BACKGROUND
Bypass surgery is one of the mainstay treatments for patients with critical lower limb ischaemia (CLI). This is the second update of the review first published in 2000.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the effects of bypass surgery in patients with chronic lower limb ischaemia.

SEARCH METHODS
For this update, the Cochrane Vascular Group searched its trials register (last searched October 2016) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in the Cochrane Library (last searched Issue 9, 2016).

SELECTION CRITERIA
We selected randomised controlled trials of bypass surgery versus control or any other treatment. The primary outcome parameters were defined as early postoperative non-thrombotic complications, procedural mortality, clinical improvement, amputation, primary patency, and mortality within follow-up.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
For the update, two review authors extracted data and assessed trial quality. We analysed data using odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We applied fixed-effect or random-effects models.

MAIN RESULTS
We selected 11 trials reporting a total of 1486 participants. Six trials compared bypass surgery with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), and one each with remote endarterectomy, thromboendarterectomy, thrombolysis, exercise, and spinal cord stimulation. The quality of the evidence for the most important outcomes of bypass surgery versus PTA was high except for clinical improvement and primary patency. We judged the quality of evidence for clinical improvement to be low, due to heterogeneity between the studies and the fact that this was a subjective outcome assessment and, therefore, at risk of detection bias. We judged the quality of evidence for primary patency to be moderate due heterogeneity between the studies. For the remaining comparisons, the evidence was limited. For several outcomes, the CIs were wide.Comparing bypass surgery with PTA revealed a possible increase in early postinterventional non-thrombotic complications (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.73; six studies; 1015 participants) with bypass surgery, but bypass surgery was associated with higher technical success rates (OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.49 to 3.44; five studies; 913 participants). Analyses by different clinical severity of disease (intermittent claudication (IC) or CLI) revealed that peri-interventional complications occurred more frequently in participants with CLI undergoing bypass surgery than PTA (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.24). No differences in periprocedural mortality were identified (OR 1.67, 95% CI 0.66 to 4.19; five studies; 913 participants). The primary patency rate at one year was higher after bypass surgery than after PTA (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.20 to 3.14; four studies; 300 participants), but this difference was not shown at four years (OR 1.15, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.78; two studies; 363 participants). No differences in clinical improvement (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.03 to 14.52; two studies; 154 participants), amputation rates (OR 1.24, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.87; five studies; 752 participants), reintervention rates (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.42 to 1.37; three studies; 256 participants), or mortality within the follow-up period (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.25; five studies; 961 participants) between surgical and endovascular treatment were identified. No differences in subjective outcome parameters, indicated by quality of life and physical and psychosocial well-being, were reported. The hospital stay for the index procedure was reported to be longer in participants undergoing bypass surgery than in those treated with PTA.In the single study (116 participants) comparing bypass surgery with remote endarterectomy of the superficial femoral artery, the frequency of early postinterventional non-thrombotic complications was similar in the treatment groups (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.53 to 2.34). No mortality within 30 days of the index treatment or during stay in hospital in either group was recorded. No differences were identified in patency (OR 1.66, 95% CI 0.79 to 3.46), amputation (OR 1.70, 95% CI 0.27 to 10.58), and mortality rates within the follow-up period (OR 1.66, 95% CI 0.61 to 4.48). Information regarding clinical improvement was unavailable.No differences in major complications (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.34 to 1.31) or mortality (OR 2.09, 95% CI 0.67 to 6.44) within 30 days of treatment between surgery and thrombolysis (one study, 237 participants) for chronic lower limb ischaemia were identified. The amputation rate was lower after bypass surgery (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.80). No differences in late mortality were found (OR 1.56, 95% CI 0.71 to 3.44). No data regarding patency rates and clinical improvement were reported.Technical success resulting in blood flow restoration was higher after bypass surgery than thromboendarterectomy for aorto-iliac occlusive disease (one study, 43 participants) (OR 0.01, 95% CI 0 to 0.17). The periprocedural mortality (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.01 to 8.65), follow-up mortality (OR 3.29, 95% CI 0.13 to 85.44), and amputation rates (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.08 to 2.91) did not differ between treatments. Clinical improvement and patency rates were not reported.Comparing surgery and exercise (one study, 75 participants) did not identify differences in early postinterventional complications (OR 7.45, 95% CI 0.40 to 137.76) and mortality (OR 1.55, 95% CI 0.06 to 39.31). The remaining primary outcomes were not reported. There was no difference in maximal walking time between exercise and surgery (1.66 min, 95% CI -1.23 to 4.55).Regarding comparisons of bypass surgery with spinal cord stimulation for CLI, there was no difference in amputation rates after 12 months of follow-up (OR 4.00, 95% CI 0.25 to 63.95; one study, 12 participants). The remaining primary outcome parameters were not reported.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
There is limited high quality evidence for the effectiveness of bypass surgery compared with other treatments; no studies compared bypass to optimal medical treatment. Our analysis has shown that PTA is associated with decreased peri-interventional complications in participants treated for CLI and shorter hospital stay compared with bypass surgery. Surgical treatment seems to confer improved patency rates up to one year. Endovascular treatment may be advisable in patients with significant comorbidity, rendering them high risk surgical candidates. No solid conclusions can be drawn regarding comparisons of bypass surgery with other treatments because of the paucity of available evidence. Further large trials evaluating the impact of anatomical location and extent of disease and clinical severity are required.


A frequency adaptive technique relying on a linear Kalman filter (KF) is presented here for robust estimation of voltage harmonics under variable frequency conditions in a single-phase system. A relatively simple frequency-locked loop (FLL) is combined with the linear KF (LKF-FLL) to achieve frequency adaptive ability and avoid the use of a non-linear KF. In contrast to the non-linear extended KF (EKF), the LKF-FLL technique has several advantages such as robustness, linearity, simple tuning, having fewer states, requiring no derivative actions, while offering low complexity, excellent convergence, and computational efficiency. When compared to the non-linear extended real KF, it can generate a faster dynamic response and more accurate steady-state estimation of the harmonics under frequency variations. It can also provide an improved estimation for off-nominal frequency conditions when compared to the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) method. The effectiveness of the technique is verified by various simulated and real-time experimental case studies.


The Digital Fauvel is an interactive facsimile-edition of the satirical "Roman de Fauvel" (ca. 1314) as preserved in the manuscript Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale fr. 146. In this source, the story of Fauvel (an allegorical horse that stands for the worst aspects of humanity) is augmented by hundreds of images and musical items in a variety of genres. To "read" Fauvel in a way that approximates the rich experience its original audiences could have derived from the object requires a working knowledge of Middle French, Latin, medieval music notation, and 14th-century iconographic conventions. As a result, modern scholars have dissociated the object into more recognizable volumes—editions that group like with like and necessarily leave context behind. We have used new media to re-synthesize the source, making it more navigable, intelligible, and meaningful to the untrained reader and expert researcher alike.

In its current form, The Digital Fauvel software runs on a large multitouch tabletop (the Samsung SUR-40) which allows people to interact with high-resolution pages of the original object using natural touch gestures familiar from tablets and e-readers. Users of this virtual manuscript can simultaneously view superimposed translations of the text, search manuscript text and metadata, view modern editions of musical items, and listen to audio. Such a presentation allows the intricate layout of the original to remain salient, even while translations and transcriptions are being displayed.

The project employs Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) conventions to store content and layout in separate files. We are currently refining the Digital Fauvel software to function as a "container" into which new translations, and even new manuscripts, could be dropped with little or no programming. Thus our project infrastructure—the TEI encoding conventions as well as the software for search, navigation, and display— will function as a foundation on which scholars and programmers can build new and different types of interactions.
Our approach stands aside from main trends in Digital Humanities, where the building of databases that allow powerful searches on large amounts of data is ascendant. Both the editors of medieval manuscripts and the modern makers of databases dissociate objects into their components. By contrast, The Digital Fauvel seeks to foreground the integrity of the original. As such it is synthetic rather than analytical, and may point to new directions in digital approaches to medieval objects.

The project homepage, with screenshots, can be accessed at
http://www.doc.gold.ac.uk/~mas01rf/DigitalFauvel/


This paper proposes a self-adjusting generative confrontation network image denoising algorithm. The algorithm combines noise reduction and the adaptive learning GAN model. First, the algorithm uses image features to preprocess the image and extract the effective information of the image. Then, the edge signal is classified according to the threshold value to suppress the problem of "excessive strangulation," and then the edge signal of the image is extracted to enhance the effective signal in the high-frequency signal. Finally, the algorithm uses an adaptive learning GAN model to further train the image. Each iteration of the generator network is composed of three stages. And then, we get the best value. Through experiments, it can be seen from the data that the article algorithm is compared with the traditional algorithm and the literature algorithm. Under the same conditions, the algorithm can ensure the operating efficiency while having better fidelity, and it can still denoise at the same time. The edge signal of the image is preserved and has a better visual effect.


