For non destructive stress analysis of surface treated steel samples the application of laboratory X rays or high energy synchrotron radiation in reflection mode covers the region from some micrometers up to a depth of about 150 - 200 µm. To access depth regions deeper than 200 µm the incremental layer removal technique in combination with the repeated application of X‑ray stress analysis for the newly generated surfaces can be used. However, this procedure is destructive, laborious and furthermore, it has to be checked whether corrections have to be applied due to stress relaxation. By using neutron radiation penetration depths generally up to several millimetres can be achieved non destructively [1]. However neutron measurements are critical at the surface. When scanning a sample surface, aberration peak shifts caused by so called spurious strains arise due to the fact that the gauge volume defined by the primary and secondary optics is partially outside of the sample. These aberration peak shifts can be of the same order of magnitude as the peak shifts related to residual strains [2-6]. In this exemplary study it will be demonstrated that, by optimising the bending radius of a Si (400) monochromator, the spurious surface strains can be strongly reduced when compared to the values obtained with a traditional Ge (311) mosaic monochromator, even when the gauge volume is mainly out of the surface. The objective of the experiments is to find the optimal monochromator settings for the Si (400) monochromator at the STRESS-SPEC instrument at the research reactor FRM II, Munich, Germany. For the parametric studies a stress free steel sample of the fine grained construction steel, S690QL was used. The optimised conditions for the Si (400) monochromator that resulted from the systematic studies were applied to a shot peened plate of steel SAE 4140. The residual stress distribution is analysed by means of through surface strain scanning. The residual stress gradient obtained is in very good agreement with the well characterised residual stress depth profile obtained within a round robin test in the scope of the BRITE-EURAM-project ENSPED (European Network of Surface and Prestress Engineering and Design) [7]. The results indicated that surface residual stress profiles can be measured with neutrons up to 200 µm underneath the surface without time consuming and laborious surface effect corrections.


During the apartheid era in South Africa many literary and creative book publications were declared undesirable and were banned by the organs of censorship. In the interests of state security communist publications were considered a threat in a state with a predominantly Christian-Calvinist religion and capitalist system. Publications by political figures such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin were banned in the early 1960s on account of their propagandist elements. In particular, strong objection was made against the writings of Stalin contained in his Works. Following the banning of Works this publication was out of bounds to the public for nearly two decades. As a result of internal changes in perception, as well as the management of publication control after 1977, the way was opened for the review of previously banned publications. Increasing pressure and pleas emanated from academic circles for freedom to consult historical sources for study and research purposes first hand. In 1982 there was an appeal case for lifting the ban on Works, which in fact throws light on the contentiousness around this work by Stalin. Since the ban on possession of this publication was lifted and it being fully unbanned in 1991, the successful appeal may be considered a victory for free expression and learning. It is the purpose of this article to describe and historically analyse the background of censorship under apartheid.


In higher plants, cytochrome P450 (P450, CYP) monooxygenases play important roles in the biosynthesis and metabolism of endogenous compounds and/or in the oxidative reactions of xenobiotics, such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. In this study, the novel P450 cDNAs encoding CYP71A12 was isolated from wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Ws using an RT-PCR strategy. Northern blot analysis revealed that cyp71A12 is expressed specifically in roots but not in flowers, leaves, or stems. To determine the function of CYP71A12, the coding sequences of the corresponding cDNAs were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae AH22 cells. Microsomal fractions expressing CYP71A12 metabolized the herbicide pyrazoxyfen. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis indicated that the metabolite of pyrazoxyfen might be N-demethylated at the pyrazole ring and 5-hydroxylated at the dichlorobenzene ring. This is the first report that a pyrazole herbicide is metabolized by a plant P450 species.


ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate efficacy, safety, patient and investigators satisfaction, and cost of pain relief by time unit between methoxyflurane (a volatile anesthetic agent with known analgesic properties, non-opioid, self-administered using a hand-held inhalation device under trained supervision) and emergency analgesic standard of care treatment (SoC), over a period of 30 min from start of administration and time to first pain relief. Methods: InMEDIATE is a phase IIIb, randomized, open label, multicenter, parallel group trial. It will be conducted in 15 emergency hospital departments. A total of 310 patients, with moderate to severe pain secondary to trauma, will be randomized to receive either methoxyflurane or SoC. The primary end point of the study is the change in mean pain intensity as measured by a numeric rating scale from randomization to 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes after treatment administration (using mixed-effect model repeated measure) and time to first pain relief (survival analysis).Discussion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first randomized trial of methoxyflurane vs active analgesic treatment to be carried out in Europe. The aim of the study is to evaluate the results in terms of efficacy and safety of methoxyflurane for the treatment of traumatic pain in Spanish emergency units (ambulances, emergency primary care, and emergency departments settings), in order to assess the incorporation of this drug into the emergency traumatic pain SoC.Trial Registration: EudraCT, 2017‐000338‐70Keywords: Methoxyflurane, Inhaled anesthetic, Sedation, Traumatic pain, Emergency units.


Theoretical and observational studies suggest that between-event variability in the median ground motions of larger (M ≥ 5) earthquakes is controlled primarily by the dynamic properties of the earthquake source, such as Brune-type stress drop. Analogous results remain equivocal for smaller events due to the lack of comprehensive and overlapping ground-motion and source-parameter datasets in this regime. Here, we investigate the relationship between peak ground acceleration (PGA) and dynamic stress drop for a new dataset of 5297 earthquakes that occurred in the San Francisco Bay area from 2002 through 2016. For each event, we measure PGA on horizontal-component channels of stations within 100 km and estimate stress drop from P-wave spectra recorded on vertical-component channels of the same stations. We then develop a nonparametric ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) applicable for the moderate (M 1–4) earthquakes in our study region, using a mixed-effects generalization of the Random Forest algorithm. We use the Random Forest GMPE to model the joint influence of magnitude, distance, and near-site effects on observed PGA. We observe a strong correlation between dynamic stress drop and the residual PGA of each event, with the events with higher-than-expected PGA associated with higher values of stress drop. The strength of this correlation increases as a function of magnitude but remains significant even for smaller magnitude events with corner frequencies that approach the observable bandwidth of the acceleration records. Mainshock events are characterized by systematically higher stress drop and PGA than aftershocks of equivalent magnitude. Coherent local variations in the distribution of dynamic stress drop provide observational constraints to support the future development of nonergodic GMPEs that account for variations in median stress drop at different source locations. Electronic Supplement: Figures showing the relation between Mw and ML, comparison of the ground-motion measurements from this study with the cross-listed records in the Next Generation Attenuation ground-motion database, the validation curve used to select the optimal tree depth for the Random Forest ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) used in this study, the between-event ground-motion residual is plotted versus: (a) stress drop, (b) magnitude-adjusted stress drop, (c) depth, and (d) depth-adjusted stress drop, a table containing the ground-motion and stressdrop measurements associated with this study, and an example Python notebook.


This paper presents first results from a project to reconstitute the demographic behavior of three villages in Württemberg (southern Germany) from the mid-sixteenth to the early twentieth century. Using high-quality registers of births, deaths, and marriages, and unusual ancillary sources, we improve on the family-reconstitution techniques pioneered by Louis Henry and applied to good effect by the Cambridge Group and other scholars. This paper focuses on simple, standard demographic measures, in order to provide a broad overview and support comparisons with other places. An extreme system of demographic regulation operated in these Württemberg communities until around 1870. This regulation created a two-tiered demographic system. A group of 'insiders' were able to marry, and experienced both high marital fertility and high infant and child mortality. A second group, consisting of 'outsiders', were prevented from marrying. Many, especially the males, left the community; those who stayed contributed to growing illegitimacy and associated levels of infant and child mortality that were even higher than for the offspring of 'insiders'.


Cancer and cardiovascular diseases have been classified as non-communicable diseases for decades. Both diseases have characteristics of immune reactions, which are principally identical, but differing in important aspects. The aim of this communication is to highlight new approaches to immune processes involved in both types of diseases.


Nitrification inhibitors (NI) are sometimes recommended for use with ammoniacal fertilizers in corn (Zea mays L.) production to improve fertilizer N use efficiency (FUE). The objectives of this experiment were to evaluate the effects of the NI nitrapyrin [2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl) pyridine] application on yield and FUE of irrigated corn, and to monitor the fate of a single application of ¹⁵N-enriched urea during a multiyear period in both soil and plant. Treatments included a factorial combination of two N rates (90 or 180 kg urea-N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) applied during a 3-yr period, with or without a NI and with or without incorporation, plus a zero-N control. Twenty-seven nonweighing lysimeters were used to quantify leaching load. Treatment effects on yield and FUE differed each year due to interactions of climate and N-management variables. Nonincorporated urea + NI reduced grain yield when leaching load was low and increased yield at the 90 kg ha⁻¹ N rate when leaching load was high. Maximum FUE occurred at the 90 kg ha⁻¹ N rate when leaching load was low. The NI increased FUE only at the 90 kg ha⁻¹ N rate when leaching load was high. Incorporation of urea + NI reduced plant recovery of fertilizer-derived N (FDN) in the year of application, but resulted in increased uptake of residual FDN in subsequent years. Incorporation of NI with moderate N rates coupled with conservative irrigation management should reduce the risk of yield loss and minimize NO₃ movement to groundwater.


