: Agitation is a significant behavior problem for many elderly nursing-home residents with dementia. Lack of conceptual clarity constrains effective management of agitated behaviors. This conceptual analysis examines the meaning of agitation and attempts to disentangle its antecedents, critical attributes, and consequences. Measurement and management implications are examined.


Power Africa comes in the context of a somewhat renewed US foreign policy focus on African development. The initiative's promised investment is large but the overall model is not new. Power Africa can be seen as a throwback to a previous era in development policy when large infrastructure projects and technical know-how in fields such as education and agriculture were the norm. But a focus on existing models of aid and a reflection on the recent experience in corporate-led utility reform via privatization raises sharp concerns about Power Africa's efforts to bring modern electricity access to 60 million households. A main concern is over the level of public input from the future beneficiary consumers of Power Africa projects. This concern raises a critical point needs to be made, one that has largely been thus far ignored: that electricity is a public good.


Images analysis techniques are gaining popularity in the studies of civil engineering technology. However, the current image analysis methods often require advanced machinery and strict image acquisition procedures, which may be challenging in actual construction practices. Therefore, this study develops a simplified image analysis technique that uses the FLIR ONE infrared camera to capture the concrete surface compatible with the Infrared (IR) concrete images. The infrared image is then converted into contour plot images using MATLAB software and analysed using AutoCAD to determine the thermal colour's diameter on the infrared images. This study focuses on the white and yellow colours. The yellow thermal colour is the outer of the Thermal Diameter Reduction (TDR) rate of concrete, while the white thermal colour is the inner due to the highest temperature. However, to determine the accuracy of the MATLAB image processing, additional image editing is performed by utilising image exposure editing in conjunction with AutoCAD. The result from MATLAB was then gathered and compared to the image exposure editing to find the correlation between porosity, compressive strength and TDR rate of concrete. Experimental results showed that porosity affected the TDR rate with reliable accuracy of 90.00 %, compressive strength 70.00 %, and concrete density 60.00 %. The result analysis shows that concrete with high characteristic strength is in a less porous state, which means it is denser and transfers heat slowly to the surface, thus making the TDR rate value of the concrete minimum.


Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) inhibitors belong to a new class of drugs for the treatment of malignant diseases. They selectively act against a target (Plk1) which is involved in different stages of mitosis such as centrosome maturation, spindle formation, chromosome separation and cytokinesis. Because Plk1 is mainly expressed in proliferating tissues and overexpressed in cancers, its inhibition is potentially less prone to toxicities associated with current antimitotic agents, which also act on nondividing cells. Several Plk1 inhibitors are being evaluated as cancer treatment drugs. Based on the essential role of Plk1 during mitosis, Plk1 inhibitors target all rapidly dividing cells irrespective of their tumor suppressor or oncogene mutations. In this article, their mechanisms of action, efficacy and toxicity profile are discussed.


: A four-month-old boy affected by glycogen storage disease type I is presented. The child suffered from hepatomegaly, lactic acidosis, fasting hypoglycemia and failure to thrive. He had repeated infectious and cyclic neutropenia. Immunoglobulin and chemotactic neutrophil motility was impaired. Liver biopsy showed increased amounts of glycogen in hepatic cells as assessed by morphological and biochemical grounds. The activity of glucose-6-phosphatase as well as other glycogenolytic enzymes was normal in the frozen liver. The aforementioned characteristics suggested the diagnosis of glycogen storage disease type Ib. The child was first treated by enteral continuous feeding and later on by frequent meals during the daytime and enteral continuous feeding during the night time, improving the hypoglycemia as well as the other biochemical and metabolic abnormalities.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between perceived value and perceived risk with an integrated approach. Both concepts have previously been measured through either an overall or a multi-dimensional approach, but a comparison of these two measurement approaches has been ignored. Unlike other studies, perceived risk and value are examined here via two different approaches, and their relationship with customer satisfaction and behavioural intention are tested with a structural model via data gathered from hotel customers in Turkey. According to the results, multidimensionally measured perceived risk negatively influences perceived value more. Perceived value and customer satisfaction positively influence behavioural intention. In addition, the perceived value and risk are measured in six dimensions. Reputation and epistemic value are added to the scale.


Vetiver buffer strips are widely employed to reduce fluxes of eroding soil and associated nutrients and pollutants from catchments into waterways. The physical processes involved in sediment reduction by buffer strips have been examined in a number of studies and various models have been developed to describe some of these processes. However, the sedimentremoval efficiency is complex as it is time-dependent and changes as deposition builds up and existing models do not allow for this, amongst other limitations. A new model, the Griffith University Soil Erosion & Deposition - Vegetative Buffer Strip Model (GUSED-VBS), has therefore been developed which couples the hydraulics, sediment deposition and subsequent adjustment to bed topography, to simulate the build-up of sediments in the backwater zone and its effect on flow conditions. The model can be used to predict sediment retention by buffers as well as sediment concentrations, size distributions and nutrient enrichment ratios of runoff. Experiments to characterize sediment and nutrient retention by a vetiver strip were carried out using surface flow in the Griffith University Tilting-Flume Simulated Rainfall facility and were later used to test the model. Replicate experiments were conducted at three slopes using a dense vetiver strip inserted into the flume. Water profiles were recorded, then sediment comprising either a sandy soil (Podzol), a red clay (Ferralsol) or a black clay (Vertisol) was introduced into flow upstream of the buffer and sediment deposition and outflow characteristics were measured for each soil. Total carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous levels were determined in different size fractions of each sediment, to characterize nutrient enrichment. Sediment loads in the outflow increased slightly with time for the Vertisol due to sediment movement into the buffer but were static for the other two soils. The buffering action of the vetiver was efficient, reducing sediment in the outflow to 3.2, 6.0 and 11.3 % of the inflow concentration for the Podzol, Ferrosol and Vertosol respectively, with a significant differences (P<0.01) between soils. Sediments in the runoff were primarily in the 0.002 - 0.2mm size range and the greatest enrichment of fines (silt size or smaller) occurred in the Ferralsol and Vertisol. Particulate-carbon, -nitrogen and -phosphorous levels in the outflow were reduced by more than 60% compared to the inflow. Measured data from the flume experiments were compared to simulated data from GUSED-VBS. Water profiles and total sediment deposition were simulated well with low root mean square errors and coefficients of efficiency approaching 1. Reductions of the inflow nutrient loads were fairly well simulated. Further work is underway to test the model using field data.


Summary This paper describes the integrated workflow followed for understanding the mechanics of the hydraulic fracture stimulation interference and its impact on the gas production, gas production drivers, well performance, and recovery in horizontal wells in the Woodford Shale of the Anadarko basin. Devon Energy and Schlumberger collaborated on an integrated approach including geology, geophysics, petro physics, geomechanics, stimulation, completion, production and reservoir engineering disciplines. A detailed and reliable petrophysical and 3D geological model with geomechanics compon ents at single well level was critical to understanding the fracture interference, its negative im pact on the production, defining well performance drivers and operational solutions to mitigate the negative production impact of fracture interference. Initially single well models are constructed around wells with little or no off set well fracture interference. Once acceptable reservoir parameters and hydraulic fracture geometries were understood , multi-well sector models were constructed in the 3D geologic and reservoir model to evaluate the interaction betwee n wells. An additional benefit of the detailed 3D model is to serve as a foundation for future field developm ent optimizing well spacing and completion designs to improve recovery and economics.


Introduction: Decreased mortality and improved functional outcome in female compared to male mice after experimental intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has been demonstrated. We postulate that sex-specific differences in post-ICH gene expression may provide mechanistic insight.

Methods: Ten to 12 week old C57/Bl6 male (M) and female in low estrus (LE-F) or high estrous state (HE-F) mice (n=3/group) underwent ICH induction via left intrastriatal collagenase injection. Whole brain samples were collected at baseline, immediately after sham injury and 6 hours after injury. Genome-wide expression profiling was performed with Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Genome 2.0 to identify genes differentially expressed between baseline and 6 hours in males and females. Probes showing expression levels greater than log2 (10) for all samples were selected for differential analysis. Comparisons were made between baseline and 6-hour time points to determine significant differential gene expression in both sexes. An adjusted p < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: A total of 12136 probes qualified for our filtering criteria, representing 9830 genes. Of the genes tested, 119 in M, 76 in LE-F, and 420 in HE-F were expressed differently at 6 hours as compared to baseline. Of these genes, a total of 37 were shared in M and HE-F groups, 32 in M and LE-F groups, and 42 in HE-F and LE-F groups. Several pathways were identified based on the top list of genes in each group comparison, including coagulation and inflammatory mediator signaling.

Conclusions: Sex-specific differential gene expression exists at 6 hours after experimental ICH. Further experiments will be designed to test whether these observed differences in gene expression are associated with outcome after experimental ICH and, thus, may yield novel therapeutic targets for translation into the human disease.

 ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif


This paper explores a Sport Education pilot project as a case study of the approach in a primary school setting. The data was obtained from the end of unit written reflections of a class of upper primary students in an urban Australian primary school. The Sport Education unit of work was implemented by the school's physical education teacher who had the speculative hypothesis that Sport Education held the potential to be a construct through which to engage students that the teacher considered reluctant participants or socially isolated in class (author, 2008). The results expose an optimistic student response to the experience. Six themes emerge from the analysis of the results. They indicate Sport Education can deliver positive products for the class climate as well as for a student's personal and social skill development in a primary school setting. It is evident most students felt more included and motivated, and understood that they had developed skills for working cooperatively with others. Within this optimistic response complexities do emerge and these will be considered for their indications for Sport Education in primary school settings. However, it can be concluded that Sport Education is a curriculum model suitable for primary school physical education.


