Uncertainty is an inherent characteristic of construction projects. Neglecting uncertainties associated with different input parameters in the planning stage could well lead to misleading and/or unachievable project schedules. Many attempts have been made in the past to account for uncertainty during planning for construction projects and many tools and techniques were presented to facilitate modelling of such uncertainty. Some of the presented techniques are widely accepted and used frequently like Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Monte Carlo Simulation, while others are more complicated and less popular, such as fuzzy set-based scheduling. Although accounting for uncertainty has been a topic of interest for more than four decades, it was rarely attempted to account for uncertainty when scheduling repetitive construction projects. Repetitive projects impose an additional challenge to the already complicated construction scheduling process that accounts for the need to maintain crew work continuity throughout project execution. This special characteristic necessitates producing scheduling techniques specifically suited to resource driven scheduling.
Therefore, the main objective of this research is to produce a comprehensive scheduling, monitoring and control methodology for repetitive construction projects that is capable of accounting for uncertainties in various input parameters, while allowing for optimized acceleration and time-cost trade-off analysis. The proposed methodology encompasses three integrated models; Optimized Scheduling and Buffering Model, Monitoring and Dynamic Rescheduling Model and Acceleration Model. The first model presents an optimization technique that accounts for uncertainty in input parameters. It employs a modified dynamic programming technique that utilizes fuzzy set theory to model uncertainties. This model includes a schedule defuzzification tool and a buffering tool. The defuzzification tool converts the optimized fuzzy schedule into a deterministic one, and the buffering tool utilizes user's required level of confidence in the produced schedule to build and insert time buffers, thus providing protection against anticipated delays affecting the project. The Monitoring and Dynamic Rescheduling Model capitalizes on the repetitive nature of these projects, by using actual progress on site to reduce uncertainty in the remaining part of the schedule. This model also tracks project progress through comparing the actual buffer consumption to the planned buffer consumption. The Acceleration Model presents an iterative unit based optimized acceleration procedure. It comprises a modified algorithm for identifying critical units of the project to accelerate. This model presents queuing criteria that accounts for uncertainty in additional cost of acceleration and for contractor's judgment in relation to prioritizing critical units for acceleration. Moreover, this model offers six strategies for schedule acceleration and maintains crew work continuity.
Together, the three developed models offer an integrated system that is capable of accounting for uncertainty in different variables through different project stages, aiming at helping managers keep repetitive construction projects on track. The presented optimization technique is automated in an Object Oriented program; coded in C# programming language. A number of case studies are analyzed and presented to demonstrate and validate the capabilities and features of the presented methodology.


Gas chromatography/multiphoton ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC/MPI/TOF-MS) was developed for trace analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). The use of an ultraviolet femtosecond laser (266 nm) allowed the sensitive, as well as selective, determination of PCDD/Fs with short singlet-excited-state lifetimes; the detection limit was 19 fg for 1,3,6,8-tetraCDF. Performance of the analytical instrument was examined and was ascertained to be satisfactory for all the criteria (K0311) prescribed by the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS). The relative ionization efficiencies of (12)C-native PCDD/Fs against (13)C-labeled PCDD/Fs were 1.002 +/- 0.012. This suggests that (13)C-labeled isotopes can be used as internal standards with no intensity calibration and that the concentrations of PCDD/Fs can be determined to within an error of ca. 1%. In addition, multiphoton ionization provides negligible levels of background interference for the real soil samples even with curtailed pretreatment. The toxicity equivalence (TEQ) of the real sample was determined using GC/MPI/TOF-MS for performance evaluation against high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). The results suggest equivalent or even superior performance for GC/MPI/TOF-MS, due to low background interference and to the ability to check the reliability of the assignment from the intensity distribution of the isotope peaks.


Context: Kalanchoe sp. have been used since 1921 for central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as psychosis and depression. It is known to possess CNS depressant effects. Aims: To investigate the antidepressant properties of the aqueous leaf extract of Kalanchoe integra. Settings and Design: The study was carried out at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. Materials and Methods: ICR mice were subjected to the forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) after they had received extract (30-300 mg/kg), fluoxetine (3-30 mg/kg), desipramine (3-30 mg/kg) orally, or water (as vehicle). In a separate experiment, mice were pre-treated with reserpine (1 mg/kg), α-methyl paratyrosine (AMPT; 400 mg/kg), both reserpine (1 mg/kg) and AMPT (200 mg/kg) concomitantly, or p-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA; 200 mg/kg) to ascertain the role of the noradrenergic and serotoninergic systems in the mode of action of the extract. Statistical analysis used: Means were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Newman-Keuls' post hoc test. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: In both FST and TST, the extract induced a decline in immobility, indicative of antidepressant-like effect. This diminution in immobility was reversed by pCPA, but not by reserpine and/or AMPT. The extract increased the swimming and climbing scores in the FST, suggestive of possible interaction with serotoninergic and noradrenergic systems. In the TST, the extract produced increases in both curling and swinging scores, suggestive of opioidergic monoaminergic activity, respectively. Conclusions: The present study has demonstrated the antidepressant potential of the aqueous leaf extract of K. integra is mediated possibly by a complex interplay between serotoninergic, opioidergic, and noradrenergic systems.


Background and purpose To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of endovascular treatment with flow diverters (FD) in patients with recanalised and multitreated aneurysms, in a retrospective, multicenter, single-arm study. Materials and methods The study included 29 patients with 29 recanalised aneurysms who were treated by FDs (Silk or Pipeline device). Per and post procedural complications and morbidity and mortality rates were evaluated. Additionally, functional outcomes (mRS) at 1 month (short-term) and 3–4 months (mid-term) were compared with pre-operative mRS (before the procedure). Mid-term angiographic follow-up was performed assessing aneurismal occlusion by a 3-grades scale (complete occlusion, neck remnant, aneurysm remnant). Results FD placement was achieved in all the patients. Two misdeployments of the FD necessitated balloon dilatation in two patients associated with stent delivery in one patient. Permanent morbidity related to treatment was 6.9% (2/29), transient morbidity was 10.3% (3/29) and mortality due to treatment was 0.0% (0/29). One patient died from a myocardial infarct four weeks after the procedure. 25/29 (86.2%) patients had final good functional outcome, 26/29 (89.7%) patients had unchanged functional outcome, whereas 2/29 (6.9%) patients had clinical worsening. Angiographic follow-up showed complete occlusion in 17/28 patients (60.7%), neck remnants in 6/28 patients (21.4%) and residual aneurysms in 5/28 subjects (17.9%). Conclusion Flow diverter placement is feasible and safe in patients with recanalised and multitreated aneurysms. The procedure is associated with a high percentage of good functional outcomes as well as good anatomical results at mid-term (82.1%). Disclosures L. Pierot: 2; C; Covidien, Microvention, Stryker. A. Benaissa: None. A. Januel: None. D. Herbreteau: None. J. Berge: None. M. Aggour: None. C. Cognard: None.


The rugby scrum results in a large number of injuries to the players of the front row,
particularly the hooker. Front row players have been known to suffer from acute and chronic
injuries of the cervical spine as well as low back pain.
The principal goal of this research was to develop a method to measure spinal
biomechanics of the hooker's role during rugby scrummaging and use this method to
address the question of whether recent changes in rugby affect the risk on hooker spinal
injury. In recent years, a number of changes have occurred in rugby which may have an
effect in injury risk, however, little is currently known about the effect of these changes. This
was accomplished through three experimental stages. Firstly, a review of kinematic
measurement techniques was undertaken in order to determine the most feasible
measurement technique. Inertial sensors were chosen and validated for orientation output
against high precision digital encoders with high levels of concordance for each axis of each
sensor (>0.95). In addition to this, a method of using electromyography to predict muscle
force production was investigated. Determined force and recorded force were found to be
insignificantly different (p>0.05) across the 12 participants investigated. Having proved this
to be a feasible method, it was put into practise in-field. Inertial sensor technology was
combined with a laboratory tested force-EMG correlation to assess spinal biomechanics
during live, contested, training scrums for an initial sample of 9 rugby union hookers. No
significant differences (p>0.05) were observed for peak kinematic variables or EMG data.
The second study assessed whether a change in playing surface affects hooker
spinal kinematics by evaluating key variables such as peak range of motion and angular
velocity as there has been a recent shift towards the use of artificial surfaces. Twenty-two
participants took part in this study with 11 participants in each group. The groups were not
significantly different (p>0.05) in terms of anthropometric and background information. The
results of this study indicated that key kinematic variables did not differ significantly (p>0.05)
between playing surfaces. There was, however, a large effect (d>0.8) for certain peak
angular velocity measurements of the thoracic region.
THESIS SUMMARY
iii
The final study investigated how different engagement techniques affected hooker
spinal biomechanics since a recent law change was introduced governing the scrum. These
techniques included machine scrummaging and live scrummaging of two different
engagement sequences. Twenty-nine participants took part in the live-vs-live comparison
with 14 of those taking part in all three experimental conditions. The results of this final study
indicate significant biomechanical differences (p<0.05) between machine and live
scrummaging indicating that machine scrummaging is a much more constrained
environment. Live scrummaging of the two different sequences did not yield any significant
differences (p>0.05) for both kinematic and muscle activity/determined force data indicating
that the sequences do not affect hooker spinal biomechanics.
These results suggest that the recent changes in rugby do not significantly affect the
risk of spinal injury of the rugby union hooker.


