The effects of deformation and heat treatment on the electrical resistivity and the tensile strength of nanostructured Cu/Cu-18%Nb composite wires are studied. The correlated behavior of electrical resistivity and strength depending on the mode of thermo-mechanical processing is ascertained. The main mechanism of strengthening and increasing the electrical conductivity, associated with the reduction in the size of the structure, is considered. A good agreement is shown between the average distances between the Nb filament measured by SEM and extracted using the inversion of the resistivity size effect model. On the other hand, direct calculations of the strength value in accordance with the most common modern models are not consistent with experiments. In conclusion, the reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.


Public and Private Research — Interview with Jean-Louis Beffa Jean-Louis Beffa, President-Director General of the Compagnie de Saint-Gobain recommends discarding industrial policies built on the model of the past 15-20 years and according to which the only way to promote research efficiently is through SMEs and tax credit for research. These policies have failed, as can be seen by the plight of public research in France, and the author suggests boosting public investment in that domain and re-focusing research on frontier technology sectors.


Using the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) 2005-06 data, this paper examines the differentials and determinants of IMR in northern and southern regions of India –which record two extreme levels (highest and lowest respectively). Inferential statistics,bivariate analysis and multilevel Cox proportional regression were used as the methods of analysis. The result suggests that IMR is more pronounced in the northern than southern region. This was observed across the factors taken into consideration in the study. Nevertheless, mother's illiteracy, working status, and marrying and delivering first child at a young age were the major mother-related factors for a high IMR. Birth interval of less than two years, being of small-sized at birth, being a female child, and not breastfed at the time of survey were the main child-related factors for a high IMR. Further, poor economic condition, living in a rural area and not having access to basic civic amenities were the key household-related covariates of a high IMR. Female literacy, utilization of mother and child healthcare, and availing basic civic amenities at household level is essential to bring reduction in the IMR - without which achieving the recently crafted SDG 3 will be difficult for India.


Gene-environment interaction (G×E) refers to the phenomenon that the same mutation has different phenotypic effects in different environments. Although quantitative trait loci (QTLs) exhibiting G×E have been reported, little is known about the general properties of G×E, and those of its underlying QTLs. Here, we use the genotypes of 1005 segregants from a cross between two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, and the growth rates of these segregants in 47 environments, to identify growth rate QTLs (gQTLs) in each environment, and QTLs that have different growth effects in each pair of environments (g×eQTLs) . The average number of g×eQTLs identified between two environments is 0.58 times the number of unique gQTLs identified in these environments, revealing a high abundance of G×E. Eighty-seven percent of g×eQTLs belong to gQTLs, supporting the practice of identifying g×eQTLs from gQTLs. Most g×eQTLs identified from gQTLs have concordant effects between environments, but, as the effect size of a mutation in one environment enlarges, the probability of antagonism in the other environment increases. Antagonistic g×eQTLs are enriched in dissimilar environments. Relative to gQTLs, g×eQTLs tend to occur at intronic and synonymous sites. The gene ontology (GO) distributions of gQTLs and g×eQTLs are significantly different, as are those of antagonistic and concordant g×eQTLs. Simulations based on the yeast data showed that ignoring G×E causes substantial missing heritability. Together, our findings reveal the genomic architecture of G×E in yeast growth, and demonstrate the importance of G×E in explaining phenotypic variation and missing heritability.


New method for measuring road quality- A statisticalstudy of the relationship between road quality andsocioeconomic development A new tool with implications for road maintenance has the potential to yield statistical data for road quality in a large number of regions. This thesis investigates the possibility to develop a method, from this data, for evaluating the effects of road quality on socioeconomic development.The thesis is essentially divided into two parts. Part one looks to qualitatively establish the link between socioeconomic development and road quality and the second part focuses on how to develop a method for evaluating the effects of road quality on socioeconomic development. A method was devised using categorical data and a multinomial regression model. This method provides a comprehensive overview of the complex relationship between a variety of different variables. To illustrate this method a study was conducted to show the relationship between the proportion of poor roads and prosperity in different regions.The results of the study revealed a strong correlation between the proportion of poor roads and prosperity. This study also illustrates how methods can be developed to raise awareness and increase knowledge over the effects of road quality on socioeconomic development. This information could be useful when evaluating the potential effects of different road projects. It could also make it easier to secure financing for a project, by making the effects of the project easier to predict.


Individual identification of dolphins is of much interest to marine mammologists. Natural markings and notches on the trailing edge of the dorsal fin provide an almost unique signature within a study population for individual recognition. The dorsal fin is an almost rigid, planar object, and, as a result, the problem boils down to planar curve matching. Invariants under three groups of similarity, affine and projective transformations are examined in this paper. Three families of differential, algebraic and semi-differential invariants are studied and evaluated for their applicability and performance in dolphin identification from photographs. It is observed that, under practical conditions, for smooth quasi-rigid curves like the trailing edge of the dorsal fin, curvature-based matching methods outperform almost all of the other techniques which offer a higher level of invariance.


Flame retardant nanocomposites were synthesized by melt-blending phosphorus-containing copolymer (PET-co-DDP) with multi-wall carbon nanotubes. PET-co-DDP was copolymerized with terephthalic acid (TPA), ethylene glycol (EG) and 9, 10-dihydro-10[2, 3-di-(hydroxy carbonyl)propyl]-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DDP). The structure of the nanocomposites was characterized by scan electron microscopy (SEM). Fire property measurements by cone calorimeter revealed that the incorporation of multi wall carbon nanotubes into PET-co-DDP significantly reduced the peak heat release rates compared with the PET-co-DDP. The thermal properties of the nanocomposites were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It was found that the thermal stability of copolyester was improved by the addition of the multi-wall carbon nanotubes. Char formation is the main factor for these improvements. The flame retardant performance was achieved through the formation of a relatively uniform network-structured floccule layer covering the entire sample surface without any cracks or gaps. This layer re-emitted much of the incident radiation back into the gas phase from its hot surface.


Kyphoscoliosis is forward and lateral bending of the spine commonly affecting the dorsal and lumbar spine. Spinal deformities are likely to be associated with physiologic derangements in cardiac and pulmonary function and may cause difficulties with both tracheal intubation and regional anaesthesia. Due to problems associated with respiratory system, spinal anaesthesia is used widely, though technically difficult. We present a case of thoracolumbar kyphoscoliosis posted for cystolithotomy successfully managed with spinal anaesthesia.


This Note focuses on the termination of parental rights in the context of drug-addicted parents. Termination of parental rights has been characterized as a unique kind of deprivation which has the effect of ending a fundamental liberty interest. In In re Valerie D., Connecticut has established a new precedent in the area of termination of parental rights by holding that parental rights may be terminated at birth solely on the basis of prenatal conduct. This Note discusses Valerie D. in the context of the governmental obligation to promote family integrity and the penumbra of rights residing in the parents, the child and the familial relationship. Part II of the Note sets forth Connecticut law on termination of parental rights exemplified by the lower and appellate court opinions of Valerie D.. Part III briefly explores both the history of the family in our constitutional tradition and other constitutional implications which could arise in a termination of parental rights case. Part IV analyzes Valerie D. and its implications in termination of parental rights cases in light of the constitutional interests involved. The Note concludes that, in deciding whether to terminate these parental rights, the least restrictive alternative should be used.


1. The rate of inactivation of purified trypsin solutions approximates closely that demanded by the monomolecular formula. The more carefully the solution is purified the closer the agreement with the formula.

2. The products formed by the action of trypsin on proteins renders the trypsin more stable. Gelatin and glycine have no effect.

3. The rate of inactivation of trypsin solutions containing these products does not follow the course of a monomolecular reaction but becomes progressively slower than the predicted rate.

4. The protective action of these substances is much greater if they are added all at once at the beginning of the experiment than if they are added at intervals.

These observations may be quantitatively accounted for by the hypothesis that a compound is formed between trypsin and the inhibiting substance which is stable as well as inactive, and that the rate of decomposition depends on the amount of uncombined trypsin present.

