Selected antidepressants address both disorders. Non-drug therapies can be useful adjuncts Patients who have chronic pain and those with a major depressive disorder (MDD) share clinical features, including fatigue, cognitive complaints, and functional limitation. Sleep disturbance and anxiety are common with both disorders. Because pain and depression share common neurobiological pathways (see Part 1 of this article in the February 2016 issue and at CurrentPsychiatry.com) and clinical manifestations, you can use similar strategies and, often, the same agents to treat both conditions when they occur together (Table 1, page 47). What are the medical options? Antidepressants. Using an antidepressant to treat chronic pain is a common practice in primary care and specialty practice. Antidepressants that modulate multiple neurotransmitters appear to be more efficacious than those with a single mechanism of action. (1) Convergent evidence from preclinical and clinical studies supports the use of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) as more effective analgesic agents, compared with the mostly noradrenergic antidepressants, which, in turn, are more effective than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). (2) The mechanism of the analgesic action of antidepressants appears to rely on their inhibitory effects of norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake, thereby elevating the performance of endogenous descending pain regulatory pathways. (3) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), primarily amitriptyline, nortriptyline, and desipramine, have the advantage of years of clinical experience and low cost. Their side effect burden, however, is higher, especially in geriatric patients. Dose-dependent side effects include sedation, constipation, dry mouth, urinary retention, and orthostatic hypotension. TCAs must be used with caution in patients with suicidal ideation because of the risk of a potentially lethal intentional overdose. The key to using a TCA is to start with a low dosage, followed by slow titration. Typically, the dosages of TCAs used in clinical trials that focused on pain have been lower (25 to 100 mg/d of amitriptyline or equivalent) than the dosage typically necessary for treating depression; however, some experts have found that titrating TCAs to higher dosages with an option of monitoring serum levels may benefit some patients. (4) SNRIs are considered first-line agents for both neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia. Duloxetine has been shown to be effective in both conditions (5); venlafaxine also has shown efficacy in neuropathic pain. (6) Milnacipran, another SNRI that blocks 5-HT, and norepinephrine equally and exerts a mild N-methyl-Daspartate inhibition, has proven efficacy in fibromyalgia. (7-8) SSRIs for alleviating central pain or neuropathic pain are supported by minimal evidence only. (9) A review of the effectiveness of various antidepressants on pain in diabetic neuropathy concluded that fluoxetine was no more effective than placebo. (10,11) Schreiber and Pick (11) evaluated the antinociceptive properties of several SSRIs and offered the opinion that fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, and citalopram were, at best, weak antinociceptors. Opioids. Data on the long-term benefits of opioids are limited, except for use in carefully selected patients; in any case, risk of abuse, diversion, and even death with these agents is quite high. (12) Also, there is evidence that opioid-induced hyperalgesia might limit the usefulness of opioids for controlling chronic pain. (13) Gabapentin and pregabalin, both anticonvulsants, act by binding to the [alpha]-2-[sigma] subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels within the CNS. (14) By reducing calcium influx at nerve terminals, the drugs diminish the release of several neurotransmitters, including glutamate, noradrenaline, and substance P. This mechanism is thought to be the basis for the analgesic, anticonvulsant, and anxiolytic effects of these drugs. …


Chaos encountered in many nonlinear physical and engineering problems often leads to an undesirable effect due to the nature of the irregular and unpredictable behavior. Hence, the challenge here is to control the chaotic behaviors of these systems. Problems and challenges arise from this are due to the complexity of nonlinear dynamic behaviors such as structural nonlinearities and couplings, the unpredictable motion, and in some cases may lead the chaotic behavior. Many practical applications of deterministic chaos have been developed in various fields of engineering and technology. Recent research has shown that chaos can be useful under certain circumstances, such as enhancing the mixing of chemical reactants and in domestic appliances. On the other hand, chaos should be weakened or completely suppressed when it is undesirable and may become harmful. Therefore, it is helpful and important to encourage further investigations on chaos and chaos control in nonlinear dynamical systems.
Control of nonlinear and highly flexible systems is often effected by design requirements and also manufacturing aspects. The dynamics and control of such systems are challenging, especially when a nonlinear mechanical system is considered. The experimental study of the dynamical behavior of an inverted flexible pendulum system showing jumping phenomenon between three equilibria is not considered in detail in literature so far. In this thesis, the dynamical behavior of a nonlinear elastic mechanical system is considered, namely an inverted flexible pendulum excited at the base by a motor-driven cart. Therefore, this thesis focuses on a combination of two aspects: an analysis on the dynamics of a nonlinear elastic system, and how to design the nonlinear vibration in this system in terms of controlling towards chaotic states between different equilibria.
In the next step of the research, a transiently induced vibration is discussed. As in the initial experimental procedure, the chaotic motion of the flexible pendulum tip was identified, in combination with a specific range of parameters. Verified sufficient conditions and parameters are tested experimentally for such chaotic vibration. The first part focuses on studying the dynamics of the flexible pendulum. By varying the excitation parameters, control parameters, as well as other distinguished mechanical parameters, different phenomena are observed in experiments are discussed. For this observation, a custom-built inverted flexible pendulum on cart system under PID-controlled harmonic excitation is considered.
Data are collected from both cart excitation signal and displacement of the flexible pendulum, also to observe their correlation towards jumping behavior. Effects of the variation of the parameters leading to changes in chaotic jumping patterns. Multiple equilibria are observed and analyzed. It can be concluded that depending on the excitation amplitudes, frequencies, and controller parameters, the minimum of two equilibria with an unstable third equilibrium can be detected while jumping phenomena between the equilibria are observed. Questions about the stimulation of the jumping by impulses resulting from imperfect sinusoidal excitation due to control limitations later are discussed.
Additionally, this thesis further provides insight on the application of time-frequency energy (TFE) analysis for experimental modeling of the state transition between the equilibria of the chaotic systems during nonlinear vibration. In this part, the effect of impulses realized by non-perfect feedback to an inverted flexible pendulum system is studied. Using experimental data from chaotic jumping in an inverted flexible pendulum, several techniques of signal processing and time-frequency representation are carried out. These methods are used to observe the changes in the nonlinear dynamic properties and time behavior of the system before and during the jumping between equilibria.
The evaluation of the experimentally realized inverted flexible pendulum system for specific control parameters shows that 'chaotic' jumping behavior between the three equilibria (with different attraction regions) are depending on the existence of impulses. The results from a detailed analysis show that this is caused by feedback imperfectness. Considering the time-frequency energy (TFE) analysis conducted, it can be stated that the (uncontrolled) impulses causing a temporarily disturbance in the energy distribution between the 'modes'/frequency bands the system vibrates with. This will finally leads to a new and more stable distribution in energy, followed by related jumping between the equilibria. Here the energy is concentrated in different varying frequency ranges.
Using the data, the jumping phenomenon during the chaotic vibration are collected and analyzed. Here, time-frequency energy (TFE) analysis method can effectively show the characteristics of energy in the time domain and perform the component analysis in the specific frequency range. Applying a comparative study of jumping phenomenon discussing different equilibria, frequency range recognition, and energy characterization, the jumping phenomenon of the flexible pendulum induced by chaotic vibration is characterized. A state transition model is then established. Further, an additive impulsive control on the elastic system is considered to validate the model.
Further, an additive impulsive control on the sinusoidal moving inverted flexible pendulum is considered. An impulsive control method to effect the chaos and equilibrium position of this pendulum system is designed and developed. Some sufficient conditions for driving the chaotic states between different equilibria are presented. This part provides an experimental analysis, design, and validation to support the established model for state transition of chaos in the nonlinear flexible system. Controlling the chaotic behavior of the system is realized using impulsive control method, where additive impulses designed with specific impulses energy content at specific frequency band are injected into the system, under the specified threshold of the vibrating system.
The experimental results concentrate on the effect of the designed impulses which are injected into the system, in terms of the transition between states of equilibria. Results are presented and discussed in detail, concentrating on how the designed impulses injected affecting the system, specifically the transition between states of equilibria. The results from the experimental validation show that both additive impulse design and frequency filtering of the injected additive impulses are able to stimulate the equilibrium shift and therefore to control the chaotic behavior of the system.


Our aim was to determine whether the use of serum inflammatory markers such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), either individually or in combination, is significantly associated with community-acquired pneumonia and to determine the role in assessment of the severity and outcome. This study was a prospective cohort study, included forty Trinidadian patients diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia. Blood samples were collected to measure inflammatory markers. Patients were classified according to the pneumonia severity index (PSI) scoring where after serum marker levels were compared among respective groups. Proportions test for positive predictive value of the serum marker indicated that CRP (P=0.001) and ESR (P=0.001) had higher sensitivities to community acquired pneumonia than PCT (P=0.05). There was no association between each of the serum markers and PSI. Eighty three percent low risks had a length of stay of two weeks, while only 18% of high risk stayed for the same duration. The combination of highly sensitive markers like CRP and ESR and a specific marker such as PCT emphasize their importance in better risk assessment in community acquired pneumonia patients.


The results of the thyroid gland (TG) state investigation in 1027 patients, ageing from 14 to 75 years, operated on in 1986-1995 yrs., are adduced. In 60.5% of patients the diffuse-nodular goitre was diagnosed, in 9.5%--Hashimoto's thyroiditis, in 9.5%--TG cancer, in 2.8%--other pathology. To establish the interrelationship of pre-cancer changes and a TG cancer it is necessary to point out the concomitant morphologic change beside the main diagnosis, which determines the clinical tactics.


