Two large and unrelated families were investigated for hereditary nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia associated with deficiency of erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). In both families, the kinetic and electrophoretic features of the G6PD variants resembled those of G6PD Chicago. Further investigation revealed that members of one of these families previously had been characterized as having the G6PD variants Chicago and Cornell. However, it is clear that each of these terms has been applied to the same variant in this single large kindred. In the second family, we describe a newly identified variant with unique characteristics, which we have designated G6PD Pea Ridge. G6PD Pea Ridge resembles G6PD Chicago but differs in electrophoretic mobility and in a few kinetic parameters. It exhibits an unusually high Ki for NADPH and thus appears to be insensitive to product inhibition. As other cases previously considered to be the Chicago variant become more fully characterized, this probably will be shown to be a heterogeneous group of variants.


AIM: Rectal GIST is a rare tumor of the gastrointestinal tract. The few literature cases didn't show significant evidence about diagnostic and therapeutic management. We present a rare case of rectal GIST treated with laparoscopic anterior rectal resection (RARLs) preceded by neoadjuvant therapy with Imatinib Mesylate (IM). CASE REPORT: A 68-year-old woman with abdominal pain, rectal bleeding and palpable mass on rectal exam has been subjected to computerized tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that revealed a rectal GIST of 5x4x2 cm at 3 cm from anal verge. The diagnosis was confirmed with colonoscopy. After 3mounts neoadjuvant therapy with IM, which allowed to down-stage the neoformation, the patient underwent RARLs without intraoperative or postoperative complications. Immunohistochemistry revealed cluster of differentiation CD 117 positive, HPF 5/50, Ki 67overexpressed. PDGF mutation was detected. The patient was therefore taken in charge by the oncologist. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Resection appear curative for rectal GIST. Extensive resections aren't necessary because of downstaging after IM therapy. However, the appropriate surgical technique is still debated. Further studies are necessary for a correct surgical standardization.


The mechanisms of chronic pain are complex, and genetic factors play an essential role in the development of chronic pain. Neuropathic pain (NP) and inflammatory pain (IP) are two primary components of chronic pain. Previous studies have uncovered some common biological processes in NP and IP. However, the shared genetic mechanisms remained poorly studied. We utilized multi-omics systematic analyses to investigate the shared genetic mechanisms of NP and IP. First, by integrating several genome-wide association studies (GWASs) with multi-omics data, we revealed the significant overlap of the gene co-expression modules in NP and IP. Further, we uncovered the shared biological pathways, including the previously reported mitochondrial electron transport and ATP metabolism, and stressed the role of genetic factors in chronic pain with neurodegenerative diseases. Second, we identified 24 conservative key drivers (KDs) contributing to NP and IP, containing two well-established pain genes, IL1B and OPRM1, and some novel potential pain genes, such as C5AR1 and SERPINE1. The subnetwork of those KDs highlighted the processes involving the immune system. Finally, gene expression analysis of the KDs in mouse models underlined two of the KDs, SLC6A15 and KCNQ5, with unidirectional regulatory functions in NP and IP. Our study provides strong evidence to support the current understanding of the shared genetic regulatory networks underlying NP and IP and potentially benefit the future common therapeutic avenues for chronic pain.


BACKGROUND
We studied the role of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the adrenal glands using a surface coil in patients with primary aldosteronism to differentiate aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA) from idiopathic hyperplasia of the adrenal gland (IHA). The data obtained were used to decide on surgical or nonsurgical treatment for patients.

METHODS
High-resolution MRI with SE T1WI, FSE T2WI and paired in- and out-phase images of the adrenal glands of 41 patients with clinically documented primary aldosteronism were collected. The images were reviewed in comparison with other differentiating tests.

RESULTS
Nineteen of the 41 patients were diagnosed with APA on MRI. Surgical and pathologic proof of APA was obtained in 10 cases and solitary macronodular hyperplasia was found in one case. Among these 11 cases, there were no false positive findings on MRI, while correct detectability of high-resolution computerized tomography (CT) was 62.5% (5/8); for adrenal venous sampling, it was 37.5% (3/8); and for NP-59 adrenal scanning, it was 42.9% (3/7). In eight cases with biochemically favored APA and no surgical proof, MRI and CT showed the same lesion detection rate, while there was no concordance with venous sampling, and concordance of only 33.3% (2/6) for adrenal scanning. In the remaining 22 patients without focal lesions on MRI, there was poor concordance among the four test modalities, with frequently conflicting results.

CONCLUSIONS
In patients with definitive results of noninvasive biochemical tests for APA, and positive findings of unilateral, focal adrenal lesion on MRI or CT, unilateral adrenalectomy may be justified without further tedious and invasive examinations. CT should still be the first screening test; however, high-resolution MRI is a useful diagnostic supplement for patients with strong clinical evidence of APA and negative or equivocal findings on CT.


Chinese companies have been heavily expanding their businesses globally during recent decades. In the literature, studies examine the dynamics behind their expansion strategies and build multinational Chinese companies called 'dragon multinationals.' Pointing out the shortcomings of the ownership-locationinternalization (OLI) paradigm to explain the internationalization of these dragon multinationals, the linkage-leverage-learning (LLL) model was introduced by Mathews (2006). It was extended to the inward linkages-outward linkages-leveragelearning (IOL3) model by Lu et al. (2017). This paper aims to investigate forwarded linkages to understand how these linkages are utilized during further expansions of Chinese multinational companies (MNCs) in developing countries. Inward linkages that Geely gained through earlier acquisitions were studied through secondary sources. Then, Geely's latest acquisition of Proton was examined to identify forwarded linkages. Interviews were conducted with the management of Proton and its suppliers to define sources of know-how transferred to Proton and classify them as direct and indirect forwarded linkages.


Despite the ubiquitous proliferation and importance of Enterprise Systems (ES), little research exists on their performance impact, especially in Europe. This paper provides large-sample, economy-wide evidence on the differential effects of enterprise systems on performance of European enterprises. It also highlights the important mediating role of innovation in the process of value creation from ES investments. This study uses data on the adoption of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), SCM (Supply Chain Management), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), KMS (Knowledge Management System), and DMS (Document Management System) and investigates the effects on product and process innovation, revenue, productivity and market share growth, and profitability. The results show that all ES categories significantly contribute to product and process innovation. Most of ES categories affect revenue, productivity and market share growth positively. More domain-specific and simpler system types lead to stronger positive effects. None of ES categories contribute to profitability likelihood. The findings imply that innovation acts as a full or partial mediator in the relationship between ES adoption and firm performance.


This paper covers analytical relationships between phase noise, lock time and jitter variance. An expression is derived for Lock time in terms phase margin. Analytical expressions have been derived in this paper for the variation of Lock time with respect to Phase Margin and lock time with respect to its damping coefficient. Analytical expressions are derived for the jitter variance with respect to the phase margin of a second-order PLL. Analytical expressions are also derived for the derivative of jitter variance of a second-order PLL with respect to its phase margin. The jitter variance is plotted separately for time varying part of the jitter variance and time invariant part pf the jitter variance.


In this study we re-examine whether the transition to IAS/IFRS deters or facilitates greater earnings management (earnings smoothing). Prior research is inconclusive. Barth et al. (2008) find a decrease in earnings management for early voluntary adopters, while Ahmed et al. (2010) find an increase in earnings management for mandatory adopters. Christensen et al. (2008) and Ahmed et al. (2010) attribute these conflicting results to self selection -- i.e. early adopters had incentives to voluntarily adopt while those firms that waited until IFRS adoption became mandatory in EU countries did not. In this paper, we argue that IAS/IFRS standards changed dramatically from the early voluntary adoption period to the mandatory adoption year (2005), particularly during the period from 2003 to 2005 when the IASB was making compromises to win endorsement of IAS/IFRS standards from EU member countries. Compared to earlier IAS standards, revisions of old IAS standards and new IFRS standards issued during the transition period allow greater flexibility in choosing among alternative accounting treatments, which was an often-expressed concern among IASB board members that issued dissenting opinions when more recent IAS/IFRS standards were adopted. We posit that this greater flexibility in IAS/IFRS standards has lead to greater earnings management (smoothing) under the current IFRS reporting regime. Consistent with this conjecture, we find an increase in earnings management from pre-2005 to post-2005 for Early Voluntary Adopters and Late Adopters in countries that allowed early IAS/IFRS adoption, and for Mandatory Adopters in countries that did not allow early IFRS adoption.


Differential scanning calorimetry was used to measure the relative amounts of 'bulk' and 'bound' water in normal avian, bovine, fish, human, and porcine lenses. The amounts of bound water (mg bound water/mg lens dry weight) found in avian and porcine lenses were statistically different from each other in addition to being statistically different from fish, human, and bovine lenses. There were no significant differences in the mean values between human, fish, and bovine lenses. Avian lenses had the highest amount of bound water, while fish lenses had the lowest bound water content. Significant differences in total water content (mg total water/mg lens dry weight) were observed between all of the lenses, with the exception of bovine and human lenses which were not statistically different. Fish lenses had the lowest amount of total water, and avian lenses had the highest total water content. There were significant differences in bulk water content (mg bulk water/mg lens dry weight) between all of the lenses. Avian lenses had the highest bulk water content, and fish lenses had the lowest bulk water content.


The paper presents basic concepts of augmented reality applications and challenges in building them in the web. We describe the technical and algorithmic stack required to develop, implement and deploy the augmented reality application. Theoretical concepts behind marker detection and tracking are discussed. Two different pipelines are implemented: server-based with algorithms execution in the cloud and completely front-end solution that runs on a user device. We show advantages and disadvantages of each approach and analyze experimental results as well.


