The dissertation deals with the problem of how Christian theology can be integrated with secular thinking. It is claimed that since modern science applies many different perspectives, this integrative effort can only take place as a never-ending dialogue between different interpretations of both theology and science. Max Weber is often regarded as a classic interpreter of modern Western culture, and the investigation is a conversation between his thinking and Christian theology. The investigation aims at 1) providing an interpretation of Max Weber's texts in regard to the function of views of life in modern society and 2) suggesting one possible way of revising Christian theology so that it can be integrated with Weber's view on views of life, science and modernity. Weber presents traditional Christian theology with two basic challenges, namely an epistemological challenge and a cultural challenge. Christian theology, as classically formulated, has lost much of its credibility in the face of scientific discoveries and philosophical criticism. In Weber's view, it therefore is questionable if any well-educated person can be rationally justified in holding on to a traditional form of Christian faith. The cultural challenge implies, that if religion divorces itself from modernity, it risks becoming a form of escapism and thus contributing to alienation. In order to meet these challenges, it is claimed that Christian theology should be oriented towards praxis rather than towards metaphysical speculation. The dissertation suggests one way of formulating such a theological perspective. This suggestion is based around the understanding of the symbol of the kingdom of God as a way to formulate a Christian utopian realism.


Background Claudin-1 plays an important part in maintaining the mucosal structures and physiological functions. Several studies showed a relationship between claudin-1 and colorectal cancer (CRC), but its prognostic significance is inconsistent. This meta-analysis assessed the prognostic value and clinical significance of claudin-1 in CRC. Materials and Methods We retrieved eligible studies from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science databases before February 10, 2020. The hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was applied to assess the correlation between claudin-1 and prognosis and clinical features. Heterogeneity was assessed by the Cochran Q test and I-square (I2), while publication bias was evaluated by the Begg test and Egger test. Test sequence analysis (TSA) was used to estimate whether the included studies' number is sufficient. The stability of the results was judged by sensitivity analysis. Metaregression was utilized to explore the possible covariance which may impact on heterogeneity among studies. Results Eight studies incorporating 1704 patients met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed that the high expression of claudin-1 was associated with better overall survival (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.28–0.76; P = 0.002) and disease-free survival (HR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.29–0.65; P = 0.003) in CRC. In addition, we found that claudin-1 was related to the better tumor type (n = 6; RR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.49–0.73; P < 0.00001), negative venous invasion (n = 4; RR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.70–0.95; P = 0.001), and negative lymphatic invasion (n = 4; RR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.74–0.92; P = 0.0009). Conclusion The increased claudin-1 expression in CRC is associated with better prognosis. In addition, claudin-1 was related to the better tumor type and the less venous invasion and lymphatic invasion.


This paper investigates the existence and magnitude of volatility spillovers among equities on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The multivariate VARMA-GARCH model is used to test for spillover effects between four broad sectors of the NSE: Agricultural, Financial, Commercial and Services and Industrial. The significance of the parameters of the model are used as an indicator of the spillover effect between sectors. Based on the empirical results, the biggest volatility spillover is from the commercial and services sector to the broad industrial sector. There are also significant spillovers from the industrial and agricultural sectors to the financial and commercial and services sectors, as well as from the financial and commercial and services sectors to the broad industrial sector.


A novel delayed flip-flop circuit using monostable-bistable transition logic elements (MOBILEs) was proposed, and was fabricated using resonant-tunneling-diode/high-electron-mobility-transistor integration technology on an InP substrate. Error free operations at up to 12.5 Gb/s were demonstrated at room temperature.


Nowadays, the focus of the construction market is on sustainability aspects, for which purpose, the employment of wood seems promising. Nevertheless, in countries having high potentiality like Sweden, the timber construction market finds difficulties in growing. The reason lies in the lack of standards for design and industrialization and on the strong competition of the concrete industry. The timber-concrete hybrid solution is presented in this study as a solution beneficial for both the timber and the concrete markets: the former would benefit of a pulling action towards standardization and larger market, while the latter would fulfil the environment-friendly requirements and better differentiate in the competitive landscape.Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to provide a framework to evaluate innovations in construction market, highlighting the characteristic issues related to the matching of timber and concrete constructions, and detecting the main economic and technical factors to help in the decision-making process. This framework will help to organize and evaluate all the information and the boundary conditions about the introduction of a concrete-timber hybrid construction solution, which eventually would enhance the timber construction market itself through a preliminary association with concrete market.Firstly, some consideration on the market areas and on the general perceptions towards the timber construction are presented; then, the focus is moved onto the dynamics of concrete and timber supply chains, highlighting similarities, diversities, and possible reciprocal benefits, to finally detect the market indicators to be considered for a decision-making path related to the timber-concrete hybrid construction.From the technical side, a conceptual design is proposed, considering the industrialization of such hybrid solution. Annex A shows how standardization and modularity of the products would enable compatibility and interchangeability between timber and concrete, on account of the open system within the construction market. Annex B displays a schematic picture of how the exploitation of timber and concrete' properties, with the industrialization of these two materials, can be best employed for a hybrid building. A preliminary technical evaluation of the timber-concrete hybrid is carried out by dividing the building into modular units and focusing on the main systems (horizontal loadbearing system, vertical loadbearing system, external envelope, inner partitions), while making consideration on structural design, fire protection, building technology details, building service systems integration, construction plan, and costs.The innovations within the construction market are often hindered by the fear to undertake a high-risk project. The proposed framework allows to increase the awareness on the general factors to be evaluated, and to undertake a gradual adoption of the "new" timber construction solution. The key points underlying the whole timber-concrete hybrid problem are standardization and modularity, necessary for a quality-oriented production. Further studies need to be carried out with an applicative intent: application of the general framework to real cases and pilot projects; automatic tools for the design and construction optimization including economic and technical factors; innovative and original hybrid solutions, which better exploit the timber-concrete synergy.


Abstract #6101 Introduction: Adjuvant therapies are available to prevent breast cancer recurrence that may reduce morbidity and mortality. However, the associated savings to society have not been quantified, particularly for HER2+ patients. Methods: We reviewed the literature (PubMed) to estimate the costs attributable to breast cancer recurrence including direct (medical and non-medical) and indirect (loss income, productivity, informal care) costs. The following sources were used to estimate the recurrence cost. The 10-year average direct medical costs of recurrence were obtained from an analysis of SEER-Medicare data (Stokes 2008). This study compared women with recurrence to similar women without recurrence and accounts for differential costs associated with survival (ie, it did not estimate only the cost of treating recurrent cancer). In the initial year after cancer diagnosis, women required an additional 66 hours of personal time to obtain medical services (Yabroff 2007). After recurrence, an excess of 9% of patients would leave the work force if they were aged 50-64 (Lidgren 2007). Women were found to take an additional 8.5 months away from work during the 3 years following a recurrence compared with those without recurrence (Drolet 2005). The intensity of informal care was similar (0.8 hour/week) in the first year after recurrence as it was for women without recurrence (Lidgren 2007). The valuation of utilization was conducted from a societal perspective and costs reported as 2008 US dollars. Because certain costs were relevant to specific ages, we estimated costs in 3 age cohorts (30-49, 50-69, and ≥70). Lost income from early retirement was calculated as the number of years retired from work before the age 65 times the annual average income derived using the national average wage and benefit data. Patient time required for receiving care, time absent from work, and caregiver time were also valued in the same way. We combined this information into a simulation used to estimate the number of HER2+ women diagnosed in one calendar year in the United States, and whose recurrence could be prevented with trastuzumab. The model accounted for variability of clinical and economic inputs by sampling from distributions using 5,000 replications. The mean costs per person and the middle 95% of the distribution were reported. Results: For ages 50-69, early retirement costs were $39,600. Costs due to work absences were $41,600 (age 30-49) and were $31,200 (age 50-69). The total societal costs attributable to a single recurrence were $60,400 ($32,000 to $129,000) for ages 30-49, $89,600 ($45,000 to $203,000) for ages 50-69, and $18,900 ($13,000 to $25,000) for ages ≥70. Overall, the savings from preventing recurrence with trastuzumab were estimated at over $167 million ($70 million to $385 million) per year of diagnosed cases of HER2+ tumors. Conclusion: Therapies that can prevent breast cancer recurrence can lead to substantial savings to society and represent a considerable opportunity cost. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 6101.


In recent years, the importance of privacy protection in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has been increasing. GWAS focuses on identifying single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with certain diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and Chi-squared testing can be used for this. However, recent studies reported that publishing the p-value or the corresponding chi-squared value of analyzed SNPs can cause privacy leakage. Several studies have been proposed for the anonymization of the chi-squared value with differential privacy, which is a de facto privacy metric in the cryptographic community. However, they can be applied to only small contingency tables; otherwise, they lose a lot of useful information. We propose novel anonymization methods: Rand-Chi and RandChiDist, and these methods are experimentally evaluated using real data sets.


A distinction can be made between two types of cultural diversity in the practice of medicine: cultural diversity among the individuals involved in healthcare settings (i.e. doctors, nurses, patients, etc.), and diversity in the health paradigms now prevalent in contemporary modern societies (e.g. orthodox Western medicine, Chinese acupuncture, Indian ayurveda and Yorùbá medicine). In contrast to the received view, in which diversity is regarded as 'challenging' or 'problematic' for the provision and delivery of optimal healthcare, this paper argues that because health, wellbeing and wellness are themselves cultural goods in all paradigms of medicine, it is always possible to perform transcultural assessments of the methods, theories and practices adopted in specific paradigms of medicine.


The thermodynamics of irreversible processes, not far from equilibrium, allows us to determine a thermoelectric effect in gases, similar to the Thompson effect in solids, when there are both a temperature gradient and an electric field in a mixture of neutral species and ions. An arrangement consisting of a DC 'corona' discharge is a suggested means to verify the above-mentioned effect. Kinetic theory can be used to calculate the value of the thermal diffusion coefficient appearing in the heat transport equation.