Silica fume is formed during the manufacture of ferrosilicon in electric submerged-arc furnaces. The use of silica fume has been evaluated in portland cement concrete. Thirty samples of silica fume, each collected on consecutive days from SKW Alloys, Inc. in Calvert City, KY, were analyzed for routine quality control tests of a pozzolan. Six of these samples, representing the variations of the routine tests, were tested for complete ASTM Specification for Fly Ash and Raw or Calcined Natural Pozzolan for Use as a Mineral Admixture in Portland Cement Concrete (C 618) conformance. Laboratory mixtures of air-entrained and nonair-entrained concrete, containing a representative sample of silica fume, were cast for compressive strength (1 to 120 days), drying shrinkage, and time of set. Although a classification for silica fume is not currently contained in ASTM C 618, all of the samples tested were found to conform when compared to the requirements of this standard, with the exception that the water requirement was excessive. Concrete mixtures containing only 24 kg/m3 (40 lb/yd3) of silica fume showed slightly high shrinkage at 64 weeks of drying with the lower cement content mixtures relative to control mixtures. The silica fume mixtures showed 120 to 180% higher compressive strength at 120 days in lean mixtures, 110 to 120% higher compressive strength in richer mixtures. This amount of silica fume was found to have no effect on initial set of concrete and had only a slightly longer final set.


When multiple systems work in the same physical environment, it is important to ensure that no collisions occur. This thesis is focused on the centralized offline coordination of such collaborating systems, with the condition that the spatial path each system travels along is known before hand. In addition to collisions, dynamic constraints as well as optimization of a performance criterion are considered. The problem is decomposed into two parts, a sequencing problem and coordination subproblem. For the sequencing problem, an algorithmic improvement is proposed, where constraint propagation methods from the computer science community are introduced to improve existing mixed integer nonlinear programming methods used in mathematical programming. The coordination subproblem on the other hand is approached from a modeling perspective. By applying state space discretization and variable changes, two models are derived, one which is entirely convex. Also, a two stage abstraction approach is introduced, where dynamic programming is used to parameterize part of the problem, resulting in a much simpler model at the next stage. The above methods can be used for minimum energy coordination of industrial robots. Experimental results from the two robot case study are presented. In addition, the one robot case is also studied, where the execution time, robot payload and minimization criteria are varied. Furthermore, the application of the presented methods to hybrid systems is also discussed. Finally, the slightly different problem of minimum time stacker crane scheduling is considered. In the stacker crane problem, a number of tasks should be allocated to a set of robots moving along the same one dimensional track. Although the exact spatial path is unknown in the stacker crane problem, it is shown that in a minimum time setting, it is still possible to use state space discretization.


Purpose This study aimed to analyse the correlation between the pyroptosis pathway and epilepsy using bioinformatics analysis technology. We analyzed the expression of gasdermin D (GSDMD) and gasdermin E (GSDME), the key molecules of pyroptosis, in kainic acid-induced epileptic mice. Methods Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to construct a signed co-expression network from expression data to screen gene sets closely related to epilepsy. The correlation between the module and epilepsy was verified through module conservative analysis, gene ontology (GO) annotation analysis, and correlation analysis with known epilepsy genes. We obtained currently recognized pyroptosis-related molecules through literature review, and correlation analysis was used to evaluate their correlation with epilepsy. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis was used to analyse expression changes of pyroptosis-related molecules at the transcriptome level, compared to the sham group. We subsequently established a kainic acid-induced status epilepticus (SE) model in mice and validated the mRNA and protein expression of GSDMD and GSDME, the key molecules of pyroptosis, by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting (WB). Results Using WGCNA, module conservative analysis, and correlation analysis with known epilepsy genes, we screened out a module (a gene set of interest) closely related to epilepsy that was prominently enriched in immune and inflammatory-related biological processes. Correlation analysis results suggest that pyroptosis-related molecules are closely related to this module, but have no obvious correlation with others. DEG analysis of molecules associated with pyroptosis suggests that most of the pyroptosis-related molecules had significantly increased expression after SE, such as IL1b, Casp1, Casp4, Pycard, Gsdmd, Nlrp3, Aim2, Mefv, Tlr2, Tlr3, and Tlr4. qRT-PCR and WB analysis confirmed that the mRNA and protein levels of GSDMD in the mouse hippocampus were significantly upregulated after SE. The mRNA expression of GSDME was not different between the epilepsy group and sham group. However, the WB results showed that the expression of full-length GSDME was decreased and GSDME-N-terminus were significantly increased after SE. Conclusions Our study highlights that the pyroptosis pathway may be closely related to epilepsy. GSDMD and GSDME, the key executive molecules of pyroptosis, will help to understand the pathogenesis of epilepsy and aid in discovering new targets for anti-epileptic drug treatments.


unicornuate uterus. We compare the pregnancy outcomes with each anomaly. Results: We found 106 cases of congenital uterine anomaly within a given period of time. There are 63 cases of bicornuate uterus, 19 cases of didelphys, 16 cases of septate uterus, 5 cases of arcuate uterus, and 3 cases of unicornuate uterus. The overall preterm delivery rate is 22.6% (24/106), and Cesarean section rate is 74.5% (79/106). A high Cesarean section rate is due to metroplasty, abnormal fetal presentation, and uterine anomaly itself. The preterm delivery rate and Cesarean section rate of each uterine anomaly do not differ statistically from one another. Five fetuses were stillborn, and one fetus died after birth because of a placenta abruption. The overall take-home baby rate is 94.3% (100/106). There is no maternal mortality and only one case was suffered from postpartum bleeding. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the most of women with uterine anomaly exceeding 20 weeks of gestation may take their baby home.


Street children are a common phenomenon in Indonesian big cities. The existence of street children caused fear and concern among people in Indonesia. In order to protect child's potential lost, the role of government is needed. Effective solutions are required but unfortunately it still not been achieved now. Through observation and interview on thirteen street children in Malang East Java, this research intended to know 1) Social problems causing the emergence of street children. 2) The life condition of street children in Malang, and 3) Street children perception about life they had. This research is qualitative study using observation and interviews to collect data. The results of the study found that street children in Malang work voluntarily without family coercion, they work due to economic pressures faced by family. Economic pressure lead children go work on the streets to lessen parents burden. It is found that the physical and psychological threats on the streets cause street children do not like the life they had. Actually, child wanted out from the street life if opportunity comes but unfortunate that opportunity never comes. This research concluded that the government participation is needed to alleviate children from street life. Without help from others, it will be difficult to make the children out from street life. Keywords: Street children, causes, problems


Abstract. Scanning spectrometer networks using scattered solar radiation in the ultraviolet spectral region have become an increasingly important tool for monitoring volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions. Often measured spectra are evaluated using the differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique. In order to obtain absolute column densities (CDs), the DOAS evaluation requires a Fraunhofer reference spectrum (FRS) that is free of absorption structures of the trace gas of interest. For measurements at volcanoes such a FRS can be readily obtained if the scan (i.e. series of measurements at different elevation angles) includes viewing directions where the plume is not seen. In this case, it is possible to use these viewing directions (e.g. zenith) as FRS. Possible contaminations of the FRS by the plume can then be corrected by calculating and subtracting an SO2 offset (e.g. the lowest SO2 CD) from all viewing directions of the respective scan. This procedure is followed in the standard evaluations of data from the Network for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric Change (NOVAC). While this procedure is very efficient in removing Fraunhofer structures and instrumental effects it has the disadvantage that one can never be sure that there is no SO2 from the plume in the FRS. Therefore, using a modelled FRS (based on a high-resolution solar atlas) has a great advantage. We followed this approach and investigated an SO2 retrieval algorithm using a modelled FRS. In this paper, we present results from two volcanoes that are monitored by NOVAC stations and which frequently emit large volcanic plumes: Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) recorded between January 2010 and June 2012 and from Tungurahua (Ecuador) recorded between January 2009 and December 2011. Instrumental effects were identified with help of a principal component analysis (PCA) of the residual structures of the DOAS evaluation. The SO2 retrieval performed extraordinarily well with an SO2 DOAS retrieval error of 1 − 2 × 1016 [molecules cm−2]. Compared to a standard evaluation, we found systematic differences of the differential slant column density (dSCD) of only up to  ≈ 15 % when looking at the variation of the SO2 within one scan. The major advantage of our new retrieval is that it yields absolute SO2 CDs and that it does not require complicated instrumental calibration in the field (e.g. by employing calibration cells or broadband light sources), since the method exploits the information available in the measurements. We compared our method to an evaluation that is similar to the NOVAC approach, where a spectrum that is recorded directly before the scan is used as an FRS and an SO2 CD offset is subtracted from all retrieved dSCD in the scan to correct for possible SO2 contamination of the FRS. The investigation showed that 21.4 % of the scans (containing significant amounts of SO2) at Nevado del Ruiz and 7 % of the scans at Tungurahua showed much larger SO2 CDs when evaluated using modelled FRS (more than a factor of 2). For standard evaluations the overall distribution of the SO2 CDs in a scan can in some cases indicate whether the plume affects all viewing directions and thus these scans need to be discarded for NOVAC emission rate evaluation. However, there are other cases where this is not possible and thus the reported SO2 emission rates would be underestimated. The new method can be used to identify these cases and thus it can considerably improve SO2 emission budgets.