An investigation of the stability of the diffraction efficiency of dichromated gelatin (DCG) holograms has been carried out paying specific attention to coated and baked holograms that are subsequently exposed to high humidity (RH > 60%) environment. The investigation has revealed that (a) the environmental stability of DCG holograms can be considerably improved either by coating or baking; (b) the DCG holograms can be used at temperatures well-above room temperature (for example, as high as 175 degrees C) without showing undue detrimental effects regarding their efficiency; and (c) the diffraction efficiency of uncoated and baked holograms can be restored by reprocessing whereas such a thing becomes impossible in coated holograms.


The objective was to investigate adherence measured by an electronic auto-injector device, and self-reported adherence and treatment convenience in subjects with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), using an electronic auto-injector Rebismart® to self-inject interferon β-1a. Thirty one patients with RRMS using the electronic auto-injector Rebismart® for self-injecting interferon β-1a subcutaneously three times weekly were included in a real-life clinical multicenter study for 24 weeks in Finland. Mean adherence reported by the device and mean self-assessment of adherence were studied. Reasons for missing injections and treatment convenience were assessed. Association between adherence and gender and age were studied. The mean adherence calculated from the device data was 93.5%. The mean self-assessment of adherence was 96.6%. The most common reason for missing an injection was forget-fulness. Adherence (measured by the device) was not changed over time. In the high adherence group there were more females and young patients (<30 years of age). The auto-injector was found to substantially ease the treatment by 90% of the patients. The electronic auto-injector was associated with high adherence to treatment. The device was found to ease the patient's treatment and it was perceived as easy to use. It is a convenient tool to assess patient's adherence to treatment.


Example-based algorithms are most suitable for face image super-resolution since they typically use specific kinds of images as their dictionary. Recently, a significant method using a set of normalized face images as database was proposed, where a high-resolution face image was estimated by taking into consideration their facial parts. This paper reports parametric analysis of the method, regarding the setting of image-patch size during superresolution process and their relations with image's scaling factor. Our objective is to find the best patch size for the algorithms, which may produces better output highresolution images. We generated training images' patchdatabases with different patch size, i.e. 5x5, 7x7, 9x9, 11x11 and 13x13 in pixels. We ran the method onto several sets of low-resolution face images with different scaling factor of magnification, i.e. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 times, to generate highresolution images using different patch size orderly. Then, we observed the average of Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) values for each set of constructed high-resolution images to analyze which size of patch yielded better results. According to the resulting PSNRs, interestingly we found that the best patch size is adaptable to scaling factor, where if the scaling factor is n, the best setting of patch size in the algorithms can be determined by (2n+1). 


Background: This study was designed to assess the in vitro anthelmintic activity of the fraction containing alkaloid from Prosopis juliflora pods on goat gastrointestinal nematodes using the egg hatch assay (EHA), larval migration inhibition assay (LMIA), and larval motility assay (LMA). Materials and Methods: The alkaloid-rich fraction (AF) – content juliprosopine as major alkaloid – was obtained from ethyl acetate extract after fractionation in Sephadex LH-20 chromatography column and its characterization were made by nuclear magnetic resonance analysis together with literature data comparison. The concentrations tested were 4.0, 2.67, 1.78, 1.19, and 0.79 mg/mL (EHA) and 4 mg/mL (LMIA and LMA). The in vitro cytotoxicity on Vero cell cultures was determined with the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and trypan blue tests. Results: High ovicidal activity was observed with IC50and IC90 values at 1.1 and 1.43 mg/mL for AF. On the other hand, this fraction showed low larvicidal activity and high toxic effect. Conclusion: Thus, P. juliflora pod alkaloid rich-fraction has ovicidal activity in vitro against goat gastrointestinal nematodes and cytotoxic in Vero cell cultures. Abbreviations used: AF: Alkaloid-rich fraction; DMSO: Dimethyl sulfoxide; EE: Ethyl acetate extract; EHA: Egg hatch assay; IC50: Inhibitory concentration 50%; IC90: Inhibitory concentration 90%; L3: Infective larvae; LMA: Larval motility assay; LMIA: Larval migration inhibition assay; MTT: Bromide 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide; NMR: Nuclear magnetic resonance; PBS: Phosphate buffered saline; RPMI: Roswell Park Memorial Institute médium; TLC: Thin Layer Chromatography.


A transparent enlarged model of a six-hole injector used in the development of emerging gasoline direct-injection engines was manufactured with full optical access. The working fluid was water circulating through the injector nozzle under steady-state flow conditions at different flow rates, pressures and needle positions. Simultaneous matching of the Reynolds and cavitation numbers has allowed direct comparison between the cavitation regimes present in real-size and enlarged nozzles. The experimental results from the model injector, as part of a research programme into second-generation direct-injection spark-ignition engines, are presented and discussed. The main objective of this investigation was to characterise the cavitation process in the sac volume and nozzle holes under different operating conditions. This has been achieved by visualizing the nozzle cavitation structures in two planes simultaneously using two synchronised high-speed cameras.

Imaging of the flow inside the injector nozzle identified the formation of three different types of cavitation as a function of the cavitation number, CN. The first is needle cavitation, formed randomly at low CN (0.5-0.7) in the vicinity of the needle, which penetrates into the opposite hole when it is fully developed. The second is the well known geometric cavitation originating at the entrance of the nozzle hole due to the local pressure drop induced by the nozzle inlet hole geometry with its onset at around CN=0.75. Finally, and at the same time as the onset of geometric cavitation, string type cavitation can be formed inside the nozzle sac and hole volume having a strong swirl component as a result of the large vortical flow structures present there; these become stronger with increasing CN. Its link with geometric cavitation creates a very complex two-phase flow structure in the nozzle holes which seems to be responsible for hole-to-hole and cycle-to-cycle spray variations.


Introduction: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the most powerful risk factor for the progression of Tuberculosis (TB). The interaction between HIV & TB in persons coinfected with them is bidirectional & synergistic. This study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of HIV infection among Tuberculosis patients in a tertiary care hospital.
Method: One year study of 4500 confirmed TB patients was carried out and tested for HIV antibody as per Strategy III, National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) guidelines.

Results: Of the 4500 patients screened, 244 (5.42%) were HIV positive. The prevalence of co-infection was higher among males with male to female ratio of 2.34 (171/73) and highest amongst those aged 35 to 50 years.

Conclusion: Present study showed HIV seroprevalence of 5.42% in tuberculosis patients. Early detection of HIV infection in TB patients will allow early access to care and treatment including ART. This will reduce death and disease among HIV-TB co-infected patients.


Feature-oriented software architecture is a way of organizing code around the features that the program provides instead of the program's objects and components. In the development of a feature-oriented software system, the developers, supplied with a set of features, select and organize features to construct the desired system. This approach, by better aligning the implementation of a system with the external view of users, is believed to have many potential benefits such as feature reuse and easy maintenance. However, there are challenges in the formal verification of feature-oriented systems: first, the product may grow very large and complicated. As a result, it's intractable to apply the traditional formal verification techniques such as model checking on such systems directly; second, since the number of feature-oriented products the developers can build is exponential in the number of features available, there may be redundant verification work if doing verification on each product. For example, developers may have shared specifications on different products built from the same set of features and hence doing verification on these features many times is really unnecessary. All these drive the need for modular verifications for feature-oriented architectures. Assume-guarantee reasoning as a modular verification technique is believed to be an effective solution. In this thesis, I compare two verification methods of this category on feature-oriented systems and analyze the results. Based on their pros and cons, I propose 2 a new modular model checking method to accomplish verification for sequential feature compositions with cyclic connections between the features. This method first builds an abstract finite state machine, which summarizes the information related to checking the property/specification from the concrete feature design, and then applies a revised CTL model checker to decide whether the system design can preserve the property or not. Proofs of the soundness of my method are also given in this thesis.


Rotating bending fatigue tests were carried out to investigate the influence of grain size on the resistance to crack growth of Ni-base super alloy, Inconel 718, using the materials with grain sizes of about 20, 50,100 and 200 たm, at room temperature. The larger grain size, the smaller crack growth rate, though the static strength was decreased with increase in grain size. The growth rate of a small crack was uniquely determined by the term ja na (Small crack growth law), where ja and a are the stress amplitude and the crack length, respectively, and n is a constant. The resistance to crack growth among materials was evaluated based on the law and showed a good correlation with tensile strength jB, meaning that fatigue life can be predicted by using only j B BB.


The parametric feature-based modeling systems can express design intent at high-level. But they usually lack representations for explaining why the feature is selected, what its design purpose and source are. This paper integrates the design intent object with design rationale and proposes an ontology-based representation framework for design meta-intent information. An approach to ontology instantiation for design intent objects and meta-intent properties by semantic annotating is presented. In order to improve the annotating efficiency the methods to automatically capture the design meta-intent information are also discussed. Based on above approaches the design meat-intent information can be naturally and effectively constructed during design process.


Through my performance as Denigrata Herself in my black metal band Denigrata, something 'other' has been advancing in parallel with my on-stage persona. She has made herself known in our perichoresis or total artwork , through our promotional pictures, artwork, and videos. Whilst I had no a priori desire or conceptualisation to create Denigrata Herself in these terms, she has evolved this way nonetheless, birthing herself through me in defiant and emancipating glory. Denigrata Herself is a witch, a patriarchally loathed female archetype who embodies freedom of will, sexual desire and power. Witchcraft as a matrifocal ritual practice has developed, particularly for Denigrata Herself and Manea (keys and vocals), into a feminist strategy of resistance that places the women in Denigrata as role makers who 'evolve [performance] strategies which "consume" their own biases as they expose and erode those of the dominant discourse' . Denigrata Herself and Manea's embodiment of the witch archetype on stage and in our perichoresis uses witchcraft as restorative feminism within black metal, subverting its juridical conservatism and masculinity from inside its dominant discourse by positioning women at the front. This does not mean that troublesome term 'female-fronted' which I personally loathe because the expectations are that this is either dealt with as a selling point or it is generally accepted that the band will be an aberration against the excellence of male musical practice (see the works of Dawes, L; Hill, R; Leonard, M; Weinstein, D); conversely it means women are active in all parts of the band and performance. In all honesty, being a woman in black metal means we need feminist witchcraft because not only does it arm us, it protects us against problematic engagements with patriarchy.


