Assessment and improvement of turnaround times (TAT) as well as customer satisfaction is essential for laboratory quality management. This study in a specialized hospital in Alexandria, Egypt measured the current TAT for outpatient department bilirubin samples and evaluated the satisfaction of physicians with aspects of clinical laboratory services. While the mean TAT for 110 bilirubin tests [58.1 (SD 31.8) min] was within the College of American Pathologists' benchmark, the 90th percentile was long (96.7 min); 62.7% of tests were reported within 60 min. The mean overall satisfaction score of physicians (range 1-5) was 3.46 (SD 0.49). The highest satisfaction rating was for staff courtesy while the lowest ratings were for laboratory management responsiveness, outpatient stat TAT and critical value notification. Quality or reliability of results was judged by physicians as the most important factor (32.3%), followed by routine test TAT (18.5%). Further analysis of the different steps of the TAT would be helpful and follow-up through examining outliers is recommended


Most studies investigating the association between family functioning, school environment, and adolescent outcomes have been done in western country, which mainly with European American families. Recently, attention has focused on minority families, such as Korean families, Indian families, and Chinese families. In an effort to contribute to scholar knowledge on minority families and adolescents, the proposed research is aimed to produce a conceptual model of research which is able to explain how family and school environment and individual factors are associated on the behavioral, socio-emotional and academic adjustment among East-Malaysian adolescents. A cross-sectional study will be conducted among secondary school students, aged 13-18 years. The focus of the present study is on the associations between attachment relationships (father-adolescent and mother-adolescent relationship), authoritative parenting (involvement, strictness and autonomy granting), social relationship (peers and teacher relationships), discipline climate (rules/safety and counseling service), and adolescents' individual factors (self-esteem, self-efficacy, and mental health literacy) on their adjustment outcomes (behavior problems, emotional components, social competence, and academic performance). Other variables such as demographic factors, socioeconomic status, and parents' marital status will be interpreted as the moderators. These variables are therefore will be interpreted as the significant components in predicting the developmental of adolescent adjustment. The proposed research will provide a much-needed window on the important issues of adolescents, especially in Malaysia context. Implications for conducting the present study will be discussed.


The content of heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn and Ni) was determined by Atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) and their distributions were analyzed in various waste incineration slags. The results showed that the particle size less than 5mm were a major component in the slag, which were about 59.42% in all the incineration slags. The content of heavy metals was different in the incineration slags. The content of heavy metals Zn, Cr and Cu were significantly higher than that of other heavy metals and that of Pb was in second, followed by Ni, and that of Cd was in the least. The contents of these heavy metals were higher than that of the soil environmental quality standards (GB15618-1995) and the background values in soil of Guangdong. The distribution of heavy metals in different particles of the slag were very different, in which the content of Cr, Zn, Cd and Ni were higher in the small particle sizes, but that of Cu and Pb was not obvious in various particles. In all, the content and distribution of heavy metals were mainly with composition of the waste and the heavy metal characteristics.


In the wake of recent dramatic reductions in the demand for legal education, law schools are reacting to the changed marketplace in ways that reveal Coasian "firm behavior" by responding to perverse incentives inherent in the competitive legal education marketplace. For example, to fill empty seats, law schools are enrolling students with lower GPA and LSAT scores than before 2010. Also, new evidence suggests that financial aid award allocation might be influenced by increased pressure to meet minimum enrollment requirements since the Recession. These trends evince market responses on the part of providers of legal education — law schools — as well as consumers of legal education — law students. This study aims to isolate the impact of one such firm behavior: financial aid award allocation. In the competition for shrinking pools of potential law students, law schools can discount the expected cost of attendance through institutionally-provided financial aid awards. This study assesses this trend — the effect of increasing median financial aid award amounts on matriculant enrollment totals and yield rates, controlling for law school and law student covariates — through two competing, but not mutually exclusive, theoretical frameworks. The rational choice theory, which holds that demand for legal education is determined by the exchange of information about costs and benefits. Scarce resource theory suggests that, like most institutional scholarships, the majority of law school financial aid awards are cross-subsidized.Employing the use of OLS and fixed effects regression specifications — looking within year, to account for differences in cohorts, as well as within school or U.S. News & World Report peer review rating tier — this study finds evidence of (1) students' preference to consume subsidized legal education; (2) scarce resources theory; and (3) rational choice theory. These results can be explained as a market response by both law schools and students: reacting to labor market outcomes, as demand for legal education declines and fewer students accept the offers of admission and financial aid awards, the share of the financial aid awards to which law schools avail the students who do accept offers of admission increases. These findings bear out when employing a robust multiple fixed effects specification looking within year and peer reviewed rating tier. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the understanding of law schools as competitive market participants.


Based on the conventional ground observational data, a numerical simulation and moist potential vorticity (MPV) analysis has been carried on heavy rainfall event over Jiangxi province from 19 June to 20 June 2010, with a meso-scale rainstorm model. The results show that this rare rainstorm is a typical heavy rainfall over Meiyu front. The cold air flow behind North China vortex joined up the southwestern flow located in the northwest part of the strong and stable subtropical high, thus the cold air and warm air converged and maintained over the northern part of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. The simulated precipitation of the high resolution model is very similar with the observational rainfall. The model has a good predictive skill for the location, intensity and center of heavy rainfall. By moist potential vorticity analysis, it is found that the distribution characteristic of MPV which heavy rainfall happens ahead has an obvious indication for precipitation forecast. The vertical overlapping of the positive and negative MPV1 areas is favorable to the generation and development of rainstorm. This zone is also the conjoint area of convective instability and baroclinic instability.


User authentication and key agreement is an important security primitive for creating a securely distributed information system. Additionally, user authentication and key agreement is very useful for providing identity privacy to users. In this paper, we propose a robust and efficient user authentication and key agreement scheme using smart cards. The main merits include the following: 1) the computation and communication cost is very low; 2) there is no need for any password or verification table in the server; 3) a user can freely choose and change his own password; 4) it is a nonce-based scheme that does not have a serious time-synchronization problem; 5) servers and users can authenticate each other; 6) the server can revoke a lost card and issue a new card for a user without changing his identity; 7) the privacy of users can be protected; 8) it generates a session key agreed upon by the user and the server; and 9) it can prevent the offline dictionary attack even if the secret information stored in a smart card is compromised.


ABSTRACT Systems for the protection of children have evolved differently across nation states. Studies have identified contrasting system 'orientations', related to how child protection problems are framed and how organisations respond in different contexts. In this study, the influence of national and organisational factors on practice-level decision reasoning by social workers has been compared. Interviews were conducted with 30 child protection social workers in sites across England and Finland, structured around two hypothetical case vignettes. While similarities were observed in how the social workers responded to the vignettes, there were differences in the nature and extent of managerial involvement described, with the English social workers appearing to rely on managerial input for decision-making to a greater extent than the Finnish social workers. These findings suggest evidence for two distinct organisational approaches to decision-making: 'supervised' and 'supported' judgement. Here, supervised judgement describes a hierarchical, 'top-down' form of decision-making, while supported judgement describes a more horizontal and shared decision-making approach. The lens of comparative methodology has revealed how these organisational factors come into play in different child protection systems. The practice implications of supervised, manager-led approaches to decision-making, as contrasted with supported, team-led approaches, are discussed.


From the very beginning of the scout organization one of its main trends was the Samaritan service consisting in giving medical help to victims of disasters and acts of God. It became a domain of girls guide mainly. The articles describes a great commitment of the Polish girls guide in the medical assistance offered to their compatriots during the September campaign of 1939 and during the years of occupation from 1939 to 1945. It shows the education and training methods that prepared the girls to work with great dedication. From the first days of the war the girl guides started to work as nurses and orderlies in civil and military hospitals. They organized also their own hospitals and numerous first aid stations in bombed localities and roads frequented by fugitives escaping from the west parts of the country to the eastern territories. Under occupation, the girl guides organized their own underground medical service that collaborated strictly with military organization fighting for independence. Assisted by doctors they organized medical trainings for the members, collected medicines and sanitary materials, preparing themselves for the fights of the last part of the war. The girl guides organized groups of medical assistance of the National Army, which constituted a core of the organization medical service. During the " Storm" action several thousands of girls worked as orderlies that belonged to the combat troops of the National Army. The Warsaw insurrection was the greatest battle of soldiers of the National Army. The girls offered their help to thousands of soldiers and civilian victims.


Educational leadership as a capability and process influencing, guiding, coordinating and mobilizing other people who are related to the development of the science of education and the implementation of education and teaching, so that the activities carried out can be more efficient and effective in achieving educational goals and teaching.


BACKGROUND
Pelvic surgery is associated with high rates of both de novo adhesion formation and adhesion reformation. Although the role of pelvic and/or tubal surgery in the management of infertility is more limited since the development of in-vitro fertilisation such surgery remains indicated for a number of selected patients. Other forms of pelvic surgery will remain prevalent in women of reproductive age (e.g. endometriosis surgery, ovarian cystectomy, myomectomy). Since subsequent fertility is reduced with increasing severity of periadnexal adhesions, pelvic adhesions will remain a clinical problem in infertility patients. Adjuvant therapy has been promoted for many years to prevent adhesion formation. Numerous substances have been used experimentally in animal models, many have been advocated for use during human surgery, and some are widely used in clinical practice. Steroids and antihistamines are given in the belief that they will promote fibrinolysis during healing without preventing healing.

