The objective of this study was to investigate the isotopic composition of oxygen bound to phosphate (δ(18)O-PO(4)) in different phosphorus (P) pools in plant leaves. As a model plant we used soybean (Glycine max cv Toliman) grown in the presence of ample P in hydroponic cultures. The leaf blades were extracted with 0.3 M trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and with 10 M nitric acid. These extractions allowed measurement of the TCA-soluble reactive P (TCA P) that is rapidly cycled within the cell and the total leaf P. The difference between total leaf P and TCA P yielded the structural P which includes organic P compounds not extractable by TCA. P uptake and its translocation and transformation within the soybean plants lead to an (18)O enrichment of TCA P (δ(18)O-PO(4) between 16.9 and 27.5‰) and structural P (δ(18)O-PO(4) between 42.6 and 68.0 ‰) compared with 12.4‰ in the phosphate in the nutrient solution. δ(18)O values of phosphate extracted from soybean leaves grown under optimal conditions are greater than the δ(18)O-PO(4) values of the provided P source. Furthermore, the δ(18)O-PO(4) of TCA P seems to be controlled by the δ(18)O of leaf water and the activity of inorganic pyrophosphatase or other pyrophosphatases.


Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are the most common mesenchymal tumors of the digestive tract, most of which are sporadic, and familial GISTs with germline mutations are rarely seen. Here, we report a 26-year-old female with a germline p. W557R mutation in exon 11 of the KIT gene. The proband and her father and sister presented with multifocal GIST and pigmented nevi. All 3 patients underwent surgery and imatinib therapy. To date, only 49 kindreds with germline KIT mutations and 6 kindreds with germline PDGFRA mutations have been reported. Summarizing the reported kindreds, the majority of familial GISTs manifest as multiple primary GISTs complicated with special clinical manifestations, including cutaneous hyperpigmentation, dysphagia, mastocytosis, inflammatory fibrous polyps, and large hands. Familial GISTs are generally thought to exhibit TKI sensitivity similar to that of sporadic GISTs with the same mutation.


The use of glyphosate, as a post-emergence broad-spectrum herbicide in genetically modified glyphosate-tolerant (GT) cotton, supposes a big change in weed management programs with respect to a conventional regime. Thus, alterations in arable flora and arthropod fauna must be considered when evaluating their potential impacts. A 3-year farm-scale study was conducted in a 2-ha GT cotton crop, in southern Spain, to compare the effects of conventional and glyphosate herbicide regimes on weed abundance and diversity and their consequences for ground-dwelling predators. Surveys reveal that weed density was relatively low within all treatments with a few dominant species, with significantly higher weed densities and modifications of the floristic composition in glyphosate-treated plots that led to an increase in the abundance of Portulaca oleracea and to a reduction in plant diversity. The activity-density of the main predatory arthropod taxa (spiders, ground beetles, rove beetles and earwigs) varied among years, but no significant differences were obtained between conventional and glyphosate herbicide regimes. However, significant differences between treatments were obtained for ground beetles species richness and diversity, being higher under the glyphosate herbicide regime, and a positive correlation with weed density could be established for both parameters. The implications of these findings to weed control in GT cotton are discussed.


To clarify predisposing factors for malignant hypertension, we retrospectively investigated the histories of 39 patients with malignant hypertension and 39 patients with benign hypertension. Between the malignant and benign groups, there was a statistically significant difference in blood pressure but not in age when hypertension was first noticed. The number of patients who had discontinued drug treatment was significantly greater in the malignant group (19; 49%) than in the benign group (11; 28%). Insufficient sleep, overwork, and/or mental burden of long duration were factors noticed within one year before the occurrence of the malignant phase in 11 (37%) of the 30 patients in that group in whom this information was available. Patients in the malignant group tended to belong to a lower social class. These results suggest that severe hypertension from an early phase, interruption of drug treatment, and physical and/or mental burden may predispose to the development of malignant hypertension, and that these predisposing factors are likely to be associated with social class.


This policy brief examines the effectiveness of policies which aim to dismiss labour market institutions, in the name of competitiveness, across the European Union (EU). It also assesses the evidence which supports a positive relationship between deregulation and decentralization and productivity.

The new publication also explores the negative consequences of deregulation, especially regarding the redistribution of power among the social actors, quality of work, and wage and income inequality, which cast doubt on the desirability of these policies as tools for the achievement of smart, inclusive and sustainable growth with 'more and better jobs' in the labour market. The policy implications, which suggest that if companies want to improve their productivity, then they should focus amongst other things on upgrading the human capital of their employees, reshaping job design towards more teamwork-oriented work organisation, and incentivise employees through group-based performance-related pay systems, is also examined within this new policy brief.


Background
The reasons Blacks have higher mortality rates from colorectal cancer (CRC) than non-Hispanic Whites are not fully understood. Blacks have higher rates of vitamin D deficiency than non-Hispanic Whites, and vitamin D deficiency has been associated with CRC. We investigated the association of vitamin D deficiency with excess risk for CRC mortality for Blacks in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) 1988-1994.


Understanding how different evolutionary processes shape genetic variation within and between species is an important question in population genetics. The advent of next generation sequencing has allowed for many theories and hypotheses to be tested explicitly with data. However, questions such as what evolutionary processes affect neutral divergence (DNA differences between species) or genetic variation in different regions of the genome (such as on autosomes versus sex chromosomes) or how many genetic variants contribute to complex traits are still outstanding. In this dissertation, I utilized different large-scale genomic datasets and developed statistical methods to determine the role of natural selection on genetic variation between species, sex-biased evolutionary processes on shaping patterns of genetic variation on the X chromosome and autosomes, and how population history, mutation, and natural selection interact to control complex traits. First, I used genome-wide divergence data between multiple pairs of species ranging in divergence time to show that natural selection has reduced divergence at neutral sites that are linked to those under direct selection. To determine explicitly whether and to what extent linked selection and/or mutagenic recombination could account for the pattern of neutral divergence across the genome, I developed a statistical method and applied it to human-chimp neutral divergence dataset. I showed that a model including both linked selection and mutagenic recombination resulted in the best fit to the empirical data. However, the signal of mutagenic recombination could be coming from biased gene conversion.Comparing genetic diversity between the X chromosome and the autosomes could provide insights into whether and how sex-biased processes have affected genetic variation between different genomic regions. For example, X/A diversity ratio greater than neutral expectation could be due to more X chromosomes than expected and could be a result of mating practices such as polygamy where there are more reproducing females than males. I next utilized whole-genome sequences from dogs and wolves and found that X/A diversity is lower than neutral expectation in both dogs and wolves in ancient time-scales, arguing for evolutionary processes resulting in more males reproducing compared to females. However, within breed dogs, patterns of population differentiation suggest that there have been more reproducing females, highlighting effects from breeding practices such as popular sire effect where one male can father many offspring with multiple females.In medical genetics, a complete understanding of the genetic architecture is essential to unravel the genetic basis of complex traits. While genome wide association studies (GWAS) have discovered thousands of trait-associated variants and thus have furthered our understanding of the genetic architecture, key parameters such as the number of causal variants and the mutational target size are still under-studied. Further, the role of natural selection in shaping the genetic architecture is still not entirely understood. In the last chapter, I developed a computational method called InGeAr to infer the mutational target size and explore the role of natural selection on affecting the variant's effect on the trait. I found that the mutational target size differs from trait to trait and can be large, up to tens of megabases. In addition, purifying selection is coupled with the variant's effect on the trait. I discussed how these results support the omnigenic model of complex traits. In summary, in this dissertation, I utilized different types of large genomic dataset, from genome-wide divergence data to whole genome sequence data to GWAS data to develop models and statistical methods to study how different evolutionary processes have shaped patterns of genetic variation across the genome.


BACKGROUND
Healthcare workers (HCWs) have close interaction with confirmed or suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Infection rates reported among HCWs is between 3% and 17%, and asymptomatic HCWs are a potential source of nosocomial transmission to vulnerable patients and colleagues. Universal mask use and good supply of personal protective equipment was implemented early at our institution.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the rate of infection by the serologic status of HCWs during first three COVID-19 waves, based on occupation and risk of exposure, compared to Israeli general population.

METHODS
We conducted a prospective cohort study at Emek Medical Center from April 2020 to April 2021. A total of 101 HCWs volunteered to be followed at six time points by a serology test and a questionnaire.

RESULTS
A total of 101 HCWs completed six serologic tests. All participants were seronegative at the four initial tests. The cumulative seropositivity rate for COVID-19 in HCWs was 9.9% (10/101). Only three seropositive HCWs (2.97%) were hospital-acquired.

CONCLUSIONS
Seroprevalence and seroconversion dynamics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in 101 HCWs during COVID-19 outbreaks at Emek Medical Center were similar to the epidemiological curve of positive polymerase chain reaction results of the Israeli population, as published by the Israeli Ministry of Health, at each time point. Universal mask use and infection control measures may have contributed to a low hospital infection rate.


Extant work on status attribution has largely focused on major powers or state capabilities as key explanatory factors driving these social processes and suggests that status considerations increase conflicts between states. We argue for a more comprehensive approach to status attribution that considers international norms as another major factor that is weighed in the attribution process. We contend that states (policymakers) evaluate one another not only on the basis of economic and military capabilities but also on the extent to which there is behavioral conformance with normative expectations and reward one another dependent upon whether these expectations are met. However, this attribution of status is dependent upon the level of contestation pertaining to that norm. Using a data set that assesses consistency with six different norms (resource transference, multilateralism, economic liberalism, democratic governance, respect for human rights, and peaceful dispute resolution), we find that status attribution is associated with norm-consistent behavior but only when these norms are uncontested at the global level.