The cities of Aqaba, Jordan and Elat, Israel are vulnerable to seismic damage because they are built over the active faults of the Dead Sea Transform that are the source of historically destructive earthquakes. A liquefaction susceptibility map was generated for the Aqaba–Elat region. Borehole data from 149 locations and the water table depth were used to calculate effective overburden stress in the Seed–Idriss simplified method. The liquefaction analysis was based on applying a cyclic loading scenario with horizontal peak ground acceleration of 0.3 g in a major earthquake. The liquefaction map, compiled using a GIS platform, shows high and moderate liquefaction susceptibility zones along the northern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba that extend 800 m inland from the shoreline. In Aqaba, several hotels, luxury apartment complexes, archaeological sites, ports and commercial districts are located within high and moderate liquefaction zones. In Elat, the seaport and the coastal hotel district are located within a high susceptibility zone. Most residential areas, schools and hospitals in both cities are located within zones not susceptible to liquefaction based on the methods of this study. The total area with the potential to be liquefied along the Gulf of Aqaba is c. 10 km2. Given predictions for global sea-level, we ran three liquefaction models utilizing projected water table rises of 0.5, 1 and 2 m. These models yielded an increase in the area of high liquefaction ranging from 26 to 49%. Given the high potential of future earthquakes, our liquefaction susceptibility maps should help inform city officials for hazard mitigation planning.


The world population is dramatically ageing, resulting in an increase of the prevalence of older dependent adults living in nursing homes (NHs). Because of insufficient resources in NHs, and nurses' lack of time and knowledge, adverse events, most of them being preventable, are often reported. Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) have proven to improve the quality of care in various healthcare settings such as hospitals and primary care centers. However, the use of CDSSs in NHs is still limited and little is known about their influence on nursing practices and NH residents' clinical outcomes. We conducted a scoping review of the literature to evaluate CDSS use in NHs. Out of 1,231 retrieved papers, 15 studies were retrieved which assess 10 CDSSs applied to pressure ulcers and malnutrition prevention, drug prescription, and disease management. This review showed CDSSs could be effective in NHs for improving routine clinical practice and patient outcomes, but research is still needed to implement effective CDSSs in NHs.


The interconnected nature of the different components of smart grids is a prime example of complexity in technological systems. Developing such systems is highly dependent on the wishes and needs of end-users and other stakeholders. We argue that stakeholder values should be taken into consideration during the design and standardisation of complex infrastructures, and illustrate this with a case of smart meters and home energy management systems. We base our argument on the literature in the technology management fields, particularly those strands related to standardisation. We conduct a case study of the acceptance of smart meters (standards) in the Netherlands, based on stakeholder interviews. We use q-methodology to analyse the most salient values in this case. The Dutch smart meter case arguably demonstrates that a lack of consideration for stakeholder values led to the postponed roll-out of smart meters in the Netherlands. By not addressing privacy issues, economic advantages, and the need for informed consent, the roll-out of smart meters was delayed for several years. This lead to a more gradual approach and increased stakeholder involvement. This case may serve as an example for other European countries who also face public concern regarding the impact of advanced metering infrastructures.


The U.S. Department of Agriculture funded the Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) research project in 1990 to evaluate effectiveness of present farming systems in controlling nitrate N in water resources and to develop improved technologies for farming systems. This paper summarizes published research results of a five-year effort. Most research is focused on evaluating the effectiveness of farming system components (fertilizer, tillage, water control, cropping systems, and soil and weather variability). The research results show that current soil nitrate tests reliably predict fertilizer N needed to control environmental and economic risks for crop production. A corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation usually controls risk better than continuous corn, but both may result in unacceptable nitrate leaching. Reduced tillage, especially ridge-till, is better than clean tillage in reducing risk. Tile drainage controls nitrate in ground water, but discharge may increase nitrate in surface waters. Sprinkler irrigation systems provide better water control than furrow irrigation because quantity and spatial variability of applied water is reduced. Present farming systems have two major deficiencies: (i) entire fields are managed uniformly, ignoring inherent soil variability within a field; and (ii) N fertilizer rates and many field practices are selected assuming normal weather for the coming season. Both deficiencies can contribute to nitrate leaching in parts of most fields.


Consumption of food away from home is associated with higher caloric intake and poorer diet quality compared to home-cooked food. The group-based advance quantity meal prep (AQMP) program was developed to increase the frequency of consumption of home-cooked meals. This pilot study aimed to determine the effects of the AQMP program on the frequency of consumption of home-cooked meals, cooking attitudes, cooking self-efficacy, and anthropometrics.

 Participants were recruited from a fitness center and met at a commercial kitchen once a week for 6 weeks to complete the AQMP program. At each session, participants prepared meals in bulk and packaged individual portions. Participants were sent home with 10 meals and 5 snacks each week. These meals are defined as home-cooked. A questionnaire, height, weight, hip circumference, waist circumference, skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, body fat percentage, and body mass index (BMI) were taken at three time points: pre-program (T1), immediately post-program (T2), and 3 months post-program (T3). The questionnaire assessed: physical activity, cooking attitudes, cooking self-efficacy, and cooking behavior and consumption.

 Statistically significant increases were seen in total cooking attitudes between T1 and T3 (P = 0.01), cooking self-efficacy between T1 and T2 (P = 0.002), and reported percentage of home-cooked dinner consumption between T1 (52 ± 29%) and T2 (86 ± 14%, P = 0.04). Significant decreases in weight between T1 (85.1 ± 27.8 kg) and T3 (83.3 ± 27.4 kg, P = 0.03), body fat mass between T1 (32.0 ± 21.6 kg) and T2 (30.3 ± 21.4 kg; P = 0.01), and T1 (32.0 ± 21.6 kg) and T3 (28.6 ± 22.4 kg, P = 0.01), and BMI between T1 (31.7 ± 9.4 kg/m2) and T2 (31.0 ± 9.0 kg/m2, P = 0.03) were also observed.

 This pilot study indicates that a 6-week AQMP program increased consumption of home-cooked meals and may have contributed to improvement in body composition suggesting the potential of AQMP as a tool for weight management. Additionally, incorporating a collaborative group dynamic with AQMP likely aided in increasing participant cooking attitudes and cooking self-efficacy. The positive results in this pilot study suggests that larger, controlled studies on the efficacy of group-based AQMP is warranted.

 None.


This thesis asks what the practice of allotment gardening can tell us about social change.Through interviews and participant observation, it explores allotment gardening as a food provisioning practice, and interrogates how it fits with other food-provisioning practices. It also seeks to situate allotment gardening – in which the individual is both producer and consumer –within an alternative food network paradigm, and tease out whether this distinction makes a difference to how individuals approach issues of ethical consumption. I draw on Giddens's structuration theory and contemporary practice theory to identify the elements of allotment gardening as a practice. Subsequently, I use the data collected from my fieldwork to reflect upon the strengths and limitations of practice theory as an analytical approach to social change.My findings indicate that allotment gardeners did not systematically share the motivations of ethical consumers but that allotment gardening nonetheless achieved some of the aims of ethical consumption. My research also makes a twofold contribution to contemporary practice theory. First, detailed data analysis demonstrates the multi-layered role that social geographic notions of place/space play in the performance of allotment practice; a dimension which could be more fully developed in further research. Second, in support of current thinking that practices must be analysed not in isolation but in combination if we are to account for social change, I argue that a shift in emphasis is necessary to realise the potential of Reckwitz's notion of the individual as the 'unique crossing point' of practices. This involves situating the individual as the determining element within practice, rather than just one element among others. My data further demonstrates how focusing on the individual as a crossing point of social networks reveals the significant impact that relationships have upon practices.


Stunting in Malang Regency has shown an increasing trend in the last three years: 22.9% in 2016, 28.3% in 2017 and 31.7% in 2018. Kedungrejo is one of Pakis Public Health Centre (PHC) working area which has an increasing prevalence of stunting. It was 38.2% in 2017, 53.1% in February 2018 and 81.8% in August 2018. This study aims to determine the factors related to stunting, which include complementary food after exclusive breastfeeding, immunization and family income. This case–control study included 30 two-to-five-year-old children diagnosed with stunting as the case group and 60 children in the same age group as the cases but not diagnosed with stunting and with no history of infectious diseases as the control group. Data were collected through interviews and documentation of the Mother and Child Book (Buku KIA) and analysed by Chi square test. The results showed that the majority of respondents were children aged 24–35 months (40%), male (62%), received complementary food after exclusive breastfeeding (54%), had complete immunization status (61%) and had low family income 63%. A bivariate analysis was used to show complementary feeding p = 0.017, OR= 2.98, immunization p = 0.032, OR= 2.88 and parents' income p = 0.063, OR = 2.51.


