The automotive body system is not only a source for directly radiating noise into the vehicle interior space, but also a key component for transmitting various vibrations and noise. The optimization of the modes for body-in-white has significant meanings for improving the reliability and NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) performance of the whole vehicle. Based on the current situation that there is more severe interior vibration and noise problem occurring in driving for a light passenger vehicle, a hybrid modal analysis method combined with experiment and simulation methods is applied to investigate the vibration and noise characteristics of the whole vehicle body. By performing such modal analysis, the modal frequencies of the auto-body are improved effectively by strengthening the vibration sensitive regions in the body structure. The experiment for measuring interior vibration and noise levels under cruise condition is conducted to validate that the structural optimization for body-in-white has significant contribution for improving the whole vehicle NVH performance.


A Thyroid Cancer Registry containing data of patients treated at our department during a 20-year period (1980-1999) has been established. The aim of the study was to analyze the possible effects of the 1990-1995 war in Croatia on the prevalence, type, and age and sex distribution of thyroid carcinoma. Three different 2-year periods were analyzed: distant prewar (1980-1981), immediate prewar (1989-1990) and postwar (1998-1999) period. There was no statistically significant difference in age at diagnosis and sex ratio among the three study periods. The incidence of follicular cancer was at the upper limit for countries with normal iodine uptake when the 20-year period was analyzed, however, in the 1980-1981 period follicular cancer accounted for 34.9%, and in 1998-99 for only 2.8% of all cases. Papillary cancer was diagnosed in less advanced stages than others. Five-year survival for papillary, follicular and anaplastic cancer was 100%, 100% and 0%, respectively. Analysis of the 2-year periods for all cancer types except anaplastic cancer showed the mean age at onset to be on a decrease. In the 1998-1999 period, papillary cancer was diagnosed in a more advanced stage. The number of follicular cancer cases decreased from 22 in 1980-1981 to 3 in 19891990 and 2 in 1998-1999. Analysis of the epidemiology of thyroid cancer in the preand postChernobyl period did not reveal any increase in the number of papillary cancer in younger patients. It was concluded that in the postwar period, patients presented in more advanced stages of the disease. However, the effects of war on the epidemiology of thyroid carcinoma and other malignant tumors should be further investigated.


The participation of children in different processes is an increasing phenomenon due to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Unfortunately the level of competence involved in these processes is often remarkably low. Children are often included in processes only to provide a democratic profile for the work. Children's participation is positive but must be performed with enough knowledge about and interest in the children involved. There must always be a positive outcome for the children and they must be able to see that their participation has made a difference. Otherwise children's experiences of participatory work will only result in them becoming disillusioned. Through the use of an example from a project in Stockholm some important issues regarding children's participation in urban planning are raised, discussed and also questioned.


User-based Collaborative Filtering (CF) is one of the most popular approaches to create recommender systems. This approach is based on finding the most relevant k users from whose rating history we can extract items to recommend. CF, however, suffers from data sparsity and the cold-start problem since users often rate only a small fraction of available items. One solution is to incorporate additional information into the recommendation process such as explicit trust scores that are assigned by users to others or implicit trust relationships that result from social connections between users. Such relationships typically form a very sparse trust network, which can be utilized to generate recommendations for users based on people they trust. In our work, we explore the use of regular equivalence applied to a trust network to generate a similarity matrix that is used to select the k-nearest neighbors for recommending items. We evaluate our approach on Epinions and we find that we can outperform related methods for tackling cold-start users in terms of recommendation accuracy.


Reinterpretation of a voluminous regional ash-flow sheet (Masonic Park Tuff) as two separate tuff sheets of similar phenocryst-rich dacite erupted from separate source calderas has important implications for evolution of the multicyclic Platoro caldera complex and for caldera-forming processes generally. Masonic Park Tuff in central parts of the San Juan field, including the type area, was erupted from a concealed source at 28.6 Ma, but widespread tuff previously mapped as Masonic Park Tuff in the southeastern San Juan Mountains is the product of the youngest large-volume eruption of the Platoro caldera complex at 28.4 Ma. This large unit, newly named the "Chiquito Peak Tuff," is the last-erupted tuff of the Treasure Mountain Group, which consists of at least 20 separate ash-flow sheets of dacite to low-silica rhyolite erupted from the Platoro complex during a 1 m.y. interval (29.5−28.4 Ma). Two Treasure Mountain tuff sheets have volumes in excess of 1000 km 3 each, and five more have volumes of 50–150 km 3 . The total volume of ash-flow tuff exceeds 2500 km 3 , and caldera-related lavas of dominantly andesitic composition make up 250-500 km 3 more. A much greater volume of intermediate-composition magma must have solidified in subcaldera magma chambers. Most preserved features of the Platoro complex-including postcollapse asymmetrical trap-door resurgent uplift of the ponded intracaldera tuff and concurrent infilling by andesitic lava flows-postdate eruption of the Chiquito Peak Tuff. The numerous large-volume pre-Chiquito Peak ash-flow tuffs document multiple eruptions accompanied by recurrent subsidence; early-formed caldera walls nearly coincide with margins of the later Chiquito Peak collapse. Repeated syneruptive collapse at the Platoro complex requires cumulative subsidence of at least 10 km. The rapid regeneration of silicic magmas requires the sustained presence of an andesitic subcaldera magma reservoir, or its rapid replenishment, during the 1 m.y. life span of the Platoro complex. Either case implies large-scale stoping and assimilative recycling of the Tertiary section, including intracaldera tuffs.


Introduction
Type 1 diabetes sometimes referred to as childhood onset diabetes is characterized by deficient hormone insulin production by the body. Children spend most of their time in school such that when there is an imbalance between medication, food and physical activity the wellbeing of the minor is placed at risk. The main objective was to investigate the prevalence of Type 1 diabetes and presence of support services for affected children in public schools in Gweru, Zimbabwe.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted in public primary schools in the third largest city of Zimbabwe, Gweru. Key informant interviews were conducted with selected staff members to determine the type of support services available for children with Type 1 diabetes. The Michigan Diabetes Knowledge test was used to collect data from school staff on knowledge about the condition.
Results
The prevalence of Type 1 diabetes was 0.1% across 21 primary schools assessed. A third of the schools (33.3%) offered support services such as insulin administration (n = 2), nutrition support (n = 7), and blood glucose monitoring (n = 5). The mean knowledge score was 15.4 ± 2.7. Half of the schools scored above the mean knowledge score.
The total number of primary school children in Gweru urban was 24863. Only eight schools out of a total of 21 assessed schools had children with Type 1 diabetes enrolled. The total number of children confirmed using medical records was 26. The prevalence of Type 1 diabetes was 0.1%. Females (n = 14) were slightly more than males (n = 12). More than half of the children with diabetes 57% and 43% of the males and females respectively required monitoring at school and the rest were independent of glucose monitoring. Only two schools had school nurses and they had been trained about management of diabetes in nursing school. Only 1 school had a written policy. In total 33% of the schools offered some support service to children with diabetes

Conclusions
The results show that there was a low but significant prevalence of Type 1 diabetes in Gweru urban primary schools. There are few supportive services being provided in the schools and there is inadequate information and specific school policies pertaining management of Type 1 diabetes in public schools. Intervention from policy makers is warranted.
The prevalence of Type 1 diabetes in Zimbabwe is not well known [4] but is estimated to be under 0.1% [5,6]. It is projected to be on the increase [6,7] however data on incidence and prevalence remains scarce in Zimbabwe. Children spend most of their time at school (30-35 hours per week) and hence the importance of personnel entrusted with the child to be involved in management of any condition they may have. The school is a critical environment for children with diabetes. There is dearth of information on the prevalence of optimal support services for Type 1 diabetic children in primary schools in developing countries leading possibly to poor management.
Zimbabwe has a School Health Policy which emphasizes not only the teaching of relevant topics but also the presence of appropriate school health services irrespective of economic status, religious beliefs and ownership of school [8]. Conditions such as those concerning sexual and reproductive health, environment and sanitation are well documented and receive adequate attention in school health policies [8] however Type 1 diabetes an equally important topic is less discussed. Intervention in schools is key as it offers a window of opportunity to educate for behavior change thus preventing lifelong debilitating effects of uncontrolled diabetes in the future of these children [9]. The policy further states that "Institutional capacity shall be strengthened for the support of learners with special needs including diabetes". This level of 'strengthening' has never been evaluated. The main objective of this study was therefore to investigate the prevalence of Type 1 diabetes as well as presence of support services for children with Type 1 diabetes in public schools in Gweru, Zimbabwe.


Abstract CONSTANS ( CO ) is a key gene in photoperiodic flowering pathway and locates between the circadian clock gene and the meristem identity gene. For elucidating the function of CO in flowering behavior of soybean, a CO -like gene, designated GmCOL4 , was cloned from Glycine max cv. Kennong 18 using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and bioinformatics methods. This gene encodes a protein embedded 2 conserved domains, B-box and CCT, which belong to subgroup III. Phylogenetic analysis based on critical amino acid sequences indicated that GmCOL4 is close to COL9 with similarity of 64.3%. The expression profiles of GmCOL4 revealed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) showed a similar pattern to that of COL9. GmCOL4 was largely regulated by biological circadian, while light had weak effect on it. GmCOL4 was expressed mainly in leaves with the highest expression at anthesis stage. Therefore, GmCOL4 is one of the important genes for regulation of flowering in soybean.


