" (p. ). In the final part, the author describes the patterns of modern Russian state practice in international law. In his opinion, it is typical for Russia to use it, not for the resolution of problems, but rather for the extension of Russian influence in the world and for the simulation of its compliance with international law by means of constant formal appealing to its norms. In conclusion, it should be noted that the reviewed book represents an important contribution to the discussion on how international law is interpreted by different states. Moreover, the fact of choosing Russia as a subject of research makes it unique in many ways. However, in my opinion, the book would have been much more valuable if the author had gone beyond showing the differences between Western and Russian approaches to international law and criticizing the latter. I would ideally have liked to see the author try to determine the meeting points between Western and Russian approaches and to identify the possibilities of the two approaches converging in the face of the threat of common challenges and problems facing humanity.


Disparities in terms of gender exist in various degrees within the community in West Nusa Tenggara. Consequently, women experience unfair treatments indicated by low wages, low educational attainment, vulnerable status of women workers compared to male workers, and less opportunity in public sectors. National Program of Community Empowerment puts gender equality and women empowerment in first priority within poverty eradication efforts. This paper describes factors that influence women to participate in the program and the impacts of the program on the women household income and the probability of women household not to be poor. Sample employed in this study consists of 70 people of participants and 30 people of non participants. Data collected through in-depth interview are analyzed by employing econometrics analysis consisting of logistic and liner regression analysis. The research findings indicate that the program has not been able to improve entirely the economic condition of participants' household. However, by participating in the program the probabilities of households not to be poor could be increased in certain level. Therefore, many efforts need to be taken if we wish to eradicate poverty and create a fairer and more prosperous society. Keywords : gender equity, women empowerment, women participation, poverty eradication, and household income.


Abstract Novel series of quinoline-2-carboxamide based chalcone derivatives (5a–g) have synthesized and characterized using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, Mass, and elemental analysis. In-silico molecular docking studies exhibited that synthesized compounds 5a and 5g are good binding energy (−8.46 kcal and −9.46 kcal) toward the essential requirements of targeted compounds for EGFR receptor-bearing quinazoline inhibitor (PDB ID: 1M17(Lapitinib)). UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy measurements provided a significant effect on the absorption, emission cyclic voltammetry (CV), and highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). Lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) values of compound 5g are also confirmed band along with intramolecular charge transfer character (D-π-A). The red shift maxima (510 nm) the emission spectra in various solvents with increasing solvent polarity. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Urinary excretion of 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH) and cannabinoids was monitored in prison inmates. Urinary specimens were collected up to five times per day. EMIT (cutoff 20 ng/mL; EMIT20) and gas chromatography (GC) (cutoff 10.3 ng/mL, LOD 1.4 ng/mL) were used for cannabinoid screening and THCCOOH confirmation, respectively. Urinary creatinine concentrations were recorded. Of the samples with positive EMIT screens, 78% were confirmed by GC analysis. The plotting of THCCOOH/creatinine ratios (THCCOOH/C) versus time gave smoother excretion curves than THCCOOH concentrations alone. Based on THCCOOH/C the first 5 days after the last reported intake, the mean urinary excretion half-life was 1.3 days in infrequent users, and a median of 1.4 days was found in frequent users. In the latter group, apparent terminal urinary excretion half-lives up to 10.3 days were observed. The last positive specimens were found after 4 days for THCCOOH with cutoff 15.0 ng/mL (NIDA/SAMSHA), 5 days for THCCOOH with cutoff 10.3 ng/mL, and 12 days for cannabinoids (EMIT20) in infrequent users and after 17, 22, and 27 days, respectively, in frequent users. Increases in urinary cannabinoids were sometimes found without concomitant increase in THCCOOH or THCCOOH/C. One subject admitted new cannabis intake, after which marked increases in THCCOOH and THCCOOH/C were observed. In others, new intake was suspected. Considerable variations between consecutive specimens were also observed in THCCOOH concentration and THCCOOH/C ratio without suspicion of a new intake.


PurposeIn the digital age, the development of students' career intentions requires serious concentration since these are associated with the students' future employment and, ultimately, their survival. This study attempted to demonstrate in Pakistan's Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) the role of soft skills towards the students' career development (CD) and their future career intentions (CI).Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the researchers used a quantitative approach and a questionnaire to collect the data from the surveyed participants. Finally, the researchers based this study's findings on 392 useable samples.FindingsBy employing the structural equation model (SEM), this study's findings show that soft skills, such as Creative Self-Efficacy (CSE), Problem-Solving Confidence (PSC) and Teamwork (TW) have a positive and significant effect on CD and CI. However, while Critical thinking and Creativity (CRC) has a positive and significant effect on CD, it has no effect on CI. In addition, this study's findings confirm, also, that CD has a positive and significant effect on CI.Practical implicationsThis study's findings assist policymakers and university administrators to understand the importance of soft skills in creating CD and CI. These promote the development of employability skills and fulfill its part in preparing graduates for the unpredictable job market. This study's findings help, also, to develop logical reasoning in making decisions and in dealing with complex organizational issues.Originality/valueIn a practical way, in Pakistan, this study's findings confirm the role of soft skills towards students' CD and CI.


In this paper, we consider two coupled abstract linear evolution equations with one infinite memory acting on the first equation. Our work is motivated by the recent results of [42], where the authors considered the case of two wave equations with one convolution kernel converging exponentially to zero at infinity, and proved the lack of exponential decay. On the other hand, the authors of [42] proved that the solutions decay polynomially at infinity with a decay rate depending on the regularity of the initial data. Under a boundedness condition on the past history data, we prove that the stability of our abstract system holds for convolution kernels having much weaker decay rates than the exponential one. The general and precise decay estimate of solution we obtain depends on the growth of the convolution kernel at infinity, the regularity of the initial data, and the connection between the operators describing the considered equations. We also present various applications to some distributed coupled systems such as wave-wave, Petrovsky-Petrovsky, wave-Petrovsky, and elasticity-elasticity.


Self-confidence is an athlete 's beliefthat he or she can successfully execute and carry out an appropriate performance. Many researches indicated that high level of self confidence among elite athletes enhance performance. In many research reviews, researchers have found that low level of self confidence had deteriorating effect on athletes 'or teams performance. Elite athletes are well-known for high self confidence levels. However, to date there has been no attempt to examine self confidence level among athletes of nori--elite. Most of the previous researches focus on elite athletes, while ignoring less successful athletes. Therefore, the main aim of the study was to describe and compare the self-confidence level differences among different categories of skills of athletes. The present study also compared the level of self confidence among gender. Data was collected from 205 student-athletes, using a 27 item Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2, during MASUM (Sport between Universities) competition. The results showed that national level athletes obtained the highest score on self-confidence. Furthermore, university and district level athletes exhibit the lowest level of self-confidence. The result also showed that male student- athletes obtained higher score on self confidence compared females. Based on the current results, it is recommended that sport psychologists, sport counselors and coaches in Malaysia use the findings to design appropriate training programs to help district, university level and female athletes to acquire higher level of self confidence to enhance their performance in sports.


