Background Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or intersex (LGBTQI) people with cancer and their carers report poorer psychological outcomes than the general non-LGBTQI cancer population. There is growing acknowledgement that these health inequities can be explained by minority stress, which can be buffered by social support. Study Aim To examine subjective experiences of minority stress and social support for LGBTQI people with cancer and their carers, drawing on qualitative findings from the Out with Cancer study. Method An online survey including open ended items was completed by 430 LGBTQI cancer patients and 132 partners and other carers, representing a range of tumor types, sexual and gender identities, age and intersex status. A sub-sample of 104 patients and 31 carers completed an interview, with a follow-up photovoice activity and second interview completed by 45 patients and 10 carers. Data was thematically analysed using an intersectional theoretical framework. Results Historical and present-day experiences of discrimination, violence, family rejection and exclusion created a legacy of distress and fear. This impacted on trust of healthcare professionals and contributed to distress and unmet needs in cancer survivorship and care. Social support, often provided by partners and other chosen family, including intimate partners and other LGBTQI people, buffered the negative impacts of minority stress, helping LGBTQI patients deal with cancer. However, some participants lacked support due to not having a partner, rejection from family of origin and lack of support within LGBTQI communities, increasing vulnerability to poor psychological wellbeing. Despite the chronic, cumulative impacts of minority stress, LGBTQI patients and carers were not passive recipients of discriminatory and exclusion in cancer care, demonstrating agency and resistance through collective action and advocacy. Conclusion LGBTQI people have unique socio-political histories and present-day psycho-social experiences that contribute to distress during cancer. Social support serves to buffer and ameliorate this distress. There is a need for cancer healthcare professionals and support services to be aware of and responsive to these potential vulnerabilities, including the intersectional differences in experiences of minority stress and social support. There is also a need for recognition and facilitation of social support among LGBTQI people with cancer and their carers.


We managed 6 cases of severe liver atrophy and failure associated with paclitaxel and bevacizumab combination therapy (PB therapy)for HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. In this case-controlstudy, we examined the records of these 6 patients to investigate past treatment, medication history, and degree of atrophy, and compared their data with that of 67 patients without liver atrophy. The degree of the liver atrophy used SYNAPSE VINCENT®of the image analysis software. The results showed that patients with liver atrophy had a longer pretreatment period than those without liver atrophy(33.5 months vs 15.5 months), and they also experienced a longer median time to treatment failure with PB therapy than other patients(11 months vs 6 months). The ratio of individuals presenting with diffuse liver metastasis among patients with liver metastasis was 80% with liver atrophy, compared to 8% without liver atrophy. The degree of liver atrophy was an average of 67%in terms of volume ratio before/after PB therapy(57-82%). The individualwith the greatest extent of liver atrophy died of liver failure, not as a result of breast cancer progression. The direct causal link between bevacizumab and liver atrophy and failure is unclear, but the individuals in this study had a long previous history of treatment, and diffuse liver metastases may develop in patients undergoing long periods of PB therapy, which may also cause liver atrophy; therefore, the possibility of liver failure should be considered in such cases.


Objectives: Incidence of gastrointestinal complications especially gastric bleeding increased in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). The aim of this study was to comparatively investigate upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGB) in patients with non-hemodialysis CRF and the patients without CRF. Materials and Methods: Seventy-six patients (55 men and 21 women) with and without CRF and UGB was included. The first group who had CRF consisted of 23 patients and the control group 53. All patients were evaluated in the view point of age, gender, smoking status, other illnesses, medicine usage, laboratory parameters, endoscopic evidence and endoscopic intervention (scleroteraphy). Results: Calcium levels of patients with a history of previous UGB was significantly lower compared with those bleeding for the first time (p<0.05). The mean parathormon level was higher in patients with CRF (171.24 ± 141.96 pg/ml) (p<0.05). Serum albumin level was negatively correlated with urea and creatinine (p<0.001), and positively correlated with hemoglobin and hematocrit levels (p=0.003 and p=0.005). The patients undergoing sclerotherapy more frequently needed transfusions (p<0.05). The hospitalization time found to be shortening with increasing hemoglobin, hematocrit, calcium and albumin levels; and lengthens with increased urea and creatinine. Conclusion: The history of previous gastrointestinal bleeding and detection of pathological findings in endoscopy were more frequent in patients with CRF. Gastrointestinal bleeding risk did not reduce using by gastric protection against acetylsalicylic acid and other non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Also, low albumin levels and secondary hiperparathyroidism in these patients may be risky for gastrointestinal bleeding. J Clin Exp Invest 2011;2(2):207-13


A new coordination polymer based on the sulphate-capped pentamolybdate unit has been synthesized from the reaction of {Mo3S7Br6}2- with copper(II) bromide and pyridine, in DMF. The as-synthesized compound, formulated as [CuII(C5H5N)4]3[{MoVI5O15(SO4)2}{CuII(C5H5N)3(DMF)(H2O)}][MoVI5O15(SO4)2]·2DMF (1), crystallizes in the monoclinic space group of P21/c. This compound has a one-dimensional double-chain coordination polymeric structure, composed of the pentameric {MoVI5O15(SO4)2} and the {CuII(C5H5N)4} units, and has been characterized in the solid-state with single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, infrared and optical spectroscopy, as well as thermal and magnetic studies. Due to its unique arrangement, the compound is observed to be nanoporous in nature, occupied by a co-crystallized DMF molecule. Surface area measurements confirm the presence of nano-sized pores within the compound. Variable temperature P-XRD studies show the framework to be stable up to a temperature of at least 100 °C. Due to its rigid framework and the presence of nano-sized pores, the compound was extensively studied as a catalyst for oxidative desulphurization of model oil and commercial diesel. The compound not only shows excellent performance for the removal of recalcitrant sulphur components, such as dibenzothiophene (DBT) in fuel oil (∼100% removal), but is also observed to show excellent turn-over-numbers, regeneration, and reproducibility during the catalytic process.


In this article, I present a study of the adjective havlig in the Swedish language, how this word has been described in dialect lexicons and in historical dictionaries, the etymology, the meanings and the uses of the word. The meanings of havlig can be divided into three main groups: 1. able, clever (about person and animal); 2. proud, self-important (about person and animal); and 3. a) good, fine (about thing). b) not good enough. The uses of havlig in negative sentences receive special attention, especially those used to indicate that something, in fact, is not as good as it ought to be,"not havlig". From a semantic point of view, I discuss how havlig has been used for describing various qualities and conditions, good as well as bad ones, in Swedish dialects, and how it still appears in the language today.


Abstract Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, yet it is inconsistently defined, preventing accurate estimation of its incidence and identification of risk factors. Here we began to explore a unified definition of PPH that may be valid for vaginal delivery and cesarean section. Medical records of women who underwent vaginal delivery or cesarean section at our tertiary medical center between January and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients who delivered by each route were compared in terms of PPH incidence and risk factors depending on different blood loss cut-off values. A total of 560 vaginal deliveries and 393 cesarean sections were analyzed. Vaginal deliveries were associated with significantly greater blood loss based on change of hemoglobin level, but significantly lower blood loss based on clinical estimation. When PPH was defined as blood loss ≥500 ml based on change of hemoglobin level, its incidence was 57.7% for vaginal deliveries and 28.2% for cesarean sections. The corresponding incidences were 15.4% and 3.3% when PPH was defined as blood loss ≥1000 ml based on change of hemoglobin levels. Independent risk factors for PPH in vaginal deliveries were lateral perineotomy (OR 2.835, 95%CI 1.694-4.743), suturing by a junior physician (OR 3.456, 95%CI 2.005-5.956), and long time from delivery of placenta to return to the recovery room (OR 1.013, 95%CI 1.003-1.022). A risk factor for PPH in cesarean sections was a long time from delivery of the fetus until the end of the operation. PPH is a significantly underestimated obstetric problem, especially in vaginal deliveries. Regardless of delivery route, hemoglobin-based blood loss of 500 ml and 1000 ml may be useful, respectively, as early warning and diagnostic cut-off values.


Abstract Fault plane solutions for eight earthquakes occurring in the northeastern United States have been determined using P -wave first motions and a computer algorithm for picking all valid solutions. The predominant mechanism in the area is thrust faulting, however the direction of the P axis is not consistent throughout the entire area. In central New England (Maine-New Hampshire), the P axis trends nearly E-W. In southeastern New England, the P axis trends N-S to NE-SW. In the Adirondacks region of New York, the P axis trends NE-SW as previously reported by Yang and Aggarwal (1981). Although the stress distribution appears to be complicated, as in the Central United States (Street et al. , 1974), an underlying E-W compressive stress may exist in the New England area. These small earthquakes may represent the response to local stress concentrations.


Using software exposes vulnerabilities that are susceptible to attacks with serious consequences. While there are many different vulnerabilities, the consequences fall into a small number of categories. This paper explains how consequences of attacks on Machine Learning (ML) vulnerabilities fall into these same categories. These consequences are then aligned to ML-specific attacks, the contexts in which they occur, and the established methods for mitigating them. These defensive countermeasures can support the security of the ML elements of a system and lead to greater assurance that systems using ML will operate as planned. This paper provides a systems approach to addressing attacks, consequences, and mitigations for systems using ML. It explains each of these over the lifecycle of an ML technology, providing clear explanations of what to worry about, when to worry about it, and how to mitigate it while presuming little incoming knowledge of ML specifics.


