Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between political connection, corporate governance and audit fees in Malaysia. Specifically, it is argued that politically connected firms are perceived to be riskier and thus require auditors to undertake greater audit efforts which in turn lead to higher audit fee. Furthermore, it is also hypothesised that the demand for better corporate governance practices requires more audit effort exert from the auditors, and the demand for higher quality work is expected to be stronger for politically connected firms as these firms are being perceived to have higher risks. This is turn results in higher fees paid to the external auditor. Design/methodology/approach - This paper employs panel regression analysis. The panel data set consists of 382 non-financial firms (1,022 observations) for three years from year 2001 to 2003. Findings - Based on 1,022 firm-year observations for the period of 2001 to 2003, the results reveal that politically connected firms pay higher audit fees, while firms with better governance demand a higher audit quality, leading to higher audit fees. However, there is no evidence to support that corporate governance demands for a higher quality audit especially for politically connected firms. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the corporate governance-audit fees literature by examining a large number of corporate governance variables based on the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance. In particular, instead of using several individual governance variables such as audit committee, board structure or composition, this study condensed the large number of corporate governance variables into a single index. Furthermore, this study was conducted in Malaysia, which is a unique environment that offers clear identifiable segments based along ethnic line, whereby, politically favoured firms are generally given special privileges by the government.


To the Editor.— David Rivlin won his court case and told reporters: "I'm surprised, I'm not scared. I feel rather peaceful. There's a little bit of fear—the fear of the unknown—but not much" (USA Today. July 21, 1989). Fifteen days later he was dead. The legal decision allowed him to determine the time, place, and manner of his death—sedation followed by termination of the respirator. David was competent, not in a persistent vegetative state, nor was he an advanced case of cardiac failure or dependent on advanced life support. He was not terminally ill and imminently dying. He was quadriplegic and respirator dependent and argued: "I can't see living like this for 20 more years. It could turn a person bitter toward life and toward people, and I don't want that to happen to me" (USA Today. July 7,1989). He said he was tired of being a burden on others


In today's rapidly merging technological realms, basic necessity and morality of the society is often overlooked. Genetic Engineering, a great leap in human understanding of life sciences with possible impacts on every facet of life, is one such advancement. A technology which tampers with the nature at the DNA level and has the prowess to shuffle genes between distantly or even non-related organisms is bound to have gravid moral implications. Tagged with ecological, economic and bio-safety issues, it is being termed as an imprecise tool, which may cause irreversible damages. Apparently, it has shaken the age old, deeply entren ched ideologies of people around the globe leading to a massive uproar in the society. This synthesis is an attempt to dissect and analyze the ethical and moral repercussions of Genetic Engineering with special reference to Indian scenario.


Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, detailing the prohibition of the threat or use of force between states, is undoubtedly one of international law's most fundamental norms. Yet, its phrasing is awkward and 'unhappy', as one Delegate described it during the drafting of the Charter at San Francisco in 1945. Over 70 years of debate has yet to settle on an explanation of how the provision operates, and even the scope of the prohibition itself. While some argue that the prohibition is general and all-encompassing, others prefer a more narrow interpretation—often in an attempt to find undesirable loopholes in the rule. However, this author is not satisfied with either extreme position. This article investigates a more pragmatic interpretation of Article 2(4) that seeks to explain its mechanics and the inherent contradictions that come with the more popular wide interpretation of the provision, while also avoiding the undesirable consequences of an extremely narrow interpretation. It is the result of research that has looked back to the original intentions of the drafters of the UN Charter, and has uncovered revealing intentions and nuances in the debates therein that can clarify the doctrinal operation of the prohibition of force. In particular, instead of interpreting Article 2(4) as prohibiting all uses of force, with the powers of the Security Council and the right of self-defence as 'exceptions' to this, it is suggested that the prohibition was only ever one outlawing unilateral uses of force, and the so-called 'exceptions' are in fact circumstances that were never precluded by the prohibition in the first place. This may seem a semantic distinction, but the effects of this original interpretation are more substantive, and indeed help to explain some of the long-debated problems with Article 2(4).


In the setting where a group of agents is asked a single subjective multi-choice question (e.g. which one do you prefer? cat or dog?), we are interested in evaluating the quality of the collected feedback. However, the collected statistics are not sufficient to reflect how informative the feedback is since fully informative feedback (equal affection of the choices) and fully uninformative feedback (random selection) have the same uniform statistics. Here we distinguish the above two scenarios by additionally asking for respondents' predictions about others' choices. We assume that informative respondents' predictions strongly depend on their own choices while uninformative respondents' do not. With this assumption, we propose a new definition for uninformative feedback and correspondingly design a family of evaluation metrics, called f-variety, for group-level feedback which can 1) distinguish informative feedback and uninformative feedback (separation) even if their statistics are both uniform and 2) decrease as the ratio of uninformative respondents increases (monotonicity). We validate our approach both theoretically and numerically. Moreover, we conduct two real-world case studies about 1) comparisons about athletes and 2) comparisons about stand-up comedians to show the superiority of our approach.


CDeT27-45 is a lea-like gene from the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum (Scrophulariaceae) which is strongly expressed in vegetative tissues in response to dehydration or treatment with abscisic acid (ABA). Expression of the gene is correlated with the acquisition of desiccation tolerance. Nuclear proteins bind to a 29-bp cis-regulatory region of the promoter which is essential for transcriptional activation of the CDeT27-45 gene by ABA. Using a yeast one-hybrid screen, the cDNA clone CpR18 was isolated, which encodes a protein with specific binding activity for the cis-regulatory element in the CDeT27-45 promoter. The protein contains an acidic region, a SAP-domain, a zinc finger of the C3H-type, and two motifs which are conserved in proteins from several plant species. One of the conserved regions is rich in basic residues and is predicted to form a helix-loop-helix structure. The R18 gene shows high similarities to genomic sequences and ESTs from other plant species. The tissue-specific expression pattern of the rare R18 mRNA and the distribution of nuclear protein binding activity for the CDeT27-45 promoter fragment are compared. The R18 protein is indeed localized in the nucleus, and activates transcription of CDeT27-45 promoter-GUS fusion constructs in tobacco protoplasts. DNA blot analysis and isolation of genomic clones reveal that two copies of R18 are present in the C. plantagineum genome.


Abstract The article introduces a collection of thirty three images, predominantly daguerreotypes, deposited in the collection department of the Náprstek Museum. They were made during the period from the end of the 1840s to the 1860s, partly in Europe and partly in the United States of America, as the private collection of Vojta Náprstek and his family. The earliest one originates probably from 1848 and displays Vojta Náprstek wearing a redingote of the revolutionary Student Legion. With two exceptions, the portraits present the family and friends of the collection owner. What makes the collection very interesting and frequently used by experts and the media is the fact that it includes, among other things, two portraits of Božena Němcová. The first part of the article deals with the history of the collection and the persons portrayed. The second, technical part presents the history of the origin and development of the photographic techniques employed and the identification and specification of the degradation effects.


To detect threats on a person's body surface the application of millimetre-waves is possible. In order to get a view of the person from all sides either the person has to be rotated standing on a turntable (Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar, ISAR) or a sensor is moved on a circular path around the person (Synthetic Aperture Radar, SAR). The goal of the reconstruction is to obtain information about the shape of the threats and their positions in all three dimensions. At first the reconstruction is done along range and azimuth, which span the principal surface given by the sensor configuration. This paper reports on two methods to obtain the third spatial dimension. Due to the circular shape and its 3D focussing ability of the aperture this information can be obtained by the evaluation of the image focus. Secondly, if two coherent receiving channels are used, a possibility to achieve 3D spatial resolution is the processing of the interferometric phase. A comparison between these two will be presented.


This paper charts the anti-people smuggling policy changes to Canada's immigration system and uses data since 2010 from government documents, parliamentary speeches and ministerial activity generated by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and related officials. The aim of this study is to demonstrate policy actions and intentions using critical frame analysis to expose underlying narratives and political ideological commitments within the people smuggling discourse. The result shows a constructed understanding of people smuggling as a threat to Canada, and policy violations of international humanitarian obligations according to United Nations protocols. I argue that the current legislation deals with people smuggling through harsh criminalization despite research that shows that the scope, motivations and function of people smuggling vary across time and space. I find that Canada's anti-people smuggling reform, the Designated Foreign National regime, violates Canada's international and domestic humanitarian obligations yet is justified by discursive framing of people smuggling under a neoliberal lens that disconnects the phenomenon from humanitarian considerations. I conclude with policy recommendations and areas for future research needed to better understand people smuggling and develop effective, comprehensive rights-based policy responses.


It is a core principle of antitrust law and theory that reduced market concentration lowers the risk of anticompetitive behavior. We demonstrate that this principle is fundamentally incomplete.

Traditional models assume that firms interact only as competitors. We examine and model "Collaborative Industries," which afford rival firms opportunities to meaningfully collaborate. For example, in some industries, firms compete to win business, but then work together to complete production (e.g., through subcontracting). Firms in Collaborative Industries have powerful ways to reward or punish each other beyond raising or lowering the prices they offer to customers. These mechanisms create much greater scope for collusion than economic models conventionally recognize.

We show that Collaborative Industries can sustain anticompetitive collusive behavior no matter how unconcentrated the industry becomes. In some instances, lower market concentration makes collusion easier; smaller firms may be more dependent on collaboration with rivals and thus may be easier to punish if they undercut collusion. These results run directly counter to the conventional wisdom, gleaned from models of non-Collaborative Industries, that permeates antitrust law.