Abstract This article describes the important structural characteristics of a recently developed game-theoretic model of deterrence, summarizes the major deductions drown from it, and discusses its implications for both the theory of deterrence and the current strategic relationship of the superpowers. The model shows that a credible threat and a power advantage are neither necessary nor sufficient conditions for stable deterrence. It also suggests that, even under ideal conditions, deterrence is an intricate and fundamentally fragile relationship that rests, ultimately, upon the preferences and perceptions of key decision-makers rather than upon the nature and composition of each side's strategic arsenal.


According to the hygiene hypothesis, exposure to parasites may promote immune tolerance and protect against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The early life period, considered to extend from prenatal life to up to 5 years of age, is important towards immune maturation; exposures during this period are especially relevant towards IBD risk. We examined the impact of exposure to mebendazole, a broad-spectrum anthelminthic agent, during childhood and adolescence, on the risk of IBD, ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD).

 We used prospectively collected historical data of all individuals born in Denmark between 1995 and 2018 from national registers to conduct a population-based cohort study. Using the National Prescription Register, we identified mebendazole exposure at <18 years of age, as well as at <5 years of age. Using ICD8/10 codes in the cross-linked National Patient Register, we identified individuals who were subsequently diagnosed with UC or CD at <16 or ≥16 years of age. We performed adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression analyses to determine the risk of IBD, UC and CD with mebendazole exposure after adjusting for potential confounders, which included calendar period, number of siblings and half-siblings, antibiotic prescription, sex, socio-economic status, degree of urbanization and parental IBD status.

 Of 1,520,290 individuals in the cohort, 615,794 had childhood mebendazole exposure. 1,555 and 1,499 individuals were subsequently diagnosed with pediatric- and adult-onset IBD, respectively. On multivariable analysis, mebendazole exposure at <18 years of age did not impact pediatric- or adult-onset IBD risk (aHR 0.97, 95% CI 0.87, 1.07 and 1.08, 95% CI 0.97, 1.19, respectively) (Table). On limiting mebendazole exposure to age <5 years, while there was no association with pediatric-onset IBD (aHR 0.98, 95% CI 0.87, 1.11), adult-onset IBD risk was increased (aHR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04, 1.31). This increase in risk was driven by UC (aHR 1.32, 95% CI 1.12, 1.55), but not CD (1.03, 95% CI 0.87,1.22) (Figure)
 Table: Crude and adjusted estimates for outcome with exposure to mebendazole in early life (<5 years of age)

 Figure: Cumulative incidence curves for (a) ulcerative colitis and (b) Crohn's disease

 Early life, but not later in childhood or adolescence, mebendazole exposure is associated with increase in the risk of adult-onset UC. Mebendazole exposure does not impact pediatric-onset IBD risk or CD risk. These findings emphasize the importance of early-life exposures in shaping the risk of IBD later in life, may indicate differences between UC and CD risk factors and pathways, and may call for re-evaluation of risks and benefits of large-scale helminth eradication programs.


Bombesin, gastrin-related peptide (GRP), and related peptides sharing the common carboxyterminal sequence stimulate lactoferrin (serous cell marker) and glycoconjugate (mucous cell and goblet cell marker) release from human nasal mucosal explants in vitro. In vivo, GRP released from trigeminal sensory nerves may act upon GRP-bombesin binding sites on respiratory epithelial cells and submucosal glands. To determine whether GRP-bombesin can stimulate nasal secretion in vivo, bombesin was administered to eight normal subjects by unilateral, topical administration. Secretions from both nostrils were collected for measurement of total protein, lysozyme, hexose-containing glycoconjugates, and albumin (marker of vascular permeability). Baseline secretions contained 72.0 +/- 17.3 micrograms/ml of total protein, 14 +/- 2 micrograms/ml of lysozyme, 113 +/- 44 micrograms/ml of hexose-containing glycoconjugates, and 7.8 +/- 3.4 micrograms/ml of albumin. Hexose-containing glycoconjugate secretion was significantly increased after 1 nmol (385 +/- 63 micrograms/ml, P less than 0.001 by analysis of variance), 10, 100, and 1,000 nmol of bombesin, but the secretion was not dose dependent. Significant lysozyme (24 +/- 3 micrograms/ml, P less than 0.05) and total protein (155 +/- 23 micrograms/ml, P less than 0.01) secretion occurred after 1,000 nmol. No statistically significant changes in albumin secretion occurred at any dose. Saline had no significant effects on secretion. Therefore, bombesin stimulated secretion from submucosal glands and possibly epithelial cells in the human nose without affecting vascular permeability.


We demonstrate new deletion codes based on low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes using the verification code framework, introduced in [l]. (Similar ideas were suggested by Metzner [5].) Verification codes are designed to work with data organized as packets; packets could be thousands of bits (Internet packets) or simply represent a thirty-two bit integer. Deletions are assumed to occur at the packet level. Verification codes for deletions (VCDs) have polynomial time encoding and decoding algorithms and can be analyzed asymptotically using standard LDPC techniques. Variations of VCDs are also robust against transpositions, random insertions, and random substitution errors.


In-vehicle warning systems are today mainly using the visual and auditory channels for presentation. As cars get more and more sophisticated the demand on new ways of presenting information increases. This report investigates if the sense of touch, in form of a vibro-tactile seat is a prospective channel for warning information. To achieve the objectives the tactile seat was developed, implemented and tested in a simulator environment. The final result is a complete tactile seat with a set of warnings which correspond with different critical situations. The tactile seat made it possible to conduct a simulator-based experiment including comparison with a visual head-up warning presentation. The experiment proved significant difference in discovery distance in the comparison between the no system and the tactile warning system. The overall conclusion is that a vibro-tactile warning display in the driver's seat is an excellent way of presenting certain warning information. The tactile channel is especially favorable when fast reaction time is essential. Further work could include designing and testing a combined tactile and visual system.


Abstract This purpose  of this research is to analyze the causal relationship between gold return  and stock market return as well as the influence of the two variables and the effect of inflation as a macroeconomic   variable to gold return  and stock  market return.  This research was conducted to determine the best investment choice between gold investments  dan stock investments during time of inflation from 1994 – 2013. During the research period occurs phenomenon in which relationships between variables are not in accordance with the theories that have been proposed.  This is upported by the differences in the results of several previous  researches. This study is done by using the monthly data of gold price, JCI and inflation end of each month during the period January 1994 – December 2013. Methods of analysis used in this study using VAR estimation  model  by using the optimal lag test, stationary test, Johansen cointegration test, Granger causality  test, IRF and  analysis  of VD. This results  of this research showed no causal relationship between gold returns  and stock market returns. Based on the estimated  VAR models  it is known that in the short term gold returns  have no effect on stock  market returns  and vice versa as well as the inflation variable does not affect the return of gold and stock market returns. Johansen cointegration test results show there is a long – term relationship between the three variables. IRF analysis  results indicate that stock market return is convergent  and has no effect permanently. These results  were confirmed  by the results  analysis of VD which  shows  that the gold returns reached stability in the fifth period after the shock is given, while the stock market returns in the sixth period. It can be concluded that the movement that occurs in gold investment does not cause movement of the stock investment and they do not have a relationship of mutual influence and variable inflation has not effect on them. In the end, it is known that gold investment is the best option compared to stock investment during times of inflation.


ABSTRACT Port state control (PSC) inspection acts as a safeguard against maritime accidents and marine environment pollution. Due to limited inspection resources and high inspection costs, port states can only select substandard ships with high risk for inspection. Therefore, efficient and accurate identification of substandard ships is important. This study reviews the current ship selection methods used in different ports and proposed in the existing literature, then discusses their advantages and disadvantages. Based on this review, a combined model for ship risk prediction considering ship deficiencies and detention is developed and validated in this study. Reasonable and comprehensive comparisons of the proposed combined model and the current ship selection method at the Port of Hong Kong are conducted. The comparison results provide managerial insights and suggestions for Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs). This study is the first to review the ship selection methods implemented in port states and proposed in the PSC inspection literature. It is also the first study to combine the number of ship deficiencies and the probability of detention in a unified model to calculate ship risk. This study is valuable for improving the efficiency of ship selection in MoUs and thus protecting maritime transport.