Article history: Received 13 July 2018 Received in revised form 21 September 2018 Accepted 29 September 2018 Available online 15 December 2018 Microelectronics packaging has been widely explored by researchers since the application is critical in the electronics industry. One of the crucial products related to this issue is copper‐based leadframe. Most electronic manufacturers prefer to use copper because of its characteristics which are good conductivity, resistivity and low cost. However, copper materials have a high tendency to oxidise when exposed to high temperatures. This research is focused on the effect of annealed temperature on copper leadframes. The surface and mechanical properties of copper leadframes with different annealing temperatures were investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation. Surface morphology and roughness were characterised using AFM, while the mechanical properties of the surface structure were investigated using nanoindentation. The obtained results showed that the surface roughness changes were directly proportional with increases in temperature. The RMS increases with increases in temperature. The hardness and elastic modulus of the annealed temperature showed a positive increment compared to the control sample. However, when it achieved a certain temperature, the hardness and elastic modulus went down. This might be due to the voids formation at high temperatures or the softening effect of the material.


Recreational drone use has increased in popularity over the past decade. Public lands offer additional opportunities for drone use as unique monitoring tools as well as videography to enhance visitor experiences. However, there are many concerns regarding privacy and impacts to resources and experiences. While drone technology has advanced rapidly, research on the challenges, opportunities, and management strategies have been limited leading to inconsistent policies across diverse public land settings. We propose a research agenda to guide future research and management related to drone use. There are social, ecological, and managerial considerations that are interrelated and operate across scales from the local sites to national policy. These scales are disjointed, creating challenges for policy development with a lack of research to inform decisions. It is our hope that this study stimulates discussion that is timely and relevant and can inform multi-scalar and multidisciplinary research on recreational drone use on public lands.  Subscribe to JPRA


Maxillonasal dysplasia or Binder's syndrome is an uncommon congenital condition characterized by a retruded mid-face with an extremely flat nose. We report here six patients with maxillonasal dysplasia whose noses were corrected with onlay costal cartilage grafts using a combined oral vestibular and external rhinoplasty approach for nasal dorsal augmentation, columellar lengthening, and premaxillary augmentation. The cartilage graft was dipped in a solution of 100 ml 0.9% NaCl and one vial (80mg) gentamicin for 30 min to prevent warping. L struts made for nasal augmentation, columellar lengthening, and premaxillary augmentation were fixed to one another by slots made in the graft. This technique has been used in children, adults, and for secondary cases with promising results. All patients were of class I dental occlusion. The nasal and premaxillary augmentation which was monitored by serial photography was found to be stable over a follow-up period of three years.


This research, thus, intends to determine the relationship of certain characteristics, specifically the students' gender, year level and experience in caring for the dying patient, to his attitude towards death and dying. Through a comparative-correlational study that described behavior, and the attitudes of the students towards care of a dying patient, and examined differences of attitudes between the two groups in relation to certain characteristics, specifically year level and gender, the relationship between the experiences of having cared for a dying patient towards one's attitude to a dying patient was established from the 57 BSN students of St. Paul University Manila selected through stratified sampling. The Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) Scale was adopted to determine the attitude of the participants towards the care of the dying patient. The study revealed that there is no significant difference between the students' gender to his attitude toward the care of a dying patient, there is a significant difference between the students' year level to his attitude toward the care of a dying patient is rejected, and the students' experience of caring for a dying patient has a significant relationship to his attitude toward the care of the dying patient.


Ninety-one (91) Mitchell osteotomies on 63 patients (60 females and 3 males) were reviewed. The average follow-up was 40 months (min. 12, max. 70). The average age at the time of the surgery was 51 years (min. 20, max. 74). The presence of a apinful bunion justified the surgery in a majority of cases (92%). The clinical evaluation was done by an independent observer. Weight bearing X-rays of the feet were made in each case. The results show a satisfactory improvement of the pain in 92% of the cases. The patients were satisfied with the appearance of their foot in 93% of the cases. The average active articular range of motion was 47 degrees (min. 20 degrees, max. 120 degrees). The Das De scale showed 75% of excellent and good results. Twelve per cent (12%) of the patients presented residual metatarsalgia. We observed minor complications in 10 cases (11%). We report no cases of avascular necrosis, pseudarthrosis or infection. Clinico-radiological correlations were made. We obtained an average correction of 13 degrees (min. -5 degrees, max. 28 degrees) of the hallux valgus and 3.5 degrees (min. -7 degrees, max. 7 degrees) of the intermetatarsal angle. We recommend the Mitchell osteotomy as long as the indication criterias and the surgical technique are respected.


This paper uses the pupil census in England to explore how family house moves contribute to school and residential segregation. We track the moves of a single cohort as it approaches the secondary school admission age. We also combine a number of cohorts and estimate a dynamic nonlinear model for house moving with unobserved effects. These approaches yield the same result: moving is significantly negatively correlated with school quality, and segregation does increase as a cohort reaches age 11. However, this relationship is weak: the increase in segregation is slight and quantitative significance of the estimated relationship is low. JEL classification: I20, R23.


SThe purpose of this study is to influence service quality and trust in loyalty with patient satisfaction as an intervening variable at the Syifa Medical Center Clinic. The data used in this study are primary data obtained from the results of questionnaires. The sample in this study is 100 outpatients, with the sampling technique using purposive sampling. The data analysis technique used in this study is Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) using SmartPLS version 3 software. The results show that there is an effect of service quality on loyalty, there is an influence of trust on loyalty, there is an effect of patient satisfaction on loyalty , there is an influence of service quality on satisfaction, there is influence of trust on patient satisfaction, service quality influences loyalty through patient satisfaction, trust influences loyalty through patient satisfaction.


When animals reproduce, does energy for the brood come from stored re- serves (from food eaten months or years before), or from food eaten during the current reproductive season? Variation in the duration of energy storage prior to reproduction is an important, but little-studied, axis of life history variation. We experimentally manipulated the availability of resources to females of a long-lived viviparous lizard (Eulamprus tym- panum. Scincidae) in the first year of a two-year study to assess the relative importance of current food intake vs. stored reserves as sources of energy for breeding. Females given greater access to high temperatures (and hence, to resources) in the laboratory amassed larger caudal energy stores than did females with lesser opportunities. Energy intake during gestation slightly influenced offspring size, but the magnitude of energy stores prior to ovulation had a more dramatic effect: females with larger caudal energy stores produced much larger litters in the following year. Growth rates of females were unaffected by basking treatments or by reproduction in either year, but females that reproduced in the second year showed a large concomitant decrease in caudal energy stores compared to females that did not reproduce, indicating a large energetic cost of reproduction. Hence, reproductive output within this species can be influenced by resource availability over 12 months prior to reproduction, and simple comparisons of reproductive output with current resource avail- ability may fail to detect the ways in which phenotypically plastic life history traits are influenced by environmental features. In addition to an appropriate temporal framework, models of resource allocation should also incorporate the possible roles of physiological and morphological constraints (e.g., maternal inability, in some species, to modify post- ovulation reproductive expenditure) and trade-offs with other life history currencies (e.g., decrements in maternal survival due to high relative clutch masses). The time lag between resource acquisition and expenditure may have significant consequences for a population's demographic response to shifts in resource availability or predation pressure (via tail au- totomy). Finally, this study illustrates the way in which thermal aspects of the environment can influence life history phenotypes in ectothermic vertebrates with long-term energy stores.


Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea L.) is an underutilized tuber crop having great potential to be developed as a carbohydrate source and functional food. Molecular markers have proved to be valuable tools in the characterization and evaluation of genetic diversity within and between species and populations. ISSR markers provide more sophisticated analysis of genetic diversity, cultivar identification, population genetic structure and other events of evolutionary biology processes. The present work is aimed at the molecular characterization of the seven arrowroot (Maranta arundinacae L.) accessions maintained at ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute field genebank using 12 ISSR primers and to estimate the extent of diversity using the similarity index. DNA isolation was done using DNeasy® Plant Mini Kit method. Out of the 13 ISSR markers screened, 12 markers gave polymorphic bands in the accessions screened. The 12 ISSR markers produced a total of 124 bands across the seven samples of which 66 were polymorphic. The phylogenetic tree generated using UPGMA cluster analysis revealed that diversity exists in M. arundinacea unlike previously reported. The accessions formed two major clusters with two outliers in the grouping. The Cluster 1 consisted of two accessions i.e. Acc. 1 (M1) and Acc. 6 (M6) while Cluster 2 consisted of 3 accessions viz. Acc. 2, 4 and 3 (M2, M4 and M3). The two outliers that got separated were accessions 5 and 7 (M5 and M7). No duplicates were identified in the present study. The results indicated that the primers selected for the present study will be useful for future genetic diversity studies and would provide breeders with a genetic base for selection of diverse parents for crop improvement programmes in arrowroot.


Digital twin technology is the core promoter of intelligent autonomous machining systems, which has been gradually explored and applied in the machining field. The digital twin system can observe, analyze, and control the machining process in real-time by creating high fidelity virtual entity of the physical entity. However, the current digital twin system is usually customized for specific scenarios, which lacks sufficient robustness. Remodeling may lead to poor modeling effects and low modeling efficiency due to insufficient data. This paper explores an adaptive evolution mechanism of the digital twin decision-making model through incremental learning and transfer learning. Besides, the specific implementation method is concluded.