Practical relevance: Cats frequently present with diaphyseal fractures, which require treatment in order to achieve a good return to function. These fractures often occur due to significant trauma; for example, as a result of road traffic accidents, high-rise syndrome and dog bite wounds. The first priority is to ensure the patient is systemically well before embarking on any specific surgical treatment of a fracture. Clinical challenges: Surgical management of diaphyseal fractures can be challenging due to the surgical approach for some bones being technically demanding, for example because of the presence of important neurovascular structures, and the small size of feline bones, which limits the choice of implant size and strength. Further, it may be difficult to visualise fracture alignment when using minimally invasive techniques, although the use of intraoperative fluoroscopy can aid with this, and malalignment can be common for some fracture repairs, particularly in cases where anatomical reconstruction is not possible. Aims: This review focuses on diaphyseal long bone fractures and aims to assist decision-making, with an overview of the management and treatment options available. Evidence base: Many textbooks and original articles have been published on aspects of managing fractures in small animals. The authors also provide recommendations based upon their own clinical experience.


Myriapoda is a subphylum of arthropods containing millipedes, centipedes, and others. The group contains over 16,000 species, most of which are terrestrial. Although their name suggests they have myriad (10,000) legs, myriapods range from having up to 750 legs (the millipede Illacme plenipes) to having fewer than ten legs.


The inelastic response of circular conical shells to the blast loading is studied. The impact loading is applied at the initial time moment and it is removed at a certain instant of time. The load intensity depends of the coordinate of the shell. The material of the shell is a perfect plastic one obeying the Johansen yield condition and the associated flow law. It is assumed that the frustum of the cone is furnished with ring stiffeners made of the same material. A theoretical method for the evaluation of the stress strain state of the shell and for determination of maximal residual deflections is developed.


The aim of this study is to study the effects of Boron (B) pollution in Buyuk Menderes river on planted crops and agricultural areas constructed in the irrigation schemes by the State Hydraulic Works (DSI) of the Lower Buyuk Menderes basin, Turkey. The studied irrigation schemes in the basin are Saraykoy, Pamukkale, Nazilli, Aydin, Sultanhisar, Koçarli, and Soke. Mean B concentrations of river water used in the irrigation schemes ranged from 0.10 to 0.43 mgB L−1 for the period of 2008 to 2009. A total of 100,556 ha of the agricultural area and the basin groundwater resources are under the influence of B pollution from the Buyuk Menderes river. The amount of B accumulating in soils and seepage in the groundwater due to the used irrigation water was 18,495,350 and 9153 kgB yr−1, respectively. B accumulating in the irrigated area ranged from 670 to 4521 gB ha−1 yr−1. In total, 19,410,650 kg yr−1 of B have negatively affected the agricultural areas, groundwater resources, and environmental conditions. Nazilli and Sultanhisar irrigation areas are under the threat of wastewater discharges originating from the Kizildere geothermal power plant and Tekke thermal spring. Particularly, fruit crops such as citrus, peach, plum, fig, olive, and wheat, strawberry, sunflower are to be negatively affected by the present B concentrations in the irrigation water. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2011


The paper considers the elastostatic axisymmetric problem for a long thick-walled cylinder containing a ring-shaped internal or edge crack. Using the standard transform technique the problem is formulated in terms of an integral equation which has a simple Cauchy kernel for the internal crack and a generalized Cauchy kernel for the edge crack as the dominant part. As examples the uniform axial load and the steady-state thermal stress problems have been solved and the related stress-intensity factors have been calculated. Among other findings the results show that in the cylinder under uniform axial stress containing an internal crack the stress-intensity factor at the inner tip is always greater than that at the outer tip for equal net ligament thicknesses and in the cylinder with an edge crack which is under a state of thermal stress the stress-intensity factor is a decreasing function of the crack depth, tending to zero as the crack depth approaches the wall thickness.


All cutaneous nevomelanocytic specimens accessioned for histopathologic examination at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, in 1950, 1960, 1970, and 1987 were reviewed. The specimens were categorized as malignant melanoma, acquired or congenital benign nevi, blue nevi, spindle and epithelioid cell nevi, and dysplastic nevi. Other processes such as lentigines were excluded. There was a threefold increase in percentage of patients having nevomelanocytic lesions removed (1.5% in 1950 to 4.6% in 1987) compared with total surgical cases over the 37-year period. A progressive increase in numbers and percentages of dysplastic nevi (among nevomelanocytic surgical cases) was noted over a 37-year interval--2 cases (1% of nevomelanocytic cases) in 1950, 4 cases (2%) in 1960, 23 cases (5%) in 1970, and 189 cases (12%) in 1987. These findings confirm the existence of dysplastic nevi by histopathologic criteria as early as 1950 and illustrate the frequencies of various nevomelanocytic surgical specimens among all surgical specimens at four points in time over a 37-year period at a major referral center for pigmented lesions.


In 2017, migrants were 4.35% of the Chilean population, mainly from Peru and Colombia. From 2015, the amount of migrants from Central America, particularly from Haiti increased notably. This process changed the phenotype of the male population, increasing the proportion of black men, mainly between 20 and 50 years. Afro-descendant men have a higher risk for prostate cancer, and the tumor can appear as early as 40 years of age among them. This increase will have future repercussions on the public health system, since part of these men have low income and poor living conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss early detection strategies focused on this population, including education for both patients and health professionals. This review includes data on the reality of migration in Chile and its impact on the health system. The higher incidence and mortality of prostate cancer in the migrant population is reviewed and risk-adjusted screening strategies are proposed.


BACKGROUND
 Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) continues to be one of the most effective treatment modalities for AL amyloidosis (AL). There is a limited number of studies looking at the effect of different hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) mobilization regimens on HPC collection and AHCT outcomes in AL. We assessed key HPC mobilization, collection and AHCT outcomes in a cohort of AL patients.
 METHODS
 We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 50 AL patients (pts) who received AHCT and were mobilized with G-CSF alone (G) or G and Plerixafor (G+P) from March 2009 to April 2018. Per mobilization protocol, all pts received G four days prior to collection and P as rescue if peripheral blood (PB) CD34+ cell count was ≤20 on day 1. All patients received conditioning with high dose melphalan (140-200 mg/m2). The primary aim of the analysis was to evaluate the association of patient and disease variables (Revised Mayo stage, cardiac involvement, albumin, proteinuria, NT pro-BNP, thrombocytopenia) with HPC mobilization and AHCT outcomes (total CD34+ yield, day 1 CD34+ yield, PB CD34+, neutrophil and platelet engraftment, hospital length of stay, overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS)) using the two mobilization regimens. Variables were assessed relative to outcomes with Spearman correlation, Kruskal-Wallis test or Wilcoxon rank sum test. All variables were assessed relative to PFS and OS with Cox regression.
 RESULTS
 Fifty-four percent of pts were female, and median age was 60 years (range, 35-72). The majority of pts (64%) had single organ involvement (renal in 86%, cardiac in 18%). Median NT-pro BNP was 331 pg/ml (504); troponin was normal in all pts. A median of 1 line of therapy was given prior to HCT (range 0-5); 72% received cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (CyBorD) (82% in G+P vs 66.7% in G cohort, p=0.33) with a median of 4 cycles prior to HCT (range 2-14). Lenalidomide-based therapy was used in 16% (29% in G+P vs 9% in G cohort, p=0.10). Thirty-three pts were mobilized with G and 17 with G+P. Relative to pts mobilized with G, those mobilized with G+P had a higher median bone marrow monotypic plasma cell % (BMPC) at diagnosis (15% in G+P vs 10% in G, p=0.029) and were older at the time of HPC collection. While the majority of pts in both groups had revised Mayo stage I AL at diagnosis, most pts with stage IV required rescue P (23% vs 3%). As shown in Table 1, there was no significant difference between the two mobilization groups with regard to the analyzed mobilization outcomes, AHCT outcomes or survival. Target collection goal of 5x10^6/kg CD34+ cells was reached in all patients within a median of 1 day (range, 1-5). Median total CD34+ yield was 6.04 (5.15-8.30)x10^6/kg with G and 6.84 (5.76-8.0) x10^6/kg with G+P. Pts who required P had a lower median collected total nucleated cell (TNC) dose (13.76 vs 9.36 x10^8/kg, p=0.045) and took 2 days longer to achieve platelet engraftment (13 vs 11, p=0.019). Pts with cardiac involvement had a lower median PB CD34+ on day 1 of collection (81 vs 48, p=0.048) but did not have a lower day 1 or total CD34+ yield. Adverse events at mobilization included weight gain, increased diuretic use, hypotension, or hospitalization and did not differ between groups. The mortality rate was 12% (6 deaths). No deaths occurred during mobilization. A higher 24-hour urine protein at diagnosis was associated with a higher mortality risk post HCT (HR 1.23, p=0.014). A higher serum albumin at diagnosis was associated with faster neutrophil engraftment (r=-0.315, p=0.026) and a signal towards a lower mortality risk however this did not reach statistical significance (HR 0.29, p=0.06). PFS and OS were similar in both groups.
 CONCLUSION
 In our relatively small cohort, salvage P effectively mobilized patients with low initial PB CD34 count. We found that AL patients who required rescue P (day 1 PB CD34+ cell count ≤20) had a lower TNC yield and took longer to achieve platelet engraftment speaking to suboptimal marrow reserve and possible slower engraftment kinetics. Proteinuria and potentially a low serum albumin at diagnosis may increase mortality risk post AHCT. Our study is limited by its small sample size and retrospective design. Larger cohort analyses are needed to evaluate factors associated with HPC mobilization and AHCT outcomes in AL.

 Majhail: Mallinckrodt: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Nkarta Therapeutics: Honoraria; Anthem, Inc.: Consultancy. Hamilton:Syndax Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Honoraria. Hill:Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AstraZenica: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Beigene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Jagadeesh:Regeneron: Research Funding; Debiopharm Group: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Verastem: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; MEI Pharma: Research Funding. Anwer:Incyte, Seattle Genetics, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie Pharma, Astellas Pharma, Celegene, Millennium Pharmaceuticals.: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Chaulagain:Sanofi Genzyme: Honoraria. Khouri:Sanofi Genzyme: Other: Advisory Board.


