ABSTRACT Radicalisation is influenced by a multitude of factors such as situational, social and psychological factors, including social-cognitive processes. This article explores how homegrown extremists are influenced by their perceived agency and how the beliefs of their own abilities to change their situation are directly shaped by the online-propaganda they consume using ISIS propaganda as a case study. The article serves as an exploratory analysis of the potential explanatory qualities of Bandura's theory of self-efficacy. This preliminary theoretical work explores how online-propaganda seeks to increase perceived personal self-efficacy to inspire action. The findings indicate that an increased focus on agency beliefs may facilitate a more holistic understanding of the psycho-social processes influencing radicalization and factors driving certain individuals to perpetrate violence while others do not. More research needs to be conducted, but this work is a first exploratory step in advancing our understanding of self-efficacy beliefs in the radicalization of homegrown extremists.


Long–short extension strategies, such as 130–30, allow portfolio managers to reduce the implementation inefficiencies associated with the long-only constraint. Ample research using benchmark-specific and time period–specific numerical analyses indicates that long–short extensions increase expected information ratios. What is lacking is a general theory or mathematical model of long–short extensions based on underlying assumptions about benchmark composition, the security covariance matrix, and the portfolio optimization process. The analytical model developed here identifies the roles various parameters play in determining the size of the long–short extension. The impact of changes in the model parameters over time and across markets is illustrated with the use of historical and current equity benchmark data.


Abstract The performance of 2- and 10-µm coherent Doppler lidar is presented in terms of the statistical distribution of the maximum-likelihood velocity estimator from simulations for fixed range resolution and fixed velocity search space as a function of the number of coherent photoelectrons per estimate. The wavelength dependence of the aerosol backscatter coefficient, the detector quantum efficiency, and the atmospheric extinction produce a simple shift of the performance curves. Results are presented for a typical boundary layer measurement and a space-based measurement for two regimes: the pulse-dominated regime where the signal statistics are determined by the transmitted pulse, and the atmospheric-dominated regime where the signal statistics are determined by the velocity fluctuations over the range gate. The optimal choice of wavelength depends on the problem under consideration.


The Sport Motivation Scale was firstly developed in French and later translated into English and validated by Pelletier et al. (1995). It is based on the principles of self-determination theory. The present study translated the English version into Portuguese to access and validate it with Brazilian athletes using a sample of 419 athletes (127 women and 292 men) from ten sports. The Brazilian version of the scale showed satisfactory levels of internal consistency and temporal stability over a four-week period. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis partially supported the seven-factor structure. Finally, gender differences were found in all subscales. Taken together, these findings support the use of the Brazilian version of the scale for the assessment of motivation in sport.


In this paper, we focus on the temperature regulation of rooms in buildings. By using the dynamic model of the thermal process, weather condition, occupancy and so on, a Stochastic Model Predictive Control (SMPC) problem is formulated to keep the temperature of rooms within a comfortable range with a predefined probability while consuming less energy. The temperature regulation problem in this paper is an optimal control problem of a linear system with additive uncertainty. To overcome the computational burden caused by the large number of rooms, a subgradient-based dual decomposition method is used to solve the SMPC problem in a distributed manner. Simulation results show the effectiveness of our results.


Abstract Whereas the expansive open-door laminoplasty (EL) has been applied widely and the bone gutter on the hinge side is essential for EL, little is known regarding the mandatory width of the bone gutter. This study addressed the essential parameters of bone gutters for EL. Preoperative axial CT images of 20 patients suffering from cervical myelopathy were downloaded and entered into a computer. EL was then simulated using a computer-assisted technique and the thickness of the laminae at the gutter sites was measured. Accordingly, the width of the bone gutter was linked mathematically with the angle of the lifted lamina and the thickness of the lamina at the lamina-lateral mass junction. Furthermore, the average thickness of the laminae at the gutter site was 6.19 mm, and the appropriate bone gutter for EL was 5.13 to 7.15 mm. The width of the bone gutter can thus be planned precisely preoperatively, which may help improve the safety and accuracy of expansive open-door laminoplasty.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to estimate the optimal performance of cervicography. We compared an arbitrated cervigram classification with an arbitrated referent diagnosis of cervical neoplasia.

STUDY DESIGN
From an initial group of 8460 women, a stratified sample of cervigrams from 3645 women and histologic information from 414 women underwent arbitration. Interobserver agreement was assessed for cervicography and the referent diagnosis. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were estimated for initial and arbitrated cervicography results, compared with the initial and arbitrated referent diagnoses.

RESULTS
For the detection of arbitrated high-grade lesions or cancer, arbitrated cervicography yielded an overall sensitivity of 63.9% and a specificity of 93.7%. Significantly higher sensitivity was associated with younger age and age-related visual characteristics.

CONCLUSION
Optimization of the cervigram classification improved performance over a single interpretation in this population but suggested the limits of static visual screening.


The paper discusses the decisions on the reform of the CAP from June 2003. The decisions focus on the decoupling of the direct payments to farmers from production. This will reduce production incentives and thereby improve the allocation of resources. However, payments to farmers will hardly be reduced in total but rather partly be redirected towards rural development policies, environmental policies and animal health measures. Since a consistent rationale for permanent payments to farmers is missing, payments should be stopped completely. The increase of financial support for rural development is the wrong way, since most measures, again, are interventions in favour of farmers.


This paper presents a system on chip (SoC) designed specifically to control a mm3-sized microrobot called I-SWARM. The robot is intended to be part of a colony of 1000 members for studying swarm behavior in real time with real robots. The SoC offers a well-suited hardware platform to run multi-agent systems software. The SoC enables control of movement, communications and sensing. It is a platform where run multi-agent system software. With these capabilities, the robot is able for example to avoiding collisions, perform cooperative tasks, share information and, of course, solve different swarm scenarios and more complex tasks. The SoC has been fabricated with a 0.13 mum ultra low power CMOS process of STMicroelectronics and consumes less than 1.5 mW.


The Akaike Criterion, which is based on maximum likelihood estimation and cannot be applied directly to the situations when likelihood functions are not available, has been modified for variable selection in longitudinal data with generalized estimating equations via a working independence model. This paper proposes another modification to AIC, the difference between the quasi-likelihood functions of a candidate model and of a narrow model plus a penalty term. Such a difference avoids calculating complex integration from quasi-likelihood, but inherits theoretical asymptotic properties from AIC. We also propose a focused information criterion for variable selection on the basis of the quasi-score function. Further, this paper develops a frequentist model average estimator for longitudinal data with generalized estimating equations. Simulation studies provide evidence of the superiority of the proposed procedures. The procedures are further applied to a data example.


Present study was conducted for the isolation, identification, molecular detection and antibiotic sensitivity patterns of the bacteria present in the California Mastitis Test (CMT) positive milk samples of clinical and sub-clinical mastitic crossbred (Friesian cross and Sahiwal cross) cows of Satkhira district. A total number of 598 quarters milk samples from 150 cows were tested by CMT kit, among them 82 quarters from 52 cows were positive for CMT. The bacteria isolated from 52 CMT positive milk samples were coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus 27 (49.09%) followed by Escherichia coli 15 (27.27%), coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CNS) spp. 10 (18.18%) and Bacillus spp. 3 (5.45%) respectively. In this present study only 13 (48.15%) positive Staphylococcus aureus were positive against nuc gene by PCR. All the isolates of E.coli were further confirmed by PCR with species specific 16srRNA PCR. None of the isolates of E.coli revealed positivity in PCR by stx1 and stx2 genes. All the coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus isolates were found sensitive to 6 antibiotics and resistant to 5 antibiotics. The Coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp. was also sensitive to 7 antibiotics and acquired resistant properties against 3 antibiotics. Most E.coli isolates were found resistant against 9 antibiotics already possessed multidrug resistant properties and sensitive to only 3 antibiotics. Bacillus spp. isolated from milk samples was highly sensitive against 5 antibiotics compare to other antibiotics of the panel. Antibiogram profile of this study revealed that, all the isolated bacteria were sensitive to Ciprofloxacin only.


Aim: To investigate toxicity of disinfectants using human sperm motility assay (HSMA) in order to establish universal disinfection protocol, safe by all means for ART set up. Methods: Semen samples obtained from normospermic men and processed through density gradient, pellet was resuspended in 5ml of KSOM handling medium and motility assessed at 0 hours. The replicate splitted equally into five 1ml aliquots.In direct contact trial, four test tubes treated by adding 0.5ml of each disinfectant simultaneously ( 70% Ethanol, Fertisafe, Fertisafe Plus & Farmacidal ) directly, one test tube without disinfectant being a control. Results: Human sperm motility was lost after 24hrs of direct contact trial treatment with disinfectants as compared to control (p<0.01). Sperm motility lost was more than 90 percent after 24hrs of direct contacttrial of disinfectants. Conclusion: Significant association of disinfectant use in ART setup and loss of sperm motility was found in direct contacttrial.


Following the detection of a cosmic shear signal at the 30′′ scale using archival parallel data from the STIS CCD camera onboard HST in the previous paper of this series, we analyzed a larger data set obtained from an HST GO pure parallel program. Although this data set is considerably larger than the one analyzed previously, we do not obtain a significant detection of the cosmic shear signal. The most likely cause of this null result is that the signal is comparable to (or less than) the random measurement of the noise. We also show that multiple systematics plague the STIS CCD data for its use in cosmic shear programs, and in particular the continuous degradation of the CCD charge transfer efficiency after 4 years in space, which is a source of additional noise that is still difficult to correct for in the absence of physical models.


