The adoption of XML promises to accelerate construction of systems that integrate distributed, heterogeneous data. Query languages for XML are typically based on regular path expressions that traverse the logical XML graph structure; the eAEcient evaluation of such path expressions is central to good query processing performance. Most existing XML query processing systems convert XML documents to an internal representation, generally a set of tables or objects; path expressions are evaluated using either index structures or join operations across the tables or objects. Unfortunately, the required index creation or join operations are often costly even with locally stored data, and they are especially expensive in the data integration domain, where the system reads data streamed from remote sources across a network, and seldom reuses results for subsequent queries. This paper presents the x-scan operator which eAEciently processes non-materialized XML data as it is being received by the data integration system. X-scan matches regular path expression patterns from the query, returning results in pipelined fashion as the data streams across the network. We experimentally demonstrate the bene ts of the x-scan operator versus the approaches used in current systems, and we analyze the algorithm's performance and scalability across a range of XML document types and queries.


Plant roots are known to harbor large and diverse communities of bacteria. It has been suggested that plant identity can structure these root-associated communities, but few studies have specifically assessed how the composition of root microbiota varies within and between plant species growing under natural conditions. We sampled endophytic and epiphytic bacteria in root tissues from a population of a wild, clonal plant (Orange hawkweed – Pilosella aurantiaca) as well as two neighboring plant species (Oxeye daisy – Leucanthemum vulgare and Alsike clover – Trifolium hybridum) to determine if plant species hosted unique root microbiota. Our results show that plants of different species host distinct bacterial communities in their roots. In terms of community composition, Betaproteobacteria (especially the family Oxalobacteraceae) were found to dominate in the root microbiota of L. vulgare and T. hybridum samples, whereas the root microbiota of P. aurantiaca had a more heterogeneous distribution of bacterial abundances where gamma Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria occupied a larger portion of the community. Whether all plant species host their own distinct root microbiota and plants more closely related to each other share more similar bacterial communities still remains to be explored.


This dissertation represents an attempt to study how Malay entrepreneurs in Malaysia, in particular the family legal firms, plan the succession of the business to the next generation to ensure its future sustainability. The justification for researching the succession of legal firms was the continuity of legal firms was restricted by the ruling of the Legal Profession Act 1976, in that the owner of legal firm must always be a practicing lawyer. In addition, the succession of legal firms also becomes more difficult as they cannot be corporatized into private limited companies and must always be maintained as either a sole proprietorship or a partnership. A qualitative method approach was applied in this research methodology. Data was collected by way of interview from ten (10) case studies
comprising founders of ten (10) Malay family legal firms who have been in active legal practice for more than 20 years and were expected to retire within five to ten years time. The significant finding of this study was that SMEs, like professional services-based firms, were not perceived as businesses and therefore could not be family businesses. Further, in such firms, there may be restrictions to succession as only "qualified persons", relevant to the profession would be able to inherit the shares in the firm. Theoretically, this research contributes to academic knowledge by extending the definition of family business to include "a business which must be inheritable to family members in that it should be automatically transferable to
family members without restriction, upon the demise of the founder or the incumbent owner". Practically, the research could facilitate the Malay legal firms to plan succession leading to future business sustainability, by recommending that they build size, implement best management practices and finally transform themselves into multi-ethnic legal firms in Malaysia. In conclusion, the objective of successful succession is to have intergenerational business sustainability. As such, the research provides new insights and informs about the successful succession of Malay family legal firms, in particular, and Malay SMEs in Malaysia, in general, with the hope of achieving the Malay Corporate Equity Ownership target of 30 per cent of the total
corporate equity ownership in Malaysia.


This paper examines China's first modern industrial cartel, the Hanyeping Company, to understand China's early industrialisation and corporate history. From a firm-specific perspective, this pioneer trial by the Chinese scholar-bureaucrat elites turned out a failure largely because the firm failed to establish effective corporate governance. The archival evidence indicates that its institutional deficiency was also closely correlated with the over-stressing of the role of elites. The state-led pattern and top-down approach taken by those elites can also help explain its evolution. The lessons from this case study are useful for China's ongoing transitions today.


AIM
Advances in immunosuppression and careful monitoring for rejection are largely responsible for improved results in pancreas transplantation. We conducted a retrospective study to establish the effectiveness of immunosuppressive therapy with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) instead of azatioprine (AZA) in pancreas transplantation and to assess adverse effects in the two different immunosuppressive regimes.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Since 1991, 27 pancreas transplantations were performed in 25 patients at our Institute. For induction therapy, immunosuppressant protocol consisted of quadruple immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporine, steroids, antilymphocyte globulin and AZA in 13 patients or MMF in 12 patients respectively.

RESULTS
Acute rejection occurred in 76% of patients in the AZA group compared with 53% in the MMF group. Steroid-resistant rejection was observed in 7% in the MMF group compared to 38% of patients on AZA (p < 0.01). Two kidney grafts were lost due to acute rejection in the AZA group, one pancreas was lost due to acute rejection and one to chronic rejection in the MMF group. There were no significant differences in CMV infection. Severe fungal infections were noted in 2 patients treated with MMF. Malignancy occurred in 1 patient (pancreas graft lymphoma) in MMF.

CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, patients treated with MMF required less frequent and less intensive treatment for acute rejection. However, its short- and long-term side effects should be further investigated.


Since the outbreak of the corona virus in the end of 2019, many worldwide attempts have been made to monitor and control the COVID-19 pandemic. A wealth of empirical data has been collected and used by national health authorities to understand and mitigate the spread and impacts of the corona virus. In various countries this serious health concern has led to the development of corona dashboards monitoring the COVID-19 evolution. The present study aims to design and test an extended corona dashboard, in which—beside up-to-date daily core data on infections, hospital and intensive care admissions, and numbers of deceased people—also the evolution of vaccinations in a country is mapped out. This dashboard system is next extended with time-dependent contextual information on lockdown and policy stringency measures, while disaggregate information on the geographic spread of the COVID-19 disease is provided by means of big data on contact intensity and mobility motives based on detailed Google Mobility data. Finally, this context-specific corona dashboard, named 'Dutchboard', is further extended towards the regional and local level so as to allow also for space-specific 'health checks' and assessments.


Crowding at the entrances of large events may lead to critical and life-threatening situations, particularly when people start pushing each other to reach the event faster. Automatic and timely identification of pushing behavior would help organizers and security forces to intervene early and mitigate dangerous situations. In this paper, we propose a cloud-based deep learning framework for automatic early detection of pushing in crowded event entrances. The proposed framework initially modifies and trains the EfficientNetV2B0 Convolutional Neural Network model. Subsequently, it integrates the adapted model with an accurate and fast pre-trained deep optical flow model with the color wheel method to analyze video streams and identify pushing patches in real-time. Moreover, the framework uses live capturing technology and a cloud-based environment to collect video streams of crowds in real-time and provide early-stage results. A novel dataset is generated based on five real-world experiments and their associated ground truth data to train the adapted EfficientNetV2B0 model. The experimental setups simulated a crowded event entrance, while the ground truths for each video experiment were generated manually by social psychologists. Several experiments on the videos and the generated dataset are carried out to evaluate the accuracy and annotation delay time of the proposed framework. The experimental results show that the proposed framework identified pushing behaviors with an accuracy rate of 87% within a reasonable delay time.


Based on the author's twenty-five years of experience teaching French as a foreign language, this ground-breaking qualitative study on learner autonomy explores the complex connection between role and agency in a project promoting autonomy in undergraduate language students in the English-speaking Caribbean. A central theme of this book is the advanced learners' re-conceptualizing of their role in an autonomous approach to language learning. This book will be of interest to researchers, teachers, teacher educators, and graduate students of applied linguistics, in general, and learner autonomy, in particular.


A survey of 754 preschool children was undertaken in the urban areas of seven small towns of the semi-arid region of Bahia, Northeast Brazil. The study set out to determine the prevalence of weight and height deficits, as well as to correlate them with variables such as age, family income, mother's schooling and food consumption. A prevalence of 22.9% of Height for Age (HA) below -2.0 SD was found (stunting) and prevalence of 19.1% and 3.6% were determined, respectively for Weight for Age (WA) and Weight for Height (WH) below -2.0 SD (wasting). Regarding food consumption, only 6.8% of the children received a diet with an adequate energy supply for their age group in the previous day. There was a close association between inadequate HA and WA and family income per capita (p = 0.001 and p = 0.000, respectively). Children from families with income < 1/4 of the minimum wage per capita had twice the chance of being malnourished as compared with those from the > or = 1/2 minimum wage per capita stratum. The children included in this study showed prevalences of inadequate WH and WA significantly higher than those found in a national survey conducted in the same period (p = 0.047 and p = 0.000 respectively). This fact is surprising since in the last decade important reductions in child malnutrition and mortality were reported in the country as a whole; this may indicate that children from this region probably were not benefitted in the same way as the rest of the Brazilian child population.