We examine discrimination against outgroups in the context of the December 2008 riots in Greece after the killing of a 15-year-old student by a special police agent. We examine students' allocations between themselves and others, including police, in modified Dictator games, allowing us to test theories of discrimination on behavior with real payoff consequences. Treatments examined the effect of in-group norms and environmental cues on discrimination. We find that cues in the environment increase discrimination. However, contrary to existing research, in-group norms do not increase discrimination. We also correlate discrimination with attitudes towards the riots themselves, providing a laboratory test of the "frame alignment" theory of mobilization. Laboratory behaviour was correlated with self-reported participation in demonstrations, supporting the external validity of our measure.


Day, M. (Ed.). (1997). Preparing Teachers of Art. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association. 154 pp. ISBN 1-890160-016 Despite some early misgivings, I found valuable information in the pages of Michael Day's anthology and some proposed directions for the field that were intriguing enough to keep me up late, for at least one night, thinking about our discipline and where it is headed. The engaging ideas can mostly be attributed to Jim Hutchens, who wrote the last chapter. However, several of the earlier sections (especially by Zimmerman, Galbraith, and DiBlasio) give credibility to his bold, and potentially frightening, proposals for the field. There is no debate amongst the contributors to this anthology that Getty's DBAE approach is a positive one for art education. Most of the authors, and certainly the editor, are on record for supporting a DBAE approach. In fact, this publication is a result of an October 1995 symposium on art teacher preparation funded by the Getty Education Institute for the Arts (formerly the Getty Center for Education in the Arts). Selected participants were invited to publish their papers while including responses garnered from the attendees. This history may explain why all the authors present their research as if they are already sold on DBAE without debate about any possible shortcomings the approach might have. Their ideas are also infused with the now-all-too-clear awareness that higher education is currently under careful public scrutiny. As Hutchens states it, reflecting on several theorists, "The value system behind higher education has come under attack by legislators and university governing boards, and faculty are often viewed as the problem" (p. 140). This uncomfortable climate, in large part, informs the need to change, look good, and do better. But that is not all. Because schools have so often failed students and communities, because reform is clearly underway, and because the status of art education has always been tenuous, it seems clear that we must quickly and carefully chart our direction before it is done for us. In Michael Day's introductory chapter on "Preparing Teachers of Art for the Year 2000 and Beyond," he posits a plan for recruiting, preparing, and retaining good teachers. Day claims that our field "carries the knowledge needed to help improve teacher preparation programs" (p. 4). He lists recent events that have had an impact on art education: publication of the National Visual Arts Standards; national certification in art by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; and the 1998 assessment by the National Assessment of Education Progress (p. 12). Other authors will repeatedly refer to these and other recent organizations and publications which are, like it or not, well on their way to changing the way art education is structured. Day gives us an organized approach for thinking about reform in teacher preparation programs. It is no surprise that the first programmatic component is Discipline Content. Zimmerman's chapter looks at recent demographic research, gathered mostly from surveys, to find out who prepares art teachers and how they are prepared. Her chapter is useful, in part, because she describes the difficulty in finding accurate data. While she was able to make some preliminary findings, it is clear that more research is needed. She suggests, as do other contributors in this publication (notably Galbraith and Hutchens), that more established art education programs work with those who have not been brought up-to-date with current theory. Her second proposal is that the NAEA work with a private organization to maintain a database of demographic information on teacher preparation programs. Galbraith examined books, articles, CD-ROM databases, and microfiches of college and university catalogues, as well as the Internet, to try to ascertain what art teachers are taught in preparation programs. She concludes that most art education programs have small numbers of faculty, many of whom have their primary focus elsewhere, and that the curriculum content of their preparatory programs is vast and varied. …


Baseline data on neonatal, infant and maternal deaths including factors associated with infant mortality in a rural community are needed to assess the progress being made towards achieving lower rates in Nigeria. In this community-based prospective study, baseline data on births and deaths were collected as they occurred for 6 consecutive years and perinatal risk factors associated with these deaths identified. There were 972 live births in the study period. Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) for the period was 2160 per 100,000 and infant and neonatal mortality rates of 65.8 and 32.9 per 1000 live births were obtained. MMR was highest in mothers aged 40 years and above and lower in mothers 15-34 years. Of infants deaths, 18.8% occurred on the first day of life and 32.8% of deaths occurred within one week of birth. Malaria/fever (23.4%), LBW (17.2%), and Vaccine preventable diseases (neonatal tetanus and measles) (12.5%) were the commonest known causes of infant deaths. Perinatal risk factors for infant deaths included being first birth order (RR = 3.1, 2.1-4.7), birth outside the health care facility (RR = 2.5, 1.4-4.3), no attendant at delivery (RR = 2.5, 1.4-4.4); low weight at birth (RR = 2.46 1.01-5.9) and traditional birth attendants at delivery (RR = 1.7, 1.2-2.6). Babies born to fathers who were between the ages of 25-34 years had borderline protection (RR = 0.76, 0.6-1.01). Delivery and perinatal events have a significant impact on infant survival and more needs to be done to integrate infant survival with maternal survival strategies and this should be done at the primary care level. The community must also be educated and empowered to use the facilities for promotive, preventive and curative care.


We examine the capital structure dynamics of Central and Eastern European firms to get a better understanding of the quantitative and qualitative development of the financial systems in this region. The dynamic model used endogenizes the target leverage as well as the adjustment speed. It is applied to microeconomic data for ten countries. We find that during the transition process, firms generally increased their leverage, lowering the gap between the actual and the target leverage. Profitability and age are the most robust determinants of capital structure targets. Although banking system development has in general enabled firms to get closer to their leverage targets, information asymmetries between firms and banks are still relatively large. As a result, firms prefer internal finance above bank debt and adjust leverage only slowly.


In this work, we present the experience of a multi-year industry research project where agile methods, microservices and DevOps were applied. Our goal is to validate the hypothesis that the use of microservices would allow computational scientists to work in the more minimalistic prototype-oriented way they prefer while the software engineering team handle the integration. Hence, scientific multidisciplinary systems gain in a twofold way: (i) Subject Matter Experts (SME) use their preferable tools to develop the specific scientific part of the system; (ii) software engineers provide the high quality software code for the system delivery.


Forward error correction (FEC) based on Reed–Solomon coding for the burst-mode upstream traffic of passive optical networks (PONs) is analyzed in detail using flexible field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In order to achieve true burst-mode transmission using FPGAs, specific architectural solutions are required. In particular, a burst-mode frame synchronizer and a burstmode Reed–Solomon decoder are described in detail and analyzed experimentally within a state-of-the-art longreach PON test-bed. During this analysis, the upstream FEC performance is impaired by introducing strongly correlated and localized errors within the burst through the reduction of the burst preamble duration. The observed FEC degradation is exhaustively analyzed by implementing on the FPGAs a tool for error location analysis and frame loss measurements. This investigation demonstrates the importance of understanding the error distribution within the burst in order to correctly estimate the FEC performance in PON upstream links.


A new hemoglobin mutant was detected as a fast-moving variant on cellulose acetate electrophoresis at pH 8.4. The mutation is in the alpha-chain at position 127, where lysine is substituted by asparagine. This is an external residue, and mutation at this site does not lead to any altered physiologic function of the hemoglobin.


Diarrhea affects more than 60% of persons living with HIV/AIDS. Diarrhea can be caused by pathogens, neoplastic diseases, side effects of medications, malabsorption, and/or enteropathy. Activities of daily living and quality of life are often affected by HIV/AIDS-related diarrhea. Traditional Chinese medical interventions such as acupuncture and moxibustion show promise in the area of gastrointestinal symptom management. The purposes of this study were to (a) determine the influence of acupuncture and moxibustion in reducing the frequency of diarrhea and increasing stool consistency in HIV-infected men with chronic diarrhea (defined as three or more episodes of watery, liquid, or loose stools in a 24-hour period for 3 weeks or more), (b) ascertain the feasibility of the methodology for a future prospective randomized controlled trial, and (c) determine sample size estimate for a prospective randomized controlled trial. Using a time-series design, 15 HIV-positive men with chronic diarrhea received the same acupuncture/moxibustion treatment for six sessions over a 3-week period. Each participant maintained a daily stool frequency/consistency and medication diary. All treatments were administered by a licensed acupuncturist trained in traditional Chinese medicine. Based on the intent to treat analysis comparing the change in stool frequency from baseline (Week 1) to Week 3 and Week 4, stool frequency reduced approximately one episode per day (Week 3: p < .001; Week 4: p < .005). Stool consistency also improved, from baseline to Week 3 and Week 4, by more than 1 point on Hansen's stool consistency scale. Acupuncture and moxibustion are promising modalities for the symptom management of chronic diarrhea in HIV/AIDS. The results of this pilot study also establish the feasibility of a larger study and provide the empirical basis to serve as preliminary data from which to estimate statistical power and sample size for a larger efficacy study, inclusive of women as well as men.