5. Trypsin is most stable at a pH of 5 and is rapidly destroyed in strongly acid or alkaline solution.

6. The protective effect of the inhibiting substances is small on the acid side of pH 5, increases from pH 5 to 7, and then remains approximately constant.


Actinomycosis is a rare chronic disease caused by anaerobic Gram-positive Actinomyces species. These bacteria normally colonize the mouth, colon and urogenital tract and mucosal disruption is necessary to lead to infection. Due to its propensity to mimic other diseases, it is often misdiagnosed. It can mimic other conditions such as tuberculosis and malignancy and a preoperative diagnosis is rarely considered. An early diagnosis needs a high level of clinical suspicion and bacterial cultures in anaerobic conditions are necessary to identify the bacteria. Of the more than 30 species, Actinomyces Israelii is the most common human pathogen and one of the most involved in abdominal actinomycosis. Treatment includes high doses of antibiotic therapy sometimes combined with surgery in the case of complicated disease such as bowel obstruction. The authors report two cases of abdominal actinomycosis presenting with bowel obstruction and bowel perforation by a strange body.


Citrus aurantifolia (Lime) is a citrus fruit and an excellent source of vitamin C and flavonoids which have unique antioxidant properties. This study determined the effects of C. aurantifolia on the bodyweight and hematological indices of rats. A total of 20 rats of both sex weighing between 120 and 130 g were randomized into 4 groups of five rats each and used. Group A: Normal Control; Group B: 2 ml/kg of C. aurantifolia fruit juice; Group C: 4 ml/kg of C. aurantifolia fruit juice; Group D: 8 ml/kg of C. aurantifolia fruit juice. The C. aurantifolia fruit was freshly squeezed and the juice was administered to the test groups for a period of three months. The haematological parameters were analysed using standard methods. The results revealed that administration of C. aurantifolia juice caused a significant difference (p<0.05) in the bodyweights of the experimented groups from week 3 up to week 12 compared with the normal control group. After three months of the administration, only the platelet counts showed a significant difference (p>0.05) in group B compared with other groups throughout the three months of administration. Therefore, it is then concluded that bioactive substances present in lime like lycopene and vitamin C induces the proliferation of white blood cells in the blood circulation. Hence, it was proven that lime has a protective effect which may serve as an alternative treatment option in patients with leukopenia.


Crit Care Med 2016 • Volume 44 • Number 12 (Suppl.) cost per case from $39,909.4 to $32,850.3 (p=0.04) after dedicating full-time PT. There was a trend towards decreasing ventilator days, from 8.8d to 6.8d, and decreasing ICU LOS from 4.3d to 3.9d, but did not reach statistical significance. Disposition and readmission rates remained consistent. Conclusions: The expansion of full time PT staff dedicated to early mobilization in the ICU lead to statistically significant decreases in hospital LOS and total cost per admission. Although ventilator and ICU LOS did not reach significance, further expanding the trial period and recruiting a larger patient population would likely yield positive results.


1. The use of very fine-tipped and mechanically strong microelectrodes has allowed reliable recordings of resting and action potentials to be made in cockroach giant axons in sheathed and desheathed nerve cords. 2. When the microelectrode was withdrawn from a giant axon in an intact connective the first positive change in the potential from the resting level, was in most cases followed by a negative deflexion to the original zero level, the 'sheath potential'. The values of this 'sheath potential' together with the resting potential, the action potential, the maximum rate of rise and maximum rate of fall of the action potential have been measured in three different salines. 3. In normal saline, resting potentials were lower in sheathed preparations (58·1 ± 55·4 mV.) than in desheathed ones (67·4 ± 6·2 mV.), whereas action potentials were higher in the former (103±5·9 mV.) than in the latter (85·9±4·6 mV.). 4. Elevation of K+ and Ca2+ concentrations in the saline to the haemolymph level resulted in a decrease of resting and action potentials in desheathed cords, to 57·3±5·3 mV. and 36·5±7·6 mV. respectively. No alterations in the membrane potentials were recorded in intact connectives bathed in this saline, the mean resting potential being 55·6±4·2 mV. and the mean action potential 107·9±6·0 mV. Local desheathing of the nerve cord led only to local disturbance of the resting and action potentials, thus indicating that diffusion processes along the extracellular spaces were very slow. 5. The use of a saline in which cation concentrations have been elevated to the extracellular level resulted in normal resting potentials (64·6±3·3 mV.) and action potentials (90·9±7·2 mV.) in desheathed cords, despite the relatively high potassium concentration (17·1 mM./l.). 6. Recordings of the maximum rates of rise and rates of fall showed that there was no significant modification in the shape of the action potential in these different experimental conditions. 7. The values of the 'sheath potential' were very variable from one impalement to another and it is suggested that this potential might be related to variations of the microelectrode tip potential bathed in different ionic solutions. 8. The low resting potentials and high action potentials of giant axons in intact nerve cords may result from an excess of inorganic cations in the extracellular fluid.


Abstract The development of e-commerce requires the strengthening of this component of the pharmaceutical business while providing the population with medicines. Improving the operation of pharmacy websites is an important task with a significant marketing effect. The purpose of the study is to identify errors on pharmacy websites that worsen their usability and communicative qualities when interacting with visitors, to offer an approach based on a joint assessment of consumer perception and technical parameters, and to carry out calculations for a comparative analysis of such sites functional and technical components using a multi-criteria approach. The objectives of the study were to analyze the Internet trade in medicines, to determine the criteria for comparison of pharmacy sites, to develop a model for website evaluation, and to analyze the results of site quality estimation. Multicriteria comparison with different importance of criteria was used as the methodology to evaluate the usability of sites for online buyers of pharmaceutical products. As result two main components of the quality of pharmacy sites are identified: user interface and technical characteristics. The parameters of site evaluation for these components are described, and evaluation is performed. A computer model in Excel has been developed. The proposed approach and the program allow for assessing pharmacy sites' quality, comparing their marketing opportunities, directions to improve functionality, pharmaceutical services, and business position of pharmacies. The described steps for website estimations can be used not only in pharmaceutical services but for wide kinds of sites for e-commerce.


Dropout represents one of the greatest challenges faced by online higher education. This paper presents an institutional intervention aimed at fostering retention and success of first-year undergraduate students at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), an online and open University, through measures addressing learning design and academic support. Secondly, through analysing in-depth interviews with first-year students, the paper explores their perception of intervention measures and their possible advantages or risks. Results indicate that time-related factors represent the major issue for persistence and continuance. Intervention measures such as personalized course packages which prevent overlapping of submission deadlines; flexibility in continuous assessment; and personalized support and academic advising were valued highly by most students. Future retention interventions in open universities are also discussed.


Agricultural Productivity in Africa: Trends, Patterns, and Determinants presents updated and new analyses of land, labor, and total productivity trends in African agriculture. It brings together analyses of a unique mix of data sources and evaluations of public policies and development projects to recommend ways to increase agricultural productivity in Africa. This book is timely in light of the recent and ongoing growth recovery across the continent. The good news is that agricultural productivity in Africa increased at a moderate rate between 1961 and 2012, although there are variations in the rate of growth in land, labor, and total factor productivities depending on country and region. Differences in input use and capital intensities in agricultural production in the various farming systems and agricultural productivity zones also affect advancements in technology. One conclusion based on the book's research findings derives from the substantial spatial variation in agricultural productivity. For areas with similar agricultural productivity growth trends and factors, what works well in one area can be used as the basis for formulating best-fit, location-specific agricultural policies, investments, and interventions in similar areas. This finding along with others will be of particular interest to policy- and decisionmakers.