Species conservation relies on understanding population demographics, yet this information is lacking for many species and populations. Four stocks of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus inhabiting the waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands (USA) are exposed to anthropogenic disturbances including fisheries interactions, tourism, naval activities, ocean noise, and contaminants. Although these stocks are managed under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, a demographic assessment has not been undertaken since 2006, and there is currently no information on population trends. We combined regular survey effort with citizen science contributions to estimate apparent survival and annual abundance within each stock using photographs collected between 2000 and 2018. Over this time period, we collected 2818 highquality identifications of 765 distinctive individuals across all 4 stocks. Analyses of inter-annual movements indicated that individuals exhibit restricted habitat use within stocks, which contributed to non-random sampling. Annual abundance estimates ranged from the 10s to the low 100s. Apparent survival ranged from 0.84 to 0.9, with lower-than-expected estimates in all stocks. Annual abundance estimates declined in 3 of the 4 stocks; however, this decline was not significant for the Kaua'i/Ni'ihau and O'ahu stocks, and may be an artifact of sampling design in all stocks. Given the small population size for these stocks, it is important to closely monitor trends in abundance as a first step in mitigating negative effects of anthropogenic activities. Future efforts should focus on consistent geographic coverage in all stocks to decrease model uncertainty and improve trend assessment.


This article involves a survey of the treaty practice in ten jurisdictions, namely, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, The Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States (alphabetically) to find out which theory (monism or dualism) has been adopted by each of these states to give effect to (tax) treaties in their legal systems and to find out further what is the effect, if any, of the choice of a theory adopted by a state on the status enjoyed by (tax) treaties in that state's legal system and consequently on the phenomenon of (tax) treaty override. With a view to appreciate the similarities and dissimilarities in the attitude and practice of these jurisdictions, the author studies both, the general treaty practice and the tax treaty practice for each of these ten jurisdictions, and categorizes, on the basis of information gathered, different aspects of treaty-making such as the power to make (tax) treaties, need for pre-ratification parliamentary approval, mode of receiving (tax) treaties into a state's legal system, status of (tax) treaties as compared to the Constitution and domestic (tax) statutes. It is observed that while some jurisdictions follow the theory of monism so that their tax treaties take direct effect internally without anything more, others are dualists and their tax treaties, although binding internationally, do not take effect internally until transformed by legislative action. Substantial space has been devoted to preparing an inventory of the instances of tax treaty overrides in each of the ten jurisdictions and the judicial response thereto with a view to find out the attitude of the domestic courts of these jurisdictions to situations of potential treaty overrides. The exercise undertaken by the author reveals that in some of the jurisdictions, the judicial approach is to uphold the precedence of tax treaties over domestic tax statutes, while in others, the judicial trend is to give effect to the most recent expression of the sovereign will on the basis of the later-in-time rule. In the end, the author undertakes a comparative analysis to report any perceivable difference in the approach of the monist countries from that of the dualist countries to the phenomenon of treaty override.


Prekallikrein (PK) deficiency is an uncommon disorder in dogs. In this report, we describe a case of a dog that was referred for neurological defects and had a prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and normal prothrombin time (PT) with no hemostatic defects. By using human PK-deficient plasma, the dog was diagnosed to have PK deficiency. The nucleotide sequence of normal canine PK cDNA was determined and compared with the genomic sequences of PK in the affected dog. The comparison revealed that the dog had a point mutation in exon 8 that leads to an amino acid substitution in the fourth apple domain of PK. This is the first report showing a point mutation of PK in a dog with PK deficiency.


With the boom of social media, it is a very popular trend for people to share what they are doing with friends across various social networking platforms. Nowadays, we have a vast amount of descriptions, comments, and ratings for local services. The information is valuable for new users to judge whether the services meet their requirements before partaking. In this paper, we propose a user-service rating prediction approach by exploring social users' rating behaviors. In order to predict user-service ratings, we focus on users' rating behaviors. In our opinion, the rating behavior in recommender system could be embodied in these aspects: 1) when user rated the item, 2) what the rating is, 3) what the item is, 4) what the user interest that we could dig from his/her rating records is, and 5) how the user's rating behavior diffuses among his/her social friends. Therefore, we propose a concept of the rating schedule to represent users' daily rating behaviors. In addition, we propose the factor of interpersonal rating behavior diffusion to deep understand users' rating behaviors. In the proposed user-service rating prediction approach, we fuse four factors-user personal interest (related to user and the item's topics), interpersonal interest similarity (related to user interest), interpersonal rating behavior similarity (related to users' rating behavior habits), and interpersonal rating behavior diffusion (related to users' behavior diffusions)-into a unified matrix-factorized framework. We conduct a series of experiments in the Yelp dataset and Douban Movie dataset. Experimental results show the effectiveness of our approach.


An estimation method, which was developed by S. W. Benson and coworkers for calculating the thermodynamic properties of organic compounds in the gas phase, has been extended to the liquid and solid phases for organic compounds at 298.15 K and 101,325 Pa. As with a previous paper dealing with hydrocarbon compounds, comparisons of estimated enthalpies of formation, heat capacities, and entropies with literature values show that extension of the Benson's group additivity approach to the condensed phase is easy to apply and gives satisfactory agreement. Corresponding values for the entropy of formation, Gibbs energy of formation and natural logarithm of the equilibrium constant for the formation reaction are also calculated provided necessary auxiliary data are available. This work covers 1512 compounds containing the elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and halogens in the gas, liquid, and solid phases. About 1000 references are provided for the literature values which are cited. §


BACKGROUND
Distal radial fractures in adults are common, representing a substantial burden to patients and health systems. The 2 main treatments are closed reduction and cast immobilization (CR) and volar locking plate (VLP) fixation. Our primary aim was to determine if VLP fixation leads to better patient-reported pain and function at 12 months compared with CR.

METHODS
We searched systematically for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing outcomes of VLP fixation with CR for the treatment of distal radial fractures in adults. The Cochrane Collaboration risk-of-bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of each study. Meta-analyses of patient-reported outcomes, clinical outcomes, and complications were performed. Key findings were assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

RESULTS
A total of 8 RCTs (810 participants) were eligible for inclusion. Based on moderate-certainty evidence, no clinically important differences in patient-reported pain and function were found: although the mean difference (MD) in the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score at 12 months was 4.1 points (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 7.0 points) in favor of VLP fixation, this was well below the minimum clinically important difference of 10 points. There was low-certainty evidence that VLP fixation led to better Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) scores at 12 months (MD, 6.9 points; 95% CI, -0.6 to 14.3 points) and better DASH scores at 24 months (MD, 8.9 points; 95% CI, 5.8 to 12.1 points) but again, these differences were not clinically important. There was very low or low-certainty evidence that VLP fixation provided better long-term radiographic outcomes, including palmar tilt (MD, 6.5°; 95% CI, 2.8° to 10.1°), radial inclination (MD, 3.4°; 95% CI, 2.5° to 4.3°), and ulnar variance (MD, 0.7 mm; 95% CI, -0.8 to 2.1 mm).

CONCLUSIONS
There were no clinically important differences between treatments with respect to patient-reported pain and function at 12 months post-treatment, even though VLP fixation resulted in better fracture alignment than CR.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.


The theoretical ideas and developments showing the fundamental basis for formulating a family of generalized time discretization operators from the framework of a generalized time weighted residual philosophy are first described which can be broadly categorized as Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 family of time operators. Consequently, under the umbrella of the present framework, a variety of approaches for generating iVth-order accurate time discretization operators from approximations introduced to integral operators in time are described including demonstrating developments systematically leading to a wide class of known time integration operators. Of noteworthy mention and emphasis here are a new family of L-stable ./Vth-order accurate integration operators [LNInO] for transient analysis. The stability and accuracy characteristics are also described for a variety of generated algorithms applicable for transient heat transfer computations. Illustrative numerical examples are finally demonstrated.


To create growth and prosperity for firms in mature yet dynamic industries, it is suggested essential to develop the capability of ambidexterity. Ambidexterity can be described as the ability to combine increased efficiency with the creation and development of new capabilities, through simultaneously balancing the logics of exploitation and exploration, either this is related to technologies, products or processes. With the stronger focus on increased efficiency and short-term results that many firms in mature industries are facing, it becomes crucial to increase the explorative perspective, while maintaining the high focus on efficiency, but even more crucial to increase the balancing of those perspectives.

The most developed approach to ambidexterity is the structural separation of explorative and exploitative activities into different organizational entities. This approach is developed to suite mature organizations in situations of radical change of the business environment. To complement this approach a contextual approach has been suggested in the literature, to enhance ambidexterity at multiple levels in the organization. However, the suggested contextual approach needs to be further developed regarding the model of change and further how to manage the contradictory logics of exploration and exploitation in different organizational levels.

Based on research in the automotive industry, a mature yet dynamic industry, this thesis seeks to further develop the contextual approach to ambidexterity, taking a stronger base on the model of continuous change, rather than radical change. This as a high level of continuous change requires a different form of ambidexterity, with ambidexterity at multiple levels in the organization and with a more contingent approach.

In creating and managing a more contextual approach to ambidexterity different imperatives than structure is needed. Based on the results from the different included studies, it is here suggested that corporate entrepreneurship may be the vehicle for creating and managing a more contextual and also contingent approach to ambidexterity. This as corporate entrepreneurship in its essence is about increasing the level of exploration in organizations that are heavy in exploitation. In entrepreneurial behaviour further lies the ability of continuously merging the contradictory perspectives of exploration and exploitation in development activities. That is the merging of existing knowledge and capabilities with new knowledge and ideas to facilitate the development of new competitive products and solutions.


