Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus has become a universal problem. Globally 80% of lower and middle income countries are suffering from diabetes. Different studies show that offspring from diabetic parents growth indicators were disturbed the lipid profile and growth indicators. The objective of the study was to determine the levels of lipid profile and growth indicators among offspring of diabetic parents.
Material and methods: Cross sectional study was done. Total 180 subjects were recruited from Dow university of Health sciences and classified as both parents were diabetic (BDP), Single Parents Diabetic (SDP) and no parents were diabetic (NDP). The Growth indicators lipid profile was measured. The analyst concentration of Lipids was analyzed by The Roche Hitachi Analyzer 902 Automated Analyzer automatically .Fasting blood sugar levels was determined by glucose oxidase.
Results: Those offspring who gave history of diabetes in parents had their growth indicators and Lipid Profile were disturbed or raised when compared with non -diabetic parents. 25.6%, 5.6% and 5.6% of offspring belongs to Both Parents Diabetic (BDP), Single Diabetic Parents (SDP) and Not Diabetic Parents (NDP) respectively have obese. Similar lipid profile indicators also raised as More BDP and SDP subjects had high cholesterol (>200 mg/dL) than NDP (76.9% and 29.6% versus 10% respectively), More BDP and SDP subjects had high cholesterol (>150 mg/ dL) than NDP (23.1% and 2.8% versus 0% respectively). More BDP and SDP subjects had high cholesterol (>130 mg/dL) than NDP (76.9% and 29.6% versus 15% respectively).
Conclusions: Lipid profiles of offspring were related to diabetic parent's history. Early screening and change in lifestyle modification can be a preventive intervention for the risk of developing diabetes in future.


Beijing is situated in water‐scarce northern China, where there is a history of policies aimed at constraining local agricultural water use to meet the increasing urban water demand. This has led to a change in local crop production and subsequent effects in terms of the importation of cereals and vegetables grown in other parts of China. The dilemma is that local policies designed to improve Beijing's water resources situation may have the unintended consequence of increasing water stress in other regions. In this article, life cycle assessment approaches were used to model both consumptive and degradative water use for the major cereals and vegetables consumed in Beijing, enabling comparison of local and imported supplies. In the Beijing region, cropping cereals rather than intensive vegetables in greenhouses could reduce local blue water consumption by 7,216 cubic meters per hectare per year (m3 ha−1 yr−1) and nitrogen pollution by 45 kg ha−1 yr−1. However, depending on how the local food shortfall is balanced by imported food, shifts in cropping pattern in Beijing have the potential to cause either an improvement or exacerbation of the nationwide water stress situation (e.g., −42% to 4% for water scarcity footprint). As such, local policy making regarding agricultural land and water use needs to consider the wider food production context. This situation in Beijing is likely to be representative of the challenge facing many of the world's large and mega‐sized cities, where a sustainable means of increasing food supply must be found.


Low-pressure plasmas are known for their ability to synthesize nanoparticles via gas-phase nucleation. While in the past this particle formation has often been considered from the viewpoint of a contamination problem in semiconductor processing, we here describe a low-pressure plasma that enables the synthesis of faceted germanium nanocrystals. The germanium nanocrystals are generally single crystals without any planar defects such as twin boundaries. A change in the morphology with particle size is observed. Small germanium particles up to about 30 nm in size are mostly cubes with (100) crystal facets. Larger crystals between 30–60 nm are primarily cuboctahedrons. Even larger nanocrystals are mainly spherical. The shape evolution is interpreted in terms of the equilibrium shape of hydrogen-coated germanium crystals. Possible applications of these crystals are discussed.


As part of the creation and development of transport and logistics clusters in Ukraine, there is a need to develop an optimal scheme of composition and placement of railway transport objects. It was found that special attention should be given to mining and metallurgical complex enterprises on the development of iron ore deposits of the Kremenchug magnetic anomaly in Poltava region. Today, it is one of the most promising and profitable industries in Ukraine. For the improvement of technological processes at the mining and metallurgical complex enterprises for developing iron ore deposits, the possibilities of maintaining access lines by railway transport are analyzed. Current and predictable traffic volumes for each enterprise are revealed. The prospects of the transport service enterprise system, as well as crossing capacity of railway sections of the unified network are considered. Calculations of the required number of cars for the 2015-2021 are made. Recommendations for the development of interaction technology of the mining and metallurgical complex enterprises and railway, and reconstruction of the adjacent railway stations taking into account planned traffic volumes.


Genomic imprinting marks a subset of autosomal loci expressed in parent of origin-dependent monoallelic expression in a non-Mendelian fashion. To restore totipotency and to reset the imprint according to the sex of the individual, the mark must be erased during germline development. The imprinted Igf2-H19 loci located distally on chromosome 7 in mouse and 11p15.5 in human, share common regulatory elements that regulate differential expression. Where the H19 is silenced when paternally inherited, the Igf2 is silenced when maternally inherited. The differentially methylated 5'-flank of H19 gene, termed imprinting control region (ICR), shown to display a unique chromatin organisation harbours hypersensitive sites in linker regions flanked by positioned nucleosomes on the maternal allele. This unique chromatin conformation functions as a methylation-sensitive and unidirectional chromatin insulator, which later was found to depend on the chromatin insulator protein CTCF. The H19 ICR exhibits default-silencing functions in promoter-proximal positions. The maximal distance between the H19 ICR and the promoter of the reporter gene required for this effect was 1.2 ± 0.3kb which can be compared to the 1.9 kb distance between the endogenous H19 ICR and H19 promoter. Results suggest that the H19 ICR adopts a chromatin conformation that must be separated by a minimal distance from pivotal cis-regulatory elements to avoid adverse effects on neighbouring promoters. Poly(ADP-ribosy)lation represents a novel post-translational epigenetic mark that segregates with exclusively the maternal derived H19 ICR and associated with factors that interact with the CTCF target sites. CTCF is itself poly(ADP-ribosy)lated and the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor 3-aminobenzamide relieves the insulator function of the H19 ICR. Designed zinc finger proteins were applied to examine if epigenetic marks provided an obstacle for targeted activation and silencing. The zinc finger protein ZFP809 with activator/repressor domain able to efficiently activate/silence the IGF2 target. Murine hybrid cell lines of human chromosome 11, demonstrated that the ZFP809 overcame the epigenetic marks that repressed maternal IGF2 and paternal H19 allele, respectively. Results suggested that imprinted genes are not normally exposed to strong cis-regulatory elements and that the designed ZFPs can be exploited to develop a therapeutic method for rectifying epigenetic lesions.


Fish is considered as one of the most essential food items that provide proteins to build our body throughout the world. In Bangladesh, Fish and Fisheries sectors play an immensely important role in terms of nutrition, income, employment generation and foreign exchange earnings. Most of the lands in Sunamganj covered by haors and cannals and therefore many people in this area are involved in capturing fish than fish farming. In this study we aimed to assess the livelihood status of fishermen at Sunamganj. For this we randomly collected data based on a questionnaire from 425 fishermen during April 2018. We found most of the fishermen belong to middle age group and had middle family size. Around 56.3% fishermen took loan from different banks while only 3.1% received loan from NGO. The financial condition of fishers was observed very poor as the land owned by them was decreasing day by day. Though there was significant increase in monthly income compare to last 10 years, however it's not sufficient for better livelihood. Their socio-economic condition doesn't match with national economic progress. The results of logistic regression model shows that earning members had significant influence (OR=1.77, CI: 0.965,3.272, P<0.10) on taking loan, indicates that households with only one earning member are 1.77 times as likely to take loan than household with more than one earning members. That is taking loan is likely to increase around 77% for households with only one earning member. About 89.9% fishermen were afraid about their future earnings due to early/flash flood. Taken together, we may conclude that overall situation of the livelihood status is not so good because of more illiteracy, more loan and natural disasters like flood. So government and non-government organizations should play role to improve their economic status by providing well education to their children as well as give more incentives so that they don't need to take loan. In addition, need to construct of embankment or dam for protecting them from flood as well.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of an instrument to measure suffering of family of patients with terminal cancer. Methods: This research was a methodological study processed as follows: 1) The preliminary 32 items were developed based a conceptual framework of suffering for patients with cancer. 2) The content was validated by an expert panel (n=24) and the family of patients with terminal cancers (n=33). 3) The instrument was validated by survey (n=92). Finally, 29 items were selected in developing final version of the scale. Results: Seven factors were extracted through factor analysis: 'economical distress', 'loss of meaning in life', 'feeling of social isolation', 'emotional distress', 'burnout', 'guilty feeling', and 'physical discomfort'. These factors explained 66.94% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha and Guttman Split-half coefficient of the 29 items were .93 and .92. respectively. Conclusion: This scale identified as a valid and reliable tool with a high degree of reliability and validity. It can be effectively utilized to assess the degree of suffering of family in palliative care settings.


This project evaluates existing practices in community benefit models for offshore renewables. We identify and evaluate national and international case studies of different community benefit models, and provide evidence of how community benefits are delivered and distributed. In particular we consider the key relationship between how communities are identified, how impact is perceived, and how benefits may therefore be apportioned. We then assess the different mechanisms and schemes of benefit-sharing to identify good practice and key points of learning for Scottish policy and planning. The full report can be found at Community Benefits from Offshore Renewables: Good Practice Review.