Identifying genes underlying cancer development is critical to cancer biology and has important implications across prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Cancer sequencing studies aim at discovering genes with high frequencies of somatic mutations in specific types of cancer, as these genes are potential driving factors (drivers) for cancer development. We introduce a hierarchical Bayesian methodology to estimate gene-specific mutation rates and driver probabilities from somatic mutation data and to shed light on the overall proportion of drivers among sequenced genes. Our methodology applies to different experimental designs used in practice, including one-stage, two-stage and candidate gene designs. Also, sample sizes are typically small relative to the rarity of individual mutations. Via a shrinkage method borrowing strength from the whole genome in assessing individual genes, we reinforce inference and address the selection effects induced by multistage designs. Our simulation studies show that the posterior driver probabilities provide a nearly unbiased false discovery rate estimate. We apply our methods to pancreatic and breast cancer data, contrast our results to previous estimates and provide estimated proportions of drivers for these two types of cancer.


Lipotoxicity is an important factor in the development and progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Excessive accumulation of saturated fatty acids can increase the substrates of the mitochondrial electron transport chain in hepatocytes and cause the generation of reactive oxygen species, resulting in oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, impaired triphosphate (ATP) production, and fracture and fragmentation of mitochondria, which ultimately leads to hepatocellular inflammatory injuries, apoptosis, and necrosis. In this study, we systematically investigated the effects and molecular mechanisms of empagliflozin on lipotoxicity in palmitic acid-treated LO2 cell lines. We found that empagliflozin protected hepatocytes and inhibited palmitic acid-induced lipotoxicity by reducing oxidative stress, improving mitochondrial functions, and attenuating apoptosis and inflammation responses. The mechanistic study indicated that empagliflozin significantly activated adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase alpha (AMPKα) through Calcium/Calmodulin dependent protein kinase kinase beta (CAMKK2) instead of liver kinase B1 (LKB1) or TGF-beta activated kinase (TAK1). The activation of empagliflozin on AMPKα not only promoted FoxO3a phosphorylation and thus forkhead box O 3a (FoxO3a) nuclear translocation, but also promoted Nrf2 nuclear translocation. Furthermore, empagliflozin significantly upregulated the expressions of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and HO-1. In addition, empagliflozin did not attenuate lipid accumulation at all. These results indicated that empagliflozin mitigated lipotoxicity in saturated fatty acid-induced hepatocytes, likely by promoting antioxidant defense instead of attenuating lipid accumulation through enhanced FoxO3a and Nrf2 nuclear translocation dependent on the CAMKK2/AMPKα pathway. The CAMKK2/AMPKα pathway might serve as a promising target in treatment of lipotoxicity in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.


The ability to ask questions is a powerful tool to gather information in order to learn about the world and resolve ambiguities. In this paper, we explore a novel problem of generating discriminative questions to help disambiguate visual instances. Our work can be seen as a complement and new extension to the rich research studies on image captioning and question answering. We introduce the first large-scale dataset with over 10,000 carefully annotated images-question tuples to facilitate benchmarking. In particular, each tuple consists of a pair of images and 4.6 discriminative questions (as positive samples) and 5.9 non-discriminative questions (as negative samples) on average. In addition, we present an effective method for visual discriminative question generation. The method can be trained in a weakly supervised manner without discriminative images-question tuples but just existing visual question answering datasets. Promising results are shown against representative baselines through quantitative evaluations and user studies.


The detection performance of small objects in remote sensing images has not been satisfactory compared to large objects, especially in low-resolution and noisy images. A generative adversarial network (GAN)-based model called enhanced super-resolution GAN (ESRGAN) showed remarkable image enhancement performance, but reconstructed images usually miss high-frequency edge information. Therefore, object detection performance showed degradation for small objects on recovered noisy and low-resolution remote sensing images. Inspired by the success of edge enhanced GAN (EEGAN) and ESRGAN, we applied a new edge-enhanced super-resolution GAN (EESRGAN) to improve the quality of remote sensing images and used different detector networks in an end-to-end manner where detector loss was backpropagated into the EESRGAN to improve the detection performance. We proposed an architecture with three components: ESRGAN, EEN, and Detection network. We used residual-in-residual dense blocks (RRDB) for both the ESRGAN and EEN, and for the detector network, we used a faster region-based convolutional network (FRCNN) (two-stage detector) and a single-shot multibox detector (SSD) (one stage detector). Extensive experiments on a public (car overhead with context) dataset and another self-assembled (oil and gas storage tank) satellite dataset showed superior performance of our method compared to the standalone state-of-the-art object detectors.


The performance of an optimal-weighted portfolio strategy is evaluated when transaction costs are penalized compared to an equal-weighted portfolio strategy. The optimal allocation weights are found by maximizing a modified Sharpe ratio measure each trading day, where modified refers to the expected return of an asset in this context. The leverage of the investment is determined by a conditional expectation estimate of the number of portfolio assets of the next-coming day. A moving window is used to historically measure the transition probabilities of moving from one state to another within this stochastic count process and this is used as an input to the estimator. It is found that the most accurate estimate is the actual trading day's number of portfolio assets and this is obtained when the size of the moving window is one. Increasing the penalty parameter on transaction costs of selling and buying assets between trading days lowers the aggregated transaction cost and increases the performance of the optimal-weighted portfolio considerably. The best portfolio performance is obtained when at least 50% of the capital is invested equally among the assets when maximizing the modified Sharpe ratio. The optimal-weighted and equal-weighted portfolios are constructed on a daily basis, where the allowed VaR0:05 is €300 000 for each portfolio. This sets the limit on the amount of capital allowed to be invested each trading day, and is determined by empirical VaR0:05 simulations of these two portfolios.


Due to the nature of the geological and mining activities, different input parameters in the grade estimation and mineral resource evaluation are always tainted with uncertainties. It is possible to investigate the uncertainties related to the measurements and parameters of the variogram model using the fuzzy kriging method instead of the kriging method. The fuzzy kriging theory has already been the subject of relatively various research studies but the main weak point in such studies is that the results of the fuzzy estimations are not used in decision-making and planning. A very common, but key, tool of decision-making for mining engineers is the tonnage-average grade models. Under conditions where measurements or/and variogram model parameters are tainted with uncertainties, the tonnage-average grade model will be uncertain as well. Therefore, it is necessary to use the fuzzy tonnage-grade model instead of the crisp ones, and the next analysis steps and decision-makings are done accordingly. In this paper, the computational principles of the fuzzy tonnage-average grade curve and a case study regarding its usage are presented.


This course emphasizes applied research techniques, including treatment evaluation, program evaluation, and survey research. The student learns how to apply methodological and data analysis techniques to the clinical setting. Prerequisite: PSY 626.


Alendronate sodium (ALD) is a bisphosphonate medication used in the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. Absorption of ALD as oral formulation is very poor (0.5%–1%). Its bioavailability can decrease with food effect. It has some gastrointestinal adverse effects such as gastritis, gastric ulcer, and esophagitis. The aim of this study was to develop a rectal formulation of ALD as an alternative to oral route and to investigate the absorption of it by using gamma scintigraphy. For this reason, ALD was labeled with Technetium-99m (99mTc) by direct method. The radiochemical characterization of the 99mTc-ALD was carried out by paper chromatography, thin layer chromatography, and electrophoresis methods. The labeling efficiency of 99mTc-ALD was found 99% without significant changes until 6 h postlabeling at room temperature. The rectal suppositories containing 99mTc-ALD were prepared by fusion method using polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1500. The 99mTc-labeled ALD suppositories were administrated to rabbits by rectal route. Serial scintigrams over all bodies of the rabbits were obtained at different time intervals using a gamma camera. We found that the rectal absorption of 99mTc-ALD from suppository formulation was possible. According to our results, this formulation of ALD can be suggested for the therapy of osteoporosis as an alternative route.


As meeting the mental health needs of the Pacific people living in New Zealand has become a major focus for providers and District Health Boards since deinstitulisation, so is the significance of mental health care delivery for the Pacific minority. Pacific community mental health (PCMH) nursing as a means of healthcare delivery is a fairly new and unknown practice domain. The fact that no studies have been carried out to explore nursing in this field makes this an area that requires an understanding. This understanding will, in turn, enhance knowledge embedded in PCMH nursing and helps reduce practice constraints. This study explored the perspectives of Pacific nurses on what it is like for them to work in a PCMH service within a District Health Board. Five Pacific Island nurses who worked in the three Pacific Community Mental Health services based in the Auckland region participated in the project. The study employed narrative inquiry to gather data through focused storytelling method. The results of the study have indicated that PCMH nursing is a unique nursing field as well as highlight significant practice issues for nurses. Complex service infrastructure and language have been found to be the major contributing practice constraints. The findings suggest the need for District Health Board authorities, Pacific Mental Health service management, professional nursing education and development programs to consider addressing these practice issues to prevent further increase in the problem of PCMH nurses shortage and enhance recruitment and retention of these nurses.


