Orientation: Investors are increasingly weighing up the cost of investing in companies with adverse impacts on society and the natural environment. Research purpose: In light of the shift to responsible investing, this study compared the risk-adjusted performance of a portfolio of morally questionable shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to a portfolio consisting of morally acceptable (responsible) ones. Motivation for the study: Although previous research suggests that investors can perform well by investing in morally questionable shares (such as alcohol and tobacco), sentiment is rapidly moving towards a more responsible approach to selecting shares. Research approach/design and method: The historic returns of equity portfolios were evaluated over the period July 2004 to April 2019. Two equally weighted portfolios were constructed: one for morally questionable shares and the other for morally acceptable shares. These portfolios' risk-adjusted returns were compared to the JSE Responsible Investment Composite Index, the Financial Times Stock Exchange/JSE Shareholder Weighted Index and an equally weighted benchmark. In addition, the analysis was divided into two distinct sub-periods, covering the financial crisis and the subsequent recovery period. Morally questionable companies included those with exposure to alcohol, tobacco, gambling, oil, gas and coal. Main findings: Morally questionable investing in South Africa does not produce risk-adjusted outperformance. No evidence was found to support the theories predicting the outperformance of morally questionable shares on the JSE. Practical/managerial implications: Socially and environmentally conscious investors can achieve risk-adjusted returns comparable to those of investors who opt to invest in morally questionable shares and conventional benchmarks. Contribution/value-add: The study provides insights for investors who are concerned about the opportunity costs of adopting a responsible investment approach.


: Studies of longitudinal cephalometric radiographs are presented for several patients with condylar fracture or hemifacial microsomia to illustrate condylar regeneration, presumably under functional influences. Implications of new condylar development and growth to facial and mandibular symmetry are presented. Clinical implications are introduced and the hypothesis of necessity of function for maintenance of relative facial symmetry is considered.


Ultrathin films were prepared with cationic poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and two anionic polysaccharides, iota- and lambda-carrageenan, of similar chemical composition but different conformations using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. The study of aqueous solutions of carrageenans confirms that iota-carrageenan is at room temperature in helical conformation while lambda-carrageenan is in random coil conformation. Characterization of the multilayers by ellipsometry, circular dichroism, and AFM revealed that iota-carrageenan keeps its helical conformation within the films while lambda-carrageenan chains are in random coil conformation. Investigation of the mechanical properties of the films by performing nanoindentation experiments using force spectroscopy showed clear differences between the two films based on carrageenans of different conformations.


Several cytoplasmic cornified envelope precursors have been described. Nevertheless, the mechanism whereby these proteins are positioned at the site of crosslink formation is not known. In this study, we examine the intracellular distribution of the cornified envelope precursor S100A11 (S100C) and the effects of the physiologic differentiating agent calcium on this distribution. S100A11 is localized in the cytoplasm of resting cultured human keratinocytes. Treatment with calcium causes S100A11 to relocate to the cell periphery. Immunoprecipitation studies reveal that S100A11 associates with microtubules, and inhibitor studies indicate that functional micro-tubules are required for S100A11 peripheral redistribution. Parallel studies indicate that S100A11 is not present in the Golgi or endoplasmic reticulum (ER), suggesting that S100A11 is not moved to the cell periphery via the classical Golgi/ER export pathway. Further evidence that the Golgi/ER is not involved is provided by the observation that the Golgi/ER disruptor brefeldin A does not alter movement. These results suggest that redistribution along microtubules is a mechanism whereby S100A11 is positioned at the cell periphery in preparation for transglutaminase-dependent crosslinking. Staining of epidermal tissue sections from uninvolved and psoriatic epidermis reveals strong staining at the cell periphery in the majority of suprabasal cells, confirming a peripheral distribution of S100A11 in vivo.


Microfibrillated chitin/gelatin composite films were prepared by solvent casting method, and the nano-sized microfibrillated chitin as reinforce phase to improve oxygen resistance, water-resistant and mechanical performance in this system. The morphologies were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the mechanical properties were investigated by texture analyzer. Oxygen permeability property, optical property and swelling property were investigated. The results indicated that the elastic modulus and tensile strength of microfibrillated chitin/gelatin composite film reached 2.2 GPa and 74.5 MPa respectively when the content of microfibrillated chitin is 8 wt.%. The swelling ratio decreased to 11.63 with the 6 wt.% content of microfibrillated chitin. In addition, chitin microfibrils effectively enhanced the oxygen resistance of composite film without obvious loss of transmittance. This work expects to provide a pathway to improve gelatin performance.


The aim of this study was to choose the optimal PCR technique with specific designing primer design of cystic fluid of Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cyst in cattle have slaughtered in kerbala abattoirs / kerbala governorate, the techniques have allowed to reduce the time consumption ,Nucleotide sequences of Echinococcus granulosus in Iraq cattle was obtained from NCBI websites with other researchers concerned in this topic, numerous visceral organs Livers , lungs and liver with lung suspected have hydatid cysts were isolated from 35 cowos slaughter, In PCR the highest number of positive results have 22(62.8%) were detected as Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cyst, on the other organs, the parasite isolation ratio was calculated from internal organs the percentage of hydatid cysts were significant increases as 12 (63.6%), 6 (27.2%)and 2(18.1%) for Liver, lung and liver with lung, respectively.


Tissue damage involving oxygen-derived free radicals may be greatly exacerbated by free, reactive iron, which acts as a catalyst in oxidative reactions. The effects of free iron can be attenuated by the administration of deferoxamine (DFO), an iron chelator. However, DFO has limited therapeutic utility because it has a short plasma half-life (approximately 5.5 min in mice) and produces profound hypotension upon intravenous infusion. These negative attributes have been circumvented by the covalent attachment of DFO to large polymers, such as dextran or hydroxyethyl starch. The ability of the dextran-conjugated DFO (DEX-DFO) to inhibit iron-catalyzed reactions with lipids was compared to that of the native molecule in an in vitro model of CNS lipid degradation in the presence of 200 microM ferrous iron. There was no difference between native DFO and the modified form. Modified and unmodified DFO were also compared for therapeutic efficacy in a murine model of head injury. Using a previously described "grip test" as a measure of neurologic impairment following injury, DEX-DFO, native DFO, and dextran were administered intravenously 3-5 min after injury. Dextran-DFO significantly decreased the incidence of severe neurologic impairment at dosage levels of 0.1 (n = 92), 1.0 (n = 76), and 10.0 (n = 80) mg/kg. Administration of native DFO or dextran had no effect at the same dosages and concentrations. These results suggest that the murine model of head injury contains a significant iron-dependent component that should be assessed in other models of neural injury.


Seed-coat cracking injury was determined in Great Northern (GN) dry bean lines in 1977, 1978 (also Pintos in 1978) using 3 methods as follows: Vogel small plot thresher (field), seed dropping, and a controlled rotating impact disk machine. Differences in susceptibility for seed-coat cracking were observed within each testing method. Overall, 'GN Emerson', near-isogenic determinate 'GN Nebraska #1' and 'Pinto UI 111' had the best resistance to seed-coat cracking. A genotype × year interaction for seed injury occurred with the Vogel thresher but not with the other 2 methods. The other 2 methods gave consistent results but the rotating disk machine method was preferred because of ease, rapidity of operation and standardization of the rotation speed. The early and late maturing determinate near-isogenic lines of 'GN Nebraska #1' had less seed-coat injury than the early and late indeterminate lines using the Vogel and rotating impact disk method. The early determinate line had the least amount of seed-coat injury for all three methods. 'Pinto UI 111', 'Bulgarian White', and 'GN D-88', which exhibited the best resistance to seed-coat cracking in the 7 parent diallel crossing study, had the most uniform seed-coat thickness as well as having thick seed coats. The cultivars which had thin or thick but non-uniformly thick seed coats were susceptible to seed-coat cracking. Differences in thickness in macrosclerid, os-teosclerid and parenchyma cell layers of the seed coat were observed between cultivars, but no relationship between these cell layers and the seed-coat cracking response was established. Seed-coat cracking was quantitatively inherited. 'Bulgarian White', 'Pinto UI 111' and 'GN D-88' showed high combining ability for resistance to seed-coat cracking. The estimates of the genetic effects indicated that additive effects were mainly involved.


Introduction The genus Arcobacter (Latin, arc-shaped bacterium) includes bacteria formerly designated Campylobacter cryaerophila (Latin; loving cold and air). They are fastidious, microaerophilic, gram-negative, spiral-shapedbacteria that are motile by means of polar flagella. Arcobacter was first isolated by Ellis et al (6) in 1977 from aborted bovine and later from porcine fetuses. Unlike other Campylobacter species, Arcobacter grows in the presence of atmospheric oxygen (aerotolerant) and at 15°/C, which is lower than temperatures used for incubation of Campylobacter (21,22). Arcobacter spp. have been associated with cases of human enteritis and septicemia (12, 13, 27, 28, 29,30); enteritis and abortion occur in livestock (6,21,22,23,24). Arcobacter spp. have been found in water, cattle, swine, poultry, and in ground pork and turkey products. Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of human bacterial enteritis. Because of their phylogenetic similarity, the pathogenesis, distribution and routes of transmission that have been described for C. jejuni may be applicable to Arcobacter. Transmission of C. jejuni to humans occurs via consumption of contaminated undercooked poultry, water, raw milk, milk that has been contaminated after pasteurization, shellfish, and meat. Three species of Arcobacter have been recovered from man and animals: A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus, and A. skirrowii (31,32). Of these, A. butzleri is regarded as the primary human pathogen (12). Herein we provide a review of Arcobacter and address the possibility of considering Arcobacter spp., especially A. butzleri, as emerging foodborne pathogens.