The recent success of transformer-based image generative models in object-centric learning highlights the importance of powerful image generators for handling complex scenes. However, despite the high expressiveness of diffusion models in image generation, their integration into object-centric learning remains largely unexplored in this domain. In this paper, we explore the feasibility and potential of integrating diffusion models into object-centric learning and investigate the pros and cons of this approach. We introduce Latent Slot Diffusion (LSD), a novel model that serves dual purposes: it is the first object-centric learning model to replace conventional slot decoders with a latent diffusion model conditioned on object slots, and it is also the first unsupervised compositional conditional diffusion model that operates without the need for supervised annotations like text. Through experiments on various object-centric tasks, including the first application of the FFHQ dataset in this field, we demonstrate that LSD significantly outperforms state-of-the-art transformer-based decoders, particularly in more complex scenes, and exhibits superior unsupervised compositional generation quality. In addition, we conduct a preliminary investigation into the integration of pre-trained diffusion models in LSD and demonstrate its effectiveness in real-world image segmentation and generation. Project page is available at https://latentslotdiffusion.github.io


This study examined the treatment effects of manualized parent–child focused evidence-based programs (EBPs), characterized by an emphasis on parental involvement and engagement, on functioning and problem severity among a statewide sample of children and adolescents referred to outpatient psychiatric clinic for serious and persistent disruptive behavior. Propensity score matching was employed to account for baseline differences between children and adolescents (Mage = 8.4 years; 26% girls; 42% White, 10% Black, 42% Hispanic, 5% other) who received parent–child focused EBPs (treatment group; n = 220) and treatment-as-usual (comparison group; n = 2,543). Children and adolescents who received parent–child focused EBPs showed significantly greater reduction in problem severity compared to the comparison group, indicative of a drop below the clinical threshold for problem behavior. However, the pattern of improvement in problem severity was not paralleled by differential improvement in ratings of child functioning across treatment and comparison conditions. Finally, there were significant differences between the treatment and comparison groups pertaining to certain child and case characteristics that have potential implications for reaching high-risk populations of children and families. These findings support the potential of taking parent–child focused EBPs into scale to promote positive behavioral changes among children and adolescents. Parent–child focused EBPs may serve as an effective remedy that is less restrictive and more conducive to the healthy development of children and adolescents.


Deep learning methods applied to chemistry can be used to accelerate the discovery of new molecules. This work introduces GraphINVENT, a platform developed for graph-based molecular design using graph neural networks (GNNs). GraphINVENT uses a tiered deep neural network architecture to probabilistically generate new molecules a single bond at a time. All models implemented in GraphINVENT can quickly learn to build molecules resembling the training set molecules without any explicit programming of chemical rules. The models have been benchmarked using the MOSES distribution-based metrics, showing how GraphINVENT models compare well with state-of-the-art generative models. This work compares six different GNN-based generative models in GraphINVENT, and shows that ultimately the gated-graph neural network performs best against the metrics considered here.


The article deals with the problem of training modern specialists of the specialty "125 - Cyber Security". Issues of providing students with specialized and professional knowledge and skills in cryptographic protection of the information are considered.

The necessity of obtaining practical knowledge on information protection with a certain amount of theoretical knowledge for future cybersecurity specialists has been substantiated. Through the analysis of literature and the use of own experience, the essence and structure of the concept of "competence on cryptographic protection of the information" have been determined. Formation of these competencies have been carried out within the framework of interdisciplinary links of educational disciplines, namely: "Applied Cryptology", "Secure Programming". The list of requirements for professionally significant characteristics of a cybersecurity specialist in the field of cryptographic protection of information has been determined. An overview of cryptographic libraries has been conducted and the main criteria for selecting the cryptographic service and the programming environment have been determined. The article demonstrates the need to use modern cryptographic .Net Framework services and the Microsoft Visual Studio application development environment to provide students with the knowledge and practical skills of information protection. The model of formation and development of competences on cryptographic protection of the information for students of the specialty "125-Cyber Security" has been developed and the ways of its realization at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University have been offered.

In the course of the research it was determined that in the programming of cryptographic protection mechanisms, practical skills of using cryptographic algorithms in the processing and transmission of data have been effectively formed. It is proved that the definition of the volume of theoretical knowledge and practical skills, taking into account the interdisciplinary connections of educational disciplines, allows preparing specialists with practical skills in cryptographic protection of the information. Such specialists are necessary for IT companies in the labor market.


In the manufacture of ammonium sulphate, whether by using evaporators or saturators, the erosive effect of crystals present in solution, the low sulphuric acid concentrations usually present, and the relatively high temperatures of operation give rise to serious corrosion problems which begin at the drawing board stage of design and continue through all stages of manufacture. These corrosion problems are discussed in detail in this article and advice is given on materials of construction, including stainless steels, nickel alloys, rubber‐lined mild steel, lead, silicon irons, aluminium and a number of plastics.


This thesis investigates return migration among Jamaicans who migrated to the United Kingdom after WWII and retired in Jamaica throughout the 1990s. Focusing upon the processes of rebuilding a life at "home", it examines the ways in which returning migrants utilize material culture to transgress the sense of alienation from land and people in Jamaica and explores the relationship between particular objects of material culture and the politics of identity. Based upon twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork in a central Jamaican town, the study analyzes transformations in returnee's sense of being English and/or Jamaican, from perceiving England as "the mother country" to the frustration and disillusionment felt after migration resulting in a more concrete sense of being black Jamaican immigrants living in England. Upon returning to postcolonial Jamaica, notions of being English and Jamaican are further questioned as returnees come to terms with local Jamaicans categorization of returnees as "English". Returnees seek to construct lifestyles which counteract the years of hard work endured to return and retire in Jamaica, the large houses and consumer goods both assert and assist in the creation of a lifestyle of leisure and enjoyment. Yet, local Jamaican's constant requests for money and goods accompanied by media portrayals of crime produce feelings of vulnerability, resulting in a heightened use of security as well as an increased desire to reintegrate into Jamaican society particularly through patterns of exchange. In this context, funerals assume a prominent role, enabling returnees to literally and symbolically locate a sense of community and return. Funeral participation also aids in counteracting a sense of alienation from land and people by redefining "home" as a spiritual return to heaven, highlighting the dynamic nature of home as a concept and space for negotiating identity.


"It is much better," observed C. Wright Mills in an essay on intellectual craftsmanship, "to have one account by a working student of how he is going about his work than a dozen 'codifications of procedure' by specialists who often as not have never done much work of consequence." This observation underscores the premise of this book: that there is a need for students to communicate the procedures and strategies of field research they have found consequential in their own studies to the less instructed or less experienced. The contributors to this book are well known researchers and share their field-developed techniques of research craftsmanship. The pathways to data they describe wind in a common direction, toward a concern with research happenings in situations: in agencies, associations, institutions, campaigns, demonstrations, and goal-directed social movements.The selections included in "Pathways to Data" are neither biographies of research projects nor subjective evaluations of personal experiences. Rather, the writers emphasize techniques, operations, and know-how. "Pathways to Data's" chapters are collateral cousins to the collection of research biographies found in "Sociologists at Work", another classic in the field. But the lineage, or progression of thought, traces back to the Webbs' Methods of Social Study, and is most closely related to the Glaser and Strauss volume, "The Discovery of Grounded Theory".The contributors to this book reflect a common concern with organization in the "down home" sense of social bonds opening and closing, of self-involvement, and most importantly social structure. Process is stressed above system, becoming over being. Seen programatically, field methods deliver data to concepts, and techniques are grounded in the heuristic value such data display. Theory is grounded in concepts validated by the effectiveness with which they give meaning to the data. The production of social knowledge is symmetrical, reciprocal, but analytically divisible. The student of society will consequently find an assortment of knowledges that makes large portions of our society more understandable.


The main aim of paper is to identify the growth pattern in the international competitiveness literature, its core publications and key research domains on the basis of bibliometric data from the years 1945–2015. Citation data is collected from the ISI Web of Science Website, Scopus and Google Scholar, and analysed using HistCite, Pajek and VOSviewer software. Bibliometric indicators, network citation, key-route path methods and term co-occurrence methods are used. The results show that the theory of international competitiveness starts not from neoclassical theories of international trade, but from models of competition, even though competitiveness is mostly measured using trade/export performance. Krugman's work on imperfect competitive markets and increasing returns of scale plays a most important role in knowledge diffusion on international competitiveness. The scientific development of analyzed concept is connected with six topics: trade performance, technology, liberalization, environmental regulations, location and productivity. These results give us a background for conducting practical analyses of international competitiveness, especially ones using synthetic indices.


RNA or DNA aptamers with 20-OMe-modifications have been pursued to increase resistance to nucleases, but have been difficult to identify because the OMe groups ablate polymerase recognition. We recently reported evolution of the thermostable DNA polymerases SFM4-6 and SFM4-9, which enable the efficient "transcription" and "reverse transcription", respectively, of 20-OMe oligonucleotides. With these polymerases, we now report the first selection of fully 20-OMe modified aptamers, specifically aptamers that bind human neutrophil elastase (HNE). Two aptamers, 2mHNE-1 and 2mHNE-2, were isolated after five rounds of selection, and four more, 2mHNE-3–6, after an additional five rounds that included selection pressure for binding in the presence of serum. All six aptamers bind with reasonable affinity, which requires the 20-OMe substituents. Further characterization of one aptamer, 2mHNE-5, showed that unlike a previously reported natural anti-HNE aptamer, affinity for HNE is retained in the presence of high concentrations of salt or serum. The polymerases SFM4-6 and SFM4-9 should prove valuable for the production and further exploration of modified aptamers.


In spite of its abundant mineral resources and the activities of many mining companies extracting those resources from only a very small part of the total land area, much of Africa is still in penury. Animal agriculture is a major contributor to the economy of many African countries, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas where it occupies about 80% of the land. The sector employs some 50% of the total agricultural labour force, contributes about 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and accounts for 40% of agricultural GDP. An estimated 100 million people work in the pastoral economy alone. Yet the livestock sector receives less than 2% of the national budgetary allocation for development, in spite of facing changing conditions and needing innovative thinking. African governments need to find the will to insist that mining companies contribute to country revenues, so that development of mineral wealth can provide financial resources to support agricultural development and innovation. Through their sense of corporate social responsibility mining companies already contribute to improved infrastructure and local community well-being. African governments need to adopt an 'Innovation Platform approach', to understand how to use mineral-derived revenue to overcome technological and institutional constraints in dealing with the ever-changing needs, environments and advances in agriculture, including the livestock sector, to achieve economic benefits.