Longitudinal immune studies of patients with hemophilia A were begun in 1982 by the Regional Hemophilia Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Serum samples collected from 74 participants between 1982 and 1985 were analyzed for antibody to human T-lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III)/lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV). The incidence of antibody to HTLV-III/LAV has increased significantly in this population of patients with hemophilia. Only one of eight hemophiliacs had detectable antibody before July 1982, whereas 88.7% (55/62) were positive in 1985. T-cell surface markers were markedly abnormal in seropositive hemophilia patients with decreased percentage and number of OKT4-positive cells compared with seronegative hemophiliacs and controls. Lymphoproliferative responses to mitogens and antigens were normal in seronegative hemophilia patients. Seropositive hemophiliacs, compared with seronegative hemophiliacs, had significantly decreased lymphoproliferative responses, especially to pokeweed mitogen, tetanus, and Candida stimulations. Immune studies of seven HTLV-III/LAV seropositive hemophiliacs revealed antigen unresponsiveness and decreased T4 cells 2 to 32 months prior to development of full-blown AIDS. Longitudinal immune studies from 1983-85 revealed increasing number of seropositive hemophiliacs with antigen unresponsiveness and decreased T4 cells.


Inflammation is a defensive reaction for external stimuli to the human body and generally accompanied by immune responses, which is associated with multiple diseases such as atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, psoriasis, asthma, chronic lung diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple virus-associated diseases. Epigenetic mechanisms have been demonstrated to play a key role in the regulation of inflammation. Common epigenetic regulations are DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNA expression; among these, histone modifications embrace various post-modifications including acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and ADP ribosylation. This review focuses on the significant role of histone modifications in the progression of inflammatory diseases, providing the potential target for clinical therapy of inflammation-associated diseases.


Two compact yet high performance standard cell libraries (CyHP libraries), which contain only 11 and 20 cells respectively, are proposed. The first CyHP Library leads to 5% increase in delay compared to a library containing about 400 cells. The second CyHP library suppresses delay increase up to 2%. The compact nature of these libraries not only reduces the cost and time for generation and maintenance substantially (thus enables new technologies to be adopted immediately), but also shortens synthesis time to about a half. Application results of these libraries to standard benchmarks and an industry design of about 80 K gates are present.


The probing test is a typical quality control method for individual chips on a wafer. With a proper design, the service life of probing needles in the probe card can be sufficiently elongated and hence reduces the testing cost. In this paper, we followed the Taguchi method with the L18(21 times 37) orthogonal array to obtain an optimal geometrical design of the probing needle based on the minimization of the scrub length the probe tip travels during a wafer-level probing test procedure. Geometrical factors of the needle included tip shape, needle diameter, beam length, taper length, knee diameter, shooting angle, tip length, and tip diameter. Importance of theses factors on the scrub length was also ranked.


This study explores the probabilities of being employed, unemployed, and not in the labour force, for men and women in same-sex couples and married and unmarried opposite-sex couples. Same-sex partners were more likely to be unemployed than married opposite-sex partners but less likely than unmarried opposite-sex partners. Laws prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination had positive and larger effects on unemployment for same-sex partners than for other partners. The presence of young children increased the probability of being out of the labour force more for male same-sex partners than for other men, and less for female same-sex partners than for other women.


One of the main objectives to be accomplished by the European Union law is to eliminate barriers to the functioning of domestic market and in particular improve the competitiveness of enterprises. After several years of efforts, on 16 March 2011 the European Commission approved a proposal for the directive on a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base which is to remove obstacles to the functioning of internal market and increase tax harmonization in the EU. The paper addresses issues relating to tax in corporate finance. Canons of taxation will be discussed and special emphasis will be placed on principles behind formulating fiscal law provisions (including the EU law). Furthermore, the article presents the results of surveys into the importance of taxation canons for Polish and EU companies.


Software developers often reuse code from online sources such as Stack Overflow within their projects. However, the process of searching for code snippets and integrating them within existing source code can be tedious. In order to improve efficiency and reduce time spent on code reuse, we present an automated code reuse tool for the Eclipse IDE (Integrated Developer Environment), NLP2TestableCode. NLP2TestableCode can not only search for Java code snippets using natural language tasks, but also evaluate code snippets based on a user's existing code, modify snippets to improve fit and correct errors, before presenting the user with the best snippet, all without leaving the editor. NLP2TestableCode also includes functionality to automatically generate customisable test cases and suggest argument and return types, in order to further evaluate code snippets. In evaluation, NLP2TestableCode was capable of finding compilable code snippets for 82.9% of tasks, and testable code snippets for 42.9%.


Abstract The geosciences (inclusive of geology, oceanography, atmospheric science and allied disciplines) have an ethical imperative to increase diversity in the profession. The diverse ways of exploring the Earth system, and the complexity of the grand challenges facing humanity living on Earth, require contributions of experience, skills, knowledge and motivations from diverse populations. Diversity increases creativity and problem-solving abilities in working groups, and ultimately is important for the long-term health of the geoscience discipline, for contributions that impact the health and security of society and for stewardship of the planet. Barriers and disincentives for people from underrepresented groups in the geosciences are identified, and interventions and remedies are recommended. Increasing diversity will take an all-discipline commitment by geoscientists and geoscience departments, companies and institutions. All people should have access and opportunity to pursue careers in the geosciences. Geoscientists have a responsibility to create work spaces that are welcoming, inclusive, safe and supportive.


An eight-channel monolithically integrated complex-coupled distributed-feedback laser array based on sampled gratings has been designed and fabricated. Selective lasing at different wavelengths is obtained. The frequency separation between each adjacent channel is about 200 GHz. The typical threshold current is between 30 and 40 mA. The optical output power of each channel is about 10 mW at an injection current of 100 mA. The continuous tuning of emission wavelength with injected currents is also demonstrated.


Pharmacobezoars, bezoars comprised of medications, are unusual entities. Medications reported to cause bezoars include aluminum hydroxide gel, enteric-coated aspirin, sucralfate, guar gum, cholestyramine, enteral feeding formulas, psyllium preparations, nifedipine XL, and meprobamate. They most often occur, as do bezoars of any type, in a background of altered motility or anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract. Bowel hypoactivity, dehydration, and concomitant use of anticholinergics and narcotis appear to contribute to the propensity for bezoar formation by aluminum hydroxide gel and Isocal. The hygroscopic properties of psyllium and guar gum appear to contribute to their propensity to form bezoars. Insolubility of the carrying vehicle of enteric-coated aspirin and nifedipine is the setting in which these medications form bezoars. In contrast to nonmedication bezoars, pharmacobezoars may produce additional symptoms, those related to the release of their active ingredients. In patients with suspected gastrointestinal tract emptying problems, whether esophageal, gastric, small bowel, or colonic, the astute clinician should consider pharmacobezoar in the differential diagnosis.


The prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)- and plasmidic AmpC-beta-lactamase (pAmpC-BL)-producing Escherichia coli isolates has been studied in food-producing animals at the farm level in Tunisia, and recovered isolates were characterized for the presence of other resistance genes and integrons. Eighty fecal samples of food-producing animals (23 sheep, 22 chickens, 22 cattle, six horses, five rabbits, and two dromedaries) were obtained from 35 different farms in Tunisia in 2011. Samples were inoculated onto MacConkey agar plates supplemented with cefotaxime (2 mg/L) for cefotaxime-resistant (CTX(R)) E. coli recovery. CTX(R) E. coli isolates were detected in 11 out of 80 samples (13.8%), and one isolate per sample was further characterized (10 from chickens and one from a dromedary). The 11 CTX(R) isolates were distributed into phylogroups: B1 (five isolates), A (two isolates), D (three isolates), and B2 (one isolate). The following beta-lactamase genes were detected: bla(CTX-M-1) (seven isolates), bla(CTX-M-1)+bla(TEM-135) (one isolate), bla(CTX-M-1)+bla(TEM-1b) (one isolate), and bla(CMY-2) (two isolates). All ESBL- and pAmpC-BL-producing E. coli strains showed unrelated pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. Seven isolates contained class 1 integrons with four gene cassette arrangements: dfrA17-aadA5 (three isolates), dfrA1-aadA1 (two isolates), dfrA15-aadA1 (one isolate), and aadA1 (one isolate). All isolates showed tetracycline resistance and contained the tet(A) +/- tet(B) genes. Virulence genes detected were as follows (number of isolates in parentheses): fimA (10); aer (eight); papC (two); and papGIII, hly, cnf, and bfp (none). Chicken farms constitute a reservoir of ESBL- and pAmpC-BL-producing E. coli isolates of the CTX-M-1 and CMY-2 types that potentially could be transmitted to humans via the food chain or by direct contact.


Equivalence-based instruction (EBI) is an efficient method that has been used to teach various skills, including content in college courses. This study extended the literature on EBI in higher education by teaching 13 graduate students to identify features of functional analysis conditions and variations. Equivalence-based instruction methods were implemented using Canvas, an online learning management system. Participants completed pretests, experienced EBI individually and in small groups, and completed a posttest, all using the quiz feature in Canvas. The EBI modules increased students' posttest scores relative to pretest scores by 36%, on average, and there was a slight increase in correct responding in the group relative to the individual teaching condition. Furthermore, responses to social-validity surveys indicated that EBI was acceptable to most students; however, students' preferences for group and individual EBI varied.


