Psychophysical Evaluation of Descriptors and Tools for Measurement of Urge-to-Cough Sensation in Healthy Young Adults (HYA) Akila T. Rajappa The studies contained in this dissertation were driven by a desire to improve the methods for sensory testing of cough for clinical research and practice. Two scientific gaps in the cough evaluation literature were identified and investigated using two specific studies on healthy young adult participants. The first study focused on validating an appropriate descriptor for cough sensations (Chapter 2) and the second study (Chapter 3) focused on evaluating magnitude estimation tools to measure cough sensations. The findings of this dissertation make several unique contributions to the cough literature. The first study systematically compared two descriptive responses to cough stimuli (i.e., capsaicin) within subjects in terms of both cough sensory and cough motor outcomes. Findings revealed two types of descriptive responses for capsaicin stimuli, warm/burn and urge-to-cough (UTC). The UTC descriptor was, however, more sensitive and a valid predictor of cough response. The second study systematically compared two magnitude estimation tools, the Modified Borg Scale (MBS) and the generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS) to measure the UTC sensations. Findings revealed that both tools were reliable and valid in detecting UTC sensations and predicting cough response. However, a differential effect to detection of UTC sensations across neighboring stimuli concentrations were demonstrated by the two tools. This dissertation provides the first set of normative reference values for UTC responses across a wide range of sensory continua using the conventional metric, the MBS, and an additional metric, the gLMS. Limitations are acknowledged and future work is suggested.


Public capital markets play an important role in financing the activities of non-financial companies in the United Kingdom, providing them with the main alternative to bank loans and private sources of finance. Although a small number of UK companies issue public bonds and equity, those that do account for a relatively large share of domestic investment and employment. Since the start of the financial crisis in 2007, bond and equity issuance has allowed some large companies to dampen the impact of the contraction in bank lending and the worsening economic outlook on investment and hiring. This suggests that there may be macroeconomic benefits to broadening access to public capital markets. The Bank has helped support primary corporate bond issuance at times of impaired secondary market functioning since 2009 through its Corporate Bond Secondary Market Scheme.


Antimicrobial activity of selected lactic acid cocci and production of organic acids Antimicrobial activity and production of organic acids by selected lactic acid bacteria were monitored in this study. The largest antimicrobial activity against indicator microorganisms showed Pediococcus sp. G5, whereas Streptococcus thermophilus had no inhibitory effect. The inhibitory effect of Pediococcus sp. G5 was strongest against Bacillus subtilis (17.78 %). Lactococci inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus (% of inhibition ≤ 5.25). The growth of Asperglillus flavus, Penicillium funiculosum and Rhizopus oryzae was not inhibited by all of tested cocci. Cocci produced varying quantities of organic acids (lactic acid, acetic acid, succinic acid, etc.). Lactic acid was in large amounts and phenyllactic acid was produced only by Pediococcus sp. G5 (49.65 mg/L).


This paper considers the derivation and application of closed loop vibration controllers that are designed for the attenuation of multiple discrete frequency rotor vibration components. The complex amplitudes of each vibration component are evaluated in real-time and used for dynamic feedback control with frequency matched control signals. Multi-input, multi-output system gain matrices are derived from online identification routines, performed under a finite set of different operating conditions. Controller gain matrices are synthesised using linear matrix inequality existence conditions for closed loop system stability and attenuation performance. Thus, the controllers can be designed with a degree of robustness to changing/non-linear dynamics. Implementation and testing is undertaken on a flexible rotor test rig with magnetic bearings. The controllers are shown to simultaneously attenuate vibration due to direct rotor disturbance forces and other indirectly forced non-synchronous frequency components over a range of operating conditions.


The idea that organizational learning is closely linked to innovation became firmly established by the end of the nineties (Argyris and Schon, 1978; Watkins and Marsick, 1993; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995), however, very little research in these topics is done in developing countries. Therefore, the objective of this article is to expose the underlying dimensions as well as the organizational values that should characterize an organizational learning process, as a strategy for technological capacities construction in small and medium size firms. Consequently, through analytical-synthetic methodology including a case study analysis, this article evidence those determinants characteristics of an organizational learning approach to promote the planning of technological learning processes for catching up in order for developing countries to get into the path of innovation.


The primary aim of any business is to maximise profit for a given level of effort. This is equally true for liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation in which any possible reduction in capital and operational costs will attract the attention of the ship-owner. The main strategy for achieving this is to select the optimal combination of the main components of the vessel based on a given objective. There are no fixed regulations or formulae that need to be applied in selecting the combination of components; however several techniques have been developed over the years to assist with the process of ship design, such as the ship design spiral. The decision making processes for the selection of these main components need to be implemented at a preliminary stage because once these main components have been identified, the overall costs will be established and will be constrained over the ship's life span. Modifications may be made to the selected components at a later stage, however this would come at a considerable cost and would incur significant programme delay because it is not simply a matter of buying a new component, it may also involve a significant re-arrangement of the ship's layout in order to accommodate the new component. This would therefore, require the ship owner to fund both additional capital costs as well as the ongoing operational costs. This paper focuses on the effect of ship size on the selection of components for an LNG carrier.


Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a major source of legal blindness in individuals older than 50 years. Even though recent reports suggest that genetics plays an important role, its pathogenesis remains puzzling and the risk factors for its occurrence are not completely established. Vitamin and mineral supplementation reduced the risk of development of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) or progression to the most advanced stages of age-related macular degeneration. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and antiangiogenic therapy have proved to be very useful for the treatment of choroidal neovascularization associated to age-related macular degeneration, by reducing the risk of vision loss and, occasionally, by a temporary improvement of vision. Only a small subset of patients may benefit from other treatment modalities, such as laser photocoagulation, surgical removal of choroidal neovascularization and transpuppillary thermotherapy (TTT). Strategies to control and treat age-related macular degeneration may progress quickly as more is learned about its pathophysiology and the molecular events that contribute to the disease expression.


Using a detailed personally-assembled data set on the performance of collegiate and professional basketball players over the 1997-2010 period, we conduct a very direct test of two questions. Does performance in the NCAA "March Madness" college basketball tournament affect NBA teams' draft decisions? If so, is this effect the result of decision making biases which overweight player performance in these high-visibility college basketball games or rational judgments of how the players later perform in the NBA? The data provide very clear answers to these two questions. First, unexpected March Madness performance, in terms of unexpected team wins and unexpected player scoring, affects draft decisions. This result persists even when models control for a direct measure of the drafted players' unobserved counterfactual - various mock draft rankings of where the players were likely to be drafted just prior to any participation in the March Madness tournament. Second, NBA personnel who are making these draft decisions are certainly not irrationally overweighting this MM information. If anything, the unexpected performance in the March Madness tournament deserves more weight than it gets in the draft decisions. Finally, there is no evidence that players who played in the March Madness tournament comprise a pool of players with a lower variance in future NBA performance and who are therefore less likely to become NBA superstars than are players who do not play in MM. Players with positive draft bumps due to unexpectedly good performance in the March Madness tournament are in fact more likely than those without bumps from March Madness participation to become one of the rare NBA superstars in the league.


Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders may have visceral sensory dysfunction so that physiological stimuli induce their symptoms. The clinical significance of altered perception—that is, its relation to clinical symptoms—remains unclear. Data indicate that sensory dysfunction is associated with altered reflex activity. Hence evidence of combined sensory-reflex dysfunction as a common pathophysiological mechanism in various functional gastrointestinal disorders would suggest that they are different forms of the same process. Altered reflex activity and altered conscious perception of gastrointestinal stimuli may combine to differing degrees, and their interaction may produce clinical symptoms.


Neutron beam monitors with a wide range of efficiencies, low $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ sensitivity, and high time and space resolution are required in neutron beam experiments to continuously diagnose the delivered beam. In this work, commercially available neutron beam monitors have been characterized using the R2D2 beamline at IFE (Norway) and using a Be-based neutron source. For the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ sensitivity measurements different $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ sources have been used. The evaluation of the monitors includes, the study of their efficiency, attenuation, scattering, and sensitivity to $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. In this work we report the results of this characterization.


In computer vision, object detection is an essential process for further processes such as object tracking, analyzing and so on. In the same context, extraction features play important role to detect the object correctly. In this paper we present a method to extract local features based on interest point which is used to detect key-points within an image, then, compute histogram of gradient (HOG) for the region surround that point. Proposed method used speed-up robust feature (SURF) method as interest point detector and exclude the descriptor. The new descriptor is computed by using HOG method. The proposed method got advantages of both mentioned methods. To evaluate the proposed method, we used well-known dataset which is Caltech101. The initial result is encouraging in spite of using a small data for training. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v11i5.2508 Full Text: PDF


Safety must come first, but absolute safety may not be fully attainable. Urban public transit suffers almost 60,000 accidents per year at an estimated cost of $360 million. Each major accident is thoroughly investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, but its recommendations are not always implementable. This analysis has been made to review the relative safety of alternative modes of urban travel, particularly rail. It may be useful in determining where effort and priority should be focused for improvement. Fatalities are the most certain measure of accidents, as most other measures, such as collisions and injuries or damages, are limited by differing state rules on reporting. Costs are a reliable measure of accident severity, as they are audited and reported annually with respect to their magnitude. This analysis compares the fatality rates, the personal injury rates, the cost, and the types of accidents among the alternative modes of urban travel. The four major modes of rail travel are analyzed separately to assess their relative safety. Rail rapid transit (heavy rail) has very few grade-crossing accidents by definition. Commuter rail has low on-board accident rates because most passengers are seated for longer trips. Light rail suffers the most collision accidents per passenger kilometer because of street operation but experiences the fewest other types of accident. Automated guideways experience no grade-crossing accidents but have a high rate of station accidents. Automobiles experience the most fatalities, but the injury rate is indeterminate because of state cutoff rules on reporting at differing levels of accident cost. Almost all transit accidents are reported. Fatalities will be measured by the number per 100 million passenger km (100 million passenger mi). This is the standard measure for air and highway travel. Injuries will be measured per 1 million passenger km (1 million passenger mi) because there are so many more of them. It is a simple matter to multiply by 100 to obtain a comparison with the fatality rate. It would appear, based on the casualty rates and cost of accidents, that rail transit is the safest way to go, but improvements are still necessary.