Helminths in recent times are said to be highly resistant to anthelmintic therapeutics. The level of attention paid to this area is quite low, therefore causing a serious threat to humans and livestock. Helminth's infection is rampant in developing countries contributing significantly to economic losses and food security in general. This study aims to determine the Anthelmintic properties of methanol extract of Bridelia micrantha (Hochst) Baill leaves. Methods: The anthelmintic activity of helminths was determined by exposure to various concentrations of reference anthelminthic (albendazole, praziquantel and mebendazole) drugs and plant extract. Measurements were taken based on times for death and paralysis. Results: The extract exhibited a concentration-dependent anthelmintic activity against Lumbricus terrestris with significant (p < 0.0001) paralysis and death times when the extract concentrations were 4, 8, 16 and 32 mg/mL respectively. In the presence of 0.125 mg/mL of the extract the reference anthelmintic (albendazole), showed a potentiated activity against the test organism. In the presence of 0.25 mg/mL of the extract the reference anthelmintic (mebendazole), also showed a potentiated activity against the test organism. In the presence of 0.125 and 0.25 mg/ml of the extract, the reference anthelmintic (praziquantel) showed similar results. Conclusion: The extract had anthelmintic activity against L. terrestris and modified the resistance of the organism to albendazole, mebendazole and praziquantel.


The design of high-performance gas turbines requires the reliable prediction of blade tip clearances. Excess clearances allow a portion of the hot gas to flow over the blade tips without performing useful work. The tip leakage flow disturbs the flow field which results in additional losses. Moreover, insufficient blade tip clearance may cause interference which can reduce turbine life. In conventional turbomachines, the blade tip clearances vary markedly with the operating condition of the turbine, essentially as a result of variations in gas temperatures and rotor speed.Siemens tests prototype gas turbines in its own test facility. An extensive experimental program is devised to verify design calculations regarding strength, aerodynamics and thermodynamics. Among other measurements, the minimum operating tip clearance is measured by abrasion pins. Electro-mechanical sensors measure transient tip clearance during a selected duty cycle consisting of turning-gear operation, cold start, idle operation, as well as part-load, full-load, and most importantly, hot-start. In the present paper, the compressor and turbine tip clearances measured during such a load cycle are compared with calculated predictions. The experimental instrumentation for the prototype gas turbine, as well as design calculations, are presented.The results show that the new Model V84.3 gas turbine does not exhibit critically small clearances during cold start nor during hot-start due to the careful matching of magnitude and the time constants of the thermal expansion of the blades, discs, blade-ring carriers and casing.Copyright © 1994 by ASME


Linezolid has been successfully used for treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). However, dose- and duration-related toxicity limit its use. Here, our aim was to search relevant pharmacokinetics (PK)/pharmacodynamics (PD) literature to identify the effective PK/PD index and to define the optimal daily dose and dosing frequency of linezolid in MDR-TB regimens. The systematic search resulted in 8 studies that met inclusion criteria. A significant PK variability was observed. Efficacy of linezolid seems to be driven by area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Literature is inconclusive about the preferred administration of a daily dose of 600 mg. To prevent development of drug resistance, an AUC/MIC ratio of 100 in the presence of a companion drug at relevant exposure is required. A daily dose of 600 mg seems appropriate to balance between efficacy and toxicity. Being a drug with a very narrow therapeutic window, linezolid treatment may benefit from a more personalized approach, that is, measuring actual MIC values and therapeutic drug monitoring.


A two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics code was developed and used to simulate dislocation patterning. For the present study of annealing, both glide and some climb were allowed in the simulations, In these circumstances patterning takes place even in the absence of external stresses and of dislocation sources. A triangular underlying lattice was assumed, with the three slip systems equally populated initially. Well-defined dislocation walls and cells are observed to form from random initial conditions. The structure coarsens with time, i.e. the typical size of the cells increases as annealing takes place (the smaller cells shrink and disappear from the structure). In the spirit of a bottom-up multiscale approach, a new simulation methodology is suggested, in which the discrete moving objects are dislocation wall segments rather than individual dislocations. The most important rule governing the dynamics of the dislocation walls is local conservation of the net Burgers vector, The new coarse-grained simulation method is designed to give much closer correspondence with the microscopic discrete dislocation dynamics results than previously available approaches.


An efficient one-pot Cu-catalyzed C-H functionalization/two-fold C-N bond formation protocol for the syntheses of N-aryl benzimidazoquinazolinones is being reported. This strategy involves a Cu-catalyzed C-N bond coupling reaction between N-anilinoquinazolinones and aryl/heteroaryl halides followed by acetate ligand-assisted intramolecular C-H amination.a This reaction is high-yielding and straightforward for the synthesis of anti-cancer drug analogues of benzimidazoquinazolinones.


This study investigated the health risk behaviours of adolescents from selected schools in Potchefstroom, in the North West Province of South Africa, with the emphasis on age variation. The Youth Risk Behaviour Survey (YRBS) was administered to 323 high school pupils between the ages of 13 and 18 years (141 boys and 182 girls). The age variation was: 13 years (8%), 14 years (18%), 15 years (19%), 16 years (20%), 17 years (17%), 18 and older (18%). Ethnic variation was 32% black, 30% white, 27% Coloured and 11% Indian high school pupils. The Youth Risk Behaviour Survey (YRBS) monitors six categories of priority risk behaviours among youth and young adults: behaviours that contribute to unintentional and intentional injuries, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviours, dietary behaviours and physical activity. The section on dietary behaviours was not included in this study. Results of this study indicated that there are many high school pupils in Potchefstroom who practice behaviours that place them at risk for serious health problems from the age of 13 years. A higher frequency of risk behaviours were found with older adolescents. Statistical differences within the age variation were found in violence, alcohol, marijuana use and sexual activity. Keywords: Health risk behaviour, Adolescents, Violence, Substance, Sexual activity, Physical activity South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation Vol.25(2) 2003: 27-36


Current large-scale assessment and accountability policies in the United States emphasize the need for all students to be appropriately included. However, there are many challenges to effective inclusion. Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit unique social communication and behavior challenges that can hinder their effective inclusion in instruction and testing. However, no studies have systematically examined how this unique group of students is currently included in accountability programs. A statewide representative sample of 191 teachers selected a student with ASD and reported on (a) the extent to which the student received instruction according to the general curriculum, (b) the teacher's academic expectations for the student, and (c) the method by which the student participated in accountability testing. Results indicated that many students were reported to rarely receive instruction according to the general curriculum, and many were reported to participate in an alternate assessment.


Qua-Quine Starch (QQS), an Arabidopsis thaliana orphan gene, and its interactor, Arabidopsis Nuclear Factor Y subunit C4 (AtNF-YC4), can increase the total leaf and seed protein in different plants. Despite their potential in developing protein-rich crop varieties, their influence on the protein content of the stem, modified stem, and tuber was never investigated. Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the most valuable food crops worldwide. This staple food is rich in starch, vitamins (B6, C), phenolics, flavonoids, polyamines, carotenoids, and various minerals but lacks adequate proteins necessary for a healthy human diet. Here we expressed A. thaliana QQS (AtQQS) and overexpressed S. tuberosum NF-YC4 (StNF-YC4) in potatoes to determine their influence on the composition and morphological characteristics of potato tubers. Our data demonstrated higher protein and reduced starch content in potato tubers without significantly compromising the tuber yield, shape, and numbers, when QQS was expressed or StNF-YC4 was overexpressed. Publicly available expression data, promoter region, and protein–protein interaction analyses of StNF-YC4 suggest its potential functionality in potato storage protein, metabolism, stress resistance, and defense against pests and pathogens. The overall outcomes of this study support QQS and NF-YC4's potential utilization as tools to enhance tuber protein content in plants.


Decompression sickness (DCS) is the collective term for an array of signs and symptoms triggered by ambient pressure reduction. It is of particular concern to divers as they decompress on ascend from depth to sea surface, but despite a long history of studies the determinants of DCS risk are incompletely understood and there are no validated biomarkers. In this issue of Proteomics Clinical Applications, Lautridou et al. [8] report on their search for DCS biomarkers in rats exposed to simulated diving. By comparing the plasma proteomes from animals showing neurological symptoms to those emerging from dives unaffected, they identified several high‐abundance proteins not previously associated with DCS. The most significant finding was a near depletion of thyroxine‐ and vitamin A transporter transthyretin in symptomatic rats. In addition to their potential role as diagnostic biomarkers, the proteins identified in Lautridou's study may offer new pieces in the yet incomplete puzzle of DCS etiology.


Abstract Assadi, M.: A taxonomic revision of Elymus sect. Caespitosae and sect. Elytrigia (Poaceae, Triticeae) in Iran. — Willdenowia 26: 251–271. 1996. — ISSN 0511-9618. Elymus sect. Caespitosae and sect. Elytrigia in Iran are revised, a key to the taxa, synonymies, descriptions, quotation of selected collections, data on geographical distribution, and additional notes, where necessary, are presented. The genus is treated in a broad sense, as comprising the genera Elytrigia, Pseudoroegneria, Thinopyrum, Lophopyrum, and Trichopyrum. The combinations Elymus pertenuis, E. tauri var. kosaninii, E. elongatiformis, E. hispidus var. podperae and E. hispidus var. villosus are formed as names new to science. Elymus nodosus subsp. dorudicus and E. gentryi var. ciliatiglumis are described as subspecies and variety new to science, respectively.


Devices which differ only iin emitter periphery were subjected to ionizing radiation to investigate the influence of emitter periphery on hFE degradation. The data indicate that, within reasonable limits, the increase in base current from ionizing radiation is directly proportional to the length of the emitter periphery. However, differences in fabrication techniques, passivation materials and processing, and silicon crystal orientation may very well have a greater influence on the degradation from ionizing radiation than the emitter periphery.