Accurate estimation of the fine-resolution fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR) across broad spatial extents and long time periods requires efficient and applicable methods. The existing methods can hardly provide a balance between accuracy, simplicity, and transferability through space and time. Within the remote-sensing trend-surface conceptual framework, this article proposes a scaling-based method to efficiently retrieve FPAR from fine-resolution satellite data using coarse-resolution FPAR products as a reference. The method was particularly developed and applied to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) FPAR product and Landsat imagery. First, necessary prior knowledge related to FPAR retrieval and scaling theories was used to explicitly linearize the complex relationship between MODIS FPAR and Landsat surface reflectance. Second, the explicit linear model for FPAR estimation was trained through one-pair image learning for each date to estimate FPAR from Landsat imagery in real time. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous cases were considered. The method was validated at ten selected worldwide sites from the Validation of Land European Remote Sensing Instruments (VALERI) program and derived an overall root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.133. A long time series of FPAR data set at the 30-m resolution was generated at the regional scale (approximately 2000 km2) for 13 years (2000–2012). The results were accurate (RMSE = 0.072) and MODIS-consistent, which were significantly better than those of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) downscaling-based and regression tree methods. The scaling-based method provides accurate, MODIS-consistent and spatially consistent FPAR estimates in real time, is highly transferrable through space and time, and allows for future extension of FPAR estimates to the era of the Landsat series satellites.


Age-related macular degeneration mainly affects central vision, which is needed for detailed tasks such as reading, driving, and recognizing faces. The vision loss in this condition results from a gradual deterioration of light-sensing cells in the tissue at the back of the eye that detects light and color (the retina). Specifically, age-related macular degeneration affects a small area near the center of the retina, called the macula, which is responsible for central vision. Side (peripheral) vision and night vision are generally not affected, but reduced dim light (scotopic) vision often occurs in the early stages of the disease.


The thermal properties of solid, linear macromolecules are accessible through heat capacity measurements from about 10 K to the glass transition. By measuring and collecting data on over 150 polymers, a data bank was established and used as a base for detailed correlation with an approximate frequency spectrum for the polymers. Besides assessment of the entropy at zero kelvin of disordered polymers, this heat capacity knowledge has helped in the elucidation of partial phase transitions and conformationally disordered crystal phases. A link has also been established to measurements of mobility through solid state nuclear magnetic resonance. Most recently heat capacity measurements have been linked to full dynamic simulations of crystal segments of 1900 chain atoms. Questions of disorder and anharmonicity can thus be analyzed. The work is summarized as the Advanced Thermal Analysis System, ATHAS. 27 refs., 26 figs.


The influence of bloggers, podcasters, and users of other social media is profoundly disrupting the mainstream media and marketing industries. Paul Gillin s The New Influencers explores these forces, who these new influencers are, their goals and motivations, takes a look at the changes they have initiated, and offers strategies for marketing within this dynamic new macrocosm. The New Influencers explores: Why social media are now so influential in consumer decisions Interacting with those within the blogosphere How to take advantage of this new medium The need for complete transparency Strategies for both small and large businesses Whether your company or organization should start a blog


In this work several important aspects of power quality are discussed, and measurement methods aimed at disturbances detection are proposed. A first aspect, investigated throughout laboratory tests, concerns the effects of poor power quality on measurement instrumentation. Susceptibility studies have been carried out considering the disturbances referred into standard CEI EN 50160. Controlled power quality disturbances have been injected in instrumentation and both reliability and accuracy issues have been checked in the test. A second aspect taken into account is that related to the instrumentation needed for the analysis of the power quality. An original contribution that consists in the design and implementation of a distributed low-cost Arm-based network analyzer has been presented. The network analyzer is able to measure the power quality characteristics by each appliance. Furthermore, the proposed distributed analyzer includes a web server that allows to collect the statistics of each meter. A client can connect to the server to analyze meter group measurement results. Several details related to suitable strategies to increase measurement resolution have also been considered. In particular a pre-processing scheme to enhance resolution of data acquisition systems mainly in presence of band-bass input signals has been investigated. This solution permits to acquire a seamless data stream with improved vertical resolution. An important feature is that this solution shows efficient in terms of hardware requirements and processing time. Finally, since in power quality assessment harmonic analysis plays a key role, modeling and analysis of the functioning of power systems in time varying conditions has been studied with the purpose of understanding how harmonic analysis could be used effectively in these scenarios. In particular the power systems have been described trough simplified approaches by recognizing load conditions that can be considered stationary within limited time intervals. A data segmentation approach to distinguish the time intervals in which stationary load conditions can be recognized has been proposed and assessed.


Photoinduced modifications of NAD(P)H attributed autofluorescence of CHO cells in a single- beam gradient force optical trap (optical tweezers) were studied. Fluorescence spectra of single cells in the optical trap were measured using a modified microscope with an IR microbeam at 1064 and 760 nm for trapping, UVA radiation at 365 nm for fluorescence excitation, and an optical multichannel analyzer for spectral recording. No strong effect of the 1064 nm trapping beam on fluorescence intensity and spectral characteristics was found, even for power densities up to 70 MW/cm2. In contrast, 760 nm microirradiation resulted in a significant fluorescence increase, probably indicating cell damage due to absorption by heme- containing molecules. UVA exposure (1 W/cm2) of the trapped cells generated within seconds an initial fluorescence decrease, followed by a significant increase up to 5X of the value prior to irradiation. The UVA-induced modifications reflect NAD(P)H auto-oxidation and irreversible cell damage due to oxidative stress.


Since this syringe has projections provided on the rear surface of a flange of a syringe barrel, when it is inserted in an insertion groove of a cylinder holder, the tips of projections are compressed and the flange is fixed. Consequently, even when a solution having high viscosity is injected at higher pressure, breakage does not occur easily. Further, pressure-receiving area may also be increased by providing a guide defining mounting direction of a syringe, alternatively, a positioning mechanism may be provided so as to obtain mounting at a correct position, or the surface of a flange may be roughened.


BACKGROUND
By the year 2030, 3.48 million older U.S. adults are projected to undergo total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Following this surgery, considerable muscle atrophy occurs, resulting in decreased strength and impaired functional mobility. Essential amino acids (EAAs) have been shown to attenuate muscle loss during periods of reduced activity and may be beneficial for TKA patients.

METHODS
We used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial with 28 older adults undergoing TKA. Patients were randomized to ingest either 20 g of EAAs (n = 16) or placebo (n = 12) twice daily between meals for 1 week before and 2 weeks after TKA. At baseline, 2 weeks, and 6 weeks after TKA, an MRI was performed to determine mid-thigh muscle and adipose tissue volume. Muscle strength and functional mobility were also measured at these times.

RESULTS
TKA patients receiving placebo exhibited greater quadriceps muscle atrophy, with a -14.3 ± 3.6% change from baseline to 2 weeks after surgery compared with -3.4 ± 3.1% for the EAA group (F = 5.16, P = 0.036) and a -18.4 ± 2.3% change from baseline to 6 weeks after surgery for placebo versus -6.2 ± 2.2% for the EAA group (F = 14.14, P = 0.001). EAAs also attenuated atrophy in the nonoperated quadriceps and in the hamstring and adductor muscles of both extremities. The EAA group performed better at 2 and 6 weeks after surgery on functional mobility tests (all P < 0.05). Change in quadriceps muscle atrophy was significantly associated with change in functional mobility (F = 5.78, P = 0.021).

CONCLUSION
EAA treatment attenuated muscle atrophy and accelerated the return of functional mobility in older adults following TKA.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00760383.


Nowadays, aeronautics discovers new ways of flights near the critical regimes, uncon- ventional aircraft forms, utilizing the micro – electro-mechanical technologies in flow and aircraft control, adaptive and morphing structures, using the structures and controls based on the biological principles, developing highly flexible structures, etc. Before deployment, these new technologies and solutions must be evaluated, tested in wide aerodynamic, flight dynamic simulations that require improved and new type of aerodynamic coefficient models. The chapter overviews the applicable models of the aero- dynamic coefficients, introduces some new models and demonstrates how the different models can be applied in different goal- and object-oriented solutions. The following will be shortly explained: (i) how the aerodynamic forces and moments are generating, (ii) how the linear, nonlinear, steady, and nonsteady aerodynamic coefficient structures and forms might be modeled, and (iii) how to harmonize the model with the goal and object of investigations.


ObjectiveTo determine autopsy-proven causes of death in HIV-infected patients treated for tuberculosis in Abidjan, Côte d'lvoire. MethodsA computerized listing of 9523 patients diagnosed with tuberculosis, and tested for HIV infection at Abidjan's two large tuberculosis treatment centers from July 1989 to December 1991 was matched against a listing of 496 patients who were autopsied in Abidjan's largest public hospital in 1991–1992. ResultsFifteen matching patients were identified including 11 adults with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis, three adults with extrapulmonary tuberculosis, and one child with smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis. The autopsy-proven causes of death among the adults were tuberculosis (n = 4), bacterial infections (n = 3), cerebral toxoplasmosis (n = 2), pulmonary nocardiosis (n = 2), Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (n = 1), atypical mycobacteriosis (n = 1), and wasting syndrome (n = 1). Tuberculosis was the primary cause of death in two of five smear-positive patients who had not completed therapy, in none of the six patients with smear-positive disease who had completed therapy, and in two of the three patients with extrapulmonary tuberculosis. ConclusionsChemoprophylaxis with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) might have provided benefit to eight (57%) of the 14 adults in this series who died either of bacterial infections, toxoplasmosis, nocardiosis, or pneumocystosis. Prospective studies are required to elucidate further the causes of increased mortality, and to evaluate the benefits of TMP-SMX prophylaxis in HIV-infected African patients with tuberculosis.


