The art of Rococo, which we are interested in studying in this research and highlighting its values and characteristics, is an artistic trend that goes back to the classical origins. The spread of this artistic trend began as a new face of the Renaissance in France at the beginning of the eighteenth century in 1715 AD, and "Rococo" art prevailed in most European countries. Where he grew up and flourished in France, as it was widely spread in Germany, but he disappeared from France after the French Revolution in 1789 AD. His appearance was a reaction to the luxurious life of the aristocratic nobles, and the exaggeration and excessive decoration and decoration in the facades of the foreign palaces that prevailed in the era of Louis XIV. It is a style unique in its kindness and elegance; It is an extension of "Baroque" art, but with more subtle artistic features. Among the most prominent artists of this style is the photographer Watteau (1684-1721 AD), who contributed in his innovative style that he invented in his works to the transformation towards this new style in art.
This art enriched the interior decoration by paying attention to the decoration of palaces, houses and houses from the inside, using curved lines, snails and oysters.
 The Rococo art was also interested in the ways and methods of making and decorating furniture, as well as the pieces of art that adorn palaces and homes, such as mirrors, clocks, and others. It was inspired by the arts of the decorations of its diverse and multiple artistic styles to create contemporary design treatments suitable to enrich the design of textile hangings, which have an important role in beautifying facilities and institutions, which has positive effects on workers that are reflected in their performance and production.
This is due to the distinguished aesthetic and artistic values of these decorations, as well as rich plastic elements. Therefore, the study was carried out by analyzing and detailing the most important decorations and highlighting the characteristics and characteristics of each style with a comparison between the furniture models that they contained. Then the implementation of the design in the style of digital printing to achieve works of art with a contemporary vision and to enrich the field of textile printing design in general.
Statement of the problem:
 In view of the scarcity of wall hangings in administrative establishments and institutions, with their artistic, aesthetic, and plastic values, and their extreme negative impact on workers and those who frequent them, and from here it was found that it is necessary to define the research problem in the following questions:
1- How to draw inspiration from the decorative values of the artworks of the "Rococo" style as an important classical value to suit the creation of designs that suit administrative facilities and highlight the decorative values in a contemporary way.
2- How can the artistic elements from the Rococo era be employed in textile hangings to beautify administrative facilities.
Objective: The research aims to:
Creating hanging designs suitable for new administrative facilities inspired by the classic "rococo" elements, through a comparative study of the various furniture styles of rococo art.
Research Methodology:

Analytical descriptive approach: Through the historical and analytical descriptive study of models from the Rococo furniture Styles.
Experimental approach: through innovative experiments with designs suitable for printing as contemporary classic textile hangings.
Applied approach: by implementing the printing of these designs using digital printing technology.

 Results:
1- Shedding light on rococo art as one of the arts with distinctive decorative and aesthetic values and rich plastic elements.
2- The decorative and plastic elements of Rococo art have been utilized in creating contemporary design treatments.
3- Enriching the field of textile design printing with designs with contemporary visions.
4- The rococo motifs were used as a design input to create the woven print suspension.
5- Employing printed textile pendants using digital technology to beautify offices and administrative institutions.
6- The researcher created a set of designs inspired by the decorative values of rococo art furniture models, with a proposal to implement them as contemporary textile pendants.
7- Attracting attention to the field of enriching cosmetic factors in offices and administrative bodies.
8- Take advantage of the textile printing hangings in cosmetics and decoration and add richness to the decorations of offices and administrative facilities.


Objective Breastfeeding initiation and duration encounters obstacles for hospitalised newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Although referred to healthy full term infants, the baby-friendly hospital initiative appears to contribute to increasing breastfeeding practice among infants in NICU. In this contest the nurse has many responsibilities in order to help mother/infant couples breastfeed. Aim To describe the experience of the nursing staff at the NICU of Bambino Gesu Childrens' Hospital in supporting the mothers to initiate and maintain breastfeeding over time. Materials and Methods A specific education about breastfeeding for high-risk infants was planned. The nurses were involved in defining the most important procedures regarding breastfeeding promotion and support in the NICU setting and nursing responsibilities. Results Three courses have been performed in 2007/8, 40% of the team has been trained. Five procedures were performed: family information about milk collection; management of the milk collection room and of own mother's milk (OMM); management of meal requests in order to prevent OMM waste; kangaroo mother's care; oral stimulation and feeding in order to protect breastfeeding. The main nursing responsibilities are: family information and education, individual counselling and practice support for the mothers in the different stages of breastfeeding, management of room and materials for milk collection, documentation regarding feeding. Conclusions We suggest that an adapted version of the "10 steps" to the NICU setting, relating the characteristics of such high-risk infants and their families could guide new changes. Meantime nurses have many responsibilities that can and must be applied.


Social rewards as praise from others enhance offline improvements in human motor skills. Does praise from artificial beings, e.g., computer-graphics-based agents (displayed agents) and robots (collocated agents), also enhance offline improvements in motor skills as effectively as praise from humans? This paper answers this question via two subsequent days' experiment. We investigated the effect of the number of agents and their sense of presence toward offline improvement in motor skills because they are essential factors to change social effects and people's behaviors in human-agent and human-robot interaction. Our 96 participants performed a finger-tapping task. Our results showed that those who received praise from two agents showed significantly better offline motor skill improvement than people who were praised by just one agent and those who received no praise. However, we identified no significant effects related to the sense of presence.


The current practice of cord blood screening was found to be missing 14.3% of 'at risk' infants identified for screening in the antenatal period, largely due to failure of sample collection. The possibility of including haemoglobinopathy screening into the already established Guthrie card screening system for phenylketonuria and hypothyroidism was investigated, using haemoglobin electrophoresis on cellulose acetate membranes, citrate agar gel and isoelectric focussing in polyacrylamide gel. Denaturation of blood once dried onto filter paper made the standard electrophoresis techniques unsuitable, whilst isoelectric focussing gave clear separation of all bands and was therefore accepted as the method of choice.


A mathematical model was developed to simulate phosphate reactions with minerals in acidic soils. Phosphate in solution was assumed to react with kaolinite, gibbsite, and goethite simultaneously. Each reaction had a two-step sorption mechanism, i.e., mineral + solution P ⇄ labile P ⇄ nonlabile P, where labile and nonlabile forms are defined as isotopically exchangeable and nonexchangeable, respectively. The first step of the sorption mechanism followed the kinetic version of the Langmuir adsorption isotherm and was a second-order reaction in nature. The second step of the sorption mechanism was a linear reversible kinetic equation. Seven ordinary differential equations describing the system were solved by numerical methods. The model effectively simulated the trend of phosphate reactions with soil minerals. Using the model to study the adsorption isotherm, we found that the Langmuir plot, i.e., concentration/adsorption vs. concentration, was linear when minerals had relatively homogeneous adsorption rates (or adsorption energies) and was nonlinear for widely differing rates, implying that a homogeneous surface provides a sufficient condition but not a necessary condition for a linear Langmuir plot. Simulation and analysis of a two-surface Langmuir equation supported this finding.


Emerging technologies are thought to be shaping the new industrial landscape, potentially creating opportunities for developing countries to industrialise through increased productivity, but also the risk that they may be excluded from the benefits of these technologies through reshoring and by eroding the competitive advantage of developing countries. In this paper we look to identify trade (i.e. imports and exports) and inventions (patents) in 4IR technologies, as a means of identifying the development, production and use of such technologies globally. The paper provides information on those countries which are leading the technology race, those which are not leading but still following, and those which are being left behind. To achieve this, the paper uses detailed patent data to identify the technology leaders in the fourth industrial revolution, and trade data to identify the producers and users of these technologies. The paper subsequently relates the use of these technologies to indicators of the level of industrial development.


The 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer regions (ISRs) of five strains of "Fusobacterium pseudonecrophorum" which had been proposed as a new species, were compared with those of F. varium ATCC 8501T. All the strains of "F. pseudonecrophorum" exhibited of sequence similarities of 97.7% to 100% to the strain of F. varium in their 16S-23S rRNA ISR sequences. This indicates that the strains of "F. pseudonecrophorum" and the type strain of F. varium are identical at the species level.


Recently, Sharpness-Aware Minimization (SAM) algorithm has shown state-of-the-art generalization abilities in vision tasks. It demonstrates that flat minima tend to imply better generalization abilities. However, it has some difficulty implying SAM to some natural language tasks, especially to models with drastic gradient changes, such as RNNs. In this work, we analyze the relation between the flatness of the local minimum and its generalization ability from a novel and straightforward theoretical perspective. We propose that the shift of the training and test distributions can be equivalently seen as a virtual parameter corruption or perturbation, which can explain why flat minima that are robust against parameter corruptions or perturbations have better generalization performances. On its basis, we propose a Gradient-Strength based Adaptive Sharpness-Aware Minimization (GA-SAM) algorithm to help to learn algorithms find flat minima that generalize better. Results in various language benchmarks validate the effectiveness of the proposed GA-SAM algorithm on natural language tasks.


