In the animation industry, cartoon videos are usually produced at low frame rate since hand drawing of such frames is costly and time-consuming. Therefore, it is desirable to develop computational models that can automatically interpolate the in-between animation frames. However, existing video interpolation methods fail to produce satisfying results on animation data. Compared to natural videos, animation videos possess two unique characteristics that make frame interpolation difficult: 1) cartoons comprise lines and smooth color pieces. The smooth areas lack textures and make it difficult to estimate accurate motions on animation videos. 2) cartoons express stories via exaggeration. Some of the motions are non-linear and extremely large. In this work, we formally define and study the animation video interpolation problem for the first time. To address the aforementioned challenges, we propose an effective framework, AnimeInterp, with two dedicated modules in a coarse-to-fine manner. Specifically, 1) Segment-Guided Matching resolves the "lack of textures" challenge by exploiting global matching among color pieces that are piece-wise coherent. 2) Recurrent Flow Refinement resolves the "non-linear and extremely large motion" challenge by recur-rent predictions using a transformer-like architecture. To facilitate comprehensive training and evaluations, we build a large-scale animation triplet dataset, ATD-12K, which comprises 12,000 triplets with rich annotations. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our approach outperforms existing state-of-the-art interpolation methods for animation videos. Notably, AnimeInterp shows favorable perceptual quality and robustness for animation scenarios in the wild. The proposed dataset and code are available at https://github.com/lisiyao21/AnimeInterp/.


Gender in journalism in times of recession: how is the women's media representation in a context of crisis in Portugal This article aims to reflect on the silencing and the invisibility of women in both the macroeconomic architecture of the crisis and in the adjacent news production itself. We begin by identifying the extent to which women's identities have been (re)produced and reinforced by institutional discourse as today is organized in the neoliberal economics. Finally, a reflective analysis is made about language as a regulatory mechanism of conventional forms of representation and how the socially expected roles towards women, as ritualized by journalism, delimit its position-of-subject in society.


Finding no assessment of the holistic goals for Christian spiritual development in the context of Protestant private schools, the Growing Disciples Inventory (GDI) was constructed and validated using a mixed methods approach to educational design research. To assess the 21 factors within the four Growing Fruitful Disciples curriculum processes, the GDI was developed through iterative cycles of expert review and usability testing to a final 100-item online format. GDI and exit survey responses from 595 adolescents attending eight Seventh-day Adventist schools on three continents provided strong evidence for reliability and validity. A larger international sample is recommended for further research of improved and alternate versions of this formative curriculum-aligned self-assessment tool for Christian education.


Piperacillin/tazobactam is a commonly used antibiotic with tolerable side effects and broad antimicrobial activity in general practice. Here in we report a patient with resistant and severe hypokalemia induced by piperacillin/tazobactam. There were no other underlying renal or hepatic illness and other causes of hypokalemia. When the treatment was stopped, hypokalemia resolved immediately without potassium replacement. We also evaluated the causality of the case report. We concluded this causality as probable/likely category according to WHO-UMC Causality Categories. We concluded that piperacillin/tazobactam may be cause severe hypokalemia and we must be careful to monitor of serum electrolytes especially potassium during antibiotic treatment. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4021/jmc799w


The fungus Phytophthora infestans is known to develop resistance against the metalaxyl (fungicide), commonly used in the control of potato mildew disease. There is therefore urgent need to explore the potentials of alternative fungicides which are potent, affordable, readily available, easy to prepare and environment friendly. The study was carried out to test the fungicidal potential of aqueous extracts of Rosmarinusofficinalis (Rosemary), in vitro and in vivo on two isolates of P. infestans collected from two potato producing Algerian areas: Bourkika (Tipaza City) and El Abbadia (Aindefla City). Various concentrations of crude extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis applied by direct contact in the following dilutions: 5%, 10% and 20% on medium with pea-agar (PPA), allowed the inhibition of mycelial growth of P. infestans isolates. The observed rates of inhibition exceeded 85% and the inhibitive minimal concentration (CMI) was 5%. Parallel structural modifications, caused by mycelial lyses, as well as the deformation or, and the digestion of the contents of sporangia affected the morphology of both strains from the lowest concentration. The sporulation and the germination were inhibited by this aqueous extract (100%). Also, the absence of resumption of mycelial growth on medium PPA and absence of the mildew symptoms on detached Spunta potato leaves confirmed the fungicidal effect of the Rosemary aqueous extract. This also translated in vivo as significant reduction of the disease was observed. Disease reduction was recorded for the preventive application modes by spraying with the crude aqueous extract (86.2%) and by watering, while for the curative mode with crude extract (81%). On the other hand, Spunta variety was more marked for preventive mode by watering (85%) and the curative one (90%) also, A2 isolate was more inhibited for the application of R. officinalis aqueous extract by curative (83%), spraying mode (86%) and watering modes. Besides, treatments made in preventive modes by spraying and watering showed a total inhibition of the sporulation (100%), exceeding 85% in Spunta variety and 96% for A1 isolate was observed in the curative mode of application. This study thus confirms the antifungal potential of aqueous extract of Rosmarinus officinalis on P. infestans isolates. It is thus recommended for use as bio-fungicide in the management of potato mildew disease.


In this case study, we designed a family game to explore whether this could be an effective and fun approach for raising the awareness of family members towards their energy use and, in the long run, to provide an effective tool for affecting their habits regarding sustainable behavior. The design of the family game implemented the metaphor of electricity as flowing liquid, fostered fun experiences and supported competitive and social elements. Dutch families with children, aged 5-11 years, participated in the design and evaluation of the concept. We obtained valuable insights into the use and understanding of electricity by the families, how the families looked at responsible behaviors around their usage and how a game could integrate into the family context in a fun way.


This paper considered perceptions from a relatively small sample of case studies but acknowledges other respondents views have been triangulated to an extent that verifies the samples used are representative of the UK agricultural supply chain. The present study provides a starting-point for further research into the adoption and uptake of ISO management systems standards in the UK agricultural sector and its supply chain. Therefore this paper does not explore the relationships between adoption of ISO management systems and the impact of them it rather explores perceptions of different ISO management systems from stakeholders viewpoints. Following an extensive review of stakeholder perceptions this paper concludes that the uptake of ISO management systems in the UK will continue and more areas of the agriculture supply chain will feel obliged to certify their management systems to a wider range of standards than just the well known quality management and environmental management system standards.  The extensive certification of ISO management systems in the UK is well known and this paper focuses on acceptance and perceptions of such standards in the UK agricultural sector. The research identified a lack of understanding and hence encourages agricultural specialists, teachers and policy makers to provide information to the agricultural sector regarding the value and scope of ISO management systems in supporting best practice and identification of regulatory compliance issues. This paper is significant in that it has acknowledged an uptake and trend in certification of management systems within the agricultural sector in the UK but has identified a lack of understanding of such systems amongst stakeholders of the agricultural supply chain. Finally, the paper clearly shows many noteworthy opportunities for further certified management systems research within the worldwide agricultural supply chain. Keywords :  ISO standards, management systems, stakeholder perceptions, agriculture, food safety, food control


Experimental evidence of negative group delays (NGDs) for pulses reflected on microstrip dielectric slabs and Bragg reflectors is provided through frequency-domain characterization. This phenomenon occurs in a narrow frequency interval around the reflection minima, where the reflection phase function has a steep negative slope. Our results confirm recent theoretical predictions on weakly absorbing dielectric optical slabs, and a scaling law for the reflective group delay at the slab's design frequency is derived and probed. New interpretation of the Hartman effect (the saturation of the group delay with increasing structure length) is given in terms of the Bragg reflector's effective length.


In this paper, we investigate the usage of autoencoders in modeling textual data. Traditional autoencoders suffer from at least two aspects: scalability with the high dimensionality of vocabulary size and dealing with task-irrelevant words. We address this problem by introducing supervision via the loss function of autoencoders. In particular, we first train a linear classifier on the labeled data, then define a loss for the autoencoder with the weights learned from the linear classifier. To reduce the bias brought by one single classifier, we define a posterior probability distribution on the weights of the classifier, and derive the marginalized loss of the autoencoder with Laplace approximation. We show that our choice of loss function can be rationalized from the perspective of Bregman Divergence, which justifies the soundness of our model. We evaluate the effectiveness of our model on six sentiment analysis datasets, and show that our model significantly outperforms all the competing methods with respect to classification accuracy. We also show that our model is able to take advantage of unlabeled dataset and get improved performance. We further show that our model successfully learns highly discriminative feature maps, which explains its superior performance.


ABSTRACT Despite controversy over recent referendums and initiatives, populists and social movements continue to call for the use of these popular vote processes. Most political and academic debates about whether these calls should be answered have adopted a dominant framework that focuses on whether we should favour 'direct' or 'representative' democracy. However, this framework obscures more urgent questions about whether, when, and how popular vote processes should be implemented in democratic systems. How do popular vote processes interact with representative institutions? And how could these interactions be democratized? The contributions in this special issue address these and related questions by replacing the framework of 'direct democracy' with systemic approaches. The normative contributions illustrate how these approaches enable the development of counternarratives about the value of popular vote processes and clarify the nature of the underlying ideals they should realize. The empirical contributions examine recent cases with a variety of methodological tools, demonstrating that systemic approaches attentive to context can generate new insights about the use of popular vote processes. This introduction puts these contributions into conversation to illustrate how a shift in approach establishes a basis for (re-)evaluating existing practices and guiding reforms so that referendums and initiatives foster democracy.