This short (1500 words) policy briefing paper describes the strategic evolution of US counterterrorism policies to incorporate "denial of territory" strategies alongside existing strategies, particularly long-term, increasingly continuous surveillance by drones, and armed drone attacks, pursued as a counter-raiding strategy against terrorist groups. It argues that US counterterrorism requires not only a counter-raiding strategy via drone strikes, but also the ability to deny territory to terrorist groups. Denial of territory means two distinct strategies, however. One is to deny safe havens to terrorist groups; safe houses, compounds, training camps and bases -- the tiny slices of territory that are usually understood by safe havens. Ending the ability of terrorist groups to retreat to safe havens is a core strategic task in both counterterrorism and counterinsurgency -- by working through or with states where these safe havens are established to end them, or striking directly through drones, special operators, or other means. The territory involved in safe havens in this sense is tiny; simply the physical space where the camp or compound is located.The other meaning of denial of territory to terrorist groups, however, refers to denying them "governance geography" or "governance territory." This briefing paper describes the evolution of jihadi militants, radical Islamist fighters into two broad categories, internal and external. "Internal" militants are insurgents, fueling insurgency and civil war against a government. The Islamist insurgents aim to seize, if not the whole state, then large geographical zones and their populations, whole areas of political geography in both territory and people, and to impose Islamist governance on them -- "governance geography" or "governance territory." "External" militants, by contrast, refers to extraterritorial, transnational terrorist groups aimed at targets beyond the state's borders, US, Western, South Asian, or other targets. Sometimes the internal insurgents and the external transnational terrorists are two wings of the same broad organization or movement; in other instances they are separate, but the insurgents, in places where they gain political governance and control over a territory, are open to hosting transnational terrorist groups. Through much of 2013, at least, the focus of reporting and discussion of US counterterrorism policy was largely on drone strikes. The near exclusive focus on the strategy of armed drone counter raids tended to ignore the rising importance of the accompanying strategies of territorial denial, and particularly the US government's correct assessment -- in Africa and elsewhere -- that it was crucial to ensure that whole regions did not fall to Islamist radical militants, both for the sake of the population governed in typically brutal, even horrific, fashion, but also in order to deny safe haven to terrorist groups in jihadist "governance territories." This (correctly perceived) strategic imperative has driven US security policy in Yemen, Somalia, Mali, and other places, but (as of January 2013) has not been widely understood in press, policy, or academic circles. How can the US succeed in denying "governance territory" to terrorist groups aligned with internal insurgencies, without entering into more counterinsurgency ground wars?(As of July 2014, policy debate in the US over the need to deny governance territory to radical Islamist insurgents as part of transnational counter terrorism is squarely on the table -- reflecting the rapid advance of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, seizing wide swathes of territory and declaring The Islamic State. Whether ISIS turns out to be a short- or long-lived situation in Iraq, viewed against the background of the Iraq war, ISIS is both part of the phenomenon described above, but also significantly different. This short briefing from early 2013 precedes 2014 Iraq events, but it has been posted in order to give some background to the US policy and strategic debate. The strategic point of denial of "governance territory" is simple, from the US government's security perspective: the United States should be wary of repeating today conditions of Afghanistan in the 1990s, the Taliban hosting Bin Laden and Al Qaeda and giving it a protected space in which to plan transnational attacks.)


The present paper analyses the application of the psychological knowledge to one of the most relevant law problems—minimization of the traumatizing impact of the legal system on the people involved in it. The specificity of participation in legal proceedings derives from two underlying characteristics of the law—the inevitability of the psychological impact on the person and the undervaluation of the person's emotional state within the legal system as a whole. The first characteristics reflect the significance of decisions made in the system of justice, the complexity of orientation in the law environment, as well as the lack of various resources. The second characteristics reflect the traditional insensibility of the legal system and the legal actors to psychological problems of the individual. Therapeutic jurisprudence is seen as a breakthrough for a solution to these long existing problems. Therapeutic jurisprudence is an interdisciplinary approach, focusing on positive and negative consequences emerging from interactions of people and legal system. The legal system appears to have different effects on all the participants (legal officers, defendants, victims, etc.). The aim of the present article is to review the main ideas and the scope of application of therapeutic jurisprudence, focusing on crime victims, who are especially vulnerable to the traumatizing effects of the legal system. The paper presents the concept, development, and application of therapeutic jurisprudence, analyses the results obtained during the short period of the existence of this field, characterises and examines the main sources of secondary victimization encountered by crime victims during their interaction with the legal system and its representatives. Criminal victimization is recognized to have negative effects on victims' psychological well-being per se. However, the impact of secondary victimization on victims by legal proceedings had been undervalued by scholars and practitioners for a long time. The paper presents the situation, legal status and role of crime victims in Lithuania, focusing on the approach of therapeutic jurisprudence to the solution for undesirable consequences of involvement in pre-trial and trial processes. In accordance to the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence the necessity to solve not only legal, but also psychological problems of crime victims, as well as training of law enforcement personnel to consider the psychological needs of those, who had suffered from crime, is emphasized.


Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a production active safety system that can warn drivers of an unintended departure. Critical in the design of LDW and other departure countermeasures is understanding pre-crash driver behavior in crashes. The objective of this study was to gain insight into pre-crash driver behavior in departure crashes using Event Data Recorders (EDRs). EDRs are units equipped on many passenger vehicles that are able to store vehicle data, including pre-crash data in many cases. This study used 256 EDRs that were downloaded from GM vehicles involved in real-world lane departure collisions. The crashes were investigated as part of the NHTSA's NASS/CDS database years 2000 to 2011. Nearly half of drivers (47%) made little or no change to their vehicle speed prior to the collision and slightly fewer decreased their speed (43%). Drivers who did not change speed were older (median age 41) compared to those who decreased speed (median age 27). Drivers in lane departure crashes were traveling above the posted speed limit in 65% of cases. Almost half (49%) of drivers did not apply the brakes during the pre-crash record, suggesting that drivers may be steering more often than braking to avoid crashes. The newest advanced EDRs record steering wheel angle in addition to the data collected by older EDRs most common in the current fleet. We also present a case study using advanced EDR data to simulate the vehicle's trajectory. This method could be invaluable in benefits estimates of safety systems. Language: en


The combination of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) signal processing with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is regarded as a promising solution for enhancing the data rates of next-generation wireless communication systems operating in frequency-selective fading environments. To realize this extension of OFDM with MIMO, a number of changes are required in the baseband signal processing. An overview is given of the necessary changes, including time and frequency synchronization, channel estimation, synchronization tracking, and MIMO detection. As a test case, the OFDM-based wireless local area network (WLAN) standard IEEE 802.11a is considered, but the results are applicable more generally. The complete MIMO OFDM processing is implemented in a system with three transmit and three receive antennas, and its performance is evaluated with both simulations and experimental test results. Results from measurements with this MIMO OFDM system in a typical office environment show, on average, a doubling of the system throughput, compared with a single antenna OFDM system. An average expected tripling of the throughput was most likely not achieved due to coupling between the transmitter and receiver branches.


Creating models of real scenes is a complex task for which the use of traditional modelling techniques is inappropriate. For this task, laser rangefinders are frequently used to sample the scene from several viewpoints, with the resulting range images integrated into a final model. In practice, due to surface reflectance properties, occlusions and accessibility limitations, certain areas of the scenes are usually not sampled, leading to holes and introducing undesirable artifacts in the resulting models. We present an algorithm for filling holes on surfaces reconstructed from point clouds. The algorithm is based on moving least squares and can recover both geometry and shading information, providing a good alternative when the properties to be reconstructed are locally smooth. The reconstruction process is mostly automatic and the sampling rate in the reconstructed areas follows the given samples. We demonstrate the use of the algorithm on both real and synthetic data sets to obtain complete geometry and reasonable shading.


Both loneliness and a lack of social integration are associated with serious physical and psychological health issues. One population highly susceptible to social isolation and loneliness are individuals who are homeless, who also experience high rates of mental disorder and relationship breakdown. Despite this, little research has explored how social networks, isolation and loneliness are experienced for those with a history of homelessness. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used to get a nuanced understanding of how social networks and isolation are experienced and understood by individuals experiencing homelessness. Sixteen participants who were either homeless (n = 11) or previously homeless (n = 5) in Sydney, Australia, completed one-off interviews that were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants constructed their social networks as being both constrained and enabled by marginalisation. They experienced rejection from the non-homeless: the loss of critical network members, including rejection from family and a lack of companionship, and low quality and precarious relationships within the homeless community. These accounts were best conceptualised through loneliness theory. Participant's accounts signal that the homeless will likely continue feeling isolated if mainstream attitudes towards homelessness remain stigmatising and discriminatory.


Although key to understanding individual variation in task-related brain activation, the genetic contribution to these individual differences remains largely unknown. Here we report voxel-by-voxel genetic model fitting in a large sample of 319 healthy, young adult, human identical and fraternal twins (mean ± SD age, 23.6 ± 1.8 years) who performed an n-back working memory task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at a high magnetic field (4 tesla). Patterns of task-related brain response (BOLD signal difference of 2-back minus 0-back) were significantly heritable, with the highest estimates (40–65%) in the inferior, middle, and superior frontal gyri, left supplementary motor area, precentral and postcentral gyri, middle cingulate cortex, superior medial gyrus, angular gyrus, superior parietal lobule, including precuneus, and superior occipital gyri. Furthermore, high test-retest reliability for a subsample of 40 twins indicates that nongenetic variance in the fMRI brain response is largely due to unique environmental influences rather than measurement error. Individual variations in activation of the working memory network are therefore significantly influenced by genetic factors. By establishing the heritability of cognitive brain function in a large sample that affords good statistical power, and using voxel-by-voxel analyses, this study provides the necessary evidence for task-related brain activation to be considered as an endophenotype for psychiatric or neurological disorders, and represents a substantial new contribution to the field of neuroimaging genetics. These genetic brain maps should facilitate discovery of gene variants influencing cognitive brain function through genome-wide association studies, potentially opening up new avenues in the treatment of brain disorders.