Arterial baroreceptors reflexly regulate sympathetic and heart rate responses to alteration of blood pressure. The primary mechanical determinant of arterial baroreceptor activity in humans remains unclear. We examined the influence of systolic, diastolic, pulse, and mean arterial pressures on efferent muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA, microneurography) and heart rate responses during perturbation of arterial pressure in 10 normal human subjects [age 25 +/- 2 (SE) yr]. We directly measured arterial pressure, heart rate, and MSNA during intravenous vasodilator infusion (nitroprusside, 6 +/- 1 micrograms.kg-1.min-1, n = 6; or hydralazine, 16 +/- 2 mg, n = 4) while central venous pressure was held constant by simultaneous volume expansion. Changes in arterial pressures were compared with changes in heart rate and MSNA over 3-min periods of vasodilator infusion during which we observed increases in systolic and pulse pressures with simultaneous decreases in mean and diastolic pressures. During vasodilator infusion, there were increases in systolic (124.2 +/- 2.1 to 131.7 +/- 2.9 Torr, P less than 0.001) and pulse pressures (57.0 +/- 2.2 to 72.7 +/- 2.7 Torr, P less than 0.001) although mean arterial pressure fell (88.0 +/- 2.6 to 80.4 +/- 2.7 Torr, P less than 0.001) because of decreases in diastolic pressure (67.2 +/- 3.0 to 59.0 +/- 2.7 Torr, P less than 0.001). The changes in arterial pressures were accompanied by simultaneous increases in heart rate (66.4 +/- 3.0 to 92.6 +/- 4.8 beats/min, P less than 0.001) and MSNA (327 +/- 59 to 936 +/- 171 U, P less than 0.005).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Purpose: Gender dysphoria (GD) is an incompatibility between biological sex and personal gender identity; individuals harbor an unalterable conviction that they were born in the wrong body, which causes personal suffering. In this context, surgery is imperative to achieve a successful gender transition and plays a key role in alleviating the associated psychological discomfort. In the current study, a retrospective cohort, we report the 20-years outcomes of the gender-affirming surgery performed at a single Brazilian university center, examining demographic data, intra and postoperative complications. During this period, 214 patients underwent penile inversion vaginoplasty. Results: Results demonstrate that the average age at the time of surgery was 32.2 years (range, 18–61 years); the average of operative time was 3.3 h (range 2–5 h); the average duration of hormone therapy before surgery was 12 years (range 1–39). The most commons minor postoperative complications were granulation tissue (20.5 percent) and introital stricture of the neovagina (15.4 percent) and the major complications included urethral meatus stenosis (20.5 percent) and hematoma/excessive bleeding (8.9 percent). A total of 36 patients (16.8 percent) underwent some form of reoperation. One hundred eighty-one (85 percent) patients in our series were able to have regular sexual intercourse, and no individual regretted having undergone GAS. Conclusions: Findings confirm that it is a safety procedure, with a low incidence of serious complications. Otherwise, in our series, there were a high level of functionality of the neovagina, as well as subjective personal satisfaction.


The present report begins with a brief overview of nuclear shapes and level structures at high-spin values. The new spectroscopy associated with angular-momentum alignments is described, and some of the exciting possibilities of this spec troscopy are explored. Nuclear moments of inertia are discussed and a somewhat different one is defined, together with a method for measuring it and some early results. Finally a few comments on the future prospects for high-spin physics are offered.


Two separate studies were conducted to better understand why so few middle-aged and older men volunteer in hospice palliative care; only about 10% of the patient/family care volunteers in New Brunswick's community-based hospice palliative care volunteer programs are men. In study 1, 15 (22%) of the 68 men who read a brief description about the kinds of things that hospice palliative care volunteers do expressed an interest in this type of volunteerism. The main reasons given for their lack of interest included ''being too busy'' and ''not being able to handle it emotionally.'' At least one third of the men who said ''No'' to becoming a hospice palliative care volunteer expressed an interest in 10 of 13 other common volunteer activities (eg, driving). In study 2, 59 men were presented with a list of 25 tasks that hospice palliative care volunteers might perform when providing emotional, social, practical, and administrative support. The men were asked to indicate which tasks they would be willing to perform if they were a hospice palliative care volunteer. The men were least willing to serve on the board of directors (28%), provide hands on patient care (38%), and work in the volunteer program's office (42%); they were most willing to talk to the patient (97%), share hobbies and interests with the patient (92%), listen to the patient's memories and life stories (90%), and provide friendship and companionship (88%). The results of these studies may have implications for the recruitment of male volunteers to work with dying patients and their families.


The improvement of indium tin oxide (ITO) anode contact to organic electroluminescent devices via oxygen plama treatment is investigated. Enhanced hole-injection efficiency improved the performance of organic light-emitting devices. The injection current increased by 1-2 orders of magnitude and the turn-on voltages droped several volts. Much higher injection current could be applied to achieve much higher brightness. Maximum brightness and luminous efficiency can reach to about 4000 cd/m2 and 0.3lm/W for the structure of ITO/TPD/Alq3/Al, respectively.


B E F O R E commenting on specific examples of research within the compass of this chapter, it may be well to summarize the consequences of certain dramatic events of the last six years. 1. The federal government has rapidly moved toward desegregation and greater protection of civil rights. It has banned segregation in public federal facilities, prohibited use of government funds in construction of segregated facilities, abolished segregation in the Armed Forces, established a Civil Rights Commission in the Department of Justice, and prohibited employment discrimination in industries receiving government contracts. Sixteen states have fair employment practices laws with commissions to supervise their enforcement. Most of them also have additional civil rights laws covering discrimination in public accommodations, education, and in some instances housing purchase and rental. Over 40 major communities of America have comparable ordinances. Approximately one-third of the population of the country is now covered by such laws (2) . 2. Court decisions have restructured relations between racial groups. The Supreme Court decision on May 17, 1954, reversed the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which had expounded the philosophy of "separate but equal" as legally defensible. 3. Religious conflict has increased in America as the Roman Catholic and Jewish groups have acquired new status with which to assert respect for their differences in community life. 4. Local social action and pressure-group activity outside the bounds of the structure listed above has been negligible since the hysteria of McCarthyism. Hence, little evaluation of social-action research has taken place since 1953 because of the decline of this approach to community programs.


Background: The metabolic syndrome (MS) consists of constellation of metabolic abnormalities that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes mellitus.Studies show that CVD is one of the major causes of death in postmenopausal women.  Our aim was to study the association of Metabolic Syndrome and its components in premenopausal and postmenopausal Indian females. Methods: It was an Observational study. We enrolled 100 females who came to medical OPD. Out of 100 females enrolled, 49 were in premenopausal stage (Group I) and remaining 51 had attained menopause (Group II). Results: Age of a woman ranged from 22 to 72 years with a mean age of 41.94 ± 11.33 years. According to IDF criteria, 76.5% of postmenopausal women had MS compared to 51.0% of premenopausal women (P = 0.008). Waist circumference (P = 0.027) as well as WHR was significantly higher in Group II. Regular physical activity was higher in Group I (38.8%) as compared to Group II (27.5%) but the difference was not significant statistically. Majority of women in both the groups were vegetarians, statistically there was no significant difference between groups with respect to dietary preference (P = 0.139). Mean total cholesterol levels, VLDL, triglyceride, LDL, Fasting blood sugar levels were higher in Group II, however, the difference was significant statistically with respect to total cholesterol and LDL only. Conclusions:  In our study, menopause, diet and exercise were found to be significantly associated with MS. Diet and exercises are the modifiable risk factors that can be modified by restricting calories and increasing physical activity.


The purpose of personnel selection is to measure knowledge, skills, and abilities that are necessary to perform a job effectively. The process involves various assessments, including personality assessment. This conceptual paper discussed the potential of using a learning factory to develop multiple simulations for assessment center activities in assessing personality in different situations. Although traditional personality assessment contributes to the effectiveness of selection decisions and prediction, it tended to ignore that trait-related behaviors may differ across situations. Study on dynamic personality is essential as empirical studies showed that within-person fluctuations in personality states relate to a variety of work outcomes, including job performance. To further understand this fundamental issue, this paper discussed further how personality–situation interplay influences performance by using a learning factory assessment center method. This study also discussed how the adaptation of exploratory mixed methods approach could be used. The mixed exploratory methods are suitable as this topic is related to fundamental research and empirical study, besides the investigation on this area is still limited. This paper could benefit other researchers, industry players, and policymakers in understanding better how dynamic personality may influence performance, especially in the activities related to Industry 4.0.


Red cells and reticulocytes from patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) were analysed using laser and computer technology of H*3 hematology analyzer. Four groups of diabetes mellitus patients: diabetes with normolipemia (DM) (n = 12) and DM patients with excess triglyceride (DM-T) (n = 7) or cholesterol (DM-C) (n = 21) or both (DM-TC) (n = 21) were studied. Mean corpuscular volume of mature red cells (Mean +/- SD = 93.6 +/- 5.5 fl) and reticulocyte (119.1 +/- 12.3 fl) of patients with DM-T was not significantly increased from normal (red cell, 90.0 +/- 3.5 fl; reticulocyte, 115.2 +/- 7.3 fl). Plasma triglyceride levels had no significant correlation with red cell MCV, reticulocyte MCV and %Hb A1c. This suggests that high triglyceride levels in DM are not dose-dependent in producing increased MCV of red cells and reticulocytes. Comparing between DM-T and DM-C, red cells and reticulocytes from DM-C patients had significantly decreased MCV (red cell, 85.5 +/- 6.1 fL; reticulocyte, 103.8 +/- 7.4 fL). Plasma cholesterol levels were inversely correlated with MCV of red cells (r = -0.377, p = 0.003) and also MCV of reticulocytes (r = -0.418, p = 0.001). In addition, cholesterol levels showed considerable correlation with Hb A1c (r = 0.572, p = 0.004). The red cell volume change in DM-C patients may be partly due to the shift in balance of cholesterol exchange between red cell membranes and serum lipoproteins.