This study aimed to examine the solved examples used in polygons and measurement of area subjects in mathematics textbooks approved to be taught in the 2020-2021 academic year in terms of geometric habits of mind. In this context, a total of ten mathematics textbooks, including two fifth grade, three sixth grade, two seventh grade, and three eighth grade, were examined. The solved examples in the textbooks were subjected to document analysis for the following habits; reasoning with relationship, thinking and generalizing special cases, investing of invariants, and exploration and reflection. Regarding the study results, the solved examples of the fifth, sixth and seventh grades mostly used reasoning with relationship, exploration and reflection habits, whereas the examples of eighth grade were observed to include investing of invariants in addition to these habits. Besides, there are examples based on computer software at every grade level, but it was concluded that such examples are best used in the eighth grade to address the geometric habits of mind. Some suggestions have been made based on the results obtained.


Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) appear to play a key role in the development and progression of human malignancies. MMPs mediate the destruction of the extracellular matrix, which is an important early step in tumor invasion and metastasis. Growing evidence suggests that MMPs also have angiogenic activity and participate in the early stages of tumorigenesis and primary tumor growth. Investigations in experimental animal models have confirmed the importance of MMPs in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer, and studies in humans show a direct association between increased MMP expression and tumor invasiveness, development of metastases, and shortened survival. In this review, the physiologic role of MMPs in normal tissues is examined and data supporting the role of MMPs in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer are reviewed. The results of clinical trials with MMP inhibitors in colorectal cancer and promising areas for future investigation are also discussed.


Modeling the factors determining ecological and economic value gives rise to conceptual and methodological problems. Economic valuation typically focuses on use value in the short run, whether within or outside the market. Ecologists, however, are more concerned with ecological values, which provide an underlying long-run notion of value interpreted in a more general sense. This paper investigates the nature of the link between these two aspects of value in the context of a wetland in Northern India, which is also designated as a Ramsar site and a national park. A dynamic simulation model in a 'STELLA' environment is set up to understand the linkages between underlying ecological relationships and economic value emerging from them. The simulations point towards a critical dependence of economic value (direct and indirect income derived from the park) on ecological health indices. A non-linearity is to be seen in the impact of an increase in ecological health indices on tourist traffic. This responsive or elasticity with respect to ecological health is more at higher values of the indices, indicating thereby that once efforts at conservation increase the attractiveness of the park above a certain level, the impact may be cumulative and returns in terms of income may rise more than proportionately.


Conventional evolutionary biology highlights examples like the Galápagos finches, which show rapid responses to climatic change. Previous studies of many common birds of La Brea, including Teratornis merriami, La Brea Condors ( Gymnogyps amplus ), Golden Eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos ), Bald Eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ), Californian Turkeys ( Meleagris californica ), Caracaras ( Caracara plancus prelutosus ), and Black Vultures ( Coragyps occidentalis ), as well as the two larger owls, the Great Horned Owl ( Bubo virginianus ) and the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ), showed complete stasis in size and shape through the last glacial-interglacial cycle. Are the smaller birds, especially the small owls, as unresponsive to climate change as the larger birds, or are they more like the Galápagos finches? We measured the large samples of the crow-sized Long-Eared Owl ( Asio otus ) and the robin-sized Burrowing Owl ( Athene cunicularia ) from the collections of the La Brea Tar Pits Museum to determine if they showed size or shape changes in response to the climate changes of the last 35,000 years. Even though living Burrowing Owls exhibit a weak Bergmann's rule effect, with larger subspecies in colder climates, neither species of small owls from Rancho La Brea showed statistically significant changes in size or robustness even during the peak glacial interval at 20,000-18,000 years ago, when the climate at Rancho La Brea was dominated by coniferous forests and snowy winters. Apparently, most birds do not respond to long-term changes in climate in a simple fashion, but are ecologically flexi-ble and live in a wide range of habitats and climates without change in size or limb robustness.


The present paper deals with some fixed point and common fixed point theorems in usual complete metric spaces for new symmetric rational expressions


This study is part of a larger research project financed by CONACYT, the Mexican authority in Science, Research and Technology. The purpose of this study is to understand perception and attitude towards science of Mexican students at primary school level. Data were collected through a survey answered by 1,559 students from 38 private and public primary schools in 15 cities across Mexico. Findings show that the students from the sample have a positive perception of their science class, and a rather positive attitude towards science. They also report a positive attitude to math. They report that their teachers apply a diversity of teaching-learning techniques, such as the use of new technologies; the use of observation diaries; visits to museums, factories, parks and other institutions; applying surveys and interviews; teamwork; and so forth; which students like. Statistical analysis show no significant differences in attitude towards science between neither boys and girls, nor private and public school students. The complete research includes interviews to the students' teachers and the principals of their schools that will further the understanding of teaching and learning of research and science in basic education in Mexico.


Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected more than 1.3 million individuals all over the world and caused more than 106,000 deaths. One major hurdle in controlling the spreading of this disease is the inefficiency and shortage of medical tests. There have been increasing efforts on developing deep learning methods to diagnose COVID-19 based on CT scans. However, these works are difficult to reproduce and adopt since the CT data used in their studies are not publicly available. Besides, these works require a large number of CTs to train accurate diagnosis models, which are difficult to obtain. In this paper, we aim to address these two problems. We build a publicly-available dataset containing hundreds of CT scans positive for COVID-19 and develop sample-efficient deep learning methods that can achieve high diagnosis accuracy of COVID-19 from CT scans even when the number of training CT images are limited. Specifically, we propose an Self-Trans approach, which synergistically integrates contrastive self-supervised learning with transfer learning to learn powerful and unbiased feature representations for reducing the risk of overfitting. Extensive experiments demonstrate the superior performance of our proposed Self-Trans approach compared with several state-of-the-art baselines. Our approach achieves an F1 of 0.85 and an AUC of 0.94 in diagnosing COVID-19 from CT scans, even though the number of training CTs is just a few hundred.


An approach to power factor control and islanding detection of a grid connected photovoltaic system using field programmable gate array (FPGA) is proposed. The proposed method has been tested through different situations, including the loss of the utility supply, and the deviation at the output of the inverter helps to detect islanding more effectively. Hardware design was constructed to validate the effectiveness of the approach proposed. Experimental results have been chosen to show the effectiveness of the proposed technique.


Investors devote significant resources to producing private information. The value of such informational is eroded when it is leaked. We study the use of multiple brokers by institutions to help mitigate information leakage. We document that trades using multiple brokers better predict future returns, consistent with information possessed by investors driving the decision to use multiple brokers. We find that trades using multiple brokers have lower price impacts and implementation shortfalls, larger long-term trade profitability, and fewer follower trades than similar single broker trades. The results suggest that traders use multiple brokers to successfully avoid information leakage.


Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a group of drugs which are widely used globally for the treatment of pain and inflammation, and in the case of aspirin, for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Chronic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use is associated with potentially serious upper gastrointestinal adverse drug reactions (ADRs) including peptic ulcer disease and gastrointestinal bleeding. A few clinical and genetic predisposing factors have been identified; however, genetic data are contradictory. Further research is needed to identify clinically relevant genetic and non-genetic markers predisposing to NSAID-induced peptic ulceration.


Growth layers were examined in teeth collected from free-ranging bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, from Florida that have been part of a long-term study begun in 1970; 26 of the dolphins were of known or approximately known age, and 19 were of minimum known age. A second tooth was extracted from 6 animals for examination of growth that had taken place in the interval following the initial extraction. The teeth were read for age estimates without knowledge of any data pertaining to the animals. Most of the estimated ages were the same as or close to the known and approximately known ages of the animals, ranging from 2 to 16 yr. We conclude that the structures we define as dentinal growth layer groups (GLGs) are annual, we describe sources of error in age estimates, and we provide a description of the GLG pattern that can be used by others to estimate age for dolphins.


Bioinformatics software development has become a cornerstone in modern biology research. Large-scale quantitative biology studies have created a demand for more complex workflows and data analysis pipelines. Challenges in reproducing bioinformatics analyses are compounded by the fact that the programs themselves are difficult to install on computers because they rely on software libraries, compilers, and other files, and environment variables collectively called dependencies that are assumed to be available and, thus, are often poorly documented. The Bioconda and BioContainers community have created a complete ecosystem that allow bioinformatics software to be installed and executed under an isolated and controlled environment. Also, it provides infrastructure and basic guidelines to create and distribute bioinformatics containers with a special focus on omics technologies. These cross-platform containers can be integrated into more comprehensive bioinformatics pipelines and different architectures (e.g. HPC or Clouds). In this chapter, we explain how the Bioconda and BioContainers communities can improve reproducibility and deployment in modern large-scale data analysis.


We propose an efficient end-to-end convolutional neural network architecture, AclNet, for audio classification. When trained with our data augmentation and regularization, we achieved state-of-the-art performance on the ESC-50 corpus with 85:65% accuracy. Our network allows configurations such that memory and compute requirements are drastically reduced, and a tradeoff analysis of accuracy and complexity is presented. The analysis shows high accuracy at significantly reduced computational complexity compared to existing solutions. For example, a configuration with only 155k parameters and 49:3 million multiply-adds per second is 81:75%, exceeding human accuracy of 81:3%. This improved efficiency can enable always-on inference in energy-efficient platforms.