Background: We examined the utility of self-rated adherence to monitor intervention compliance and facilitate goal setting and assessed participants' qualitative feedback of the Healthy Diet and Lifestyle Study (HDLS) in order to inform the study design of the main HDLS intervention. HDLS, a randomized pilot intervention, compared the effect of intermittent energy restriction combined with a Mediterranean diet (IER+MED) to a euenergetic Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, with matching physical activity regimens, for reducing visceral adipose tissue area (VAT) and weight.Methods: Our analysis included the 59 (98%) participants who completed at least one week of HDLS. Self-rated adherence scores to dietary and physical activity prescriptions were collected 8 times across the 12-week intervention, using a 0-10 scale (0=Not at all, 4=Somewhat, and 10=Following the plan very well). Adherence scores for each participant were averaged and assigned to high and low adherence categories using the group median (7.3 for diet, 7.1 for physical activity). Mean changes in VAT and weight from baseline to 12 weeks are reported by adherence level, overall and by randomization arm. The participants' qualitative feedback at completion of HDLS and 6 months post intervention were examined.Results: Overall, compared to participants with low self-rated adherence to dietary prescriptions, those with high adherence lost significantly more VAT (22.9 ± 3.7 cm2 vs. 11.7 ± 3.9 cm2; p=0.044) and weight at Week 12 (5.4 ± 0.8 kg vs. 3.5 ± 0.6 kg; p=0.045). For physical activity, compared to participants with low adherence, those with high adherence lost significantly more VAT (22.3 ± 3.7 cm2 vs. 11.6 ± 3.6 cm2; p=0.035). Participants' qualitative feedback of HDLS was positive and the most common response, on how to improve the study, was to provide cooking education classes.Conclusions: Results support the use of self-rated adherence to dietary and physical activity prescriptions as an effective method to monitor compliance and facilitate participant goal setting. Study strategies were found to be effective with promoting compliance to dietary and physical activity prescriptions. The incorporation of cooking classes and demonstrations into future larger trials may further complement dietary adherence.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03639350. Registered 21st August 2018- Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03639350


Two cases of meningitis are reported in which the etiologic diagnosis was established by isolation of herpes simplex virus from the cerebrospinal fluid. Both patients were afebrile and had bradycardia when the cultures were obtained, and one patient had been thought to have leukemic meningitis. This experience added to that of others in the literature indicates the value of culture for herpes simplex virus in the cerebrospinal fluid.


ABSTRACT Anthocyanins exhibit natural antioxidants but exhibit poor stability and low oil solubility. Therefore, increasing the stability and fat solubility of anthocyanins is necessary to broaden their applications. In our experiment, an anthocyanin microemulsion system was constructed and its stability was investigated. At an oil phase and emulsifier ratio of 7:3, the hydrophilic oil-wet value reached 7.5 and the Km was 2:1. Furthermore, the microemulsion area was the largest. The bicontinuous region of the microemulsion exhibited optimal experimental conditions and resulted in a microemulsion containing 425.54 ± 1.58 μg/g anthocyanins. The anthocyanin microemulsion was a water-in-oil type, with a particle size of 0.07 ± 0.009 μm. Moreover, the temperature, light, and sample observation tests showed that the anthocyanin retention rate in the microemulsion was higher than that in the anthocyanin solution. Low-concentration NaCl and less than 9% of glucose and sucrose exerted no significant influence on the anthocyanin microemulsion stability.


The first factor in the interpretation of blood pressure must be a satisfactory instrument. It should, to be of service for general work, be portable, quick of adjustment and accurate. These qualities are possessed in eminent degree by the tonometer of Recklinghausen. It does not detract from the achievement of Riva-Rocci that later modifications have improved the technic; his merit will always lie in the impetus given to the study of blood pressure as a routine feature of the general examination; the aim now must be to analyze the findings properly. The tonometer of Recklinghausen is based on the principle, first introduced into physical science by Bourdon and later incorporated into the kymograph of Fick, that if a very shallow, curved, elongated air chamber, fixed at one end, communicate at one end of the arc with a pressure apparatus, while the other is closed, any increase of pressure will be


Biochemical and histologic data have validated the technique of delayed gadolinium‐enhanced MRI, in which the T1 values of cartilage after penetration of Gd(DTPA)2–allow assessment of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) component of articular cartilage. This work describes the factors that have been found to be important for the practical implementation of the technique: 1) Exercise immediately after intravenous contrast administration was necessary for effective penetration of the contrast into the articular cartilage; 2) double‐dose contrast was better than single‐dose; 3) after contrast administration, a time window of 30–90 min for the hip, and 2–3 hr for all compartments of the knee proved to be appropriate for assessing articular cartilage; and 4) in some cases of hypointensities in the subchondral patellar bone, decreased penetration of the contrast agent into cartilage from bone was found. With the protocol described, ROIs on T1 images were reproducible within 15% on two separate imaging sessions, and initial clinical studies demonstrated the possible applications of the technique. Magn Reson Med 45:36–41, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The derivation of neuronal lineage cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) marked a milestone in brain research. Since their first advent, protocols have been continuously optimized and are now widely used in research and drug development. However, the very long duration of these conventional differentiation and maturation protocols and the increasing demand for high-quality hiPSCs and their neural derivatives raise the need for the adoption, optimization, and standardization of these protocols to large-scale production. This work presents a fast and efficient protocol for the differentiation of genetically modified, doxycycline-inducible neurogenin 2 (iNGN2)-expressing hiPSCs into neurons using a benchtop three-dimensional (3D) suspension bioreactor. In brief, single-cell suspensions of iNGN2-hiPSCs were allowed to form aggregates within 24 h, and neuronal lineage commitment was induced by the addition of doxycycline. Aggregates were dissociated after 2 days of induction and cells were either cryopreserved or replated for terminal maturation. The generated iNGN2 neurons expressed classical neuronal markers early on and formed complex neuritic networks within 1 week after replating, indicating an increasing maturity of neuronal cultures. In summary, a detailed step-by-step protocol for the fast generation of hiPSC-derived neurons in a 3D environment is provided that holds great potential as a starting point for disease modeling, phenotypic high-throughput drug screenings, and large-scale toxicity testing.


Advertising of the world's best selling drug failed to disclose the absence of benefits for women, who should be entitled to compensation to recoup the costs of treatment, claim experts in epidemiology and law in a new analysis.