Dr Davies and Mr Leivers comment that they have not found it necessary to make frequent adjustments to their parenteral nutrition regimens and that they therefore usually use one of three standard formulas. I have in the past worked in a major referral unit which used a similar system. I agree that apparently satisfactory parenteral nutrition is indeed possible with such a system when the infant is metabolically stable. There is an inevitable tendency, however, with such a system to either postpone the initiation of parenteral nutrition in the metabolically unstable infant or to tolerate minor electrolyte disturbances rather than alter a standard solution. In my experience allocating the problem to a senior staff member does not protect against mistakes. In the increasingly complex environment of a modern neonatal intensive care unit errors of all sorts are all too common. I believe that computers should be used whenever possible to help alleviate this problem. The clinical importance of minor electrolyte disturbances is certainly debatable. In the context of the availability of inexpensive microcomputers I do, however, submit that it is manifestly absurd that arithmetical complexity alone should act as a constraint on optimal clinical management.


Existence of a wide variety of virtual laboratories leads to dilemmas among practitioners in terms of selection of such programs and their adaptation to the subject matter in the pre-service and in-service teacher training processes. The aim of this study is to inform physics educators, teachers, and pre-service teachers of the virtual labs used in teaching physics nowadays, as well as the scope, design, and features of such software. They are used in teaching physics, particularly from primary education to the university level, are introduced and compared, their superior and weak aspects are highlighted, and target audiences, design characteristics, scopes and details, experiment analyses levels, levels of proximity to reality, and user friendliness are presented considering the data obtained from the literature review carried out based on the content analysis method. Thus, this study is intended to contribute to utilization of virtual physics labs by users with expected efficiency.


The goal of this study was to evaluate the impacts of various preservation methods on disparities in morphometric parameters while also providing correction factors to re-calculate the original body dimensions when sampled fish are measured at a future date. In this study, adult samples of O. niloticus and C. gariepinus collected from the waters of the Republic of Benin, West Africa was measured directly after capture, then either frozen, preserved in 70% ethanol, or in 10% formalin. Ethanol and formalin solutions were prepared using tap and distilled waters. They were again measured after one week of the initial measurement and thereafter on a weekly basis for 20 weeks. Formalin and ethanol solutions showed to cause a decrease in the three morphometric characters, total, standard and head lengths. In contrast, frozen O. niloticus and C. gariepinus showed less shrinkage. Of the three preservation procedures, freezing obviously produced the least distortions. Therefore, freezing is recommended as the most desirable preservation method, particularly in multi-disciplinary studies on fish ecology. Equations to correct the effect of fixation, preservation and freezing on fish size are provided so they will assist in the future ecological and physiological studies to pool field and laboratory data.


Sexual size dimorphism is a widespread phenomenon in different animal taxa, including the subfamily of goats and sheep. The purpose of this research was to study the sexual dimorphism of males and females of Gwembe Dwarf Goat based solely on cephalic indexes. Eleven indices were calculated for 30 dry skulls of adult Gwembe Dwarf Goat specimens aged 18 months and older. Sexes appeared no significatively different. This form of heterosexual mimicry must be viewed as simply as strongly human-selected for. The importance of controlled competition is capable of countering antagonist to peer competition, so no sexual competition appears. When the artificial nature of sexual competition is taken into account, Darwin's theory of sexual selection becomes not applicable to domestic goats -or at least to the Dwarf Gwembe breed-, which fail to develop the expected degree of sexual dimorphism. The breed can then described as a monomorphic and, more concretely, gynomimic - imitation of female secondary sexual characters by males-.


The article explores the relationship between the Eighth Amendment (no cruel and unusual punishment) and the pursuit of public health goals. It asks whether Eighth Amendment legal analysis takes public health goals into account in determining whether inmates with infectious diseases are entitled to treatment, even where such treatment is very expensive. To this end, it considers the health impact of treating infected inmates on three distinct but overlapping populations: infected inmates; the total inmate population (mostly uninfected inmates); and the general population.

In state after state, inmates infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have challenged restrictive HCV treatment policies of state prison systems as violating the Eighth Amendment. The article focuses on two seminal decisions -- Stafford v. Carter (S.D. Ind.) and Hoffer v. Jones (N.D. Fla.) -- which invalidated the HCV-treatment policies of the Indiana and Florida prison systems, respectively. [Disclosure: the author is co-counsel for plaintiff-inmates in Stafford.] Indiana settled the case by committing to procuring up to $100 million on treatment. After the Florida prison system refused to settle, the Hoffer court enjoined the state to provide treatment.

Curing people of infectious diseases has the side-benefit of protecting uninfected persons from infection. This occurs when inmates are treated for HCV, the most lethal infectious disease in the United States. HCV is more prevalent in prisons than the general population, and most HCV-infected inmates are ultimately released. According to public health experts, one of the most effective ways to combat the HCV epidemic is to cure HCV-infected inmates so that they cannot transmit the disease to others upon release. Society also benefits because it is less expensive overall to treat HCV before it progresses.

Yet there is a potential hitch: to pay for expensive HCV treatments, prison systems may be tempted to divert resources from general inmate care. Expanding treatment may thus have the unintended consequence of reducing the total inmate population's overall health. At the same time, states cannot avoid their constitutional duty to HCV-infected inmates by pleading inadequate resources. The solution is for courts to effectively compel state legislatures to appropriate additional sums for HCV treatment.

The article sheds light on the relationship between the Eighth Amendment and public health goals. It demonstrates that in reaching their decisions, the Stafford and Hoffer courts did not expressly consider the health impacts of expanded treatment on either the total inmate population or the general population. The article also demonstrates how public health concerns factored into the Hoffer court's decision to enjoin the state to treat infected inmates -- even pending a final adjudication that inmates are constitutionally entitled to such treatment. Hoffer shows that a court may consider how an injunction may affect the general population's health when deciding whether an injunction would serve the "public interest."

The article advances responds to the question posed by Northeastern Law professor Wendy Parmet in her 2009 book Populations, Public Health, and the Law. There she wonders "what legal reasoning could or should look like if it accepted that public health protection was a critical goal of law." The article extends Parmet's project to the Eighth Amendment. This inquiry is positive in the same way that Chicago-school law and economics is positive: each tests the hypothesis that a certain field of law (Eighth Amendment health care; torts law) is employed—consciously or not—to yield outcomes that advance a larger good, be it public health or economic efficiency. The inquiry here is implicitly normative because it presumes that public health is a good that society should actively seek. It is also the first step towards explicitly normative work that considers whether and how Eighth Amendment analysis should internalize public health goals.

In addition to contributing to scholarship, the article places valuable knowledge in the hands of people who can put it to good use. This category includes civil rights litigators and members of the correctional health officials, some of whom may be persuaded to treat infected inmates without awaiting the outcome of litigation.


This paper presents several techniques for reducing the bootup time of the Linux kernel, including Execute-In-Place (XIP), avoidance of calibrate_delay() , and reduced probing by certain drivers and subsystems. Using a variety of techniques, the Linux kernel can be booted on embedded hardware in under 500 milliseconds. Current efforts and future directions of work to improve bootup time are described.


This thesis describes work carried out to characterise cardiac responses to cannabinoids. A particular focus of the work was to study the mechanism by which cannabinoids protect hearts from ischaemia-reperfusion injury. Studied in rat isolated right atria, anandamide (an endocannabinoid) induced a limited positive chronotropy. As this response was blocked by indomethacin and not mimicked by methanandamide (a non-hydrolysable analogue), the mechanism of action appears to involve conversion and release of products of cyclooxygenase-2. Conversely, negative chronotropy was observed when baseline rate was elevated by a b-adrenoceptor agonist. The pharmacological profile of this anti-adrenergic response indicated the involvement of CB2 receptors. Potential protection afforded by cannabinoids against rat isolated hearts subjected to ischaemia-reperfusion was studied in two different models. In the first, hearts were subjected to global, no-flow ischaemia-reperfusion with agonists introduced 5 min before ischaemia. The second method subjected hearts to regional ischaemia-reperfusion with agonists introduced 35 min into ischaemia. Antagonists, where used, were present throughout the protocol. In the global, no-flow ischaemia-reperfusion model both anandamide and methanandamide significantly reduced infarction but in the regional ischaemia-reperfusion model only methanandamide significantly reduced infarction. In both models the infarct limiting action was lost in the presence of both the CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A and the CB2 receptor antagonist SR144528. However, CB1- or CB2-receptor agonists, used alone or in combination, were ineffective at reducing infarct size. These results suggest that neither CB1 nor CB2 receptors, alone or in synergy mediate cardioprotection. These results suggest that one or more novel sites of action, possibly a new cannabinoid receptor subtype, might mediate cardio-protection in rat hearts. These findings demonstrate the potential for cannabinoids to be used as adjuncts to thrombolytics. However, the in vivo effects of cannabinoids in situations of compromised cardiac function needs to be assessed as they could potentially cause excessive hypotension due to peripheral vasodilatation.