Calderisi shows that Africa has steadily lost markets by its own mismanagement; that corrupt, dictatorial regimes have hobbled agriculture, enterprise and foreign investment; that African family values and fatalism are more destructive than tribalism; and that African leaders prey intentionally on Western guilt. Calderisi exposes the shortcomings and indulgences of foreign aid and debt relief, and proposes his own radical solutions. Drawing on many years of first hand experience, "The Trouble with Africa" highlights issues which have been ignored by Africa's leaders but have long worried ordinary Africans, diplomats, academics, business leaders, aid workers, volunteers and missionaries. It ripples with stories which only someone who has talked directly to African farmers - and heads of state - could recount.


Hypoglycemia was not described as a human clinical syndrome until exogenous insulin was discovered. Much of our current knowledge of the symptoms of hypoglycemia derived from the reactions of schizophrenics to insulin coma therapy in the late 1920's. The diagnosis of hypoglycemia cannot be made simply on the basis of a blood glucose level since many asymptomatic persons have levels below 50 mg/100 ml. The diagnosis should be made only if symptoms occur at the glucose nadir and are relieved by the administration of glucose. The most common organic cause of hypoglycemia is functioning islet-cell tumor. By far the most prevalent type of hypoglycemia is idiopathic (function), a condition whose pathophysiology is not understood and which has given rise to a popular lay "mythology."


No state is born sans a name. The widely accepted view is that a state comprises its population, the geographical territory, the ruling government and capacity to enter into relations with other states. This paper argues that in addition to these traditionally recognised requirements, the name of a state, as the most suitable signifier of its identity, deserves to be recognised as an element of statehood. The reason for establishing a state is to create conditions as well as justification for exercising sovereign power, which ipso facto requires manifestation of its identity. This expected function seems impracticable at least in an international setting if a state does not have any name at all. The name of a state serves as the most efficacious vehicle for manifesting its identity as a legal entity. Moreover, practices concerning the name and naming of the prospective states show that it has been regarded as a crucial desideratum by the actors concerned in the course of attainment of statehood.


This paper investigates the effectiveness of development strategies for tourism destinations. We argue that resource investments unambiguously increase tourism revenues and that increasing the degree of tourism sophistication, that is increasing the variety of tourism related goods and services, increases tourism activity and decreases the perceived quality of the destination's resource endowment, leading to an ambiguous effect on tourism revenues. We disentangle these two effects and characterize situations where increasing the degree of tourism sophistication is a viable development strategy and where it is impracticable and describe the optimal policy mix.


This paper presents a Design-for-Test approach for digitally-assisted analog IPs in automotive applications. It adopts an on-chip measurement architecture based on the IEEE 1500 Standard to deal with analog test. The architecture is modular-based and scalable, suitable for parametric DC and delay measurements, and capable of executing concurrent on-chip measurements. The design implementation is simple, and moderate measurement accuracies can be achieved. For accuracy enhancement, the on-chip obtained parametric data are shifted out for post processing to reduce measurement errors. The availability of parametric data on the ATE facilitates also the application of various outlier-screening methods for automotive products.


Supervisory Committee Dr. Alexandre G. Brolo, (Department of Chemistry) Supervisor Dr. David A. Harrington, (Department of Chemistry) Departmental Member Dr. Irina Paci, (Department of Chemistry) Departmental Member Research work on fabricating organized and reproducible SERS substrates has been done in this thesis. Nano-aperture arrays with circular, bow-tie and cross bow-tie shapes were fabricated by using FIB milling. These arrays were imaged under SEM and their parameters were measured. The optical transmission properties of these arrays were measured by white light transmission. It was found that the shape of the nano-aperture could determine these arrays' abilities to support SPR. Different shapes would give different SPR modes and generated optical transmission peaks at varied wavelengths. For nano-aperture array with identical shapes, the varied parameters, such as periodicity or tip-to-tip distances, would affect the position of the transmission peaks. Slight increase or decrease of these parameters can be manipulated to adjust the peak positions, catering to the best resonance of the excitation laser used in Raman spectroscopy. The enhancement properties of these arrays as SERS substrates were measured by Raman spectroscopy. Different SERS enhancement properties could be found across different shaped nano-aperture arrays and cross bow-tie nano-aperture arrays give the best SERS enhancement. For nano-aperture array with identical shapes, the varied parameters would affect its ability of SERS enhancement. Near field simulations were carried out in order to explain the relationship of the SERS results and these arrays' SPR ability. Electrochemical study on these ordered nano-aperture arrays was also carried out in this thesis.


This article discusses the perception of the society on the role played by the government in implementing the governance responsibilities of the country's development, particularly in the context of managing and organizing social differences in the Malaysian society. The diversity in Malaysia is not only generates a dynamic social composition, but has brought significant challenges to the government in managing the country's governance more effectively. In addition, the civic consciousness among the current Malaysian society has claimed various demands such as for a fair, transparent and equitable government, society's interests, as well as generating good economic development and sustaining social well-being in society. This study explores the perceptions of the community towards the role of the government in the context of economic governance, holistic development, community management, establishment of government services, program implementation, political, media, criminal governance and social problems. This study indicates each ethnic group presented different feedbacks in every aspect. However, there is no negative dimension that shows the failure of the government in implementing a good governance, but still need some improvement based on the perception of the respondents. Implementation of development, governance is important in the context of promoting good ethnic relations between the diversity of societies in Malaysia. Thus, good ethnic relations are the substance for the formation of social cohesion and the continued assurance of national stability in Malaysia.


Electric utilities should have a sufficient number of spare transformers to backup substation distribution transformers to replace transformers that fail and require factory rebuild or replacement. To identify such a number, the statistical methodology was developed to analyze available failure data for different groups of transformer. That methodology enables the estimation of future numbers of failures with associated probabilities, recommends the proper number of spares, identifies the necessity and shows the means to shorten the transformer's replacement time.


The Modified FX-LMS (MFX-LMS) algorithm has been the subject of some research. It effectively removes the delay from the adaptation mechanism allowing faster convergence rates than the FX-LMS. It also allows the use of more sophisticated algorithms such as the RLS or the Kalman. Although this is true for perfect secondary path modeling, there is no extensive study of the influence of secondary path modeling errors in this algorithm. This paper tries to do just that. It shows that its maximum allowed step-size is in fact almost independent of the delay in the secondary path, even in the presence of modeling errors. It also shows that for very large delays the algorithm is stable for phase errors of /spl plusmn/60/spl deg/ and for an estimated amplitude of more than half of the correct one.


As endothelial cells convert from quiescent to migrating cells over 8 h along a wound edge, actin microfilaments undergo well-defined sequential changes characterized by an initial random distribution followed by a parallel and then a perpendicular orientation of microfilaments with respect to the wound edge. The latter is associated with subsequent cell migration. We tested the hypothesis that fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) can enhance the very early stages of wound repair even prior to migration and that FGF-2 enhancement of wound repair is associated with changes in the endothelial actin cytoskeleton. Using an in vitro two-sided wound model, the addition of FGF-2 at the time of wounding enhanced the extent of wound closure over 8 h. Treatment with FGF-2 was associated with significantly longer cells along the wound edge at 4 and 8 h after wounding. When treated with increasing concentrations of neutralizing FGF-2 antibody, the extent of wound closure decreased over 8 h and was associated with a decrease in cell length along the wound edge. Actin microfilaments were localized using rhodamine phalloidin and viewed using laser confocal microscopy. At 4 h after wounding, FGF-2 treatment was associated with significantly more cells along the wound expressing perpendicular microfilaments compared to untreated cells, which suggested a more rapid transition of parallel to perpendicular microfilament distribution. Thus, FGF-2 affects the very early stages of wound repair prior to migration by enhancing wound closure due to the early appearance of perpendicular microfilaments and lengthening of cells along the wound edge.


The influence of coherent interface on dissipations of mechanical energy of driven dislocations near to a point of martensite type phase transition is considered. The expressions for dynamic braking of dislocations, owing to losses of energy on excitation of deformations-type phase transition are received.


Through a select number of essays from leading accounting scholars, this special debating forum reflects on how the international academic accounting profession has responded in the aftermath of Enron and other recent corporate scandals. The presented combination of personal experiences and reflections of individuals working in North America, Australasia and Europe offers some intriguing insights of the nature of different educational arenas and the particular obligations that accounting educators must assume and respond to in the future. This introduction to the special debating forum explains its remit, summarises each individual contribution and analyses the main messages and implications to emerge from the forum.


The crystal structures of chromian epidotes from the Sambagawa metamorphic rocks, central Shikoku, Japan, were refined using single-crystal data to investigate the distribution of chromium among the three independent octahedral sites. On the basis of the electron probe microanalysis of the chromian epidotes on the polished surface of thin sections, three chromian epidote grains in a thin section were selected for X-ray intensity data collection, and their Cr2O3 values were as much as 1.79, 4.99, and 4.74 wt%, respectively, which led to values of 0.113, 0.315, and 0.299 Cr apfu, respectively. Nevertheless, their Fe2O3 contents were nearly constant (8.1-8.7 wt%, 0.49-0.52 Fe apfu) and their SrO contents were not significant (1.8-3.2 wt%, 0.08-0.15 Sr apfu). The selected chromian epidote grains were picked out using a binocular optical microscope from the thin sections, and were labeled as CrEp1, CrEp2, and CrEp3, respectively. The oxidation state of chromium was found to be trivalent by the optical spectrum. 57Fe Mossbauer doublets with isomer shift of 0.28-0.53 mm/sec and quadrupole splitting of 1.77-2.24 mm/sec indicate an exclusive distribution of Fe3+ at the M3 site. The crystal structure of CrEp1 [a = 8.8815(6), b = 5.5956(5), c = 10.1532(5) A, β = 115.159(2)], CrEp2 [a = 8.9165(4), b = 5.6226(2), c = 10.1728(5) A, β = 115.2365(9)], and CrEp3 [a = 8.895(2), b = 5.610(1), c = 10.146(2) A, β = 115.177(2)] were refined using 1145, 1853 and 1438 unique reflections, respectively, and the calculations converged at R factors of 5.8%, 6.6%, and 3.2%, respectively. The resulting structural formula were: [Ca]A1[Ca0.86Sr0.14]A2[Al]M1[Al]M2[Al0.43Cr3+0.09Fe3+0.48]M3Si3O12(OH) for CrEp1, [Ca]A1[Ca0.90Sr0.10]A2[Al0.86Cr3+0.14]M1[Al]M2[Al0.34Cr3+0.17Fe3+0.49]M3Si3O12(OH) for CrEp2, and [Ca]A1[Ca0.88Sr0.12]A2[Al0.90Cr3+0.10]M1[Al]M2[Al0.37Cr3+0.12Fe3+0.51]M3Si3O12(OH) for CrEp3. The selective distribution of Cr3+ at the M3 site in CrEp1, and the KD values (KD = (Cr3+/Al)M1/(Cr3+/Al)M3) of 0.35(3) for CrEp2 and 0.41(3) for CrEp3 show that the preference of Cr3+ in the octahedral sites is M3 > M1 » M2. The variations in the M1-Oi and M3-Oi distances indicate an equidimensional expansion of the M1O6 and M3O6 octahedra by the substitution of Cr3+(+ Fe3+) for Al3+.