The performance of a tracking/fusion algorithm depends very much on the complexity of the problem. This paper presents an approach for evaluating tracking/fusion algorithms that considers the difficulty of the problem. Evaluation is performed by characterizing the performance of the basic functions of prediction and association. The problem complexity is summarized by means of context metrics. Two context metrics for characterizing prediction and association difficulty are normalized target mobility and normalized target density. These metrics should be presented along with the performance metrics. The context metrics also support more efficient generation of input data for performance evaluation. Simple tests for evaluating basic tracking algorithm functions are presented.


Abstract:In this article, I defend the pragmatic relevance of race in history. Kant and Hegel's racist development thesis assumes that nonwhite, non-European racial groups are defective practical agents. In response, philosophers have opted to drop race from a theory of history and progress. They posit that denying its pragmatic relevance amounts to anti-racist egalitarianism. I dub this tactic "colorblind cosmopolitanism" and offer grounds for its rejection. Following Du Bois, I ascribe, instead, a pragmatic role to race in history. Namely, Du Bois argues that race is an "instrument of progress" that advances emancipatory struggle. He appeals to the writing of history—or historiography—to cultivate group consciousness of historical memory in order to (1) strengthen intragroup bonds among the racially oppressed, especially black Americans, and (2) create intergroup bonds that reconstruct the republic on the basis of universal ideals. I detail Du Bois's defense of the black struggle for freedom in the wake of the U.S. Civil War to provide a concrete illustration of "spirit" in American history.


Abstract. El Niño events differ widely in their patterns and intensities. The regional climate anomalies caused by different types of El Niño events
likely lead to various impacts on winter haze pollution in China. Based on long-term site observations of haze days in China from 1961 to 2013, this
study explores the effects of eastern Pacific (EP) and central Pacific (CP) types of El Niño events on the number of winter haze days (WHDs) in
China's Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ) region and the physical mechanisms underlying WHD changes. The results show statistically significant positive and
negative correlations, respectively, between WHDs in the JJJ region and EP and CP El Niño events. At most sites in the JJJ region, the average
WHD increased in all EP El Niño years, with the maximum change exceeding 2.0 d. Meanwhile, the average WHD decreased at almost all
stations over this region in all CP El Niño years, with the largest change being more than −2.0 d. The changes in large-scale
circulations indicate obvious positive surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies and negative sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies over North China, as well as
southerly wind anomalies at the middle to low troposphere over eastern China in the winters of EP El Niño years. These anomalies are conducive to
increases in WHDs in the JJJ region. However, there are significant northerly and northwesterly wind anomalies at the middle to low troposphere over
eastern China, as well as stronger and wider precipitation anomalies in the winters of CP El Niño years, which contribute to decreased WHDs over the JJJ
region. Changes in local synoptic conditions indicate negative SLP anomalies, positive SAT anomalies, and weakened northerly winds over the JJJ
region in the winters of EP El Niño years. The total occurrence frequency of circulation types conducive to the accumulation (diffusion) of
aerosol pollutants is increased (decreased) by 0.4 % (0.2 %) in those winters. However, the corresponding frequency is decreased (increased)
by 0.5 % (0.6 %) in the winters of CP El Niño years. Our study highlights the importance of distinguishing the impacts of these two
types of El Niño events on winter haze pollution in China's JJJ region.


Background: Neratinib (Puma Biotechnology Inc), an irreversible pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was evaluated in a phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial (ExteNET) to assess for improved invasive DFS (iDFS) in women with early-stage HER2+ breast cancer (BC) after trastuzumab-based therapy (clinicaltrials.gov NCT00878709). Primary efficacy analysis at 2-yrs demonstrated iDFS of 93.9% and 91.6% neratinib and placebo, respectively (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.50–0.91; P=0.009). Greater benefit was observed in hormone-receptor (HR)-positive and centrally- confirmed HER2 subsets – HR 0.51, p=0.001 and HR 0.51 p=0.002, respectively [Chan et al. ASCO 2015]. We report an exploratory analysis of efficacy after 3-yrs of follow-up. Methods: Women with HER2+ BC were randomly assigned to oral neratinib 240 mg/day or matching placebo for 1 year, stratified by nodal status, HR-status and prior trastuzumab regimen. The study was initiated in April 2009 with recruitment ceased in October 2011, limiting follow-up to 2 years. In January 2014, follow-up was restored to 5 years. During year 1, physical examinations were performed at 3-monthly intervals, at 4-monthly intervals in year 2 and then 6-monthly to 5-years; with mammography performed annually. Patients were asked to re-consent following ethics approval of the January 2014 protocol amendment. During years 3 to 5, disease-free survival (DFS) and survival events were identified from medical records. A descriptive analysis of iDFS, to investigate the durability of neratinib effect was performed after 3-yrs of follow-up. Data for overall survival remains blinded until 248 events have occurred. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using stratified Cox proportional-hazards models. Results: The intention-to-treat population included 2840 patients (neratinib, N 1420; placebo, P=1420). Central HER2 testing has now been performed in 2041 pts (72%) - HER2-positive 1709 (84%) and HER2-negative 332 (16%). Pts were randomized within 12-months of completion of prior adjuvant trastuzumab in 2297 (81%) pts. Three-yr iDFS for ITT population demonstrated HR 0.74, [95% CI 0.56-0.96]. In the ITT pts who were randomized within 1-yr of trastuzumab completion, iDFS HR 0.72 [0.54-0.95]. For pts who had centrally-confirmed (cc) HER2-positive disease , iDFS HR 0.70 [0.50-0.98]. Pts with HR-positive disease had 3-yr iDFS HR 0.57 [0.39-0.82] and HR-negative pts HR 0.96 [0.67-1.45]. Overall survival data are not yet mature. Conclusions: Exploratory analysis at 3-years supports the significant benefit seen in the primary analysis of 12-months of neratinib following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy. Patients who consistently derived the greatest benefit were 1) patients who received neratinib within 12 months of completing adjuvant trastuzumab; 2) centrally confirmed HER2 positive patients and 3) HR positive patients. Citation Format: Chan A, Delaloge S, Holmes FA, Moy B, Iwata H, Harker G, Masuda N, Neskovic Konstantinovic ZB, Petrakova K, Guerrero Zotano AL, Iannotti N, Rodriguez GI, Tassone P, von Minckwitz G, Ejlertsen B, Chia SKL, Mansi J, Barrios CH, Buyse M, Wong A, Bryce R, Ye Y, Martin M. Neratinib after trastuzumab-based adjuvant therapy in early-stage HER2+ breast cancer: 3-year analysis from a phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial (ExteNET). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr S5-02.


Hedonic valuation of quality attributes can be misleading when the assumption that these attributes are exogenous to sample selection is violated. This paper considers the simultaneity between hedonic valuation and sample selection in the context of a model of consumer behavior over packaged goods and investigates empirically how the decision on house location (urban/rural) affects the household's valuation of water-related characteristics of the house in question. The empirical analysis uses data from the Indonesian housing market and suggests that households value access to safe and improved domestic water sources. However, failing to correct for sample selection results in a biased valuation of willingness to pay for house characteristics. This might misguide policy recommendations for improved provision of domestic water, based on cost–benefit analysis.


An empirical study into innovation supporting and blocking factors has been conducted of the strategic perceptions of stakeholders within the supply chain of a mature industry sector, based on interview analysis. The data revealed strategic intentions and assumptions that support the emergence of two distinct trajectories of change in the industry based on co-partnership and ad-hoc relationships respectively. A model of the trajectories using current partnership theories of lean supply indicated that the co-partnership trend offers some scope for incremental innovation; the ad-hoc relationship trend offered rather less scope for incremental innovation. Both trends seem to be reducing the scope for development of entrepreneurial networks within which independent design innovators can flourish. The strategic assumptions identified point to an environment that is not supportive of radical innovation. The absence of in-house R&D capabilities may be an important factor in the industry's difficulties in innovating.


A batch of 259 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected by flagging in woodlands of north-western Poland (Szczecin area) was examined for the presence of Toxoplasma gondii DNA with nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Positive isolates were genotyped with the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of B1 gene marker. Another batch of 340 I. ricinus ticks from Szczecin area was homogenized and inoculated into mice. Subsequently, the biological material obtained from inoculated mice was also examined with nested PCR for the presence of Toxoplasma gondii DNA and positive isolates were genotyped with RFLP as above. The study revealed that 12.7 % of I. ricinus ticks were infected with T. gondii. Prevalence of T. gondii infection was highest in females (27.9 %), being significantly greater (p<0.05) than in males (12.3 % ) and nymphs (5.6 % ). Most of the positive isolates (78.8 % ) belonged to type I of T. gondii. Samples from brains and other organs of 60 inoculated mice showed 44 positive results for T. gondii DNA with the dominance of atypical genotype and frequent mixed infections.


The Haiyuan fault is a major left‐lateral strike‐slip fault at the boundary between northeast Tibet and the Gobi platform. Combining measurements of offset alluvial terraces with 10Be‐26Al cosmogenic radionuclides dating, we bracket the late Quaternary slip rate along the Hasi Shan fault section (37°00′N, 104°25′E) of the Haiyuan fault. At our reference site, terrace‐riser offsets for five successive terraces range from ~5 to ~200 m, and associated cosmogenic radionuclide ages range from 9 ± 3 to 44 ± 7 kyr. These measurements yield a geological slip rate between 2.7 and 3.0 mm/year. Extending the offset measurements to the entire Hasi Shan front, it yields a slip rate of 3.2 ± 0.2 mm/year over the last ~50 kyr. Our rate is consistent with the lower estimates of other long‐term rates of 4 to 5 mm/year, as well as with geodetic rates of 3 to 5 mm/year, determined in the same area. About 150 km farther west, however, Holocene terraces and moraines offsets have suggested higher slip rate values, between 6 and 15 mm/year. We interpret such discrepancy between rates determined along the western section of the Haiyuan fault and rates determined in the Hasi Shan section as being related to the complex geometry of the Haiyuan fault system along its eastern part, with several active strands moving at the same time and resulting in distributed slip among several sections of the fault system.