A 33-year-old pregnant woman with episodes of nocturnal tachycardia and anxiety diagnosed with extra-renal pheochromocytoma in her 28th month of gestation was admitted in her 38th week for an alpha-adrenergic block prior to elective cesarean section and tumor exeresis. The cesarean section was performed with the patient given an epidural lumbar block, and immediately after delivery of the fetus total intravenous anesthesia (with propofol, remifentanil, and rocuronium) was administered in addition to the continuous epidural analgesia used during tumor resection and postoperatively. No complications developed during surgery or recovery and the clinical courses were satisfactory for both mother and child. The use of propofol and remifentanil in combination with epidural anesthesia is not common in our clinical context. We point out that the multimodal technique affords good hemodynamic stability, guarantees satisfactory analgesia, and reduces the need for vasoactive drugs.


The German decision to finally phase-out nuclear electricity has led to a debate on its effects on electricity prices, emission prices in the European emission trading system, as well as on international electricity trade. We investigate these effects with a Electricity market model for Europe with investments in power plants under oligopolistic conditions in Germany. We find modest price increases on the German wholesale market by the mid-term 2020 and an effect of the accelerated nuclear phase- out of between four and twelve percent. Moreover, the increase in the emission allowance prices due to the change in nuclear policy is between 1:8 and 3 Euro per ton of CO2 by the same period. The large variations in our results are induced by four combinations of the European emission trading policy and the success of the German energy efficiency policy. Most pronounced price effects are found in scenarios with a successful energy savings policy, which acts as a substitute for new power plants. Moreover, the tighter the emission trading system is, the larger are the effects of the accelerated phase-out on electricity and emission prices. Under a tight system, however, investments in conventional generation are likely to be dominated by natural gas fired plants since the decrease of utilization rates induced by renewable energies are more important for coal fired power plants with their relative high investment costs.


Chile was the first country in the world to broadly implement neoliberal educational reforms. The initial reforms of the 1980s, implemented during the military dictatorship, have left the country with a legacy difficult to overcome. Responses to ongoing reform efforts have varied, but resistance from teachers, students, and local communities have marked debates in education in recent years. Despite the pressure to preserve the public sector, recent reforms may provide the final mechanisms by which to complete the phasing out of public education in Chile, as those fearing the imminent demise of public education must scramble for strategies of effective advocacy.


This article explores the interpretive and divinatory practices and strategies used in the South African street-based lottery game fafi. The game, run by the Chinese community in South Africa and played predominantly by low-income black South Africans, utilizes a set of images and divinatory practices, particularly dream interpretation. The article analyzes the practices and history of fafi, alongside the financial and interpretive stakes of the gambling game, to understand contemporary orientations towards the future and uncertainty. Dreaming—learning how to dream and how to interpret dream images—as a gambling skill is understood in relation to traditional healing and diagnostic practices in South Africa. In the context of shifting urban landscapes, the piece argues that "the future" has become an entity to get ahead of rather than a projected goal or destination one hopes for.


We report here on the recent use of the Orchidée software by three different young composers in various compositional and instrumental contexts. Orchidée is a computer-aided orchestration environment designed to aid musicians exploring the space of instrument timbre mixtures and finding timbre combinations that fit a set of user-specified perceptual requirements. The first beta version of the software was released by the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique's (IRCAM's) Music Representations Group in 2009, after four years of intensive research, and it can already handle a small range of real-life situations, typically timbre imitation or orchestral synthesis, under instrumental constraints. Detailed examples, including score and audio excerpts, are provided.


The importance of social and environmental tags in companies comes from increasing demand, by the society itself, of information concerning impacts that the business create over the employees, community and environment. Therefore, companies needed to prove that its cost-benefit is positive, because they add value to economy and to society, because they respect the employees human rights and, in addition, because they develop its operational process without damaging environment. This research has the main focus to verify, through the application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), the relation between investment capacity and social and environmental benefits, in a way that the higher are the benefits to a lower investment capacity, higher will be the efficiency and, as a result, the social and environmental performance. The study results of nineteen sugar cane mills in Brazil show that Agrovale (top benchmark) is the best one and Sao Jose Estiva is the smaller in terms of social and environmental performance. In addition, it was observed a relation between social and environmental practice and the size (measured by income), where bigger companies had best performances.


There is an unmet clinical need for elderly or unfit diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation. Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent with antitumor activity in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with an acceptable toxicity profile and manageable side effects. A 79-year-old Caucasian male with non-germinal center B-cell-like DLBCL achieved complete remission (CR) after first-line treatment with seven out of eight scheduled cycles of a polychemotherapy containing anthracycline, which had to be discontinued early due to the onset of atrial fibrillation. After 5 months, the patient had an early epicardial relapse. He underwent lenalidomide considering age, cardiological comorbidities, and chronic renal failure. After the third cycle, he achieved CR, confirmed at restaging after the sixth cycle of treatment. Lenalidomide was safe and well tolerated in a patient with atrial fibrillation developed after an anthracycline-based regimen and a relapse of the DLBCL. Moreover, this regimen was effective in a case with a rare extranodal involvement of the epicardium.


ABSTRACT Purpose To determine the six-year incidence, risk factors, and causes of visual impairment in a Chinese population. Methods This was a population-based study of eye disease in Chinese adults in a rural district of Handan in China. 6,830 individuals were invited to participate in 2006 and 5,394 returned for follow-up in 2012. All participants underwent standardized eye examinations. Visual impairment was defined according to WHO criteria. The incidence of visual impairment was age- and gender-standardized to the 2010 China Census. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to determine risk factors for visual impairment. Results The leading causes of visual impairment were cataract and refractive error. Based on presenting visual acuity (PVA), the six-year incidence rates of low vision and blindness were 5.2% and 0.5%, respectively. Incidence of low vision was associated with older age (p < .001), less education (p < .001), diabetes (p < .05), and lower BMI (p < .001). The incidence of blindness was associated with diabetes (p < .05). Based on best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the six-year incidence rates of low vision and blindness were 0.8% and 0.1%, respectively. Incidence of low vision was associated with older age (p < .001) and lower BMI (p < .05). None of these factors were associated with the incidence of blindness. Conclusion In Handan, the incidence of visual impairment was high and associated with older age, less education, diabetes, and lower BMI. The majority of cases were due to unoperated cataract and uncorrected refractive error, reflecting the need for improved eye care in this region.


A theoretical analysis is given of the correlation to be expected between the fluctuations in the outputs of two photoelectric detectors when these detectors are illuminated with partially coherent light. It is shown how this correlation depends upon the parameters of the equipment and upon the geometry of the experiment. The correlation may be detected either by linear multiplication of the fluctuations in the two outputs or by a coincidence counter which counts the simultaneous arrival of photons at the detectors. The theory is given for both these techniques and it is shown that they are closely equivalent. A laboratory test is described in which two photomultipliers were illuminated with partially coherent light and the correlation between the fluctuations in their outputs measured as a function of the degree of coherence. The results of this experiment are compared with the theory and it is shown that they agree within the limits of accuracy of the test; it is concluded that if there is any systematic error in the theory it is unlikely to exceed a few parts per cent.


The spontaneous emission spectrum from two quantum dots (QDs) that are strongly coupled with a single-mode nanocavity is investigated using rigorous numerical calculations and simple analytical solutions of quantum dynamics. The emission spectra both from the side and along the axis of the cavity are considered. Modification of two parameters, the coupling strength and the detuning between the transition frequencies of the two quantum dots, allows us to efficiently control the shape of the spontaneous emission spectrum. Different profiles and their physical origins can be well understood in the dressed-state picture for the light—QD interaction in the on-resonance and off-resonance situations. In the on-resonance situation, the emission spectra exhibit symmetric features, and they are not altered by the asymmetry in the coupling parameters. The axis spectra show two emission peaks while the side spectra have three emission peaks. In the off-resonance situation, the emission spectra always show an asymmetrical three-peak feature. When the two QDs have different decay parameters, singular features (a peak or a dip) can take place at the frequency of the cavity mode, and this is attributed to the unbalanced process of the emission and absorption of a single photon.


How is it possible to use social networks to gain better understandings about the emotional life of cities? Is it possible to use data generated by city dwellers on social networks to understand whether certain spaces and places in the city are the object of systematic emotional expressions, in certain times of the day, week, month or year, and across different contexts? City dwellers have radically transformed the ways in which they relate, work, entertain themselves, consume, produce and express themselves and their emotions. This is due to multiple reasons, across the transformation of the dimensions of time, of the new forms of labor and of production, of the new structures and organizational models in society, and with the emergence of novel modalities and tools for communication, interaction, information, knowledge. In our research we have gathered large amounts of content generated on social networks by city dwellers of different kinds (citizens, tourists, from different communities and speaking one of the observed 29 languages) in the cities of Rome, Milan, Turin, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Montreal, Toronto, New York, New Haven, Hong Kong, Cairo and Istanbul. We analyzed this data through Natural Language Processing to highlight, wherever possible, the emotions expressed in each public message, and its relation to a geographical location within the city. Results indicate how, in certain cases, it is possible to describe what we have called "Emotional Landmarks": dynamic landmark locations which temporarily or recurrently host systematic emotional expressions, in large quantities and in recurrent, sometimes predictable ways.