According to the progress of structural genomics projects, we have a large number of protein structures without any annotations. For the further understandings of biological systems from the view point of genome science, methods are now required to get some clues to identify the function of these"hypothetical"proteins. Here we would like to introduce several recent approaches based on protein informatics for the problem.


As a result of this work, Evergreen Solar, Inc., is now poised to take String Ribbon technology to new heights. In the ribbon growth area, Project Gemini-the growth of dual ribbons from a single crucible-has reached or exceeded all the manufacturing goals set for it. This project grew from an R&D concept to a production pilot phase and finally to a full production phase, all within the span of this subcontract. A major aspect of the overall effort was the introduction of controls and instrumentation as in-line diagnostic tools. In the ribbon production area, the result has been a 12% increase in yields, a 10% increase in machine uptime, and the flattest ribbon ever grown at Evergreen. In the cell area, advances in process development and robotic handling of Gemini wafers have contributed, along with the advances in crystal growth, to a yield improvement of 6%. Particularly noteworthy in the cell area was the refinement of the no-etch process whereby the as-grown ribbon surface could be controlled sufficiently to allow this process to succeed as well as it has. This process obviates any need for wet chemistry or etching between ribbon growth and diffusion.


METHODS: Change in eGFR was estimated as % change from the first to last eGFR (CKD-EPI creatinine) in a 2-year baseline period. We modeled the hazard ratios (HRs) of subsequent mortality as a spline function of % change in eGFR after adjusting for age, sex, race, first eGFR, and co-morbid conditions. We used random effects meta-analyses to combine results stratified by first baseline eGFR (<60 & ≥60) across studies.


Purpose of review There is increasing recognition of the need for life-long care in patients who have congenital urological anomalies. This study looks at the factors surrounding transition and suggests those, which may improve the success. Recent findings One of the most challenging phases in this care is adolescence. There are the physical and psychological changes that all adolescents go through. Patients need medical surveillance through this time in order to ensure good care and patient safety. For affected patients there are other major challenges – first the relationship of their underlying condition, its treatment and the effect that either of these will have on their relationship with normality. The second big challenge is that in the midst of these changes our patients have to move from a paediatric to an adult centred environment. Transition is the term used to define the gradual shift of healthcare responsibility from the parents to the patient and all the factors above will affect this important time in life and care. Summary Transition can be a challenge to both patients and the healthcare team. The key to success is a strong multidisciplinary team to try and maintain patient engagement.


To develop and understand dissimilar metals joining of Stainless steel and Copper, ultra-high speed laser lap welding was studied using single mode fiber laser in this study. SUS304 and Cu have large differences in materials properties, and Cu and Fe have no intermetallic compounds by typical binary phase of Cu and Fe system. In this study, ultra-high speed lap welds of SUS304 and Cu dissimilar metals using singlemode fiber laser was generated, and weldability of the weld fusion zone was evaluated using a tensile shear test. To understand the phenomenon of tensile shear load, weld fusion zone of interface weld area and fracture parts after tensile shear test were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis system. And it was confirmed that Cu was easily melting and penetrating in the grain boundaries of SUS304 because of low melting temperature. And high thermal conductivity of copper occurred dissipate heat energy rapidly. These properties cause the solidification cracking in weld zone.


We study the destruction of hyperbolic sets (horseshoes) in parametrized families of diffeomorphisms through homoclinic tangencies taking place inside the limit set. If the limit set at the tangency parameter has small dimension (limit capacity) then hyperbolicity prevails after the bifurcation (full Lebesgue density). We also prove that, if that limit set is thick then the system exhibits homoclinic tangencies for a whole parameter interval across the bifurcation. These results are based on a geometric analysis of the limit set at the tangency, including a statement of bounded distortion.


In sequential social dilemmas with stranger matching, initiating cooperation is inherently risky for the first mover. The disclosure of the second mover's past actions may be necessary to instigate cooperation. We experimentally compare the effect of mandatory and voluntary disclosure with nondisclosure in a sequential prisoner's dilemma situation. Our results confirm the positive effects of disclosure on cooperation. We also find that voluntary disclosure is as effective as mandatory one, which, is surprising given the results of existing literature on this topic. With voluntary disclosure, second movers with a good track record decided to disclose because they, expect that not disclosing signals non-cooperativeness. First movers interpret nondisclosure, correctly as a signal of non-cooperativeness. Therefore, they cooperate, less than half as often when the second mover does not disclose. JEL Classification: C7, C92, D8, D9


The effectiveness of social protection in combating poverty and vulnerability, cushioning shocks, attenuating inequality, and supporting long-term growth is well-established, but effective social protection systems have long been seen as an unaffordable luxury in many developing and low-income countries. The social protection floor concept aims at providing a guaranteed minimum of social protection at a reasonable cost, even in resource-constrained circumstances, serving as a platform for the gradual implementation of a full social protection system. Introducing and maintaining or extending the floor requires the mobilization of fiscal space, both immediately and in the future. The article argues that efforts to generate fiscal space must carefully consider issues of predictability, as well as the impact of present funding choices on fiscal and debt sustainability, macroeconomic stability, inequality, poverty reduction and growth, and hence on future fiscal space. It examines from this perspective some of the implications of generating fiscal space through additional domestic resource mobilization, expenditure reallocation or efficiency gains, reduction of debt service, or external funding. The article also presents some evidence of a wide range of recent interventions that have been financed at reasonable cost on a sustainable basis in countries at different levels of income and development, using both own resources and external funds.


In a reverberation chamber the direct (unstirred) path between two antennas is the aggregation of the line-of-site path and a number of unstirred specular wall reflections. Ideally these latter reflections should be eliminated in order to control the direct path for multi-path radio simulation applications (Pirkl et al., 2011). This work describes an experimental programme undertaken to investigate the hypothesis that the contribution of the specular wall reflections to the unstirred energy in a reverberation chamber can be reduced by wave diffusers placed around the specular reflection points on the chamber walls. The wave diffusers will scatter the reflected energy over a wide angular spectrum and increase the energy that is stirred by the chamber's stirrer. Periodic wave diffusers were used optimized for a frequency of 3GHz. The method is based on a past research method for increasing the mode density in a reverberant screened room. That study found that the electromagnetic field was scattered in many directions by the use of binary pseudo-random phase reflection gratings on the wall of the screened room, while in the absence of the gratings the field was concentrated in particular directions (Clegg et al., 1996). The suggested approach in the present research is to create a grating formed by a binary sequence diffuser which causes diffuse reflection. Experiments were initially conducted in an anechoic and then in a reverberation chamber. The technique was tested while varying the antennas' heights, polarization and elevation angles, and additionally the orientation of the grating. Furthermore, the power of the line-of-sight component was measured in the anechoic chamber by placing absorbers on the grating and was then subtracted from the total received signal, toleave the scattered components remaining. The power of the signal reflected from the grating could thus be calculated and compared at the receiving antenna with the power in specular reflection which is observed by using a plane reflector. In the reverberation chamber the research was based on the effect of the diffusers on the unstirred energy. For this reason the transmitting signal between two biconical antennas was measured, with and without the diffusers placed around the specular reflection points of the room. Parameters like the heights, the polarization and the distance of the antennas as well as the orientation of the diffusers were tested. Measurements in time domain showed significant reduction in the unstirred energy of the cavity.


Purpose: Clinical trials use "time-to-first-event" analysis embedded often within the composite endpoint of cardiovascular death (CVD), MI, and stroke. However, many patients experienced nonfatal events before a fatal event and this method may not fully reflect patient benefit. We analyzed recurrent events in TRACER.

Methods: TRACER randomized 12,944 patients with ACS without ST-segment elevation. Vorapaxar did not reduce the primary endpoint but reduced the secondary endpoint of CVD, MI, and stroke; 14.7% vorapaxar vs 16.4% placebo, HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.81-0.98; nominal p=0.02. Analysis of vorapaxar's effect on recurrent CVD, MI, and stroke was prespecified using the Wei, Lin, and Weishield (WLW) approach.

Results: Only 1 event occurred in 10.1% vorapaxar vs 11.3% placebo. Recurrent events; n=348 occurred in 2.6% vorapaxar vs 2.8% placebo; p=0.6331. Vorapaxar significantly reduced the risk of recurrent CVD, MI and stroke after adjustment; HR 0.885; 95% CI 0.793–0.987; p=0.0284. Factors associated with risk of recurrent events are in the Table.