Abstract Several studies investigated associations of IFN-γ rs2430561 T/A, IL28B rs12979860 C/T and ERα rs2077647 T/C gene polymorphisms with outcomes of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, but the results were controversial. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis of all published observational studies to address this inconsistency. Literature was searched in online database and a systematic review was conducted based on the search results. A total of 24 studies were included and dichotomous data were presented as odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The rs2430561 T allele was associated with reduced persistent HBV infection risk (T vs. A: OR, 0.690; 95% CI, [0.490, 0.971]), while the rs2077647 T allele significantly increased the risk of persistent HBV infection (T vs. C: OR, 1.678; 95% CI, [1.212, 2.323]). Rs 2077647 CC might play a role in protecting individuals against HBV persistence (TT vs. CC: OR, 4.109; 95% CI, [2.609, 6.473]). Furthermore, carriers of the rs2430561 TT genotype were more likely to clear HBV spontaneously compared with those of the AA genotype (TT vs. AA: OR, 0.555; 95% CI, [0.359, 0.856]). For rs12979860 C/T polymorphism, no significant correlation with HBV infection outcomes was found. In subgroup analyses, the results were similar to those of overall analysis. However, for rs2077647 TT vs. TC+CC, significantly increased risks were observed in the Asian and hospital-based population, but not in the overall analysis. IFN-γ rs2430561 T/A and ERα rs2077647 T/C genetic polymorphisms were associated with outcomes of HBV infection, but no association was found between IL28B rs12979860 C/T and HBV infection.


The development of the bioenergy sector has led to an increasing interest in energy crops. Short rotation coppices (SRC) are forestry management systems in which fast-growing tree species are produced under intensive cultivation practices to obtain high wood chips yields. In Italy, most SRC plantations consist of poplar biomass-clones. SRC plantations can be carried out with different management systems with diverse cutting times; consequently, the cultivation system can be crucial for attaining high yields depending on: i) short and ii) medium cutting frequency. Nowadays, the larger part of Italian SRC is based on 2-year cutting short rotation forestry (SRF) but the best quality of wood chips is linked to 5-year plantation medium rotation forestry (MRF). This work compares an SRF and an MRF poplar plantation located in the Po Valley in northern Italy. In particular, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to evaluate their energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. The LCA software SimaPro 7.10 was used to create the LCA model and to assure an accurate impact assessment calculation. The analysis shows several differences between MRF and SRF in terms of fertiliser requirements and intensive agricultural activities. Results highlight that MRF produces a more sustainable wood chip production than SRF according to energy and environmental concerns. Furthermore, hot spots were identified in both SRF and MRF due to the high energy consumption and the related emissions. These hot spots were: i) mineral fertilisation; ii) mechanical weed-control; iii) harvesting and biomass transport.


PC-12 cells depolarize during hypoxia and release dopamine. The hypoxia-induced depolarization is due to inhibition of an O2-sensitive K+ current. The role of dopamine released during hypoxia is uncertain, but it could act as an autocrine to modulate membrane conductance during hypoxia. The current study was undertaken to investigate this possibility. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis revealed that the D2 isoform of the dopamine receptor is expressed in rat PC-12 cells. Exogenously applied dopamine and the D2 agonist quinpirole elicited inhibition of a voltage-dependent K+ current (I(K)) that was prevented by sulpiride, a D2 receptor antagonist. Dopamine and quinpirole applied during hypoxia potentiated the inhibitory effect of hypoxia on I(K). We also found that quinpirole caused reversible inhibition of a voltage-dependent Ca2+ current (I(Ca)) and attenuation of the increase in intracellular free Ca2+ during hypoxia. Our results indicate that dopamine released from PC-12 cells during hypoxia acts via a D2 receptor to "autoregulate" I(K) and I(Ca).


BACKGROUND
Both acupuncture and acupressure have been suggested beneficial for reducing sleep disturbance in cancer patients. While acupuncture is invasive involving needle insertion, acupressure is noninvasive. Their comparative effectiveness is unclear, hindering clinical recommendations.

AIMS
This study aimed to explore the comparative effectiveness of acupuncture and acupressure on sleep in cancer patients.

METHODS
This is a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis. Eight key English and Chinese databases were searched. Twenty-four randomized controlled trials involving 2002 cancer patients comparing the effects of six treatments (manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupressure, sham, enhanced usual care, and no treatment) on sleep were found.

RESULTS
Compared with enhanced supportive care, acupressure demonstrated the largest effect size for reducing self-reported sleep disturbance (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -2.67, 95% CrI: -3.46 to -1.90; GRADE = moderate), followed by acupuncture (SMD = -1.87, 95% CrI: -2.94 to -0.81, GRADE = moderate) and electroacupuncture (SMD = -1.60, 95% CrI: -3 to -0.21; GRADE = low). The surface under the cumulative ranking curve indicates that acupressure is most likely to rank highest.

LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION
Based on available evidence, acupressure can be recommended as the optimal treatment for reducing sleep disturbance in cancer patients. More rigorous trials are warranted to confirm whether different forms of acupuncture or acupressure have different effects on sleep in cancer patients. Particularly, studies examining acupuncture interventions alone instead of in combination with other therapies are needed.


Abstract Many public policies and private actions affect the risk of injury, illness, or death, yet changes in these risks are not easily valued using market prices. We discuss how to value these risk reductions in the context of benefit-cost analysis. We begin with a pragmatic focus, describing the analytic framework and the approaches currently used for valuation, including estimates of willingness to pay, cost of illness, and monetized quality-adjusted life years. We then turn to some conceptual issues that illustrate areas in need of further exploration.


Distance correlation is a new class of multivariate dependence coefficients applicable to random vectors of arbitrary and not necessarily equal dimension. Distance covariance and distance correlation are analogous to product-moment covariance and correlation, but generalize and extend these classical bivariate measures of dependence. Distance correlation characterizes independence: it is zero if and only if the random vectors are independent. The notion of covariance with respect to a stochastic process is introduced, and it is shown that population distance covariance coincides with the covariance with respect to Brownian motion; thus, both can be called Brownian distance covariance. In the bivariate case, Brownian covariance is the natural extension of product-moment covariance, as we obtain Pearson product-moment covariance by replacing the Brownian motion in the defin- ition with identity. The corresponding statistic has an elegantly simple com- puting formula. Advantages of applying Brownian covariance and correlation vs the classical Pearson covariance and correlation are discussed and illustrated.


An alkaline phosphatase immunochemically similar to placental alkaline phosphatase (EC 188.8.131.52) was purified from liver metastases of a giant-cell carcinoma of the lung. Some properties of its physical and chemical structure were determined and compared to those of purified placental alkaline phosphatase. The purified tumor phosphatase and the placental phosphatase were similar with regard to the following properties: (1) NH(2)-terminal sequence, (2) peptide map, (3) subunit molecular weight, and (4) isoelectric point. The physical properties and NH(2)-terminal sequence of alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme of liver differed from the placental and the tumor enzyme. The data from the present study strongly support the hypothesis that the tumor and the placental alkaline phosphatases are products of the same gene.


This study contributes to the IS literature with a distinct explanation of the process of institutionalisation of technology in organisations. The research analyses the role of micro-level processes of interplay in embedding an intranet in the formal functioning of an organisation and in the habits and routines of its employees. The findings identify two types of processes of interplay underpinning this process of institutionalisation. The first operates at the level of constitutive expectations and refers to mutual changes to the governance, policy and control mechanisms which foster the perception that the intranet is part of the expected formal functioning of the organisation. The second operates at the level of background expectations and refers to mutual changes that make the intranet look more familiar, functional, easier to use, fostering its embedding in routines and habits of the employees. The study aims to motivate more research on institutionalisation as a bottom-up micro process of gradual development of institutionalised behaviour.


PT. PLN (Persero) Distribusi Jawa Barat (PLN DJB) as a State-Owned Enterprise which is mandated by the Law to provide sufficient electricity supply (availability) with adequate quality and reliability and at an affordable price (efficiency), PLN DJB need information systems that are supported by adequate technology infrastructure In addition, government policy related to accounting and IT governance for SOE became a challenge to align business strategy and IT strategy in accordance with the needs of PLN DJB. Enterprise architecture is one of methods that can be used to align business strategy and information technology strategy that is designed to suit the business needs. TOGAF ADM is one framework that can be used as a reference in building enterprise architecture. Phases used in this study only include six phases which preliminary phase until opportunities and solutions phase. The output of this research is business architecture blueprint, information systems architecture blueprint, and technology architecture blueprint. After obtaining a blueprint, then it can be made IT Development Roadmap at PLN DJB. Hopefully, with the design of the Enterprise Architecture (EA) on the Bidang Perencanaan dan Bidang Keuangan in PLN DJB can help companies to create competitive advantage through IT. Keywords: Enterprise Architecture, TOGAF ADM, Energy Company


Imatinib mesylate is a small molecule used in cancer therapy as a thyrosine kinase inhibitor. Dexketoprofen trometamol is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that has seen use in cancer therapy in combination with an anticancer drug to minimize tumor size and to reduce pain in patients. In the present study, imatinib mesylate and dexketoprofen trometamol were selected as potential model drugs to be used in combination. A new, simple and selective Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography method was developed and validated to determine the drug substances in distilled water, in a pH 7.4 phosphate buffer and in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium. The proposed method was developed using a BEH C-18 column with isocratic elution. A mixture of methanol:acetonitrile (80:20, v/v) and pH 9.5, 0.05 M ammonium acetate were (70:30, v/v) used as a mobile phase. Detection was carried out with a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min, a column temperature of 30°C and an injection volume of 20 μL. The method was validated considering linearity, accuracy, precision, specificity, robustness, detection limit and quantitation limit values, and was found to be linear in a range from 0.05 to 20.0 μg/mL for the three different media.