Robotic devices for nursing care are expected to help caregivers work with the elderly. Some robotic devices assist in the physical transfer of the elderly, and these robots come in contact with large surfaces of the human body. The regions of the buttock and the back may be uncomfortable due to these robotic devices. Therefore, sensing devices simulating a human buttock were developed to quantify and evaluate the load of a human body objectively. This buttock dummy consists of simulated bone and soft tissues, which include muscle, fat and skin. These regions have multi-axis force sensors to enable the quantification of the load due to the robotic devices used for nursing care. On measuring the soft exterior, it was found that the stiffness of the buttock dummy was similar to the human buttock. The comfort of a robotic bed was measured using the buttock dummy, and it was found that the shear force increased due to the deformation of the robotic bed. Thus, it was proven that the buttock dummy was capable of measuring the load of the human body when being used with robotic devices for nursing care.


ABSTRACT. Bile salts are the major end-metabolites of cholesterol and are important in lipid digestion and shaping of the gut microflora. There have been limited studies of bile-salt variation in birds. The purpose of our study was to determine bile-salt variation among bird taxa and relate this variation to current avian phylogenies and hypotheses on the evolution of bile-salt pathways. We determined the biliary bile-salt composition of 405 phylogenetically diverse bird species, including 7 paleognath species. Bile-salt profiles were generally stable within bird families. Complex bile-salt profiles were more common in omnivores and herbivores than in carnivores. The structural variation of bile salts in birds is extensive and comparable to that seen in surveys of bile salts in reptiles and mammals. Birds produce many of the bile salts found throughout nonavian vertebrates and some previously uncharacterized bile salts. One difference between birds and other vertebrates is extensive hydroxylation of carbon-16 of bile salts in bird species. Comparison of our data set of bird bile salts with that of other vertebrates, especially reptiles, allowed us to infer evolutionary changes in the bile-salt synthetic pathway.


In this paper, two different techniques will be employed to study the cnoidal wave solutions of the Boussinesq systems. First, the existence of periodic travelling-wave solutions for a large family of systems is established by using a topological method. Although this result guarantees the existence of cnoidal wave solutions in a parameter region in the period and phase speed plane, it does not provide the uniqueness nor the non-existence of such solutions in other parameter regions. The explicit solutions are then found by using the Jacobi elliptic function series. Some of these explicit solutions fall in the parameter region where the cnoidal wave solutions are proved to exist, and others do not; so the method with Jacobi elliptic functions provides additional cnoidal wave solutions. In addition, the explicit solutions can be used in many ways, such as in testing numerical code and in testing the stability of these waves.


This work describes molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in aqueous media for the complex of the homotetrameric urate oxidase (UOX) from Aspergillus flavus with xanthine anion (5) in the presence of dioxygen (O2). After 196.6 ns of trajectory from unrestrained MD, a O2 molecule was observed leaving the bulk solvent to penetrate the enzyme between two subunits, A/C. From here, the same O2 molecule was observed migrating, across subunit C, to the hydrophobic cavity that shares residue V227 with the active site. The latter was finally attained, after 378.3 ns of trajectory, with O2 at a bonding distance from 5. The reverse same O2 pathway, from 5 to the bulk solvent, was observed as preferred pathway under random acceleration MD (RAMD), where an external, randomly oriented force was acting on O2. Both MD and RAMD simulations revealed several cavities populated by O2 during its migration from the bulk solvent to the active site or backwards. Paying attention to the last hydrophobic cavity that apparently serves as O2 reservoir for the active site, it was noticed that its volume undergoes ample fluctuations during the MD simulation, as expected from the thermal motion of a flexible protein, independently from the particular subunit and no matter whether the cavity is filled or not by O2.


We present an on-going research project addressing the problem of massive amounts of unstructured data that is generated on a daily basis in most business organisations, regardless of size. Our motivation is to support in particular small and medium seized enterprises to gain a competitive advantage in the market. The goal is to improve their processes for extracting valuable business information from such disorganised data. To achieve this, we introduce a flexible and scalable data analysis framework capable of transforming various types of documents into semantically annotated structures. This includes emails, text files in various formats, slide presentations, blog entries, etc. Additionally, the solution provides a semantic search engine for structured retrieval of the analyzed information and a graphical layer to dynamically visualize the search results as an interactive graph. Throughout the paper, the architecture of two main engines that are responsible for data and text analysis and semantic search are described. We conclude that semantic processing of unstructured sources significantly improves data management and data integration within the enterprises.


This paper presents a rigorous dc solution of 3-D Partial Element Equivalent Circuit models. Despite the decoupling of magnetic and electric fields at dc, the correct solution is not trivial. The proposed one is based on a two-step process where first the magnetostatic problem is solved; then, the electrostatic problem is faced by using the solution of the magnetostatic problem as boundary conditions and enforcing the neutrality of disconnected objects. A systematic partition computation is presented which is based on graph algorithms. Applications to the dc analysis of multiple connected and/or disconnected conductors demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method when compared to the steady state analysis under step excitation.


Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a novel class of shape memory materials which can store a deformed (temporary) shape and recover an original (permanent) shape under a shape memory thermomechanical loading–unloading cycle. The deformation mechanisms of SMPs are very complicated, but the SMPs also have a lot of advantages and the widespread application value and prospect. So developing proper constitutive models that describe thermomechanical properties of SMPs and the shape memory effect is very challenging and of great theoretical and application value. Based on the deformation mechanisms and considerable experimental investigations of SMPs, researchers have developed many constitutive models. This article investigates the deformation mechanism and introduces the recent research advance of the constitutive models of thermal-sensitive SMPs. Special emphases are given on the micromechanical constitutive relations in which the deformation is considered being based on the microstructure of the SMPs. Finally, the lack of research and prospects for further research are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012


This review addresses theory and research on the role of self understanding, language, theory of mind, attachment security, and parental style in children's autobiographical memory development. Social-cognitive factors appear to interact with parental style in producing children's first verbal memories. Emotional factors, such as attachment security, may also prove to be critical for the socialization of life histories. Further longitudinal studies will be necessary to examine individual differences in the growth of this complex and multiply determined skill.


Abstract: This research concerned transitivity in reading text for senior high school. The purposes of this research were to describe and to find out the dominant process types of transitivity occurred in the reading text. This research was descriptive qualitative. The data was obtained from reading text in English textbook entitled Pathway to English. The result of the research were six types of process that occurred in the textbook. There were material process (38%), relational process (30%), verbal process (20%), mental process (19%), behavioural process (4%), and existential process (2%). The dominant types of transitivity was material process. It means that reading passage in English textbook entitled Pathway to English contained action and physicaly.  Futhermore, the benefit that can be gained from analyzing the transitivity in the text could stimulate the reading skills to comprehend the idea and information in a text that could be applied in spoken and written texts.


The developing expectation of mission supportability and the desire for knowledge of Remaining Useful Life (RUL) drive the need for prognostics - the ability to know in advance which unit will fail and when. This paper discusses how prognostics - the ability to predict the remaining useful life of an item - has become achievable and what this means for the world of reliability for the military. Current and developing prognostic techniques for digital and analog communication electronics are described including canary techniques, physics of failure models, health and usage monitoring systems, and statistical and parametric precursors for electronics.


An experimental investigation of heat and mass transfer in a horizontal-tube falling-film ammonia-water absorber was conducted. A tube bank consisting of four columns of six 9.5 mm nominal OD, 0.292 m long tubes was installed in an absorber shell that allowed heat and mass transfer measurements and optical access for flow visualization. This absorber was installed in a test facility consisting of all the components of a functional absorption chiller, which was fabricated to obtain realistic operating conditions at the absorber to account for the influence of the other components in the system. Tests were conducted over a wide range of operating conditions (nominally, desorber solution outlet concentrations of 5 - 40% for three nominal absorber pressures of 150, 345 and 500 kPa, over solution flow rates of 0.019 – 0.034 kg/s.) This paper discusses the development of the test facility, and the measurement and analysis techniques. Results, including the component level heat transfer rates, and solution- and vapor-side heat and mass transfer coefficients, are discussed in the companion paper (Part II).


The invention of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) like never before has opened novel opportunity to study diseases in relevant cell types. Within less than 10 years, a variety of diseases such as Rett syndrome, long QT syndrome and spinal muscular atrophy, have been successfully modeled. In this study, Williams syndrome (WS), a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder, that is caused by hemizygous deletion of 25 genes on chromosome 7, is of interest because of its unique cognitive and social profiles which are opposite to those of autism spectrum disorders. Despite the extensive studies on WS hypersociability, little is known about haploinsufficiency effect of those genes on molecular and cellular phenotypes in neuronal level due to the lack of relevant human cellular model. Using reprogramming approach, we found that WS iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells has increased apoptosis and therefore increased doubling time. The phenotypes could be rescued by complementation of frizzled9, one of 25 genes typically deleted in WS. Moreover, WS iPSC-derived CTIP2 positive (cortical layer V /VI) pyramidal neurons exhibit morphology alterations including longer total dendrites and increasing dendritic spine number per neuron, which are similarly observed in postmortem layer V/VI neurons. In addition, WS iPSC- derived neurons show an increase in calcium transient frequency likely due to an increase in number of dendritic spines. While we demonstrated that this promising iPSC system could be used to model such multigenic neurodevelopmental disorder, the technology itself still needs to be optimized. Culture medium, one of the most important factors required for maintenance of self-renewal and pluripotency of iPSC, has been developed empirically and claimed as an optimal formulation. We applied design of experiments, a statistic and mathematic tool widely used in engineering and chemical research, to systematically determine the most efficient concentration of final 2 components (basic fibroblast growth factor and neuregulin1) in the culture medium. Compared to commercial medium (mTeSR1), our optimized formulation (iDEAL) for iPSC decreases apoptotic cells, improves pluripotency maintenance, supports no-weekend medium change routine, enhances survival of single-cell passaging as well as reactivates inactive X chromosome upon reprogramming, providing more efficient and suitable condition for iPSCs