Rules for the treatment of neoplastic disease must be based on carefully considered case reports in which complete data on the pathologic picture, clinical development, course, history and end results, to the death of the patient or at least to the end of a five year follow-up, are available to the reporter. The inclusion of cases in which the original diagnosis was made by an unknown pathologist is subject to the criticism that the pathologist may not have been expert in the diagnosis of tumor. The inclusion of cases dating to a previous decade is questionable unless the early slides can be reviewed, since the classification of many tumors has undergone extensive change in recent years. Reports of diagnoses made after biopsy of material taken by means of a punch or by aspiration, without subsequent study of additional tissue, are of questionable value. When the cause of death within a


Hello Barbie, CogniToys Dino, and Amazon Echo are part of a new wave of connected toys and gadgets for the home that listen. Unlike the smartphone, these devices are always on, blending into the background until needed. We conducted interviews with parent-child pairs in which they interacted with Hello Barbie and CogniToys Dino, shedding light on children's expectations of the toys' "intelligence'" and parents' privacy concerns and expectations for parental controls. We find that children were often unaware that others might be able to hear what was said to the toy, and that some parents draw connections between the toys and similar tools not intended as toys (e.g., Siri, Alexa) with which their children already interact. Our findings illuminate people's mental models and experiences with these emerging technologies and will help inform the future designs of interactive, connected toys and gadgets. We conclude with recommendations for parents, designers, and policy makers.


: Some features of lactase tolerance were investigated in representatives of varying groups of indigenous population in Siberia-Mansi, Khanty, Nenets, Buryats. The indirect method was used to evaluate lactase activity. A total of 92 subjects were investigated. It was found that 32% of the representatives of the Urals population group and 53% of Buryats were capable of lactase assimilating. The data obtained correspond to the cultural-genetic hypothesis on the nature of lactase tolerance in the representatives of different ethnic groups.


During the last years, we have developed the  platform for providing a practical support to the so-called Multi-Adjoint Logic Programming approach (MALP in brief), which represents an extremely flexible framework into the Fuzzy Logic Programming arena. Nowadays,  is useful for compiling (to standard Prolog code), executing and debugging (by drawing execution trees) MALP programs, and it is ready for being extended in the near future with powerful transformation and optimization techniques designed in our research group during the recent past. Our last update consists in the integration of a graphical interface for a comfortable interaction with the system which allows, among other capabilities, the use of projects for packing scripts and auxiliary definitions of fuzzy sets/connectives, together with fuzzy programs and their associated lattices modeling truth-degrees beyond the simpler crisp case { ; } true false .


Experiments were conducted on models of early occlusion and reperfusion arrhythmias in cats to study the antiarrhythmic activity of trimecain, its morpholine analogue (MPT), and MPT derivatives containing glycine, magnesium salt of aspartic acid, and N-acetylglutaminic acid. All the compounds were injected in doses of 5% of LD50. A 22.5 mg/kg dose of trimecain prevented cardiac rhythm disorders after occlusion of the coronary arteries as well as after restoration of the coronary blood flow. Replacement of the diethyl group in the structure of trimecain by the morpholine ring led to diminution of antiarrhythmic activity, and MPT in a dose of 28.0 mg/kg, in distinction from the former, had no effect on the frequency of the occurrence of early occlusion arrhythmias and the duration of reperfusion arrhythmias. Introduction of amino acids as an anion into the MPT structure raised the antiarrhythmic activity of the last named.


Crigler-Najjar syndrome is a severe condition characterized by high levels of a toxic substance called bilirubin in the blood (hyperbilirubinemia). Bilirubin is produced when red blood cells are broken down. This substance is removed from the body only after it undergoes a chemical reaction in the liver, which converts the toxic form of bilirubin (called unconjugated bilirubin) to a nontoxic form called conjugated bilirubin. People with Crigler-Najjar syndrome have a buildup of unconjugated bilirubin in their blood (unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia).


The word reconciliation has become common throughout Thai society since the aftermath of the massacres of Red Shirt protesters in the heart of Bangkok in the months April and May 2010, which killed around a hundred people and injured 2,000 more. The word came into use by the government since the massacres, and has become an even more regular part of government discourse since the military's successful May 22, 2014 coup d'etat against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The need for reconciliation stems from the incidents of national unrest created by protesters demanding Shinawatra's resignation and the dissolution of her government between October 2013 and May 2014. In part, the military used the need for reconciliation and unity as justification for launching the coup d'etat. Ever since, the military government has stated that it is creating genuine and sustainable reconciliation as well as encouraging harmony. However, the so-called reconciliation process carried out by the military government is riddled with problems. Many of the military government's actions instead took the country back to a state in which true reconciliation in Thai society is impossible. Reconciliation as defined and deployed by the military government is inconsistent with academic definitions of reconciliation derived in the field of peace studies, due to the free-floating signification of the term. In the hands of the military government, the term reconciliation is self-paradoxical, and takes on any meaning politically beneficial to the military government. When examined more closely, it is clear that reconciliation as implemented by the military government consists of 1) creating a surveillance kingdom, 2) obliterating political opposition and threatening and hunting of people with opposing views, 3) dismantling the history of the Red Shirt movement, and 4) organizing entertainment to "return happiness" to the Thai people as a form of distraction. These so-called reconciliation activities are incompatible with the established principles of reconciliation. Above all, these forms of so-called reconciliation actually lead to the suffering of Thai advocates of democracy, and to an even more uncomfortable cultural state in Thailand, where true reconciliation is rendered even more difficult due to the suppression of honest political discourse.


Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) catalyzes the synthesis and phosphorolysis of purine nucleosides, interconverting nucleosides with their corresponding purine base and ribose-1-phosphate. While PNP plays significant roles in human and pathogen physiology, we are interested in developing PNP as a catalyst for the formation of nucleoside analog drugs of clinical relevance. Towards this aim, we describe the engineering of human PNP to accept 2',3'-dideoxyinosine (ddI, Videx((R))) as a substrate for phosphorolysis using a combination of site-directed mutagenesis and directed evolution. In human PNP, we identified a single amino acid, Tyr-88, as a likely modulator of ribose selectivity. RosettaLigand was employed to calculate binding energies for substrate and substrate analog transition state complexes for single mutants of PNP where Tyr-88 was replaced with another amino acid. In parallel, these mutants were generated by site-directed mutagenesis, expressed and purified. A tyrosine to phenylalanine mutant (Y88F) was predicted by Rosetta to improve PNP catalytic activity with respect to ddI. Kinetic characterization of this mutant determined a 9-fold improvement in k(cat) and greater than 2-fold reduction in K(M). Subsequently, we used directed evolution to select for improved variants of PNP-Y88F in Escherichia coli cell extracts resulting in an additional 3-fold improvement over the progenitor strain. The engineered PNP may form the basis for catalysts and pathways for the biosynthesis of ddI.


Because of the unsatisfactory state of knowledge concerning the surface shearing stress of boundary layers with pressure gradients, the problem is re-examined. It is found that for general turbulent boundary layers in wall proximity, that is, in the laminar sublayer, in the transition zone and in the part of the completely turbulent zone near the wall, the same universal law applies as for the plate flow.


Objective To assess the plantar pressure changes in diabetic peripheral neuropathy compared to healthy condition. Patients and methods The study was performed with 150 participants containing 42 nondiabetic, 66 diabetic without peripheral neuropathy and 42 patients with diabetes mellitus with peripheral neuropathy. Using the plantar pressure platform, dynamic pressure variables such as peak plantar pressures and pressure–time integral (PTI) were measured in each foot. Results We have divided the participants into three groups: group A, healthy individuals (n = 42); group B, those with diabetes mellitus without peripheral neuropathy and plantar foot ulceration (n = 66); and group C, diabetic peripheral neuropathy with plantar foot ulceration (n = 42). There is no significant difference in peak plantar pressures between groups A and B, and between groups A and C (P < 0.05). No pressure on the medial midfoot region was recorded in both groups A and B, but a little in group C. There is also no significant difference in plantar PTIs between groups A and B, but there is significant difference of plantar PTI between groups A and C (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found on the medial midfoot region in both groups A and B, but a little in group C. Conclusion There were significant correlations between plantar pressures in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Furthermore, plantar pressure can be helpful in detecting the possible sites for plantar foot ulcerations.