Recreational scuba diving is a growing sport worldwide, with an estimated 4 million sport divers in the United States alone. Because divers may seek medical care for a disorder acquired in a remote location, physicians everywhere should be familiar with the physiology, injury patterns, and treatment of injuries and illnesses unique to the underwater environment. Failure to properly recognize, diagnose, and appropriately treat some diving injuries can have catastrophic results. In addition, recreational dive certification organizations require physical examinations for medical clearance to dive. This article will review both common and potentially life-threatening conditions associated with diving and will review current evidence behind fitness to dive considerations for elderly divers and those with common medical conditions.


Are systems we use for resolving disputes designed in a user-friendly manner? What motivates us to accept a decision handed down by an ombuds? There is scant empirical evidence to help understand what users of ombuds expect from them and what informs these expectations. Yet, in a recent wide-ranging study Creutzfeldt (2016) asked people who had just been through an ombuds procedure about precisely these issues. Exploring the importance of fairness perceptions for ombuds procedures, one of the findings of the project was that decision-acceptance (and trust) was linked to users being heard, having a voice, and especially their "first impressions" of the ombuds. Does this finding hold true across different jurisdictions, though? By focusing on users of the German insurance ombuds (Versicherungsombudsmann) and the Financial Ombudsman Services (FOS) in the UK, this chapter will explore how procedural justice matters in different ways in different legal cultures. The data reveal culturally distinct narratives about expectations towards ombuds, which we suggest is partially a result of the different legal socialization experiences of people in Germany and the UK. Having identified patterns within the private sector, lessons learned for the public sector are discussed. We conclude this chapter with some thoughts as to how this study might direct future understandings of user experience and future research.


Recent advances in data collection and computational statistics coupled with increases in computer processing power, along with the plunging costs of storage are making technologies to effectively analyze large sets of heterogeneous data ubiquitous. Applying such technologies (often referred to as big data technologies) to an ever growing number and variety of internal and external data sources, businesses and institutions can discover hidden correlations between data items, and extract actionable insights needed for innovation and economic growth. While on one hand big data technologies yield great promises, on the other hand, they raise critical security, privacy, and ethical issues, which if left unaddressed may become significant barriers to the fulfillment of expected opportunities and long-term success of big data. In this paper, we discuss the benefits of big data to individuals and society at large, focusing on seven key use cases: Big data for business optimization and customer analytics, big data and science, big data and health care, big data and finance, big data and the emerging energy distribution systems, big/open data as enablers of openness and efficiency in government, and big data security. In addition to benefits and opportunities, we discuss the security, privacy, and ethical issues at stake.


We develop and implement a modified source-scanning algorithm (SSA) method to estimate the absolute event locations in the presence of velocity model errors, commonly found around fault zones. We split the array into subarrays of clustered receivers, for which relative travel-time errors are smaller. We apply a conventional SSA using both P and S waves to each subarray and combine the estimations using a probabilistic scheme to yield locations that are robust to velocity model errors. We also compute uncertainty estimations for the locations. We apply the method to 688 aftershocks recorded by 197 short-period geophones deployed as part of the Ridgecrest dense array. The dense receiver deployment allows for the recording of spatially coherent seismic arrivals. We compare 339 locations to a relocated catalog built using a sparser regional array and the same 1D velocity model. In general, locations are consistent despite the different methodology and recorded data. We qualitatively compare location estimations using the alignment of time-shifted seismograms, utilizing the spatial coherency of the dense subarrays. Our locations yield, in most cases, better alignment and are 2 km deeper on average. For events in the northern part of the study area, our locations are shifted to the north-east. We discuss various potential causes for the differences between estimations and investigate the possibility of velocity-driven biases in our locations. We also attempt to approximate the scale of lateral velocity heterogeneity near the fault in the northern part of the region. Although our location method is tailored to the Ridgecrest dense array, it demonstrates that using dense arrays may help mitigate the effect of velocity model errors on the absolute locations.


ABSTRACT The education system in England, along with the leadership and management of its schools, has changed dramatically over the past fifteen years, heavily influenced by key features of the private school sector. However, in this article, it is argued that the strong policy focus on autonomy and diversity was in fact an accentuation of the historical tradition of the English system: secondary heads and their staff having much more autonomy and schools being more diverse than is generally the case elsewhere. In order to contextualise any analysis of the current politicised, centralised school system in England, it is important to first understand how the marketized and semi-privatised arrangements came about. This article questions whether, despite being constantly subjected to policy change and reorganisation, any improvements in either academic outcomes or equity issues could be claimed. It then asks how socially just current educational provision could claim to be, with its distorting accountability measures and emphasis on the individual school rather than the system as a whole. It highlights key implications for system design, encompassing both processes and structures, surrounding the leadership and management of schools across England.


Abstract In modern areas of knowledge related to electric drive automation, there is often a need to predict the state variables of the drive system state variables, such as phase current and voltage, electromagnetic torque, stator and rotor flux, and others. This need arises mainly from the use of predictive control algorithms but also from the need to monitor the state of the drive to diagnose possible faults that have not yet occurred but may occur in the future. This paper presents a method for predicting stator phase current signals using a network composed of long-short-term memory units, allowing the simultaneous prediction of two signals. The developed network was trained on a set of current signals generated by software. Its operation was verified by simulation tests in a direct rotor flux-oriented control (DRFOC) structure for an induction motor drive in the Matlab/Simulink environment. An important property of this method is the possibility of obtaining a filtering action on the output of the network, whose intensity can be controlled by varying the sampling frequency of the training signals.


Generalization in reinforcement learning (RL) is of importance for real deployment of RL algorithms. Various schemes are proposed to address the generalization issues, including transfer learning, multi-task learning and meta learning, as well as the robust and adversarial reinforcement learning. However, there is not a unified formulation of the various schemes, as well as the comprehensive comparisons of methods across different schemes. In this work, we propose a game-theoretic framework for the generalization in reinforcement learning, named GiRL, where an RL agent is trained against an adversary over a set of tasks, where the adversary can manipulate the distributions over tasks within a given threshold. With different configurations, GiRL can reduce the various schemes mentioned above. To solve GiRL, we adapt the widely-used method in game theory, policy space response oracle (PSRO) with the following three important modifications: i) we use model-agnostic meta learning (MAML) as the best-response oracle, ii) we propose a modified projected replicated dynamics, i.e., R-PRD, which ensures the computed meta-strategy of the adversary fall in the threshold, and iii) we also propose a protocol for the few-shot learning of the multiple strategies during testing. Extensive experiments on MuJoCo environments demonstrate that our proposed methods can outperform existing baselines, e.g., MAML.


The internal friction and Young's modulus of a series of superconductors NdxY1-xBa2Cu3Oy (x = 0.0-1.0) were measured over the temperature range from 300 to 1050 K using a 200 kHz LiNbO3 piezoelectric composite oscillator. Anelastic relaxation peaks due to oxygen migration were observed at about 850 K. The minimum Young's modulus, which is related to the orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition, was also observed near this temperature. The temperature at the minimum Young's modulus decreased with an increase in the neodymium composition. In contrast, the internal friction peak temperature showed an unsystematic shift with an increase in x, while changes of the average cell structure exhibited a linear relationship when plotted versus the average ionic radius for trivalent rare-earth ions with the coordination number eight.


Mechanical properties and neutron shielding performance of concrete with amorphous boron steel fiber have been investigated in this study. The measurement of this investigation includes air contents, slump loss, compressive strength, flexural strength, flexural toughness and neutron shielding rate. Four different fiber volume fractions were selected ranging from 0.25% to 1.0% by volume for the amorphous boron steel fibers. The testing results showed that the flexural toughness and the neutron shielding rate were increase with the increase of volume fraction for amorphous boron steel fiber. Based on the result, it is concluded that the concrete with the amorphous boron steel fiber can be effectively applied to shield the neutron and to improve mechanical properties.


In 2001, the University of Twente started a new course on Industrial Design Engineering. This paper describes the insights that have been employed in developing the curriculum, and in developing the environment in which the educational activities are facilitated. The University of Twente has a broad experience with project-oriented education [1], and because one of the goals of the curriculum is to get the students acquainted with working methods as employed in e.g. design bureaus, this project-oriented approach has been used as the basis for the new course. In everyday practice, this implies a number of prerequisites to be imposed on the learning environment: instead of focusing on the sheer transfer of information, this environment must allow the students to imbibe the knowledge and competences that make them better designers. Consequently, a much more flexible environment has to be created, in which working as a team becomes habitual, and where cutting-edge technologies are available to facilitate the process. This can be realized because every student owns a laptop, with all relevant software and a full-grown course management system within reach. Moreover, the learning environment provides the fastest possible wireless network and Internet access available [2]. This obviously has its repercussions on the way the education is organized. On the one hand, e.g. virtual reality tools, CAD software and 3D printing are addressed in the curriculum, whereas on the other hand more traditional techniques (like sketching and model making) are conveyed explicitly as well. Together with a sound footing in basic disciplines ranging from mathematics to design history, this course offers the students a profound education in Industrial Design Engineering. The paper describes in more detail the curriculum and the education environment, based on which it is assessed if the course on Industrial Design Engineering can live up to its motto: 'Create the future', and what can be done to further enable the students to acquire the full denotation of that motto.