This primer is an attempt to provide a detailed summary of the different facets of lifelong learning. We start with Chapter 2 which provides a high-level overview of lifelong learning systems. In this chapter, we discuss prominent scenarios in lifelong learning (Section 2.4), provide 8 Introduction a high-level organization of different lifelong learning approaches (Section 2.5), enumerate the desiderata for an ideal lifelong learning system (Section 2.6), discuss how lifelong learning is related to other learning paradigms (Section 2.7), describe common metrics used to evaluate lifelong learning systems (Section 2.8). This chapter is more useful for readers who are new to lifelong learning and want to get introduced to the field without focusing on specific approaches or benchmarks. The remaining chapters focus on specific aspects (either learning algorithms or benchmarks) and are more useful for readers who are looking for specific approaches or benchmarks. Chapter 3 focuses on regularization-based approaches that do not assume access to any data from previous tasks. Chapter 4 discusses memory-based approaches that typically use a replay buffer or an episodic memory to save subset of data across different tasks. Chapter 5 focuses on different architecture families (and their instantiations) that have been proposed for training lifelong learning systems. Following these different classes of learning algorithms, we discuss the commonly used evaluation benchmarks and metrics for lifelong learning (Chapter 6) and wrap up with a discussion of future challenges and important research directions in Chapter 7.


The soaring clocking frequency and integration density demand robust and stable power delivery to support tens of millions of transistor switching. In this paper, we consider the problem of minimizing the area of wires and decoupling capacitors (decaps) for a power delivery network, subject to the limit on integral of voltage drops. First, we derive the gradients of constraint function without Tellegen's theorem. This greatly simplifies the discuss of adjoint sensitivity analysis. Then, we apply the IEKS method to speed up the sensitivity analysis over 3 times. Finally, this efficient analyzer is incorporated with the state-of-the-art nonlinear programming package, SNOPT, to perform the optimization. Extensive experimental results show that the proposed method can work efficiently for large power delivery networks


Authors made a follow-up of the pilon fractures treated in the National Institute of Traumatology during the five years period of 1983 through 1987. 43 of them could be controlled after 4-8 years personally. A radiological follow-up result of at least 1-2 years was nearly in all cases available. The surgical therapy in this period was almost exclusively stable osteosynthesis. Fixateur externe was used only exceptionally. On the basis of their results it is thought that in the treatment of pilon fractures the stable osteosynthesis with exposure should have an important role in the future too.


Stratigraphy, the basis of geological dating, was founded in the seventeenth century on three principles proposed by Nicolas Steno: superposition, continuity, and original horizontality. Successive observations and experiments show that his stratigraphic model was not in line with experimental data, because it overlooked the major variable factor of sedimentation: the current and its chronological effects. Experiments simulating the formation of sedimentary layers at variable current velocities using different-sized particles show that Steno's principles apply only to the case of deposition at zero current velocity. Since sedimentary processes affect stratigraphy and geological dating, paleohydraulic conditions must be considered in any stratigraphic analysis. The estimated time of deposition is often the crucial factor in developing a local timescale, and the paleohydraulic approach links deposition to the critical transport velocity of current as determined by particle size. From this velocity, the corresponding transport capacity in units of volume and time is calculated. The time of sedimentation is the quotient obtained from dividing the volume of sedimentary rocks by the transport capacity. A team of Russian sedimentologists have applied this method to geological formations of the Crimean Peninsula and of the Northwest Russian Plateau in the St. Petersburg region. They discovered that the time required for sedimentation was only 0.01% of the corresponding period of the geological timescale. This is at variance with the time required for species to evolve.


Objective To observe the therapeutic effectiveness and safety of autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) for poor-risk non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Methods Ten patients with poor-prognosis NHL were enrolled from October 2003 to October 2008 in our institute. Ten patients were treated by APBSCT with CY+TBI conditioning regimen (Two patients of them were treated by Double-APBSCT with MEC conditioning regimen). Results Hematopoietic reconstitution was observed in all patients.The time of neutrophil count ≥0.5×109L and platelet≥20×109/L were at day 10 (range: 7-14) and day 16 (range: 10-37), respectively. All patients achieved complete remission (CR) after transplantation. Severe toxicity and transplant related mortality were not observed. After a median follow-up of 24 (10-84) months,seven cases were in event-free survival and three cases relapsed. One of three relapsed patients died from progression of disease, the other was still alive after treatment. Conclusion APBSCT in the treatment of patients with poor-prognosis NHL is a safe, convenient and efficient treatment.

Key words:
Lymphoma, non-Hodgkin;  Peripheral blood stem cell transplantation;  Transplantation, autologous;  Prognosis


Three studies were conducted with the goal to articulate and test models for integrating the concept of motivation to reduce uncertainty into the axiomatic structure of uncertainty reduction theory. Multiple models were considered, each model defining motivation to reduce uncertainty in a different way. Motivation to reduce uncertainty was defined as a scope condition (Model 2), as tolerance for uncertainty (Model 3), as a weighted function of uncertainty by its importance (Model 4), and as the difference between one's uncertainty level and one's tolerance for uncertainty (Models 5a and 5b). Each of these models was compared to the baseline model (Model 1) derived from the original presentation of the theory where level of uncertainty, by itself, serves as a determinant of various communication behaviors. Tests of these models in terms of their ability to predict information seeking and attraction reveal that none of the models provides a consistent integration of motivation to reduce uncertainty into uncertainty reduction theory. Rather, tolerance for uncertainty (Model 3) is one of three determinants of information seeking, while level of uncertainty (Model 1) is one of three determinants of attraction. This inability to integrate motivation to reduce uncertainty into uncertainty reduction theory can be attributed to the consistent failure to find support for deviance and incentive value as determinants of tolerance for uncertainty, the rejection of Axiom 3 in uncertainty reduction theory (which specifies a positive relationship between uncertainty and information seeking), and the rejection of Theorem 17 (which specifies a negative relationship between information seeking and liking).


The hole-drilling strain gauge technique has become a standard method in measuring residual stresses [1]. Moire interferometry combining hole-drilling method opens additional opportunity for full-field residual stress measurement using optical interferometry [2]. The optical moire method has a non-contact feature comparing with strain gauge method. Yet Moire interferometry suffers a drawback in its complicated grating preparation on one hand and it is difficult to be applied to work piece with complicated geometry on the other hand. Electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) provides information about the displacement field of a surface and it can be conveniently used on asreceived surfaces without special surface preparation and can be applied to work piece with complicated geometry that may be unsuitable for applying strain gauge or gratings. Studies on combining ESPI with hole-drilling show that is feasible to obtain reasonable residual stress values [3, 4]. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the detail of hole-drilling technique combining ESPI with phase unwrapping method to reveal the full field stress distribution and to measure the associated stress field on a thin specimen exerted by a uni-axial load. This study also demonstrates the noise reduction achieved by Gaussian low pass filter and a successful phase unwrapping resulted from five-step phase shifting and cellular automata method. Figure 1 shows the experimental setup of the ESPI system and the hole-drilling system. The light from a laser source is split into two beams. One split beam emerges from a PZT-stage to provide stepwise phase shifting and it further interferes with the other split image beam on the specimen surface to produce speckle patterns onto the CCD camera. By recording the speckle images of stepwise phase shifting before and after hole-drilling, the fringe patterns at each step can be obtained. Through a uniaxial loading fixture loads with different stress magnitudes in the range between 50 MPa and 150 MPa were applied to produce different degrees of loading and the associated fringe patterns. A five-step phase shifting was used in this work. Continuous phase distribution was achieved using phase unwrapping method. Gaussian low pass filter was applied and a suitable cut-off frequency was selected to effectively reduce the noise of patterns especially in the vicinity of the hole and to obtain a continuous phase map with closed contours. The continuous phase maps were reconstructed with higher quality and lower noise by applying the Schmitt's five-step phase shifting algorithm and cellular automata (CA) phase unwrapping method. Special caution should be put on the phase unwrapping around the hole.Reducing the image area considered in the CA computation effectively reduced the CA computation time with stress values still in the range with satisfactory accuracy. Theoretical fringe patterns at each phase shifting step and at different stress magnitudes were constructed to compare with the experimental ones, Fig. 2. The relationship between displacement, stress and the number of fringes and the change of fringe patterns was analyzed to validate the feasibility of the ESPI combining hole-drilling method and to verify the accuracy of the stress results. Error analysis shows that the error between theoretical results and experimental data is in general less than 20%


In this article, we seek to identify whether the relationship between health disparities and crime occurs at a micro-geographic level. Do hot spot streets evidence much higher levels of mental and physical illness than streets with little crime? Are residents of crime hot spots more likely to have health problems that interfere with their normal daily activities? To answer these questions, we draw upon a large National Institutes of Health study of a sample of hot spots and non-hot spots in Baltimore, Maryland. This is the first study we know of to report on this relationship, and accordingly, we present unique descriptive data. Our findings show that both physical and mental health problems are much more likely to be found on hot spot streets than streets with little crime. This suggests that crime hot spots are not simply places with high levels of crime, but also places that evidence more general disadvantage. We argue that these findings have important policy implications for the targeting of health services and for developing proactive prevention programs.