A digital redesign method is proposed for feedback control systems, by which the states in the continuous-time system are completely reserved in the redesigned sampled-data system. The features of the proposed method are: 1) the N-delay control is employed, and the lth plant input is changed N/sub 1/ times during one sampling period, 2) the states of the redesigned sampled-data system completely match those of the original continuous-time closed-loop system at every sampling period, and 3) the proposed redesign method can be applicable for a state-feedback and/or a dynamic controller. An illustrative example of position control using a DC servo motor is presented, and the advantages of redesign approach are demonstrated.


Measurements of conduction electron spin resonance (CESR) in steel allow to separate the contributions from free electrons which provide the metallic character of interatomic bonds and from localized electrons involved in the covalent bonds. The data of the CESR study carried out on austenitic CrMn steels alloyed with carbon, nitrogen or carbon+nitrogen are presented. It is shown that, in contrast to carbon, nitrogen enhances the metallic character of atomic interactions with a maximum of the concentration of free electrons at some critical content of nitrogen (about 2 at.%). The combined alloying with carbon+nitrogen leads to two effects: (i) a larger concentration of free electrons and (ii) a shift of the critical content of interstitials towards higher values. The experimental data are supported by theoretical ab initio calculations of the electron properties of austenitic CrMn steels alloyed with carbon, nitrogen or carbon+nitrogen. Using the full-potentialfull- electron-linearized-augmented-plane-wave (FLAPW) method, the total energy per primitive crystal cell, the density of the electron states (DOS) and the distribution of the electron density over the crystal lattice were calculated by means of the computational program WIEN-2k. The total electron energy decreases due to alloying in the sequence of carbon→nitrogen→carbon+nitrogen, which suggests a corresponding increase in the thermodynamic stability of the austenite. The obtained results of the theoretical and experimental studies of the electron structure were used for the development of super-high–strength stainless austenitic steels.


The central theme of this thesis is the study and analysis of black hole mimickers. The concept of a black hole mimicker is introduced, and various mimicker spacetime models are examined within the framework of classical general relativity. The mimickers examined fall into the classes of regular black holes and traversable wormholes under spherical symmetry. The regular black holes examined can be further categorised as static spacetimes, however the traversable wormhole is allowed to have a dynamic (non-static) throat. Astrophysical observables are calculated for a recently proposed regular black hole model containing an exponential suppression of the Misner-Sharp quasi-local mass. This same regular black hole model is then used to construct a wormhole via the "cut-and-paste" technique. The resulting wormhole is then analysed within the Darmois-Israel thin-shell formalism, and a linearised stability analysis of the (dynamic) wormhole throat is undertaken. Yet another regular black hole model spacetime is proposed, extending a previous work which attempted to construct a regular black hole through a quantum "deformation" of the Schwarzschild spacetime. The resulting spacetime is again analysed within the framework of classical general relativity.
In addition to the study of black hole mimickers, I start with a brief overview of the theory of special relativity where a new and novel result is presented for the combination of relativistic velocities in general directions using quaternions. This is succeed by an introduction to concepts in differential geometry needed for the successive introduction to the theory of general relativity. A thorough discussion of the concept of spacetime singularities is then provided, before analysing the specific black hole mimickers discussed above.


Technicolor and other theories of dynamical electroweak sy mmetry breaking invoke chiral symmetry breaking triggered by strong gauge-dynamics, analog ous to that found inQCD, to explain the observedW , Z, and fermion masses. In this talk we describe why a realistic theory of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking must, relative to QCD, produce an enhanced fermion condensate. We quantify the degree to which the technicolor ndensate must be enhanced in order to yield the observed quark masses, and still be consiste t with phenomenological constraints on flavor-changing neutral-currents. Lattice studies of te chnicolor and related theories provide the only way to demonstrate that such enhancements are possible and, hopefully, to discover viable candidate models. We comment briefly on the current status of non-perturbative investigations of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking, and provide a " wish-list" of phenomenologicallyrelevant properties that are important to calculate in thes e theories.


: The review deals with problems of the subdivision of the presently known immunomodulators in accordance with the mechanisms of their action on individual elements and systems of immunity. The necessity of immunomodulators systematization according to their purpose with a view to the prophylaxis or therapy of definite diseases caused by the pathology of the immune system or accompanied by its disturbances is emphasized. The approximate scheme and principles of the immunomodulators classification are proposed with due regard to the nature, character and mechanisms of action of the preparations.


: We present a three dimensional fluid-structure coupling between SPH and 3D-DDA for modelling rock-fluid interactions. The Navier-Stokes equation is simulated using the SPH method and the motions of the blocks are tracked by a Lagrangian algorithm based on a newly developed, explicit, 3D-DDA formulation. The coupled model is employed to investigate the water entry of a sliding block and the resulting wave(s). The coupled SPH-DDA algorithm provides a promising computational tool to for modelling a variety of solid-fluid interaction problems in many potential applications in hydraulics, rock mass stability, and in coastal and offshore engineering.


Objective: It is widely believed that the rate of pathological gambling is related to the accessibility and availability of gambling activities. Few empirical studies have yet been conducted to evaluate this hypothesis. Using a longitudinal prospective design, the current study evaluates the impact of a casino in Canada's Hull, Quebec region. Method: A random sample of respondents from Hull (experimental group) and from Quebec City (comparison group) completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) and gambling- related questions before the opening of the Hull Casino (pretest), 1 year after the opening (posttest), and on follow-up at Years 2 and 4. Results: Although, 1 year after the opening of the casino, we did observe an increase in playing casino games and in the maximum amount of money lost in 1 day's gambling, this trend was not maintained over time (2- and 4-year follow-ups). In the Hull cohort, the rate of at-risk and probable pathological gamblers and the number of criteria on the SOGS did not increase at the 2- and 4-year follow-ups. The residents' reluctance to open a local casino was generally stable over time following the casino's opening. Conclusion: The discussion raises different explanatory factors and focuses on the context of the Regional Exposure Model as a potentially more applicable measure of studying the expansion of gambling.


The genetic defect causing Huntington's disease (HD) has been identified as an unstable expansion of a trinucleotide (CAG) repeat sequence within the coding region of the IT15 gene on chromosome 4. In 50 patients with manifest HD who were evaluated prospectively and uniformly, we examined the relationship between the extent of the DNA expansion and the rate of illness progression. Although the length of CAG repeats showed a strong inverse correlation with the age at onset of HD, there was no such relationship between the number of CAG repeats and the rate of clinical decline. These findings suggest that the CAG repeat length may influence or trigger the onset of HD, but other genetic, neurobiological, or environmental factors contribute to the progression of illness and the underlying pace of neuronal degeneration.


This purpose of this report (RE-285) is to evaluate whether the Bank is implementing the program to strengthen civil society organizations (CSOs), as indicated by the Board of Directors to the IDB in the document GN-1883-5. OVE chose to review the Bank's relationship with NGOs because NGOs are becoming so numerous in Latin America, and because they often combine the efforts of many community based efforts in order to have a greater impact. The projects chosen for evaluation were from Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador and each one illustrates one or more of the activities outlined by the Board in 1995. This report synthesizes the results of five developed case studies (available on the OVE website).


Canonical correlation analysis is a family of multivariate statistical methods for the analysis of paired sets of variables. Since its proposition, canonical correlation analysis has, for instance, been extended to extract relations between two sets of variables when the sample size is insufficient in relation to the data dimensionality, when the relations have been considered to be non-linear, and when the dimensionality is too large for human interpretation. This tutorial explains the theory of canonical correlation analysis, including its regularised, kernel, and sparse variants. Additionally, the deep and Bayesian CCA extensions are briefly reviewed. Together with the numerical examples, this overview provides a coherent compendium on the applicability of the variants of canonical correlation analysis. By bringing together techniques for solving the optimisation problems, evaluating the statistical significance and generalisability of the canonical correlation model, and interpreting the relations, we hope that this article can serve as a hands-on tool for applying canonical correlation methods in data analysis.


Over the past few years, my interest in local education partnerships has grown. In London, I have chaired two of them and supported a third. Beyond London, I have looked in detail at the work of several established and new partnerships, some of which meet regularly to share knowledge and experience as they develop. This think-piece looks at the emerging picture and the way practice is evolving locally in the hope that it will generate reflection and debate. It reflects my impressions about the potential of such partnerships to strengthen our current system and is, consequently, optimistic. The majority of these partnerships are voluntarily taking responsibility for the collective performance of schools in an area. This is not top-down accountability with a statutory base in individual schools, trusts or local authorities. It is lateral, shared responsibility rooted in ambitious local vision and professional networks. These partnerships are generating energy and commitment because they are making connections across schools and communities to improve schools and outcomes for young people. Many have captured local hearts and minds but they could have an impact at a national level, too. Partnerships have the potential to reduce the risk of fragmentation and dangers of isolationism in an increasingly diverse system. They can enhance the professional and social capital of teachers, and they can deepen motivation, learning and achievement. The question is, how can we make a bigger difference by creating a more connected system locally and indeed, nationally? This think piece is an attempt to look at the emerging picture and kick start that debate. It considers practice across partnerships, identifies some of the opportunities and draws out the characteristics of successful ones. It also identifies some of the key challenges. The power of these partnerships to improve education in their locality has yet to be fully realised or, indeed, evidenced. Yet they have sufficient early promise to merit practical support and encouragement. Certainly, evaluation of some partnerships over several years could help assess their added value and their contribution to the quality of education locally. Ultimately, what we can learn from them might help us create the stronger, more effective and equitable system that we all want.