They argue that unqualified claims of protection against heart attacks made in advertisements for the lipid lowering drug atorvastatin (which is made by Pfizer and sold as Lipitor) may be misleading and that the advertising raises concerns about the way the US Food and Drug Administration regulates drugs ( Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 2008;5:507-50, doi:10.1111/j.1740-1461.2008.00132.x)

The authors, Theodore Eisenberg, a professor of law at Cornell Law School, and Martin Wells, professor of clinical epidemiology at Cornell University Weill Medical College, claim that a substantial portion of the multibillion dollar market in statins may be made up of users for whom the drugs offer no benefit.

They add that remedies to recover costs should …


The relationships of risk factors with hypertension in workers of coal enterprises were studied. Based on the identified predictors developed risk prediction scale of this disease in miners. Surveyed 792 employees of the mine "Polosukhinskaya". Along with a complete clinical, anthropometric and laboratory testing, conducted settlement criterion relative risk of developing hypertension. The most important factors determining the increased risk of disease in workers of coal enterprises were: increased body weight, age, waist circumference, and the index "waist/hip", elevated levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, atherogenic index. These signs and have the greatest prognostic factors that increase the risk of developing the disease.


A single-phase boost rectifier system with conventional low-bandwidth voltage loop exhibits poor dynamic response. A simple method is presented to improve the dynamic response of the rectifier without affecting its steady-state performance. A fast voltage controller is used to improve the dynamic response of the rectifier. The increased low-frequency ripple at the output of the voltage controller is filtered out using a new filter. Design methodology for the voltage loop is presented. The filter is simple enough for analog and digital implementations. Low input current distortion, fast voltage-loop response, and improved dynamic response against line and load disturbances are demonstrated experimentally on a 300-W digitally controlled boost rectifier operating at a switching frequency of 100 kHz.


6442450970 generic Vion Plasma Focused Ion Beam The FEI Vion™ Plasma Focused Ion Beam System (Plasma FIB) adds significantly more capacity to your lab, with best-in-class milling and imaging performance in a single, easy-to-use instrument. By incorporating plasma ion source technology, the Vion Plasma FI


Objectives: The primary objective is to determine the accuracy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in breast lesions reported according to the International Academy of Cytology (IAC) Yokohama system for reporting breast FNAB. The participants include any patient presenting with any breast lesion found suitable for FNAB. The target condition was breast cancer. The secondary objective was to study the proportion of inadequate FNAB in the selected studies. Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase were searched for studies having all the following key search terms: Breast AND FNAB AND Diagnostic Accuracy published in the time frame of 2017 to May 16, 2022. The Cochrane and PROSPERO databases, citations of selected articles and articles citing the selected articles were also searched. Studies assessing the diagnostic accuracy of breast FNAB in diagnosing breast cancer, which had at least 75 subjects (and at least 20 subjects each in the benign and malignant FNAB groups), were selected. The reference standard was histopathology (or adequate clinical follow-up for benign disease). Studies were screened independently by two researchers, with a consensus reached among the authors in cases of conflict. The risk of bias and applicability were assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool. Sensitivity and specificity at each diagnostic cut-off were assessed by bivariate generalized linear mixed-model meta-analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) and inadequacy rate were assessed by random-effects meta-analysis. The confidence intervals of sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were examined against a value of 0.95. Results: Twenty-two studies, all of which were cross-sectional single-gate studies, were selected with a total of 10,886 subjects with a primary breast lesion having concurrent FNAB and reference standard reports. Sensitivity and specificity, with 95% confidence intervals, were 0.978 [0.968, 0.985] and 0.832 [0.76, 0.886] for the diagnostic cut-off of "Atypical considered positive for malignancy," 0.916 [0.892, 0.935] and 0.983 [0.97, 0.99] for the cut-off of "Suspicious of Malignancy considered positive," and 0.763 [0.706, 0.812] and 0.999 [0.994, 1] for the cut-off of "Malignant considered positive." The overall AUC was 0.975 [0.962, 0.984]. FNAB sampling without imaging guidance was associated with lower inadequacy. Discussion: There is strong evidence that the overall accuracy, sensitivity for "Atypical category considered positive" and specificity when "Suspicious or Malignant categories are considered positive" of FNAB are high when using the categories of the IAC Yokohama Reporting System, demonstrating the usefulness of FNAB in diagnosing breast cancer.


The Zhubu magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide deposit is hosted in a mafic-ultramafic intrusion which is part of the Emeishan large igneous province in southwest China. The Zhubu intrusion is composed of a layered sequence (750 X 400 X 600 m) with subhorizontal modal layering and a subvertical marginal zone of <40 m across. The marginal zone is composed of Iherzolite and olivine websterite with minor gabbroic rocks. The layered sequence is composed of Iherzolite, websterite, gabbro, and gabbrodiorite from the base to the top. The Zhubu intrusion can be explained by two stages of formation, an early conduit stage for the marginal zone and a late in situ differentiation stage for the layered sequence. Most important Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization in the intrusion occurs as disseminated sulfides within the marginal zone. Olivine crystals from the marginal zone contain 81 to 84 mol % Fo and 1,600 to 1,900 ppm Ni. The rims of zoned olivine phenocrysts in the Emeishan picrites have similar Fo contents but significantly higher Ni contents (2,300-2,600 ppm). The olivine data indicate that the parental magma of the Zhubu ultramafic rocks is similar to the transporting magma of the Emeishan picrites in MgO/FeO ratios but depleted in Ni due to sulfide segregation before olivine crystallization. The initial concentrations of PGE in the Zhubu magma, estimated from bulk sulfide compositions, are 7 ppb Pd, 9.3 ppb Pt, and 0.8 ppb Ir, similar to the values in the Emeishan picrites. Like the Emeishan picrites, the Zhubu intrusive rocks are characterized by light REE enrichments. Negative Nb anomalies relative to Th and Ta, which are rare in the Emeishan picrites, are present in the Zhubu samples. The (Sr-87/Sr-86)(i) and epsilon(Nd) values of the Zhubu intrusive rocks vary from 0.709591 to 0.710692 and from -2 to -3, respectively. The trace element and isotope compositions indicate that the Zhubu magma was contaminated by crustal materials, supporting the interpretation that sulfide saturation in the magma was triggered by crustal contamination. The area where the lower part of the conduit may have been brought up by faulting should be the focus of future exploration at Zhubu.