Computational systems biology approaches provide insights to understand complex molecular phenomena in living systems. Such understanding demands the need to systematically interrogate and review existing literature to refine and distil key molecular pathways. This paper explores a methodological process to identify key molecular pathways from systematic bioinformatics literature review. This process is used to identify molecular pathways for a ubiquitous molecular process in all plant biological systems: C1 metabolism and formaldehyde detoxification, specific to maize. The C1 metabolism is essential for all organisms to provide one-carbon units for methylation and other types of modifications, as well as for nucleic acid, amino acid, and other biomolecule syntheses. Formaldehyde is a toxic one-carbon molecule which is produced endogenously and found in the environment, and whose detoxification is an important part of C1 metabolism. This systematic review involves a five-part process: 1) framing of the research question; 2) literature collection based on a parallel search strategy; 3) relevant study selection based on search refinement; 4) molecular pathway identification; and 5) integration of key molecular pathway mechanisms to yield a well-defined set molecular systems associated with a particular biochemical function. Findings from this systematic review produced three main molecular systems: a) methionine biosynthesis; b) the methylation cycle; and c) formaldehyde detoxification. Specific insights from the resulting molecular pathways indicate that normal C1 metabolism involves the transfer of a carbon group from serine through a folate-mediated pathway to methionine, and eventually the methylation of a biomolecule. In photosynthetic tissues, C1 metabolism often proceeds in reverse towards serine biosynthesis and formate oxidation. C1 metabolism, in maize, appears to be present in the developing embryo and endosperm indicating that these cells are vulnerable to perturbations in formaldehyde detoxification. These insights demonstrate the value of a systematic bioinformatics literature review process from a broad spectrum of domain literature to specific and relevant molecular pathways.


Increased circulating concentrations of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) are seen in several pathological conditions associated with vascular disease. TNF-alpha induces the synthesis of endothelin-1 (ET-1), a potent vasoconstictor, by the endothelium. However, there is profound vasodilatation in sepsis, where circulating levels of both ET-1 and TNF-alpha are elevated. The details of the interaction between ET-1 and TNF-alpha and the predominant resulting haemodynamic effect in healthy humans are unclear. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of intra-arterial TNF-alpha on ET-1 spillover, vascular tone and endothelial function in the healthy human forearm. Brachial arterial and deep venous blood samples, forearm plasma flow measurements and blood flow responses to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were obtained in six healthy subjects before and during a 6 h infusion of TNF-alpha into the brachial artery. Forearm blood flow was significantly greater than baseline during exposure to TNF-alpha [median (lower quartile, upper quartile): baseline, 2.6 (2.1, 2.8) ml.min(-1).100 ml(-1); TNF-alpha, 4.6 (4.5, 5.1) ml.min(-1).100 ml(-1); P <0.05]. The rate of release of ET-1 was significantly greater than baseline after 30 and 260 min of TNF-alpha infusion [median (lower quartile, upper quartile): baseline, 0.8 (0.6, 1.1) pg.min(-1).100 ml(-1); 30 min, 2.4 (1.9, 3.2) pg.min(-1).100 ml(-1); 260 min, 4.1 (3.1, 4.2) pg.min(-1).100 ml(-1); P <0.05]. The vasodilatory response to acetylcholine was diminished during TNF-alpha infusion, whereas the response to sodium nitroprusside remained unchanged. We thus demonstrate for the first time that local TNF-alpha increases ET-1 spillover from the human forearm and impairs endothelium-dependent vasodilatation. In spite of this action, TNF-alpha has a vasodilatory effect, resulting in an increase in forearm blood flow.


Abstract. Quantifying ground-ice volume on a regional scale is necessary to assess the
vulnerability of permafrost landscapes to thaw-induced disturbance like terrain subsidence and to
quantify potential carbon release. Ice wedges (IWs) are a ubiquitous
ground-ice landform in the Arctic. Their high spatial variability makes
generalizing their potential role in landscape change problematic. IWs form
polygonal networks that are visible on satellite imagery from surface
troughs. This study provides a first approximation of IW ice volume for the
Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, a continuous permafrost area
characterized by polar desert conditions and extensive ground ice. We perform
basic GIS analyses on high-resolution satellite imagery to delineate IW
troughs and estimate the associated IW ice volume using a 3-D subsurface
model. We demonstrate the potential of two semi-automated IW trough
delineation methods, one newly developed and one marginally used in previous
studies, to increase the time efficiency of this process compared to manual
delineation. Our methods yield acceptable IW ice volume estimates, validating
the value of GIS to estimate IW volume on much larger scales. We estimate
that IWs are potentially present on 50 % of the Fosheim Peninsula (∼3000 km2), where 3.81 % of the top 5.9 m of permafrost could be
IW ice.


Extracting content from Web pages can be useful for a number of reasons. Our motivation is to help a user in the search for documents in subdomains of the Web such as company sites and intranets. Unlike online product catalogues, the data sources we are interested in are of heterogenous nature. A model that reflects the underlying semantic structure of the document collection can be very helpful. However, it is difficult to get hold of a domain model that can easily be plugged into such a system. We have been working on this problem for some time now and this paper will report our ongoing work in the field of markup-based knowledge extraction. Markup is used to identify conceptual information. This enables us to build a simple domain model automatically. Such a model can be used to enhance standard search facilities by engaging a user in a system initiated dialogue. Another aspect of ongoing research is the improvement of the domain model using ideas adopted from collaborative filtering.


The authors propose a novel structure of k-level (k is an arbitrary integer) photonic digital sensor based on directional couplers with specific structural parameters. Its function is similar to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in electronic system, and capable of distinguishing 2 k+1 -1 discrete and uniformly-distributed refractive indices of the fluidic samples. In this paper, the principle of designing the photonic digital sensor is described, and the beam propagation method (BPM) simulation results are presented for demonstrating the validity of our design.


This is a summary of the presentation in the panel session "Power Industry Workforce of the Future" for the 2007 IEEE PES General Meeting in Tampa, Florida.


Much attention has been paid to NiTi intermetallic coating for enhancing cavitation erosion resistance property due to its shape memory effect. In this paper two processes were used to deposit NiTi intermetallic coatings. Process 1 was the deposition of NiTi intermetallic coating using warm spray process with NiTi intermetallic powder as feedstock, and solution treatment was subsequently performed. Process 2 was a mixture process of warm spray and laser treatment. Ni-Ti coating was first deposited via warm spray process with Ni-cladding Ti as feedstock, and laser-treatment was performed to realize the alloying of Ni-Ti. The microstructure and phase compositions for NiTi intermetallic coatings were characterized by means of SEM and XRD. The fundamental properties for NiTi intermetallic coatings were also analyzed.


Objective(s):Clinical research characterizing the mechanisms responsible for sex-based outcome differences postinjury remain conflicting. We sought to characterize an X chromosome-linked IRAK-1 (IL-1 receptor-associated kinase) polymorphism as an alternative mechanism responsible for sex differences postinjury. IRAK-1 is key intermediate in the toll-like receptor (TLR) pathway thought to drive inflammation postinjury. Methods:A prospective cohort study was performed over a 24-month period. Bluntly injured patients requiring intensive care unit admission were enrolled, whereas patients with isolated brain and spinal cord injuries were excluded. Outcomes of interest included multiple organ failure (MOF, Marshall MOD score > 5) and mortality. Logistic regression was utilized to determine the independent risk of poor outcome associated with the IRAK-1 variant after controlling for important differences. Results:In an enrolled cohort of 321 patients, the IRAK-1 variant was common (12.5%). Patients with and without the variant were similar in age, injury severity, and 24hr blood transfusion. After controlling for important confounders, the IRAK1 variant was independently associated with more than eightfold (OR = 8.4, P = 0.005, 95% CI: 1.9–37.1) and 11-fold (OR = 11.8, P = 0.037, 95% CI: 1.1–121) greater risk of MOF and mortality, respectively. These differences were most prominent in men, whereas women heterozygous for the variant demonstrated worse outcome in a dose-dependent fashion. Conclusions:The IRAK1 polymorphism is a strong independent predictor of MOF and mortality postinjury and represents a common variant with prognostic potential. These data demonstrate the importance of TLR signaling postinjury and supports that a genetic mechanism may drive sex outcome differences postinjury.


Ammonia is expected to be a hydrogen carrier that has potential as a carbon-free fuel. Ammonia is known as a nonignitable fuel, and it is not easy to hold ammonia flames under atmospheric conditions. A demonstration test with the aim of showing the potential of ammonia-fired power plants was conducted using a micro gas turbine. A 50-kW-class turbine system firing kerosene was selected as a base model. More than 40 kW of power generation was achieved by firing ammonia gas or a mixture of ammonia and methane by modifying the combustor, the fuel control device, and the gas turbine startup sequence. The prototype bifuel combustor is a swirl combustor employing a non-premixed flame and a decreased air flow rate near a gas fuel injector for flame holding. Ammonia combustion in the prototype bifuel combustor was enhanced by supplying hot combustion air and by modifying the air inlets. However, the exhaust gases from the ammonia flames had high NOx concentrations. NOx removal equipment using selective catalytic reduction can reduce NOx emission levels to below 10 ppm from more than 1000 ppm (converted value of NOx to 15% O2) as already reported. However, downsizing of NOx removal equipment should be achieved for practical use. Therefore, a low NOx combustor was developed. As the first step of the development of the combustor, flame observation in the gas turbine combustor was tried. Although the observation area was limited, an inhomogeneous swirling orange flame of ammonia gas was observed. Then, a combustor test rig was prepared for a detailed observation of ammonia flame under various combustion conditions. The combustor test rig used a regenerative heat exchanger for heating combustion air, and it used an orifice for pressure drop instead of a turbine. Combustion air and cooling air were supplied from two air compressors. At startup of the combustor test rig, a spark plug was used to ignite non-premixed methane and air. After heating the regenerative heat exchanger, ammonia gas was supplied to the combustor instead of methane gas. The exhaust gases from the combustor were analyzed using FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) under various conditions, such as methane firing, methane–ammonia firing, and ammonia firing. Although there are several concepts for NOx reduction, a rich–lean combustion method was applied first for ammonia firing. The rich–lean combustor modified from the prototype bifuel combustor also could burn ammonia well in cases of both methane–ammonia firing and ammonia firing. The rich–lean combustor succeeded in reducing NOx emission from methane–ammonia combustion to half the value measured in the case of the prototype bifuel combustor.