With the 4th industrial revolution and the increased use of cobots in the industries comes many opportunities for new generation control panels. In this article, we proposed to develop a deep learning model to recognize in real time 10 different gestures that can be used to interact with a cobot. We proposed a new dataset containing gestures that can be used in an industrial context. The videos were taken from a computer webcam and then processed to remove the noise created by the background by isolating the movement of the gray scale images. We proposed to extract the spatio-temporal features by the combination of 3D convolution and LSTM layers. We also proposed a real time method to recognize our gestures, the frames are captured continuously and fed to the model to get a prediction every 2.4 seconds. Our experimental results show for 8 out of 10 gestures, a recognition rate of more than 90%. Furthermore, an interface was created to test our method in real time and to add new classes of gestures to be recognized by our model.


Compared with traditional image classification, fine-grained visual categorization is a more challenging task, because it targets to classify objects belonging to the same species, e.g., classify hundreds of birds or cars. In the past several years, researchers have made many achievements on this topic. However, most of them are heavily dependent on the artificial annotations, e.g., bounding boxes, part annotations, and so on. The requirement of artificial annotations largely hinders the scalability and application. Motivated to release such dependence, this paper proposes a robust and discriminative visual description named Automated Bi-level Description (AutoBD). "Bi-level" denotes two complementary part-level and object-level visual descriptions, respectively. AutoBD is "automated," because it only requires the image-level labels of training images and does not need any annotations for testing images. Compared with the part annotations labeled by the human, the image-level labels can be easily acquired, which thus makes AutoBD suitable for large-scale visual categorization. Specifically, the part-level description is extracted by identifying the local region saliently representing the visual distinctiveness. The object-level description is extracted from object bounding boxes generated with a co-localization algorithm. Although only using the image-level labels, AutoBD outperforms the recent studies on two public benchmark, i.e., classification accuracy achieves 81.6% on CUB-200–2011 and 88.9% on Car-196, respectively. On the large-scale Birdsnap data set, AutoBD achieves the accuracy of 68%, which is currently the best performance to the best of our knowledge.


This paper examines the claim that when a full verb is grammaticalized and becomes an auxiliary it is subjected to a process of desemanticization or semantic bleaching. For this matter, the Spanish periphrasis parecer + infinitive ('to seem') is analysed on the basis of the three semantic-pragmatic tendencies proposed by Traugott (1989). It is shown how in the course of time the original meaning of physical appearance of the periphrasis developed into the current epistemic and evidential meaning, shifting from a concrete to a more abstract meaning. The semantic shift, so it is argued, does not involve a loss of meaning but constitutes a case of generalization, allowing for the use of the periphrasis with all six grammatical persons.


We have developed novel instrumentation for making Lagrangian measurements of temperature in diverse fluid flows. A small neutrally buoyant capsule is equipped with on-board electronics which measures temperature and transmits the data via a wireless radio frequency link to a desktop computer. The device has 80 dB dynamic range, resolving millikelvin changes in temperature with up to 100 ms sampling time. The capabilities of these "smart particles" are demonstrated in turbulent thermal convection in water. We measure temperature variations as the particle is advected by the convective motion and analyze its statistics. Additional use of cameras allow us to track the particle position and to report here the first direct measurement of Lagrangian heat flux transfer in Rayleigh-Bénard convection. The device shows promise for opening new research in a broad variety of fluid systems.


In two recent cases "T Danmark" and "N Luxembourg 1" the European Court of Justice delivered landmark judgments on the impact of the concept of "abuse of law" in the area of taxation. In these judgments the Court promoted the recurrent notion that "European law cannot be relied up-on for abusive or fraudulent ends" to the rank of a "general principle" of European law in matters of direct taxation. This has a profound effect on the legal framework for taxpayers and tax authorities as such a "general principle" has the power to override both secondary EU law and national tax legislation. According to the Court, it has to be applied irrespective of conflicting provisions in EU tax directives and without any explicit basis under domestic tax law. This article, which has been written to celebrate Professor Judith Freedman on the occasion of her retirement at Oxford University, challenges the findings of the Court, which create confusion and uncertainty both from a methodological and a constitutional perspective. This article proposes to recognize a concept of "abuse of law" at the level of secondary EU law, thus leaving the hierarchy of norms under European law and the interaction between EU law and national legislation intact.


Previous studies demonstrated the presence of a delta 2 opioid receptor on human and invertebrate immunocytes. The present study demonstrates that this new binding site regulates invertebrate immunocyte activation. In the present study we note that the select delta antagonist, naltrindole, at a low concentration (10(-11) M), can significantly inhibit DAMA induced activation. Interestingly, the general opioid and opiate antagonist, naloxone, is not effective at this low concentration, further suggesting that the delta 2 opioid receptor mediates opioid immunocyte activation. This conclusion is further supported by the fact that DPDPE and DADLE, known to influence delta 1 activity did not affect immunocyte activation at low concentrations.


Background Postgraduate training in paediatrics has moved from time based to competency based learning. Due to the current full shift pattern of working, opportunities available to the individual trainee will vary greatly. One of the critical core competencies expected of all paediatric trainees is the management of the neonatal airway including a difficult airway. Despite this, there is no specific airway management syllabus in the neonatal curriculum published by the RCPCH and no formal focussed training programme for trainees to achieve this competency. Aim To ascertain the competence of paediatric trainees at neonatal airway management. Methods A regional questionnaire survey of paediatric registrars on the middle grade rota between May-Oct 2012 Results A total of 111 paediatric registrars at various stages of training answered the survey. 80% of trainees were NLS providers while 73% were APLS providers. Nearly half had received formal in-service training including theoretical and practical sessions on airway management while 23% trainees had received some formal training in anaesthetics. 41% trainees at ST4–5 level and 5% trainees at ST6-ST8 level had performed less than 20 intubations. 32% trainees had used advanced airway adjuncts ie. laryngeal mask airway (LMA) during training. While majority had used a manikin model to practise neonatal airway management techniques, some had experienced high fidelity simulation and only a handful had the experience of other methods such as e-learning, multimedia, closed circuit television or video laryngoscope. 80% trainees strongly felt a structured training programme would be valuable to them, particularly at an early stage of training. Conclusion Training on neonatal airway management skills is not uniform amongst paediatric trainees. A reduction in training time may result in some trainees failing to achieve basic neonatal airway competencies. Successful completion of life support courses ie, NLS and APLS does not confer mastery in airway management skills. Major changes have to take place in the way training is delivered if quality is to be maintained. A structured programme using a variety of technology enhanced teaching methods including high fidelity simulation is required at commencement of registrar training. This will ensure that future trainees achieve competence in this vital skill.


The Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway regulates developmental, homeostatic, and repair processes throughout the body. In the skin, touch domes develop in tandem with primary hair follicles and contain sensory Merkel cells. The developmental signaling requirements for touch dome specification are largely unknown. We found dermal Wnt signaling and subsequent epidermal Eda/Edar signaling promoted Merkel cell morphogenesis by inducing Shh expression in early follicles. Lineage-specific gene deletions revealed intraepithelial Shh signaling was necessary for Merkel cell specification. Additionally, a Shh signaling agonist was sufficient to rescue Merkel cell differentiation in Edar-deficient skin. Moreover, Merkel cells formed in Fgf20 mutant skin where primary hair formation was defective but Shh production was preserved. Although developmentally associated with hair follicles, fate mapping demonstrated Merkel cells primarily originated outside the hair follicle lineage. These findings suggest that touch dome development requires Wnt-dependent mesenchymal signals to establish reciprocal signaling within the developing ectoderm, including Eda signaling to primary hair placodes and ultimately Shh signaling from primary follicles to extrafollicular Merkel cell progenitors. Shh signaling often demonstrates pleiotropic effects within a structure over time. In postnatal skin, Shh is known to regulate the self-renewal, but not the differentiation, of touch dome stem cells. Our findings relate the varied effects of Shh in the touch dome to the ligand source, with locally produced Shh acting as a morphogen essential for lineage specification during development and neural Shh regulating postnatal touch dome stem cell maintenance.


: The principal mechanisms forming the basis of detoxication abnormalities have been analysed using the data of research into the status of the hepatic monooxygenase enzyme system, which is responsible for the liver detoxication potential, and the literature reports. Irrespective of the pathology, a similar depression of the monooxygenase enzyme system of hepatocytes was revealed in acute stercoraceous peritonitis, acute ileus, burn disease, acute renal failure, and pyo-inflammatory conditions in the maxillofacial region. A pathogenetic model is proposed, which explains the mechanism of hepatic detoxication dysfunction in endogenous intoxications of different etiology. New approaches to the therapy of detoxication abnormalities in the conditions attended with endotoxemic syndrome are discussed proceeding from the pathogenetic mechanisms.


The article discusses the perception of the sense of political representation manifested by part of the ordinary citizens: representatives are viewed as "patrons" controlling a parcel of the State apparatusesand, hence,capable of obtaining and distributing benefits such as jobs, supplies or forgiveness. This is a relation that differs from those usually discussed in the literature, once it is not established out of identification with the representativeand does not involve accountability. The article explores this "implicit popular view" of representation through the study of letters that were sent to two chief Brazilian political leaders (Getulio Vargas and Jânio Quadros). In so doing, it discusses as such relation - albeit stigmatized by current normative conceptions - can be understood as a rational way of acting in a political ambience hardly permeable to the demands of a poor and disorganized population.