Mice devoid of the IL-15 system lose over 90% of CD8αα+ TCRαβ and TCRγδ intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (iIELs). Previous work revealed that IL-15Rα and IL-15 expressed by parenchymal cells, but not by bone marrow-derived cells, are required for normal CD8αα+ iIEL homeostasis. However, it remains unclear when and how the IL-15 system affects CD8αα+ iIELs through their development. This study found that IL-15Rα is dispensable for the thymic stage of CD8αα+ TCRαβ and TCRγδ iIEL development but is required for the maintenance and/or differentiation of the putative lineage marker negative precursors in the intestinal epithelium, especially for the most mature CD8 single positive subset. Moreover, the IL-15 system directly supports the survival of mature CD8αα+ iIEL in vivo. Taken together, this study suggests that regulation of CD8αα+ iIEL homeostasis by the IL-15 system does not occur in the thymus but involves mature cells and putative precursors in the intestine.


Experimental evidence clearly establishes that exposure levels from natural terrestrial radiation can be of potential genetic and ecological importance to highly radiosensitive plant populations. Other facets of the physical environment are capable of strong synergistic interactions, or attenuation of the radiation responses to the point of near cancellation. Changes in the rate of development, inherent with age or developmental stage or induced by the environment, can also influence the intensity of the radiation response and the degree to which an organism can discriminate between radiation levels. For plant populations indigenous to regions of high radioactivity, dosages may be materially altered by meteorological conditions, developmental rates and the absorption of radionuclides by the plant roots.


We study the rate of wage growth among welfare leavers in the Self Sufficiency Program (SSP), an experimental earnings subsidy offered to long-term welfare recipients in Canada. Single parents who started working in response to the SSP incentive are younger, less educated, and have more young children than those who would have been working regardless of the program. They also earn relatively low wages in their first few months of work: typically within $1 of the minimum wage. Despite these differences, their rate of wage growth is similar to other welfare leavers. We estimate that people who were induced to work by SSP experienced real wage growth of about 2.5 - 3 percent per year - a rate consistent with conventional measures of the return to experience for similar workers.


Unsupervised extractive summarization has recently gained importance since it does not require labeled data. Among unsupervised methods, graph-based approaches have achieved outstanding results. These methods represent each document by a graph, with sentences as nodes and word-level similarity among sentences as edges. Common words can easily lead to a strong connection between sentence nodes. Thus, sentences with many common words can be misinterpreted as salient sentences for a summary. This work addresses the common word issue with a phrase-level graph that (1) focuses on the noun phrases of a document based on grammar dependencies and (2) initializes edge weights by term-frequency within the target document and inverse document frequency over the entire corpus. The importance scores of noun phrases extracted from the graph are then used to select the most salient sentences. To preserve summary coherence, the order of the selected sentences is re-arranged by a flow-aware orderBERT. The results reveal that our unsupervised framework outperformed other extractive methods on ROUGE as well as two human evaluations for semantic similarity and summary coherence.


In this study, we investigated critical issues in the diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous retroperitoneal bleeding. The medical records of 16 patients who were admitted to the emergency department and were diagnosed as having spontaneous retroperitoneal bleeding were reviewed retrospectively. Retroperitoneal bleeding was diagnosed by intravenous contrast-enhanced computed tomography in 8 men and 8 women (median age, 70.5 years; mean hemoglobin level, 7.4 +/- 1.3 mg/dl). Thirteen patients (81%) received conservative treatment. Bleeding was controlled by therapeutic angiographic intervention in two patients (12%) and by surgery in one patient (6%). Two patients (12%) died. Clinicians should suspect retroperitoneal bleeding in anemic patients who are admitted to an emergency department. If active bleeding is detected, interventional radiologic methods should be used as the initial treatment, and surgery can be performed if conservative and interventional radiologic methods fail.


JFE Steel has developed two types of high silicon steel sheets suitable for high frequency applications. JFE Super Core "JNEX-Core" and "JNHF-Core." In this paper, the magnetic properties of JNEX and JNHF are compared with those of thin-gauge grain-oriented electrical steel sheets and iron-based amorphous, which are representative high frequency materials. High frequency reactors were manufactured using each of these materials, and their reactor performance was examined. As results, it was found that JNHF can realize low loss performance in high frequency reactors, as it shows little deterioration in core loss as a result of the core manufacturing process, and can also improve the DC bias characteristics of high frequency reactors, while JNEX makes it possible to realize a large reduction in audible noise in high frequency reactors due to its excellent magnetostriction characteristic.


Computing optical flow between any pair of Internet face photos is challenging for most current state of the art flow estimation methods due to differences in illumination, pose, and geometry. We show that flow estimation can be dramatically improved by leveraging a large photo collection of the same (or similar) object. In particular, consider the case of photos of a celebrity from Google Image Search. Any two such photos may have different facial expression, lighting and face orientation. The key idea is that instead of computing flow directly between the input pair (I, J), we compute versions of the images (I', J') in which facial expressions and pose are normalized while lighting is preserved. This is achieved by iteratively projecting each photo onto an appearance subspace formed from the full photo collection. The desired flow is obtained through concatenation of flows (I → I') o (J' → J). Our approach can be used with any two-frame optical flow algorithm, and significantly boosts the performance of the algorithm by providing invariance to lighting and shape changes.


Dear editor, we read with interest the article by Gilio et al. (2008). Previous transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies in focal epileptic patients brought to controversial results. In one study, increased motor threshold (MT) was reported in cryptogenic partial epileptic patients and the results were considered to be related to antiepileptic drug treatment (Cincotta et al., 1998). In other studies, MT did not differ between healthy subjects and treated/untreated focal epileptic patients. (Hamer 2005; Varrasi et al., 2004; Werhahn et al., 2000). One recent study showed MT is not at all different from normal subjects in treated focal epileptic patients; decreased MT was reported in untreated patients (Kotova et al., 2007). In cryptogenic localizationrelated epileptic patients, higher resting MT (RMT) was found on the left hemisphere whereas there were no differences not only in RMT of the right hemisphere stimulation but also in activated MT (AMT) of both hemispheres (Cantello et al., 2000). In spite of the hemispheric asymmetry in this group, they did not compare affected and unaffected hemispheres and proposed that these results probably depended on drug effects. Gilio et al. (2008) reported that in focal epileptic patients, RMT in the affected hemisphere was higher than in the unaffected hemisphere and in healthy subjects. In our opinion these results might also be related to antiepileptic drugs. In healthy subjects, Pascual, Leone et al. first reported that rTMS ≥5 Hz delivered to the hand area, induced an increase in the MEP size of the target muscle (Pascual-Leone et al., 1993 and 1994). Similarly, Gilio et al. showed progressively increasing MEP size on both hemispheres in normal subjects and also less increasing MEP size on unaffected hemisphere in focal epileptic patients compared to normal volunteers (Gilio et al., 2008). Conversely, in the affected hemisphere there were no MEP amplitude changes during 5 Hz rTMS. They suggested that these results were in contrast with the assumption that epilepsy was related to hyperexcitability of the cortical areas. They also reported that during 5 Hz rTMS, all antiepileptic drugs decreased MEP facilitation increasing dosage and proposed that their results might depend on drug effects or reflection of abnormal short-term synaptic enhancement. In conclusion, the results of the TMS studies in epileptic patients should be interpreted cautiously. Ideally, new studies should be planned on new diagnosed and untreated patients. Moreover, methodological differences must be taken into account. However, large controlled studies probably will help us understanding pathophysiology of cortical excitability changes and encourage us using rTMS for therapy in epileptic patients.