Although diabetes mellitus most often is diagnosed in adulthood, it remains one of the most common serious chronic diseases of childhood. Youths with diabetes are at risk for diabetes-related mortality because of acute complications that can result from the condition, including diabetic ketoacidosis and hypoglycemia. In the United States in 2010, an estimated 215,000 persons aged ≤ 19 years had diagnosed diabetes. Medical care for diabetes has improved considerably in recent decades, leading to improved survival rates. However, recent trends in diabetes death rates among youths aged <10 years and 10-19 years in the United States have not been reported. To assess these trends, CDC analyzed data from the National Vital Statistics System for deaths in the United States with diabetes listed as the underlying cause during 1968-2009. This report highlights the results of that analysis, which found that diabetes-related mortality decreased 61%, from an annual rate of 2.69 per million for the period 1968-1969 to a rate of 1.05 per million in 2008-2009. The percentage decrease was greater among youths aged <10 years (78%) than among youths aged 10-19 years (52%). These findings demonstrate improvements in diabetes mortality among youths but also indicate a need for continued improvement in diabetes diagnosis and care.


AIMS
To compare ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI (NSTEMI) mortality between Sweden and the UK, adjusting for background population rates of expected death, case mix and treatments.

METHODS AND RESULTS
National data were collected from hospitals in Sweden (n = 73 hospitals, 180,368 patients, Swedish Web-system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies [SWEDEHEART]) and the UK (n = 247, 662,529 patients, Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project [MINAP]) between 2003 and 2013. There were lower rates of revascularisation [STEMI (43.8% vs. 74.9%); NSTEMI (27.5% vs 43.6%)] and pharmacotherapies at time of hospital discharge including [aspirin (82.9% vs. 90.2%) and (79.9% vs. 88.0%), β-blockers (73.4% vs. 86.4%) and (65.3% vs. 85.1%)] in the UK compared with Sweden, respectively. Standardised net probability of death (NPD) between admission and 1 month was higher in the UK for STEMI (8.0 [95% confidence interval 7.4-8.5] vs. 6.7 [6.5-6.9]) and NSTEMI (6.8 [6.4-7.2] vs. 4.9 [4.7-5.0]). Between 6 months and 1 year and more than 1 year, NPD remained higher in the UK for NSTEMI (2.9 [2.5-3.3] vs. 2.3 [2.2-2.5]) and (21.4 [20.0-22.8] vs. 18.3 [17.6-19.0]), but was similar for STEMI (0.7 [0.4-1.0] vs. 0.9 [0.7-1.0]) and (8.4 [6.7-10.1] vs. 8.3 [7.5-9.1]).

CONCLUSION
Short-term mortality following STEMI and NSTEMI was higher in the UK compared with Sweden. Mid- and longer-term mortality remained higher in the UK for NSTEMI, but was similar for STEMI.Differences in mortality may be due to differential use of guideline-indicated treatments.


Light field cameras capture information about the incoming light from multiple directions, going beyond classical capturing of light intensity performed by regular RGB cameras. This enables the computation of more accurate depth maps compared to stereo methods based on conventional cameras. However, the very small angular resolution of light field cameras limits their practical use in 3D applications. In this paper, we introduce for the first time in the literature the use of light field camera arrays, with the aim of improving the depth maps while providing a wide field of view. In this context, a novel algorithm for multi-stereo matching based on light field camera arrays is proposed. The disparity maps for the sub-aperture images are computed based on light field camera pairs using a novel multi-scale and multi-window stereo-matching algorithm. A global energy minimization based on belief propagation is proposed to regularize the results. The resulting depth maps are efficiently fused by means of k-means clustering. The proposed approach demonstrates very promising results for accurate 3D scene reconstruction and free navigation applications.


It was verified that our "s-suspension bridge" model may be not only responsible for catenary-like patterns of DNA molecules which were formed in our experiments, but also for catenary-like patterns of DNA molecules in literature.


There are many research works on robotic devices to assist in movement training following neurologic injuries such as stroke with effects on upper limbs. Conventional neurorehabilitation appears to have little impact on spontaneous biological recovery, to this end robotic neurorehabilitation has the potential for a greater impact. Clinical evidence regarding the relative effectiveness of different types of robotic therapy controllers is limited, but there is initial evidence that some control strategies are more effective than others. This paper consider the contribution on a haptic training method based on kinesthetic guidance scheme with a non linear control law (proxy-based second order sliding mode control) with the human in the loop, and with purpose to guide a human user's movement to move a tool (pen in this case) along a predetermined smooth trajectory with finite time tracking, the task is a real maze. The path planning can compensate for the inertial dynamics of changes in direction, minimizing the consumed energy and increasing the manipulability of the haptic device with the human in the loop. The Phantom haptic device is used as experimental platform, and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this application.


The concept of a skyrmion, which was first introduced by Tony Skyrme in the field of particle physics, has become widespread in condensed matter physics to describe various topological orders. Skyrmions in magnetic materials have recently received particular attention; they represent vortex‐like spin structures with the character of nanometric particles and produce fascinating physical properties rooted in their topological nature. Here, a series of noncentrosymmetric ferromagnets hosting skyrmions is reviewed: B20 metals, Cu2OSeO3, Co‐Zn‐Mn alloys, and GaV4S8, where Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction plays a key role in the stabilization of skyrmion spin texture. Their topological spin arrangements and consequent emergent electromagnetic fields give rise to striking features in transport and magnetoelectric properties in metals and insulators, such as the topological Hall effect, efficient electric‐drive of skyrmions, and multiferroic behavior. Such electric controllability and nanometric particle natures highlight magnetic skyrmions as a potential information carrier for high‐density magnetic storage devices with excellent energy efficiency.


The use of Health Information Technology (HIT) to improve healthcare service delivery is constantly increasing due to research advances in medical science and information systems. Having a fully automated process solution for a Healthcare Organization (HCO) requires a combination of organizational strategies along with a selection of technologies that facilitate the goal of improving clinical outcomes. HCOs, requires dynamic management of care capability to realize the full potential of HIT. Business Process Management (BPM) is being increasingly adopted to streamline the healthcare service delivery and management processes. Emergency Departments (EDs) provide a case in point, which require multidisciplinary resources and services to deliver effective clinical outcomes. Managed care involves the coordination of a range of services in an ED. Although fully automated processes in emergency care provide a cutting edge example of service delivery, there are many situations that require human interactions with the computerized systems; e.g. Medication Approvals, care transfer, acute patient care. This requires a coordination mechanism for all the resources, computer and human, to work side by side to provide the best care. To ensure evidence-based medical practice in ED, we have designed a Human Task Management service to model the process of coordination of ED resources based on the UK's NICE Clinical guideline for managing the care of acutely ill patients. This functionality is implemented using Java Business process Management (jBPM).


Effective post-marketing surveillance of drugs calls for an approach tuned to the individual problem. In Sweden, the combined use of spontaneous adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting data and different registers has yielded much valuable information on safety problems with different drugs. However, the raw data must be interpreted with care and often be supplemented by in-depth studies. The advantage with registers is that they comprise the whole or a random sample of the population and that the reporting routines are fairly simple. Since much of the information is collected primarily for other purposes (like health care planning or budgeting) the cost of the information is low. The potential of spontaneous ADR reporting for detecting new rare ADRs is exemplified by the zimeldine case. Limitations of the system besides low and selective reporting are that the physicians must suspect the clinical manifestation to be drug-induced and that patient compliance is unknown. The greatest disadvantage with the patient- and disease-oriented registers is the frequent inaccuracy of the diagnoses and the delay in the appearance of the data. Improved education and more resources for updating the registers are required. The ICD-code should be adapted to the needs of drug monitoring. Since the registers contain sensitive information about individual patients, the confidentiality of the data must be secured. As a logical complement to these sources of information, systems for case control studies, to be adopted ad hoc when problems arise, should be instituted. Moreover, for certain kinds of long term drug reactions, record-linkage systems are probably the only means to disclose risks (e.g. of cancer) after long term drug exposure. In this respect, the computerisation of Swedish pharmacies offers unique possibilities for the retrieval of prescription data on individual patients.


PURPOSE
Multidisciplinary meetings (MDMs) are increasingly being mandated as essential to oncology practice. However, there is a paucity of data on their effectiveness. The aim of this study was to assess whether MDM recommendations were concordant with guidelines in the treatment of lung cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Meeting in South West Sydney, Australia, prospectively collects data on all patients whose cases have been presented. New patients with lung cancer who presented between December 1, 2005, and December 31, 2007, were reviewed. Patients were assigned to treatment on the basis of evidence-based guidelines according to pathology, stage, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status. MDM recommendations were compared with guideline treatment, and reasons for discrepancy were noted.

RESULTS
There were 335 patients with a median age of 69 years. Of these, 82% had non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 14% had small-cell lung cancer, and 4% had no pathologic diagnosis. Eighty-four percent had locally advanced or metastatic disease. Concordance of MDM recommendations with guideline treatment existed in 29 (58%) of 50 cases for surgery, 201 (88%) of 228 cases for radiotherapy, and 200 (77%) of 260 cases for chemotherapy. Overall concordance with guideline treatment was 71% (239 of 335 cases). On multivariate analysis, age greater than 70 years, ECOG performance status of 2 or higher, and stage III NSCLC were associated with the MDM not recommending guideline treatment. The primary reasons for this were physician decision (39%), comorbidity (25%), and technical factors (22%).