1. In more than 1,100 kidney transplants performed at a single center in 21 years a conservative approach to immunosuppressive therapy and HLA antigen matching has ensured high survival rates after both short- and long-term follow-up. 2. Retransplantation has been carried out in 16.6% of patients with transplant survival rates not differing significantly from those in first transplant recipients. 3. Living-related donor transplants accounted for only 7.9% of cases since 1982 and transplant survival was no different from HLA-A,B,DR-identical cadaver donor transplants. 4. Pretransplant blood transfusions were given to over 98% of recipients since 1982 and transplant survival in such CsA-treated patients was 10% higher than in the few nontransfused recipients. 5. By adopting a meticulous policy of pretransplant cytotoxic antibody screening and HLA antibody definition followed by careful pretransplant crossmatching using all available patient sera, accelerated transplant rejection has largely been avoided. 6. Monitoring of posttransplant recipient sera has shown that the appearance of cytotoxic antibodies leads to transplant failure and these antibodies are usually directed against HLA antigens mismatched between donor and recipient. 7. Matching for HLA antigens has a striking positive effect on transplant survival with more than 30% difference between the no mismatch and no match groups. Positive HLA matching effects on transplant survival were found in retransplants, highly sensitized recipients, male and female recipients, all ABO blood groups, and after long-term (20 years) follow-up.


ABSTRACT Introduction The type 1 interferon pathway is known to play a role in the immunopathology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). As a result, biologic agents targeting this pathway have been developed and are currently being investigated in clinical trials. Areas covered We review the biologic agents which have been developed to antagonize type I interferons in SLE. We focus on anifrolumab, a type I interferon receptor antagonist, and consider the complexities of defining efficacy in SLE clinical trials. Expert opinion Anifrolumab shows promise as an addition to the SLE therapeutic armamentarium. Despite discordant results between its two phase III studies, there is a convincing suggestion of benefit in both trials to encourage the view that this approach might be effective. Data acquired thus far look particularly useful for cutaneous disease. We await data on its effect on renal, pulmonary, cardiac, and central nervous system involvement, on patient reported outcomes, and its safety and efficacy with long-term use.


Real-world graphs are typically complex, exhibiting heterogeneity in the global structure, as well as strong heterophily within local neighborhoods. While a growing body of literature has revealed the limitations of common graph neural networks (GNNs) in handling homogeneous graphs with heterophily, little work has been conducted on investigating the heterophily properties in the context of heterogeneous graphs. To bridge this research gap, we identify the heterophily in heterogeneous graphs using metapaths and propose two practical metrics to quantitatively describe the levels of heterophily. Through in-depth investigations on several real-world heterogeneous graphs exhibiting varying levels of heterophily, we have observed that heterogeneous graph neural networks (HGNNs), which inherit many mechanisms from GNNs designed for homogeneous graphs, fail to generalize to heterogeneous graphs with heterophily or low level of homophily. To address the challenge, we present Hetero$^2$Net, a heterophily-aware HGNN that incorporates both masked metapath prediction and masked label prediction tasks to effectively and flexibly handle both homophilic and heterophilic heterogeneous graphs. We evaluate the performance of Hetero$^2$Net on five real-world heterogeneous graph benchmarks with varying levels of heterophily. The results demonstrate that Hetero$^2$Net outperforms strong baselines in the semi-supervised node classification task, providing valuable insights into effectively handling more complex heterogeneous graphs.


Study Design. We investigate on the surgical reliability of nasal palatine line for the transnasal approach and introduce a conceptually analogue radiological line as a reliable predictor of the maximal superior extension of the transoral approach. We have also compared radiological and surgical lines to find possible radiological references points to predict preoperatively the maximal extent of superior dissection for the transoral approach. Objective. After comparing the surgical exposition angle and the working channel volume of both the approaches in our previous article, now we compare the radiological (theoretical) with the "surgical" (effective) Nasopalatine line and the latter with the recently introduced Nasal Axial Line. We conceived a radiological line with a similar significance for the transoral approach and we called it Mandibulopalatine line; then we compared the radiological with the "surgical" one. Summary of Background Data. Endoscopy represents both an alternative and a useful complement to the standard microsurgical approach to the anterior craniovertebral junction (CVJ). Both the surgical routes have a limitation caused by the hard palate. Methods. Ten fresh nonperfused cadavers were studied. Transnasal and transoral linear and angled exposure of the CVJ were evaluated by means of X-ray and CT scan in the sagittal plane. Results. The angular difference between the radiological and surgical transoral endoscopic lines was significantly smaller compared with the difference between the radiological and surgical transnasal lines. Finally we found how to calculate preoperatively the "surgical" (effective) Mandibulopalatine line by a simple lateral preoperative radiological study of the CVJ. Conclusion. Naso-axial line is confirmed to be a reliable preoperative predictor of the maximal extent of inferior dissection for transnasal approach. Surgical Palatine Inferior dental Arch line will draw the maximal extent of superior dissection for the transoral approach with simple lateral head X-ray examination by open mouth. Level of Evidence: 3


This is the catalogue for an exhibition of ninety nineteenth-century photographs drawn primarily from the world-class collection of Michael G. Wilson. Included are the starkly beautiful photographs of Sergeant James McDonald's surveys of Palestine and Jerusalem; recently discovered photographs by Ernest Benecke; and, the rare photographs by Maxime Du Camp taken in 1850 as he travelled with Flaubert. With the invention of photography and the increasing popularity of travel in the mid-nineteenth century, the Holy Land became one of the most photographed places on earth. Interest in Jerusalem and Palestine was particularly pronounced in England, partly because of England's need to control its routes to the riches of India, but also because of Britain's cultural identification with the people and lands of the Bible. Imperial ambition and deeply ingrained cultural associations resulted in a surge of photographic activity in Palestine.McDonald's photographs from surveys of Jerusalem and the Sinai epitomize the dual imperatives of Bible and Empire. Photography provided a new standard for authenticity in pictorial representations. Early photographs were considered the ultimate bearers of 'reality' at a time when viewers had not yet lost their naive faith in the objective accuracy of photography. Throughout the last half of the nineteenth century, the Holy Land drew legions of photographers: amateurs recording a stop on the Grand Tour, academics pursuing archaeological theories, military surveyors - all trying to capture the truthfulness of a land that had enormous spiritual, emotional, and political connotations for most of the Western world. What they saw, and how they saw it, are the themes of this beautifully recorded collection.


The cationic antimicrobial peptide, LL37, forms electrostatic complexes with DNA (LL37-DNA), which are potent activators of circulating plasmacytoid predendritic cells (ppDCs) and monocytes. However, the effects of LL37-DNA on other immune cell types, such as NK cells, are poorly characterized. In this study, we show that complexes of human genomic DNA (hgDNA) or synthetic double-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides with LL37 strongly enhance natural cytotoxicity of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) upon an overnight culture, whereas hgDNA alone has no effect, and LL37 alone is moderately active. LL37-DNA complexes potentiate degranulation of, and interferon (IFN)-γ production by, NK cells upon subsequent encounter of K562 target cells. The complexes do not influence percentages of NK cells among PBMCs or the expression of cytotoxic proteins by NK cells. Using neutralizing anticytokine antibodies and immunomagnetic depletion of different subpopulations of PBMCs, we found that the effect of LL37-DNA on NK cells is indirect and mediated by type I IFNs produced by monocytes and, to a lesser extent, by ppDCs. We discuss possible roles of LL37-DNA complexes in the regulation of NK cell functions and in the treatment of cancer.


Nowadays, near-infrared (NIR)-emitting luminescence materials with broad application prospects have drawn great attention. SrGa12O19:Cr3+ is a new type of solid light source material that emits NIR light with wide application prospects. However, the narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) restricts its further multifunctional applications. Therefore, we propose a novel methodology to increase the FWHM by artificially adjusting the strength of the crystal field by doping Sc3+ ions. By employing Rietveld refinement results, parameters evolution and Raman spectra, Sc3+ ions are proved to successfully occupy the Ga3+ crystallographic sites. Combining the spectroscopy characteristics, it was confirmed that the FWHM was increased from 78 nm (127 977 cm-1) to 104 nm (96 739 cm-1) with the optimum quantum efficiency of 96.55%. In addition, the excellent thermal stability and unprecedented suitability to a 450 nm blue-chip indicate that it is a potential luminescent material candidate for fluorescence conversion NIR light-emitting diode (LED). Finally, the successful implementation of the night vision on vegetation, biological imaging of human tissue and food inspection for different pork portions illustrate the strong commonality of the method.


Background: Due to its variable symptoms and nonspecific laboratory test results during routine examinations, acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) has always been a diagnostic dilemma for physicians. Misdiagnoses, missed diagnoses, and inappropriate treatments are very common. Correct diagnosis mainly depends on the detection of a high urinary porphobilinogen (PBG) level, which is not a routine test performed in the clinic and highly relies on the physician's awareness of AHP. Therefore, identifying a more convenient indicator for use during routine examinations is required to improve the diagnosis of AHP.Results: In the present study, we retrospectively analyzed laboratory examinations in 12 AHP patients and 100 patients with abdominal pain of other causes as the control groups between 2015 and 2021. Compared with the control groups, AHP patients showed a significantly higher urinary urobilinogen level during the urinalysis (P < 0.05). However, we showed that the higher urobilinogen level was caused by a false-positive result due to a higher level of urine PBG in the AHP patients. Hence, we used serum total bilirubin, an upstream substance of urinary urobilinogen synthesis, for calibration. A remarkable increase in the urinary urobilinogen/serum total bilirubin ratio was observed in AHP patients when compared to the control groups. The area under the ROC curve of this ratio for AHP was 1.000 (95% confidence interval, 1.000–1.000, P < 0.01). A cutoff value of 3.22 for the urinary urobilinogen/serum total bilirubin ratio yielded a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 100% to distinguish AHP patients from the controls.Conclusion: A reported high urinary urobilinogen level that was adjusted by the serum total bilirubin level (urinary urobilinogen/serum total bilirubin ratio) could be used as a sensitive and specific screening marker for AHP in patients with abdominal pain.