The importance of gravity wave effects on various dynamical processes has been well documented in the upper and middle atmosphere. However, less is known about these waves in the lower atmosphere. Whereas many studies of longer‐period waves have previously been conducted using wind profiler data, this paper is an effort to quantify the short‐term motions of the troposphere. We will present some of the initial tropospheric gravity wave horizontal variance and momentum flux estimates calculated from Christmas Island wind profiler data collected during 1994. A coplanar antenna beam configuration was used for this analysis. For periods shorter than 8 hours, the monthly vertical fluxes of zonal and meridional momentum were estimated to be between ±0.02 kg m−1 s−2 and ±0.01 kg m−1 s−2, respectively. The resulting net accelerations of the mean flow were in the range of ±0.1 m s−1 d−1. In addition to the high‐frequency results, we will discuss some of the difficulties we encountered while processing the data. In order to determine the robustness of applying a coplanar beam analysis method to tropospheric data, we have compared the results of two data sets that were created using two independently developed cleaning algorithms on the same original raw data. These results show that the high‐frequency calculations are sensitive to the quality of the cleaned data used for this analysis. As long as the uncertainties associated with cleaning the data are considered, it is possible to establish the magnitude of the vertical momentum fluxes and the resulting accelerations in the troposphere.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Ferric citrate hydrate is a novel iron-based phosphate binder being developed for hyperphosphatemia in patients with CKD.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
A phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the efficacy and safety of ferric citrate hydrate in nondialysis-dependent patients with CKD. Starting in April of 2011, 90 CKD patients (eGFR=9.21±5.72 ml/min per 1.73 m(2)) with a serum phosphate≥5.0 mg/dl were randomized 2:1 to ferric citrate hydrate or placebo for 12 weeks. The primary end point was change in serum phosphate from baseline to the end of treatment. Secondary end points included the percentage of patients achieving target serum phosphate levels (2.5-4.5 mg/dl) and change in fibroblast growth factor-23 at the end of treatment.

RESULTS
The mean change in serum phosphate was -1.29 mg/dl (95% confidence interval, -1.63 to -0.96 mg/dl) in the ferric citrate hydrate group and 0.06 mg/dl (95% confidence interval, -0.20 to 0.31 mg/dl) in the placebo group (P<0.001 for difference between groups). The percentage of patients achieving target serum phosphate levels was 64.9% in the ferric citrate hydrate group and 6.9% in the placebo group (P<0.001). Fibroblast growth factor-23 concentrations were significantly lower in patients treated with ferric citrate hydrate versus placebo (change from baseline [median], -142.0 versus 67.0 pg/ml; P<0.001). Ferric citrate hydrate significantly increased serum iron, ferritin, and transferrin saturation compared with placebo (P=0.001 or P<0.001). Five patients discontinued active treatment because of treatment-emergent adverse events with ferric citrate hydrate treatment versus one patient with placebo. Overall, adverse drug reactions were similar in patients receiving ferric citrate hydrate or placebo, with gastrointestinal disorders occurring in 30.0% of ferric citrate hydrate patients and 26.7% of patients receiving placebo.

CONCLUSION
In patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD, 12-week treatment with ferric citrate hydrate resulted in significant reductions in serum phosphate and fibroblast growth factor-23 while simultaneously increasing serum iron parameters.


Gjirokastra town is enlightened by foreign and Albanian researchers, especially for the assets of cultural inheritance, whose values is protected even nowadays and is included in the list of Unesco World Heritage since 2005. Most of the buildings in Gjirokastra town need at most maintance, restoration and management through materials and special technics provided also through researches and investigations, in order to inherit them to future generations. This paper discusses and tests a framework of reference for "public private partnership" and especially the invested project by UNESCO, during 2008 – 2010. This concept is particulary relevant to assess whether investment in Urban Heritage Preservation respond to the impulse coming from public insitution. The explication of the official documentation, area inspections and interviews with the main actors and stakeholders, have revealed the cultural and scenery values of this town. Secondhand, the model analyses is done, based on the strategies and contemporary legislation recommended by Unesco, where difficulties of collaboration between parties are highlighted, political support and quality of project management. This study is important due to its contribution in the promotion of public and private collaboration for a constant urban development and consolidation of allembracing policies for the local authorities, community etc.


This article addresses a core question in property theory, namely 'What is property law?'. This question does not yet seem to have received the attention in academic discourse that it deserves, so by tackling this question the article aims to make a contribution to this aspect of the academic debate on property theory. The article provides an initial answer to the question of what property law is. It does so in five steps: (i) it asks why the question is a valid one in the first place; (ii) it presents an abstract model outlining the building blocks of property law; (iii) it discusses how to separate property law from other, adjacent fields of law; (iv) it investigates the possible application of the abstract model presented at step ii to 'new' property interests that have developed outside the realm of private law property law; (v) and it analyses the impact which developments in EU law have on the main question of what property law is. Given the broad and complex nature of the question the article can also be seen as a research agenda setting the tone for subsequent research into this topic.


Roger Ascham (1515-1568), English humanist, scholar and tutor to Princess Elizabeth, wrote a widely acclaimed treatise on the teaching of Latin entitled The Scholemaster which was first published in 1570. What largely contributed to its fame, then and now, was its picture of Lady Grey and her love of learning.
 Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554), queen of England for only nine days, was beheaded without cause on February 12, 1554. The contemporary English historian, S. T. Bindoff writes that few lovelier heads have worn a crown and no purer a spirit ever inhabited a royal person than Jane Grey's; and if she lacked the divinity which hedges kings, she had more than a touch of sanctity which hallows saints.1
 Ascham described his celebrated call on Lady Jane Grey at Brodegate in 1550 in these words:
 Before I went into Germany, I came to Brodegate in Leicestershire, to take my Leave of that noble Lady Jane Grey, to whom I was exceeding much beholding. Her parents, the Duke and Duchess, with all the Household, Gentlemen and Gentlewomen, were hunting in the Park. I found her in her Chamber, reading Phaedo Platonis in Greek, and that with as much Delight, as some Gentlemen would read a merry Tale in Boccace. After Salutation, and Duty done, with some other Talk, I asked her, why she would lose such Passtime in the Park? Smiling, she answered me:
 "I wist, all their Sport in the Park is but a Shadow to that Pleasure that I find in Plato, Alas! good Folk, they never felt what true Pleasure meant.


BACKGROUND Patients who undergo surgery are at risk of malnutrition due to periods of starvation, the stress of surgery, and subsequent increase in metabolic rate. There are limited data on nutritional outcome of surgical patients. AIMS To investigate changes in nutritional status and the influence of oral supplements on nutritional status, morbidity, and quality of life in postoperative surgical patients. METHODS Entry was determined by the presence of malnutrition, as defined by a body mass index (BMI) ⩽20 kg/m2, anthropometric measurements ⩽15th percentile on admission, or initiation of oral diet postoperatively and/or a weight loss of 5% or more during the operative period. We studied 101 patients: 52 were randomised to the treatment group (TG) and prescribed a 1.5 kcal/ml nutritional supplement; 49 patients were randomised to the control group (CG) and continued with routine nutritional management. Nutritional status was assessed by weight, anthropometry, and grip strength, with measurements taken at two weekly intervals for 10 weeks. Complications, namely wound infection, chest infection, and antibiotic use were documented. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed using the UK SF-36 questionnaire. RESULTS Patients in the control group lost a maximum mean (SD) of 5.96 (4.21) kg in weight over a period of eight weeks while patients in group TG lost less weight overall (maximum mean (SD) 3.40 (0.89) kg (p<0.001) occurring at four weeks and progressively regained weight from week 4). Anthropometry, grip strength, and QOL were similarly significantly different between groups (p<0.001). Fewer patients in the treatment group (7/52) required antibiotic prescriptions compared with the control group (15/49). CONCLUSIONS Nutritional status declined for two months after discharge. Postoperative nutritional supplementation improved nutritional status, QOL, and morbidity in these patients.


In this presentation, I will focus primarily on three constituencies:
 the individuals who developed the strategies for using AI technologies to
 tell survivors' personal stories; the survivors who were willing to
 participate in the Dimensions in Testimony (DiT) project to use volumetric
 capture in order to record the narrative of their (and their extended
 family's) experience of the Shoah, and the audience members who visit with
 the interactive DiT survivor recordings.Currently in use at over a dozen
 museums worldwide, pre-recorded interviews with individual Holocaust
 survivors incorporate specialized display technology and natural language
 processing in order to generate interactive conversations between survivors
 and visitors. The video recordings are prepared to answer well over 1,000
 possible questions visitors might ask of them. In addition, a limited number
 of these AI recordings also are available to visitors to the Dimensions in
 Testimony (DiT) website.Members of the public who "visit with" individual
 survivor AIs are able to interact with eyewitnesses to history to learn from
 those who actually were there. Given that, these conversations are directed
 by the visitors to specific Holocaust museums and/or the DiT website
 themselves, visitors participate in a highly-personalized, inquiry-based
 educational interaction.For the past five years, I have studied both the
 responses of survivors who participated in this effort and I have engaged in
 observational study of individuals interacting with the DiT recordings both
 in a museum setting (asking questions of Renée Firestone at the Holocaust
 Museum Los Angeles [HMLA]) and students interacting with the DiT recordings
 available through the USC Shoah Foundation website (in particular, how
 students interact with the interactive DiT recording of Pinchas Gutter).In
 order to evaluate how this particular technology has been "accepted," I will
 address the following points of inquiry:1.How might engaging in interactions
 that feel like self-directed interviews encourage greater empathy and/or
 compassion on the part of interlocutors? Or, conversely, is it possible that
 "users" will try to "game" the recordings by asking questions the recording
 cannot answer?2.What were the ground rules for capturing the testimony of
 the survivors?3.How do survivors themselves feel about participating in this
 innovative technology/project? 4.What do we learn about ourselves as a
 result of engaging in these interactions with the DiT recordings?5.How might
 these interactions redefine Holocaust education?