CONCLUSION
MDM recommendations were largely concordant with guidelines. Physician discretion in not recommending guideline treatment was most often exercised in older patients and those with borderline performance status. Individual factors that may preclude guideline treatment cannot be accounted for by guidelines.


Ultrastructure of chicken erythrocytes were examined by the quick-freezing and deep-etching (QF-DE) method. Some erythrocytes were fixed with paraformaldehyde and prepared with erythrocyte-splitting method or saponin treatment to remove soluble proteins before quick-freezing. Others were prepared in the cytosol buffer with the erythrocyte-splitting method to obtain natural state of cytoskeletons. Non-expanding membrane skeletons were highly condensed on the cytoplasmic side of lipid membrane in the paraformaldehyde-fixed specimens. Under unilateral extension of the specimens, long stretched filaments were connected alternately with condensed filamentous or granular structures under erythrocyte membranes. As the membrane skeletons got closer to the marginal bands, they become more dense network structures. Moreover, in the fresh unfixed specimens, dense networks of filaments were localized underlying erythrocyte membranes in a relatively intact state. Fine filaments connected the marginal microtubule bands to the cytoplasmic sides of erythrocyte membranes. The different distribution of each cytoskeletal component and the association of these structures may support the elliptocytic shape of chicken erythrocytes and resist the dynamic circumstance.


Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by poor survival despite current medical and surgical therapies and has a propensity towards subclinical metastasis even with resectable disease. The tumor microenvironment consists of a network of supporting cells, including tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs), which promote tumor invasion and metastasis, and contribute to PDAC's extremely poor prognosis. MicroRNAs (miRs) have recently emerged as critical players in post-transcriptional regulation of pathways in cancer biology. In this study, we identified miRs in fibroblasts induced by PDAC tumor cells (TCs). Further, we study the stable suppression of one of these miRs in TAFs and the effects upon fibroblast migration and invasion, as well as tumor cell proliferation. Methods: Primary pancreatic fibroblasts were cultured with MIA PaCa-2 TC conditioned media and RNA was analyzed by the NanoString MicroRNA Expression Assay. Stable miR knockdown (KD) was achieved with a stably expressed shRNA anti-microRNA by lentiviral vector. Migration was determined by an 18 hour scratch assay and 24 hour invasion by modified Boyden chamber. TC proliferation was measured by MTT assay. In vivo tumor growth was evaluated by subcutaneous TC and TAF co-implantation in NSG mice. Results: In primary pancreatic fibroblasts, MIA PaCa-2 tumor cells induced 62 miRs >50% increase or 30% decrease in expression. The most prevalent induced miR with 2-fold increase in expression was miR-21. miR-21 KD in TAFs was achieved by introducing stable expression of anti-miR-21, which resulted in a 75% decrease in expression (P 50% decreased ability to migrate (p Conclusions: Pancreatic cancer TCs can induce tumor supportive miRs in TAFs. miR-21 KD in PDAC TAFs results in decreased TAF migration and invasion, as well as reduced ability to support in vitro and in vivo tumor growth. Citation Format: Andrew Hieu Nguyen, Luyi Li, Paul Toste, Nanping Wu, Timothy R. Donahue. MicroRNA-21 is involved in pancreatic cancer fibroblast tumor supportiveness. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer: Innovations in Research and Treatment; May 18-21, 2014; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(13 Suppl):Abstract nr B18.


This article introduces the concept of dialectic icons: public figures who feature in contentious and polarising political discourse. The inflammatory quality of dialectic icons and their role as highly mediated symbols of conflict creates long-lasting emotional energy among audiences, who cluster in ideological camps as a response. However, these audiences can also actively and directly engage in and shape these discourses, particularly through social media. Examples of the public discourse about quarterback-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick's anthem protests illustrate how the controversiality, newsworthiness, interactivity and visibility of dialectic icons ultimately contribute to social polarisation. By focusing on dialectic icons as proxy battlegrounds for public audiences, this article establishes a useful concept for gaining fresh insights into collective meaning- and truth-making processes.


Testing has become a wide-spread practice among practitioners. Test cases are written to verify that production code functions as expected and are modified alongside the production code. Over time the quality of the test code can degrade. The test code might contain bugs, or it can accumulate redundant test cases or very similar ones with many redundant parts. The work presented in this dissertation has focused on addressing these issues by characterizing bugs in test code, and proposing a test model to analyze test cases and support test reorganization. To characterize the prevalence and root causes of bugs in the test code, we mine the bug repositories and version control systems of 448 Apache Software Foundation projects. Our results show that around half of all the projects had bugs in their test code; the majority of test bugs are false alarms, i.e., test fails while the production code is correct, while a minority of these bugs result in silent horrors, i.e., test passes while the production code is incorrect; missing and incorrect assertions are the dominant root cause of silent horror bugs; semantic, flaky, environment related bugs are the dominant root cause categories of false alarms. We present a test model for analyzing tests and performing test reorganization tasks in test code. Redundancies increase the maintenance overhead of the test suite and increase the test execution time without increasing the test suite coverage and effectiveness. We propose a technique that uses our test model to reorganize test cases in a way that reduces the redundancy in the test suite. We implement our approach in a tool and evaluate it on four open-source softwares. Our empirical evaluation shows that our approach can reduce the number of redundant test cases up to 85% and the test execution time by up to 2.5% while preserving the test suite's behaviour.


A novel cathode structure consisting of ultrathin and freestanding surface-nitrided porous titanium (SNPT) sheets, was designed for high-gravimetric-capacity Li-S batteries. This unusual cathode combines the sulfur host and the current collector together, increasing the sulfur mass ratio by over 20% compared with routine cathodes, resulting in excellent cycling performance with an initial capacity of 1325 mA h g-1 and a coulombic efficiency of over 99% at 1.0C.


Field experiments were conducted in Virginia in 2000 and 2001 to determine the response of wheat and Italian ryegrass biotypes to postemergence applications of diclofop-methyl compared with several experimental and registered herbicides. Control of diclofop-methyl–sensitive Italian ryegrass by AE F130060 03 was similar to control by diclofop-methyl and was greater than that by chlorsulfuron plus metsulfuron, chlorsulfuron plus metribuzin, MON 37560, ICIA 0604, and CGA 184927. AE F130060 03 also controlled diclofop-methyl–resistant Italian ryegrass better than the other herbicides. Late-season spike density of diclofop-methyl–resistant Italian ryegrass was reduced 91 to 98% by AE F130060 03. Despite injury ranging from 10 to 24%, grain yield from wheat treated with AE F130060 03 was similar to or greater than yield from wheat treated with the other herbicides. Italian ryegrass control, spike density, and grain yield were not influenced by AE F130060 03 rate or addition of methylated seed oil. Nomenclature: AE F130060 03 {8.3:1.7 mixture of AE F130060 00, proposed common name mesosulfuron-methyl, 2-[(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl carbamoyl)sulfamoyl]-4-methanesulfonamido-p-toluic acid, plus AE F115008 00, proposed common name iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium, 4-iodo-2-[3-(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)ureidosulfonyl]benzoic acid}; CGA 184927, proposed common name clodinafop-propargyl, (R)-2-[4-[(5-chloro-3-fluoro-2-pyridinyl)oxy]phenoxy]propanoic acid 5-chloro-8-quinolinoxyacetic acid-1-methylester; chlorsulfuron; diclofop-methyl; ICIA 0604, proposed common name tralkoxydim, 2-[1-(ethoxyamino)propyl]-3-hydroxy-5-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-2-cyclohexen-1-one; metribuzin; metsulfuron; MON 37560, proposed common name sulfosulfuron, 1-(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl)-3-[(ethanesulfonyl-imidazo[1,2-a]-pyridine-3-yl)sulfonyl]urea; Italian ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum Lam. #3 LOLMU; winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L. 'Pioneer 2643', 'Pioneer 26R24', 'Pocohontas'. Additional index words: Diclofop-methyl resistance, resistance management. Abbreviations: ACCase, acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (EC 188.8.131.52); ALS, acetolactate synthase (EC 22.214.171.124); MSO, methylated seed oil; POST, postemergence; PRE, preemergence; WAT, weeks after treatment; WBT, weeks before treatment.


Hydrolysis of 14C-cocaine in human serum, separation of the metabolites on TLC, and subsequent identification on GLC is described. AT 1 H, 20 percent of the cocaine was metabolized to benzoylecgonine, ecgonine and ecgonine methylester. At this time interval the highest percent of product was in the form of the ecogonine methyl ester, a metabolite not previously reported in humans. After 4 h, 67 percent of the cocaine was hydrolyzed; of this, 45 percent was benzoylecgonine and ecgonine in a ratio of 1.6 to 1. The half-life for cocaine hydrolyzed in human serum was approximately 2.5 h.