You've asked me to provide some thoughts on financial modernization and functional regulation, and to discuss more specifically how these issues may, from the perspective of the Federal Reserve Board, relate to insurance. I'd like to discuss first the importance of cooperation between the Federal Reserve System and state insurance supervisors. Then I'll describe some of the lessons we at the Fed have learned as participants in the dual banking system. I hope that hearing about our experiences will be useful as you consider initiatives to enhance the state insurance supervisory system. My comments today are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of my fellow Board or Federal Open Market Committee members.


OBJECTIVES
A conceptual model was designed to examine interrelations among psychosocial factors, oral health behaviour, and dental caries in a sample of adolescents.

METHODS
This cross-sectional study design of 531 Greek families included an oral examination and a survey completed by adolescents, and a survey completed by mothers. The outcome measure was dental caries experience. Additionally, dental sealants were recorded. The participants provided information which comprised the Sense of Coherence (SoC) scale and 11 psychosocial and behavioural variables that formed 6 composite variables (life-course experiences, socio-economic status, perceived parental support, perceived parental punishment, preventive measures, sugar intake frequency). The composite variables of preventive measures and sugar intake formed the latent variable of oral health behaviour. The interrelations of the above factors were included in a conceptual model and tested using a Structural Equation Modelling analysis.

RESULTS
Data fit the proposed conceptual model (χ2  = 23.338, df = 14, P = .055, RMSEA = 0.036). Among psychosocial variables, adolescent's SoC was the best predictor of both dental caries (Standardized Regression Coefficient - Std. RC ± Standard Error (SE) = -0.178 ± 0.04) and oral health behaviour (Std. RC ± SE = -0.378 ± 0.09). All psychosocial factors were associated with SoC (Std. RCs ± SE between -0.162 ± 0.04 and 0.211 ± 0.04) and via SoC with oral health behaviour (Std. RCs ± SE between -0.080 ± 0.03 and 0.061 ± 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS
A conceptual model was tested that integrated SoC with the psychosocial factors theoretically shaping it and clarified all factors' predictive abilities on dental caries via oral health behaviour.


In many radiotherapy facilities radiotherapy portal verification is currently a subjective process based on the visual comparison of a treatment or portal image with a prescription or simulation image. The reliability of this process is unknown. We describe here a study in which 16 observers (oncologists, physicists and therapists) independently evaluated the geometric accuracy of 530 treatment fields on 45 patients. The treatment images were acquired by the BEAMVIEW on-line portal imaging system (Siemens Medical Laboratories, Concord, CA, USA). Illustrative examples of the large variation in observers' assessments of the same field are given. The kappa statistic is used to evaluate the degree of agreement between observers and between on-line (at the treatment unit) and off-line (in a quiet viewing room) assessments. The best interobserver agreement was between the four oncologists contributing to the study although this level of agreement was rated only as "fair". Comparison of on-line and off-line decisions made by therapists exhibited "poor" agreement. This study has provided statistical confirmation of the suspicions of many workers in the field of radiotherapy portal verification, viz that the subjective evaluation of field accuracy is unreliable. However, the degree of unreliability is surprisingly large. The inconsistencies between observers documented in this study need to be clearly acknowledged in the development of protocols for the clinical use of on-line portal imaging systems. Acceptable reliability in radiotherapy portal verification will only be achieved when subjective decision making is eliminated.


In this paper, we quantify the economic and environmental implications of operating a standalone photovoltaic-battery system (PVB) while varying the battery's minimum allowable state of charge (MSOC), the load profile, and simultaneously incorporating ambient temperature effects in hot climates. To that end, Saudi Arabia has been chosen for this case study. Over a project lifetime of 25 years, we find that, contrary to the widely accepted norm of 50% being a reasonable MSOC, a lower MSOC can bestow economic benefits. For example, a MSOC of 20% results in a lower number of batteries required throughout the lifetime of the project—while still meeting demand. For a village of 1000 homes, this translates to a saving of $47 million in net present value. Further, incorporating temperature effects results in deducing more realistic costs that are 125% higher than the ideal scenario (i.e., when temperature is not modeled). This difference stems from underestimating the actual number of batteries needed throughout the project lifetime. Compared to a diesel-powered microgrid, and for a village of 1000 homes, a PVB would, on an annual basis, avoid emitting 5000 tons of carbon and avoid burning 2 million liters of diesel.


A basic problem in biological nitrogen fixation is the distribution of this property among various organisms. Although several decades ago numerous bacteria were reported to fix molecular nitrogen, very few such claims survived because the proof was often based upon an unimpressive increase in visual turbidity or Kjeldahl nitrogen after prolonged culture. The limitation of these methods has been discussed (Wilson, 1952). During his extensive studies on Bacillus asterosporus, now regarded as identical with Bacillus polymyxa, Bredemann (1908) reported nitrogen fixation by some strains. However, owing to uncertainties in the measurement of fixation, not much attention has been paid to this report. For example, this claim is not mentioned in the discussion of Bacillus asterosporus in the 6th edition of Bergey's Manual. Several years ago one of us isolated a spore former from soil in Nagoya, Japan, that rapidly fixed molecular nitrogen anaerobically (Hino, 1955). This bacterium was reported as a strain of Clostridium, as the procedures described by Waksman (1932) for isolation of nitrogen-fixing clostridia were used. Also it formed clostridia and produced acid and gas from carbohydrates. During further studies of nitrogen fixation by this organism, however, properties different from those of the clostridia were observed. Taxonomic investigations were then undertaken and, as will be reported in this paper, the results revealed that the bacterium closely resembles Bacillus polymyxa. Oxygen has a dual effect on the inorganic nitrogen metabolism of this bacteriumspecific inhibition of nitrogen fixation and stimulation of nitrate utilization.


We introduce the Holiday Gathering Problem which models the difficulty in scheduling non-interfering transmissions in (wireless) networks. Our goal is to schedule transmission rounds so that the antennas that transmit in a given round will not interfere with each other, i.e. all of the other antennas that can interfere will not transmit in that round, while minimizing the number of consecutive rounds in which antennas do not transmit. Following a long tradition in Computer Science, we introduce the problem by an intuitive story. Assume we live in a perfect world where families enjoy being together. Consequently, parents, whose children are in a monogamous relation, would like to have all their children at home for the holiday meal (i.e. there is a special pleasure gained by hosting all the children simultaneously and they wish to have this event occur as frequently as possible). However, the conflict is that the in-laws would also be happiest if all their children come to them. Our goal can be described as scheduling an infinite sequence of "guest lists" in a distributed setting so that each child knows where it will spend the holiday. The holiday gathering problem is closely related to several classical problems in computer science, such as the dining philosophers problem on a general graph and periodic scheduling. The process of the scheduling should be done with no further communication after initialization, by using a small amount of local data. The result should minimize the number of consecutive holidays where the family is not together. In a good sequence this number depends on local properties of the parents (e.g., their number of children). Furthermore, solutions that are periodic, i.e. a gathering occurs every fixed number of rounds, are useful for maintaining a small amount of information at each node and reducing the amount of ongoing communication and computation. Our algorithmic techniques show interesting connections between periodic scheduling, coloring, and universal prefix free encodings. We develop a coloring-based construction where the period of each node colored with the c is at most 21+log*c ⋅ prodi=0log*c log(i)c (where log(i) means iterating the log function i times). This is achieved via a connection with prefix-free encodings. We prove that this is the best possible for coloring-based solutions. We also show a construction with period at most 2d for a node of degree d.


ABSTRACT Microcystin is a common and well-known cyanobacterial toxin whose intracellular role is still under investigation. Increasing knowledge on microcystin gene expression and regulation can contribute to the understanding of its putative cellular function. In this work, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to investigate the transcriptional response of the mcyD gene to nitrogen (nitrate and ammonium) and phosphorus limitation in two toxic Microcystis strains. The existence of a direct correlation between transcripts of mcyD and ntcA genes was also identified. In previous studies, NtcA (global nitrogen regulator) has been described as a potential component in the control of microcystin biosynthesis. This research showed that stress agents linked to nutrient deprivation could lead to a significant increase of microcystin production in both strains studied. The more toxic strain proved to be more resistant to nutrient limitation. The similar outcomes of mcyD regulation observed for all nutrients suggest that this response can be linked to oxidative stress of cells undergoing adverse growth conditions.


Proof. For discounted rewards, a straightforward adaptation of the proof of Theorem 3.1 in (Altman, 1999) shows that the discounted occupation distribution of any policy can be obtained with that of a stationary stochastic Markov policy. As the evaluation of policies with GGF is completely determined by their discounted occupation distributions, the GGF of any policy can be obtained with that of a stationary stochastic Markov policy.