Numerical model simulations, combined with tide-gauge and satellite altimetry data, reveal that wave amplitudes, directionality, and global propagation patterns of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra tsunami were primarily determined by the orientation and intensity of the offshore seismic line source and subsequently by the trapping effect of mid-ocean ridge topographic waveguides.


ABSTRACT                The High Interest of public to Marine fish, create more demand of Slander Scad (Decapterus macrosoma). Slander Scad is one commodity that has economic value and high nutritional content. The Slander Scad is obtained from the catch of fishermen in the Nusantara Fishery Port Brondong, Lamongan. Fish that caught from the wild is likely to get a disease caused by infection of the endoparasites.worm.           The parasites that infect Slander scad probably caused by environmental factors that could decrease immune system, causing the fish easily infected by endoparasites worm such as Anisakis. This parasite is zoonotic and can infect humans, therefore, to identify and prevalence for humans who consume fish can manage properly. The purpose of this study was to identify the species of endoparasite worms that infect Slander Scad (D. Macrosoma) in Nusantara Fishery Port of Brondong, Lamongan. The research method is using a survey method through sampling at locations directly. 75 samples of Slander Scad were examined. The main parameters observed in this study are to observe the species and the prevalence of endoparasitic worm that infected Slander scad. The result of the identification of endoparasite that infected Slander Scad were analyzed descriptively and presented in the form of figures and tables. The results showed the presence of the third-stage Anisakis simplex larvae that infect the Slander Scad in the liver, intestines, gonads, muscles in the abdominal side, in the Nusantara Fishery Port of Brondong Lamongan, East Java with a total prevalence of Anisakis simplex worm was 42.67%.                               Keywords: Slander Scad, Prevalence, Anisakis simplex, and zoonotic.


The paper studies the relations between the body build of women between the ages of 17 and 23 (university entrants, first-and second-year students, n = 724) and the diseases affecting them. The subjects' weight, height and 40 anthropometric variables were measured, from which seven indices of body composition were calculated. Individual anthropometric characteristics were systematized into a SD classification of five classes - small, medium, large, pycnomorphous and leptomorphous. The subjects were interviewed about eight main groups of disease to find the specific diseases they had suffered from and the total number of cases (n = 1270). Incidence of diseases was assessed in the body build classes into which the subjects had been classified according to their anthropometric data. We found that pycnomorphous and leptomorphous young women were affected by cardiovascular, urological, surgical and otorhinolaryngologic diseases statistically significantly more often. When checking the number of subjects who had been affected by one to four or more diseases, the same tendency appeared: in the classes of pycnomorphs and leptomorphs incidence of diseases was significantly higher than in other classes. Such results hint at a constitutional peculiarity and that suggest that height and weight and concordance or disconcordance between them may have an essential influence on young women's health. Key Words: young women, anthropometry, body build, height-weight classes, incidence of Cardiovascular diseases, Pulmonological diseases, Gatrointestinal diseases, Urological diseases, Surgical diseases, Dermatological diseases, Opthalmological diseases, and Otorhinolaryngological diseases. Introduction Specialist literature in Estonia is paying increasing attention to relations between anthropometric peculiarities and health (Kaarma and Raud 1977; Kaarma et al. 1998, 1999, 2001; Kask 1998; Maiste 1999; Peterson and Koskel 2000). For broader application of such studies in health promotion and medicine, a classification is needed which would facilitate simultaneous systematization of a great number of anthropometric and health variables. The Centre for Physical Anthropology at the University of Tartu has been engaged in studies of body anthropometric structure for a long time (Kaarma 1981, 1995; Kaarma et al. 1997). The samples studied include schoolgirls aged 7-18 (Maiste et al. 1999; Veldre et al. 2002; Kasmel et al. 2004), young women (Kaarma et al. 1996, 2000), schoolboys aged 17-18 and conscripts (Lintsi et al. 2002; Lintsi and Kaarma 2003). Our research has confirmed that in all the age groups studied, the anthropometric structure of body build consists of a number of mutually statistically significantly related measurements where the leading variables are height and weight. By classifying the anthropometric variables of different samples into a 5 SD classification, we have managed to systematize all length, breadth and depth measurements, circumferences, indices and body composition characteristics. The aim of the present paper is to study how this classification could be applied to young women aged 17-23 years (university entrants as well as first- and second-year students) and to find whether the classification could be used for assessment of incidence of diseases from which they have suffered. This is the first time we present a paper on the relation between body build and incidence of diseases in an international publication. Material and Methods Subjects The sample under study consisted of 724 young women aged 17-23 years. They were entrants to the University of Tartu and its first- or second-year students. Measurement Procedures: 1. Anthropometric Research All the subjects were measured by Martin's classical method (Martin 1928) by the first author of the paper, Jana Peterson, at the Health Centre of the University of Tartu. Weight and 48 other anthropometric measurements were taken: 8 length measurements, 10 breadth and depth measurements, 18 circumferences and 10 skinfolds. …


Peer mentorship has been reported to enhance participation in daily activities for adults with a spinal cord injury (SCI). However, researchers have rarely employed methods that allow these individuals to articulate how and why their peer mentorship experiences impacted their participation. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the peer mentorship experiences of adults with SCI. Thirteen adults with SCI who were peer mentored each participated in a semi-structured interview. Interviews lasted approximately 30 minutes, and the audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and stored using NVivo. The interview data were inductively analyzed following Braun and Clarke's (2013) guidelines for thematic analysis. Several themes (identified in parenthesis) related to their peer mentorship experiences emerged. Participants indicated that their peer mentors helped them gain access to important resources which helped them overcome obstacles to participation (instrumental support). They revealed that while peer mentors worked differently than other health professionals, both were important contributors to their overall well-being and participation (role of health professionals). Peer mentees also expressed that talking to their peer mentors helped them feel like they were not alone while undergoing rehabilitation and adjusting to life with a SCI (feeling connected). Interacting with their mentors also allowed mentees to gain a positive perspective on the possibility to participate in "normal" daily activities while living with a SCI (living a normal life). The results provide a preliminary understanding of the role of SCI peer mentors on participation.Acknowledgments: The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada


In May 1315, years before the Black Death, it started to rain. For the seven disastrous years that followed, Europeans would be visited by a series of curses unseen since the third book of Exodus: floods, ice, failures of crops and cattle and epidemics not just of disease, but of pike, sword and spear. All told, six million lives, one-eighth of Europe's total population, would be lost. This is the stunning story of the oft-overlooked Great Famine, told with wit and drama, it demonstrates what it all means for today's discussions of climate change.


Over the last decade, visibility and sexuality have become a major theme in Spanish and Cuban cinema, literature and art. This book explores this development in the light of contemporary history and recent theoretical accounts of sight by writers, including Paul Virilio, Gianni Vattimo and Teresa de Lauretis. The very visible women of Almodovar's cinema, from the early "Dark Habits" to the recent "Kika", are the author's first subject. His second test site is Cuba where, in films such as Almendros's "Improper Conduct" and Alea's "Strawberry and Chocolate", homosexual desire and its conflicts are at last beginning to be explored. Smith then returns to Spain to consider the response of artists and intellectuals to the public invisibility of the AIDS epidemic in a country with one of the highest rates of HIV transmission in the European Union, and to examine the first signs of a challenge to other hitherto taboo subjects, notably Basque nationalism and female sexuality. This wide-ranging study is united by three themes: lesbian, gay and straight sexuality; nationality; and visibility itself as both a pleasure and a problem at the heart of Spanish-language cultural production. Paul Julian Smith is the author of "The Body Hispanic", "Laws of Desire", "?Entiendes?: Queer Readings/Hispanic Texts" (with Emilie Bergmann) and "Desire Unlimited: The Cinema of Pedro Almodovar".


Among the treatments available for respiratory allergy, which include allergen avoidance and pharmacotherapy, specific immunotherapy (SIT) is the only treatment able to not only act on the symptoms of allergy but also act on the causes. SIT is the practice of administering gradually increasing doses of the specific causative allergen to reduce the clinical reactivity of allergic subjects and was introduced one century ago. SIT remained an empirical treatment for more than 40 years, but the first controlled trial in 1954 paved the way for the scientific era. At present, SIT may be administered in two forms: subcutaneous (SCIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). A large number of trials, globally analyzed in several meta-analyses, evaluated the efficacy and safety of SCIT and SLIT in allergic rhinitis and asthma. Current available data give solid evidence to the clinical efficacy of both SCIT and SLIT in allergic rhinitis and asthma. Providing the recommended doses and administration schedules are adhered to, the safety and tolerability are very good; however, adverse systemic reactions remain a drawback for SCIT. After one century of use, accumulating evidence surrounds SIT and the central role in the management of respiratory allergy.


Perovskite PrMnO3 (PMO) had been prepared in bulk by solid state reaction and thin films on corning glass, fused silica and MgO (100) glass substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique. SEM micrographs show that grains with size 2∼3 μm is observed in bulk PMO while thin films PMO show strongly connected grain structure with particle size that not larger than 100 nm. X‐ray diffraction analysis shows that all samples are in single phase with orthorhombic crystal structure. Bulk PMO sample had lattice strain of 0.134% which is the lowest value among others. However, larger lattice strain was observed in thin film samples due to lattice mismatch between film‐substrate and caused the MnO6 to deform. All samples shown paramagnetic or antiferromagnetic behavior, enhancement in magnetization value occurred for all PMO grew as film. We believe that larger lattice strain favor the grain growth of PMO towards more order phase. In summary, formation of structure and microstructure of thin film PMO depends on type o...