Observationally, the change of acceleration of coronal mass ejections is commonly attributed to the change of the reconnection rate. In this study, we use a two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation with finite resistivity to study: (1) the forces that lead to the acceleration of the plasma and plasmoid and (2) the time evolution of the topological change of the magnetic flux across the current sheet. Our results show that the fast flows are not limited to the direction perpendicular to the local magnetic field. The fast parallel flows are accelerated by the parallel component of the pressure gradient force. The net force perpendicular to the magnetic field can accelerate the plasma and the plasmoid along the current sheet. The acceleration of the plasmoid is also controlled by the mass contained in the plasmoid. We find that the fast ejection of the plasmoid can stretch the current sheet and consequently reduce the magnetic reconnection/reconfiguration rate temporally before a new plasmoid is formed. We show that the topological change of the magnetic flux is due to the non-uniform magnetic annihilation rate along the current sheet. Therefore, the reconnection/reconfiguration site does not necessarily stay at the neutral point. It can move with the Y-line next to the bifurcated current sheets.


Particle accelerators require very tight tolerances on the alignment and stability of their elements: magnets, accelerating cavities, vacuum chambers, etc. In this article we describe the Hydrostatic Level Sensors (HLS) for very low frequency measurements used in a variety of facilities at Fermilab. We present design features of the sensors, outline their technical parameters, describe their test and calibration procedures, discuss different regimes of operation and give few illustrative examples of the experimental data. Detail experimental results of the ground motion measurements with these detectors will be presented in subsequent papers.


The geographic idiosyncrasies of states and media markets set the stage for a natural experiment in which residents of a given state may be exposed to widely varying quantities of presidential television advertising. We use this natural experiment to estimate the effects of TV ads on voter turnout. Analysis of voting rates in media markets reveals that the volume of advertising purchased by the presidential campaigns during the final weeks of the 2000 election had negligible effects on voter turnout. Classifying presidential advertisements according to whether their tone is positive or negative, we find no evidence to suggest that attack ads promote or diminish turnout. Our findings stand in sharp contrast with recent survey-based studies that report strong turnout effects.


In this paper, we propose an Ethernet-based transmission-guaranteed, congestion-controlled network using a simplified multi-path aggregation scheme. Multi-path aggregation increases throughput by multiplying the bandwidth of a single path by the number of paths. There are several aggregation schemes, such as Link Aggregation and Multi-path TCP. However, Link Aggregation is unable to utilize multiple paths to increase throughput because it distributes a single flow only into a single path, The Multi-path TCP scheme requires managing two stages of sequence numbers (SEQ) (i.e., the SEQ assigned to a path and the SEQ assigned to the flow). This complexity requires software-based implementation, which means the method fails to provide high throughput and short latency. We therefore propose a single-stage sequence number scheme with a reorder-buffer-usage-based retransmission-activating algorithm. Hardware implementation of this scheme is very simple. In addition, packet-loss detection is rapid. Our simulation and experimental results showed that our scheme provided a high-throughput, short-latency, and transmission-guaranteed network over conventional, lossy, delay-fluctuated, and best-effort Ethernet.


Rising energy prices have contributed to the development of heat pump-based heating systems in Sweden. Low flow temperature in the secondary heat distribution system to rooms is a requirement for energy-efficient systems. This increases the thermal efficiency of the heat pump and decreases thermal losses in the distribution system. Flow temperatures in water-based systems for heat distribution in buildings have been decreased from 55°C to temperatures around 30°C. This is to maximize the efficiency of heating systems that are based on heat pump technology. Different technical solutions have been suggested to guarantee space-heating requirements with low temperature difference between heating units and ambient air. Floor heating has in many cases been considered a good option, and the popularity of such systems has dramatically increased. Complicated installation work, moisture problems and slow thermal control with floor heating are reasons enough to find alternative low-temperature units for heat distribution in rooms. This may result in a combined heating and ventilation system that operates with forced convection.


ABSTRACT Pounding among internal structural parts of seismically isolated structures may happen because of high horizontal deformability of the isolation system. To study this poorly investigated issue, a reinforced concrete (r.c.) framed structure built in Sicily (Italy) is considered, with a hybrid isolation system combining elastomeric and sliding bearings. The building consists of four-storey, basement included, with the steel-framed structure of the elevator crossing the isolation level. Two structural configurations are considered for the elevator shaft: base-isolated, with rigid link to the surrounding building; fixed-base, with a seismic gap to prevent internal pounding. Effectiveness of the Italian and European code provisions, based on setting up adequate separation distance, is assessed. Four modelling assumptions of the highly nonlinear behavior of elastomeric bearings are examined and a mathematical model is calibrated on experimental data. Nonlinear seismic analysis of the test structure is carried out considering eight cases, which are obtained combining four position of the elevator (i.e., at the basement and upper three levels) and two load conditions (i.e., elevator empty and with maximum load). Torsional effects induced by an asymmetric position of the elevator shaft are quantified by means of polar plots, representing the critical envelope for all excitation angles of bi-directional earthquakes.


Quantum technology has been rapidly growing due to its potential revolutionary applications. In particular, superconducting qubits provide a strong light-matter interaction as required for quantum computation and in principle can be scaled up to a high level of complexity. However, obtaining the full benefit of quantum mechanics in superconducting circuits requires a deep understanding of quantum physics in such systems in all aspects. One of the most crucial aspects is the concept of measurement and the dynamics of the quantum systems under the measurement process. This document is intended to be a pedagogical introduction to the concept of quantum measurement from an experimental perspective. We study the dynamics of a single superconducting qubit under continuous monitoring. We demonstrate that weak measurement is a versatile tool to investigate fundamental questions in quantum dynamics and quantum thermodynamics for open quantum systems.


Reflection can be described as both an individually-mediated and a socially-mediated process. In this paper we describe an online unit in a Graduate Certificate of Online Learning that has been designed to enhance the opportunities for students to reflect on their learning. Rather than being promoted as a learning strategy to supplement the unit curriculum, reflection has been integrated fully within the course design. Students are encouraged to reflect as they complete their chosen project (reflection-in-action) and in a more sustained and extended manner (reflection-on-action) as they write up their experiences in an article of publishable quality. The technology and tools that facilitate reflection are described, and issues raised in the unit are discussed.


We report the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics and electrical conductivity of individual template-synthesized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanowires (190 ± 6 nm in diameter and ort = 11.2 ± 2 Ω−1cm-1) over a wide temperature range from 300 to 10K. With lowering temperature, the I – V characteristics become nonlinear around 50K, and a clear Coulomb gap-like structure appears in the differential conductance (dl/dV) spectra. The temperature dependence of the resistance below 70K follows inR ∞ T-1/2, which can be interpreted as Efros–Shklovskii hopping conduction in the presence of a Coulomb gap. In addition, the influences of measurement methods such as the applied bias voltage magnitude, the two-probe and four-probe techniques used in the resistance measurements are also reported and discussed.


High carbon steel wires are largely used in structural applications such as reinforcement, bridge cables, steel ropes, etc. These applications require safety, reliability and durability, which implies in a constant effort to optimize and control the microstructure. The correct managing of the different steps of heat treatments is essential to achieve these aims. To address this problem, this study brings a critical investigation of the heating, from room temperature to austenitizing temperature, and cooling, from the austenitic domain to room temperature, of an eutectoid steel wire. Dilatometry with strict control of heating and cooling rates was employed to measure the variations in length in order to detect the minor changes in the microstructure and to explore the phase transformation features. The microstructure investigation by optical and scanning electron microscopy complemented with hardness allowed to evaluate the prior austenite grain size (PAGS) and homogeneity variations with heating rates, soaking time and temperature of austenitization. Their effect on the pearlitic transformation and the pearlite morphology, both at isothermal and continuous cooling, were also surveyed. While the heating rates do not seem to play an important role on the PAGS in the considered range, the results of the duration suggest a real effect on grain size, which are discussed based on diffusion process and by considering the time-temperature equivalences. The results collected in this work present guidelines for industrial practice and endorse the importance of parameters' control in a heat treatment.


Coating of various synthetic, absorbable, and biologic meshes with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and fibroblasts was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Five hernia meshes-light weight monofilament polypropylene (Soft Mesh), polyester (Parietex-TET), polylactide composite (TIGR), heavy weight monofilament polypropylene (Marlex), and porcine dermal collagen (Strattice)-were coated with three cell lines: human dermal fibroblasts (HFs), rat kidney fibroblasts (NRKs), and rat MSCs. Cell densities were determined at different time points. Samples also underwent histology and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analyses. It required HFs 3 weeks to cover the entire mesh, while only 2 weeks for NRKs and MSCs to do so. MSCs had no preference for any of the meshes and produced the highest cell densities on Parietex and TIGR. Substrate-preference accounted for the significantly lower fibroblast densities on TIGR than Parietex. Fibroblasts failed to coat Marlex. Strattice, which had the least surface area, generated comparable cell densities to Parietex. Both histology and TEM confirmed cell coating of mesh surface. Various prosthetics can be coated by certain cell strains. Both mesh composition and cell preference dramatically influence the coating process. This methodology provides foundation for novel avenues of modulation of host response to various modern synthetic and biologic meshes.