Warburgia ugandensis Sprague (Canellaceae) occurs in East and Central Africa, and the species is of great medicinal importance to the local communities where it occurs. As the wild populations diminish, planted stands will in future be used as the source of medicinal products as well as germplasm. This study investigated the levels of out-crossing rates to provide knowledge for proper planning in future cultivation programmes. The mating parameters estimated using the mixed mating model (software MLTR) showed the species to be predominantly out-crossing (89%) with significant levels of selfing. The multi-locus population out-crossing rate was higher than the single-locus population out-crossing rate (tm- ts= 0.023; SE = 0.010), implying that there was less likelihood of mating between relatives (biparental inbreeding). Low values were also obtained for the correlation of paternity, rp(s) = 0.028 (SE = 0.040) and correlation of selfing among family, rs = 0.016 (SE = 0.015). For most loci, allele frequencies of pollen and ovule contributions to the progeny genotypes were significantly different (P


Nowadays the Spiral-CT-scan is stressed as the diagnostic "gold-standard" in the management of kidney-colics. Our findings suggest a very good sensitivity (98%) and specificity of diagnostic ultrasound (items:Hydrourether, RI > 0.05) in combination with hematuria in an ambulatory setting. Our data are referred to 70 ambulatory patients examined with the hypothetical diagnosis of kidney-colic in a general medicine surgery between 1996-2003. Diagnostic ultrasound is a reliable tool in the management of kidney-colics in ambulatory medicine. Its cost-saving character and the lack of X-rays-exposure should be taken into account in choosing the appropriate method in judging abdominal pains possibly related to kidney-colics.


We have developed a novel technique with which to investigate the morphological basis of exocytotic traffic. We have used expression of HRP from cDNA in a variety of cells in combination with peroxidase cytochemistry to outline traffic into and out of the Golgi apparatus at the electron microscopic level with very high sensitivity. A secretory form of the peroxidase (ssHRP) is active from the beginning of the secretory pathway and the activity is efficiently cleared from cells. Investigation of the morphological elements involved in the itinerary of soluble ER proteins using ssHRP tagged with the ER retention motif (ssHRPKDEL) shows that it progresses through the Golgi stack no further than the cis-most element. Traffic between the RER and the Golgi stack as outlined by ssHRPKDEL occurs via vesicular carriers as well as by tubular elements. ssHRP has also been used to investigate the trans side of the Golgi complex, where incubation at reduced temperatures outlines the trans-Golgi network with HRP reaction product. Tracing the endosomal compartment with transferrin receptor in double-labeling experiments with ssHRP fails to show any overlap between these two compartments.


This article explores how participatory online curation can be used as a tool for understanding and researching contemporary art practices. With online networking becoming more relevant in the lives of both students and artists this research investigates how we can create connections with artworks using online technology. Through the possibility of changing or altering meaning by creating artwork in response to the theme the participant takes an active role in knowledge creation, and the process become a collaboration of all involved, rather than solely the curator's vision. This accessible way of viewing and displaying artwork helps juxtapose a wide range of different art practices and creates new ways of understanding art. The Pillow Exchange: An Experiment in Art and Sleep co-curated by Stacey Cann and Jasia Stuart will be discussed as an example of online curation as well as The Fountain Project: Duchamp as Muse curated by Stacey Cann.


This article is devoted to the exploration of the mechanism of making decision about the company's financing structure. It is shown that the interaction between various financial characteristics of company plays statistically significant role in the capital structure determination. Namely their possible values space may be split into several areas in which different, but might intersected, sets of financial indicators impact statistically significant on the capital structure. Moreover, the same indicator in different areas may have a differential impact on the capital structure. Also there were formulated several hypothesis about the potential direction of influence of various financial indicators on the capital structure assuming the truth of pecking order or trade off hypotheses. And one of the accompanying results of research was the getting facts in favor of the packing order theory for the companies in the chosen branch. Regression trees in combination with linear regression models were used to build the corresponding model of statistical relationship between the measure of capital structure and the set of company's financial indicators. Model training and testing of the set of hypothesis were done using data about annual Russian companies reporting in the branch of automobile retail.


Scales on the badness of 10 offenses/crimes are derived by using the five most common scaling methods: averaging of the badness-ratings of the stimuli on an 11-point scale; mean ranks of complete rankings of the 10 stimuli; Thurstone scales for complete forced-choice and constant-sum pair comparisons, resp.; and ratio scales derived from pairwise ratio judgments for all pairs. From older investigations, a logarithmic correspondence of ratio scales and Thurstone or average ratings, resp., can be predicted. The data corroborate this prediction. They show furthermore that the ratio scale has an exceedingly close, logarithmic relation to each of the other four scales. We therefore conclude that, once a universe has been shown to be scalable, a scale can be constructed very economicaly by simply averaging ratings.


Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/ Copyright Taylor and Francis [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]


This paper summarizes the different host plants and fruit flies present in two islands (Grande-Comore and Mohéli) of the Comoros Archipelago. Different exotic and wild fruit plants were sampled. Eighty plant species, potential hosts, belonging to thirty-four families were collected and incubated for the emergence of fruit flies from December 2019 to September 2020. Twenty-five plant hosts from ten families comprising cultivated and wild fruits have been identified. Fruit fly infestation rates per kilogram of fruit (T.Kg-1 ) varied from plant to plant. Exotic fruit plants, which accounted for more than half of infested plants, including Cucumis melo, Cucurbita pepo, Prunus persica, Coffea arabica and Capsicum frutescens had high infestation rates. For wild plants, the highest infestation rates have been observed in some families including Combretaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Solanaceae and Vitaceae. The highest infestation rate per kilogram of fruit was observed in a wild plant: Cyphostemma lageniflorum. Thirteen new host plants infested by Tephritidae are reported and/or listed for the first time in Comoros. In total, eight species of fruit flies identified. However, the species Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel, 1912 (47.5%) and Dacus bivittatus (Bigot, 1858) (37.6%) were the most representative of the Tephritidae that emerged.


Pain can be caused by several mechanisms, and the development of chronic pain (also known as pain chronification) is a complex and often unpredictable process. Opioids, tramadol, and tapentadol provide pharmacological solutions to chronic pain of cancer or non-cancer origins, particularly if central sensitization is present. It may also be indicated for short-term use in acute pain. Despite large studies and meta-analyses of opioids for a variety of pain conditions, the evidence for its clinical effectiveness is still unclear. This is, however, mostly due to significant heterogeneity and bias between studies assessed. The dual analgesic mechanisms of tramadol and tapentadol appear to be effective options for pain relief, with an overall lower incidence of opioid-related adverse effects. Tapentadol has an analgesic effect comparable to the strong opioids, which appears to be mediated by its greater mu opioid receptor activity and more selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibition. Tramadol produces less analgesia than tapentadol, but it is also associated with reduced opioid-related adverse effects and dependence. The opioids and tramadol may be significantly affected by polymorphisms of CYP2D6, while this effect is lessened with tapentadol.


The notion of causal explanation is an essential element of the naturalistic world view. This view is typically interpreted to claim that we are only licensed to postulate entities that make a "causal difference", or have "causal power". The rest are epiphenomena and hence eliminable from the correct view of reality. The worry that some entities and phenomena that we take for granted – mental properties in particular – turn out to be epiphenomenal, can be seen as stemming from this sort of naturalistic attitude. This thesis reviews the issue of causal explanation within the context of the naturalistic philosophy of mind. It is argued that there is no single monolithic, unanimously accepted notion of causation that the naturalist should be committed to. Views vary on what this notion amounts to exactly, and fields of science vary with respect to their causal commitments. However, the naturalist can still presume that a scientifically informed philosophical account of causation exists, an account that is fundamentally philosophical, but also sensitive to actual scientific practice and its view of reality. The central issue of the current naturalistic philosophy of mind is the so-called problem of causal exclusion. According to this, the assumption that mental states could have genuine and autonomous effects on the physical world is inconsistent with physical commitments, namely the idea that mental states are necessarily neurally based and the idea that the physical world is causally complete. The causal exclusion argument claims that mental causes must be reduced to physical causes, as there remains no role for independent mental causes. The thesis reviews some central responses to the causal exclusion argument. It is shown that within the context of the interventionist notion of causation, inter-level causation can be ruled out. The causal exclusion argument would thus find support, contrary to what the proponents of the interventionist view typically claim. However, the result is also shown to have the corollary that purely higher-level, mental-to-mental causation is possible. The thesis suggests that this offers a consistent view of mental causation for a naturalist to hold.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
During the evaluation of acute ischemic stroke with diffusion- and perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI and PWI, respectively), the presence of salvageable brain tissue is suggested by the occurrence of a perfusion-diffusion "mismatch." DWI and PWI, however, are not universally available and have inherent inconveniences, which justify a search for practical diagnostic alternatives. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there are transcranial Doppler (TCD) markers of mismatch.

METHODS
Retrospective analysis of 22 patients with acute ischemic stroke affecting the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory, who had a TCD performed within 24 hours of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with DWI and PWI.

RESULTS
MRI and TCD were performed on average 10.8 +/- 9.2 hours apart. Time from symptom onset to MRI and TCD completion were 1.6 +/- 1.6 and 2 +/- 1.9 days, respectively. MCA and intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) asymmetry, together with a large ICA-to-MCA gradient, were associated with the presence of mismatch. The combined use of 2 TCD parameters (MCA CBFV asymmetry of > or = 30% and ICA-to-MCA gradient > or = 20 cm/sec) had a sensitivity of 75%, specificity of 80%, positive predictive value of 82%, and negative predictive value of 73% at detecting mismatch cases.