This report serves as a resource for policymakers who wish to learn more about levelized cost of energy (LCOE) calculations, including cost-based incentives. The report identifies key renewable energy cost modeling options, highlights the policy implications of choosing one approach over the other, and presents recommendations on the optimal characteristics of a model to calculate rates for cost-based incentives, FITs, or similar policies. These recommendations shaped the design of NREL's Cost of Renewable Energy Spreadsheet Tool (CREST), which is used by state policymakers, regulators, utilities, developers, and other stakeholders to assist with analyses of policy and renewable energy incentive payment structures. Authored by Jason S. Gifford and Robert C. Grace of Sustainable Energy Advantage LLC and Wilson H. Rickerson of Meister Consultants Group, Inc.


Credit is a strategic empowerment tool that has the potential to change the life of a person, family or community from a situation of abject poverty to a more dignified life. It can transform self-image, unlock potential and boost the productivity and well-being of the poor and vulnerable, especially farmers. This paper estimates the determinants of credit demand by farmers and supply by Rural Banks in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Semi-structured questionnaire complimented by key informant interviews and focus group discussions were used in gathering data from 250 farmers in 5 districts of Upper East Region. The logit model was used to estimate the determinants of credit demand by farmers and the Tobit model used to estimate the determinants of credit supply by Rural Banks. The findings showed that age of farmers, gender and political affiliations among others are the main determinants of credit demand by farmers. Type of crop grown, farm size and the amount of savings made are some determinants of credit supply by the Rural Banks. It is concluded that demand for credit by farmers and supply of it by Rural Banks in Ghana"s Upper East Region are determined by socio-economic and politico-cultural factors. It is recommended that government; the Bank of Ghana and the Rural Banks themselves should develop strategies that aim at enhancing the positive determinants of credit demand and supply and mitigating the negative ones to ensure credit widening and deepening among farmers.


In the present scenario, there has been an immense advancement in the field of wireless communication in this modern engineering world. Now-a-days Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology is an indisputable emerging technology and presents new challenges for communications engineers. The advancement of SDR system has made significant progress in recent years which makes it as a serious substitute of traditional hardware radio architectures where the mathematical procedures are obligatory to decode and process radio signals using analogue circuitry. Recently, computers have turned out to be powerful enough to do the required mathematical calculations using software. So aim of this paper is to demonstrate a RTL-SDR based spectrum analyzer which can be used proficiently as an alternative of existing hardware spectrum analyzer. This approach will lessen the complexity of analogue hardware system with the higher tractability of software based filtering and demodulation techniques. As RTL-SDR devices are quite cheap (Approximately 20$) and small sized, this system also offers cost effectiveness with provision of portability. An experimental study was conducted with suitable conditions to examine the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed system. The outcome of experimental result is thoroughly examined in this paper.


Introduction Frailty is common in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and is associated with adverse outcome. Many frailty tools are available, however, there is standard way of evaluating frailty in patients with CHF. Our study aims to report the prevalence of frailty, agreement and prognostic significance amongst 3 frailty assessment tools and 3 screening tools in CHF patients. Methods We comprehensively studied frailty using 6 frailty tools. Frailty screening tools include: Clinical frailty scale (CFS); Derby frailty index & Acute frailty network frailty criteria. Frailty assessment tools include: Fried criteria; Edmonton frailty score & Deficit index. Since there is no gold standard in evaluating frailty in CHF patients, for each of the frailty tools, we used the results of the other 5 tools to produce a combined frailty index which we used as a "standard" frailty tool. Subjects were defined as frail if so identified by at least 3 out of 5 tools. Results 467 consecutive ambulatory CHF patients (67% male, median age 76 (IQR:69–82) years, median NTproBNP 1156 (IQR:469–2463) ng/L) and 87 controls (79% male, median age 73 (IQR:69–77 years) were studied. Prevalence of frailty was much higher in CHF patients than in controls (30–52% vs 2–15%, respectively). Amongst the frailty screening tools, DFI scored the greatest proportion of patients as frail (48%) while CFS scored the lowest proportion as frail (44%). Amongst the assessment tools, Fried criteria scored the greatest proportion of patients as frail (52%) while EFS scored the lowest proportion as frail (30%). (figure 1) The prevalence of frailty was higher in patients with HeFNEF than HeFREF. The prevalence of frailty was higher in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) than in those in sinus rhythm. The prevalence of frailty increased with decreasing BMI and increasing NYHA class, age and NTproBNP. Of the screening tools, CFS had the strongest agreement with assessment tools (kappa coefficient:0.65–0.72, all p<0.001). CFS had the highest sensitivity (87%) and specificity (89%) amongst screening tools and the lowest misclassification rate (12%) amongst all 6 frailty tools in identifying frailty according to the combined frailty index. During a median follow-up of 559 days (IQR 512–629 days), 82(18%) patients died. 55% (N=45) of frail patients died of non-cardiovascular causes. Worsening frailty as detected by all 6 frailty tools was associated with worse outcome. A base model for mortality prediction including sex, NYHA class (III/IV vs I/II), BMI, log NTproBNP and haemoglobin had a C-statistics of 0.78. Amongst frailty tools: CFS and Fried criteria increased model performance most compared with base model (c-statistics: 0.80 for both). Patients who were frail according to CFS had a 9 times greater mortality risk than non-frail patients (figure 2). Abstract 76 Figure 1 Abstract 76 Figure 2 Conclusion Frailty is common in CHF patients and is associated with worse outcome. CFS is a simple screening tool which identifies a similar group as lengthy assessment tools and has similar prognostic significance. Frailty screening should be incorporated into routine care of patients with CHF. Conflict of Interest none


The integrity of the posterior ligamentous complex is important for the stability of the cervical spine. Severe ligamentous injury may occur without radiological evidence of vertebral fracture or dislocation. If overlooked, ligamentous damage may result in vertebral instability with subsequent dislocation and spinal cord injury. Two radiological signs, acute kyphotic angulation and divergence of the spinous processes, which are indirect evidence of ligamentous damage, are described.


Until recently, virtually all medical research was conducted on upper-middle class White men. This left health care professionals, as well as many other segments of the population, without sufficient information to deliver adequate health care to both genders and to the diverse groups of ethnic minorities in the United States. Fortunately, research policy has changed and intense efforts are now being made to collect data not only from men but also from women and majot ethnic U.S. minorities. The resultant data, however, create a dilemma concerning how we evaluate data that show differences between ethnic groups. All human beings are similar in most ways--i.e., sharing basic anatomy, physicology, and biochemistry--although there are some obvious racial distinctions such as skin color. Historically, there has been reluctance on the part of the scientific community to accept data indicating that ethnic groups may differ in certain health characteristics, especially if the data show an ethnic group to be less healthy in some respect. This sensitivity is greatest in ethnic groups who have been subjected to perjorative statements and stereotypes about their health and physical ability in the past. On the other hand, we must evaluate comparative ethnic data because they may provide information that can truly lead to better care for individual communities.


: Cyclic polymers have long been reported in literature, but their development has often been stunted by synthetic difficulties such as the presence of linear contaminants. Research into the synthesis of these polymers has made great progress in the past decade, and this review covers the synthesis, properties and applications of cyclic polymers, with an emphasis on bio-based aliphatic polyesters. Synthetic routes to cyclic polymers synthesized from bio-derived monomers, alongside mechanistic descriptions for both ring closure and ring expansion polymerization approaches are reviewed. The review also highlights some of the unique physical properties of cyclic polymers together with potential applications. The findings illustrate the substantial recent developments made in the syntheses of cyclic polymers, as well as the progress which can be made in the commercialization of bio-based polymers through the versatility this topology provides.