Exudates can be regarded as one of the most prevalent clinical signs of diabetic retinopathy, and the detection of exudates has important clinical significance in diabetic retinopathy diagnosis. In this paper, a novel approach named superpixel multi-feature classification for the automatic detection of exudates is developed. First, an entire image is segmented into a series of superpixels considered as candidates. Then, a total of 20 features, including 19 multi-channel intensity features and a novel contextual feature, are proposed for characterizing each candidate. A supervised multi-variable classification algorithm is also introduced to distinguish the true exudates from the spurious candidates. Finally, a novel optic disc detection technique is designed to further improve the performance of classification accuracy. Extensive experiments are carried out on two publicly available online databases, DiaretDB1, and e-ophtha EX. Compared with other state-of-the-art approaches, the experimental results show the advantages and effectiveness of the proposed approach.


Humpback grouper is the one of marine fish which can culture. The major problem of humpback grouper culture is high mortality at short time caused by pathogen infection include virus, bacterial, parasite and fungi. Pathogen infection at humpback grouper fry caused by bacterial from genus  Vibrio spp. There was exceeding with vaccination. This research use oral vaccination with whole cell. Vibrio alginolyticus Whole cell as oral vaccine is suggested to prevent high mortality at humpback grouper fry.  The purpose of this research is to know the successful about using Vibrio alginolyticus Whole Cell as Oral Vaccine  to prevent high mortality of humpback grouper fry (Chromileptes altivelis). The experiment was done June until December 2009 at Gastroenteritis of Laboratory Tropical Disease Centre (TDC) of Airlangga University Surabaya and PT Benur Puteri Situbondo. The methods of this research is descriptive. Major parameter observed in this research was survival rate (%) and Relative Percentage Survival (RPS) of  humpback grouper fry. Other parameter  observed in this research was water quality include water temperature, pH, water salinity and Dissolved Oxygen (DO). Result of research shows that there are difference of survival rate between fingerling fish vaccination and fingerling fish non vaccination (control). Survival rate of humpback grouper fry which vaccine of Whole Cell 66 % even though  survival rate of humpback grouper fry which non vaccine of Whole Cell (control) 46 %. Relative Percentage Survival (RPS) of humpback grouper fry which vaccine of Whole Cell  37 %. The value of RPS was resulted at this research shows low value so that must to perfecting and must to do again research. Water temperature 27-29oC, pH 7,3-7,5, water salinity 31-32 ppt and dissolved oxygen 5-6 ppm.


Understanding the mechanisms of immune evasion is critical for formulating an effective response to global threats like SARS-CoV2. We have fully decoded the immune synapses for multiple TCRs from acute patients, including cognate peptides and the presenting HLA alleles. Furthermore, using a newly developed mammalian epitope display platform (MEDi), we determined that several mutations present in multiple viral isolates currently expanding across the globe, resulted in reduced presentation by multiple HLA class II alleles, while some increased presentation, suggesting immune evasion based on shifting MHC-II peptide presentation landscapes. In support, we found that one of the mutations present in B1.1.7 viral strain could cause escape from CD4 T cell recognition in this way. Given the importance of understanding such mechanisms more broadly, we used MEDi to generate a comprehensive analysis of the presentability of all SARS-CoV-2 peptides in the context of multiple common HLA class II molecules. Unlike other strategies, our approach is sensitive and scalable, providing an unbiased and affordable high-resolution map of peptide presentation capacity for any MHC-II allele. Such information is essential to provide insight into T cell immunity across distinct HLA haplotypes across geographic and ethnic populations. This knowledge is critical for the development of effective T cell therapeutics not just against COVID-19, but any disease.


Alternaria toxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi that can contaminate cereals, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables. The chronic dietary exposure to four individual Alternaria toxins was estimated using 15,563 analytical results/4,249 samples (3,648 on alternariol (AOH), 3,654 on alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), 4,168 on tenuazonic acid (TeA) and 4,093 on tentoxin (TEN)). Most of the analytical results were left-censored data (92%), with only 1,290 quantified results (mainly on 'Oilseeds' and 'Grain milling products'). The highest exposure to AOH was estimated in 'Toddlers', with the mean exposure between 3.8 and 71.6 ng/kg body weight (bw) per day (minimum lower bound–maximum upper bound, (LB–UB)) and the 95th percentile exposure between 11.4 and 270.5 ng/kg bw per day (LB–UB). Overall, 'Fruit and fruit products' were the most important contributors to the dietary exposure to AOH. The highest exposure to AME was estimated in 'Toddlers', with mean exposure between 3.4 and 38.8 ng/kg bw per day (LB–UB) and 95th percentile exposure between 10.3 and 97.3 ng/kg bw per day (LB–UB). Overall, the main contributors to the dietary exposure to AME were 'Vegetable oil' and 'Pome fruits' (pears). The highest exposure to TeA was estimated in 'Toddlers' with mean exposure between 100 and 1,614 ng/kg bw per day (LB–UB), and in 'Infants' for the 95th percentile exposure estimations (98–3,603 ng/kg bw per day, LB–UB). 'Cereal-based food for infants and young children' was the main contributor in 'Infants' and 'Toddlers', and tomatoes and tomato-based products in other age classes. The highest exposure to TEN was estimated in 'Toddlers', with the mean exposure between 1.6 and 33.4 ng/kg bw per day (LB–UB), and the 95th percentile exposure around 55 ng/kg bw per day (UB) in different age classes. 'Fruiting vegetables' (tomatoes) were the major contributor to the dietary exposure to TEN. Although based on limited data, vegetarians seem to have higher dietary exposure to Alternaria toxins than the general population.


A simple radical-based route to gem-alpha-dichloroketones, relying on the degenerative addition transfer of (S)-[3,3dichloro-2-oxopropyl]-O-ethyl dithiocarbonate (xanthate), is described. The adducts can then be converted into Z-enoates by exposure to Et3N in methanol. In the case of certain substrates, it was possible to form shipped dienoic acid and methyl E,E-dienoates.


EUS-guided biliary drainage (BD) is an option to treat obstructive jaundice when ERCP drainage fails. These procedures represent alternatives to surgery and percutaneous transhepatic BD and have been made possible through the continuous development and improvement of EUS scopes and accessories. The development of linear sectorial array EUS scopes in early 1990 brought a new approach to the diagnostic and therapeutic dimensions of echoendoscopy capabilities, opening the possibility to perform puncture over a direct ultrasonographic view. Despite the high success rate and low morbidity of BD obtained by ERCP, difficulty can arise with an ingrown stent tumor, tumor gut compression, periampullary diverticula, and anatomic variation. The EUS-guided technique requires puncture and contrast of the left biliary tree. When performed from the gastric wall, access is obtained through hepatic segment III. Diathermic dilation of the puncturing tract is performed using a 6F cystotome and a plastic or metallic stent. The technical success of hepaticogastrostomy is near 98%, and complications are present in 15%–20% of cases. The most common complications include pneumoperitoneum, bilioperitoneum, infection, and stent dysfunction. To prevent bile leakage, we used a special partially covered stent (70% covered and 30% uncovered). Over the last 15 years, the technique has typically been performed in reference centers, by groups experienced with ERCP. This seems to be a general guideline for safer execution of the procedure.


This article investigated deformation behavior and microstructure of AZ31 magnesium alloy in equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) process at 250 C. The proper process parameters were obtained through investigating the deformation behavior and properties of AZ31 magnesium alloy by using finite element (FE) simulation under different deformation conditions. The ECAP experiments were also carried out by using the optimized design of the channel die. The micro-structures of experimentally pressed work-pieces are in good agreement with finite element analysis results. The research results provided reliable basis for the further development and use of magnesium alloy precision forming.


Controlled polymerization through living radical polymerization is widely studied. Controlled polymerization enables synthetic polymers with precise structures, which have the potential for excellent bio-functional materials. This review summarizes the applications of controlled polymers, especially those via living radical polymerization, to biofunctional materials and conjugation with biomolecules. In the case of polymer ligands like glycopolymers, the polymers control the interactions with proteins and cells based on the precise polymer structures. Living radical polymerization enables the conjugation of polymers to proteins, antibodies, nucleic acids and cells. Those polymer conjugations are a sophisticated method to modify bio-organisms. The polymer conjugations expand the potential of biofunctional materials and are useful for understanding biology.


Study Design. Retrospective cohort study using the Pediatric Health Information System database. Objective. To describe longitudinal patterns of prophylactic antibiotic use and determinants of antibiotic choice for spinal fusion surgical procedures performed at US children's hospitals. Summary of Background Data. Surgical site infections (SSIs) account for a significant proportion of post–spinal surgery complications, particularly among children with complex conditions such as neuromuscular disease. Antimicrobial prophylaxis with intravenous cefazolin or cefuroxime has been a standard practice, but postoperative infections caused by organisms resistant to these antibiotics are increasing in prevalence. Studies describing the choice of antibiotic prophylaxis for pediatric spinal surgery are lacking. Methods. We included children 6 months to 18 years of age discharged from 37 US children's hospitals between January 1, 2006, and June 30, 2009, with (1) an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) procedure code indicating a spinal fusion and (2) combinations of diagnosis codes indicating adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) (n = 5617) or neuromuscular scoliosis (NMS) (n = 3633). After identifying antibiotics ordered on the operative day, we described variation in broad-spectrum antibiotic use over time and measured associations between patient/surgery characteristics and antibiotic choice. Results. Prophylactic antibiotic choice varied across hospitals and over time. Broad-spectrum antibiotics were used in 37% of AIS and 52% of NMS operations. Seven (19%) hospitals used broad-spectrum coverage for more 80% of all cases. For NMS procedures, broad-spectrum antibiotic use was associated with patient characteristics known to be associated with high SSI risk. Use of vancomycin and broad gram-negative agents increased over time. Conclusion. Broad-spectrum antimicrobial prophylaxis varied across hospitals and was often associated with known risk factors for SSI. These results highlight the need for future studies comparing the effectiveness of various prophylaxis strategies, particularly in high-risk subgroups. This research can inform the development of best practice for SSI prevention in spinal fusion procedures. Level of Evidence: 3


This paper describe ongoing research investigating how visualizations, especially line-graphs and charts, may be represented by haptics both to understand the structure and the values associated with the graphical realization. Much of the current research has focused mainly on the structure of the line-graph; some more recent work has used sound to depict the value of the curve. There has been limited work on multiple curves and more complex charts, with problems occurring between the crossover points of (say) a curve. We use the PHANToM Haptic interface to feel objects within the virtual world. Our investigations are focusing on a three- stage methodology: a) unguided exploration, where the user may wander and explore the haptic visualization in their own time, b) constrained navigation, where the user's point of interest is constrained to a particular path, but the user can still explore within these constraints, and c) Tours, where the user is completely guided round a predefined path.