Time-lapse seismic monitoring is a powerful technique for reservoir management and the optimization of hydrocarbon recovery. In time-lapse seismic datasets, the difference in seismic properties across different vintages enables the detection of spatio-temporal changes in saturated properties and structure induced by production. The main objectives are (1) to identify bypass pay zones in time-lapse seismic data for the deepwater Amberjack field, located in the Gulf of Mexico, (2) confirm the identified bypass pay zones in the results of reservoir simulation, and (3) recommend well planning strategies to exploit these bypassed resources.
 A high-fidelity seismic-to-simulation 4D workflow that incorporates seismic, petrophysics, petrophysical property modeling, and reservoir simulation was employed, which leveraged cross-discipline interaction, interpretation, and integration to extend asset management capabilities. The workflow addresses geology (well log interpretation and framework development), geophysics (seismic interpretation, velocity modeling, and seismic inversion), and petrophysical property modeling (earth models and co-located co-simulation of petrophysical properties with P-impedance from seismic inversion). An embedded petro-elastic model (PEM) in the reservoir simulator is then used to affiliate spatial dry rock properties with saturation properties to compute dynamic elastic properties, which can be related to multi-vintage P-impedance from time-lapse seismic inversion. In the absence of the requisite dry rock properties for the PEM, a small data engine is used to determine these absent properties using metaheuristic optimization techniques. Specifically, two particle swarm optimization (PSO) applications, including an exterior penalty function (EPF), are modified resulting in the development of nested and average methods, respectively. These methods simultaneously calculate the missing rock parameters (dry rock bulk modulus, shear modulus, and density) necessary for dynamic, embedded P-impedance calculation in the history-constrained reservoir simulation results. Afterward, a graphic-enabled method was devised to appropriately classify the threshold to discriminate non-reservoir (including bypassed pay) and reservoir from the P-impedance difference. Its results are compared to unsupervised learning (k-means clustering and hierarchical clustering). From seismic data, one can identify bypassed pay locations, which are confirmed from reservoir simulation after conducting a seismic-driven history match. Finally, infill wells are planned, and then modeled in the reservoir simulator.


A radioimmunoassay (RIA) for arg8-vasopressin (AVP) in unextracted human plasma was based on a sensitive anti-AVP rabbit antiserum, inhibition of enzymatic damage to [125I]AVP and AVP, and the use of an individual plasma blank, to correct for interference of plasma factors with the RIA. Sensitivity was 0.4 pg of synthetic AVP detected, corresponding to 1.2 pg/ml of AVP in human plasma. Recovery of AVP added to pooled plasma was 94 +/- 9.3% (mean +/- S.D.) in the low range (AVP, 2.8 pg/ml added) and 106 +/- 11.7% in the high range (45.0 pg/ml added). In 26 healthy, ambulatory subjects on ad lib, water intake, plasma AVP concentration was 2.0 +/- 1.22 pg/ml in the supine position and in 28 healthy subjects, 6.2 +/- 4.3 pg/ml in the upright position. Water loading suppressed the plasma AVP concentration. Smoking caused increased plasma AVP in 3 subjects despite water loading.


1 - We present a mechanistic model of reed leaves decomposition in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon (Lake Alimini Grande, Puglia, Italy). Our aim is to assess the importance of the heterogeneity of leaf detritus and of the different rules of patch colonization by macroinvertebrates on reed detritus processing.
2 - To this end, we propose two versions of the model (homogeneous and heterogeneous detritus model) where the microflora is supposed to complete all the life cycle on a leaf patch, while the macroinvertebrates move towards or left the patch according to patch attractiveness.
3 - The threshold of patch attractiveness and the number of colonizers are the behavioural sources of variation in the model. The effects of the behaviour of invertebrate consumers on detritus mass loss are tested by a multi-factorial ANOVA design. A field study on reed leaf decomposition in Lake Alimini Grande is used as reference to set a number of biological parameters.
4 - Simulated leaf detritus loses weight according to a negative exponential model. The comparison between simulated and experimental data selects the heterogeneous detritus model for describing reed leaf decomposition. Behaviourally–related characteristics of invertebrate consumers also affect decomposition rates, which are directly related to invertebrate abundance and inversely to resource attractiveness threshold. The model results suggest that reed leaf decomposition in Lake Alimini Grande is probably driven by microbial activity.


Since 2006, the World Bank has been ranking almost 200 countries in terms of their ease of doing business (EoDB) to underscore the importance of a thriving private sector in promoting high and inclusive growth. Comparing these metrics for business friendliness among economic partners is more important now that multilateral agreements that promote integration—such as the ASEAN Economic Community—are ongoing. Subsequently, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has its own specialized group that monitors the EoDB progress of its members. Through a comprehensive review of theoretical and empirical literature on doing business, and through an assessment of the relative doing business performance of APEC economies, this paper provides policy inputs to the APEC EoDB Initiative and initial policy guidelines and recommendations on what the Philippines could propose for further discussion and elaboration in the APEC EoDB work stream when it hosts the summit this year.


Liver sarcoidosis is usually an underdiagnosed disease, which can have severe implications in the evolution of a patient. Due to the fact that sarcoidosis is a disease based on immunological disorders, it is only natural that the liver should be one of the first organs to be affected. The imaging of liver sarcoidosis is of marked importance, especially in the differential diagnosis of the disease. While the histology aspect of sarcoidosis is relatively clear and should prompt a positive diagnosis, finding a liver granuloma in ultrasonography raises a multitude of questions and implies extensive testing for diagnosis. Furthermore, treatment of liver sarcoidosis is controversial, taking into account the possibility of developing end-stage liver disease in patients with a long history of sarcoidosis. This chapter aims to review diagnostic and treatment options for liver sarcoidosis and to determine the best management of these patients.


We investigate the application of the Faddeev-Watson multiple-scattering series to the ionization of atoms by ion impact. Singularities in the first- and second-order terms are discussed. Different forms of the half-shell Coulomb T -matrix are used in impulse approximations to double-differential cross sections (DDCSs) for proton-impact ionization of helium, and are compared with experiment. By using the regularized half-shell T -matrix we derive a double-scattering approximation which includes the full projectile-residual-ion interaction. While the latter approximation does not improve on the impulse approximations for DDCSs, in contrast to other models, we conjecture that it might adequately describe triple-differential cross sections for large angles of deflection of the projectile.


A freshwater budget for the Gulf of Boothia (here considered to include Prince Regent Inlet) was estimated from oceanographic data available for the Canadian Arctic using a formula derived by Tully: integral of S(z) dz between limits L and 0 divided by S*L where C is the fraction of freshwater to the depth L, L is the depth at which the salinity attained S* or the depth to the bottom if the salinity there was less than S*, S(z) is the salinity at depth z and S* is the base salinity, in this budget taken to be 33.8 per mil. For each station occupied in 1961 and 1962 the amount of freshwater in metres, CL, was obtained. The result for 1962 is shown in Fig. 1. Sources of freshwater include direct precipitation, runoff, advection of less saline water and of ice, and condensation at the surface. It may be removed by evaporation and advection. We assumed that condensation is so small it may be neglected and that the rates of precipitation and evaporation are the same over the land as over the water. The mean precipitation in the region of the Gulf of Boothia is usually less than 20 cm/year and in nearby Barrow Strait it was estimated that the evaporation was about 8 cm/year in 1962. If the latter value is representative of the Gulf of Boothia and its drainage basin, the excess of precipitation over evaporation is about 12 cm/year. The estimate is supported by 1965 streamflow measurements of the Back River; for this basin the excess of precipitation over evaporation is about 17 cm/year. It seems that the water surplus for the Gulf of Boothia drainage basin is somewhat less so the estimate of 12 cm/year appears reasonable. As the area of the drainage basin is one and one quarter that of the gulf, runoff would add 15 cm/year to the freshwater of the gulf. Combining the gains and losses we estimate the net annual input at the surface to be 27 cm/year. If the 8 metres of freshwater estimated to occur in the gulf (Fig. 1) were due to the annual gain, it would represent an accumulation of close to 30 years. As free exchange with Lancaster Sound and beyond is possible, such a long period of accumulation seems unrealistic. There is no reason to believe that the accumulation is related to an excess of imported over exported ice, indeed export may exceed import, but data which would permit a quantitative assessment are not available. Examination of ice reconnaissance data in each year, for example that for 1967, indicates that, while movement of ice occurs from northern parts of the gulf to the south, the ice conditions observed within the system could be due entirely to ice formed there. It seems likely therefore that the accumulation is due to advection of low salinity water and that a direct relation exists between the depth of freshwater in the gulf and that calculated to occur in the archipelago to the west and in the Arctic Ocean (Fig. 1). It is generally considered that a net surface movement from west to east occurs through the archipelago; the freshwater budget provides support for this view.


Increasing connectivity and automation in vehicles leads to a greater potential attack surface. Such vulnerabilities within vehicles can also be used for auto-theft, increasing the potential for attackers to disable anti-theft mechanisms implemented by vehicle manufacturers. We utilize patterns derived from Controller Area Network (CAN) bus traffic to verify driver "behavior", as a basis to prevent vehicle theft. Our proposed model uses semi-supervised learning that continuously profiles a driver, using features extracted from CAN bus traffic. We have selected 15 key features and obtained an accuracy of 99% using a dataset comprising a total of 51 features across 10 different drivers. We use a number of data analysis algorithms, such as J48, Random Forest, JRip and clustering, using 94K records. Our results show that J48 is the best performing algorithm in terms of training and testing (1.95 seconds and 0.44 seconds recorded, respectively). We also analyze the effect of using a sliding window on algorithm performance, altering the size of the window to identify the impact on prediction accuracy.


A new handoff schedule based on user mobility patterns and signal strength prediction for microcellular wireless networks is proposed. The signal strength prediction is based on the least mean square (LMS) adaptation algorithm and user mobility pattern is determined by a heuristic next-cell prediction technique. The handoffs previously performed can be used to predict the next visited cell of the user, once adequate information regarding past mobility patterns are available. In addition, signal strength-based prediction on the selected next-cell can aid in reduction of unnecessary handoffs to neighboring cells, not in the routine path of the user. Results show a significant reduction in the mean number of handoffs by the proposed combined prediction scheme.