CONCLUSIONS
Diffusion-perfusion mismatch appears to be associated with interhemispheric asymmetry between MCA and ICA CBFVs, and a large CBFV gradient between the ICA and MCA on the affected side. Prospective studies are required to verify these observations and to determine whether TCD can be used to follow patients with mismatch.


Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of COVID-19 infection because of their direct exposure to suspected and confirmed coronavirus patients in healthcare facilities. This condition is even more acute in low-and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). Given the poor healthcare settings of Bangladesh, it is challenging to halt the spread of infection without proper knowledge, attitudes, and good behavioral practices (KAPs). Therefore, this study conducted a cross-sectional study from May 5 to 31, 2020, with 203 healthcare professionals to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19. Participants were doctors, nurses, dentists, and allied health professionals. A self-administered questionnaire including several KAP-related items aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines was distributed over various online platforms to collect data. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the factors influencing KAP levels. The majority of participants were male (52.22%). The prevalence of high knowledge levels, positive attitudes, and good practices were 51.23, 45.81, and 49.75%, respectively. Social media was the most common source for seeking coronavirus information. Workers at private institutions were less likely (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.30–0.95, p < 0.05) to be knowledgeable than workers at public institutions. Doctors had more positive attitudes than other healthcare professionals. Older participants showed high rates of good behavioral practices (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.06–1.32, p < 0.05) than younger ones. Workers at private institutions had a better practice level toward COVID-19 (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.17–3.83) than those at public institutions. These results point to the necessity for proper training programs for medical professionals that help them gain confidence to deliver the correct treatment to their patients and the need to implement preventative steps during pandemics.


Cryphonectria is a fungal genus associated with economically significant disease of trees. Herein we characterized a novel double-stranded RNA virus from the fungal species Cryphonectria naterciae, a species unexplored as a virus host. De novo assembly of RNA-seq data and Sanger sequencing of RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) clones gave the complete, non-segmented genome (10,164 bp) of the virus termed Cryphonectria naterciae fusagravirus (CnFGV1) that was phylogenetically placed within the previously proposed viral family Fusagraviridae. Of 31 field-collected strains of C. naterciae, 40% tested CnFGV1-positive. Cocultivation resulted in within-species transmission of CnFGV1 to virus-free strains of C. naterciae. Comparison of the mycelium phenotype and the growth rate of CnFGV1-infected and virus-free isogenic strains revealed frequent sectoring and growth reduction in C. naterciae upon virus infection. Co-culturing also led to cross-species transmission of CnFGV1 to Cryphonectria carpinicola and Cryphonectria radicalis, but not to Cryphonectria parasitica. The virus-infected C. naterciae and the experimentally infected Cryphonectria spp. readily transmitted CnFGV1 through asexual spores to the next generation. CnFGV1 strongly reduced conidiation and in some cases vegetative growth of C. carpinicola, which is involved in the European hornbeam disease. This study is the first report of a fusagravirus in the family Cryphonectriaceae and lays the groundwork for assessing a hypovirulence effect of CnFGV1 against the hornbeam decline in Europe.


As well as having a positive impact on our health, physical activity is useful for increasing self-confidence. In Malaysia, many physical programs have been organized, including the physical activities module included in Program Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN; the national services program). Unlike other modules, the physical activities module in PLKN is quite different due to the longer period it takes to accomplish the module. The main objective of the physical module in PLKN is to enhance the trainees' self-confidence and this study aims to discover the effectiveness of the module in this regard; i.e., how much self-confidence do trainees gain and is there any difference in their self-confidence before and after joining the module? This is a quantitative study in which a total of 362 trainees from Putra-Putri Training Camp at Alor Gajah, Malacca were selected as respondents based on multi-stage sampling. The analysis shows that the majority of trainees had a moderate level of self-confidence both pre- and post-test. However, the results demonstrate that the physical module did enhance the trainees' self-confidence based on the significant difference identified in the mean score between the pre- and post-test. It is recommended that PLKN in Malaysia should be implemented over a longer period; this would provide opportunities for new and challenging activities to be added to the program.


Starch is a high-molecular carbohydrate composed of linear (amylose) and branched (amylopectin) chains of glucose residues. In water, at increased temperatures, it undergoes gelatinisation followed by amylase-induced hydrolysis. Owing to this, it is completely digested in the gastrointestinal tract of humans. Also raw starch of some plant species, e.g. cereals, is subject to complete but slow digestion. In addition, starch may occur in the form incapable of enzymatic hydrolysis, referred to as "resistant starch" (RS). Resistant starch is a sum of starch and products of its degradation undigested in the small intestine of humans. There are four types of resistant starch. Type I RS – physically unavailable starch. Amylolytic enzymes have no access to starch accumulated in undamaged plant cells as the gastrointestinal tract lacks enzymes capable of degrading the components of plant cell walls. Type II RS – raw starch of some plant species, e.g. potato. Type III RS – retrograded starch, i.e. spontaneously- or artificially-precipitated from starch paste, occurring in the form of water-insoluble semi-crystalline structures. As a result of retrogradation, more thermostable structures are formed by amylose rather than by amylopectin. The amount of resistant starch produced this way increases along with the increasing amylose content of starch. Type IV RS – chemically- or physically-modified starch. Resistant starch has been reported to reduce the caloric value of food products and to decrease glucose level in blood. In the large intestine, it is fermented by gut-colonising bacteria. Products of its fermentation include gases and short-chain fatty acids – acetic, propionic and butyric, which are responsible for favourable selection of intestinal microflora, reduce the levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and urea in blood, as well as prevent the formation of gut cancer. Commercial preparations of resistant starch are also produced to be used as food additives. Their resistance to the activity of enzymes, as well as physiological effects of their application, are determined with in vitro and in vivo methods. Results of those analyses are not always unequivocal, especially with the application of resistant starch with artificially-increased resistance. Resistant starch may serve as dietary fibre and exert a health-promoting effect on the human organism. Therefore further studies into its formation and results of its application in food production are still necessary.


We all have preconceptions about the use of libraries, whether that's from work experience or from personal use. We all have ideas of what is supposed to be the 'right' use. From the first time we are introduced to the school library, or we go to the public library as small children and are told to be quiet by our parents, we develop ways of seeing them that can follow us well into the future. Design of libraries and the technology they house is changing that a little, by developing new, more engaging environments that support a variety of uses. People are using libraries in ways we don't always perceive as 'normal'...


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
License inspection data have commonly been used as a quality measure for nursing homes but has not yet been used to assess the quality of assisted living/residential care (AL/RC) communities. Drawing on resource dependency theory, we test the hypothesis that structural and environmental characteristics influence AL/RC quality as measured by deficiency citations ("deficiencies") issued during license inspections.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Using data from 526 licensed AL/RC communities in Oregon that received a license inspection visit between 2008 and 2016, we examined the prevalence of deficiencies by type and year. We estimated regression models to identify structural and environmental characteristics associated with the number of deficiencies.

RESULTS
Most (79%) inspections resulted in at least one deficiency. The most common deficiencies concerned medications and treatments (57%), change of condition and monitoring (48%), and resident health services (45%). Structural characteristics associated with higher odds of receiving one or more deficiencies included: larger size, memory care designation, shorter administrative tenure, and for-profit status. Environmental characteristics associated with higher odds of receiving one or more deficiencies included: rural location, lower unemployment, and market concentration. The number and likelihood of a given community receiving a deficiency decreased over time.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Resource dependency theory constitutes a useful framework to consider the role of structural and environmental factors that affect AL/RC quality, including resident needs, institutional knowledge, resource availability, and market pressure. License inspection data are a viable option for assessing the quality of AL/RC communities.


This is a discussion of the Forum Lectures by Evarist Giné on the subject of Empirical Processes and Applications presented at the European Meeting of Statisticians held in Bath, England, September 13 18, 1992. The discussion includes short sketches of developments in probability theory (Gaussian process theory, weak convergence theory, and probability in Banach spaces), empirical process theory, and applications thereof in statistics. I comment briefly on the formulation of central limit theorems for empirical processes in terms of the presence or absence of a Gaussian hypothesis, expand on Professor Giné's discussion of the bootstrap, and briefly explain my recent results for exchangeably weighted bootstraps obtained jointly with Jens Praestgaard. The discussion closes with some problems.


A sliding mode based extremum seeking algorithm is applied to the ABS control problem where the optimum slip ratio is searched online for maximum braking force in unknown road conditions. By making the parameter of the search algorithm adaptive, an adaptive extremum seeking scheme is proposed to improve the behavior of the controlled system around the optimum operating point. Simulation study is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the methodology.


This paper establishes global convergence for a class of adaptive costral algorithms applied to discrete-time multiinput multioutput deterministic linear systems. It is shown that the algorithms will ensure that the system inputs and outputs remain bounded for all time and that the output tracking error converges to zero.