Buoyancy regulation in light-limited continuous cultures of Aphanizomenon 30s-aquae was studied. Gas vesicle collapse did not occur during growth under a light-dark cycle. Only cultures with growth rates less than 20% of the maximal growth rate were positively buoyant. The loss of buoyancy at higher growth rates was due to a lower gas vesicle content in the cells. Carbohydrate accumulation was the main factor which caused buoyancy loss if the cells were shifted from low to high photon flux densities. In these experiments turgor-induced gas vesicle collapse occurred only in cultures adapted to long light periods, and several hours after the cells had lost buoyancy due to ballast increase. The results are discussed in relation to adaptation patterns in photosynthesis and carbon metabolism caused by intermittent light.


Informal health care providers (IPs) comprise a significant component of health systems in developing nations. Yet little is known about the most basic characteristics of performance, cost, quality, utilization, and size of this sector. To address this gap we conducted a comprehensive literature review on the informal health care sector in developing countries. We searched for studies published since 2000 through electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, and relevant grey literature from The New York Academy of Medicine, The World Bank, The Center for Global Development, USAID, SHOPS (formerly PSP-One), The World Health Organization, DFID, Human Resources for Health Global Resource Center. In total, 334 articles were retrieved, and 122 met inclusion criteria and chosen for data abstraction. Results indicate that IPs make up a significant portion of the healthcare sector globally, with almost half of studies (48%) from Sub-Saharan Africa. Utilization estimates from 24 studies in the literature of IP for healthcare services ranged from 9% to 90% of all healthcare interactions, depending on the country, the disease in question, and methods of measurement. IPs operate in a variety of health areas, although baseline information on quality is notably incomplete and poor quality of care is generally assumed. There was a wide variation in how quality of care is measured. The review found that IPs reported inadequate drug provision, poor adherence to clinical national guidelines, and that there were gaps in knowledge and provider practice; however, studies also found that the formal sector also reported poor provider practices. Reasons for using IPs included convenience, affordability, and social and cultural effects. Recommendations from the literature amount to a call for more engagement with the IP sector. IPs are a large component of nearly all developing country health systems. Research and policies of engagement are needed.


The COVID-19 pandemic is putting new and unforeseen pressures and has resulted in substantial disruption in the lives of the people across the globe. Although there is a budding body of literature on the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and psychological well-being, little research has been published among Filipino Graduate students in the context of a pandemic. This descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional research examined the relationship of resilience on COVID-19 perceived stress, anxiety, and fear. Two-hundred and three (n=203) Graduate students participated in the online survey conducted in the last week of August 2020. Four self-reported questionnaires were used to gather the data. Descriptive statistics and correlational analysis were performed. Results indicated that the composite scores of the COVID-19 stress, anxiety, and fear were 2.81 (SD=.605), 3.94 (SD=.686), and 3.03 (SD=1.004) respectively. The composite score on the resilience scale was 3.33 (SD=.496). COVID-19 stress (r=-0.234) and fear (r=-0.384) had significant inverse correlation with resilience (p<0.05). Resilience has a protective influence on COVID-19 fear and is pivotal to cope with COVID-19 stress. Educational institutions may need to cultivate and harness the resilient trait of Graduate students in the midst of pandemic and other stressful events to help combat negative mental states and undesirable psychological consequences.


An ultrasensitive sandwich-type electrochemiluminescent (ECL) immunosensor suitable for identifying carcinoembryonic antigens (CEAs) was developed, using a metal–organic framework nanomaterial (AuNP@NPCGO) as an ideal loading platform and Ru(phen)32+-doped silica nanoparticles (RuSiNPs) as ECL signaling units. The AuNP@NPCGO nanocomposites were synthesized via in situ deposition of AuNPs on NPCGO as this configuration exhibits high conductivity, strong fixed ability, and excellent stability. The use of RuSiNPs as signaling units provided numerous luminophores that enhanced the ECL signals. Besides the aminated RuSiNPs, which had a large specific surface area and good biocompatibility, functioned as a superior matrix for immobilizing numerous secondary antibodies (Ab2). The proposed ECL immunosensor demonstrated excellent performance for CEA detection at concentrations of 0.01 ng mL−1 to 80 ng mL−1 with a detection limit of 0.003 ng mL−1 at a signal-to-noise ratio of three.


Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD), as a tough task in Natural Language Processing (NLP), aims to identify the correct sense of an ambiguous word in a given context. There are two mainstreams in WSD. Supervised methods mainly utilize labeled context to train a classifier which generates the right probability distribution of word senses. Meanwhile knowledge-based (unsupervised) methods which focus on glosses (word sense definitions) always calculate the similarity of context-gloss pair as score to find out the right word sense. In this paper, we propose a generative adversarial framework WSD-GAN which combines two mainstream methods in WSD. The generative model, based on supervised methods, tries to generate a probability distribution over the word senses. Meanwhile the discriminative model, based on knowledge-based methods, focuses on predicting the relevancy of the context-gloss pairs and identifies the correct pairs over the others. Furthermore, in order to optimize both two models, we leverage policy gradient to enhance the performances of the two models mutually. Our experimental results show that WSD-GAN achieves competitive results on several English all-words WSD datasets.


Orientation: A literature search for studies on the well-being of support staff of higher education institutions (HEIs) produced very little results. Appreciation was then used to identify elements that might enhance the well-being of a selected HEI's support staff. Research purpose: The aim was to explore the strengths of a selected HEI that might serve as driving forces for enhancing its support staff's well-being. Motivation for the study: The lack of research on the well-being of support staff motivated the study. A need was identified to explore driving forces that might enhance their well-being. Research design, approach and method: A literature review guided by theoretical perspectives and theories on staff well-being was conducted. Subsequently, a qualitative action research design involving an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) workshop with support staff of an institution was followed. Main findings: The following strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of the institution's support services staff were identified: hard-working and dedicated support staff, positive relations among colleagues, a willingness to adapt to change,good remuneration and benefits, job security and a supportive work environment. Appreciative Inquiry was found to be well suited for identifying such strengths, as opposed to methods that focus on identifying problems or weaknesses of an organisation. As a result of this study, the relevant institution might react and build on these identified strengths towards promoting the well-being of its support staff. Practical/managerial implications: Institutions should make an effort to enhance staff well being. The results of the study could also be used to encourage HEIs to use AI to establish optimal staff well-being. Contribution/value add: The study confirmed the power of appreciation to identify the strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of support staff of an HEI.


Two distinct Calicivirus infections in lagomorphs have been described: rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) and European brown hare syndrome (EBHS). From their first report, in the 1980s, and until now several European countries have been reported outbreaks of both diseases. Due to high economic and ecologic impact on rabbit breeding and wildlife, RHD and EBHS have been included on the list of notified diseases to OIE by Member Countries. RHD is a highly contagious and acute fatal disease of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), while EBHS is a disease with similar pattern but described only in hares (Lepus europaeus). From 1980s, RHD occurred in almost all Europe, but EBHS only in Sweden, Italy, Belgium, Britain, Croatia, Finland, Austria, Spain, Poland, Switzerland and Slovakia. In this paper were analysed the risk factors of emergence for RHD and EBHS in Europe. The risk factors associated belong to three main determinants: (1) the virus; (2) the host, and (3) the environment. The main virus risk factor means to be the high resistance of RHD and EBHS viruses in the environment (at least 3 months). The highest host risk factor associated with the emergence or the re-emergence of both diseases is the size of susceptible rabbit/hare population (naive). Rabbit's environment risk factors for RHD/EBHS emergence or re-emergence mean to be the amount of infectious sources on the area: number of infected host animals, number of passive carriers: insects, rodents, birds and other animals (the viruses can spread by direct and indirect contact). Based on data before, we estimate the emergence/re-emergence of RHD and EBHS in European countries may occur if the receptive rabbit/hare population will grow into an area with poor surveillance/monitoring program of lagomorphs' Caliciviruses and a high density of passive carriers.


Organisation need be more effective in retaining the tacit knowledge (know-how and know-what) and made it accessible for another staff to be more productive and enable management to make better decisions. Relying on explicit knowledge and old-style training courses is simply no longer effective to transfer or retain knowledge; therefore, understanding the role of tacit knowledge retentions as part of knowledge management is becoming increasingly more important to fulfil the organisation strategic goals. To attain the aim, theoretical and empirical study using (275) samples from different international oil and gas companies have quantitatively assessed three main factors; the strategic impact of tacit knowledge loss, the impact of knowledge and organisational behaviour at the individual level on knowledge retention within the organization. Based on the study results, both knowledge and organisational behaviour shows direct impact in knowledge retention enhancement. What knowledge and whose knowledge should be emphasised to reduce the impact of crew change. Knowledge management implementation to be the most important factor as Learning and sharing knowledge is affected by the cognitive processes and the way the organisation practice and implement the knowledge share such as mini-workshops, short assignment and community of practice (CoP). The last factor is positive individual attitude, which reflected in more effectiveness knowledge share and transfer. These factors improve tacit knowledge retention and fulfil the strategic goals such as competitiveness advantage and improve the performance, productivity and employee's effectiveness.
Keywords: Oil and Gas, Knowledge Retention, Tacit knowledge, knowledge behaviour, organisational behaviour.