The formation of metamorphic core complexes may be triggered by plutonic activity during episodes of continental extension. Pulses of ductile deformation have taken place during short-lived thermal events initiated by the heat input from intruded plutons, sills, or dikes. Such intrusions may be the underlying cause for differential uplift of the footwall during tectonic denudation of metamorphic core complexes. Fast cooling inferred from 40 Ar/ 39 Ar apparent ages may have taken place after periods of magma arrival, and need not be the result of rapid erosional or tectonic denudation. Heterogeneity of 40 Ar/ 39 Ar apparent ages can be explained by rapid cooling of deforming mylonites formed at shallow crustal levels in the thermal aureoles of intruded sills (or sill swarms). Under such circumstances, apparently isothermal decompression paths may actually link pressure-temperature points set during periods of transient mineral growth during and after periods of igneous activity.


We study maximal clades in random phylogenetic trees with the Yule-Harding model or, equivalently, in binary search trees. We use probabilistic methods to reprove and extend earlier results on moment asymptotics and asymptotic normality. In particular, we give an explanation of the curious phenomenon observed by Drmota, Fuchs and Lee (2014) that asymptotic normality holds, but one should normalize using half the variance.


You might find this additional info useful...This article cites 49 articles, 12 of which can be accessed free at:http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/302/9/E1142.full.html#ref-list-1 Updated information and services including high resolution figures, can be found at:http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/302/9/E1142.full.html Additional material and information about AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism can be found at:http://www.the-aps.org/publications/ajpendoThis information is current as of May 21, 2012.€


Six Oligocene sequences and one earliest Miocene sequence were identified at Island Beach, Atlantic City, and Cape May, New Jersey, and correlated to the δ18O proxy of glacioeustasy and the eustatic record of Haq et al. by integrating lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, Sr isotopic stratigraphy, and magnetostratigraphy. Seven global δ18O increases are recognized by correlating δ18O records among deep-sea sites; four of these increases (Oi1, Oi2, Oi2b, and Mi1; 33.5, 30.3, 27.1, and 23.8, respectively) were recognized previously, and three (Oi1a, Oi1b, and Oi2a; 32.8, 31.7, 28.3 Ma, respectively) are new. These δ18O increases correlate well with Oligocene unconformities, indicating a glacioeustatic control on sequence boundaries. Except for an unconformity and glacioeustatic lowering at ∼ 28.3 Ma, the New Jersey Oligocene sequences correlate well with the Haq et al. record, although we question the amplitudes of their eustatic record.


In this paper, Intelligent Agent (IA) and Pedagogical Graph (PG) are combined to plan a personalized timetable and regulate the disturbances produced on this calendar of learning. This work is done by three intelligent agents: Scheduler Agent (SA), Regulatory Agent (RA), and Decision Agent (DA). The function of SA is to calculate the period of each learning unit modeling in the pedagogical graph for each learner before starting his learning process. This operation takes into account the understanding speed, the rhythm, the periodic learning time, the expected time of learning units and the learning path regulations. The work of RA and DA is to adjust and take the decision to update timetable bearing in mind the impact of its perturbation and the chance given to the learner. The major benefit of this work is always to keep the time flexible in the e-learning while exercising a weak and indirect influence on the learner for optimal learning because the time sequence in learning has a favor impact in the acquisition.


This article discusses the extraordinary history of the teaching of philosophy at Stellenbosch University, with a particular focus on the events that led to the split of the department in 1967, and its later reunification in the late 1980's. The tensions that characterised these events, ultimately leading to the split of the department, were informed by resistance on the part of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) clergy, embodied by the supervisory body ('kuratorium') presiding over what would later become the faculty of theology of the Stellenbosch University, to the seemingly unorthodox and controversial interpretations of religious doctrine by a lecturer within the department of philosophy, Dr JJ Degenaar. The eventual solution to these differences was the initial creation of two 'streams' in the department of philosophy, one of which would be political philosophy taught by Degenaar, and ultimately the creation of a separate department of political philosophy, headed by Degenaar. The article also deals with the process of re-unification of the two departments in the late 1980's. Several insights can be gleaned from an analysis of these events. Firstly, they reveal the extent to which the DRC curatory was able to influence academic affairs at that time, as well as to the extent to which Stellenbosch University allowed its institutional autonomy to be compromised. Secondly, they show how a certain model of religious experience and faith that was quite prominent in DRC circles in the late nineteenth century, was systematically overtaken by another model in the course of the early twentieth century. Finally, they show that within the two departments, a healthy culture of not only respect and collegiality, but also continued philosophical and political debate, was maintained throughout the 20 years of formal (30 years of effective) separation, thus illustrating the value of dialogue over intellectual immobility.


Three dinuclear nickel–ruthenium complexes [Ni(xbsms)RuCp*(L)](PF6) [H2xbsms = 1,2-bis(4-mercapto-3,3-dimethyl-2-thiabutyl)benzene; Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl; L = CH3CN, CO and O2] are reported that act as bio-inspired mimics of NiFe hydrogenases. Because of an increased electron density at the metal centres in comparison with the previously described [Ni(xbsms)RuCp(L)](PF6) (Cp = cyclopentadienyl) analogues, these compounds catalyze the evolution of hydrogen from Et3NH+ in DMF with an overpotential reduced by around 50 mV, thereby corroborating a previously established structure–function relationship [Eur. J. Inorg. Chem.2007, 18, 2613–2626; Chem. Eur. J.2009, 15, 9350–9364]. In addition, the steric protection provided by the bulky Cp*– ligand results in an increased catalytic rate and stability upon cycling.


The purpose of this research is to study the adaptation of corporate social responsibility reporting (CSRR), an outcome of its vertical transfer between the HQ and subsidiaries of a multi-national corporation (MNC). The transfer of practices and policies by MNCs across their geographically dispersed units has been a central concern in the IB literature which has provided rich insight into the determinants of practice adoption by subsidiaries. Here the seminal contributions by Kostova and colleagues (Kostova, 1999; Kostova & Roth, 2002; Kostova & Zaheer, 1999) have paved the way to an understanding of the potential barriers to the transfer of practices across units within an MNC. Nevertheless, despite subsequent contributions recognising that adaptation is a necessary component in such transfers (e.g., Jensen & Szulanski, 2004), the field has shown "signs of intellectual hegemony" (Ferner, Edwards, & Tempel, 2012: 164) dominated by the Kostovian premises. These propositions, drawing predominantly from new institutionalism, have provided a representation of the effects of host country requirements and parent company expectations on subsidiary responses revolving around the notion of "institutional duality". Yet, significant gaps remain in our understanding of the interaction of the determinants across different levels of analysis influencing the adaptation of the transferred practice at the subsidiary level.
Against this background and recent calls to question the traditional conformity-driven explanations influenced by the Kostovian premises (Bello & Kostova, 2014; Ferner et al., 2012; Kostova, Marano, & Tallman, 2016), this thesis shifts away from the deterministic view of institutions constraining subsidiaries (Saka-Helmhout & Geppert, 2011) and the neglect of individuals' agency to shape and modify practices that has prevailed in the transfer of practices literature. It does so by adopting an eclectic theoretical approach capitalising on the three schools of institutional theory: the new, the comparative/historical and Scandinavian and leveraging insights from multi-level approaches in the transfer of practices and CSR literature (e.g., Aguilera, Rupp, Williams, & Ganapathi, 2007; Jamali & Neville, 2011; Kostova, 1999; Kostova & Roth, 2002, Lee 2011). Instead of limiting the discussion to the duality of home and host country institutional pressures, this thesis addresses the influence and interaction of three levels of analysis: the institutional (the national business system and organisational field pressures), the organisational (the MNC's mechanisms governing the transfer of CSRR and the subsidiaries' absorptive capacity) and the individual (translation strategies adopted by boundary-spanners) on the adaptation of CSRR.
To this end, the thesis uses a qualitative case study with multiple embedded units of a UK-based MNC in the information systems' industry, FINEST1. The case study is informed mainly by 47 semi-structured interviews conducted across the French, Danish, Dutch, American and Brazilian subsidiaries as well as complementary secondary data (annual and CSR reports, website information and internal documents), which provide rich empirical dataset. The thesis is underpinned by a critical realist philosophy which is a viable paradigm for conducting explanatory multi-level research since it is offers the possibility to investigate social phenomena in a holistic manner, rejects the determinism and reductionism that are inherent to the regularity model of scientific explanation (Welch, Piekkari, Plakoyiannaki, & Paavilainen-Mantymaki, 2011) and is consistent with the theorisation of the environment as a nested milieu, where social objects by virtue of their structure have causal powers.
The findings of this research shed light on the heterogeneous adaptation of CSRR and the variety of subsidiaries' strategic responses associated with it. Four adaptation configurations with different levels of implementation, internalisation, integration and fidelity are identified: intentional decoupling, proactive adaptation, unintentional decoupling and ceremonial adaptation. The multi-level framework proposed in this thesis contributes to the transfer of practices literature by providing a powerful tool to study the complex network of mechanisms that explain those four adaptation configurations and the contingent conditions under which they are expected to occur. The framework shows that the configuration of the adaptation of CSRR is mostly explained by the level of development of the absorptive capacity and the type of translation strategy devised by the boundary-spanner. The study reveals that a well-developed absorptive capacity and the hybridisation translation strategy offsets the barriers of the institutional environment on the adaptation of the transferred practice. Conversely, if the subsidiaries' absorptive capacity remains underdeveloped and the boundary spanners devise either a replication or replacement translation strategies, a favourable institutional environment is not sufficient to trigger an enhanced adaptation supporting the view that national institutions along with the organisational field pressures can constrain or enable the adaptation of CSRR, but they are not "absolute" (Edwards, Colling, & Ferner, 2007). The findings thus expose the key role of the parent MNC in using an appropriate mix of social, control and integration mechanisms that enhance the absorptive capacity and complement the existing stocks of knowledge of its subsidiaries and simultaneously support the translation role of boundary spanners.
The cross-disciplinary approach of this research allows making further contributions to the CSRR, comparative and multilevel CSR literatures. Finally, examining the multi-level determinants, this thesis allows proposing actionable recommendations not only for MNCs' managers but for actors involved in business & society relations such as government and policy makers.