During chemical EOR process, silicate scale has significant impact on the well productivity, rod pumps and other surface facility. The formation of silicate scale is a complex process involving silica dissolution, polymerization and subsequent precipitations. This paper presents the results of static and dynamic experiments that describe the effect of injection water salinity on silica dissolution rate and subsequent impact on formation permeability. Various synthetic brine salinities were utilized to determine the change in the silica dissolution rate using sandstone core samples. Results from static experiments indicated that 6.5% of the original silica was dissolved with the highest brine salinity of 60,000 ppm. Additional results demonstrated that the silica dissolution ratio has a significant effect on the initial core permeability. Using 60,000 ppm brine and 2.5% alkali, the initial permeability was reduced from 25.3 mD to 20.3 mD. The corresponding permeability reduction ratio for this case was 19.76%, which is equivalent to silica dissolution ratio of 15.99%. Finally, it is found that the brine salinity and pH has a pronounced impact on silica dissolution rate during chemical EOR process. The Effect of Water Salinity on Silica Dissolution Rate and Subsequent Formation Damage during Chemical EOR Process


Background
The experience of trauma in childhood, for a minority of individuals, can lead to chronic and distressing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health difficulties. Cognitive models of PTSD demonstrate key factors involved in the development of symptoms, however, research evidence regarding the role of different pre- peri- and post-trauma predictors of PTSD in children and adolescents is limited and variable. Furthermore, there is scope to understand predictors of mental health outcomes other than PTSD. With the expected publication of ICD-11 in 2018, further research is also necessary to develop our understanding of the new diagnostic category of 'Complex PTSD' in children and adolescents.

Methods
Firstly, a systematic literature review and meta-analysis was conducted, summarising the current evidence regarding the role of peritraumatic psychological risk factors in the development of PTSD. Secondly, empirical analysis of pre-existing data from a longitudinal study of children and adolescents experiencing a single-event trauma was conducted. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess four theory-derived predictive models of mental health outcomes (PTSD, CPTSD, depression and anxiety) of trauma in this sample.

Results
Population estimates of effect size were moderate for peritraumatic subjective threat and fear as risk factors for PTSD. Effect size estimates for peritraumatic dissociation were small, and evidence for data-driven processing was limited. The empirical study indicated that a cognitive model of predictors was most powerful in predicting the development of all four disorders following trauma, and psychosocial and objective event severity models were weak predictors of mental health outcomes.

Conclusions
Cognitive processes occurring during and after trauma may be valuable markers of which individuals may be at risk of developing PTSD, CPTSD, depression or anxiety after trauma. Further research of multiple predictors and outcomes of trauma is required in children and adolescents, particularly related to CPTSD.


This survey is done with an intention of providing a clear and comprehensive review of current practices and recent developments in the area of printed circuit board (PCB) recycling. The aim of this paper is to be a reference for research and implementation for the PCB recycling process. Original information is collected from the companies engaged in the PCB recycling industry and articles published after 1990. The paper gives an overview of the PCB structure, material composition and different recycling processes.


Genome-wide structural and gene content variations are hypothesized to drive important phenotypic variation within a species. Structural and gene content variations were assessed among four soybean (Glycine max) genotypes using array hybridization and targeted resequencing. Many chromosomes exhibited relatively low rates of structural variation (SV) among genotypes. However, several regions exhibited both copy number and presence-absence variation, the most prominent found on chromosomes 3, 6, 7, 16, and 18. Interestingly, the regions most enriched for SV were specifically localized to gene-rich regions that harbor clustered multigene families. The most abundant classes of gene families associated with these regions were the nucleotide-binding and receptor-like protein classes, both of which are important for plant biotic defense. The colocalization of SV with plant defense response signal transduction pathways provides insight into the mechanisms of soybean resistance gene evolution and may inform the development of new approaches to resistance gene cloning.


Knowledge
is
of
growing
value
for
organizations.
In
the
expeditionary
nature
of
today's
missions,
which
entails
a
higher
complexity
and
ever-‐changing
environments
and
conditions,
the
need
for
effective
and
relevant
information
from
and
towards
the
mission
area
is
essential.
It
is
important
that
the
Dutch
Navy
continues
to
learn
by
capturing,
transferring
and
building
upon
knowledge
because
not
doing
so
might
have
lethal
consequences.
Lessons
Learned
are
an
important
part
of
this
knowledge
because
they
entail
both
implicit
and
explicit
knowledge
gained
from
experiences.
To
learn
as
an
organization
these
Lessons
Learned
must
be
transferred
to
other
Dutch
Navy
personnel,
especially
to
the
crewmembers
that
are
going
on
a
new
mission,
and
be
stored
in
order
to
have
these
Lessons
Learned
available
at
a
later
point
in
time.
By
assessing
the
current
situation
on
the
transfer
of
Lessons
Learned,
by
examining
how
marine
personnel
thinks
about
the
way
in
which
Lessons
Learned
are
transferred
and
by
identifying
possible
causes
for
not
optimally
sharing
Lessons
Learned,
this
study
might
contribute
to
the
improvements
of
the
transfer
of
Lessons
Learned.
To
contribute
to
an
enhanced
knowledge
transfer
capability
in
current
and
future
situations,
the
recommendations
below
could
be
taken
into
consideration.
1. a)
Providing
feedback
on
suggested
Lessons
Identified;
b)
Writing
procedures
for
the
feedback
of
Lessons
Identified;
2. Spread
awareness
of
the
Lessons
Learned
database;
3. Facilitation
of
informal
knowledge
transfer.
These
recommendations
are
a
result
from
the
conclusions
drawn
from
this
study.
The
problems
related
to
the
transfer
of
knowledge
and
causes
of
these
problems
are
briefly
clarified
below.
(1)
Crewmembers
do
not
get
feedback
on
Lessons
Identified
provided,
resulting
in
a
possible
lack
of
willingness
to
provide
new
Lessons
Identified.
A
not
optimal
execution
of
the
process
of
the
transfer
of
Lessons
Learned
at
the
Dutch
Navy
might
be
a
cause
of
this
insufficient
feedback.
(2)
The
Lessons
Learned
database
is
hardly
used,
because
most
crewmembers
do
not
know
the
existence
of
such
a
database.
Consequence
is
that
crewmembers
are
not
aware
of
existing
Lessons
Learned,
which
is
of
course
undesirable.
The
gap
between
organizational
learning
and
knowledge
management
might
be
seen
as
a
cause
of
this
problem.
(3)
Lessons
Learned
are
mostly
transferred
informal
with
colleagues
from
their
own
vessel
due
to
the
strong
social
networks
within
the
Dutch
Navy.
A
negative
consequence
of
informal
transfer
of
Lessons
Learned
is
that
these
lessons
are
not
stored
and
therefore
not
available
for
those
concerned.


This paper presents the outcomes of a study on the water quality of Dubai Creek which aimed to assess its eutrophication status. Field water quality data from stations along the creek collected in 2012 and 2013 were used. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and spatial autocorrelation analyses were used as part of geographic information system (GIS)-based exploratory regression analysis to study the relationship between chlorophyll- a and nutrients, specifically total nitrogen and phosphate. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to study the vulnerability of the creek to eutrophication. Results showed unique trends of spatiotemporal variability of chlorophyll- a and nutrients. OLS modeling showed high correlation between field and modeled chlorophyll- a values between Al Garhoud Bridge and Sanctuary stations, located about 2 km upstream and downstream of the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) Outfall station. Furthermore, results showed the lower half of the creek was more vulnerable to eutrophication than the upper, which was believed to be due to the location of the STP station, poor flushing, shallow water depth, and irregular circulation patterns in the creek. Accordingly, this study recommends development of a mitigation plan in order to control the levels of nutrients in the creek.


Introduction: Women living with HIV (WLHIV) experience stigma rooted in social inequities. We examined associations between social factors (food insecurity, housing insecurity, violence, sexual minority identity, and substance use) and HIV-related stigma and Everyday Discrimination trajectories among WLHIV. Methods: This community-based open longitudinal cohort study with WLHIV living in and/or accessing HIV care in Metro Vancouver, Canada, plotted semiannual averages (2015 – 2019) of recent (past 6-month) HIV-related stigma and Everyday Discrimination. We examined distinct trajectories of HIV-related stigma and Everyday Discrimination using latent class growth analysis (LCGA) and baseline correlates of each trajectory using multinomial logistic regression. Findings: Among participants (HIV-related stigma sample: n = 197 participants with n = 985 observations; Everyday Discrimination sample: n = 203 participants with n = 1096 observations), LCGA identi fi ed 2 distinct HIV-related stigma and Everyday Discrimination trajectories: sustained low and consistently high. In multivariable analysis, concurrent food and housing insecurity (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.15, 95% con fi dence interval [CI] 1.12 – 4.12) and physical/ sexual violence (AOR: 2.57, 95% CI: 1.22 – 5.42) were associated with higher odds of the consistently high (vs. sustained low) HIV-related stigma trajectory. Sexual minority identity (AOR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.49 – 5.45), concurrent food and housing insecurity (AOR: 2.65, 95% CI: 1.38 – 5.08), and noninjection substance use (less than daily vs. none) (AOR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.03 – 4.07) were associated with higher odds of the consistently high (vs. sustained low) Everyday Discrimination trajectory. Conclusions: Social inequities were associated with consistently high HIV-related stigma and Everyday Discrimination among WLHIV. Multilevel strategies can address violence, economic insecurity, intersecting stigma, and discrimination to optimize health and rights among WLHIV.


Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common after cardiac surgery and has been associated with poor outcome and increased resource utilization. The main objective of this study is to determine the incidence of POAF in Malaysia and identify the predictors of developing POAF. The secondary outcome of this study would be to investigate the difference in mortality and morbidity rates and the duration of intensive care unit (ICU), high dependency unit (HDU) and hospital stay between the two. Methods: This is a retrospective single-center, cross sectional study conducted at the National Heart Institute, Malaysia. Medical records of 637 who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery in 2015 were accrued. Pre-operative, operative and post-operative information were subsequently collected on a pre-formulated data collection sheet. Data were then analyzed using IBM SPSS v23. Results: The incidence of POAF in our study stands at 28.7% with a mean onset of 45±33 hours post operatively. Variables with independent association with POAF include advancing age, Indian population, history of chronic kidney disease, left ventricular ejection fraction and beta-blocker treatment. The mortality rate is significantly higher statistically ( p < 0.05), and similarly the incidence of stroke. The incidence of other post-operative complications was also significantly higher statistically. The duration of ICU, HDU and hospital stays were statistically longer ( p < 0.001) with higher rates of ICU readmissions and reintubations seen. Conclusion: We conclude that the incidence of POAF in Malaysia is comparable to the figures in Western countries, making POAF one of the most commonly encountered condition after CABG with similar higher rates of mortality, poor outcomes and longer duration of stay, and therefore increased cost of care. Strategies to reduce the incidence of AF after cardiac surgery should favorably affect surgical outcomes and reduce utilization of resources and thus lower cost of care.


Illegal wildlife trade is one of the biggest threats to the environment and biodiversity. The growing volume of illegal trade in wildlife jeopardizes all the conservation efforts across the globe. Many species have become extinct due to the illegal wildlife trade and many have reached the verge of extinction. According to some estimates, the monetary values of the illegal wildlife trade are estimated to be several billion US dollars. To deal with wildlife crime cases, it becomes imperative to have a sound knowledge of the techniques required in the analysis of wildlife crime exhibits. In this chapter, we have outlined the three frequently used techniques in wildlife forensics viz. microscopy, DNA and isotope analysis for addressing the problems of species and individual identification, and additionally identification of the geographical origin of a wildlife sample. The basic essentials of these techniques have been discussed in this chapter.


A review of the literature and computer models from the perspective of hazard assessment approaches, particularly relating to the risk analysis of waste disposal sites, has been carried out. It was found that a comprehensive hazard assessment procedure covering all modules and sub-modules for landfill leachate does not exist. The same deduction also applies to landfill gas and degraded landfill waste, although neither of these items is the focus of this paper. A range of knowledge deficiencies is revealed in the literature studied to date. This paper, with reference to the relevant literature and models reviewed, discusses these knowledge gaps that, if bridged, can render the hazard assessment to be more holistic in itself, as well as more effective in underpinning landfill risk assessments. This paper also briefly outlines the place of hazard assessment in a risk analysis process.


ABSTRACT Objective: To determine if a lean intervention improved emergency department (ED) throughput and reduced ED boarding by improving patient discharge efficiency from a tertiary care children's hospital. Methods: The study was conducted at a tertiary care children's hospital to study the impact lean that changes made to an inpatient pediatric service line had on ED efficiency. Discharge times from the general pediatrics' service were compared to patients discharged from all other pediatric subspecialty services. The intervention was multifaceted. First, team staffing reconfiguration permitted all discharge work to be done at the patient's bedside using a new discharge checklist. The intervention also incorporated an afternoon interdisciplinary huddle to work on the following day's discharges. Retrospectively, we determined the impact this had on median times of discharge order entry, patient discharge, and percent of patients discharged before noon. As a marker of ED throughput, we determined median hour of day that admitted patients left the ED to move to their hospital bed. As marker of ED congestion we determined median boarding times. Results: For the general pediatrics service line, the median discharge order entry time decreased from 1:43pm to 11:28am (p < 0.0001) and the median time of discharge decreased from 3:25pm to 2:25pm (p < 0.0001). The percent of patients discharged before noon increased from 14.0% to 26.0% (p < 0.0001). The discharge metrics remained unchanged for the pediatric subspecialty services group. Median ED boarding time decreased by 49 minutes (p < 0.0001). As a result, the median time of day admitted patients were discharged from the ED was advanced from 5 PM to 4 PM. Conclusion: Lean principles implemented by one hospital service line improved patient discharge times enhanced patient ED throughput, and reduced ED boarding times.


Many calculations on atomic collisions and scattering processes have been performed on electron impact excitation of the lowest autoionizing state of rubidium, but not much attempt has been made with positron impact which is of equally fundamental importance and is receiving attention nowadays with the availability of improved positron beam experiments. So, in this study, total cross-sections, differential cross-sections, lambda parameter, R parameter and the alignment parameter for positron impact excitation of the lowest autoionizing state of rubidium have been calculated using Distorted Wave method. The wave functions used are the Roothan Hatree Fock double zeta and multi zeta wave functions due to Clementi and Roetti. Variations in distortion potential have been made such that the static potential of the initial state of rubidium atom is used as the initial channel distortion potential and a linear combination of static potentials of the initial and final states as the final channel distortion potential to check its effect on crosssections. Numerical calculations have been done using a modified DWBA1 FORTRAN computer program which was originally made for hydrogen atom. The results for positron impact excitation of the lowest autoionizing state of rubidium have been analyzed and compared with experimental and theoretical results for positron and electron impact excitation of the same state available in literature. From the comparison of the results, it is seen that in general the electron impact excitation cross section results are higher than the positron impact excitation cross section especially near excitation threshold energy. This can be attributed to the exchange process which takes place in the case of electron impact and not in the case of positron impact and also due to larger interaction between the projectile and the target in case of electron impact than in case of positron impact. It is also found from the alignment parameter results that the integral cross section results for m=0 level are larger compared to m=1 level for impact energies up to about 500 eV beyond which integral cross-sections for the magnetic sublevel m=1 become greater. The lambda parameter indicates that more particles are scattered towards m=0 for electron impact compared to positron impact excitation near threshold energy. R parameter results have been calculated to account for phases of scattered amplitudes in the collision process. 11 CHAPTER


As supply chains evolve beyond the confines of individual organizations, information sharing has become the Holy Grail in supply chain technology. It plays a key role in improving supply chain visibility and then achieving supply chain effectiveness and responsiveness. Although the values of information sharing are well recognized, there is little research on how to use it to coordinate supply chain processes dynamically. In this research, we propose an information sharing model and describe a methodology for applying this model to achieve different configurations of supply chain processes in response to internal or external events. In addition, we analyze events and their causalities based on Petri net technology. This formal approach can be used to develop an engine for supply chain event management (SCEM) and then achieve a sense-andrespond capability for supply chains to react to events in a real-time manner. The purpose of this research is to show how to achieve supply chain configurability by leveraging information sharing and effective event management.


This paper provides the compensation strategies of the output voltage imbalance on the four-switch half-bridge (HB) power factor corrector (PFC). Conventionally, the imbalance compensation is achieved by PWM switching control in four-switch HB PFC. But, the output voltage imbalance compensation will be failure while the imbalance phenomenon excesses a threshold to limit the load range in the four-switch HB PFC. To enlarge the desired range of load variation, a dc component is injected in the input current to eliminate the output voltage imbalance further as the load varies to be not modulated with conventional PWM. By the integrated control strategy, the results of output voltage imbalance and power factor will be discussed and verified with experiments.


In this article, a two filter particle smoothing algorithm for Wiener state-space systems is proposed. The smoother is obtained by exploiting the model structure. This leads to a suitable proposal density for the backward filter inherent in the problem instead of introducing an artificial one. Numerical examples are provided in order to illustrate the proposed algorithm's performance and to compare it to current state of the art smoothers from the literature. It is found that the proposed method yields comparable results with less computational complexity as backward simulation-based particle smoothing algorithms.


Chemical composition as well as phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of underutilized plants, such as carnauba palm (Copernicia prunifera), provide an informed decision on how to maximize their benefits. This study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the fruit of carnauba. The total phenolic content (gallic acid equivalents, GAE) of the ethanol extract of the whole fruit, pulp and kernel were 44.6000, 0.0447 and 0.6930 mg GAE/g extract, respectively. The respective total tannin content was 1590.932, 2977.724 and 147.650 ppm in the whole fruit, pulp and kernel. The fruit of carnauba showed 9.84 mg anthocyanins/50 g of fresh pulp. Ethanol extract of whole fruit had a potent antioxidant activity. Thus, the fruit of carnauba has add-value in food industry.

 Key words: Secondary compounds, carnauba ethanol extract.


Local treatments of leg ulcers require necrotic tissues destruction and preventing and reducing surinfection with local antiseptics. Local and general antibiotherapy are proposed in defined circumstances. Choice of local dressings are dependent on necrosis, degree of exsudation, global cost and compliance of the patient.