Papiroen (the Paper Island) is one of the most exclusive sites in the Port of Copenhagen and it is yet to be decided what will be build there. At the moment three warehouse buildings remains as leftovers from the island's history, and so it will stay - at least until 2017. Our thesis statement is:
What does the citizens of Christianshavn and Indre By wish will be placed on Papiroen and what are the potentials of a debate waggon work as a medium for public participation?
The objective of our work was to investigate what the citizens of Christianshavn and Indre By would like to have built on the island when it becomes available in 2017. To do so we established collaborations with the Local Councils of Christianshavn and Indre By. We created a platform to enable the citizens to meet us and discuss their ideas about what to plan. The process of gathering this information is a vital part of this study.
The citizens want facilities that can improve the livelihood in their area. The debate waggon can potentially improve how citizens can engage in planning processes. This Study contains a theoretical framework consisting of David Harvey's Theory of the Entrepreneurialistic Growth Paradigm, John Friedman's ideas of Social Mobilisation and John Andersen's take on Empowerment.


Current Hypertension Guidelines emphasize the importance of assessing the presence of preclinical organ damage. In fact, an extensive evaluation of organ damage may increase the number of patients classified at high CV risk and therefore strongly influence the clinical management of patients. Hypertensive heart disease remains to date the form of organ damage for which there is the greatest amount of evidence of a strong independent prognostic significance. In the presence of a chronic pressure overload, a parallel addition of sarcomers takes place with an increase in myocyte width, which in turn increases left ventricular wall thickness; myocyte hypertrophy is also associated with apoptosis, collagen deposition and ventricular fibrosis with an impairment of coronary hemodynamics as well, thus profoundly influencing functional properties of the left (and right) ventricle. The development of LVH represents a step toward the development of clinical cardiovascular diseases, such as congestive heart failure, ischemic heart disease, stroke and sudden death. Therefore, accurate assessment of cardiac anatomy and function might be of help for a prompter identification of early alterations that may predispose hypertensive patients to cardiovascular events.The Guidelines of the European Society of Hypertension and of the European Society of Cardiology include echocardiography among the recommended techniques to be considered in hypertensive patients. In fact, echocardiography is a relatively easy method, is repeatable, is specific and more sensitive measure of LVH than electrocardiography. The relationship between LV mass at baseline and incidence of cardiovascular events is continuous and independent of other cardiovascular risk factors, and has been confirmed in various subsets of patients. In addition changes in LV mass parallel the occurrence of cardiovascular fatal and non-fatal events, independently of blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors. Nevertheless, LV mass reproducibility represents one of the major technical limitations of echocardiography and LV mass calculation may be not reliable in patients with previous myocardial infarction or with asymmetrical hypertrophy, assuming a prolate ellipsoid shape for the left ventricle. For this reason LV mass measurement with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, which is indubitably more accurate and reproducible, has been proposed, but with obvious limitations related to availability and costs of the technique.Three-dimensional echocardiographic (3DEcho) imaging represents a relevant innovation in cardiovascular imaging. The development of fully sampled matrix-array transducers, together with significant improvements in hardware and software of ultrasound systems, has made possible excellent real-time imaging of the beating heart in 3D. More recent studies indicate that 3DEcho has an excellent accuracy and provides better correlations that 2-dimensional echocardiography with MRI measurements.Echocardiography may also give useful information on cardiac functional changes, including systolic and diastolic abnormalities. LV diastole may be accurately evaluated by assessment of transmitral flow velocities, mitral annular pulsed tissue Doppler imaging and left atrial volume assessment. In uncomplicated hypertensives LV systolic dysfunction, as assessed by LV shortening fraction (FS) and ejection fraction (EF), expressing endocardial fibers shortening are usually preserved or even "supernormal", while midwall FS is reduced. In the absence of major structural abnormalities, the TDI measurement of longitudinal myocardial systolic velocity has been proposed as a reliable index of myocardial performance, independent of LV preload and afterload.Compared to the conventional 2D traditional approach, 3D echo offers the opportunity for a more sophisticated assessment of LV function, by the improvement in the accuracy of the evaluation of left ventricular and left atrial volumes by eliminating the need for geometric modelling. Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a relatively new technique based on the analysis of interference patterns and natural ultrasound beam reflections generated by tissue motion, which allows the derivation of multiple parameters of myocardial function and may be performed on 2D or 3D echocardiographic or on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. Global longitudinal strain seems to be the most clinically useful parameter to detect subclinical systolic myocardial dysfunction. In addition segmental and global diastolic strain rate and LV diastolic untwist may be used to assess LV relaxation and diastolic function.Cardiac computed tomography is used for the estimation of coronary plaque imaging and may be used for the estimation of a suspected aortic aneurysm or an aortic dissection, while the indications to the use of cardiac magnetic resonance have largely increased. CMR may be applied not only for the assessment of LV mass and cardiac chambers volumes, but also to visualize the amount and distribution of focal myocardial fibrosis usually associated to hypertensive heart disease.In conclusion 3DEchocardiography, CMR and tissue tracking technology are the most promising tool to provide accurate measures of cardiac structure and function for a more timely identification of preclinical organ damage.The prognostic significance of changes in EKG criteria of LVH has been demonstrated in the Framingham population, in high CV risk patients, in hypertensives with isolated systolic hypertension or with EKG-LVH. Other observational, prospective studies have examined the potential clinical benefits of regression of echocardiographic detectable LVH, and have demonstrated that changes in LV mass, during treatment, may imply an important prognostic significance in hypertensive patients. These studies have clearly shown that subjects who failed to achieve LVH regression or in whom LVH developed during follow-up are much more likely to suffer morbid events than those in whom LVH regressed or never developed. However, regression to normal of LVH still maintains a high risk in comparison with persistently normal LV mass. Further information has been derived from the LIFE echocardiographic substudy: in 930 patients with EKG LVH, a decrease of 25 gr/m (i.e.one standard deviation) of LV mass index was associated with a 20% reduction of the primary end-point, adjusting for type of treatment, basal and treatment BP, and basal LV mass index.Changes in geometric adaptation seem to imply a prognostic value, independent of changes in LV mass. The persistence or the development of a concentric geometry during treatment have been found associated to a greater incidence of cardiovascular events, independent of changes in LV mass. The LIFE study has provided results that confirm the prognostic influence of LV geometry, in addition to changes in LV mass. The better prognosis associated to regression of LVH may be related to the improvement of systolic and diastolic function, to the increase of coronary flow reserve and to the decrease of cardiac arrhythmias. However, the independent prognostic significance of changes in the left atrium, systolic and diastolic function should be confirmed by further studies.


Contra the prevalent way of thinking about the dirty-hands problem, this article suggests that dirty hands need not necessarily entail suffering and that a politician who does not suffer for his dirty-handed acts should not be cast as a bad politician. In so doing, the article: (i) argues that the connection between DH and suffering is unsatisfactorily totalising and rests on a contentious conception of conflict as a dysfunction and (ii) develops an alternative account of the good dirty-handed politician, which is associated with what proponents of the prevalent view of the problem find impossible: calm acceptance of – even indulgence in – one's dirt. This recognition has important implications for our contemporary culture of contrition and for the way we evaluate the characters of our politicians.


and stability rest in large measure on the internal security of nations. Analysts have long examined factors such as arms transfers and ethnic violence in this regard, but the list now includes variables that were not traditionally viewed as related to national security. Unemployment rates, water tables and river oows, infant mortality, migration patterns, infectious disease epidemiology, and a whole host of other variables that tap into the general stability of a society are now understood to affect security. To understand the long-term security dynamics of a region, one must inquire into what Thomas Homer-Dixon and others have termed the "environmental security" of the nations therein. Our own research is surely located in that aeld of inquiry, yet we contemplate a variable that has been by and large neglected even by scholars of environmental security. One overlooked wellspring of insecurity, we argue, is exaggerated gender inequality. Security scholarship is theoretically and empirically impoverished to the extent that it fails to inquire into the relationship between violence against women and violence within and between societies. We believe that our research demonstrates that the long-term security trajectory of a region is affected by this relationship. ASurplus of Men, A Deacit of Peace


Purpose
This paper aims to describe the hidden presence of improvisation in organizations. The authors explore this presence through George Perec's notion of the infra-ordinary applied to the study of the learning organization and its paradoxes.

Design/methodology/approach
Most studies of paradox and improvisation are qualitative and inductive. In this conceptual paper, the authors offer a conceptual debate aiming to redirect conceptual attention on studies belonging to the domains of learning, improvisation and paradox.

Findings
The authors defend the thesis that improvisation is an example of a paradoxical practice that belongs to the domain of infra-ordinary rather than, as has been habitually assumed in extant research, the extraordinary.

Research limitations/implications
The study draws research attention to the potential of the infra-ordinary in the domains of paradox, improvisation and learning.

Practical implications
For practice, the study shows that improvisation can be a relatively trivial organizational practice as people try to solve problems in their everyday lives.

Social implications
Most organizations depend upon the capacity of their members to solve problems as these emerge. Yet, organization theory has failed to consider this dimension. As a result, organizations may be unintentionally harming their capacity to learn and adapt to environments by assuming that improvisation is extra-ordinary.

Originality/value
The study of paradox and improvisation from an infra-ordinary perspective has not been explicitly attempted.


This paper employs data from the National Association of Realtors to analyze the time series and cross sectional patterns of bidding wars for houses. The paper generates a number of novel stylized facts. Bidding wars – where multiple buyers compete for a house and push its sales price above list price – were once rare, a fairly constant 3-4% of housing sales. This led to treating the list price as a ceiling in empirical and theoretical research on housing transactions. The paper shows that bidding wars have become much more common during the recent housing boom, more than tripling as a share of housing sales between 1995-2005. The share of sales involving bidding wars has fallen during the subsequent bust, but it remains approximately twice as high as it was before the boom. Overall, the paper shows the incidence of bidding wars to be higher in circumstances associated with general macroeconomic and specific housing booms. However, bidding war frequency varies considerably by city, with the share in some cities rising to more than 30% during the boom and the share in other cities rising hardly at all. This variation, and also the rarity of bidding wars during past booms, suggests that the recent growth of bidding wars is not simply a boom phenomenon. The paper also considers – at the MSA and individual housing transaction levels – other potential contributing factors, including buyer irrationality, the use of the internet in home purchases, and land use regulation.