Background: In 2012, Alberta Health Services created Strategic Clinical NetworksTM (SCNs) to develop and implement evidence-informed, clinician-led and team-delivered health system improvement in Alberta, Canada. SCNs have had several provincial successes in improving health outcomes. Little research has been done on the sustainability of these evidence-based implementation efforts.Methods: We conducted a qualitative realist evaluation using a case study approach to identify and explain the contextual factors and mechanisms perceived to influence the sustainability of two provincial SCN evidence-based interventions, a delirium intervention for Critical Care and an Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics (AUA) intervention for Senior's Health. The context (C) + mechanism (M) = outcome (O) configurations (CMOcs) heuristic guided our research.Results: We conducted thirty realist interviews in two cases and found four important mechanisms facilitating sustainability: the use of a collaborative approach, audit & feedback, the informal leadership role, and patient stories. Informal leaders were often hands-on and influential to front-line staff. Learning collaboratives broke down professional and organizational silos and encouraged collective sharing and learning, motivating participants to continue with the intervention. Continual audit & feedback interventions motivated participants to want to perform and improve on a long-term basis, increasing the likelihood of sustainability of the two scaled, multi-component interventions. Patient stories demonstrated the interventions' impact on patient outcomes, motivating staff to want to continue doing the intervention, and increasing the likelihood of its sustainability.Conclusions: There are important contextual factors and mechanisms within sustainability processes that may apply to systems change implementers and decision makers. Our research revealed the causal relationship between implementation and sustainability and how outcomes from implementation shape sustainability contexts. Future work is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of informal leadership, learning collaboratives, audit-feedback, and patient stories as strategies for sustainability, to generate better guidance on planning sustainable improvements with long term impact.


To examine the epidemiology and evolutionary characteristics of avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in mainland China, the S1 gene of 63 IBVs isolated after 1993 was amplified by reverse transcription (RT) –polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. Our results showed that the sequence length of 63 IBV strains ranged from 1.608 to 1.635 nucleotide (nt). Compared to the published representative strains, the homology of S1 nt sequences and their deduced amino acid (aa) residues between these isolates and reference strains ranged from 74.6% to 99.9% and 71.7% to 100%, respectively. Analysis of S proteins demonstrated that 63 isolates had eight kinds of cleavage sites (RRFRR, RRIRR, RRSKR, RRTGR, RRHRR, HRRRR, RRSRR and RRLRR), and the amount of RRFRR and HRRRR reached 46. Furthermore, the study showed that there was no direct relation between cleavage sites and genotypes, and cleavage sites were unable to decide the pathology types. Compared to vaccine strain H120, S1 nt sequences of 63 isolates had four sites deleted or inserted frequently, and the S1 proteins had three hypervariable regions. A comprehensive study was also carried out to study the S1 nt sequences of 63 isolates, 210 published reference strains and 10 vaccine strains; the investigation showed that all these stains could be divided into two types including 11 kinds of genotypes by the phylogenetic analysis. However, 63 isolates belonged to Mass, American, LX4, LHLJ/95 I, LDT3/03, J, BJ and LDL/97 I genotypes, and the LX4 genotype was co-circulated dominantly in chicken flocks over an 18-year period. It indicated that there were several IBV genotypes with new changes circulating in China, emphasizing the importance of continued IBV surveillance.


Opportunistic schemes employing multiple beams have recently attracted significant interest due to the capability to achieve both multiuser diversity and spatial multiplexing gain at limited feedback load. In this paper we explore the effect of the feedback quantization on the performance of these schemes. We derive a closed-form expression of the system throughput with and without feedback quantization. By doing so, we analytically assess the impact of the number of terminals and the restriction in the feedback bandwidth. It is shown that most of the throughput is preserved by using a few quantization bits


type="main" xml:id="poms12406-abs-0001"> Firms mitigate uncertainty in demand and supply by carrying safety stock, planning for excess capacity and diversifying supply sources. In this study, we provide a framework to jointly optimize these three levers in a periodic review infinite horizon setting, and in particular we examine how one can reduce inventory and capacity investments through proper diversification strategies. Observing that a modified base-stock inventory policy is optimal, we find that the capacity-diversification problem is well behaved and characterize the optimal mix of safety stock, excess capacity and extra number of supply sources. We find that higher supply uncertainty results in higher safety stock, more excess capacity, and higher diversification. But safety stock and diversification are non-monotonic in demand uncertainty. Our results can be extended to situations in which suppliers are heterogeneous, and can be used to develop effective heuristics.


Prostate cancer is the most prevalent non-cutaneous cancer in men worldwide. As a result of increased survival rates, men and their partners are living longer with the sexual sequelae of active treatments for prostate cancer, including surgery, radiotherapy and hormone therapy. The effect of erectile dysfunction on the patient and his partner is complex; many men experience psychosocial effects influenced by their hegemonic masculine beliefs. Some men experience difficulties in addressing their needs and require support while they attempt to reframe their beliefs about masculinity. The PLISSIT model can be used to guide healthcare practitioners in assessing and addressing the needs of this group of patients. The man's partner should be included in assessment and interventions where appropriate.


BACKGROUND
Mitochondrial biogenesis program in heart appears to exhibit adaptive remodeling following biomechanical and oxidative stress. The adaptive mechanisms that protect myocardium metabolism during hypoxia are coordinated in part by nitric oxide (NO).

OBJECTIVE
To observe mitochondrial biogenesis and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expression in hearts of congenital heart disease with cyanosis, discuss mitochondrial response to chronic hypoxia in myocardium.

METHODS
20 patients with cyanotic (n=10) or acyanotic cardiac defects (n=10) were investigated. Samples from the right ventricular outflow tract myocardium taken during operation were studied. Morphometric analysis of mitochondria was performed with transmission electron microscope. Relative mtDNA/nDNA ratio was determined with real-time PCR. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COXI), peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1), and mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam) transcript levels were detected by real-time fluorescent RT-PCR. COXI and nNOS, iNOS and eNOS protein levels were measured with western blot.