OBJECTIVES
To investigate whether pharmacological and liquid agents used as adjuvants during pelvic surgery in infertility patients lead to a reduction in the incidence or severity of postoperative adhesion (re-)formation, and/or an improvement in subsequent pregnancy rates.

SEARCH STRATEGY
The specialised database of the Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group was searched.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised controlled trials investigating the use of pharmacological and liquid agents to prevent adhesion formation after pelvic surgery for infertility.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Data were extracted independently by the first 2 authors. Differences of opinion were registered and resolved by consensus with the senior author (RJL). Two by two tables were generated for each trial for the dichotomous outcome of pregnancy and the effects on pregnancy rate of each study is expressed as an odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals.

MAIN RESULTS
None of the pharmacological or liquid agents investigated in a randomised controlled fashion was shown to improve postoperative pregnancy rates. There was some evidence that steroids reduced the incidence and severity of postoperative adhesion formation. Dextran appeared to neither reduce the incidence or severity of adhesions.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS
The routine use of pharmacological agents to prevent post-operative adhesions after infertility surgery cannot be recommended on the basis of the available evidence derived from RCTs. In connection with adhesion prevention, the evidence with regard to steroids is far from perfect but tentatively suggests that they may be beneficial. Further randomised studies should be conducted to investigate this further.


Scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit (SWEDD) refers to patients with a normal dopamine transporter scan among patients clinically diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD). It is essential to differentiate SWEDD from PD in order to avoid costly and inappropriate treatments. We investigated differences of gait pattern in PD patients and SWEDD patients. Twelve patients with SWEDD and 8 patients with PD participated in the gait test. All participants were instructed to walk along the GaitRite linear walkway at comfortable velocity. As outcome measure, various spatio-temporal gait variables were derived from commercial GaitRite software. Independent sample [Formula: see text]-tests were evaluated to investigate statistical differences between SWEDD patients and PD patients. SWEDD patients walked more quickly with longer step length compared to PD patients ([Formula: see text]). PD patients exhibited a longer stance phase with increased double-limb support period than SWEDD patients ([Formula: see text]). Step time difference of SWEDD patients was smaller than that of PD patients ([Formula: see text]). These findings suggest quantitative gait variables could be helpful for the identification of potential SWEDD patients. Also, understanding of gait strategies of SWEDD patients might be contributed to their effective medications and treatments.


Steady state creep in a anisotropic rotating disc made of Al-SiCp composite having hyperbolically varying thickness has been investigated using Hill's yield criterion. The creep behavior is supposed to follow the Sherby's law in present study. The stress and strain distributions are calculated for different combinations of anisotropic constants. The change in the radial stress is not significant while the tangential stress is changed with the change in the material constants. The tangential strain rates are highest at the inner radius of the disc and then decreases towards the outer radius of the disc. The radial strain rate which is compressive in nature becomes tensile in middle of the disc for some specific values of anisotropic constants. The study reveals that the anisotropy has a significant effect on the creep behavior of rotating disc. Thus for the safe design of the rotating disc the effect of anisotropy should be taken care of.


BACKGROUND
Amyloidosis is a disorder of protein metabolism characterized by extracellular accumulation of abnormal protein fibrils. Different proteins form the fibrils in different forms of the disease, and the condition can be acquired or hereditary. Involvement of the heart is quite common, producing a serious and usually fatal cardiomyopathy. Cardiac amyloidosis is often diagnosed late, and cardiac biopsy together with proper histological examination is essential. Contrary to previous perceptions, there is much recent evidence of effective treatment for several different types of systemic and cardiac amyloidosis, including the most common hereditary form caused by mutations in the transthyretin gene. Chemical and genetic typing of amyloid is therefore of considerable clinical importance.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Seven members in two generations of an Italian family presented with cardiac disease inherited as an autosomal dominant and were found to have systemic amyloidosis. Angina pectoris-like pain, an unusual feature in cardiac amyloidosis, was a prominent symptom, possibly related to partial obliteration of the distal coronary arteries by amyloid infiltration. There were also cases of sudden cardiac death. Peripheral and autonomic neuropathy, which are the usual features of hereditary amyloidosis, were present in only two cases, and a diagnosis of acquired, immunoglobulin light chain (AL type) amyloidosis was suspected in the index case before the family history emerged. In fact, the amyloid fibrils were composed of transthyretin, and the two affected individuals from whom DNA was available were both heterozygotes for a single base change in exon 3 of the transthyretin gene, encoding substitution of Lys for the wild-type Thr residue at position 59 in the mature protein. This mutation has not previously been reported.

CONCLUSIONS
We have identified a novel mutation in the transthyretin gene encoding 59Thr-->Lys associated with autosomal dominant hereditary systemic amyloidosis in an Italian kindred in whom cardiac involvement was the major feature. This family illustrates the difficulty in diagnosis of cardiac amyloid, the variable clinical phenotype in hereditary amyloidosis even within a family, and the importance of precise fibril typing for correct management in this condition.


S4. M.E Computer Science and Engineering, Noorul Islam University Kanyakumari, Tamilnadu ---------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------Abstract The increasing popularity of XML for data representations, there is a lot of interest in searching XML data. Due to the structural heterogeneity and textual content's diversity of XML, it is daunting for users to formulate exact queries and search accurate answers. Therefore, approximate matching is introduced to deal with the difficulty in answering users' queries, and this matching could be addressed by first relaxing the structure and content of a given query and, then, looking for answers that match the relaxed queries. Ranking and returning the most relevant results of a query have become the most popular paradigm in XML query processing. However, the existing proposals do not adequately take structures into account, and they, therefore, lack the strength to elegantly combine structures with contents to answer the relaxed queries. To address this problem, we first propose a sophisticated framework of query relaxations for supporting approximate queries over XML data. The answers underlying this framework are not compelled to strictly satisfy the given query formulation; instead, they can be founded on properties inferable from the original query. We, then, develop a novel top-k retrieval approach that can smartly generate the most promising answers in an order correlated with the ranking measure.


Abstract:This essay explores visual reading and its colonial aspects by analyzing the novel Ze ʿim ha-panim elenu (The One Facing Us, 1995), by Ronit Matalon, an Israeli Jewish author of Egyptian descent. In this novel Matalon displaces the dramas of Mizrahi Jews (Jews originating from the Arab and Muslim world) to Cameroon, thus stressing her protagonists' uneasy positioning within the colonizer-colonized, West-East divides and connecting Zionist racialization to broader, global processes of colonial capitalism. By exploring her elaborate readings of photographs in the novel, the essay reveals two rival traditions of reading the visual: the first involves what might be described, following Matalon, as a certain "intending toward" the photograph—a colonial reading practice through which a subject converts her absence from the photographic moment into a visionary, intentional presence. In this Barthesian tradition, the image is an empty land to be colonized, and Oriental subjects are racialized by being fetishistically associated with both authentic matter and theological aura. The second tradition, typified in the novel by the protagonist's Egyptian mother, is a laborious collective practice of reading photographs that is attentive to subtext, nonverbal communication, and social codes. The essay argues that this reading practice has nothing to do with postcolonial or Levantine hybridity or with a "migratory state of mind"—concepts that govern scholarship on Matalon—and that its subsistence requires in fact a solid, counterdiasporic sense of home.


The most common cause of death in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients is progressive lung function decline, which is punctuated by acute pulmonary exacerbations (APEs). A major challenge is to discover biomarkers for detecting an oncoming APE and allow for preemptive clinical interventions. Metabolic profiling of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples collected from CF patients before, during and after APEs and under stable conditions (n=210) was performed using ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS). Negative ion mode MS data showed that classification between metabolic profiles from "pre-APE" (pending APE before the CF patient had any signs of illness) and stable CF samples was possible with good sensitivities (85.7% and 89.5%), specificities (88.4% and 84.1%), and accuracies (87.7% and 85.7%) for pediatric and adult patients, respectively. Improved classification performance was achieved by combining positive with negative ion mode data. Discriminant metabolites included two potential biomarkers identified in a previous pilot study: lactic acid and 4-hydroxycyclohexylcarboxylic acid. Some of the discriminant metabolites had microbial origins, indicating a possible role of bacterial metabolism in APE progression. The results show promise for detecting an oncoming APE using EBC metabolites, thus permitting early intervention to abort such event.


Aim: The aim of the present investigation was to determine whether methyl jasmonate and ethylene could synergistically induce grapevine foliar cuttings ( Vitis vinifera) defense mechanisms and enhance resistance to Erysiphe necator. Methods and results: We cotreated grapevine foliar cuttings (CabernetSauvignon) with ethylene-releasing ethephon in association with methyl jasmonate. However, this cotreatment did not improve resistance to powdery mildew induced by MeJA or ethephon, alone. Quantitative PCR analysis performed on grape cell suspensions showed that the association ethephon/MeJA triggered an enhancement of phytoalexin biosynthesis by synergistically inducing PAL and STS genes. This gene expression was correlated with accumulation of stilbenes (antimicrobial compounds), assessed by HPLC analysis. However, ethephon seemed to inhibit MeJA-dependent induction of PR protein gene expression mainly for the first eighteen hours. Significance and impact of study: Since methyl jasmonate and ethephon can separately enhance grapevine resistance to Erysiphe necator, it was interesting to study the effect of the association of the two molecules on it. Although we observed a synergistic effect on phytoalexin production, no improved resistance against the fungus was obtained. These results can be exploited for the development of new pest control strategies in vineyard.