Purpose
This paper aims to analyze if and to what extent mechanical artificial intelligence (AI)-embedded in hotel service robots-influences customers' evaluation of AI-enabled hotel service interactions. This study deploys online reviews (ORs) analytics to understand if the presence of mechanical AI-related text in ORs influences customers' OR valence across 19 leading international hotels that have integrated mechanical AI – in the guise of service robots – into their operations.

Design/methodology/approach
First, the authors identified the 19 leading hotels across three continents that have pioneered the adoption of service robots. Second, by deploying big data techniques, the authors gathered the entire population of ORs hosted on TripAdvisor (almost 50,000 ORs) and generated OR analytics. Subsequently, the authors used ordered logistic regressions analyses to understand if and to what extent AI-enabled hospitality service interactions are evaluated by service customers.

Findings
The presence of mechanical AI-related text (text related to service robots) in ORs influences positively electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) valence. Hotel guests writing ORs explicitly mentioning their interactions with the service robots are more prone to associate high online ratings to their ORs. The presence of the robot's proper name (e.g., Alina, Wally) in the OR moderates positively the positive effect of mechanical AI-related text on ORs ratings.

Research limitations/implications
Hospitality practitioners should evaluate the possibility to introduce service robots into their operations and develop tailored strategies to name their robots (such as using human-like and short names). Moreover, hotel managers should communicate more explicitly their initiatives and investments in AI, monitor AI-related e-WOM and invest in educating their non-tech-savvy customers to understand and appreciate AI technology. Platform developers might create a robotic tag to be attached to ORs mentioning service robots to signal the presence of this specific element and might design and develop an additional service attribute that might be tentatively named "service robots."

Originality/value
The current study represents the first attempt to understand if and to what extent mechanical AI in the guise of hotel service robots influences customers' evaluation of AI-enabled hospitality service interactions.


Hollow polymer microspheres grafted with sulfonated polystyrene brushes (HPSS) were synthesized via a combination of surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) of styrene from SiO2@P(MAA-co-DVB-co-CMSt) core–shell microspheres, sulfonation of the polystyrene brushes, and final removal of the silica core. These HPSSs were then incorporated into a sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) matrix to fabricate hybrid membranes. As a comparison, SPEEK/HPS hybrid membranes were prepared by incorporation of sulfonated hollow polymer microspheres (HPS) into a SPEEK matrix. Water retention, methanol resistance and proton conductivity were increased by doping with both kinds of hollow polymer microspheres. The SPEEK/HPSS hybrid membranes exhibited much higher proton conductivity than did the SPEEK/HPS hybrid membranes with the same filler contents ranging from 2.5 to 15 wt%. The highest conductivity was obtained at 0.33 S cm−1 for SPEEK/HPSS under 75 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH), which was 83.3% higher than that (0.18 S cm−1) for a SPEEK control membrane under the same conditions. The increment in proton conductivity was mainly attributed to the large cavities of HPSS acting as water reservoirs, and the excellent flexibility and high accessibility of the sulfate groups (–SO3H) on the surface grafted polymer brushes, which provide proton hopping sites for proton-conducting pathways. Moreover, the hybrid membranes exhibited good thermal and mechanical stability.


Correspondence to Mary Augusta Walker from her brother James Backhouse Walker written in 1892 while Mary was studying art in Paris. Mary Augusta Walker (1856-1952), daughter of G. W. Walker, was a governess and
teacher of drawing, French and Italian. She studied art in Melbourne and at the Slade and
Herkomer Schools in London and in Paris. She was sometimes called "Doo", "Doodey" or
"Old Bird" and once or twice Polly by her brothers and sisters. University of Tasmania Library, Special and Rare Materials Collection - Private Deposit W.9 L2/7 (15-22)


Firstly, structure component of the 6PUS-UPS PMT (Parallel Machine Tool) was introduced. Secondly, errors during the machine tool debugging were analyzed and measured, and those determined by the 6PUS-UPS PMT structure character were focused on, including the clearance error between the slider and the guide way, the vibration error and the verticality error and so on. Lastly, the verticality error was measured using the digital display micrometer and the frame level, which has great influence on the 6PUS-UPS PMT precision


Enterprise architecture (EA) is a description of an enterprise from an integrated business and IT perspective. Enterprise architecture management (EAM) is a management practice embracing all the management processes related to EA aiming to improve business and IT alignment. EAM is typically described as a sequential four-step process: (i) document the current state, (ii) describe the desired future state, (iii) develop the transition plan and (iv) implement the plan. This traditional four-step approach to EAM essentially defines the modern understanding of EA. Based on a literature review, this paper demonstrates that this four-step approach to EAM, though practiced by some companies, is inadequate as a model explaining the EAM phenomenon in general. As a substitute, this paper synthesizes the generic conceptual model of EAM providing a more realistic conceptualization of EAM describing it as a decentralized network of independent but interacting processes, artifacts and actors.


Purpose: We are trying to focus on the modes and processes of accounting standard setting in China in this thesis. By comparative studies with Japanese and French accounting systems, suggestions will be provided to improve Chinese accounting standard setting process.
Methodology: The methodologies we used in this thesis are mainly abduction and case studies. The primary data are coming from the official websites and our telephone interview with the related authorities. Journals, academic articles, books, and the Internet are the sources of our secondary data.
Theoretical perspectives: The classification of accounting by regulatory styles from Puxty (1987) and the causes of international differences from Nobes (2008) are the major theoretical perspectives we used in our thesis.
Empirical foundation: The empirical materials of Chinese accounting system are mainly from the official websites and our telephone interviews. Japanese and French empirical data are collected from the official websites and related reports.
Conclusions: Through our analysis of the environmental factors influencing accounting regulatory modes, we found that the public sector mode is the most suitable style for Chinese situation. However, lacking of independence, representative and transparency are the main problems existed in China. In order to improve the accounting standard setting, we provide our suggestions to the Chinese authorities by the comparative analysis with Japan and France.


How should we define the ethics of information technology? It is not a new field of study in the sense that it requires an entirely new ethical thinking. Rather, it is a field where we can try to use our traditional philosophical notions and apply them to this field of computer technology, information science, and knowledge society in order to define responsibility and accountability. Although relations of causalities may be blurred and complex because of the auto-poetic development of computers and information systems we may still have to face the fact that human beings are fundamentally responsible behind the responsibilities of the computers. So we can say that the concept of reliability and accountability is related to human responsibility in the field of Internet technology. Indeed, issues of hacking, viruses and intervention in computers also pose the problems of responsibility and violation of property and copyrights and here we face similar issues as when we talk about physical property rights although what happens is going on in cyberspace. Also we face fundamental problems about transparency, power and democracy of society as the result of the information revolution in knowledge. This shows how it becomes more and more difficult for governments and organizations to hide information and that information is becoming more and more public. We can also talk about the present development as a technology-driven information revolution in knowledge society. The information overload is a result of this revolution that is expressed in the Internet and that changes the relation of human beings to society where human beings need to access information technology and tools in order to be able to live and work in society.


This is a Special Report on Enlargement produced by the CEPS Macroeconomic Policy Group (MPG), composed of distinguished economists from throughout Europe. The study analyses the implications of the UK's eventual entry into the Economic and Monetary Union and shows that most of the new member countries from Central and Eastern Europe have an interest in moving towards the euro rather quickly. A final chapter makes concrete suggestions for reforming the structures and procedures for decision-making within the ECB in view of enlargement.


Over the past decade considerable progress has been made in several fields relating to the diagnosis and treatment of gall bladder cancer. This literature search evaluates if these recent advances have led to improved diagnosis, treatment and survival of patients with gall bladder carcinoma. The increase in the number of cholecystectomies being carried out has resulted in more carcinomas being discovered incidentally, and at an early and treatable stage. The combination of ultrasound and MRI yields the most accurate preoperative staging. Current radiotherapy and chemotherapy in adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings have not shown any survival benefit. Surgical resection remains the only potentially curative option. For in-situ- and T1a-tumours a simple cholecystectomy can be performed resulting in favourable 10-year survival. For T1b- and T2-tumours an additional resection is indicated, resulting in 5-year survival rates of 55-90%. For T3-tumours, only those patients without metastatic disease will benefit from an additional resection


Ectopic production of adrenocorticotropic hormone by carcinoid tumours is uncommon and covert and occult presentations often hamper its diagnosis. A 27-year-old man was admitted with multiple vertebral bodies collapse related to osteoporosis along with other clinical features consistent with Cushing's syndrome. Both basal and dynamic laboratory evaluation suggested adrenocorticotropic-dependent Cushing's syndrome diagnosis, specifically ectopic adrenocorticotropic syndrome. Laboratory testing also showed high serum levels of chromogranin A and urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. Pituitary and thoracic-abdominal-pelvic imaging proved to be normal, including the octreoscan. To reduce cortisol levels, and before resorting to adrenalectomy, metyrapone was prescribed but eucortisolism was not achieved. Octreotide therapy reduced plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisoluria to half although the octreoscan had been negative. As no primitive tumour had been detected, the patient underwent bilateral adrenalectomy. Two years and a half after the diagnosis, an octreoscan detected a lung tumour, which was resected. Pathological analysis revealed an atypical carcinoid tumour and immunohistochemistry was positive for adrenocorticotropic hormone but negative for corticotropin-releasing hormone and chromogranin A. Clinical and biochemical resolution of Cushing' syndrome followed but chromogranin A levels remained above normal. This case highlights both that, although rare, an exuberant osteoporosis can be the initial presentation of ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone syndrome and high chromogranin A levels may have other origin than direct tumour production. It also raises the question of prescribing somatostatin agonists in patients whose octreoscan is negative as small tumours may produce false negative results. Moreover, the reduction of hypercortisolism before surgery may improve the surgical outcome and with bilateral adrenalectomy may contribute to the primary tumour growth and detection. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4021/jem145w