After the September 11th attacks on America, many nations became entrenched in the War on Terror. With this escalating conflict came the names of many countries that the American public knew little about. Prior to 9/11, Americans knew Afghanistan simply as a country in the Middle East area. In the aftermath of 9/11, Americans now associate Afghanistan with words like Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Despite the recent press coverage on this land-locked nation, few understand the history of Afghanistan, including the rich cultural aspects, political climate, and society of this country. As the future of Afghanistan is being lived and written right now, a clear understanding of the country's history is imperative in our new global circumstances. Ideal for students and general readers, the History of Afghanistan is part of Greenwood's Histories of Modern Nations series. With nearly forty nation's histories in print, these books provide readers with a concise, up-to-date history of countries throughout the world. Reference features include a biographical section highlighting famous figures in Afghanistan history, a timeline of important historical events, a glossary of terms, and a bibliographical essay with suggestions for further reading.


Background: The management of poor responders is still a challenge in modern-assisted reproductive technology. Several researches are showing encouraging results with autologous bone marrow-derived stem cells (ABMDSCs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) individually. Hence, we decided to study the synergistic effect of ABMDSCs with PRP. Aims and Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the safety and efficacy of intraovarian instillation of ABMDSCs combined with PRP in poor responders. Design: This was an interventional pilot study. Study Period: January 2017 to January 2019. Materials and Methods: We designed a pilot study using Patient-oriented Strategies Encompassing IndividualizeD Oocyte Number (POSEIDON) Group 3 and 4 poor responder patients (n = 20). The study group underwent laparoscopic/transvaginal intraovarian instillation of ABMDSCs combined with PRP and the outcome was analyzed – primary outcome – antral follicular count (AFC) and mature MII oocytes and secondary outcome – Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels and number of Grade A and B embryos frozen on day 3. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Pearson correlation were used for the statistical analysis and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: After 6 weeks of intraovarian instillation ABMDSCs mixed with PRP, patients were reassessed for AFC and AMH and their response to subsequent controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) cycle was observed. Statistically significant improvement was seen in AFC, MII oocytes, and Grade A and Grade B embryos. AMH was also increased in some patients, but the result was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our results suggest that intraovarian instillation of ABMDSCs combined with PRP is safe and it optimized the recruitment of existing dormant primordial follicles to improve oocyte yield and hence the number and quality of embryos after COS in POSEIDON Group 3 and 4 poor responders.


In this paper we propose a distributed and adaptive algorithm for collaborative processing of the complex signals. The proposed algorithm, which will be referred to as the incremental augmented affine projection algorithm (IncAAPA), not only utilizes the full second order statistical information in complex domain but also exploits the spatial diversity which is provided by the distribution of the nodes in the field. Moreover, since nodes are equipped with affine projection learning rules, they are able to track the variations in statistical information. To derive the IncAAPA algorithm, we firstly formulate the estimation problem as a constrained optimization problem. Then we provide a solution for the problem which is amenable to distributed implementation. The proposed algorithm outperforms the noncooperative solution in terms of convergence rate and steady-state error. We present some simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm.


In previous work, we presented GenoMetric Query Language (GMQL), an algebraic language for querying genomic datasets, supported by Genomic Data Management System (GDMS), an open-source big data engine implemented on top of Apache Spark. GMQL datasets are represented as genomic regions (i.e. intervals of the genome, included within a start and stop position) with an associated value, representing the signal associated to that region (the most typical signals represent gene expressions, peaks of expressions, and variants relative to a reference genome.) GMQL can process queries over billions of regions, organized within distinct datasets. In this paper, we focus on the efficient execution of region-preserving GMQL operations, in which the regions of the result are a subset of the regions of one of the operands; most GMQL operations are region-preserving. Chains of region-preserving operations can be efficiently executed by taking advantage of an array-based data organization, where region management can be separated from value management. We discuss this optimization in the context of the current GDMS system which has a row-based (relational) organization, and therefore requires dynamic data transformations. A similar approach applies to other application domains with interval-based data organization.


A field study of cohesive sediment movements on a muddy intertidal zone (ITZ) at Portishead, Severn Estuary is presented. Five deployments of 1-3 days have been made to improve the understanding of temporal and spatial variations in suspended and bed sediments at a site which is found to be wave dominated. Pressure transducers, electro-magnetic current meters, optical turbidity meters and ultra-sonic bed level transducers are used to monitor the hydro/sediment dynamics in the bottom metre of the water column at two points on the ITZ. A one-dimensional (vertical) k-ϵ turbulence model has been modified to include bed sediment exchange and density stratification to enable further interpretation of field data.

Modelling results show that the weak current on the ITZ would simply provide a mechanism for diffusing suspended sediment into the upper part of the flow, and does not enhance the wave boundary layer by its presence and cannot actively support suspended sediment. Hence near bed (wave generated) turbulence controls the vertical SSC distribution. A bed model based on bed sediment exchange via critical erosional and depositional shear stresses only predicts high near bed concentrations for some of the hydrodynamic conditions reflected in field data, suggesting hindered settling is an important factor in their formation. The introduction of density stratification reduces near surface SSC creating steeper SSC gradients in the upper half of the flow, for a weak current with waves.


Introduction: Several studies suggest that there is an association between the metastatic nodal tumor volume and the clinical outcome in patients with solid cancers. However, despite the prognostic potential of nodal volume, a standardized method for estimating the nodal volumetric parameters is lacking. Herein, we conducted a systematic review of the published scientific literature towards investigating the prognostic value of nodal volume in the carcinomas of head and neck, taking into consideration the primary tumor site and the human papillomavirus (HPV) status. Methodological issues: For this purpose, the biomedical literature database PubMed/MEDLINE was searched for studies relevant to the relationship of nodal volume to the treatment outcome and survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. Collectively, based on stringent inclusion/exclusion criteria, 23 eligible studies were included in the present systematic review. Results: On the basis of our findings, nodal volume is suggested to be strongly associated with clinical outcomes in HNSCC patients. Of particular note, there is an indication that nodal volume is an independent factor for further risk stratification for recurrence-free survival in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the pharynx (oropharynx and hypopharynx). Extranodal extension (ENE) and HPV status should be also taken into consideration in further studies.


This study aims to specify biomarkers of Parkinson's disease mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) based on fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) maps obtained from diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWMRI). T1 and diffusion weighted MR images collected from 27 cognitively normal Parkinson's disease (PD-CN), 32 mild cognitively impaired Parkinson's disease (PD-MCI), and 18 healthy control (HC) volunteers, at a clinical 3T MR scanner, were processed using FMRIB Software Library (FSL)'s toolboxes. Average regional values of FA and MD maps and tract based spatial statistics (TBSS) were utilized to define statistically significant differences between the participant subject groups.


After the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, survivors who suffered severe damages were exempted from paying their co-payments. They were located mainly in three prefectures: Miyagi, Fukushima, and Iwate. In Miyagi, which experienced the largest number of deaths, the exemption was suspended between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014 (FY2013) due to a political decision, while Fukushima and Iwate still hold this exemption. This study aimed to describe the trajectory of healthcare utilization via: 1) healthcare expenditure/capita/month, 2) number of medical visits/capita/month, and 3) healthcare expenditure/visit before and after the exemption period. We also examined associations between changes in healthcare utility and the exemption. first, we employed differences in differences (DID) analyses to compare healthcare utilization in Miyagi with that in the other prefectures. Healthcare utilization in Miyagi decreased just after the disaster and soon spiked higher than the previous level. This phenomenon was also observed in Fukushima and Iwate. Another sharp spike in healthcare utilization was observed just before the exemption suspension, while similar spikes were not observed in Fukushima or Iwate during the same period. The rapid increase in Miyagi was more significant in medical/dental service for outpatients than for inpatients. Second, we stratified DID analyses within Miyagi by co-payment level (30% or less). In Japan, the co-payment paid is typically 30% of the total medical/dental costs, however, elderly and preschool children are subject to co-pay of 10% or 20% respectively. Among thwho pay 30% rate, healthcare utilization decreased through the exemption suspension, while it remained stable among those who pay 10%-20%. During the same period, we did not observe a significant increase in mortality, a proxy of "adverse effect" of the exemption suspension, at least on the ecological level. These results suggested that the co-payment exemption helped the survivors, especially those with a relatively high co-payment rate of 30%, to obtain healthcare service one year after the disaster. Further research with individual-level data is needed to find out how long the exemption period should last and who should be eligible for the exemption for a longer period.


Putting large numbers into human perspective by using ratios of a known quantity to an unknown quantity is an important scientific skill. An astronomy activity that encourages the use of estimation and helps students get a handle on large numbers is the making of a scale model of Earth and Sun that is relative in both size and distance.