This study has provided the first econometric evidence that the loss of land ( due to urbanization and industrialization) has no impact on the probability of a household belonging to a particular income group (poor, middle class or rich) in Hanoi's peri-urban areas, Vietnam. The result also revealed that farmland holding was not statistically correlated with the likelihood of the household being in a given income group. Nevertheless, other factors, including households' education, access to credit, productive assets and notably their nonfarm participation before farmland loss, were found to increase the chances of the households moving up the income ladder.


Abstract The multispecies coalescent provides a natural framework for accommodating ancestral genetic polymorphism and coalescent processes that can cause different genomic regions to have different genealogical histories. The Bayesian program BPP includes a full-likelihood implementation of the multispecies coalescent, using transmodel Markov chain Monte Carlo to calculate the posterior probabilities of different species trees. BPP is suitable for analyzing multilocus sequence data sets and it accommodates the heterogeneity of gene trees (both the topology and branch lengths) among loci and gene tree uncertainties due to limited phylogenetic information at each locus. Here, we provide a practical guide to the use of BPP in species tree estimation. BPP is a command-line program that runs on linux, macosx, and windows. This protocol shows how to use both BPP 3.4 (http://abacus.gene.ucl.ac.uk/software/) and BPP 4.0 (https://github.com/bpp/).


The surface adsorption of bovine serum albumin in pure water and salted aqueous solutions was studied by neutron reflection. With the contrast match technique, the surface excess in null reflecting water as a function of the protein concentration was revealed. It is found that, in a concentration range from 1 ppm (parts per million, mg/L) to 1000 ppm, without salts, the surface excess shows a profound peak at around 20 ppm; with salts, the surface excess increases steadily with the protein concentration. When the surface excess at a specific protein concentration is viewed, the introduction of sodium chloride causes either a salting down effect (surface adsorption decline) or a salting up effect (surface adsorption increase), depending upon the protein concentration. The salting up effect is observed at the low (∼1 ppm) and high (∼1000 ppm) concentrations, and the salting down effect dominates the intermediate concentration range. The change in solution pH relative to the isoelectric point (PI) can act as a simple indicator for the salting up or salting down behavior. When the solution pH is shifted toward the PI by adding salts, surface adsorption enhances; when the solution pH is shifted away from the PI by adding salts, surface adsorption declines.


In this study, the mechanical behavior of sandwich plates with functionally graded core under low-velocity impact loads was investigated experimentally. Sandwich plate with functionally graded core has two different structures (metal–ceramic), and the upper and lower surfaces are pure metal (Al) and the internal layers of the plate are manufactured with gradually varying material composition through the plate thickness. The low-velocity impact tests were conducted on both upper and lower surfaces of specimens using CEAST low-velocity impact device, and the contact force–time and the energy–time graphs were plotted. Metallographic and micromechanical examinations were carried out on the specimens after impact tests. As a result of the metallographic and micromechanical examinations, the material composition variation through the specimen thickness was obtained in accordance with the rule of the theoretical mixture. As a result of impact tests (v = 4 m/s) on upper surface (ceramic-rich side), crack damages occurs on the plates with n = 10.0 material composition, whereas the specimens with n = 1.0 and n = 10.0 material compositions have crack damages after impact tests on its lower surfaces (metal-rich side). Impact force on the ceramic-rich upper surface provides to meet the transferred load waves through the plate thickness by metal-rich bottom surface. This situation makes the structure more resistant against damage. Moreover, the upper and lower surfaces of the functionally graded structure reinforced by ductile pure metal layers provide an important contribution to protection of functional integrity of the structure against damage.


Abstract. The area of in vivo sensing using optical fibers commonly uses materials such as silica and polymethyl methacrylate, both of which possess much higher modulus than human tissue. The mechanical mismatch between materials and living tissue has been seen to cause higher levels of glial encapsulation, scarring, and inflammation, leading to failure of the implanted medical device. We present the use of a fiber made from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) for use as an implantable sensor as it is an easy to work with functionalized polymer that undergoes a transition from rigid to soft when introduced to water. This ability to switch from stiff to soft reduces the severity of the immune response. The fabricated PVA fibers labeled with fluorescein for sensing applications showed excellent response to various stimuli while exhibiting mechanical switchability. For the dry fibers, a tensile storage modulus of 4700 MPa was measured, which fell sharply to 145 MPa upon wetting. The fibers showed excellent response to changing pH levels, producing values that were detectable in a range consistent with those seen in the literature and in proposed applications. The results show that these mechanically switchable fibers are a viable option for future sensing applications.


Optical fiber hydrophones provide a promising technology for a future neutrino telescope that enables the acoustic detection of ultra-high energy neutrinos in the deep sea. These cosmic neutrinos leave a small acoustic signal that could be detected when the sensitivity of the technology is sufficiently high. In this study we have investigated in the performance of fiber optic hydrophone technology and the optimization of this technology towards the use in a neutrino telescope. We therefore measured the noise of the interrogator system and performed a sensitivity analysis of a new hydrophones sensor. A new sensor was designed, produced and characterized. It showed a dynamic range which covers a large part of the expected acoustic neutrino range. In addition, first results are shown of filtering algorithms to create a flat response of the hydrophone and to remove the resonance peaks, which are inherent to this technology.


Children of parents with mental illness (COPMI) are a substantial, yet until quite recently, marginalised group within society. Whilst extensive empirical research has been conducted into their risk for adverse psychosocial outcomes as well as potential for resilience, there has been relatively little focus on their personal experiences and understandings of such experiences. In recent years, national and international mental health service policies and guidelines for service provision have been developed to address the specific needs of families and children where parents have mental illness, including serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These policies and related service provision guidelines have appropriately focused health professionals' attention on the needs and importance of prevention and early intervention for COPMI. There has not, however, been an associated focus on the needs and experiences of adult children of parents with mental illness (ACOPMI), who have remained significantly marginalised in respect to policy and mental health service provision whilst also demonstrating an increased risk for psychosocial adversity yet potential for resilience. Thus, there has been a gap in knowledge of the experiences of adult children with parents who have mental illness, and their needs have not been served adequately. This narrative inquiry set out to extend the limited understandings of the needs and experiences of adult children of parents with serious mental illnesses (ACOPSMI) such as schizophrenia and major depression. These illnesses have been recognised through research as having potential for long-term and often adverse impacts on children. A lengthy unstructured narrative interview and member check process was conducted with nine ACOPSMI in Australia over a nine month period. The inclusion of the researcher's experience through the use of auto-ethnography resulted in a total of ten participants in the study. Postmodern assumptions have provided a framework for this inquiry and so in this thesis multiplicity, diversity and attending to the voices of those on the margins have been privileged. In order to identify the concerns of ACOPSMI using methods that allowed their voices and stories to be heard from multiple perspectives, a dual analytic process was developed. As per Lather's (1997) recommendation of doing a 'double science', a conventional or realist interpretation of participants' experiences was initially performed. Field texts were analysed according to van Manen's (1990) interpretive phenomenological thematic approach. This initial analytic phase sought to develop and build upon the existing literature which had used similar approaches. In order to thicken interpretations and add a fresh dimension to conventional understandings, the postmodern or alternate story of their experiences was then illuminated through a postmodern narrative analysis. This approach employed an analytic framework developed from the work of several other postmodern and/or narrative writers.
From the initial analysis, four phenomenological themes of participants' experiences were uncovered. Consistent with previous literature, these adult children experienced a number of difficulties in growing up with parents with serious mental illness, including assuming responsibility for their parent and family, experiencing negative emotional impacts and developing their own mental health problems, and finding it challenging to connect emotionally with their parents and others. They also, however, demonstrated considerable resilience and effective ways of coping with their experience which assisted many of them to forge productive lives and overcome negative impacts of their past. This thesis discusses these participants' experiences from both conventional and alternate perspectives, as well as addressing the inter-textuality of meanings that may be found between the spaces of such findings. In the light of participants' experiences, recommendations have been developed for health professionals' practice which seek to inform and guide them in working with adult children and families where parents have serious mental illness.


Human tripeptidyl-peptidase I (TPP I, CLN2 protein) is a lysosomal serine protease that removes tripeptides from the free N termini of small polypeptides and also shows a minor endoprotease activity. Due to various naturally occurring mutations, an inherited deficiency of TPP I activity causes a fatal lysosomal storage disorder, classic late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (CLN2). In the present study, we analyzed biosynthesis, glycosylation, transport, and proteolytic processing of this enzyme in stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells as well as maturation of the endocytosed proenzyme in CLN2 lymphoblasts, fibroblasts, and N2a cells. Human TPP I was initially identified as a single precursor polypeptide of ∼68 kDa, which, within a few hours, was converted to the mature enzyme of ∼48 kDa. Compounds affecting the pH of intracellular acidic compartments, those interfering with the intracellular vesicular transport as well as inhibition of the fusion between late endosomes and lysosomes by temperature block or 3-methyladenine, hampered the conversion of TPP I proenzyme into the mature form, suggesting that this process takes place in lysosomal compartments. Digestion of immunoprecipitated TPP I proenzyme with bothN-glycosidase F and endoglycosidase H as well as treatment of the cells with tunicamycin reduced the molecular mass of TPP I proenzyme by ∼10 kDa, which indicates that all five potentialN-glycosylation sites in TPP I are utilized. Mature TPP I was found to be partially resistant to endo H treatment; thus, some of its N-linked oligosaccharides are of the complex/hybrid type. Analysis of the effect of various classes of protease inhibitors and mutation of the active site Ser475 on human TPP I maturation in cultured cells demonstrated that although TPP I zymogen is capable of autoactivation in vitro, a serine protease that is sensitive to AEBSF participates in processing of the proenzyme to the mature, active form in vivo.