BACKGROUND/AIM
Anecdotally, occupational therapists have identified problems of lack of professional recognition. This situation can mean that health service users' occupational needs are unmet and it can also cause difficulties for the profession of occupational therapy. Therefore, the study described in this paper aimed to better understand the issues of describing occupational therapy in a hospital setting and use this understanding to improve representations of occupational therapy.

METHODS
Fifteen occupational therapists engaged in two action research cycles of reflection-action-evaluation over an 18-month period in 2004 and 2005. Transcriptions of individual interviews and group discussions of the participating therapists formed the main dataset. Data were qualitatively analysed.

RESULTS
Participating therapists discovered that the occupational therapy profession is not accorded the regard that it deserves and that the profession is not well understood by others. In addition, occupational therapists may be contributing to this lack of awareness and regard through their own unconscious overly conformist behaviour that contributes to the presence of hegemony and professional image problems.

CONCLUSION
Therapists are encouraged to engage in questioning of the taken-for-granted dominance of medical discourses upon their practice. Furthermore, ongoing reflection upon their own attitudes and behaviours may enable occupational therapists to improve professional recognition, representation and autonomy.


A solution to the common problem that sensors have in overestimating cloud fraction (CF) due to their finite resolution is implemented by the Multi‐angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) to produce a resolution‐corrected CF product. Here we evaluate the efficacy of this product toward the development of an improved global cloud climatology. We found a large reduction in CF across various regions of the globe due to the correction, with reductions >0.4 in regions dominated by shallow cumulus clouds. The MISR resolution‐corrected CF lies within ±0.05–0.08 of 180 randomly selected scenes of 15‐m resolution Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data, where MISR uncorrected CF and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) CF overestimated this benchmark by 0.40–0.50. We conclude that the CF between 50°N and 50°S is much lower than that reported by the original MISR and MODIS and that the new MISR cloud product indeed provides improved estimates of CF.


Background: To evaluate the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and the development of incident hearing loss.

Methods: Prospective cohort study was performed in 253 301 adults with normal hearing tests who participated in a regular health-screening exam between 2002 and 2014. The main exposure was the presence of DM at baseline, defined as a fasting serum glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL, a self-reported history of DM or current use of anti-diabetic medications. Pre-diabetes was defined as a fasting glucose 100–125 mg/dL and no history of DM or anti-diabetic medication use. Incident hearing loss was defined as a pure-tone average of thresholds at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 kHz > 25 dB in both right and left ears.

Results: During 1 285 704 person-years of follow-up (median follow-up of four years), 2817 participants developed incident hearing loss. The rate of hearing loss in participants with normal glucose levels, pre-diabetes and DM were 1.8, 3.1 and 9.2 per 1000 person-years, respectively (P < 0.001). The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios for incident hearing loss for participants with pre-diabetes and DM compared with those with normal glucose levels were 1.04 (95% confidence interval 0.95–1.14) and 1.36 (1.19–1.56), respectively. In spline regression analyses, the risk of incident hearing loss increased progressively with HbA1c levels above 5%.

Conclusions: In this large cohort study of young and middle-aged men and women, DM was associated with the development of bilateral hearing loss. DM patients have a moderately increased risk of future hearing loss.


Pulsed laser ablation is increasingly being applied to locally open the rear dielectric layer of advanced silicon wafer solar cell structures, such as aluminum local back surface field solar cells. We report that the laser ablation process on the rear surface of the solar cell at a relatively low laser fluence can cause undesirable spallation at the front surface which is textured with random upright pyramids. This phenomenon is attributed to the enhancement of the surface spallation effect by up to 3 times due to the confinement of the pressure waves at the tips of these random pyramids. Laser ablation at different laser focus positions and laser fluences is carried out to achieve optimized laser processing of the solar cells.


Objectives: Evaluating the long-term outcome of the surgical management for intestinal strictures developing after necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Patients and methods: This is a retrospective study of all patients with an intestinal stricture after completion of conservative management for NEC. They were treated during the eight years period from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2015. Results: During the study period 67 infants had an operation for NEC, of which 55 had emergency surgery. The remaining twelve infants (6 males) had a stricture and were included in the study group. Their median gestational age was 35 (range 27-40) weeks and the median weight was 2180 (range 770 - 3290) g. The onset of NEC was seen at a median of 2 (range 1- 47) days. The median peak C-reactive protein (CRP) level was 73.1 (range 25.2 – 232) mg/dl. Isolated strictures were seen in 9 (75%) patients. Two-third of all strictures (n=15) were located in the colon. Surgery was done at a median of 5 (range 3 - 13) weeks after diagnosing NEC. Primary anastomosis was the procedure of choice; only one needed a temporary colostomy. This cohort had no mortality during a median follow up of 6.25 (range 0.5 - 7.6) years, whilst the overall death rate for NEC was 15 (22 %). Two fifth of the group developed a neurological / sensory impairment. Conclusion: One fifth of the surgical workload for NEC is related to post-NEC strictures. Most strictures are located in the colonic region. In the long-term no mortality and no surgical co-morbidities were observed.


In communication systems corruption of data and hacking of data is unavoidable. These are the major problems we are facing in communication system. This project presents an enhanced multiple error detection and correction scheme based on the Redundant Residue Number System (RRNS). RRNS is often used in parallel processing environments because of its ability to increase the robustness of information passing between the processors. The proposed multiple error correction scheme utilizes the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) together with a novel algorithm that significantly simplifies the error correcting process for integers. This enhanced scheme is compared with the existing method and this enhanced scheme is used in the CDMA application.


Deficiency of ABCB4 is associated with several forms of cholestasis in humans. Abcb4(-/-) mice also develop cholestasis, but it remains uncertain what role other canalicular transporters play in the development of this disease. We examined the expression of these transporters in Abcb4(-/-) mice compared with their wild-type littermate controls at ages of 10 days and 3, 6, and 12 wk. Elevated plasma bile acid levels were already detected at 10 days and at all ages thereafter in Abcb4(-/-) mice. The expression of Bsep, Mrp2, Atp8b1, Abcg5, and Abcg8 liver proteins did not change at 10 days, but Bsep, Mrp2, and Atp8b1 were reduced, whereas Abcg5 and Abcg8 expression were increased in Abcb4(-/-) mice at all later ages. Lower bile acid concentrations were also detected in the bile of 6-wk-old Abcb4(-/-) mice. Immunofluorescence labeling revealed distorted canalicular architecture in the liver tissue by 12 wk in Abcb4(-/-) mice. Whereas Bsep and Mrp2 remained associated with the apical membrane, Atp8b1 was now localized in discrete punctuate structures adjacent to the canalicular membrane in these mice. Expression of Bsep mRNA was increased in the livers of 10-day-old Abcb4(-/-) mice, whereas Ost-α was decreased. By 12 wk, Bsep, Mrp2, and Abcg5 mRNA were all increased, whereas Ost-α and Ntcp were reduced. These findings indicate that canalicular transporters that determine the formation of bile are altered early in the development of cholestasis in Abcb4(-/-) mice and may contribute to the pathogenesis of cholestasis in this disorder.


Background Comparative effectiveness research on wheelchairs available in low-resource areas is needed to enable effective use of limited funds. Mobility on commonly encountered rolling environments is a key aspect of function. High variation in capacity among wheelchair users can mask changes in mobility because of wheelchair design. A repeated measures protocol in which the participants use one type of wheelchair and then another minimises the impact of individual variation. Objectives The Aspects of Wheelchair Mobility Test (AWMT) was designed to be used in repeated measures studies in low-resource areas. It measures the impact of different wheelchair types on physical performance in commonly encountered rolling environments and provides an opportunity for qualitative and quantitative participant response. This study sought to confirm the ability of the AWMT to discern differences in mobility because of wheelchair design. Method Participants were wheelchair users at a boarding school for students with disabilities in a low-resource area. Each participant completed timed tests on measured tracks on rough and smooth surfaces, in tight spaces and over curbs. Four types of wheelchairs designed for use in low-resource areas were included. Results The protocol demonstrated the ability to discriminate changes in mobility of individuals because of wheelchair type. Conclusion Comparative effectiveness studies with this protocol can enable beneficial change. This is illustrated by design alterations by wheelchair manufacturers in response to results.


Terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) images provide assessment of geomorphic surfaces at a centimeter scale, but for quantitative analysis require an understanding of the uncertainty budget and the limit of image resolution. We conducted two experiments to assess contributions of instrumental, georeferencing, and surface modeling methods to the uncertainty budget and to establish the relation between reference network uncertainty and the repeatability and resolution of imaged natural surfaces. Combinations of Riegl LMS-Z620 and LPM-800HA instruments were used to image fault scarps and erosional ravines in Panamint Valley and the San Gabriel Mountains of California (USA), respectively. In both experiments, a control network of reflectors was surveyed using total station (TS) and georeferenced with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) in real time kinematic (RTK) and static (S) modes in the first and second experiment, respectively. For successive scans, we tested the impact of using a fixed network of control reflectors and scan positions versus using variable scan positions in a fixed reflector network and variable scan and reflector network configurations. The geometry of the reflector network in both experiments was established using a TS to within ±0.005 m and in addition to ±0.006 m using S-GNSS occupations during the second experiment. TLS repeatability in a local frame is ±0.028 m, with uncertainty increasing to ±0.032 m and ±0.038 m using S-GNSS and RTK-GNSS, respectively. Point-cloud interpolation, where vegetation effects were mitigated, contributed ±0.01 m to the total error budget. We document that the combined uncertainty for the reference network and surface interpolation represents the repeatability of an imaged natural surface.