Against the background of a general theory of pragmatics, reflections are formulated on the central role of metapragmatic awareness as a specific manifestation of salience, the status of processes of meaning generation in language use in relation to the cognitive apparatus. First the notions of metalanguage and metapragmatics, as used in linguistics, are discussed. Then metalinguistic and metapragmatic phenomena are presented as reflections of metapragmatic awareness. Two ways in which indicators of metapragmatic awareness function in language use are distinguished: Their functioning as anchoring devices locating linguistic form in relation to context, and their functioning as signals of the language users' reflexive interpretations of the activities they are engaged in. Finally, some social implications of metapragmatic functioning are discussed, in particular in relation to language ideologies and identity construction.


Accessible design is crucial on education because it provides equally opportunities of fulfilling everyone's potential, and it helps the education community to transmit the values of an openminded and empathic society where its diversity is standardised. Children realise about this diversity from the very early stages and won't be able to learn these values naturally if they are not equally able to interact with the environment that surrounds them. A link between designers and educators must be created in order to include accessible and assistive products in every education facility and exchange their experiences and opinions, so the design of accessible products, environments and services solves real needs and keeps improving.


DNA methylation is defined as a conserved epigenetic modification mechanism that plays a key role in maintaining normal gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. Several studies have reported that altered methylation patterns were associated with male sterility in some plants such as rice and wheat, but global methylation profiles and their possible roles in cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), especially in cotton near-isogenic lines, remain unclear. In this study, bisulfite sequencing technology and RNA-Seq were used to investigate CMS line 07-113A and its near-isogenic line 07-113B. Using integrated methylome and transcriptome analyses, we found that the number of hypermethylated genes in the differentially methylated regions, whether in the promoter region or in the gene region, was more in 07-113A than the number in 07-113B. The data indicated that 07-113A was more susceptible to methylation. In order to further analyze the regulatory network of male sterility, transcriptome sequencing and DNA methylation group data were used to compare the characteristics of near-isogenic lines 07-113A and 07-113B in cotton during the abortion stage. Combined methylation and transcriptome analysis showed that differentially expressed methylated genes were mainly concentrated in vital metabolic pathways including the starch and sucrose metabolism pathways and galactose metabolism. And there was a negative correlation between gene methylation and gene expression. In addition, five key genes that may be associated with CMS in cotton were identified. These data will support further understanding of the effect of DNA methylation on gene expression and their potential roles in cotton CMS.


The authors studied bit-error rate (BER) performance of asynchronous band-limited direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) systems with various diversity-combining receivers over Generalised- K fading channels. The effects of band-limited pulse shapes, multitone jamming, multiple-access interference as well as both flat and frequency-selective fading are considered. The Generalised- K model is adopted in order to include the effects of shadowing and fading of a wireless channel. The authors consider binary phase-shift keying as the modulation technique. The analytical expressions are valid for any arbitrary value of Generalised- K distribution parameters. Two types of band-limited pulses, namely spectrum raised cosine and Beaulieu-Tan-Damen (BTD) pulses, are incorporated in the analysis. Numerical results show that the system with BTD pulse outperforms the one with SRC pulse for various diversity-combining receivers under various channel conditions. Furthermore, by incorporating a minimum mean-square error stage in the multipath diversity receiver, the BER performance can be further improved.


The purpose of this study was to understand the coach-athlete relationship based on coaches' and athletes' perceptions. In order to do that, a new model, the Coach-Athlete Relationship Model (CAR) was designed, interviews were conducted and the initial stages of the development of an inventory (CARI) was undertaken and then the CARI was piloted to examine this type of relationship in England and Portugal. Based on the CAR model, semi-structures interviews were conducted with sixteen dyads comprising of elite coaches and their athletes from Portugal (eight) and England (eight). The data was analysed qualitatively using both inductive and deductive analyses. The interview data revealed that coaches and athletes have different perspectives regarding a positive relationship; and varying attitudes towards Cohesion barriers, Compatibility, Commitment, Motivation, Co-orientation and Complementarity. Coaches believed that a positive relationship should be respectful and friendly however athletes believed that friendship and good communication were the best attributes. Regarding the Cohesion barriers, English dyads focused more on interpersonal barriers (such as lack of commitment, lack of trust) and Portuguese dyads focused more on structural barriers (distance, lack of time, education commitments). Concerning Compatibility, English dyads were more focused on the outcomes (goals) and Portuguese dyads on the relationship (do the personalities match?). Commitment was also perceived differently in both countries, for English dyads behaviours (travelling a long distance) demonstrated the level of commitment but for Portuguese dyads their attitudes (availability, dedication) demonstrated the degree of commitment. Extrinsic Motivation (achieving their goals) for the English dyads were the most important thing however for the Portuguese dyads, being part of a good environment motivated them more. The Co-orientation construct was also perceived in different ways, English dyads focused more on the drive and Portuguese dyads on attitude. And, regarding Complementarity, English and Portuguese dyads had different opinions regarding the sharing of beliefs, and long-time planning. Based on the participants' interview responses, a diagnostic tool was developed, the Coach-Athlete Relationship Inventory (CARI). Initially the CARI had a total of 64 items, consisting of 8 constructs and used a 5 point Likert scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to refine and validate the scale. The data showed an excellent internal consistency and factorial structure. A total of 57 items survived this process. The validity of this scale it was achieved in part by using the participants' statements from the interviews, and also, by aligning theoretically with the conceptual framework. This developmental stage also served as the first pilot and application of the CARI. The scale was made available online and was completed by 102 participants (54 from England and 48 from Portugal). A series of MANOVA analyses were undertaken to explore the differences between England and Portugal and correlations to explore the relationships between the major variables. The findings of this instrument were that, gender and age were not related, however, there were differences between the two countries and the nature of the relationship varies between countries. The findings of this study have implications for our understanding of the coach-athlete relationship, as well as future coach-athlete relationship research and a useful new tool for all the coaches, athletes and researchers.


Background Natural disasters are associated with increased mental health disorders and suicidal ideation; however, associations with suicide deaths are not well understood. We explored how Hurricane Florence, which made landfall in September 2018, may have impacted suicide deaths in North Carolina (NC). Methods We used publicly available NC death records data to estimate associations between Hurricane Florence and monthly suicide death rates using a controlled, interrupted time series analysis. Hurricane exposure was determined by using county-level support designations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We examined effect modification by sex, age group, and race/ethnicity. Results 8363 suicide deaths occurred between January 2014 and December 2019. The overall suicide death rate in NC between 2014 and 2019 was 15.53 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI 15.20 to 15.87). Post-Hurricane, there was a small, immediate increase in the suicide death rate among exposed counties (0.89/100 000 PY; 95% CI −2.69 to 4.48). Comparing exposed and unexposed counties, there was no sustained post-Hurricane Florence change in suicide death rate trends (0.02/100 000 PY per month; 95% CI −0.33 to 0.38). Relative to 2018, NC experienced a statewide decline in suicides in 2019. An immediate increase in suicide deaths in Hurricane-affected counties versus Hurricane-unaffected counties was observed among women, people under age 65 and non-Hispanic black individuals, but there was no sustained change in the months after Hurricane Florence. Conclusions Although results did not indicate a strong post-Hurricane Florence impact on suicide rates, subgroup analysis suggests differential impacts of Hurricane Florence on several groups, warranting future follow-up.