New Interchange is a multi-level series for adult and young adult learners of English from the beginning to the high-intermediate level. The Teacher's Manual contains teaching suggestions, answer keys for the Student's Book and Workbook, listening scripts, optional activities, and photocopiable Achievements Tests with their own listening scripts and answer keys.


Introduction: Reports of fatigue failure of the femoral component of a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is scanty in the literature. As a result, there are no clearly defined risk factors to aid us in predicting fatigue failure of an implant. Furthermore, these patients may present with non-specific knee pain, which may or may not be well tolerated, depending on the stability of the implant. We report a case of fatigue failure of a poorly cemented femoral component of a TKA in a 72-year-old female, approximately seven years after the initial surgery.
Case report: A 72-year-old female presented to our tertiary level arthroplasty unit with new-onset knee pain approximately seven years after undergoing a TKA at our unit. She reported hearing a crack six months earlier, while standing up from a seated position. She had initially presented to her local clinic, but the pathology was missed. She received revision surgery at our institution and was doing well at early follow-up.
Discussion: We reviewed the literature on fatigue failure of femoral components in TKA in an attempt to define risk factors. We also summarised all cases of femoral component fatigue failure in the English literature.
Conclusion: Although femoral component fatigue failure in TKA is rare, the majority of cases have attributed the failure to poor surgical technique. Despite this, certain implants have been failing more often than others, and proposed mechanisms for this exist. Orthopaedic surgeons need to be aware of which implant designs are prone to failure, as well as how meticulous surgical technique can reduce the chances of fatigue failure.
Level of evidence: Level 5


Long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) have been shown to play an important role is a variety of cellular processes including cancer initiation and progression. Recently, we described a landscape of lncRNA using RNA-Seq data from more than 5000 cancer samples from 18 tissue types. Using novel bioinformatics based approach we were able to discover almost 50,000 novel transcripts. This list includes a subset of lncRNAs that contain ultra-conserved elements (UCE) termed "Highly Conserved Long Intergenic Non-Coding RNAs (HICLINCs)". This provides a new opportunity for exploring the functions of highly conserved lncRNAs using genomic approaches. Among them, we focus on an lncRNA which we have termed HiClinc-1 (Highly Conserved Intergenic long-noncoding RNA-1), that is specifically expressed only in testis in benign tissue, and re-expressed in a broad range of cancer types. We described that HiClinc-1 exists in the messenger Ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) complex and binds to Insulin-Like Growth Factor 2 mRNA Binding Protein 1 (IGF2BP1), one of the component of mRNP complex in both human and zebrafish. HiClinc-1 regulates cell proliferation both in vivo and in vitro through the regulation of IGF2BP19s downstream target Insulin-Like Growth Factor 2 (IGF2). HiClinc-1 also enhanced tumor growth in mouse xenograft model. Notably, Human-HiClinc-1 injection in zebrafish embryos accelerated the onset and growth of NRAS K61-induced melanoma. Similarly, HiClinc-1 knockout background showed delayed onset of NRAS K61-induced melanoma. Taken together, we identified a novel Cancer-Testis lncRNA, which is highly conserved through human to zebrafish that can be a potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Citation Format: Yasuyuki Hosono, John Prensner, Matthew Iyer, Yashar Niknafs, Rohit Malik, Anton Poliakov, Xuhong Cao, Jordan Shavit, Rohit Mehra, Weibin Zhou, Arul M. Chinnaiyan. HiClinc-1, a highly conserved Cancer-Testis lncRNA, regulates cell proliferation and tumor onset. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Noncoding RNAs and Cancer: Mechanisms to Medicines ; 2015 Dec 4-7; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(6 Suppl):Abstract nr PR10.


The Government Resolution on digital security in the public sector (Publications of the Ministry of Finance 2020:24) defines the development principles and key services for advancing security in the digital environment. Within the framework of comprehensive security, the goal is to protect citizens, communities and society from the risks and threats that may affect information, services and the functioning of society in the digital environment. The implementation plan for digital security in public administration 2020–2023 (Haukka) describes how the resolution is to be put to practice. The 19 tasks selected to the implementation plan aim to develop the key services in terms of digital security in the public sector. The implementation plan also supports the preparation and implementation of the development programme for the Cyber Security Strategy 2019 that is getting started, and contributes to the implementation of the Government Decision on the Objectives of Security of Supply (1048/2018). The implementation plan was prepared in a cross-sectoral coordination group appointed by the Ministry of Finance, which will also lead the implementation process. The implementation costs at the Ministry of Finance will be EUR 600,000, at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency EUR 2,280,000, and at the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency EUR 780,000, which gives the grand total of EUR 3,660,000. Publisher Ministry of Finance Distributed by/ Publication sales Online version: julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi Publication sales: vnjulkaisumyynti.fi


Abstract:This article analyzes ideologies underpinning argument-based writing assignments and considers how they may contribute to a current climate of polarization. The authors suggest that the argument-based essay may be what Kenneth Burke called an unquestioned and habituated "cow path" and conclude by considering how students may benefit from a deeper engagement with explanatory ways of knowing, writing, and relating to each other.


Dynamic beam switching of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) has important applications for switching and routeing in optical interconnect networks. VCSEL arrays of various kinds have been quite extensively researched for tailoring and engineering near- and far-field patterns. In this paper, a new method of directional beam switching is proposed that uses two coupled VCSELs. When two VCSELs are coupled by a small separation and biased at the same steady current near threshold, then the resulting light output is dynamic at an extremely high frequency. The model equations are based on an approximation to the semiconductor Maxwell-Bloch equations. The simulations are for coupled VCSELs operating at 980 nm with circular current apertures of 5.6 μm diameter. Figures of the results will show far-field beam intensity patterns during a cycle of oscillation. The simulation results show directional switching at a speed of about 40 μm GHz and between directions about 8° apart. Results of addition simulations are also presented. Simulations that use two square VCSELs show that the frequency of oscillation increases to 50 GHz and that the far-field pattern remains similar. Finally, for four round VCSELs in a square pattern, two far-field circularly shaped beams moved left and right at a frequency of 50 GHz.


The dual-channel ALOHA network with long time delay consisting of many cognitive radio terminals has particular dynamic characteristics. Its total throughput changes with the channel selection of terminals, because two channels have different attraction probabilities under the condition that the total packet arrival rate remains constant. We establish a group of differential equations for each channel's network-adjusted arrival rate, and obtain the function relationship of total throughput with the total arrival rate. The influence of the different allocation ratio about jamming resources on each channel is analyzed under the condition that the jamming resources are kept constant. The optimal allocation ratio of jamming resources is obtained, and the total throughput is minimized for this network. The above theoretic analysis is verified by simulations. It not only puts forward a new way for effective jamming on dual-channel ALOHA network with long time delay, but also provides an important reference for the dynamic characteristics research for such networks.


Mammalian cell-fate transitions are fundamentally important processes shaping evolution and development. In vitro differentiation and reprogramming of pluripotent stem cells are valuable models to study these processes. Until recently, interrogating the protein regulatory networks involved in cell-fate transitions was hampered by technological limitations. Using the latest mass-spectrometry-based technologies available to date, combined with innovative biochemistry, this thesis presents three projects exploring the proteome rearrangements which occur during neuronal differentiation and reprogramming.

First, we characterized the global proteome dynamics during neuronal differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and identified a co-expression protein cluster with high functional enrichment for neurogenic processes. A predictive bioinformatic analysis pointed out Sox2 as a top regulator of this protein group. Like most transcription factors, Sox2 forms complexes with other proteins which influence its target selection. We interrogated the chromatin-associated protein interactome of Sox2 at the beginning and the end of differentiation and found that it undergoes a remarkable stem cell- to neuronal transition. Integrative multi-omic analysis of our interactome data with transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility assays suggest that the joint genome association of Sox2 and selected interactors has a regulatory effect on hundreds of genes involved in embryonic development. Interestingly, this effect can be activating or repressing dependent on the differentiation stage.

The second study explores the potential of epigenetic memory and its proteomic manifestation in the context of induced pluripotency. We demonstrate that unlike primary neurons, neuronal cultures derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) retain the capacity to reprogram back to a pluripotent state. To interrogate the potential proteomic manifestation of epigenetic memory, we compared the initial iPSCs to the neuron-derived iPSCs and found that while their overall proteome composition is highly similar, the neuron-derived iPSCs retain distinct neuronal signatures in addition to the pluripotent ones. We further investigated the spatio-temporal progression of neuronal differentiation within embryoid bodies. As expected, we found that many more proteins change in the embryoid body rim, which is exposed to differentiation-inducing signals compared to the core, which is protected and retains pluripotent proteomic characteristics until the late differentiation stages. Surprisingly, however, we found that key epigenetic and developmental switches involved in pluripotency exit are initiated very early in the embryoid body core, suggesting very fast and efficient cross-communication between the cells layers in these spheroid structures.