This guide is to assist research on environmental governance in developing countries, with a focus on China and South East Asia. Resources include laws, policies, and regulations of foreign countries. This guide will not cover international environmental


In recent years, Western Canada has seen considerable growth in organic production. This is due to heightened environmental awareness, reduced input costs, diversification of market opportunities, and food safety aspects. On the prairies, organic production generally includes the use of annual green manure (GrM) crops, which are plowed under to add nutrients to the soil. However, in a GrM plow-down year, farmers face loss of income. One alternative to growing a traditional GrM could be growing legumes alone or intercropping them with cereals and managing them as green feed forage (GF) for use on-farm or for sale to local livestock producers without compromising soil fertility levels. Intercropping legumes with cereals may be a novel approach to problems of nitrogen (N) supply as the legume may provide N to the current and subsequent crops. It was hypothesized that by intercropping the legume with a cereal, the inorganic N supply would be reduced to levels where N fixation in the legume would be stimulated. This study (i) compared yield in monoculture legume with legume-cereal intercrops (ii) investigated whether increasing cereal density stimulated the legume to fix more N (iii) Compared yield of a cereal grown after the GrM and GF crop treatments. The study included mixtures of feed pea (Pisum sativum cv 40-10 silage pea), oat (Avena sativa L.cv AC Morgan), and triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack cv Pika). The experiment consisted of 16 treatments and 4 replicates in which feed pea, oat, and triticale were grown alone or in combination and managed as GrM or GF. Wheat and fallow (tillage) served as cropped and uncropped controls respectively. The intercropped oat was seeded at three densities (50, 100, and 150 plants m). In the second year, wheat was seeded in all plots. In this paper, biomass, total nitrogen (N), and nitrogen derived from the atmosphere (Ndfa) of treatments and subsequent yields of wheat grown after the treatments at the Delisle site are discussed. Results show that the oat (4238 kg ha ) and fieldpea + oat 2 (3630 kg ha) treatments had the highest biomass whereas the triticale (1357 kg ha) treatment had the lowest. Among the intercrops, only the fieldpea + oat 2 treatments had higher total nitrogen (91.61 kg ha) than their monocultures, with the oat treatment being the least (45 kg ha). The highest %Ndfa was achieved at the highest intercropped cereal density of fieldpea + oat 1 (84%).Wheat grain yield were consistently higher following GrM treatments whereas biomass removal significantly compromised subsequent wheat yields in the GF treatments.


The effect of heat transfer medium (HTM) on the environment is associated with ozone layer depletion and global warming. The role of HTM (working fluid) in the heating and air conditioning industries is paramount, which cannot be underestimated. The conventional refrigerant has been predominantly used over decades due to their thermodynamic properties. However, hydrocarbon refrigerants such as isobutane are considered substitutes because they have negligible global warming potential and zero ozone depletion. That makes it eco-friendly among other existing refrigerants. The investigation of the refrigeration system ' s performance characteristics required consideration for the coefficient of performance, refrigerating effect, and the compressor work; this enables the determination of the system ' s efficiency without any assumption. Another factor that suggests a better absorption of refrigerant (working fluid) into a refrigeration system is an increase in the coefficient of performance (COP). The effect will cause a reduction in the rate of energy consumption by the compressor. The result shows that the system ' s coefficient of performance when using R600a was 27.1% higher than when working with R134a, with an energy reduction of 23.3%.


Recently, many variational models involving high order derivatives have been widely used in image processing, because they can reduce staircase effects during noise elimination. However, it is very challenging to construct efficient algorithms to obtain the minimizers of original high order functionals. In this paper, we propose a new linearized augmented Lagrangian method for Euler's elastica image denoising model. We detail the procedures of finding the saddle-points of the augmented Lagrangian functional. Instead of solving associated linear systems by FFT or linear iterative methods (e.g., the Gauss-Seidel method), we adopt a linearized strategy to get an iteration sequence so as to reduce computational cost. In addition, we give some simple complexity analysis for the proposed method. Experimental results with comparison to the previous method are supplied to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method, and indicate that such a linearized augmented Lagrangian method is more suitable to deal with large-sized images.


A major retrospective catalogue on the career of minimalist sculptor and poet Carl AndreCarl Andre (b. 1935) redefined the parameters of abstract sculpture in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a highly influential voice in the American minimalist movement, recognized for his ordered linear and grid formats. In the early 1960s, Andre's creative focus shifted to writing poetry when he took a job as a freight brakeman and conductor for the Pennsylvania Railroad. His poems echoed and extended the themes in his sculptural work, and his experience with the railroad significantly influenced his choice of materials in later years. In this stunning catalogue, which accompanies the first retrospective of Andre's work since 1970, the artist's legacy is examined in eleven essays by international scholars. The book presents a broad range of sculpture made over the past fifty years, including Andre's emblematic floor and corner pieces, highlighting his radical use of standardized units of industrial material such as timber planks, concrete blocks, and metal plates. A vast selection of Andre's previously unpublished concrete poems, together with letters, postcards, ephemera, and documentation of important installations, further complements our understanding of an essential figure in the history of contemporary art.


Recently, requirement of ubiquitous availability and increase of mobile user driving traffic has become a serious problem. On the other hand, most mobile equipment have more than one network interface and a host can use multiple network interfaces simultaneously with multi-homing technology. Therefore, multiple paths are utilized for data transfer in one pair of terminals. This is a Con-current Multi-path Transfer (CMT). It makes acquire improved bandwidth and resilience just by modifying previous transport layer protocol like TCP (transmission control protocol). TCP is the most common transport layer protocol in Internet applications. Accordingly, IETF have proposed Multi-path TCP (MPTCP) that previous single-TCP with multi-homing technology. However, when transmit the packet using different two path which has dissimilar characteristic simultaneously, there is some throughput degradation compared to single-TCP that shows best performance. The reason is that out-of-ordered packet is generated because each path has different bandwidth, delay and packet loss rate. To solve these problems, this research proposes reordering considered packet scheduling algorithm at the sender. Main idea of the proposed scheme is estimating packet receiving time at the receiver and scheduling packet. By using proposed algorithm, the number of out-of-ordered packet in the receiver buffer is reduced. Therefore, performance degradation is also mitigated especially in the case that asymmetry between two path is severe.


Introduction: Good awareness, knowledge and attitudes of parents of children with epilepsy (CWE) is important in enabling CWE to lead a normal life with epilepsy. The interactive animated epilepsy education programme (IAEEP) is a potential effective epilepsy educational tool that can help improve awareness, knowledge, attitude (AKA) of parents of CWA.

Primary Objectives:
i) To assess the baseline level of epilepsy AKA of Malaysian parents of
 children with epilepsy (CWE).
ii) To assess the effectivenes of Interactive Animated Epilepsy Education
 Programme (IAEEP) on improving parents AKA, and whether these effects remained stable over time.

Secondary Objectives:

i) To evaluate epilepsy and parenteral characteristics that are associated with baseline level of epilepsy AKA in parents of CWE.
ii) To assess the effects of IAEEP on parent and child epilepsy health-related quality of life. (HRQoL)

Methodology: Prospective intervcntional study or all parents of CWE aged 8-18 years old with at least 6 months duration of epilepsy, minimum reading Ievel of primary school education Year 1 and attending mainstream education. Informatin of epilepsy was delivered to child and parents of CWE using IAEEP. Parents completed an AKA questionnaire before (TP I), immediately after (TP 2) and retested 3-6 month (TP 3) after the epolepsy information provision. Parents and CWE completed perent-proxy and child self-report of Health-Related Quality or Life Measurement for Children with Epilepsy (CHEQOL-25) questionnaire at TP I and TP3. Results: A total of 78 participants (both parent and children) participated in the study. After IAEEP intervention, there was a significant increment from TP1 of total parental AKA, awareness, knowledge and attitude score in both TP2 and TP3 (p value >0.001). None of the epilepsy or parental characteristics affected the baseline parental AKA levels. CHEQOL for parents between TP 1 and TP3 showed significant increment in interpersonal/social and
significant decrement in present worries subscale scores. At TP3, high parental total AKA scores were associated with higher CHEQOL scores for children, [p <0.00 I and rs=+0.425(moderate correlation)]. Conclusion: Clinicians should use the IAEEP as part of the care of Malaysian CWE as IAEEP is an effective IT- based epilepsy educational tool to raise the level AKA among parent with CWE. After IAEEP intervention there was an improvement in both parents and child CH QOL interpersonal/ social subscale and parent CHEQOL secrecy subscale scores. Our study also showed a positive correlation between parent's AKA and child's total CHEQOL scores. Children who receive the IAEEP showed an increase in level of worry, highlighting that CWE should receive ongoing support as they undergo a period or adjustment when dealing with the information provided.


To study the myocardial washout of ascorbate, the applicability of polarographic detection of ascorbate ions by a platinum electrode (sensitive area 0.03 mm2) was investigated, in both a calibration setup (sampling flow along the electrode: 100 microliter X s-1) and isolated, retrogradely perfused rabbit hearts. In the calibration setup at pH 7.4, the sensitivity of the electrode was 70 microA/mol. This sensitivity increased moderately with increasing pH (13%/unit pH) and increasing sampling flow rate (14% at an increase from 100 to 150 microliter X s-1). In the isolated hearts, ascorbate infused into the aorta was detected in a right ventricular drain by the electrode as well as by the use of 14C-labeled ascorbate. Both recorded time courses were similar except for a scaling factor dependent on flow velocity. During continuous infusion the arteriovenous difference of ascorbate was 2 +/- 2% (SD), indicating a relatively low consumption of ascorbate by the isolated heart. We conclude that polarographic measurement of ascorbate in the coronary effluent of an isolated rabbit heart can be performed on-line and relatively easily.


TiN films have been deposited on K211 super alloy substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using a gaseous mixture of TiCl4, NH3, and Ar as carrier gas between 400 and 700°C. The films were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer. In this paper, the wear and corrosion resistance of TiN coatings have been investigated by abrasive experiments and corrosion tests. It was shown that coated samples demonstrated significantly higher wear resistance than those uncoated by weight loss measurements in the test procedure. Under the conditions of the corrosion experiments, substrates with TiN coatings showed better corrosion resistance than uncoated samples and stainless steel.