Fused quartz granule (d50=0.019 mm) was used as raw material, nano-Y2O3 (size<0.08 μm) was used as additive with dosages of 1% (in mass, similarly hereinafter), 2% and 3%. Fused quartz ceramic materials were fabricated in reduction atmosphere at 1300 °C, 1350 °C and 1400 °C for 1 h. Properties of samples were researched by measurements of apparent porosity, bending strength and thermal expansion rate, and analyzed by XRD and SEM. The results showed that additive nano-Y2O3 had good inhibiting effect on crystallization of fused quartz sintered at various temperatures, sample added 2% nano-Y2O3 had least thermal expansion rate, diffraction peak intensity and apparent porosity, and it had higher bending strength and more compact microstructure, especially sample sintered at 1350 °C. It can be deduced that 2% nano-Y2O3 plays the excellent role as the crystallization inhibitor and sintering assistant to fused quartz materials sintered at various temperatures.


Background:
 Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) is an important cause of stroke in young adults. The natural history and epidemiological aspects of traumatic VAD are not fully understood. We determined the prevalence and outcome of dissection of the vertebral artery in a trauma setting.

 Methods:
 All patients who were admitted with traumatic brain injury or head and neck injury were identified by ICD-9-CM codes from the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB), using data files from 2009 to 2010. NTDB represents one of the largest trauma databases and contains data from over 900 trauma centers across the United States. Presence of VAD was identified in these patients by using ICD-9-CM codes. Admission Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), in-hospital complications and treatment outcomes were compared between patients with VAD to patients without vascular dissection.

 Results:
 A total of 84 VAD patients were identified which comprised 0.1% of all patients admitted with head and neck injury. The mean age for patients with VAD was significantly higher than patients without dissection [46 (95% CI: 41-50) versus 41.3 (95% CI: 41.2-41.4); p= 0.003]. The admission GCS score was significantly lower in patients with VAD with 31% of these patients presenting with GCS<9 (p=<.0001). Patients with VAD had higher rate of in-hospital stroke than the patients without dissection (5% versus 0.2%; p=<.0001). Numbers of ICU days, ventilator days, and hospital length of stays were all significantly higher in patients with VAD. These differences remained significant after adjusting for the demographics, admission GCS and ISS (p=<.0001). Only 8% of the patients with VAD received endovascular treatment and there was no in-hospital stroke in these patients. Discharge destination and in-hospital mortality was not different in patients with VAD compared with other patients with head and neck injury.

 Conclusion:
 Although infrequent, vertebral artery dissection in head and neck trauma is associated with higher rates of in-hospital stroke and greater length of ICU and hospital stay. Considering the risks associated with anticoagulation in trauma setting, endovascular treatment may be an alternate option to reduce in-hospital complications in these patients.


CONTEXT
Given that maternal morbidity and mortality from unsafe abortion persist, especially in Africa, there is a pressing need to understand the abortion decision-making process. However, little is known about men's influence on and involvement in women's abortion decision making and care seeking.

METHODS
A qualitative study was conducted at the largest public provider of abortion-related care in Zambia. Thematic framework analysis was used to categorize and synthesize data from in-depth interviews conducted in 2013 with 71 women who received a safe abortion and 41 who received care following an incomplete (unsafe) abortion.

RESULTS
Men influenced whether women sought a safe or unsafe abortion; their actions, lack of action and anticipated actions-negative and positive-reflected broader gender inequities. Abandonment by men, and the desire to avoid disclosing pregnancy to men because of fear of their reactions or interference, were important influences on some women's decision to seek abortion, on the secrecy and urgency with which abortion was pursued and on the level of risk assumed. However, other women discussed men's positive influences on their abortion care seeking. In this setting of low awareness of the legality and availability of abortion, some men used their greater social and economic resources to facilitate safe abortion by providing information and paying for care.

CONCLUSIONS
Increasing knowledge about the legality and availability of safe abortion is vital not only among sexually active women, but also among those they confide in, including men.


Major animal diseases pose a great threat to animal husbandry and human beings. With the deepening of
globalization and the abundance of data resources, the prediction and analysis of animal diseases by using big data are
becoming more and more important. The focus of machine learning is to make computers learn how to learn from data
and use the learned experience to analyze and predict. Firstly, this paper introduces the animal epidemic situation and
machine learning. Then it briefly introduces the application of machine learning in animal disease analysis and prediction.
Machine learning is mainly divided into supervised learning and unsupervised learning. Supervised learning includes
support vector machines, naive bayes, decision trees, random forests, logistic regression, artificial neural networks, deep
learning, and AdaBoost. Unsupervised learning has maximum expectation algorithm, principal component analysis
hierarchical clustering algorithm and maxent. Through the discussion of this paper, people have a clearer concept of
machine learning and understand its application prospect in animal diseases.


The Financial Hardship Project at Melbourne Law School is the first in-depth study of the practical operation of Australia's financial hardship laws, which are designed to protect consumers suffering from financial hardship, facilitate the performance of monetary obligations, and thus forestall default and bankruptcy. The project has published its first research report. The report outlines all of the legal frameworks that have been implemented to provide consumers with financial hardship protections in the last two decades. In the consumer credit and finance sectors, there is a national framework of financial hardship protections comprising the provisions of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) and the National Credit Code; related case law; and self-regulatory initiatives by particular industries. In the essential services sector, financial hardship protections remain state-based, although the energy industry has also seen a move towards a national approach to consumer protection. In the telecommunications sector, a national framework of protections has also been put in place. This report provides an overview of all of these frameworks, focusing upon their history and objectives, and laying a foundation for later empirical research.


Research in Sri Lanka suggests that many people experience a deep scepticism about the
chances of achieving justice. This is true not only of those who had suffered the most gross
forms of human rights violations in the country's past conflicts but, surprisingly, also of
those caught up in more ordinary forms of everyday disputes and grievances. The
prevalence of this sentiment of pervasive 'injustice' – captured in one informant's pithy
statement that "only the powerful get justice in Sri Lanka" – compels closer scrutiny of the
broader processes and politics of justice-seeking. This thesis, based on research carried out
in 2008 and 2009 and on the analysis of detailed accounts from 110 informants in 3
geographical locations, studies this quotidian experience of justice-seeking and dispute
settlement work in Sri Lanka. It provides insights into how the broader political and social
environment shapes the possibilities of a just outcome for any of its citizens.
The thesis reveals the overriding power of social and political factors in the justice-seeking
process. Becoming 'known' in a way that establishes the credibility of disputants is
important. This is an inherently social exercise in which dominant notions about credibility
and legitimacy as defined by the state are reinforced. The thesis illustrates the crucial role of
the state in everyday dispute management. The police are a key resource for mediators and
disputants, who seem to rely most notably on the police's acknowledged potential and actual
capability for violence. Persons who are seen to be politically suspicious are especially
vulnerable to such violence. Who constitutes a 'suspicious' person, however, is in flux. The
thesis shows that attempts which focus narrowly on law reform and human rights advocacy
will be in vain unless the social and political processes driving the implementation of justice
are acknowledged and addressed.


Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) is a dual-specificity phosphatase that is involved in the regulation of cell survival, differentiation and apoptosis through inactivating MAPKs by dephosphorylation. Here, we provide evidence for a role of MKP-1 in the glutamate-induced cell death of HT22 hippocampal cells and primary mouse cortical neurons. We suggest that, during glutamate-induced oxidative stress, protein kinase C (PKC) δ becomes activated and induces sustained activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) through a mechanism that involves degradation of MKP-1. Glutamate-induced activation of ERK1/2 was blocked by inhibition of PKCδ, confirming that ERK1/2 is regulated by PKCδ. Prolonged exposure to glutamate caused reduction in the protein level of MKP-1, which correlated with the sustained activation of ERK1/2. Furthermore, knockdown of endogenous MKP-1 by small interfering (si)RNA resulted in pronounced enhancement of ERK1/2 phosphorylation accompanied by increased cytotoxicity under glutamate exposure. In glutamate-treated cells, MKP-1 was polyubiquitylated and proteasome inhibitors markedly blocked the degradation of MKP-1. Moreover, inhibition of glutamate-induced PKCδ activation suppressed the downregulation and ubiquitylation of MKP-1. Taken together, these results demonstrate that activation of PKCδ triggers degradation of MKP-1 through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, thereby contributing to persistent activation of ERK1/2 under glutamate-induced oxidative toxicity.


On the basis of a general analysis of waveguides containing a dispersive material, we identify conditions under which slow-light propagation may enhance the gain, absorption, or phase change. The enhancement is shown to depend on the slow-light mechanism and the translational symmetry of the waveguide. A combination of material and waveguide dispersion may strongly enhance the control of light speed, e.g., using electromagnetically induced transparency in quantum dots embedded in a photonic crystal waveguide.


Diamond film made by adopting the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) technology is a promising superhard material. The mechanical and physical properties of CVD diamond is between natural diamond and hot press polycrystalline diamond. The cutting tools made by CVD diamond can machine many kinds of material, such as nonferrous metals, non metallic materials and composites. CVD diamond is classified as thin and thick films, and the thick film cutting tools are widely used. However, the superhard cutting tools cannot be applied to the cutting of iron family metal and molybdenum (Mo). In this paper, data and curves on machining test of CVD diamond cutting tools are listed and then analyzed.