Coronal limb malalignment is an important contributing factor to articular cartilage damage and to the development of knee osteoarthritis. Osteotomies around the knee are effective and well-recognized treatments for unloading the affected compartment. Valgus malalignment is less common than varus malalignment. Consequently, distal Femoral Osteotomies to correct the valgus knee are less commonly performed compared to high tibial osteotomy (HTO) for the varus knee. There are few papers describing the outcomes of distal femoral osteotomy (DFO) to treat valgus knee alignment and knee arthritis. In literature, there is still an open debate about the correct indication and contraindication, the best surgical technique (opening versus closing wedge), the amount of correction to achieve and the use of bone grafts to enhance osteotomies healing. However, with the correct indications, Distal Femoral Osteotomies showed good outcomes in the treatment of valgus knee. The aim of this manuscript is to review the literature about DFO in the valgus knee, summarizing the indications and contraindications, the available surgical techniques, outcomes, complications and failure rates.


Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the key long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) associated with colon cancer and elucidate their possible mechanisms of action. Patients and methods: Eight early-stage (ES) colon tumor tissues, eight late-stage (LS) colon tumor tissues, and eight normal tissues were collected, and they were subjected to high-throughput RNA sequencing. Subsequently, comprehensive bioinformatics analyses, including the identification of differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs, functional enrichment analysis, and construction of a protein–protein interaction network and an miRNA–lncRNA–mRNA regulatory network were performed. Additionally, the expression of key lncRNAs was verified using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Results: In total, 549 common differentially expressed mRNAs and 30 common differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified in both the ES and LS colon cancer samples upon comparison with the normal samples. Functional enrichment analysis showed that KIAA0125 was significantly enriched in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and that MSTRG.35002.1 was markedly enriched in BMP signaling-related functions. Moreover, key miRNA–lncRNA– mRNA relationships, such as hsa-miR-29b-3p-KIAA0125-BCL2 and hsa-miR-29b-3p-MSTRG.35002.1-MMP2, were identified. Notably, the qPCR assay confirmed that KIAA0125 and MSTRG.35002.1 were significantly downregulated in both ES and LS colon tumor tissues compared with normal colon tissues. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that key lncRNAs, including KIAA0125 and MSTRG.35002.1, may be involved in colorectal cancer (CRC) development. Downregulation of KIAA0125 may contribute to CRC development via sponging of hsa-miR-29b-3p to regulate BCL2 expression or regulating the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Downregulation of MSTRG.35002.1 may promote CRC development via sponging of hsa-miR-29b-3p to regulate MMP2 expression or regulating the BMP signaling pathway.


This work deals with the implementation of Simple Algorithm for detection of range and shape of tumor in brain MR images and predicts the disease risk details from the given area of tumor. Tumor is an uncontrolled growth of tissues in any part of the body. Tumors are of different types and they have different Characteristics and different treatment. As it is known, brain tumor is inherently serious and life-threatening because of its character in the limited space of the intracranial cavity (space formed inside the skull). Most Research in developed countries show that the number of people who have brain tumors were died due to the fact of inaccurate detection. Generally, CT scan or MRI that is directed into intracranial cavity produces a complete image of brain. After researching a lot statistical analysis which is based on those people whose are affected in brain tumor some general Risk factors and Symptoms have been discovered. The development of technology in science day night tries to develop new methods of treatment. This image is visually examined by the physician for detection & diagnosis of brain tumor. However this method accurate determines the accurate of stage & size of tumor and also predicts the disease details from the area of tumor. This work uses segmentation of brain tumor based on the k-means and fuzzy c-means algorithms. This method allows the segmentation of tumor tissue with accuracy and reproducibility comparable to manual segmentation. In addition, it also reduces the time for analysis and predicts the disease details from the given area of tumor. Finally implement a system using java to predict Brain tumor risk level which is easier, cost reducible and time savable.


Mutations in the PRRT2 gene are the main cause for a group of paroxysmal neurological diseases including paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia, episodic ataxia, benign familial infantile seizures, and hemiplegic migraine. In the mature central nervous system, the protein has both a functional and a structural role at the synapse. Indeed, PRRT2 participates in the regulation of neurotransmitter release, as well as of actin cytoskeleton dynamics during synaptogenesis. Here, we show a role of the protein also during early stages of neuronal development. We found that PRRT2 accumulates at the growth cone in cultured hippocampal neurons. Overexpression of the protein causes an increase in the size and the morphological complexity of growth cones. In contrast, the growth cones of neurons derived from PRRT2 KO mice are smaller and less elaborated. Finally, we demonstrated that the aberrant shape of PRRT2 KO growth cones is associated with a selective alteration of the growth cone actin cytoskeleton. Our data support a key role of PRRT2 in the regulation of growth cone morphology during neuronal development.


Pear (Pyrus communis) is an important fruit crop in the Netherlands, with a total production of 349,000 tons in 2014, and 'Conference' is the main pear cultivar that occupies 75% of the total pear production area. In the Netherlands, pears are kept in controlled atmosphere cold storage up to 11 months after harvest. Occasionally, storage rots are observed when storage crates are contaminated with orchard soil. In a storage trial (2012 to 2013), boxes with 'Conference' pears were amended with soil particles from the same orchard from which the pears were harvested (four orchards), and stored for 11 months. Boxes without amended soil were included as controls. In contrast to the control boxes, up to 15% of the pears stored in boxes with soil particles showed typical rot symptoms (lesions) of an unknown causal agent. The lesions showed brown and watery circular necrosis, were slightly sunken, and displayed whitish to yellowish mycelia covering the lesions. To isolate the causal agent, fruit were rinsed with sterile water, lesions were sprayed with 70% ethanol until droplet runoff, the skin was removed aseptically with a scalpel, and tissue under the lesion was isolated and placed onto potato dextrose agar (PDA). The PDA plates were incubated at 20°C in the dark, and single spore isolates were transferred to fresh PDA plates. These isolates produced fast-growing colonies with white-yellowish mycelium. Conidia were hyaline, cylindrical, 1 to 3 septate, and 15.8 to 26.4 × 5.3 to 7.9 µm. The fungus was morphologically identical to Neonectria candida (syn. N. ramulariae; anamorph Cylindrocarpon obtusiusculum) (Lombard et al. 2015). The identity of a representative isolate (VTN10Bs3) was confirmed by means of multilocus gene sequencing. To this end, genomic DNA was extracted using the LGC Mag Plant Kit (Berlin, Germany) in combination with the Kingfisher method (Waltham, USA). Sequences of the ITS region, translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1), and actin (ACT2) loci were amplified, sequenced, and deposited in GenBank under accessions KU588183 (ITS), KU588186 (TEF1), and KU588184 (ACT2). MegaBLAST analysis revealed that our ITS, TEF1, and ACT2 sequences matched with >99 to 100% identity to N. candida isolates in GenBank (KM249079 and JF735314 [ITS], JF735791 and HM054091 [TEF1], and KM231146 [ACT2]). Subsequently, Koch's postulates were performed on 15 'Conference' pears. Surface sterilized fruits were inoculated with 20 µl of a suspension of 105 conidiospores ml–1 water, prepared from a 15-day-old PDA culture, after wounding with a needle. Inoculated fruits were sealed in a plastic bag and incubated in darkness at 20°C. Symptoms appeared after 7 days on 100% of the fruits while mock-inoculated controls with water remained symptomless. Fungal colonies isolated from the lesions and cultured on PDA morphologically resembled the original isolate from the infected pears. Moreover, symptoms observed on artificially inoculated 'Conference' pear fruit were identical to the decay observed on 'Conference' pears that were obtained from the cold storage experiment. The identity of the reisolations was confirmed as N. candida by sequencing. N. candida (syn. N. ramulariae) is known as a globally distributed soilborne fungus (Domsch et al. 2007), but only few studies have identified the fungus as plant pathogen (Hirooka 2012). This is the first report of N. candida causing storage rot of pears. Importantly, we note that the occurrence of storage rots may be enhanced by contamination of storage crates or fruit with orchard soil.


This study uses minimal prior information to place into context the exploration potential for two prospects that lack well information in the Pelotas and Punta del Este Basins, offshore Uru-guay. Prospect A is representative of a typical prospect within the Cretaceous turbidite play, interpreted to be charged by marine Aptian shales, with an Albian sandstone reservoir sealed by Cenomanian shales during a regional transgression, trapped in a structural-stratigraphic trap. Prospect B is representative of a typical prospect within the Cretaceous shallow-marine sandstone play, charged by Barremian lacustrine shales into Maastrichtian reservoirs, sealed by transgressive Paleocene shales, in stratigraphic pinch-outs and/or subunconformity truncation traps. Prospects A and B were benchmarked using four fi lters that restricted analogues to similar hydrocarbon type, reservoir age, depositional environments, and trapping mechanisms. The resulting analogue population can be used to reduce uncertainty and quantify the potential of the prospects. Prospect A ' s interpretation is on the high side of the analogue distribution since both the productive area and original oil in place do not exceed the 10th percentile of observed data of the analogue data set. Signi fi cant uncertainty exists for prospect B as currently de fi ned, but analysis of the context of the play and prospect suggests that the appropriate conditions exist to be a viable play. This work fl ow can be used in a variety of low-data situations to increase con fi dence in interpretation and decrease risk