The current study was to investigate whether embryo or fetal fibroblast cells treated with 5-aza-2'-deoxyctidine (5-aza-dC) have a positive effect on the in vitro development of porcine parthenogenetic and cloned embryos. To this end, porcine fetal fibroblast cells were treated with different concentrations (5 nM, 50 nM and 500 nM) of 5-aza-dC for different exposure times (1, 6 and 20 hours), the results showed that DNA methylation in PRE-1 SINE region was gradually reduced over time in cells treated with 5-aza-dC. To determine the effect of 5-aza-dC on in vitro development of porcine activated oocytes, the parthenogenetic embryo was treated with 5-aza- dC. Notably, treatment with 5 nM 5-aza-dC for 1 hour led to a significant improvement in blastocyst development, compared with the control group. The effects of donor cell treatment with 5-aza-dC on porcine cloned embryos development were further examined by treating fetal fibroblast cells with various concentrations (5 nM, 50 nM and 500 nM) of 5-aza-dC for different exposure times (1, 6 and 20 hours). Exposure of cells in 5 nM 5-aza-dC for 1 - 20 hours led to a significant improvement in the percentage of developed blastocysts, while treatment with 500 nM 5-aza-dC did not affect blastocyst development, compared to untreated controls. These findings indicate that treatment of fetal fibro-blast cells with relatively low concentrations of 5-aza-dC for short exposure times improves subsequent blastocyst development of porcine cloned embryos.


An unnecessary and unfortunate divide has existed historically within social work both in the United States and also in the United Kingdom between social reform or anti-oppressive practice, and direct social work practice or social care. In this article, the limitations of such a dichotomy will be explored, and ways that social work educators may more effectively integrate critical reflection approaches into their pedagogical practices will be identified. Building upon Denzin's methodological elaboration of C. Wright Mills' concept of private troubles–public issues, this article will discuss the usefulness of applying methods from critical, interpretive qualitative research to help social workers achieve critical consciousness in social work education and practice. This article will also address ways to help social work students overcome impediments to achieving critical consciousness, including the anxiety attendant upon changing one's belief systems. Finally, this article will describe the development of a concentration-year MSW elective, Transformative Social Work Practice, which sought to assist social work students in becoming more critically reflexive in their clinical work.


The goal of our study is development of a "tactile mirror" for displaying tactile perception information. A point of distinctive difference between a tactile mirror and conventional tactile displays is that a tactile mirror possesses a feedback mechanism for acquiring the contact state information on the finger pad concerning not force but tactile perception sensation. The primary development concerns human static friction sensation. First, a control method and the structure of a tactile mirror are described. Second, simulation results using FEM for contact analysis and a ANN(artificial neural network) for generating feedback signals are shown. Finally, experiments demonstrating that providing a feedback component accomplish accurate display of static friction sensation with a conventional type of tactile displays.


Dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) is an important polar aprotic solvent, less toxic than other members of this class. Because of its excellent solvating power, DMSO is frequently used as solvent for chemical reactions involving salts, especially Finkelstein reactions and other nucleophilic substitutions. Furthermore, DMSO is used as auxiliary substance in toxicity tests on aquatic organisms, usually at concentrations of 0.2 and 0.5 ml·l -1 . The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of DMSO on early development, growth and mortality of early life stages in common carp. Tests were performed from fertilized egg to the end of the larval period with continuous exposure to DMSO at concentrations of 0.2, 0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 ml·l-1. Mortality of embryos and larvae, intensity of development and growth, weight and occurrence of abnormalities were analyzed. DMSO exposure at all the tested concentrations did not result in any lethal effects or abnormalities compared to the control over the entire test period (29 days). Growth indicators were similar in DMSO treated (at concentrations of 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 ml·l-1) and control groups. However, mean body weight (35 ± 9 mg) of larvae exposed to the highest DMSO concentration


Recent numerical models may provide a clearer understanding of the forces that shape planetary systems. The Sun's rocky planets come in a range of sizes. Mercury weighs in at barely 5% of Earth's mass, perhaps because it formed under harsh conditions close to the Sun. Venus is similar in size to our own planet. However, the modest mass of Mars is perplexing. Current theories for planet formation can explain the gross features of the solar system, such as the dichotomy between its rocky and gas-rich planets, but there is no consensus on why Mars is almost a tenth the mass of Earth and Venus. Now, simulations by Izidoro et al. (1) show that Mars' small size may date back to a partial gap in the solar nebula, the cloud of gas surrounding the young Sun.


In this article we present two logics of water efficiency: that of the Water Footprint and that of mango smallholder farmers on the desert coast of Peru (in Motupe). We do so in order to explore how both can learn from each other and to discuss what happens when the two logics meet. Rather than treating the Water Footprint as scientific, in the sense that it is separate from traditions or politics, and Motupe poza irrigation as cultural and, therefore, thick with local beliefs and superstitions, we describe both as consisting of intricate entanglements of knowledge and culture. This produces a more or less level playing field for the two water logics to meet and for proponents of each to enter into a conversation with one another; allowing furthermore for the identification of what Water Footprint inventors and promotors can learn from poza irrigators, and vice versa. The article concludes that important water wisdom may get lost when the Water Footprint logic becomes dominant, as is currently about to happen in Peru.


In the New England Journal of Medicine, Longo and Drazen critically assessed the concept of data sharing. Their main concern is that a "new class of research person will emerge" that uses data, which were gathered by other researchers, for their own original research questions. The authors referred to this class of researcher as "research parasites". Longo and Drazen are right when they note that scientific data sharing deserves more recognition. However, they indicate that the most adequate form of recognition for data sharing is coauthorship. They suggest to work "symbiotically, rather than parasitically, with the investigators holding the data, moving the field forward in a way that neither group could have done on its own." Although this is true in particular cases, co-authorship as the sole instrument of credit will unnecessarily restrict the potential of data sharing. More suitable instruments for giving credit where credit is due would be a much greater appreciation of data sharing by research communities by introducing citations of data sets, bestowing awards for good datasets, and considering data "production" when assessing scientists' career prospects, funding applications, and research outputs.


Maleic anhydride was explored as a substitute for acrylic acid to synthesize cinnamic acids from aryl halides under heterogeneous palladium catalyzed conditions. The combined role of surface and impregnated catalyst together performed an upright engineering to hold in situ generated molecules on the surface and subsequently facilitate their interaction for the desired product synthesis. Overall, a surface mediated approach for cinnamic acid synthesis from maleic anhydride following a major unexplored pathway through catalyst promoted decarboxylation was critically investigated.


Obesity is a worldwide epidemic that leads to several non-communicable illnesses, including chronic kidney disease (CKD). Diet and lifestyle modifications have shown a limited impact in the treatment of obesity. Because the group of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients examined in this study had limited access to kidney transplantation (KT), patients with obesity were thought to be at an increased risk of intraoperative and postoperative KT complications. Although bariatric surgery (BS) is now recognized as the gold standard treatment for morbid obesity, its role in ESRD or kidney transplant patients remains unknown. It is critical to know the correlation between weight loss and complications before and after KT, the impact of the overall graft, and patients' survival. Hence, this narrative review aims to present updated reports addressing when to perform surgery (before or after a KT), which surgical procedure to perform, and again, if strategies to avoid weight regain must be specific for these patients. It also analyzes the metabolic alterations produced by BS and studies its cost-effectiveness pre- and post-transplantation. Due to the better outcomes found in KT recipients, the authors consider it more convenient to perform BS before KT. However, more multicenter trials are required to provide a solid foundation for these recommendations in ERSD patients with obesity.


The purpose of this paper is to discuss the process of analysing online discussion and to argue for the merits of mixed methods. Much research of online participation and elearning has been either message focused or person focused. The former covers methodologies such as content and discourse analysis, the latter interviewing and surveys. The paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches in the context of a study of an online social educational network for gifted students. The design of this study included the use of content analysis, visualisation diagrams, interviews and questionnaire survey in order to understand the nature of online discussion and the experience of taking part. It was found that the message focused analysis provided insight into participation and interaction patterns whereas the surveys and interviews enabled access to members' preferences and attitudes. The contribution of the paper is to argue for a mixed approach in which different types of data can be compared and contrasted. While the use of mixed methods in social research in general has long been suggested, its adoption in the field of online learning is yet to be widely established, possibly due to its time consuming and demanding nature. Despite these constraints, a mixed methods approach is advocated as it allows for a comprehensive picture of the use of the network and the experience of online


Because little information on genetic relationships of morphological and physiological traits of tropical maize is available, the inheritance of grain yield (GY), plant height (PH), ear height (EH), silking days (SD), plant leaf area (LA), lodging (Ldg), yield efficiency (YE), and grain moisture content at harvest (m%) and correlations among those traits were determined for two open-pollinated commercial cultivars that contrasted in morphological and physiological traits. 256 S1 lines were extracted in each population and evaluated at three locations in the area of adaptation of each cultivar in southeastern Zaire. Genetic and non-genetic variances and covariance components were separated, and genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficients and heritabilities of traits were estimated. High heritabillties ( > 50%) were observed for most of the traits studied, suggesting that they would respond to selection pressure. The results also suggest that selections based on single traits, either PH, GY or YE, would produce different results in different populations depending on genetic associations of the traits. Caution must be exercised, therefore, with short tropical maize cultivars to prevent I.A, PH, EH, and m% from increasing because they are positively associated with GY and YE.