Decidual macrophages are implicated in the local inflammatory response that accompanies spontaneous preterm labor/birth; however, their role is poorly understood. We hypothesized that decidual macrophages undergo a proinflammatory (M1) polarization during spontaneous preterm labor and that PPARγ activation via rosiglitazone (RSG) would attenuate the macrophage-mediated inflammatory response, preventing preterm birth. In this study, we show that: 1) decidual macrophages undergo an M1-like polarization during spontaneous term and preterm labor; 2) anti-inflammatory (M2)-like macrophages are more abundant than M1-like macrophages in decidual tissue; 3) decidual M2-like macrophages are reduced in preterm pregnancies compared with term pregnancies, regardless of the presence of labor; 4) decidual macrophages express high levels of TNF and IL-12 but low levels of peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ (PPARγ) during spontaneous preterm labor; 5) decidual macrophages from women who underwent spontaneous preterm labor display plasticity by M1↔M2 polarization in vitro; 6) incubation with RSG reduces the expression of TNF and IL-12 in decidual macrophages from women who underwent spontaneous preterm labor; and 7) treatment with RSG reduces the rate of LPS-induced preterm birth and improves neonatal outcomes by reducing the systemic proinflammatory response and downregulating mRNA and protein expression of NF-κB, TNF, and IL-10 in decidual and myometrial macrophages in C57BL/6J mice. In summary, we demonstrated that decidual M1-like macrophages are associated with spontaneous preterm labor and that PPARγ activation via RSG can attenuate the macrophage-mediated proinflammatory response, preventing preterm birth and improving neonatal outcomes. These findings suggest that the PPARγ pathway is a new molecular target for future preventative strategies for spontaneous preterm labor/birth.


The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is a massive ocean current and believed to have had a major impact on climate since the late Eocene/early Oligocene. However, its pathway, spatial extent in relation to climate variability and possible regional changes during warm and cold periods are still hardly understood although several models exist. In addition, questions concerning its interactions with and effect on the adjacent Antarctic Slope Current (ASC) and the Antarctic Divergence (AD) are not solved yet.
The Prydz Bay/Cooperation Sea area provides a perfect setting to study spatial and temporal changes of the ACC, the ASC and the AD due to the spatial limitations by the southern Kerguelen Plateau in the Northwest. The plateau acts as a northern barrier for the ACC and narrows its path through the Princess Elizabeth Trough. In the south, Prydz Bay has been massively impacted by the advance and retreat of the Amery Ice shelf during warm and cold periods.
We have studied the deposition and accumulation history of the Wild drift, the Wilkins drift and the surrounding deep sea in detail by interpreting over 50000 km of multi-channel seismic reflection data in a pseudo 3D-image. Lithology and age information from various ODP Sites were incorporated. We aim to provide a detailed reconstruction model of the prevailing currents, and the interplay of ice sheet dynamics, climate changes and oceanic circulation in the Prydz Bay/Cooperation Sea area during the early Oligocene to the Quaternary.
First results suggest onset of a drift formation in the early Oligocene and major changes during warm periods with intensification of currents and ice retreat prior to the Miocene Climatic Optimum. Differences in the seismostratigraphic pattern point towards a shift of the material sources, depending on cold or warm periods and suggest an interplay between down-slope, i.e., ice sheet driven input versus along-slope, i.e., current controlled sediment transport during the Miocene.


Damping-off of seedling is a major disease of cotton in Iran. Disease may become epidemic in soil with low temperature and high moisture if seed treatment isn't done. Recently, Trichoderma spp. are considered as one of the biological control methods of seedling Damping-off. One proposed mechanism for biocontrol in Trichoderma spp. is stimulation of host defense responses and induction of resistance.In this survey, antagonistic effect of Trichoderma spp. on Rhizoctonia solani were studied using dual culture test. Nine isolate were selected for greenhouse studies. Results showed that Trichoderma virens isolate A224 and Trichoderma harzianum isolate A291 had maximum biocontrol effect on seedling Damping-off. Both isolates increased weight of seedling radicles too. Isolate A224 and isolate A229 were applied on enzyme activity in germinator. Experiments were conducted factorial in Completely Randomized design with 4 replications. Peroxidase, β- 1,3 glucanse activity and total phenolic compounds levels were evaluated by colorimetic. Experiments indicated that maximum level of peroxidase activity is induced 12 days after planting and maximum level of peroxidase activity is induced 10 days after planting. Trichoderma isolates and Rhizoctonia solani individually increased Peroxidase, β- 1,3 glucanase activity and total phenolic compounds levels, but they are more pronounced and more persistent in the case of applying of combination of two fungi(Trichoderma and Rhizoctonia) in comparision to the control.


Videos stored on YouTube served as a valuable set of communicative resources for publics interested in the Occupy movement. This article explores this loosely bound media ecology, focusing on how and what types of video content are shared and circulated across both YouTube and Twitter. Developing a novel data-collection methodology, a population of videos posted to YouTube with Occupy-related metadata or circulated on Twitter alongside Occupy-related keywords during the month of November 2011 was assembled. In addition to harvesting metadata related to view count and video ratings on YouTube and the number of times a video was tweeted, a probability sample of 1100 videos was hand coded, with an emphasis on classifying video genre and type, borrowed sources of content, and production quality. The novelty of the data set and the techniques adapted for analysing it allow one to take an important step beyond cataloging Occupy-related videos to examine whether and how videos are circulated on Twitter. A variety of practices were uncovered that link YouTube and Twitter together, including sharing cell phone footage as eyewitness accounts of protest (and police) activity, digging up news footage or movie clips posted months and sometimes years before the movement began; and the sharing of music videos and other entertainment content in the interest of promoting solidarity or sociability among publics created through shared hashtags. This study demonstrates both the need for, and challenge of, conducting social media research that accommodates data from multiple platforms.


Community-driven development (CDD) has become increasingly common approach used by mul-tilateral development banks, governments, and NGOs to address the needs of the poor local communities in developing countries. CDD is characterized by the approach of giving control of decision and resources to the local community. CDD approaches are particularly prominent in conflict-affected communities which enables local community to regain sense of social cohesion and to restore livelihood. While much of literature focused on documenting the challenges and benefits of CDD approach in conflict affected context, what is yet to be established is whether CDD in conflict affected context can generate change in social and economic outcomes. Thus, this paper explores whether or not community-driven development (CDD) project af-fects a villages social capital and economic outcomes in post-conflict Cambodia. We compare the impact of CDD by looking at data from two rounds of surveys (baseline and endline). The results indicate that the project significantly strengthens the capacity of self-reliance, especially in vulnerable groups such as low-income, less educated and ethnic and religious minority house-holds. However, CDD was shown to have very limited impact on improving economic condition. Although the project slightly increases the household monthly income, the CDD project does not generate remarkable changes in community-level economic conditions. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 explains the historical background of Cambodia and the unique features of this CDD project. Section 3 describes the intervention and data collec-tion. Section 4 outlines the estimation models used in the analysis. In Section 5, we present the results of the program and explain their implications.<br>


Many high schools use QuarkNet cosmic ray muon detectors to learn the scientific process through a variety of experiments investigating cosmic rays. The total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 provided an opportunity to measure any deviation in secondary cosmic ray flux more than 2 GeV. Students and teachers from high schools near Chicago designed telescopes to carry out measurements of the rate of cosmic ray muons in the direction of the sun during the August 21, 2017 North American solar eclipse. As an independent study project, teams constructed prototypes, measured background rates of muons, and designed two types of telescopes. For four days they operated four types of telescopes in a location where the eclipse was total. It was hypothesized that during a total solar eclipse, the muon flux changes. This research was possible due to an outreach program from QuarkNet, funded by the National Science Foundation.


LETTING GO OF OLD IDEASThe Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis. By Steven J. Harper. New York: Basic Books. 2013. Pp. xvi, 208. $26.99.Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future. By Richard Susskind. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2013. Pp. ix, 165. $18.95.IntroductionTwo recently published books make the claim that the legal profession has changed (Steven Harper's The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis1) or is changing (Richard Susskind's Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future2). The books are interesting because they discuss the types of changes that are broad, sweeping, and dramatic. In suitable lawyer fashion, both books are unfailingly analytical. They both also argue that the old order is collapsing. The Lawyer Bubble is backward looking and laments the legacy we have squandered, while Tomorrow's Lawyers is future oriented and offers fairly specific prescriptive advice, particularly to those lawyers entering the legal field at a time when the number of traditional (what I call "artisan") legal jobs is shrinking.Many of us working in the legal industry are interested in this topic because we are facing business conditions with no familiar historical ana- logue. From my own vantage point as a law school professor, things look pretty bleak. As a result of the precipitous, multiyear decline in applicant rates and historical trends in admission and matriculation rates, the number of law students who enrolled as 1Ls in the fall of 2013 fell below 40,0003-a low-water mark not seen since the mid-1970s.4It is certainly possible to rebound from a thirty-five-year low in entering enrollment, but the statistics are not promising: In 1977, there were 163 law schools accredited by the American Bar Association ("ABA").5 In 2013, there were 201,6 with even more in the accreditation pipeline.7 This represents a 23 percent increase in the bricks and mortar. Paying this increased overhead might have been sustainable when incoming 1L enrollment peaked at 52,000 in the fall of 2010.8 But since 39,675 students enrolled in fall 2013, law schools have experienced a 24 percent drop in incoming students over three short years. A decline this large and swift is an enormous financial blow to institutions that have high fixed costs (read: tenured faculty) and no experi- ence coping with large-scale change. Further, the pain is likely to increase as the comparatively larger incoming classes from fall 2011 and 2012 graduate and their tuition revenues leave the building.9Perhaps we should have seen this change coming. Over the last several decades, the nature of legal practice has indeed changed. In 1975, scholars from the American Bar Foundation conducted a major study of the Chicago bar ("Chicago Lawyers I").10 One of the most salient findings of the Chicago Lawyers I study was that the legal profession had functionally divided into two "hemispheres," one serving individuals and small businesses and the other working for large organizational clients such as corporations.11 Which hemisphere a lawyer served turned out to be a remarkably accurate proxy for a lawyer's ethnicity, religion, law school, bar association and social club memberships, home zip code, and annual income.12 The Chicago Lawyers I study described these two groups as hemispheres not only because they were of roughly equal size but also because their professional interests and net- works seldom overlapped.13In 1995, the same core group of researchers replicated this study ("Chi- cago Lawyers II").14 Over the intervening two decades, the organizational sphere had expanded dramatically due to the proliferating legal needs of corporate clients growing in size and geographic scope. The amount of time that lawyers devoted to organizational clients had increased to double that spent on personal and small-business clients.15 Thus, "hemisphere" was no longer an accurate description.One laudable effect of this growth surge was that racial and class divi- sions between the two hemispheres began to crumble, as the corporate bar needed to recruit beyond a handful of elite law schools. …