View this table:

Conclusions: Vorapaxar reduced risk of "time-to-first" event and recurrent events broadening understanding of vorapaxar's potential to reduce recurrent events.


Background: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is a new human pathogen, and currently, the world has been plagued by its pandemic and there are no specific treatment options, mostly affects the respiratory system, ranging from mild flu-like symptoms to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), but extra respiratory multi-systemic involvement has also been reported.Case presentation: A 63-yr-old Caucasian male veteran (retired army colonel), known case of controlled Type 2 diabetes, chronic renal failure and ischemic heart disease, about 4 days after the onset of flu-like syndrome (with no trauma history) experienced loss of control over both lower limbs, absent sensation from the chest below with constipation and urinary retention. Due to world SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) outbreak, his nasopharyngeal specimen was tested for COVID-19 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and positive result obtained. Chest x-ray and HRCT suggested severe pulmonary involvement. Immediately, he was admitted at emergency ward, treated based national COVID-19 protocol and a series of diagnostic procedures were started up to find out the cause of his non-heterogeneous peripheral (spinal) neuromuscular manifestations. Brain CT scan and MRI were normal, but spinal MRI with gadolinium contrast agent showing extensive increased T2 signal involves central grey matter and dorsal columns, extension between C7 and T12 with linear sagittally oriented enhancement posteriorly within the cord in the mid and lower thoracic cord. The CSF specimen obtained from LP shown pleocytosis, positive RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 and elevated IgG index. Clinical presentations, MRI, CSF and laboratory findings, after ruled out the other numerous possible causes with specific methods, suggested the Acute Transverse Myelitis (ATM) as a probably complication of COVID-19 infection. Intravenous methylprednisolone and then human immunoglobulin was added to treatment regimen. At the end, complete resolution of dysaesthesia, urinary retention and constipation were achieved. After continuous and long respiratory and motor rehabilitation programs, he was discharged home asymptomatic. Conclusions: We believe that SARS-CoV-2 has a potential to produces different extra respiratory multi-systemic involvement as immune-mediated process and complexes, and this should be kept in mind whenever encounter a patient with acute onset of neurological manifestations, especially after microbial infections or vaccinations.


The results of the emergency radical treatment of 285 patients with perforated duodenal ulcer are discussed. The authors compared 4 surgical techniques: 1) truncal vagotomy with traditional antrectomy, 2) truncal vagotomy with mucosal antrectomy, 3) truncal vagotomy with pyloroplasty, and 4) proximal gastric vagotomy. The best early results have been achieved in case of the proximal gastric vagotomy. However, the best late results have been noted in case of vagotomy with mucosal and traditional antrectomy. The overall perioperative mortality was 3.5%. Recurrent ulcer has been mainly observed in patients operated with proximal gastric vagotomy several years after the surgery.


Internet traffic is growing exponentially, and different kinds of traffic are being integrated into the Internet Protocol. To keep up with these changes, the Operation Support System (IP-OSS) will be changed to adapt a diversification of IP services. In this paper, after describing the framework of a future IP-OSS, we discuss "negotiation," which will become a key function in future IP management. We describe a policy/ negotiation-based IP management service for an enterprise network. This service realizes end-to-end policy-based enterprise networking. Lastly, we introduce some Fujitsu IP-OSS products for supporting these features.


BACKGROUND
Combined modality therapy for childhood retinoblastoma holds the potential of decreasing treatment-related morbidity while maintaining excellent tumor control rates.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), ferromagnetic hyperthermia (FMH), and the combination of both modalities in the control of ocular tumors in a transgenic murine model of retinoblastoma.

METHODS
One hundred sixty-six mouse eyes from 4-week-old animals transgenically positive for simian virus 40 large T antigen were treated with a total dose of 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 45, or 50 Gy of EBRT in 5-Gy fractions twice daily, with 48 degrees C or 54 degrees C FMH for 20 minutes, or with combined EBRT at 10 or 30 Gy and 48 degrees C or 54 degrees C FMH for 20 minutes. Serial histologic sections, obtained 8 weeks after treatment, were examined for the presence of tumor.

RESULTS
The tumor control dose for 50% of eyes (TCD50) treated with EBRT occurred at 27.6 Gy. Ferromagnetic hyperthermia at 48 degrees C cured 30% (6/20) of eyes, while 54 degrees C FMH resulted in a 100% (20/20) cure rate. Combined treatment with 48 degrees C FMH and EBRT exhibited a TCD50 at 3.3 Gy. The thermal enhancement ratio was 8.4. Ferromagnetic hyperthermia at 54 degrees C exhibited tumor cure in all animals, but 25% of eyes were lost owing to secondary treatment complications.

CONCLUSIONS
This represents the first documentation of tumor control via EBRT, ocular FMH, and a combination of these treatment modalities in this murine transgenic retinoblastoma model. The extent of treatment synergy in this model suggests that combined treatment application may allow a reduction in total ocular and periocular radiation dose while maintaining excellent local tumor control.


Motor or sensory activity in one arm can affect the other arm. We tested the hypothesis that a voluntary contraction can affect the motor pathway to the contralateral homologous muscle and investigated whether alterations in sensory input might mediate such effects. Responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation [motor-evoked potentials (MEPs)], stimulation of the descending tracts [cervicomedullary MEPs (CMEPs)], and peripheral nerve stimulation (H-reflex) were recorded from the relaxed right flexor carpi radialis (FCR), while the left arm underwent unilateral interventions (5 s duration) that included voluntary contraction, muscle contraction evoked through percutaneous stimulation, tendon vibration, and cutaneous and mixed nerve stimulation. During moderate to strong voluntary wrist flexion on the left, MEPs in the right FCR increased, CMEPs were unaffected, and the H-reflex was depressed. These results are consistent with an increase in excitability of the motor cortex, no effect on the motoneuron pool, and presynaptic inhibition of Ia afferents. In contrast, percutaneous muscle stimulation facilitated both MEPs and the H-reflex. However, muscle contraction produced by a combination of voluntary effort and electrical stimulation also reduced the contralateral H-reflex. After voluntary contractions, the H-reflex remained depressed for 35 s, but after stimulation-evoked contractions, it rapidly returned to baseline. Under both conditions, MEPs recovered rapidly. After voluntary contractions, CMEPs were also depressed for approximately 10 s despite their lack of change during contractions. Wrist tendon vibration (100 Hz) did not affect, and 20-Hz median nerve stimulation or forearm medial cutaneous nerve stimulation mildly facilitated, the H-reflex without affecting MEPs. Voluntary wrist extension, similarly to wrist flexion, increased MEPs and depressed H-reflexes. However, ankle dorsiflexion facilitated the H-reflex akin to the Jendrassik maneuver. These data suggest that a unilateral voluntary muscle contraction has contralateral effects at both cortical and segmental levels and that the segmental effects are not replicated by stimulated muscle contraction or by input from muscle spindles or non-nociceptive cutaneous afferents.


A front projection autostereoscopic display is proposed. The display is composed of eight projectors and a 3D-imageguided screen which having a lenticular sheet and a retro-reflective diffusion screen. Based on the optical multiplexing and de-multiplexing, the optical functions of the 3D-image-guided screen are parallax image interlacing and viewseparating, which is capable of reconstructing 3D images without quality degradation from the front direction. The operating principle, optical design calculation equations and correction method of parallax images are given. A prototype of the front projection autostereoscopic display is developed, which enhances the brightness and 3D perceptions, and improves space efficiency. The performance of this prototype is evaluated by measuring the luminance and crosstalk distribution along the horizontal direction at the optimum viewing distance. We also propose a rear projection autostereoscopic display. The display consists of eight projectors, a projection screen, and two lenticular sheets. The operation principle and calculation equations are described in detail and the parallax images are corrected by means of homography. A prototype of the rear projection autostereoscopic display is developed. The normalized luminance distributions of viewing zones from the measurement are given. Results agree well with the designed values. The prototype presents high resolution and high brightness 3D images. The research has potential applications in some commercial entertainments and movies for the realistic 3D perceptions.


The local political implication of Black maternal mortality raises questions about the extent to which city leaders, especially Black females, can influence policies to improve outcomes for Black expectant mothers. The case of Mayor Muriel Bowser, the second Black female mayor of Washington, DC, is examined to demonstrate the connection between intersectional identities and substantive representation through an examination of how she has attempted to reduce Black maternal mortality in the district. Data including press releases from her office, newsletters, accountability reports, and budget proposals are assessed. Other data including news reports from nonprofit organizations as well as local media are examined to provide a comprehensive understanding of how stakeholders in the community have reacted to actions taken by the Bowser administration. Currently serving her second term as mayor, Bowser has pursued actions that attempted to reduce this racial health disparity. Solutions pursued by Mayor Bowser have ranged from symbolic proclamations to substantive legislation as well as programs created through executive agencies as part of her administration. It is also worth noting that some of her actions appear to be in response to legislation approved by the city council. Bowser's racial/ethnic, gender, and partisan identities strongly align with the actions she and her administration have taken to address Black maternal mortality in Washington, DC.