The paper gives the results of the first studies on the chemistry of cloud water collected during 3 mo (Aug.-Oct. 2010) in the free atmosphere over the area to the south of the Tri-City (Gdansk-Sopot-Gdynia) conurbation on the Gulf of Gdansk, Poland. Taken from cumulus, stratus, and stratocumulus clouds by means of an aircraft-mounted collector, the water samples were analyzed for the following contaminants: anions (chlorides, fluorides, nitrates, sulfates, and phosphates), cations (lithium, sodium, potassium, ammonium, calcium, and magnesium), and trace metals. In addition, pH values were measured, and the type and composition of suspended particulate matter was determined. We discuss the relationship between the concentration of inorganic ions and the type of cloud from which water was sampled. The chemistry is also likely related to the circulation pattern and inflow of clean air masses from the Baltic Sea. Moreover, a relationship was found between the composition of the samples examined and the location of pollutant emission sources.


INTRODUCTION
Trapezometacarpal instability with trapezial dysplasia is an incapacitating condition long before radiological changes appear. Most of the patients are young and demanding. Treatment is often conservative. Surgical treatment options are relatively classic, starting with a ligamentoplasty of the base of the first metacarpal or a tenotomy of the transarticular accessory slip of the abductor pollicis longus. Other options such as arthrodesis and arthroplasty have not been so successful in this situation.

METHOD
The idea arose to combine two techniques described previously. In 1973 Wilson published his technique of abduction osteotomy of the first metacarpal as a treatment for basal osteoarthritis of the thumb. In 2002, Kapandji and Heim published their opening wedge osteotomy of the trapezium in order to correct the slope of a dysplastic trapezium. The combination of both of these techniques avoids closing of the first web by utilising the abduction osteotomy of the first metacarpal. Moreover, the opening wedge osteotomy corrects the dysplastic lateral rim of the trapezium by correcting its slope.

RESULTS
We have been performing this technique since 2001 and 2005 in six patients. The preliminary results are encouraging, 5 of them were able to resume their work. A fair result was achieved in a young patient.

DISCUSSION
The described technique is relatively easy and has the advantage of preserving the trapezometacarpal joint. In addition, it leaves the door open for other techniques if it eventually should fail in the long term.


A software framework for the development of Web-based medical education is proposed. The objective is to optimize the development process by introducing Learning Objects (LO) and Learning Object Classes (LO Classes) so that the content preparation can be separated from the educational issues, ergonomic design, and technical realization. Based on the concept of case-based, problem-oriented education, different learning scenarios were analysed and then modelled as different LOs. These LOs can be further abstracted in several reusable LO Classes that represent certain patterns of content structure, pedagogical concept, and user interface. With the help of LO input templates, the educational material can be prepared by the authors in the authoring process easily and appropriately. An LO content management system was developed to store and maintain different LOs and to generate the Web-presentation of LOs adaptively and dynamically in the tutoring process. This software framework has been applied to the exemplary development of an interactive course in orthopaedics. The LOs and LO Classes also help to maintain consistency of the course representation to users. As a result, more efficiency in the development phase and good usability and quality of the end products can be achieved.


We are very pleased to publish this special edition of the Health Law Review which is comprised of articles resulting from a Canadian Network for the Governance of Ethical Health Research Involving Humans' retreat held in the summer of 2008. Michael McDonald's introduction provides an excellent overview of this issue. By the time we go to press our new website will be launched. We hope you take a look and find timely information on issues in health law, as well as details of current activities and research at the Health Law Institute. We look forward to receiving comments from our users as we continue to work to ensure this is a useful resource, www.law.ualberta.ca/centres/hli On the conference front, Robyn Hyde-Lay, GEL (3) S Project Manager, is coordinating the 5th International Conference on DNA Sampling being held September 16-18, 2009 at the Rimrock Hotel in Banff, Alberta. The conference title is "The Age of Personalized Genomics" and is being organized by a team led by Professor Timothy Caulfield. The line-up of internationally acclaimed speakers means this promises to be a not-to-be missed event for everyone interested in this timely issue, including governments, policy makers, NGOs, academics, and practitioners in law, health care and the sciences. Specific information regarding the conference and the call for abstracts is available at www.genomealberta.ca/APG. The line up of speakers in the last few months of our seminar series was amazing. We started the New Year with a panel on Bill 52, introduced into the Alberta Legislature to amend the Health Information Act. Frank Work, Q.C., the Privacy Commissioner of Alberta; Dr. Brendan Bunting, former President of the Alberta Medical Association; Dr. Trevor Theman, Registrar of the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Ms. Wendy Armstrong, with the Alberta chapter of the Consumers' Association of Canada, all weighed in on changes that would see major shifts in the way health information is handled in the context of electronic health records and data repositories. Professor Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University, an internationally recognized expert in public health law, spoke to the ethical and pragmatic imperative of wealthy nations to work towards a global framework for health in developing countries. Mary Anne Bobinski, Dean of Law at the University of British Columbia, provided a compelling comparison of health care reform in Canada and the U.S. with a focus on two cases involving constitutional challenges in each respective nation. Professor Timothy Jost of the William and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia, provided the latest word on the health care reform agenda of President Barack Obama and the challenges that will be faced in attempting to implement this. …


Suicidal ideation (SI) and thoughts of death are often experienced as fluctuating; therefore a dynamic representation of this highly important indicator of suicide risk is warranted. Theoretical accounts have suggested that affective, behavioral, and interpersonal factors may influence the experience of thoughts of death/SI. This study aimed to examine the prospective and dynamic impact of these constructs in relation to thoughts of death and SI. We assessed adolescents with a recent hospitalization for elevated suicide risk over 6 months. Using the methodology of the Longitudinal Interval Follow-Up Evaluation, weekly ratings for SI, course of depressive illness, affect sensitivity, negative affect intensity, behavioral dysregulation, peer invalidation, and family invalidation were obtained. Using multilevel modeling, results indicated that (a) same-week ratings between these constructs and SI were highly correlated at baseline and throughout follow-up; (b) baseline ratings of affect sensitivity, behavioral dysregulation, and peer invalidation were positive prospective predictors of SI at any week of follow-up; (c) weekly ratings of each of these constructs had significant associations with next-week ratings of SI; and (d) ratings of SI had positive significant associations with next-week ratings on each of the constructs. These results suggest that affective sensitivity, behavioral dysregulation, peer invalidation, and SI are highly associated with SI levels both chronically (over months) and acutely (one week to the next), whereas depression, negative affect intensity, and family invalidation were more acutely predictive of SI. Elevated SI may then aggravate all these factors in a reciprocal manner.


An inorganic nano-network of attapulgite is formed from rigid nanorods using ion beam bombardment. The structure of the nano-networks depends on the ion beam fluence for the same ion energy. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that ion beam bombardment improves the dispersion of the attapulgite particles and the change in the shape of the rod-shaped attapulgite particles stems from the thermal stress induced by ion beam bombardment. This phenomenon is more obvious for higher ion fluences. The bent or twisted rod-shaped attapulgite particles cross-link to form a network structure, which is stable in water, and when the ion fluence is increased further, the cross-linked points are permanently sealed. The improved materials are more useful than clava attapulgite particles.


Unsafe work behavior that is continually carried out by workers will risk causing serious work accidents. One of the efforts to prevent work accidents whose biggest cause is unsafe action or unsafe behavior is to implement a behavior based safety program as a process of increasing safe work behavior. The purpose of this study is to determine the implementation of the level of implementation of the Behavior Based Safety management system of Occupational Safety and Health of PT Semen Baturaja (Persero), knowing the stages in the risk of accident rates at work and knowing the behavior carried out by workers. Based on the results of research activities at PT. Semen Baturaja (Persero) Tbk, the following conclusions can be obtained as the level of application of OHS management based on behavior based safety at PT Semen Baturaja (Persero) in terms of organizational and management factors of 85.2%, environmental factors of 84.7%, individual factors by 84.1%, and hazardous behavior factors by 79% in the good category and run effectively. For the implementation of behavior based safety level of 83.25% and included in the category of very good and effective. Based on the results of the analysis there are some input provided for the company, while the solutions given to the company to prevent the formation of dangerous behavior so that the company can reduce the number of work accidents and Improving safety performance involves involving all employees and company staff in safety management, focusing on unsafe behavior (up to the smallest proportion), support from management, especially managers on occupational safety and health, and implementing a Behavior Based Safety approach to the company.


The adherence of sovereign states to international rules and regulations without the presence of regulatory authority which is normally the case in domestic law, has always been a matter of serious discussion in the jurisprudence of international law. Franck espoused a concept of legitimacy which is a function of perception of those in the community concerned that the rule or the institution has come into being endowed with legitimacy, that is in accordance with right process and more legitimate a rule or institution is, greater is its compliance pull. Franck analyzed legitimacy in terms of four factors: (a) determinacy, (b) symbolic validation, (c) coherence and (d) adherence (to a normative hierarchy). An analysis of the TRIPS Agreement in terms of the above four factors suggest that the TRIPS Agreement does not possess the above factors sufficiently to attract compliance. The inherent weakness of the TRIPS Agreement is in the text which does not introduce certainty and the Dispute Settlement System has not been very successful in introducing process determinacy. The circumstances in which TRIPS was prepared and adopted also impair the validity. It has been suggested that certain urgent changes are required in the TRIPS Agreement to make it a legitimate international treaty.


Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has a history of being interdisciplinary from its conception. Its beginnings have included computer scientists, psychologists, cognitive scientists, and educational researchers. These collaborations have been fruitful but have also posed challenges (Suthers et al., 2013). This article builds on the authors' extensive review of the CSCL literature to examine the nature of interdisciplinary collaboration in CSCL research as well as an interdisciplinary CSCL workshop. Using a corpus of more than 700 CSCL articles, we reported an updated analysis for the theories and methods used in CSCL research. In addition, bibliometric analyses examined journals that publish CSCL research and are cited by CSCL research. CSCL research is published in journals that are aligned with interdisciplinary research with large contributions from educational research followed by technology related fields and social sciences. The contributions from domain knowledge journals are relatively weak. These analyses revealed disciplinary influences and uptakes of CSCL research and how they might differ across CSCL research clusters. Lastly, we provide a case example of a CSCL workshop to further demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Through these analyses we aim to characterize the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration in CSCL research. Interdisciplinarity has helped CSCL research to adopt multiple theories and methods to understand CSCL. While cultivating diversity, we also need to be mindful that research outcomes are exchanged and appropriated actively across participating disciplines so that our understanding of CSCL rises above individual disciplines.


This analysis examines how shifts in the age distribution of the U.S. population, reflecting both the aging of the baby-boom generation and increased longevity, will affect demand for hospital inpatient services during the next ten years. Over that period, aging will drive about 0.74 percent annual growth in use of services. Aging's effect on inpatient demand varies by medical condition, with the highest rates of growth in services most used by elderly patients. Even for those services, however, aging is a much less important factor than local population trends and changing practice patterns attributable to advancing medical technology.


.................................................................................................. 3 Literature Review ....................................................................................... 4 Bilingualism and Language Access .............................................................. 4 Priming and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) .................................................. 6 Study Overview ......................................................................................... 16 Methods ................................................................................................... 18 Participants .......................................................................................... 18 Part 1 ............................................................................................. 18 Part 2 ............................................................................................. 19 Measures ............................................................................................. 19 Demographics Questionnaire ................................................................ 19 Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q) ....................... 20 Spanish and English Picture Identification Task (PIT) ................................... 20 Spanish and English Reading Comprehension Task ........................................ 21 Interlingual Sentences ......................................................................... 21 Procedures .............................................................................................. 22 Part 1: Screening Procedures ................................................................. 22 Part 2: ERP Task .............................................................................. 22 EEG Recording ...................................................................................... 23 ERP Data Analysis ........................................................................................... 23 Statistical Analysis ................................................................................. 23 Results .................................................................................................... 24 ERP Task Accuracy ................................................................................. 24 N200 Amplitude .................................................................................... 24 N400 Amplitude .................................................................................... 25 Discussion ................................................................................................ 26 Limitations and Future Directions .................................................................. 31 References ................................................................................................ 32 Tables and Figures ...................................................................................... 36 Appendix A ............................................................................................... 41 Appendix B .............................................................................................. 43 LANGUAGE ACCESS, BILINGUALISM, ERP 3 Abstract Research suggests that code-switching between two languages is possible because there is nonselective access to both languages, i.e., both languages are interdependent and stored in a shared lexicon. In this study, we used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to measure the neural processes associated with language access, in particular, the ERP components: N200 and N400. Although previous studies have utilized these ERPs to investigate language access usingResearch suggests that code-switching between two languages is possible because there is nonselective access to both languages, i.e., both languages are interdependent and stored in a shared lexicon. In this study, we used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to measure the neural processes associated with language access, in particular, the ERP components: N200 and N400. Although previous studies have utilized these ERPs to investigate language access using interlingual homographs, i.e., words that look the same in two languages but have different meanings, these have focused on comparisons of monolingual and bilinguals. In contrast, we used a design that looked at Spanish speakers who were early or late English learners, and had high proficiency in both languages. We investigated if early learners can suppress their first language (L1-Spanish) as efficiently as late learners. Both early and late highly proficient Spanish-English bilinguals read sentences in their second language (L2-English) that contained Spanish-English homographs. Further, the study used the amplitude of the N200 and N400 components to investigate whether participants used nonselective access to process homographs or whether they rapidly translated from one language to the other. Participants integrated the English meaning of the interlingual homographs with more ease (small, less negative N200 and N400) than the Spanish meaning. Our findings suggest that early and late bilinguals process interlingual homograph sentences in a similar fashion. Additionally, it has been suggested that highly proficient bilinguals, regardless of age of acquisition, can alter which lexicon is accessed faster because the strength of lexical connections increase with higher proficiency. Lastly, bilingual word recognition involves a language nonselective processing system that may function more or less selectively depending on task demands and linguistic context.


Summary The effect of hyperthermia on bleomycin (BLEO) toxicity and repair was studied in "unfed" monolayer cultures of Chinese hamster cells. Synergy of toxicities was observed with simultaneous exposure to BLEO and 43°. For example, when cells were exposed for 1 hr to BLEO (40 µ g/ml) at 43°, survival was reduced to 4 × 10 −5 ; separately, hyperthermia and 37° BLEO exposure each resulted in a survival of 20%. Heating at 43° prior to drug exposure at 37° also produced substantial sensitization, indicating that the primary sensitizing effect involved cell damage rather than an increased rate of drug action; 41° produced only modest cell sensitization to BLEO and the effect was not retained in cells heated prior to drug exposure. No increase in [ 14 C]BLEO uptake was observed at 43° over that at 37°, and thus the increased cytotoxicity was not correlated with a gross change in cell permeability to BLEO, although increased drug availability to particular sensitive targets could not be ruled out. Studies of the repair kinetics after different 43° BLEO protocols demonstrated that most of the cells sustaining potentially lethal damage rapidly recovered. However, 43° hyperthermia inhibited this recovery and, with increasing durations of 43° exposure, the fixation of potentially lethal damage was enhanced. Because of the substantial repair of BLEO damage observed in vivo , the possible usefulness of hyperthermia as an adjunct to BLEO therapy is discussed.


This study aims at unravelling the various features of complex Indian culture. Based on our arguments that India cannot be used as a surrogate for single culture, we postulated that the various regions within India differ culturally as they differ along geographic, climatic, economic, linguistic and ethnic lines. The study compares the cultural values of four states namely Punjab in north, Tamil Nadu in south, Gujarat in west and West Bengal in eastern India. The states were chosen taking into account their geographical distance, different historical backgrounds and contrasting social patterns in the regions. Professor Geert Hofstede's employed to operationalise culture and to compare the regions on the five cultural dimensions.


Introduction : Osteopontin (OPN) is an extracellular matrix protein with a wide range of functions. Previous studies showed that OPN is involved in the development of emphysema in a murine model.In addition, high OPN expression in alveolar macrophages is associated with decreased FEV1/FVC in subjects with COPD. However, there is limited information regarding the association between the circulating OPN levels and the clinical course of COPD.

Objective : To evaluate the association of circulating OPN levels and the clinical course of COPD in a 5-year prospective observational cohort study.

Methods : A total of 261 subjects who participated in the Hokkaido COPD cohort study were included for this analysis. Plasma OPN levels were measured at enrollment using Human CardiovascularMAP® (Myriad RBM, Austin, TX). All subjects were divided into two groups according to their plasma OPN levels (high OPN group, OPN ≥ 10 ng/mL; low OPN group, OPN < 10 ng/mL). We compared the baseline characteristics and clinical course of COPD, including the annual change in FEV1, exacerbation rate, and mortality during follow-up.

Results : Univariate analysis showed that the mean body mass index (BMI) was lower andCT emphysema score was higher in the high OPN group than that in the low OPN group (P < 0.05).Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models revealed that higher plasma OPN levels was significantly increased the risk of exacerbation and mortality during follow-up after controlling for age, sex, height, and BMI (P < 0.05), whereas the mean annual change in FEV1 was not statistically different between the two groups.

Conclusion : Plasma OPN levels were associated with the exacerbation rate and mortality in patients with COPD.


BACKGROUND
Little is known about the effect of provider type and experience on outcomes, resource use, and processes of care of hospitalized patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Hospitalists are caring for this population with increasing frequency.

METHODS
Data from a natural experiment in which patients were assigned to physicians on the basis of call cycle was used to study the effects of provider type-that is, hospitalist versus nonhospitalist-and HIV-specific inpatient experience on resource use, outcomes, and selected measures of processes of care at 6 academic institutions. Administrative data, inpatient interviews, 30-day follow-up interviews, and the National Death Index were used to measure outcomes.

RESULTS
A total of 1207 patients were included in the analysis. There were few differences in resource use, outcomes, and processes of care by provider type and experience with HIV-infected inpatients. Patients who received hospitalist care demonstrated a trend toward increased length of hospital stay compared with patients who did not receive hospitalist care (6.0 days vs. 5.2 days; P = .13). Inpatient providers with moderate experience with HIV-infected patients were more likely to coordinate care with outpatient providers (odds ratio, 2.40; P = .05) than were those with the least experience with HIV-infected patients, but this pattern did not extend to providers with the highest level of experience.