This longitudinal study examined psychological factors that can contribute to subjective well-being among 147 individuals who are the primary caregivers of family members with mental illness. It was hypothesized that adaptive personality constructs and the personality profiles they create would predict higher levels of subjective well-being by facilitating coping with caregiving stress. In addition, it was investigated whether caregiving burden would mediate the associations between personality constructs, coping, and well-being, or whether personality would moderate the associations between burden, coping, and well-being.
The personality constructs included goal adjustment capacities (goal disengagement and goal reengagement, Wrosch, Scheier, Miller, Schulz, & Carver, 2003), dispositional optimism (Scheier & Carver, 1987), and unmitigated communion (Helgeson & Fritz, 1998). Indicators of well-being included positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and purpose in life.
The cross-sectional and longitudinal results indicated that goal disengagement, goal reengagement, and optimism predicted higher levels of several indicators of subjective well-being. Unmitigated communion was associated only with negative affect and depressive symptoms. Caregiver burden was negatively associated with goal disengagement and optimism, but positively with goal reengagement, and explained some of the effects of these personality constructs. Moreover, goal adjustment capacities predicted improved well-being among highly burden participants, while optimism was associated with higher well-being among their less burdened counterparts. In addition, some personality profiles, created by interactions between the three personality
constructs, were meaningfully associated with subjective well-being. Finally, certain coping behaviors were associated with goal adjustment capacities and optimism but not with unmitigated communion. Effective and less useful care-specific coping mediated the effects of goal adjustment capacities and optimism on participants' subjective well-being.
Overall, the study's findings suggest that different personality constructs can influence the subjective well-being of individuals caring for mentally ill family members. Moreover, many of these effects could be statistically explained by the way individuals cope with caregiving stress. These findings have important implications for theories of personality functioning and adjustment to stressful life circumstances. In addition, they illuminate pathways to subjective well-being, which has important practical implications for helping caregivers manage their difficult life circumstances and improve their quality of life.


This thesis investigates why sustainability innovations are not being adopted at the expected rate when they not only reduce environmental problems but also improve health, comfort, productivity, and economic and social wellbeing. Homeowners' demonstrate an apparent preference for sustainability innovations. However, there are apparent inconsistencies in their decisions as demonstrated by the lack of success of numerous intervention schemes. The aim of this research was to understand the motivations behind New Zealand homeowners' apparent reluctance to adopt sustainability innovations such as solar water heating panels or double glazing. A mixed methods research approach was taken to account for the numerous explanations and to address the research questions and concerns. This included a preliminary study to further establish the need for this research by investigating the implied market value of sustainability through real estate advertisements; a survey to identify homeowners engaging in this behaviour and their reasons for doing so; and a series of verbal report interviews to develop a qualitative insight of the thought processes behind their decisions. Numerous groups of homeowners were identified; the focus of this research however were those who displayed apparently unreasonable behaviour in that despite knowing what the logical answer should be they still said that they were not willing-to-pay full price for the innovation. This group were found to represent the largest proportion of homeowners suggesting that our time and resources need to be focussed primarily on convincing this large group of homeowners. The cause of these homeowners apparently unreasonable behaviour was observed to be due to an exaggerated perception of risk. In addition to the obvious risks that the innovation might not suit their house or that the financial return would not occur, these homeowners seemed averse to being seen to be different from the average homeowner. It is proposed that the findings from this research can be used to plan interventions that either change behaviour or align policy and other marketing responses to the characteristics this group of homeowners displayed.


Administrative law presumes a neat system of agency rulemaking and adjudication followed by judicial review. But the reality of the administrative state departs starkly from this model. One such departure is the use of audited self-regulatory organizations (SROs) -- private organizations comprised of specific industries that formulate binding law to regulate themselves. Although SROs operate subject to the oversight of federal agencies, their power is vast, reaching significant swaths of the national and international economies. There is little to constitutionally constrain such arrangements, and whereas the administrative law model values the norms of participation, deliberation, and transparency, the procedures used by SROs depart from these norms in important ways. Moreover, oversight agencies are deferential to SROs, and courts in turn are deferential to the oversight agencies. This doubling of deference both undermines accountability and fails to adequately guard against arbitrariness. This Article brings a much-needed administrative law lens to SROs, providing both a positive and theoretical account of SROs and exposing flaws in the model. To better ameliorate these concerns, this Article illustrates how existing administrative law can more comprehensively account for SROs and offers a series of institutional design considerations for furthering administrative law norms in the future.


These tests, and other field observations, indicate that moisture is a key consideration in selecting a fertilizer program for safflower in the Valley. For dry-land soils or soils with low sub-surface moisture levels, 20 to 60 lbs per acre of N appear to be sufficient. Excess N may reduce yields.
Greater amounts of N may be utilized when safflower is grown under irrigation, or on soils with a high water table, or on deep soils filled with moisture. The effect of the previous crop is important here: when safflower follows rice or sorghum, up to 150 lbs per acre of N are generally adequate. However, when it follows a nitrogen-fixing crop such as alfalfa or vetch, smaller amounts may be sufficient. No reduction in safflower yield has been observed from excess N under highmoisture conditions.
Because safflower may not be irrigated, fertilizers should be placed in the moist root zone, at least 4 inches deep. If a nitrogen fertilizer is broadcast, at least 1 inch of rain or its equivalent in irrigation is needed to move it into the root zone.
Spring applications are preferable to fall applications. In a dry spring, aqua or anhydrous ammonia placed at a depth of from 4 to 8 inches can be expected to be more effective than broadcast dry materials. If dry materials are to be used, applications early in the spring are desirable to take advantage of spring rains.


Background The different methods that currently exist to estimate renal function take into account different parameters, which may affect the dose of some drugs, such as dexketoprofen. The recommended dose of IV dexketoprofen is 50 mg every 8 hours if eGFR is >80 mL/min/1.73 m², 25 mg every 12 hours if eGFR is between 50–80 mL/min/1.73 m² and it is contraindicated if eGFR is <50 mL/min/1.73 m² – according to the summary of product characteristics. Purpose To determine the differences in the estimates of renal function, using CKD-EPI, MDRD4-IDMS and Cockcroft-Gault (CG) to estimate the glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and to assess their effect on the functional characterization of patients and the dose of IV dexketoprofen. Materials and Methods Retrospective observational study performed in adults admitted to surgical units – general, trauma and obstetric – treated with dexketoprofen IV in a tertiary hospital from January to September 2011 (9 months). The eGFR was calculated by CKD-EPI, MDRD4-IDMS and Cockcroft-Gault. Patients with serum creatinine below 0.4 mg/dl were excluded. CKD-EPI was used as a reference formula to assess the concordance between the different methods of estimating, classifying patients in 3 eGFR groups according to the IV dexketoprofen SmPC: <50 mL/min/1.73 m², 50–80 mL/min/1.73 m² and >80 mL/min/ 1.73 m². Results The study included 1946 patients – 54.3% men, 45.7% women – from a total population of 2052 admissions; mean age of 59.8 years (range 17–103). The mean serum creatinine concentration was 0.84 mg/dL ± 0.43 and mean eGFR, according to CKD-EPI, 83.05 ± 26.17 mL/min/1.73 m². The following results of non-concordance were found by comparing these formulas to estimate renal function: CKD-EPI vs. MDRD4-IDMS: 4.3% in eGFR <50 mL/min/1.73 m² group, 23.2% in the eGFR 50–80 mL/min/1.73 m² and 18.9% in eGFR > 80 mL/min/1.73 m². CKD-EPI vs. CG: 2.8% in eGFR <50 mL/min/1.73 m² group, 10.5% in eGFR 50–80 mL/min/1.73 m² and 7.8% in eGFR> 80 mL/min/1.73 m². MDRD4-IDMS vs. CG: 4.5% in the group of eGFR < 50 ml/min, 21.4% in group eGFR 50–80 mL/min and 17.1% in the group of eGFR> 80 ml/min. Conclusions A great difference was found in the estimates of renal function between the three methods used – CKD-EPI, MDRD4-IDMS and CG – in the three eGFR functional categories −<50, 50–80 and >80 mL/min/1.73 m² – ranging between 2.8% and 23.2%. These results are relevant in clinical practise because the functional category determines the non-use or limited dose of dexketoprofen IV for each patient. No conflict of interest.


Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) combining unique mechanical and physical properties could offer a kind of nanosized reinforcements for composite materials. Incorporating of CNTs to develop advance engineering composites has become an interesting concept, but the cermets based CNTs composites have been less focused. WC-Co-CNTs nanocomposites were consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) to investigate the effects of CNTs incorporation on the grain growth and mechanical properties of WC-Co nanocomposites. Experimental results show that CNTs could preserve their tubular structures in high temperature SPS process, some CNTs are surviving in the WC-Co fracture surfaces featured bridging and pulling out manner. The interaction between the CNTs and the matrix has a retardation effect of grain growth of WC, but CNTs additions could be resulted in an increase of carbon content in the binder phase that causes enhanced tendency of grain growth, either of which plays the dominated role depending on the CNTs content. The WC-10Co-0.5wt%CNTs nanocomposites possess superior hardness to toughness combinations, which hardness is about 15% and fracture toughness is about 40% higher than that of the pure nano-WC-10Co cermets consolidated under the same process.


Abstract Context: In this study, controlled ciprofloxacin (CIPRO) nanostrustructured lipid carriers of Precirol® ATO 5/Transcutol® HP (batch A) and tallow fat/Transcutol® HP (batch B) was carreid out. Objective: The aim was to improve solubility and bioavailability of CIPRO. Objective: Study of controlled ciprofloxacin (CIPRO) nanostructured lipid carriers of Precirol® ATO 5/Transcutol® HP (batch A) and tallow fat/Transcutol® HP (batch B). Methods: CIPRO concentrations C1–5 (0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, and 1.0% w/w) as AC1–5 and BC1–5 were prepared by hot homogenisation and characterised by zetasizer, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, in vitro drug release and growth inhibitory zone diameter (IZD) on agar-seeded Bacillus subtilis. Results: AC5 achieved polydispersed particles of ∼605 nm, 92% encapsulation efficiency (EE) and –28 mV similar to BC5 (∼789 nm, 91% EE, and –31 mV). Crystallinity indices (AC5 and BC5) were low at 3 and 5%, respectively. CIPRO release in AC5 was ∼98% in SGF (pH 1.2) and BC5 similarly ∼98% in SIF (pH 6.8). Conclusions: AC5 had superior growth inhibition of B. subtilis at lower concentration (1.2 µg/mL) than BC5 and CIPRO controls; hence could serve as possible sustained delivery system of CIPRO.


There are no rigorous data on how long eggs of the head louse, Pediculus capitis (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae), take to hatch. Pediculicide users often report re‐infestations after apparently successful treatments in the absence of infective contacts. This study aimed to resolve the question of whether some louse eggs hatch after the completion of treatment, thereby giving rise to a new infestation. Data were extracted from the records of lice collected after treatments in 20 clinical intervention trials. All datasets were eliminated except those in which only newly hatched louse nymphs were found prior to the final assessment. This excluded the possibility that new eggs were laid after the first treatment and thus any young lice found must have originated from eggs laid before the start of treatment. This identified 23 of 1895 (1.2%) records with evidence of louse nymphs emerging at 13 days or more after the first treatment, 3–6 days longer than previous estimates. Current treatment regimens for pediculicides of two applications 7–10 days apart appear inadequate, which may explain continuing infestation in the community. Therefore, it is suggested that a revised approach using three treatments applied at intervals of 1 week should prevent the survival of any nymphs and their development into a new generation of adults.


Patients with ESRD and their families experience a variety of transitions across the trajectory of this chronic illness. A major transition occurs when patients who have been perceived as chronically ill become terminally ill, as changes and complications limit options for treatment. These changes are very disruptive, characterized by uncertainty and disturbances in the patients' prior view of themselves. In order to restructure a new reality, patients must acknowledge the losses and changes that have occurred. Several kinds of trigger events may facilitate this process. Patient responses to the transition include a variety of strategies such as seeking information, normalizing, comparing themselves to others, and finding their identity in continuing activities or substitutes that make them feel competent. Nephrology nurses knowledgeable about this transition process, because of their longstanding relationships with ESRD patients and their families, are in an excellent position to take advantage of opportunities to provide presence, understanding, and guidance in negotiating this difficult transition.


Context It is clear that stress induces significant physiological and psychological changes that have an adverse affect on an individuals health, as well as on their work performance.1 In the context of healthcare, this can have a negative impact on practice,2 whilst research has shown that stress interventions have a positive impact on trainee performance.3 Description of innovation snap40 has developed a novel wristband that uses multiple sensors to monitor an individuals physiological and emotional state across a range of indicators. These indicators predict stress levels, allowing self-monitoring and targeted interventions to take place. The snap40 wristband is taking part in a trial of stress management training among medical students in simulation at the University of Dundee beginning in October 2014. snap40 also plans to use their product to improve patient safety, pre-emptively monitoring the health of patients alerting healthcare staff via mobile devices as a deterioration begins to occur, allowing interventions to be put in place earlier. Anticipated Improvements snap40's aim is to provide healthcare trainees and professionals with a continuous means of self-monitoring their stress, allowing them to regulate their performance. In addition, the wristband provides an easy way for trainers to monitor the stress levels of their trainees. For example, surgical trainees in simulation could be subjected to stress and their response monitored for future debriefing sessions. From a patient safety perspective, snap40 aims to save lives, as well as reduce patient length of stay thus reducing expenditure and resource stress. Take home messages snap40 has developed a wristband that monitors an individual's physiological and emotional state. The wristband, when used in training, allows healthcare trainees to self-monitor their stress levels, allowing regulation of performance. The wristband, when used in care, increases patient safety by alerting healthcare staff earlier to patient deteriorations. References Balodis IM, Wynne-Edwards KE, Olmsted MC. The other side of the curve: examining the relationship between pre-stressor physiological responses and stress reactivity. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2010;35(9):1363–73 Shapiro S, Schwartz G, Bonner G. Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Medical and Premedical Students. Journal of Behavioural Medicine 1998;21(6):581–99 Shapiro S, Shapiro D, Schwartz G. Stress Management in Medical Education: A Review of the Literature. Academic Medicine 2000;75(7):748–59


Over the last decades, graphics processing units have developed from special-purpose graphics accelerators to general-purpose massively parallel co-processors. In recent years they gained increased traction in high performance computing, as they provide superior computational performance in terms of runtime and energy consumption for a wide range of problems. In this survey, we review their employment in distributed computing for a broad range of application scenarios. Common characteristics and a classification of the most relevant use cases are described. Furthermore, we discuss possible future developments of the use of general purpose graphics processing units in the area of service-oriented architecture. The aim of this work is to inspire future research in this field and to give guidelines on when and how to incorporate this new hardware technology.


Deliberative democracy appears to be having a profound influence on contemporary green political theory. This article initially explores the growing fascination with democratic deliberation before raising the question of the implications for the shape of political institutions. Although both green and deliberative literatures are heavily committed to enhanced citizen participation, neither has systematically engaged with the task of institutional design. Three possible 'models' of deliberative institutions are analysed: mediation, citizen forums and referendum and initiative. Such institutional forms could be more extensively employed whether as part of a green politics of reform or as the basis for political institutions of a more radical sustainable society.


Despite its vital role in the country's economic activities, livestock sector was considered as poor investment for development in Ethiopia. But currently, it is being given due attention in government policy planning, especially in the last two growth and transformation plans. Arsi zone is known for its own cattle breed known as "Arsi breed" (one of the six local breeds of the country) and has huge livestock population. However, the production system and constraints have not been studied. Therefore, this research was initiated to characterize the production system and prioritize associated production constraints in Arsi zone. In general, the livestock production constraints were studied to be identified and prioritized in order of their importance in each farming system. Overall constraints were categorized into five clusters as feed related constraints, health related constraints, breed related constraints and financial and human power related constraints. Therefore, to solve these constraints, establishment of feed development research program in nearby center (most likely in Asella Agricultural Engineering Research Center) and strong extension system to promote improved forages, better health care and use of improved breeds are suggested as a solution. Provision of credit system in order to enable farmers use all the services like purchase of initial livestock, concentrates and the like must be given due attention.

 Key words: Livestock, Arsi zone, production system characterization, Arsi breeds, production constraints.


The world is full of favorable opportunities, they could be big, small, recurrent, unrepeatable, and in the end they are always either used or missed forever. The product design is a convenient opportunity used to implement something new in the business in the service of international marketing. One of the biggest opportunities in this dynamic economic development is to invent something that will have a significantly lower price than the competitors' while remaining profitable. The priority task is to achieve maximum level of engagement by the management in the process of designing an organizational structure where the organizational design represents a solid and complex architecture composed of several parts while the main strategy focuses on the new competitive advantages. This complex reality should be accepted as both a challenge and an opportunity provided that the designing of the product basically becomes a proper state of mind within the management. This means that managers need more creativity and more profound logic if they want their product to be successful and effective. Certainly in this case the management can create a model of organizational structure that will allow the company to create value for the shareholders, employees and customers. An integral part of this paper is the way we achieve this new state of prudent consciousness needed for the success of the future market.


In this sweeping survey of intellectual and musical history, David C. Paul tells the new story of how the music of American composer Charles Ives (1874-1954) was shaped by shifting conceptions of American identity within and outside of musical culture. Paul focuses on the critics, composers, performers, and scholars whose contributions were most influential in shaping the critical discourse on Ives, many of them marquee names of American musical culture themselves, including Henry Cowell, Aaron Copland, Elliott Carter, and Leonard Bernstein. Paul explores both how Ives positioned his music amid changing philosophical and aesthetic currents and how others interpreted his contributions to American music. Although Ives's initial efforts to find a public in the early twenties attracted a few devotees, the resurgence of interest in the American literary past during the thirties made a concert staple of his "Concord" Sonata, a work dedicated to nineteenth-century transcendentalist writers. Paul shows how Ives was subsequently deployed as an icon of American freedom during the early Cold War period and how he came to be instigated at the head of a line of "American maverick" composers. Paul also examines why a recent cadre of scholars has beset the composer with Gilded Age social anxieties.