Abstract: This research was conducted to explain the partial or simultaneous influence of brand image variables consisting of company image, user image and product image on buying interest and purchasing decisions. The total population used was 96 respondents consisting of consumers who were taken using a questionnaire which was used as a data collection method in this study. This study uses path analysis (path analysis). The results of the analysis show that there is a significant influence partially or simultaneously between the brand image variables consisting of company image, user image and product image on buying interest and purchasing decisions.


The emergence of the fantastic tale in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries reflects a growing fascination with the supernatural, the marvelous, and the occult as the site for literary innovation. Taking Jacques Cazotte's prototypical The Devil in Love as a starting point, this book examines the genre's early development in the fantastic tales of the German romantics Ludwig Tieck, Achim von Arnim, and E. T. A. Hoffmann; the subsequent French rediscovery of the genre in works by Theophile Gautier and Prosper Merimee; and Edgar Allan Poe's contributions to the new literary form.The literary innovation of the fantastic tale contributed to the production of a mode of subjectivity intrinsic to the history of sexuality. It arose at a moment in the history of communication when similarity and perfect openness were no longer considered the unquestioned basis of friendship or love, when the other's potentially dark secrets became seductive and fascinating.


Title Happy Family Kitchen II, a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) to Enhance Family Health, Happiness and Harmony in Hong Kong: A Cluster Randomized Control Trial Under the FAMILY Project Author Prof Tai-hing LAM Position Professor in Public Health Affiliation School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Other Authors Mr Moses MUI; Ms Alice Ngai-teck WAN; Ms Cissy SS SOONG; Mrs Xin WANG; Prof Sophia SC CHAN Hong Kong Council of Social Service and School of Public Health, HKU conducted a three-arm cluster randomized control trial (cRCT) of a community-based participatory research (CBPR) "Happy Family Kitchen II" during July 2012 to June 2013. The present paper compared intervention arm A and control arm C to determine whether CBPR intervention improved family health, happiness and harmony (3Hs). 31 organizations in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing districts were randomly allocated into: intervention arms A (n=11) and B (n=10), and waitlist control arm C (n=10).Within positive psychology and an agreed similar framework, each organization organized their own program on one selected theme of "Five-Taste Model" for people aged 6+ recruited by organization. Arm A had two intervention-sessions and one tea-gathering, and arm C had tea-gathering first (intervention at 3 months later). Participants were assessed four times (T1, pre-intervention; T2, immediately post-intervention; T3 and T4, 1 and 3 months after T2). Changes of primary outcomes from T1 to T3/T4 were compared in participants aged 12+ of arms A and C. Behavior score change was greater in arm A (n=416) than arm C (n=432) at both T3 (Effect size=0.11, p=0.03) and T4 (ES=0.21, p=0.003). Family health score and happiness score changes were greater in arm A than arm C at T3, with ES=0.23 (p=0.001) and ES=0.18 (p=0.01) respectively. Mental health score and intention score changes were greater in arm A than arm C at T4, with ES=0.16 (p=0.03) and ES=0.18 (p=0.01) respectively. All changes above indicated improvements in outcomes. This was the first cRCT to evaluate a CBPR short intervention in Hong Kong, which was effective with small effect size in increasing participants' intention and pract ice in healthy behaviors and improving family 3Hs, suggesting that CBPR, evidence-based and evidence-generating programmes are feasible and effective.


Numerical computation of wave characteristics in composite laminated structures is obtained using a Wave Finite Element method. The method involves conventional finite element (FE) analysis of a small segment of the structure. Typically, this consists of a stack of solid elements meshed through the cross-section. Each layer can be discretised using either one solid element or more solid elements. The analyst must select element type and number appropriately in order to accurately model the three-dimensional stress-strain state of the structure (in the context of FE analysis). The advantages of the proposed method are that it involves post-processing of a small FE model, commercial FE packages can be used to generate the model, no new elements need to be derived and implemented, and the computational cost is extremely small. Axisymmetric properties of the structure can be exploited, and the method can take advantage of the capability of commercial FE packages to model acoustic fluids and fluid-structure interaction. The method is described and illustrated by application to a laminated viscoelastic sandwich panel in vacuo and a laminated viscoelastic sandwich cylinder filled with fluid. Complex dispersion curves and wave modes are given. The global loss factor as a function of the frequency is also predicted, and the effect of the initial pre-stress is discussed.


This study evaluated the viability of credit arrangement policies in enhancing financial performance of firms. The purpose of the study was to evaluate amongst other things, the effects of money receipting framework on monetary execution and the effects of enthusiasm on past due records. A logical exploration configuration was utilized in this investigation just as a multivariate relapse investigation was directed to decide the coefficients of the factors. The study adopted a quantitative research methodology and data was collected using a questionnaire. Judgemental inspecting method was utilized on a sample size of 11 representatives out of a whole populace of 20 workers.  In addition, two top administration representatives were met for information sharing. The results indicated that the current credit administration strategies of Colcom Ltd were not completely executed and furthermore, they positively affected financial execution. The study concluded that credit arrangements had the best effect on budgetary execution, followed by some factors such as the economic instability and political interventions. This study recommends the full implementation of the current credit management policies, regular training of credit officers and to practice scientific credit control (application of risk evaluation techniques). This would improve their efficiency in credit analysis and customer analysis management to secure as much as possible their assets, and reduce the high chances of turning into credit losses and their negative effects on good financial performance.


This paper is an attempt to analyze the present pattern of funding higher education in Nepal and to discuss the desirability and feasibility of various alternative methods of funding the same. Before federal system, higher education (HE) in Nepal was a state funded but currently the paradigm has been shifted to the province government besides the funding of central university, which has not been well-defined. Higher education itself benefits not only society at large, but also individuals, and as it attracts relatively more privileged sections of the society, there is a rational for shifting the financial burden to the social domain rather to government sector alone.
The main objective is to review the current policies, practices of financing in promoting access, quality, relevancy, equity and prosperity. On the basis of secondary sources of data this paper focused the reports published by University Grants Commission, Nepal (UGC). Some other relevant literature, reports, articles, books, policy documents were critically analyzed and reviewed to draw the findings and conclusion. Some statistical methods were used for interpretation.
Resource constraints, equity, financing HE mostly from the general tax revenue may not be a desirable policy in the long run. Accordingly some of the alternative policy choices are discussed for financing HE from the public exchequer, student loans, student fees, and the role of the community investment. Among the available alternatives, it is argued that a discriminatory pricing mechanism and subsidy policies to community campuses of different layers of government would be relatively more efficient and equitable mechanism of financing as community campuses are providing the major access, equity, quality as well and reducing the financial burden of government with the cost recovery modality.
It is argued that such institutions should be the priority of government for promoting equitable quality access to HE with nominal costs of users.


This paper shows that most of the large recent increases in campaign spending for federal and state offices can be explained by higher government spending. This result holds for both federal and state legislative campaigns and gubernatorial races and across many different specifications. The irony is that those who seem most concerned about the level of campaign expenditures are also frequently the ones who most strongly support increasing the size of government. Evidence is also examined on whether it is the composition and not just the level of expenditures that determines campaign expenditures and whether higher government expenditures similarly results in more candidates competing for office. Finally, by focusing on the symptoms and not the root causes of ever higher campaign expenditures, this paper argues that the current public policy debate risks changing the form in which payments are made rather than actually restricting the level of competition. Copyright 2000 by the University of Chicago.


Ph.D. Thesis -G. Hillis McMaster University Religious Studies In this thesis, I examine the pneumatology of Cyril of Alexandria ( d. 444). Cyril was one of the foremost exegetes and theologians of the patristic period, and so was a figure of considerable importance in the history of the development of Christian theology. Of central concern for Cyril throughout his writings was the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, a fact that is unsurprising given that the archbishop came to prominence shortly after pneumatological controversies in the late fourth century were addressed through the calling of the council of Constantinople in 3 81. I demonstrate in this study that Cyril's understanding of the Holy Spirit revolves primarily around his identity as the Spirit of the Son and the soteriological ramifications of the unity of the Spirit with the Son. Although Cyril is insistent that the Spirit is the Spirit of both the Father and the Son, it is his relationship with the latter that receives particular attention. This accentuation on the unity that exists between the Spirit and the Son influences Cyril's interpretation of potentially problematic passages of scripture, particularly those that refer to the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus Christ. His emphasis on the unity of the Spirit and the Son also profoundly shapes his perception of the Spirit's person and his role in the salvation of humanity. He portrays the Spirit largely with respect to his likeness to the Son, and ties the Spirit's soteriological operations directly to this likeness. Cyril does not engage in the kind of trinitarian speculation regarding eternal relations as is found in Augustine's De Trinitate. , He focuses rather on the interaction of God with the created order and what this interaction tells us about God as triune. Cyril's emphasis on the Spirit as the Spirit of the Son is borne out of his perception that the mystery of God has been revealed to us concretely in the person of Christ, and therefore that our understanding of the Holy Spirit is inextricable from the revelation of the incarnate Word and the soteriological possibilities Christ extended to all humanity. I argue that Cyril constructs a pneumatology wherein the far-reaching soteriological role of the Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus Christ is delineated, and in the process provides a conception of the Holy Spirit that is nuanced and vigorous. My examination of Cyril's pneumatology involves analysis of his understanding of the identity and divinity of the Holy Spirit vis-a-vis the Father and the Son, the role of the Spirit in the incarnation and life of the Son, and the particular soteriological work of the Spirit in the individual believer as well as in the formation, structure, and unity of the church. Primary attention is given to three works: De Trinitate Dialogi (Dialogues on the Trinity), written 423-25; In Joannem (Commentary on the Gospel of John), written 42528; and In Lucam (Commentary on the Gospel of Luke), written c. 430. In addition to these writings, I draw on various other commentaries written by the archbishop, as well as on his anti-Nestorian compositions.