Culture in the digital environment, after a drastic reduction in the cost of storage and editing, allowed remixing and faster sharing than in the analog age. The result of this new content is no longer published or presented through traditional forms known in the analog era. The old gatekeepers are no longer gatekeepers. Thus, copyright, once valid, conflicts with the dynamics of the digital culture. Digital Rights Management, used by a company as a tool, is an option to control and to guarantee economic interests. How can it become sustainable in order to create, to consume, to publish and to share multimedia content in this landscape?


Background: medical errors as a problematic fact in healthcare systems can increase patient's safety if reported. This article tried to determine several factors associated with not reporting medical errors from medical team's points of view. Methods: 300 staff working in different parts of educational hospitals affiliated to Jahrom University of Medical Sciences including nursing, midwifery, paramedical and medical groups participated in this descriptive study using census method (2013). Data collection was performed using a researcher-made questionnaire including 31 items regarding four areas: medical teams, managers, errors and patients. Results: The mean score of factors related to errors, mangers, medical teams, and patients' scope was 2.68 ± 0.79, 2.63 ± 0.72, 2.53 ± 0.66, 2.41 ± 0.87, respectively. In medical teams' points of view, errors and managers were among the important factors for not reporting professional errors. The most important factors in professional errors were related to severity and emergency of errors (2.73 ± 0.97), and managers' focus on wrongdoers instead of noticing systematic factors of errors (3.00 ± 1.01). In medical teams, fear of legal prosecution by patients or their relatives (2.87 ± .97), and in patients, unawareness of errors (2.67 ± 1.08) was reported as the most effective factors. Conclusion: Factors related to errors and managers were more important than other reasons. Therefore, educating medical teams on recognizing errors and managers' proper reactions in case of occurring or reporting errors seem to be necessary.


A collective of three intergenerational and intersectional educators engage in anti-colonial and/or decolonial processes of composting colonial distortions through Land-based conceptualizations of Critical Family History. Engaging in spiral discourse through Critical Personal Narratives, the authors theorize critical family history, Land-based learning, and Indigenous decolonial and anti-settler colonial frameworks. Using a process of unsettling reflexivity to analyze and interrupt settler colonial logics, the authors share their storied journeys, lessons learned and limitations for the cultivation of Critical Land-based Family History.


This paper proposes a new econometric model for the estimation of optimal hedge ratios (HRs): the Kalman filter error-correction model (KF–ECM). When we construct a hedging model involving a stock index and its futures, the KF state-space model is used to extract the single best latent common trend between the stock index and its futures. After the best common trend has been obtained, we substitute it into an ECM to estimate the HR; therefore, the KF–ECM combines the merits of error correction and state-space hedge models. This paper uses daily data from the Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index and its futures from July 21, 1998 to March 27, 2019 to evaluate the hedging performance of the KF–ECM. The study uses a hedging effectiveness (HE) index to compare the performance of the KF–ECM with that of other hedging models, including ordinary least squares, generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity and cointegrating ECMs. The empirical results of testing both in-sample and out-of-sample data show the KF–ECM to be more effective than other hedging models. The results also demonstrate that, regardless of the financial crisis, the HE of the KF–ECM remains the highest among all the models.


We are formulating design guidelines for a knowledge system that is to provide answers to queries in context. Thus a query that starts out being very vague is to be sharpened with the assistance of the system. Also, the response to a query is more meaningful when presented in context. We recognize three types of context: essential, reference, and source. Essential context associates the response to a query with a time and place. Reference context provides reference values that help the user determine whether the response to a fuzzy query, is true or false. Source context relates to the dependability of the response.


Since the 1950s, different water management associations characterised by voluntariness are taking part in the Swedish water administration. Certain conditions prevail regarding the co-ordinated recipient monitoring and due to the Act on water associations. The act strictly regulates the purpose with this kind of association; to promote appropriate utilisation of watercourses. Those actors given prior authorisation for environmentally hazardous activities concerning the waters in the area must join in, as well as those operators that affect the waters considerably. Municipalities are free to become members - but public participation from NGOs and users is not provided for. The act needs revision to make the associations operative within the new administrative system that the EC framework directive calls for.


Tourism is traveling for recreational, leisure, or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization describes tourists as people who "visit places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes". Tourism is vital for many countries and many island nations due to the large revenues for businesses with the opportunity for employment in the industries associated with tourism. Over time, an ever increasing number of destinations have opened up and invested in tourism development, turning modern tourism into a key driver for socio-economic progress through the creation of jobs and enterprises, infrastructure development and the export revenues earned. United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2010) reports that tourism has experienced continued expansion and diversification over the past six decades, to become one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world. Over this period, several new destinations and variants of tourism have emerged. Some of these variants include agrotourism, food or culinary tourism, educational tourism, sports tourism and several others. Despite the world economic meltdown in the past few years, the UNWTO 2020 tourism forecast projects continuous growth in world tourism. UNWTO projects 282 million arrivals to the Americas and this suggest great opportunity for economic growth that would be provided by the expected demand from tourism. Telfer and Wall (1996) showed the competition between tourism and food production to include land, labor and capital symbiosis where both sectors mutually benefit from each other. United States Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (2011) reports that the tourist industry in the Caribbean is growing. The growth has created an increased demand for food which the region has not been able to meet and subsequently increased US food export to the Caribbean to capture tourists' revenues. This paper suggests that an increase in food production will capture more tourism revenue in the region. The paper uses a two-stage linear model to estimate the relationship between value-added food production and tourism in the Caribbean. The results show a backward linkage between local food production and tourism in the region. The paper suggests policies that will encourage food production, value added food production and create agricultural tourism and culinary tourism, which are unique niches in the tourism industry.


OBJECTIVES: In the present study we investigated the changes in enzymatic activity of asparaginase (ASP), glutaminase (GLU), adenosine-deaminase (ADO-D), adenosin monophosphate phosphorylase-deaminase (AMP-D), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) in two types of Wallerian degeneration (WD) using experimental animal models. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two different mechanisms leading to Wallerian degeneration (WD) were studied: 1) mechanic nerve injury (axotomy) and 2) chemically induced neuropathy. The sciatic nerve was mechanically damaged (transection) in guinea pigs and chemic neuropathy was induced with the administration of tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) in hens. Sciatic nerve homogenates were then analyzed and changes in activities of enzymes were determined. RESULTS: Our results indicate dynamic biochemical alterations in enzymes activity associated with process of Wallerian degeneration. In distal stump, axotomy in general induced increase in enzymes activity in primary (GLU ∼2x) or secondary (AMP-D ∼6.8x, ADO-D ∼2.2x and ASP ∼3.1x) stage of WD. Only GLDH levels after initial upregulation in primary stage (∼1.3-1.7x) significantly decreased (∼2.6x) in secondary stage. In proximal stump of transected nerve only some enzymes were upregulated (ASP and AMP-D) other remained unchanged. In contrast, TOCP-induced toxic neuropathy showed significant uniform reduction in activity of all enzymes measured during the course of progression of events of nerve degradation. Excess in protein content in TOCP-induced neuropathy was also observed (∼4x). CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate dynamic changes in activity of enzymes in peripheral nerve after mechanical or chemical nerve injury. Chemical response to injury leading to WD is variable and seems to be unique for each individual trigger mechanism. Changes in activities of enzymes can contribute to the lesion-induced degenerative events and thus activate or delay the progression of the process. Cellular mechanism and role of individual enzymes in this process remains to be determined.


SQL injection attacks target databases of web servers. The ability to modify, update, retrieve and delete database contents imposes a high risk on any website in different sectors. In this paper, we investigate the efforts done in the literature to detect and prevent the SQL injection attacks. We also assess the efficiency of the Modsecurity web application firewall in preventing SQL injection attacks.


Background : Identifying the risk factors of recurrence of a disease is important both for physicians and patients. Analyzing the first recurrence may lead to an inaccurate evaluation of risk factors as it may not reflect the history of disease completely and may result in the loss of some valuable information. This study was aimed to analyze the time up to the recurrent relapses of schizophrenia as well as determining the risk factors that lead to the recurrence of the disease. Methods: In this study 159 registered schizophrenia patients at Razi hospital were selected from a longitudinal study. The effect of age, sex, marriage, start of disease, and history of head trauma variables on recurrence of disease was assessed by a frailty model. Data analysis was made on by R 2.14.1. Results: Mean of patients' age was 21.5±6.6 year. Based on the Gamma frailty model, sex of patients (p=0.045) and history of head trauma (p=0.028) had significant effect on the hazard of recurrent relapses of Schizophrenia. In addition, the correlation of first, second and third times of recurrence was significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Based on the dependency between relapses, treatment and follow-up actions are suggested within the first recurrence time.


Abstract : The main objective of this infrastructure project is to expand a population-based mammography registry to include every mammograms performed in a 24 county are of North Carolina, which has a large rural, and black population and link pathology data, mammography diagnostic data, outcome data and quality data to study the patterns or use of mammography, and the patterns of practice of mammography in this distinct geographic region. In the first year we have accomplished much. The application software has been improved with better documentation, reporting and query additions, and allowance for expansion. A module has been instituted that aids practices in meeting FDA/ MQSA guidelines. We have developed materials in support of the data system being used by our participating practices. An extensive quality control system is now in practice. We have instituted strict rules for guaranteeing confidentiality of all data and we are working with the state and the National Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium to find the best approach to protect our contributing radiologists, and the patient information from disclosure. We have enrolled 29 practices in 15 counties and and contacted all facilities in the 24 counties. We have linked up with the North Carolina Breast Cancer Study, (Breast Cancer SPORE), and the NCCCR are receiving all fast reported breast cancers in the 24 counties and are working with the NC Association of Tumor Registrars to create a mechanism for receiving all benign pathology data. In addition to all this activity, the creation of this infrastructure enabled us to successfully compete for funding by the National Cancer Institute to become part of the National Breast Cancer Consortium. This moves the project from local stature to national stature.