CONCLUSION
Provider type and attending physician experience with HIV-infected inpatients had minimal effect on the quality of care of HIV-infected inpatients. Approaches other than provider experience, such as the use of multidisciplinary inpatient teams, may be better targets for future studies of the outcomes, processes of care, and resource use of HIV-infected inpatients.


Md. Mohsin Uddin Siddique, BRAC University, November 2008. Prospects & Problems of Women Entrepreneurs: A study of Dhaka City Major supervisor: M.A. Hakim, Ph.D. The study was conducted to have an overview of the existing condition of women entrepreneurs in Dhaka city in line with their problems and prospects. It was also conducted to come up with recommendations and suggestions to address existing problems to promote a gender-friendly business environment. The analysis was based on primary data collected through personal interviews spread over a period of six months. Number of total sample is (84) eighty four. Samples were taken from 15 Thanas of Dhaka city. A set of questionnaire was prepared to conduct the field survey. The questionnaire consisted of 6 sections: both closed and open-ended questions were included. Women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh is more than just income generation. It is about working to build a more prosperous country, to lift the many millions of Bangladesh people out of poverty. It is about achieving economic independence and women's empowerment. And it is about striving for emancipation of women's gender roles, to create a better future for generations of women to come. The study finds that women are engaged in different types o f enterprises. Most o f the cases show that women entrepreneurs selected their enterprises with what they were familiar. The study clearly indicates that lack of capital is still the main problem. The other major problems include absence of marketing facilities and proper sales centers. Another common barrier faced by the women entrepreneurs is balancing time between the enterprise and the family. Others constants are machinery, equipment, technology and power supply. This study conveys the message that if the women are provided with appropriate training and need-based financial and related assistance, they will enter into the entrepreneurial occupation in a large number and will prove their worth to contribute to the economy of Bangladesh. Both the government organizations and private sector have a major responsibility to promote entrepreneurship development for women. Without their interventions the advancement of women and women entrepreneurship cannot be achieved.


Good crisis management is crucial for the survival of businesses. Yet, many companies fail to respond adequately in periods of crises because they do not know how to create their crisis response strategy. To create an approach for solving this problem, this paper aims to bring together the concepts of crisis response strategies and proactive behaviour. This is done by creating a model with the help of current literature on both topics and a case study. The model will give the idea what factors are important in creating a proactive crisis response strategy. The final model consists of five pillars; the main pillars are the promise of undertaking corrective and / or precautionary actions and long-term vision with the supporting pillars being intrinsic motivation, transparent communication and leadership. The first two are of high importance for businesses in crisis situations while the latter are of lower importance. Ultimately, the intention of this paper is to create a basis for further research in the field of proactive crisis management so that companies can survive periods of crises with as little damage as possible.


To improve national food security, successive Mali governments have always focused on expanding and intensifying production in the government-managed irrigation schemes (Office du Niger), which account for about 50% of domestic rice production. Because the cost of expanding and rehabilitating those schemes is high, the government is looking for complementary cost-effective ways to achieve this goal. The government could increase domestic rice supply by investing in improving the farmer-managed inland valley swamps. Although the government has paid little attention to those marginal lands, farmers have been growing rice in these areas using traditional technologies. This paper used data from a survey of 334 bas-fond farmers and secondary data to examine the potential contribution that these undeveloped bas-fonds could make to improve food security and rice exports in Mali. The study found that, if fully developed, the bas-fonds and flooded plains could produce more rice than is currently being supplied by the Office du Niger, or imported through commercial imports or food aid. As expected, rice yields in the bas-fonds are lower than in the Office du Niger. However, bas-fonds rice production is both financially profitable and provides a higher return per day of family labor than the competing upland crops (maize, sorghum/millet and cotton). In addition, the estimated domestic resources cost ratios show that, compared to the Office d u Niger, bas-fond rice production represents a better use of domestic resources, both for producing rice for home consumption and for the market.


This chapter examines the methods by which States prevent their national courts from deciding disputes that relate to the internal affairs of another State. It considers three main 'avoidance techniques': State immunity, act of State, and non-justiciability. It discusses the arguments for and against the current prohibition on the determination of one State's disputes in the national courts of another State, and identifies the challenges presented by the rule of law, an individual's right of access to court, and the implementation of jus cogens norms to the maintenance of these avoidance techniques. It concludes with the observation that the pendulum continues to swing between prioritizing sovereignty by protecting the activities of States from judicial scrutiny and calling for greater accountability and remedies for violations of international law.


Music education has always required advocacy to solidify its place in the school curriculum. Music teachers are increasingly called on to justify their existence and importance in the schools, and yet, are often unprepared to advocate on their own behalf without the use of advocacy materials that are created on the basis of questionable research, questionable interpretations of valid research, or materials that demean the profession. This practical advocacy crisis is created by the lack of a solid philosophical basis for music education advocacy, the profusion of questionable advocacy materials available, and the lack of lobbying at the federal and state levels for meaningful laws that give arts education true core status. In the article, the author discusses suggestions for improving advocacy methods and materials.


Abstract : In recent times, with the increasing growth in popularity of online social networks (OSNs) and Internet discussion forums, cybercriminalshave found new ways to communicate and collaborate with each other in order to carry out cyber-attacks. Adversaries actively use Internetforums to form underground hacking communities where they exchange information on creating malicious programs and engage in the tradeof malicious goods and services. Identifying the influential members of these underground communities who are behind the creation anddistribution of tools used in cyber-attacks would greatly help law enforcement agencies in controlling cybercrime. Manually analyzing realworlddata on hacking groups is tedious and requires enormous time and effort. For this seed project, we focus on SocialSEAL, a tool whichmakes use of social network analysis techniques to reduce the manual effort required in identifying influential adversaries and visualizingthe underlying social structure of underground hacking communities, that will eventually help identify links between attack attributions andinfluential adversaries in the next phase of this project.


Trap efficiency, the rate at which a trap catches animals (Novak 1987), is an important factor when gathering quantitative data such as relative abundance. Different techniques may catch individuals at different rates making comparisons across studies difficult or impossible (Heyer et al. 1994). Different trap types may also capture classes of individuals at different rates and lead to an over or under representation of animals of a specific age, size or gender (Frazer et al. 1990; Koper and Brooks 1998; Ream and Ream 1966). Increasing trap efficiency is an important way to increase the precision of population size estimates from mark-recapture data. The precision of population size estimates is increased as a higher proportion of the population is captured and marked (Seber 1982) which will be achieved more readily using a maximally efficient trapping method. Efficient trapping is also important to researchers trying to maximize return for their effort in terms of time and money (Morton et al. 1988). Several methods exist for trapping aquatic turtles but there have been few studies comparing the relative efficiency and practicality of different trap types. The two trap styles commonly used to capture aquatic turtles are basking traps and hoop traps. Basking traps, as the name suggests, take advantage of the basking behavior of turtles. There are several basking trap designs and most consist of a basking platform with a net or wire basket attached underneath. Turtles are captured in the net after leaving the platform. Hoop traps consist of a cylindrical frame covered in mesh; turtles, attracted by bait, enter the trap through a submerged, funnel-shaped opening. Lagler (1943) claimed that hoop traps were "the most efficient and practical kind of trap for turtles" although he offered no evidence for this claim. Basking traps have been shown to be more effective than hoop traps in capturing Map Turtles (Graptemys geographica) and Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) although both studies examined only single populations (Browne and Hecnar 2005; McKenna 2001). In this paper, I present a comparison of the relative efficiency of basking and hoop traps for catching Painted Turtles in 10 central Minnesota lakes over a twoyear period. Basking traps used for this study were modeled after traps used by local commercial turtle harvesters (Fig. 1). Traps consisted of a wood frame, 60 × 60 cm at the base, with a net basket underneath. Strips of styrofoam were attached to the bottom of the wood frame for buoyancy. The net basket, attached to the wood frame, was ca. 90 cm deep, 122 cm in circumference, and had 3.8 cm square mesh (Memphis Net and Twine, Tennessee, USA). The sides of the trap were sloped inward to facilitate entry and prevent escape. A cross board was attached to the top of the trap to provide additional basking area and to increase the probability of turtles entering the trap. Hoop traps, made by Memphis Net and Twine, contained a single opening and were 72 cm in diameter with 3.8 cm square mesh. Canned sardines packed in soybean oil were used as bait. I trapped C. picta in 10 central Minnesota lakes that ranged in size from 6 to 64 ha. Trapping was conducted from 26 June to 31 August 2001 and 13 May to 30 August 2002. Basking traps and hoop traps were set simultaneously on each lake for 1–5 days at a time. Traps were typically checked and emptied every day (N = 95 days, range = 17–48 h/trap set, median = 24 h). Each lake was sampled at least seven times during the study (Table 1). Traps were set where turtles were observed to be most abundant which was near the shoreline, adjacent to cattails and other emergent


This article examines the nature of interpretation in regulation. Drawing on the work of Ronald Dworkin it considers two alternative theses of regulatory interpretation; the conversational thesis and the constructive thesis. The conversational thesis, which seems to find support in several contemporary writings on the use of rules in public administration, perceives regulatory interpretation as a method of interpretation that resembles the interpretation that people deploy in the course of a conversation in their attempt to understand and communicate with their co-discussants. The constructive thesis describes regulatory interpretation as a dialectical practice whose ultimate objective is to meet the demand for new and better interpretations in accordance with the public standards that best justify regulatory practice. It will be argued that the constructive thesis offers a more appealing account of regulatory interpretation because it is better placed to accommodate two apparently conflicting intuitions with respect to interpretation in the regulatory domain. The first one is the idea that the meaning of regulatory provisions must not be entirely contingent on the beliefs and/or preferences of those conducting the interpretation, for otherwise interpretation collapses into a cynical game of rent-seeking and regulatory capture. The second intuition is that regulatory interpretation must be procedurally efficient.