Abstracts are regarded as valuable tools in assessing the relevance of documents during information retrieval. The determination of abstract compliance based on international standards is one of the methods which can be used for generating qualified information, reducing costs and establishing aligned coordination with international standards. Further, ANSI/NISO Z39.14 standard is one of the international standards presented by NISO committee which its final amendment was published in March 2015 and proposed some principles in terms of content and structural elements of different sources like theses. For this purpose, the present study aimed to evaluate the abstracts of Persian theses in different educational levels with ANSI/NISO Z39.14 standard at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU) during 2010-2014. 386 Persian abstracts were selected from among the abstracts in master's theses, PhD dissertations, Medical Doctorate(MD) and specialized medicine theses at different schools. The standard texts of ANSI/NISO Z39.14 (R2015) were used as the instrument including 15 structural and 5 content elements. Results indicated that there was a significant difference between the consistency of structural and content elements of the standards among the abstracts of the selected theses at different educational levels in different schools. The results suggest that an instructional and a coherent model should be developed, based on international and latest edition standards such as ANSI/NISOZ39.14 guideline for abstracts which are necessary to be followed by all centers in order to improve the style of writing abstracts.s are regarded as valuable tools in assessing the relevance of documents during information retrieval. The determination of abstract compliance based on international standards is one of the methods which can be used for generating qualified information, reducing costs and establishing aligned coordination with international standards. Further, ANSI/NISO Z39.14 standard is one of the international standards presented by NISO committee which its final amendment was published in March 2015 and proposed some principles in terms of content and structural elements of different sources like theses. For this purpose, the present study aimed to evaluate the abstracts of Persian theses in different educational levels with ANSI/NISO Z39.14 standard at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU) during 2010-2014. 386 Persian abstracts were selected from among the abstracts in master's theses, PhD dissertations, Medical Doctorate(MD) and specialized medicine theses at different schools. The standard texts of ANSI/NISO Z39.14 (R2015) were used as the instrument including 15 structural and 5 content elements. Results indicated that there was a significant difference between the consistency of structural and content elements of the standards among the abstracts of the selected theses at different educational levels in different schools. The results suggest that an instructional and a coherent model should be developed, based on international and latest edition standards such as ANSI/NISOZ39.14 guideline for abstracts which are necessary to be followed by all centers in order to improve the style of writing abstracts.


Background: Mammography use is increasing in the United States, but most women older than 50 years still are not being screened regularly. A multicomponent program, with components for women and physicians, was conducted to increase screening among women aged 50 to 74 years in an independent practice association (IPA)-model health maintenance organization (HMO). Methods: The participating women and physicians were surveyed in four waves to evaluate the program. We report on changes in mammography practices by both women and physicians between 1988 (preintervention year) and 1992 (postintervention year). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were calculated. Results: The proportion of responding HMO physicians who recommended annual mammograms for women aged 50 to 74 years increased by 16 percent from 1988 to 1992 compared with an increase of 10 percent for control group physicians (nonsignificant). There was a 30 percent increase from 1988 to 1992 in the proportion of HMO women respondents who reported having had a mammogram in the past year compared with a 19 percent increase among control group women. The difference between these differences was highly significant. The intervention had the strongest effect on women with incomes of less than $30,000. Conclusions: A multicomponent program in an IPA-model HMO resulted in significant increases in the proportion of HMO women who had mammograms. Similar approaches should be tested in other settings.


1. Functional morphology including the origin, insertion, innervation and action of the respiratory muscles in relation to buccal pressure and opercular suction pumps in a fresh-water mud-eel, Macrognathus aculeatum have been studied. 2. Cytochemical studies were made on the SDH activity of Adductor maxillaris, Adductor mandibularis, Protractor hyoideus, Dilator-operculi, Levator operculi, Adductor operculi, Inferior and Superior Hyohyoideus and the adductor muscles of gill filaments. The intensity of reaction reveals the composite nature of the respiratory muscles. Adductor mandibularis is made up entirely of white muscle fibers whereas others are composed of red as well as white muscle fibers. The Adductor maxillaris consists of superficial white muscle fibers whereas the interior is dominated by red muscle fibers. 3. The muscles innervated by the branches of VIIth facialis is dominated by red fibers whereas those innervated by the Vth trigeminal are dominated by white muscle fibers. 4. The adductor muscle units of the gills are made up entirely of red muscle fibers. This suggests the continued role of adductor muscle during the ventilation of gill lamellae.


Modulation of odorant receptors mRNA induced by prolonged odor exposure is highly correlated with ligand-receptor interactions in Drosophila as well as mammals of the Muridae family. If this response feature is conserved in other organisms, this presents a potentially potent initial screening tool when searching for novel receptor-ligand interactions in species with predominantly orphan olfactory receptors. We demonstrate that mRNA modulation in response to 1-octen-3-ol odor exposure occurs in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. To investigate gene expression patterns at a global level, we generated an odor-evoked transcriptome associated with 1-octen-3-ol odor exposure. Transcriptomic data revealed that ORs and OBPs were transcriptionally responsive whereas other chemosensory gene families showed little to no differential expression. Alongside chemosensory gene expression changes, transcriptomic analysis found that prolonged exposure to 1-octen-3-ol modulated xenobiotic response genes, primarily members of the cytochrome P450, insect cuticle proteins, and glucuronosyltransferases families. Together, these findings suggest that mRNA transcriptional modulation caused by prolonged odor exposure is pervasive across taxa and accompanied by the activation of xenobiotic responses. Furthermore, odor-evoked transcriptomics create a potential screening tool for filtering and identification of chemosensory and xenobiotic targets of interest.


The aim of the research is to diagnose the metrological characteristics of high-precision GNSS-observations by methods of non-classical error theory of measurements (NETM) based on Ukrainian reference stations. Methodology. We selected 72 GNSS reference stations, downloaded daily observation files from the LPI analysis center server, and created time series in the topocentric coordinate system. The duration of the time series is almost two years (March 24, 2019 - January 2, 2021). Using a specialized software package, the time series have been cleaned of offsets and breaks, seasonal effects, and the trend component has been removed. Verification of empirical distributions of errors was provided by the procedure of NETM on the recommendations offered by G. Jeffries and on the principles of hypothesis tests the theory according to Pearson's criterion. The main result of the research. It is established that the obtained time series of coordinates of reference GNSS stations do not confirm the hypothesis of their conformity to the normal Gaussian distribution law. NETM diagnostics of the accuracy of high-precision GNSS measurements, which is based on the use of confidence intervals for assessing the asymmetry and kurtosis of a significant sample, followed by the Pearson test, confirms the presence of weak, not removed from GNSS-processing, sources of systematic errors. Scientific novelty. The authors use the possibility of NETM to improve the processing of high-precision GNSS measurements and the need to take into account the sources of systematic errors. Failure to take into account certain factors creates the effect of shifting the time coordinate series, which, in turn, leads to subjective estimates of station velocity, i.e. their geodynamic interpretation. Practical significance. Research of the reasons for deviations of errors distribution from the established norms provides metrological literacy of carrying out high-precision GNSS measurements of large samples.


Obesity in nontransplant patients has been associated with hypertension, hyperlipi-demia, diabetes, and proteinuria. To determine whether renal transplant recipients with an elevated BMI have worse long term graft survival, we prospectively studied 92 patients transplanted between April 1999 and July 2000. Weight (Wt) and height of the patients were recorded prior to transplantation and two weeks, one, two and three years post transplantation. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) and blood pressure were checked monthly, while triglyceride, cholesterol, high den-sity lipoprotein (HDL), and low density lipoprotein (LDL) were obtained 3 monthly for 3 years post transplantation. Graft dysfunction was defined as serum Cr > 1.8 mg/dL. While BMI and Wt of the patients before transplantation did not show any significant correlation with chronic renal allograft dysfunction (CRAD), patients with higher Wt and BMI two weeks after transplantation showed an increased risk of developing CRAD during the three year post transplant independent of other risk factors (P< 0.05). Patients with greater Wt loss in the first two weeks post transplantation showed a decreased risk of developing CRAD in the following 3 years (P< 0.001). Our study suggests that high Wt and BMI are significantly associated with worse graft survival 3 years post renal trans-plantation.


: The results of osteoplastic thoracoplasty in 44 patients with antisocial behaviour and contraindications to lung resection because of the specific process marked activity are presented. Osteoplastic thoracoplasty is advantageous over the other collapse surgery procedures as there is no need of using therapeutic compressing bandages which makes it possible to discharge a patient from a hospital in case of infringing the hospital regimen. The use of osteoplastic thoracoplasty provided the clinical effect in 29.5 per cent of the patients. In 52.3 per cent of the patients it had a stabilizing effect before lung resection. On the whole, clinical rehabilitation at remote periods was stated in 81.8 per cent of the persons with antisocial behaviour.


This article presents an overview of switching regulated DC-DC power convertor electromagnetic interference problems and possible solutions, with special emphasis on power line conducted emissions and power line input filters. Potential stability and performance problems that can be caused by the interaction between the power line input filter and the switching regulator are discussed in detail. Candidate damped input filter structures are presented, along with a general input filter design strategy and a detailed design procedure for one of the candidate configurations.


In development of Expert Systems (ES), it important to acquire knowledge from multiple human experts. Cooperative Distributed ES (CDES) is a framework which can unify multiple expertise to develop a large scaled ES. In CDES, ESs which are in the process of building through acquiring knowledge from human experts coorsspond to agents, and task structure is learned by cooperation among agents based on extended Contract Net. At first, the fundamental structure of CDES is provided. An experiment is made to evaluate algorithms of a Bid analyzer on a testbed of CDES. Then, self-reorganizational schemes are provided by changing the agent's scope of domain knowledge, that is granularity, by themselves, from two viewpoints - one of decomposing into flue grain, and the other of composing into coarse grain. Two experiments are made to learn the subtask structure to change the weight of cooperation among agents dynamically. Finally, we discuss the scheme which incorporates decomposition and composition of agents.