HbbTV, an emerging standard for interactive television, is being deployed in
various European countries, creating bandwidth demand for interactive services
in existing saturated broadcast networks. It is a first step in the direction of TV
apps, but we believe the winning technology in that area is multi-screen apps on
and around the TV. In this paper, we describe the current situation with HbbTV
and apps, what can be done with existing technologies, high-potential scenarios
and our plans to make them possible by combining existing standards with limited extensions, creating a platform implementing a multi-application service
model, and open source software tools spanning management and production of
this new type of service, within the Coltram project


Foraging persists as a viable economic strategy both in remote regions and within the bounds of developed nation-states. Given the economic alternatives available, why do some groups choose to maintain their hunting and gathering lifeways? Through a series of detailed case studies, the contributors to this volume examine the decisions made by modern-day foragers to sustain a predominantly hunting and gathering way of life. What becomes clear is that hunter-gatherers continue to forage because the economic benefits of doing so are high relative to the local alternatives and, perhaps more importantly, because the social costs of not foraging are prohibitive; in other words, hunter-gatherers value the social networks built through foraging and sharing more than the potential marginal gains of a new means of subsistence. Why Forage? shows that hunting and gathering continues to be a viable and vibrant way of life even in the twenty-first century.


The shift in emphasis to smaller, better, and cheaper space systems, resulting from the NASA New Millennium Program (NMP) and similar initiatives in DOD-sponsored programs, demands highly innovative designs that cannot be feasibly implemented using conventional electronic packaging techniques. To meet these broad requirements the APL launched an internal research and development initiative to make significant advancements in electronic packaging technology. Among many miniaturization techniques available for design and development, chip-on-board (COB) based on laminated multichip module technology was selected. The technology utilizes a straightforward design concept, that has been simplified through careful review and testing. In the COB technology, both bare dies and conventional packaged devices are mounted on the same substrate with a special coating to protect the circuits from handling, ground testing, and in-orbit environments. The flexibility of COB packaging techniques helps resolving parts shortage, and last-minute part change problems. This paper summarizes the packaging design, development, and fabrication of two miniaturized space systems-the Command and Data Handling In Your Palm (C&DH IYP) and the Miniaturized Scientific Imager (MSI)-using COB technology. The C&DH IYP is a modular system consisting of multiple individual slices that can implement anything from a standalone Instrument Processor, to a Command and Data Handling system, or the entire electronics needed by a spacecraft. The MSI is a narrow-field-of-view visible imager design with a reflective telescope, a single filter, and a charged-couple device (CCD) detector. We demonstrate that mass and volume reduction of a factor of 10 can be achieved with low-cost COB packaging technology.


Cassia alata L. leaf contains flavonoids which have anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy, antioxidants and antifungal effects. The traditional application of it requires long preparation time so we need a formulation with more practical and durable storage is needed. Gel formulation was chosen because it is easy to dry, forming an easy to wash film layer and give a sense of cold on the skin. Gel components affect the stability of the gel. Physical stability is analyzed to ensure that the formulated gel's quality, safety and benefits meet the specifications and survive during storage. This study aimed to create a gel formula and analysed its physical stability test of Cassia alata L. leaf extract gel. Research design adopted in this study was an experimental laboratory. Optimum gel formula determined by variations in the concentration of sodium carboxymethyl celulose (CMC-Na). Gel that meet the criteria of homogeneity, consistency, pH and spreadibility was set as the optimum formula. Physical stability of optimum formula was analyzed by organoleptic, homogeneity   test, pH test, viscosity test and spredability test. Gel that meets the acceptance criteria are Cassia alata L. leaf extract gel with CMC-Na concentration of 3% those determined as the optimum formula. Stability analysis of optimum formula didn't show any changes in pH, color, smell and taste, although it changes of the shape, viscosity and spreadibility were found. The optimum  formula  gel obtained by the concentration of CMC-Na 3%. results were less stable during the 8 weeks of storage at a temperature of 40°C.


Cybercrime has been known as side effects of the use of the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT). The character of digital evidences which are very specific, require special handling methods. Nowadays, there are many forensics tools which are either proprietary or open source. However, most of them are low level tools which are used to gather the uncover data from the storage or computing devices. A better forensic case management which support the root cause analysis based on a formal method will assist the work of investigator. SAFFA-NG is a freely available workflow system which is designed to assist the work of forensic and investigator by guiding the forensic work according to forensic guidelines. System Architecture For Forensic Analysis (SAFFA-NG) is developed using many Open Source Software components which ensure the thorough auditing of the system. It is designed based on technical and forensic requirements. This is a collaboration projects between Gunadarma University, I Made Wiryana (Rechnernetze und Verteilte Systeme (RVS) Arbeitsgruppe – Bielefeld University) and Andreas Vangerow (P3 Consulting GmbH). During the development of system some feedbacks and assistance are provided by Landes Kriminal Alamtes (LKA) Niedersachsen, Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) and Indonesia Police Department.


Although the introduction of cyclosporine-prednisone immunosuppression has improved early renal graft survival, chronic rejection remains a major cause of longterm graft dysfunction. This study retrospectively examined 69 cases of chronic rejection among 643 primary renal allograft recipients treated with cyclosporine-prednisone immunosuppression from July 1981 to October 1989. Chronic rejection was defined as a rejection episode diagnosed greater than 90 days posttransplantation with characteristics of progressive nonacute renal function deterioration, confirmed, in most cases, by renal biopsy. This group was compared with an equal-sized matched cohort. Among cadaveric recipients, 61 of 456 patients (13.4%) displayed chronic rejection, whereas among living-related recipients, 8 of 187 patients (4.3%) developed chronic rejection. The average time from the date of transplantation to diagnosis of chronic rejection was 15 +/- 14 months. One- and three-year graft survivals following diagnosis of chronic rejection were 51% (30/59) and 25% (13/51), respectively, compared with the cohort one- and three-year graft survivals of 98% (58/59) and 86% (32/37) at similar periods posttransplantation. HLA mismatch, PRA status, blood transfusion history, lipid levels, cyclosporine trough levels, incidence of prior acute rejection, and initial graft dysfunction were not significantly different between the chronic rejection group and the matched cohort. Hypertension and proteinuria were significantly associated with chronic rejection (P less than 0.001). Of 58 biopsies performed, findings solely consistent with chronic rejection were observed in 9 cases (15%) and "acute upon chronic" rejection in 49 cases (83%). Treatment of acute concomitants improved the renal function in 43% (27/63) by the time of hospital discharge. Nonetheless, at 12 months the incidence of improved renal function eroded to 22% (13/59), suggesting that the benefit was relatively short-lived. Although the overall incidence of chronic rejection in this group of cyclosporine-prednisone-treated patients was lower than previous azathioprine-prednisone cohorts, the clinical presentation and progression of chronic rejection was similar. Additionally, the incidence of chronic rejection within this series was lower among living-related recipients versus cadaveric recipients of donor organs.


Abstract Using cigarettes of different circumference but a constant packing density, the effect of circumference on the rate of formation (ratio of total delivery to the weight loss of tobacco during puffs) of various components was investigated. The rates of formation of CO and HCN increased and that of B[a]P decreased with decreasing circumference, while those of CO2, NO and vapour phase CH3CHO were independent of circumference. The differences in the effect of circumference on the rate of formation of CO, B[a]P and HCN can be explained by differences in their thermal formation during puffs.