Cultural heritage institutions such as galleries, museums and libraries increasingly use digital media to present artifacts to their audience and enable them to immerse themselves in a cultural virtual world. With the application eXhibition:editor3D museum curators and editors have a software tool at hand to interactively plan and visualize exhibitions. In this paper we present an extension to the application that enhances the workflow when designing exhibitions. By introducing multi-touch technology to the graphical user interfaces the designing phase of an exhibition is efficiently simplified, especially for non-technical users. Furthermore, multi-touch technology offers a novel way of collaborative work to be integrated into a decision making process. A flexible export system allows to store created exhibitions in various formats to display them on websites, mobile devices or custom viewers. For example, the widespread 3D scene standard Extensible 3D X3D is one of the export formats and we use it to directly incorporate a realtime preview of the exhibition in the authoring process. The combination of the tangible user interfaces with the realtime preview gives curators and exhibition planers a capable tool for efficiently presenting cultural heritage in electronic media.


This paper examines the use of simulated and measured canopy reflectance for chlorophyll estimation over crop canopies. Field spectral measurements were collected over corn and wheat canopies in different intensive field campaigns organized during the growing seasons of 2004 and 2005. They were used to test and evaluate several combined indices for chlorophyll determination using hyperspectral imagery (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager). Several index combinations were investigated using both PROSPECT-SAILH canopy simulated spectra and field-measured reflectances. The relationships between leaf chlorophyll content and combined optical indices have shown similar trends for both PROSPECT-SAILH simulated data and ground-measured data sets, which indicates that both spectral measurements and radiative transfer models hold comparable potential for the quantitative retrieval of crop foliar pigments. The data set used has shown that crop type had a clear influence on the establishment of predictive equations as well as on their validation. In addition to generating different predictive equations, corn and wheat data yielded contrasting agreement between estimated and measured chlorophyll contents even for the same predictive algorithm. Among the set of indices tested in this paper, index combinations like modified chlorophyll absorption ratio index/optimized soil-adjusted vegetation index (OSAVI), triangular chlorophyll index/OSAVI, moderate resolution imaging spectrometer terrestrial chlorophyll index/improved soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI), and red-edge model/MSAVI seem to be relatively consistent and more stable as estimators of crop chlorophyll content.


When we are presented with two equally appealing options, how does the brain break the symmetry between them and make a choice? Recent research has proposed that when no clear information can guide decisions, we use irrelevant noise to tip the scale in favour of one alternative and decide how to act. In the present study, we investigated this issue exploring how human decisions were influenced by noise in a visual signal that cued instructed or free choice. Participants were presented with random-dot kinematograms, moving unidirectionally either upwards or downwards (in instructed trials) or both upwards and downwards simultaneously (free-choice trials). By varying the coherence of dot motion, we were able to test how moment-to-moment fluctuations in motion energy could influence action selection processes. We also measured participants' awareness of such influence. Our results revealed three novel findings: Participants' choices tended to follow fluctuations in dot motion, showing that sensory noise biased "free" selection between actions, irrespective of the clarity of the free cue. However, participants appeared to remain unaware of that influence, because subjective ratings of freedom did not correlate with the degree of sensory biasing. In one exception to this general rule, we found that, when participants resisted the bias and made a choice opposite to the one suggested by the stimulus, they reported strong subjective sense of having chosen independently of the stimulation. This result suggests that inhibitory control is tightly linked to the sense of freedom of choice.


Background: Juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) is a rare, severe multisystem autoimmune disease affecting the kidney (Lupus Nephritis, LN) in up to 80% of children. Numerous individual urinary biomarkers have previously been investigated. No individual biomarker has achieved 'excellence' in differentiating active from inactive LN. Aims: (1) To assess performance of traditional clinical biomarkers for LN monitoring and prediction of LN outcomes. (2) To select biomarkers warranting assessment in a 'LN biomarker panel'; to cross-sectionally assess if combining novel/traditional biomarkers improves active LN identification. (3) To validate the optimal UK LN biomarkers within independent, ethnically distinct JSLE cohorts. (4) To longitudinally assess if urine biomarkers predict LN flare/remission. (5) To streamline methods for LN urine biomarker panel quantification. Methods: Clinical data and urine samples from UK, United States (US) and South African (SA) JSLE patients were utilised within cross-sectional and longitudinal studies assessing combinations of novel urine/traditional clinical biomarkers. A custom LN biomarker panel multiplex assay was developed/validated in collaboration with Merck Millipore. Results: 37% of UK patients displayed active LN as an initial presenting feature, with a further 17% developing LN after a median of 2.04 years [IQR 0.8-3.7]. ACR score (>5) and C3 levels (<0.9g/L) at baseline were significant predictors of subsequent LN development. 39% of patients recovered from proteinuria following an LN flare during the study period, within a median of 17 months (IQR 4-49) with the remaining 61% continuing to have proteinuria after a median of 22 months (IQR 12-41). Younger patients (<14 yrs), those with a lower eGFR (<80mls/min) and haematological involvement at LN onset, displayed a longer time to proteinuria recovery. ESR, C3, WCC, neutrophils, lymphocytes and IgG contributed significantly to an optimal non-renal traditional biomarker model for active LN identification (AUC 0.72). Novel urine biomarkers were selected for assessment by detailed literature review. Cross-sectional fitting a binary logistic regression models with data from 61 UK patients, the optimal biomarker combination included AGP+CP+LPGDS+TF (AUC 0.920). Inclusion of traditional biomarkers within the model did not improve the AUC further. The novel biomarker panel displayed equivalent ability for identifying active LN in 30 US and 23 SA patients (AUC of 0.991 and 1.00 respectively). Within the longitudinal study, including 244 observations from 80 UK/US/SA patients, a Markov Multi-State model identified AGP to be predictive flare, and CP of remission (model AIC =135). By entering individual AGP/CP patient values into the model, 3, 6, 9 and 12 month probabilities of disease state transition are provided. The multiplex assay demonstrated acceptable cross reactivity between multiplexed antibodies, satisfactory spike recovery, intra/inter-assay precision. Linearity of dilution was unacceptable, therefore rigorous range finding in 106 UK/US/SA samples identified the optimal dilutions required for each biomarker. Combining multiplex biomarker values for AGP+CP+LPGDS+TF within a binary logistic regression model, equivalent ability for identification of active LN was seen (multiplex AUC = 0.998, ELISA AUC = 0.952). Conclusions: This thesis has demonstrated and validated an 'excellent' urinary biomarker panel for active LN identification in three ethnically distinct JSLE cohorts. Different constituents of the biomarker panel are best at predicting LN flare/remission. A custom urine biomarker panel multiplex assay has been developed, demonstrating improved ability for active LN identification over existing ELISAs. Future clinical studies prospectively measuring the urine biomarker panel by multiplex are warranted, facilitating refinement of the Markov Multi-State Model and assessing if biomarker-led monitoring can actually improve renal outcomes for children with LN.


The purpose of this article is to put forward a discussion on the evolution and structure of the roles played by the personnel and human resources department in the Beta Enterprise, identifying the reality, indexers and results for that company. The study articulates inter-linked elements for the evaluation of the evolution: the environment and its changes; the organization through updated human resources politicies. After identifying these events for the past 10 years a decriptive/qualitative survey was developed, through the statements by the representatives of the human resources area in the company ( BETA Enterprise ) whose headquarters are in Belo Horizonte, featuring an industrial plant in Vale do Aco, Minas Gerais, for the collection of data on its policies and practices in human resources. A book research on the theme as well as documental research were also carried out. Results point at some convergence with traditional, modern and contemporary theories on human resources.


Regarding the fact that two thirds of children's life passes in school, it is important for teachers to have enough knowledge about asthma and how to encounter the disease. Children become panic in asthma attack and this behavior is normal. These children should be supported by other children in the school. Teachers should identify asthmatic patient. Also it is important that patient's classmates be aware of this disease [1]. So, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of teachers about asthma and its treatment in order to design asthma plan action based on our findings. This cross-sectional descriptive analytical study performed in winter 2008 with randomized sampling in Babol. After coordination with department of education, 5 or 6 teachers in every school were randomly chosen in all 80 schools. These teachers were given specifically designed questionnaires including demographic data (age, sex and level of education) and 16 questions about asthma knowledge. Each correct answer was graded 1 and wrong answers 0 (the maximum score of knowledge questionnaire was 16). Comments of many epidemiologists and clinicians (specialist in asthma and allergy of pediatric and adult lung specialist) were considered to enhance content validity. The Cronbach's α coefficient (α=0.822) was used to evaluate questionnaire reliability. Study was approved by ethical committee of Babol University of Medical Sciences and Health Services. Data were analyzed by software SPSS, for statistical tests we used Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis. The mean age of participants (n=425) was 42.7±7.3 years. The results showed that the mean knowledge score of our teachers was 12±2.3. This means that the mean knowledge score was intermediate, while most of researches have shown that their teachers' knowledge level about asthma was low. Frock and colleagues (2008) found an insufficient knowledge about bronchial asthma among 120 teachers of physical education in SchleswigHolstein University [2]. Abdel Gawwad and collaborators (2007) reported that most of school staff had poor to fair level of asthma knowledge and management practices. They found it very important that training is directed to all staff as pre-service and in-service programs [3]. The results of Rodehorst (2003) indicated that although teachers had a favorable attitude toward asthmatic students, their knowledge about asthma was low[4]. Our results indicate that mean knowledge level of teachers in our study is higher than in other studies performed in the world but regarding the importance and prevalence of the disease in our region, ongoing efforts to improve asthma management in public schools through teacher education and policy development should be supported. The mean knowledge score of teachers had no significant difference regarding the age (12.2±2.1 in teachers under 40 years and 12.1±1.8 in teachers over 40 years, P=0.318). Ones and colleagues (2006) also showed there was no difference between age groups [5]. The results of our study showed that there was also no significant difference in knowledge score between sexes (11.8±2.3 in males and 12.1±2.2 in females). Forck[2] (2008) had come to a similar result. Our findings revealed a significant difference in knowledge score regarding educational degree of the teachers. Teachers with bachelor degree had higher knowledge Letter to Editor Iran J Pediatr Sep 2010; Vol 20 (No 3), Pp: 373-374