: The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the ash content of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) feedstock on the biochar yield percentage produced by slow pyrolysis experiments. The characteristics of the biochar produced were also investigated. Proximate analysis, elemental analysis and lignocellulosic analysis of EFB feedstock were performed. High heating values (HHVs) were determined using a bomb calorimeter. The ash content of the EFB feedstock was varied by washing. The properties of the washed and unwashed EFBs were analysed via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for thermal degradation behaviour. EFB feedstocks in the range of 1.60 to 5.29 mf wt% ash content were pyrolysed at 550°C with 1 h residence time. The heating rate was set at 5°C min –1 . The biochars produced by slow pyrolysis experiments were analysed by proximate, elemental, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer - Emmett-Teller ( BET) surface area analyses. The EFB feedstock with the lowest ash content (1.60 mf wt%) produced the lowest biochar yield percentage (23.05 wt %) with the highest fixed carbon percentage (88.34 mf wt%). Reduction of the EFB feedstock ash content from 5.29 to 1.60 mf wt% produced significant changes in the morphological structure of the resulting biochar. The maximum BET surface area of the EFB biochar, obtained from the EFB feedstock with 2.21 mf wt% ash content, was found to be 11.1200 m 2 g –1 .


The present paper gives a contribution to the understanding of the effects of variations in maintenance scheduling on the environmental impact of municipal solid waste incinerators. The proposed approach allows a vision of their impact beyond the conventional balances. The characteristics of a selected case study were put forward and discussed. A plant proposed for a region in the North East of Italy was chosen for the scheduling effects analysis because of the long period of non-operation of each waste treatment line: 3 months per year as requested from the local environmental protection agency. The following effects were discussed on a yearly basis: maintenance stop fractionation, maintenance stop lasting, maintenance stop seasonal scheduling; the last aspect was discussed also at device level. The extreme scenario of seasonal stop gave the opportunity of assessing the highest reduction of yearly average impact from the stack, varying the season of maintenance: a reduction up to 23% could be obtained for the pollutants concentration contribution at ground level in the area of highest impact, comparing the worst case with the best case by a diffusive model. In the case of more common periods of stops for maintenance the reduction would be lower. The role of district heating must be taken into account too.


In the coming years, an important number of offshore wind turbines will reach the end of their initially planned service life. In a wind turbine end-of-life scenario, owners can decide between extending the life of the asset, repowering the site or decommissioning. This decision-making process is affected by important sources of uncertainty, especially in offshore environments. The limited experience makes the decommissioning procedure challenging, as it is still largely unexplored. This work assesses the current state of knowledge about the challenges surrounding the decommissioning process of an offshore wind farm. The four main challenges encountered are identified and analysed in detail, namely the regulatory framework, the overall planning of the process, the logistics and vessels' availability, and the environmental impacts confronted. Ultimately, this paper aims at stimulating the dialogue among stakeholders and raising the awareness of adequately regulating and preparing the upcoming decommissioning of offshore wind farms in Europe.


Employing a team composed of physicians, electrical engineers, and specialists in physical education, significant dynamic physiological data has been gathered by means of radiotelemetry from athletes undergoing strenuous effort, participating in team sports, and from spectators viewing football games. Using a transistorized A.M.-F.M. transmitter carried in a padded compartment strapped comfortably onto the low back and weighing 30 oz. complete, ECG, pulse, temperature and respiration signals have been transmitted for distances up to 500 yards. The multiple technical problems surrounding distance telemetering of physiological information during active and vigorous muscular effort are discussed. Somatic muscle interference, the most troublesome artefact in dynamic electrocardiography, has been successfully circumvented by instantaneous recording of data frm the momentarily inactive subject. Application of computer techniques to the analysis of exercise electrocardiograms must await procedural improvement and standardization and collection of adequate data on which to base valid programming.


Men who suffer from prostate cancer (PCa) need to make important decisions regarding their treatment options. There is some evidence that these men may suffer from sleep difficulties due to their cancer or its diagnosis and treatment. Although sleep difficulties have been associated with cognitive depression in other samples of men, they have not been examined in PCa patients, despite the importance of decision-making for these men. This study was designed to investigate the association between sleep difficulties and cognitive depression in PCa patients. A sample of 96 PCa patients completed a background questionnaire, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and the Insomnia Severity Index. Comparison was made between sleep difficulty scores from before the patients received their diagnosis of PCa to the time of survey, allowing use of a "retrospective pretest" methodology. Just over 61% of the sample reported a deterioration in sleep quality, and this was significantly associated with cognitive depression (r = .346, p = .007). At the specific symptom level, having a clear mind significantly contributed to the variance in difficulty falling asleep (R2 change = .140, F for change = 9.298, p = .003). Sleeping difficulties, particularly falling asleep, are common and associated with depression-related to ability to think clearly in PCa patients. This has potentially adverse effects upon the ability of men with PCa to understand their treatment options and make decisions about them.


Understanding human motion behavior is critical for autonomous moving platforms (like self-driving cars and social robots) if they are to navigate human-centric environments. This is challenging because human motion is inherently multimodal: given a history of human motion paths, there are many socially plausible ways that people could move in the future. We tackle this problem by combining tools from sequence prediction and generative adversarial networks: a recurrent sequence-to-sequence model observes motion histories and predicts future behavior, using a novel pooling mechanism to aggregate information across people. We predict socially plausible futures by training adversarially against a recurrent discriminator, and encourage diverse predictions with a novel variety loss. Through experiments on several datasets we demonstrate that our approach outperforms prior work in terms of accuracy, variety, collision avoidance, and computational complexity.


Pospisil R., Z. Pospisil, D. Zendulkova, P. Lany: Financial Compensations for Losses Due to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in the Czech Republic in 2001–2007. Acta Vet. Brno 2008, 77: 475-482. Based on Czech legislature, the farmers whose herds were affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are reimbursed for the costs associated with disease diagnosis, killing the animals and safely disposing of their carcasses, decontamination of their premises, if necessary, and compensations for the value of the animals killed and for losses due to non-materialised production. Between 2001 and 2007, a total of 1,194,743 were examined for BSE, 27 BSEpositive cases were detected and, consequently, 3,997 animals were killed and destroyed. To reduce the negative economic impact on agricultural production, farmers were compensated for selected cost items by the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic from the state budget. The costs of examination for BSE, killing of animals and destroying their carcasses, and decontamination of farms were CZK 18.9 million (9.7%), compensations for the value of the animals killed amounted to almost CZK 164.0 million (83.3%) and compensations for nonmaterialised production reached almost CZK 13.6 million (6.9%). Together with some additional costs, the total of reimbursements during the period of 2001–2007 in the Czech Republic was almost CZK 197 million. These results are discussed in comparison to rather scarce data in the international literature which reports only the total costs associated with BSE occurrence and not individual cost items by which cattle and beef producers are burdened.


Objective: To calibrate and correct the gradient errors including gradient amplitude scaling errors, background/imaging gradients, and residual gradients in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods: A calibration protocol using an isotropic phantom was proposed. Gradient errors were estimated by using linear regression analyses on quadratic functions of diffusion gradients along 3 orthogonal directions. A 6-element total effective scaling vector is generated from the calibration protocol to retrospectively correct gradient errors in DTI experiments. Results: The accuracy of the calibration protocol was within 1% or less in estimating gradient scaling errors. On both the brain study and the computer simulations, the retrospective correction minimized undesirable estimate biases of DTI measurements due to gradient errors. Conclusion: The protocol and retrospective correction are shown to be effective. The method may be used for prospective correction if actual diffusion-gradient waveforms are available. The methodology is expandable to general diffusion imaging schemes.


Bone marrow-derived fibroblastoid colony-forming cells (CFU-F) and granulocyte/macrophage precursor cells (CFU-GM) were studied in patients with acute leukemia. The numbers of CFU-F and CFU-GM were significantly lower in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) at diagnosis than in normal subjects, although patients with AML had a very wide range of CFU-F colony-forming efficiency. However, a suppressive effect of leukemic cells on normal CFU-F colony formation was not observed. CFU-F and CFU-GM in patients with acute leukemia recovered to normal levels when complete remission (CR) was achieved and decreased again at relapse. Serial studies showed that the increase in CFU-F preceded the recovery of CFU-GM. In AML, furthermore, patients who achieved CR had a higher number of CFU-F than patients without CR, suggesting that the CFU-F level at diagnosis may contribute to the prediction of the likelihood of remission induction in patients with AML.


THIS QUALITATIVE STUDY investigated the experiences of two pairs of boys (one pair typically developing, one pair with Down Syndrome) during their transitions to school. The boys were observed using continuous narrative recordings, during all aspects of the curriculum. Their teachers, parents and peers were also interviewed. Results indicated that the boys with Down Syndrome (DS) engaged in a narrower range of roles than did the typically developing boys at preschool (interactions that did not involve any emotional connections with specific children). However, observations at school indicated that inclusion or exclusion were not within-child characteristics, but largely dependent on the context. The data suggests that, specifically, it was the nature of relationships in each context that affected inclusion and exclusion, more so than the setting (preschool or school) or the presence of DS. These relationships were shaped at all levels of the centre or school's educational culture and ethos.