Finally, we examined the protein regulatory network associated with the promoter of c-Myc, a gene critically involved with differentiation, development, pluripotency establishment and maintenance. Using a novel technique developed in our lab, we successfully isolated the c-Myc promoter on a single-locus level and were able to characterize the proteins associated with it. These include known c-Myc regulators, as well as many novel candidates. Our study provides a unique and valuable foundation for functional analysis of potential new c-Myc regulators.

In sum, we employed novel biochemical and mass-spectrometry based techniques in different cellular context and successfully expanded the protein regulatory networks driving differentiation and reprogramming.


Synthetic dsRNAs, used to induce RNA interference, may have dose dependent phenotypic effects. These effects are difficult to define if the dsRNAs are delivered using a non-quantitative method. Accurate delivery of known quantities of nucleic acids or other chemicals is critical to measure the efficacy of the compound being tested and to allow reliable comparison between compounds. Here we provide a reproducible, quantitative microinjection protocol that ensures accurate delivery of specific doses of dsRNA, reducing the mortality typically induced by injection injury. These modifications include the addition of Rhodamine B, a graduated injection needle, and an improved recovery method borrowed from Isoe and Collins. This method allows calculation of dose responses and facilitates comparisons between compounds. Versions of this method have been successfully used on three genera of mosquitoes as well as house flies to assess the reduction in fecundity resulting from gene silencing of ribosomal RNA transcripts. This protocol provides strategies to reduce several challenges of small insect microinjection. Together, mechanical delivery of dsRNAs accompanied by visual verification, identification of effective locations for delivery, and inclusion of a post-injection recovery period ensure accurate dosing and low injury mortality. This protocol also describes an oviposition bioassay for uniform determination of effects on fecundity.


Kinesiology taping has grown in popularity, though there are a number of unsubstantiated claims made by some kinesiology taping advocates. An investigation was conducted into trends in general and scientific interest in kinesiology taping. Data in the public domain (Google Trends and Google Scholar data) indicated significant growth of interest both in terms of public search queries and scientific publications relevant to kinesiology taping. Cyclical trends in interest relevant to kinesiology taping were identified. Segmented regression indicated some of the growth in interest in kinesiology taping may be attributed to exposure of spectators of the Olympic Games to kinesiology taping in athletes. Despite substantial growth in research on kinesiology taping there remain unsubstantiated claims.


fore being on severe sub-normality. The first few chapters are devoted to aetiological considerations and here the authors' breadth of vision is immediately apparent as they present clearly and concisely but in detail the limited and sometimes conflicting evidence concerning the complex interactions of genetic and early environmental influences. An extensive and learned chapter on specific and nonspecific aspects of cerebral pathology in sub-normality is followed by a brief cautionary review of non-specific biochemical abnormalities which reminds one of the parallel history of initial enthusiastic but inadequately controlled biochemical investigations of the psychoses which have also usually come to nought. Subsequent chapters are respectively devoted to mongolism, hydrocephalus, in-born and acquired errors of metabolism, the lipidoses and leucodystrophies, aminoacidurias, neuromuscular disorders and miscellaneous conditions. Finally, an extensive fifty-page appendix provides information about the relevant techniques of biochemical and pathological investigations. This reviewer is not a specialist in sub-normality and cannot speak with that degree of authority. However, he has no doubt that this is a major book deserving to be read by all those interested in the complex origins of disease as well as it being an important work of reference for the expert.


Abstract The paper is a compilation of published accounts of geotechnical phenomena associated with piling in the various geological formations of urban Hong Kong. The occurrence of some of these phenomena may give rise to design and performance problems or construction difficulties. The paper examines the extent to which these problems and difficulties are addressed in traditional pile design. Limitations of traditional practice are identified and remedies are suggested.


The hot deformation behavior of as-cast 30Cr2Ni4MoV steel was characterized using processing maps in the temperature range 850 to 1200 °C and strain rate range 0.01 to 10 s−1. Based on the obtained flow curves, the power dissipation maps at different strains were developed and the effect of the strain on the efficiency of power dissipation was discussed in detail. The processing maps at different strains were obtained by superimposing the instability maps on the power dissipation maps. According to the processing map and the metallographic observation, the optimum domain of hot deformation was in the temperature range of 950–1200 °C and strain rate range of 0.03–0.5 s−1, with a peak efficiency of 0.41 at 1100 °C and 0.25 s−1 which were the optimum hot working parameters.


Abstract The paper considers current ranges, population dynamics, habitats, threats and conservation measures of Ophioglossaceae of the Ukrainian flora. Only one specimen of Botrychium simplex was discovered in herbarium at the begining of the 19th century. Taxonomical status of Ophioglossum azoricum in Ukraine needs additional studies. Other species of the family remain rare in Ukraine; there are only two reliable current localities of B. virginianum, and seven of B. matricariifolium. The number of B. multifidum, B. lunaria and Ophioglossum vulgatum localities have been decreasing since 1980 in comparison with the previous period, especially in the lowland part of the country. This tendency is accompanied by a very low stability of well-known populations – only some of them have been occurring from before 1980 up to modern times. Current conservation of Ophioglossaceae species in the protected areas is insufficient; it is necessary to create some new and enlarge some of the existing nature protection areas and include Botrychium simplex and Ophioglossum vulgatum in the Red Data Book of Ukraine.


Background: Domestic accidents are important worldwide public health problems which require increased attention. A domestic accident means an accident that takes place at home or its immediate surroundings. Domestic accidents can result in disability and loss of productivity. The aim of the study was to find the prevalence of domestic accidents in a rural area and the various epidemiological factors associated with it . Methods: A community based cross sectional study was done in a rural area of Kerala. The study period was April-May 2016. Face to face interview with a responsible adult informant was done to collect information from 403 households consisting of 1826 individuals using a semi-structured questionnaire after getting consent. Data was tabulated using MS Excel and analysed using SPSS version 20. Qualitative variables expressed as percentages and association found out using Chi square test. Results: The prevalence of domestic accidents in the community was found to be 10.5% (9.14 – 11.95, 95% CI). Majority of the victims were females (66%). Falls were the most prevalent type of domestic accident (33.5%) and it was found to be significantly associated with age, educational status, place of occurrence and activity during accident. First aid kits were available only in 38.2% of houses . Conclusions: Increased awareness, specially among female population is needed to reduce domestic accidents. Take extra care of the extreme ages as they are more vulnerable to falls. It is essential that every house has a first aid kit.


Nowadays, the impact of global warming is causing societies to become more aware and responsive to environmental problems. As a result, pollution sensing is gaining more relevance. In order to have a strict control over air quality, the use of mobile sensors is becoming a promising alternative to traditional air quality stations. Mobile sensors allow to easily perform measurements in many different places, thereby offering substantial improvements in terms of the spatial granularity of the data gathered. Pollution monitoring near large industrial areas or in rural areas where transportation facilities are poor or inexistent can complicate the mobile sensing approach. To address this problem, in this paper we propose endowing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with pollution sensors, allowing them to become autonomous air monitoring stations. The proposed solution has the potential to quickly cover a target region at a low cost, and providing great flexibility.


Currently software systems operate in highly dynamic contexts, and consequently they have to adapt their behavior in response to changes in their contexts or/and requirements. Existing approaches trigger adaptations after detecting violations in quality of service (QoS) requirements by just comparing observed QoS values to predefined thresholds without any statistical confidence or certainty. These threshold-based adaptation approaches may perform unnecessary adaptations, which can lead to severe shortcomings such as follow-up failures or increased costs. In this paper we introduce a statistical approach based on CUSUM control charts called AuDeQAV - Automated Detection of QoS Attributes Violations. This approach estimates at runtime a current status of the running system, and monitors its QoS attributes and provides early detection of violations in its requirements with a defined level of confidence. This enables timely intervention preventing undesired consequences from the violation or from inappropriate remediation. We validated our approach using a series of experiments and response time datasets from real-world web services.


The main problem of Optimizing Utilization of Assets Land and Buildings Milk Banjar City Government is the object limitations assets, so that the assets can be optimized utilization is very limited and there is no special regional regulations governing government-owned Assets Utilization Banjar.
This study used a qualitative approach with descriptive analysis, by reason epistemologically qualitative approach is suitable and relevant to the characteristics of specific problems studied (ontology), the disclosure of meaning in depth on the reality of social phenomena, in this case Optimizing the Use of Assets Land and Buildings Owned Banjar City government expected to be able to uncover and provide accurate information so it helps the process of interpretation of the information and data obtained.
 Through this process is also expected to appear proposition hypothetical new through the interpretation of the interaction between the attributes and propretise which is then used to build the category and give explanations to the phenomenon under study and through this design can be obtained a description of the phenomenon, the facts, the nature and the relationship of the phenomenon of optimizing the utilization of land assets and buildings owned by the City of Banjar, in order to obtain a model of quality public policy.
 The results of this study indicate that: Optimizing the Use of Assets Land and Buildings belonging to the City of Banjar is good but not optimal. With the publication of the Regional Regulation (Perda) No. 9 of 2010 on Business service levies were later replaced by the issuance of Banjar Regional Regulation No. 2 of 2015 on the Amendment on Urban Peratuaran Banja No. 9 of 2010, is expected to increase to optimize the utilization of assets belonging to the City of Banjar. Factors supporting the optimization of the utilization of land and building assets are assets owned by the City of Banjar assets in good condition, situated in a strategic location the amount of the rental rate is also relatively cheap. While inhibiting factor is the limited land and building assets owned and limited information about the assets of the City of Banjar be utilized by the community.
 The strategy needs to be done to re-optimize asset utilization of land and buildings owned by the City of Banjar, among others: the strategy of identification and inventory is an asset to the physical and legal, strategic asset valuation, analysis strategy optimization of fixed assets and the development strategy of asset management information system (SIMA), thus for the creation of optimizing utilization of assets land and buildings owned Government of Banjar can be achieved with the inventory and the potential of the assets owned by the City of Banjar so that more assets that can dioptimalkkan utilization, and the results of optimizing the utilization of land and building assets will add to revenue Regional Government of Banjar