Two close-in planets have been recently found around the M-dwarf flare star AU Microscopii (AU Mic). These Neptune-sized planets (AU Mic b and c) seem to be located very close to the so-called "evaporation valley" in the exoplanet population, making this system an important target for studying atmospheric loss on exoplanets. This process, while mainly driven by high-energy stellar radiation, will be strongly mediated by the space environment surrounding the planets. Here we present an investigation of this last area, performing 3D numerical modeling of the quiescent stellar wind from AU Mic, as well as time-dependent simulations describing the evolution of a highly energetic coronal mass ejection (CME) event in this system. Observational constraints on the stellar magnetic field and properties of the eruption are incorporated in our models. We carry out qualitative and quantitative characterizations of the stellar wind, the emerging CMEs, as well as the expected steady and transient conditions along the orbit of both exoplanets. Our results predict extreme space weather for AU Mic and its planets. This includes sub-Alfvénic regions for the large majority of the exoplanet orbits, very high dynamic and magnetic pressure values in quiescence (varying within 102–105 times the dynamic pressure experienced by Earth), and an even harsher environment during the passage of any escaping CME associated with the frequent flaring observed in AU Mic. These space weather conditions alone pose an immense challenge for the survival of exoplanetary atmospheres (if any) in this system.


In a recent study of microearthquakes along the Parkfield segment of the San Andreas fault, Nadeau et al. (1995) have found that much of the seismicity in the region is characterized by quasi-periodic repeating sequences of small earthquakes that are essentially identical in waveform, size and, location. Nadeau and Johnson (1998) interpreted these as repeated slip on a given asperity driven by a steady slip rate of 2.3 cm/yr and concluded that the stress drops needed to be extremely high, of the order of 20 kilobars. We propose another explanation for these small repeating events, namely that an inner asperity is surrounded by a larger creeping zone, which in turn is surrounded by a still larger locked zone. This geometry produces a local slip velocity much less than the overall creep velocity observed on a still larger scale (slip velocity shielding). We have constructed a foam rubber model to illustrate the phenomenon. The time sequences of small events at the asperity, punctuated by large events which rupture the whole block, look very similar to the cumulative moment plots of Nadeau and Johnson. The actual dynamic stress drops are of the same order as for the large events. Thus the results of the model correspond to the observations of Nadeau and Johnson and suggest that the model may be appropriate to explain their observations, without requiring super strong asperities.


The theory of complex mass function is an effective method to deal with uncertainty information, and it is a generalized of Dempster-Shafer evidence theory. However, divergence measure is still an open issue in the realm of complex mass function theory. The main contribution of our paper is to propose a generalized divergence measure for complex mass function that is called complex belief divergence (CBD),which has the properties of symmetry, nonnegativity, nondegeneracy. When complex mass function degenerates into classical mass function, the CBD will degenerate into classical belief divergence, which has a better ability to measure uncertainty of information. Finally, a pattern recognition algorithm based on CBD is designed and applied to a medical diagnosis problem, which proves its practical prospect.


It is not easy to see the point of Dr. Orme's comment on our paper on the EEG and personality. If we had not referred to his paper with McAdam then there would have been some justification for his drawing attention to its results and indeed for claiming a priority which we do not dispute. But, in fact, in our recent paper we have referred to this earlier work in the field and mentioned its results. It is true that we did not quote from it in extenso, nor did we further discuss its relevance to our findings since our paper dealt with normal subjects, whereas his subjects were chronic alcoholics. These are very different populations, and generalizations cannot readily be made between them except as the result of actual investigations of the kind that we have under taken. Moreover, as well as using per cent. time alpha, we also measured rate of change of potential (r.c.p.), alpha amplitude and alpha frequency. It is worth pointing out that since 1954 methods of EEG analysis have advanced considerably in accuracy and scope with improvements in electronics, re cording and computing techniques. The nature of the EEG is better understood, and such experiments as ours, we hope, will lead to further understanding ofits significance. Methods ofassessment of personality have also developed beyondkhe controlled interview technique employed by Dr. Orme at that time. However, it is when Dr. Orme discusses hypotheses and counter speculations that he becomes harder to follow. Does he really believe that scientists should present data unencumbered by reasons for collecting these data in the first place or interpretation of them once they have been gathered ? To do so could be meaningless, confused and haphazard—in a word, useless. We wonder what Popper would make of his suggestion of the relegation of hypotheses to footnotes. We fully support the plea for large fact-finding surveys, but also look eagerly for further theoretical syntheses, small scale experiments and replications of previous work. By a strictly quantitative investi gation we have found in normal subjects an inverse relationship between extraversion and alpha preva lence and amplitude. That McAdam and Orme inferred from their investigation of chronic alcoholics a similar relationship strengthens both cases. It remains true, however, that contradictory findings have been published, and the complex area of personality correlates of the EEG still required both J. E.Osaix. factual andtheoretical clarification. Finally, Dr. Orme feels that he †̃¿ is being taken on an essentially circular tour'. We suggest that his tour has an added dimension and corresponds to the spiral progress of science. ANNE BROADHURST. A. GLASS.


In micro-grids, due to their small scale, there is commonly only one power supplier. A competitive wholesale market hardly exists, so the question about how to consider market issues for small producers within micro-grids arises. On the other hand, the specific features of micro-grids where load and generated power hardly find a balance, require that customers take part to regulation issues, also using demand-response (DR) programs. In this paper, price responsive (PR) policies and their programs are discussed to answer this question. A case study of a micro-grid with one micro-turbine and two photovoltaic (PV) generators is analyzed to assess the overall production cost in order to build a PR program in different cases while changing the grid's characteristics.


Background: Stent thrombosis (ST) remains the most feared complication of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Therefore, this study aimed to determine acute and sub-acute ST incidence, predictors, and outcomes after primary PCI. Methods: This prospective observational study included patients who had undergone primary PCI at a tertiary care cardiac center. All the patients were followed at 30-days of index hospitalization for the incidence of acute or sub-acute ST. ST was further categorized as definite, probable, or possible per the Academic Research Consortium definition. All the survivors of ST were followed after 6-months for the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events. Results: An aggregate of 1756 patients were included with 79% (1388) male patients and mean age was 55.59 ± 11.23 years. The incidence of ST was 4.9% (86) with 1.3% (22) acute and 3.6% (64) sub-acute. ST was categorized as definite in 3.3% (58) and probable in 1.6% (28). Independent predictor of ST were observed to be male gender (odds ratio (OR); 2.51 [1.21–5.2]), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure ≥20 mmHg (OR; 2.55 [1.31–4.98]), and pre-procedure thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow 0 (OR; 3.27 [1.61–6.65]). Cumulative all-cause mortality among patients with ST after 164.1 ± 76.2 days was 46.5% (40/86). Conclusion: We observed a substantial number of patients vulnerable to the acute or sub-acute ST after primary PCI. Male gender, LVEDP, pre-procedure TIMI flow grade can be used to identify and efficiently manage highly vulnerable patients.


The RightPages electronic library prototype system, which gives users full online library services, is described. The prototype takes advantage of fast hardware, multimedia workstations, and broadband networks to process scientific and technical journals for users and to offer a service that: alerts them to the arrival of new journal articles matching their interest profiles; lets them immediately examine images of pages in the alerted articles and browse through other articles in the database; and enables them to order paper copies of any articles in the database. The system runs on a local area network that connects one or more scanning stations, a centralized document database server and multiple user stations running X Windows servers. The RightPages interface runs as an X Windows application on Sun workstations or X terminals. The system's image and document processing, including noise reduction, document layout analysis, text processing, and display processing are discussed.<<ETX>>


A growing number of galaxy clusters at z = 1–2 is being discovered as part of deep optical, IR, X-ray, and Sunyaev–Zel'dovich effect surveys. For a complete picture of cluster formation, however, it is important that we also start probing the much earlier epoch, between redshifts of about 2 and 7, during which these clusters and their galaxies first began to form. Because the study of these so-called proto-clusters is currently quite limited by small number statistics, widely varying selection techniques, and many assumptions, we have performed a large systematic study of cluster formation utilizing cosmological simulations. We use the Millennium Simulations to track the evolution of dark matter and galaxies in about 3000 clusters from the earliest times to z = 0. We define an effective radius Re for proto-clusters and characterize their growth in size and mass with cosmic time. We show that the progenitor regions of galaxy clusters (ranging in mass from ∼1014 to a few times 1015 M☉) can already be identified in galaxy surveys at very early times (at least up to z ∼ 5), provided that the galaxy overdensities are measured on a sufficiently large scale (Re ∼ 5–10 Mpc comoving) and with sufficient statistics. We present the overdensities in matter, dark matter halos, and galaxies as functions of present-day cluster mass, redshift, bias, and window size that can be used to interpret the wide range of structures found in real surveys. We also derive the probability that a structure having a galaxy overdensity δgal, defined by a set of observational selection criteria, is indeed a proto-cluster, and we show how their z = 0 masses can already be estimated long before virialization. We present overdensity profiles as a function of radius, and we further show how the projected surface overdensities of proto-clusters decrease as the uncertainties in redshift measurements increase. We provide a table of proto-cluster candidates selected from the literature and discuss their properties in light of our simulation predictions. This paper provides the general framework that will allow us to extend the study of cluster formation out to much higher redshifts using the large number of proto-clusters that are expected to be discovered in, e.g., the upcoming HETDEX and Hyper Suprime-Cam surveys.