Post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) was reproduced in pigs fed colostrum and milk from porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2)-infected sows and infected post-natally with porcine parvovirus (PPV) or immunostimulated. Pregnant sows were inoculated intranasally with either PCV-2 (n=5) or PCV-2-free PK-15 cell lysates (control, n=10) 3 weeks before the expected farrowing date. Newborn piglets from five of the control sows were introduced to PCV-2-infected sows (n=6 for each sow) and allowed to feed on the colostrum for 12 h and then given 15 ml milk five times a day for 7 days. Newborn piglets from the other five control sows were fed colostrum and milk from their own sows. After 7 days, two piglets from each group were randomly selected to confirm PCV-2 infection. Twenty-one pigs fed by PCV-2-infected sows were randomly divided into three groups and subjected to post-natal PPV infection (group 1), immunostimulation (group 2) or no post-natal treatment (group 3). Twenty-one pigs fed by uninfected sows were also randomly divided and subjected to post-natal PCV-2 and PPV infection (group 4), post-natal PCV-2 infection (group 5) or no treatment (group 6, negative control). Body weight was significantly greater in group 6 than in groups 1, 2 and 4 at 49, 52, 56, 59 and 63 days of age. The typical granulomatous inflammatory reaction and lymphoid depletion of PMWS was observed in the lymph nodes of groups 1, 2 and 4 at 63 days of age. Group 3 had significantly fewer PCV-2-positive cells than groups 1, 2 and 4. In conclusion, PCV-2 shed from colostrum and milk is infectious and reproduces PMWS with post-natal PPV infection or immune stimulation.


A simple operation, anterior abdominal wall colpopexy using autogenous strips of rectus fascia, to repair posthysterectomy prolapse of the vaginal vault, is described. It is mainly indicated for patients with complete vaginal eversion, in whom preservation of a physiologically useful vagina is highly desirable. Normal vaginal caliber and depth were secured and no recurrence has arisen in a series of nine patients operated upon for complete prolapse of the vaginal vault after hysterectomy, seven of whom have been followed up for six months to 12 years.


Since articular cartilage possesses only a weak capacity for repair, its regeneration potential is considered one of the most important challenges for orthopedic surgeons. The treatment options, such as marrow stimulation techniques, fail to induce a repair tissue with the same functional and mechanical properties of native hyaline cartilage. Osteochondral transplantation is considered an effective treatment option but is associated with some disadvantages, including donor-site morbidity, tissue supply limitation, unsuitable mechanical properties and thickness of the obtained tissue. Although autologous chondrocyte implantation results in reasonable repair, it requires a two-step surgical procedure. Moreover, chondrocytes expanded in culture gradually undergo dedifferentiation, so lose morphological features and specialized functions. In the search for alternative cells, scientists have found mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to be an appropriate cellular material for articular cartilage repair. These cells were originally isolated from bone marrow samples and further investigations have revealed the presence of the cells in many other tissues. Furthermore, chondrogenic differentiation is an inherent property of MSCs noticed at the time of the cell discovery. MSCs are known to exhibit homing potential to the damaged site at which they differentiate into the tissue cells or secrete a wide spectrum of bioactive factors with regenerative properties. Moreover, these cells possess a considerable immunomodulatory potential that make them the general donor for therapeutic applications. All of these topics will be discussed in this review.


Abstract : This paper presents a vehicle design parameter screening, the first portion of our MDO efforts on occupant-centric vehicle design. The study uses a full simplified vehicle by considering occupant centric survivability performance under underbody mine blast loading. The top 10 design variables have been identified by TARDEC SMEs and analyzed systematically. 32 finite element models were built to represent fractional factorial combinations of these design parameters and used to determine the main contributors to vehicle structure response and occupant injury potentials. Four preferred design parameter selections have been found in this effort to achieve improved occupant survivability performance and structural response under underbody blast loadings. They are: optimized seat energy absorption system, higher standoff distance and vehicle mass, double-V underbody shape without structural reinforcement, and smaller vehicle width. The study found and confirmed that an optimized seat energy absorption system can lower occupant injury indices significantly. The efforts presented in this paper pave a road to a full system multidisciplinary design optimization.


for Utterance Interpretation and Cognitive Models IV Stance-taking and social status in an online bulletin board Nele Põldvere, Dylan Glynn & Carita Paradis, Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University This study examines epistemic and evidential lexical verbs, such as I think, it seems, I find, etc., in rhythmic gymnastics bulletin board conversations. It employs the Cognitive Linguistic analytical framework and corpus-driven Dialogical Discourse Analysis to examine the expression of stance relative to the extra-linguistic dimension of social hierarchy (rank). The study shows that similarly to communication in face-to-face interaction, social hierarchy and its linguistic expression is transmuted to virtual communities. The expression of stance is at once one of the most common and complex functions of language. Naturally occurring language is indisputably characterized by varied and complex epistemic and evidential expressions, which are constantly chosen to convince one's interlocutors of a given construal of the world. In Functional Linguistics (Biber & Finegan 1989, Aijmer 1997, Scheibman 2002, Kärkkäinen 2003, Hunston & Thompson 2003, Martin & White 2005, Englebretson 2007), work has sought to understand the structures used in the expression of stance. Additionally, such discourse approaches to text and talk as Conversation Analysis have limited themselves to the external behavior of interaction at the expense of conceptual representations. This study advances our understanding of the phenomenon in numerous ways. Firstly, it employs a conceptual analysis, especially construal and grounding (Langacker 1990, Brisard 2002), in order to explore the construction of subjectivity between a perceiver and the object of perception. Secondly, it adopts a corpus-driven and socio-cognitive methodological framework, namely Dialogical Discourse Analysis (Markova et al. 2007, Linell 2009), to account for the sequential and thematic organization of stance, and show that stance is a socially as well as cognitively constructed phenomenon that emerges in dialogical conversations between two or more co-participants. The data for the study are extracted from an online rhythmic gymnastics bulletin board. The study benefits from the dialogical and conversational style of the mode, where the exchange of views and opinions is a prominent feature (Claridge 2007). The members of the board are seen as having formed a virtual community that is characterized by linguistic as well as social variation. Therefore, we have divided the users into three ranks in terms of activity (number of posts) and status (e.g., moderators) in the community. The sample consists of two controversial and engaging threads of 242 messages extracted from the bulletin board. All instances of epistemic and evidential mental predicates are annotated and studied in interactional discourse units in which they are generated to see how bulletin board users across three hierarchically different ranks accentuate or reduce the strength of their propositions in accordance with their conversational co-participants. The initial results show that the lexical verb constructions are an important tool for accomplishing intersubjectivity between members of the bulletin board. Rsg.net users align stance constructions with their conversational partners in terms of type (epistemic vs. evidential) and strength, which shows that their construal of the world through stance is closely interdependent with that of others. Therefore, the Cognitive Linguistic framework and Dialogical Discourse Analysis implemented in our study will help explore the dialogicality of human cognition and linguistic structuring, and consequently support our hypothesis that bulletin board users on a higher rank are more likely to use assertive and authoritative epistemic and evidential mental predicates to express speaker stance than members on a lower rank.


Full-field ArF immersion scanners with NA above 1.20 are expected to be available in 2006. 45-nm-halfpitch lines and spaces (LS) are feasible by using these scanners with polarized dipole illumination. However, from the standpoint of design flexibility, using c-quadrupole or annular illumination is the better alternative to the dipole illumination. An attenuating phase-shifting mask (attPSM) has been widely used for device manufacturing to improve resolution because of the simple layer structure without rigid specifications for mask topography such as undercut biasing in case of alternating PSM. In this study the impact of the absorber thickness of single-layer and bi-layer attPSMs, i.e. MoSi, Cr/SiON, and Ta/SiO2, on the imaging performance of ArF immersion lithography is investigated by using a rigorous electro-magnetic field simulator, Prolith version 9.0.1 with advanced mask package (KLA-Tencor), using a lumped parameter resist model. Exposure latitude (EL) of critical dimension (CD), depth of focus, mask-error-enhancement factor (MEEF), and sensitivity to polarization are compared to find an optimum mask structure for the c-quadrupole illumination in hyper- NA lithography. In the hyper-NA lithography, the standard absorber thickness giving 6% transmittance is not necessarily the optimum from the viewpoint of the imaging performance. For example, to delineate 45 nm 1:1 LS with NA of 1.20 by using the Cr/SiON attPSM, the aerial-image contrast in resist of the standard 25-nm-thick Chromium is 20% smaller than that of 50-nm-thick Chromium. Optimizing the Chromium thickness increases EL by 29%, though it has few impacts, less than 1%, on 65 nm 1:1 LS with NA of 0.85. The EL of a thickness-optimized Ta/SiO2 attPSM is 33% larger than that of the standard 68-nm-thick MoSi. Supposing the dose error, the focus error, and wafer CD error, we can relax the specification of mask CD error by using the 30-nm-thick Tantalum. Ta/SiO2 is 63% more sensitive to the polarization state of the incident light than MoSi, but the impact on CD is only 0.8 nm with a 10% change of the polarization. Calculating diffraction efficiencies for the 45 nm LS shows probable causes of the better imaging performance of Ta/SiO2; intensity of the 0th- and 1st-order diffracted light becomes larger than for MoSi and Cr/SiON as the illumination angle increases, phase difference between the 0th and 1st order is smaller in the large illumination angle, and amount of the flare-like exposure by light sources of the c-quad illumination parallel to the LS is smaller. As a summary, the three attPSMs with the nominal 6% transmittance and 180o phase difference give different imaging performances. Optimizing mask materials and thicknesses is important to have better image quality at NA above 1.0.