Background & Purpose: People diagnosed with HIV can exhibit impaired postural control as a consequence of infection or from secondary effects of medication. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess postural control during four single and four dual tasks to evaluate the role of the vestibular and proprioceptive system during these balance activities. We hypothesize that postural stability will decrease with the increase of task complexity. Number of Subjects : 24 Materials/Methods : The study was conducted in San Juan, Puerto Rico at La Perla de Gran Precio Rehabilitation Clinic for HIV. 24 subjects (13 male and 11 female) participated in the study. Age range was 59.2± 1.7 years old. Participants had to be diagnosed with HIV and have a CD4 count >200 cells/uL to enroll in the study. After signing the informed consent and collecting demographic data, a member of the research team placed a lumbar accelerometer on each subject. Each participant was instructed to stand in a static bi-pedal posture on a firm surface or a thick foam pad . Each task took 15 seconds to be performed, multiply per nine balance tasks (18x15=3 minutes and 10 seconds), plus the 2 minutes of rest between every two tasks (2x6 minutes=12). The eight remaining balance tasks will be performed with a thick balance foam mat and further divided into two parts, four single and four dual cognitive tasks (subjects counting backward 3 numbers at a time). Results : Postural control was measured with Body-worn accelerometers (ACC). The two variables of interest in this study were jerk sway acceleration in an anterior-posterior (A-P) and mediolateral direction (M-L), m^2/s^5. A MANOVA analysis was used to evaluate Jerk of sway acceleration in both directions, between baseline (BL) (firm surface eyes open) and single/double tasks. Postural control was significantly altered during single (ACC BL 0.020 ± .01 m^2/s^5 versus ACC single task 0.20 ± 0.02 m^2/s^5 P< 0.005) and dual tasks (ACC BL 0.020 ± .01 m^2/s^5 versus ACC dual task 0.23 ± 0.03 m^2/s^5 P< 0.005) when visual input was canceled, and vestibular system was altered in an A-P direction. Thus ACC sway acceleration was increased in an anterior-posterior direction when the Ve and Pro system was challenged at the same time during the Vi system where canceled. Conclusions : Single and dual tasks showed similar challenge and results regarding increased acceleration and instability. It appears that the vestibular and proprioceptive systems could be impaired in HIV diagnosed people. Because there is no fall history among the participants of this study and these findings, it seems that patients with HIV rely on the visual system to a higher degree to attain postural control. Clinical Relevance : Identify balance disturbance in early stages to reduce the risk of fall.


This article addresses itself to two developments in recent HCI research. One is the rising emphasis on women's health, a topic that is often seen as at least partly political. The other development in HCI research is the ongoing interest in supporting democracy and political activism. We present the case of a menstrual cup design project in Taiwan, called the Formoonsa Cup, whose product development led to the change in the legal status of menstrual cups and forcefully challenged a traditional value of hymen maintenance as an expression of "pure" and morally upright womanhood. We argue that this project is significant to HCI research for the following two reasons: first, because the design project is a successful, if complicated, case of political activism, and second, because the design and legalization processes were in part mediated by platform technologies, including social networking, crowdfunding, and direct democracy platforms. Using philosopher Michel Foucault's notion of "subjugated knowledge," we analyze the case to improve understandings of how design can engage in emancipatory politics in the domain of women's health in HCI. In this case study, we begin with the idea that women's freedom of self-care is the knowledge that is subjugated, though by the end we suggest that subjugated knowledge is a more complex, and troubling, category than this initial evaluation suggests. We also argue that design can critique and intervene when it materializes previously subjugated knowledges and renders them both socially intelligible and politically efficacious.


Seven phage stocks have been prepared from a sample of sewerage. The stocks grow only on the F+ and Hfr mating types of Escherichia coli strain K-12. This specificity is not shared by any previously characterized phage which was tested. The specificity of one of the isolates, f1, has been well correlated with the salmonella cross-streak test described by Zinder.


4. Understanding and Applying Cryptography and Data Security by Adam J. Elbirt Review by Jérémy Barbay. This book describes cryptographical mechanisms and some of the mathematical concept required to understand them, from a very technical point of view, with a particular emphasis on the techniques of efficient implementation in hardware and software, as well as on the attacks that have been proposed in recent publications.


We report on the production experience of the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, using the SAM data handling system with a variety of computing hardware configurations, batch systems, and mass storage strategies. We have stored more than 300 TB of data in the Fermilab Enstore mass storage system. We deliver data through this system at an average rate of more than 2 TB/day to analysis programs, with a substantial multiplication factor in the consumed data through intelligent cache management. We handle more than 1.7 Million files in this system and provide data delivery to user jobs at Fermilab on four types of systems: a reconstruction farm, a large SMP system, a Linux batch cluster, and a Linux desktop cluster. In addition, we import simulation data generated at 6 sites worldwide, and deliver data to jobs at many more sites. We describe the scope of the data handling deployment worldwide, the operational experience with this system, and the feedback of that experience.


Scholarly documents contain many data entities, such as titles, authors, affiliations, figures, and tables. These entities can be used to enhance digital library services through enhanced metadata and enable the development of new services and tools for interacting with and exploring scholarly data. However, in a world of scholarly big data, extracting these entities in a scalable, efficient and accurate manner can be challenging. In this tutorial, we introduce the broad field of information extraction for scholarly digital libraries. Drawing on our experience in running the Cite-SeerX digital library, which has performed information extraction on over 7 million academic documents, we argue for the need for automatic information extraction, describe different approaches for performing information extraction, present tools and datasets that are readily available, and describe best practices and areas of research interest.


The costs of both legal education and legal services have been rising steadily for decades. This is because they share a common root: the constant above-inflation growth in the cost of labor-intensive goods and services known as the "cost disease." The cost disease story roots cost growth not in market failure or bureaucratic waste, but in natural, even healthy, economic forces—productivity and wage growth. Because the source of this cost growth is productivity growth, the nature of the cost disease is such that an economy as a whole can afford these rising costs. But in a world of deep income inequality, the costs must be socialized, to be shared collectively. In this article for a symposium on financing legal education, I argue that the Income-Driven Repayment program for student loans is a mechanism for partially socializing the costs of both legal education and legal services, while still maintaining the vital independence of both law schools and the bar. I also take a critical look at the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, counter-intuitively arguing that it has serious flaws in its goal of serving the broader public interest.


The purpose of this study was to go beyond an oversimplified representation of the vegan food experience and approach the investigation of such experience, in particular of happiness deriving from food choices, including factors at the macro and micro level. Broadening the concept of foodscape to emphasize the experiential aspect of food, this study explored how the vegan food experience can be described as a situated story about vegans searching for hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Veganism in a Norwegian context was investigated through analysis of various secondary and primary data sources, including newspapers, social media, websites, interviews, and observation. The findings suggested that the story framing the vegan food experience is characterized by a fundamental lack of interest and knowledge about plant-based food and veganism at the macro level. At the micro level, the story concerns vegans experiencing sensuous gratification, enjoyment, conviviality, and meaningfulness in limited groups, but also isolation and frustration. This study contributes to an approach to vegan food experiences that takes into consideration contextual factors, as well as relevant well-being related emotions at the individual level. From a practical point of view, this study provides an opportunity, in particular for government bodies, to improve information about the potential benefits and challenges of plant-based diets and confront possible discriminatory attitudes towards vegans.


The conventional thermoresistive sensor-based feedback constant temperature circuit have shown some performance limitations due to the input offset voltage of the amplifier. The d.c. analysis of this circuit has been presented to graphically demonstrate these limitations. Alternative feedback measurement scheme without employing the Wheatstone bridge is proposed. PI and predictive controller designs are described. Simulation results for these controllers and a practical configuration are presented.


The microgrid (MG) paradigm is a new concept which is considered as a solution for addressing technical, economical, and environmental issues of modern power systems. The application of MG is the subject of extensive studies and experimental tests. It is recognized that there are a number of technical challenges concerning the operation, monitoring, control, and protection of MGs systems. In this respect, the rapid development of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) has opened the door for feasible and cost-effective solutions allowing more extensive intra- and interutility information exchange, diffusion, and open access to a wide range of real-time information. Consequently, the ICTs could represent a strategic tool in supporting effective MG operation. According to this state- ment, the paper proposes an advanced framework based on the service-oriented architectures for integrated MG modeling, monitoring, and control. The proposed framework is platform, language, and vendor independent, and thus it is an ideal candidate for an effective integration in existing energy


Much of the research literature relating to the use of virtual learning
environments (VLEs) to support teaching and learning focuses on their use in
higher and further education. This thesis makes a contribution to the study of
such environments in relation to secondary schools in the UK. A number of
common themes were identified from the literature review that was part of my
original critical analytical study and which is updated here. The themes included
assessment, differentiation, collaboration and flexible learning practices. These
were investigated in one school, over the course of one year, during the
introduction of a local authority approved virtual learning environment. I had
assumed that the use of the technology would have a transformational effect on
teacher practice. In reality for most of the time the technology was used to
reaffirm an existing classroom way of doing things.

The conceptual framework that guides the investigation was based on action
research, influenced by social constructionism and critical theory. It employs
aspects of a second-generation model of activity theory to explore the tensions
that may arise in a classroom when technology is introduced. A phased
approach was adopted towards the collection of data, given the complexities of
both classroom practice and the technology employed. This ranged from the
use of questionnaires and technical data from the VLE when it was initially
introduced, to interviews and classroom observations as teachers became more
confident in its use, through to the design of an intervention that enabled a more
in depth exploration of what was happening.

This research revealed that where the use of the technology was most effective
in supporting approaches to personalised learning, a number of key
components were combined. I have proposed that where teachers have the
technical skills to use a VLE, linked to an understanding of the theories and
models associated with online learning and where they structure their teaching
outside the confines of the traditional lesson format, then online technologies
support personalised learning.


Background: Social media use is a very popular leisure activity that is common amongst young people globally. There is increasing evidence that students spend several hours daily on social media with affectation of sleep duration. Sleep duration of 7 to 9 hours daily is needed for normal healthy function of the human body. This study was conducted to determine the effect of social media on sleep pattern among students of higher institutions in Sokoto metropolis, Sokoto State. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study carried out among 381 students of higher institutions in Sokoto metropolis using multistage sampling technique. Frequencies of the various variables were tabulated and chi-square tests were done as appropriate. Results: About 67.4% of the respondents were within the age group 20-24 years. A total of 97.9% of the respondents used social media with WhatsApp ((84.9%) and Facebook ((81.7%) being the commonly used platforms. More than a quarter ((27.4%) used social media for more than 3 hours in a day. About 92% of the respondents used social media at night. Almost half of the respondents who used social media at night have their sleep duration affected by its use. Those using it for more than 2 hours at night were 5 times more likely to have sleep affectation ((AOR=2.9 – 7.3, p<0.000). Conclusion: The study demonstrated high prevalence of social media use amongst students of higher institutions in Sokoto with a significant proportion of them having sleep duration shortened. Schools and the general public should be made to create awareness on the negative impact of using social media among students especially at night.