Over the last few years, neural network derived word embeddings became popular in the natural language processing literature. Studies conducted have mostly focused on the quality and application of word embeddings trained on public available corpuses such as Wikipedia or other news and social media sources. However, these studies are limited to generic text and thus lack technical and scientific nuances such as domain specific vocabulary, abbreviations, or scientific formulas which are commonly used in academic context. This research focuses on the performance of word embeddings applied to a large scale academic corpus. More specifically, we compare quality and efficiency of trained word embeddings to TFIDF representations in modeling content of scientific articles. We use a word2vec skip-gram model trained on titles and abstracts of about 70 million scientific articles. Furthermore, we have developed a benchmark to evaluate content models in a scientific context. The benchmark is based on a categorization task that matches articles to journals for about 1.3 million articles published in 2017. Our results show that content models based on word embeddings are better for titles (short text) while TFIDF works better for abstracts (longer text). However, the slight improvement of TFIDF for larger text comes at the expense of 3.7 times more memory requirement as well as up to 184 times higher computation times which may make it inefficient for online applications. In addition, we have created a 2-dimensional visualization of the journals modeled via embeddings to qualitatively inspect embedding model. This graph shows useful insights and can be used to find competitive journals or gaps to propose new journals.


The performance of 50 nm gate length GaN/AlGaN HEMTs is reported. The device layers were grown by MBE directly onto an SiC substrate. Devices exhibit a maximum drain current density of 1.2 A/mm, an extrinsic fτ of 110 GHz and an fmax of over 140 GHz. The fτ of 110 GHz is the highest reported to date for a GaN/AlGaN HEMT, a nearly 50% increase over the previous record.


This qualitative study investigates the effect of age on children's second language acquisition, based on a theoretical framework of Lenneberg's Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH). Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observation. A homogeneous network sampling methodology was used to recruit six Korean families. First, the author shows statistical data regarding early English education in Korea. Second, she reviews the literature on the CPH. Third, she investigates parents' perspectives on early English education and family influence on their children's SLA. Findings show that (1) Earlier is better for accent and fluency and (2) Early exposure to English and a long stay in the U.S. do not always brings benefits. This research concludes that the study results obtained regarding the effect of age on SLA should not be considered as a basis for rejection of CPH. Finally, this research implies a paradigm shift of ESL researchers and educators regarding L2 learners showing slow progress in language learning: from deficient learners to multi-competent language users.


The Green Craig, where the fissure occurs in which these remains were found, lies on the north-west flank of the Pentland Hills, near the north-east end of the range, and about 1000 yards south of Dreghorn Castle. The craig stands at an elevation of a 1000 feet above the level of the sea, and is formed by an irregular range of rocks between two and three hundred yards in extent, facing north and north-west. The ground from the base of the craig slopes downwards at an angle of about 30° to the depth of nearly 200 feet. The angle of the slope is just what the weathered fragments of rock falling from the craig will rest on the hillside without rolling to the bottom, consequently the craig is not easily accessible from the front. To remedy this difficulty, Mr Macfie got a number of footpaths cut in a zigzag direction up the face of the slope and round the base of the craigs, placing seats here and there in convenient places, where the visitor can rest and view the splendid scenery which this hill commands. The face of the craig is not continuous, but is rather a number of craigs, separated here and there by grassy slopes running from bottom to top; and it was in making a path up one of these, whereby access could be got to the top of the craig, that the fissure was exposed wherein Mr Macfie discovered these remains. The north-east end of the


Multiple datasets containing different types of features may be available for a given task. For instance, users' profiles can be used to group users for recommendation systems. In addition, a model can also use users' historical behaviors and credit history to group users. Each dataset contains different information and suffices for learning. A number of clustering algorithms on multiple datasets were proposed during the past few years. These algorithms assume that at least one dataset is complete. So far as we know, all the previous methods will not be applicable if there is no complete dataset available. However, in reality, there are many situations where no dataset is complete. As in building a recommendation system, some new users may not have profiles or historical behaviors, while some may not have credit history. Hence, no available dataset is complete. In order to solve this problem, we propose an approach called Collective Kernel Learning to infer hidden sample similarity from multiple incomplete datasets. The idea is to collectively completes the kernel matrices of incomplete datasets by optimizing the alignment of shared instances of the datasets. Furthermore, a clustering algorithm is proposed based on the kernel matrix. The experiments on both synthetic and real datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The proposed clustering algorithm outperforms the comparison algorithms by as much as two times in normalized mutual information.


Supersonic magneto‐hydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in molecular clouds (MCs) plays an important role in the process of star formation. The effect of the turbulence on the cloud fragmentation process depends on the magnetic field strength. In this work we discuss the idea that the turbulence is super‐Alfvenic, at least with respect to the cloud mean magnetic field. We argue that MCs are likely to be born super‐Alfvenic. We then support this scenario based on a recent simulation of the large‐scale warm interstellar medium turbulence. Using small‐scale isothermal MHD turbulence simulation, we also show that MCs may remain super‐Alfvenic even with respect to their rms magnetic field strength, amplified by the turbulence. Finally, we briefly discuss the comparison with the observations, suggesting that super‐Alfvenic turbulence successfully reproduces the Zeeman measurements of the magnetic field strength in dense MC clouds.


This article analyses whether the human capital gained abroad helps returning migrants to integrate into the Lithuanian labour market. The analysis focuses on highly qualified migrants, defined narrowly as people with higher education who held qualified jobs when working abroad. The article found that for this group of returnees professional aims were important when taking a decision to return, together with other motives such as family reasons and home-sickness. Most of the returnees were able to find employment and pursue their careers without major difficulties, although a significant minority signalled an intention to emigrate again. The article examines the key factors that sometimes helped and sometimes hindered integration of the returnees and discusses the role of the public policy.


In this paper we report a rare and fortunate event of fast magnetosonic (MS, also called equatorial noise) waves modulated by compressional ultralow frequency (ULF) waves measured by Van Allen Probes. The characteristics of MS waves, ULF waves, proton distribution, and their potential correlations are analyzed. The results show that ULF waves can modulate the energetic ring proton distribution and in turn modulate the MS generation. Furthermore, the variation of MS intensities is attributed to not only ULF wave activities but also the variation of background parameters, for example, number density. The results confirm the opinion that MS waves are generated by proton ring distribution and propose a new modulation phenomenon.


Increasing prescription drug costs impose economic burdens for patients and payers and are reflected in substantial increases in insurance premiums for individuals and employers and budget stress for public programs. One widely used approach to control prescription costs is "step therapy": requiring patients to try a less expensive drug for a given condition before a more expensive option can be approved. Authorization of the second-line agent may require attestation by the prescriber that the patient took the initial medication and had adverse effects or inadequate clinical benefit. Such clinical algorithms are often sensible and evidence based and can improve the quality of care. But sometimes they are not, because of limited evidence, inadequate attention to the underlying evidence, or an emphasis on cost containment rather than patient outcomes. The economic stakes can be high, because manufacturers' promotion to both prescribers and patients is usually aimed at encouraging use of more costly second-line agents.


BACKGROUND
The natural history of pancreatic cystic neoplasms remains poorly understood despite growing evidence on the subject. Pancreatic cysts display a wide spectrum of pathological phenotypes, each associated with a different prognostic implication. Many pancreatic cysts are of undetermined malignant potential at presentation and remain so until surgically resected. While the survival rates of patients with malignant cysts are known to be poor, survival rates in patients with undetermined pancreatic cysts are unknown.

OBJECTIVE
To identify the factors associated with survival in a group of patients diagnosed with a pancreatic cyst(s).

METHODS
The present study was a retrospective multicentre review of pancreatic cystic neoplasms. All patients with a diagnosis of a neoplastic pancreatic cyst from 1994 to 2003 were identified at five different institutions in Edmonton, Alberta. The data collected included patient age, sex, imaging modality, cyst location, cyst size, number of cysts, comorbid illnesses, history of upper abdominal surgery, previous cancer, previous or concurrent metastases, symptoms (pain, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, signs of biliary obstruction, nausea/vomiting), remarkable radiological features, elevated amylase or lipase, type of pancreatic surgery, final pathology (benign or malignant) and overall survival. Survival models were used to assess whether any covariates were predictors of the survival time. Patient data were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method. The resulting plot was used to calculate survival in the cohort.

RESULTS
In total, 64 patients were identified as having neoplastic pancreatic cysts from 1994 to 2003 at the five institutions. The median overall patient survival time was 86 months. The median age at diagnosis for the patient population was 73 years, with 40 patients being women. Univariate analysis revealed that the risk of death was associated with patient age, sex and history of major comorbid illness. Multivariate models identified increased patient age and male sex as the factors that correlated most strongly with decreased overall survival.

CONCLUSION
Overall survival in patients with neoplastic pancreatic cysts is determined by patient factors (ie, age and sex) rather than factors descriptive of the cyst such as size and morphology. No conclusions could be made regarding the relationship between cyst pathology and patient survival.