The afferent projections to the central superior raphe nuclus (CS) in the rat were investigated by means of HRP retrograte tracing method. 3% WGA-HRP 0.05-0.1 microliters was injected into the CS in each of 11 rats. The labeled cells were found in the medial part of lateral habenular nucleus, posterior hypothalamic area, lateral subnucleus of interpeduncular nucleus, dorsal raphe nucleus, periaqueductal gray matter, dorsal paramedial nucleus, preposital hypoglossal nucleus, dorsal paragiganto-cellular nucleus, magnum raphe nucleus, and fastigatum of cerebellum. The results provide morphological basis for researching function of the CS in acupuncture anesthesia.


This paper demonstrates that optimal selection of renewable power generators and energy storage devices in a grid-connected microgrid, in conjunction with an optimal dispatch strategy, can significantly reduce the microgrid lifetime cost and emission. The paper presents a mathematical model and optimization algorithm to identify the optimal microgrid configuration (in terms of the installed capacities of the generators) and their (optimal) generation quota in the mix. The results have been demonstrated for an example university campus in the Canadian province of Ontario.


Stipe tissues from 18 species of macrofungi collected in the greater Yellowstone National Park-Grand Teton National Park area were analyzed for cation exchange capacity (CEC) and six essential mineral nutrients. Stipe tissue content of the divalent cations, calcium and magnesium, increased significantly with increasing CEC, whereas stipe tissue content of the monovalent cation, potassium, decreased significantly with increasing CEC. These data lend support to the hypothesis that chemical characteristics of fungal cell-walls determine their net ionic charge and the ratio of monovalent/divalent cations that accumulate in apoplasmic space within the wall. Mineral content of sporocarps was not correlated with mineral content, organic matter, or pH values for soils at collection sites. There was not a significant correlation between soil CEC and sporocarp CEC for any ofthe three samples ofthe 18 species studied. Results indicate that sporocarp CEC is largely a genetically determined character.


We introduce a novel approach for parallelizing MCMC inference in models with spatially determined conditional independence relationships, for which existing techniques exploiting graphical model structure are not applicable. Our approach is motivated by a model of seismic events and signals, where events detected in distant regions are approximately independent given those in intermediate regions. We perform parallel inference by coloring a factor graph defined over regions of latent space, rather than individual model variables. Evaluating on a model of seismic event detection, we achieve significant speedups over serial MCMC with no degradation in inference quality.


This paper presents an adaptation of the harmony search algorithm to solve the storage allocation problem for inbound and outbound containers. This problem is studied considering multiple container type (regular, open side, open top, tank, empty and refrigerated) which lets the situation more complicated, as various storage constraints appeared. The objective is to find an optimal container arrangement which respects their departure dates, and minimize the re-handle operations of containers. The performance of the proposed approach is verified comparing to the results generated by genetic algorithm and LIFO algorithm.


ELISA and Western blot immunochemical data attest an effective and highly specific interaction of the surface glycoprotein E domain II (DII) of the tick born encephalitis and Dengue viruses with the laminin binding protein (LBP). Based on a highly conservative structure of the DII in different flaviviruses we propose a similarly effective interaction between the LBP and the DII of the surface glycoprotein E of the West Nile virus. We report the results of studies of this interaction by immunochemical and single molecule force spectroscopy methods. The specific binding between these species is confirmed by both methods. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The active marrow dose distributions have been determined inside the pelvis and the spine of two heterogeneous phantoms representing children aged one and five years. Both theoretical calculation and experimental measurement were used to simulate radiographic examinations typical for those ages. Twelve typical radiographic examinations were performed on these phantoms to represent common paediatric diagnostic procedures. The calculated and measured tissue-air ratios were compared for the pelvis and the spine. Uncertainty associated with the measured dose was estimated to be +or-7%. The results show that most calculated absorbed doses agreed with those measured within twice the coefficient of variation of the calculated value.


A model of self-understanding development with four developmental levels is presented. The model allows for individual and cultural differences in the degree to which self-understanding at each of four developmental levels is focused on the physical, active, social, or psychological qualities of self. The value of the model for describing and contrasting development in different cultures was investigated by examining the self-understanding of two groups: 49 children and adolescents from a small fishing village in Puerto Rico, and a matched group from a large industrialized city in the mainland United States. The results indicated that relationships between age and developmental level were similar for the two groups. However, the orientations of self-understanding of individuals from Puerto Rico were more oriented towards the social qualities of the self, while the self-understanding of mainland United States subjects focused on the psychological qualities of self. The findings are discussed in terms of different patterns of socialization.


A detailed analysis of operational process and principle of ammonia-recovery system in the modified equipment of flax fiber,which will be applied to parameters optimizing of the ammoniarecovery system as a foundational principle,is presented. According to the principle,an ammonia compressor,whose working conditions are based on key operational parameters of the whole ammoniarecovery system, is the mainly energy-consumption part of ammonia-recovery system in the modified equipment of flax fiber. A generally mathematical model based on work efficiency of an ammonia compressor is founded,which is available to rate effective work and energy consumption of the ammonia compressor. The optimum operation-efficiency of the ammonia compressor is chosen as the goal to analyze and calculate the key operational parameters of the ammonia-recovery system. In the above analyzing and calculating,a mathematical model on ammonia flowing from the reactor to the register 1 is developed,in order to provide further understanding of the principle of an ammonia-recovery system. At the meantime,the ammonia flow regime in the pipeline and the process of ammonia inflation and deflation from the reactor to the register 1 are taken separately into account in the model. An iterative method is for obtaining parametric solutions of the mathematical model on ammonia flowing from the reactor to the register 1 and the key operational parameters of the ammoniarecovery system. A parametric analysis is put forward to complete showing the ammonia velocity or the state of the reactor and the register 1. The key optimized parameters will be achieved in term of the minimum efficiency after comparing the work efficiencies of an ammonia compressor at different working conditions.


OBJECTIVE
This study was aimed to investigate the expression characteristics of STYXL1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to further analyze its regulatory role in promoting HCC development by targeting CELF2 to activate the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Expression levels of STYXL1 in 25 pairs of HCC tissue specimens and paracancerous normal ones collected from HCC patients were examined by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Meanwhile, qRT-PCR was also performed to further verify the expression of STYXL1 in HCC cell lines. In addition, after STYXL1 knockdown model was constructed by lentivirus transfection in HCC cell lines Hep3B and Huh7, the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), cell colony formation, 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU), and flow cytometry assays were performed to analyze the influence of STYXL1 on HCC cell functions. Furthermore, an in-depth study of the relationship between STYXL1 and CELF2 was conducted to figure out the underlying mechanism.

RESULTS
The results of qRT-PCR revealed that the expression level of STYXL1 in HCC samples was remarkably higher than that in adjacent ones, and the difference was statistically significant. Compared with HCC patients with low expression of STYXL1, patients with high expression of STYXL1 had a higher overall survival rate. Similarly, the proliferation ability of HCC cells in sh-STYXL1 group remarkably decreased compared with controls, while the apoptosis ability was oppositely enhanced. In addition, Western Blotting results indicated that STYXL1 could elevate the expressions of PI3K/Akt pathway-related proteins. Meanwhile, a negative correlation between CELF2 and STYXL1 was identified in HCC tissues. Finally, the result of cell reverse experiments demonstrated that STYXL1 could affect the malignant progression of HCC via modulating CELF2 expression.

CONCLUSIONS
STYXL1 expression was remarkably upregulated in HCC tissues, as well as in cell lines. Its level was closely related to the poor prognosis of HCC patients. In addition, STYXL1 might be able to accelerate HCC proliferation rate and inhibit cell apoptosis via downregulating CELF2 through the PI3K/Akt pathway.


Many contributions to the literature on competition in banking use the Panzar and Rosse test (1987). This test encompasses a variety of market outcomes assuming firms maximize profits. However, when applied to the banking industry, this assumption may not be always valid as banks sometimes may carry social objectives or aim to be systemic players so as to be "too big to fail†. This then motivates different objective functions, departing from profit maximization. We present a reduced form model where banks can pursue other goals than profit maximization. This allows us to test for behavioral changes of banks over time. Our model provides a framework to evaluate whether moral hazard issues may plague banks receiving state aid, which concerns greatly the recent debate on government intervention in financial markets during the global financial crisis in 2008. To test the impact of state aid, we examine a natural experiment in the banking sector in China in the 1990s. We cannot reject that the possibility of receiving state aid triggers moral hazard prone conduct.


Recent studies on autoptic findings have underlined the complexity of perioral muscles; the discovery of a fourth band of buccinator muscle and the effects it can have on teeth, alveolar bone, and oral mucosa during growth has stressed the importance of muscular influence on the genesis of and therapy for basal class II dentofacial alterations. Frederick proposed a surgical marginal myotomy to elongate the buccinator bundle together with inferior vestibuloplasty to unload the jaw from the overcontraction of the muscle and to reduce the inferior lip hypotone. In our investigation, we have applied this technique on a group of 50 patients with basal class II defect selected according to our protocol before functional or fixed orthodontics, and we have recorded and compared cephalometric measurements and clinical facial profile changes 12 (T1) and 24 (T2) months after the end of therapy to a control group with the same defect treated only with orthodontic functional devices. We obtained improvement of cephalometric parameters in 80% of patients who underwent surgery and orthodontics, and in only 50% of patients who underwent only orthodontics. Results suggest that neutralizing buccinator and mental muscles pressure on the jaw during growth can help the clinician dealing with II basal malocclusion therapy and relapse.