Background Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are characterized by oncogenic KIT mutations that cluster in two exon 11 hotspots. The aim of this study was to develop a single, sensitive, quantitative digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) assay for the detection of common exon 11 mutations in both GIST tumor tissue and in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) isolated from GIST patients' plasma. Methods A ddPCR assay was designed using two probes that cover both hotspots. Available archival FFPE tumor tissue from 27 consecutive patients with known KIT exon 11 mutations and 9 randomly selected patients without exon 11 mutations were tested. Plasma samples were prospectively collected in a multicenter bio-databank from December 2014. ctDNA was analyzed of 22 patients with an exon 11 mutation and a baseline plasma sample. Results The ddPCR assay detected the exon 11 mutation in 21 of 22 tumors with exon 11 mutations covered by the assay. Mutations in ctDNA were detected at baseline in 13 of 14 metastasized patients, but in only 1 of 8 patients with localized disease. In serial plasma samples from 11 patients with metastasized GIST, a decrease in mutant droplets was detected during treatment. According to RECIST 1.1, 10 patients had radiological treatment response and one patient stable disease. Conclusion A single ddPCR assay for the detection of multiple exon 11 mutations in ctDNA is a feasible, promising tool for monitoring treatment response in patients with metastasized GIST and should be further evaluated in a larger cohort.


Drinking was studied in rats pressing a bar on a second-order schedule in which every third completion of a 1-min fixed interval was followed by food presentation. A brief flash of light signaled the completion of each fixed-interval component. The rats drank not only after the food presentations but also after presentations of the light flash alone. A high rate of steady drinking followed intervals terminated by a food presentation. Drink- ing that followed intervals terminated by a light flash alone was of comparable rate, but characteristically interrupted by bar pressing. When 250-mg food pellets were used instead of 45-mg pellets, both drinking and bar-pressing rates increased substantially.


Chronic widespread pain (CWP) is a significant burden in communities. Understanding the impact of population‐dependent (e.g., age, gender) and contextual‐dependent (e.g. survey method, region, inequality level) factors have on CWP prevalence may provide a foundation for population‐based strategies to address CWP. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate the global prevalence of CWP and evaluate the population and contextual factors associated with CWP. A systematic review of CWP prevalence studies (1990–2017) in the general population was undertaken. Meta‐analyses were conducted to determine CWP prevalence, and study population data and contextual factors were evaluated using a meta‐regression. Thirty‐nine manuscripts met the inclusion criteria. Study CWP prevalence ranged from 1.4% to 24.0%, with CWP prevalence in men ranging from 0.8% to 15.3% and 1.7% to 22.1% in women. Estimated overall CWP prevalence was 9.6% (8.0–11.2%). Meta‐regression analyses showed gender, United Nations country development status, and human development index (HDI) influenced CWP prevalence, while survey method, region, methodological and reporting quality, and inequality showed no significant effect on the CWP estimate. Globally CWP affects one in ten individuals within the general population, with women more likely to experience CWP than men. HDI was noted to be the socioeconomic factor related to CWP prevalence, with those in more developed countries having a lower CWP prevalence than those in less developed countries. Most CWP estimates were from developed countries, and CWP estimates from countries with a lower socioeconomic position is needed to further refine the global estimate of CWP.


In Sub-Saharan Africa, the recurring erratic and uneven rainfall distribution has resulted in low crop yields, income losses, and low food stock. In response to these climate change challenges, farmers have recourse to several coping strategies to survive. This present paper explores farmers' perception of climate variability and the coping strategies in use in the Central River Region of The Gambia. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze perceived climate variability and farm level adaptation options in the region. Data were collected from 283 farmhouses through transect walks, quantitative surveys including the use focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that farmers generally perceive an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events and a decrease in the duration of the growing season. With regards to vulnerability and severity, nearly 95% of the respondents considered the dryness as the main threat to their farming activities and perceived its consequences as the most severe. The results equally showed that the perception of changes is linked to the adoption of some adaptation measures among which the preferred were the use of chemical fertilizers (66%), though it is stated to be the most expensive. The Spearman correlation test showed that the use of water conservation techniques is highly correlated with the quality of soil surface structure (p ≤ 0.01) and soil storage capacity (p ≤ 0.01). Findings of this study are of paramount importance in planning and implementing adaptation policies in The Gambia and beyond. To improve farmers' resilience, drought tolerant crops should be promoted along with climate change and variability awareness campaigns.


This doctoral thesis lays under the field of health communication, and carries the European perspective where this research field is becoming highly recognised. The media are one of the leading sources of information about medicines for the public, to the extent that media sources are today more significant than health professionals in learning about new medicines and their effects. Among all types of medicines, vaccines represent one of the greatest scientific achievements in the battle against serious infectious diseases, improving quality of life and life expectancy worldwide. However, the public is not always aware of the important role of vaccines in preventing diseases mainly because lack of information, fake news, and the anti-vaccine lobby which may impact mistrust in vaccines. During the last decade, immunization uptake has decreased in some countries and new outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have been declared, which has led eleven european countries to adopt mandatory childhood vaccination. In this regard, previous research has established that the media has been considered an important tool for increasing awareness, confidence and trust about vaccines, as well as motivating the public to make important decisions about their health care. However, research on public communication of vaccines is still limited regardless the importance of this scientific field in public health. a) Therefore the objectives of this thesis are: a) Understand the field of health communication and identify research gaps in the field of public communication of medicines and vaccines. b) Examine newspaper coverage of vaccines to understand the media agenda in Spain; c) Identify journalists? sourcing to understand the extent of sources in newspaper coverage of vaccines; d) Analyse specific patterns among health journalists, and assesses whether these differ from those among generalists; e) Explore the visual content in the press coverage of vaccines; f) Analyse the association of media coverage about vaccines and immunization rates. This Thesis followed a quantitative and qualitative method based on a set of observational studies. First, literature and systematic reviews on the field of public communication of medicines and vaccines were conducted. Second, taking into account identified research gaps, a content analysis of vaccine related was conducted in relation to the coverage in major newspapers in Spain during the period 2012 ? 2017. Results revealed that previous research has mainly analysed media from USA and other English speaking countries. Our analysis in the Spanish media showed that the tone towards vaccination switched from negative to positive and neutral, showing how journalists and the media support vaccination. Sources from the government, clinician associations and companies were the most frequent. There is a need to use a more variety of sources including different perspectives in vaccine media coverage. In addition, health specialised journalists used more scientific sources, and wrote less opinion but more feature articles than generalist journalists. Visual content and imagery was frequent, especially the use of photographs under the frames `human interest? and `conflicts?. Finally, a significant inverse correlation was found between childhood immunization rates and the negative tone in media coverage about vaccines. The aforementioned studies shed light on key patterns about the media coverage of vaccines and journalistic practices. The study shows how journalists have become more aware about vaccines as an important public health challenge, and reflect about the relevance of the health journalism specialization to ensure objectivity and accurate vaccine media coverage. As communication strategies and media relations should be part of any vaccination program, collaboration between health professionals with the media and communication experts is required.


Christian art is rich, complex and heavily invested with symbolism. The painting reproduced on the cover of this book is a case in point. Who are the central figures? (A glance at the entry under 'Baptism' will enlighten those who are unsure). And, perhaps more challenging, how can we identify the fourteen saints around them? Do the flowers at Jesus' feet have a special significance? The Dictionary of Christian Art provides the answers, giving the modern reader access to the pictorial tradition that was once the common visual vocabulary of western Europeans. There are over 1,000 entries, from Aaron to Zucchetto, covering the following areas: artists, art and architectural terms, the symbolism of numbers, flora and fauna, and parts of the body, Christian saints, biblical and mythological figures, liturgical objects and vestments. In addition, there are more than 160 reproductions by the greatest artists from the two millennia of Christian art, ranging from sixth-century mosaics and icons, through the great Italian fresco painters of the Middle Ages and the contribution of the Renaissance, to Georges Rouault and Salvador Dali in more modern times.


Provably conservative (and optimistic) reliability models can be systematically derived from more complex models. These derived models incorporate a reduced state space and fewer transitions, and, therefore, have solutions that are more cost- effective than those of the original complex models. The designer can extensively explore the design space without incurring the expense of solving multiple complex models. A conservative- optimistic pair of derived models produces a band that includes the solution to the complex model. Sensitivity analysis can be performed on this pair of models to determine those parameters of the original model that are most sensitive to change (i.e., uncertainty) and hence warrant further expense in obtaining tighter specifications.


Rotaviruses (RVs) were found to cause human disease in 1973. They are the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children of <5 years of age worldwide and they are the cause of approximately half a million deaths each year. The impact of the disease on families and society (increased health care costs, lost productivity) is extremely significant and the incidence of gastroenteritis (RVGE) is similar both in industrialized and in developing countries. Virtually, all the children will be Infected by RVs before the ages of 3–5 years with the highest incidence rate registered between 6–24 months of age while the greatest risk for developing severe disease by RV occurs under 12 months of age. Clinically, the infection can vary from asymptomatic and sub clinic forms, which are more common in older children and adults, to acute gastroenteritis with fever, vomiting and self-limiting watery diarrhea which persist for 3 to 8 days. Severe forms with profuse diarrhea accompanied by vomiting and fever with risk of dehydration not adequately and rapidly correct can be fatal, mainly in developing countries. Hygienic-sanitary measures are unable to limit the diffusion of this infection and vaccination at present seems the only effective system to reduce the burden of the disease, human and economic costs related to RVGE. Since the 1980s research has focused on the development of RV vaccines. Vaccines against RV are efficacious, and underwent extensive safety trials (involving more than 130,000); no association with intussusception was detected and in four years since they were licensed a substantial reduction in the rates of RVs hospitalization and deaths for RVs infection have been observed both in developed and less-developed countries. It has been also described in different studies that herd immunity can be induced by RV vaccines (as an indirect effect) by reducing the risk of unvaccinated persons to be infected. Thus, introduction of the vaccine into countries immunization programs is likely to have a greater effect than that predicted on the basis of the efficacy trials. The worldwide epidemiological impact of RV infection pointed the development of safe and effective vaccines against RVs as a public health priority. The great economical burden on health care systems and families suggests the importance of monitoring circulating strains, establishment of systems for surveillance and implementation of universal newborns vaccinaton.