With the development of Earth observation technology, a very-high-resolution (VHR) image has become an important data source of change detection (CD). These days, deep learning (DL) methods have achieved conspicuous performance in the CD of VHR images. Nonetheless, most of the existing CD models based on DL require annotated training samples. In this article, a novel unsupervised model, called kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) convolution, is proposed for extracting representative features from multitemporal VHR images. Based on the KPCA convolution, an unsupervised deep siamese KPCA convolutional mapping network (KPCA-MNet) is designed for binary and multiclass CD. In the KPCA-MNet, the high-level spatial–spectral feature maps are extracted by a deep siamese network consisting of weight-shared KPCA convolutional layers. Then, the change information in the feature difference map is mapped into a 2-D polar domain. Finally, the CD results are generated by threshold segmentation and clustering algorithms. All procedures of KPCA-MNet do not require labeled data. The theoretical analysis and experimental results in two binary CD datasets and one multiclass CD datasets demonstrate the validity, robustness, and potential of the proposed method.


The Web multimedia CAI is the union of the multimedia CAI and the Web technology. It will become the main form of the network teaching multimedia CAI. Combining the WEB technology with physical education, this article discusses the design philosophy and method of martial art course for college physical education.


This paper is concerned with minimizing a sum of rational functions over a compact set of high-dimension. Our approach relies on the second Lasserre's hierarchy (also known as the upper bounds hierarchy) formulated on the pushforward measure in order to work in a space of smaller dimension. We show that in the general case the minimum can be approximated as closely as desired from above with a hierarchy of semidefinite programs problems or, in the particular case of a single fraction, with a hierarchy of generalized eigenvalue problems.
We numerically illustrate the potential of using the pushforward measure rather than the standard upper bounds hierarchy. In our opinion, this potential should be a strong incentive to investigate a related challenging problem interesting in its own; namely integrating an arbitrary power of a given polynomial on a simple set (e.g., unit box or unit sphere) with respect to Lebesgue or Haar measure.


The relationships among the members of a population can be visualized using individual networks, where each individual is a node connected to each other by means of links describing the interactions. The centrality of a given node captures its importance within the network. We hypothesize that in mutualistic networks, the centrality of a node should benefit its fitness. We test this idea studying eight individual-based networks originated from the interaction between Erysimum mediohispanicum and its flower visitors. In these networks, each plant was considered a node and was connected to conspecifics sharing flower visitors. Centrality indicates how well connected is a given E. mediohispanicum individual with the rest of the co-occurring conspecifics because of sharing flower visitors. The centrality was estimated by three network metrics: betweenness, closeness and degree. The complex relationship between centrality, phenotype and fitness was explored by structural equation modelling. We found that the centrality of a plant was related to its fitness, with plants occupying central positions having higher fitness than those occupying peripheral positions. The structural equation models (SEMs) indicated that the centrality effect on fitness was not merely an effect of the abundance of visits and the species richness of visitors. Centrality has an effect even when simultaneously accounting for these predictors. The SEMs also indicated that the centrality effect on fitness was because of the specific phenotype of each plant, with attractive plants occupying central positions in networks, in relation to the distribution of conspecific phenotypes. This finding suggests that centrality, owing to its dependence on social interactions, may be an appropriate surrogate for the interacting phenotype of individuals.


This quantitative study aimed to determine the effect of personality and decision-making on the commitment of principals from high schools in the state of DKI Jakarta, Indonesia. The survey method was used in this study, along with path analysis for testing hypotheses. This was done with 89 random selection principals as respondents. This study revealed that personality has a direct positive influence on organizational commitment. There is a positive direct decision-making influence on organizational commitment. Hence, there is also an indirect influence on organizational commitment through decision-making. This paper can be a reference to improving the quality of the school by having a principal who has a strong commitment to his school, supported by a brave personality to get out of his comfort zone and is ready to sacrifice for the school's progress.


A universal variable-to-fixed length algorithm for binary memoryless sources which converges to the entropy of the source at the optimal rate is known. We study the problem of universal variable-to-fixed length coding for the class of Markov sources with finite alphabets. We give an upper bound on the performance of the code for large dictionary sizes and show that the code is optimal in the sense that no codes exist that have better asymptotic performance. The optimal redundancy is shown to be H log log M/log M where H is the entropy rate of the source and M is the code size. This result is analogous to Rissanen's (1984) result for fixed-to-variable length codes. We investigate the performance of a variable-to-fixed coding method which does not need to store the dictionaries, either at the coder or the decoder. We also consider the performance of both these source codes on individual sequences. For individual sequences we bound the performance in terms of the best code length achievable by a class of coders. All the codes that we consider are prefix-free and complete.


Investigation of sexual dimorphism patterns give us insight in how organisms adapt to fulfill their roles (reproductive, ecological, social) and enhance fitness. We examined sexual size and shape dimorphism in traits related to locomotion of nine anuran species from Serbia and Montenegro (Hyla arborea, Bombina variegata, Bufotes viridis, Rana temporaria, R. graeca, R. dalmatina, Pelophylax kl. esculentus, Pelobates fuscus and P. syriacus). Sexual size dimorphism in studied species ranges from female and male-biased, to absence of dimorphism. Sexual shape dimorphism was most pronounced in the forelimbs while the differences were small or did not exist in the hindlimbs and sacral traits. Males of most species were characterized by longer proximal parts (humerus and radioulna) and shorter distal forelimb parts, while the opposite pattern was observed in females. Also, some cases of significant intersexual shape differences are size-dependent. This indicates that these male traits are under stronger selective pressures to increase relative to body size, which may allow them to outcompete other males. Different types of behaviour can indirectly shape the limb morphology and lead to differences between the sexes. More data on the ecology and natural history of these animals are needed to explore the factors underlying the observed sex differences.


Due to the increasing production and use of nanoparticles in various sectors such as electronic industries and healthcare, concerns about the unknown effects caused by the presence of these materials in the natural environment and agricultural systems were on the rise. Because of the growing trend of ZnO nanoparticles (nZnO) which is one of the most widely used nanoparticles being released into the environment, it has attracted the attention for more studies to be done on the effects of this nanoparticle on organisms. This study was carried out to investigate the phytotoxicity effect of nZnO on groundnut seedlings in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. The experimental treatments of this study include eight concentrations of nZnO (10, 30, 50, 100, 200, 400, 1000 & 2000 mg.L-1) added to MS medium and MS medium without nanoparticles have been used as control treatment. For the first 6 days after sowing, germination percent and germination rate index were calculated by counting the germinated seeds every day. Groundnut seedlings were incubated for 3 weeks in optimum condition and after that, seedling characteristics such as length, wet and dry weight of radicle and plumule were measured. The water content of radicle and plumule were also calculated. The results of this study showed that radicle and plumule length of groundnut seedlings were affected by nZnO exposure, in a way that length of radicles in 50 mg.L-1 nZnO and higher concentrations was significantly lower than that of control treatment and the shortest plumule length was observed in 2000 mg.L-1 nZnO concentration treatment. Both the radicle and plumule wet weight were also decreased as the nanoparticle concentration was increased. However, despite the decreasing in radicle and plumule dry weight with increasing in nZnO concentration, this increase was not significant. However radicle dry weight in 10 mg.L-1 nZnO was significantly higher than nZnO treatments with 200 mg.L-1 concentration and higher concentrations. Moreover, observations of this study did not show any significant difference between the water content of nZnO concentration treatments and control treatment.


The article presents a review of current trends in empirical research of the phenomenon of emotional burnout over the last 5 years, which were on display in the ScienceDirect catalogue. As a result of the analysis three topical directions of burnout research were identified. The first one is connected with a role of emotional intelligence in a burnout occurrence. It was established that a person's understanding of his/her own and other people's emotions and managing them can help to overcome and prevent emotional burnout. The second direction investigates the role of emotional work in a burnout. It was found that a person's ability to direct his/her emotions and to use different strategies of their expression can help to reduce burnout, and "psychological flexibility" provides an opportunity to prevent the onset of emotional burnout. The third direction is related to a person's social identity. The link between a person's social identity and a reduction of burnout is demonstrated, the role of psychological connection to the group and social identity strengthening in the reduction of emotional burnout is shown. The growing interest in the role and place of a person's identity in burnout is especially emphasized in the review. The article presents perspectives for further research of a burnout phenomenon.


fact that hopes are placed in the cell therapy for patients with critical limb-threatening (CLI) ischemia as a method of the restoration of blood circulation in the affected limb in patients who cannot undergo surgical or endovascular intervention. Aim . To evaluate the efficiency of allogeneic MSCs for the treatment of critical lower limb ischemia (randomized placebo-controlled study). Materials and methods . The study included 34 patients with critical lower limb ischemia (grade 4 according to Pokrovsky). There were 18 patients in the MSC group, and 16 patients in the placebo group). The groups were comparable concerning age, disease duration, and comorbidities. Allogeneic MSCs (phenotype CD73 + , CD90 + , CD105 + , CD45 – , CD34 – , CD14 – ) were injected into the posterior calf muscles. Clinical outcome, ankle pressure, transcutaneous oxygen tension (tcpO 2 ), and pain-free walking distance (PFWD) were evaluated. The patients were followed-up for 12–36 months. According to the clinical outcome in each group, the patients were divided into subgroups with «effect (+)» or «effect (–)». In 2 patients, there was an «uncertain clinical outcome». When analyzing the results, these patients were assigned to one or another subgroup. Results . In the MSC and placebo groups, the clinical outcome assessed as «effect (+)» or «effect (–)» did not differ (OR 1.5; 95 % CI 0.34–6.7). With different variants of group formation and with the assignment of patients with an «uncertain clinical outcome» to a one or another subgroup, the final results neither differed. According to instrumental research methods (PFWD, tcpO 2 , ankle pressure, angiography), there were no differences in the MSC and placebo groups. Conclusion . With different variants of analysis and group formation, no convincing evidence that allogeneic MSCs can be effective for the treatment of critical lower limb ischemia have been obtained.