This article introduces a numerical procedure dedicated to the identification of isolated branches of solutions for nonlinear mechanical systems. It is here applied to a fan blade subject to rubbing interactions and harmonic forcing. Both contact, which is initiated by means of the harmonic forcing, and dry friction are accounted for. The presented procedure relies on the computation of the system's nonlinear normal modes and their analysis through the application of an energy principle derived from the Melnikov function. The dynamic Lagrangian frequency-time strategy associated with the harmonic balance method (DLFT-HBM) is used to predict the blade's dynamics response as well as to compute the autonomous nonlinear normal modes. The open industrial fan blade NASA rotor 67 is employed in order to avoid confidentiality issues and to promote the reproducibility of the presented results. Previous publications have underlined the complexity of NASA rotor 67's dynamics response as it undergoes structural contacts, thus making it an ideal benchmark blade when searching for isolated solutions. The application of the presented procedure considering a varying amplitude of the harmonic forcing allows to predict isolated branches of solutions featuring nonlinear resonances. With the use of the Melnikov energy principle, nonlinear modal interactions are shown to be responsible for the separation of branches of solutions from the main response curve. In the end, the application of the presented procedure on an industrial blade model with contact interactions demonstrates it is both industry-ready and applicable to highly nonlinear mechanical systems.


Enforcement problems have always been a key challenge for labour law, and the problems have exacerbated in recent years as a result of reduced unionization rates, and more generally, as a result of productive decentralization. The problem of enforcing labour laws is the focus of this paper. It begins by setting out an analytical framework, distinguishing between three types of enforcement problems in labour markets. There are cases in which specific legal requirements are not followed (i.e. the workers are partially excluded from labour and employment laws' protection). There are cases in which the workers are not declared - the employment is in effect concealed - and the exclusion from labor and employment protections is sweeping. Finally, there are cases in which the business as a whole is not declared. Such cases are also characterized by sweeping exclusion, but only as part of a larger problem of illegality. The following section then moves on to discuss a number of solutions, based on the experience in Israel. Discussing separately a number of different contexts in which enforcement problems are especially acute, I describe the (limited) efforts of the Israeli legislature to rectify the situation, and offer some additional suggestions. While the Israeli situation is used as an example, the problems are obviously quite similar in many other legal systems. The suggested solutions, therefore, can be just as useful.


In this report, we describe the optical characteristics of periodic multilayer films composed of Faraday glass. The evaluation indicates that the multilayer film made of FR5 and BK7 exhibits an enhanced Faraday effect and that the Faraday rotation exceeds 40 degree with a film thickness less than 20ƒÊm. Taking an ad vantage of the paramagnetic nature for FR5, the film can function as an optical switch driven by magnetic field and a magnetic field sensor element.[Received March 17,1999; Accepted June 21, 1999]


Myosin 10 (Myo10) is a member of the MyTH4/FERM domain family of unconventional, actin-based motor proteins. Studies have implicated Myo10 in supporting cell adhesion via its integrin-binding FERM domain, and spindle positioning and spindle pole integrity via its microtubule-binding MyTH4 domain. Here we characterized Myo10's contribution to mitosis using Myo10 knockout HeLa cells and MEFs isolated from a Myo10 knockout mouse. Most notably, both of these knockout cells exhibit a pronounced increase in the frequency of multipolar spindles. Staining of unsynchronized metaphase cells showed that the primary driver of spindle multipolarity in knockout MEFs and knockout HeLa cells lacking supernumerary centrosomes is PCM fragmentation, which creates y-tubulin-positive, centriole-negative microtubule asters that serve as additional spindle poles. For HeLa cells possessing supernumerary centrosomes, Myo10 depletion further accentuates spindle multipolarity by impairing centrosome clustering. These results argue, therefore, that Myo10 supports spindle bipolarity by maintaining PCM integrity in both normal and cancer cells, and by promoting supernumerary centrosome clustering in cancer cells. Finally, we present evidence that the defect in spindle pole integrity in Myo10 knockout cells is likely due to a defect in pole stability rather than pole maturation, and that Myo10 promotes supernumerary centrosome clustering at least in part by promoting cell adhesion during mitosis.


Catalysis by sol-gel doped materials -chemical conversions mediated by porous glassy matrices containing actives entrapped within their internal huge porosity -is now a developed chemical technology offering unique advantages in terms of catalyst stability, selective activity and versatility which include ease of materials production and application. In general, the performance of these materials is largely superior compared to other catalytic solids obtained by traditional support impregnation methods, while they offer entirely new possibilities prior unavailable in catalysis. Selective activities higher than in solution; mutually destructive catalysts in one pot; fast conversions in carbon dioxide; smooth reactions in water with hydrophobic catalysts; entrapped enzymes 10 times more active than in solution; asymmetric syntheses with full recovery of the precious catalyst: These are just a few examples of the chemical wonders made possible by these materials. The reactivity of sol-gel catalysts can indeed be controlled and tailored to meet the requirements of largely different chemical conversions either by varying their structural properties (surface polarity, porosity, surface area, morphology etc.) or even the chemical activity of the encapsulated active. The technology is being increasingly adopted by industry while intense researches are carried out worldwide in several academy and industry laboratories. In order therefore to prevent its rapid obsolescence, this review intends to outline the general findings emerging from research on catalysis by sol-gels to help the reader organic chemist in adopting a sol-gel catalyst as a viable and practical tool to achieve the desired products. "This article is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Giancarlo Gulì."


Abstract. Despite California being a highly seismic prone region, most homeowners are not covered against this risk. This study analyses the reasons for homeowners to purchase insurance to cover earthquake losses, with application in California. A dedicated database is built from 18 different data sources about earthquake insurance, gathering data since 1921. A new model is developed to assess the take-up rate based on the homeowners' risk awareness and the average annual insurance premium amount. Results suggest that only two extreme situations would lead all owners to cover their home with insurance: (1) a widespread belief that a devastating earthquake is imminent, or alternatively (2) a massive decrease in the average annual premium amount by a factor exceeding 6 (from USD 980 to 160, 2015 US dollars). Considering the low likelihood of each situation, we conclude from this study that new insurance solutions are necessary to fill the protection gap.


This article reviews all Game Theory (GT) articles published in the three leading US‐based OR/MS journals. The articles were first subdivided into Theory or Applications categories. The Applications papers were subclassified on a five‐point scale ranging from logico‐deductive to bona fide applications. Second, the articles were classified in terms of seven types of research processes used by authors. Next, statistical analyses were performed relating to data from the above two classifications. The findings show that the OR/MS literature on GT is dominated by articles classified as Theory with no direct real world underpinnings and is based on the Ripple process (incrementalism) as a basic research strategy. The accumulation of theory vs. applications papers has been growing exponentially over time and this is also true of the marginal contributions, e.g. those based on the Ripple process. Nevertheless, GT has been found to have a higher percentage of true applications than some other OR/MS subdisciplines. Yet, this percentage is lower for GT than for the total coverage in the above journals.


The motivation for the present study stems from the importance of delamination buckling as a viable mode of failure in laminated composite plates. This part of the study focuses on the prediction of the buckling loads and modes of unilaterally constrained rectangular plates. The laminated plates were modeled along the lines of classical lamination plate theory. Due to the out-of-plane thickness ratio of the delaminated near surface plies to that of the sublaminate (parent), the sublaminate was modeled as an infinitely rigid foundation which constrained the plate's out-of-plane response t o be of one sign. The foundation was modeled as extensional springs exhibiting a nonlinear force-displacement relationship such that its stiffness as well as the plate's buckling mode sign can be controlled in a continuous fashion allowing the simulation of a rigid and tensionless foundation. Preliminary investigations of the buckling loads and modes of rectangular plates attached to such foundations and subjected to a uniform inplane stress field showed the validity of this model for the cases investigated and compared t o previous exact results reported in the literature.


Engineering wear models are generally empirical and lack connections to the physical processes of debris generation at the nanoscale to microscale. Here, we thus analyze wear particle formation for sliding interfaces in dry contact with full and reduced adhesion. Depending on the material and interface properties and the local slopes of the surfaces, we find that colliding surface asperities can either deform plastically, form wear particles, or slip along the contact junction surface without significant damage. We propose a mechanism map as a function of material properties and local geometry, and confirm it using quasi-two-dimensional and three-dimensional molecular dynamics and finite-element simulations on an amorphous, siliconlike model material. The framework developed in the present paper conceptually ties the regimes of weak and strong interfacial adhesion together and can explain that even unlubricated sliding contacts do not necessarily lead to catastrophic wear rates. A salient result of the present paper is an analytical expression of a critical length scale, which incorporates interface properties and roughness parameters. Therefore, our findings provide a theoretical framework and a quantitative map to predict deformation mechanisms at individual contacts. In particular, contact junctions of sizes above the critical length scale contribute to the debris formation.


BACKGROUND
Whipple's disease, like other malabsorption syndromes, ought to predispose to osteopenia. We therefore evaluated bone mass and mineral metabolism in a cohort of patients with this condition.