The main objective of this thesis was to develop an integrated approach of cost-effectiveness, affordability and the associated uncertainty in order to improve decision-making on medicines. To achieve this, the current magnitude of uncertainty and its management in reimbursement decision-making needed to be assessed. Furthermore, it was imperative to identify and to develop methods for improved quantification as well as improved management of various sources of uncertainty, thereby contributing to improved decision-making on access to innovative medicines. Besides, a method to integrate affordability and cost-effectiveness needed to be developed. For this, the relationship between the willingness-to-pay threshold and Budget Impact (BI) needed to be elucidated and quantified. The findings presented in this thesis can lead to the following implications: Making the optimal decision at the right time: When policy-makers require affordability to be part of decision-making and not merely for price negotiations, affordability must be appraised in conjunction with cost-effectiveness and uncertainty. The herein presented population Net Monetary Benefit (pNMB) approach is the only method that currently achieves this and can include time and flexibility using Real Options Analysis (ROA). Revisiting budget impact: The current evidence-base on the inaccuracy of BI estimates, supplemented by the work presented in this thesis, unequivocally requires decision-makers to accept that BI in its current form can be no more than a tool for price-negotiations. However, BI by means of opportunity costs, definitely has a role in driving reimbursement decisions. In order to warrant such a role for BI, BI estimation techniques should be improved. This thesis provides the foundation of a new BI estimation paradigm that does justice to the opportunity costs associated with public funding of medicines. Moving towards a continuous access paradigm: The bivariate distribution of pNMB using BI and the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) can be a very beneficial tool for designing managed entry agreements for novel medicines. Combined with incorporation of timeliness by for example ROA, this approach could lead to an actively managed more flexible and continuous access paradigm here the distinction between early access and regular is finally seamless. Medicine Pricing: Medicine prices can be used as a variable in the pNMB approach. Then using a threshold approach, the maximum price given the current evidence on cost-effectiveness and BI, including uncertainty, could be generated. This fully transparent method can easily be updated over time and can thus deliver a new pricing model where effectiveness, quality of evidence and affordability transparently coalesce into a product's maximum price. To conclude, an integrated approach of cost-effectiveness, affordability and the associated uncertainty has been developed: The herein presented pNMB-driven method that integrates these aspects allows decision-makers to conduct a single, integrated appraisal of all possible BI and ICER scenarios that are driven by the inevitable uncertainty that accompanies these outcomes. This pNMB method is therefore able to provide decision-makers with information on the potential risk and value of medicines that was not possible before.


We report detailed studies of the X-ray emission from the kiloparsec-scale jet in the nearest active galaxy, Centaurus A. By analyzing the highest quality X-ray data obtained with the Chandra ACIS-S, 41 compact sources (mostly bright jet knots) were found within the jet on angular scales less than 4'', 13 of which were newly identified. We construct the luminosity function for the detected jet knots and argue that the remaining emission is most likely to be truly diffuse, rather than resulting from the sum of many unresolved fainter knots. We subtracted the contributions of the bright knots from the total X-ray jet flux, and show that the remaining extended emission has a relatively flat-topped intensity profile in the transverse jet direction, with the intensity peaking at the jet boundaries between 50'' and 170''. We note that limb-brightened morphologies have been observed previously at radio frequencies in a few FR I and FR II jet sources, but never so clearly at higher photon energies. Our result therefore supports a stratified jet model, consisting of a relativistic outflow including a boundary layer with a velocity shear. In addition, we found that the X-ray spectrum of the diffuse component is almost uniform across and along the jet, with an X-ray energy spectral index of αX ≈ 1, similar to those observed in the compact knots. We discuss this spectral behavior within a framework of shock and stochastic particle acceleration processes, connected with the turbulent, supersonic, and nonsteady nature of the relativistic outflow. We note some evidence for a possible spectral hardening at the outer sheath of the jet, and manifesting itself in observed X-ray spectra of αX < 0.5 in the most extreme cases. Due to the limited photon statistics of the present data, further deep observations of Centaurus A are required to determine the reality of this finding; however, we note that the existence of the hard X-ray features at outer jet boundaries would provide an important challenge to theories for the evolution of ultrarelativistic particles within extragalactic jets.


This paper considers two-hop cooperative relaying using multiple relays and proposes a threshold based relay selection protocol. In this protocol the relays are selected among those having received SNR higher than a threshold value. The relay selection is performed by the destination based on the received SNRs at the destination during the last hop. The exact bit error rate of this protocol is derived and it is shown that it achieves full diversity order. Unlike some other full diversity achieving protocols in the literature, the requirement that the exact/average SNRs of the source-relay links be known at the destination is eliminated using an appropriate SNR threshold.


The omission of fifteen verses at the end of chapter 36 and the postposition of chapter 37 after 39 in Ezekiel papyrus 967 is a phenomenon that has been interpreted in many different ways. This paper tries to collect the main theories about it and include the enlargement of paleographical reasons. Some features of the omitted text enlighten the history of the composition of this part of the book of Ezekiel still in the dark. Both the text itself and the manuscript tradition do not answer the questions raised from 967, but literary or ideological reasons must be submitted to paleographical possibilities.


A numerical model based on the shallow-water equations is developed to represent the flow of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) in the Brazil Basin (southwest Atlantic Ocean). The aim is twofold. First, an attempt is made to identify in a model that includes both simplified dynamics and realistic bathymetry (at 1/68 resolution) the impacts of the elevated diapycnal mixing rates near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) documented by dissipation data of the Deep Basin Experiment (DBE). To this end, different assumptions regarding the distribution of the velocity across the AABW layer interface (w) are considered. Second, the extent to which the shallow-water model can replicate observations relative to AABW circulation in the basin, in particular the trajectory and velocity of neutrally buoyant floats released in the AABW during the DBE, is examined. The model flows are characterized by small Rossby numbers, except in the northward-flowing western boundary current where kinetic energy is largely concentrated. To interpret the flows, model streamlines are compared with isopleths of linear potential vorticity f /h0 of the shallow-water theory ( f is the planetary vorticity and h0 is the layer thickness in the absence of motion). The f /h0 contours are oriented northwest‐southeast in the western part of the basin and southwest‐northeast in the eastern part, reflecting the bowl-shaped topography of the Southern Hemisphere basin. With a spatially uniform (positive) w, the ubiquitous vortex stretching produces a flow to the southeast, consistent with the Stommel‐Arons theory. This flow occurs in most of the basin interior, even in the east where f /h0 contours converge to the northeastern end of the basin. With strongly positive w near the ridge and zero or slightly negative w elsewhere, the flow follows more closely f /h0 contours in the western interior and intersects them near the ridge. The confinement of the diapycnal mass flux near the MAR drastically reduces the southward flow in the interior or even reverses its direction, leading to a circulation quite distinct from that of the Stommel‐ Arons theory. The model results compare favorably to some (but not all) hydrographic estimates of AABW circulation patterns and rates. On the other hand, the model streamlines and velocities show important differences with, respectively, the trajectory and the velocity of the floats launched in the AABW layer. The prescription of vanishing w in the interior does not systematically improve the fit of the model streamlines to the float trajectories, and the model velocities simulated with spatially uniform w or spatially variable w are on average smaller by one order of magnitude than the float velocities. A variety of mechanisms, which are not included in the numerical experiments, may explain the differences between the model results and the float data.


It's false to assume that a plethora of unmediated blogs can and should substitute for actual investigation and thought, followed by editing and then reporting. Print publications' great strength is that they're refereed or otherwise evaluated before being released. And, while the role of print in civilization is radically changing, its unique properties and functions guarantee it a healthy future.


There are substantial uncertainties about key dimensions of the caregiving process as it is experienced by older adults from different racial groups. This investigation explores the care received from family members among a stratified random sample of community-dwelling older (65+) African Americans and Whites who reported difficulties performing daily living tasks. Findings support past research indicating that older African Americans are more likely to receive help from family members than are Whites when in need of assistance. However, this advantage does not extend across all types of family members but, rather, is only statistically significant in the final models with regard to the care received from grandchildren. Evidence is presented that indicates that the observed race differences in the receipt of care from children can be attributed to variations between racial groups in family and household structure. The findings suggest that coresidence may be a form of family caregiving among older African Americans.


Federal sentencing is haunted by two sets of truths that, if not mutually exclusive, are at least difficult to reconcile.One set of truths goes something like this: Individuals who commit crimes, like individuals who do not, are unique. They commit crimes for different reasons; they have different prospects for redeeming themselves or for doing it again; and prison time will affect people differently at different stages in their lives. Some crimes deserve more punishment than other crimes. And the effects of crime, whether on individual victims, communities or institutions, differ from crime to crime.The other set of truths goes something like this: When it comes to federal criminal laws, the National Government is one sovereign and there thus ought to be some parity, from one federal courthouse to the next, in sentencing practices for violations of the same criminal laws by individuals with similar criminal records. "Equal Justice Under Law" are the first words that visitors see as they approach the entrance to the Supreme Court, yet there is nothing equal or just about permitting one judge to send an individual to prison for ten years while permitting another judge to give probation to a second individual who committed the same crime and who comes before the court with the same criminal record. Bitterness, not self-reflection, is bound to be the first, and may well be the lasting, sentiment of the hapless criminal sent to languish in jail with the unparolable ten-year sentence.The question after United States v. Booker and Rita v. United States is where the next Hegelian turn will take us -- back to an individualized sentencing regime, back to a consistency regime governed by guidelines that are advisory in name but not in practice, or forward to a system that attempts to accommodate, however imperfectly, these competing goals. Only a fool would presume to know how this will play out -- because knowing requires not just a prediction of how the courts will respond to the decisions but also knowing how (and whether) Congress will respond to the courts. And perhaps only a fool should hope. But if an utterly indeterminate sentencing regime slights consistency and if an overly determinate sentencing regime slights individualized sentencing, it may be that Booker and Rita present an opportunity to thread the sentencing needle.


The possible relation of two stressor types (life events and illness experience) to three sets of attitudes (personal life satisfaction, self-assessed coping, and satisfaction with treatment personnel/facilities) was examined within a sample of 97 outpatients having multiple sclerosis. In addition, potential moderators of hypothesized relationships were examined (trait anxiety, age, social class, and knowledge of the disease). When attitudes were regressed on stressors and moderators, both sets of stressors exerted significant influence, though their impacts were mitigated by the moderators. This study's findings support the position that the association of attitudes with stressor exposure in chronic disease populations is contingent on demographic and psychological moderating factors.