Most university courses in mathematics programs are characterized by a strong focus on the axiomatic nature of mathematics, and thus also on proof as the central scientific method of mathematics (Selden, A. & Selden, 2008). Lecturers write proofs on the blackboard, students attempt to demonstrate their understanding and skills by proving theorems on their own or in collaboration with others. However, there is often little systematic discussion in these courses on how new mathematical conjectures can be generated and on how proofs are constructed (Alcock, 2010). Students' experiences with conjecturing and proving in schools or in university mathematics courses often lead them to "consider proof as a static product rather than a negotiated process that can help students justify and make sense of mathematical ideas" (Otten, Bleiler-Baxter, & Engledowl, 2017, p. 112). Yet, several authors (e.g., Epp, 2003; Savic, 2015a; Selden, A. & Selden, 2008) have hypothesized that often only little time can be devoted to illustrate students which strategies and processes may help to step through the proof construction process and to recover from proving impasses. Furthermore, the knowledge about what characterizes proof processes that lead to a successful outcome (i.e., an acceptable mathematical proof [according to local acceptance criteria]) is rare.
To approach this issue, an extensive systematic literature search was conducted to summarize common claims and empirical findings about promising conjecturing and proving processes. 126 articles that focussed on conjecturing and proving were clustered using a topic modeling method. The algorithm identified 17 different topics. The most representative papers for each topic, in total 45 papers, were qualitatively analysed with regard to their research perspectives on which they were based and their claims and findings about the processes that are needed to successfully generate conjectures and construct proofs. This combination of statistical clustering and qualitative analyses allowed a systematic categorization of claims and empirical findings about successful conjecturing and proving processes in the literature. Based on this review, a set of characteristics of conjecturing and proving processes, that are assumed or reported to be crucial for success, is proposed.
For the further analysis of such process characteristics, we started from a model differentiating students' prerequisites they bring to bear on the proving situation, the conjecturing and proving processes they engage in, and the quality of the resulting product. The main question of the empirical work in this dissertation was, which process characteristics influence the quality of the final product (the formulated conjecture and constructed proof), and in which way they mediate the impact of students' prerequisites on this product. Specifically, we distinguished between individual-mathematical and social-discursive process characteristics of conjecturing and proving. These process characteristics were extracted from prior research in mathematics education or in educational psychology or in the Learning Sciences.
The central aim of this dissertation was to develop an instrument for assessing (prospective undergraduate) mathematics students' conjecturing and proving processes in collaborative situations. A high-inference rating scheme with seven scales, based on theoretical considerations and on rating guidelines adapted from educational research was designed. The rating scheme was evaluated in a study with N=98 prospective undergraduate students working in dyads on an open-ended conjecturing and proving task. The results of the empirical study with regard to the basic analyses showed that collaborative conjecturing and proving processes could be rated with sufficient reliability and that the structure of the data corresponded to the underlying theoretical assumption that two dimensions, one related to individual-mathematical and one related to social-discursive process characteristics can be distinguished. The in-depth analyses pointed out that individual-mathematical process characteristics were predictive for the quality of the resulting product and mediated the relation between prerequisites (students' prior knowledge on proof) and the quality of the product.
In this way, the dissertation contributes to the scientific debate on how to assess (mathematical argumentation) skills (e.g., Blomeke, Gustafsson, & Shavelson, 2015; Koeppen, Hartig, Klieme, & Leutner, 2008) and provides theoretical and empirical insights on individual-mathematical and social-discursive process characteristics that describe the quality of collaborative conjecturing and proving processes.


Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) tract graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) is a major cause of post-allo-HCT morbidity and mortality. Patients with steroid-refractory GI-GvHD face a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Here, we report an interim analysis on the safety and efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in treating steroid-refractory GI-GvHD.Methods: We did a non-randomized, open-label, phase 1 clinical study on patients with grade IV steroid-refractory GI-GvHD. FMT efficacy was evaluated using indexes of abdominal pain, diarrhea and bloody purulent stool at 14 and 21 days after the diagnosis of steroid-refractory GI-GvHD. The primary outcomes referred to clinical complete remission or partial remission. Secondary outcomes referred to EFS (event free survival) and OS (overall survival) at Day 90 and the end of the research. Safety was evaluated according to adverse events during FMT and the whole follow-up period. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov as #NCT03148743.Results: A total of 56 patients with steroid-refractory GI-GvHD were enrolled. Of them, 24 patients with grade IV steroid-refractory GI-GvHD were assigned to FMT and 18 to the control group. The characteristics of the two group patients at baseline were similar. At Day 14 after FMT, 13 (54.2%) patients in FMT group and none (0%) of 18 control group achieved clinical remission (p<0.05), while 20(83%) patients in FMT group and 7(39%) in control group showed effective response (clinical remission+partial remission) (RR 7.86, 95% CI 1.88–32.9; p=0.005). At Day 21, the clinical remission was significantly greater in FMT group than in control group (14 (58.3%) of 24 vs 3(16%) of 18; RR 6.0, 95% CI 1.22–29.45; p=0.027). Within a follow up of 90 days, the FMT group showed better OS (HR, 7.0; 95% CI, 1.53-32.08; p=0.012). At the end of the research, the median survival time was >600 days in FMT group and 107 days in control group (HR, 4.73; 95% CI, 1.58-14.14; p=0.005). Both the EFS (HR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.06-0.95; p=0.055) and OS (HR, 5.97; 95% CI, 1.52-23.43; p=0.01) kept increasing during the follow-up in FMT group. Overall, the mortality rate was lower in FMT group (HR, 5.97; 95% CI, 1.52-23.43; p=0.01). No difference was observed in the occurrence of other side effects, such as hemorrhagic cystitis, infection of bacteria & fungi, CMV&EBV, septicemia, TMA, cardiac events, thrombocytopenia and epilepsy.Conclusions: The diversity of intestinal microbiota can be affected by allo-HSCT. FMT is effective and safe in treating grade IV steroid refractory GI–GvHD.


Topology control is a well-known strategy to save energy and extend the lifetime of wireless sensor networks. In the literature, it is usually referred as the process that, given a set of nodes, builds a reduced topology that still guarantees connectivity and coverage. Here, we extend this definition. We consider topology control as two processes: topology construction and topology maintenance. Topology construction encompasses those algorithms that build the reduced topology. Topology maintenance is the process that changes the reduced topology from time to time when the current one is no longer optimal. In this paper we define topology maintenance and present different strategies and triggering criteria that can be used to switch the network topology. We also implement static and dynamic global topology maintenance strategies using two well-known topology construction algorithms and time- and energy-based triggering criteria, and compare their performance via simulations on sparse and dense networks. Our results demonstrate that the appropriate use of topology maintenance techniques extends the network lifetime versus the option of not doing topology maintenance at all. In sparse networks, while dynamic global techniques improve the network lifetime, static techniques may improve or degrade the performance. However, all results are fairly similar. On the other hand, topology maintenance is very well justified in dense networks where important performance improvements can be achieved. In this case, the superiority of dynamic global techniques is evident, and even more as the density of the network increases.


The effects of reheating in solid-liquid region on the microstructure of electromagnetically stirred Al alloy have been investigated. The billet of Al alloy was produced at a various casting speed from 200 to 500 mm/min in a continuous casting machine with an electromagnetic stirring device. The microstructure of the billet, which was isothermally reheated in a solid-liquid region during holding for from 0.5 to 15 min, was examined. The roundness and size of primary α phase of electromagnetic stirred Al alloy was measured according to the reheating time. The roundness of primary α phase was obtained a minimum during holding for from 3 to 7 min at a holding temperature of 584°C and was deteriorated at a longer reheating time due to a dominant coalescence. Also the spheroidization of primary α phase during reheating in solid-liquid region was significantly dependent on initial microstructure of the billet.


Introduction If nonoperative treatment for lumbar stenosis fails, surgery may be considered. This traditionally includes decompression often combined with fusion. Desire for less extensive surgery led to developing new techniques and implants, including an interlaminar device designed with the goal of providing segmental stability without fusion, following decompression. The purpose of this study was to investigate 5-year outcomes associated with an interlaminar device. Methods This prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted at 21 centers. Patients with moderate to severe lumbar stenosis at one or two contiguous levels and up to Grade I spondylolisthesis were randomized (2:1 ratio) to decompression and interlaminar stabilization (D+ILS; n=215) using the coflex® Interlaminar Stabilization® device (Paradigm Spine, LLC) or decompression and fusion with pedicle screws (D+PS; n=107). Clinical evaluations were made preoperatively and at 6 weeks and 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months postoperatively. Overall Food and Drug Administration success criteria required that a patient meet 4 criteria: 1) >15 point improvement in Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score; 2) no reoperation, revision, removal, or supplemental fixation; 3) no major device-related complication; and 4) no epidural steroid injection after surgery. Results At 5 years, 50.3% of D+ILS vs. 44% of D+PS patients (p>0.35) met the composite success criteria. Reoperation/revision rates were similar in the two groups (16.3% vs. 17.8%; p >0.90). Both groups had statistically significant improvement through 60 months in ODI scores with 80.6% of D+ILS patients and 73.2% of D+PS patients demonstrating >15 point improvement (p>0.30). VAS, SF-12, and ZCQ scores followed a similar pattern of maintained significant improvement throughout follow-up. On the SF-12 and ZCQ, D+ILS group scores were statistically significantly better during early follow-up compared to D+PS. In the D+ILS group, foraminal height, disc space height, and range of motion at the index level were maintained through 5 years. Conclusion Both treatment groups achieved and maintained statistically significant improvements on multiple outcome assessments throughout 5-year follow-up. On some clinical measures, there were statistically significant differences during early follow-up favoring D+ILS. At no point were there significant differences favoring D+PS. Results of this 5-year follow-up study demonstrate that decompression and interlaminar stabilization with coflex is a viable alternative to traditional decompression and fusion in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe stenosis at one or two lumbar levels. Level of Evidence and Ethical Statements This is a Level I study. Institutional approval was received at each of the sites participating in the trial. Each patient gave informed consent to participate in the trial.