METHODS
Twelve male patients with Whipple's disease and 36 male age-matched healthy subjects took part in the study. None of the patients complained of diarrhea at the time of the study. Bone mineral density at the lumbar and femoral level and serum levels of indices of bone and mineral metabolism and of gonadal function were measured.

RESULTS
Bone mineral density at the total femur and femoral neck were significantly lower in patients with Whipple's disease than in healthy volunteers, whereas no significant difference was found at the lumbar level. In patients with Whipple's disease serum levels of type-I collagen teleopeptide (ICTP) and sex-hormone-binding globulin were significantly higher, whereas serum levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone were significantly lower than in healthy volunteers. Moreover, testosterone correlated significantly (P < 0.05) with lumbar bone mineral density (r(s) = 0.64) and serum ICTP levels (r(s) = -0.63).

CONCLUSIONS
In patients with previously treated Whipple's disease and without any current symptoms of malabsorption, bone loss is generally moderate and linked to the presence of hypogonadism.


The energies and intensities of gamma rays from thermal neutron capture in natural argon have been determined by means of a Ge(Li) pair spectrometer and anti-Compton spectrometer. An internal reactor target has been used. The reaction Q-value, excitation energies and decay schemes of 37Ar and 41Ar have been deduced.


In this article, there is considered the electromagnetic plane wave diffraction by the half-plane with fractional boundary conditions. As a mathematical tool, the fractional calculus is used. The theoretical part is given based on which the near field, Poynting vector and energy density distribution are calculated. Interesting results are obtained for the fractional order between marginal values, which describes a new type of material with new properties. The results are analyzed.


Abstract: Field experiments were conducted during 1998, 1999, and 2000 in Santa Fe, Argentina, to evaluate chlorimuron, clethodim, flumetsulam, 2,4-DB, glyphosate, and haloxyfop for control of broadleaf and grass weeds in established alfalfa. Herbicides were applied to alfalfa, 6 to 10 cm in height, after first or second cuttings. Clethodim and haloxyfop were highly effective against bermudagrass, barnyardgrass, and knotroot foxtail, and alfalfa yields were increased. 2,4-DB was effective against Scotch thistle, swinecress, turnipweed, and birdsrape mustard, but no effects were observed on alfalfa yields. Chlorimuron, flumetsulam, and glyphosate were effective against burning nettle, common chickweed, common lambsquarters, spiny cocklebur, and Persian speedwell, but they injured alfalfa and decreased yields. Nomenclature: Chlorimuron; clethodim; 2,4-DB; flumetsulam; glyphosate; haloxyfop; alfalfa, Medicago sativa (L.); barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. #3 ECHGA; bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. # CYNDA; birdsrape mustard, Brassica rapa (L.) # BRACA; burning nettle, Urtica urens (L.) # URTUR; common chickweed, Stellaria media (L.) Villars # STEME; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album (L.) # CHEAL; knotroot foxtail, Setaria geniculata (Lam.) Beauv. # SETGE; Persian speedwell, Veronica persica Poir. # VERPE; Scotch thistle, Onopordum acanthium (L.); spiny cocklebur, Xanthium spinosum (L.) # XANSP; swinecress, Coronopus didymus Sm. # COPDI; turnipweed, Rapistrum rugosum (L.) All. # RASRU. Abbreviation: DAT, days after treatment.


This study aimed to explore the historical research progress on benign prostatic hyperplasia from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine theory and the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with Qian Lie Xing Fang (QLXF) via the warming and tonifying of kidney yang, promotion of blood circulation, and clearing of meridians. First, network pharmacology analysis was used to screen and identify possible pathways for BPH treatment with QLXF. Subsequently, molecular docking analysis helped explore the mechanism of action by which the components of QLXF affected androgen receptor (AR) and type 5 phosphodiesterase inhibitor (PDE-5) levels. Targets for treatment with QLXF were identified from the online Mendelian inheritance in man and DisGeNET databases. BPH-related genes were identified using GeneCards and online Mendelian inheritance in man databases, and their intersection was used to construct a protein–protein interaction network analysis graph. Subsequently, gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed. The semiflexible docking of the ingredients of QLXF acting on the 2 targets was performed via molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation, to elucidate the mechanism of action by which the active ingredients affect AR and PDE-5 levels further. This enabled us to explore the pattern of interactions between small active ingredient molecules, the target protein, and the stability after binding at the microscopic level. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that QLXF affected several processes, such as DNA transcription factor binding, kinase binding, protein homodimerization activity, protein structure domain-specific binding, and protein-coupled amine receptor activity in BPH patients. KEGG results showed that chemical carcinogenic reactive oxidative species and the JAK-STAT, Pl3k-Akt, FoxO, NF-κB, and other pathways were significantly enriched. Conducting molecular docking studies to investigate the interaction of active components from QLXF with AR and PDE-5, it was found that MOL002260 may possess the potential to inhibit PDE-5 activity, while MOL010578 may exhibit the capability to inhibit AR activity. QLXF is closely associated with various biological processes and KEGG signaling pathways related to BPH. The active ingredients of QLXF were investigated for their interactions with AR and PDE-5, with a primary focus on the small molecules MOL002260 and MOL010578.


ABSTRACT In the context of infections with highly pathogenic influenza A viruses, the PB1-F2 protein contributes to virulence and enhances lung inflammation. In contrast, its role in the pathogenesis of seasonal influenza viral strains is less clear, especially in the H1N1 subtype, where strains can have a full-length 87- to 90-amino-acid protein, a truncated 57-amino-acid version, or lack the protein altogether. Toward this, we introduced the full-length 1918 PB1-F2, or prevented PB1-F2 expression, in H1N1 A/USSR/90/77, a seasonal strain that naturally expresses a truncated PB1-F2. All viruses replicated with similar efficiency in ferret or macaque ex vivo lung cultures and elicited similar cytokine mRNA profiles. In contrast, the virus expressing the 1918 PB1-F2 protein caused a delay of proinflammatory responses in ferret blood-derived macrophages, while the PB1-F2 knockout virus resulted in a more rapid response. A similar but less pronounced delay in innate immune activation was also observed in the nasal wash cells of ferrets infected with the 1918 PB1-F2-expressing virus. However, the three viruses did not differ in their virulence or clinical course in ferrets, supporting speculations that PB1-F2 is of limited importance for the pathogenesis of primary viral infection with human seasonal H1N1 viruses.


Objective— To identify risk factors for pregnancy outcomes in couples treated with intracervical or intrauterine insemination, with or without superovulation for unexplained or male-factor infertility. The treatment continued for four cycles unless pregnancy was achieved. Design— Secondary analysis of data from a randomized superovulation and intrauterine insemination trial. Setting— Academic medical centers. Intervention(s)— None. Patients— Out of 932 couples randomized to four treatment groups, 664 couples who had completed the lifestyle questionnaires were assessed for occurrence of pregnancy and live birth. Main outcome measure(s)— pregnancy and live birth. Results— The pregnancy and live birth rates were significantly higher in couples in which the female partners reported that they had consumed coffee or tea in the past or drank alcoholic beverages in the past (past users) when compared to those who had never consumed coffee or tea (4.0, 1.6–10.2 for pregnancy; 3.1, 1.2–8.1 for live birth) or alcoholic beverages (1.9, 1.1–3.3 for pregnancy; 2.1, 1.2–3.7 for live birth) (data are adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval). Past users also had significantly higher pregnancy and live birth rates than those who were currently consuming coffee or tea or alcoholic beverages. Demographic, occupational exposures and other lifestyle factors were not significant. Conclusion(s)— Couples in which the female partners drank coffee, tea, or alcoholic beverages in the past had higher pregnancy and live birth rates when compared to never or current users. When discontinuing these habits, they might have made other lifestyle changes to improve the pregnancy outcome.


This paper discusses a modulation level selection method in software-based wireless multimedia communications system which employs adaptive modulation scheme. We propose a modulation level selection algorithm taking account of QoS (quality of service) for each service, and evaluate the performance by computer simulation. Our simulation results show that the proposed algorithm, which can reduce not only the number of required time slots but also the interference power for other users, improves the average delay performance as compared with the conventional one which only attempts to select higher modulation level with higher priority and to reduce only the number of required time slots.


Increasing encroachment, reduced biodiversity and increased conflicts in the forest region have become a national problem. The main cause is still contained forest areas that do not have regional boundaries, no forest managers at the site level and the lack of planning as referral activity. The research objective was to analyze the predictive potential conflicts in the forest region which is based on the biophysical aspects, accessibility and prediction of the potential for forest disturbance. The research method is applied research. This research uses descriptive quantitative and qualitative research. This research was conducted for 0.5 years at the KPH Model Tanah Laut, South Kalimantan Province. The variables measured were: a. biophysical (land cover, class slope, forest distance from settlements, landslides class) and the road network, b. prediction of potential disturbances in the forest. Sample Technique is stratified sampling technique with Random Start and purposive sampling. Data collection methods are literature studies, interviews, observations, field surveys and measurements. Methods of data analysis are 'Overlay Analysis', 'NDVI analysis ',' Buffer analyses, and 'AHP Spatial Analysis' Based on the spatial AHP, in areas with a distance of 500m from the edge of the boundary and the road network, the potential for a very conflicted area reached 5.6%, 9.2% conflict, 22.9% quite conflicted, 16.1% somewhat conflicting. Total area of potential conflict reaches 53.8% The results of in-depth interview about the potential for conflict are the supporting information on the results of AHP analysis. Based on the results of in-depth interviews with public figures around the forest, the potential disruption to forest region reached an average of 45.0% with the details of the potential for interference by historical land use reached 46.4%, the history of forest resource utilization reached 46.4% and the potential history land conflicts in forest areas reached 47.6%.