Fiber-shaped supercapacitors have attracted broad attentions from both academic and industrial communities due to the demonstrated potentials as next-generation power modules. However, it is important while remains challenging to develop dark-environment identifiable supercapacitor fibers for enhancement on operation convenience and security in nighttime applications. Herein, a novel family of colorful fluorescent supercapacitor fibers has been produced from aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube sheets. Fluorescent dye particles are introduced and stably anchored on the surfaces of aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes to prepare hybrid fiber electrodes with a broad range of colors from red to purple. The fluorescent component in the dye introduces fluorescent indication capability to the fiber, which is particularly promising for flexible and wearable devices applied in dark environment. In addition, the colorful fluorescent supercapacitor fibers also maintain high electrochemical performance under cyclic bending and charge-discharge processes.


This paper reports a novel deep architecture referred to as Maxout network In Network (MIN), which can enhance model discriminability and facilitate the process of information abstraction within the receptive field. The proposed network adopts the framework of the recently developed Network In Network structure, which slides a universal approximator, multilayer perceptron (MLP) with rectifier units, to exact features. Instead of MLP, we employ maxout MLP to learn a variety of piecewise linear activation functions and to mediate the problem of vanishing gradients that can occur when using rectifier units. Moreover, batch normalization is applied to reduce the saturation of maxout units by pre-conditioning the model and dropout is applied to prevent overfitting. Finally, average pooling is used in all pooling layers to regularize maxout MLP in order to facilitate information abstraction in every receptive field while tolerating the change of object position. Because average pooling preserves all features in the local patch, the proposed MIN model can enforce the suppression of irrelevant information during training. Our experiments demonstrated the state-of-the-art classification performance when the MIN model was applied to MNIST, CIFAR-10, and CIFAR-100 datasets and comparable performance for SVHN dataset.


We study the role of the surface diffusion anisotropy in the fabrication of nanostructures by laser-focused ("cold") atom lithography, and on the stability of nanostructures using two-dimensional kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. The simulations were performed using one- and two-directional standing-wave fields (using two different wave profiles) and two different diffusion models (limited and total diffusion model) on anisotropic surfaces, such as (110) surfaces of face-centered-cubic crystals, or reconstructed surfaces such as Si(100). The simulations were made with and without Schwoebel barriers. Our diffusion-deposition models reproduce qualitatively experimental results.


The effect of morphine on the onset of puberty was studied in female Wistar rats bearing pituitary grafts implanted at 21 days of age, or sham operated (SO). Morphine was given sc, daily, from day 22 until the occurrence of vaginal opening (VO), taken as an index of puberty. Two doses of morphine (2 or 8 mg kg-1 day-1) were used and control animals received saline of the same volume. Morphine (both doses) induced delayed puberty in SO rats, as indicated by age at VO: mean +/- SEM, 36.90 +/- 0.75 and 36.33 +/- 1.08 days vs 33.06 +/- 0.69 days for 2 and 8 mg vs control group. Pituitary graft induced precocious puberty and this effect was reversed by the highest dose of morphine (29.47 +/- 0.84 vs 32.80 +/- 0.59 days for saline vs 8 mg morphine, grafted rats). These data show that chronic administration of morphine during the prepuberal period delayed the onset of puberty and reversed the precocious puberty induced by pituitary graft in the female rat.


Photoluminescence (PL) of porous silicon after rapid thermal oxidation was studied using excitation energies of 5.0 and 6.4 eV. The emission spectra in both cases are dominated by a broad blue band centered at 430-450 nm and a much weaker red band positioned at 680-720 nm. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we have found a correlation between blue PL intensity and increase in feature size caused by progressive oxidation. The blue luminescence, found in porous Si only after oxidation, is identical, with respect to spectrum and fast decay, to that of thermally grown oxide on crystalline Si. Based on these findings, we conclude that the blue luminescence originates from SiO 2 rather than from Si nanocrystals embedded in the oxide matrix. The red luminescence, on the contrary, has a different origin. The intensity of red band is a function of oxidation temperature and at RTP above 1050 °C, the red band is completely eliminated. The red luminescence characteristics are discussed in relation to the possible mechanism.


The u- and d-quark contributions to the elastic nucleon electromagnetic form factors have been determined by using experimental data on G(E)(n), G(M)(n), G(E)(p), and G(M)(p). Such a flavor separation of the form factors became possible up to negative four-momentum transfer squared Q(2) = 3.4 GeV(2) with recent data on G(E)(n) from Hall A at Jefferson Lab. For Q(2) above 1 GeV(2), for both the u and the d quark, the ratio of the Pauli and Dirac form factors, F(2)/F(1), was found to be almost constant in sharp contrast to the behavior of F(2)/F(1) for the proton as a whole. Also, again for Q(2)>1 GeV(2), both F(2)(d) and F(1)(d) are roughly proportional to 1/Q(4), whereas the dropoff of F(2)(u) and F(1)(u) is more gradual.


Recent isolation studies have shown Chlamydia trachomatis to be an important aetiological agent in acute salpingitis in women. The present serological study indicates that C. trachomatis is the probable aetiological agent in two-thirds of 143 women with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). In general, high levels of chlamydial antibody were found in sera and fluids aspirated from the pouch of Douglas and such antibody titres were shown to correlate with the severity of clinically graded tubal inflammation.


The accumulation of Helicobacter pylori infection-induced oxidative DNA damage in gastric epithelial cells is a risk factor for developing gastric cancer (GC); however, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we report that the suppression of NEIL2, an oxidized base-specific mammalian DNA glycosylase, is one such mechanism via which H. pylori infection may fuel the accumulation of DNA damage during the initiation and progression of GC. Using a combination of cultured cell lines and primary cells, we show that expression of NEIL2 is significantly down-regulated after H. pylori infection; such down-regulation was also seen in human gastric biopsies. The H. pylori infection-induced down-regulation of NEIL2 is specific, as Campylobacter jejuni has no such effect. Using gastric organoids isolated from the murine stomach in co-culture studies with live bacteria mimicking the infected stomach lining, we found that H. pylori infection was associated with IL-8 production; this response was more pronounced in Neil2 knockout (KO) mouse cells compared to wild type (WT) cells, suggesting that NEIL2 suppresses inflammation under physiological conditions. Interestingly, DNA damage was significantly higher in Neil2 KO mice compared to WT mice. H. pylori-infected Neil2 KO mice showed higher inflammation and more epithelial cell damage. Computational analysis of gene expression profiles of repair genes in gastric specimens showed the reduction of Neil2 level is linked to the GC progression. Taken together, our data suggest that down-regulation of NEIL2 is a plausible mechanism by which H. pylori infection derails DNA damage repair, amplifies the inflammatory response and initiates GCs.


Being an account of the early history of observational cosmology and of later relevant developments in stellar evolution, in the age-dating of the universe, and in the escatology of the system.


Did Nordic countries, linked by linguistic and long-term cultural, historical and commercial ties, develop a specific Nordic mode of mobility and tourism? To introduce and contextualise the articles in this issue that deal with this question, this article claims that this issue can be investigated fruitfully by focusing on the linkages between national and transnational developments, and by focusing on the actions and interactions of national and transnational (institutional) actors who spoke and acted on behalf of consumers and tourists.


The main structural component in collagen is the triple helix which is generally composed of the amino acid sequence repeat (X-Y-Gly)n with proline and hydroxyproline often present at positions X and Y. Non-globular, fibrillar proteins like most collagens are difficult to work with from a structural perspective. An alternative approach to collagen structural elucidation is to study considerably shorter fragments of the triple helix. To date, various triple helical model peptides such as (Pro-Pro-Gly)n and (Pro-Hyp-Gly)n have been investigated by various physical and spectroscopic techniques. The advent of easy solid phase peptide synthetic methodology and the development of multi-dimensional heteronuclear and high field NMR technologies have promoted significant advances in the structure elucidation of a number of triple helix peptides. Here, the main focus is to review and to address the current state of knowledge in the field of NMR and x-ray analysis of triple helical model peptides.


Non-destructive and rapid evaluation of graphene directly on the growth substrate (Cu foils) by dark field (DF) optical microscopy is demonstrated. Without any additional treatment, graphene on Cu foils with various coverages can be quickly identified by DF imaging immediately after chemical vapor deposition growth with contrast comparable to scanning electron microscopy. The improved contrast of DF imaging compared to bright field optical imaging was found to be due to Rayleigh scattering of light by the copper steps beneath graphene. Indeed, graphene adlayers are readily distinguished, due to the different height of copper steps beneath graphene regions of different thickness.