Increasing participation of Chinese companies in many global Standard Development Organizations (SDO) has fueled global competition for influence over the development of critical Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards. SDOs face increasing expectations to increase the representation of Chinese and other non-Western nationals in their leadership. Many Western governments and stakeholders, however, view the rapidly rising influence of Chinese firms, and especially Huawei, as a source of growing concerns. These tensions highlight the importance of the
impartiality of global SDOs' leadership for the trustworthiness of ICT standards. Our empirical analysis reveals that while attendees have become increasingly diverse, traditional incumbent stakeholder categories and Western nationals occupy an outsized proportion of SDO leadership positions. Affiliates of Huawei and other leading competitors for leadership in ICT standardization are also more likely to be appointed to leadership positions. Huawei furthermore rapidly catches up with its Western competitors, in part through recruiting large numbers of experienced SDO participants. Individuals are appointed to leadership positions because of their experience and
individual qualifications, not because of their affiliation. While the importance of individual experience and social ties within an SDO community may act as a check on commercial stakeholders' influence within SDOs, preventing individual companies or groups of aligned interests to acquire outsized influence over SDOs requires explicit provisions for the balancing of different interests.


Wage inequality in Argentina greatly increased during the nineties. During this period, a rapid and deep process of trade liberalization was implemented. In this paper we study whether trade liberalization played any role in shaping the Argentine wage structure during the nineties. Specifically, we test whether those sectors where import penetration deepened are also the sectors where, ceteris paribus, a higher increase in wage inequality is observed. Even though we find some evidence that supports this hypothesis, as has been found for some developed economies, trade deepening can only explain a relatively small proportion of the observed rise in wage inequality.


Abstract Abundant tubular macrofossils occur in finely laminated siltstones and shales of the 548–542 Ma Schwarzrand Subgroup, Nama Group, Namibia. The Nama tubes occur in both the Vingerbreek and Feldschuhhorn members commonly in dense populations and always in fine-grained, lower shore-face lithologies deposited below fair-weather wave base. The tubes are preserved mostly as compressed casts and molds that range in width from 0.6 to 2.1 mm; apparently incomplete specimens reach lengths up to 10 cm. All specimens show sinuous bending and occasional brittle fracture, indicating an original construction of strong but flexible organic matter. Feldschuhhorn specimens preserve fine longitudinal pleats or folds that record pliant organic walls, but the older Vingerbreek populations do not. Similarly, some specimens in the Feldschuhhorn Member display branching, while Vingerbreek tubes do not. The abundant Feldschuhhorn tubes are assigned to the widespread Ediacaran problematicum Vendotaenia antiqua; however, the distinctive Vingerbreek population remains in open nomenclature. The most abundant fossils in Nama rocks, these tubes resemble populations in Ediacaran successions from Russia, China, Spain, and elsewhere. Beyond their local importance, then, such tubes may turn out to be the most abundant record of Ediacaran life.


This study used an isogenic pair of metastatic (M4A4) and nonmetastatic (NM2C5), green fluorescent protein-labeled human breast cancer cell lines derived from the same patient and inoculated into the mammary glands of nude mice to investigate the dissemination patterns and fate of cells that escaped spontaneously from the resulting tumors. After tumors appeared, fluorescing single tumor cells were regularly seen in the lungs, even in animals inoculated with NM2C5, which fails to form secondary tumors in other organs. The sensitivity of the technique confirmed the continuing presence of scattered NM2C5 cells after primary tumor resection, although they formed no metastases by 6 months. These self-disseminated human tumor cells were retrievable from the tissues and were still viable and malignant, manifested by indefinite proliferation in vitro and green fluorescence and local tumorigenicity in vivo. Therefore, these scattered tumor cells were still immortal but rendered indefinitely quiescent by the microenvironmental conditions in the lung tissue. This is the first unequivocal demonstration of spontaneous distant dissemination of human cancer cells by undisturbed nonmetastatic tumors and comprises a valuable system for the analysis of tumor dormancy. In contrast, although many of the cells disseminating from M4A4 tumors grew into fluorescing metastases in the lungs, others remained solitary and quiescent. Therefore, even in a clonally derived cell population with metastatic properties, many cells do not, or cannot, mobilize the organ-specific growth properties needed to generate metastases. This experimental approach, by using self-disseminating, green fluorescent protein-labeled, sister cell lines of opposing metastatic phenotypes, opens new avenues for investigating topics of clinical relevance, including tumor cell dormancy, anatomical distribution of metastases, and host factors influencing the metastatic process.


In this paper, we discussed the package structure design of in-door air conditioners aiming the current status and problems. Box types such as 0201, 0203, and improved 0440 are used, and comparison experiments are carried out on compressive strength of empty boxes to optimize the structure design. By improving product package to increase efficiency, can effectively reduce product cost, and assure product quality.


EFFECTS OF SURROUNDING WATER TABLE ON A FORESTED WETLAND HABITAT IN EAST COAST OF VIRGINIA Thomas Lane Stokes III Old Dominion University, 2016 Director: Xixi Wang Exchanges into and out of a wetland, including surface water flow, groundwater flow, and constituents in the flows, usually determine the wetland physicochemical characteristics and biodiversity. To date, of these three exchanges, groundwater flow is the least studied, particularly in the United States of America. In this thesis, field observations were conducted at a forested non-tidal wetland, located on a flat hilltop. The position of the wetland is such that groundwater outflow is the only significant exchange that could be impacted by the surrounding land use. In addition, a spatially variable steady-state model was set up to extrapolate the observations to examine the effects of groundwater flow on the wetland. The model consists of: 1) the stratified unconfined aquifer underlying the wetland; 2) a ditch near the border of the wetland bearing a certain water level (a boundary condition in the model); and 3) recharge from periodic rainfall. The aquifer is relatively thin and where the water table is below the wetland ground surface there is an overall descent of water table toward the ditch. The model was calibrated and validated using the observed data, and then used to predict the distance from the ditch, beyond which the influence of the ditch on the aquifer will become negligible. Herein, the purpose was to determine whether the ditch is hydraulically connected with the wetland. This model can be an effective tool for analyzing groundwater effects on, and assessing the resilience of, the wetland. The results will be useful for protecting the wetland from its surrounding developments.


When a gas-turbine engine is in operation, inlet-generated total-pressure distortion can have a detrimental effect on engine's stability and performance. During the product development life cycle, on-ground wind tunnel tests and in-flight tests are performed to estimate the inlet distortion characteristics. Extensive measures are taken in the preparation and execution of inlet distortion tests. The data pertaining to spatial inlet distortion is recorded using an array of high-response total-pressure probes. The pressure probes are usually arranged in rake and ring arrays as per AIR1419. The data from these probes is used by propulsion system designers to address the effects of inlet distortion on stability and performance, particularly the engine's sensitivity to inlet distortion. In some instances, the probes can produce inaccurate measurements or no measurements at all, due to a variety of reasons. This may result in a time consuming and costly process of repeating the test. To avoid this, the inaccurate or invalid measurements can be substituted using a variety of statistical techniques during test data post-processing. This paper discusses the results of different interpolation techniques to substitute invalid steady-state total-pressure measurements, evaluated in the context of classical distortion profile data available in AIR1419. The techniques include 1D linear interpolation using only probes data from adjacent rings, 1D linear interpolation using only probes data from adjacent rakes, and bilinear interpolation using probes data from adjacent rings and rakes. Furthermore, the paper evaluates a bilinear interpolation technique with optimal weights obtained from linear regression, that enhances the estimation of invalid pressure values.


Kinetic studies on the stability of two non-steroids anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), ibuprofen and mefenamic acid, in pure water and activated sludge indicated that both pharmaceuticals were resistant to degradation for one month. The efficiency of sequential advanced membrane technology wastewater treatment plant towards removal of both drugs from wastewater was investigated. The sequential system included activated sludge, ultrafiltration (hollow fiber membranes with 100 kDa cutoff, and spiral wound membranes with 20 kDa cutoff), activated carbon column and reverse osmosis (RO). The overall performance of the integrated plant demonstrated complete removal of ibuprofen and mefenamic acid from spiked wastewater samples. Activated carbon column was the most effective component in removing these NSAIDs with a removal efficiency of 98.8% for both ibuprofen and mefenamic acid. Batch adsorption of both NSAIDs by activated charcoal and a composite micelle (octadecyltrimethylammonium (ODTMA)–clay (montmorillonite) was determined at 25 ˚C. The results revealed that both adsorptions fit Langmuir isotherm with Qmax of 66.7 mg/g and 62.5 mg/g for ibuprofen using activated carbon and clay-micelle complex, respectively, and with Qmax of 90.9 mg/g and 100.0 mg/g for mefenamic acid using activated charcoal and claymicelle complex, respectively. These results suggest that an integration of ODTMA-clay-micelle complex column in wastewater treatment plant is highly promising and can lead to an improvement of the removal efficiency of these drugs from wastewater.


Partial discharge (PD) is a prime cause of premature failure of inverter-fed motor winding insulation. With the emergence of fast-switching wide-bandgap silicon-carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices, random-wound motors are more vulnerable to highly repetitive PDs due to the high-frequency steep-fronted switching transitions that result in overvoltage oscillations at the motor terminals and non-uniform voltage distribution within the motor winding turns. This article investigates the impact of the applied PWM voltage waveforms on the PD behavior in SiC-based inverter-fed motors, including two-level, three-level, and quasi-three-level PWM waveforms. The electric field distribution inside insulation defects (air cavities) is analysed for the different PWM voltage waveforms to theoretically predict the number and phase of probable PD events within the fundamental cycle. An experimental PD measurement setup is used to validate the theoretical analysis by applying the PWM voltage waveforms, that are generated by SiC-based power converters, on a typical turn-to-turn motor winding insulation system created by a twisted pair of enamelled magnet wire. Phase-resolved PD patterns are generated to assess the PD behavior against the PWM characteristics of each voltage waveform and the associated overvoltage pattern when power cables are used to emulate the voltage reflections in cable-fed motor drives. Detailed experiment specifications are provided in this article involving PD measurement methods and PD data post-processing algorithms. The obtained results are assessed, and conclusions are drawn as a useful and timely reference that enhances the understanding of insulation PD process in SiC-based power electronics applications.