INTRODUCTION
Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing hemodialysis often experience significant itch secondary to their condition and a subsequent reduction in their overall quality of life. Current treatments are underwhelming, necessitating the search for new, effective therapeutic options to combat itch in this population.

AREAS COVERED
The purpose of this review is to explore the available data for the use of intravenous difelikefalin in patients with CKD undergoing hemodialysis. The pathophysiology of CKD-associated itch is multifactorial, with one proposed mechanism involving an imbalance in the endogenous opioid system, favoring upregulation of itch-activating μ-opioid receptors (MORs) and downregulation of itch-inhibiting κ-opioid receptors (KORs). Dysregulation of the immune system is also involved. Difelikefalin is a recent FDA approved treatment that functions as peripherally acting KOR agonist, targeting this imbalance in the endogenous opioid system seen in CKD patients with itch and having an anti-inflammatory effect on immune cells. Clinical data on intravenous difelikefalin is promising regarding its ability to reduce itch in CKD patients on hemodialysis and improve patient quality of life, with few, mild adverse side effects.

EXPERT OPINION
As intravenous difelikefalin becomes more widely used in the clinical setting, further studies assessing long-term efficacy and safety will be needed.


The efficacy of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) against inflammation, pain, and fever has been supporting their worldwide use in the treatment of painful conditions and chronic inflammatory diseases until today. However, the long‐term therapy with NSAIDs was soon associated with high incidences of adverse events in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the search for novel drugs with improved safety has begun with COX‐2 selective inhibitors (coxibs) being straightaway developed and commercialized. Nevertheless, the excitement has fast turned to disappointment when diverse coxibs were withdrawn from the market due to cardiovascular toxicity. Such events have once again triggered the emergence of different strategies to overcome NSAIDs toxicity. Here, an integrative review is provided to address the breakthroughs of two main approaches: (i) the association of NSAIDs with protective mediators and (ii) the design of novel compounds to target downstream and/or multiple enzymes of the arachidonic acid cascade. To date, just one phosphatidylcholine‐associated NSAID has already been approved for commercialization. Nevertheless, the preclinical and clinical data obtained so far indicate that both strategies may improve the safety of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory therapy.


Terminal warm blood cardioplegia has had a profound impact on cardiac surgery, especially in coronary artery bypass surgery, but there have been few studies on its use in mitral valve replacement. The purpose of this study was to determine whether terminal warm blood cardioplegia offers any advantages in mitral valve replacement. Forty patients with mitral valve disease were prospectively randomized to one of two groups of 20 with different techniques of myocardial protection: group A had cold blood cardioplegia, and group B had cold blood cardioplegia with terminal warm blood cardioplegia. Intraoperative and postoperative variables were used to assess primary outcomes. Postoperative troponin T release was measured as a secondary outcome. Improved spontaneous recovery of sinus rhythm was observed in group B, but the difference was not significant. The maximum doses of inotropics, duration of inotropic support, intensive care unit stay, and postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction were similar in both groups. Troponin T release at 0 and 6 h postoperatively was not different between the two groups. This study did not find any benefit of terminal warm blood cardioplegia in either clinical outcome or troponin T release after mitral valve replacement.


This thesis demonstrates the possibility of capturing photos from the Picas Web Albums service.
The result of the thesis is a working application developed in the Java programming language. The application utilizes special libraries to connect to the Picasa Web Albums service, and with these libraries we are able to extract photo data and thus save it to an appropriate database. A backup of this data is also created in XML format.
The application enables us to capture geotagged photos belonging to a custom area of the earth's surface. The area is defined with two latitude and two longitude values.
A simple graphical interface is provided to assist with the use of this application. To date we have not found any similar solutions to this type of problem, and although the application performs well in its current state, it is possible to develop further improvements and functionality to it.


Background: Newborns with CDH suffer substantial morbidity and mortality. In non-randomised studies, fetal endoscopic tracheal occlusion (FETO) has improved survival.

Aims and objectives: To determine whether the morbidity of CDH infants was greater in those who had FETO compared to those who had not and to identify predictors of survival in CDH infants regardless of antenatal intervention

Methods: Review of CDH infants born at King's College Hospital born between 2009 to 2014

Results: The outcomes of 84 patients (46 FETO infants) were assessed. The FETO infants were born at an earlier gestational age than the non FETO infants (p< 0.001). The duration of mechanical ventilation (p=0.001) and supplementary oxygen (p = 0.003) and the length of stay for the FETO infants (p=0.02) were longer. The mean times to full enteral feeds (p=0.010) and full oral feeds (p=0.01) were longer for FETO infants. Fifty one patients had surgery (27 FETO infants); there was no significant difference in the survival rates of the two groups (p = 0.10). The FETO infants were more likely to have had a patch repair (p = 0.04). There was no significant relationship between the risk of death and FETO treatment (p = 0.74). Higher gestational age, maternal age, birthweight, oxygen saturation in the delivery suite and Apgar score at 5 minutes were associated with a significant reduction in the risk of death. An increase in the lowest oxygenation index and the highest carbon dioxide level in first 24 hours increased the hazard of death by 3% and 9% respectively.

Conclusions: Infants who had undergone FETO compared to those who had not suffered greater neonatal morbidity but not mortality.


A diagnostic ultrasound using a high-resolution linear multifrequency (7–18 Hz) probe on a Toshiba Aplio 500 ultrasound machine and a standardized elbow scanning protocol[1] revealed signs of tendinosis of the common extensor tendon without radial collateral ligament tears and absence of elbow effusion. While scanning the brachialis muscle in transverse axis at the distal arm level, the image was obtained [Figure 1]. Can you find the needle in the haystack?


In the context of describing the role of the accreditation in real estate education it is very important to refresh the understandings of the influences of the parts and bodies that are interested in of the procedure and its contemporary development. These concerned parties are the real estate and construction market entrepreneurs, the market based professional bodies and the local authorities or the obliged persons of the private law. On the one hand is very important to draw down local and global aspects of the procedure that always are based on the fundamentals that are bearing the sectored education. On the other hand, the terms which are loading the separated viewpoints of the current changes are important indeed. The abovementioned approach brings us to the importance of the need of the permanent recycle and refurbishment of the education ex ante the accreditation procedure and also to the impossibility to enter into the process without the market based feedback according the past success of the observed curriculum. The analyses have also its mutual and bilateral connection with the cultural situation. The latter is strongly connected with the description of the quality of life and concerns the modus vivendi, i.e. the lifestyles of the consumers who are affecting the curve of demand for the surveyed real estate education. The other aspect of the accreditation concerns the concentration on the relationship with the target group of users, as showed by Felipe and Betty Ann Korzenny in the other context of development, and on the orientation of it, first of all, to the lifestyle, culture and identity through real estate, using the analysis of the abovementioned global and local terms.


Reading for comprehension (dokkai) is important in Japanese language learning, considering that it is still  difficult  for  students  to  understand  Japanese  reading  texts.  The  purpose  of  this  study  was  to determine the effectiveness of learning using the CIRC learning method with those without using the CIRC method, the ability to read for comprehension without using the CIRC method, the difference in reading skills using the CIRC method and those who did not, and the response and quality of the CIRC method according to students' opinions in Dokkai learning . In connection with the problem that will be raised  namely  about  "CIRC  Learning  Method  on  students'  reading  for  comprehension  at  SMAN  1 Anyer", the type of research used is a type of pure experimental research. To analyze the data using the pretest posttest Group Design control formula. The sample of this study was the grade XI students of SMAN 1 Anyer in the 2018/2019 Academic Year. The instruments used were test and questionnaire. Based on the results of the study, it was obtained that the final reading for comprehension ability of students who used the CIRC method was higher than students who did not use the CIRC method. Keywords: Cooperatif Integrated Reading and Composition


A 34-year-old man was referred to our hospital for management of multiple trauma in consequence of a car accident. Initial examination showed mild intracranial hemorrhage proven by computed tomographic scan (CT) of the brain and multiple fractures of face and thigh. Surgical repair of the multiple fractures was undertaken with stable vital signs and neurological condition. Anesthesia was induced with fentanyl and thiamylal and rocuronium was used to facilitate oroendotracheal intubation. Sevoflurane in a mixture of oxygen and air and rocuronium were used for maintenance of anesthesia and surgical relaxation, respectively. The surgeon decided to perform fixation of facial bone first, so he infiltrated the nasal mucosa with epinephrine solution to minimize blood loss. After the operation was completed, the surgeon routinely checked both pupils and found that the left pupil was fully dilated without light reflex. In fear of exacerbation of the existing intracranial hemorrhage with progressive bleeding, the operation was hastily brought to an end. An urgent CT of the brain was immediately carried out but it revealed no obvious progression compared with the preoperative examination. The patient awaked in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) uneventfully with the left pupil returning to normal condition.


OBJECTIVE
The implied role of retroviruses in the pathogenesis of murine systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) led us to study antiretroviral antibodies in a population-based SLE cohort.