RESULTS
Mitochondrial volume density (Vv) and numerical density (Nv) were significantly elevated in patients with cyanotic compared to acyanotic congenital heart disease. Elevated mtDNA and up-regulated COXI, PGC-1α, NRF1 and Tfam mRNA levels were observed in cyanotic patients. Protein levels of COXI and eNOS were significantly higher in the myocardium of cyanotic than of acyanotic patients. PGC-1α transcript levels correlated with the levels of eNOS.

CONCLUSION
Mitochondrial biogenesis is activated in right ventricular outflow tract myocardium in congenital heart disease with cyanosis, which could be the adaptive response to chronic hypoxia and possibly involves eNOS up-regulation.


We introduce a time-dependent perturbation method to calculate the number of created particles in a 1D cavity with an oscillating wall of the frequency $\Omega . $ This method makes it easy to find the dominant part of the solution which results from the parametric resonance. The maximal number of particles are created at the mode frequency $\Omega/2 . $ Using the Floquet theory, we discuss the long-time behavior of the particle creation.


The availability of parallel, high-throughput biological experiments that simultaneously monitor thousands of cellular observables provides an opportunity for investigating cellular behavior in a highly quantitative manner at multiple levels of resolution. One challenge to more fully exploit new experimental advances is the need to develop algorithms to provide an analysis at each of the relevant levels of detail. Here, the data analysis method non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) has been applied to the analysis of gene array experiments. Whereas current algorithms identify relationships on the basis of large-scale similarity between expression patterns, NMF is a recently developed machine learning technique capable of recognizing similarity between subportions of the data corresponding to localized features in expression space. A large data set consisting of 300 genome-wide expression measurements of yeast was used as sample data to illustrate the performance of the new approach. Local features detected are shown to map well to functional cellular subsystems. Functional relationships predicted by the new analysis are compared with those predicted using standard approaches; validation using bioinformatic databases suggests predictions using the new approach may be up to twice as accurate as some conventional approaches.


Background: Nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease secondary to cystic fibrosis has been reported, but there is limited data about NTM associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Aims and Objectives: The aim of our study is to clarify the prevalence and characteristics of NTM lung disease in COPD patients. Methods: We reviewed mycobacterial cultures of 1,640 patients with COPD who visited out hospital between January 2007 and December 2012. Results: 43 patients (2.6%) satisfied the diagnostic criteria of NTM lung disease presented in the official ATS/IDSA statement. The most frequent species was Mycobacterium avium (24 patients, 55.8%), followed by Mycobacterium intracellulare (6 patients, 14.0%). Mean age of NTM-positve patients was 68.6 ± 8.5 years and 3 patients (7.0%) were female, which were not significantly different from NTM-negative COPD patients. Body mass index, %FEV 1 predicted and rate of inhaled corticosteroid user were not significantly different between NTM-positive and NTM-negative patients. Conclusions: Our observations suggest that NTM is found more often in COPD than general population. In our COPD patients, gender, body mass index, %FEV 1 predicted and inhaled corticosteroid usage did not affect the NTM prevalence.


A feeding experiment was conducted to assess the effects of including graded levels of corn distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) originating from modern ethanol plant in the United States in diets on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of grow-finish pigs. Thirtysix crossbred (LW × LR) pigs (BW 15 ± 0.07 kg), with equal number of barrows and gilts, were blocked by gender and weight. Pigs within each block were randomly assigned to one of six dietary treatments (one pig/pen and six pens/ dietary treatment). Dietary treatments provided 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25% corn DDGS in the starter, grower and finisher diets. Experimental diets were least cost formulated to contain 3200 kcal ME/kg and 21% crude protein in the starter diet; 3100 ME kcal /kg and 17% crude protein in the grower diet, and 3100 ME kcal/kg and 16% crude protein in the finisher diet, respectively. Overall growth rate, ending body weight, feed conversion and carcass  traits were similar among pigs regardless of level of dietary corn DDGS. The source of corn DDGS used in this study and the ME and digestible amino acid values used to formulate the diets seemed to support adequate performance and satisfactory carcass traits when corn DDGS replaced a portion of the corn, soybean meal, and dicalcium phosphate in grow-finish diets at inclusion levels up to 25%. However, the economic value of corn DDGS feeding in swine depends on the cost of corn and soybean meal, the two major feed ingredients that corn DDGS tend to replace in swine diets. Key words: carcass traits, corn, corn distiller's dried grains with solubles, swine


The paper describes an approach to the robot manipulator control based on a compensation of non-linear gravity terms and inertial terms in the robot motion equations and applying the PD or PID-type control law. While benefits of the compensation of the gravity force effects are well known, the inertial effects compensation, which seems to be more difficult to implement, brings additional enhancement of the control quality. An approximate compensation can be carried out in a relatively simple and efficient way, if the robot dynamics is represented by a mass-point model. The remaining influences can be treated as disturbances. Unlike the inverse dynamics approach, complete and precise mathematical model of the robot is not needed, which is an important advantage, since models of robots containing more than three links are usually very complex and difficult to obtain.


Effects of thermally induced birefringence in the laser rod on the performance of a degenerate four-pass Nd:glass amplifier are investigated by numerical models in this study. The spatial intensity profile of a depolarized beam, the amount of depolarization, and the temporal profile of an amplified output pulse are obtained for several schemes of the amplifier. It is found that the efficient compensation of the polarization distortion by introducing a Faraday rotator at the proper position in the amplifier can lead to stable high-contrast single pulse amplification.


The early 1980s saw the publication of several companion volumes on the Eastern Mediterranean region, both on land and beneath the sea. Aspects of the marine geology of the Mediterranean Basin were reported in 'Geological Evolution of the Mediterranean Basin' edited by Stanley and Wezel in 1985. In 1986, Dercourt et al. published an atlas of palaeogeographic maps of the Tethyan area which were accompanied by text, and incorporated data from the Eastern Mediterranean region. By the mid-1980s it was clear that different regional tectonic interpretations were mutually contradictory. Problematic aspects included the history of Africa-Eurasia plate motion, the nature of the crust beneath the Mediterranean Sea, and the origin of the ophiolites. This, in turn, stimulated an expansion of field-based research. The southern margin of Eurasia, represented by complex, often metamorphic terrains (e.g. the Pontides of N Turkey) emerged as a key study area. Attempts were renewed to resolve outstanding problems concerning the origin of Mesozoic ophiolites, particularly in the Greek and Turkish areas. Integrated field-based studies led to an improved understanding of the pattern of microplates that were rifted from Gondwana in the Early Mesozoic. The Eastern Mediterranean became established as one of the best areas in the world for study of processes of tectonic collision that include 'tectonic escape' and 'orogenic collapse'. In addition, much effort has recently gone into study of active and recently active tectonics, including seismicity and measurements of absolute plate motions. Finally, interest in the marine geology has a received a boost from


The mechanism of loss of "reworkability" or tabletability of dry granulated microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was investigated in relation to both granule size enlargement and granule hardness. Slugs of MCC were prepared under three pressures (12.5, 37.5, and 93.8 MPa) and tabletability (tensile strength vs. pressure) of respective granules (three different sizes) was determined. Nominal single granule fracture strength and granule friability were measured. The reduction in tabletability was profound for harder granules, which were obtained from higher slugging pressure. This is consistent with their ability to resist granule fragmentation during tableting. Variation in granule size exhibits negligible effect on tabletability for the lowest slugging pressure and only a small effect for the middle and highest slugging pressure. This observation is again related to different tendency to granule fragmentation during compaction. The results suggest that granule-hardening negatively affects tensile strength more than that of granule size enlargement for MCC.