The Bamboung protected area (Senegal, West Africa) has been implemented in 2003. However, little is known about its recovering effects on fish assemblage functional diversity. To address this issue, a morphology-based functional grouping was adopted, and results were compared to prior classifications. Functional richness relative to each guild and species abundance was used to define a functional redundancy index. Morphometric measurements were done in the field on freshly killed specimens and completed by digital image processing using the Image-J software in laboratory. Data relative to biomass and abundance were obtained from the IRD (Research Institute for Development) / Adaptive Response of Fish Assemblages to the Environmental Pressure (RAP) Unit-Research database. Hierarchical clustering, analysis using the ward method, was applied to the matrix of morphological traits to discriminate fish assemblages into four functional guilds: zoobenthos feeders, algivorous / detritivorous fish, benthopelagic fish, and demersal and ichthyophagous fish. The new functional grouping reduced fish assemblage complexity to smaller and more significant units than those obtained from previous gut-content based-classification, and the modifications affecting fish biomass distribution after fishing ban, marked by large predatory fishes domination appeared more perceptible. Classification based on fish life-history traits showed similar results with a domination of fish assemblages by marine species of larger size and upper trophic level. However, this latter approach is still relevant as it provides significant information on fish species mobility and community dynamics. Major observed changes occurred after one to three years of protection. The total fish biomass varied from 6458 kg.km-2 in 2003 to 3114 kg.km-2 in 2007. We hypothesized that collapse in total fish biomass may be explained by predation pressure in the system. Species richness varied from 51 in 2003 to 72 in 2007, while the functional redundancy index showed a decreasing trend indicating a functional diversification in the system subsequent to the reserve establishment. The present study highlights the relevance of multiple approaches model in addressing dynamics of complex systems. However, the present trend does not presage the future evolution in the system, many reserves take over a decade to get a stable state.


Corrosion is one of the most pervasive types of structural problem experienced by steel girder structures especially in corrosive environments. Each of the damage modes, if not properly monitored and rectified, can potentially lead to catastrophic failure or unanticipated out-of-service time. The purpose of this paper is to propose a simple methodology to assess the residual strength capacity of steel girders under the degradations of corrosion. Two credible models have been developed for corrosion damaged steel I-beams based on the actual thickness loss data which come from the already literatures. Finally, to show the application of the proposed methodology, the residual web bearing capacity of corroded steel beams was estimated. It was found that it is possible to establish the applicable diagrams and flowchart which demonstrate the residual web bearing capacity assessment of steel I-beams as those ages.


We introduce deepQuest-py, a framework for training and evaluation of large and light-weight models for Quality Estimation (QE). deepQuest-py provides access to (1) state-of-the-art models based on pre-trained Transformers for sentence-level and word-level QE; (2) light-weight and efficient sentence-level models implemented via knowledge distillation; and (3) a web interface for testing models and visualising their predictions. deepQuest-py is available at https://github.com/sheffieldnlp/deepQuest-py under a CC BY-NC-SA licence.


This paper examines the development of mobile money in contemporary Lesotho, 2012-2020. Using historical and ethnographic sources, it situates the development of this mobile phone-based financial system within the broader economic history of the country. It adopts a political economy approach to analyse the emergence and evolution of mobile money as an instrument of financial inclusion used by the government of Lesotho and international organisations. The paper advances that when operating with the logic of capitalism, free market policies, emergent mobile money networks are hierarchically structured and privileges enterprises and corporations with bigger financial muscle. The majority of small agents, the Basotho entrepreneurs, are marginal and have to operate precariously with limited capital and low cash-flows to ensure efficient services for the people. As a corollary to this, the rural poor are further excluded and exploited by the agents. A general assessment advanced in the article is that the rigidly defined digital eco-system is geared towards integrating the lower echelons of the economy asymmetrically into the mainstream financial economy dominated by corporations. However, this cannot be defined as any meaningful financial inclusion.


A 65-year-old woman, never smoker, with medical history of hypertension, nonischemic cardiomyopathy, and moderate pulmonary hypertension presented with symptomatic bilateral pleural effusions. Thoracentesis revealed a lymphocyte predominant transudate and was negative for malignancy, microbiologic cultures were negative for an infectious cause. Chest tomography showed mediastinal and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy, lymph node biopsy with endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration showed non-necrotizing granulomas compatible with sarcoidosis. Echocardiogram showed ejection fraction of 45% and cardiac workup for sarcoid involvement was negative. Despite overall clinical management with diuretics, pleural effusion persisted and the patient underwent medical thoracoscopy with pleural biopsy. Biopsy showed noncaseating granulomas consistent with sarcoid, with all stains and microbiologic cultures negative for an infectious etiology. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first described case of sarcoidosis presenting as large transudative pleural effusion.


A new type of cylindrical ultrasonic linear microactuator (CULMA) is introduced. The traveling wave generation condition in the stator is presented, which was confirmed using simulation and experimentation. The design and fabrication process to develop the stator is described. The stator was successfully fabricated using metallic glass and a sputtering method, and the vibration of the prototype matched the simulation results. When the driving frequency is at 626 kHz, the traveling wave in the stator was observed. Loaded with a pipe slider, the slider movement was experimentally demonstrated and the motion measured with 26 mm/s in peak speed. This paper presents a traveling wave generation method in a CULMA which would also available in other microactuators or MEMS-scale ones.


Parallel computing manages huge amounts of data due to a dramatic increase in computing scale. The parallel file system PVFS version 2 (PVFS2) realizes a scalable file system for such huge data on a cluster system. Although several MPI tracing tools can check the behavior of MPI functions, tracing PVFS server activities has not been available. Hence, we have missed chances to optimize MPI applications regarding PVFS server activities although effective usage of limited resources is important even in PVFS servers. An off-line performance analysis tool named PIOviz traces both MPI-I/O calls and associated PVFS server activities to assist optimization for MPI applications. Besides, tracing statistical values of PVFS servers such as CPU usage and PVFS internal statistics assists optimization of MPI applications. In this paper, we demonstrate two performance evaluation tests of the HPIO benchmark, and carry out off-line analysis by using PIOviz. The evaluation shows effectiveness of PIOviz in detecting bottlenecks of MPI-I/O.


The aim of this study was to determine the requirement for lysine in the diet of juvenile tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum). In total, 750 juvenile fish (0.34 ± 0.02g) were distributed in tanks arranged in a randomized block design with six treatments, five replications in two blocks, and 25 fish per unit, for 50 d. Six levels of digestible lysine were tested (1.30, 1.48, 1.66, 1.84, 2.02, and 2.20%), in formulated diets based on the ideal protein concept. The performance, feed efficiency, daily deposition of protein and body fat, and nitrogen retention efficiency of the fish were evaluated. The consumption of rations and protein, specific growth rate, body composition, and deposition of body fat were not influenced by the lysine levels tested. The consumption of digestible lysine increased linearly and the efficiency of digestible lysine for weight gain decreased linearly with the increase in lysine levels. The levels of digestible lysine that optimized weight gain and body protein deposition were estimated at 1.73 and 1.78%, respectively. The feed conversion and nitrogen retention efficiency were most improved at 1.66% and 1.84%, respectively. The recommended level of dietary lysine for providing better weight gain and body protein deposition in juvenile tambaqui is 1.78%, equivalent to 2.00% total lysine.


This paper concentrates on the delineation of forest boundaries from aerial images with focus on spatially contiguous and reproducible results for the Swiss National Forest Inventory. Because of the poor performance of common edge models to extract natural vegetation boundaries, this paper presents a combined method of image segmentation and wavelet-based texture features for the delineation of forest. The selected -measure-based segmentation method has been found to be useful to produce initial segmentation results, but lacks a semantic concept for forest vegetation. To overcome this conceptual limitation, the combination with wavelet transformation gives access to additional texture features and leads to a robust approach to obtain proper forest boundaries. Preliminary results are encouraging regarding the better agreement compared with maximum-likelihood classification results.


A simple optical superposition experiment is analyzed in detail and a comparison is made between the photoelectric signal modulation which is characteristic of interference and the Alford and Gold effect. Some significant differences are pointed out. It is shown that the Alford and Gold effect is of the first order in the degeneracy parameter and of the second order in the degree of coherence, so that it resembles the intensity correlation effect discovered by Hanbury Brown and Twiss.