Pneumothorax management is controversial with no clear agreement for optimum management. The British Thoracic Society suggests needle aspiration first line in primary pneumothorax and the American Thoracic Society advises intercostal drain insertion. The European Respiratory Society task force also suggests needle aspiration in primary pneumothorax and adopts an overall more conservative approach. Ambulatory pneumothorax management has been described for 40 years and recommended in the 2010 British Society pleural guidelines, although overall quality of studies was poor. A new device, the Rocket Pleural Vent (PV) has been on the market for 4 years now and randomised controlled trials are under way, although there are case series suggesting efficacy and low complication rates. The PV allows ambulatory management of pneumothorax. Local guidelines have been developed and 18 devices have been placed in 6 months. We describe our experience based on a patient.


Background: Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima), holly (Ilex opaca) and mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens) adorn homes during the Christmas and New Year holiday season and create the potential for curious children to sample their colorful leaves and enticing berries. This study was aimed to review the American Association of Poison Control Centers National Poison Data System (AAPCC NPDS) to describe the epidemiologic profile of ingestion of these plants and to determine whether there was associated morbidity and mortality. Methods: All plant ingestion exposures reported to American poison centers (PCs) from 2000-2009 were analyzed to identify all exposures to E. pulcherrima, I. opaca and P. flavescens. The data analysis included ingestions by age, gender, patient management site, symptoms, intention and outcome. Results: The AAPCC NPDS database included 668,111 plant ingestions during 2000 to 2009. E. pulcherrima (19,862; 3.0%), I. opaca (5,432; 0.8%) and P. flavescens (1,138; 0.2%) exposures accounted for 26,632 (4.0%) of all plant ingestion exposures. Children younger than six years were responsible for majority of ingestions (88.0%). Ingestions were more likely to occur unintentionally (P < 0.001). Most cases (96.1%) were asymptomatic. When clinical effects developed (1,046 cases), the most frequent reported signs were gastrointestinal in nature (59.8%) including abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or vomiting. Moreover, the development of gastrointestinal signs was higher in patients who ingested P. flavescens compared to the other two species. Most exposures (96.1%) were managed at home with the guidance from PC experts. When the outcome was known, the majority of exposures (89.2%) experienced no adverse effects. Moderate effects occurred in only 28 ingestions (0.1%), and one major effect was recorded in a patient who ingested poinsettia. Conclusion: These holiday plants were associated with extremely low morbidity and no mortality. Home management along with expert guidance can be adequate intervention in the majority of these exposures.


Since 1993, trends in perinatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission have been monitored by use of chart review of patients identified at a central diagnostic laboratory. In the population studied, either pre- or postnatal antiretroviral therapy to the infant increased from 21% in 1993 to 95% in 1997. Concurrently, the number of HIV-infected infants declined from 25 in 1993 to 4 in 1997. The complete Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group Protocol 076 regimen was the most effective in reducing transmission (3.1%). Twenty-two of 35 infants who became infected in 1995-1997 had mothers who did not receive antiretroviral therapy, although counseling practices improved with time. In 1995, 87% of the mothers of HIV-seropositive infants were counseled, whereas in 1997, 96% were counseled (P<.005). None of 59 infants tested had high-level phenotypic zidovudine resistance, although 5 (8.8%) of 57 infants had virus isolates with at least one mutation in the reverse transcriptase gene associated with reduced phenotypic susceptibility to zidovudine.


Prey animals often respond to predators by reducing activity levels. This can produce a trait-mediated indirect interaction (TMII) between predators and prey resources, whereby reduced foraging by prey in the presence of a predator causes an increase in prey resources. TMIIs play important roles in structuring communities, and it is important to understand factors that determine their strength. One such influence may be behavioural variation in the prey species, with indirect effects of predators being stronger within populations that are more responsive to the presence of a predator. We tested 1) whether the behavioural responsiveness of populations of wood frog tadpoles to predator cues was related to the predation risk in their native ponds, and 2) whether more responsive tadpoles yielded stronger TMIIs. To do this, we 1) measured the activity of tadpoles from 18 populations in mesocosms with and without caged predators, and 2) measured changes in the biomass of periphyton (the tadpoles' diet) between predator treatments for each population. We found that tadpoles from higher predation risk ponds reduced their time outside refuges more in the presence of predators and tended to move less when visible, suggesting possible local adaptation to predation regimes. Though the presence of predators generally resulted in higher periphyton biomass – a TMII – there was no evidence that the strength of this TMII was affected by variation in tadpole behaviour. Foraging activity and general activity may be decoupled to some extent, enabling high predation risk-adapted tadpoles to limit the fitness costs of reduced foraging when predators are present.


The reliability growth test is known as to stimulate malfunction, analyze the cause of the malfunction and improve of the design designedly, and carry out tests is to prove the effectiveness of improving measures. A large number of projects practice has proved that reliability growth test is an important and effective way in various stages of the work of the equipment reliability growth. This model search for the optimum target of reliability growth testing to make the cost using in whole reliability grow project in a low amount by considering the reliability growth testing as one stage of reliability grow project and basing on Dynamic Planning Methodology. Through the use of Dynamic Planning Methodology to arrange the target value at every stage of the work, so as to achieve the purpose of the minimum cost of the whole reliability project. After the target value is confirmed at the end of the various stages of the project, the target of growth of the reliability growth test as one of the projects is also determined accordingly.


Robust and adaptable cybersecurity mechanisms are needed to mitigate sophisticated and future zero-day cyberattacks and threats, particularly in the dynamic Fog of Things (FoT) computational paradigm, which makes use of massively distributed nodes. Deep learning (DL)-driven architectures have been proven more successful in big data areas than classical machine learning (ML)-based algorithms. We orchestrate the software defined networking (SDN) control plane to propose a highly scalable proactive defense mechanism leveraging the Cuda-Deep Neural Network Gated Recurrent Unit (CU-DNNGRU) for the FoT critical computing infrastructure. Furthermore, the proposed framework does not place an extra burden on the underlying energy- and power-constrained FoT devices. We used the current state-of-the-art dataset (i.e., CICIDS2018) and evaluated our approach using standard performance metrics. We compare our proposed technique with our constructed hybrid DL-driven architectures and benchmark DL algorithms to evaluate its performance and efficacy. We hope that this work will enable further security research in the next-generation FoT computational paradigms.


The intention was to examine critically, which new possibilities, limitations and possible faultiness are to be expected in connexion with applying computerized tomography in the field of brain localization. The examinations concern the correlation of neuropsychological symptoms with focal cerebral lesions. From july 1980 until september 1982 52 persons out of all patients examined in our CT-department during this time, were chosen if they had computertomographically defined focal lesions of one brain hemisphere. They were further examined neurologically, neuropsychologically and by psychological tests using a well-connected plan. The results of 33 cases with circumscribed lesions of the left hemisphere are presented in details. The classification of psychological syndromes followed the most important features. A simple procedure for lesion mapping of CT informations, described by MAZZOCCHI and VIGNOLO (1978) was used for documentation and proof of inclusion of the cortical speech region in the examined brain lesions. Thus it was possible to compare the different patterns of lesions and to form groups of patients with a certain localization of the lesions. The correlations of these lesions with the neuropsychological findings were examined in each group. A high degree of correlation in the sense of the classic conception of brain localization of neuropsychological syndromes was found. The ideocinetic motor aphasia was confirmed as a frequent, well-defined syndrome in cases with lesions of the left lower parietal lobulus.


Many methods based on the Sequentially Markovian Coalescent (SMC) have been and are being developed. These methods make use of genome sequence data to uncover population demographic history. More recently, new methods have extended the original theoretical framework, allowing the simultaneous estimation of the demographic history and other biological variables. These methods can be applied to many different species, under different model assumptions, in hopes of unlocking the population/species evolutionary history. Although convergence proofs in particular cases have been given using simulated data, a clear outline of the performance limits of these methods is lacking. We here explore the limits of this methodology, as well as present a tool that can be used to help users quantify what information can be confidently retrieved from given datasets. In addition, we study the consequences for inference accuracy violating the hypotheses and the assumptions of SMC approaches, such as the presence of transposable elements, variable recombination and mutation rates along the sequence and SNP call errors. We also provide a new interpretation of the SMC through the use of the estimated transition matrix and offer recommendations for the most efficient use of these methods under budget constraints, notably through the building of data sets that would be better adapted for the biological question at hand.