Lens cells can synthesize, degrade, and remodel lipids. Endogenous lipid synthesis, in conjunction with uptake of exogenous cholesterol and certain fatty acids, leads to the formation of a plasma membrane that is especially rich in sphingomyelin, cholesterol, and long-chain saturated fatty acids. As a result of this unusual lipid composition, lens membranes have very low fluidity, which is restricted even further by lipid-protein interactions. The composition and metabolism of membrane lipids may affect the formation of various types of cataracts. Diets rich in vegetable oils offer some protection against the formation of osmotic cataracts and the hereditary cataract of the RCS rat, although the mechanism of this effect is not clear. Vitamin E also protects against the formation of several types of cataract in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that lipid peroxidation may play a role in cataractogenesis. Certain drugs which inhibit lipid synthesis or degradation are cataractogenic, and a deficiency in cataractogenic, and a deficiency in phosphatidylserine is associated with a loss of Na+/K+ ATPase activity in several types of cataract. Human senile cataracts show a marked loss of protein-lipid interactions, although the overall lipid composition is normal. This loss of protein-lipid interactions may be related to oxidative damage to membrane-associated proteins. Interestingly, the decrease in the fluidity of lens membranes with age would counteract the formation of aqueous pores in the membrane, which can result from the oxidative cross-linking of membrane-associated proteins. Certain pathways of lipid metabolism seem to have regulatory functions. Among these are phosphatidylinositol turnover, phosphatidylethanolamine methylation, and arachidonic acid metabolism. All of these pathways function in the lens. Phosphatidylinositol turnover is correlated with the rate of lens epithelial cell division, while phosphatidylethanolamine methylation seems to be related to the initiation of lens fiber cell formation. Both pathways are associated with the release and metabolism of arachidonic acid in other cell types. While it is not known whether phosphatidylinositol turnover or phosphatidylethanolamine methylation result in the release of arachidonic acid in the lens, recent work has shown that lens cells from a variety of species can metabolize arachidonic acid by both the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase pathways. The possible physiological significance of these metabolites to the lens is yet to be determined.


One of the manifestations of the systemic crisis in Poland is progressive centralization in the management of local affairs. The causes of the phenomenon under analysis can be justifiably traced to three factors that are complementary to each other. First, in a constitutional model of the local government which assumes that the legislator has a decisive influence on the scope of tasks entrusted to local government units as well as on the degree of independence of their execution. A consequence of a crisis around the agencies of the third estate is also the weakening of the efficiency of judicial measures of protection of that independence. Secondly, a considerable influence upon the phenomenon under analysis is exerted by the strategy for fighting the pandemic adopted by the public authorities based upon the construction of a 'hybrid' state of emergency where the dominant role is played by the central public authorities. Thirdly, further politicization of the local government has become a particular feature of its operation in the times of the pandemic.


By now we are all quite familiar with the stock supply of crude epithets used to describe East Germany's failed socialist state, ranging from SED-Tyranny, Red Totalitarianism, Stalin's Puppet, Stasi-State, Unrechtsstaat and, perhaps most charitably, 'welfare dictatorship', to name but a few. Since the early 1990s dozens of best-selling histories, television programmes and exhibitions have helped popularize these images by repeatedly trawling the GDR's lurid underworld of unfreedom, surveillance and mass-produced misery. Anna Funder's novel, Stasiland, published amid great fanfare in 2005, is only one recent instalment in this fascination with the 'wild, wild East', painting as it does an image of GDR life dominated by Stasi henchmen, ideological cranks, shameless opportunists and crushed idealists. Even though most historians have refrained from such black-and-white renderings, a good deal of recent historiography continues to portray the GDR as twentieth-century Germany's 'second dictatorship', in effect framing its history in terms of its more famous forerunner's patent abuse of state power, civil law and designated 'enemies of the state'.


A rare case of four-headed biceps brachii muscle with variation in the course of musculocutaneous nerve was observed in left arm of a 48-year-old embalmed male cadaver. One of the extra head (third) was fleshy throughout, originated from anteromedial surface of shaft of humerus and merged with the deep surface of short head. Fourth thin tendinous head originated just below lesser tuberosity of humerus and joined with the third head. Both accessory heads were lying under cover of short head of biceps. Musculocutaneous nerve was coursing between two supernumerary heads and subsequently between third head and short head of biceps brachii muscle. Origin of third head from shaft of humerus led to passage of nerve between this head and short head, before acquiring normal position between biceps brachii and brachialis muscles, and emerging out as lateral cutaneous nerve of forearm. Intramuscular course of nerve may be a potential site for nerve compression by hypertrophied biceps associated with strenuous regular physical activity of biceps or weight lifting.


1. The locomotory movements of the hind limb of the spinal cat have been studied with the animal supported on a wheeled carriage so that the soles of the hind feet rest upon the ground. 2. Locomotory movements of the hind limbs do not occur spontaneously, but only in response to stimulation of proprioceptors and exteroceptors. Such stimulation is provided by locomotory movements of the fore limbs or by forward movement of the carriage. After cessation of these stimulatory movements the locomotory movements of the hind limbs are not maintained. 3. In these respects the spinal cat differs from the spinal pigeon, and it is suggested that the greater autonomy of the lumbosacral cord in the latter is related to its bipedal gait.


Objective The data regarding the mutation landscape in Chinese patients with thyroid cancer are limited. The diagnostic performance of thyroid nodules by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology needs optimization, especially in indeterminate nodules. Methods A total of 1039 FNA and surgical resection samples tested using the targeted multigene next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel were retrospectively collected. The features of gene alterations in different thyroid tumors were analyzed, and the diagnostic efficacy was evaluated. Results Among 1039 samples, there were 822 FNA and 217 surgical FFPE samples. Among 207 malignant thyroid resections, a total of 181 out of 193 papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) were NGS-positive (93.8%), with a high prevalence of BRAF mutations (81.9%, 158/193) and a low prevalence of RAS (1.0%, 2/193) and TERT promoter mutations (3.6%, 7/193). Gene fusions, involving the RET and NTRK3 genes, were present in 20 PTCs (10.4%) and mutually exclusive with other driver mutations. Two of three follicular thyroid carcinomas harbored multiple mutations. RET gene point mutations were common in medullary thyroid carcinoma (8/11, 72.7%). The combination of cytology and DNA–RNA-based NGS analysis demonstrated superior diagnostic value (98.0%) in FNA samples. For indeterminate thyroid nodules, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of NGS testing were 79.2 (38/48) and 80.0% (8/10), respectively. Two mutation-positive benign cases harbored NRAS and TSHR mutations, respectively. Conclusions Our study revealed the distinct molecular profile of thyroid tumors in the Chinese population. The combination of NGS testing and FNA cytology could facilitate the accurate diagnosis of thyroid nodules, especially for indeterminate nodules.


Bitcoin is gaining traction as an alternative store of value. Its market capitalization transcends all other cryptocurrencies in the market. But its high monetary value also makes it an attractive target to cyber criminal actors. Hacking campaigns usually target the weakest points in an ecosystem. In Bitcoin, these are currently the exchange platforms. As each exchange breach potentially decreases Bitcoin's market value by billions, it is a threat not only to direct victims, but to everyone owning Bitcoin. Based on an extensive analysis of 36 breaches of Bitcoin exchanges, we show the attack patterns used to exploit Bitcoin exchange platforms using an industry standard for reporting intelligence on cyber security breaches. Based on this we are able to provide an overview of the most common attack vectors, showing that all except three hacks were possible due to relatively lax security. We also show that while the security regimen of Bitcoin exchanges is not on par with other financial service providers, the use of stolen credentials, which does not require any hacking, is decreasing. We also show that the amount of BTC taken during a breach is decreasing, as well as the exchanges that terminate after being breached. With exchanges being targeted by nation-state hacking groups, security needs to be a first concern.


Under magnetism, as the magneticfluid is being itself magnetized, increase the apparent viscosity because of its body force and has the magnetic characteristics in response to magnetism, the magnetic fluid is getting attention in various field.
The magnetic fluid has the fluidity, which is a special characteristics of fluid and the magnetism, which is a special one of solid. Using this characteristics, this study has been proceeded to show the basic data for developing of a viscous damper with magnetism fluid as hydraulic fluid.
Experimental study shows that the application of magnetic field is effective reducing the resonance characteristics of the spring-mass system.


Prostate cancer treatments often affect quality of life and problems may present at any point during treatment. Measuring and identifying issues of quality of life (QoL) may create an opportunity for the patient to discuss problems and induce information transfer from health professional to patient and vice versa. Many practitioners already assess QoL in patients with prostate cancer because treatment for the disease can have a dramatic impact on lifestyle. QoL may facilitate a more holistic approach to patient care. Using a QoL assessment tool may promote and enhance the current service provision and aid identification of bothersome side-effects, for example loss of libido, gynaecomastia (i.e. abnormal over-development of the breasts in a man), and hot flushes. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate scale (FACT-P) (Cella et al, 1993) is a prostate-specific QoL assessment tool, which can be self-administered and takes little time to complete. This may be a useful tool in the ongoing management of patients with advanced prostate cancer. With the emphasis on quality of service for cancer patients (Department of Health (DH), 2000; DH, 2007a; National Health Service Improvement, 2009), it is paramount that health professionals continually examine practice and the quality of the service delivered. Addressing QoL issues for the patient with cancer should be a priority. This article will outline the significant side-effects that a patient with advanced prostate cancer may sustain and attempts to indicate how QoL assessment tools may contribute to care management and delivery.


This paper presents the results of an in-depth investigation of 61 publicly-traded firms that chose to liquidate voluntarily over the period 1970 through 1991. In comparison with a size-matched sample of industry peers, firms that elect to liquidate voluntarily are characterized by lower Tobin's Q (as measured by the market-to-book value of the firm), a higher percentage of equity ownership by management and members of the board of directors, and a higher incidence of a member of the corporation's founding family on the board. These firms are also characterized by a higher incidence of asset sales and prior attempts to transfer control of the firm by other means, including merger and proxy fights, than their industry counterparts. The average stock return around announcements regarding the liquidation decisions is roughly +20% and statistically significantly different from zero. These results suggest that firms that make the value enhancing decision voluntarily liquidate confront low future growth opportunities (i.e., low Tobin's Q), but, the absence of future growth opportunities is not sufficient to bring about this decision. Rather, it is also necessary that decision makers have a vested interest in the outcome, either because of their ownership stake or because of their family affiliation with the business. We interpret the results to be consistent with managerial theories of the firm which posit that managers are more likely to act in shareholders' interests when managers have a significant personal stake in the firm.