A total of 29 patients with stage IV colorectal cancer were entered into a phase II trial of bolus interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-α (IFNα) (3 x 106 U/m2 of each cytokine given i.v. q8h x 15 doses and repeated in 2 weeks). Immunologic parameters measured on isolated peripheral blood lymphocytes revealed increased activated T cells with upregulated natural killer and lym-phokine-activated killer activity. Among 24 evaluable patients, there were 4 partial responses (17%) of short duration (≪6 months). Three of the responding patients had been refractory to prior chemotherapy. Overall median survival in the 24 evaluable patients was 18.5 months. Therapy necessitated an inpatient setting, with the most common toxicities being hypotension, hepatic insufficiency, fever, hypocalcemia, nausea/vomiting, and renal insufficiency. There were two treatment-related deaths. Because neither IL-2 nor IFNα alone has significant activity against colorectal cancer, the responses observed in this study suggest a potential synergistic effect between the two cytokines. However, the toxicity and short duration of response without survival benefit do not support the routine use of this regimen as a therapeutic modality for this tumor histology.


Species distribution models estimate the relationship between species occurrences and environmental and spatial characteristics. Herein, we used maximum entropy distribution modelling (MaxEnt) for predicting the potential distribution of the Plateau Snake Skink Ophiomorus nuchalis on the Iranian Plateau, using a small number of occurrence records (i.e. 10) and environmental variables derived from remote sensing. The MaxEnt model had a high success rate according to test AUC scores (0.912). A remotely sensed enhanced vegetation index (39.1%), and precipitation of the driest month (15.4%) were the most important environmental variables that explained the geographical distribution of O. nuchalis. Our results are congruent with previous studies suggesting that suitable habitat of O. nuchalis is limited to the central Iranian Plateau, although mountain ranges in western and eastern Iran might be environmentally suitable but not accessible.


1. Intermittent streams are naturally dominant landscape features of Mediterranean and arid regions, but also occur more and more in humid climates, such as in the Czech Republic. Organism abilities to cope with drying (i.e. resistance forms) have been quantified in naturally intermittent streams from Mediterranean and arid regions, in which long-term flow intermittence patterns have promoted physiological adaptations. In contrast, the capacity of aquatic communities to persist without requiring resistance adaptations under recent intermittent flow regimes in more humid climates is virtually unexplored, along with its contribution to community recovery upon rewetting. 2. Here, we addressed the ability of aquatic invertebrates devoid of specific desiccation-resistance forms (e.g. cysts or eggs) to cope with climate change-induced flow intermittence from rivers in continental climate. Owing to the high relative air humidity, the importance of riparian cover and the short duration of drying events, we expected taxonomically and functionally rich communities to persist in the dry streambed during phases with no surface water and to contribute to community recovery upon flow resumption. 3. To explore these ideas, we collected invertebrate communities in the riverbeds before, during and after drying from 10 intermittent rivers in the Czech Republic. We quantified the pool of organisms remaining alive in the dry riverbeds and determined its taxonomic and functional contribution to the recovery of benthic communities upon rewetting. 4. 83% of organisms collected, belonging to 22 taxa, were able to survive during the dry phase without producing desiccation-resistance forms. This pool of organisms contributed substantially both taxonomically and functionally to the quick recovery of benthic communities. The exponential decrease in taxonomic and functional richness implies an initial quick loss of sensitive taxa, while a pool of less sensitive taxa persisted long in the dry riverbeds hence contributing to the fast community recovery upon rewetting. 5. Survival rates of active aquatic macroinvertebrates devoid of specific desiccation-resistance adaptations have rarely been quantified. Likely promoted by benign environmental conditions prevailing on dry riverbeds in this study, their survival demonstrated the need to protect communities in dry riverbed and their adjacent riparian environments so that assemblages can recover rapidly from short periods without river flow. Riparian forest management along intermittent streams from continental climates could help conserve the value of dry streambeds as source of resilience for riverine communities.


The English word like is extraordinarily multifunctional: its standard forms encompassnearly all parts of speech, and in nonstandard forms it can be a quotative, anapproximator, or several types of discourse marker (DM). These nonstandard forms cause issues for lexicographers, including: 1) they reflect differences between use of written and spoken informal English (Miller 2009); 2) DM like's use varies geographically (Miller and Weinert 1995); and 3) they are difficult to categorise grammatically. Further, some dictionaries'  treatment of DM like imply that lack of semantic import equals total lack of import, a conclusion shown to be untrue by Underhill (1988), Romaine and Lange (1991), Miller and Weinert (1995), Andersen (2001), and others. Existing studies on like's informal usage, geographic variation, and pragmatic effect, as well as a study suggesting a new taxonomy of DM like (Pugh 2011) provide guidelines for a more coherent dictionary entry for like. Pugh (2011) distinguishes three functional groups of DM like: stance management, information management, and speech production management, each with distinct uses of the word. We propose that dictionary entries for like use information from its abundant literature to present this complex lexical item in a clearer and more informative way. The entire Proceedings of the 7th International Free Linguistics Conference are freely available at: http://www.flcgroup.net/wp-content/uploads/Proceedings-of-the-Free-Linguistics-Conference-2013.pdf


PURPOSE
To verify the delivery accuracy of energy-intensity modulated electron radiotherapy (MERT) using the existing photon multileaf collimator (pMLC) on the Artiste linac.

METHODS
Phase space data for 6, 9, 12 and 15 MeV electron beams of the Artiste accelerator, as an input source for our in-house Monte Carlo (MC)-based dose calculation/optimization planning code for MERT, were first commissioned by comparing measured PDD and dose profiles for pMLC-shaped fields of 3 × 3 cm2 and 10 × 10 cm2 . MC calculated dose was then calibrated for each of the energies by comparing with chamber measurements for pMLC-delivered electron beam and further verified at a different SSD setup. An energy-intensity modulated electron plan was generated for a breast treatment on a breast phantom at a 60 cm SSD and recalculated with a solid water phantom and later delivered to the phantom through ten pMLC segments - -each associated one of above energies and a specific monitor unit. Film measurement for the plan was done at the depth of 1.5 cm. The measured 2D dose distribution was then compared with calculations to verify the plan.

RESULTS
Comparisons between measured PDDs and dose profiles, and MC calculations for the various energies showed good agreement (within 2%/2mm). The verification measurement for MC dose calculation calibration at different SSDs was within 2% of the calculated values for all energies. The measured 2D dose distribution of the MERT plan was consistent with the calculations in low-medium dose regions while in high dose regions, there existed some discrepancy.

CONCLUSION
With pMLC shaped fields, MC dose calculations agreed with measured PDDs and dose profiles at various depths. The measured dose distribution of a breast plan showed good agreement in low-medium dose regions while the discrepancy in high dose regions remains to be investigated.


: Cancer is a multifactorial disease and wealth of information has enabled basic and clinical researchers to develop a better conceptual knowledge of highly heterogeneous nature of cancer. Deregulations of spatio-temporally controlled transduction pathways played central role in cancer progression. NRF2-driven signaling has engrossed significant attention because of its fundamentally unique features to dualistically regulate cancer progression. Context dependent diametrically opposed roles of NRF2-induced signaling are exciting. More importantly non-coding RNA (ncRNA) mediated regulation of NRF2 and interplay between NRF2 and ncRNAs have added new layers of complexity to already intricate nature of NRF2 signaling. There is a gradual enrichment in the existing pool of knowledge related to interplay between microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in different cancers. However, surprisingly, there are no clues about interplay between circular RNAs and NRF2 in various cancers. Therefore, future studies must converge on the functional characterization of additional important lncRNAs and circular RNAs, which regulated NRF2-driven signaling or conversely NRF2 transcriptionally controlled their expression to regulate various stages of cancer. A549 and HCC-827 cells also resulted in higher levels of basal NRF2 (Thai et al, 2013). The nuclear hypoxia-regulated NLUCAT1 lncRNA was shown to be transcriptionally upregulated by NF-κB and NRF2. NLUCAT1 inhibition potentiated ROS production and cisplatin-induced ROS-dependent apoptotic cell death (Moreno et al, 2019).


Gain a clear understanding of today's most important investment topics--from the fundamentals you need to prepare for the CFP exam to more advanced issues that will help you develop strong investment skills for today's business world. Mayo's INVESTMENTS: AN INTRODUCTION, 9e--the text of choice for the College of Financial Planning--minimizes the focus on math for a clear, user-friendly presentation. You'll learn to make sound investment decisions with this book's emphasis on the individual financial planner's perspective and the fresh, ongoing Financial Advisor's Investment Case that continues throughout each chapter. Internet assignments demonstrate how to use technology for actual investments, while expanded coverage of key topics such as stock valuation ratios, stock repurchases and dividend payments, and globalization of financial markets prepares you for tomorrow's investment challenges. A new CengageNOW online learning system with a personalized study plan helps you maximize study and earn the grade you want. The book's Thomson ONE -Business School Edition lets you access the same financial analysis tool used on Wall Street every day. Whether you are preparing for a career in finance or general business, INVESTMENTS, 9e, offers the engaging investment details that will further your success in this course and beyond."


Large-scale machine learning training, in particular distributed stochastic gradient descent, needs to be robust to inherent system variability such as node straggling and random communication delays. This work considers a distributed training framework where each worker node is allowed to perform local model updates and the resulting models are averaged periodically. We analyze the true speed of error convergence with respect to wall-clock time (instead of the number of iterations), and analyze how it is affected by the frequency of averaging. The main contribution is the design of AdaComm, an adaptive communication strategy that starts with infrequent averaging to save communication delay and improve convergence speed, and then increases the communication frequency in order to achieve a low error floor. Rigorous experiments on training deep neural networks show that AdaComm can take $3 \times$ less time than fully synchronous SGD, and still reach the same final training loss.