Nephron number in humans varies up to 13‐fold, likely reflecting the impact of multiple factors on kidney development, including inherited body size and ethnicity, as well as maternal health and nutrition, fetal exposure to gestational diabetes or preeclampsia and other environmental factors, which may potentially be modifiable. Such conditions predispose to low or high offspring birth weight, growth restriction or preterm birth, which have all been associated with increased risks of higher blood pressures and/or kidney dysfunction in later life. Low birth weight, preterm birth, and intrauterine growth restriction are associated with reduced nephron numbers. Humans with hypertension and chronic kidney disease tend to have fewer nephrons than their counterparts with normal blood pressures or kidney function. A developmentally programmed reduction in nephron number therefore enhances an individual's susceptibility to hypertension and kidney disease in later life. A low nephron number at birth may not lead to kidney dysfunction alone except when severe, but in the face of superimposed acute or chronic kidney injury, a kidney endowed with fewer nephrons may be less able to adapt, and overt kidney disease may develop. Given that millions of babies are born either too small, too big or too soon each year, the population impact of altered renal programming is likely to be significant. Many gestational exposures are modifiable, therefore urgent attention is required to implement public health measures to optimize maternal, fetal, and child health, to prevent or mitigate the consequences of developmental programming, to improve the health future generations.


Column Editor: Anastasia, Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN email@example.com This column will feature reports on what is going on in the rapidly changing, ever fascinating field of Technical Services. Each quarterly issue will consist of reports on new developments including integrated library systems, next generation catalogs, management of electronic resources; conference happenings and reports from professional meetings; what's new in technical services publications; as well as reports from technical services professionals on their research and projects. Such reports, announcements, and brief articles for consideration for inclusion should be sent to: Anastasia Guimaraes, Editor, "Technical Services Report," 426 Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556.


Police officers may be required to use their firearms in self-defence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between hand grip size and strength with pistol shooting accuracy in police officers. Twelve (age = 38.08 ± 6.24 years; height = 174.42 ± 7.33 cm) police officers had their hand sizes (palm width and hand span) and hand grip strength measured. Handgrip dynamometer was set at a Glock 17 pistol's grip width (50 mm). The officers fired 10 rounds from their service pistols at a stationary target. Independent samples t-tests were performed to identify differences between the sexes. Correlations were used to investigate relationships between measures of hand size, strength, and marksmanship. Alpha levels were set at p < 0.05. Male officers were significantly stronger (p = 0.01) and had a bigger hand width (p = 0.03), but not hand span. There were no significant differences in marksmanship between the sexes. Neither hand size nor grip strength had a significant impact on marksmanship even though there were strong and significant relationships between hand size (span and MCP) and grip strength. A V-shaped curve appears to exist between grip strength and marksmanship and hand span and marksmanship, with a potential influencing factor being the standard sizing of the pistol grip.


This article introduces a new computer conferencing metric called Scan Rate, which is a measure of students' and instructors' online reading speed. The term "scan" refers to the practice of either skimming through a message at an unusually rapid pace or reading a message partially and then stopping before the end is reached. It is proposed that the Scan Rate metric offers a useful way of monitoring how thoroughly students attend to the messages they read. Four analyses illustrate the utility of the metric. These reveal that (1) scan rates increase with message size, (2) students are more likely to scan the messages of their peers than messages written by their instructor, (3) students engage in scanning practices more frequently than instructors, and (4) scan rates are partially a function of class size and class configuration.


Drawing on participatory and non-participatory observation and on inter- views with workers, union representatives and migrant advisors, this chapter focuses on the working conditions of Romanians posted in the construction and meat industry sectors in Germany. More precisely, it addresses their income level, housing and health, as well as union approaches towards workers in this type of employment. Both because the regulatory framework in force in 2015-16, when this research was carried out, did not grant wages above the minimum standards in Germany for posted workers, and as a result of informal agreements or unlawful practices of employers, respondents were often paid below the wages they were entitled to. Their accommodation ranged from shared apartments insides towns to living-containers at the construction site or, in ex- treme cases, to illegal housing in tool-containers. At the same time, even if as a result of intense work rhythm and poor work safety, posted workers are more vulnerable to health issues and accidents than regular employees, their social health protection is low. On the other hand, the constraints of the outdated regulatory framework and their limited resources are among the factors that determined unions to support advisory offices for posted workers, instead of recruiting them within their structures. In this context, posted workers have an unbalanced position in regards to that of their employers, with few who were able to enforce their rights through collective action.


We have used distributed Raman amplification to extend the measurement distance of a Brillouin Optical Time-Domain Analysis (BOTDA) sensor. We successfully demonstrate a dynamic range of 75 km with 2 meter spatial resolution.


Much progress has been made in understanding the structure and behavior of bulk water, but what about interfacial water? In his Perspective,
 Marx
 discusses a report in the same issue by
 Kuo and Mundy
 that presents a large-scale ab initio computer simulation of the water surface. The results offer valuable insights into how water molecules are oriented and hydrogen-bonded at surfaces, including how electronic properties change as compared to the bulk behavior. According to Marx, now that such large-scale simulations have been shown to be feasible owing to powerful simulation software, these ab initio simulations will become a more widely used tool to study complex molecular systems.


.The objective of this study is to verify the influence of budgetary participation on the reduction of information asymmetry in the budget process in a multinational company, having taken for granted that the participatory budget minimizes information asymmetry. Therefore, descriptive research was carried out, in the form of a case study and qualitative type, through interviews and direct observation. The study was applied in a business unit of a multinational company that has the consolidated budget practice. The results of the research show that the company has a participatory budget, for all sectors and managers are directly involved in its preparation. Moreover, several meetings are held to discuss and define the budget targets. However, in this study this condition did not minimize information asymmetry, as most responses focused on a single item, indicating that the sub-manager/subordinate has more information than his superior.


Great strides have been made in health care over the past six years after the implementation of the policy known as meaningful use by the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services. Health care subsidies and monetary incentive programs were created for eligible professionals and critical area hospitals to encourage the use of certified electronic health records in an effort to improve quality care of all acute and chronically ill patients, as well as provide routine examinations for healthy individuals. Patients diagnosed with type II diabetes mellitus were studied using a certified electronic health record system for compliance in physician ordered lab testing and follow-up visits with their primary care physician so as to confirm a positive effect on in the quality of patient health care. Diabetes mellitus is a disease which requires constant monitoring, thus creating an ideal patient study group. Research has confirmed that patient compliance significantly improves quality of health care outcomes; now it is time to determine that if the implementation of a certified electronic health record in the family practice setting improves patient compliance, thus improving quality of health care. QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES 4


SUMMARY: The growth of bacteria in chemically-defined media containing mixtures of amino-acids is less dependent upon the magnesium concentration than in simple media composed of saits, glucose or glycerol and a single source of nitrogen. In the more complex chemically-defined media growth initially increases rapidly with, and then becomes independent of, the magnesium concentration. Gram-positive bacilli jail to grow when the magnesium content of the medium is less than 0·66 p.p.m., whereas this amount of magnesium is almost sufficient to maintain maximum growth of the Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, a deficiency of magnesium (i.e. c. 1-5 p.p.m.) inhibits the cell division of the Gram-positive rod-shaped organisms, and results in the formation of filamentous cells.


SUMMARY The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of the doctors who attend patients with community-acquired infections and who are responsible for most of the antibiotic prescriptions in primary health care. At the same time, the evolution experienced in the last ten years in relation to the main parameters analyzed was studied. The study was conducted by personal interviews, using a structured questionnaire, administered to 855 doctors of different specialties, who make up a statistically significant nationwide sample. The study showed that in spite of the improvements in the knowledge of the microbiology of infectious diseases and the choice of antimicrobial agents, there are still certain areas that need improvement. These are, above all, in regard to the bacterial resistance problem, underevaluation of the viral etiology of certain respiratory tract infections and the somewhat condescending attitude with "visits by third parties," indulgence prescriptions and therapeutic noncompliance. Efficacy defined not only as clinical remission but also, and essentially, as antibacterial coverage, are the main parameters considered when participating physicians choose an antibiotic.


Circadian control of the abundance of Toll-like receptor 9 regulates innate and adaptive immune responses. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition receptors that sense pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and stimulate the innate and adaptive immune responses. TLR9 responds to microbial DNA containing CpG dinucleotides, leading to production of type I interferons and inflammatory cytokines (see commentary by Obermann and Bauer). Noting that circadian rhythms regulate aspects of immunity such as lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine production, Silver et al. investigated whether the innate immune response to pathogens was also under circadian control. Macrophages from Per2 mutant mice (which have a defective circadian molecular clock) produced fewer cytokines than did macrophages from wild-type mice in response to the TLR9 ligand CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN); however, other TLR responses were unaffected. Mice were exposed to a 12-hour light and 12-hour dark cycle starting at Zeitgeber time (ZT) 0, and messenger RNA (mRNA) abundance in the spleen was measured every 4 hours. Whereas Tlr9 mRNA abundance peaked at ZT 19, the mRNAs for other TLRs did not change. TLR9 protein abundance in the spleen also showed circadian regulation, being higher at ZT19 than at ZT7. Mice exposed to CpG ODNs at ZT19 produced greater amounts of mRNAs for inflammatory cytokines than did mice exposed at ZT7, although there were no differences in baseline amounts of mRNAs. Mice injected at ZT19 with antigenic peptide and CpG ODNs (as a vaccine adjuvant) showed enhanced antigen responsiveness 4 weeks after vaccination compared with mice vaccinated at ZT7. Finally, in a mouse model of TLR9-dependent sepsis, cecal ligation and puncture resulted in a worse phenotype in mice that underwent the procedure at ZT19 than in mice treated at ZT7, indicating a correlation between TLR9 abundance and disease severity. Together, these data suggest a link between the circadian system and innate immunity that may have implications for immunotherapy. A. C. Silver, A. Arjona, W. E. Walker, E. Fikrig, The circadian clock controls Toll-like receptor 9-mediated innate and adaptive immunity. Immunity 36, 251–261 (2012). [PubMed] H.-L. Obermann, S. Bauer, Toll-like receptor 9, what o'clock is it? Immunity 36, 159–161 (2012). [Abstract]