A new beam-to-column (horizontal brace-to-leg) and bracing-to-frame (diagonal brace-to-horizontal brace/leg) connection was developed. It is a comprehensive package in which the solution to all of the shortcomings and deficiencies of all conventional and/or commonly used connections is provided. The major deficiency of basically all the existing beam-to-column connections is their inability to deliver large rotations. In this devised connection, it has been solved by using a totally different geometry—a geometry which does not restrict the joint from deforming freely in a smooth, uniform and non-violent manner. Such mode of deformation, if delivered by a ductile material, should lead to a high energy dissipation capacity. Especially, if the ductility of the constituting material of the connection is not degraded as a result of fabrication operations, or if so, it is restored through practicing a suitable heat treatment process, e.g. annealing, the energy dissipation capacity should improve substantially. Moreover, in order to attract the damage and prevent it from spreading through the beam (bracing) and the column (leg), whose replacement is formidable, the connection should work in a 'sacrificial' capacity. This, together with making it 'replaceable,' will reduce the cost of aftermath repair substantially, while replacing the damaged beam or column, if possible, is very costly. In addition to its high rotational (bending) capacity, at least 6 times those of conventional joints (depending on the connection design), its 'shear deformation capacity' is quite considerable, absolutely incomparable with those of its conventional counterparts, which are virtually 'nil.' This connection is a 'self-contained separate entity' which comprises two parallel attachment plates between which two circular, or else, tubes are laid and fixed through welding, though alternatively the whole combination can be produced by extrusion. In the 'original version' of the connection, the two plates are laid in a parallel relation with the axis of bending, whereas in its 'alternate version,' they are laid in an orthogonal relation with the axis of bending. Tests carried out on specimens of the two distinct versions of the connection proved all its claimed characteristics, both in shear and bending. In particular, those carried out more recently, not reported in previous papers (OMAE'02-28264 & OMAE'03-37292), were quite revealing with regard to the 'shear strength' and the 'shear deformation capacity' of the original version (horizontally-laid-tube, HLT, version) of the connection—far beyond what was expected by the authors.Copyright © 2004 by ASME


Cardiovascular risk factors in childhood are known to be a pre- dictor of morbidity. The objective here was to determine the feasibility of a school-based intervention of provid- ing fruit daily in the classroom and its effects on risk factors of cardiovascu- lar disease and dietary behavior. The authors designed a pilot study (23 chil- dren, 9-11 years old) for a random- ized controlled trial with fruit served daily in the classroom over a period of 5 weeks as a readily available healthy dietary alternative and follow-up over 16 weeks. The main outcome included acceptability and impact on class time in addition to BMI, waist to hip ratio, body fat percentage, bench test, blood pressure, blood glucose and choles- terol levels, food habits, and attitudes toward dietary fruit intake. The pilot study showed that the intervention (a) was well received by children, par- ents, and teachers; (b) created mini- mal disruption to daily activity; and (c) may have the potential to influence physiological parameters and attitudes toward dietary intake in children. Improvements were seen in physiologi- cal measures such as body fat percent- age and cardiovascular endurance tests, with improvements also seen in blood high-density lipoprotein choles- terol. Questionnaire data suggested that both dietary choices and can- teen choices of the children improved over the intervention period. This pilot study provides the proof of concept for conducting a randomized controlled trial of daily provision of fruit within the school environment to evaluate the impact on cardiovascular risk factors at an early age.


Learning an effective global model on private and decentralized datasets has become an increasingly important challenge of machine learning when applied in practice. Existing distributed learning paradigms, such as Federated Learning, enable this via model aggregation which enforces a strong form of modeling homogeneity and synchronicity across clients. This is however not suitable to many practical scenarios. For example, in distributed sensing, heterogeneous sensors reading data from different views of the same phenomenon would need to use different models for different data modalities. Local learning therefore happens in isolation but inference requires merging the local models to achieve consensus. To enable consensus among local models, we propose a feature fusion approach that extracts local representations from local models and incorporates them into a global representation that improves the prediction performance. Achieving this requires addressing two non-trivial problems. First, we need to learn an alignment between similar feature components which are arbitrarily arranged across clients to enable representation aggregation. Second, we need to learn a consensus graph that captures the high-order interactions between local feature spaces and how to combine them to achieve a better prediction. This paper presents solutions to these problems and demonstrates them in real-world applications on time series data such as power grids and traffic networks.


Early Jewish apocalypses claimed to contain the content of revelatory experiences. These revelatory claims were widely perceived by ancient readers of apocalyptic texts. As far as ancient evidence and modern analogies go, at least some authors of pseudepigraphical apocalypses may have been honestly convinced that they were actually presenting more than human dreams and messages. The plausible assumption that at least some apocalyptic texts originated from genuine ecstatic experiences does not, however, offer any reason to suppose that their literary attributions were not measured against the generally accepted ancient standards of authenticity. If an author who was honestly convinced that he had received much of his book's content from an angel published his apocalyptic text under the name of an ancient prophet, this attribution was, according to ancient standards, deceptive, because there was no justification for tracing its content back to the biblical prophet. By attributing not only the content but also the recording of their apocalyptic books to ancient seers and by explicitly claiming that their books had been carefully transmitted from the remote times of the biblical prophets to the present, the apocalyptic authors clearly intended to deceive their readers about the true origin of their books.


Abstract
The objective of this doctoral research study is to explore the experience of a sample of entrepreneurial priests in the Diocese of Durham with a view to producing appropriate and informed suggestions for future practice in relation to the exercise of entrepreneurship by parish priests in the Church of England. Building on my own experience of being a priest and an entrepreneur, an understanding of the entrepreneur set out by John Thompson and Bill Bolton (2004), and beginning with the social, cultural, theological and ecclesiological case constructed by the Mission-Shaped Church report (2004), and upon which its recommendation of identifying 'mission entrepreneurs' rests, this thesis argues that the concept of entrepreneurship offers the Church of England a helpful lens through which to view priestly ministry and an understanding of an approach to priestly ministry in the parish that is well-fitted for the current mission task in England. The thesis argues that an entrepreneurial approach to priestly ministry is consistent with Anglican self-understanding as set out in the Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal. It also argues that an entrepreneurial approach to priestly ministry is consistent both with the nature of the Trinitarian God and with human collaboration with God's activity in the world. Research findings are based on thematic analysis of data generated through online testing and qualitative interviews with a sample of entrepreneurial priests in the Diocese of Durham. This thesis finds that entrepreneurial priests appear to adopt an entrepreneurial approach to parish-based ministry in spite of the institution of the Church of England rather than because of it. In addition, this thesis finds that when faced with challenges related to church buildings, entrepreneurial priests adopt an innovative approach that has the potential to generate social and spiritual capital. Further, this thesis finds that entrepreneurial priests instinctively work with others and that creating appropriate partnerships with outside agencies has the potential to generate significant social, cultural, spiritual and financial capital for the church and the wider community. The findings result in ten suggestions for future practice in relation to the exercise of entrepreneurship by parish priests in the Church of England.


Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a metadata model recommended by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for describing the Web resources. With the arrival of the era of Big Data, very large amounts of RDF data are continuously being created and need to be stored for management. The traditional centralized RDF storage models cannot meet the need of largescale RDF data storage. Meanwhile, the importance of temporal information management and processing has been acknowledged by academia and industry. In this paper, we propose a storage model to store temporal RDF based on HBase. The proposed storage model applies the built-in time mechanism of HBase. Our experiments on LUBM dataset with temporal information added show that our storage model can store large temporal RDF data and obtain good query efficiency.


Introduction Surgery is a major risk factor for venous thromboembolism. The incidence of venous thromboembolism is also known to increase with increasing body mass index (BMI). We describe the risk of hospital admission for (or death from) venous thromboembolism in relation to BMI, both in the absence of surgery and in the 12 weeks after surgery. Methods Women in the UK were recruited into the Million Women Study in 1996–2001 and followed by record linkage to routinely collected inpatient and day case NHS hospital admissions and deaths. The incidence of hospital admission or death for venous thromboembolism was estimated in relation to BMI both with and without surgery. Results 1.2 million women with an average BMI of 26.2 kg/m2 were included in these analyses, 55% of whom had at least one hospital admission for surgery during follow-up. The RR of venous thromboembolism increased with increasing BMI both with and without surgery. In the absence of surgery those of BMI ≥35 kg/m2 were 3.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with venous thromboembolism than those of BMI 22.5–24.9 kg/m2 [RR 3.5 (95%CI 3.1 to 3.9)]. A similar relationship was observed in the 12 weeks following day or inpatient surgery, but the absolute risks associated with BMI were much greater following surgery. Conclusions The risk of venous thromboembolism increases with increasing BMI and the associated excess risk is much greater in the 12 weeks following surgery than without surgery.