Activation of "suspend before low" in the Medtronic PLGM algorithm stops insulin delivery when sensor glucose (SG) is predicted to reach or fall below a preset low glucose limit in 30min. Basal insulin delivery automatically resumes once the algorithm detects an increasing SG trend. We evaluated the "suspend before low" feature of the MiniMed™ 670G with SmartGuard™ technology in children with T1D. Participants (N=105, aged 7-13 years) underwent an overnight in-clinic evaluation. Hypoglycemia was defined as 2 or more consecutive events of YSI or fingerstick blood glucose reference values ≤65 mg/dL (≤3.6 mmol/L). Children had exercise in the afternoon, no increase in basal insulin delivery, and were not in Auto Mode. Of the 1experiments, there were 79 with PLGM activation. Hypoglycemia was prevented 79.7% of the time (63/79). Mean duration of a suspension was 85.6±32.4min. The Table shows mean reference glucose values with respect to the start of automated insulin suspension and resumption, as well as 2 and 4 hours after insulin resumption. Rates of change (ROC) at insulin suspension and resumption start are also shown. All were evaluated by TDD and duration of diabetes, and stratified in quartiles. The "suspend before low" feature of the MiniMed™ 670G system reduced hypoglycemia events without rebound hyperglycemia in children with T1D regardless of TDD or duration of diabetes. Disclosure D.I. Shulman: Other Relationship; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Research Support; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Board Member; Self; Pediatric Endocrine Society. Research Support; Self; Versartis, Inc. M.A. Wood: Research Support; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc. G.P. Forlenza: Advisory Panel; Self; Dexcom, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Medtronic, Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc., Insulet Corporation, Dexcom, Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc., Bigfoot Biomedical. B. Buckingham: Advisory Panel; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc., ConvaTec Inc.. Research Support; Self; Medtronic, Insulet Corporation, Dexcom, Inc., Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company. T.S. Bailey: Research Support; Self; Abbott. Consultant; Self; Abbott. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Abbott. Research Support; Self; Ambra BioScience, Ascensia Diabetes Care, Becton, Dickinson and Company. Consultant; Self; Becton, Dickinson and Company. Research Support; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Calibra Medical. Consultant; Self; Calibra Medical. Research Support; Self; Companion Medical, Dexcom, Inc., Glooko, Inc., GlySens Incorporated, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company. Consultant; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. Research Support; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Medtronic MiniMed, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Consultant; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Research Support; Self; Sanofi. Consultant; Self; Sanofi. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Sanofi. Research Support; Self; Senseonics. Consultant; Self; Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.. Research Support; Self; Versartis, Inc., Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., MannKind Corporation. T.L. Cordero: Employee; Self; Medtronic. B.W. Bode: Research Support; Self; Abbott. Advisory Panel; Self; ADOCIA. Research Support; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Consultant; Self; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. Research Support; Self; GlaxoSmithKline plc., Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Medtronic MiniMed, Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc., Diasome Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sanofi US, Eli Lilly and Company, MannKind Corporation, Dexcom, Inc., OmniPod, Senseonics. X. Chen: Employee; Self; Medtronic. J. Shin: Employee; Self; Medtronic.


In the historical backdrop to domestic British debates about Brexit has been tension between two contrasting and competing conceptions of the Westminster Parliament's sovereignty. In issue has been whether or how parliamentary sovereignty has been subject to constraint, to limitations of form or substance, in strict legal theory or in practical politics. The tension was the product of a doctrinal dichotomy that Albert Venn Dicey introduced in the late-nineteenth century. He introduced it in attempting to juridicalise or juridify the constitution in his foundational and multi-edition textbook 'The Law of the Constitution'. The dichotomy was, on the one hand, of a formal legal conception of Parliament's sovereignty as limitless in theory and, on the other hand, of a substantive political conception of its sovereignty as limited in actuality. The tension between these legal and political conceptions has been manifest since then in various formal exercises of Parliament's sovereignty that have impaired its substance. They include parliamentary enactments that conferred self-government in the process of decolonisation, that granted the executive powers to amend parliamentary legislation through "Henry VIII clauses", and that delegated various governing powers in devolution. The tension has also been manifest in the enactment of the European Communities Act 1972, by which the Westminster Parliament made domestic legal provision for the UK's original inclusion in the European Communities. The tension was exacerbated by the unqualified assertion of the unconditional supremacy of Community law by the ECJ, both before and after the 1972 enactment. Through judicial minimalism or false economy - failure to acknowledge, explain and address pressing issues at stake - in the response of the highest British court to the ECJ's assertion of supremacy, problems in the Westminster Parliament's legal and political sovereignty were left unresolved and vulnerable to serious objection. They contributed to making the UK's continued membership of the EU precarious and unstable. The doctrinal and constitutional options and implications for the UK are challenging, as are various searching questions for the EU.


Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is an affective disorder that is harmful to both physical and mental health. Abnormal self-knowledge, which refers to abnormal judgments about oneself, is a core symptom of depression. However, little research has summarized how and why patients with MDD differ from healthy individuals in terms of self-knowledge. Objective: To gain a better understanding of MDD, we reviewed previous studies that focused on the behavioral and neurological changes of self-knowledge in this illness. Main Findings: On the behavioral level, depressed individuals exhibited negative self-knowledge in an explicit way, while more heterogeneous patterns were reported in implicit results. On the neurological level, depressed individuals, as compared with non-depressed controls, showed abnormal self-referential processing in both early perception and higher cognitive processing phases during the Self-Referential Encoding Task. Furthermore, fMRI studies have reported aberrant activity in the medial prefrontal cortex area for negative self-related items in depression. These results revealed several behavioral features and brain mechanisms underlying abnormal self-knowledge in depression. Future Studies: The neural mechanism of implicit self-knowledge in MDD remains unclear. Future research should examine the importance of others' attitudes on the self-concept of individuals with MDD, and whether abnormal self-views may be modified through cognitive or pharmacological approaches. In addition, differences in abnormal self-knowledge due to genetic variation between depressed and non-depressed populations remain unconfirmed. Importantly, it remains unknown whether abnormal self-knowledge could be used as a specific marker to distinguish healthy individuals from those with MDD. Conclusion: This review extends our understanding of the relationship between self-knowledge and depression by indicating several abnormalities among individuals with MDD and those who are at risk for this illness.


The transcription factor GATA4 promotes cell senescence. Senescent cells that have stopped proliferating secrete molecules that influence the cells around them. Prevention of this senescence-activated secretory phenotype seems to slow organismal aging. Kang et al. explored the regulatory process behind cell senescence and found that DNA damage led to stabilization of the transcription factor GATA4 (see the Perspective by Cassidy and Narita). Increased activity of GATA4 in senescent cells stimulated genes encoding secreted factors. GATA4 also accumulates in the brains of aging mice or humans. C. Kang, Q. Xu, T. D. Martin, M. Z. Li, M. Demaria, L. Aron, T. Lu, B. A. Yankner, J. Campisi, S. J. Elledge, The DNA damage response induces inflammation and senescence by inhibiting autophagy of GATA4. Science 349, aaa5612 (2015). [Abstract] [Full Text] L. D. Cassidy, M. Narita, GATA get a hold on senescence. Science 349, 1448–1449 (2015). [Summary] [Full Text]


OBJECTIVE
To examine Canadian ophthalmologists' reported practices related to cataract surgery.

DESIGN
Mailed questionnaire survey.

SETTING
Canada.

PARTICIPANTS
Random sample of 698 ophthalmologists from the mailing list of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Of the 528 eligible ophthalmologists 353 completed the questionnaire (response rate 67%). A total of 276 respondents were classified as cataract surgeons (performed at least one cataract operation in the preceding year [1992]) and were included in the study.

OUTCOME MEASURES
Reported use of preoperative ophthalmic tests, surgical technique, cataract anesthesia (including type of block and who administers it) and postoperative care.

RESULTS
Most of the preoperative tests examined either were so routine as to be done in almost all cases or were rarely done at all. A total of 52% of the respondents were identified as predominantly extracapsular cataract extraction surgeons (ECCE), 46% as predominantly phacoemulsification surgeons and 2% as predominantly intracapsular cataract extraction surgeons. Overall, 57% of the respondents reported high use of retrobulbar anesthesia, 18% reported high use of peribulbar anesthesia, and 0.7% reported high use of general anesthesia. The mean number of postoperative visits in the first 4 months after surgery was 4.25. The mean rate of Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy in the first year after cataract surgery was 17.9%; 91% of the respondents reported a rate less than 40%.

CONCLUSIONS
There seems to be limited use of nonessential preoperative ocular testing by Canadian cataract surgeons. Although ECCE remains the most common type of surgery performed, there appears to be a substantial number of surgeons trying phacoemulsification, and this will likely become the predominant technique in the near future. The self-reported practices of Canadian surgeons with relation to preoperative testing and postoperative follow-up appear to be consistent with the Clinical Practice Guideline for cataract surgery set by the US Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. However, variations in the number of postoperative visits and Nd:YAG capsulotomy rates merit further investigation.


Grounded in social cognitive theory, the purpose of this study was to examine leaders' and students' perspectives of factors that contribute to effective voluntary after-school physical activity clubs. Data were collected over two-years via field observations (n= 115) and interviews with students (n = 278) and adult leaders (n = 126). Results highlighted interconnections among personal and environmental facilitators such as enthusiastic and caring leaders, multidimensional recruiting strategies, supportive and friendly club climates, and culturally relevant physical activities. Structural barriers such as a lack of administrative support, student hunger, and inadequate transportation options were also identified by leaders and students. While previous after-school physical activity club research has focused primarily on measuring physical activity increases, these students and leaders voiced valuable perspectives that contribute to understand why some initiatives fail and others succeed from a social cogn...