Lettuce mosaic virus (LMV) causes disease of plants in the family Asteraceae, especially lettuce crops. LMV isolates have previously been clustered in three main groups, LMV-Yar, LMV-Greek and LMVRoW. The first two groups, LMV-Yar and LMV-Greek, have similar characteristics such as no seed-borne transmission and non-resistance-breaking. The latter one, LMV-RoW, comprising a large percentage of the LMV isolates contains two large subgroups, LMV-Common and LMV-Most. To date, however, no Korean LMV isolate has been classified and characterized. In this study, LMV-Muju, the Korean LMV isolate, was isolated from lettuce showing pale green and mottle symptoms, and its complete genome sequence was determined. Classification method of LMV isolates based on nucleotide sequence divergence of the NIb-CP junction showed that LMV-Muju was categorized as LMV-Common. LMV-Muju was more similar to LMV-O (LMV-Common subgroup) than to LMV-E (LMV-RoW group but not LMV-Common subgroup) even in the amino acid domains of HC-Pro associated with pathogenicity, and in the CI and VPg regions related to ability to overcome resistance. Taken together, LMV-Muju belongs to the LMV-Common subgroup, and is expected to be a seed-borne, non-resistance-breaking isolate. According to our analysis, all other LMV isolates not previously assigned to a subgroup were also included in the LMV-RoW group.


In human KB cells permissively infected with adenovirus type 2, the high mol. wt. forms of virus DNA have been characterized. These size classes of virus DNA sediment at greater than 100S and 40 to 90S in alkaline sucrose density gradients. Considerable evidence from a series of earlier communications supports the notion that the high mol. wt. forms of virus DNA represent virus DNA sequences covalently linked to cellular DNA. 3H-labelled high mol. wt. adenovirus type 2 DNA from productively infected cells can be shown to hybridize to virus DNA fixed to filters. In the present paper we demonstrate that on alkali elution of the DNA from the filters used in the first step of the hybridization experiment, the labelled DNA re-hybridizes to cellular DNA in the second step of a sequential hybridization experiment. The order of performing the two successive hybridization experiments can be reversed and very similar results are obtained. These data provide conclusive evidence for the covalent linkage of virus and cellular DNA sequences in KB cells productively infected with adenovirus type 2.


The N-heterocyclic carbene catalyzed hetero-Diels-Alder cycloadditions of α,β-unsaturated enones with NHC-enolate adducts generate γ,δ-unsaturated δ-lactones in high yield and enantioselectivity. A quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis of experimental results using a series of NHC ligands reveals a strong correlation between selectivity and steric and electronic parameters. The stereoselectivity-determining step is determined to proceed through a concerted, asynchronous, zwitterionic hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition rather than a Michael addition or Claisen rearrangement. A transition state model is developed that accurately predicts the experimental results. A CH–π interaction acting in concert with an anion-π interaction is determined to be the cause of observed electronic effect. The steric contribution is derived from steric clashes between the catalyst and the approaching enone. The N-heterocyclic carbene and hydroxamic acid co-catalyzed kinetic resolution of secondary cyclic amines developed by the Bode lab furnishes enantioenriched amides and amines with selectivity factors up to 74. A mechanism study revealed that the reaction proceeds through a novel hydroxamic acid proton transfer modification of the concerted aminolysis pathway. Systematic analysis of transition state conformations revealed the steric effects that lead to the observed selectivity. The transition state model developed predicted the observed selectivity factors for two hydroxamic acid esters. Part II. The asymmetric oxidative coupling of phenols remains a significant challenge in organic chemistry. Binuclear oxovanadium amino acid Schiff base catalysts developed by Gong and Sasai for naphthol coupling were determined to be batch-dependent when applied to phenol coupling. Optimization of catalyst preparation diminished this problem. Amino ester Schiff base catalysts allowed for in situ complex formation and improved selectivities at the expense of conversion. Novel BINOL-like scaffolds failed to improve the selectivity in the phenol coupling reaction. A series of tethered catalysts ultimately led to the identification of monomeric catalysts that can produce chiral bisphenols in high yield and moderate enantioselectivity. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Chemistry First Advisor Marisa C. Kozlowski This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/607


IN 1904 LONDON'S theater-going crowd thrilled to the performance of Scottish novelist and playwright James Barrie's delightful musical, Peter Pan Or the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. Initially presented on December 27, 1904, it was published as the short story Peter and Wendy in 1911 and as a play in 1928. Translated into many languages, the tale of the boy who flew from adversity continues to fascinate both children and their parents in numerous Broadway performances and in Steven Spielberg's 1991 motion picture, Hook. It is not known whether Sigmund Freud ever read Peter Pan or saw it performed in Vienna, Berlin, or elsewhere. Probably the most brilliant man of the twentieth century, Freud virtually single-handedly (or single-mindedly) created psychoanalysis, the branch of the human sciences most useful for individual self-understanding, creativity, and insight. He does not mention the play in his published works or correspondence. Nonetheless, Freud was as preoccupied with the idea of man flying as the feisty urchin in the feathered cap. But for the father of psychoanalysis, the possibilities of human flight inspired neither joy nor celebration but fear. Freud's most recent biographer, Peter Gay, observes that he refused to leave Austria despite the Nazi threat after Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, partly because he dreaded airplane travel. "He had tried it once, in 1930, but would not again" (Freud, 594). Similarly, the renowned German Jewish psychoanalyst Erich Fromm emphasizes Freud's fear of traveling alone by railroad or on long trips, arguing that it reveals his abnormally "strong mother attachment" and dependence on others for approval, protection, and admiration: "Traveling is often a symbol of leaving the security of mother and home, of being independent, cutting one's roots" (17-18). Fromm argues that Freud's theory of infantile sexuality and the Oedipus complex, which reduced the complex emotions between child and parent to innate drives and physical passion, as well as his travelphobia, were unconscious defense mechanisms by which Freud denied his overwhelming dependence on the mother. According to Fromm, the alleged premature waning of Freud's sexual potency and his insistence on intellectual sublimation rather than unrestrained exercise of libido indicated fear of sexual spontaneity. This anxiety, rooted in a mother fixation and exacerbated by an aversion to contraceptives, deprived him of full marital sexual gratification. Perhaps traumatic childhood experiences caused Freud's sexual inhibitions. Noting Freud's lack of passion for his wife Martha, Fromm depicts him as incapable of loving anyone. For Freud, romance was merely an ephemeral "ego trip." According to Fromm, "His relationship to his wife, after the ardor of the first conquest had burned out, was apparently that of a faithful but somewhat distant husband" (31). Like Philip Rieff, only negatively, Fromm judges Freud a prude who, though "the great spokesman for sex, was a typical puritan. To him [Freud], the aim of life for a civilized person was to suppress his emotional and sexual impulses, and at the expense of this suppression, to lead a civilized life. It is the uncivilized mob which is not capable of such a sacrifice" (33). Depicting Freud as essentially a neurotic Victorian, Fromm claims that self-analysis failed to improve his gloomy marriage. He had a "relatively weak interest in women, and ... little sexual drive" (28). Describing one of Freud's dreams, about a wilted flower pressed against a book's pages as a bookmark, Fromm renders the following interpretation: "He [Freud] lets love [flowers] dry up, and makes it the object of scientific examination.... He made love an object of science, but in his life it remained dry and sterile. His scientific-intellectual interests were stronger than his eros; they smothered it, and at the same time became a substitute for his experience of love" (28). Fromm argues that Freud's theory that civilization and culture were based on sexual repression defensively invoked his ascetic, inhibited lifestyle as a paradigm, rationalizing and extenuating his fear of sex and apathy toward eroticism. …


This study was carried out to investigate the influence peers have on Form 4 students' motivation towards English learning. A total of seventy five Form Four students from an urban area in Selangor were selected based on convenient sampling as the respondents of the study. A set of questionnaire was designed to gain primary data from the respondents on the peer influence on their motivation towards English learning. The overall findings of this study indicate that peers' socioeconomic status does not affect students' motivation towards English learning. This is because, parents regardless of income and occupations view English as important and encourage their children to excel in the subject. These peers then influence the students in English learning. Peers' race and ethnicity are revealed to have influence on students' motivation towards English learning. Peers of the same race can lead to The Bad Apple Model and in the same time encourage collaborative learning when they assist one another in explaining unfamiliar English vocabulary. Apart from that, the findings also show that peers' gender does influence students' motivation towards English learning. Female peers are claimed to be better behaved and more focused in the classroom. They are also very helpful during English lessons and are the ones who score better grades in English. The findings also revealed that male peers are the ones who contribute to fun and interactive English learning atmosphere. In conclusion, the recommendation for future research in this field has been inserted in the final part of the study. KEYWORD: peer influence, motivation, socioeconomic status, race, gender


Dialects are one of the main drivers of language variation, a major challenge for natural language processing tools. In most languages, dialects exist along a continuum, and are commonly discretized by combining the extent of several preselected linguistic variables. However, the selection of these variables is theory-driven and itself insensitive to change. We use Doc2Vec on a corpus of 16.8M anonymous online posts in the German-speaking area to learn continuous document representations of cities. These representations capture continuous regional linguistic distinctions, and can serve as input to downstream NLP tasks sensitive to regional variation. By incorporating geographic information via retrofitting and agglomerative clustering with structure, we recover dialect areas at various levels of granularity. Evaluating these clusters against an existing dialect map, we achieve a match of up to 0.77 V-score (harmonic mean of cluster completeness and homogeneity). Our results show that representation learning with retrofitting offers a robust general method to automatically expose dialectal differences and regional variation at a finer granularity than was previously possible.