In this paper, the Liao's optimal homotopy analysis method is compared with the Niu's one-step optimal homotopy analysis method for solving one system of linear Volterra integro-differential equations and one integro-differential equation. The results reveal that the Liao's optimal HAM has more accuracy to determine the convergence-control parameter than the one-step optimal HAM suggested by Zhao Niu. Mathematics Subject Classification : 34K28, 45J05


One of the most critical aspects in the preparation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)/conducting polymer hybrid electrodes is to improve the energy density without seriously deteriorating their high power capability. Here, we report a "skeleton/skin" strategy for the preparation of free-standing, thin and flexible SWCNT/polyaniline (PANI) hybrid films by a simple in situ electrochemical polymerization method using directly grown SWCNT films with a continuous reticulate structure as template. In situ electrochemical polymerization can achieve effective deposition of PANI onto the surface of SWCNT bundles in the films and control the morphology and microstructure of the SWCNT/PANI hybrid films. In a SWCNT/PANI hybrid film, the directly grown SWCNT film with continuous reticulate architecture acts as the skeleton and PANI layers act as the skin. This unique continuous "skeleton/skin" structure ensures that these hybrid films have much higher conductivity compared to SWCNT/PANI composite films based on post-deposition SWCNT films. Flexible supercapacitors have been fabricated using the SWCNT/PANI hybrid films as both electrodes and charge collectors without metallic current collectors. High energy and power densities (131 W h kg−1 and 62.5 kW kg−1, respectively) have been achieved for the optimized assembly. The high electrical conductivity and flexibility, in combination with continuous porous architecture, suggests that the as-prepared ultrathin free-standing SWCNT/PANI hybrid films have significant potential as promising electrode materials for thin, lightweight and flexible energy storage devices with high performance.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of classroom interdisciplinary diversity, a type of classroom diversity that has been under-examined by previous literature, on the formation of university students' entrepreneurial intentions (EI).

Design/methodology/approach
Based on Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour and the interactionist model of creative behaviour by Woodman et al. (1993), this paper provides empirical evidence demonstrating that classroom interdisciplinary diversity is important in the formation of university students' EI at early educational stages using a cross-sectional study design and survey data on first-year business school students and partial least squares analysis.

Findings
Classroom interdisciplinary diversity is important in the formation of university students' EI through its positive impact on entrepreneurial perceived behavioural control (PBC) (self-efficacy), a key antecedent of EI.

Practical implications
The results have important implications for educational practice as well as for both public and private organisations willing to promote entrepreneurial activity, in particular, the positive effects of combining people with different profiles and career fields of interest on entrepreneurial PBC (self-efficacy).

Originality/value
This study contributes to the scant literature on early university experiences in entrepreneurship education and their influence on EI. It studies the impact of an under-examined dimension of diversity (classroom interdisciplinary diversity) on the formation of students' EI.


Most aerosol chemical characterization studies to date involve bulk particle analysis. The surface chemical and physical properties of aerosol particles have rarely been analyzed, despite the particles' potential health impacts and interactions with gas in the atmosphere. Aerosol particles ranging from 0.056 to 10 μm in size collected using a 10-stage impactor sampler from a busy walkway in a downtown area of Hong Kong were analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), a technique providing both elemental and chemical state information about the particle surfaces. Six key elements were detected: nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), calcium (Ca), silicon (Si), oxygen (O), and carbon (C). Carbon was the dominant species on the surfaces of all particles regardless of their sizes. A higher carbon concentration was found on the surfaces of the 0.056–0.32 μm particles. The N, Si, Ca, and O concentrations were higher on the surface of the 3.2–10 μm particles than in the smaller size fractions. Sulfur was mainly found on the surface of the 0.32–1.8 μm particles. High-resolution scans of C, N, and S were obtained to provide chemical state information about these elements. Aromatic C-H and aliphatic C-H were found to be the major carbon chemical states. Fullerenic carbon was detected on the surfaces of the finest (0.056–0.32 μm) particles. Oxygen- and nitrogen-containing organics were found on the surfaces of the 0.32–1.8 μm particles. Sulfur was present in the form of sulfates as expected. Ammonium salts, amide, and nitrate were found to form especially on the surfaces of aerosol particles in the nucleation, accumulation, and coarse modes, respectively. Silicates and carbonates were only discovered on the surfaces of coarse-mode particles (3.2–10 μm). The results suggest that both the chemical elements and their chemical states were significantly dependent on the size of the aerosol particles. Copyright 2013 American Association for Aerosol Research


Children understand early in development that different people know different things, and they are adept at using this information to select appropriate sources of information (Lutz & Keil, 2002). However, in the current digital age, information may be gathered from both humans and technological sources that select and present information as humans do. Using methods designed to study epistemic trust in human informants (e.g., Koenig, Clement, & Harris, 2004), the current study investigates children's and adults' selective trust in a technological and human informant. Children (ages 4 and 5) and adults were presented with queries designed to probe their willingness to seek out and accept information from human versus technological informants. The results demonstrate that 4-year-olds prefer to seek information from a human informant, but by age 5, children show an increasing preference for the technological informant. The relationship between children's trust and their experience with technology is also discussed.


Since the outbreak of the global economic crisis in 2008, the problem of "shifting from real to virtual" in China's economic development has become increasingly apparent. At the macro level, a large amount of capital flows into the capital market, which brings about the abnormal prosperity of the capital market, while the development of the real industry is increasingly depressed, and the micro level is characterized by enterprise financialization. In the face of such a situation, the Chinese government has formulated and implemented a series of industrial policy to realize the sound development of economy. It can be seen that industrial policy is the macro-control made by government departments in order to make up for the market failure, and it is an important means to intervene in the economy. However, the final implementation effect of industrial policy has always been the focus of academic debate, and how to optimize the macro-control of government departments is also a hot spot of academic exploration.In this context, this paper uses the data of A-share non-financial listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2006 to 2017 to investigate the impact of industrial policy on the financialization of enterprises, taking China's ten major industrial revitalization plans issued in 2009 as a natural experiment. The empirical results show that: Compared with the control group, the introduction of ten industrial revitalization plans significantly promotes the financial degree of non-financial enterprises. This shows that in order to promote the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure, industrial policy will also drive non-financial enterprises to participate in the financial market and become an important objective factor to intensify the financialization of enterprises. Based on the scale and ownership of enterprises, the results show that: After the introduction of the top ten industrial revitalization plans, the financial degree of large enterprises has been significantly improved, while that of small enterprises has not been significantly improved; similarly, the degree of financial melting of state-owned enterprises has also increased significantly after the introduction of the ten industrial revitalization plans, while non-state-owned enterprises still do not significant. Further research shows that: The introduction of the ten industrial revitalization planning policies has eased the financing constraints of non-financial enterprises in the experimental group. This shows that industrial policy affects the degree of enterprise financialization by changing the financing constraints of non-financial enterprises.The main contributions of this paper are as follows: Through the empirical study on the implementation effect of the ten major industrial policies, it is found that industrial policy is one of the factors to improve the level of enterprise financialization. Therefore, the conclusions of this paper will help to explain the problem of "shifting from real to virtual" in China's economic development from the perspective of government system, and expand the influencing factors of enterprise financialization, which has practical significance for further preventing and restraining the development of enterprise financialization.


The activity of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) is controlled through their lateral association in the plasma membrane. RTKs are believed to form both homodimers and heterodimers, and the different dimers are believed to play unique roles in cell signaling. However, RTK heterodimers remain poorly characterized, as compared with homodimers, because of limitations in current experimental methods. Here, we develop a FRET-based methodology to assess the thermodynamics of hetero-interactions in the plasma membrane. To demonstrate the utility of the methodology, we use it to study the hetero-interactions between three fibroblast growth factor receptors—FGFR1, FGFR2, and FGFR3—in the absence of ligand. Our results show that all possible FGFR heterodimers form, suggesting that the biological roles of FGFR heterodimers may be as significant as the homodimer roles. We further investigate the effect of two pathogenic point mutations in FGFR3 (A391E and G380R) on heterodimerization. We show that each of these mutations stabilize most of the heterodimers, with the largest effects observed for FGFR3 wild-type/mutant heterodimers. We thus demonstrate that the methodology presented here can yield new knowledge about RTK interactions and can further our understanding of signal transduction across the plasma membrane.


The turn of the 21 st century marked the beginning of a much common and widespread use of computer technologies in science classrooms and practically everywhere else because personal computer hardware with ever higher capacities became affordable to larger populations and applications with enhanced visual characteristics were created with lesser effort not only by computer experts but also by science educators. Although not sufficient for all teachers, today there exist many opportunities for both in-service and pre-service science teachers and students to utilize Technology-Rich Environments (TRE) in teaching and learning science. This study aims to measure pre-service science teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) confidence and identifying views about using TRE in science instruction. A descriptive multicase study design was employed in order to examine pre-service science teachers' TPCK confidence during a whole semester. Data include semi structured interviews and TPCK confidence survey. The results of the study suggest that pre-service science teachers have not got TPCK confidence enough to create a TRE in science teaching and they feel lack of technological content knowledge competences for creating a TRE.