It has become more and more common for companies to implement reward systems. The reason why companies start to use these systems is because of the competition that now is growing stronger and stronger, therefore it's very important to try and raise the employee's motivation in work. It can also make the workers more loyal to the organization and make the key individuals to stay put. The motivation can be seen as a process and discusses three different concepts. When used correctly the reward system can be a motivation for the employees to reach the goals that are set in the company. There are different types of reward systems, individual and collective. In the first one we mention, the rewards are given separately to individuals and the staff are rewarded through their achievement. The other one is given out to a group and everyone gets the same amount of the reward. We've used a qualitative method to try and analyze and understand how the employees are motivated by an individual and collective reward system. A case study research was used, because we wanted to get a closer look into the banks and brokers. All 8 interviews have been made in each and one of the interviewee's offices. With help of our key terms in the theoretical framework we've been able to ask our questions.In the same chapter as the theoretical framework we have in the first piece described organizations and individuals, how they relate to each other. Rewards is the next step in this process, and begin with explaining what motives there can be to apply a reward system in a company and which behaviors it can raise. We also bring up what kind of different rewards that exists. Under the headline motivation, we've used two theories, expectancy and equity, also work orientation has been looked at. In the empirical data our respondents explain to us how they are motivated in their respective system and also quite precise tell us how they experience the fairness and expectancies in their systems. When we analyze our theory and the data that we have gathered, a comparison between them will be made with the help of our key terms, we will analyze what differences and similarities that emerge. This will later on lead to our conclusions. Here, we will discuss how the interviewee's motivation is affected by an individual and collective reward system. The final conclusion proves that the motivational process in individual and collective reward systems affect the employees differently.


Recently Indian known mathematician V. Gupta introduced a general family of
 linear positive operators, which produces a large number of well-known
 linear positive operators as particular cases. The family of operators,
 proposed by Gupta provides a unified approach. This motivated us to extend
 the studies and we establish some convergence estimates which include an
 asymptotic formula and the rate of convergence for the function having
 derivatives of bounded variation.


We present the case of a 29-year-old woman who developed a severe hypothyroidism induced by a thyroxine malabsorption and a secondary pituitary hyperplasia. We performed thyroxine absorption tests to diagnose the malabsorption and to evaluate the best therapeutic intervention. Once assessed a correct therapy lowering TSH, we observed the regression of pituitary mass confirming our diagnosis of secondary pituitary hyperplasia. We suggest to evaluate any possible reason for thyroxine malabsorption and to consider the hypothesis of pituitary hyperplasia in the presence of pituitary mass together with overt hypothyroidism.


At an infectious-inflammatory pathology increase of activity free-radical processes is observed. Besides active forms of oxygen in oxidizing processes participate as well metabolites of oxide nitrogen which formation depends from перекисных processes. In work expressiveness free-radical processes is investigated at an infectiousinflammatory pathology and changes of some parameters of a homeostasis on a background of oxidizing stress. Research has shown presence of biochemical attributes of damage of cells of a liver, on a background infectiousinflammatory to a pathology which are directly not mentioning a liver.


UML 2.0 provides a rich set of diagrams for systems documentation and specification. Much effort has been undertaken to employ different aspects of UML for multiple domains, mainly in the area of software systems. Considering the area of electronic design automation, however, we currently see only very few approaches which investigate UML for hardware design and hardware/software co-design. We present an approach for executable UML closing the gap from system specification to its model-based execution on reconfigurable hardware. For this purpose, we present our abstract execution platform (AEP), which is based on a virtual machine running an executable UML subset for embedded software and reconfigurable hardware. This subset combines UML 2.0 classes, state-machines and sequence diagrams for a complete system specification. We describe how these binary encoded UML specifications can be directly executed and give the implementation of such a virtual machine on a Virtex II FPGA. Finally, we present evaluation results comparing the AEP implementation with C code on a C167 microcontroller.


New closed form formulas are presented for the dispersion characteristic (λ'/ λ) and characteristic impedance (Z0) of single slot line. λ'/λ and Z0 are given as functions of the slot width w over substrate thickness H ratio and the ratio H/λ where λ is the free-space wavelength. For the ranges of variable considered λ'/λ values agree with S. B. Cohn's and Mariani et al. results to within 5% and Z0 agrees to within 14.5% or better.


The well-established side effects of drug treatments for inflammatory disease, in particular those of the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)--principally gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity--, have become an acute problem. There is now considerable experience with the COX-2 selective NSAIDs, which offer an improved GI side-effect profile. The William Harvey Research Conference held in Porto, Portugal, October 23, 2000, reviewed the history of the use of NSAIDs and discussed the pathological and physiological significance of the COX-2 enzyme while covering topics ranging from assays to measure the COX-2:COX-1 ratio, the structural basis for COX-2 selectivity, potential mechanisms of NSAID-induced gastrointestinal toxicity, preclinical studies, effects of COX-2 inhibitors on the kidney and vascular systems, to the latest clinical results, as well as the potential implication of COX-2 in cancer and Alzheimer's disease.


A new process, phase enhanced absorption, was invented. The method is carried out in an absorber, where a liquid carrier (aqueous solution), an organic mixture (or organic compound), and a gas mixture containing a gas to be absorbed are introduced from an inlet. Since the organic mixture is immiscible or at least partially immiscible with the liquid carrier, the organic mixture forms a layer or small parcels between the liquid carrier and the gas mixture. The organic mixture in the absorber improves mass transfer efficiency of the system and increases the absorption rate of the gas. The organic mixture serves as a transportation media. The gas is finally accumulated in the liquid carrier as in a conventional gas-liquid absorption system. The presence of the organic layer does not hinder the regeneration of the liquid carrier or recovery of the gas because the organic layer is removed by a settler after the absorption process is completed. In another aspect, the system exhibited increased gas-liquid separation efficiency, thereby reducing the costs of operation and maintenance. Our study focused on the search of the organic layer or transportation layer to enhance the absorption rate of carbon dioxide. The following systems were studied, (1)more » CO{sub 2}-water system and CO{sub 2}-water-organic layer system; (2) CO{sub 2}-Potassium Carbonate aqueous solution system and CO{sub 2}-Potassium Carbonate aqueous solution-organic layer system. CO{sub 2}-water and CO{sub 2}-Potassium Carbonate systems are the traditional gas-liquid absorption processes. The CO{sub 2}-water-organic layer and CO{sub 2}-Potassium Carbonate-organic layer systems are the novel absorption processes, phase enhanced absorption. As we mentioned early, organic layer is used for the increase of absorption rate, and plays the role of transportation of CO{sub 2}. Our study showed that the absorption rate can be increased by adding the organic layer. However, the enhanced factor is highly depended on the liquid mass transfer coefficients for the CO{sub 2}-water-organic layer system. For the CO{sub 2}-Potassium Carbonate aqueous solution-organic layer system, the enhanced factor is not only dependent on the liquid mass transfer coefficients, but also the chemical reaction rates.« less


We analyze the large-scale spatial variation of soil moisture in eastern China using geostatistical techniques with observations at 99 stations for the top 0.1 m and top 1 m from 1987 to 1989. Sample variograms are found to have a clear sill and a nugget in many cases. A spherical variogram model, including a nugget in some cases, fits the sample variograms closely. Using a quantitative method to select the separation interval for variogram analysis, we find that the average range is 200-400 km for the top 0.1 m and 400-700 km for the top 1 m. The averaged coefficient of variation of soil moisture in the top 0.1 m is larger than for the top 1 m, showing that the range for the top 0.1 m is less than for the top 1 m. The range in summer is less than in winter. By calculating the ratio of the nugget effect to the spatial variance, we find that the ratios for the top 0.1 m data are smaller than that for the top 1 m data, showing that in most cases the spatial variation of the top 0.1 m is more strongly autocorrelated than of the top 1 m, and that the measurement errors are much larger in the top 1 m data than in the top 0.1 m. For more than half of the measured dates, the ratio of the nugget effect to the variance is less than 20 percent, indicating that the spatially correlated variation on those dates can explain more than 80 percent of the total variance.


The theoretical models developed under assumption of purchasing pover parity fail to explain large fluctuations that appear in the currency time series since the beginning of the 1980s. The object of the present paper is to demonstrate, that unrestricted Engle-Granger cointegration model with error correction term is a valid framework for analyzing long-run exchange rate equilibrium as well as short term dynamics. In contrast to previous works, the genetic algorithm input selection is used to identify possible exogenity of variables entering in the model and a simulation based experiment splits short-run dynamics into several consecutive periods to improve model's final empirical validity.