A description is given of the fabrication method and Josephson properties of high temperature superconducting junctions produced by focused electron beam writing. The nature of a weak link, I-V characteristics, transition to flux flow, and magnetic field modulation are discussed in some detail. The materials aspects such as the mechanism of e-beam damage to HTS, threshold energy, junction stability, and some technological issues such as reproducibility and uniformity are also addressed.<<ETX>>


Abstract Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) fusions are rare genomic events in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). With advances in detection technology, some uncommon genomic mutation events, including EGFR fusions, have been detected. There are no standard treatment options for NSCLC patients harboring EGFR fusion. Herein, we report a case of KIF5B-EGFR fusion in NSCLC responding to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). A 50-year-old male underwent left upper lobectomy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy for pathological stage IA3 lung adenocarcinoma. The tumor tissue was subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS) and showed a KIF5B-EGFR fusion. When cancer recurrence occurred thirteen months later, the patient received afatinib (40 mg qd) as second-line treatment, and a partial response was observed, which resulted in an 11-month progression-free survival (PFS). This case provides valuable information on the response to afatinib in an NSCLC patient with a novel KIF5B-EGFR fusion. The NGS assay provides a powerful tool for identifying rare or atypical EGFR gene mutations in patients with NSCLC, which should be encouraged in clinical practice.


The end of the Middle Ages is characterized by significant changes in Mediterranean geopolitics: in Eastern Mediterranean, the Christian powers were driven out by the progression of the Mameluks and the Ottoman Turks. In the Western Mediterranean, however, the Christian powers of the Iberian Peninsula completed the Reconquista. The fall of Acre in 1291, the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and the capture of Granada in 1492 inspired a whole range of narratives from eyewitness reports to indirect and sometimes exagerated accounts. I would like to investigate the process of amplification that provoked the crystallization of some stereotypes related to the lost of the aforementioned cities: the massive massacre of the Christians in Acre reported in the anonymous Chronicle of the Templar of Tyre, the legend of the miraculous transformation of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Paleologos into marble transmitted by Greek folklore, the story of Boabdil gazing for the last time at the Alhambra from a rocky eminence south of Granada. These stories show an interesting interplay between eyewitnesses, amplification nurtured by a high dose of nostalgia, and reminiscences of older narratives related to the topos of the capture of such antique cities as Troy or Carthago. My approach will analyze the process by virtue of which the intertextual processes obliterated the taste of authenticity contained in the genuine eyewitness report.


Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) is frequently used to monitor body fluid and body composition in healthy and clinical populations. BIS guidelines state that there should be no skin lesions at the site of electrodes, and if lesions are present, electrode positions should be changed. However, alternate electrode positions are yet to be reported. This study aimed to determine if ventral electrode placements were suitable alternatives for whole body and segmental BIS measurements. Three alternate electrode placements were assessed for whole body BIS using a combination of ventral hand and foot electrode placements. An alternate position was assessed for upper and lower body segmental BIS. The results demonstrated that for whole body BIS, if drive and sense electrodes on the hand are moved to ventral positions, but foot electrodes remain in standard positions, then whole body BIS variables were comparable to standard electrode positioning (percentage difference range  =  0.01 to 1.65%, p  =  0.211–0.937). The alternate electrode placement for upper limb segmental BIS, results in BIS variables that are comparable to that of the standard positioning (percentage difference range  =  0.24–3.51%, p  =  0.393–0.604). The alternate lower limb electrode position significantly altered all resistance and predicted BIS variables for whole body and lower limb segmental BIS (percentage difference range  =  1.06–12.09%, p  <  0.001). If wounds are present on the hands and/or wrist, then the alternate electrode position described in this study is valid, for whole body and upper limb segmental BIS.


We demonstrate that the energy of a system of atoms can be uniquely evaluated using a series of structure independent, perfectly transferable many-body potentials. This allows one to compare empirical energy parametrizations on the basis of the behaviours of their potential expansions. It is shown how the representations of the energy using many-body potentials, which focuses on the positional degrees of freedom, and the conventional cluster expansion method, which focuses on the ordering degrees of freedom in a multicomponent lattice system, can be merged into a generalized cluster expansion.


This paper proposes the use of the Lego® Serious Play® (LSP) methodology as a facilitating tool for the introduction of competences for Industrial Risk Prevention by engineering students from the industrial branch (electrical, electronic, mechanical and technological engineering), presenting the results obtained in the Universities of Cadiz and Seville in the academic years 2017–2019. Current Spanish legislation does not reserve any special legal attribution, nor does it require specific competence in occupational risk prevention for the regulated profession of a technical industrial engineer (Order CIN 351:2009), and only does so in a generic way for that of an industrial engineer (Order CIN 311:2009). However, these universities consider the training in occupational health and safety for these future graduates as an essential objective in order to develop them for their careers in the industry. The approach is based on a series of challenges proposed (risk assessments, safety inspections, accident investigations and fire protection measures, among others), thanks to the use of "gamification" dynamics with Lego® Serious Play®. In order to carry the training out, a set of specific variables (industrial sector, legal and regulatory framework, business organization and production system), and transversal ones (leadership, teamwork, critical thinking and communication), are incorporated. Through group models, it is possible to identify dangerous situations, establish causes, share and discuss alternative proposals and analyze the economic, environmental and organizational impact of the technical solutions studied, as well as take the appropriate decisions, in a creative, stimulating, inclusive and innovative context. In this way, the theoretical knowledge which is acquired is applied to improve safety and health at work and foster the prevention of occupational risks, promoting the commitment, effort, motivation and proactive participation of the student teams.


A twin-transistor random access memory (TTRAM) can provide high speed, low power and high density with CMOS compatible SOI process. However it is difficult to handle as the unified memory required for advanced SoC because it needs the simple control sensing operation for memory compiler, higher cell efficiency, and lower voltage operation for dynamic frequency and voltage control. Enhanced TTRAM (ET2RAM) applies the actively body-bias control technique to realize the low voltage array operation, and never require the negative voltage source. The ET2RAM can realize both 263 MHz at 0.8 V and 10.2 mW at 0.5 V random-cycle operation, higher cell efficiency, and process scalability. It also provides the simple control method suitable for the unified macro for system-level power management SoC with keeping the merits of TTRAM as CMOS compatibility


The marriage–health association has been investigated extensively among proximal couples (i.e., those living geographically near each other). On average, married men trend toward better health and relationship outcomes from their marital status compared to married women. This may be attributed to gender role socialization that encourages women to adopt a caretaking role toward their partners. Current literature has not addressed whether there are differential relationship or health outcomes by gender within long-distance relationship (LDR). The present study investigated LDR relationship and health indices by gender. Using Qualtrics and Amazon's Mechanical Turk, married LDR participants (n = 93, 21 years or older, English speakers) completed an online survey. Relationship measures assessed satisfaction, maintenance, stress, and sex. Health variables included the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-29, Perceived Stress Scale, and surveys examining substance use, diet, and exercise. t Tests were used to measure group differences by gender. Women in LDR reported few relationship and health benefits relative to men in LDR. Men reported higher levels of relational distress and increased smoking, yet better physical functioning. Men also trended toward higher levels of relational maintenance and healthier eating as a function of partner presence. This study provides counterevidence for the gender role socialization model within the LDR framework.


Item response theory (IRT) is a framework for modeling and analyzing item response data. Item-level modeling gives IRT advantages over classical test theory. The fit of an item score pattern to an item response theory (IRT) models is a necessary condition that must be assessed for further use of item and models that best fit the data. The study investigated item level diagnostic statistics and model- data fit with one-and two- parameter models using IRTPROV3.0 and BILOG- MG V3.0. Ex-post facto design was adopted. The population for the study consisted of 11,538 candidates' responses who took Type L 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Mathematics paper in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The sample of 5,192(45%) responses was randomly selected through stratified sampling technique. BILOG-MG V3.0 and IRTPROV3.0 computer software was used to calibrate the candidates' responses. Two research questions were raised to guide the study. Pearson's χ 2 and S - χ 2 statistics as an item fit index for dichotomous item response theory models were used. The outputs from the two computer software were used to answer the questions. The findings revealed that only 1 item fitted 1-parameter model in BILOG- MG V3.0 and IRTPRO V3.0. Furthermore, the findings revealed that 26 items fitted 2-parameter models when using BILOG-MG V3.0. Five items fitted 2-parameter models in IRTPRO. It was recommended that the use of more than one IRT software programme offers more useful information for the choice of model that fit the data.


Aims : This study examined the dietary and anthropometric components of diabetic patients with or without diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). Methods : Eighty-two adult subjects were recruited in Tallahassee, FL (USA) and categorized into one of three groups: subjects without diabetes, patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) but not foot ulcers, and patients with DFU. Twenty-four hour food recalls, foot ulcer history and blood samples were collected from each subject. Dietary intake was evaluated with Food Processor. Biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress were measured with ELISA kits. Results : DFU subjects in this study were mostly overweight or obese. DFU had inadequate intakes in protein, fiber, vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6, C, D, and E; calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc. They had excessive intakes in saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium. Conclusions : Malnutrition is very common in the DM and DFU subjects. Protein and vitamin supplementation may be beneficial in prevention and management of DM as well as DFU.


Genetic devlopment to imrove genotypes with high quality is the most important approach of rice. Thus, anther culture technique is one of straight forward approaches for improvement of rice cultivars with good grain quality. Therefore, this investigation aimed to develop some doubled haploid lines (DH) through anther culture technique and evaluate them along with their five parents including two check varieties for some nutritional characteristics. The results indicated that the three mineral element contents (Zn, Mn and Fe) of rice grain were clearly different among genotypes (DH), which implied that genotypic variations might provide opportunities to select for higher mineral element content. Analysis of variance revealed that the differences among genotypes were significant for all studied traits. Highly significant positive correlations were recognized among the studied characteristics. Accordingly, Rice lines with the high nutritional values will use as donors for this trait in rice breeding programs for exploitation and in hybridization.