Review SUMMARY In recent years impressive progress is happening in information and telecommunication technologies. The application of computers in medicine allows permanent data storage, data transfer from one place to another, retrieving and data processing, data availability at all times, monitoring of patients over time, etc. This can significantly improve the medical profession. Medicine is one of the most intensive users of all types of information and telecommunication technology. Quickly and reliably store and transfer data (text, images, sounds, etc.) provides significant assistance and improvement in almost all medical procedures. In addition, data in locations far from medical centers can be of invaluable benefit, especially in emergency cases in which the decisive role has anesthesiologists.


The interrelationship between chemical composition, heat treatment parameters, and phase transformation, microstructural evolution and the mechanical properties of austempered steel was studied. Two samples of steel with different percentage composition of carbon of 0.56 and 0.76 were used for the study. They were austentized at the respective temperatures of 8000C, 8400C, 9000C and 9600C for 30 minutes. They were thereafter quenched using bitumen-palm kernel oil, and subjected to austempering isothermal heat treatment at 4200Cfor different time durations of 5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes. The samples were tested for tensile strength, elongation, hardness and impact strength. They were also subjected to microstructural characterization to determine the phases in the microstructures and their effects on the properties of the developed materials. Results obtained revealed that the dominant phases in the microstructure were bainite, matensite and traces of retained austenite. It was found that decreasing austenitizing temperature yields finer grain structures with increase in tensile strength and elongation with decrease in hardness and relatively little effect on the impact strength. At any given austenitizing temperature, shorter austempering holding time yielded optimum properties in tensile strength and elongation while higher hardness values were associated with shorter holding time. These results proved that the process conditions have strong correlation with both the microstructures and the mechanical properties. It was concluded that the most promising microstructures with respect to excellent strength-ductility property are those obtained at the ausenitizing temperature range of 800 -8400C for the austempering time range of 5 – 30 minutes. These materials have potential for load bearing application while those austenitized within the range of 900 - 9600C using austempering time range of 5 – 15 minutes are candidate material for wear resistant application.


This article explores the close entanglements between militarisation and ecological research in the Caprivi Strip between 1960 and 1980. Prior to the 1960s, the Caprivi Strip in the north-east of Namibia was repeatedly presented by the South African administration as a 'useless' and remote area of no value to its colonisers. This changed during the 1960s, when it became clear that the region was of crucial military significance in relation to the Cold War, as well as to Namibia's national independence movements. In this article, I argue that the militarisation of the Caprivi was closely entangled with ecological surveys and mapping carried out by the South African civil administration in co-operation with its army and air force. First, I will show how such activities have to be seen in a longer tradition of 'masking' South Africa's presence in Namibia, and its enforcement of apartheid as 'development'. Secondly, I will elaborate intricate layers of interdependences of warfare and ecological research, particularly on the level of personal networks of military personnel and civil servants in Katima Mulilo, by sharing infrastructure, such as military planes, used for aerial photography and mapping of natural features in the region. As the joint fight for the control of an alien water weed shows, the co-operation of the military and ecologists worked not only on a practical level: there were also shared interests in 'knowing space' in order to 'keep' it clean of 'invading enemies'. Finally, the data and maps produced in these joint surveillance projects laid the basis for a spatial definition of what I call a 'South African nature space' in the region.


As wireless spectrum efficiency is becoming increasingly important with the growing demands for wideband wireless service scheduling algorithm plays an important role in the design of advanced wireless networks. Opportunistic scheduling algorithms for wireless communication networks under different QoS constraints have gained popularity in recent years since they have potentials of achieving higher system performance. In this dissertation firstly we formulate the framework of opportunistic scheduling algorithms. Then we propose three new opportunistic scheduling schemes under different QoS criteria and situations (single channel or multiple channel). 1. Temporal fairness opportunistic scheduling algorithm in the short term We replicate the temporal fairness opportunistic scheduling algorithm in the long term. From simulation results we find that this algorithm improves the system performance and complies with the temporal fairness constraint in the long term. However, the disadvantage of this algorithm is that it is unfair from the beginning of simulation to 10000 time slot on system resource (time slots) allocation we say it is unfair in the short term. With such a scheme, it is possible that some users with bad channel conditions would starve for a long time (more than a few seconds) , which is undesirable to certain users (say, real-time users). So we propose the new scheme called temporal fairness opportunistic scheduling algorithm in the short term to satisfy users ' requirements of system resource in both short term and long term. Our simulation results show that the new scheme performs well with respect to both temporal fairness constraint and system performance improvement. 2. Delay-concerned opportunistic scheduling algorithm While most work has been done on opportunistic scheduling algorithm under fairness constraints on user level, we consider users' packetdelay in opportunistic scheduling. Firstly we examine the packet delay performance under the long term temporal fairness opportunistic scheduling (TFOL) algorithm. We also simulate the earliest deadline-first (EDF) scheduling algorithm in the wireless environment. We find that iii the disadvantage of opportunistic scheduling algorithm is that it is unfair in packet delay distribution because it results in a bias for users with good channel conditions in packet delay to improve system performance. Under EDF algorithm, packet delay of users with different channel conditions is almost the same but the problem is that it is worse than the opportunistic scheduling algorithm. So we propose another new scheme which considers both users' channel conditions and packet delay. Simulation results show that the new scheme works well with respect to both system performance improvement and the balance of packet delay distribution. 3. Utilitarian fairness scheduling algorithm in multiple wireless channel networks Existing studies have so far focused on the design of scheduling algorithm in the single wireless communication network under the fairness constraint. A common assumption of existing designs is that only a single user can access the channel at a given time slot. However, spread spectrum techniques are increasingly being deployed to allow multiple data users to transmit simultaneously on a relatively small number of separate high-rate channels. Not much work has been done on the scheduling algorithm in the multiple wireless channel networks. Furthermore in wire-line network, when a certain amount of resource is assigned to a user, it guarantees that the user gets some amount of performance, but in wireless network this point is different because channel conditions are different among users. Hence, in wireless channel the user 's performance does not directly depend on its allocation of system resource. Finally the opportunistic scheduling mechanism for wireless communication networks is gaining popularity because it utilizes the "multi-user diversity" to maximize the system performance. So, considering these three points in the fourth section, we propose utilitarian fairness scheduling algorithm in multiple wireless channel networks. Utilitarian fairness is to guarantee that every user can get its performance requirement which is pre-defined. The proposed criterion fits in with wireless networks. We also use the opportunistic scheduling mechanism to maximize system performance under the utilitarian fairness constraint . Simulation results show that the new scheme works well in both utilitarian fairness and utilitarian efficiency of system resource in the multiple wireless channel situation.


Model robustness against adversarial examples of single perturbation type such as the $\ell_{p}$ -norm has been widely studied, yet its generalization to more realistic scenarios involving multiple semantic perturbations and their composition remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we first propose a novel method for generating composite adversarial examples. Our method can find the optimal attack composition by utilizing component-wise projected gradient descent and automatic attack-order scheduling. We then propose generalized adversarial training (GAT) to extend model robustness from $\ell_{p}$ -ball to composite semantic perturbations, such as the combination of Hue, Saturation, Brightness, Contrast, and Rotation. Results obtained using ImageNet and CIFAR-10 datasets indicate that GAT can be robust not only to all the tested types of a single attack, but also to any combination of such attacks. GAT also outperforms baseline $\ell_{\infty}$ -norm bounded adversarial training approaches by a significant margin.


The properties of precessing, coalescing binary black holes are presently inferred through comparison with
two approximate models of compact binary coalescence. In this work we show that these two models often
disagree substantially when binaries have modestly large spins (a ≳ 0.4) and modest mass ratios (q ≳ 2). We
demonstratethese disagreements using standard figures ofmeritandthe parametersinferred for recent detections
of binary black holes. By comparing to numerical relativity, we confirm that these disagreements reflect
systematic errors. We provide concrete examples to demonstrate that these systematic errors can significantly
impact inferences about astrophysically significant binary parameters. For the immediate future, parameter
inference for binary black holes should be performed with multiple models (including numerical relativity), and
carefully validated by performing inference under controlled circumstances with similar synthetic events.


Background The advance in microsurgical technique has facilitated a proper approach for reconstruction of extensive head and neck defects. For the success of free tissue reconstruction, selection of the recipient vessel is one of the most important factors. However, the vascular anatomy of this region is very complex, and a clear guideline about this subject is still lacking. In this study, we present our 30 years of experiences of free tissue reconstruction for head and neck defects. Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed a total of 138 flaps in 127 patients who underwent head and neck reconstruction using free tissue transfer following tumor resection between October 1986 to August 2019. Patients who underwent facial palsy reconstruction were excluded. Medical records including patient's demographics, detailed operation notes, follow-up records, and photographs were collected and analyzed. Results Among a total of 127 patients, 10 patients underwent a secondary operation due to cancer recurrence. The most commonly used type of flap was radial forearm flap (n= 107), followed by the anterolateral thigh flap (n= 18) and fibula flap (n= 10). With regard to recipient vessels, superior thyroid artery was most commonly used in arterial anastomosis (58.7%), and internal jugular vein (51.3%) was the first choice for venous anastomosis. The flap survival rate was 100%. Four cases of venous thrombosis were resolved with thrombectomy and re-anastomosis. Conclusion Superior thyroid artery and internal jugular vein were reliable choices as recipient vessels. Proper recipient vessel selection could improve the result of head and neck reconstruction.