In previous studies, we have shown that a traumatic lesion to the hippocampus of adult mice induces the transitory expression of TNFα and IL‐1α by neurons of different brain areas and also by glial cells at the site of injury. The aim of the present study was to establish whether the expression of TNFα and IL‐1α is restricted to defined subpopulations, or else is common to most of the central neuronal populations. Using polyclonal anti‐GAD 67, anti‐TH and monoclonal anti‐ChAT, and anti‐5‐HT antibodies in a double‐labeling immunohistochemical procedure in combination with murine anti‐TNFα and anti‐IL‐1α polyclonal antibodies, we show that most GABAergic, catecholaminergic, and serotoninergic neurons, and a subgroup of the cholinergic neurons, express these cytokines. Although not immunohistochemically characterized, neurons in some glutamatergic structures such as the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex also express these cytokines. Thus, we conclude that the capacity of central neurons to express cytokines like TNFα and IL‐1α in reaction to a brain Injury is not restricted to peculiar neuronal subtypes, but could include most of the neuronal populations of the brain. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The traditional electricity grid is ought to become a smart grid. One reason is the integration of volatile renewable energy generation, which poses the demand for advanced communication and control technology. This results in a change of the overall system dynamics, which in turn require testing to be done in early stages and with a more holistic approach. However, there is a gap in the transition from system specification and static analysis to an experimental setup validating these specification. This paper demonstrates first steps towards a structured methodology for deriving validation experiments for smart grids from initial system requirements. Our approach aims to fill the introduced gap by integrating Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM) for static analysis, Holistic Testing Description (HTD) for experimental analysis, and additional tools in a new workflow. Initial assessment of the workflow has been validated on its ability to select the most suitable components and test beds to perform an experiment. Therefore, two case studies were selected, one in the electricity power domain and another in the electricity market domain.


The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Concanavalin A (Con A) administration on the early (preosteogenic) and late stages of osteogenesis induced by implantation of demineralized murine incisors into syngeneic mice. Local administration of Con A resulted in an increased yield of demineralized incisor-induced bone when injected during the preosteogenic stage of induction. This effect was not observed when Con A was injected after heterotopic osteogenesis had been established. This suggests that Con A recruits osteoprogenitor cells, but does not stimulate differentiated chondroblasts and osteoblasts.


Hydrophobic peptides are generally difficult to detect using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) because the majority of MALDI matrixes are hydrophilic and therefore have a low affinity for hydrophobic peptides. Here, we report on a novel matrix additive, o-alkylated dihydroxybenzoic acid (ADHB), which is a 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) derivative incorporating a hydrophobic alkyl chain on a hydroxyl group to improve its affinity for hydrophobic peptides, thereby improving MALDI-MS sensitivity. The addition of ADHB to the conventional matrix α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) improved the sensitivity of hydrophobic peptides 10- to 100-fold. The sequence coverage of phosphorylase b digest was increased using ADHB. MS imaging indicated that hydrophobic peptides were enriched in the rim of a matrix/analyte dried spot when ADHB was used. In conclusion, the addition of ADHB to the standard matrix led to improved sensitivity of hydrophobic peptides by MALDI-MS.


The use of deep learning methods to extract vascular biometric patterns from the palm surface has been of interest among researchers in recent years. In many biometric recognition tasks, there is a limit in the number of training samples. This is because of limited vein biometric databases being available for research. This restricts the application of deep learning methods to design algorithms that can effectively identify or authenticate people for vein recognition. This paper proposes an architecture using Siamese neural network structure for few shot palm vein identification. The proposed network uses images from both the palms and consists of two sub-nets that share weights to identify a person. The architecture's performance was tested on the HK PolyU multi spectral palm vein database with limited samples. The results suggest that the method is effective since it has 91.9% precision, 91.1% recall, 92.2% specificity, 91.5%, F1-Score, and 90.5% accuracy values.


Barium zirconium sulfide (BaZrS3) is an earth-abundant and environmentally friendly chalcogenide perovskite with promising properties for various energy conversion applications. Recently, sulfurization of oxide precursors has been suggested as a viable solution for effective synthesis, especially from the perspective of circumventing the difficulty of handling alkali earth metals. In this work, we explore in detail the synthesis of BaZrS3 from Ba-Zr-O oxide precursor films sulfurized at temperatures ranging from 700 °C to 1000 °C. We propose a formation mechanism of BaZrS3 based on a two-step reaction involving an intermediate amorphization step of the BaZrO3 crystalline phase. We show how the diffusion of sulfur (S) species in the film is the rate-limiting step of this reaction. The processing temperature plays a key role in determining the total fraction of conversion from oxide to sulfide phase at a constant flow rate of the sulfur-containing H2S gas used as a reactant. Finally, we observe the formation of stoichiometric BaZrS3 (1:1:3), even under Zr-rich precursor conditions, with the formation of ZrO2 as a secondary phase. This marks BaZrS3 quite unique among the other types of chalcogenides, such as chalcopyrites and kesterites, which can instead accommodate quite a large range of non-stoichiometric compositions. This work opens up a pathway for further optimization of the BaZrS3 synthesis process, straightening the route towards future applications of this material.


sorter, a knowledge of what is to be anti-vaccination cartoon, a ward in "This book does not set forth anv sorted helps! Hampstead Smallpox Hospital, an blanket plea for central government 'CHORIO:<' advertisement for a temporary isolaaction as the sole approach to natiotion hospital marquee of 1884 and nal health, Nor does it assume that early ambulances of 1867. the passage of laws is sufficient to There are twelve chapters dealing guarantee to the public universallv with legislative landmarks of the competent and efficient medical care. 1870's, the formulation of governBut national legislation can, and ment policy, disease control, medical has, provided baselines for the develinspection, The Poor Law Medical opment of sound programmes of pre· Officers, Medical Officers of Health, ventive and curative medicine." the Private Practitioner and the Although the cost at 64/is ex penState, Paths to State Medicine, the sive, all those, whatever their politiNational Insurance Act of 1911, and cal complexion or indifference. will ending with a chapter on Perspectibe wiser and perhaps humbler after ves. There are also many interesting reading this book. little potted biographies of the authorities of the period, a large number of notes and references, a selected Gray's Anatomy: bibliography and an index. Descriptive and Applied The major part of the research 34th Edition necessary for this labour of love was D. V. DAVIES (Editor) carried out at The London School Longrnans Green, London. 1967 of Economics under a Lcverhulme A new edition of Gray's Anatomy grant and a Fulbright scholarship is always a source of pleasure. This and was completed during various textbook is one of the first manuals periods of leave from the National attempting to help the medical Institute of Mental Health, where student along the tortuous path of the author is a scientific administrathe medical curriculum. What better tor of research programmes. The guide could there be. Generations of work also led to a Ph.D. London! students and doctors have treasured One of Ihe most striking facts to their 'Gray's' with memories of enemerge is the difference between mejoymcnt, nostalgia, and possibly terdical practice then and now. Those 1'01". The book is a classic text in Enwho still lahour under the delusion glish medical literature and the new of a nostalgia for the good old days, 34th edition, all 3lbs, 1770 pages and when medicine was a united and res130:; illustrations, is no me-an uppeered profession, will be in for a holder of a great tradition. rude awakening. The overall state This clarity of presentation and of general practice today bears no accuracy of the illustrations remains comparison with the conditions of a feature of the book. and the visual Poor Law and contract practice of impact is enhanced by a judicious usc our forebears, although it is true that of photomicrographs and radiothe hospital physician of those days graphs. This new edition includes enjoyed an exalted social status often Iymphangiograms. Many of the famiunrelated to his professional abilities liar illustrations will be recognised. and equally at the expense of his surbut new figures have been incorgical colleagues, who were regarded porated. The section on histology has as inferior barber surgeons. The state been extensively reviewed and modof the hospitals, too, is beyond comern thinking on organ and tissue parison with those of today. structure has been incorporated. On the other hand, I am not pleadThis is well demonstrated in the secing for complacency or for abject tion dealing with the stomach and acceptance of present ills. If medical intestines where many new references history proves anything, it shows that will he found. much of the trouble besetting the This new edition will be received medical profession in this country with affection and respect by mcmwas and is as much due to its innate hers of the medical profession. The conservatism and the jealousy of its Editor is to be congratulated on constituent parts, as to the factors maintaining the superb standard that of slate intervention and control. has COllll' to he expected of this I can do no better than end with treatise. this quotation from the preface: Doctors and the State


The brain and spinal cord are immune-privileged organs, but in the disease state protection mechanisms such as the blood brain barrier (BBB) are ineffective or overcome by pathological processes. In neuroinflammatory diseases, microglia cells and other resident immune cells contribute to local vascular inflammation and potentially a systemic inflammatory response taking place in parallel. Microglia cells interact with other cells impacting on the integrity of the BBB and propagate the inflammatory response through the release of inflammatory signals. Here, we discuss the activation and response mechanisms of innate and adaptive immune processes in response to neuroinflammation. Furthermore, the clinical importance of neuroinflammatory mediators and a potential translational relevance of involved mechanisms are addressed also with focus on non-classical immune cells including microglia cells or platelets. As illustrative examples, novel agents such as Anfibatide or Revacept, which result in reduced recruitment and activation of platelets, a subsequently blunted activation of the coagulation cascade and further inflammatory process, demonstrating that mechanisms of neuroinflammation and thrombosis are interconnected and should be further subject to in depth clinical and basic research.