Sound is the most efficient radiation in the ocean. Sounds of seismic and biological origin contain information regarding the underlying processes that created them. A single hydrophone records summary time-frequency information from the volume within acoustic range. Beamforming using a hydrophone array additionally produces azimuthal estimates of sound sources. A two-dimensional array and acoustic focusing produce an unambiguous two- dimensional `image' of sources. This dissertation describes the application of these techniques in three cases. The first utilizes hydrophone arrays to investigate T-phases (water-borne seismic waves) in the Philippine Sea. Ninety T-phases were recorded over a 12-day period, implying a greater number of seismic events occur than are detected by terrestrial seismic monitoring in the region. Observation of an azimuthally migrating T-phase suggests that reverberation of such sounds from bathymetric features can occur over megameter scales. In the second case, single hydrophone recordings from coral reefs in the Line Islands archipelago reveal that local ambient reef sound is spectrally similar to sounds produced by small, hard-shelled benthic invertebrates in captivity. Time- lapse photography of the reef reveals an increase in benthic invertebrate activity at sundown, consistent with an increase in sound level. The dominant acoustic phenomenon on these reefs may thus originate from the interaction between a large number of small invertebrates and the substrate. Such sounds could be used to take census of hard-shelled benthic invertebrates that are otherwise extremely difficult to survey. A two-dimensional 'map' of sound production over a coral reef in the Hawaiian Islands was obtained using two-dimensional hydrophone array in the third case. Heterogeneously distributed bio-acoustic sources were generally co-located with rocky reef areas. Acoustically dominant snapping shrimp were largely restricted to one location within the area surveyed. This distribution of sources could reveal small-scale spatial ecological limitations, such as the availability of food and shelter. While array-based passive acoustic sensing is well established in seismoacoustics, the technique is little utilized in the study of ambient biological sound. With the continuance of Moore's law and advances in battery and memory technology, inferring biological processes from ambient sound may become a more accessible tool in underwater ecological evaluation and monitoring


User-generated content have been studied a lot in hospitality and tourism (H&T), however, existing studies tend to consider short samples which affects generalizability features of social media analytics research. The current study tries to examine the whole existing data on nature and park attractions of a specific destination on TripAdvisor (TA), the so-called big data. Big data analytics is a rising research paradigm that uses various data sources and analytical tools such as natural language processing and Web textual mining tools to make inferences and predictions about reality. By targeting Jasper Nation Park, around 13 K English online reviews about the natural attractions and park areas of this outdoor destination was collected, and some analytical methods such as semantic and sentiment analysis were applied on the existing corpus. Using a Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling method, five major topics of visitors' experience sharing were identified as: Place, Trekking, Value, Landmarks, and Watershed. Also, results of the sentiment analysis show a high percentage of positive opinion among the reviewers (68%). This study will be of interest to the both academic and industrial realms, and helps to have a better understanding of visitor's experience sharing behaviors in online travel communities.


In wireless sensor networks, most of existing data aggregation scheduling methods try to aggregate the data from all the nodes at all time-instances. It is neither energy efficient nor practical because of the link unreliability and spatio-temporal data correlation. This paper proposes a lossy data aggregation scheme to allow estimated aggregation at the root by selectively letting some nodes sample at some time slots. Firstly, all nodes sample data synchronously and the error between the real value and estimated one is guaranteed to being bounded respectively with and without the link unreliability. And the error bound is analyzed when the confidence is given a priori. Then we also design an algorithm to assign the confidence level among the parents such that each parent can calculate the minimum number of needed leaves based on the assigned confidence level. Secondly, all nodes sample data asynchronously, under which we analyze the probability that the error could be bounded under a given confidence level. Then a new algorithm is designed to implement data aggregation under a synchronization. We also present the experiment based on a real test-bed to evaluate our schemes.


Summary The volumes of brains and major brain regions were compared between European (EHB) and African (AHB) honey bee workers. The brain volume was not significantly different between the two bee races. The overall composition of major brain regions appeared similar except for the lobes of the mushroom bodies, which were significantly larger in EHB. Discriminant analysis indicated that brains from EHB could be distinguished from those of AHB based on the volumes of the central body together with either the mushroom body lobe or the mushroom body calyx. Whether learning and memory capacities differ between AHB and EHB based on the size of mushroom body lobes and whether the differences are adaptive due to the environments where EHB and AHB originated are discussed.


Development of appropriate strategy for the management of reservoirs with sanding problems is rather complex and requires an integrated approach to finding the optimum solution to solving the problem. This requires integration of key aspects of reservoir characterisation, drilling, completion and production technologies including sand tolerances (Seabed wellhead/flow lines, topside facilities. Providing an accurate forecast of the tolerance depends on accurate prediction of sand failure and the corresponding volume of produced sand. This is a transient phenomena further complicated by gas reservoir fluid flow. In this paper the results of a comprehensive Thick Wall Cylinder[TWC] experimental sand production studies carried out on synthetic sandstones are presented. The sand production prediction model for liquid flow are further calibrated and upscaled with field data for gas reservoirs. The prediction model developed is further validated with independent field data with good results. The results represent a first for sand production forecast for gas reservoirs. Mitigation of sanding requires reliable sanding prediction, precise well design, accurate technology selection as well as optimum completion strategy.


Background: Accumulating evidence supports the long-term safety and effectiveness of minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion (SIJF) for sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Objective: To report 5-year clinical and radiographic follow-up in patients undergoing SIJF using triangular titanium implants (TTI). Methods: One hundred and three subjects at 12 centers treated with SIJF using TTI in two prospective clinical trials (NCT01640353 and NCT01681004) were enrolled and followed in the current study (NCT02270203) with clinic visits at 3, 4 and 5 years. CT scans performed at 5 years were compared to prior CT scans (at 1 or 2 years) by an independent radiologist. Results: Compared to baseline scores, SIJ pain scores at 5 years decreased by a mean of 54 points, disability scores (Oswestry Disability Index) decreased by 26 points, and quality of life scores (EuroQOL-5D time trade-off index) increased by 0.29 points (0 – 1 scale) (all p<0.0001). Satisfaction rates were high and the proportion of subjects taking opioids decreased from 77% at baseline to 41% at 5-year follow-up. Independent radiographic analysis showed a high rate (98%) of bone apposition to implants on both the sacral and iliac sides of the SI joint, with a high rate of bony bridging (87%) and a low rate of radiolucencies suggestive of loosening (5%). Conclusion: A 5-year follow-up showed continued excellent clinical responses in patients with SIJ pain treated with SIJF using triangular titanium implants along with a high rate (88%) of joint fusion. Level of evidence: Level II.


Objectives: To evaluate, the clinical significance of the head progression distance (HPD), measured by trans-perineal ultrasound, during prolonged second stage of labor. Methods: A prospective study of women, above 37 weeks of gestation, with failure to progress in the second stage of labor was conducted. A TPU approach in a sagital plane, was performed in order to assess the HPD. It's correlation with fetomaternal characteristics, mode of delivery, and perinatal outcome were evaluated. Results: Sixty six women in prolonged second stage were enrolled in the study. Sixteen (25.8%), delivered by spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD), twelve (19.4%) delivered by Cesarean delivery, thirty (48.4%) by vacuum extraction, and four (6.5%), by forceps. The mean HPD in cm measured in SVD, vacuum extraction, forceps and Cesarean delivery was 6.6 ± 0.9, 6.5 ± 1.2, 7.7 ± 1.1 and 5.8 ± 1.5 respectively, did not differ between modes of delivery. The only parameter that correlated with HPD was fetal head circumference measured after delivery R = 0.381 P < 0.04 Conclusions: Our study indicate that head progression distance do not predict the mode of delivery at prolonged 2nd stage.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic management of obese women with early stage endometrial cancer and to compare the surgical outcome, cost, hospital stay, recall of postoperative pain control, time to return to full activity and to work, and overall satisfaction among these women and those managed by laparotomy.

METHODS
We conducted a prospective study over 2 years applying laparoscopic surgery to all women with clinical stage I endometrial cancer and body mass indices (BMIs) between 28.0 and 60.0 who can tolerate such surgery. As a control, we used women with clinical stage I endometrial cancer and similar BMIs who underwent laparotomy in the previous 2 years. Both groups were compared in their characteristics, surgical outcome, cost, and hospital stay, and interviewed regarding time to recovery, recall of postoperative pain control, and overall satisfaction with their management.

RESULTS
Forty of 42 obese women who presented with clinical stage I endometrial cancer during the study period were offered laparoscopic surgery. The procedure was converted to laparotomy in 3 (7.5%) patients. Laparoscopic surgery was thus successful in 88.1% of all obese women. There was no significant difference between women who underwent laparoscopy and those who underwent laparotomy in patient characteristics, proportion of women who underwent lymphadenectomy, complications, total cost, patients' recall of postoperative pain, and patients' satisfaction with management. Women who underwent laparoscopy had a significantly longer operative time, more pelvic lymph nodes removed, a smaller drop in postoperative hematocrit, less pain medication, and a shorter hospital stay (194.8 versus 137.7 min, P <0.001; 11.3 versus 5.3, P < 0.001; 3.9 versus 5.4, P = 0.029; 32.3 versus 124.1 mg, P < 0.001; and 2.5 versus 5.6 days, P < 0.001, respectively). There was a trend toward earlier resumption of full activity and return to work among women who underwent laparoscopy (23.2 versus 45.0 days, P = 0.073, and 35.3 versus 67.0 days, P = 0.055, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
Most obese women with early stage endometrial cancer can be safely managed through laparoscopy with excellent surgical outcome, shorter hospitalization, and less postoperative pain than those managed through laparotomy.