We examine whether reported roles in school bullying, and victimization in the workplace, are connected; the influence of victim coping strategies at school; and sex differences. A questionnaire was completed by 5,288 adults from various workplace venues in Great Britain. We analysed two questions on school experiences (participant role; coping strategies if bullied) and questions on workplace bullying (experiences of being bullied). We found a significant relationship between reported roles in school bullying, and experience of workplace victimization. The highest risk of workplace victimization was for those who were both bullies and victims at school (bully/victims), followed by those who were only victims. An analysis of relative risk of workplace bullying, given being a victim at school plus using various coping strategies, revealed an increased risk for the strategies 'tried to make fun of it', and 'did not really cope'. Women were at slightly higher risk of getting bullied at work, but there were no interactions with roles at school, and only one interaction with coping strategies. This is the first study to report an association between school and workplace bullying. Victims at school are more at risk of workplace victimization, but the especial risk for 'bully/victims' supports other indications that this particular category of school pupils should be a focus of concern. The findings also suggest that school pupils who consistently cannot cope with bullying, or try to make fun of the bullying, are more at risk for later problems in the workplace. However, associations are modest; many victims of school bullying are not being victimized in later life, and the results also suggest important contextual or environmental effects on risks of victimization.


In this research, the effective sampling method known as Compressed Sensing (CS) theory is applied to Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) to provide low power and low sampling-rate wireless healthcare systems and intelligent emergency care management systems. The fundamental contribution of this work can be divided into three areas. 1) We propose two new algorithms in the sensing, measurement, and processing area to compress biomedical data. 2) In the communication area, one new channel model based on CS theory is defined to transmit compressed data to the receiver side. 3) In the receiver side or reconstruction area, two new algorithms for recovering the original biomedical data are presented to recover the original data. Our results will be divided into three areas. 1) We employ the proposed algorithms to WBANs with a single biomedical signal (i.e. Electroencephalography [ECG] signals as a sample signal). In this area, the simulation results illustrate an increment of 10% improved for sensitivity in receiving compressed ECG signals. The simulation results also illustrate a 25% reduction of Percentage Root-mean-square Difference (PRD) for ECG signals on the receiver side. In addition, they confirm the ability of CS to maximize the prediction level for received the ECG signal at either Gate Ways (GWs) or Access Points (APs). 2) We illustrate that the proposed algorithms can be employed in WBANs with multiple biomedical signals to enhance current health care systems into low-power wireless healthcare systems. In this area, the simulation results confirm that for a particular WBAN, including N biomedical signals, the sampling-rate can be reduced by 25-35% and power consumption by 35-40%, without sacrificing the network's performance. 3) Here improvements for wireless channel feature between BWSs and either GWs or APs are shown. In this area, the results demonstrate that CS is able to maximize signal amplitude to 25-30% at the receiver as well as distance between transmitter and receiver BWS to 30%. Moreover, these results confirm that path loss can be reduced to 25%.


Objective The goal of this study was to assess the effect of glucose and the contribution of the aldimine component on the measurement of fructosamine, the relationship of serum fructosamine with glycosylated plasma proteins, as measured by a new high-performance liquid chromatography methodology (Glyc PP-HPLC) and by an affinity chromatography (Glyc PP), and the ability of serum fructosamine to assess acute, short-term (1–2 wk), and long-term (2–3 mo) glycemic control. Research Design and Methods The measurement of fructosamine was unaltered by the addition of up to 27.5 mM glucose or by the elimination of the aldimine component of serum specimens by dialysis. Fructosamine was generated in vitro by incubating serum aliquots. This generation was dependent on time, glucose concentration, and temperature. Results Fructosamine (n = 27) correlated well with Glyc PP (r = 0.76, P < 0.01) and significantly less with Glyc PP-HPLC (r = 0.46, P < 0.01). Although oral glucose ingestion increased serum glucose acutely by 200% fructosamine was unchanged at each time interval. Improving glycemic control decreased the mean serum fructosamine concentration from 3.68 (baseline) to 3.28 mM (P < 0.01) at 1 wk and to 3.13 mM (P < 0.01) at 2 wk. HbA1c correlated with fructosamine (r = 0.59) and Glyc PP-HPLC (r = 0.47) but correlated best with Glyc PP (r = 0.83). Conclusions These results indicate the fructosamine assay is unaltered by serum glucose, solely measures the ketoamine component, correlates well with glycosylated plasma proteins measured by aminophenylboronic acid column chromatography, is unaffected by acute changes of serum glucose, and may be used to monitor changes in glycemic control over a 1-wk interval.


Garden center and market gardens are a growing trade, undergoing great changes with new
actors and purchasing habits. The interest in gardens and plants is steadily increasing, official
statistics show an increase of garden plants and flower consumption, of an annual 3 per cent.
Garden centers and market gardens are in great need of development to be able to tackle the
prevailing competition, and maintain a steady growth. Many companies are heading for a
generation shift and are founding it difficult to find and employ younger managers. The aim
of this report is to examine different strategies of garden centers and market gardens through
the manager/ owner's views and opinions about competition, growth and success. Michael
Porter's strategic framework, the five forces and the generic strategies of cost leadership,
differentiation and focusing, have been used in the analysis. This has been accomplished with
the help of observations and personal interviews.
Retail studies have been carried out with the help of a standardized and categorized schedule,
where all interesting types of behavior and impressions have been registered. The retail
studies have been made in 30 different garden centers and market gardens in the Scania
district in southern Sweden. The personal in depth interviews have been carried out with ten
managers/ owners in the garden center and market garden trade. The chosen companies have
little in common, primarily in order set to a wider spectrum as well as to be able to make a
comparison between them.
The trade has a strength and competitive advantage in its qualified staff. Knowledge of the
trade can help employers offer a higher service level, compared to competitors like food
retailers and home equipment stores. The results of the interviews show that the trade is
characterized by of garden center and market garden owners with a great deal of personal
commitment. Several responders refer to the company and its production as being a lifestyle,
and they take great pride in their work. Even though they work extremely hard, most of them
state that they are satisfied with their working situation. The results of the interviews also
show that the prospects within the trade are overall positive. Differentiation may be the most
advantageous strategy for survival on the market. The small, privately run garden centers and
market gardens can thereby distinguish themselves from the bigger actors on the market. It is
important to be able to offer a unique product, service, quality, brand, accessory or
experience.


Photophobia is a common neurological and ophthalmological symptom that has been associated with a growing number of neurosurgical conditions, especially compressive lesions. The exact signaling pathways and neurophysiological features of the disorder are not well understood; however, data from multiple studies have shown the significance of the trigeminal system and the pretectal nuclei in its pathophysiology. The authors report on a rare case of a blind patient who presented with photophobia without evidence of light perception. They also review the literature and early experimental data in an effort to understand the possible neuronal pathways and structures involved in photophobia.


Transboundary water resource governance is premised on equitable water and water-related benefit sharing. Using the case of the Blue Nile (Ethiopia and Sudan), we explore the conceptual issues that need consideration in the crafting of cross-border cooperation within the water sector. First, drawing on global experiences with transboundary water management, we evaluate how upstream and downstream concerns are addressed by transboundary water management institutions. Second, we explore the kinds of institutional design and the issues which need to be considered to result in 'win-win' scenarios for both upstream and downstream users, as well as the mechanisms of benefit sharing negotiated amongst different stakeholders. Third, we examine ways of addressing equity and livelihoods in transboundary institutional arrangements. Finally, we attempt to assess how transboundary institutions can address broader historical, political and economic issues and their implications for sustainable transboundary water governance. This paper raises key issues that need to be addressed in establishing transboundary governance institutions.Length: pp.246-253


What are new ways and future options for the international governance of sustainable land use? Effective policies towards more sustainable land use should not only deal with land and soil. These policies need to address various drivers and different contexts in an integrated manner.