The rotational spectrum of HDCO in the 4(1),5(1), and 6(1) excited vibrational states has been investigated in Lille and Kiel using a sample enriched in deuterium. In Lille, the measurements were performed in the millimeter region (100-600 GHz). The spectra in Kiel were recorded using Fourier transform microwave spectrometers in the regions around 8-18 and 18-20 GHz. employing a rectangular waveguide of length 12 m and a circular waveguide of length 36 m, respectively, These results Acre combined with the 4(1), 5(1), and 6(1) infrared energy levels which were obtained front a previous analysis of FTS spectra of the v(4) (CHD bend), v(5) (CHD rocking). and v(6) bands (out of plane bend) recorded in the 10-mum region at Giessen (A. Perrin, J,-M, Flaud, M. Smirnov, and M. Lock, J. Mol. Spectrosc. 203, 175-187 (2000)). The energy level calculation of the 4(1). 5(1), and 6(1) interacting states accounts for the usual A- and B-type Coriolis resonances in the 5(1) double left right arrow 6(1) and 4(1) double left right arrow 6(1) off diagonals blocks. In addition since the energy levels of the 5(1) and 6(1) states are very strongly resonating, it proved necessary. as ill our previous study. to Use a {J(x), J(z)} nonorthorhombic term in the 5(1) and 6(1) v-diagonal blocks of the Hamiltonian matrix in order to reproduce properly file observed microwave transitions and infrared energy levels. Therefore, this work confirms that HDCO is a good example of the vibrational induced rotational axis switching ("VIRAS") effect.


A procedure for analysis and optimization of robot gripper designs has been developed. The procedure was applied to the specific problem of optimizing the weight of two different robot grippers for harvesting melons. The initial designs were modeled and analyzed using the finite element method to determine the critical static stresses. In one design, the stresses obtained were compared to analytical results and the finite element results were within 7% on average, which is sufficient for this preliminary design. In the second design, the trend and location of the maximum stresses agreed with a previously published photoelasticity study. The initial designs were then improved by applying optimization techniques to minimize the weight of the gripper while ensuring that the gripper was strong enough to withstand the load of the melon. The final designs were significantly lighter than the initial ones which reduce the required inertia forces. Based on the results of the proposed approach, an optimized gripper could then be constructed.


Optimal learning machines (OLM) are systems that extract maximally informative representation of the environment they are in contact with, or of the data they are presented. It has recently been suggested that these systems are characterised by an exponential distribution of energy levels. In order to understand the peculiar properties of OLM within a broader framework, I consider an ensemble of optimisation problems over functions of many variables, part of which describe a sub-system and the rest account for its interaction with a random environment. The number of states of the sub-system with a given value of the objective function obeys a stretched exponential distribution, with exponent , and the interaction part is drawn at random from the same distribution, independently for each configuration of the whole system. Systems with then correspond to OLM, and we find that they sit at the boundary between two regions with markedly different properties. For all the system exhibits a freezing phase transition. The transition is discontinuous for and it is continuous for . The region corresponds to learnable energy landscapes and the behaviour of the sub-system becomes predictable as the size of the environment exceeds a critical threshold. For , instead, the energy landscape is unlearnable and the behaviour of the system becomes more and more unpredictable as the size of the environment increases. Sub-systems with (OLM) feature a behaviour which is independent of the relative size of the environment. This is consistent with the expectation that efficient representations should be largely independent of the level of detail of the description of the environment.


Guardedness restrictions are one of the principal means to obtain decidable logics — operators such as negation are restricted so that the free variables are contained in an atom. While guardedness has been applied fruitfully in the setting of first-order logic, the ability to add fixpoints while retaining decidability has been very limited. Here we show that one of the main restrictions imposed in the past can be lifted, getting a richer decidable logic by allowing fixpoints in which the parameters of the fixpoint can be unguarded. Using automata, we show that the resulting logics have a decidable satisfiability problem, and provide a fine study of the complexity of satisfiability. We show that similar methods apply to decide questions concerning the elimination of fixpoints within formulas of the logic.


Abstract For the first time, we present a decadal-scale stable isotope record (δ18O, δ13C) of 67 speleothem calcite samples coming from an artificial tunnel network located in Graz, Austria. Stable isotope data are interpreted with the help of time series (TS) analysis of mean air temperatures (MAT) and mean annual precipitations (MAP) that have been monitored and recorded in a neighbouring meteorological station. Speleothem records have proved to be very useful in reconstructing changes of environmental conditions. For studied stalagmites, which grew between 1945 and 2018, the δ18O values average −18.64‰ and range from −23‰ to −17‰ (VPDB, Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite), suggesting variable climatic conditions. The δ18O values of calcite increase along the growth axis and are correlated with high temporal resolution MAT, MAP and weighted mean annual δ18O of precipitations. For the same time interval, while the temperature TS show an increasing trend, with a steeper gradient since the 1980s, the precipitation TS presents a weak decreasing tendency. Increase in the δ13C values of speleothems from −33‰ to −24‰ (VPDB) is correlated with increasing temperature and drought, associated CO2 degassing and soil erosion over the tunnel system.


Collected articles, essays, interviews and out-takes by Tony (Anthony) Fretton. As an architect he has said 'Words, the most collective form of communication, thread their way through the projects, in explanations to clients and constructors, and as my means, along with drawings, of explaining the projects to my collaborators, to myself and to the wider world.'


Great interest has aroused in developing the next generation body armour based on the incorporation of a Shear Thickening Fluid (STF) into high performance fabrics (Kevlar®, UHMWPE). This innovative technoloy allows for the production of comfortable, flexible, lightweight, stab and ballistic resistant protective garments. This innovative technology allows for the production of comfortable, flexible, lightweight, stab and ballistic resistant protective garments. The furrent research was undertaken to evaluate the stab resistance and the chemical properties of types of high performance fabrics, Kevlar and Ultra Hight Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), impregnated with several types of shear thickening fluids. The stab resistance properties of all samples were tested using drop tower and quasistatic testing apparatuses. Chemical compositions and microscopic structures were analyzed with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy. The current study demonstrated the importance of incorporating Shear Thickening Fluid into woven high performance fibres. The results clearly display a significant enhancement in puncture resistance ony of Kevlar® fabrics impregnated with different combination of STFs.


According to the Bank of Mexico, tourism is one of the most important economical activities due to its capability of promoting a wide range of activities of other kinds as well as facilitating the creation of new ones. All this can be presented thanks to the 20.6 million international tourists and its 8 382.23 million dollars received during the last year. In this context, Quintana Roo received 45% of the total amount of tourists that enter into the country; besides, the state concentrates 12% of global hotel infrastructure in Mexico with 57 906 rooms. However, the obtained benefits are concentrated only in five destinations of the state: Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Mahahual and Tulum. The rural communities, therefore, are building their own enterprises and participating in the tourism activity in order to offer themselves the opportunity to improve their quality of life, by preserving the environment, getting incomes, and providing jobs for the local people. These actions represent an example of local development looking forward to sustainable tourism. Holbox, a small rural town from Quintana Roo – Mexico, is a good example of this. Tourism has become the most important economical activity in this place while the natural and cultural resources are preserved. The inhabitants always look to improving the tourist activities such as the fishery, but controlling the number of visitors and appealing to a specific kind of consumer. Through tourism in Holbox, the residents have had the opportunity to build enterprises in order to offer services to the tourists such as restaurants, small hotels and recreational attractions like The Kite Surf, Tours, and Swims with Whale Sharks. Although several natural resources of the community are the principal attraction for tourists, they appeal to a specific kind of consumer. That is why Holbox in Quintana Roo (three hours from Cancun by car), with a natural scene and kind people, is planning and organizing its economical activity through local development in order to participate in a global market.


Bias exists in letters of recommendation, and it is reflected in the language used to describe and evaluate different candidates for countless opportunities in academia. Professional organizations are becoming more aware of this issue, and are pursuing avenues to address it. This paper discusses the type of information, that is, useful to have on hand when writing a recommendation letter, the structure of the letter, a process to follow for proof reading, when to say no, a compilation of additional resources, and tips for people asking for recommendation letters. Specifically, we discuss common grammar mistakes, the purpose of each portion of the letter, and ways conscious and unconscious bias can influence wording and structure. This paper is intended to provide a single place where people can go to learn all of the basics needed to write a strong recommendation letter, as currently available letter writing resources in the space physics community tend to focus on one aspect of letter writing.


The recruitment of new personnel is one of the most essential business processes which affect the quality of human capital within any company. It is highly essential for the companies to ensure the recruitment of right talent to maintain a competitive edge over the others in the market. However IT companies often face a problem while recruiting new people for their ongoing projects due to lack of a proper framework that defines a criteria for the selection process. In this paper we aim to develop a framework that would allow any project manager to take the right decision for selecting new talent by correlating performance parameters with the other domain-specific attributes of the candidates. Also, another important motivation behind this project is to check the validity of the selection procedure often followed by various big companies in both public and private sectors which focus only on academic scores, GPA/grades of students from colleges and other academic backgrounds. We test if such a decision will produce optimal results in the industry or is there a need for change that offers a more holistic approach to recruitment of new talent in the software companies. The scope of this work extends beyond the IT domain and a similar procedure can be adopted to develop a recruitment framework in other fields as well. Data-mining techniques provide useful information from the historical projects depending on which the hiring-manager can make decisions for recruiting high-quality workforce. This study aims to bridge this hiatus by developing a data-mining framework based on an ensemble-learning technique to refocus on the criteria for personnel selection. The results from this research clearly demonstrated that there is a need to refocus on the selection-criteria for quality objectives.


This cross-sectional study focused on pain assessment in a group of older Asian Americans with cancer. Thirty-six participants and their primary nurses were interviewed, and pain intensity was measured using 3 different scales: the Numeric pain intensity 0-10 scale, the Faces expression scale, and Visual analog scale (VAS). Overall, 56% of participants reported pain. Younger age (65-75 years old) was significantly associated with higher pain intensity (p < 0.05). High correlation was found between the participants' and their nurses' pain intensity ratings (r = 0.69, p < 0.0001). High correlation was also found among different pain intensity scales, with a Spearman correlation coefficient ranging from 0.89 to 0.96 (p < 0.0001), suggesting that they are reliable measures in this population.