Categories of difference have a crucial position in academic research as well as policy-making. They serve to distinguish and differentiate between groups in society. They can appear in the shape of crude dichotomies or in complex and sophisticated forms resting on constructivist and intersectionalist perspectives. Nevertheless, using categories of difference also creates something into existence and there may be implications through the particular application of specific categories. This article reflects on how categories of difference are constructed and employed in research, legislation and policy discourse. By looking at different approaches used by qualitative and quantitative researchers, as well as at how specific concepts enter policy-making and legislation, I want to address a number of questions about how we as researchers understand and work with categories of differences. The article will mainly consist of a theoretical discussion, but will use two main empirical examples of race and religion. The article aims to provide tentative answers about what the consequences of particular uses of categories and concepts could be.


The interaction between fibrinogen gamma-peptide 392-411, LTIGEGQQHHLGGAKQAGDV, and monoclonal antibody 4A5, an antibody with a high affinity for both for the peptide and native fibrinogen, is being studied as a model for peptide-antibody interaction. Two-dimensional NMR studies of the free peptide at pH 5.2 indicated the presence of a significant population, about 60%, of type II beta-turn, spanning residues Gln407-Asp410. At pH 2.7, little, if any, turn structure is present. The D-Ala409 analog, which, for steric reasons, would be expected to preserve the beta-turn, and the L-Ala409 analog, which would not be expected to have this conformational feature, were synthesized, and NMR studies confirmed the respective structural predictions. The affinity of the D-Ala analog for antibody 4A5 is even greater than that displayed by native gamma 392-411, while the affinity of the L-Ala analog is less than one-tenth that of the native peptide. Both conformational and steric effects involving residues 407-410 may be important in recognition by antibody 4A5. Since gamma 392-411 includes a platelet receptor binding locus of fibrinogen, and this and related peptides are inhibitors of platelet aggregation, the D-Ala409 and L-Ala409 analogs were tested for platelet binding. Neither of the analogs displays any measurable platelet binding, indicating that the recognition requirements for the platelet receptor differ considerably from those for antibody 4A5.


The steam-exploded hemicellulose hydrolysate of 100 g oil palm trunk chips was acid posthydrolysed under the condition of autoclaving at 120 °C with 1%w/v H2SO4 for 30 min. The highest amounts of xylose and glucose obtained were 8.15 g and 2.46 g, respectively. The optimal adsorption condition to remove toxic compounds in hemicellulosic hydrolysate was achieved in two steps. Five percents (w/v) of activated carbon were used in the first step for 30 min then 2% (w/v) activated carbon were used in the second step for 60 min. The comparisons were made between two sources of fermentation media, hydrolysate and pure xylose. It was found that fermentation of the hydrolysate with Candida magnolia TISTR 5664 gave xylitol at 0.08 g Yp/s of xylitol/g of xylose whereas fermentation of pure xylose gave xylitol at 0.29 g Yp/s of xylitol/g. The fermentation with C. guilliermondii FTI 20037 from the hydrolysate gave xylitol at 0.12 g Yp/s of xylitol/g of xylose whereas the fermentation from pure xylose gave xylitol at 0.30 g Yp/s of xylitol/g of xylose.


The arithmetic learning disability literature was reviewed and critiqued. Due to the paucity of research in this area, few conclusions may be inferred. In general, the available research has provided tentative hypotheses about the nature of arithmetic disabilities. A variety of psychosocial variables notwithstanding, childhood arithmetic disability may directly result from cerebral dysfunction, poor motivation, and emotional/behavioral disturbance. However, further research is necessary in order to clarify the effects of maturation on arithmetic skills acquisition. Indeed, one approach to identification of the disorder would consider individual differences in neuropsychological development and performance affecting arithmetic achievement. It was concluded that a more comprehensive approach to investigating and diagnosing childhood arithmetic disability is needed. Reformulations and methods of study were articulated. Six related lines of research were outlined. A diagnostic rating scale was suggested which would account for type and severity of disorder. Diagnostic criteria were recommended based on the degree and definition of disability. Needs for remediation research were briefly explored.


The work is devoted theoretical and practical analysis of an actual problem – the problem of multisecting (in particular, trisecting) an angle, i.e. the problem of division of a given arbitrary angle into the given set of equal parts using only a compasses and an unmarked straightedge. General statement of a problem is formulated. The mathematical analysis of the problem (within the framework of the theories of similarity of triangles and of similarity of concentric circles) and the logical analysis of the problem are proposed. It is proved that practical solution of the problem of multisecting an arbitrary angle with only a compasses and an unmarked straightedge is impossible because an arc cannot be transformed to the straight line segment with a compasses and a straightedge.


Introduction Parkinson's disease (PD) has been associated with risk aversion and less addictive behaviour. Little is known about the prodromal stages. Personality and its relationship with addictive behaviours may provide clues to mechanisms underlying PD and addiction. Methods 941 early PD subjects, 128 rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) subjects and 292 control subjects were assessed (motor and non-motor). Results Patients with early PD were more neurotic, less extraverted and less open than controls. RBD subjects showed the same pattern of being more neurotic (p<0.001), less extraverted (p=0.03) and less open (p<0.001). PD patients smoked less (p=0.02) and drunk less alcohol (p=0.03) than controls. Being more extraverted, more open and less neurotic predicted higher alcohol use (all p values<0.001), while being more extravert (p=0.007) and less agreeable (p<0.001) was associated with smoking more. PD remained inversely associated with smoking even after adjustment for personality (odds ratio 0.73, 95% CI 0.55–0.97, p=0.03). Conclusions Similar personality patterns are seen in PD and RBD compared to a control population. Personality characteristics were associated with addictive behaviours, suggestive of a common link, but the lower rates of addictive behaviours before and after the onset of PD persisted after accounting for personality.


ABSTRACT Despite the existence of a rich literature on Production Routing Problem (PRP), the lack of investigations on the workforce planning, and its impact on costs and productivity of the organisation caught our attention. This paper aims to fill this gap by designing a novel framework to integrate inventory, production, distribution, routing, and workforce planning decisions simultaneously. Because of the potential long distances between the main plant and the retailers spread throughout the country and also the perishability nature of the products, considering travelling time uncertainty for delivering products is necessary to have feasible decisions. The application of the proposed approach is investigated by being inspired from a supply chain structure from a knowledge-based company. We derive managerial insights on the benefit of an integrated decision. Besides, given the size and complexity of the proposed problem, we were challenged by exactly solving it in a reasonable time. We succeeded to reach this target by designing an innovative hybrid algorithm. Computational experiments on several numerical examples applied on both the studied real case and on PRP literature instances reveal the effectiveness and efficiency of our new hybrid method and permits to derive interesting managerial insights on the joint decisions.


Background: Kallmann syndrome is a hypogonadotropic hypogonadism accompanied by anosmia or hypoxia. More than 10 Kallmann syndrome pathogenic genes have been found. However, only 30% of the incidence of Kallmann syndrome is related to the above genes, suggesting that there are other disease-related genes of KS that have not been found. Methods: We studied Kallmann syndrome pathogenesis through high-throughput exome sequencing on four patients with Kallmann syndrome for screening the potential pathogenic sites and exploring the genotype-phenotype correlation. Clinical data and peripheral blood samples were collected from the patients. White blood cells were separated and genomic DNA was extracted. High-throughput sequencing of all exons in the candidate pathogenic genes of the probands was performed, and the results obtained were analyzed. Results: Sequencing revealed mutations in the KLB, p.T313M, ANOS1, p.C172F, and IGSF10 (p.Lys1819Arg and p.Arg1035Thr) at different sites, which may have been associated with disease onset. Discovery of these sites can improve our understanding of KS pathogenesis and serve as a novel target in further studies on KS.Conclusion: our analysis found new mutation sites to facilitate follow-up research. Diagnosis of Kallmann syndrome is a challenging, timely diagnosis and treatment can induce puberty, thereby improving sexual, bone, metabolic, and mental health.


While the prevalence of smoking has declined in the UK in recent years, class differentials in smoking behaviour have become more marked and smoking is increasingly recognised as a causal factor in inequalities in health. Health education initiatives to support both smoking cessation and to teach children about the health risks of smoking remain key initiatives in reducing health inequalities. However, teaching children about the risks of smoking and the impact of parental smoking on their health is not straightforward for children from backgrounds who are more likely to encounter smoking at home and in their local communities. These children have to reconcile the key messages taught at school and reinforced in smoking cessation campaigns with the knowledge that their parents and other family members smoke. In this article we consider how children from smoking homes make sense of these education and health campaigns as observed by their parents, and the impact that this has on both parental smoking and relationships within the home. The article thus seeks to challenge assumptions about the delivery of health education and the need to acknowledge family diversity.


The problem of indecisiveness is integral part in each scientific research. However, it is still not a certainty whether this problem has an objective nature. In this paper we will extend the analysis of the sources and causes of indecisiveness and define the new categories that are a stumbling block in writing high quality software. Based on a sample, we will propose several ways to classify indecisiveness. Specifically, we will investigate indecisiveness related to a human, machine and environment. In some cases, it is possible to distinguish between remediable and unavoidable indecisiveness depending on the cause.