Aims Patients referred to the cath-lab are an increasingly elderly population. Thermodilution (TD, gold standard) and the estimated Fick method (eFM) are interchangeably used in the clinical routine to measure cardiac output (CO). However, their correlation in an elderly cohort of cardiac patients has not been tested so far. Methods A single, clinically-indicated right heart catheterization was performed on each patient with CO estimated by eFM and TD in 155 consecutive patients (75.1±6.8 years, 57.7% male) between April 2015 and August 2017. Whole Body Oxygen Consumption (VO2) was assumed by applying the formulas of LaFarge (LaF), Dehmer (De) and Bergstra (Be). CO was indexed to body surface area (Cardiac Index, CI). Results CI-TD showed an overall moderate correlation to CI-eFM as assessed by LaF, De or Be (r2 = 0.53, r2 = 0.54, r2 = 0.57, all p < .001, respectively) with large limits of agreement (-0.64 to 1.09, -1.07 to 0.77, -1.38 to 0.53 l/m2/min, respectively). The mean difference of CI between methods was 0.22, -0.15 and -0.42 (all p<0.001 for difference to TD), respectively. A rate of error ≥20% occurred with the equations by LaF, De or Be in 40.6%, 26.5% and 36.1% of patients, respectively. A CI <2.2 l/m2min was present in 42.6% of patients according to TD and in 60.0%, 31.0% and in 16.1% of patients according to eFM by the formulas of LaF, De or Be. Conclusion Although CI-eFM shows an overall reasonable correlation with CI-TD, the predictive value in a single patient is low. CI-eFM cannot replace CI-TD in elderly patients.


Using a combination of marketing, Web 2.0 tools, videoconferencing, face-to-face instruction and site visits, a library presence including systematic information literacy instruction is embedded into multiple programs at sixteen sites in a growing college of education with nearly 6000 students and over 115 full-time faculty members. As the needs of the students and faculty evolve, the library program responds. This article describes the education library liaison program for Arizona State University's College of Teacher Education and Leadership, including both successes and challenges, within the context of university, college, and library change.


The paper presents the results of an experimental study on fatigue performance of corroded reinforced concrete (RC) beams repaired with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. Five beams were constructed. One specimen was strengthened and not corroded; another four specimens were corroded and was strengthened with CFRP sheets. Five specimens were tested in fatigue. The results showed that steel bars corrosion reduced the fatigue life significantly while the CFRP strengthening enhanced the fatigue performance significantly. The effects of reinforcement corrosion on fatigue behavior of the strengthening beam can be attributed to a combination of four factors, including deteriorated bond behavior between reinforcement bras and surrounding concrete, loss of effective cross-section area of reinforcement, the stress concentration on steel bars, and degradation of mechanical properties of steel bars.


The paper describes a system to control vehicle accesses in restricted areas. The signalling of vehicles whose license- plates do not belong to a specific database is the aim of the system. The adaptation to different environmental conditions, and the identification of a vehicle by processing the license- plate pattern as a whole, without considering the recognition of the characters, are its two main characteristics. The system implements a recognition engine constituted by two modules. First, the system analyzes the video-recorded sequences to select a frame in which the license-plate satisfies pre-defined constraints, and extracts the license- plate template on which the matching with the model templates stored in the database will be performed. Second, vehicle identification is performed by a genetic template matching that, without requiring a high computational complexity, provides adaptation to normal environmental variations by exploiting learning capabilities. The implemented system, forced to distinguish only between authorized and unauthorized vehicles according to a threshold in the genetic fitness function, shows robust performance on Italian cars, but it is adaptable to different license-plate models, and is independent from outdoor conditions.


Words' are often regarded as the basic units of language. Previous studies into metalinguistic and metalexical development have shown, however, that people are only able to segment words from written language if words are salient linguistic units in writing in their mother-tongue. And even then the question can be asked whether it is indeed someone's mother-tongue which affects the ability to segment language into words, or whether literacy and experience with a specific writing system are more influential.In two experiments, we investigated this influence from literacy and knowledge of a specific writing system on children's word-awareness in Dutch. What is more, we also tested bilingual children's character(zi)-awareness in Chinese. By comparing the results from these experiments, we could conclude that there seems to be some 'graphic relativity', which makes that people segment languages according to the lines given in lay-outs of written texts that they can read and write.


Objectives: The application of RFA to complicated cases involving monochorionic twins offers the potential of a less invasive option when compared to BCC. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes between these two techniques. Methods: A retrospective review was undertaken of all cases of complicated monochorionic twin gestations treated from July 1996 to December 2010. Cases were identified from the fetal treatment database and data extracted in a uniform fashion from the patient's charts. Results: A total of 149 cases were identified with procedures performed on 146. Indications for selective termination on one fetus were twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence in 53, severe twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) in 43, discordance for fetal anomalies in 26 and severe IUGR in 24. Eighty-eight cases were managed with bipolar cord cautery (BCC) and 58 with RFA. All cases were technically successful in achieving selective termination. The mean gestational age at the time of the procedure was 20.9 ± 2.7 weeks in the BCC group vs. 20.2 weeks ± 2.2 weeks in the RFA group (P = 0.1). The median gestational age at delivery was 34.7 [29.2–38.6] weeks for the BCC group vs. 33.0 [23.4–38.3] weeks in the RFA group (P = 0.073). Mean birthweights did not differ between the two groups. The procedure to delivery interval was 87 ± 42 days for the BCC group vs. 73.9 ± 747.6 days for the RFA group (P = 0.1). Overall survival was 86.8% in the BCC group vs. 71.9% in the RFA group (P = 0.021). Premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) occurred in 28.1% of BCC cases and 29% of RFA cases and was the most common complication. Conclusions: Despite the smaller caliber of the instrument, RFA is not associated with a decrease in the overall complication rate for selective termination procedures. The technique used for selective termination should still be determined by technical considerations but patients should be informed of the survival associated with each technique.


We propose a novel way of mechanical perturbation of photonic crystal cavities for on-chip applications. We utilize the equivalence of the 2D photonic crystals with perfect electric conductor (PEC) boundary conditions to the infinite height 3D counterparts for rod type photonic crystals. Designed structures are sandwiched with PEC boundaries above and below and the perturbation of the cavity structures is demonstrated by changing the height of PEC boundary. Once a defect filled with air is introduced, the metallic boundary conditions is disturbed and the effective mode permittivity changes leading to a tuned optical properties of the structures. Devices utilizing this perturbation are designed for telecom wavelengths and PEC boundaries are replaced by gold plates during implementation. For 10 nm gold plate displacement, two different cavity structures showed a 21.5 nm and 26 nm shift in the resonant wavelength. Optical modulation with a 1.3 MHz maximum modulation frequency with a maximum power consumption of 36.81 nW and impact sensing with 20 μs response time (much faster compared to the commercially available ones) are shown to be possible.


: Angus and Hereford sperm motility was evaluated by an objective spectrophotometric procedure and by a conventional subjective ranking system. Semen was collected by electroejaculation and divided so that one group contained 6 Angus samples and one group contained 12 Hereford samples. Objective procedures indicated that Angus sperm was twice motile as Hereford sperm in 2.9% sodium citrate. This objective procedure depends on the orientation of sperm in a flowing liquid and then spectrophotometrically measuring the sperm's ability to return to randomness when the flow is stopped. During preparation for freezing with liquid nitrogen, microscopic subjective ranking of sperm motility was carried out. Three conditions were studied subjectively: (I) arrival at the laboratory, (II) pre-freeze, and (III) thawed samples. No significant differences in subjective evaluation of sperm motility was found between conditions or breeds. Preliminary results indicate that this objective procedure can distinguish between the sperm motility in 2.9% sodium citrate from two breeds of cattle. Use of this objective procedure for studies relating to fertilization and artificial insemination is evident and there is no theoretical reason why the procedure can not be used with other species.


The Quchan fault is located in Quchan - Shirvan area which is a part of Chenaran- Bojnourd plain in Kopeh-Dagh zone, NE Iran. The Quchan active fault with northwest – southeast trending is one of the most important strike-slip faults in the area which its activity led to the numerous historical and instrumental earthquakes. The Neo-tectonic activities of this fault are investigated by the drainage patterns, displacement of the waterways, the impact on the alluvial fan deposits and the Quaternary sediments cutting. Here, we aim to employ instrumental seismicity along with satellite imagery data, thermal images, shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) data plus field observations to explain the mechanism and active tectonics of the southeast Quchan fault termination. Processing Landsat-8 image synchronous with the maximum micro-seismic occurrences reveals that thermal anomaly is positive and corresponds to the major lineaments. Thermal anomaly images have also revealed three hidden faults which have not yet been distinguished in the field surveys. The continuous strike slip activity of the Quchan fault over the time resulted in the formation of compression zone and new thrusts along the southeastern end. By continuance of thrust activity, the anticline starts to accrete and the older thrusts are covered with folding sedimentary rocks, thus thrust loader continues until now. This research is the first successful attempt in Iran to detect hidden active faults and investigate fault termination by employing satellite thermal surveys.