Two electron transporting materials, [1,1′:3′,1′′-terphenyl]-3,3′′-diylbis(diphenylphosphine oxide) (BmPOPB) and [1,1′:3′,1′′-terphenyl]-4,4′′-diylbis(diphenylphosphine oxide) (BpPOPB), have been designed and synthesized by appending a diphenylphosphine oxide moiety to the m-terphenyl core via meta- and para-linkage topologies. The influence of different linking modes on the thermal, photophysical, electrochemical, and electron transport properties of the compounds is systematically studied. Through the meta-linkage topology and supernumerary transporting channel assisted by diphenylphosphine oxide, the harmonious compatibility of a high triplet energy level (ET) of 2.82 eV and a high electron mobility of around 10−4 cm2 V−1 s−1 for BmPOPB has been achieved. When BmPOPB was used as an electron-transport material (ETM), the Ir(ppy)3-based green device hosted by CBP exhibited excellent performance with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 22.68%; FIrpic-based and 2CzPN-based blue OLEDs hosted by mCP displayed maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 21.3% and 17.4%, respectively. All the device performances outperformed that of its isomer BpPOPB and the typical ETM, 1,3,5-tris(1-phenyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)benzene (TPBi). This contribution rationally demonstrated the significance of the harmonious compatibility in designing electron-transport materials for high-performance OLEDs.


1. Results of field experiments indicate that it is more efficient and effective to apply nitrogen to the crop than to previous crop residues months ahead of planting the crop.
2. The increase in water infiltration rate resulting from various green manures or crop residues was inversely related to the nitrogen content at the time of incorporation. Low-nitrogen residues had a longer-lasting effect than legumes or other high-nitrogen residues.
3. The beneficial effect of barley crop residues on infiltration was significantly reduced by nitrogen application to the residue.
4. Addition of straw, along with fertilizer nitrogen, greatly reduced the uptake of fertilizer nitrogen by the succeeding crops.
5. The time required for cycling fertilizer nitrogen through the soil organic fraction and back into available form apparently involves a matter of years, or perhaps decades, rather than weeks or months.
6. Fine shredding and early incorporation of crop residues into a moist soil are key factors in handling residues to avoid interference with planting operations.


We analyze jointly optimal carbon pricing and leverage regulation in a model with financial constraints and endogenous climate-related transition and physical risks. The socially optimal emissions tax is below the Pigouvian benchmark (equal to the direct social cost of emissions) when emissions taxes amplify financial constraints, or above this benchmark if physical climate risks have a substantial impact on collateral values. Additionally introducing leverage regulation can be welfareimproving only if tax rebates are not fully pledgeable. A cap-and-trade system or abatement subsidies may dominate carbon taxes because they can be designed to have a less adverse effect on financial constraints.


This multicenter retrospective cohort study evaluates the clinical epidemiology and outcomes of children with MRSA bacteremia and determines risk factors for treatment failure. BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia is associated with high rates of treatment failure in adults. The epidemiology, clinical outcomes, and risk factors for treatment failure associated with MRSA bacteremia in children are poorly understood. METHODS: Multicenter, retrospective cohort study of children ≤18 years hospitalized with MRSA bacteremia across 3 tertiary care children's hospitals from 2007 to 2014. Treatment failure was defined as persistent bacteremia >3 days, recurrence of bacteremia within 30 days, or attributable 30-day mortality. Potential risk factors for treatment failure, including the site of infection, vancomycin trough concentration, critical illness, and need for source control, were collected via manual chart review and evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 232 episodes of MRSA bacteremia, 72 (31%) experienced treatment failure and 23% developed complications, whereas 5 (2%) died within 30 days. Multivariable analysis of 174 children treated with vancomycin with steady-state vancomycin concentrations obtained found that catheter-related infections (odds ratio [OR], 0.36; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.13–0.94) and endovascular infections (OR, 4.35; 95% CI: 1.07–17.7) were associated with lower and higher odds of treatment failure, respectively, whereas a first vancomycin serum trough concentration <10 μg/mL was not associated with treatment failure (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 0.49–3.66). Each additional day of bacteremia was associated with a 50% (95% CI: 26%–79%) increased odds of bacteremia-related complications. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalized children with MRSA bacteremia frequently suffered treatment failure and complications, but mortality was low. The odds of bacteremia-related complications increased with each additional day of bacteremia, emphasizing the importance of achieving rapid sterilization.


The viscoelastic behavior of different ceria gelling systems prepared through sol-gel transition were investigated by the rheological measurement. The gelation time was observed by the frequency independence of tand, and increased with increasing acid:alkoxide molar ratio. At the gel point, both storage and loss moduli (G'µ wn, G" µ wn)exhibited a power law dependence of applied frequency with n' = n" = n. The viscoelastic exponents and gel strength parameter were dependent on the composition of system. The increase in HCl:alkoxide molar ratio increased the n value while decreased the S parameter.


A dynamic model ofbiventricular chronic heart failure (CHF) induced by fractional introduction of silicon oil into the pleural cavity in rats is proposed. Silicon oil led to enlargement of the heart, myocardial hypertrophy of both ventricles, considerable pulmonary and hepatic congestion due to circulatory failure, decreased stroke volume and cardiac output, increased peripheral vascular resistance, changes in the activity of sympathoadrenal system of the heart and blood. The severity of the induced CHF varied with the dose and number of silicon oil administrations.


In China, the implementation of community health service shows that the prevention is an essential and important part of our national health system and is helpful to decrease the medical expenditure gradually. According to the data from Health Statistic Information Center of Ministry of Health in China, we calculated that the total health expenditure of China would be decreased 8000.0 million yuan only in 2001, among which, 1188.3 million, 1953.9 million and 4833.0 million yuan were respectively saved for the government budget, the society and resident if implementing the policy of community health service powerfully. And every outpatient can save 15.46 yuan per time. By the quantitative analysis on the economic contribution of community health service, it can be proved that a great economic benefit could be gotten from the implementation of community health service.


This article makes a contribution towards understanding the impact of temperature fluctuations on the economy and financial markets. We present a long-run risks model with temperature related natural disasters. The model simultaneously matches observed temperature and consumption growth dynamics, and key features of financial markets data. We use this model to evaluate the role of temperature in determining asset prices, and to compute utility-based welfare costs as well as dollar costs of insuring against temperature fluctuations. We find that the temperature related utility-costs are about 0.78% of consumption, and the total dollar costs of completely insuring against temperature variation are 2.46% of world GDP. If we allow for temperature-triggered natural disasters to impact growth, insuring against temperature variation raise to 5.47% of world GDP. We show that the same features, long-run risks and recursive-preferences, that account for the risk-free rate and the equity premium puzzles also imply that temperature-related economic costs are important. Our model implies that a rise in global temperature lowers equity valuations and raises risk premiums.


We present a method for selecting RR Lyrae (RRL) stars (or other types of variable stars) in the absence of a large number of multi-epoch data and light curve analyses. Our method uses color and variability selection cuts that are defined by applying a Gaussian Mixture Bayesian Generative Method (GMM) on 636 pre-identified RRL stars instead of applying the commonly used rectangular cuts. Specifically, our method selects 8115 RRL candidates (heliocentric distances < 70 kpc) using GMM color cuts from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and GMM variability cuts from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1 3π survey (PS1). Comparing our method with the Stripe 82 catalog of RRL stars shows that the efficiency and completeness levels of our method are ∼77% and ∼52%, respectively. Most contaminants are either non-variable main-sequence stars or stars in eclipsing systems. The method described here efficiently recovers known stellar halo substructures. It is expected that the current completeness and efficiency levels will further improve with the additional PS1 epochs (∼3 epochs per filter) that will be observed before the conclusion of the survey. A comparison between our efficiency and completeness levels using the GMM method to the efficiency and completeness levels using rectangular cuts that are commonly used yielded a significant increase in the efficiency level from ∼13% to ∼77% and an insignificant change in the completeness levels. Hence, we favor using the GMM technique in future studies. Although we develop it over the SDSS×PS1 footprint, the technique presented here would work well on any multi-band, multi-epoch survey for which the number of epochs is limited.


In a historical perspective, the relationship between digital media and the museum environment is marked by the role of museums as example use cases for the appli- cation of digital media. Today, this exceptional use as an often technology oriented application has changed and instead digital media have turned into an integral part of mediation strategies in the museum environment. Alongside with this shift not only an increasing professionalization of application development but also a grow- ing demand for new content can be observed. Comparable to its role as the main cost factor in the media industry, the production of content rises to a challenge for museums. In particular small and medium scale european museums with limited funding and an often low level of staff coverage face this new demand and strive therefore for alternative production resources. While productive user contributions can be seen as such an alternative resource, user contributions are at the same time a manifestation for a different mode of in- teracting with content. In contrast to the dominantly passive role of audiences as re- ceivers of information, productive contributions emerge as a mode of content ex- ploration and become in this regard influential for museum mediation strategies. As applications of user contributions in museums and cultural heritage are currently rather seldom, a broader perspective towards user contributions becomes necessary to understand its specific challenges, opportunities and limitations. Productive user contributions can be found in a growing number of applications on the Internet where they either complement or fully substitute corporate content production processes. While the Wikipedia1, an online encyclopedia written entirely by a group of users and open to contributions by all its users, is one of the most prominent examples for this practice, several more applications emerged or are be- ing developed. In consequence user contributions are about to become a powerful source for the production of content in digital media environments.


The wollastonite/PP composites were manufactured by twin-screw extruder and the effects of compatabilizer, feeding method and screw configuration on the properties of wollastonite/PP composites were investigated in this paper. The dispersion of fibrous wollastonite in PP matrix was determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the strength, toughness and flowability of the composite were simultaneously guaranteed by using three different types of PP resins, and the interfacial adhesion was improved greatly by adding the compatabilizer of PP-g-MAH, which increases the comprehensive properties of wollastonite/PP composite. The fibrous dispersion of wollastonite in PP matrix was achieved by using of side feeding and the weak-shear screw configuration, which reaches the good reinforcing effect.