With increased focus on CO2 storage, hydraulic fracturing, and steam injection operations in recent years, understanding of fluid induced seismicity has drawn a lot of attention amongst researchers and practicing engineers. Reactivation of existing dormant faults due to injection operations can lead to flow through or along the fault from the reservoir to undesirable zones. It poses a serious challenge that requires careful study so that measures could be taken to avoid such occurrence.
 In this paper, a method is presented where geomechanical response is used to compute the slip tendency when the stress changes in a reservoir due to fluid injection. The slip tendency is considered as the main variable to determine whether the fault is reactivated or not. It is computed based on the effective stress normal to the fault surface, and the tangential stress. When the effective stress on a fault surface is reduced due to the increase of pore pressure in grid-blocks adjacent to the fault, it can potentially make the slip tendency exceed the critical limit. In such a case, the transmissibility of grid-blocks on both sides of the fault are increased to allow the fluid to flow into the fault and subsequently along the fault. When the fluid leaks from the reservoir to another zone through the fault, the effective stress on grid-blocks adjacent to the fault increases as the pore pressures in those grid-blocks decrease. This will in turn reduce the slip tendency. Therefore, the transmissibility in this case will also decrease to a value smaller than the one when the fault reactivated.
 The algorithm allows the fault to be reactivated or deactivated to cope with the pressure change in the reservoir. The slip displacement at the fault is also estimated. The method is implemented in a multidimensional, multiphase flow simulator to demonstrate the advantages of using geomechanics for predicting fault reactivation, which can lead to leakage of fluids from the reservoir to other zones or to the surface. Three examples, two synthetic and one field, are presented to illustrate application of the procedure.
 The proposed method of fault reactivation modeling is suitable for implementing in any fluid flow simulator with geomechanics capability. It is intended for studying and designing of safe injection strategies that avoid undesirable fault reactivation.


The Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies has long been known for its robust book reviews. Rather than publish many short reviews, HJAS chooses a modest number of works and allows reviewers to engage with them at length. Long reviews have many benefits. Rather than a quick summary of the contents, reviewers have the opportunity to place the work into its intellectual context, discuss its strengths and weaknesses in some detail, and otherwise give readers not just a sense of an individual book but of a broader field as well. Publishing a small number of long reviews—no more than about a dozen per issue— involves trade-offs, of course. The most obvious is that we inevitably overlook many works that merit review. Choosing books for review makes for interesting discussions among the editorial staff as we try to balance geographical areas, disciplines, and time periods, as well as to feature works by a mix of junior and senior scholars. Beginning with this issue, we are introducing review essays as a regular feature in HJAS. We must necessarily be opportunistic in commissioning them, but our general aim is to give readers a chance to look beyond their specializations and get a sense of the issues that animate colleagues in other fields of Asian studies. Some review essays will highlight work in core but relatively underrepresented fields of East and Inner Asian studies. Donald Baker's essay in this issue on Tonghak as a religious movement in late-nineteenthand earlytwentieth-century Korea is an example of this sort. Others will focus on scholarship that pushes HJAS's geographical and disciplinary boundaries. Elena Barabantseva's review of four books on the human ties between China and the United States is our first effort in this direction.


Purpose The Scottish Diabetes Research Network (SDRN)-diabetes research platform was established to combine disparate electronic health record data into research-ready linked datasets for diabetes research in Scotland. The resultant cohort, 'The SDRN-National Diabetes Dataset (SDRN-NDS)', has many uses, for example, understanding healthcare burden and socioeconomic trends in disease incidence and prevalence, observational pharmacoepidemiology studies and building prediction tools to support clinical decision making. Participants We estimate that >99% of those diagnosed with diabetes nationwide are captured into the research platform. Between 2006 and mid-2020, the cohort comprised 472 648 people alive with diabetes at any point in whom there were 4 million person-years of follow-up. Of the cohort, 88.1% had type 2 diabetes, 8.8% type 1 diabetes and 3.1% had other types (eg, secondary diabetes). Data are captured from all key clinical encounters for diabetes-related care, including diabetes clinic, primary care and podiatry and comprise clinical history and measurements with linkage to blood results, microbiology, prescribed and dispensed drug and devices, retinopathy screening, outpatient, day case and inpatient episodes, birth outcomes, cancer registry, renal registry and causes of death. Findings to date There have been >50 publications using the SDRN-NDS. Examples of recent key findings include analysis of the incidence and relative risks for COVID-19 infection, drug safety of insulin glargine and SGLT2 inhibitors, life expectancy estimates, evaluation of the impact of flash monitors on glycaemic control and diabetic ketoacidosis and time trend analysis showing that diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) remains a major cause of death under age 50 years. The findings have been used to guide national diabetes strategy and influence national and international guidelines. Future plans The comprehensive SDRN-NDS will continue to be used in future studies of diabetes epidemiology in the Scottish population. It will continue to be updated at least annually, with new data sources linked as they become available.


Convective deposition of monosized nanoparticles or microspheres on a substrate utilizes an evaporation-driven flow in a thin film formed across the advancing substrate. Confinement in the thin film results in capillary interactions that order particles into hexagonally arranged monolayers with varying domain size. In thicker thin films, random hexagonally packed crystals form through convection steering identified by Brewer et al., Langmuir, 2008. In recent work, we have extended the ability to deposit well-ordered hexagonal monolayers by adding lateral vibration in the direction of deposition. This vibration enhances the order parameter, the deposition rate, and enables coatings on relatively hydrophobic surfaces. In this talk, we introduce the discovery of utilizing this process to form FCC crystals from monosized colloids without templating the substrate nor changing the physical and chemical properties of the suspension. Relatively large domains of 3-12 layers cover as much as 50% of the substrate and the orientation of the FCC domains in the polycrystalline layer have a strong orientation relative to the flow direction. While the mechanism is poorly understood, these results are robust across silica and polystyrene particles in size and deposited on substrates such as glass, polystyrene, and PDMS.


This paper presents a wafer level attachment method for handling various shaped structures for MEMS processes, using parylene as an interlayer material. In this method, a handle wafer containing pillars and perforations is utilized, and structures are attached to the handle wafer through a parylene coating process realized at room temperature with no applied force. It is observed that pillars with 20 μm height, 2.5 mm side length, and 4.5 mm spacing can successfully be used to attach two 4" substrates to each other. The shear strength between the attached substrates is measured as 0.49 MPa, proving the feasibility of the method for integrating various materials into MEMS processes.


Background: The internet has increasingly become an important source of healthcare information. More than 40% of patients say that information found via social media affects the way they deal with their health. Ninety percent of respondents from 18 to 24 years of age said they would trust medical information shared by others on their social media networks. YouTube was chosen as the source of information that was characterized and evaluated based on Global Quality scale. Our aim was to provide clinicians with a snapshot of how reliable in the information patients obtain on the internet, so they can be better prepared to answer questions. Methods: YouTube has become a popular source on the Internet for providing healthcare information in America, and increasing popularity makes it essential to characterize the content and quality of information on YouTube. The first 50 YouTube videos were chosen to provide the data for this study and every video was assigned reliability, content and a global quality score by 2 different analyzers in the study and were chosen based on the keyword search output, without filters, as it would be by a patient. The keywords were "Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC). Scoring ranged from 1, which indicates a poor quality video with missing important information to a 5, which indicates an excellent quality video covering very useful information for patients. Videos were considered misleading if the information provided by the video contained content not related to the subject in study or were against current standards of care. Data analysis was completed using SPSS. Results: Results for UC the mean duration, length and views of videos were 656.56 days, 750.52 seconds, 37,285 respectively whereas for CD were 492.82 days, 499 seconds, 51,099 respectively. The total misleading videos for UC were 16 and CD had a total of 10 misleading videos out of the top 50 searches. Mean reliable, mean content and mean global score were found to be 2.32, 2.36 and 2.34 for UC whereas for CD were 3.11, 1.86 and 2.19 respectively. Conclusions: [ZERO WIDTH SPACE]The results indicate that there is a wide range of videos on IBD available on YouTube, most commonly the ones that involve personal experience and patient education. The number of views demonstrates large viewership by patients. Though many of the videos were helpful, their QCS scores indicate mid-level quality. Many videos did not contain important information and also consisted of elements that were inaccurate. Based on this study public health professional and clinical should be vigilant in recognizing videos and information that could contain misleading information on health related issues. Physicians should counsel and educate patients against inappropriate use of online videos and they themselves should become familiar with the mediocre body of evidence to protect their patients. We plan to expand this study and implement a patient survey to assess the impact and prevalence of social media driven medicine used by patients at our institution.


The magnitude and water quality implications of nonpoint source phosphorus loadings to Owasco Lake (New York) are evaluated through the application of a methodology which links geographic characteristics, longterm average runoff loads and a set of critical lakewide water quality response parameters. The approach utilizes the Universal Soil Loss Equation together with empirical loading functions to derive representative phosphorus export coefficients for the local drainage system. Cumulative loadings from individual sub-basins within the watershed serve as input to a simple water quality model of Owasco Lake, showing the expected lake response in terms of average total phosphorus concentration, trophic state, water transparency, and minimum hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen concentration. The methodology facilitates easy and rapid assessment of general watershed management and development scenarios of interest A unique aspect of the approach is its dependence upon descriptive data supplied by a Geographic Information System (GIS) to establish the coincidence of specific land use, soil texture and surface slope attributes within each of the hydrologie sub-basins comprising the overall watershed. The GIS-generated attribute matrices provide a much more accurate depiction of critical geographic characteristics known to impact nonpoint source runoff loadings, thereby improving the reliability of current and projected phosphorus loads to Owasco Lake.


This text displays the authors' commitment to ensuring that the student has a thorough understanding of the research process from the very beginning. Using contemporary examples from primary sources, RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY, Seventh Edition encourages students to be come engaged in the basics of scientific investigation through an example-based approach. This highly readable text avoids the heavy statistical tone that some introductory students find difficult to understand. Rather, RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY is conceptually driven to offer students a big picture view of the experimental approach to research. Empirical examples and applications are consistently used throughout to foster critical thinking skills. In many chapters, a unifying empirical example at the beginning of the chapter is cited throughout the chapter to help clarify terms or design problems. By presenting concepts with concrete examples, the text aids students in applying related ideas to their areas of research interest.