Freespace detection is an essential component of autonomous driving technology and plays an important role in trajectory planning. In the last decade, deep learning based freespace detection methods have been proved feasible. However, these efforts were focused on urban road environments and few deep learning based methods were specifically designed for off-road freespace detection due to the lack of off-road dataset and benchmark. In this paper, we present the ORFD dataset, which, to our knowledge, is the first off-road freespace detection dataset. The dataset was collected in different scenes (woodland, farmland, grassland and countryside), different weather conditions (sunny, rainy, foggy and snowy) and different light conditions (bright light, daylight, twilight, darkness), which totally contains 12,198 LiDAR point cloud and RGB image pairs with the traversable area, non-traversable area and unreachable area annotated in detail. We propose a novel network named OFF-Net, which unifies Transformer architecture to aggregate local and global information, to meet the requirement of large receptive fields for freespace detection task. We also propose the cross-attention to dynamically fuse LiDAR and RGB image information for accurate off-road freespace detection. Dataset and code are publicly available at https://github.com/chaytonmin/OFF-Net.


This paper presents a low cost and low power MPEG-1/2 Lay I/II/III audio decoder. The decoder consists of a software core and a hardware core. By the corporation between the two parts, it can real-timely decode MPEG-1/2 Layer I/II/III audio bit-stream at a low clock frequency. A filtering architecture based on sub-band filter banks in perceptual audio coding is proposed. Using the new filtering architecture, the decoder can work at downsampling mode, which can decrease the power consumption of both the decoder and the output digital-to-analog converter. The proposed filter architecture also provides better signal-to-noise-ratio than before.


A rapid, environment-friendly, and cost-effective finishing method has been developed for cotton textiles by using zwitterionic NCO-sulfopropylbetaine as the antibacterial finishing agent through covalent bond. The sulfopropylbetaine-finished cotton textile exhibits durable broad-spectrum antibacterial and nonfouling activity, improved mechanical properties, and enhanced comfort.


Abstract This article describes the progress of a research and development programme for primary school teachers across Europe. It focuses on the development of an in-service course for primary school teachers through which it is intended that partners in five countries can explore, share and implement effective strategies for the teaching of literacy in primary schools. A key aspect of the collaboration lies in the participation of teachers, schools, local authorities and higher education institutions, particularly the involvement of practising teachers in the research and development activities. The project also aims to provide a frame of reference to enable teacher trainers in Europe in the area of literacy to exchange information, methodologies and experiences in order to promote effective teaching of literacy.


Using a large sample of prices paid for 21 homogeneous grocery products available in several brands in each of 16 markets, we simulate the search behavior of a consumer following different shopping strategies using as many as four supermarkets. We find that price search can lead to substantial savings. Brand switching can generate savings at least as large as visiting multiple stores to find the lowest price for a single brand. Buying a private label is usually a better way to save than any amount of search for low prices on national brands. A case study in a small metropolitan area grocery market yields results substantially the same as the simulation results.


In this study, hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films that were deposited by the high density plasma electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECRCVD) were used to study the passivation effect on the surface of c-Si substrate. We investigated the structural, optical, and passivation qualities of a- Si:H as a heterojunction interface by modulating the parameters of microwave power, substrate temperature, and post-deposition annealing. With increasing the microwave power leading to more dangling bonds, such that the longer lifetime and lower microstructure factor R* were demonstrated at 500W. When raising the substrate temperature, the hydrogen content (CH) will be decreased but the lifetime will be increased because this R* is the a dominated factor. It indicates that exceeding 120oC in the substrate temperature has better absorption to the light. In addition, the post-deposition annealing of a-Si:H was an effective method to improve the minority carrier lifetime, and we can obtain better passivation with the carrier lifetime of 883μsec after 2 minutes annealing at 270oC.


This study aims to identify the dimensions and quality attributes of mobile telecommunications services that need improvement in order to support the achievement of customer satisfaction. The object of this study is the Service of PT Indosat Tbk Yogyakarta. The instrument used in this study is a modified SERVQUAL questionnaire, namely: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, network aspect, and convenience. The population in this study is that consumers who have used the services of mobile telecommunications PT Indosat Tbk. Model of service quality improvement used in this study was adopted from model of Importance-Satisfaction (I-S). The results of this study showed that the quality of mobile telecommunications services in need of improvement is the convenience and reliability, while the dimensions of service quality that are in the good position is tangibles and network. The results of this study have practical implications for mobile telecommunications service providers in improving service performance and improve customer satisfaction. Keywords: service quality, customer satisfaction, SERVQUAL modifications, the model of Importance-Satisfaction.


The modernization has emphasized the pattern of living on a fast pace and additionally this velocity has produced an alteration on our day to day activities conversely Digital marketing at once created a phenomenon in transforming the lifestyle for everyone in adopting the current circumstances. Haryana is one of the medically advanced states of India and the Medical Professionals contribute a lot towards its realization. The main objective of this study is to realize the acquaintance of Digital Marketing by Medical Professionals with Gender as a Dependent Variable besides Buying Behaviour Practices, User Friendly Behaviour, Previous Buying Behaviour, Success Factors and Hindrances Factors respectively as its predictors. The study uses a survey analysis for 150 medical practitioners across Haryana. The results depict there is a encouraging correlation between Buying Behaviour Practices and Previous Buying Behaviour at 0.51 and Durbin-Watson index is 1.31, which is suitable for Digital Marketing Model..