We present a framework for finding point correspondences in monocular image sequences over multiple frames. The general problem of multiframe point correspondence is NP hard for three or more frames. A polynomial time algorithm for a restriction of this problem is presented, and is used as the basis of proposed greedy algorithm for the general problem. The greedy nature of the proposed algorithm allows it to be used in real time systems for tracking and surveillance etc. In addition, the proposed algorithm deals with the problems of occlusion, missed detections, and false positives, by using a single noniterative greedy optimization scheme, and hence, reduces the complexity of the overall algorithm as compared to most existing approaches, where multiple heuristics are used for the same purpose. While most greedy algorithms for point tracking do not allow for entry and exit of points from the scene, this is not a limitation for the proposed algorithm. Experiments with real and synthetic data show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing techniques and is applicable in more general settings.


The aim of this paper is to present a methodological approach that provides analytical, critical and normative purchase on nudges' bypassing of reflection, using a combination of multimodal analysis, Foucauldian theory, and Habermas's (1996) concept of deliberative democracy. The approach is demonstrated using an example of a health-related nudge from the Danish context: healthy product placement in a supermaket. Multimodal analysis highlights how various modes (colour, symbol, front and back, positioning and discourse) contribute meanings to the nudge. A Foucauldian perspective provides critical perspectives on nudges as shaping practices, as short of epistemic content and thus potentially difficult to resist, and as representing a politicisation of public space. Nudges' lack of transparency is discussed in relation to Habermas's normative framework of deliberative democracy where recognising public perspectives and ensuring consensus are key. Limitations of the article include a smaller data set; however, the data are used to illustrate the methodological approach. On the basis of the findings, I argue for the importance of furthering critical public discourse on nudging. That way, nudgees may be better positioned to spot nudges, and the implications of policymakers using this technique of governance can be more effectively scrutinised.


: The authors studied 101 patients with a combination of acute disorders of brain circulation and changes in the rhythm of heart activity in the form of sinus tachycardia, extra-systolia, fluttering arythmia. In ischemic strokes fluttering arythmia was encountered quite frequently while as in hemmorhages it was almost never seen. In 20 cases disorders of heart rhythm appeared following several days or more after the stroke. These data permit to assume that disorders of rhythm in the heart activity may be one of the pathogenetical factors of acute disorders of brain circulation. Their appearance after strokes is most frequently associated with signs of acute or exacerbated coronary insufficiency. Flutter arythmia in patients with strokes should be taken into consideration indifferential diagnosis of brain haemmorhages and infarctions.


Comparative analysis of information value of the official data sources on disease incidence and public state of health with regards to the risk assessment methodology has been made in the article. Each out of the three information sources studied here must be taken into consideration when performing risk assessment projects, for the data obtained give necessary supplementary knowledge on the human health which, in its turn, allows to determine the enterprises (production units) substantially contributing to environmental contamination in the area, and thus to develop and take appropriate management decisions towards them.


This brief presents a novel 4096-point radix-4 memory-based fast Fourier transform (FFT). The proposed architecture follows a conflict-free strategy that only requires a total memory of size N and a few additional multiplexers. The control is also simple, as it is generated directly from the bits of a counter. Apart from the low complexity, the FFT has been implemented on a Virtex-5 field programmable gate array (FPGA) using DSP slices. The goal has been to reduce the use of distributed logic, which is scarce in the target FPGA. With this purpose, most of the hardware has been implemented in DSP48E. As a result, the proposed FPGA is efficient in terms of hardware resources, as is shown by the experimental results.


Preeclampsia is a critical gestational condition that threatens the life of both mother and child. One of the most serious aspects of preeclampsia hampering both clinical management and scientific understanding is that there are, as yet, no early warning signs or risk markers. The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs), tiny post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, offers potentially fertile ground for developing such markers. The current state of knowledge about miRNAs in preeclampsia is presented along with information regarding miRNA detection in peripheral fluids that could lead to minimally invasive risk assessment.


There is no one perfect corporate governance model, just as there is no one perfect financial structure. The ultimate aim of corporate governance structure must be that it is continually re-evaluated so that the governance structure itself can adapt to changing times and needs.1 I. INTRODUCTION France is often associated with its long history of political revolution, typically marked by marches to Versailles and uprisings in the streets of Paris. Today a different type of revolution, sparked by recent allegations of corruption against French corporate executives, is taking place in the boardrooms of France's most powerful companies.2 In response to these allegations the French business community has started to rethink traditional managerial roles in an effort to reform corporate governance. The term "corporate governance," or le gouvernement d'entreprise, has a range of meanings depending on how one uses it. Some authors, such as Andrei Shleifer and Robert Vishny, define corporate governance from an economic perspective as "the ways in which suppliers of finance to corporations assure themselves of getting a return on their investment."3 Other authors, such as Robert A.G. Monks and Nell Minow, take a more political approach, defining corporate governance as the connection of "directors, managers, employees, shareholders, customers, creditors and suppliers . . . to the corporation and to one another."4 For purposes of this article, corporate governance basically involves the relationship between corporate directors and shareholders. Reformers of corporate governance generally seek a governance structure under which directors are responsible agents acting on behalf of their shareholders and making decisions based on the best interests of these shareholders, not their own best interests.5 In addition to encouraging directors to represent shareholder interests more actively, reformers seek a structure that ensures a more equal balance of power between executive and non-executive directors.6 By designing ways to curb executive power and to increase shareholder voice in management, reformers seek to increase shareholder value. The effort to reform corporate governance began in the United States in the 1970s7 as a challenge to self-interested directors who regularly neglected minority shareholder interests.8 This effort resulted in a string of hostile takeovers, the dismissal of many directors,9 and the emergence of such publications as Principles of Corporate Governance by the American Law Institute10 to instruct directors on proper management techniques. The trend spread to Great Britain where, on the heels of corporate scandals involving such companies as Poly Peck, BCCI, and Maxwell, Sir Adrian Cadbury established a committee that published The Code of Best Practice, a nineteen-point code for improving corporate governance intended to be used by those companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.11 The effort to reform corporate governance only recently has arrived in France, where legislators and business people are struggling to reform a corporate culture that has been highly centralized around government affairs since the time of Napoleon I. These reforms are encapsulated in two influential reports: the Vienot Report of 199512 and the Marini Report of 1996.13 Both reports suggest ways to improve director accountability to shareholders.14 Although this effort to "re-democratize"15 French companies is based largely on the Anglo-Saxon model, France's corporate governance movement should not be construed as a wholesale purchase of the Anglo-Saxon model.16 Rather, one should view France's corporate governance movement as an effort to incorporate elements of the Anglo-Saxon model into the French system while developing national solutions to problems that are unique to the French business landscape.17 On a micro level, these reforms should result in greater financial returns for shareholders. …


A theoretical study was carried out to investigate the feasibility of using the radiation-induced colour decay of photochromic molecules embedded in a polymer matrix as a probe for studying the microscopic energy deposition of heavy charged particles (HCPs) in a tissue-equivalent solid. The theoretical treatment makes use of the radial dose distribution function as derived from gas-phase physics, together with the effects of the increase in temperature and of matrix degradation on the colour-decay kinetics of the photochromic molecules, according to empirical models derived for the solid state. Bearing in mind the non-stochastic nature of the model, the use of gas-phase physics at the level of radiation interaction, and the fact that some empirical quantities used have been established macroscopically, all factors which signify that extra caution is required in the interpretation of the results, it is shown that when the optimum information retrieval time (after track formation) is considered the technique may be able to resolve differences in the energy deposition pattern by different HCPs in the nanometre range (1-10 nm; material's mass density 1.2 g cm(-3)) from the track axis. Most importantly, though, the present study aims to erect a theoretical framework for the possible application of the technique and to highlight those aspects which are likely to be critical to its practical usage, such as particle type and energy range, and spatial scale and magnitude of the expected effect together with its dependence on time, the physical characteristics of the matrix, and the kinetic behaviour of the type of photochromic molecule studied. Furthermore, it establishes a rationale for interpreting the experimentally observed (if available) colour changes in the HCP track in terms of the microscopic distribution of energy deposition in it.