Abstract In situ, high-temperature energy-dispersive X-ray powder diffraction (EDXRD) data have been collected on synthetic and a natural sample of mercury sulphide (HgS). These measurements were made between temperatures of 295 and 798 K. Synthetic samples of HgS were prepared by reaction between sulphide and mercury in aqueous solution. In a subsequently dried and aged synthetic HgS sample, heated in vacuo, there is a change from a poorly crystalline pseudocubic material into a well crystalline cubic material in the temperature region 583-623 K. At higher temperature (748 K), there is evidence for a partial phase transition to the high temperature hypercinnabar HgS structure. In a neoformed synthetic sample, heated in a sealed Ti container, the initial 'pseudocubic' metacinnabar phase partially transforms to a previously unknown phase (XHgS) in the temperature range 467-522 K. This phase disappears at 527 K, and the metacinnabar phase changes to a well crystalline cubic phase; cinnabar develops at 542 K. The proportion of cinnabar continues to increase up to 647 K. Both metacinnabar and cinnabar phases are retained on cooling. No phase transitions were observed for the natural cinnabar sample.


In modern lightweight concepts, for example in automotive engineering, structures are increasingly composed of several dissimilar materials. Due to the different material properties of the joining partners, conventional and widely used joining techniques often reach their technological limits when applied in the manufacturing of such multi-material structures. This leads to an increasing demand for appropriate joining technologies, like joining by die-less hydroforming (DHF) for connecting tubular workpieces. The present work introduces an analytical model to determine the achievable joint strength of this connection type. This approach, taking into account the material parameters as well as the groove and tube geometry, is based on a membrane analysis with constant wall thickness. Additionally, bending stresses and friction are considered locally. Besides a fundamental understanding of the load transfer mechanism, this analytic approach allows a reliable joining zone design. To validate the model, experimental investigations using aluminum specimens were performed.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


This thesis investigates the role of spatial configuration on individual spatial decision-making. Over 100 participants take part in laboratory wayfinding experiments based on real-world images of street corners, using fixed and mobile eye trackers. Participants are asked to perform directed and undirected spatial tasks; stimulus-derived and task-related viewing patterns are accounted for. Responses to the spatial tasks are tested for task-related bias against responses in non-spatial tasks (recall, free viewing, and controlled search). The evidence reveals that, during wayfinding, participants choose the more connected street, measurable with space syntax variables of relative street connectivity. Four space syntax variables are used: integration and choice at global and local scales. The resulting measure allows decisions made by individuals to be related directly to the space syntax analysis of spatial morphology. The fixation data allows for an investigation of how wayfinding choices and gaze bias may be linked. Viewing behaviour during the spatial tasks reveals areas of particular interest at each path alternative; these correspond to structural information in the built environment. A measure for identifying the location of such areas is proposed: "choice zones'". Choice zones are computed algorithmically, and are based on space-geometric measures visible in the scene. Choice zones offer a greater scope than existing measures because they are based on information visible in the real world; it is therefore possible to compute choice zones for images of different reference classes (eg. those with varying horizon or sky lines). The resulting measure has important implications for optimal routing and urban design, identifying those areas of the visual field that contain the most relevant environmental information pertaining to wayfinding.


This study evaluates fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) dowel bars as load transferring devices in jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) under HS25 static and fatigue loads and compares their response with JPCP consisting of steel dowels. Along with laboratory and field evaluations of JPCP with FRP and steel dowels, analytical modeling of dowel response was carried out in terms of maximum bending deflection, relative deflection (RD), and bearing stress of dowels. In addition, field rehabilitation of JPCP was carried out using FRP dowels to evaluate its long-term performance. Laboratory tests included static and fatigue load application corresponding to HS25 load and 1.5 times HS25 load on concrete slabs [27.94- and 30-48-cm (11- and 12-in.) depth] with 3.81- and 2.54-cm (1.5- and 1.0-in.) steel and FRP dowels at different spacings [30.48 and 15.24 cm (12 and 6 in.)]. Both 3.81- and 2.54-cm (1.5- and 1.0-in.)-diameter FRP dowels were installed in the field with 15.24-, 20.32-, 22.86-, and 30.48-cm (6-, 8-, 9-, and 12-in.) spacings. Load calibrated field tests were conducted on these pavements using a West Virginia Department of Transportation truck in 2002 and 2003. FRP dowel bars that were 1.5 in. in diameter were also used for pavement rehabilitation. Field data collected through an automatic data acquisition system included strain and joint deflections, which were used for assessing joint load transfer efficiency (LTE), joint RD, and pavement performance. Theoretical calculations are provided through different examples for JPCP with FRP and steel dowels by varying dowel diameters, spacing, dowel material properties, joint width, and base material properties. This research showed that JPCP with FRP dowels provided very good LTE up to and beyond 90%, which exceeds the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and American Concrete Pavement Association criteria. JPCP with FRP dowels also provided sufficient LTE after 5 million cycles of fatigue tests under HS25 loading.


In a pluralistic nation such as ours, the function of government should be to foster and support the similarities that unite us, rather than institutionalize the differences that divide us. ProEnglish (http://www.proenglish.org/main/gen-info.htm) They tell me, 'Go back to Mexico, don't speak Spanish' Juan, a Latino student at Junction High School Introduction The purpose of this article is to describe the prevalent linguistic ideology of certain members of a dominant Euro-American group. (1) This linguistic ideology was encountered during an approximate eight month critical ethnographic action research project. In response to reported experiences of prejudice and racial discrimination by transnational newcomer students, seven teacher inquirers (2) engaged in an intercultural peace curricula development project that was facilitated by the author during the 2004-2005 school years at a U.S Midwestern High School. Though the original dissertation research study design was not focused on mapping the prevalent linguistic ideology at Junction High School, attitudes about non-English language use quickly became central to our peacebuilding efforts. (3) Data presented here relays these attitudes as well as cultural assimilationist orientations exhibited by some students, teachers and administrators who were members of the dominant Euro-American population. The attitudes and linguistic normative monitoring of members of this dominant social group at Junction High School (4) created a non-peaceful (5) school and classroom environment for newcomer students whose first languages included: Spanish; Japanese; Mandarin; and Arabic. Related research further examines everyday understandings of peace and non-peace at Junction High School (Brantmeier, 2007b) and also gives a more in-depth description of the process of building intercultural empathy (Brantmeier, 2007a). In this article a theoretical discussion of the terms linguistic ideology and cultural assimilation foregrounds a description of the action research methodology employed in the dissertation study. Findings related to non-peaceful attitudes and behaviors, more specifically data related to attitudes about language and cultural assimilationist orientations, are then presented. A discussion follows that connects themes in the data analysis to wider cultural debates concerning language use and identity in the United States. Finally, a call is made for further research that maps how dominant linguistic ideologies are enacted and countered. Theoretical Discussion: Linguistic Ideology and Cultural Assimilation Working conceptions are needed for the terms ideology and linguistic ideology. Apple (2004) describes a functional understanding of ideology as "a form of false consciousness which distorts one's perceptions of social reality and serves the interests of the dominant class in a society" (Apple 2004: 18-19). Understood in this light, an ideology is a social construction that serves the interests of a situated group of people within a society; unequal power relationships are maintained through the propagation of an ideology. Apple focuses on class relations in the previous definition. The term linguistic ideology here is linked to a broader focus on power and place, to race, to class, to regional dialects, to the language spoken, and to related status and power differentials in linguistically diverse environments. Rumsey (1990) describes linguistic ideology in terms of everyday understandings of language practices, or "commonsense notions about the nature of language in the world" (Rumsey 1990: 346). This commonsense understanding of right or correct language use can have consequences for those who lie outside the dominant linguistic norms. Thus, linguistic ideology can be understood here as dominant, everyday attitudes and practices concerning language use that serve to reinforce power and status differentials among members of a population within situated social contexts. …


With the increase of the number of transistors integrated on a chip, efficient use of transistors and scalable improvement of effective performance of a processor are getting important problems However, it has been thought that popular superscalar and VLIW world have difficult to obtain scalable improvement of effective performance in future because of the limitation of instruction level parallelism. To cope with this problem, a single chip multiprocessor (SCM) approach with multi grain parallel processing inside a chip, which hierarchically exploits loop parallelism and coarse grain parallelism among subroutines, loops and basic blocks in addition to instruction level parallelism, is thought one of the most promising approaches. This paper evaluates effectiveness of the single chip multiprocessor architectures with a shared cache, global registers, distributed shared memory and/or local memory for near fine grain parallel processing as the first step of research on SCM architecture to support multi grain parallel processing. The evaluation shows OSCAR (Optimally Scheduled Advanced Multiprocessor) architecture having distributed shared memory and local memory in addition to centralized shared memory and attachment of global register gives us significant speed rip such as 13.8% to 143.8% for four processors compared with shared cache architecture for applications which have been difficult to extract parallelism effectively.