We propose a method (TT-GP) for approximate inference in Gaussian Process (GP) models. We build on previous scalable GP research including stochastic variational inference based on inducing inputs, kernel interpolation, and structure exploiting algebra. The key idea of our method is to use Tensor Train decomposition for variational parameters, which allows us to train GPs with billions of inducing inputs and achieve state-of-the-art results on several benchmarks. Further, our approach allows for training kernels based on deep neural networks without any modifications to the underlying GP model. A neural network learns a multidimensional embedding for the data, which is used by the GP to make the final prediction. We train GP and neural network parameters end-to-end without pretraining, through maximization of GP marginal likelihood. We show the efficiency of the proposed approach on several regression and classification benchmark datasets including MNIST, CIFAR-10, and Airline.


The vast majority of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are equipped with water- and heavy-water-cooled reactors. Such NPPs have lower thermal efficiencies (30–36%) compared to those achieved at NPPs equipped with Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs) (∼42%) and Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs) (∼40%), and, especially, compared to those of modern advanced thermal power plants, such as combined cycle with thermal efficiencies up to 62% and supercritical-pressure coal-fired power plants — up to 55%. Therefore, NPPs with water- and heavy-water-cooled reactors are not very competitive with other power plants. Therefore, this deficiency of current water-cooled NPPs should be addressed in the next generation or Generation-IV nuclear-power reactors / NPPs.
 Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) concept / NPP is currently considered as the most efficient NPP of the next generation. Being a thermal-spectrum reactor, VHTR will use helium as a reactor coolant, which will be heated up to 1000°C. The use of a direct Brayton helium-turbine cycle was considered originally. However, technical challenges associated with the direct helium cycle have resulted in a change of the reference concept to indirect power cycle, which can be also a combined cycle.
 Along with the VHTR, Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) concept / NPP is also regarded as one of the most thermally efficient concept for the upcoming generation of NPPs. This concept was also originally thought to be with the direct helium power cycle. However, technical challenges have changed the initial idea of power cycle to a number of options including indirect Brayton cycle with He-N2 mixture, application of SuperCritical (SC)-CO2 cycles or combined cycles.
 The objective of the current paper is to provide the latest information on new developments in power cycles proposed for these two helium-cooled Generation-IV reactor concepts, which include indirect nitrogen-helium Brayton gas-turbine cycle, supercritical-pressure carbon-dioxide Brayton gas-turbine cycle, and combined cycles. Also, a comparison of basic thermophysical properties of helium with those of other reactor coolants, and with those of nitrogen, nitrogen-helium mixture and SC-CO2 is provided.


We will facilitate a large art therapy group which will explore the relationship between intelligence and feeling through a process of art-making and reflection on the experience of the conference as a whole.

The LAG is an innovative, experiential teaching method developed at Goldsmiths as a way of learning about art therapy processes. It brings together all the students and staff regularly during the academic year, allowing learning to take place through reflection on the relationships between the different components of the course as a whole. The LAG process is one of reflexivity between thinking, feeling and action, mediated through the relationship between art and words. This reflexivity allows feelings to be linked to learning about the relationship between the individual and the group, about identity and difference and the experience of art therapists in institutions and society as a whole.

The aim of the conference LAG would be to explore the collective dynamics at work in the interplay between intelligence and feeling through creating a space where:
- The individual could gain a sense of their own experiential learning in relation to feelings of alienation and belonging in the conference as a whole
- Different national and cultural conceptions of intelligence and feeling would be experienced, represented and thought about
- The dynamics between different traditions of art therapy and the similarities and differences between the different arts could be explored.

We propose three 90 minute LAG sessions, one at the end of each day, to allow the experience of the phases of group development and the processing of thinking and feeling over the time of the conference. The workshop will be open to all conference participants and will take place in a room big enough for all to attend. Art materials will be made available. However, any form of symbolic expression will be possible and any art work made can be taken away afterwards. We encourage people to come for the three sessions and stay for the whole time. After a brief introduction, people will be invited to use the space of the group as they determine. Our role will be to hold the boundaries and to facilitate the aims and objectives of the group.
The workshop will be a conference experiential event exploring the collective dimensions of the relationship between intelligence and feeling and in addition introducing the LAG as a potential teaching method for all the arts therapies.


The purpose of this study was to examine incivility experienced by direct health care staff in their workplaces. The sample (N = 184) was 91 % female and 77% White, with 71% of the participants having earned an associate degree or above and 81% being registered nurses. The Work Limitations Questionnaire and the Incivility in Healthcare Survey were distributed to all direct care staff at a major metropolitan hospital (22% response rate). Correlations were found between workplace incivility from direct supervisors and productivity (r = 0.284, p = .000) and workplace incivility from patients and productivity (r = 0.204, p = .006). Incivility from physicians, incivility from other direct care staff, and general environmental incivility were not shown to be significantly related to productivity. Demographics were not related to levels of workplace incivility. Workplace incivility from patients and management appears to have a greater impact on employees' productivity than workplace incivility from other sources.


Library and Information Science, provides abundant evidence of why the Illinois
program has thrived while other equally prestigious schools such as Columbia
and Chicago have folded, for while Illinois has remained on the cutting edge
of research and technological change, it has never entirely abandoned the grass
roots of librarianship. The school has also been blessed with strong leadership,
although the personalities of the school receive somewhat short shrift (and no
criticism) in this collection. As Walter C. Allen remarks in the introduction to
the current volume, these essays are intended to "put the new developments
[for example, technology and information science] into the context of the
School's total history" (p. iii). Readers interested in additional information on
directors and faculty who shaped the school-most of whom receive only cursory
treatment here-or in "local color," would be well advised to consult
Laurel A. Grotzinger, The Power and the Dignity: Librarianship and Katherine Sharp
(New York: Scarecrow, 1966); and two previous publications concerning the
school's history, Fifty Years of Education for Librarianship , University of Illinois
Contributions to Librarianship, no. 1 (Urbana: University of lllinois Press,
1943); and Barbara M. Slanker. ed., Reminiscences: Seventy-Five Years of a Library
School (Urbana: University of Illinois, Graduate Library School, 1969).


Regardless of the significant growth of ultra-marathon trail-running races over the last 40 years, epidemiological research is lacking. Presently, no review paper exists that integrates the empirical surveillances of ultra-marathon trail runners' injuries and illnesses. The purpose of this work is to integrate the empirical findings of injuries and illness among trail runners during the period 2007-2016. An electronic database search was conducted using Pubmed, Medline, Science Direct, Ebscohost, Biomed, CINAHL, Embase and Sabinet according to PRIMSA guidelines. The search identified a high injury and illness prevalence among ultra-marathon trail runners. Unfortunately, the injury and illness definition adopted by the studies was heterogeneous, which makes quantifying literature challenging. It is recommended that a homogenous definition of ultra-marathon trail-running injury and illness be drafted. The most prevalent injuries were dermatological (foot blisters, subungual hematoma, chafing and lacerations) followed by musculoskeletal (plantar fascia, ankle, Achilles tendon, knee, lower back and thigh). Common medical illnesses include muscle damage, fatigue, cramps, and cardiorespiratory dysfunction. South Africa hosts a very busy trail-running calendar, but one epidemiological investigation has been conducted among its runners and none in its neighbouring African countries. It is recommended that more quantitative and qualitative investigations be undertaken.

 Key words: Ultramarathon trail, musculoskeletal injury and illnesses, dermatological injuries of ultramarathon trail runners.


In tissue engineering, paraffin spheres are often used as porogen in solvent casting/particulate leaching technology to prepare scaffold. Shape, size of paraffin spheres is very important to connectivity of scaffold. Emulsification is commonly used to prepare paraffin spheres, in which the paraffin size can not be controlled well. In this paper, a new method based on digitalization of microfluids technology is used to produce paraffin spheres. In this method, relationship between drive voltage U and diameter of spheres, and relationship between diameter of nozzle d and diameter of spheres are studied. The two parameters have great effect on the shape, size of paraffin spheres. The shape, size of paraffin spheres can be adjusted by controlling the drive voltage U and diameter of nozzle d. The results show that the method based on digitalization of microfluids technology is simple, highly controllability.


Abstract Antioxidants mitigate radiation-induced lethality when started soon after radiation exposure, a delivery time that may not be practical due to difficulties in distribution and because the oral administration of such agents may require a delay beyond the prodromal stage of the radiation syndrome. We report the unexpected finding that antioxidant supplementation starting 24 h after total-body irradiation resulted in better survival than antioxidant supplementation started soon after the irradiation. The antioxidant dietary supplement was l-selenomethionine, sodium ascorbate, N-acetyl cysteine, α-lipoic acid, α-tocopherol succinate, and co-enzyme Q10. Total-body irradiation with 8 Gy in the absence of antioxidant supplementation was lethal by day 16. When antioxidant supplementation was started soon after irradiation, four of 14 mice survived. In contrast, 14 of 18 mice receiving antioxidant supplementation starting 24 h after irradiation were alive and well 30 days later. The numbers of spleen colonies and blood cells were higher in mice receiving antioxidant supplementation starting 24 h after irradiation than in mice receiving radiation alone. A diet supplemented with antioxidants administered starting 24 h after total-body irradiation improved bone marrow cell survival and mitigated lethality, with a radiation protection factor of approximately 1.18.