Construction of bicycles with bamboo frames has become an alternative to improve the quality of life of some communities, be friendly with the environment and be ecologically sustainable. However, the production of bike frames is made in an artisanal way and there are few antecedents that have proven their reliability. This work presents the evaluation and simulation of the mechanical behavior of bike frames made in bamboo. Three-points bending tests were performed using bamboo bars with similar dimensions to bike frames, and an equivalent elasticity modulus was determined and used as the input datum of a finite element model. A linear model material and beam elements were used to model the bike frame. Tests were performed using bike frames of bamboo applying loads greater than 7000 N, and the displacements were measured. The experimental displacements were used to calibrate the model, which consisted of modifying the rigidity of the connections until the displacements of the model fit near to 90%. The calibrated model was used for a fatigue simulation in order to predict the lifespan of the bike frame. Some technical values of bamboo bike frames were obtained so that these will allow them to define the technical characteristics of the product and guarantee their operating conditions.


SIR,-Drs L D Lewis and GM Cochrane (17 May, p 1289) are in disagreement with few physicians in their claim that oral prednisolone is the most satisfactory corticosteroid for chronic and severe asthma.' However, a few "problem asthmatics" remain symptomatic with poor spirometry in spite of 10 mg or more of prednisolone daily. Monthly intramuscular triamcinolone acetonide 80 mg was more effective than 10 mg of prednisolone daily in such patients in two controlled trials, and we suggested that it might be a useful therapeutic option.' 3 Sixteen ofthe 17 subjects who completed our original trial opted for subsequent treatment with triamcinolone acetonide, which was given together with high dose inhaled corticosteroids.4 We have now reviewed all 22 patients who took part in our trial 18 months after it finished. Ten are still on monthly triamcinolone acetonide (mean dose 45 mg, reduced from 80 mg) and inhaled corticosteroids (mean daily dose %7 gig, previously 400 gig). Mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV,) is unchanged (2 14 v 2-17 1), although further weight loss (mean 3-9 kg) has occurred. Symptomatic control of asthma is excellent in two, moderate in six, and moderate/poor in two. Four of the older patients have died. The remaining eight patients are now taking daily prednisolone (mean dose 7-1 mg, previously 10 mg) and inhaled corticosteroids (mean dose 1350 gig, previously 400 gig). Mean FEV, and weight are both unchanged (1-61 v 1-64 1, and 69-5 v 70 4 kg). Symptomatic control is excellent in one, moderate in four, and poor in three. Triamcinolone acetonide was stopped in one patient because ofheadache, in one because of the doctor's preference, and in six because of proximal myopathy, which developed 2-13 months after starting triamcinolone acetonide, with subsequent recovery 1-3 months after stopping treatment. During the past year these eight patients have required more booster courses of extra prednisolone for acute exacerbations than have those still taking triamcinolone acetonide (3 5 v 1-5 courses on average each). The relative potency of different corticosteroids remains a confusing and controversial subject and the comparison of studies in different species, target organs, or experimental assays is questionable. Triamcinolone acetonide may be 10-15 times more potent than prednisolone in the adrenalectomised rat, a "steroid sensitive" model,' but this may have little relevance to man, who is relatively "steroid resistant." In fact, triamcinolone acetonide 80 mg monthly and oral prednisolone 10 mg daily produce very similar degrees ofhuman adrenal suppression.2' Before we started our trial one ofus (AS) had the clinical impression that about half such problem asthmatics might respond to triamcinolone acetonide without sufficient side effects to force discontinuation. Moreover, the most serious side effect, muscle weakness, is easily detectable and reversible on stopping the drug. These impressions have been substantiated by our study.3 Chest physicians are often faced with the problem of managing asthmatics who remain disabled by their disease in spite of substantial doses of prednisolone. The tone of your leading article was such as to discourage the search for alternative therapy, both in the individual and as a research objective. Triamcinolone acetonide may not be the whole answer, but to dismiss it completely is to do a disservice to many asthmatic patients.


BACKGROUND: The cricopharyngeal muscle is of the skeletal type and, in this way, unable to sustain continuous contraction for long periods. Despite of this it has been considered as the responsible by the high pressure area, registered by manometry into the pharyngoesophageal transition. For this reason, it has been the object of therapeutics that promote the rupture of its integrity. AIMS: To give the anatomical bases to define the limits of participation of the cricopharyngeal muscle in the pharyngoesophageal transition function. To consider a morphological and functional alternative to explain the high pressure area on pharyngoesophageal transition and the implications of the myotomy, use of the botulinum toxin and balloon dilatation on pharyngoesophageal transition function. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Study of the laryngopharyngeal region in their morphologic characteristics and relationships on 24 pieces obtained from adults' corpses of both sexes fixed in 10% formaldehyde solution. RESULTS: The cricopharyngeal muscle presenting its anterior-lateral insertion, with a C-shaped outline, on the posterior-lateral edge of the cricoid cartilage. This kind of morphology blocks the possibility to generate a predominant anterior and posterior high pressure during its contraction like that we find at the pharyngoesophageal transition. The observation of this kind of pressure has its explanation in a tweezers-like relationship exerted on one side by the vertebral body and on the other side by the posterior contour of the cricoid cartilage. CONCLUSIONS: The muscular organization of the laryngopharyngeal segment allowed us to sustain that a large myotomy of the pharyngoesophageal transition, that takes more than just the cricopharyngeal transversal fasciculus, hinders the ejection function in a region where the dimension do not need any parietal sectioning. Myotomy that encompasses only the transversal fasciculus can contribute to improve the pharyngoesophageal flux by a decrease of the local resistance. The efficiency of this myotomy depends mostly on some residual pharyngeal ejection force and also on a slight hyolaryngeal displacement. The transversal fasciculus of the cricopharyngeal muscle is a narrow strip of muscular mass to be injected by percutaneous way with solution of botulinum toxin; maybe endoscopically. For this reason, dose, dilution and injection sites have an important meaning in the cricopharyngeal therapeutics using botulinum toxin. The efficiency of this procedure, like myotomy, depends on some residual pharyngeal ejection force and on, at least, some hyolaryngeal displacement. The dilation of the pharyngoesophageal transition with pneumatic balloon does not seem to be an adequate procedure for a region that does not present a narrow lumen determined by fibrosis. For anatomical characteristics of the TFE region, mean pressure as registered by the manometric method does not evaluate either the effectiveness or inadequacy of surgical myotomy, denervation or dilation using pneumatic balloon.


Abstract Objective To assess the effects of Helicobacter pylori treatment, vitamin supplementation, and garlic supplementation in the prevention of gastric cancer. Design Blinded randomized placebo controlled trial. Setting Linqu County, Shandong province, China. Participants 3365 residents of a high risk region for gastric cancer. 2258 participants seropositive for antibodies to H pylori were randomly assigned to H pylori treatment, vitamin supplementation, garlic supplementation, or their placebos in a 2×2×2 factorial design, and 1107 H pylori seronegative participants were randomly assigned to vitamin supplementation, garlic supplementation, or their placebos in a 2×2 factorial design. Interventions H pylori treatment with amoxicillin and omeprazole for two weeks; vitamin (C, E, and selenium) and garlic (extract and oil) supplementation for 7.3 years (1995-2003). Main outcome measures Primary outcomes were cumulative incidence of gastric cancer identified through scheduled gastroscopies and active clinical follow-up through 2017, and deaths due to gastric cancer ascertained from death certificates and hospital records. Secondary outcomes were associations with other cause specific deaths, including cancers or cardiovascular disease. Results 151 incident cases of gastric cancer and 94 deaths from gastric cancer were identified during 1995-2017. A protective effect of H pylori treatment on gastric cancer incidence persisted 22 years post-intervention (odds ratio 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.32 to 0.71). Incidence decreased significantly with vitamin supplementation but not with garlic supplementation (0.64, 0.46 to 0.91 and 0.81, 0.57 to 1.13, respectively). All three interventions showed significant reductions in gastric cancer mortality: fully adjusted hazard ratio for H pylori treatment was 0.62 (95% confidence interval 0.39 to 0.99), for vitamin supplementation was 0.48 (0.31 to 0.75), and for garlic supplementation was 0.66 (0.43 to 1.00). Effects of H pylori treatment on both gastric cancer incidence and mortality and of vitamin supplementation on gastric cancer mortality appeared early, but the effects of vitamin supplementation on gastric cancer incidence and of garlic supplementation only appeared later. No statistically significant associations were found between interventions and other cancers or cardiovascular disease. Conclusions H pylori treatment for two weeks and vitamin or garlic supplementation for seven years were associated with a statistically significant reduced risk of death due to gastric cancer for more than 22 years. H pylori treatment and vitamin supplementation were also associated with a statistically significantly reduced incidence of gastric cancer. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00339768.


Ultra High Temperature #1, initiated by Rebecca Bibby forms the first in an ongoing project which explores the realms of collaboration, performance, writing and publication as artistic vehicle of production, dispersion and progression. With Bibby's text -that re-fictions the futuristic projections of technosexuality in Metropolis (1927)- at its core was launched, printed, compiled and distributed in a live performance by POLLYFIBRE at Eastside Projects in Birmingham. The limited edition printed publication was designed by An Endless Supply whose Risograph stencil printer was used as an instrument in the performed production of the text. As a crude avatar of Rebecca Bibby's practice, Aikon-II, a mechanically programmed signature machine automatically signed each copy of the text during the performance. POLLYFIBRE's 'flat-pack' costumes were on display throughout the duration of the exhibition.