Being strategically located between the Indian and the Pacific Ocean, Indonesia is richly endowed by natural resources. Those resources especially fish attracts neighboring states as well as distant-fishing vessels to come and exploit it. With the sovereign rights provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982). Indonesia has the obligation to sustainably manage fisheries resources within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). On the other hand, the very same convention stipulated that in managing the resources sustainably, the coastal state and competent international organizations, whether sub regional, regional or global shall cooperate to this end.
This paper describes the state of readiness of the Government of Indonesia, notably the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to face the challenge of global cooperation. Certain aspects have been observed which include status of data and information, existing maritime boundary lines, complicity of national law and regulation, preparedness of law enforcement and diplomation savvy. Indonesian stance on several international conventions was also discussed. Furthermore, the paper depicts current practice of the Government of Indonesia in dealing with parties interested in its resources.


Our work is motivated by a simple question: can we design a simple routing protocol that works well across diverse wireless network environments such as meshes, MANETs, and DTNs? We identify packet replication as a key structural difference between protocols designed for opposite ends of the connectivity spectrum, namely, DTNs and meshes. We develop a model to quantify under what conditions and by how much replication improves packet delays, and use these insights to drive the design of ReGain, a routing protocol that self-adapts replication to the extent of connectivity in network conditions. We implement ReGain and evaluate its performance through deployment over a mesh testbed and trace-driven evaluations on real network testbeds exhibiting diverse connectivity. Our results show that ReGain achieves up to 2× better delay and 1.3× better goodput over existing protocols in a variety of network connectivity and load conditions.


We prove uniform $L^p \to L^q$ bounds for Fourier restriction to polynomial curves in $\mathbb R^d$ with affine arclength measure, in the conjectured range.


An analysis of the image hybrid dielectric/high- temperature superconductor (HTS) resonator is carried out. A full-wave radial mode-matching method is used to obtain the electromagnetic fields inside the resonator for single TE and dual HE modes. Measured resonant frequencies and quality factors of these modes are compared with numerical results of the analysis. The resonator power-handling capability is estimated from the field at the surface of the HTS film, assuming a certain value for the critical field of the HTS film.


Neutral thermal sensation is expected for a human body in heat balance in near-steady-state thermal environments. The physiological thermoneutral zone (TNZ) is defined as the range of operative temperatures where the body can maintain such heat balance by actively adjusting body tissue insulation, but without regulatory increases in metabolic rate or sweating. These basic principles led to the hypothesis that thermal sensation relates to the operative temperature distance from the thermoneutral centroid (dTNZop ). This hypothesis was confirmed by data from respiratory climate chamber experiments. This paper explores the potential of such biophysical model for the prediction of thermal sensation under increased contextual variance. Data (798 votes, 47 participants) from a controlled office environment were used to analyze the predictive performance of the dTNZop model. The results showed a similar relationship between dTNZop and thermal sensation between the dataset used here and the previously used dataset. The predictive performance had the same magnitude as that of the PMV model; however, potential benefits of using a biophysical model are discussed. In conclusion, these findings confirm the potential of the biophysical model with regard to the understanding and prediction of human thermal sensation. Further work remains to make benefit of its full potential.


This study re‐examines the natural resource abundance‐growth nexus for a large sample of countries. Our findings indicate that total resource, coal, mineral, natural gas and oil rents have significantly positive effects on growth while forest rents have negative effects. While estimation results show that coal and mineral rents raise growth for resource poor countries, natural gas and oil rents (forest rents) raise (lower) growth for resource‐rich countries. Overall, our results fail to support the natural resource curse hypothesis. On the contrary, we can conclude that, except for forest rents, resource rents appear to be a blessing rather than a curse. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Information modernization is an essential process for ore sinter plant. In order to improve information interaction capability, a data acquisition system is designed by integrated OPC (OLE for Process Control), networks and database technology. Its frame is schemed with three layers, i.e. industrial field devices, industrial controllers and information interaction computers. And two kinds of application instances of this frame are discussed. According requirements of data acquisition for ore sinter process, an information communication module is presented and it consists of data acquisition channel, information communication networks and data management interface. A kind of communication mechanism is designed for information interaction between instances of the data acquisition process. The mechanism includes a set of dispose schemes for abnormal socket connecting and a data packing method for information interaction. With Visual C++ programming tool and object orient method, the communication module is realized by combined socket technique. Industrial application indicates that the proposed frame and its instances in this paper are flexible and valid schemes for sinter data acquisition.


A noteworthy inhomogeneous distribution of Ni in low-alkali borate glasses has been shown by Ni K-edge EXAFS (Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure). The first evidence of a multiple scattering feature in a glassy matrix indicates an extended intermediate range order extending up to 6 A. The Ni-enriched domains consist of corner- and edge-sharing NiO6 octahedra, with three-dimensional connections. The presence of this unusual order in glasses is likely associated with the rigid borate groups present in low-alkali borate glasses.


Carrageenans are sulfated linear polysaccharides of D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-D-galactose extracted from red seaweeds. They have been used by the food industry for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties, and more recently by the meat industry for reduced fat products. Meat is a complex system of muscle tissue, connective tissue, fat, and water; during processing, numerous interactions occur among all these components. These interactions are responsible for the functional properties of the meat system. In meat products, carrageenans contribute to gel formation and water retention. Their addition is of special interest in low-fat meat products because fat reduction often leads to unacceptable, tough textures. When carrageenans are incorporated in these formulations, they improve the textural characteristics of the product by decreasing toughness and increasing juiciness. Although carrageenan interactions with milk proteins have been studied extensively, the mechanism by which carrageenans interact with meat proteins and the other meat components is not fully understood.


A 125 Mb/s all digital monolithic transceiver circuit using a 0.8 /spl mu/m, double-metal digital CMOS process is intended for the digital transceiver core of a CMOS VLSI FDDI chip. All components used are digital with no biasing or analog control. The circuit recovers any arbitrary binary sequence and is readily implemented in digital CMOS technology.<<ETX>>


Background: Individuals who suffer from multiple sclerosis, aside from other symptoms, usually have voice changes such as poor control of pitch, variations in voice intensity, altered voice quality and resonance disorders. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine voice acoustic characteristics in individuals with multiple sclerosis and to compare those results with control group. Methods: This study was conducted on 17 subjects, both males and females, of chronological age between 27 and 55 years. All subjects were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis by professional neurologist. Control group consisted of 17 subjects who matched with experimental group of the same age and sex. The study was conducted at the Clinic for Neurology, University Clinical Centre Tuzla. Sustained phonation of vowel /A/ was analyzed by computer programme for voice analysis MDVP (Multi Dimensional Voice Program). Results: Results of our study exhibited statistically significant differences between subjects with multiple sclerosis and control subjects in variables standard deviation of fundamental frequency and phonatory F0 range. We also found statistically significant differences between variable related to pitch perturbation (jitter) and peak-to-peak amplitude variation. Statistically significant differences were also determined between subjects with multiple sclerosis and control subjects in variables related to degree of irregular vocalization, noise to harmonic ratio and variable related to amplitude tremor intensity index. Conclusion: Results of this study showed that subjects with multiple sclerosis exhibited significant variation in voice acoustic characteristics compared to control group. MDVP can be a useful tool for further monitoring of voice characteristics alterations in patients with multiple sclerosis during diagnostic and treatment processes.


The aim of this study was to investigate the motivational factors for older adults to practice physical activities regularly. The sample consisted of 77 elderly of both genders, aged 55 to 90 years and who were practicing physical activities for at least a month in centers of sports and leisure in the city of Indaiatuba. The inventory IMPRAF-54 (Motivation for the Regular Practice of Physical Activity Inventory) was used for data collection. This instrument covers 6 dimensions of motivation for the practice of physical activities: stress control, health, sociability, competitiveness, aesthetic and pleasure. The results showed that the main motivational factor for the elderly is health. After health, sociability, pleasure and control of stress appear tied and, finally, aesthetics and competitiveness. With these results, it is possible to know what encourages older adults to attend classes and to plan for them properly, including their interests and considering them holistically.


This article discusses the contradictions that emerge in global digital communication in a democracy and cultural diversity. The purpose of the study is to determine the dependence of a person's goals on his \ her values in the dialogue of cultures and ways to solve the contradictions of intercultural communication. The social system does not only respond to the rapidly occurring social changes, but also respond to making political decisions. Russian scientist S.P. Kurdyumov expressed the idea that there are rules of the ban, the laws that limit the development. 'Safety Culture' can be considered as the preservation and development of the ideals, values, norms and traditions of the individual, the family and society, social institutions and network. This study considers 'Safety Culture' as value foundation for the digital society. This should be at the heart of every management decision referring to the digital future of our planet. A safety culture based on knowledge and observance of the 'prohibition rules', the rules of behavior of people in global network communications will ensure the integrity of the world.
Keywords: 'Safety Culture', digital society, values, dialogue of cultures