A SCORM-compliant learning management system (LMS) has been developed that enhances learning by effectively and efficiently managing the learning itself. First, a SCORM-LST was developed by adding to SCORM (sharable content object reference model) a framework that describes facilitation corresponding to the learner's state of learning and describes the learning state transitions. This makes it possible to describe collaborative learning, assessment, and facilitation for multiple users. Next, a SCORM-compliant LMS (SALMS: SCORM-compliant adaptive LMS) based on the SCORM-LST was developed. SALMS interprets SCORM-LST code and changes the user interface to match the learner's state of learning. It also manages the learning so that it matches the designer's intentions.


England in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was no stranger to migrants and, inevitably, migrants were not always warmly received. They were often stigmatised for their perceived differences of language, religion and behaviour, and were blamed for a range of social ills including crime and low wages. In this article I examine print news reporting in six English port cities from c1850 to 1911. I focus on the ways in which crime reporting in particular characterised both offenders and victims, and the extent to which migrant origin was considered a relevant characteristic to report. It is argued that for the most part migrant origin was not widely mentioned in crime reports in regional newspapers, though there were periods when migrant origin was increasingly foregrounded and these coincided with times when migration to England was becoming increasingly politicised, especially before and immediately after the passing of the Aliens Act in 1905.


The manufacturing of large-scale structural components is still dominated by manual labor in many sectors of the modern composite industry. Efforts are being made to establish an automated layup technology for complex structural elements. Processing dry non-crimp fiber fabrics (NCF) offers great cost opportunities and high deposition rates, compared to prepreg-based technologies like automated fiber placement (AFP). Here, the fabric architecture is considered during the draping of the plane textile on curved surfaces. In this paper, the development of a draping unit for balancing fabric tension and consolidating continuously across the layup width is presented. We introduce a geometrical process model to achieve a fabric-friendly draping of the used unidirectional NCF. The shape of the resulting draping front depends on the surface geometry, the shearing of the previously laid-up textile, and the positioning of the material feed. To consolidate the fabric at the altering draping front in an automated layup process, the shape of the continuous consolidation element can be controlled by the elongation of serial soft actuators, manipulated by parallel robot kinematics. The shape replication ability of the draping unit is promising for the implementation of a continuous, fabric-friendly draping process for complex surface geometries.


As part of the comprehensive investigation of heat transfer in steam-boiler furnaces by the Special Research Committee on Furnace Performance Factors of the Society, the furnace heat-absorption efficiency and the distribution of heat absorption on the furnace walls were determined on boiler No. 1 at the Willow Island Station of the Monongahela Power Company, Willow Island, West Va. The unit is a single-drum boiler rated at 500,000 lb of steam per hr at 1350 psig and 950 F at the superheater outlet, with a water-cooled dry-bottom furnace that is fired through the roof with six multitip intertube burners. This paper presents the results of determination of furnace heat-absorption efficiency made by the Combustion Research Section of the Bureau of Mines, as part of the co-operative research program with the ASME Committee to study factors affecting furnace performance. The distribution of heat absorption in the furnace walls, investigated concurrently, is the subject of another paper, and together they comprise the third of a series of reports of investigations sponsored by the committee.


Metal-organic frameworks are among the most promising materials for industrial gas separations, including the removal of carbon dioxide from natural gas, although substantial improvements in adsorption selectivity are still sought. Herein, we use equilibrium adsorption experiments to demonstrate that the flexible metal-organic framework Co(bdp) (bdp2- = 1,4-benzenedipyrazolate) exhibits a large CO2 adsorption capacity and approaches complete exclusion of CH4 under 50:50 mixtures of the two gases, leading to outstanding CO2/CH4 selectivity under these conditions. In situ powder X-ray diffraction data indicate that this selectivity arises from reversible guest templating, in which the framework expands to form a CO2 clathrate and then collapses to the nontemplated phase upon desorption. Under an atmosphere dominated by CH4, Co(bdp) adsorbs minor amounts of CH4 along with CO2, highlighting the importance of studying all relevant pressure and composition ranges via multicomponent measurements when examining mixed-gas selectivity in structurally flexible materials. Altogether, these results show that Co(bdp) may be a promising CO2/CH4 separation material and provide insights for the further study of flexible adsorbents for gas separations.


Organizational development requires us to look at the whole system, rather than to isolate the parts. Its precepts urge widespread participation in planning and implementing change. Turning the organization into a conscious learning system ensures ongoing adaptation to an unpredictable environment. The role of everyone with OD knowledge in health care is to apply the guiding principles we have discussed. It is also to raise awareness about the potential harm that may ensue from ignoring these principles. Rarely will an OD intervention provide a quick fix. Substantive changes always go through a cycle of "worse before better." But, the lasting benefit from integrating OD principles into health care education and management is that they provide the resiliency that people and organizations need to thrive in a time of change.


Seabirds and other land-breeding marine predators are considered to be useful and practical indicators of the state of marine ecosystems because of their dependence on marine prey and the accessibility of their populations at breeding colonies. Historical counts of breeding populations of these higher-order marine predators are one of few data sources available for inferring past change in marine ecosystems. However, historical abundance estimates derived from these population counts may be subject to unrecognised bias and uncertainty because of variable attendance of birds at breeding colonies and variable timing of past population surveys. We retrospectively accounted for detection bias in historical abundance estimates of the colonial, land-breeding Adélie penguin through an analysis of 222 historical abundance estimates from 81 breeding sites in east Antarctica. The published abundance estimates were de-constructed to retrieve the raw count data and then re-constructed by applying contemporary adjustment factors obtained from remotely operating time-lapse cameras. The re-construction process incorporated spatial and temporal variation in phenology and attendance by using data from cameras deployed at multiple sites over multiple years and propagating this uncertainty through to the final revised abundance estimates. Our re-constructed abundance estimates were consistently higher and more uncertain than published estimates. The re-constructed estimates alter the conclusions reached for some sites in east Antarctica in recent assessments of long-term Adélie penguin population change. Our approach is applicable to abundance data for a wide range of colonial, land-breeding marine species including other penguin species, flying seabirds and marine mammals.


Mesoporous silica particles (MSP) have been reported to be applicable in diverse situations pertaining to the delivery of several drug molecules. MSP have established themselves in treating diseases with oral, dermal and parenteral modes of administration. Recently, dermal delivery using MSP have gained a considerable amount of interest owing to the increase in drug stability, permeation and ease of functionalization. MSP, in general, have a very high capability of delivering actives ranging from small molecules like drugs and amino acids to larger peptides, vaccines and antibodies. The applicability of MSP in achieving desired cosmetic and health-related outcomes depends on the careful tuning of their pore size, surface area, shape and overall physicochemical properties. This review provides comprehensive details of the recent developments in the fabrication of MSP, their characteristic features and, applications in dermal drug delivery. Studies on establishing the safety profile of MSP have also been summarized in the review.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES
Basic attentional control, negative biases in attention and interpretation, and rumination are all cognitive processes associated with depression; however, less is known about their predictive role in depressive mood reactivity and -recovery in response to stress, and their relation to severity of depression.

DESIGN & METHODS
We experimentally induced stress based on an autobiographical imagery script in a sample of 92 participants with Major Depressive Disorder with or without comorbid anxiety disorders. We used simple regression analysis for investigating the roles of state- and trait rumination, attentional networks, and attentional and interpretation biases for predicting stress-induced depressive mood reactivity and -recovery, respectively, and whether they in parallel mediated the association between cognitive processes and depression severity.

RESULTS
Stress-induced depressive mood reactivity was predicted by better orienting ability and more state rumination. Better recovery was predicted by better orienting efficiency and lower negative interpretation bias. Furthermore, the relation between state rumination and depression severity was partially mediated by depressive mood reactivity, however limited by the lack of temporal precedence in the analysis.

CONCLUSIONS
We characterized the relation between cognitive processes and mood malleability in response to stress. Findings could refine theoretical models of depression if causality is established.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04137367.


This essential guide for intermediate/advanced photographers has now been fully updated for Elements 7. Bestselling author and Elements guru Philip Andrews turns his expansive knowledge to this powerful application, delivering, once again, a practical approach in a crystal-clear writing style. For the advanced Elements user, this book offers a standalone guide to advancing knowledge of the software. For those with a little less experience, it works seamlessly in conjunction with Philip's other Elements guide: "Adobe Photoshop Elements 7: A visual introduction to digital photography". Philip expands on the solid foundation delivered by that title to deliver a master-guide that shows you just how powerful this deceptively simple software package can be. Throughout the book, Philip takes a pro's approach, emphasising a streamlined, non-destructive workflow. Diverse chapters cover the entire spectrum of photographic potential offered by the software, including key areas such as: darkroom techniques, advanced selection techniques, professional retouching, photo restoration, panoramas, collages, RAW processing and printing. Additionally, the content is supplemented by extra great learning tools available on the website: WWW.XXXXXX.com. These include: downloadable resources, and Elements vodcasts. Essential reading for all photographers using Elements 7. * Advanced guide to Elements, the natural sequel to the bestselling 'Adobe Photoshop Elements 6'* Written by Philip Andrews, world-renowned Photoshop elements expert* Takes a professional approach to this industry-standard software, with a core focus on nondestructive editing throughout


Using data from a two stage family study (totally 255 families, 1102 genotyped subjects) we searched for an ethnicityindependent oligogenic configuration of interacting loci that explained the observed susceptibility to alcohol dependence. Our analyses were caried out under the constraint of reproducibility as during the adaptive search one set of families served as "training" samples while the second set of families were used as independent "test" samples. Based on a genetic similarity function that quantifies the genetic distances d(xi,xi) between feature vectors xi, x1 made up of the allelic pattems of any two subjects i, j at n loci lt, 12,.. /a, our sifnal detection algorithm looked for significant differences between the parent-offspring similarities and the betweensib similarities of affected sib pairs under the constraint that no such differences showed up for the unaffected sib pairs. The question of unknown population admixture was addressed by means of a quantitative concept of ethnicity in combination with cluster-analytical methods. We found a reproducible configuration of 14 ethnicity-independent loci on chromosomes 1, 2,4,9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18 and 20 as being vulnerability-related, and 5 ethnicity-independent loci on chromosomes 1, 5, 14 and 19 as being protective with respect to the clinical syndrome of alcohol dependence.