Nowadays, it is necessary and challenging to prepare Cu2O in a large scale for various applications such as catalysis due to its excellent properties. Here, gram-scale Cu2O with nm size is successfully prepared using a simple liquid-phase reduction method at 25 °C. The amount of NaOH is found to be the key factor to determine the particle size of Cu2O by modifying the complexation and reduction reactions. The obtained ultra-fine Cu2O exhibits high performance of >95% efficiency for removing high-concentration (3000 ppm) ozone at 25 °C and even at a high relative humidity (RH) of 90% for more than 8 h. Furthermore, the Cu2O nanoparticles are coated onto an aluminium honeycomb substrate to form a monolithic catalyst, which shows high ozone removal efficiency of >99% in dry air and >97% in 90% RH for >10 h at a space velocity of 8000 h−1. The high performance could be attributed to the enhanced release of the ozone decomposition intermediate by the small size of Cu2O, as verified by O2 temperature-programmed desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. All these results show the industrial promise of the large scale synthesis of ultrafine Cu2O applicable for high-performance ozone removal.


Quality is a relative concept, closely linked to the level of user expectation and requirements. The relative nature of quality leads ultimately to excellence. Quality management includes effectiveness and efficiency rating, cost control, service assessment, user-oriented analysis. In the University system, libraries are the backbone to support the concept of quality academic functions. Unless and until, there is a quality approach in managing knowledge resources at library, it is difficult to expect quality in academic activities in a university. In order to adapt to these new circumstances, universities are implementing new management procedures, and, for their part, university libraries are forced to make fundamental changes in order to conduct their business in line with managerial criteria. In this direction, an attempt has been made on Quality Management Model for Knowledge Resource Management and presented Assam University Library as a case study. The paper describes about the conceptual framework of Quality Management Model (QMM), objectives, steps of QMM, and impact of Quality Management (QM) on marketing concept in library and information services, QM and HRD, QM and Information Communication Technology (ICT), application of library and information services to the knowledge society.


Though being fundamental to global diversity distribution, little is known about the geographic pattern of soil microorganisms across different biomes on a large scale. Here, we investigated soil prokaryotic communities from Chinese northern grasslands on a scale up to 4,000 km in both alpine and temperate biomes. Surprisingly, prokaryotic similarities increased with geographic distance after tipping points of 1,760 - 1,920 km, overturning the well-accepted distance-decay relationship and generating a significant U-shape pattern. Such U-shape pattern was likely due to decreased disparities in environmental heterogeneity along with geographic distance when across biomes, as homogeneous environmental selection dominated prokaryotic assembly based on βNTI analysis. Consistently, short-term environmental heterogeneity also followed the U-shape pattern spatially, mainly attributed to dissolved nutrients. In sum, these results demonstrate that homogeneous environmental selection via dissolved nutrients overwhelmed the "distance" effect when across biomes, subverting the previously well-accepted geographic pattern for microbes on a large scale.


We propose an organization for the on-chip memory system of a chip multiprocessor in which 16 processors share a 16-Mbyte pool of 64 level-2 (L2) cache banks. The L2 cache is organized as a nonuniform cache architecture (NUCA) array with a switched network embedded in it for high performance. We show that this organization can support a spectrum of degrees of sharing: unshared, in which each processor owns a private portion of the cache, thus reducing hit latency, and completely shared, in which every processor shares the entire cache, thus minimizing misses, and every point in between. We measure the optimal degree of sharing for different cache bank mapping policies and also evaluate a per-application cache partitioning strategy. We conclude that a static NUCA organization with sharing degrees of 2 or 4 works best across a suite of commercial and scientific parallel workloads. We demonstrate that migratory dynamic NUCA approaches improve performance significantly for a subset of the workloads at the cost of increased complexity, especially as per-application cache partitioning strategies are applied. We also evaluate the energy efficiency of each design point in terms of network traffic, bank accesses, and external memory accesses.


Rationale Lung transplantation has become an accepted treatment option in a select group of patients with end-stage lung disease. The current International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) guidelines suggest age above 65 is a relative contraindication. However, increasingly patients with COPD and IPF are being referred for consideration after this age. The outcomes in this group (above 65) are not well described. We have studied the characteristics and outcomes of patients aged 65 and over, offered lung transplantation in our institution. Method Retrospective review from the transplant database and patient records. We examined the Age, Sex, Indication for transplant and cause of death in all transplant recipients aged 65 and over from 1991 to July 2013. As a control group we compared them with 50 single lung transplant recipients front the same era and institution who were under 65. We used SPSS to generate the survival curves. Results In total we had 19 lung transplant recipients aged 65 and over who all had a single lung transplant, with a mean survival of 1600 days post-transplant. 13/19 were male recipients. The indication for transplantation was COPD and IPF in all. The cause of death was BOS in 9/14, malignancy in 2/14 and pulmonary embolism, stroke and bleeding in the others. When compared with 50 single lung transplant recipients aged 60–64, we did not find any statistically significant differences in survival (p value 0.158) (see figure 1), cause of death and reason for transplantation. Conclusion We have shown from our limited data that patients aged 65 and over have very similar outcomes to their younger counterparts. Hence, age whilst still important should not be a deterring factor when referring patients for lung transplant assessment. It would also be important to examine longer term outcomes and complications such as rates of renal dysfunction, hypertension, rejection and admissions into hospital. As the number of patients aged 65 and older receiving lung transplant increases, we should be able to gather more effective data. Abstracts P244 Figure 1 Survival Functions


This study brings together public and private sector research on change management to highlight the important role of public servants as recipients of change, which is underemphasized in the public management literature. In doing so, we identify and operationalize factors of managing successful change—involved communication and change recipients' beliefs. The effect of involved communication on developing employees' readiness for change is explored. Data were collected from public sector research and development organizations in Pakistan. The results of the structural equation modeling support the positive role of involved communication in developing employees' readiness for change. Employees' organizational identification and change recipients' beliefs also exhibit a significant mediating role in the above-stated relationship. This study significantly contributes to the existing literature of change management in the public sector by focusing on employees as key players in an organization's change process. Practical implications and future research directions are also discussed.


ABSTRACT We estimate the effect that star students have on their siblings' learning outcomes, measured by their high school grade point average (GPA) and their math grades. To this end, we couple administrative school data on grades with an unusual natural experiment in Peru that generates exogenous variation in the presence of star students at home. We find that star students increase their siblings' GPA by 0.33 SDs and their math grades by 0.22 SDs. The effect size is inversely related to number of siblings, suggesting that the remaining siblings act as substitutes for the star student.


The use of ultrasound imaging by physical therapists is growing in popularity. This commentary has 2 aims. The first is to introduce the concept of rehabilitative ultrasound imaging (RUSI), provide a definition of the scope of this emerging tool in regard to the physical therapy profession, and describe how this relates to the larger field of medical ultrasound imaging. The second aim is to provide an overview of basic ultrasound imaging and instrumentation principles, including an understanding of the various modes and applications of the technology with respect to neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation and in relation to other common imaging modalities.