METHODS
Immunoassays using whole virus and synthetic peptides were performed on sera from 72 patients with SLE and 88 control subjects.

RESULTS
Reactions with whole baboon endogenous virus occurred more frequently in patients with SLE, and correlated with the presence of anti-RNP and anti-Sm. Some retroviral env and gag peptides, several of which were similar to U1 small nuclear RNP, reacted more strongly in patients with SLE, and their presence was correlated with discoid rash, hematologic disorder, and other symptoms.

CONCLUSION
These results provide circumstantial evidence for involvement of retroviruses in the pathogenesis of human SLE; further studies should be carried out using other techniques for measurement of retroviral expression.


The long-term safety and efficacy of ketanserin in the treatment of essential hypertension was assessed in monotherapy or in combination with the beta-blocker, metoprolol. In an initial double-blind phase, 40 patients were randomized and treated for 12 weeks with either ketanserin or metoprolol. When compared with baseline placebo values, both drugs were significantly effective in reducing blood pressure levels. The antihypertensive action of ketanserin was more gradual than that of metoprolol. The incidence of side-effects was lower with ketanserin: six cases of mild bradycardia were noted with the beta-blocker. Following this phase, all patients received ketanserin therapy during a 12-month period in an open study. Those patients not controlled by monotherapy [i.e. diastolic blood pressure (DBP) greater than 90 mmHg] were treated by a combination of both drugs. Twenty-two patients receiving ketanserin monotherapy were successfully controlled for all of the period of observation [mean supine systolic blood pressure (SBP)/DBP = 142/88]. Side-effects were minimal, with no significant changes observed in biochemical or haematological measurements during the year-long open phase. The results of this study document the efficacy and safety of long-term treatment of essential hypertension with ketanserin.


The 317 images are overall of good quality but it is interesting to note that the author of the chapter on conventional radiography technique gives the generally accepted recommendation to display lateral radiographs with the patient facing the viewer's left and yet, in one chapter, they are displayed the opposite way. Radiolologic Diagnosis of Chest Disease cannot be recommended as a textbook for residents, or as a reference book in the chest reading room. It still may be of interest to the chest radiologist as an addition to his library since some of the chapters definitely give alternate approaches to the subject. The book is, however, expensive. Ulf Tylen


Alcohol-dependent patients (N = 15) with comorbid non-psychotic psychiatric disorders were treated with Modified Interpersonal Group Therapy (MIGT) for eight weeks, 16 sessions, in a pilot intervention trial. Analysis of the group participants demonstrated that they achieved statistically significant improvements at post-treatment in four of five self-report outcome measures: number of drinking days, number of heavy drinking days, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Furthermore, the improvements in heavy drinking days and the Brief Symptom Inventory were maintained at two and eight months post-treatment. This study yields preliminary evidence in support of MIGT as a useful treatment approach for an alcohol-dependent population with psychiatric comorbidity.


Four gyro operations in foodservice establishments were examined for the possibility that pathogenic foodborne bacteria could survive and/or grow during each step of these operations. Gyros cooked on broilers attained temperatures lethal to vegetative pathogenic bacteria on the surface of the meat and in the thin layer just below the surface, but nowhere else. However, only meat sliced from the surface was normally put in gyro sandwiches or otherwise served. The temperatures of gyros as they cooled were such that bacterial growth could occur, both on the surfaces and within the mass. After gyros had been cooked and cooled, as many as 10,000 Clostridium perfringens per gram were recovered from samples taken just under the surface. Temperatures of gyro meat during reheating varied with the method of reheating, and they were in safe ranges when slices of meat were reheated in microwave ovens and steam chambers. When gyros were reheated on broilers, however, temperatures lethal to vegetative pathogenic bacteria occurred at and near the surfaces only. Recommendations for procedures to use for cooking, slicing, hot holding, cooling, and reheating gyros to prevent this product from becoming a vehicle of foodborne illness are given. Emphasis is on using the entire gyro the day it is originally cooked, rapid cooling of any leftover portions, and thorough reheating of leftover gyros.


This study intended to identify the best learning strategies of writing by focusing in vocabulary acquisition among the primary school pupils in Malaysia. Axiomatically, local education used the Process Writing Approach in producing writing composition. Unfortunately, the researchers thought that it is not sufficient to fulfill the component of good writing. By using the theory of scaffolding pioneered by Vygotsky, the researchers agreed to include vocabulary learning to scaffold the existing Process Writing Approach followed by application or practices. During application, the researcher as the teacher will provide a module where the experimental group will do writing exercises by using the new learned vocabularies. The researchers will use mixed method research where questionnaires of vocabulary and writing strategies are distributed where the results are the determinants of VAW module development.


The buzzword brain-based learning emerged in the 1970s and continues to fascinate teachers and learners in schools and universities today. However, what interested teachers often fail to realize is that brain-based or brain-friendly learning can not only be a plausible concept, but also a myth when applied incorrectly. Numerous empirical studies reveal a high degree of support for misconceptions about learning and the brain, known as neuromyths, among both pre-service and in-service teachers. When applied in the classroom, these myths can waste the educational system's money, time and effort. Even though the neuromyths issue has been known for two decades and the topic remains a focus of constant research, even today, the research discourse barely goes beyond replicating the earliest research findings. This review article provides an overview of the theoretical and empirical state of research on neuromyths. As part of this, ten neuromyths on the subject of learning and memory will be described in terms of content and the results of prior studies on neuromyths will be summarized. The overview of the theoretical and empirical state of research serves as a basis for highlighting controversies, fundamental concepts, issues and problems, current research gaps and potential developments in the field. Topics discussed include whether controversial research findings on correlations with endorsement of neuromyths are merely a methodological artefact, and why contradictions exist between the theoretical and empirical state of research. In addition, three central research gaps will be identified: First, studies should be conducted on whether and to what extent the endorsement of neuromyths really deprives teachers and students of opportunities to spend the education system's money, time and effort on more effective theories and methods. Second, there is too little work on developing and evaluating intervention approaches to combat neuromyths. Third, a standard scientific methodology or guidelines for determining new neuromyths are lacking. As desirable future developments in the field, more work educating people on neuromyths, uniform vocabulary, and interdisciplinary cooperation are highlighted. This contributes to answering the question of to what extent interweaving neuroscience, educational science and cognitive psychology can contribute to reducing the prevalence of neuromyths in education.


River regulation and river training have been performed for various purposes and negative effects have been shown in numerous cases. In some cases the negative effects are so serious that humans have to consider to "renaturalize" the regulated rivers. Only by using the strategy of integrated river management the diverse river uses and natural fluvial processes and ecological systems may be harmonized. Based on analysis of case studies and data collected from literatures this paper presents the concept of integrated river management and four principles of river training. The integrated river management comprises: 1) taking the watershed, upper stream basin including the tributaries, middle and lower reaches and the estuary as an integrated entity in the planning, design and management; and 2) mitigating or controlling the negative impacts on hydrology, erosion and sedimentation, fluvial processes, land use and river use, environment and ecology while in achieving economic benefit from water resources development, flood safety management and hydropower exploitation. River training and management should be in accordance with the four principles: 1) extending the duration of river water flowing on the continent, which may be achieved by extending the river course or reducing the flow velocity; 2) controlling various patterns of erosions and reducing the sediment transportation in the rivers; 3) increasing the diversity of habitat and enhancing the connectivity between the river and riparian waters; and 4) restoring natural landscapes.


OBJECTIVES
Methods for conservation and preservation of vascular grafts are often controversially discussed. Furthermore, immunologic monitoring or immunotherapy for allogeneic graft is not considered necessary in many cases. The present study was initiated to examine the cellular vitality and functional efficiency of vein transplant during preservation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-seven human vein segments (vena saphena magna) were stored after explant in University of Wisconsin solution or histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution at 4 °C. After 3, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours, vein functionality was tested. Ring segments were fixed by triangles in Krebs-Henseleit buffer. Contractile function was measured after addition of potassium chloride solution (80 mM) and phenylephrine (0.2, 2, or 20 μM). To investigate endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation, 1 μM acetylcholine was added.

RESULTS
Of 27 segments, 5 showed endothelium-dependent relaxation. Vasorelaxation continued for up to 48 hours after administration of acetylcholine in University of Wisconsin solution and for up to 24 hours in histidine-tryptophane-ketoglutarate solution. At 48 hours, potassium chloride solution-induced vasocontraction was 17% more effective than phenylephrine in University of Wisconsin solution. University of Wisconsin solution was significantly more effective than histidine-tryptophane-ketoglutarate solution in terms of preservation of phenylephrine (0.2, 2 μM)-induced vasocontraction. Phenylephrine (2 μM)-induced contraction was retained in University of Wisconsin solution after 24 hours by 81% and after 48 hours by 55%, with comparable results in histidine-tryptophane-ketoglutarate solution of only 62% and 34% after 24 and 48 hours.

CONCLUSIONS
At 48 hours, human saphenous vein transplants had better endothelium and smooth muscle function when preserved in University of Wisconsin solution versus histidine-tryptophane-ketoglutarate solution.