The objective of this study is to describe and analyze the major assimilatory processes and test their occurrence in Kuwaiti Arabic (KA). The present study is primarily concerned with the major assimilatory processes of KA that previous studies have not investigated adequately. The results revealed that all the investigated assimilatory processes occur in KA, except for assibilation and umlaut. It also showed that all the applied assimilatory processes in KA are obligatory processes, except for obstruent devoicing. In addition, the study determined all the possible phonological environments for these assimilatory processes in KA. The findings also showed that there is only one case restricted to Kuwaiti Bedouin Arabic (KBA) when applying vowel (fronting) harmony; however, many other cases of vowel harmony are applied by all the varieties of KA. The present study provided evidence that explains the occurrence of the tested assimilatory processes and supports the accuracy of the phonological environments that allow or block their application in KA.


Background: Infections in renal allograft recipients, especially urinary tract infections (UTI), are an essential factor leading to an increase in morbidity, graft failure, and degrading the health-related quality of life. Aims and Objectives: Our objective is to assess the causes, risk factors, microbiological profile, and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of UTI in renal transplant recipients. Material and Methods: It was a prospective observational study, conducted at the Department of Nephrology, Sir Gangaram Hospital, New Delhi, India. Three hundred ten renal transplant recipients were enrolled. Results: Out of 300 transplant recipients, 107 (35.6%) had UTI. The mean age of patients with UTI was 32 ± 10.5 years. Females have a higher incidence of UTI than males. 64.5% of all diabetic patients had UTI. Escherichia coli (41%) was the most common causative agent. Gram-negative bacilli attributed the majority (88.5%) of cases. Klebsiella pneumonia was found to be multidrug-resistant in most cases. 61% of patients with reflux kidney disease before transplant suffered from UTI. Conclusion: On multivariate analysis in our study, diabetes (P=0.01), prolonged urethral catheterization (p=0.002), and double J stent kept in situ (p=0.03) and reflux kidney disease before transplant (p < 0.02) were independently associated with UTI prolonged.


The threat of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) for cattle operations is exacerbated by increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Mannheimia haemolytica, a leading cause of BRD. Characterization of AMR in M. haemolytica by culture and susceptibility testing is complicated by uncertainty regarding the number of colonies that must be selected to accurately characterize AMR phenotypes (antibiograms) and genotypes in a culture. The study objective was to assess phenotypic and genotypic diversity of M. haemolytica isolates on nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) from 28 cattle at risk for BRD or with BRD. NPS were swabbed onto five consecutive blood agar plates; after incubation up to 20 M. haemolytica colonies were selected per plate (up to 100 colonies per NPS). Phenotype was determined by measuring minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for 11 antimicrobials and classifying isolates as resistant or not. Genotype was indirectly determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS). NPS from 11 of 28 cattle yielded at least one M. haemolytica isolate; median (range) of isolates per NPS was 48 (1–94). NPS from seven cattle yielded one phenotype, 3 NPS yielded two, and 1 NPS yielded three; however, within a sample all phenotypic differences were due to only one MIC dilution. On each NPS all M. haemolytica isolated were the same genotype; genotype 1 was isolated from three NPS and genotype two was isolated from eight. Diversity of M. haemolytica on bovine NPS was limited, suggesting that selection of few colonies might adequately identify relevant phenotypes and genotypes.


Ballast is a primary component of the railway track and it has several functions including the ability to resist vertical, lateral and longitudinal forces applied to the sleepers from the train wheels. In response to the stresses induced during a train passage, ballast typically experiences plastic settlement which can reach unacceptable magnitudes. Thus, ballast is the focus of the majority of maintenance and renewal activities. In response to the growing need for resilient track materials (including ballast) to cope with increasing train speed, load and frequency, means of optimizing its performance and minimizing maintenance requirements are required. Ballast improvement techniques, such as the use of geogrids, have attracted a great deal of attention in terms of research, but huge potential for reducing costs through ballast improvement still exist. It has been shown from previous research that the use of randomly oriented fibres in sands can significantly improve their strength. This technique might be used to improve ballast strength and reduce track geometry deterioration. In addition, fibre reinforcements in ballast can potentially provide a new method of reinforcing ballast whilst maintaining the capability of withstanding typical tamping operations which are incompatible with geogrids. However, there is a lack of rigorous scientific understanding of the effects of fibre reinforcements on relatively large aggregates such as railway ballast. This research examines the effect of random fibre inclusions on the packing structure of granular materials (coarse sand and scaled ballast) and describes the physical implications associated with the observed changes. The mechanical properties of fibre reinforced granular materials across different particle sizes and a hypothesis of fibre/particle reinforcement suitable for relatively large particles are presented. An image-based deformation measurement technique has also been used to investigate the effects of fibre reinforcements on the local deformation of triaxial specimens to corroborate the observed mechanical behaviour of the reinforced specimens. Finally, the mechanical behaviour of a fibre reinforced ballast layer below a cyclically loaded railway sleeper was investigated using a full scale laboratory tests.


OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on disease progression in the collagen induced arthritis (CIA) model in mice. METHODS DBA/1 mice were primed for a suboptimal CIA response by intradermal injection of chick type II collagen without a secondary immunisation. Three weeks after immunisation the mice were given four to five consecutive daily intraperitoneal injections of recombinant murine GM-CSF (15 μg; 5 × 105 U), or vehicle, and arthritis development was monitored by clinical scoring of paws and calliper measurements of footpad swelling. At approximately six to eight weeks after immunisation mice were killed, their limbs removed and processed for histological analyses of joint pathology. RESULTS Control animals receiving a single immunisation with collagen exhibited a varied CIA response both in terms of incidence and severity. Mice treated with GM-CSF at 20 to 25 days after immunisation with collagen had a consistently greater incidence and more rapid onset of disease than the vehicle treated control mice, based on clinical assessment. GM-CSF treated mice showed higher average clinical scores and greater paw swelling than controls. Histological analyses of joints reflected the clinical scores with GM-CSF treated mice displaying more pronounced pathology (synovitis, pannus formation, cartilage and bone damage) than control mice. CONCLUSION GM-CSF is a potent accelerator of the pathological events leading to chronic inflammatory polyarthritis in murine CIA supporting the notion that GM-CSF may play a part in inflammatory polyarthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis.


This paper introduces the idea of presenting physical tasks into people's existing routine so that people can contribute small tasks on-the-go with minimal effort. We present two on-the-go crowdsourcing systems: Libero for package delivery, and CrowdFound for finding lost items. To encourage contributions, we introduce notification techniques that present task opportunities when potential helpers are likely to accept. To direct people to regions where help is most needed, we introduce techniques for tracking a person's location within a task region and directing their attention based on task history. Evaluation studies demonstrate the feasibility of on-the-go crowdsourcing and investigate questions over the likelihood of task completion, the perceived cost of disruption, and the effectiveness of tracking and coordination.


Carbachol induces a novel tetrodotoxin-resistant Na+ current in guinea pig ventricular myocytes bathed in Tyrode's solution with 20 mM Cs+. This action of carbachol, which initiates a series of reactions that culminates in a catecholamine-independent positive inotropic effect, occurs through muscarinic rather than nicotinic cholinoceptive sites. The concentrations of muscarinic antagonists required to suppress the carbachol-induced current by 50% were 2.1 nM, 270 nM, and 1700 nM for atropine, AF-DX 116, and pirenzepine, respectively. These results indicate that an M2-selective antagonist, AF-DX 116, is more potent than an M1-selective antagonist, pirenzepine, as an inhibitor. The M1-selective agonist McN-A-343 did not induce an inward current and blocked that caused by carbachol, in a rapid and reversible manner. This finding is also consistent with the conclusion that the muscarinic receptor involved in the regulation of myocardial Na+ channels by carbachol cannot be distinguished from the M2 subtype of such receptors. Treatment with pertussis toxin did not affect the ability of carbachol to induce an inward current in ventricular myocytes and reversed the current activated by carbachol in atrial cells from outward to inward. The electrophysiological and pharmacological nature of the carbachol-induced current in ventricular myocytes is very similar to that of the acetylcholine-induced current in Xenopus oocytes transfected with porcine M2, but not M1, muscarinic receptors. In both preparations, Na+ is the dominant charge carrier, intracellular Ca2+ is not involved in opening the Na+ channel, and an M2 receptor is involved.