Tree-ring data were analyzed for a long-term perspective on ecological and hydroclimatic variations on the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD). The ecosystem of this Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in northeastern Alberta is sensitive to fluctuations in water levels of the numerous lakes, channels and perched basins, and attention has been focused in recent decades on the possibility of deleterious effects from climatic change and regulation of the Peace River by W.A.C. Bennett Dam. A network of eight Picea glauca tree-ring chronologies was developed, time series features of growth variation were summarized, and the chronologies were applied in a regression model to reconstruct an annual time series of early summer (July 11 to 20) water levels of Lake Athabasca for the period A.D. 1801-1999. Though statistically weak (R2 = 0.36), the reconstruction verifies adequately in cross-validation and is consistent with anecdotal written records of a dramatic decline in water levels in 1879-81. Correlation of reconstructed and observed water levels improves with smoothing. Gaussian smoothing (ten years and longer) identifies a major low centred on 1890. The differential growth responses among the sites as well as evidence from other tree-ring studies suggest the 1890 low was associated primarily with diminished Peace River flows. The 20th century is unusual in a long-term context for high-amplitude multi-decadal variations in tree growth and reconstructed water levels, but the timing of these more recent fluctuations appears unrelated to the building of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam. Further research is needed to better discriminate the tree-ring signal for lake-level variation from the signal due to localized precipitation.


Credit extension evaluation is traditionally marked by customer's credit risk and his business potential, normally, the profitability that limit utilization may provide the company is not considered. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present a trade credit extension profitability measurement model. The literature used for the theoretical basis involves the profitability concept of the Theory of Restrictions (TOC) and the performance measure calculation as in RAROC model. Proposed model was applied in a wholesaler-distributor company and its results have enabled concluding that credit extension to customers rated as low risk is not always the most profitable option. The decision of companies that only take into consideration credit risk and customer size to set the credit limit may entail incorrect decisions that are decreasing the company's gain instead of increasing the wealth of its owners.


In early July 2013 it looked as if Tunisia might be about to conclude an important first phase in the political transition, with its constituent assembly (Assemblée Nationale Constituante or ANC) preparing to vote on each of the articles in the latest draft of the constitution. Instead, the entire process is now threatened with failure. Since the Egyptian public mobilised against President Mohammed Morsi, leading opposition forces in Tunisia have been questioning the legitimacy of the constituent process. They say the current draft of the constitution is unacceptable, as the ANC's one-year mandate has long since expired. The assassination of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi has not only caused the government, accused of being complicit in his death, to lose further credibility, it has also escalated the constitutional crisis. Since 25 July, 60 members of parliament have suspended their activity in the ANC. The government's efforts to remedy the situation have proved unsuccessful thus far: For now, the work of the ANC is suspended.


The surface seismic array on Turtle Mountain comprises a network of six remote, radio-enabled and solar-powered seismic sensors and transmitters. They are distributed in a pattern such that seismic sources originating from likely zones of seismicity within the mountain are to be detected. A robust station design is required in this harsh alpine environment, particularly to prevent buffeting of the equipment by the frequent strong winds. The seismic data recording, transmission, archiving, and retrieval system is validated using a series of controlled-source tests. Capture of a naturally-occurring regional seismic event indicates successful operation of the system.


Abstract Estrogens, acting through its two receptors, ESR1 (hereafter designated ER alpha) and ESR2 (hereafter designated ER beta), have diverse physiological effects in the reproductive system, bone, cardiovascular system, hematopoiesis, and central and peripheral nervous systems. Mice with inactivated ER alpha, ER beta, or both show a number of interesting phenotypes, including incompletely differentiated epithelium in tissues under steroidal control (prostate, ovary, mammary, and salivary glands) and defective ovulation reminiscent of polycystic ovarian syndrome in humans (in ER beta−/− mice), and obesity, insulin resistance, and complete infertility (both in male and female ER alpha−/− mice). Estrogen agonists and antagonists are frequently prescribed drugs with indications that include postmenopausal syndrome (agonists) and breast cancer (antagonists). Because the two estrogen receptors (ERs) have different physiological functions and have ligand binding pockets that differ enough to be selective in their ligand binding, opportunities now exist for development of novel ER subtype-specific selective-ER modulators.


Introduction Surprisingly little is known about neural activity in the sleeping cerebellum.5 17 Using long-term wireless recordings, we have made routine recordings of local field potentials (LFPs) and action potentials for the entirety of natural sleep in non-human primates. Methods We were able to record simultaneously from the primary motor cortex (M1), the thalamus and the cerebellum using both rigid multi-contact linear electrode arrays and flexible microwires.11 12 Recording for the entirety of the natural sleep was achieved using a custom-made wearable device. Results We find that the M1 and cerebellum communicate with each other during sleep,13 14 with cerebellum-to-M1 signals passing via the thalamus. We find that both M1 and cerebellar neuronal firings are broadly synchronous and phase-locked to the sleep cycle.7 Additionally, both spikes and LFPs in M1 and cerebellum also show coherence at slow ( Discussion Our results shed new light on the mechanisms of sleep spindle generation9 and show that the cerebellum is an active participant of sleep. We postulate that the cerebello-thalamo-neocortical pathways is implicated in sleep-dependent consolidation of procedural learning.1-4 6 18-20 References Bastian AJ. Learning to predict the future: the cerebellum adapts feedforward movement control. Current opinion in neurobiology 2006;16(6):645–9. Nishida M, Walker MP. Daytime naps, motor memory consolidation and regionally specific sleep spindles. PloS one 2007;2(4):e341. Fogel S, Albouy G, King BR, Lungu O, Vien C, Bore A, et al. Reactivation or transformation? Motor memory consolidation associated with cerebral activation time-locked to sleep spindles. PloS one 2017;12(4):e0174755. Diekelmann S, Born J. The memory function of sleep. Nature reviews Neuroscience 2010;11(2):114–26. Canto CB, Onuki Y, Bruinsma B, van der Werf YD, De Zeeuw CI. The Sleeping Cerebellum. Trends Neurosci 2017;40(5):309–23. Latchoumane CV, Ngo HV, Born J, Shin HS. Thalamic Spindles Promote Memory Formation during Sleep through Triple Phase-Locking of Cortical, Thalamic, and Hippocampal Rhythms. Neuron 2017;95(2):424–35.e6. Mano N. Changes of simple and complex spike activity of cerebellar purkinje cells with sleep and waking. Science 1970;170(3964):1325–7. Staresina BP, Bergmann TO, Bonnefond M, van der Meij R, Jensen O, Deuker L, et al. Hierarchical nesting of slow oscillations, spindles and ripples in the human hippocampus during sleep. Nature neuroscience 2015;18(11):1679–86. Luthi A. Sleep Spindles: Where They Come From, What They Do. The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry 2014;20(3):243–56. Xu W, de Carvalho F, Jackson A. Sequential neural activity in primary motor cortex during sleep. J Neurosci 2019. Kelly RM, Strick PL. Cerebellar loops with motor cortex and prefrontal cortex of a nonhuman primate. J Neurosci 2003;23(23):8432–44. Holdefer RN, Miller LE, Chen LL, Houk JC. Functional connectivity between cerebellum and primary motor cortex in the awake monkey. Journal of neurophysiology 2000;84(1):585–90. Rowland NC, Goldberg JA, Jaeger D. Cortico-cerebellar coherence and causal connectivity during slow-wave activity. Neuroscience 2010;166(2):698–711. Watson TC, Becker N, Apps R, Jones MW. Back to front: cerebellar connections and interactions with the prefrontal cortex. Frontiers in systems neuroscience 2014;8:4. D'Angelo E, Koekkoek SK, Lombardo P, Solinas S, Ros E, Garrido J, et al. Timing in the cerebellum: oscillations and resonance in the granular layer. Neuroscience 2009;162(3):805–15. Courtemanche R, Robinson JC, Aponte DI. Linking oscillations in cerebellar circuits. Frontiers in neural circuits 2013;7:125. Seshagiri DV, Botta R, Sasidharan A, Kumar Pal P, Jain S, Yadav R, et al. Assessment of Sleep Spindle Density among Genetically Positive Spinocerebellar Ataxias Types 1, 2, and 3 Patients. Annals of neurosciences 2018;25(2):106–11. Manoach DS, Thakkar KN, Stroynowski E, Ely A, McKinley SK, Wamsley E, et al. Reduced overnight consolidation of procedural learning in chronic medicated schizophrenia is related to specific sleep stages. Journal of psychiatric research 2010;44(2):112–20. Farmer CA, Chilakamarri P, Thurm AE, Swedo SE, Holmes GL, Buckley AW. Spindle activity in young children with autism, developmental delay, or typical development. Neurology 2018;91(2):e112–e22. Russek EM, Momennejad I, Botvinick MM, Gershman SJ, Daw ND. Predictive representations can link model-based reinforcement learning to model-free mechanisms. PLoS computational biology 2017;13(9):e1005768.


A micromachined millimeter-wave probe, optimized for early-stage skin tumor diagnosis has been verified using a murine skin cancer model. Malignant melanoma tumors are clearly distinguishable from surrounding healthy tissue, since the difference in S11 between a malignant melanoma skin tumor and surrounding healthy tissue is 6.7 times larger than typical standard deviations of measurements on the same spot. Furthermore, the probe has an 8 times higher selectivity to a tumor growing in the skin close to the surface as compared to a subcutaneous tumor buried beneath a thick healthy tissue layer. This confirms the optimized sensitivity of the probe to the targeted upper portion of the skin, in which skin tumor growth starts in malignant melanoma patients.


Intraoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) monitoring has become an integral adjunct to minimally invasive parathyroidectomy. Guidelines for predicting therapeutic excision of all hyperactive parathyroid tissue have been routinely based on peripheral blood samples drawn at various time intervals. Whether these same guidelines can be used to predict success based on central blood draws has not been established. The authors wanted to evaluate whether peripheral criteria were applicable when PTH levels were drawn from a central location. Simultaneous peripheral venous (PV) and central venous (CV) PTH samples were drawn from 64 patients undergoing cervical exploration for primary hyperparathyroidism. Median preexcision PTH was significantly higher centrally at 165 pg/mL (interquartile range [IQR], 101–391 pg/mL) versus peripherally 102 pg/mL (interquartile range, 73–156 pg/mL, P < 0.0001). Postexcision PTH was slightly greater in CV (38 pg/mL; IQR, 24–62) than in PV (29 pg/mL; IQR, 22–51; P < 0.0001). The decrease in intraoperative PTH was compared after excision of an initial gland. Fifty-four of the 64 patients had all hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue removed after initial gland resection. Pre- to postexcision ratios for CV and PV were compared using receiver operating characteristic curve methods, and summarized by area under the curve (AUC). PV (AUC = 0.85) appears to be a slightly more sensitive discriminator than CV (AUC = 0.83), although the difference is not statistically significant (P = 0.5). Despite higher absolute values for CV, both peripheral and central sample sites accurately predict outcomes based on established guidelines for intraoperative PTH monitoring.


The performance and efficiency of green energy sources in electric vehicles (EVs) are significantly affected by operation temperatures. To maintain the optimal temperatures of a hybrid energy system (HES), an innovative hybrid thermal management system (IHTMS) was designed. The IHTMS contains a coolant pump, a heat exchanger, a proportional valve for hybrid flow rates, five coolant pipes, and three electromagnetic valves to form two mode-switch coolant loops. A Matlab/Simulink-based simulator of the IHTMS was constructed by formulating a set of first-ordered dynamics of temperatures of coolant pipes and energy bodies using the theories of Newton's law of cooling and the lumped-parameter technique. Parameters were majorly derived by measured performance maps and data from the experimental platform of the IHTMS. To properly manage the optimal temperatures, four control modes were designed for inner-loop form and outer-loop form. For the experimental platform to verify the simulator, two power supplies generated the waste heat of dual energy sources calculated by the driving cycle and vehicle dynamics. Simulation results show that the temperatures were controlled at their optimal ranges by proper mode/loop switch. With the inner-loop mechanism, the rise time of optimal temperature decreased 27.4%. The average simulation-experiment temperature error of the battery was 0.898 °C; the average simulation-experiment temperature error of the PEMFC was 4.839 °C. The IHTMS will be integrated to a real HES in the future.


The focus of this paper is on presenting a methodology for generating and optimizing test data by employing evolutionary search techniques, with basis on the information provided by the analysis and interpretation of Java bytecode and on the dynamic execution of the instrumented test object. The main reason to work at the bytecode level is that even when the source code is unavailable, structural testing requirements can still be derived and used to assess the quality of a given test set and to guide the evolutionary search towards reaching specific test goals. Java bytecode retains enough high-level information about the original source code for an underlying model for program representation to be built. The observations required to select or generate test data are obtained by employing dynamic analysis techniques – i.e. by instrumenting, tracing and analysing Java bytecode.


Background and aims: Chronic hepatic inflammation is an important pathogenic mediator of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that contributes to disease severity. It is commonly suggested that autophagy dysfunction may be an underlying cause of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. However, the exact role of autophagy in lipid metabolism remains controversial. There has been a growing interest in the role of folate supplementation for the treatment and/or prevention of NAFLD. We aimed in this study to investigate the effects of different doses of folate supplementation on several immune markers and autophagy trying to explore the complex role of IL-22 and autophagy in NAFLD. Methods: Fifty Wistar rats were randomly separated into experimental (n = 40) and control groups (n = 10), which were fed for eight weeks with a high-fat diet (HFD) containing 40% fats or a standard diet, respectively. The experimental group was further subdivided into four subgroups where the first subgroup was left untreated while the other three were treated with different doses of folate (50, 100, and 150 jag/kg of body weight, respectively). At the end of the experimental period, animals from each group were sacrificed for blood and tissue analyses. Results: NAFLD rats showed decreased IL-22 serum levels and increased LC3B expression as compared to controls. Folate treatment was significantly associated with improvement in disease parameters, reduced presence of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-a and CXCL8 and LC3B expression, and increased IL-22 levels in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: These results highlight the capacity of folate to modulate the production of several pro-inflammatory cytokines and autophagy thereby having a favorable impact disease progression.


A method for forensic chemical assessment of dinitrophenol toxic compounds has been developed. Acetone was used as the isolating agent. The isolates were purified by extraction followed by adsorption in a column packed with silica gel. The analyzed substances are analyzed by chromogenic reactions, from UV and visible spectra in alkali and DMPA, and by thin-layer and high-pressure chromatography. The method allows the detection of 47-83% dinitrophenols in artificial mixtures with liver tissue (with 50 mg of analyzed substance per 100 g of the object). The detection minimum for this group of compounds is 0.5 to 1.0 mg per 100 g of cadaveric material.


The present study was set out with the aim of investigating teachers' attitude towards the third grade secondary school new English textbook called "Prospects 3".  To this end, 35 male and female teachers from different Secondary schools in Bandar Abbas took part in the study. The selection of participants was based on convenient sampling. In order to collect relevant data for the study a textbook evaluation checklist formed by McDonough and Shaw (1993), which consisted of 35 items about four aspects of textbooks, including: Aims and achievements, Skills, Language Type, and Technical considerations were administered to teachers. Teachers were given enough time about one month to answer agree/ neutral/ disagree to the items on the checklist based on their observations in the classes. After that, the checklists were collected and analyzed through a descriptive data analysis. In order to achieve the desirable results, means, and standard deviations were calculated. Finally, the result of the study revealed that with respect to this new formed ELT textbook, teachers had more positive attitudes towards aims and achievements, skills, and technical considerations of the book. The findings also revealed that EFL teachers showed the least positive attitude towards Language type, since they believe that in many cases the language and register employed in the textbook, were inauthentic.


The stability constant of (1:1:1) ternary chelates of bivalent Cu(II)metal ion with some drugs such as aspartame (L4) and ethambutol hydrochloride (L7) as primary ligands and amino acids, such as Leucine (R3) and phenylalanine (R6) as secondary ligands have been carried out in 20%(v/v) ethanol - water medium pH-metrically at 300C and 0.1 M (NaClO4) ionic strength. The stability constants of binary complexes ML and ML2 are also determined under similar experimental conditions. The stability constants of ternary complexes are evaluated and their relative stabilities compared to the corresponding binary complexes are expressed in terms of statistical parameters i"logK,KR, KLand Kr. Formation of complex specieswith respect to pH have been discussed by Irving-Rossotti technique and evaluated by using the computer SCOGS program.


Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) considers as the most common disorder among women during reproductive age. Its common features involve hyperandrogenism, chronic anovulation, and weight gain. Till now, the pathogenesis of PCOS stay unknown, and

there is evidence considered PCOS as a low-grade inflammatory disease. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is associated with a variety of endocrine and metabolic disturbances.
The present study was designed to detect the role of (CTLA-4) gene polymorphism (rs733618) with PCOS. A total of 60 PCOS patients and 30 healthy women, matching in average age and body mass index (BMI), were enrolled in this study. Patients with PCOS were attend to AL - Nahrain University High Institute for Infertility Assisted Reproductive Technology, in Baghdad between Septembers to December/2018. Blood samples were aspirated from both groups to detection (CTLA-4) gene polymorphism (rs733618) by tetra-primer amplification-refractory mutation system based on real time polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-qPCR). The obtained results revealed normal genotyping for both groups. The result of current study confirms that there is no role of (CTLA-4) gene polymorphism (rs 733618) in PCOS.


The aim of this study was to carry out a dosimetric verification of a dynamic multileaf collimator (DMLC)-based tumor-tracking delivery during respiratory-like motion. The advantage of tumor-tracking radiation delivery is the ability to allow a tighter margin around the target by continuously following and adapting the dose delivery to its motion. However, there are geometric and dosimetric uncertainties associated with beam delivery system constraints and output variations, and several investigations have to be accomplished before a clinical integration of this tracking technique. Two types of delivery were investigated in this study I) a single beam perpendicular to a target with a one dimensional motion parallel to the MLC moving direction, and II) an intensity modulated arc delivery (RapidArc®) with a target motion diagonal to the MLC moving direction. The feasibility study (I) was made using an 2D ionisation chamber array and a true 3D polymer gel. The arc delivery (II) was verified using polymer gel and a biplanar diode array. Good agreement in absorbed dose was found between delivery to a static target and to a moving target with DMLC tracking using all three detector systems. However, due to the limited spatial resolution of the 2D array a detailed comparison was not possible. The RapidArc® plan delivery was successfully verified using the biplanar diode array and true 3D polymer gel, and both detector systems could verify that the DMLC-based tumor-tracking delivery system has a very good ability to account for respiratory target motion.


Diagnosis and treatment of cancer are potential traumatic stressors.[1,2] Others may include but are not limited to interpersonal violence, military combat, natural and man-made disasters, and displacement.[2] In response to the intense fear, helplessness, terror, and uncertainty that traumatic stressors can provoke, post-trauma symptoms (PTS) classically develop in three clusters: re-experiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyperarousal.[2]


This research lays down foundations for a stronger presence of machine learning in the emergency department. Using machine learning to make predictions on a patient's situation can increase patient's health and decrease the waiting time. This paper explores to what extent it is possible to accurately predict ER outcome. These predictions will be based on routinely available ER data from a Dutch hospital. The data set used is representative for any Dutch Hospital. Prediction performance is compared between ML predictors. Using random forest and stacked ensemble gathered the best results. This research found that for more than half of the adult patients, the algorithm can very accurately predict hospitalization, with similar results for children and during the COVID-19. Moreover, it is investigated which characteristics and events contribute to the direction of the patient. Finally, several plans are introduced to substantially improve the ER process, for example by quickly reviewing patients selected by the algorithms. These might lead to an ER process that is significantly quicker, with more accurate diagnosis. © 2022 Slovak Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.