Co-current central impurity toroidal rotation has been observed in Alcator C-Mod plasmas with on-axis ICRF heating. The rotation velocity increases with plasma stored energy and decreases with plasma current. Very similar behaviour has been seen during ohmic H modes, which suggests that the rotation, generated in the absence of an external momentum source, is not mainly an ICRF effect. A scan of ICRF resonance location across the plasma has been performed in order to investigate possible influences on the toroidal rotation. With a slight reduction of toroidal magnetic field from 4.7 to 4.5 T and a corresponding shift of the ICRF resonance from r/a = -0.36 to -0.48, the central toroidal rotation significantly decreased together with the formation of an internal transport barrier (ITB). During the ITB phase, electrons and impurities peaked continuously for |r/a| ⩽ 0.5. Comparison of the observed rotation and neoclassical predictions indicates that the core radial electric field changes from positive to negative during the ITB phase. Similar rotation suppression and ITB formation have been observed during some ohmic H mode discharges.


Abstract Expanded use of milk fat in foods, where it can contribute substantially to flavor and quality, is frequently inhibited because of functional incompatibilities with other ingredients. Although various processes can modify milk fat to create specialty milk fat ingredients, milk fat functionally cannot always be predicted in complex food systems. Factors affecting milk fat functionality and behavior in foods include 1) the inherent properties of milk fat (flavor and chemical composition), 2) processing-controlled properties (physical properties and crystallization effects), and 3) interactions between milk fat and other constituents (other fats, air, water, and solids). Studies on applications of modified milk fats in foods can be used to illustrate these factors and to show how they can be used to predict the behavior of modified milk fats in new applications. This review suggests areas of critical research needed to overcome the problems limiting the utilization of milk fat in food products.


The interactions of human and bovine serum albumins (HSA and BSA) with various drugs using spectroscopic techniques have received great attention now a days due to their significant effect in the biomedical field. UV absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy are the most likable due to its high sensitivity and simplicity. The interaction of HSA and BSA with vitamin C was investigated. Results showed that the absorption and fluorescence intensities increased as the vitamin C concentration increases. The calculated binding constant (k ~10 4 M -1 ) showed a week binding of vitamin C with both serum albumins. The analysis of fluorescence quenching for HSA/BSA-vitamin C interaction (kq ~ 10 11 L mol -1 s -1 ) reveals the dynamic quenching process and clearly confirms the existence of static mechanism of fluorescence quenching.


In this paper I both review expert contributions from different jurisdictions pertaining to norms on abuse of dominance and norms on abuse of non-dominance, and assess to what extent these two families of dispositions are theoretically and practically reconcilable.

As a matter of comparative law, the first question that arises is the risk of regulatory drift in the application of norms on abuse of dominant position. That happens, for instance, with commitment decisions (which I prefer to term 'para-regulatory' decisions), and with the particularly aggressive attitude toward the enforcement of exploitative 'unfair' prices (Article 102 lit. a) TFEU), by some national competition agencies. The latter may require them to (unduly) set, and thus regulate, 'fair' prices. To avoid that, a proposal is made to reinterpret the norm as prohibiting only supra-monopolistic prices (as effectively exclusionary, rather than exploitative). My conclusion on this is that such a reinterpretation would unreasonably eliminate any difference between a monopolistic price that is 'exceptionally justified' because it is welfare-enhancing and one that is not.

On the side of norms on abuse of non-dominance, although differently constructed (as situations of economic dependence or of superior bargaining power), the core difference among jurisdictions resides on whether the abuse also amounts (as in Japan and North Korea) to an infringement of competition laws (ie has an effect on the relevant market), or not. In the latter case, unilateral conducts by non-dominant firms may still be scrutinized if the relevant market is defined in a very narrow fashion (and consequently dominance is ascertained). The two hypothesis taken together, however, risk transforming the competition agency into a regulator for policing detailed contractual terms and fairness.

One might thus question whether intervening to protect weaker economic partners makes sense at all from a general welfare standpoint; or, on the contrary, it is legitimate to enforce the weaker party's 'right' or freedom to compete in the market.

On a normative ground, in order to reconcile norms on abuse of dominance and of non-dominance, I suggest for those jurisdictions that keep abuse of non-dominance within the realm of competition laws (by requiring an effect on the relevant market to be ascertained), either to remove this latter requirement or to expressly establish flexible thresholds of non-dominance.


Pete Boettke's "What Is Still Wrong with the Austrian School of Economics?" sketches a program for Austrian economics based on a Kuhnesque analysis of scientific communities. His core recommendations focus on what we might call the Uptake and Diffusion dimensions of the scientific enterprise. If taken as a core commitment, they entail an Integrationist program, a concomitant of which is a reduction in the unique insights of the Austrian approach and, so, an overall reduction of the diversity of perspectives in political economy and moral sciences. A cost of this program is to decrease the diversity of perspectives in economics, which in turn decreases the ability of Republic of Economic Science to explore and solve a wider variety of problems. The author presents the "Fundamental Diversity Dilemma," according to which there is a trade-off between uptake/plausibility and diversity: as we increase uptake and plausibility, we decrease diversity. The author concludes with a defense of the role of heterodox research programs, and questioning the focus on a small set of metrics to indicate excellent and important research.


5471 Amla (Indian gooseberry) a member of genus Emblica officinalis is an important dietary source of vitamin C and phenolic compounds such as tannin and rutin. For decades, it has been used as Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of inflammation and gastrointestinal related disorders. Here we report for the first time the anti-cancer effects of the aqueous extract of Amla on capan-2 human pancreatic cancer cells and further evaluated the molecular mechanisms of Amla-induced apoptosis. Our results demonstrate that treatment of capan-2 cells with the aqueous extract of Amla for 24h resulted in the significantly reduced survival of cells with an IC50 of about 60µg/ml. Amla also induced apoptosis in a concentration and time-dependent manner as exhibited by caspase-3 and PARP cleavage. Further, Amla treatment resulted in the activation of ERK at Thr-202/Tyr-204 and U0126, an ERK inhibitor offered significant protection against Amla-induced apoptosis in capan-2 cells. In order to determine the role of growth factor receptors in Amla mediated activation of ERK, cells were treated with suramin (growth factor receptor inhibitor) prior to Amla treatment. Suramin pretreatment not only markedly reduced the level of ERK phosphorylation in Amla treated cells but also completely protected the cells from Amla induced apoptosis as assessed by cell death assay and PARP cleavage. Taken together, our results suggest that Amla has a potential to be used as novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. [Supported in part by RO1 grant CA 106953 (to S.K.S) awarded by the National Cancer Institute].


We present a theory of the metal-insulator transition in a disordered two-dimensional electron gas. A quantum critical point, separating the metallic phase, which is stabilized by electronic interactions, from the insulating phase, where disorder prevails over the electronic interactions, has been identified. The existence of the quantum critical point leads to a divergence in the density of states of the underlying collective modes at the transition, causing the thermodynamic properties to behave critically as the transition is approached. We show that the interplay of electron-electron interactions and disorder can explain the observed transport properties and the anomalous enhancement of the spin susceptibility near the metal-insulator transition.


Average incomes in the agricultural sector are still much lower than average wages in non-agricultural sectors in the most of the EU Member States, which is contrary to one of the CAP's initial objectives of "ensuring a fair standard of living for the agricultural community". The main aim of this paper is to verify whether EU membership and the use of CAP funds helped reduce relative income gap of farmers. The second aim is to analyse which factors influence this income gap and how. Our study is based on EAA data for EU-27 for the period 1995–2015 and makes use of three panel data regression models estimated for all EU Member States, the "old" ones (EU-15) and the "new" ones (EU-12). Our results show that the social goals of the CAP support have not been achieved in the EU-15; however, they have been achieved under the SAPS in the EU-12.


The use of color shading meshes is presented as a new technological approach to manage flowers and ornamental plants. Eustoma grandiflorum (Raf.) Shinners is a flower that excites interest of producers and consumers. However, there is little technical and scientific information on its production and management. We evaluated the incidence of arthropods and phytotechnical characteristics in two cultivars of cut lisianthus, under the influence of different color shading meshes in commercial greenhouse. The experiments were conducted in the company Floricultura Florist, Dois Irmaos-RS, Brazil. The experiment took place from August to December 2012 and tested the influence of shading meshes with different colors (gray, red, black, and blue) on two varieties of cut lisianthus (Mariage and Bolero White). In each treatment, the phytotechnical characteristics of the plants assessed and arthropod samples were collected. Red mesh produced the best results, and blue, the worst. Nine orders of arthropods from 24 families with different habits were observed. Diptera was the most abundant. The shading screens did not influence the number of arthropods in plants.