A series of fluorine-containing copolyimides were synthesized by three different orders of addition of monomers. The fluorine-containing copolyimides were prepared by the reaction of 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) with 2,2'-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride (6FDA), and pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA). The synthesis reactions of the copoly(amic acid)s (PA) were carried out by three different orders of addition of the monomers with different molar ratios of 6FDA to PMDA. The viscosity of the PA solution obtained by DDM-(6FDA+PMDA), that is, 6FDA and PMDA added simultaneously to DDM in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP), was higher than the other two addition orders (i.e., DDM-6FDA-PMDA and DDM-PMDA-6FDA). The viscosity decreased as the relative amount of 6FDA to PMDA increased. The copolyimides formed by different addition orders but the same 6FDA-to-PMDA molar ratios contained different properties, such as dielectric constant, moisture absorption, contact angle, and optical transparency. All of these copolyimides were insoluble in common organic solvents, such as NMP and tetrahydrofuran. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the onset temperature of 8% weight loss decreased slightly as [6FDA]: [PMDA] increased.


Caffeine is a widely ingested and generally beneficial drug. However, when taken in excess, anxiety related symptoms become increasingly apparent. A case of caffeinism, which presented as a paranoid delusion, is reported as an extreme example of this. A study of 60 hospital inpatients revealed that about 40% of them consumed sufficient caffeine to produce symptoms of caffeinism. It is thus recommended that all patients should be questioned on their caffeine intake. Also, caffeinism should be considered as a differential diagnosis of anxiety states.


Little attention has yet been focused on the social nature of metacognition and motivation in adult- or peer-mediated learning, although reciprocal or transactive interaction between individuals is emphasized as a road to learning, that is, in teaching and mediation of knowledge and skills. The present article presents a case analysis and focuses on (a) exploring if and how socially shared-regulation and (b) motivation and coping are manifested in high-ability, 4th grade students' peer-mediated learning in a technology-based game environment, specifically constructed to foster problem solving in mathematics. The case analysis supported the notion that peer-mediated learning can produce high-level learning and, also, transfer of learning. The key conditions for effective collaboration, task-orientation, and social and cognitive competencies, were met in the case of the peers. The analysis further suggested that the notion of shared-regulation could be helpful in understanding of multilevel interaction and regulatory activities in learning. The concept of shared-regulation best seemed to mirror egalitarian, complementary monitoring and regulation over the task, thus bringing the research closer to phenomena relevant to joint, peer-mediated learning. It seemed that regulation in true collaboration fluctuates among the three modes of regulation, self-, other-, and shared-regulation. We concluded, however, that collaborating peers do not regularly meet these ideal conditions, and that the more complete picture of joint problem solving and regulation is complex and variable. Understanding of these multilevel regulatory activities in learning, and their relationship to other, multilevel concepts like motivation, social competence, context, and learning, is a challenge for future research.


Ethylene is the most widely produced petrochemical feedstock globally. It is currently produced exclusively from fossil fuels, and its production is the largest CO2-emitting process in the chemical industry. In this study, we report on a photobiological process for sustained production of ethylene from CO2. The efe gene encoding an ethylene-forming enzyme from Pseudomonas syringae pv. Phaseolicola was previously expressed in cyanobacterial strains, but was not stable. We modified the gene sequence to enhance its stability, and expressed it in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, leading to continuous ethylene production. The same ethylene production rate was sustained across four successive sub-cultures without apparent loss of ethylene-forming ability. Up to 5.5% of the fixed carbon was directed to ethylene synthesis, surpassing the published carbon-partition rate into the TCA cycle. Nitrogen- and phosphorus-enriched seawater can support both growth and ethylene production. Factors limiting ethylene production, including efe expression levels, light intensity and nutrient status, were identified and alleviated, resulting in a peak production rate of 5650 μL L−1 h−1 (7125 μg L−1 h−1, 252 μmol L−1 h−1, or 171 mg L−1 day−1), which is higher than that reported for other algae biofuels and chemicals. This study suggests that Synechocystis, expressing the modified efe gene, has potential to be an efficient biological catalyst for the uptake and conversion of CO2 to ethylene.


This research project is conducted with the objective of to know the contribution of BPR factors towards employee performance in the public organization of the S/N/N/P/R Transport Bureau Hawassa. The indicators that measure employee performance in the study were both success and failure factors of BPR such as egalitarian leadership, cooperative working environment, top management commitment, management system, information technology and resistance to change were major factors dealt in the process. This study was done using descriptive survey method and the study covers all employees of the organization together with its manager. The researcher used questionnaire, interview, secondary documents and observation to collect the data. Data presentation, analysis and interpretation have been applied with the help of descriptive analysis, correlation and regression statistics. The analysis of the findings clearly shows that cooperative working environment, egalitarian leadership, top management commitment, information technology and management system had direct and positive relationship towards employee performance, all except top management commitment were significant because of p-value <0.01. In spite of the fact that resistance to change has inversely contributed to wards employee performance. Even if, the results show that there was positive relationship between BPR success factors and employees performance, the researcher suggest to the leader &top management of the organization, to be committed, work correspond to change and to give concentration& attention towards BPR project to achieve over all organizational goal and to enhance employees performance.


ABSTRACT Globalization brings benefits such as economic growth and exposure to new products and people. Yet it also brings risks, as shown most recently by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we introduce a special section on how American k-12 schooling is responding to that pandemic. While media coverage has arguably overstated the dangers of COVID-19, this introduction and the three papers in this special section offer more empirical takes, which together suggest more pragmatism than partisanship in public responses. In the introduction, we compare U.S. and international schooling responses to the pandemic, in part using a survey of informants in 21 nation-states. Generally, the U.S. is taking a more cautious approach than most other developed countries regarding school reopening. Second, in a short white paper, Angela Watson of Johns Hopkins University offers a summary of the extant knowledge of learning pods in the U.S., a fascinating innovation flourishing during the pandemic. Third, in "Reopening America's Schools: A Descriptive Look at How States and Large School Districts are Navigating Fall 2020," David Marshall of Auburn University and Martha Bradley-Dorsey of the University of Arkansas discuss how the 50 U.S. states and 120 largest school districts are reopening, largely online. Finally, in "We're All Teachers Now: Remote Learning During COVID-19," Dick Carpenter and Joshua Dunn of the University of Colorado/Colorado Springs report results from a national survey of parents, including comparisons of public, charter, and private schools.


Malignant lymphoma is frequently diagnosed when immunohistochemical techniques are applied to otherwise unclassified neoplasms. In this analysis of 35 patients with a histologically unclassified neoplasm that expressed leukocyte-common antigen(s) (LCA), actuarial survival was 63%, and 45% of patients were free from disease progression at 30 months following treatment as for lymphoma. The clinical features at diagnosis and the results of combination chemotherapy were found to be similar to a group of patients with a diagnosis of diffuse large-cell lymphoma (DLCL) concurrently treated at this institution. This study further emphasizes the importance of improved diagnostic techniques in the management of histologically unclassified tumors.


Abstract. The purpose of this research brief is to present results from a study investigating the relation between word reading fluency (both initial level and fall–winter gain scores), passage reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Word reading fluency data were collected in the fall and winter; outcome measures were administered in the spring of Grade 1 (N = 150 students). We found that both initial level and gains on the word reading fluency measure predicted important reading outcomes in Grade 1 and that the impact of gains was attenuated for students with strong initial skills. These findings are consistent with previous research on fluency-based measures of early reading skill.


The bone mineral densities of the lumbar spine and femoral neck were determined by dual energy chi ray absorptiometry in 110 women aged 40-82 years (average 65 years) with spinal osteoporosis who had had at least one atraumatic vertebral compression fracture and in 1026 normal women aged 40-79 years (average 52 years). The women with osteoporosis showed a significant decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and femoral neck compared with age matched normal women (sixth decade of life -26% spine, -23% femoral neck; seventh decade -26% spine, -16% femoral neck). The fracture threshold, defined as the 90th centile of spinal BMD for women with osteoporosis, was 0.81 g/cm2 at the lumbar spine and 0.656 g/cm2 at the femoral neck. Five per cent of normal women aged 40-49 years, 20% aged 50-59 years, and 45% aged 60-69 years had a BMD below this threshold. To maintain the bones of women above the fracture threshold until the age of 70 years about 50% of postmenopausal women need hormone replacement therapy. However, if the BMD is to be kept above the fracture threshold for a women's lifetime, e.g. until the age of 80-90 years, then most women will need treatment, though for various lengths of time depending on their initial BMD. Measurements of BMD in postmenopausal women currently help in identifying the risk of osteoporotic fractures but in the lifetime assessment of risk in a single subject they may have a more important role in deciding the duration of hormone replacement therapy.