New movement assessment and data analysis methods are developed to quantify human arm motion patterns during physical interaction with robotic devices for rehabilitation. These methods provide metrics for future use in diagnosis, assessment and rehabilitation of subjects with affected arm movements. Specifically, the current study uses existing pattern recognition methods to evaluate the effect of age on performance of a specific motion, reaching to a target by moving the end-effector of a robot an X-Y table. Differences in the arm motion patterns of younger and older subjects are evaluated using two measures: the principal component analysis similarity factor SPCA to compare path shape and the number of Fourier modes representing 98% of the path 'energy' to compare the smoothness of movement, a particularly important variable for assessment of pathologic movement. Both measures are less sensitive to noise than others previously reported in the literature and preserve information that is often lost through other analysis techniques. Data from the SPCA analysis indicate that age is a significant factor affecting the shapes of target reaching paths, followed by reaching movement type crossing body midline/not crossing and reaching side left/right; hand dominance and trial repetition are not significant factors. Data from the Fourier-based analysis likewise indicate that age is a significant factor affecting smoothness of movement, and movements become smoother with increasing trial number in both younger and older subjects, although more rapidly so in younger subjects. These results using the proposed data analysis methods confirm current practice that age-matched subjects should be used for comparison to quantify recovery of arm movement during rehabilitation. The results also highlight the advantages that these methods offer relative to other reported measures.


This paper aims to discuss the conceptions about mathematics of the Elementary School student-teachers of a Pedagogy distance learning course, in which we performed a qualitative research while working in the disciplines related to mathematics. The virtual activities generated data which analysis revealed some aspects of mathematics conception as problem solving. It also emphasized the need to guide the teaching in the understanding and rationale of formulae, procedures, and algorithms. In addition, it pointed out that the student-teachers had reflected on and problematized their conceptions.


A roving creel survey was conducted on Lake Hartwell, Georgia and South Carolina, in 1992 to evaluate spatial and temporal differences in anglers' awareness of a fish consumption advisory and their fish consumption habits. A higher percentage of Georgia residents were interviewed in areas of Lake Hartwell that included large proportions of the Georgia shoreline. The frequencies of anglers that ate fish they caught from Lake Hartwell and percentages of anglers not aware of the current health advisory were generally higher in these areas. Mean per capita fish consumption esti- mates were higher in spring and summer than in winter and fall. Within season comparisons of mean per capita estimates among lake strata indicated consumption rates were higher in areas of Lake Hartwell closer in proximity to Georgia and in one particular area encompassed by South Carolina. Anglers consumed an estimated 0.23 kg of fish per month in 1992 lake-wide. Georgia anglers appeared unaware of the cur- rent health advisory. Most anglers continued to consume fish they caught from Lake Hartwell.


OBJECTIVE: To synthesize and critically evaluate all available evidence investigating whether localized, provoked vestibulodynia is associated with a specific inflammatory profile at both a local and a systemic level. DATA SOURCES: Comprehensive electronic searches were performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the Cochrane Collaboration databases, and ClinicalTrials.gov. The search strategy was developed using MeSH terms related to localized, provoked vestibulodynia, and inflammatory markers. METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: Two independent investigators screened titles and abstracts and performed data extraction and risk of bias assessments. Studies were included if they reported at least one baseline inflammatory marker in women with localized, provoked vestibulodynia and compared them with healthy women. Reference lists from published reviews on localized, provoked vestibulodynia were screened for additional studies. TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS: There were 1,619 studies identified. Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria, including 400 women with localized, provoked vestibulodynia and 212 healthy women in a control group. Risk of bias assessment revealed that the methodologic quality was generally low. Fifteen studies investigated local inflammation and three studies investigated systemic inflammation. On a local level, the number of mast cells expressed in vestibular tissues was greater in women with localized, provoked vestibulodynia expressed than in women in the control group. Several studies reported undefined inflammatory infiltrate in vestibular tissues to a greater level in women with localized, provoked vestibulodynia than in women in the control group. Systemically, levels of natural killer cells were lower in women with localized, provoked vestibulodynia than in women in the control group. There were no systemic differences in systemic interferon-&agr; and interferon-υ levels between groups. CONCLUSION: There is limited and contradictory evidence regarding the characteristics of local and systemic inflammation in women with localized, provoked vestibulodynia.


Summary In the present study, the antiplatelet effect and its mechanism of a new synthetic compound YD-3 [1-benzyl-3-(ethoxycarbonylphenyl)-indazole] were examined. YD-3 inhibited the aggregation of washed human platelets caused by protease-activated receptor (PAR) 4 agonist peptide GYPGKF (IC50 = 0.13 ± 0.02 µM), but had no or little effect on that by thrombin, PAR1 agonist peptide SFLLRN, collagen or U46619. YD-3 produced a parallel, rightward shift of the concentration-response curve for GYPGKF without decreasing of the maximum platelet aggregation, indicating a competitive antagonism. In contrast to human platelets, both thrombin- and GYPGKF-induced mouse platelet shape change and aggregation were completely inhibited by YD-3. YD-3 also selectively prevented GYPGKF-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization in human platelets. Furthermore, in the PAR1-desensitized human platelets, thrombin induced a relatively slow rise and decay of calcium mobilization that was significantly inhibited by YD-3. In addition, the synergistic effect of SFLLRN and GYPGKF on platelet activation was prevented by YD-3. YD-3 also inhibits both fMLP-stimulated neutrophil- and purified cathepsin G-induced platelet aggregation, which has been demonstrated to be PAR4-dependent. Taken together, our results suggest that YD-3 selectively inhibits PAR4-dependent platelet activation through blockade of PAR4. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first non-peptide PAR4 antagonist.


This paper reports a study that sought to investigate the antecedent factors influencing consumer COO perceptions. A review of the literature revealed that most previous studies consider these factors independently, however, it is now widely accepted that consumer decision making does not involve the consideration of variables one-at-a-time but rather as a small group of factors often referred to as the evoked set. This study, therefore, set out to fill a gap in the knowledge regarding the factors influencing consumer COO when considered collectively. A model of the antecedent factors impacting COO was developed from the literature and a three stage methodology involving both qualitative and quantitative techniques was then used to test the model. The findings not only confirm COO as an important factor in the decision making process of Chinese consumers when purchasing food products but go on to suggest that the role played by the antecedent factors of COO is much more complex than the existing literature might suggest. The main limitations of the study related to the work being conducted in just one country (China) and the inherent issues associated with research that is based on sampling. Despite the limitations, the paper makes an original contribution to knowledge regarding antecedent factors impacting COO and presents a number of implications for both practicing marketing managers and academic theorists.


All organisms represent a tempting storehouse of resources for other organisms to exploit. This fact leads to the evolution of semi-permeable defensive boundaries. Nutrients must be allowed in, and waste products allowed out. Aggressors should be kept out if possible or identified and attacked once they breach the boundary. An ongoing co-evolutionary battle leads, on the defensive side, to the finely tuned mechanisms of the immune system. The thesis takes a functional perspective on immune system evolution. We begin with a historical review of the scientific understanding of immunity, and then ask what features of the immune systems we see today are general enough to occur again if we replayed the tape of life on Earth, and what features are likely to be merely contingent. There are computationally useful processes found in immune systems, but separating these transcendental principles from observable biological implementations is difficult. If pathogens had infinite flexibility to change their appearance, or if hosts had similar flexibility to alter their metabolism, the co-evolutionary battle between them could not occur. We therefore argue that an evolutionary constraint necessary for immune system evolution is the concept of entrenchment or 'lock-in'. We use a variation on the NK-landscape model to show how the structure of the dependency network between traits affects both evolvability and entrenchment and thus promotes the evolution of immune systems.


A method of integrating time predicate transition nets (a class of high-level Petri nets) and real-time first-order temporal logic is developed for specifying and verifying real-time systems. The integration of time predicate transition nets with real-time temporal logic is based on previous work (X. He and J.A.N. Lee, 1990) with the extension of time features so that not only concurrent systems but also real-time systems can be studied in this methodology. The methodology has the following significant features: a real-time system is initially specified by using a time predicate transition net; a consistent real-time temporal logic system (specification) is systematically derived from the time predicate transition net specification; system properties are expressed in real-time temporal logic; and system properties are verified by using the derived real-time temporal logic system with additional pure temporal logic axioms and inference rules. The methodology is illustrated through a simple example.<<ETX>>


This study examines two aspects of corporate social responsibility (social and environmental CSR) in 15 Asian countries. The performance of firms in these Asian countries on the two types of CSR is also assessed relative to country economic, political and social conditions, and compared with those of other regions (Western Europe, East/Central Europe, Australia/New Zealand, US/Canada, Middle East and Africa). Drawing from over 8700 surveys of firms in 104 countries, this study demonstrates substantial country and regional differences in CSR. Firms are embedded in different country contexts, with differing underlying institutional capacities. Strong revealed relationships between CSR and country economic, political and social contexts reflect the importance of a country's development of such institutional capacity to promote and support CSR practices. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.