Worship in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Change and Continuity in Religious Practice. Edited by Karin Maag and John D. Witvliet. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 2004. xiii + 353 pp. $60.00 (cloth); $30.00 (paper). Karin Maag and John Witvliet are to be congratulated for assembling an excellent collection of essays from a wide-ranging group of scholars. By arranging to have these essays published by Notre Dame Press, Maag and Witvliet have reminded us that the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries matter to all Western Christians regardless of our confessional affinities. The essays use documents and images "that convey the most accurate possible picture of the actual practices of the period" (pp. 2-3). In addition to the use of primary materials to introduce each essay, the collection reflects three "impulses" in recent scholarship: (a) a widening of "the timeline in which we consider the changes of the sixteenth century" (p. 7); (b) a consideration of "the nature of change in both Protestant and Catholic contexts" (p. 8); and (c) a use of "several complementary methods to study worship practices" (p. 8). The goal of the collection is neither to lament the loss of continuity nor to celebrate reform, but to describe and analyze the continuity in the centuries we have come to know as the Reformation. The first section of the collection, "Starting Points for Assessing Continuity and Change," contains two essays, one by Margo Fassler, the other by Robert Kingdon. Fassler's study of a fifteenth-century French devotional anthology points to the need of worshipers for daily sustenance while on the journey of faith, a need that the reformers recognized even if they could not appreciate the form this need took in late medieval devotional materials. Kingdon demonstrates how certain fundamental pre-Reformation concerns, such as frequent gathering for worship and the church as a social-religious disciplinarian, continued to influence church life in a reformed Geneva, even while the external forms underwent significant change. In the next section, "Complexities of Location and Time Period," Frank Senn and Bodo Nischan examine issues particular to the Lutheran and Reformed traditions. Senn looks at the tension between the reforming Swedish monarchy and the Catholic populace who were resistant to radical changes in the eucharistie liturgy. Nischan points to the role of the concrete fixtures such as altars and altarpieces in defining theological meaning, either in emphasizing continuity (Lutheran) or in pressing change (Reformed). Recent scholarship has regained an understanding of the importance of what is sometimes termed paraliturgical or extraliturgical. …


Bio-surfactant is a new type of surfactant that is produced in microbial metabolism. Adding bio-surfactant during composting process, especially to those contain some toxic substances, has been proved to be a promising way. In this study, Strains III (2), a bacterial with high activity to produce bio-surfactant, were isolated firstly. Following comparison experiments with and without adding Strains III (2), namely Run 1 and Run R, were conducted, respectively. The experimental results showed that, by adding Strains III (2), the surface tension could reduce from 46.5 mN/m to 39.8 mN/m and the corresponding time to maintain the surface tension under 50 mN/ m could prolong from 60 h to 90 h. The oxygen uptake rate and total accumulated oxygen consumption with Stains III (2) were both higher than those without Strains III (2), while the accumulation of H2S in outlet gas was reduced to around 50% of Run R. Moreover, two additional experiments were also carried out to examine the effects of strains coming from different systems. One is adding Strains III (2) with a dose of 0.4% (Run 2), and the other is seedling commercial Strains at the same conditions, the composting experiments showed that: Run 2 was more effective than Run 3, because the commercial Strains can be suppressed significantly in a complex composting system with different pH, high temperature and some of metals. The bio-surfactant was also added into the solid waste, which contained some toxic substances, the corresponding results showed that the remove rate of Hg and sodium pentachlorophenolate (PCP-Na) could be improved highly. Thus, the microenvironment, reactionrate and composting quality could be enhanced effectively by adding bio-surfactant to the composting process.


Frame Lake, a small (88.4 ha), shallow (< 6.5m), high-latitude lake near Yellowknife was selected to test the feasibility of using sub-bottom profiling to estimate total volumes of heavy metal contaminated sediments in lacustrine environments. Physical and ICP-MS analyses were carried out on freeze cores collected from Frame Lake, sedimentological marker beds and 14C dating was used to chronologically constrain depositional history. ICP-MS results showed high levels of arsenic contamination (~1538 µg g-1) in recent sediments results in distinct seismic reflectors, which contrasts sharply with measured Holocene values of 16 µg g-1 (n=41, ± 5.4 SD). Comparison of core data against sub-bottom profiler transect results permitted an interpolated reconstruction of contaminated sediments throughout the lake. Based on our analysis, a minimum of ~230,000 m3 of contaminated sediments would need to be dredged from Frame Lake to achieve a minimum residual sediment arsenic concentration of < 150 µg g-1.


Pyocyanin added to suspensions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa P changes the structural organization of the cells depending on their physiological characteristics, in particular, the capability to liberate pyocyanin into the cultural broth. Exogenous pyocyanin does not interact with the cells of the parent strain producing the pigment. However, the structure of the isolated cell walls deformed after the fractionation becomes similar, upon contact with pyocyanin, to the structure of the freshly isolated cell walls. The fraction of the cytoplasmic membranes of the parent strain also slightly changes its spatial organization after addition of pyocyanin. The cells of the mutant which do not produce pyocyanin display the ability for structural interaction with exogenous pyocyanin. In contrast, the fraction of their cell walls does not react to addition of the pigment. The cytoplasmic membranes of the mutant interact with pyocyanin in the same manner as the whole cells. These changes caused by pyocyanin always involve certain parts of the molecules. As a result, the following features are observed in their spectra: the absorption at 1475 cm-1 becomes more intensive; the "knee" at the band Amide II is more pronounced in the range of 1500 cm-1; the absorption at 1520 cm-1 decreases as well as the intensity of the band Amide II as a whole. The interaction of pyocyanin with biological objects stems, apparently, from the presence of certain proteins in them since peroxidase was found to respond to pyocyanin in a manner similar to that described for the cells and their fractions.


Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum) is an important warm-season turfgrass distributed in tropical and coastal areas. It has excellent resistance to abiotic stresses, such as salinity, drought, and low temperature. However, the research on genetic diversity of local P. vaginatum collections from China is limited. In this study, the genetic diversity among 58 P. vaginatum accessions from four different provinces in China and four cultivars were assessed using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The results indicated that a total of 45 alleles were detected by 19 polymorphic markers, with a range of 2 to 4 and an average of 2.4 alleles per marker. The genetic similarity coefficients between each pair of the 58 P. vaginatum accessions and four cultivars ranged from 0.51 to 1.00, with an average of 0.77. The range of variation of Shannon diversity index of each SSR marker was 0.047 to 1.075, with an average of 0.486. The polymorphic information content of each SSR marker varies from 0.016 to 0.577, with an average of 0.249. The results of cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) showed that 58 P. vaginatum accessions and four cultivars were divided into four groups. These results provide the theoretical basis for the genetic diversity assessments and molecular marker–assisted breeding of P. vaginatum species.


Creating a simulation experience for learners can be a daunting task for educators. Through a literature search, this guide outlines a feasible method to effectively execute a successful learning experience for future health professionals through creating your own simulation event from scratch. By organizing this learning strategy into steps, an educator can easily reproduce their very own simulation and offer a highly recommended tool for enhancing health professional education within their in-class or e-learning curriculum. Reaching your students through simulation as a learning strategy does not have to be expensive nor does it have to be a complete reenactment. To offer a simple but purposeful, clinically relevant simulation is also well remembered for real-life use. Simulation provides a framework for an experience to happen where a student is to engage prior knowledge into practice and the educator takes a facilitative role (Levine et al., 2003). Knowing when and where to use simulation and understanding its effectiveness is key in reaching your learners as well as offering appropriate debriefing. This paper will outline the skills you need and support your choices in which simulation event best suits the required tested outcome.


In article the influence of large effective deformation on microstructure, thermal diffusivity and electrical conductivity is described. The tested material was monocrystalline aluminum deformed by the cyclic extrusion compression (CEC) method. The evolution of misorientation distribution, sub(grain) size was determined by using electron back scattered diffraction (EBSD) technique. The second part of the study was to evaluation of thermal diffusivity by using the laser-flash method. The LFA 427 laser-flash facility were applied. The electrical properties as electrical impedance was made by impedance bridge RLC type. The obtained results show that with increase of deformation the insignificant decrease in thermal diffusivity and electrical conductivity occurred.


CONTEXT
Studies have found that a 20% reduction in energy generation from the lumbopelvic-hip complex during overhead throws leads to a 34% increase in load on the shoulder.

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of lumbopelvic-hip complex stability, via the single leg squat assessment, on throwing mechanics of softball athletes.

DESIGN
Prospective cohort study.

SETTING
Laboratory setting.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 50 softball athletes (164.0 [104.0] cm, 65.6 [11.3] kg, 16.3 [3.8] y, 8.61 [3.62] y of experience) performed 3 overhead throws and a single leg squat on each leg.

INTERVENTION
Four stability groups were derived: (1) stable on both legs (bilateral stability), (2) unstable on the throwing side leg (TS instability) and stable on the nonthrowing side leg, (3) unstable on the nonthrowing side leg (NTS instability) and stable on the throwing side leg, and (4) unstable on both legs (bilateral instability). All throws were analyzed across 4 throwing events: foot contact (FC), maximum external shoulder rotation (MER), ball release (BR), and maximum internal shoulder rotation (MIR).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Mann-Whitney U tests revealed significant differences between the bilateral stability and the TS instability groups in trunk flexion at BR; the bilateral stability and the NTS instability groups in trunk flexion at BR, shoulder horizontal abduction at FC, shoulder rotation at FC, and pelvis flexion at MIR; the TS instability and the bilateral instability groups in trunk rotation at FC; and the NTS instability and the bilateral instability groups in trunk flexion at MER and shoulder rotation at FC.

CONCLUSION
These findings demonstrate the different mechanisms in which energy can be lost through lumbopelvic-hip complex instability as evident in throwing mechanics. The findings from this study suggest that the current methods used for classification could act as a tool for coaches, physicians, and athletic trainers when assessing their athletes' injury susceptibility.


Previous studies report a wide range of estimates for how female labor supply responds to childcare prices. We shed new light on this question using a reform that raised the prices of public daycare. Parents respond by reducing public daycare and increasing childcare at home. Parents also reduce informal childcare indicating that public daycare and informal childcare are complements. Female labor force participation declines and the response is strongest for single parents and low-income households. The short-run effects on cognitive and non-cognitive skills are mixed, but negative for girls. Spillover effects on older siblings suggest that the policy affects the whole household, not just targeted family members.