Supply-chain RFID systems introduce significant privacy issues to consumers, making it necessary to encrypt communications. Because the resources available on tags are very small, it is generally assumed that only symmetric-key cryptography can be used in such systems. Unfortunately, symmetric-key cryptography imposes negative trust issues between the various stake-holders, and risks compromising the security of the whole system if even a single tag is reverse engineered. This work presents a working prototype implementation of a secure RFID system which uses public-key cryptography to simplify deployment, reduce trust issues between the supply-chain owner and tag manufacturer, and protect user privacy. The authors' prototype system consists of a UHF tag running custom firmware, a standard off-the-shelf reader and custom point-of-sale terminal software. No modifications were made to the reader or the air interface, proving that high-security EPC tags and standard EPC tags can coexist and share the same infrastructure.


Abstract Sol-gel method is the most popular way for the preparation of organic-inorganic hybrid anticorrosion coatings. Such sol-gel coatings is environmental friendly and chemical stable, showing enhanced corrosion resistance for metal substrates. Here, a saline with aniline substituted group N-(3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl)aniline (TMPA) has been used together with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) for the preparation of organic-inorganic hybrid coating (OIHC) materials by sol-gel approach. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) measurements show that the hybrid coatings exhibit high corrosion resistance on aluminum substrates.


The variation in gene expression profiles of cells captured in different phases of the cell cycle can interfere with cell type identification and functional analysis of single cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq) data. In this paper, we introduce SC1CC (SC1 Cell Cycle analysis tool), a computational approach for clustering and ordering single cell transcriptional profiles according to their progression along cell cycle phases. We also introduce a new robust metric, Gene Smoothness Score (GSS) for assessing the cell cycle based order of the cells. SC1CC is available as part of the SC1 web-based scRNA-Seq analysis pipeline, publicly accessible at https://sc1.engr.uconn.edu/.


ABSTRACT We present here the complete genome sequences of two newly isolated Pseudoalteromonas tetraodonis and Pseudoalteromonas lipolytica strains, isolated from the gut of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus, to provide a useful means for facilitating the study of antibacterial, bacteriolytic, agarolytic, and algicidal activities of marine Pseudoalteromonas species.


Casson contends that, because of several assumptions made by classical economic theory, there is no established economic theory of the entrepreneur. A theory of the entrepreneur is needed to explain firm success or failure, firm creation and growth, economic growth and development, and income distribution. The entrepreneur is significant historically because, although he is atypical, he has altered the course of history. The essence of a theory of the entrepreneur should be both the rationalization of success and explanation of failure. A theory of the function of the entrepreneur will have an important role in a theory of economic dynamics, the competitive process, and trade cycles. The book proceeds based on two reconstructions of economic theory. (1) Individuals differ in taste and access to information; the entrepreneur proceeds on the basis of the unique information available to him. (2) There are inherent difficulties (transaction costs) in organizing markets; the entrepreneur often must create market institutions. Casson's theory converges functional and indicative definitions of the entrepreneur. He defines an entrepreneur as "someone who specializes in taking judgmental decisions about the coordination of scarce resources." Skills essential for the entrepreneur are identified. The most important concept for Casson's theory is coordination, as a problem and a process, private or social. It is the dynamic counterpart of allocation; two mechanisms are contract and conjecture. Bargaining must converge to equilibrium. The entrepreneur's assessment (the role of his superior judgment) of a situation (coupled with his role as intermediator) is crucial toward influencing where, when, and how coordination occurs. Coordination reduces the entrepreneur's exposure to uncertainty through insurance and speculation. Coordination is difficult in the realm of public goods (goods in common ownership). Entrepreneurial coordination is always partial, because it engages only a small sector of the economy; partial coordination is continuous, and overall consistency cannot be guaranteed. The theory of the entrepreneur is related to the theory of the market making firm: the entrepreneur operates in a market economy through the firm, of which the entrepreneur is the founder or owner-manager. To overcome obstacles to trade, market-making activities are required, which involve information and incur costs. Transaction costs can be reduced by market internalization. The entrepreneur can internalize the exploitation of commercial information upon which his superior judgment is based. When re-contracting is difficult, the market-maker responds by building inventory. Market-making services to buyers and sellers are usually packaged by an intermediator; the entrepreneurship function of producers and retailers is "impure." The economies of centralized control, which can be delegated and occur in many forms, can be attributed to the internalization of a market. Entrepreneurs adopt hard-line bargaining strategies because they believe they have superior market knowledge. The economic factors governing the growth rate of the firm are analyzed using concepts developed previously in the book. New firm formation results from opportunity recognition by the entrepreneur and the belief that it is best exploited by self-employment; the family is a major source of capital, labor, and information. The market for entrepreneurs operates uniquely; it allocates judgment decisions to entrepreneurs. The number of entrepreneurs and their rewards are analyzed. Because of major social and economic barriers, the heroic figure of the entrepreneur is a myth; entrepreneurship, however, is important for social mobility, even though the absolute degree is rather limited. Alternative economic theories of Leibenstein, Hayek and Kirzner, Knight, Schumpeter, and Andrews and Penrose are critically reviewe


A major challenge in post-silicon debug is to generate efficient tests that activate requisite coverage goals on the target hardware while also producing results that are observable through a given on-chip design-for-debug (DfD) architecture. Unfortunately, such tests cannot be generated by analysis of RTL models, both because of design complexity and since the implementation can be buggy. In this paper, we propose an approach to address this problem by exploiting transaction-level models (TLM). Our approach involves mapping tests and observability requirements between TLM and RTL, enabling TLM analysis to generate post-silicon tests. We provide two case studies to demonstrate the flexibility and effectiveness of our proposed approach.


Using equilibrium dialysis and visible absorption spectroscopy, the interaction between polyphenolic antioxidant, curcumin [1,7-bis (4-hydroxy-3-methoxy phenyl)-1, 6 heptadiene-3, 5-dione; diferuloylmethane] and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) was studied in detail. Curcumin bound to the protein with considerably high affinity (K a ∼ 6.3 × 10 6 M/L) and moderate capacity (n ∼ 0.30 Mole/Mole of BSA). Analysis by Hill plot indicated lack of cooperativity (Hill Coefficient, h ∼ 1.0) in the overall binding process. The binding complex formed offered significant protection to the dye molecule from deterioration either by alkaline pH or UV irradiation. The binding was seen to be pH sensitive (n at pH 7.0 > pH 6.0) without significantly altering the affinity. (K a ) The temperature sensitivity (n at 37°C > 22°C > 10°C) and the standard free energy (ΔG 0 ) calculation by van't Hoff's equation supported a prominent role of hydrophobicity besides proven electrostatic interaction in the binding process. The interaction with BSA induced red shift to the curcumin spectra (λ max = 440 nm) with simultaneous increase (∼ 3 fold) in optical density, which was also noticeable in case of Do-decyl amine (DDA). As for further interest, the binding to BSA considerably increased the curcumin solubility in aqueous buffer media, e.g., the presence of 0.2% BSA at pH 7.4 raised the solubility level to ∼ 2.5 fold in comparison to curcumin alone in aqueous medium. The increment in solubility in the presence of BSA was pH dependent and larger with increasing pH. At alkaline pH (∼ 10.5) the curcumin solubility in presence of 0.2 % BSA was increased ∼ 10 fold but the dye molecule lost the characteristic absorption maxima (λ max ) at visible region. Additionally, the presence of BSA protects the dye molecule from alkaline damage as shown by HPLC analysis. The dye alone underwent a red shift at pH over 7.0. In the presence of BSA the red shift was larger and almost 10 fold at pH near 9.0-10.0. Apart from high pH, the UV irradiation (λ = 365-240 nm) for different length of time (1 to 4 hrs) reduced only ∼ 20 % of the optical density in presence of BSA. All these events logically propose that BSA offered protection to the curcumin through binding, thereby preventing the damage of the dye molecule.


This thesis research looks at whether federal grant award dollars influence state spending on wildlife conservation. Partisan control of the state legislatures also is examined to see if Democratic-controlled, Republican-controlled, and Split-Party Status affects spending on wildlife conservation. Five states were chosen to represent major regions in the United States and to serve as case studies of wildlife conservation spending patterns. The Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program is used as a case study to investigate whether funds received by states affected state government spending on wildlife conservation. The research finds that the amount of money allocated to states does not affect the amount of money appropriated by state legislatures for wildlife conservation. Among the study's additional key findings, the two Republican-controlled state legislatures, Arizona and Oklahoma, were identified as appropriating relatively large amounts of money to wildlife conservation. On the federal grant recipient end, Oklahoma stood out for its relatively large amount of federal grant funding received from Washington. Results such as these suggest that Republican-controlled state legislatures have interest in adequate funding of wildlife conservation even if it is not a traditionally held ideology by the Party.


With increased interest in addressing violence against women and girls in the context of the HIV response the STRIVE research consortium convened a high-level meeting to review evidence at the intersection of these two critical global issues. Held from 12 to 14 May 2015 the meeting was designed to advance understanding of the links between HIV and violence against women and girls (VAWG) and to identify strategies to address this nexus. The consultation brought together experts from both fields to clarify what is known about the epidemiological pathways linking violence and HIV to identify shared risk factors and to outline opportunities to act on synergies through common programming.


Transform coding is the most popular image compression method. However, for high compression it produces noticeable blocking artifacts in the decoded image. This paper presents new algorithms for reducing blocking artifacts. The algorithms use piecewise self-similarity within different parts of the image as a priori to give reasonable modification to the block boundary pixels. The proposed postprocessing algorithm includes block classification in transform coefficient domain, and each block boundary area smoothing is performed by searching similar blocks. In experiments it outperforms an existing method and gives significant subjective and objective improvement over the decoded image.