What does it mean to say "Yes" to life? What does it mean to affirm life? What does it mean to not be nihilistic? One possible answer is the appropriation of finitude. But Klossowski argues that this amounts to a "voluntarist" fatalism. Though Klossowski draws attention to the temptation of "voluntarist" fatalism on the part of Nietzsche and readers of Nietzsche, he himself is tempted by redemption, i.e., by being redeemed from the weight of responsibility. Using the very "logic" of Klossowski's own reading of the eternal return, Blanchot will call this possibility of redemption (on the part of Klossowski) into question. Blanchot's reading of Nietzsche's eternal return draws attention to that moment (within the work of Nietzsche) when death as possibility turns into death as impossibility. This weakening of the negative brings, according to Blanchot, not redemption from the burden of responsibility, but infinite responsibility.


A 49 year old woman developed an above knee deep vein thrombosis 10 days after a hysterectomy and hormone replacement treatment implant. Should the implant be removed and should she have anticoagulant treatment?


Abstract

Objective: cesarean section is the delivery of the fetus, placenta, and membranes through an incision on the abdominal and uterine walls after the fetus has reached viability. The world health organization (WHO) suggests the cesarean section (CS) rate between 5%-15%. Evidence suggested that the rate of CS is high in developing countries including Ethiopia. So the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of cesarean section in the University of Gondar comprehensive referral hospital, North West Ethiopia, 2019

Result: The overall prevalence of cesarean section in Gondar university hospital was 29.7%. The most common indications of CS were non-reassurance fetal heart rate pattern (NRFHP) (17.8%) which was followed by previous CS scar (15.9%) and severe preeclampsia (12.1 %). Factors such as maternal educational status (AOR 2.89, CI (1.278-6.56), gravidity (AOR 3.259 CI (1.484-7.160), Ante Natal care (ANC) follow up (AOR 0.248, CI (0.083-0.739) and number of ANC follow up (AOR 5.17 CI (1.48-18.03) were associated with CS.

Keywords: prevalence, Caesarean section, University of Gondar Referral Hospital, laboring mothers, Ethiopia.


An inexpensive sulfur cathode with the highest possible charge storage capacity is attractive for the design of lithium-ion batteries with a high energy density and low cost. To promote existing lithium–sulfur battery technologies in the current energy storage market, it is critical to increase the electrochemical stability of the conversion-type sulfur cathode. Here, we present the adoption of a carbon nanofoam as an advanced current collector for the lithium–sulfur battery cathode. The carbon nanofoam has a conductive and tortuous network, which improves the conductivity of the sulfur cathode and reduces the loss of active material. The carbon nanofoam cathode thus enables the development of a high-loading sulfur cathode (4.8 mg cm−2) with a high discharge capacity that approaches 500 mA·h g−1 at the C/10 rate and an excellent cycle stability that achieves 90% capacity retention over 100 cycles. After adopting such an optimal cathode configuration, we superficially coat the carbon nanofoam with graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) to amplify the fast charge transfer and strong polysulfide-trapping capabilities, respectively. The highest charge storage capacity realized by the graphene-coated carbon nanofoam is 672 mA·h g−1 at the C/10 rate. The MoS2-coated carbon nanofoam features high electrochemical utilization attaining the high discharge capacity of 633 mA·h g−1 at the C/10 rate and stable cyclability featuring a capacity retention approaching 90%.


Samples of titanosilicate glasses were synthesised by the method of laser distillation in an atmosphere of air or nitrogen at normal pressure. An investigation of the homogeneity of the dopant distribution in these samples was used to determine the dependence of the degree of steadiness of the distillation process on the chemical composition of the components of a laser target. The components were rods or tubes made of silica glass and the dopant source was Ti foil or TiO2 powder. The Raman and optical spectra were used in a study of the phase composition and the Ti ion valence. The dopant concentration in the amorphous samples, limited by the maximum intensity of the CO2 laser radiation used in the synthesis, reached ~10 mass % in terms of the TiO2 content. The doping of the grown samples was homogeneous to within ±1% throughout the investigated range (3–10%) of the TiO2 concentration.


Snakehead fish is known to contain high protein, especially albumin and black glutinous rice flour which functions as a binder containing antioxidants, so it is good to be developed into processed products such as sausages. This study aims to determine the physicochemical characteristics and acceptability of panelists to analog sausages based on snakehead fish and black glutinous rice flour. The data were analyzed by statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) at the level of = 5% using the SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions) type 16.0 program, if there was a significant difference between treatments, then continued with Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT). The results showed that from the four analogue sausage treatments of snakehead fish and black glutinous rice flour, the best preferred treatment was the A4 treatment which the results included water content of 59.91%, protein content of 12.04%, fat content of 6.17%, ash content 0.62%, carbohydrates 21.27%, and antioxidant activity 13.84% as well as the organoleptic test for color 5.07%, aroma 5.00%, texture 6.07%, and taste 5.27%.


Chaos theory is used to conceptualize a methodology to control cutting tool chatter in the turning process. The underlying information contained in a Mandelbrot set -- developed from an existing nonlinear model of cutting tool dynamics -- is supposed to be captured by a multilayer feed forward neural network. The neural network may be used as a control parameter variation selector in a control loop. We anticipate real-time implementation of the proposed methodology.


ABSTRACT Multifaceted data are very common in the human sciences. For example, test takers' responses to essay items are marked by raters. If multifaceted data are analyzed with standard facets models, it is assumed there is no interaction between facets. In reality, an interaction between facets can occur, referred to as differential facet functioning. A special case of differential facet functioning is the interaction between ratees and raters, referred to as differential rater functioning (DRF). In existing DRF studies, the group membership of ratees is known, such as gender or ethnicity. However, DRF may occur when the group membership is unknown (latent) and thus has to be estimated from data. To solve this problem, in this study, we developed a new mixture facets model to assess DRF when the group membership is latent and we provided two empirical examples to demonstrate its applications. A series of simulations were also conducted to evaluate the performance of the new model in the DRF assessment in the Bayesian framework. Results supported the use of the mixture facets model because all parameters were recovered fairly well, and the more data there were, the better the parameter recovery.


During perioperative period, plasminogen abnormality can result in unusual or unexplained clotting that occurs spontaneously or after minor trauma. However, there has been no report on perioperative anticoagulation therapy and monitoring in patients with hereditary plasminogen abnormality undergoing cardiac surgery. We performed a successful perioperative anticoagulation therapy and monitoring of a patient with hereditary plasminogen abnormality undergoing cardiac surgery. A 48-year-old male patient with severe aortic valve stenosis, who had had no episode of thrombosis, was scheduled for aortic valve replacement Preoperative laboratory screenings detected his abnormal plasminogen activity (7.6% normal), and he was diagnosed as hereditary plasminogen abnormality. Anesthetic course was uneventful until the initiation of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). During CPB, heparin level was monitored every 30 minutes by Hepcon/HMS (Medtronic Hemotec, Parker, CO). No thrombus was observed in the CPB circuit. Plasminogen activity, fibrin degradation products (FDP) and D-dimer were not elevated during perioperative period. Protamine dosage was determined by protamine titration method, and protamine was administrated after the termination of CPB. No major bleeding was observed after protamine administration. When the patient was admitted to ICU, anticoagulation therapy was started immediately. During perioperative period, no episode suggesting thrombosis was observed. In conclusion, we consider that this successful anticoagulation therapy and monitoring during CPB has been achieved by use of Hepcon/HMS.


The article, based on ethnographic observation and qualitative interviews, explores the subtle forms of discrimination and racism towards students of immigrant origin in some lower secondary schools and high schools situated in the city of Genoa. Despite the tendency to represent itself as an autonomous institution, the Italian school system is connected at various levels to the social, cultural and political background which it belongs to. Teachers and students bring inside the classrooms their ideas about different minority groups and about the place they should hold in a desirable society. I shall argue that the idea of intercultural exchange, frame of the policies of interaction in school contexts, may in practice be realized as a multicultural attitude which entails the risk to emphasize and naturalize difference and to foster hidden forms of exclusion. I shall also point out that the spreading of more open racist doscourses is a phenomenon that calls for further ethnographic research.


A growing body of literature has explored the motivation of firms to take part in open source software (OSS) development, yet the role of venture capitalists and their role in OSS projects is largely unattached. Based on information from publicly available data, we investigated the investment behavior of 37 VCs investing in 45 OSS projects. To understand how these venture capitalists try to reduce their perception of uncertainty and risk, we developed a 2 × 2 matrix of different investment approaches. While the X-axis represents the average age of a community/OSS product at the time of investment, the Y-axis reflects the average round of a venture capitalist's entry. This exploratory study illustrates how venture capitalists limit the level of risk inherent in certain OSS investments and results in a number of implications for communities seeking for external funds as well as for investing firms.