The mechanism of superconductivity in pnictides is discussed through direct doping in superconducting FeAs and also in charge reservoir REO layers of SmFeAsO. The un-doped SmFeAsO is charge neutral Spin Density Wave (SDW) compound with magnetic ordering below 150 K. The Superconducting FeAs layers are doped with Co and Ni at Fe site, whereas REO layers are doped with F at O site. The electron doping in SmFeAsO through Co results in superconductivity with transition temperature (Tc) maximum up to 15 K, whereas F doping results in Tc up to 47 K in SmFeAsO. All these REFe/Co/NiAsO/F compounds are iso-structural to ZrCuSiAs structure. The samples are crystallized in a tetragonal structure with space group P4/nmm. Variation of Tc with different doping routes shows the versatility of the structure and mechanism of occurrence of superconductivity. It seems doping in redox layer is more effective than direct doping in superconducting FeAs layer.


: Cementum is a specialized calcified avascular mesenchymal tissue that form the outer covering of the anatomic root. The term "cementum" is derived from the Latin word "caementum" which means the quarried stone. Cementum may undergo alterations in structure as well as in the composition of its organic and inorganic components consequential to pathological changes in the immediate environment. Hypermineralization: the cementum of periodontally involved teeth,and in particular the hypermineralized surface zone, is also charecterized by an increased fluoride content. The high fluoride content of the surface layer also contributes to the subsurface and undermining character of the demineralization process in the cementum caries. Moreover, translocation of mineral ions during the caries process may result in the development of a more densely mineralized surface zone in the early cementum caries lesion than in the adjacent exposed, noncarious cementum surface.


Introduction When we began to work together, one of us had no idea that dance could inform composition; the other had for several years been using writing metaphors and writing itself as a way to teach dance composition. But neither of us had ever considered teaching a course together on theories of movement and writing or of pairing a course in choreography with a writer's seminar called "Writing the Body." We certainly had not anticipated collaborating on an article about writing and dance teaching. Yet, our work together has so surprised and delighted us that we have. What follows, then, is what we have learned about ways to teach writing and dance that draw from each discipline to the enrichment of both. More important, however, is the way that our discovery can serve as a model for finding connections among numerous disciplines, even those that appear to have nothing pedagogically or intellectually in common. As Howard Gardner and other researchers in psychology and education keep reminding us, we need to remember how many ways people learn and we must incorporate that memory into our teaching. Thus, using dance to teach writing and using writing to teach dance makes for exciting, good pedagogy. We're suggesting that our partnership represents what a liberal arts education at its best can offer students and faculty. Our collaboration has not blurred or dissolved disciplinary boundaries, ideas so popular in the academy today. Rather, it has respected the disciplinary distinctions as it has demonstrated ways to help students see principles that cross disciplines and so make their education coherent. Studies at our institution have shown that students hunger for educational coherence, which becomes a factor in retention, again something of deep concern to private liberal arts colleges. Our partnership emphasizes difference and similarity. First, then, a two-part introduction, solo dances if you will, of how each of us came to this project, before we provide the details of our collaboration. Cheryl: A Writer's Perspective Recently, I took a class in beginning modem dance technique. I had expected to learn how to think through my body, to use what Howard Gardner calls kinesthetic intelligence (see Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, 1983). The first few weeks humbled me, for I learned that thinking through my body was harder for me than I had expected -- harder to the point of almost impossible. I watched other students in class understand and imitate immediately the dance sequences the instructor demonstrated, and I couldn't remember the first few minutes of our warmup, much less what I knew to be a fairly simple dance routine. Each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning I left the studio with sore muscles and a fervent desire to do something I could do, which means write. Specifically, I wanted to write about dance; fortunately, Donna demanded lots of writing -- journals, personal process papers, and dance reviews. She had a commitment to writing because she knew that a student could better understand any process by writing about it. Hers was a dancer's variation on the writing process model composition teachers value. As I wrote about my dance process or lack thereof I made two discoveries. First, while in the studio I hungered for paper and pencil. If only, I thought to myself, I could take notes. If only I could write down what we were supposed to do, so that later I could read the words: study them, memorize them. At least then I could go through the movements in the right sequence. But we weren't supposed to take notes; we were supposed to train our body to remember, which is another way of saying to think. I could not use writing to learn, as I always had. This stymied me from the start. I began to mutter words to myself, things like, "first we're going to swing our arms up, then bring up the right leg -- no, that's the left leg -- no, wait, we're working on the left side, so it's the right leg. …


This article uses data from a survey administered to 400 automobile owners in northern Utah to estimate willingness-to-pay (WTP) for removal of a superficial dent in the bumper of a typical owner's vehicle. A unique set of controls are used to estimate the determinants of WTP for this particular manifestation of superficiality. Both parametric and nonparametric measures of mean WTP are also derived. To the extent that a driver's demand for superficiality represents a market failure, e.g., due to imperfect information, or, in a normative sense, the influence of wasteful social norms, our welfare measures represent estimates of the potential social deadweight loss associated with the purchase of this particular good. In this case, potential social deadweight loss is defined as total surplus from the market for dented-bumper repair that remains 'untransferred' to markets for non-(or less)superficial goods. Best-guess estimates of the annual potential deadweight loss from dented-bumper repair in the US fall in the range of $122 000 to $609 000, depending upon the estimated number of superficially dented bumpers per year.


A new theory on stress and human performance is proposed in which physical and cognitive stressors enhance the level of neuromotor noise in the information-processing system. The neuromotor noise propagates in time and space. A 2nd assumption states that such noise facilitates easy tasks but disrupts complex tasks. In 4 experiments, 2 graphic tasks (number writing and graphic aiming) were crossed with 2 stressors (cognitive stress from a dual-task situation and physical stress in the form of loud auditory noise). Reaction time (RT), movement time (MT), and axial pen pressure were measured. In the RT phase, stress was predicted to lead to decreased RT with easy tasks and to increased RT with difficult tasks. In the execution phase, biomechanical adaptation to enhanced levels of noise was expected to manifest in higher levels of limb stiffness. In all 4 experiments, an increase of axial pen pressure with higher levels of stress evidenced the generality of biomechanical adaptation as a response to stress. RT and MT showed differential effects among the 4 experiments.


Alan Bullock's bestselling and monumental masterpiece, now in a revised Second Edition 'It is practically unprecedented to take two such monsters as Hitler and Stalin, who never met, and interweave their lives chronologically, chapter by chapter, often paragraph by paragraph, as Bullock has done...a triumph of organization, lucidity and perspective.' John Campbell, The Times 'Compulsive reading. The sweep is broad and the information concisely conveyed without any sign of pedantry...a titanic narrative history.' Zara Steiner, Financial Times 'An astonishing feat of organization, brilliantly illuminating the tragic history of the twentieth century.' Philip Ziegler, Daily Telegraph Books of the Year 'If you knew nothing about the twentieth century and were allowed one book to bone up on it, this would have to be it.' Alex Campbell, Daily Mail


The e-Service system is utilized in government administration to help achieve efficiency and provide people with services that meet their needs. This service is also known as e-Government. This article discovers the actual impacts and examines the paper to identify the underlying factors affecting the government's e-service system. The Administration created it to help achieve efficiency and provide people with services that meet their needs, also known as e-government. In addition, it leads to an increase in participation in the equity of the distribution of social benefits. This research examines the essential aspects that influence a community's perception of E-Government Continuance Intentions Toward E-Services. A questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale was issued to 1,000 community water consumers, and the researcher received 627 valid responses. Data were collected using a simple random sampling technique with a sampling ratio of 14 villages. Subsequently, descriptive statistics characterize the data (frequency distributions, percentages, averages, medians, and standard deviation). Furthermore, PLS-SEM was utilized to study the interactions between variables and launch the conceptual model via partial least squares (PLS) path modeling. This research demonstrates that digital technologies are critical to boosting community expectations and satisfaction with e-Services. Numerous factors contribute to its growth. Moreover, this paper presents an excellent case study approach based on expectation confirmation theory for examining people's community participation behaviors regarding e-services. In addition, community water consumers participate in electronic services by confirming their expectations with satisfaction.


Cranial computed tomography (CT) scans of 1,600 head trauma patients, 67 of which demonstrated evidence of brainstem injury, were reviewed. CT diagnosis of brainstem injury was based on direct and indirect evidence. Direct signs, which include focal hemorrhage, significant intraparenchymal contrast enhancement, hemorrhagic contusion, and edema of the brainstem, appear as areas of high density, mixed density, and low density on the CT scan. Indirect signs are obliteration of the pontine, cerebellopontine angle, and perimesencephalic cisterns. Mortality and morbidity rates after brainstem injury are 2-3 times greater than for head trauma with descending transtentorial herniation, but without brainstem injury.


The Organic Law for Effective Equality between Women and Men (3/2007) introduced gender equality as a basic principle for public action and made it compulsory for institutions and companies with more than 250 workers to adopt and implement gender equality plans. At the same time, Spanish Ministries each had to create a unit devoted to the promotion of equality between women and men in their respective elds of action. The Basic Statute of Public Employees (Law 7/2007) established the need to adopt equality plans in public administrations as well. Law 4/2007 on Universities (LOMLOU) made these mandates more explicit for universities, stating that "within their organisational structures, universities will feature equality units speci cally for the promotion and implementation of tasks related to the principle of equality between women and men". The Science, Technology and Innovation Law (LCTI 14/2011) extended the adoption of gender equality plans beyond universities to also include Public Research Organisations (PROs) . [1]