Four analogues of the spin-crossover complex [Fe(H2Bpz2)2(phen)] (H2Bpz2 = dihydrobis(pyrazolyl)borate; 2) containing functionalized 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) ligands have been prepared; i.e., [Fe(H2Bpz2)2(L)], L = 4-methyl-1,10-phenanthroline (3), 5-chloro-1,10-phenanthroline (4), 4,7-dichloro-1,10-phenanthroline (5), and 4,7-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (6). The systems are investigated by magnetic susceptibility measurements and a range of spectroscopies in the solid state and in thin films obtained by physical vapour deposition (PVD). Thermal as well as light-induced SCO behaviour is observed for 3–6 in the films. By contrast, thermal SCO in the solid state occurs only for 3 and 4 but is absent for 5 and 6. These findings are discussed in the light of cooperative and intermolecular interactions.


Biochars are attractive materials for carbon catalysts since their carbon content and surface area are relatively high and minerals present in biochar can act as active sites for catalytic reactions. In this study, biochars from the fast pyrolysis of birch, pine, and unbarked willow were activated and acid washed. These materials were tested as catalysts for a post-treatment of pine wood pyrolysis vapors, aiming at stabilizing the vapors before their condensation. All the unmodified biochars had high content of minerals, those being highest in willow due to the bark. After the activation treatments, the surface areas and pore volumes of all biochars significantly increased. All studied biochars and activated carbon catalysts reduced the oxygen content of the pyrolysis degradation products. This effect was more pronounced for compounds derived from polysaccharides vs. lignin. The most promising catalyst for vapor upgrading was unwashed activated carbon from willow, having high surface areas and pore volumes together with high mineral contents. These properties together promoted the high conversion of polysaccharide-derived products (anhydrosugars, acids, and pyrans) into CO2. Release of highly oxidized degradation products may indicate that reductive stabilization takes place via hydrogen migration from the polysaccharide-derivatives to lignin derivatives, mediated by the carbon catalyst.


The decision between a simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) or kidney-alone (KA) transplant for the treatment of diabetic end-stage renal disease depends on the risk-versus-benefit of each procedure. In this study we compared the mortality, morbidity, graft function and acute rejection after 88 SPK and 65 KA transplants. All acute rejection episodes were biopsy-proven. Patient survival was higher in the KA group (KA 92%, SPK 83%) at 1 year, but similar in both groups at 5 years (SPK 78%, KA 71%). Whereas myocardial infarction accounted for a similar proportion of deaths in both groups, sepsis and surgical complications were more common causes of death in the SPK group. The majority of cardiovascular deaths occurred early in the SPK group compared to the KA group. Kidney graft survival was similar at 1 year (SPK 79%, KA 81%) and 5 years (SPK 66%, KA 59%). Pancreas graft survival at 1 and 5 years was 75% and 60% respectively. Biopsy-proven acute rejection occurred more frequently in the SPK group (SPK 63%, KA 46%). Morbidity was greater in the SPK group and included vascular (SPK 19%, KA 3%), non-infectious urologic (SPK 23%, KA 3%) and infectious complications (SPK 86%, KA 33%). The majority of complications in the SPK group were related to the pancreas allograft. In summary, SPK transplants were associated with an increased risk of early cardiovascular death, greater morbidity and more frequent biopsy-proven acute rejection episodes. However, kidney graft survival was not affected by the addition of the pancreas allograft.


The problem of estimating the propagation-delay of a desired signal in the presence of interferences and multipath propagation is addressed. This paper presents the maximum likelihood (ML) propagation-delay estimator for a signal arriving at a sensor array. The novel characteristic is that the desired signal impinges on the array with a known steering vector. This fact allows to assume an unknown and arbitrary spatially colored noise. The Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) for the problem is derived and numerically compared with the variance of the MLE. The MLE is applied to the Global Navigation Satellite Systems, in order to reduce the serious performance deterioration that the interferences ad the multipath propagation produce. We show that in presence of coherent reflections of the desired signal the presented estimator is no longer the MLE and becomes biased. However, its bias is much lower than that of other conventional estimators.


Cooperatives are unique business organizations. Many of their unique characteristics have a direct impact on how decisions are arrived at as well as the ultimate decision made. This study reviews current literature on cooperatives and decision making. A decision making model is developed to arrive at a set of provisional hypotheses. Fourteen U.S. agricultural cooperatives were studied through interviews with chief executive officers and chairpersons of the board of directors. The organizations in the sample were selected by volume of business, tenure of executives, successful performance and type of organization. Cooperatives in the sample were larger and on average better endowed with resou rces to focus on making informed decisions than the general population of agricultu ral cooperative in the U.S. Data collected from interviews were analyzed to identify key factors contributing to effective decision making and to test hypotheses. An evaluation of hypotheses produced several conclusions. The ability of members to voice opinions plays a greater role in influencing economic decisions than voting. Agricultural cooperatives have a distinct corporate culture which strongly influences how decisions are made. Complex and diffuse performance measures make arriving at optimal decisions difficult. Boards tend to select altey?~t)ves directly benefiting members at the expense of the cooperative business organization. CEO's in cooperatives probably face a more diverse set of pressures than their counterparts in other types of firms. Decision making in cooperatives tends to be slow. An effective relationship between CEO and Chair is a key factor in successful decision making. Cooperatives tend to have a rather short planning horizon. Agricultural cooperatives tend to be risk averse. Strategic advantages and disadvantages associated with decision making in cooperatives are developed. A set of management strategies aimed at exploiting the advantages and manag ing the disadvantages are presented. The study is exploratory in nature involving a relatively small number of cooperatives. This initial work provides perspective on the unique characteristics of decision making in cooperatives and makes suggestions for further research in this area.


Abstract Background: The incidence of antiretroviral therapy (ART)-induced lactic acidosis and its associated mortality may be reduced by appropriate dosing, risk stratification and early detection. Objectives: To describe the epidemiology of lactic acidosis, define the risk factors and identify predictive laboratory markers in the context of the roll-out of ART in South Africa. Design: A nested case control study. Risk factor analysis was adjusted for the established risk factors of weight and gender. Setting and subjects: Persons commenced on stavudine-containing therapy between 2004 and 2007 at Port Shepstone Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal were included. Persons with a body weight above 60 kg received Stavudine 40 mg twice daily, and those with a body weight below 60 kg, 30 mg twice daily. Outcome measures: Assessed risk factors included weight, gender, age, alanine transaminase (ALT), urea, creatinine, albumin, cholesterol, triglyceride (TG) levels, CD4 counts and viral loads. Results: Lactic acidosis occurred in 79 (17 per 1 000 person-years) of 1 762 people living with HIV on ART. Significant factors were being female [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 5.4] and increased body weight (adjusted OR of 1.1 per kg). The risk of lactic acidosis increased 6.6, 6.9 and 95 times (adjusted ORs) as weight increased from a baseline weight of < 60 kg to 60–69 kg, 70–79 kg or > 80 kg, respectively. Six months into therapy, predictors of developing lactic acidosis were an ALT > 50 IU/l (adjusted OR of 11.1) and a higher TG (adjusted OR of 8.8 per mmol/l). No associations were found with regard to age, CD4 count, viral load, and creatinine or albumin levels. Conclusion: Obese females are at greatest risk of lactic acidosis, with an exponential increase in risk above 80 kg. The 30-mg dose may be preferable, given that a sharp increase in risk occurred at 60 kg, was most likely dose related, and that 30 mg has been shown to provide adequate virological suppression. Additional risk factors for lactic acidosis include a high ALT and TG levels at treatment.


A wireless network with beamforming capabilities at the receiver is considered that allows two or more transmitters to share the same channel to communicate with the base station. A novel approach is introduced, which combines the effects of the digital signal processing (adaptive beamforming) at the physical layer with the traffic policies at the network layer on the overall queuing model of a cell. The effect of signal processing on the queuing model of the cell is represented by a parameter in the final cell model. Each cell is modeled by a multiuser/multiserver service facility, where each server is a beamformed channel formed by the cell's base station. From this effective cell model, we find the closed form solutions for blocking probabilities of the calls and total carried traffic in a wireless network with adaptive arrays. Our analytical as well as numerical results show that adaptive beamforming at the receiver reduces the blocking probability of the calls and increases the total carried traffic in the system.


Gas-assisted wafer cooling/heating system is one of the key technologies for manufacturing microelectronic devices. The heat conduction in the gap between wafer and susceptor is modeled here as a one- or two dimensional (1-D or 2-D) rarefied gas problem. The simulation is performed for monatomic and diatomic gases by means of the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. In the 1-D case the gas heat conductivity is obtained for various factors (gas species, surface temperature, energy accommodation coefficient) as a function of the Knudsen number. All numerical data obtained can be summarized by a simple equation: Smoluchowski's equation extended to the free molecular regime. In the 2-D case, the DSMC method is applied to the heat transfer between rough and smooth surfaces. The effect of surface roughness on heat conduction is clarified.


Five DTPA‐amide and ester derivatives have been synthesized and their Gd3+ stability constants have been measured using a simple spectrophotometric method. These results are compared to stability constants measured for Gd3+ binding to two different DTPA‐conjugated proteins. Although the thermodynamic constants for Gd3+ binding to DTPA‐monopropylamide and DTPA‐monopropvlester relative to Gd( DTPA)2− decrease by log K = 2.6 and 3.4, respectively, the blood pH conditional constants differ from Gd( DTPA)2− only by log K = 1.2 and 1.9, respectively. The corresponding diprooylamide and ester conjugates of DTPA show considerably lower thermodynamic and conditional constants. This has important implications in the covalent attachment of chelates to macromolecules for use in magnetic resonance imaging. The measured binding constants for Gd(DTPA)‐IgG and Gd( DTPA)‐BSA suggest that many of the DTPA molecules in these systems, prepared under our experimental conditions, are diconjugated. The model compound results indicate that it is important to use methods in attaching DTPA to macromolecules which preclude diconjugation of the chelate. Otherwise, their affinity for Gd3+ and consequently their usefulness as MRI contrast agents may be severely compromised. © 1988 Academic Press, Inc.