POLLYFIBRE is a performance project created by Christine Ellison.


The electrochemical treatment of dye solution containing C.I. Direct Red 23 (DR23) has been studied under recirculation mode with an UV irradiation of 15 W. Decolorization experiments were performed in the presence of sulfate electrolyte media at pH 3.0 with carbon nanotube‐polytetrafluoroethylene (CNT‐PTFE) electrode as cathode. A comparison of electro‐Fenton (EF) and photoelectro‐Fenton (PEF) processes was carried out for decolorization of DR23 solution. Color removal efficiency was 66.22% and 94.29% for EF and PEF processes after 60 min treatment of 30 mg/L DR23, respectively. The effect of operational parameters on the PEF process such as applied current, initial pH, flow rate, initial Fe3+ concentration and initial dye concentration was investigated. Results indicated that the optimal conditions for decolorization process were applied current of 0.2 A, flow rate of 10 L/h, pH = 3, initial Fe3+ concentration of 0.05 mM and initial dye concentration of 10 mg/L. An artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed to predict the decolorization of DR23 solution, which provided reasonable predictive performance (R2 = 0.958). © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 557–563, 2013


Qualitative dynamics of three different loop quantizations of spatially flat isotropic and homogeneous models is studied using effective spacetime description of the underlying quantum geometry. These include the standard loop quantum cosmology (LQC), its recently revived modification (referred to as mLQC-I), and another related modification of LQC (mLQC-II) whose dynamics is studied in detail for the first time. Various features of LQC, including quantum bounce and pre-inflationary dynamics, are found to be shared with the mLQC-I and mLQC-II models. We study universal properties of dynamics for chaotic inflation, fractional monodromy inflation, Starobinsky potential, non-minimal Higgs inflation, and an exponential potential. We find various critical points and study their stability, which reveal various qualitative similarities in the post-bounce phase for all these models. The pre-bounce qualitative dynamics of LQC and mLQC-II turns out to be very similar, but is strikingly different from that of mLQC-I. In the dynamical analysis, some of the fixed points turn out to be degenerate for which center manifold theory is used. For all these potentials, non-perturbative quantum gravitational effects always result in a non-singular inflationary scenario with a phase of super-inflation succeeded by the conventional inflation. We show the existence of inflationary attractors, and obtain scaling solutions in the case of the exponential potential. Since all of the models agree with general relativity at late times, our results are also of use in classical theory where qualitative dynamics of some of the potentials has not been studied earlier.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Neonates are less responsive to vaccines than adults, making it harder to protect newborns against infection. Neonatal differences in antigen-presenting cell, B and T cell function, all likely contribute. A key question is whether novel adjuvants might be able to make neonatal vaccines more effective. Areas covered: This review addresses the issues of how to improve neonatal vaccines, which we have defined as vaccines given in the first 4 weeks of life in a human infant or the first week of life in a mouse. A search was performed using keywords including 'neonatal immunity', 'neonatal immunisation', 'vaccine' and 'adjuvant' of PubMed articles published between 1960 and 2018. Expert opinion: Sugar-like structures have recently been shown to prime the infant adaptive immune system to respond to vaccines, being potentially more effective than traditional adjuvants. Sugar-based compounds with beneficial adjuvant effects in neonatal vaccine models include delta inulin (Advax), curdlan, and trehalose 6,6ʹ-dibehenate. Such compounds make interesting neonatal adjuvant candidates, either used alone or in combination with traditional innate immune adjuvants.


Ceres is a large water-rich dwarf planet located within the asteroid belt. Its surface displays evidence of material sourced from a deep subsurface liquid brine layer within recent geologic time, making it a candidate ocean world with possible present-day activity. However, Ceres lacks a substantial atmosphere and likely does not possess a global magnetic field. Therefore, any material emplaced or exposed on the surface will be subject to weathering by charged particles of solar and galactic origin. We have evaluated the effect of charged particle radiation on material within the near-surface of Ceres and find that the timescale for radiation-induced modification and destruction of organics and endogenic material is ∼100 Myr to 1 Gyr within the top 10-20 cm of the surface. Furthermore, we find that the timescale for sterilization of any putative living organisms contained within material at these depths is <500 kyr. Future missions to the surface may therefore consider targeting regions with geologic ages that fall between these two timescales to avoid the risk of backward contamination while ensuring that sampled material is not heavily radiation processed.


This thesis is built on three papers considering different problems in inventory control. The first paper considers a two-location newsboy model with the possibility of making lateral transshipments when needed. Usually, when considering newsboy models it is assumed that all demand in a period occurs at once. In our model we divide the period into a number of sub-periods, and we assume that there can be demand and transshipments in every sub-period. Furthermore, units can be discarded in each sub-period. This means that the optimal transshipment policy, for instance, varies over time. It means also, that units can be discarded before the end of the period. We provide both an exact solution and an approximate solution to the problem. The exact solution can be implemented if the state space is not too large, while the approximation is preferable when the problem becomes more complex. Our second paper considers a perishable items model with a single product and a single stock location with Poisson demand. The replenishment lead-time from the external supplier is constant. The lifetime is also constant, and aging is assumed to begin when the order is placed. When the age of a unit has reached the end of its lifetime, the unit is useless and thus discarded from the system. The replenishment policy is assumed to be an order-up-to S policy. Demand that cannot be met immediately is backordered. We consider three different models where the service requirements are represented by: 1) a backorder cost per unit, 2) a service level constraint, 3) a backorder cost per unit and time unit. Model 1 and 2 are solved exactly, while an approximation is developed for model 3. We show the results from a paper by Schmidt and Nahmias (1985) can be used to solve the considered problems. Their model differs from ours in that they assume lost sales instead of backordering. The lost sales assumption implies that there will always be exactly S units in the system. Our results are compared to the results in a related paper by Chiu (1995). The third and last paper considers a two-echelon distribution inventory system with a central warehouse and a number of retailers. There is direct customer demand at the warehouse. If this upstream demand requires a high service, it may be advantageous to give higher priority to costumer orders compared to retailer replenishments. We suggest and evaluate techniques for handling this situation. One technique means that we have an extra separate stock for the direct costumer demand at the warehouse. Another technique means that we apply a so-called critical level policy at the warehouse, i.e., if the stock on hand at the warehouse is less than or equal to the critical level, retailer replenishments are backordered. (Less)


Studies and design of Information Technology support for workplaces, especially workshop floors and office floors, have a strong tradition in Scandinavia, involving workplace users and their trade unions and other stakeholders. The projects emphasized the active co-operation between researchers and workers of the organization to help improve their work situation. While researchers got their results, the people that they worked with were equally entitled to get something out of the projects. Since then the obvious idea to involve the users as early as possible in systems and interface design, using low and high tech prototypes, has become a standard to which most developers pay at least lip service. That it is not necessarily followed in practice is usually because of time constraints and lack of insight rather than reluctance, but there are also inherent difficulties.This tradition is put into perspective, starting with the roots in Norway in the early 1970s, highlighting the seminal UTOPIA project, led by Pelle Ehn 1981–86, and its off-springs all the way up to UsersAward, KLIV and other Scandinavian workplace projects of today. We analyse changes in design and use context, from social and technical aspects, over three decades. In the early 1970s computer technology and use in Scandinavia was dominated by mainframes in "computer centres", guarded by technicians in white frocks, with text input and output, and rudimentary communication between the installations. Few were aware of the future, broad and powerful use of computers that was being formed in laboratories, especially in California. Today computer use and interaction possibilities are changing quickly, while usecontexts and application types are radically broadening. Technology no longerconsists of static tools belonging only to the workplace, but permeates work on the move, in homes and everyday lives. Pervasive technologies, augmented reality, small interfaces, tangible interfaces, etc. are dramatically changing the nature of HCI (human-computer interaction) and its possibilities for workplace settings. We witness the creation of ad-hoc configurations of large and small user interfaces. The new interfaces are moveable and used in changing locations and contexts; different tasks are done through a combination of specialized technologies. A wider repertoire of physical devices is available than just the keyboard, the screen and the mouse. The Scandinavian tradition of user involvement in development is facing up with the challenges of new contexts. Here we will concentrate on work contexts.


This study is performed to examine the effect of Cash Ratio, Debt Ratio, and Return of Investment (ROI) toward Dividend Payout Ratio (DPR) in PMA and PMDN companies that is listed in BEJ. The objective of this study is to scale and analyze the effect of the company financial ratios performance (Cash Ratio, Debt Ratio, and Return of Investment) toward DPR in PMA and PMDN companies that is listed in BEJ.
Sampling technique used here is purposive sampling on criterion (1) the company that trade their stocks in Bursa Efek Jakarta; (2) the company that represents their financial report per December 2000-2002; and (3) the company that continually share their dividend per December 2000-2002. The data is obtained based on Indonesian Capital Market Directory (ICMD 2003) publication. It is gained sample amount of 52 companies from 330 companies those are listed in BEJ. The analysis technique used here is multiple regression with the least square difference and hypothesis test using t-statistic to examine partial regression coefficient and f-statistic to examine the mean of mutual effect with level of significance 5%. hi addition, classical assumption is also performed including normality test, multicolinearity test, heteroscedasticity test and autocorrelation test. While to examine the difference in dividend policy in PMA and PMDN companies those are listed in BEJ using Chow Test.
Based on the study result, it is found that there is no deviate variable from classical assumption, it shows that available data is in condition to perform multiple linear regression equation model From the analysis result, it indicates that Cash Ratio, Debt Ratio, and Return of Investment (ROI) data partially significant toward DPR of the company in BEJ on 2000-2002 period on the level of significance less than 5% (each 0,2%, 4,8%, and 4,7%), while simultaneously (Cash Ratio, Debt Ratio, and ROI) proof significantly influent DPR in BEJ in the level less than 5%. Predictable of the three variables toward DPR is 46,2% as indicated by adjusted R square that is 46,2% while the rest 53,8% is affected by other factors is not included into the study model While Chow Test result indicates the difference in determining dividend policy PMA company in order to strengthen its position in the market by business widespread, while PMDN company is to strengthen its financial position by obligation restructured.