Introduction: Visualization of B-lines via lung ultrasound provides a non-invasive estimation of pulmonary hydration. Extravascular lung water index (EVLWI) and pulmonary vascular permeability index (PVPI) assessed by transpulmonary thermodilution (TPTD) represent the most validated parameters of lung water and alveolocapillary permeability, but measurement is invasive and expensive. This study aimed to compare the correlations of B-lines scores from extensive 28-sector and simplified 4-sector chest scan with EVLWI and PVPI derived from TPTD in the setting of intensive care unit (primary endpoint). Methods: We performed scoring of 28-sector and 4-sector B-Lines in 50 critically ill patients. TPTD was carried out with the PiCCO-2-device (Pulsion Medical Systems SE, Maquet Getinge Group). Median time exposure for ultrasound procedure was 12 minutes for 28-sector and 4 minutes for 4-sector scan. Results: Primarily, we found close correlations of 28-sector as well as 4-sector B-Lines scores with EVLWI (R2 = 0.895 vs. R2 = 0.880) and PVPI (R2 = 0.760 vs. R2 = 0.742). Both B-lines scores showed high accuracy to identify patients with specific levels of EVLWI and PVPI. The extensive 28-sector B-lines score revealed a moderate advantage compared to simplified 4-sector scan in detecting a normal EVLWI ≤ 7 (28-sector scan: sensitivity = 81.8%, specificity = 94.9%, AUC = 0.939 versus 4-sector scan: sensitivity = 81.8%, specificity = 82.1%, AUC = 0.902). Both protocols were approximately equivalent in prediction of lung edema with EVLWI ≥ 10 (28-sector scan: sensitivity = 88.9%, specificity = 95.7%, AUC = 0.977 versus 4-sector scan: sensitivity = 81.5%, specificity = 91.3%, AUC = 0.958) or severe pulmonary edema with EVLWI ≥ 15 (28-sector scan: sensitivity = 91.7%, specificity = 97.4%, AUC = 0.995 versus 4-sector scan: sensitivity = 91.7%, specificity = 92.1%, AUC = 0.978). As secondary endpoints, our evaluations resulted in significant associations of 28-sector as well as simplified 4-sector B-Lines score with parameters of respiratory function. Conclusion: Both B-line protocols provide accurate non-invasive evaluation of lung water in critically ill patients. The 28-sector scan offers a marginal advantage in prediction of pulmonary edema, but needs substantially more time than 4-sector scan.


Von Willebrand factor (VWF), a key blood clotting protein, is a standard histologic marker for endothelial origin. Previously published studies characterizing tissue-specific regulatory elements have concentrated on the proximal promoter region (between −2,645 and the end of murine Vwf intron 1). Transgenic mouse models using these sequences have found elements needed for VWF expression in some, but not all, populations of endothelial cells. To identify potential novel VWF distal regulatory elements, as well as sequences contributing to the more general endothelial-specific expression program, we aligned human and mouse orthologous genomic sequences from VWF and 27 other endothelial-specific genes, extending from the start of transcription to the neighboring 5′-upstream gene (up to 100 kb of sequence), excluding the core promoter, and including intron 1. We analyzed the resulting 262 endothelial cell-specific gene conserved noncoding sequences (EC-CNSs) using a specific quantitative PCR assay for DNase I hypersensitive sites, an indicator of an open chromatin state which suggests the presence of a transcription regulatory complex. 33% of the EC-CNSs (including 6 of 9 upstream of VWF ) were hypersensitive (HS) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), while only 16% were HS in control human fibroblast cells. 20% of the EC-CNSs were HS in HUVECs only, suggesting that they may identify novel endothelial-specific transcriptional elements. When the 262 EC-CNSs were compared to CNSs from non-endothelial genes, a single motif, AGGAA(A/G), was identified as overrepresented in EC-CNSs. This association was replicated in an independent set of 28 additional genes with high HUVEC expression. The motif was also overrepresented in the subset of HS EC-CNSs. The AGGAA(A/G) motif includes the core binding sequence [GGA(A/T)] of the Ets family of transcription factors, which contains several members implicated in tissue-specific gene expression. These results suggest that the AGGAA(A/G) motif may represent the target sequence for a specific Ets family member critical for determining the endothelial-specific gene expression program. We are currently testing this hypothesis by analyzing this motif in Vwf BAC transgenic mice containing 177 kb of upstream sequence, including all ten identified EC-CNSs. Additionally, we have expanded our analysis of the VWF genomic region to include over 700 kb of sequence surrounding and including the gene, searching for additional EC-CNSs conserved across eleven mammalian species. This comparative genomic approach, coupled with functional analysis of putative regulatory elements, should provide new insight into the endothelial cell gene expression program and the more general problem of tissue-specific gene regulation.


Introduction Self-report is a practical and appropriate method of identifying asthma in population studies, wim a reported sensitivity of 72% and specificity of 99% (Heliovaara M et al, J Clin Epidemiol 1993;46:181-91). Our study sought to compare the differences in morbidity between those with and without self-reported asthma in older people, and how this may be reflected in drug and hospital services utilization.


In the Web 2.0 era, people not only read web contents but create, upload, view, share and evaluate all contents on the web. This leads us to introduce a new type of social network based on user activity and content metadata. We notice that we can determine the quality of related contents using this new social network. Based on this observation, we introduce a user evaluation algorithm for user-generated video sharing website. First, we make a social network of users from video contents and related social activities such as subscription, uploading or favorite. We then use a modified PageRank algorithm to compute user reputation from the social network. We re-calculate the content scores using user reputations and compare the results with a standard BM25 result. We apply the proposed approach to YouTube and demonstrate that the user reputation is closely related to the number of subscriptions and the number of uploaded contents. Furthermore, we show that the new ranking results relied on the user reputation is better than the standard BM25 approach by experiments.


Another year has passed. Applied Psycholinguistics received more manuscripts to review than ever before. Our issues will be growing by 25 pages to accommodate all of the fine work by our authors. Our impact factor, now at 2.31, is more than 5 times higher than it was in 2003, ranking us near the top of language journals. This is due in no small part to the careful work of our reviewers. They do the work of science, the rigorous building of ideas through critique and commentary that makes the peer-review system possible. As a group of editors, we are very thankful to them for their careful and thoughtful reviews.


Governors and mayors contribute with necessary political inputs to federal politics, and the president may have no incentive or choice to exclude any of them from their alliances. When presidents have money to distribute with discretion, they do not allocate it uniformly; there are differences in funds allocated between and within provinces, as well as different municipalities within them. The objective of this paper is to explain these differences and particularly how this distribution works in countries where municipalities are not autonomous and the president cannot bypass governors. Transfer distribution patterns at two municipal levels will be explored in order to show that partisan alignments between mayors and presidents (along with other political variables, such as mayors being up for reelection) can be analyzed to explain differences in funding levels. The new generation of studies on federalism focuses on different variables, beyond the functioning of formal institutions. Within these variables, the role of governors – namely the fact that they are powerful and important to presidents – has been widely documented by scholarly research. However, the role of mayors has been less thoroughly explored.  To generate evidence on how both governors and mayors are important to presidents, it was built an original database that, for the first time, studied distribution in all Argentine municipalities for a period of eight years (2002-2009) to help fll this vacuum.


Defects in axonal transport have been implicated in a number of neurodegenerative diseases, from the poly‐Q diseases like Huntingtonˈs disease, to Alzheimerˈs disease. The temporal sequence by which a pathological process unfolds is often unknown because our detection system relies on fixed tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a non‐destructive imaging modality, allows longitudinal studies inside opaque structures in live animals. We use manganese‐enhanced MRI (MEMRI) to witness axonal transport within the living brain of animal models of Alzheimerˈs disease. Mn2+ enters neurons and is transported by endogenous axonal transport. Thus MEMRI allows us for the first time to measure transport dynamics in the living brain. We find that in mice deleted for amyloid precursor protein (APP), a cargo‐receptor for transport whose product is the main component of senile plaques, transport of Mn2+ is decreased in the optic nerve and in the important memory circuit from hippocampus to forebrain. Older mice over‐expressing mutant APP also display decreased transport, demonstrating a bimodal effect of APP on transport dynamics. Using statistical parametric mapping of genotypic cohorts, sensitive quantitative measurements of transport are possible. Structural MRI also reveals volumetric changes over time. We conclude that MEMRI reveals pathological progression of disease processes in the living brain.


States, including developed countries, have difficulty in implementing pension systems. System reforms for a sustainable pension system, like extending retirement age, reducing public pension rates, increasing private pension and private health insurance shares, to reduce the burden on the pension system, countries with elderly population, try to increase young population by young immigrants, to provide a balance between the young population and old population for a sustainable pension system. In this study, the export and effects of pension (transfer) arising from the free movement of labor among the member countries due to free movement within the European Union and the effects of the educated young population immigration to the developed countries due to the exacerbation of the situation for the sending country is investigated with literature review. As a result, it is concluded that immigrant countries should take the necessary precautions to avoid migration of their educated young population and keep them in their home countries.


Polytrauma patients are at increased risk for occult cervical spine injuries. Those unable to provide clinical clues to injury either remain in hard collars until they are able to cooperate with the physical examination or are deemed "clear of cervical injury" if the emergency room screening radiographs are without obvious bony abnormality. Cervical immobilization for a lengthy period of time is not without morbidity. Missed ligamentous injuries can lead to cervical instability, which in turn can result in permanent neurologic sequelae. This article reviews the current methodologies to "clear the cervical spine" and highlights the inadequacies.


Paramilitary vigilantism in Northern Ireland has increased dramatically in the wake of the 1994 cease-fires, and is increasingly threatening to destabilise the peace process. Yet despite the long history of vigilantism in Northern Ireland and the unprecedented attention the activity is now attracting, virtually no empirical research has been carried out on the topic. This article reports findings from a study made of 213 IRA and 132 loyalist vigilante incidents which occurred between 1994 and 1996. The aim of the study was to provide hitherto unavailable demographic information on the vigilantism. Results also show that there are clear differences between IRA and loyalist vigilantism and that the nature of vigilantism is changing over time. The main conclusion is that there is a worrying lack of even basic knowledge about the vigilantism at a time when its importance is increasing dramatically. The findings are discussed in relation to the current situation in Northern Ireland.