1. In 2 trials the health and behaviour of a total of 3552 caged laying hens of 4 hybrids, Dekalb XL, Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL) and Shaver 288 in trial 1 and ISA Brown and LSL in trial 2, were studied. The cage designs were Get-away cages (GA) with 15 hens per cage, a special version of the 'Edinburgh modified cage' called 'Modified and enriched cage' (ME) with 4 ISA or 5 Leghorn hens per cage, conventional metal cages with 4 hens per cage without (CO) and with a perch (PC) and conventional plastic cages (PL) with three hens per cage. GA and ME included nests, perches and sandbaths. 2. In the first trial f1p4nest models were used, artificial turf and welded wire floor. In the second trial both nest models were used in GA, while all nests in ME were equipped with artificial turf. In the second trial there were 4 sandbath treatments in ME; no sandbath, sandbath (25 x 50 cm) first opened at 16 weeks of age, sandbath first opened at 26 weeks and double size sandbath (50 x 50 cm) first opened at 16 weeks. Hens in GA were allowed access to the sandbaths from 26 weeks. 3. At 35 and 55 weeks the best plumage condition (feather cover) was found in PL and GA but plumage condition in ME was not significantly inferior than in GA. Hens in GA had the dirtiest plumage and most bumble foot but no toe pad hyperkeratosis. Some toe pad hyperkeratosis occurred in the other systems. Most keel bone lesions were found in systems with perches. The highest mortality was registered in GA. Hens in systems with perches, sandbaths and nests had increased strength of humerus at slaughter. 4. More eggs were laid in nests with artificial turf than in welded wire floor nests. LSL hens laid larger proportions of eggs in the nests (94% and 92% in the two trials) than the other hybrids. Less than 1% of the eggs in ME and 2% in GA were laid in the sandbaths. 5. The use of perches in ME and PC was approximately 30% in the day time. At night the use was 93% in ME and 89% in PC in trial 1 and 96% in ME and 81% in PC in trial 2. 6. Hens in ME with the double sized sandbath both visited the sandbath and performed dust bathing behaviour most, followed by hens in GA, hens in ME with access to the bath from 16 weeks and last, hens in ME with access to the bath from 26 weeks. 7. It is concluded that enrichments of laying cages are used by the hens to a large extent if properly constructed and managed, implying an increased behavioural repertoire of the hens compared with conventional cages. With perches at only one level and with smaller groups of birds, ME provided better hygiene and inspection properties than GA.


Background and Objectives: The purpose was to compaSre medium-term clinical and radiological outcomes of Partial Pediculotomy, Partial Vertebrotomy (PPPV) Posterior Endoscopic Cervical Decompression (PECD) surgery versus Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) for patients with cervical disc herniations and foraminal pathologies. Materials and Methods: A prospective registry of patients who had undergone either PPPV PECD surgery or ACDF surgery for cervical disc herniation or foraminal pathologies under a single fellowship-trained spine surgeon was performed. The baseline characteristics and operative details including complications were recorded for all included patients. The clinical outcomes evaluated include VAS, MJOA, motor score, and NDI and MacNab's score. The radiological parameters in neutral-measured facet length, facet area, disc height, C2–C7 angle, neck tilt angle, T1 slope and thoracic inlet angle were also evaluated. Results: A total of 55 patients (29 PPPV PECD, 26 ACDF) were included, with mean follow-up periods of 21.9 and 32.3 months, respectively. Each cohort was noted to have a single case of surgical complication. Statistically significant changes of facet area (49.05 ± 14.50%) and facet length (52.71 ± 15.11%) were noted in the PPPV PECD group. At neutral alignment of the neck on a lateral X-ray, compared to ACDF, PPPV PECD had a statistically significant change in neck tilt angle (−11.68 ± 17.35°) and T1 slope angle (−11.69 ± 19.58°). Whilst both PPPV PECD and ACDF had significant improvements in VAS, MJOA and NDI postoperatively, PPPV PECD was found to be superior across all above scores at various follow-up timepoints compared to its ACDF counterparts. Conclusions: PPPV PECD surgery achieved a satisfactory radiological correction of neck alignment and significantly improved clinical outcomes at medium-term follow-up for our cohort of patients, highlighting its feasibility in treating patients with cervical disc herniations and foraminal pathologies.


The results of the experiments on water migration in unsaturated granular media performed with dynamic neutron radiography technique are presented. It was found that the porosity of the medium did not determine the kinetics of the process in a marked way. The influence of gravity was found to be considerable for media like coarse sand and gravel, consisting of large grains. No effect of gravitation on the water migration in clay beds was observed. The results are discussed in terms of the classical Washburn– Bosanquet theory of adhesion driven motion of the liquid in a straight circular capillary under gravity. It was found that this theory provides only qualitative description of the water migration within granular media, and the viscous dissipation effects are greatly underestimated.


Characterising quantum states of light in the 2 µm band requires high-performance shot-noise limited detectors. Here, we present the characterisation of a homodyne detector that we use to observe vacuum shot-noise via homodyne measurement with a 2.07 µm pulsed mode-locked laser. The device is designed primarily for pulsed illumination. It has a 3-dB bandwidth of 13.2 MHz, total conversion efficiency of 57% at 2.07 µm, and a common-mode rejection ratio of 48 dB at 39.5 MHz. The detector begins to saturate at 1.8 mW with 9 dB of shot-noise clearance at 5 MHz. This demonstration enables the characterisation of megahertz-quantum optical behaviour in the 2 µm band and provides a guide of how to design a 2 µm homodyne detector for quantum applications.


In the high competition of the hospitality and service industry, hotels are in the process of intensely managing their employees' behaviour and emotions, and this can have a detrimental impact on frontline employees' work attitudes, job performance, and behaviour within the organization. In Thailand, there are still pressing questions regarding these issues. The objectives of this study were to examine the relationships among emotional labour, burnout, job satisfaction, turnover intention, and organizational commitment, and to compare the moderating roles of the employee's age and manager emotional intelligence affecting emotional labour concerning the job satisfaction and burnout of hotel frontline employees in Thailand. A total of 509 subjects were investigated. With the structural equation modelling (SEM) and multiple group analysis technique used in this study, the positive and negative significant effects of emotional labour concerning job and organizational outcomes, and the moderating roles of age and manager emotional intelligence, were determined. The managerial implications from the results of the study can have beneficial outcomes for the hospitality and service industry, particularly regarding the human resource management process in terms of dealing and custom treat with employees' emotional labour.


Summary Background: The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of the coagulation proteinase thrombin on proteomic level in human hepatic stellate LX-2 cells. Methods: Proteomic analyses were performed using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). The protein profiles obtained from LX-2 cell lysates using strong anion exchanger Q10 ProteinChip arrays were statistically analyzed. Results: The peak intensities of 50 protein/peptide clusters were identified as being different between nonstimulated and LX-2 cells treated with thrombin for 6 h and 24 h, respectively. As the most significantly enhanced single signal in LX-2 cells stimulated with thrombin, a protein with a molecular mass of 13.560 kDa has been identified that corresponds exactly to calcium dependent phospholipase 2 (cPLA2). Thrombin-induced increase in the cPLA2 protein expression in LX-2 cells was confirmed by using the Western blotting technique. Conclusions: Together with the finding that thrombin induced phosphorylating activation of cPLA2 in LX-2 cells, our data point to an important function of the thrombin-mediated modulation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 in hepatic stellate cells.


The aim of this study was to provide ergonomic recommendations concerning passenger compartment dimensions of an innovative vehicle dedicated to mail delivery. To this aim, an ergonomic analysis of egress/ingress postures has been performed on a physical mock-up, which is considered as a reliable tool when investigating driving space. Six workers with different anthropometries participated to the experiment. The influence of three seat heights, two headlining heights and three headlining widths were tested while participants performed a simulated mail delivery task. Based on goniometers and video observations, a Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) was conducted. Perceived discomfort was estimated with a Category Partitioning Scale (CP-50). Results showed that REBA scores were mainly at medium risk (5.18 ± 1.75). Discomfort scores were significantly influenced by seat height (χ2 (2) = 7.79, p = 0.02), especially for short participants when seat height was equal to 760 mm (Z = -2.21, p = 0.03). REBA scores and discomfort scores were significantly higher for the lowest headlining height and the highest headlining width. Outcomes of this study permitted to establish that: the seat height has to be adjustable (between 580 mm and 760 mm), the headlining height has to be fixed to 1360 mm, and the headlining width has to be comprised between 300 and 525 mm. The results from this research suggest that physical mock-up can provide a useful tool for defining suitable dimensions for the design of a future vehicle, taking into account anthropometric characteristics of the target population.


We recently demonstrated that reducing IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) numbers in the endothelium enhances nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and endothelial cell insulin sensitivity. In the present report, we aimed to examine the effect of increasing IGF-1R on endothelial cell function and repair. To examine the effect of increasing IGF-1R in the endothelium, we generated mice overexpressing human IGF-1R in the endothelium (human IGF-1R endothelium-overexpressing mice [hIGFREO]) under direction of the Tie2 promoter enhancer. hIGFREO aorta had reduced basal NO bioavailability (percent constriction to NG-monomethyl-l-arginine [mean (SEM) wild type 106% (30%); hIGFREO 48% (10%)]; P < 0.05). Endothelial cells from hIGFREO had reduced insulin-stimulated endothelial NO synthase activation (mean [SEM] wild type 170% [25%], hIGFREO 58% [3%]; P = 0.04) and insulin-stimulated NO release (mean [SEM] wild type 4,500 AU [1,000], hIGFREO 1,500 AU [700]; P < 0.05). hIGFREO mice had enhanced endothelium regeneration after denuding arterial injury (mean [SEM] percent recovered area, wild type 57% [2%], hIGFREO 47% [5%]; P < 0.05) and enhanced endothelial cell migration in vitro. The IGF-1R, although reducing NO bioavailability, enhances in situ endothelium regeneration. Manipulating IGF-1R in the endothelium may be a useful strategy to treat disorders of vascular growth and repair.