The author substantiated a new model of the right to a domain name, proceeding from the established legal nature and essence of this right. It is proposed to endow the owner of the domain name with a property right of an absolute nature, which is limited in the event of full or partial coincidence with the trademark, service mark or company name, by the term and conditions of the agreement with the registrar.


There is currently great interest in the very large values of the positron annihilation rate that have been observed in low-energy positron scattering by some molecules. The annihilation rate is proportional to , the effective number of electrons in the target available to the positron for annihilation. These very high rates and associated values of have been observed experimentally to occur at energies just below the energies of excited vibrational states of the molecule concerned. This has been explained by Gribakin [Phys. Rev. A Vol. 61 (2000), p. 022720] and Gribakin and Lee [Phys. Rev. Lett. Vol. 97 (2006), p. 193201] as being due to Feshbach resonances involving excited quasi-bound vibrational states. Their explanation is partly phenomenological. In this paper, I describe the results of an ab initio treatment of this resonant behaviour in the case of the scattering of a heavy 'positron' by , using the Kohn variational method.


Abstract: Tritium‐labeled hemicholinium‐3 ([3H]HC‐3) was used to characterize the sodium‐dependent high‐affinity choline carrier sites in rat striatal preparations. In an earlier study, we had shown that [3H]HC‐3 labels choline carrier sites with high and low affinities and had suggested that the low‐affinity sites represent "functional" carrier sites. The objective of the present study was to examine the mechanisms involved in the regulation of the two affinity states of [3H]HC‐3 binding. Here, we demonstrate that these two affinity states are totally interconvertible; addition of 0.1 mM ATP in the binding assay medium quantitatively converted all the binding sites to the low‐affinity state, whereas addition of 1 mM β,γ‐methylene 5′‐ATP quantitatively converted all the binding sites to the high‐affinity state. Preincubation of the tissue (for 15 min at 37°C) before the binding assay also converted the binding sites to the high‐affinity state, whereas supplementation of the assay medium with ATP (0.5 mM) again induced expression of the low‐affinity state of the binding sites. This effect of ATP was found to be selective for this nucleotide. Neither ADP (1 mM) nor cyclic AMP could mimic such an effect. Other nucleotide triphosphates–CTP (0.5 mM) and GTP (0.5 mM)–also could not substitute for ATP. GTP, however, caused nearly a 35% reduction in the number of binding sites, accompanying a loss of the low‐affinity component of binding. This effect of GTP was also shared by 5′‐guanylyl‐imidodiphosphate but not by GDP or cyclic GMP. This ATPdependent low‐affinity conversion of [3H]HC‐3 binding sites requires divalent metal ions. Tissue treated with EDTA did not elicit the ATP effect; however, the sensitivity to ATP could be restored fully by supplementation with Ca2+ and Mg2+. Neither a Ca2+/phospholipid‐dependent protein kinase inhibitor (staurosporin) nor Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase inhibitors (trifluoperazine and W‐7) blocked the Ca2+‐dependent ATP‐induced low‐affinity conversion of [3H]HC‐3 binding sites. The low‐affinity conversion could, however, be blocked by gossypol, an agent shown previously to be an inhibitor of certain calcium‐dependent protein kinases. In a similar concentration range, gossypol also inhibited synaptosomal [14C]choline uptake. Staurosporin was inactive as a choline uptake inhibitor, whereas calmodulin antagonists potently inhibited choline uptake with the rank order of calmidazolium > pimozide > trifluoperazine > W‐7 > W‐13 > W‐5 > W‐12. We suggest that the Ca2+‐dependent ATP‐mediated modification of choline carrier sites is important in the activation of the choline carrier. The sensitivity of the synaptosomal choline uptake system to calmodulin inhibitors and the relative insensitivity of [3H]HC‐3 binding parameters to these agents suggest that calmodulin‐dependent regulation of choline uptake is mediated through a site other than [3H]HC‐3 recognition sites or through a certain modification of the carrier sites that is not reflected in the binding site parameters tested.


Abstract A self‐powered artificial mechanoreceptor module is demonstrated with a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) as a pressure sensor with sustainable energy harvesting and a biristor as a neuron. By mimicking a biological mechanoreceptor, it simultaneously detects the pressure and encodes spike signals to act as an input neuron of a spiking neural network (SNN). A self‐powered neuromorphic tactile system composed of artificial mechanoreceptor modules with an energy harvester can greatly reduce the power consumption compared to the conventional tactile system based on von Neumann computing, as the artificial mechanoreceptor module itself does not demand an external energy source and information is transmitted with spikes in a SNN. In addition, the system can detect low pressures near 3 kPa due to the high output range of the TENG. It therefore can be advantageously applied to robotics, prosthetics, and medical and healthcare devices, which demand low energy consumption and low‐pressure detection levels. For practical applications of the neuromorphic tactile system, classification of handwritten digits is demonstrated with a software‐based simulation. Furthermore, a fully hardware‐based breath‐monitoring system is implemented using artificial mechanoreceptor modules capable of detecting wind pressure of exhalation in the case of pulmonary respiration and bending pressure in the case of abdominal breathing.


In some coastal areas in Sweden water shortage sometimes appears because the withdrawal of groundwater is greater than the groundwater recharge. It creates a situation where the available groundwater is insufficient to support residents and businesses with drinking water. The high withdrawal of groundwater also creates a risk for saltwater intrusion to drinking water wells. The problem most commonly occurs during the summer when the groundwater recharge is low, but the population is high, due to tourism and summer residents.The purpose of this study was to investigate how local water supply in areas affected by water shortage can be solved as sustainable as possible. The work was divided into three parts where the first part comprised of a literature review on water systems in which four different options were investigated: artificial groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting, desalination and water reuse. The second part of the work consisted of developing a method for choosing the best water supply solution based on nature-given and social conditions. The method evaluated the quality of the supplied water and disease control, technical robustness, environmental impacts and resource use, liability and user aspects, the possibility for rebuilding and costs. Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) was used as a decision tool. The last part of the thesis was to test the method on a case study area, Grisslehamn in Norrtalje. Four systems alternatives were compared: desalination of sea water, building a surface water treatment plant supplied by water from two nearby fresh water ponds, rainwater harvesting at household level and collection and central treatment of greywater in combination with the construction of a surface water treatment plant.The results from the MCA showed that seawater desalination as a complement to the existing water plant was the best option for Grisslehamn followed by the surface water plant, collection of greywater and finally rainwater harvesting. Costs and possibility for rebuilding was shown to have a large impact on whether desalination or building of a surface water treatment plant was the best option. Therefore it is important in any future studies that detailed investigations of water quality and costs are done before decision is made on which one of the two alternatives that is the best solution for Grisslehamn.


SUMMARY A 3-year field study (1986–88) was conducted in central Alberta to discover how diverse soil-plant systems function under cryoboreal subhumid conditions. Barley, fescue, faba (field) bean and a barley/field pea intercrop were grown continuously on different soils at Ellerslie and Breton using two distinct tillage methods. The agronomic performance, weed-crop interactions and below-ground productivity of these cropping systems were examined. The main findings were as follows: different soil properties did not affect yields of barley, barley/field pea and fescue fertilized with N and P; silage yield of faba bean at Breton was greater than at Ellerslie; barley/field pea and faba bean could be grown without tillage at Ellerslie; barley/field pea plots had the lowest weed counts; fescue root biomass was greatest at all depths followed by faba bean and barley; and soil properties appeared not to induce differences in root production of a cereal, an annual forage legume and a perennial grass. Increasing the use of annual legumes into rotations, either as sole crops or as intercrops with cereals, may be a viable alternative to continuous cereal cropping because annual legumes contribute N through biological N fixation, reduce weed competition and increase the input of root mass in soil.


Bridging knowledge boundaries among project team members is essential to prevent delays or complete failure of software development projects. Prior researchers have reported that software prototypes can be used to help bridge knowledge boundaries between team members in traditional software development settings, yet their use in an agile development setting remains unexplored. Agile development centers the interactions between team members on emerging representations of the prototype whose properties are prone to change over time. Therefore, we conducted an in‐depth study of an agile development project to enhance our understanding on how software prototypes are used as boundary objects in a distributed team setting. Our analyses of team member interactions during 46 virtual meetings that took place over a period of 6 months revealed four different prototype use practices (exemplifying, contrasting, relating, framing) that were effective in bridging syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic knowledge boundaries. We also provide empirically grounded evidence of how variations in object properties can afford different use practices, how the use practices take advantage of these properties, and how object properties are reshaped through these use practices as different types of knowledge boundaries are bridged. These findings bear important implications for research on prototypes as boundary objects in software development in particular and boundary object use in general.