The blood‐brain barrier (BBB) is an essential feature of the microvasculature in neural tissues. Agrin, a synapse organizing molecule at the neuromuscular junction, also accumulates on brain microvasculature and may be involved in BBB formation and function. We investigated the developmental expression of agrin at rat and chick brain capillaries by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Anti‐agrin immunoreactivity (IR) completely ensheathes all observed microvessels labeled with anti‐von Willebrand factor in adult brains of both species. Brain microvascular agrin IR codistributes with anti‐laminin IR, consistent with agrin localization in the microvessel basal lamina. On microvessels in testis and thymus, tissues which also contain blood‐tissue barriers, the pattern of IR is indistinguishable from brain microvessels. In contrast, little or no agrin IR is observed on capillaries in muscle and other tissues. During chick and rat development, agrin accumulates on brain microvessels around the time the vasculature becomes impermeable. Differential staining and electroblotting suggest that the agrin isoforms expressed on brain microvessels lack the 8‐ and 11‐amino acid sequences that confer on agrin high potency in acetylcholine receptor clustering. Taken in context with the organizing role of agrin in synaptogenesis, these results indicate that agrins may function as important players in the formation and maintenance of cerebral microvascular impermeability. Dev Dyn 208:62–74, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


the typical facies, NTD, facial clefts, abdominal wall defects, abnormal digits, tracheomalacia and radial ray defects are common anomalies observed. Only recently, postnatal studies presented chorioretinal coloboma (CRC) as an additional anomaly of FVS. Valproate-induced reduced expression of PAX6 and PAX2 genes are thought as responsible for teratogenesis. The diagnosis of coloboma in the fetus is challenging with only 8 cases reported. We present the first prenatal diagnosis of CRC in a fetus with FVS. The patient received 1500 mg VPA/day from 4 to 9gw for bipolar disorder. She was referred to us at 35w for bilateral VM. A large NTD (L4-S1) with Chiari II signs was observed, and also a cleft in the medial hemisphere of the chorioretinal complex compatible with corioretinal cloboma. Typical FVS facies – downslanted thin lips, broad front with ridged metopic – was observed in 3D study. (figure 1). The patient delivered at 40gw. Postnatal examination confirmed the antenatal findings along with ipsilateral mild microphthalmia and congenital esotropia. The baby succumbed to intractable seizures at 6 weeks of life before any intervention. A review of literature is presented.


The behavior of the observed polarization amplitudes with spatial resolution is a strong constraint on the nature and organization of solar magnetic fields below the resolution limit. We study the polarization of the very quiet Sun at different spatial resolutions using ground- and space-based observations. It is shown that 80% of the observed polarization signals do not change with spatial resolution, suggesting that, observationally, the very quiet Sun magnetism remains the same despite the high spatial resolution of space-based observations. Our analysis also reveals a cascade of spatial scales for the magnetic field within the resolution element. It is manifest that the Zeeman effect is sensitive to the microturbulent field usually associated to Hanle diagnostics. This demonstrates that Zeeman and Hanle studies show complementary perspectives of the same magnetism.


Study objectives were to (1) describe the diagnostic test characteristics of an automated milk leukocyte differential (MLD) test and the California Mastitis Test (CMT) to identify intramammary infection (IMI) in early- (EL) and late-lactation (LL) quarters and cows when using 3 different approaches to define IMI from milk culture, and (2) describe the repeatability of MLD test results at both the quarter and cow level. Eighty-six EL and 90 LL Holstein cows were sampled from 3 Midwest herds. Quarter milk samples were collected for a cow-side CMT test, milk culture, and MLD testing. Quarter IMI status was defined by 3 methods: culture of a single milk sample, culture of duplicate samples with parallel interpretation, and culture of duplicate samples with serial interpretation. The MLD testing was completed in duplicate within 8 h of sample collection; MLD results (positive/negative) were reported at each possible threshold setting (1-18 for EL; 1-12 for LL) and CMT results (positive/negative) were reported at each possible cut-points (trace, ≥1, ≥2, or 3). We created 2 × 2 tables to compare MLD and CMT results to milk culture, at both the quarter and cow level, when using each of 3 different definitions of IMI as the referent test. Paired MLD test results were compared with evaluate repeatability. The MLD test showed excellent repeatability. The choice of definition of IMI from milk culture had minor effects on estimates of MLD and CMT test characteristics. For EL samples, when interpreting MLD and CMT results at the quarter level, and regardless of the referent test used, both tests had low sensitivity (MLD = 11.7-39.1%; CMT = 0-52.2%) but good to very good specificity (MLD = 82.1-95.2%; CMT = 68.1-100%), depending on the cut-point used. Sensitivity improved slightly if diagnosis was interpreted at the cow level (MLD = 25.6-56.4%; CMT = 0-72.2%), though specificity generally declined (MLD = 61.8-100%; CMT = 25.0-100%) depending on the cut-point used. For LL samples, when interpreted at the quarter level, both tests had variable sensitivity (MLD = 46.6-84.8%; CMT = 9.6-72.7%) and variable specificity (MLD = 59.2-79.8%; CMT = 52.5-97.3%), depending on the cut-point used. Test sensitivity improved if interpreted at the cow level (MLD = 59.6-86.4%; CMT = 19.1-86.4%), though specificity declined (MLD = 32.4-56.8%; CMT = 14.3-92.3%). Producers considering adopting either test for LL or EL screening programs will need to carefully consider the goals and priorities of the program (e.g., whether to prioritize test sensitivity or specificity) when deciding on the level of interpretation (quarter or cow) and when selecting the optimal cut-point for interpreting test results. Additional validation studies and large randomized field studies will be needed to evaluate the effect of adopting either test in selective dry cow therapy or fresh cow screening programs on udder health, antibiotic use, and economics.


Section 119 of the Australian Constitution confers a duty on the Commonwealth to protect the states against invasion. It also directs the Commonwealth to protect the states against domestic violence when an application is made by a state government. This article contends that there are compelling reasons to construe this second limb of s 119 as a federal constraint on the power of the Commonwealth to call out the military domestically. This interpretation of s 119 is consistent with the plain meaning and constitutional context of the provision and it coheres well with the High Court's revival of interpretive federalism.


Various forms of social learning and network effects are at work on crowdfunding platforms, giving rise to informational and payoff externalities. We use novel entrepreneur-backer data to study how these externalities shape funding dynamics, within and across projects. We find that backers decide to back a particular project based on past contributions not only to that project — as documented by prior work — but also to other contemporaneous projects — a novel result. Our difference-in-differences estimates indicate that such 'cross-project funding dynamics' account for 4-5% in the increase of contributions that projects generate on a daily basis. We show that recurrent backers are the main transmission channel of cross-project funding dynamics: by initiating social learning about project existence and quality, recurrent backers encourage future funding by other backers. Our results demonstrate that even though contemporaneous projects compete for funding, they jointly benefit from their common presence on the platform. We finally show that these crowdfunding dynamics stir platform growth, with important consequences for competition among platforms.


Abstract The montmorillonite dissolution in saline solutions that mimic synthetic lung fluids (SLF) was investigated to gain knowledge on the clearance mechanisms of inhaled clay particles. Dissolution rates were measured at pH 4 (macrophages) and 7.5 (interstitial fluids) at 37 °C in flow-through reactors. The effect of organic acids was investigated through the addition of lactate, citrate, and glycine (0.15, 1.5, and 15 mmol/L). Lactate or glycine does not markedly affect the montmorillonite dissolution rates at pH 4, but at pH 7.5 there exists a slight inhibitory effect of lactate on the dissolution, probably due to a reduction in the number of reactive surface sites caused by lactate adsorption. Citrate enhances the dissolution rate by 0.5 order of magnitude at pH 4 and more than 1 order of magnitude at pH 7.5, thus indicating the prevalence of the ligand-promoted over the proton-promoted dissolution mechanism under these experimental conditions. The kinetic data were used to estimate the reduction in size of an inhaled clay particle. At pH 7.5, a particle 500 nm in diameter could be reduced 25% in the presence of citrate, whereas the reduction in saline solution would only be 10% after 10 years. Ligand adsorption was measured in batch experiments at pH 2-11 and EQ3NR was used to model the capacity of the ligands to form soluble species of Al. Citrate, glycine, and lactate adsorb onto montmorillonite under acidic conditions, up to 23, 26, and 60 μmol/g, respectively. However, only citrate can complex the released aqueous Al at pH 4 and 7.5, which contributes to enhance dissolution rate and prevents precipitation of gibbsite at pH 7.5. The enhancement of the dissolution rate in acidic citrate solution very likely comes from the formation of surface complexes between the ligand and the edge surface of montmorillonite. In neutral conditions the effect may be also due to the decrease of the activity of Al3+ by formation of aqueous Al-citrate complexes.


This paper examined the association between young mothers' attitudes towards domestic violence and four or more antenatal care (ANC) and health-center-based delivery service utilization using two cross-sectional waves of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (2014 and 2018) data. We carried out a multilevel logistic regression analysis. Findings show that a strong cluster variation exists in four or more ANC and health-center-based delivery service utilization. Although the utilization of four or more ANC and health-center-based delivery services has increased over the years, it is far behind the targets of SDGs, particularly for young mothers with justified attitudes towards domestic violence. Extension of maternity allowance coverage and motivational programs are important policy recommendations.