The melting of solid silicon and the cooling of liquid silicon are investigated using molecular dynamics. Both the Stillinger-Weber (SW) potential and the tight-binding bond model are used to calculate the forces. The electrical properties are investigated using an empirical pseudopotential method with a plane wave basis. The temperature at which the solid becomes unstable and passes to the liquid phase is found to be about 2300 K. The dependence of this temperature on cell size is investigated. On cooling, there are changes in some of the properties of the liquid: the energy per particle decreases, the diffusion constant decreases, and the low-frequency electrical conductivity decreases slightly as the temperature decreases. Between 1180 K and 980 K the liquid undergoes a transition to a glassy phase. There are large changes in the pair correlation function, the SW three-body energy distribution, the diffusion constant, the density of electron single-particle states and the electrical conductivity. All of these changes are consistent with increased tetrahedral bonding.


Summary: The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is the most polymorphic genetic system known, playing a central role in the cellular immune response to pathogens. The relationship between the MHC of humans and non‐human primates has increased our understanding of MHC evolution and how polymorphism of this gene family may have been generated. We will review MHC class I evolution in great apes and Old World and New World primates and discuss new data from the simian immunodeficiency virus/rhesus monkey animal model that demonstrate the role of MHC class I alleles in selecting for new populations of viruses. This suggests that certain pathogens co‐evolve with the MHC class I molecules they encounter in a population.


Since Sudan gained independence in 1956 and even before, relations with its powerful neighbour Egypt oscillated between the extremes of enmity and affinity. Most conspicuously, it was during the rule of President Ja'far Muhammad al-Numayri (1969-85) that relations between Sudan and Egypt reached an unprecedented high, culminating in the 25-year Joint Defence Agreement of 1976, which stipulated that an armed attack on either country would be considered an attack on both. This strong alliance was disrupted by the 1985 coup launched by Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Hasan Siwar alDahab. It terminated not only the Numayri regime but also the cordial relationship with Egypt. During the democratically elected rule of al-Sadiq al-Mahdi (1986-89), which followed Dahab's one-year transition period. Sudan took steps to mend fences with Cairo, but bilateral relations did not revert to their previous closeness. The ascent to power of Umar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir through a military coup in the summer of 1989 marked a watershed in Sudanese internal and foreign affairs, dragging relations with Egypt into a new abyss. Starting from that dramatic juncture, this article examines the factors shaping the Sudanese-Egyptian relationship throughout the Bashir era (1989-2001). It reflects a mainly Sudanese perspective, relying extensively on Sudanese, Egyptian and other Arab media.


Abstract: Water-related ecosystem services is a hot topic in ecological research. Water supply services are crucial to regional water cycles and water quantity balance. The Dongjiang Lake basin is a national priority river basin in China where ecological compensation pilot programs concerning water resources and water supply services are top priorities for ecosystem service protection. We analyzed spatial and temporal patterns associated with generation and use of water supply services in the Dongjiang Lake basin using the InVEST model, socio-economic data and water resource data. We found that between 1995 and 2010, water yield in the Dongjiang Lake basin and its beneficiary areas increased before declining, varying 9350–12 400 m3 ha-1 y-1; average water yield peaked in 2000. The spatial distribution patterns of water yield during these years are similar, progressively decreasing from upstream to downstream with a remarkable reduction in surrounding areas of city clusters. Average water consumption of the basin and its beneficiary areas ranged from 2900–4450 m3 ha-1 y-1 between 1995 and 2010; the spatial distribution patterns of water consumption during these years are similar, dropping gradually from urban construction land to its surroundings with a stronger gradient between urban and rural areas. More water was consumed on both banks and surroundings of the lake. From 1995 to 2010, water supply fell short of demand for urban construction land and its proximity as well as areas along the lake. Water supply services were able to satisfy needs in other regions. The Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city cluster suffers from the most strained water supply.


Financial intermediation in Iran's banking system is negatively affected at least in two ways. First, there are many similarities between financial intermediation and usurious activities in the common interpretation of interest-free banking law. This encourages the banks to participate in various commercial activities. Second, the price setting policies of the central bank makes investment more attractive compared to financial intermediation. In this research, the ratio of interest margin to gross income is selected as an index of financial intermediation and its importance in increasing the short-run and long-run economic growth is investigated using a dynamic linear regression model. Annual data is used and the sample includes 2005 to 2015. Using a methodology similar to Leamer (1983), a large set of control variables is chosen. The main statistical hypothesis is that financial intermediation has negative effect on economic growth. The results show that the rate of rejection of this hypothesis increases as we move from short-run to long-run regressions. In other words, the positive effect of financial intermediation on growth is a long-run phenomenon.


An analytical model using the Poisson theory is proposed to predict the S0 Lamb wave scattering from a cylindrical inhomogeneity in a transversely isotropic composite plate. Due to the anisotropic elastic properties of the plate, the suitability of the model is first examined by the dispersion curve of an S0 wave by using approximate Poisson theory compared to the exact Lamb solution. It is found that the Poisson theory can accurately describe the behavior of the S0 wave at low frequency when the incident S0 wave is parallel or perpendicular to the fiber direction of the transversely isotropic composite plate. On this basis, making use of the wave function expansion technique and coupling conditions at the inhomogeneity defect boundary, the far field scattered patterns of various inhomogeneity sizes and properties are then explored. The present results reveal that the scattering patterns are strongly dependent on the size and stiffness of the cylindrical inhomogeneity.


Hepatitis delta virus ribozymes have been proposed to perform self-cleavage via a general acid/base mechanism involving an active-site cytosine, based on evidence from both a crystal structure of the cleavage product and kinetic measurements. To determine whether this cytosine (C75) in the genomic ribozyme has an altered pK(a) consistent with its role as a general acid or base, we used (13)C NMR to determine its microscopic pK(a) in the product form of the ribozyme. The measured pK(a) is moderately shifted from that of a free nucleoside or a base-paired cytosine and has the same divalent metal ion dependence as the apparent reaction pK(a)'s measured kinetically. However, under all conditions tested, the microscopic pK(a) is lower than the apparent reaction pK(a), supporting a model in which C75 is deprotonated in the product form of the ribozyme at physiological pH. While additional results suggest that the pK(a) is not shifted in the reactant state of the ribozyme, these data cannot rule out elevation of the C75 pK(a) in an intermediate state of the transesterification reaction.


The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) introduces an inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental pollution and economic development. The inverted U-shaped curve is seen as complete pattern for developed economies. However, our study tests the EKC for developing transition economies of European Union, therefore, our results could make a significant contribution to the literature. In this paper, the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, gross domestic product (GDP), energy use and urban population is investigated in the Transition Economies (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia). Environmental Kuznets Curve is tested by panel smooth transition regression for these economies for 1993 – 2010 periods. As a result of study, the null hypothesis of linearity was rejected and no-remaining nonlinearity test showed that there is a smooth transition exists between two regimes (below $5176 GDP per capita is first one and above $5176 GDP per capita is second one) in the related period for these economies.


This article reconstructs the typical researcher-participant focus where the participants are doing for us instead we followed the participants' lead in the construction of research. Using a qualitative literacy event case study as an example, we describe how participants unexpectedly co-constructed knowledge through a participant-led digital data collection. In this theoretical article, we provide an explanation of the original study, which used observations, semi-structured interviews, and home visits as a collective qualitative case study on parental participation in social literacy practices. The original investigation led to the important shift that occurred in participant-researcher roles. In this article, using an ethnographic perspective, we explain how unexpected digital data creations created by participants' family members allowed for enhanced equity between researcher and participant through changing the research dynamic, hearing and seeing participant voice previously unavailable. Situated within socio-cultural construction and the concept of Diderot's concept of the fourth wall (the invisible barrier between audience and actor), we explain how these new insights provide opportunities for other qualitative researchers to enhance their practices through an ontological shift, intentionally "breaking the fourth wall of research" to integrate participant co-construction of knowledge


An image processing methodology for the extraction of potato properties is explained. The objective is to determine their quality evaluating physical properties and using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN's) to find misshapen potatoes. A comparative analysis for three connectionist models (Backpropagation, Perceptron and FuzzyARTMAP), evaluating speed and stability for classifying extracted properties is presented. The methodology for image processing and pattern feature extraction is presented together with some results. These results showed that FuzzyARTMAP outperformed the other models due to its stability and convergence speed with times as low as 1 ms per pattern which demonstrates its suitability for real-time inspection. Several algorithms to determine potato defects such as greening, scab, cracks are proposed which can be affectively used for grading different quality of potatoes. RESUMEN


Background:Delay in defibrillation (more than 2 min) is associated with worse survival in patients with a cardiac arrest because of ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia in intensive care units and inpatient wards. Methods:We tested the relationship between delayed defibrillation and survival from intraoperative or periprocedural cardiac arrest, adjusting for baseline patient characteristics. The analysis was based on data from 865 patients who had intraoperative or periprocedural cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia in 259 hospitals participating in the National Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Results:The median time to defibrillation was less than 1 min (interquartile range, <1 to 1 min). Delays in defibrillation occurred in 119 patients (13.8%). Characteristics associated with delayed defibrillation included pulseless ventricular tachycardia and noncardiac admitting diagnosis. The association between delayed defibrillation and survival to hospital discharge differed for periprocedural and intraoperative cardiac arrests (P value for interaction = 0.003). For patients arresting outside the operating room, delayed defibrillation was associated with a lower probability of surviving to hospital discharge (31.6% vs. 62.1%, adjusted odds ratio 0.49; 95% CI 0.27, 0.88; P = 0.018). In contrast, delayed defibrillation was not associated with survival for cardiac arrests in the operating room (46.8% vs. 39.6%, adjusted odds ratio 1.23, 95% CI 0.70, 2.19, P = 0.47). Conclusions:Delays in defibrillation occurred in one of seven cardiac arrests in the intraoperative and periprocedural arenas. Although delayed defibrillation was associated with lower rates of survival after cardiac arrests in periprocedural areas, there was no association with survival for cardiac arrests in the operating room.