The quality of service of a healthcare facility has a direct impact on the community's perception of it, which can be seen from the level of patient visits. Mulyorejo is one of the 15 public health centres in Malang city with one type of service facility – the general clinic. According to the health profile data of Malang city, in 2017, the number of outpatient visits at Mulyorejo Public Health Centre was 28,462, which increased to 43,101 in 2018. However, based on secondary data that has been obtained, from January to September 2019, the number of patients visiting the Mulyorejo Public Health Centre decreased. This research is a descriptive study with a quantitative approach and a sample size of 70 people, selected through the incidental sampling technique. The data source used is the primary data obtained directly from the distribution of the modified HCAHPS (hospital consumers assessment of healthcare providers and systems) questionnaire to respondents. Based on the final results, the average score on the quality of health services at the Mulyorejo Public Health Centre based on the perceptions of the general poly-patients at the Mulyorejo Public Health Centre was rated "b," which means that the quality of health services at the Mulyorejo Public Health Centre is good.


vaccination with a modified-live PRRS virus vaccine DTU Orbit (07/12/2018) Distinction between infections with European and American/vaccine type PRRS virus after vaccination with a modified-live PRRS virus vaccine In July 1996 a modified live Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) vaccine, based on an American (US) strain of the PRRS virus (PRRSV), was licensed in Denmark. The vaccine was licensed for use in 3-18 week old pigs, exclusively. Starting during the middle of October 1996, several herds who had recently begun vaccination, experienced acute PRRS-like symptoms including an increasing number of abortions and stillborn piglets and an increasing mortality in the nursing period. During the period from October 1996 until May 1997, the PRRS virus (PRRSV), identified as the vaccine/US type of PRRSV, was isolated from fetuses, dead piglets, pleural fluids and/or lung tissues from 114 of such herds. These findings indicated the spread of the vaccine virus to non-vaccinated sows followed by transplacental infection of fetuses. Also, a number of not previously PRRSV infected and non-vaccinated herds in Denmark have become infected with the vaccine-like PRRSV. Possible routes of transmission are the introduction of vaccinated pigs to the herd, use of semen from artificial insemination (AI) centres or airborne transmission. The situation of PRRS in Denmark is now complicated by the fact that both the European (EU) type and the US type of PRRSV are circulating among their herds. It is not clinically possible to differentiate between the two different types of infections. At the Danish Veterinary Institute for Virus Research (DVIVR), diagnostic tools have been developed to distinguish between the two types of infections, and both virological and serological methods are now available for distinction. The diagnostic tests used at DVIVR to diagnose PRRS and to differentiate between EU and US strains of PRRSV infections are described below. The distinction between infection with the two types of PRRSV was made on a serological basis. The immunoperoxidase monolayer assay (IPMA), carried out using a Danish strain (IPMA/DK) and the vaccine strain (IPMA/vac) in parallel, allows the distinction of infections with EU and US strains of PRRSV. In herds infected with the EU type, the titer in individual samples is higher in the IPMA/DK compared to the titer in the IPMA/vac, while in herds infected with the vaccine/US type, the titers are highest in the IPMA/vac. Furthermore, a double blocking ELISA has been developed, which enables large scale screening for and simultaneous distinction between antibodies against EU and US strains of PRRSV. This test is performed using a Danish PRRSV isolate and the vaccine strain in parallel. The results of the ELISA tests are given as negative or positive for each sample. For positive samples a ratio is calculated (ratio = ODp blocking ELISA-DK / ODp blocking ELISA-Vac), which enables us to serologically distinguish between EU and US strains of PRRSV infections. In herds infected with the Danish strain of PRRSV, most animals have a ratio below 1, while in herds infected with the vaccine/US strain most animals have a ratio above 2. The distinction between infections with the two types of PRRSV was made by virus isolation. As the porcine pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PPAM) are found to be the most sensitive system for isolation of PRRSV field strains, while the vaccine strain, when taken directly from the bottle, grows in the MARC 145 cell line and not in the PPAM, both cell types have routinely been used in parallel at our institute since the introduction of the PRRS vaccine in Denmark. However, from our experience, the vaccine virus becomes able to replicate in PPAM during in vivo passages. For typing of the PRRSV isolates as EU or US/vaccine isolates, three monoclonal antibodies (mAb) are used in an IPMA: SDOW 17 reacting with most EU and US isolates including the vaccine strain, VO 17 reacting with some US isolates including the vaccine strain but not with EU PRRSV isolates, and WBE 4 reacting with most EU isolates, but not with US isolates. The detection and typing of PRRSV was made by RT-PCR. An RT-PCR test which sensitively detects and types PRRSV from relevant biological material and provides a maximal amount of sequence information by amplification of whole viral open reading frames, has been developed at our institute. To provide maximal sequence information, complete viral open reading frames (ORFs 5 and 7) are targeted for amplification. Typing of viruses is accomplished by any one of three strategies: (a) DNA sequencing, (b) type-specific PCR primers, (c) size determination of ORF7 amplicons. All three typing strategies show complete concordance with the currently used method of typing with monoclonal antibodies when used on a panel of PRRSV field isolates covering the period 1992-1997. The ORF7-based test had particularly desirable characteristics, namely highly sensitive detection of PRRSV without apparent type bias, typing of the detected virus, discrimination between pure and mixed virus populations, and semiquantitative assessment of type-ratios in mixed populations, all in a single PCR reaction. The blocking ELISA is routinely used at our institute for PRRSV antibody screening, making it possible to distinguish between the EU and US type PRRSV in infected herds. IPMA is mostly used for serologic herd profiles to determine the spread of PRRSV within herds, based on the level of the IPMA titers. However, the IPMA can also be used to differentiate between the two different PRRSV type of infections. For detection and typing of PRRSV, we routinely use virus isolation and mAb typing. For selected cases RT-PCR followed by DNA sequencing are performed to confirm mAb typing or get more detailed information.


In this paper, user-centric clustering for uplink coordinated multi-point (CoMP) processing in a multi-cell environment is investigated such that the inter-cell interference (ICI) within cluster can be effectively eliminated. Although full cooperation among all cells in the network can achieve the highest cooperative gain in terms of ICI cancellation, such scheme consumes too much cooperation resources in the form of backhaul and processing power. In addition, from the quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning perspective, different users may have different demand for CoMP processing to guarantee its QoS. By considering the tradeoff between cooperative gain and cost, a cluster size minimization problem subject to QoS constraints is formulated to achieve dynamic user-centric clustering for uplink CoMP. As the constrained 0-1 integer programming problem depends largely on the intra-cluster interference weight, we propose a subgradient-based algorithm to solve the relaxed problem. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed clustering algorithm achieves both the smallest cluster size and the best QoS provisioning for cell-edge users in terms of outage probability in the comparison with existing clustering algorithms.


A number of recombinant proteins isolated from cell sources are being produced for biopharmaceuticals. Although most biopharmaceuticals are highly purified, there is a safety concern that such recombinant products could be contaminated with impurities including adventitious virus, mycoplasma, endotoxin and oncogenic DNA. Residual DNA in recombinant biopharmaceuticals is a potential risk factor and must be evaluated and removed to meet the regulatory guidelines. Recombinant HPV type 16 L1 VLPs, recombinant protein produced in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf) 9 insect cells, is a HPV subunit vaccine candidate which has been studied as a preventive vaccine of cervical cancers. In this study, we performed detection and quantification of residual cellular DNA in the production of recombinant HPV type 16 L1 VLPs. HPV-16 L1 VLPs were purified by processes including detergent lysis, sonication treatment, sucrose cushion centrifugation, CsCl equilibrium density centrifugation, and DNase treatment which was added to inactivate residual cellular DNA after CsCl centrifugation step. We have developed a precise assay based on a dot-blot hybridization using digoxigenin random primed labeling DNA probes for the detection and quantification of residual cellular DNA during the purification process and final products. Detection limit of residual cellular DNA was 0.1 ng in this assay and the amount of residual cellular DNA in the final product was 0.5 ng~1 ng per 100 ㎍ of protein. This study describes safer and more sensitive methods alternative to radioactive techniques employed for residual cellular DNA quantification of biopharmaceuticals produced by recombinant protein technology and presents method validation data demonstrating precision and reproducibility.


Abstract One of the major concerns in the seismic retrofitting of masonry walls is that of increasing the ultimate load for out-of-plane forces. In multi-story buildings, these forces may originate from the hammering actions of floors, when the earthquake direction is orthogonal to the wall. A possibility for counteracting the out-of-plane displacements is retaining the wall by building some buttresses, that is, some beams lean against the wall and disposed vertically. Another possibility is to make the buttress in the thickness of the wall. In this second case, we must cut the wall for its entire height, realize the buttress, and restore the masonry wall around it. In both cases, the interventions are highly invasive. The first intervention also leads to increments of mass that enhance the attraction of seismic forces. The aim of this paper is to find a less invasive and lighter alternative for realizing buttresses. We proposed to use FRP strips and steel ribbons in a combined fashion, so as to realize an ideal vertical I-beam embedded into the wall, without requiring to cut the masonry. We also provided some experimental results for verifying the effectiveness of the model.