This study aims to determine the map of SFA research on Islamic economics and finance (IEF). SFA or Stochastic Frontier Approach is one method for parametric efficiency measurement. The data analyzed were in the form of publication of the SFA application research on IEF, totaling 109 articles. Map of the development of SFA field research is obtained through the export process into the .txt file format. The export data is then processed and analyzed using the VOSviewer application program to determine the SFA development's bibliometric map in Islamic finance application research. The results showed that the number of publications on the study results on the SFA application in IEF from 2009-2019 had increased significantly and was the most published in the International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management. Network visualization shows that the map of the development of the SFA application research is divided into 4 clusters. Cluster 1 consists of 7 topics, cluster 2 consists of 4 topics, cluster 3 consists of 3 topics, and cluster 4 consists of 2 topics. Application in the Islamic banking industry with a cost efficiency approach is the most widely used. Meanwhile, the sfpanel model is the most frequently used in the SFA model.


It is shown that for ultrafine grained materials obtained with severe plastic deformation methods, the value of elongation up to fracture does not determine ductility, while the reduction of area up to fracture does determine it. The latter characteristic gives information about how an alloy structure resists the formation of discontinuity flaws under deformation in a hard stress state. We show that for a commercial grade titanium that underwent Twist Extrusion (TE), the value of , and thus ductility, is higher in the UFG state than in the coarse-grained state.


Many studies have indicated close convergence of the DSM-IV personality disorders and the five-factor model (FFM) of personality functioning. However, questions have been raised concerning the ability of clinicians to describe personality disorders in terms of the FFM. This study developed a FFM description by practicing clinicians of each DSM-IV personality disorder. Clinicians rated a prototypic case of each DSM-IV personality disorder in terms of the FFM. These ratings, which achieved excellent reliability, were then averaged to produce a consensus FFM profile for each personality disorder. The consensus ratings showed good agreement with previous research that examined both researchers' and clinicians' application of the FFM to prototypic cases of personality disorders. These results suggest that clinicians can conceptualize and apply the FFM to personality disorders in a consistent way. The results further suggest that the FFM may provide a richer and more comprehensive description of personality difficulties than the current DSM-IV personality disorder categories.


Scope This chapter addresses the use of modified atmosphere packaging and controlled atmosphere packaging for the preservation of fresh produce. There have been great technological advances in this area of preservation, particularly as it refers to improving the quality and shelf-stability of highly perishable food products, such as produce. However, when using these technologies, careful attention must be paid to the effect on the survival and growth of pathogenic organisms. This chapter focuses on food safety aspects of packaging technologies that are either commercially available or under investigation.


Professor Buchanan begins her paper by questioning whether recent economic and political shifts towards notions of "globalization" have failed to consider the politics or economics of change in particular places. Her prime example of a "place" where integration is illogically forced against a background of differentiation is the U.S-Mexico border region. Through the scope of a "regulatory complex" she departs from the common view of the NAFTA as a productive tool of North American integration, and instead views the NAFTA as exacerbating "differences between localities, industries, and labor markets". She argues that the debate over the NAFTA underemphasised its different local, sectorial, and regional impacts. In places such as the U.S.-Mexico border region, the various forces of labour, capital, and regulation interact in complex ways; the complexities of these interactions were perhaps overlooked during the NAFTA debates. The author briefly examines this growing region, focusing primarily on the social and economic aspects of the States and the potential for increased migration because of the NAFTA. She concludes by arguing for a shift in perspective from the outdated, territorial concept of "borders" to the richer, more complex concept of "borderlands".


The movement of Baris dance is structurally neat and complex. From its well organized appearance that consists of strong and vigorous movements, quick tempo, firm and heroic atmosphere, and glittering costumes suggest a certain quality, content, and purpose. The performance emotionally creates a tense atmosphere with an impressive and gorgeous action and pride with its heroic central theme. As an art from, the Baris dance is featured through a careful organization of various elements. Those featured components stimulate and direct audience's attention toward achievement of a more powerful spirit, which decides the intensity of the performance. Balance has an essential role in the implementation of the movements. With an unsymmetrical balance of the body movement and a heroic facial expression, Baris dance may suggest a dynamic balance.
 The philosophical aspect and aesthetic values of Baris dance are recognize through its function as a ritual dance, due to its devotional aspect to God, which calms and solaces the surrounding community. From the concept of trimandala (three realm), where the dance is typically performed, Baris dance may belong to wali ritual of the inner temple courtyard. When it functions as bebali ceremonial dance, the dance would accompany a ceremony, which takes place in the second courtyard of a temple. When it functions as balih-balihan secular dance, the dance is performed in the outer courtyard of a temple as an entertainment.


INTRODUCTION
Physiological changes in pregnancy increase the vulnerability of antenatal women to develop obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). It is a known cause of several adverse health outcomes in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the risk status of OSA in pregnant women and to study its association with adverse maternal outcomes, fatigability, and daytime sleepiness.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Pregnant women were interviewed to assess for the risk of OSA, fatigability, and daytime sleepiness. STOP BANG, the fatigue severity scale, and the Epworth sleepiness scale were used to assess these parameters.

RESULTS
The mean age of the 214 participants was 27.2 ± 4.7 years. 7 (3.3%) participants had a history of snoring louder than the volume of normal talking, or of being loud enough to be heard past closed doors. A moderate risk status of OSA was present among 3 (1.4%) participants. 45 (21.0%) pregnancies were high risk in nature. The risk status of OSA was associated with a high risk status of pregnancies among the participants (p = 0.0088). 41 (19.2%) participants had a history of significant fatigue over the previous week of the study. 7 (3.3%) participants reported mild to severe excessive daytime sleepiness. A history of snoring loudly (p = 0.0179) and a OSA risk status (p = 0.0027) was associated with excessive daytime sleepiness.

CONCLUSIONS
A risk status for OSA was associated with a high risk pregnancy status and excessive daytime sleepiness among pregnant women in the current setting. Therefore, pregnant women with these conditions need to be evaluated for OSA. They also need to be suitably managed to ensure the healthy well-being of the mother and the baby.


The construction of legal system since the reform and opening up in the rural areas of China was reviewed in this study from the perspective of agricultural laws and regulations as well as the legal system of rural social governance. Prospects were put forward for the legal system construction in new countryside, and the characteristics that such a legal system should have were analyzed: first, a relative perfect system for laws and regulations; second, obvious social consensus of laws; third, the factuality of laws unceasingly proposing new legal demands. Problems that should be placed more attention in the construction of new countryside were discussed so as to provide references for relevant policy making: first, legal issues in the scale agricultural production; second, rural financial law issues; third, legal system for agricultural social services; fourth, construction of the integrated urban-rural household registration system; fifth, legal system for rural land property rights and benefits, social security law system; sixth, legal issues in the rural network construction.


This paper discusses how the Leonard Lief Library at Lehman College is documenting its renovation via the social media platform Instagram. It discusses the origin of project, why we chose Instagram and how we chose to highlight that social media platform on our Library's web page. We explain what choices we have made and what strategies we chose to effectively document the renovation. We also discuss the challenges we have encountered, and how we overcame those challenges to reach student audiences in new and engaging ways.


In the last decade, supercritical fluids more and more have been proved as environmentally benign media for chemical and related processes. Many new processes and products have been developed, using the inherent physical and chemical properties of supercritical fluids. Moreover, these processes also promise economic effects. The prerequisites for this success however, are a sound knowledge of physico-chemical properties of--and phenomena in--supercritical mixtures and the availability of other chemical engineering data. This requires an effective exchange of knowledge between a large number of branches of science. In the following, a lot of recent papers will be cited, which should give an overview of actual results on fundamentals and their applications.


The widespread use of distributed energy resources in the future electric distribution systems represents both a challenge and an opportunity for all the Smart Grid operators. Among these resources, plug-in electric vehicles are expected to play a significant role not only for the economic and environmental benefits they involve but also for the ancillary services they can provide to the supplying grid. This chapter deals with real- time operation of unbalanced microgrids including plug-in electric vehicles. The operation is achieved by means of an optimal control strategy aimed at minimizing the costs sustained for the energy provision while meeting various technical constraints. Among the technical constraints, the optimal control allows guaranteeing the satisfaction of power quality requirements such as the containment of slow voltage variations and the unbalance factors. Case studies are investigated in order to show the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


In this contribution we present recent findings of our efforts to qualify the so called Aerosol-Jet-Printing process as an additive manufacturing approach for stacked dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA). With the presented system we are able to print the two essential structural elements dielectric layer and electrode in one machine. The system is capable of generating RTV-2 silicone layers made of Wacker Elastosil P 7670. Therefore, two aerosol streams of both precursor components A and B are generated in parallel and mixed in one printing nozzle that is attached to a 4-axis kinematic. At maximum speed the printing of one circular Elastosil layer with a calculated thickness of 10 μm and a diameter of 1 cm takes 12 seconds while the process keeps stable for 4.5 hours allowing a quite high overall material output and the generation of numerous silicone layers. By adding a second printing nozzle and the infrastructure to generate a third aerosol, the system is also capable of printing inks with conductive particles in parallel to the silicone. We have printed a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) ink prepared in our lab to generate electrodes on VHB 4905, Elastosil foils and finally on Aerosol-Jet-Printed Elastosil layers. With rGO ink printed on Elastosil foil, layers with a 4-point measured sheet resistance as low as 4 kΩ can be realized leaving room for improving the electrode printing time, which at the moment is not as good as the quite good time-frame for printing the silicone layers. Up to now we have used the system to print a fully functional two-layer stacked DEA to demonstrate the principle of continuously 3D printing actuators.


SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ACCEPTOR: DONOR BLOCK COPOLYMERS FOR ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAICS by Brandon Cory Achord December 2011 Mankind needs sources of clean power. Photovoltaic (PV) cells, in use since 1839, have proven reliable and practical for certain applications. PV cell efficiency has changed over the years from 1-2% to ultra-high efficiency cells operating at efficiencies greater than 40%. Organic photovoltaics are a potential transformative technology platform. The potential for cell use, efficiency and cost are all parts of the research and development focus at the time this document was written. This research was initiated with a focus on the synthesis and understanding of the variables effecting acceptor-donor block copolymer. The self-assembled morphology resulting from varying volume ratios of each block in the absence and presence of both A and B homopolymers singularly and in combination was examined.


The combination of three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) and Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) offers considerable performance improvements to Chip MultiProcessors (CMPs). Since on-chip communication is critical to the performance of the NoC-based systems, designing efficient routing methods is highly desirable. This paper presents a new adaptive and deadlock-free routing method addressing the 3D mesh-based NoCs. From a turn model's point of view, the proposed technique strives to maximize the degree of adaptiveness by minimizing the number of prohibited turns. Uneven degree of adaptiveness degrades the performance of the network to a high extent. As a result, the proposed method exploits distinct sets of rules for different planes so that a balanced traffic distribution can be achieved and the hotspots are less likely to be created. Based on the simulation results, the proposed routing method turns out to be a valuable asset for the traffic distribution across the network.


When considering the needs of global populations, variations in overall body size and shape create an interesting situation for designers: should products designed for global markets achieve accommodation through a single variant, or should multiple variants—each targeted at a different market—be considered? The present work demonstrates the range of variability that can be exhibited by three distinct populations (male civilians in India, Japan, and the United States) and the effect of different globalization strategies on design requirements. The work focuses on "fit" or spatial accommodation in seating, excluding comfort and other important aspects of seat design. Qualitative assessments of the strategies and how appropriate they might be for other Design for Human Variability (DfHV) problems are provided.


Purpose of review In this review, we aim to update the clinical data of trastuzumab-DM1 (T-DM1) in terms of safety and efficacy, and describe ongoing and future trials evaluating its potential role in the management of patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer. Recent findings Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is an antibody drug conjugate that optimizes delivery of chemotherapy with an anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody. As a conjugate, T-DM1's systemic side effects are significantly minimized due to its targeted delivery by trastuzumab to HER2-positive cells. Phase I and II studies show that the maximum tolerated dose, and thus the recommended dose for T-DM1, is 3.6 mg/kg given intravenously every 3 weeks. Single arm phase Ib/II, II and a randomized phase II first-line study of T-DM1 versus the combination of trastuzumab + docetaxel all showed improved tolerability, and at least equivalent efficacy, compared with our current standard of care. Two randomized phase III registration studies are now active, evaluating this agent in the refractory and first-line HER2-positive settings. Summary T-DM1 has been shown to be a very promising agent for the targeted delivery of chemotherapy and anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody therapy for patients with metastatic, HER2-positive breast cancer. T-DM1 will likely play a role in the management of patients with advanced and early stage HER2-positive breast cancer, but this awaits further study.


Background: Pre-hospital emergency medical systems do not appear to work totally coordinated with Accident and Emergency (A&E).Often, patient admission to A&E is marked by scarce attention to the handover between the respective healthcare professionals. This phenomenon is potentially dangerous because it exposes patients to the risk of errors in a context where the patients' critical or progressing conditions must not be worsened by avoidable errors of communication between professionals. Objectives: to describe the evidence concerning handover between local emergency medical services and A&E. Eligibility criteria: pre-hospital emergency medical and A&E professionals, setting defined as within A&E, articles on pre-hospital to A&E handover. Sources of evidence: PubMed and CINAHL Complete databases. Grey literature. Charting Methods: the results are displayed in tables according to 'Title', 'Design', 'Country', 'Population', 'Concept', 'Context' and 'Results'. Results: 10 studies were included. The following themes emerged: communication and interpersonal issues, secondary risks, need for staff training, the use of structured methods, information technology support. Conclusions: There is a gap in the literature. Issues regarding communication, differing ideas of what should be considered as priority, interpersonal relationships and trust between staff working for different services emerge. Connected with this there are structural problems such as shortage of suitable spaces and lack of staff training. The use of structured mnemonic methods, including computerized ones, seems to improve the quality of handovers, but to date it has not been possible to establish which method would be better than another. Further studies are recommended. (www.actabiomedica.it)


Background Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) encounter various problems with their medication use, including poor knowledge about disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)1, concerns about potential adverse consequences of their medication use2 and struggles with opening the medication's packaging3. Additional support might decrease those problems by targeting RA patients with (eHealth) interventions that address their needs. To date, no studies have explored RA patients' support needs regarding medication use from their own perspectives, and it remains largely unknown if, and to what extent, they perceive a need for eHealth interventions. Objectives The objective of this study was twofold: 1) to explore RA patients' support needs regarding medication use; and 2) to gain insight into their perspectives on the applicability of eHealth interventions to address those needs. Methods Three focus groups with 28 RA patients (mean age: 65 years, mean disease duration: 19 years) were conducted. All focus groups were audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim. Two researchers independently conducted an inductive, thematic analysis on the transcripts. Results Three themes that described RA patients' support needs regarding medication use were identified: 1) Informational support; 2) Practical support; and 3) Emotional and behavioral support. Informational support refers to the provision of knowledge and facts, including advice, suggestions and feedback from healthcare providers. Practical support includes the strengthening of technical skills (e.g. administering subcutaneous injections), as well as the provision of goods and services. Emotional and behavioral support refers to the interventions enabling RA patients to better cope with their medication use. Their perspectives on the applicability of eHealth interventions to address those needs were also identified. RA patients recognized potential advantages of eHealth interventions, such as being less time consuming and easily accessible. However, concerns on matters such as privacy, the quality and trustworthiness of information and personal interaction with healthcare providers prevailed. Conclusions For most RA patients, informational support regarding medication use is the most important (unmet) need. High-quality, unambiguous information about their medication use was emphasised. Moreover, this information should be provided by healthcare providers on an ongoing basis and tailored to their personal situation. Eliminating RA patients' concerns regarding eHealth interventions should be a first priority before such interventions are applicable to address these informational needs. These findings need to be confirmed in a sample of younger RA patients. References Fayet F, Savel C, Rodere M et al. The development of a questionnaire to evaluate rheumatoid arthritis patient's knowledge about methotrexate. J Clin Nurs 2016;25:682–9. Neame R, Hammond A. Beliefs about medications: a questionnaire survey of people with rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology 2005;44:762–7. Beckman A, Bernsten C, Parker MG et al. The difficulty of opening medicine containers in old age: a population-based study. Pharm World Sci 2005;27:393–8. Disclosure of Interest None declared


This journal has a knowledgeable and hard-working editorial board, listed on the journal's Web site, but for most submissions we also enlist the aid of specialist reviewers outside the editorial board. The Editor of Computational Linguistics would like to express his gratitude to the external reviewers listed here, who anonymously reviewed papers for the journal during the preparation of this volume (Volume 44). Their generosity, judicious judgment, and prompt response substantially helped us to publish a journal that both is timely and maintains exacting scientific standards; it is a genuine pleasure to thank them collectively for their dedicated service.


Objective: To develop a quantitative method of assessing cognitive anosognosia in six cognitive and two noncognitive domains. Methods: Control (n = 32) and probable Alzheimer disease (pAD) (n = 14) subjects self-estimated memory, attention, generative behavior, naming, visuospatial skill, limb praxis, mood, and uncorrected vision, both before and after these abilities were assessed. Based on this estimate and their performance the authors calculated an anosognosia ratio (AR) by dividing the difference between estimated and actual performance by an estimated and actual performance sum. With perfect awareness, AR = 0. Overestimating abilities would yield a positive AR (≤1); underestimation would yield a negative AR (≥−1). Results: Relative to controls, pAD subjects demonstrated anosognosia. Pre-testing (off-line), pAD subjects overestimated their visuospatial skill; post-testing (on-line), pAD subjects overestimated their memory. Control subjects also made self-rating errors, underestimating their attention pre-testing and overestimating limb praxis and vision post-testing. Conclusions: This anosognosia assessment method may allow more detailed examination of distorted self-awareness. These results suggest that screening for anosognosia in probable Alzheimer disease (pAD) should include self-estimates of visuospatial function, and that, in pAD, it may be useful to assess anosognosia for amnesia both before and after memory testing.


Flexible exchange rates can facilitate price adjustments that buffer macroeconomic shocks. We test this hypothesis using adjustments to the gold standard during the Great Depression. Using prices at the goods level, we estimate exchange rate pass-through and find gains in competitiveness after a depreciation. Using novel monthly data on city-level economic activity, combined with employment composition and sectoral export data, we show that American exporting cities were significantly affected by changes in bilateral exchange rates. They were negatively impacted when the UK abandoned the gold standard in 1931 and benefited when the US left the gold standard in April 1933. We show that the gold standard deepened the Great Depression, and abandoning it was a key driver of the economic recovery.