With mounting significance to the graphical presentation of data in different forms in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as in other industries, the need to create non-traditional graphs (flowcharts, super-imposing different types of graphs, etc.,) has increased in recent times. This paper will lay a strong foundation for the creation of flowcharts with the help of the ANNOTATE facility by discussing the newly developed macro, FLOWAN. FLOWAN can create a highly-customized flowchart with multiple levels using ANNOTATE macros and functions. Using a dataset as input, FLOWAN can represent various populations in a study or any other type of data in the form of a flowchart. This macro uses very few parameters like, the number of tiers (levels), the number of boxes in each level, the variables to display and the link or predecessor for each of the boxes. The output from this macro will present the data in an innovative way. Recently some clinical studies have used the flowchart technique to represent patient disposition data. Apart from aiding the creation of traditional graphs like line plots, scatter plots, bar charts, etc., the ANNOTATE facility has been a very useful tool to add to the capabilities of SAS/GRAPH® procedures to produce newer type of graphs, such as flowcharts. This paper will discuss in detail the FLOWAN macro and the new technique of creating flowcharts using SAS/GRAPH® and ANNOTATE facility.


The paper revisits the two-pillar framework for assessing the adequacy of Fund resources. Responding to Directors suggestions, the quantitative pillar is updated to include alternative assumptions and to provide a longer-term perspective on likely resource needs. While quantitative estimates are generally somewhat lower after factoring in the alternative assumptions, these reductions are more than outweighed when the analysis is extended through the middle of the next decade, recognizing that the outcome of the 15th Review will likely determine permanent Fund resources through at least the middle of the next decade. The updated qualitative pillar analysis highlights reforms since the global financial crisis and discusses uncertainties in the global environment. It also provides an assessment of the general impact of the various qualitative considerations. Taken together, the two pillars continue to make a case for at least maintaining existing Fund resources. Against this background, the simulations in the paper cover three illustrative sizes for quota increases (50, 75, and 100 percent), centered on broadly maintaining Fund resources, assuming the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) is maintained at its current level and Bilateral Borrowing Agreements (BBAs) expire.


In this study, the continuum damage mechanics model for predicting the stiffness reduction of composite laminates including transverse cracks is formulated as a function of crack density. To formulate the model, first the damage variable in the direction normal to the fiber of a ply including transverse cracks is derived. The damage variable is derived by the model assuming a plane strain field in the isotropic plane and using the Gudmundson–Zang model for comparison. The effective compliance based on the strain equivalent principle proposed by Murakami et al. and classical laminate theory are then used to formulate the elastic moduli of laminates of arbitrary lay-up configurations as a function of the damage variable. Finally, the results obtained from this model are compared to the finite-element analysis reported in previous studies. The model proposed in this paper can predict the stiffness of laminates containing damage due to transverse cracks (or surface crack) from just the mechanical properties of a ply and the lay-up configurations. Furthermore, this model can precisely predict the finite-element analysis results and experiment results for the elastic moduli of the laminate of arbitrary lay-up configuration, such as cross-ply, angle ply, and quasi-isotropic, including transverse cracks. This model only considers the damage of the transverse crack; it does not consider damage such as delamination. However, this model seems to be effective in the early stage of damage formation when transverse cracking mainly occurs. The model assuming plane strain field in the isotropic plane which is proposed in this paper can calculate the local stress distribution in a ply including transverse cracks as a function of crack density. The damage evolution of transverse cracks can thus be simulated by determining the fracture criterion.


The thesis aims to understand: what constitutes urban collaboration and its relationship with policy outcomes? The research develops a conceptual understanding of the public value (PV) (Bardach, 1998; Moore, 1995, Smith, 2004) of Urban Local Authority Collaboration (ULAC) as economic development policy, relative to three theoretical domains in the literature: economic collaboration (i.e. new/old institutional economics: Ostrom 1990, 2016; Williamson, 2000); spatial collaboration (i.e. institutional economic geography: Ostrom, 2010; Gerber, 2015; Tarko and Aligica, 2012), and governance collaboration (i.e. collective action theory: Hulst and van Monfort, 2012; Feiock, 2008, 2013). Theoretically, the 'institution' (Amin, 2001; Jessop, 2001; Williamson, 2000; Aligica and Boettke, 2009; Gertler, 2010) is a distinct conceptual dimension connecting the theoretical literature, bridging scholarly boundaries across compatible ontological insights (Bathelt and Gluckler, 2003; and Hay, 2011).
A conceptual framework is developed to help understand: a) what ULAC looks like; b) how ULAC creates PV and, c) why institutions explain the PV of ULAC. A purposeful single case study of ULAC (i.e. the Scottish Cities Alliance (SCA): a formalised institutional policy network involving seven Urban Local Authorities (ULAs) and the Scottish Government) involved collecting data using semi-structured interviews, secondary data, policy documentation and non-participant observation. The emergence of the SCA as economic development policy in Scotland – conducive to an institutionally sensitive theoretical approach – presents a valuable opportunity to contribute towards an empirical and theoretical understanding of ULAC. Using template analysis, findings emerged through process-tracing, sense-making and thick narrative descriptions to reveal aggregate dimensions and second-order themes and first-order concepts. The thesis responds to calls for in-depth case study research of the way local government collaboration operates and performs (Hulst and Montfort, 2012), engaging with the 'fuzzy'(Markhusen, 2003) concepts and processes of 'urban collaboration', 'policy outcomes' and 'institutions' to reveal a lack of empirical and conceptual understanding of how ULAC operates: particularly the role of 'urban' institutional context as a 'key actor attribute' (Hulst and van Monfort, 2012: 139). Using a critical realist ontology (Jessop, 2005), the research is best suited to Stake's (2005) interpretive methodological approach to contextualised theorising, using the SCA in Scotland to investigate the 'contextualised' Institutional context, to help inductively conceptualise the PV of ULAC as economic development policy. Whilst conscious of the risks of methodological and conceptual 'stretching' (Stubbs, 2005: 71) , the research uses Scotland as a case study to conceptualise the more generic, abstract features of ULAC as a 'theoretically vague' term that may 'travel' (Stubbs, 2005: 71). The results validate a realist perspective of the theoretical role of formal and informal institutions shaping the contextual path dependant nature of the PV of ULAC. The methodological contribution of the thesis highlights how a new evolving model of economic and spatial governance in Scotland, presents potential challenges for the future delivery of urban policy and practice in Scotland, before closing with a discussion of research limitations and recommendations for areas of future academic research.


We analyze the ordinal structure of long‐range dependent time series. To this end, we use so called ordinal patterns which describe the relative position of consecutive data points. We provide two estimators for the probabilities of ordinal patterns and prove limit theorems in different settings, namely stationarity and (less restrictive) stationary increments. In the second setting, we encounter a Rosenblatt distribution in the limit. We prove more general limit theorems for functions with Hermite rank 1 and 2. We derive the limit distribution for an estimation of the Hurst parameter H if it is higher than 3/4. Thus, our theorems complement results for lower values of H which can be found in the literature. Finally, we provide some simulations that illustrate our theoretical results.


This paper introduces Teachable Reality, an augmented reality (AR) prototyping tool for creating interactive tangible AR applications with arbitrary everyday objects. Teachable Reality leverages vision-based interactive machine teaching (e.g., Teachable Machine), which captures real-world interactions for AR prototyping. It identifies the user-defined tangible and gestural interactions using an on-demand computer vision model. Based on this, the user can easily create functional AR prototypes without programming, enabled by a trigger-action authoring interface. Therefore, our approach allows the flexibility, customizability, and generalizability of tangible AR applications that can address the limitation of current marker-based approaches. We explore the design space and demonstrate various AR prototypes, which include tangible and deformable interfaces, context-aware assistants, and body-driven AR applications. The results of our user study and expert interviews confirm that our approach can lower the barrier to creating functional AR prototypes while also allowing flexible and general-purpose prototyping experiences.


Extracellular nucleotides activate P2Y receptors, thereby increasing cAMP formation in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK-D(1)) cells, which express P2Y(1), P2Y(2), and P2Y(11) receptors (Post, S. R., Rump, L. C., Zambon, A., Hughes, R. J., Buda, M. D., Jacobson, J. P., Kao, C. C., and Insel, P. A. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 23093-23097). The cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin (indo) eliminates UTP-promoted cAMP formation (i.e. via P2Y(2) receptors) but only partially blocks ATP-promoted cAMP formation. The latter response is completely blocked by the nonselective P2Y receptor antagonist suramin. We have sought to identify the mechanism for this P2Y receptor-mediated, indo-resistant cAMP formation. The agonist rank order potencies for cAMP formation were: ADP beta S > or = MT-ADP > 2-MT-ATP > ADP, ATP, ATP gamma S > UTP, AMP, adenosine. We found a similar rank order in MDCK-D(1) cells overexpressing cloned green fluorescent protein-tagged P2Y(11) receptors, but the potency of the agonists was enhanced, consistent with a P2Y(11) receptor-mediated effect. cAMP generation by the P2Y(1) and P2Y(11) receptor agonist ADP beta S was not inhibited by several P2Y(1)-selective antagonists (PPADS, A2P5P, and MRS 2179). Forskolin synergistically enhanced cAMP generation in response to ADP beta S or PGE(2), implying that, like PGE(2), ADP beta S activates adenylyl cyclase via G(s), a conclusion supported by results showing ADP beta S and MT-ADP promoted activation of adenylyl cyclase activity in MDCK-D(1) membranes. We conclude that nucleotide-promoted, indo-resistant cAMP formation in MDCK-D(1) cells occurs via G(s)-linked P2Y(11) receptors. These data describing adenylyl cyclase activity via endogenous P2Y(11) receptors define a mechanism by which released nucleotides can increase cAMP in MDCK-D(1) and other P2Y(11)-containing cells.