The literature on rangelands is extensive but very little includes an examination of rangeland valuation. Where it does appear, rangelands tend to be undervalued, mainly due to the fact that most analyses are a) restricted to a specific sector (mainly livestock production); b) biased towards one market product (primarily beef sales or slaughter); or c) limited to use values. Undervaluation of rangelands may contribute to their mismanagement or their transformation to monoculture, such as for livestock or wildlife. Similarly, this may lead to inappropriate policy recommendations and prescriptions, for example that vegetation changes in rangelands are not a problem as long as they do not affect livestock productivity. This paper undertakes a valuation exercise in an effort to address the first two causes of undervaluation mentioned above. The objective is to estimate the annual direct use value of an average hectare of communal rangeland in Botswana, based on an analysis of secondary data. The exercise incorporates the three major direct uses, both marketed and non-marketed, of rangelands - livestock, wildlife and gathering. The valuation clearly shows that each use makes a significant contribution to the direct use value: in the case of hunting and gathering it amounts to around one third of the total direct use value during the period under study. Another conclusion is that non-marketed products are very important; milk production and processing represent a considerable, although partly potential, use value which requires further investigation. Considerable discrepancies were found between private and social use values for livestock, mostly as a result of government subsidies to that sector. The use values for wildlife based on hunting quota has dropped significantly. This suggests a trade-off between livestock and wildlife use values. With the observed decline in wildlife numbers, a switch towards game viewing offers opportunities to boost the use values. alternatively hunting values should be raised to net market values. It is critical to ensure that any benefits from wildlife should accrue to the local population. These conclusions raise important policy questions as to the future use of rangelands in Botswana. Total land productivity per hectare should be the key variable in assessing the significance of eg, vegetation changes or erosion, as well as the merits of different single or multiple use options, such as livestock expansion, wildlife utilisation and/or gathering. The growing resource scarcity not only raises concerns about efficiency and sustainability but also about the distribution of current and future use values.


We propose a scheme for purification of a general mixed entangled state. In this scheme, we start from a large number of general mixed entangled states and end up, after local operation and classical communication, with a smaller number of Bell diagonal states with higher entanglement. In particular, the scheme can purify one maximally entangled state from two entangled pairs prepared in a class of mixed entangled state. Furthermore we propose a linear optical implementation of the present scheme with polarization beam splitters and photon detectors.


1. A growth factor for Mycobacterium johnei has been isolated from Mycobacterium tuberculosis as an iron complex; it has been named ferric mycobactin T. 2. Ferric mycobactin T as isolated is a mixture of at least four closely related components differing only in their fatty acid side chains. 3. Mycobactin T resembles mycobactin P in structure but differs in the following respects: (a) the aromatic acid residue is salicylic acid in place of 2-hydroxy-6-methylbenzoic acid; (b) the hydroxy acid residue is (+)-beta-hydroxybutyric acid in place of (-)-3-hydroxy-2-methylpentanoic acid; (c) its components have fatty acid side chains that are mostly different from the side chains of the components in mycobactin P preparations. One minor component in mycobactin T has probably a cis-octadec-2-enoyl side chain. The major side-chain components correspond to acids of chain length C(18)-C(21) that are not n-saturated or n-Delta(2)-unsaturated acids. 4. The differences in biosynthesis between mycobactins T and P are discussed.


This study includes an estimate of cost functions for paddy farms in Formosa. Two types of estimational techniques are used; namely regression estimates and synthesized or budgeted cost curves. Long-run and short-run regression-derived curves are estimated for rice and sweet potato farms from samples which provide the observations. Estimates are for total cost functions with average cost functions computed per hectare. From sample observations, it was possible to derive, through regression estimates, only linear total cost functions. The non-linear average cost functions have only slight (economically unimportant) slopes beyond 2•-5 hectares. Hence, large farms do not seem to be an important policy imperative. However, the steep slope of the average cost functions for farms under 1-5 hectares suggest that further farm fragmentation should be prevented. The cost estimates based on synthesized functions result in conclusions paralleling those based on regression-estimated cost functions. The area at which minimum average costs occur differs among sets of fixed inputs. However, the level of costs at minimum points on the curves are similar for the numerous resource situations examined. Within the limitations of the data and results, we believe both estimational techniques imply similar policy prescriptions.


Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA elements found at high frequency in mammalian genomes. Although these elements are generally perceived as genomic parasites, they have the potential to influence host genome function in many beneficial ways. This article discusses the role TEs have played in the evolution of the placenta and pregnancy in viviparous mammals. Using examples from our own research and the literature, we argue that frequent recruitment of TEs, in particular of retroelements, has facilitated the extreme diversification of tissues at the maternal-fetal interface. We also discuss the mechanisms by which TEs have been recruited for functions during pregnancy. We argue that retroelements are pre-adapted to becoming cis-regulatory elements for host genomes because they need to utilize host regulatory signals for their own life cycle. However, although TEs contain some of the signals necessary for host functions upon insertion, they often require modification before acquiring a biological role in a host tissue. We discuss the process by which one TE was transformed into a promoter for prolactin expression in the endometrium, describing a model for TE domestication called 'epistatic capture'.


The increasing realisation that governance quality is a fundamental element of long-run development has led to its consideration as a desirable development goal in its own right. To contribute to such a process, this article provides a framework to set, measure and monitor governance goals in the post-2015 development agenda. First, we assess whether existing cross-national measures on governance quality can be exploited to measure and monitor aspects of legal, bureaucratic and administrative quality. Such a 'quick fix' approach to measuring governance quality is fraught with challenges. The current practice of measurement is still subject to the short country coverage of most available measures, issues of comparability and legitimacy, as well as methodological shortcomings. Second, we argue that, in the long run, measuring and monitoring governance quality may require reconceptualising 'good governance' and designing internationally shared measures that are routinely provided by national statistical offices (but, international groups should also continue to make their independent measures). Finally, we consider the different approaches to setting governance goals, arguing in favour of a combination of national target setting and minimum standard with continuous improvement.


The purpose is to identify, through a simulation study, how the size of the extra safety stock needed when transferring production vary with uncertainties introduced by the transfer. The study shows that there is a substantial uncertainty increase during production transfer, related to the uncertainty of time to reach steady state. Learning curve factors have the largest impact, while the effects for the production yield factors are about of half their size, but still considerably large in relation to the regular safety stock. The study contributes by structuring the decision problem and indicating the importance of various uncertainties.


The paper discusses an architecture for intelligent agents based on the use of A-Prolog-a language of logic programs under the answer set semantics. A-Prolog is used to represent the agent's knowledge about the domain and to formulate the agent's reasoning tasks. We outline how these tasks can be reduced to answering questions about properties of simple logic programs and demonstrate the methodology of constructing these programs.


The quantum vibrational energy-spectra of amide-Is in alpha-protein molecules are calculated by using the discretely nonlinear Schrodinger equation and physical parameters appropriate to the systems on the basis of theory of bio-energy transport. The numerical results for the energy-spectra are basically consistent with the experimental values obtained by the infrared absorption and Raman scattering and emission-spectra of infrared lights of person's hand-fingers. Utilizing the energy-spectra we explain the laser-Raman spectrum from metabolically active E. Coli. and give some features of the infrared absorption of the protein molecules.


A selective colour reaction for the detection of carboxylic acids has been developed. Acetic anhydride in the presence of ammonium carbonate, sodium carbonate and the sodium salts of acetic, formic, oxalic and pyruvic acids is used as the reagent. Amongst 39 acids, citric, isocitric, α-ketoglutaric and oxaloacetic acids can be detected selectively.


ABSTRACT In this paper, we use paradata relating to the length of time respondents required in a self-administered online stated preference surveys. Although this issue has been previously explored, there is little guidance on how to identify and deal with 'fast' and 'slow' respondents. In this paper, we use scale-adjusted latent class models to address preference and variance heterogeneity and explore how class membership varies with response latency. To test our methodology, we use stated choice data collected via an online survey to establish German anglers' preferences for fishing site attributes in Denmark. Results from our analysis corroborate that response latency has a bearing on the estimates of utility coefficients and the error variance. Although the results highlight the non-triviality of identifying fast and slow respondents, they signal the need to estimate a large number of candidate models to identify the most appropriate 'fast' and 'slow' thresholds. Not doing so is likely to lead to an inferior model and has repercussions for marginal willingness to pay estimates and choice predictions.


Numerous atrocities against Canada's Indigenous peoples have revealed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process. Truth is being told. But, how is reconciliation to be fostered? In her book entitled In This Together: Fifteen Stories of Truth and Reconciliation, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail has gathered stories from a variety of individual Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives that tell the truth and offer means for reconciliation. Stories have been mechanisms for sharing wisdom since time immemorial – this book is no exception. Through the personal nature of these stories, we journey with each author through their unique adventures, circumstances, reflections, questions, and growth. In doing so, we are called to examine our own stories and embark on our own journey of truth and reconciliation—together.


This paper considers the problem of pilot contamination (PC) in large-scale multi-cell multiple-input multiple-output-aided orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems. We propose an efficient scheme relying on an optimal pilot design conceived for time-domain channel estimation, which can either completely eliminate PC or significantly reduce it, depending on the channel's coherence time. This is achieved by designing an optimal pilot set allowing us to beneficially group the users in all the cells and to assign a time-shifted pilot transmission to the different groups. Unlike the existing PC elimination schemes, which require an excessively long channel coherence time, our proposed scheme is capable of completely eliminating PC under a much shorter coherence time. Moreover, the existing PC elimination schemes can no longer be used if the channel coherent time is insufficiently large. By contrast, even for extremely short channel coherent time, our scheme can still be implemented to significantly reduce PC. This is particularly beneficial for high velocity scenarios. Our simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed scheme.