A one-year field experiment was conducted in 2013 at an urban and suburban site in Guangzhou, Southern China to study the chemical compositions of PM_(2.5) and reconstruct the IMPROVE Algorithm to investigate the impact of aerosol components on visibility. Annual average PM_(2.5) mass concentration was 61.3 ± 27.6 and 54.2 ± 29.7 μg m^(-3) at the urban and suburban site, with organic matter (OM), sulfate (SO_4^(2-)), and nitrate (NO_3^-) among the dominant components, accounting for 40.3%, 16.3%, and 8.0% of the PM_(2.5) mass concentration respectively. Based on the modified IMPROVE Algorithm, the localized Mass Scattering Efficiencies (MSE) for sulfate and nitrate was obtained, with values of 2.16 ± 0.34 m^2 g^(-1) and 2.63 ± 0.66 m^2 g^(-1) at urban site and 2.22 ± 0.31 m^2 g^(-1) and 2.76 ± 0.84 m^2 g^(-1) at suburban site. Hygroscopic growth factors (Gf) for OM and EC were also taken into consideration with average values of 1.28 ± 0.13 m^2 g^(-1) and 1.15 ± 0.11 m^2 g^(-1) at the urban site and 1.18 ± 0.09 m^2 g^(-1) and 1.10 ± 0.09 m^2 g^(-1) at the suburban site. The estimated total light extinction coefficient was 294.7 ± 106.9 and 255.8 ± 119.0 Mm^(-1) at the urban and suburban site, with OM, SO_4^(2-) and NO_3^- contributing 41.7%, 16.5% and 11.5% at the urban site, and 42.1%, 21.3% and 9.1% at the suburban site. Secondary water-soluble ions and OM as a whole was becoming increasingly vital under polluted conditions, with nitrate in particular being more important under heavily polluted conditions in Guangzhou.


If the microcontrollers
are devices quite easy to use for experts in electronics, a scientist devoted
to different research topics from digital electronics is generally totally
unable to develop and use these complex components. Most of the time, the
researcher is looking for simple devices able to control different parameters
during his experimentation. He is obliged in this case to request the
intervention of an expert in electronics to develop such a device and the
result is sometimes different from the precise initial requirement. Nowadays,
it is possible to find on the market, simple units able to satisfy the
requirements of the scientist and easy enough to be manipulated by him in
specific applications. The purpose of this paper is to present some of these devices
and to compare their possibilities and the ways to use them. These devices are
compared in optically stimulated dosimetry with applications found in external
dosimetry, interventional radiology, nuclear medicine and space dosimetry.


The late Quaternary lacustrine sedimentary record in the Bonneville lake basin in the eastern Great Basin provides an excellent example of sequence stratigraphy. Two sequences, referred to as the Little Valley and Bonneville Alloformations, are exposed in the bluffs of the Sevier River where it has entrenched its Pleistocene delta between Leamington and Delta, Utah. Both alloformations contain offshore marl units and fine-grained deltaic or underflow-fan deposits. They can be identified and mapped by tracing the unconformity separating them and employing a number of geochronometric tools, including amino acid epimerization in fossil gastropods, radiocarbon and thorium-230 ages, and basaltic tephrochronology. Thin transgressive sand of the Little Valley Alloformation is overlain by deeper-water marl and down-lapping regressive-phase deltaic silt. The Bonneville Alloformation lies unconformably above the Little Valley deposits. Fine-grained deltaic sediments deposited during the transgressive phase of Lake Bonneville fill the entrenched Sevier River valley that was eroded subsequent to the Little Valley lake cycle. Marl deposited during the deep-water phase is overlain by down-lapping deposits of the regressive phase below the Provo shoreline but is the uppermost unit in the altitudinal range where the lake was lowered catastrophically during the Bonneville Flood. The sequence stratigraphic interpretation leads to the conclusion that the Sevier River delta as a whole is probably made up of a number of sediment sequences, each composed of several facies. Recognition of this complexity could be important in potential applications of the stratigraphic model.


Diagnosis of tuberculosis in pediatric patients remains challenging due to inherent difficulties associated with obtaining respiratory samples for molecular and culture-based testing. To address this, recent studies have highlighted the utility of tongue swabs to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomic DNA in the oral epithelia of tuberculosis infected adults. It is unknown whether tongue swabs have similar utility for diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis and if the presence of DNA in these swabs was associated with whole bacilli. We therefore sought to conduct a preliminary assessment of the utility of tongue swabs to detect tubercle bacilli and their associated genetic material in young children. For this, we recruited hospitalized children with clinically diagnosed tuberculosis (n = 26) or lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI, n = 9). These categories were blinded for downstream laboratory tests, which included PCR, spoligotyping, smear microscopy, and culture. Mtb genomic DNA was detected by PCR only in clinically diagnosed TB cases [11/26 (31.4%)] and not in cases with LRTI. Of these, 5/11 [45.5%] were associated with a spoligotype. Spoligotyping also detected an additional six specimens that were negative by PCR. Using smear microscopy, 19/26 [73.1%] and 4/9 [44.4] were Mtb positive in the tuberculosis or LRTI categories respectively. We noted positive results on all three tests in 5/26 [19.2%] in the tuberculosis category and 0/9 in the LRTI category. All specimens were culture negative. Collectively, these preliminary data present a compelling case for broader testing of tongue swabs to diagnose tuberculosis in children where obtaining standard sputum specimens is not easy.


Introduction: Owing to their easy availability and accessibility, organophosphate and carbamates are the most commonly used pesticides worldwide in the pest control of crops. Acute toxicity and clinical manifestations of organophosphate pesticide are caused by excessive synaptic accumulation of acetylcholine (AChE). Objective: To analyze the biochemical parameters of serum cholesterol and hematological parameter of absolute erythrocyte count in fish Channa Punctatus exposed under organophosphate pesticide sumithion. Materials and Methods: This research study has been done in fish Channa Punctatus, which was exposed 24 to 96 hours to four different concentration of sumithion pesticide. Serum cholesterol was determined as biochemical biomarkers while absolute erythrocyte counts as hematological biomarker. Serum cholesterol was determined by zlatkis method (Zlatkis A; Zak B. and Boyale A. J. 1953). Absolute erythrocyte count was determined by electrical conductivity method of cell counting. Result: There was significant increase in serum cholesterol in Sumithion pesticide exposed, fish Channa Punctatus, comparative to normal control subject. The maximum rise of 18.93% (80.74 ± 78.56) in serum cholesterol was observed after exposure of 96 hrs at 0.40mg/l Sumithion pesticide. Toxicity of Sumithion resulted in decrease of absolute erythrocyte counts at all concentration of time intervals. Decrease was more pronounced with increasing time of exposures. The lowest erythrocyte count was 57.24% below control at the highest concentration of 0.73mg/L within 24hrs. Conclusion: Results of our study indicates that hypercholesterolemia & decreased level of erythrocyte count in fish channa punctatus exposed under sumithion pesticide are biochemical & hematological biomarker for human beings also. Therefore it is advised to pesticide workers to take all precautions regarding protection from pesticide exposure and proper use of prophylactic supplementation for their healthy life.


Background: The aim of this study was to examine the correlation of the clinical examination, MRI and arthroscopic findings in cruciate ligaments and meniscal injuries of knee and to evaluate the accuracy of clinical examination and MRI with the gold standard arthroscopy.

Methods: A prospective diagnostic double-blind study was conducted on 104 consecutive patients admitted to the outdoor/casualty with trauma to the knee complaining of knee pain/locking/ instability, from August 2012 to June 2014. All the patients were subjected to clinical examination, MRI scanning and diagnostic arthroscopy. Variables like sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of clinical examination and MRI against arthroscopy were evaluated.

Results: The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of clinical examination for anterior cruciate ligament tears were 94.7%, 71.4% and 88.5% and for MRI were 94.7%, 78.6% and 90.4%, respectively; for posterior cruciate ligament tears 100%, 100% and 100% for clinical examination and for MRI 80%, 97.9% and 96.2%, respectively. These values for medial meniscus tears were 76.5%, 68.6% and 71.2% for clinical examination and 88.2%, 62.8% and 71.2% respectively for MRI. For lateral meniscus tears, 40%, 94.6% and 78.8% for clinical examination and 46.7%, 89.2% and 76.9% respectively for MRI.

Conclusions: A skillfully performed clinical examination establishes a diagnosis on which an arthroscopic procedure can be planned, reserving MRI scans for patients where the clinical examination fails to establish a diagnosis or cannot be performed. Decision to use MRI should be based on the criteria that it would confirm, expand the diagnosis or change diagnosis in such a way that alters the proposed treatment.


Objective: To review literature from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom to: gain insight into the adolescent perception of the general practice environment; identify areas of concern that prevent adolescents accessing health care services; and to establish which factors have a negative effect on their general practice experience. Method: A thematic analysis was the method selected for this literature review. The articles were read and similar concepts combined to form 18 common themes. These 18 themes were then condensed down to three focal themes: personal, organisational, and external factors. Results: Principal areas of concern for adolescents accessing health services and the general practice were confidentiality, privacy and trust. These concerning factors were voiced by adolescents of all ages, both genders and across studies from all four countries. Conclusion: A review of the literature has revealed that not all adolescents face problems when using general practice facilities, or have concerns regarding accessing services, but for those that do confidentiality, privacy and trust are the main areas of concern.


A recent important trial comparing women receiving routine antenatal care by general practitioners and midwives compared with shared care led by obstetricians3 found not only that fewer women in the former group developed pregnancy-induced hypertension (n = 37 vs n = 70; P = 0.002) and proteinuria (n = 68 vs n = 93; P = 0.007) but also fewer developed pre-eclampsia (n = 10 vs n = 34; P = 0.0005). While the findings of Tucker et al. require duplication, they come from a rigorously conducted study and should not be ignored. Could one possible explanation be that, in some women, mal-adaptive responses to mentally stressful situations may be less marked in the more familiar surroundings of community-based care? It may be that the 'puzzle of pre-eclampsia' is most likely to be solved not only by future studies of the vascular, immunological and platelet effects of placentally derived substances as suggested by Brown4 but also by an examination of the supra-physiological factors which may contribute to the disease process. The treatment of hypertension in pregnancy with relaxation and bio-feedback has been describedS and further study of these, or related techniques, may be justified in the search to develop new forms of care for women at risk of developing pre-eclampsia.