This book discusses the phenomenon of the courtyard in Islamic domestic architecture, focusing on the issues of its origins and diverse functions. The book treats the phenomenon of Islamic domestic courtyards as a cultural, environmental, structural and, above all, religious one, because it is the message of Islam that presided, by and large, over the inception and proliferation of what later became known as the Islamic domestic courtyard. Indeed, there were many other factors at play, however, Islam with the hierarchy of its standards and morals was the most important force that furnished the Islamic domestic courtyard with both its essence and identity, rendering the many indigenous geographical, climatic, cultural and other inherited factors and features rather ancillary, albeit without intending to diminish or downplay the latter's position and importance.
The book is divided into seven chapters. Since the domestic courtyard is fundamental to the remarkable societal stature of the house, it was but appropriate to start the book with a chapter containing some general substance on the relationship between spirituality and the house in Islam. Next, two chapters on the origins of the phenomenon of the domestic courtyard, in general, and the Islamic domestic courtyard, in particular, follow, namely "Domestic Courtyards before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)" and "The Advent of Islam and Domestic Courtyards". This is followed by four chapters concerning the idea of the functions of Islamic domestic courtyards. The themes discussed therein are related to the climate, environment, privacy and recreation factors. The four chapters attempt to illustrate the extent of the impact which those factors have on the functions of Islamic domestic courtyards while operating within the ideological frameworks of the Islamic worldview and its systems of living.
On the whole, the subject of Islamic domestic courtyards is an extremely important one. This is so because the role and functions of the courtyard are central to the role and functions of the house phenomenon, which, in turn, serves as a framework for the actualization of the family institution without which the fulfillment of the divine purpose on earth becomes impossible. Obviously, this is not a book written from a sheer perspective of architecture. It follows that discussing the plans and structural designs of Islamic domestic courtyards is not the primary focus in the book.
Under its long-term Research Grant Scheme, the Research Center of the International Islamic University Malaysia sponsored enthusiastically a research project the output of which is this book. My profound gratitude is therefore extended to the Center and the University. My special thanks are also due to the leadership of the Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design for its unreserved support I enjoyed in the course of my research engagements.
The research that resulted in writing this book was partly library based. However, due to the nature of the theme, several research field trips to some centers of Islamic culture were essential for the successful completion of the project. Thus, the following cities were visited: Marrakech and Fez in Morocco, Lahore in Pakistan, San'a in Yemen, Cairo in Egypt and Istanbul in Turkey. For obtaining the data during the research field trips, the following methods were used: observation, surveillance, taking photographs and interviews.
While researching the topic in Lahore, the kindness and help of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ajaz Anwar, from Lahore's National College of Arts, were indispensable, for which I feel very much indebted. While in Morocco, I was fortunate to enjoy the noble hospitality of the Abisourour family. Of them, however, the unreserved help and guidance of Mr. Mustafa and his wonderful family in Marrakech are to be singled out here. The help and support of Mr. Zohayr in Fez were very crucial as well, making my stay there a wonderful experience. I pray to Almighty Allah to grant all the persons mentioned every good of this world and the Hereafter.
Moreover, Mr. Dilmi Jamel, from Algeria and a Master's student at the Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design, International Islamic University Malaysia, furnished me with some information about domestic courtyards in Algeria. Also, Mr. Faris Gorashi, from Sudan and a PhD student at the Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design, International Islamic University Malaysia, furnished me with some information about domestic courtyards in Sudan. Mr. Muhammad Waseem Akhtar from Lahore, Pakistan, was kind enough to provide me with some information on domestic courtyards in Lahore's rural areas. My profound gratitude is thus extended to all of them.
A majority of data needed for the pure theoretical part were found in the compilations of authentic hadiths (the Prophet Muhammad's tradition) and their commentaries, in the books of sirah (chronicles of Prophet Muhammad's life), in chronicles with general content, in relevant books on cities, geography, architecture, and on medieval travels, and, last but not least, in the Holy Qur'an and its various commentaries (tafsir). A number of contemporary books dealing with a variety of religious, social and built environment issues, written by both Muslims and non-Muslims, have also been used.
Finally, I welcome any constructive and academic suggestion concerning the book's contents, such as my methodology, arguments, inferences, and the nature of the collected data and my understanding and interpretation of them.


In the re-pressed tests of jacked pipe piles in soft clay, it was observed that the re-pressed starting pressure can reach to more than 2.5 times of the final pressure for 25 days after finishing the installation; and it increased more rapidly in early period than later. Through the study of the time effect mechanism, it is found that the increment of ultimate bearing capacity of the single pile is mainly caused by side soil resistance. The end resistance has little influence on the time effect of bearing capacity of pile. According to the simulation result of the test data, the relationship between pile side resistance and time can be described with logarithmic curve. By this new computing model, the side frictional resistance in different resting time can be obtained, and then the ultimate bearing capacity. It is proved that this method is feasible because the values of side soil resistance calculated by the computing model with software are well consistent with the field tests results.


A lot of research has been spent on improving the reliability and extending the lifetime of ASIC and SoC devices, but only little on improving the long-term reliability of dynamically reconfigurable systems. In order to increase the lifetime of a reconfigurable device, we propose a placement strategy to distribute the stress equally on the reconfigurable resources at runtime such that all have a similar level of degradation. Thereby, we present a new aging model which is applied to estimate the influence of aging effects on dynamically reconfigurable devices, and which can be evaluated at runtime, while providing quite accurate aging results. Furthermore, we present a new stress-aware placement algorithm that takes the degradation of the reconfigurable resources into account and can significantly extend the lifetime of reconfigurable devices.


The objective of this research is to assess economic value from visitors of Curug Sewu Resort, in Kendal Regency by Individual Travel Cost Method (ITCM). Curug Sewu is chosen due to high potency for recreation demand.
Regression analysis was involved in this study with specification of number of visit as dependent variable and six variables as independent variables. Variable of travel
cost to Curug Sewu consist of transportation cost, consumption cost, ticket, parking cost, documentation, and other cost, travel cost to another site (Rp), variable of age (year), variable of education (year), variable of income (Rp), and variable of distance (Km).
The economic value of Curug Sewu is estimated by consumer surplus of visitor which accounted for Rp896,734.9 for each individual in a year or Rp224,I 98.7 each individual visit, and total economic value (TEV) of Curug Sewu amounting to
RpI2,377,025,750,- (consumer surplus of each individual visit multiplied with the number of visitors in the year of 2003). The benefit of the Curug Sewu was Rp224.I98.7,- for
each individual visit. This number is still higher than the average expenditure of visitor (Rp87,652.-). Thereafter, Curug Sewu should be developed and managed properly.

Key-words: Demand, Travel Cost, Economic Value, Consumer Surplus, Natural Site


ABSTRACT Two different bioassays (antibacterial and antitumor) were performed to show the biological activities of eight different wild fruits [Viburnum opulus L. (guelder rose), Viburnum lantana L. (wayfaring tree), Cornus mas L. (cornelian cherry), Pyracantha coccinea Roemer (firethorn), Rubus caesius L. (dewberry), Crataegus tanacetifolia (Lam.) Pers (tansy-leaved thorn), Crataegus monogyna Jacq. (hawthorn) and Rosa canina L. (dog rose)] grown in Turkey. For each fruit, 8 different extracts (aqueous and ethanol extracts prepared from hot and cold treatments offresh and dried fruits) were obtained and a total of 64 extracts were evaluated. The disc diffusion assay (Kirby-Bauer Method) was used to screen for antibacterial activity. Among the tested fruits, best antibacterial activity was obtained with fresh fruits of wayfaring tree, firethorn and hawthorn. Hot ethanol extracts of these fruits showed strong antibacterial activity against S. aureus, S. epidermidis and S. pyogenes. Antitumor activity was evaluated with potato disc tumor induction assay. Best antitumor activity was obtained with cold water extract offresh fruits of R. caesius (100% inhibition). Cold or hot ethanol extracts of fresh V. lantana fruits (90.5% and 95.2%, respectively), cold water extract of fresh C. monogyna fruits (85.7%) and hot ethanol extracts of fresh C. tanacetifolia fruits (71.4%) also exhibited strong tumor inhibition.


Objectives To evaluate the oncologic safety of the submental flap regarding potential transposition of involved nodes to the reconstruction site and recognize the submental flap as an excellent option for oral cavity reconstruction. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting Tertiary academic referral center. Subjects and Methods All patients undergoing reconstruction with submental flaps following the resection of primary and recurrent malignancies of the oral cavity between 2002 and 2012 were reviewed. Analysis included tumor location, staging, reconstructive details, postoperative course, and outcomes. Results Fifty patients were identified having undergone submental flap reconstruction of defects following resection for oral cavity malignancies. No patient had identifiable clinical or radiographic level I nodal involvement preoperatively. Patients' ages ranged from 35 to 88 years (mean, 70 years). American Joint Committee on Cancer staging of patients included stage II (n = 16, 32%), stage III (n = 10, 20%), and stage IVa disease (n = 28, 48%). All patients underwent a level 1A and 1B dissection with removal of the nodal basin and submandibular gland. The prevalence of occult lymph node metastasis involving level 1 was 10%. On follow-up, there were no local recurrences associated with submental flap transposition to the oral cavity. One patient with multifocal oral disease had a tongue recurrence geographically separate from the submental flap reconstruction. There was 100% flap survival. Conclusions The submental flap provides a rapid and reliable option for oral cavity defect reconstruction. With appropriate management of the level 1 nodal compartment, oncologic outcomes are not compromised.