The aim of this Letter is to introduce a new optical tweezers approach, called scanning holographic optical tweezers (SHOT), which drastically increases the working area (WA) of the holographic-optical tweezers (HOT) approach, while maintaining tightly focused laser traps. A 12-fold increase in the WA is demonstrated. The SHOT approach achieves its utility by combining the large WA of the scanning optical tweezers (SOT) approach with the flexibility of the HOT approach for simultaneously moving differently structured optical traps in and out of the focal plane. This Letter also demonstrates a new heuristic control algorithm for combining the functionality of the SOT and HOT approaches to efficiently allocate the available laser power among a large number of traps. The proposed approach shows promise for substantially increasing the number of particles that can be handled simultaneously, which would enable optical tweezers additive fabrication technologies to rapidly assemble microgranular materials and structures in reasonable build times.


Preparation and properties of hierarchically structured porous silica monoliths have been discussed from the viewpoint of their application as continuous microreactors for liquid-phase synthesis of fine chemical in multi kilogram scales. The results of recent topical papers published by two research teams of Institute of Chemical Engineering Polish Academy of Sciences (ICE) and Department of Chemical Engineering and Process Design, Chemical Faculty, Silesian University of Technology (SUT) have been analyzed to specify the governing traits of microreactors. It was concluded that even enhancement factor of 100 in activity, seen in enzyme catalyzed reactions, can be explained by a proportional reduction of its physical constraints, i.e. huge enhancement of external mass transfer and micromixing. It is induced by very chaotic flows of liquid in tens of thousands of waving connected channels of ca. 25–50 μm in diameter, present in the skeleton. The scale of enhancement in the case of less active catalysts was smaller, but still large enough to consider the most practical applications.


Activities related to active tourism can be an opportunity for tourist destinations that suffer high seasonality, as is the case of the Pityuses (Ibiza and Formentera), for its ability to attract tourists during the mid and low seasons. Active tourism, unlike the predominant typology (sun and beach), present some peculiarities that require specific actions. Based on the bibliography, news and available data, this work makes a first approximation to the application of the variables of marketing mix in the active tourism of the islands. The objective is to indicate the necessary improvements in the sector in order to boost tourism during the low season. In recent years, companies have emerged that have opted for a niche market with future possibilities, but it is a sector that still requires improvements in various variables of its marketing strategy. These improvements include: the need for unified promotion of the islands and the active tourism sector; the need for close collaboration between organizers of private sports events and public administrations; and coordination between private companies (accommodation, specialized supply and services) and air connections that facilitate the arrival of tourists.


Abstract Wheat response to seeding rate is variable and depends on resource availability during the growing season (e.g., fertility, moisture, and temperature). Our objective was to evaluate winter wheat population and grain yield responses to seeding rate and its interaction with variety in a highly-managed production system where manageable stresses were limited. This study was established to evaluate the response of the wheat varieties Joe, WB-Grainfield, Langin, and LCS Revere to five seeding rates ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000 seeds per acre. The site was managed by growers that consistently win state and national wheat yield contests near Leoti, KS. The trial was established on September 25, 2020, after a long summer fallow in sorghum residue, approximately 10 days after a 0.3-in. rainfall event, ensuring good stand establishment. The fall was dry, but spring conditions were favorable for high yields with cool temperatures and about 11 inches of precipitation. There were significant effects of seeding rate and variety on stand count, but the interaction was weak (P = 0.12). Main effects suggested that the stand count increased with increases in the seeding rate (from 252,265 to 521,347 plants per acre), with the 800,000 and 1,000,000 seeds/a rates attaining the highest stands. However, we note that final populations were closer to the target population at lower seeding rates as compared to higher seeding rates. Grain yield also depended primarily on variety and on seeding rate, with no interaction between both effects. Grain yield ranged between 97 and 101.3 bushels per acre for the seeding rates ranging between 600,000 and 1,000,000, and from 89.9 to 93.3 bu/a for lower seeding rates. Langin was the highest yielding variety (102 bu/a), followed by LCS Revere and WB-Grainfield (94.7–97.5 bu/a), and lastly by Joe (90.3 bu/a). These results suggest that wheat grain yield responses to seeding rate were not dependent on variety, with optimum seeding rates as low as 600,000 seeds/a. We note that increasing seeding rates beyond 600,000 seeds/a led to numerical but not statistical increases in yield. Summary Wheat response to seeding rate is variable and depends on resource availability during the growing season (e.g., fertility, moisture, and temperature). Our objective was to evaluate winter wheat population and grain yield responses to seeding rate and its interaction with variety in a highly-managed production system where manageable stresses were limited. This study was established to evaluate the response of the wheat varieties Joe, WB-Grainfield, Langin, and LCS Revere to five seeding rates ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000 seeds per acre. The site was managed by growers that consistently win state and national wheat yield contests near Leoti, KS. The trial was established on September 25, 2020, after a long summer fallow in sorghum residue, approximately 10 days after a 0.3-in. rainfall event, ensuring good stand establishment. The fall was dry, but spring conditions were favorable for high yields with cool temperatures and about 11 inches of precipitation. There were significant effects of seeding rate and variety on stand count, but the interaction was weak ( P = 0.12). Main effects suggested that the stand count increased with increases in the seeding rate (from 252,265 to 521,347 plants per acre), with the 800,000 and 1,000,000 seeds/a rates attaining the highest stands. However, we note that final populations were closer to the target population at lower seeding rates as compared to higher seeding rates. Grain yield also depended primarily on variety and on seeding rate, with no interaction between both effects. Grain yield ranged between 97 and 101.3 bushels per acre for the seeding rates ranging between 600,000 and 1,000,000, and from 89.9 to 93.3 bu/a for lower seeding rates. Langin was the highest yielding variety (102 bu/a), followed by LCS Revere and WB-Grainfield (94.7–97.5 bu/a), and lastly by Joe (90.3 bu/a). These results suggest that wheat grain yield responses to seeding rate were not dependent on variety, with optimum seeding rates as low as 600,000 seeds/a. We note that increasing seeding rates beyond 600,000 seeds/a led to numerical but not statistical increases in yield.


Background: Although several Total Market Approach (TMA) initiatives to family planning products have been implemented little research has been conducted to evaluate the outcomes of these interventions. The current article aims to help fill this gap in the literature by examining the effects of a TMA activity implemented in Honduras from 2009 to 2010 called "TMI Honduras" which was led by Abt Associates with assistance from John Snow Inc. Methods: Outcomes of the TMA activity were measured quantitatively by comparing family planning data from the 2005-2006 and 2011-2012 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Qualitative data on market segmentation strategy and implementation of project recommendations was gathered through stakeholder interviews in August 2013 and April 2014 from members of the Honduran Contraceptive Security Committee. Results: DHS data suggested a decline in unmet need from 16.8 percent to 10.7 percent and an increase in contraceptive prevalence from 65.2 percent to 73.2 percent between 2005-2006 and 2011-2012; improvements were most notable among the poorest wealth quintiles and in rural areas. Stakeholder interviews suggested moderate initial success in engaging new stakeholders segmenting the market and implementing recommendations from the TMA activity. While the Contraceptive Security Committee had a strong and active presence for the first two years following the TMA political turbulence and organizational changes disrupted progress and thereafter the group stopped meeting. Conclusions: The Honduran case demonstrates that a small TMA activity can be successful in bringing together the public private nonprofit and private commercial sectors to address unmet need and improve contraceptive prevalence rate. Unfortunately political realities can derail TMA efforts. The results suggest that even in low-resource settings the market for contraceptives can be enlarged with government buy-in and initiative. However the extent to which TMI Honduras influenced improvements in the Honduran contraceptives market is difficult to determine.


BACKGROUND
People with schizophrenia demonstrate considerable discrepancy between self-reported functioning and informant reports. It is not clear whether these discrepancies originate from the instruments used or from the perspectives of different informants. The goal of the Validation of Everyday Real-World Outcomes (VALERO) Study is to enhance the measurement of real-world (RW) outcomes in the social, residential, and vocational domains through selection of optimal scales and informants using a multistep process similar to the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) initiative.

METHODS
Forty-eight experts provided their opinion regarding the best scales measuring RW outcomes. Fifty-nine measures were nominated. The investigators selected the 11 scales that were the most highly nominated, had the most published validity data, and best represented the domains of interest. Information was provided to other experts who served as RAND panelists. Panelists rated each measure for its suitability across multiple a priori domains. Discrepant ratings were discussed until consensus was reached.

RESULTS
Following the RAND Panel, the 2 scales that scored highest across the various criteria for each of the classes of scales (hybrid, social functioning, and everyday living skills) were selected for use in the first substudy of VALERO. The scales selected were the Quality-of-Life Scale, Specific Levels of Functioning Scale, Social Behavior Schedule, Social Functioning Scale, Independent Living Skills Schedule, and Life Skills Profile.

DISCUSSION
The results show that although there are significant limitations with current scales used for the assessment of RW outcome in schizophrenia, a consensus is possible. Further, several existing instruments were rated as useful for measuring social, residential, and vocational outcomes.


Background: One of the social groups that influence the activation of the city to the greatest extent are young people, including students. Social spaces dedicated to this group are to embellish the city, have a positive effect on its image, but they are also to be useful.
Methods: This paper has been written on the basis of the Author's study devoted to finding an answer to the question how much a social group that uses a specific space influences the activation of this space. The examined social group were young people, students from two cities: Toronto and Cracow. The spaces used in the study are places separated from school and university buildings, intended for individual study for high school and university students.
Results: The results of the study indicate that one of the important factors that according to young people studying in the cities improve the quality of the social space is the existence of legibly marked places intended for individual study, that is places where students can study and spend time after their classes and lectures. Such places animate and activate the space connected with them.
Conclusion: The social group of young people who still attend schools and universities constitutes a very important factor of the activation of cities. Providing young people with an attractive offer connected with their individual education has an invigorating effect on the city.