3D freeze printing is a hybrid manufacturing method composed of freeze casting and inkjet-based printing. It is a facile method to fabricate lightweight, porous, and functional structures. Freeze casting is a well-known method for fabricating porous bodies and is capable of manipulating the micro-structure of the resulting product. Freeze casting simply involves solidification of a liquid suspension using low temperature and sublimation of the solvent using low temperature and pressure. After the sublimation of the solvent crystals, we obtain a porous structure where the pores are a replica of solvent crystal. Making use of the temperature gradient, as seen in unidirectional and bidirectional freeze casting, during the solidification with low temperature values, the solvent crystals grow along the temperature gradient. Furthermore, by manipulating the freezing kinetics during solidification, we can have a control on the average pore size distribution. For instance, when lower freezing temperatures result in finer pores with higher amount, higher freezing temperatures result in coarser pores with less amount. Also, the use of some additives inside the suspension leads to changes in the morphology of the solvent crystals as well as the resulting pores. However, the macro-structure of the fabricated body is highly dependent on the mold used during the process. In order to eliminate the dependency on the mold during the freeze casting process, our group recently combined this technique with inkjet-based 3D printing. With inkjet-based 3D printing, we fabricated uniform lines from single droplets, and complex 3D shapes from the lines. This provided us the ability of tailoring the macro structure of the final product without any dependency on a mold as seen in freeze casting. As a result of the 3D freeze printing process, we achieved fabricating lightweight, porous, and functional bodies with engineered micro and macro-structures. However, achieving fine droplets, and uniform lines by merging the droplets requires a good combination of fabrication parameters such as pressure adjustment inside the print head, print head speed, jetting frequency. Also, fabricating complex shapes from uniform lines requires well-adjusted parameters such as line thickness and layer height. In this study, we briefly explained the mechanics of the 3D freeze printing process. Following that we presented the development process of an open-source inkjet-based 3D printer. Finally, we explained the determination of inkjet dispensing and 3D printing parameters required for a high-quality 3D printing. During our experiments for the determination of fabrication parameters, we used a nanocellulose crystals-based ink due to its low cost and ease of preparation.


The Archaeological Field Unit (AFU) of Cambridgeshire County Council have been undertaking an assessment of the archaeology within the A1 widening corridor between Alconbury (TL190/740) and Fletton Parkway (TL139/942) on behalf of the Transportation Department of Cambridgeshire County Council. This work is required as part of the environmental impact assessment and the present document brings to a close the stage 3 (as defined by DoT Roads ad Bridges Manual Volume 11). Work was begun in January 1991 and the final field assessment was completed in April 1995. In the interim, two desk based studies have been completed and a total of 10 other reports produced. These reports are appended to the present one as supporting materials in Volume 2 (the first desk-top by Evans and Shotliff is not included as it was updated and replaced by that of Pelling and Lieth.

The current report provides a brief description of the archaeological background, a summary of the work carried out and provides a landscape use model for archaeological interpretation. This is then used to define constraint areas where further archaeological works advised. Four forms of constraint area are defined, Scehduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs), Sites of Regional Importance, Sites of Potential Importance, Sites of Low Archaeological Priority. The areas of potential importance are defined because access to certain areas has not been possible and so invasive evaluation of the archaeology in these has not been possible.

The AFU were required, during this work, to concentrate solely on a narrow corridor defined by the widening scheme itself, base investigation on 'known' sites (i.e. those on the SMR) and to avoid pursuing research and academic factors. These criteria have been met but limit an effective landscape based assessment. The broader context of the road and its archaeology must be addressed in future synthetic work. It is particularly important to link the work between Alconbury and Fletton Parkway with that on immediately adjacent stretches of the road. A bibliography is supplied as part of this report, not merely to provide references for the present report but as source material for future archaeological work.


Voltage-gated Cav Ca2+ channels are critical for the development and mature function of the nervous system. Variants in the CACNA2D4 gene encoding the α2δ-4 auxiliary subunit of these channels are associated with neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. α2δ-4 is prominently expressed in the retina and is crucial for vision, but extra-retinal functions of α2δ-4 have not been investigated. Here, we sought to fill this gap by analyzing the behavioral phenotypes of α2δ-4 knockout (KO) mice. α2δ-4 KO mice (both males and females) exhibited significant impairments in prepulse inhibition that were unlikely to result from the modestly elevated auditory brainstem response thresholds. Whereas α2δ-4 KO mice of both sexes were hyperactive in various assays, only females showed impaired motor learning/coordination in the rotarod assay. Female but not male α2δ-4 KO mice exhibited anxiolytic and anti-depressive behaviors in the elevated plus maze and tail suspension tests, respectively. Our results reveal an unexpected role for α2δ-4 in cognitive and motor function and identify α2δ-4 KO mice as a novel model for studying the pathophysiology associated with CACNA2D4 variants.


Invasive carp are widely reported to harm ecosystems. In Australia, carp are a serious pest and, consequently, investigations of biocontrol options are under way. Best practice biocontrol requires cost/risk:benefit evaluation. To assist this, the impacts of carp on aquatic ecosystems have been summarized. To aid the evaluation of benefits, general predictions were tested by comparing dryland river ecosystems with and without carp, and ecosystem responses to a gradient in local carp density. Expectations were that in the presence of carp, and with increasing density, there would be increasing turbidity, decreasing densities of macrophytes and macroinvertebrates, and associated changes in assemblage composition, resulting in decreasing native fish density. Not all expected responses were found, indicating that the general understanding of carp impact requires modification for dryland rivers. Notably, carp did not increase turbidity or reduce macroinvertebrate density or composition, probably because of key attributes of dryland rivers. In contrast, there were large impacts on native fish biomass, not from the mechanisms expected, but from food resource monopolization by carp. Macrophyte occurrence was reduced, but macrophytes are naturally rare in these rivers. It is likely that the extirpation of an endangered river snail resulted from carp predation. Impacts on native fish may be reversible by carp control, but reversal of impacts on the snail may require carp elimination and snail reintroduction. Modelling is necessary to predict the probability of beneficial versus undesirable outcomes from carp control, and complementary measures to control other stressors may be needed. Benefits of carp control on dryland river ecosystems are fewer than generally predicted. This reinforces the point that ecological understanding cannot always be transferred between diverse settings and highlights the need to understand system characteristics relevant to causal impact pathways when applying generic carp impact models to specific settings. This has global relevance to future carp control efforts.


[NEt(4)](2)[Re(CO)(3)Br(3)] reacts with 2-acetylpyridine phenylthiosemicarbazone (HL(1)) and 2-pyridine formamide thiosemicarbazone (HL(2)) under formation of air-stable, neutral rhenium(I) complexes of the compositions [Re(CO)(3)(L(1)-N,N,S)] and [Re(CO)(3)Br(HL(2)-N,N)]. Spectroscopic studies and X-ray crystallography show that the potentially tridentate thiosemicarbazones adopt unusual coordination modes. Whereas HL(1) deprotonates and binds to the metal in a nonplanar fashion, HL(2) acts as neutral N,N donor ligand. The bond lengths inside the chelate rings are almost uninfluenced by the overall bonding situation.


Abstract Since the second half of the latest century the disaster landscape has experienced important changes. Disasters are not only increasing in quantity, they are also qualitatively different and seem to distress humanity to a considerably higher degree than in the past. This evolution does not only deeply affect modern societies; it might also have a disruptive impact on the intervening units of emergency management organizations. Recent disaster research mainly focuses on mitigation efforts, risk reduction and resilient societies. Though, despite good mitigation efforts and up-to-date preparation initiatives, still millions of people are affected and thousands killed annually by some kind of disaster. As a consequence, disaster response remains a vital aspect of disaster management and will even become more important in the future taking into consideration the changing disaster landscape. On that account, our study aims to remodel the response phase of the disaster management life cycle, focusing on a new and fresh approach. We consider the response phase as an unfolding global process and its ensuing sub-processes rather than just an enumeration of potential activities.


Set in an undergraduate Secondary English Education Program, this qualitative study draws on theories of power, positioning, and identity to explore how positions of power affect teacher identity construction. Drawn from a larger study, the authors examine how one preservice teacher negotiated positions of power with students in ways that enabled and prohibited him from enacting his preferred teacher identities. In addition, the authors investigated how Jay engaged in reflection about those positions of power through a video analysis project that used discourse analysis and positioning theory. Ultimately, this study contributes to research in teacher education focused on how video analysis can be used to engage students in critical reflection about how positions of power affect teacher identities.


International mobility is a growing phenomenon in which academicians are highly represented. While studies on transnationalism have widely focused on the mobility of people in terms of migrancy and exile, homecoming has been much less studied. This article contributes to filling this gap by analysing the homecoming experiences of three social scientists who have coincided in a Catalan university. The narrative of their personal trajectories and experiences of return allows for an understanding of homecoming in relation to wider discourses of mobility in the context of globalization. Contrary to dominant beliefs, homecoming is approached not as a return to one's origins, but as a movement that implies dislocation and displacement and puts the homecomer in a position that is, in important ways, not essentially dissimilar to that of the stranger. The authors argue that the study of homecoming sheds light on certain neglected aspects of contemporary globalization, such as the existential limits to the international mobility of people or the favouring of local attachments over global options combined with the prevalence of cosmopolitan orientations. The article also calls attention to the cultural transfers of returnees to their countries of origin as well as to their world-making activities.


ABSTRACT The current study examined the relationship between offender height and pedophilic interest (as measured by having a victim under 13 years old) in a sample of 22,228 registered sex offenders in the United States. Results revealed that offenders with victims age 12 and under were, on average, nearly one-quarter inch shorter than offenders of adults, and .18 inches shorter than those with minor teen victims. Implications for future research about the biological etiology of child sexual abuse perpetration are discussed, including the role of adverse childhood experiences in the neurodevelopment of offenders.