Video recognition has been dominated by the end-to-end learning paradigm -- first initializing a video recognition model with weights of a pretrained image model and then conducting end-to-end training on videos. This enables the video network to benefit from the pretrained image model. However, this requires substantial computation and memory resources for finetuning on videos and the alternative of directly using pretrained image features without finetuning the image backbone leads to subpar results. Fortunately, recent advances in Contrastive Vision-Language Pre-training (CLIP) pave the way for a new route for visual recognition tasks. Pretrained on large open-vocabulary image-text pair data, these models learn powerful visual representations with rich semantics. In this paper, we present Efficient Video Learning (EVL) -- an efficient framework for directly training high-quality video recognition models with frozen CLIP features. Specifically, we employ a lightweight Transformer decoder and learn a query token to dynamically collect frame-level spatial features from the CLIP image encoder. Furthermore, we adopt a local temporal module in each decoder layer to discover temporal clues from adjacent frames and their attention maps. We show that despite being efficient to train with a frozen backbone, our models learn high quality video representations on a variety of video recognition datasets. Code is available at https://github.com/OpenGVLab/efficient-video-recognition.


In this paper, we propose to apply power control to coded-sequence self-encoded spread spectrum (CS-SESS) communications in dynamic fading channels. We determine the statistical characteristics of the power enhancement in the transmitter due to power control and show that the proposed approach improves the power efficiency in mobile cellular systems. In addition, we propose to mitigate self interference in CS-SESS by exploiting the information that the transmitter obtains, through feedback training sequences, about the de-spreading code in the receiver. The results show that the mitigation is significant even with only selective training chips from the de-spreading sequence. Similar improvement can be achieved with feed-forward training sequences to the receiver about the spreading code in the transmitter.


Author(s): Fisher, Steven P | Advisor(s): Lavallo, Vincent | Abstract: The beginnings of boron rich nanoclusters chemistry are in part due to the pioneering work of Alfred Stock. It was Stock's air sensitive syntheses that paved the road to many pyrophoric borohydrides. Surprisingly some of these pyrophoric borohydrides were found to be useful starting materials for synthesizing the extremely stable closo-carborane anions. Once assembled these polyhedral clusters are composed of mostly boron atoms with at least one carbon atom and are about a nanometer in length. Due to their great stability these anionic nanoclusters have become well known as weakly coordinating anions. This is largely due to the fact that the negative charge is delocalized over the entire polyhedral cluster and that chemist have been able to isolate extremely reactive cations using these anions. However, the applications of these boron rich nanoclusters is not limited to their ability to act as weaklyviiicoordinating anions but has extended into the fields of medicine and material sciences. One field of study is using these materials as anions tethered to ligand scaffolds, with these anionic scafolds chemist have been able to create metal complexes and, in some cases, even produce state of the art catalyst. The primary focus of this thesis is to explore the use of an anionic boron rich nanoclusters as ligand a substituent/s in N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) ligands. The story begins with the synthesis of an unsymmetrical NHC bearing one N-bound anionic boron rich nanocluster and one N-bound aryl group. This synthesis proved to be modular accommodating multiple boron rich nanoclusters and aryl groups. To prove that the anionic NHC salts were viable ligands for coordination chemistry a set of anionic and zwitterionic Au(I) complex were generated. These results showed that these ligands are viable and that the Au(I) complexes are catalytically active for hydroamination chemistry. Envisioning a bimetallic system where the anionic Au(I) complex was coulombically bound to a metal cation lead to the formation of a bimetallic Au(I)/Ag(I) complex. This bimetallic complex was tested as a halide abstracting reagent. Indeed this halide abstracting reagent is capable of chloride abstraction from transition metal complexes. As a proof of principle crystal structures were obtained for Au-/Rh+ and Au-/Ru+ systems. Lastly anionic Au(I) complexes with main group cations is reported. These cations include Ph3C+, R3Si+ and a borenium cation.


In this paper, a novel modulation strategy based on two dimensional modulation is proposed, which can not only achieve fast balancing DC-link capacitor voltages for each cell in the cascaded H-Bridges Rectifier (CHBR), but can also extend the stable operating range to the maximum with heavy unbalanced loads under unity power factor. The control method has been fully investigated with detailed theoretical analysis, the performance of the proposed modulation strategy is evaluated with two H-bridges in cascade using the simulation results obtained from the Matlab/simulink. It is shown that the dynamics of the system for balancing the DC link capacitor voltages of each cell is considerably improved with very fast response time even at very heavy unbalanced load, and in whole the process, the input of the CHBR maintains in unity power factor.


The Brick model is an advanced elasto-plastic constitutive model for soils and has become a recognised tool for modelling ground behaviour, following its implementation into the finite element program Safe. The model can reproduce many essential elements of soil behaviour, which is viewed from a strain-based perspective. An analogue
for the model is that of a man walking around a room, pulling a number of bricks with strings of different lengths behind him. The room represents strain space, the man's
movement is the applied strain and each brick movement is the response of a proportion of the soil.

The present Brick model, although advanced, does not account for viscous behaviour, including creep and strain rate dependent stiffness, which can be very significant for clay
soils. The principal aim of the work was to incorporate such behaviour into the Brick model. Two main approaches were identified manipulating either the velocity of the bricks or the string lengths. Both approaches were implemented into the Brick model allowing a series of tests to be conducted into their predictive capabilities. Isotach strain rate behaviour was investigated with both models by simulating both constant and step rate of strain tests.

Simulations of past experimental work into the combined effects of creep and recent stress history on clay soil stiffness were also conducted. It was demonstrated, in accordance with the experiments, that creep can erase the effects on the initial stiffness of recent stress history involving relatively short stress paths approaching the current state, though this was not true for longer approach paths. The experimental results were more correctly simulated using the model with manipulated, strain rate dependent string lengths, the SRD Brick model.

The SRD Brick model was then implemented into Safe to allow the analysis of two case histories, thereby quantifying the influence that viscous effects can have. The first involved the analysis of surface displacements above the westbound tunnel forming part of the Jubilee Line extension beneath St James's Park, London. The second analysis was concerned with the prediction of heave displacements of a deep basement in Horseferry Road, London. The SRD Brick model was able to significantly improve on the predictions given by the original Brick model in both cases.


Development passes through sensitive periods, during which plasticity allows for genetic and environmental factors to exert indelible influence on the maturation of the organism. In the context of central nervous system (CNS) development, such sensitive periods shape the formation of neuro‐circuits that mediate, regulate, and control behavior. This general mechanism allows for development to be guided by both the genetic blueprint, as well as the environmental context. While allowing for adaptation, such sensitive periods are also windows of vulnerability during which external and internal factors can confer risk to brain disorders by derailing adaptive developmental programs. Our group has been particularly interested in developmental periods that are sensitive to serotonin (5‐HT) signaling, and impact behavior and cognition relevant to psychiatry. Specifically, we review a 5‐HT‐sensitive period that impacts fronto‐limbic system development, resulting in cognitive, anxiety, and depression‐related behaviors. We discuss preclinical data to establish biological plausibility and mechanistic insights. We also summarize epidemiological findings that underscore the potential public health implications resulting from the current practice of prescribing 5‐HT reuptake inhibiting antidepressants during pregnancy. These medications enter the fetal circulation, likely perturb 5‐HT signaling in the brain, and may be affecting circuit maturation in ways that parallel our findings in the developing rodent brain. More research is needed to better disambiguate the dual effects of maternal symptoms on fetal and child development from the effects of 5‐HT reuptake inhibitors on clinical outcomes in the offspring. Birth Defects Research 109:924–932, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The prevalence of panic disorder with and without agoraphobia as well as its personal and economic impact is encouraging researchers and clinicians to improve the available psychological treatments. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for panic disorder has yielded large size effects, still the literature on treatment outcomes (efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency) points out some inconclusive results which deserve further consideration. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is proving very useful in the treatment of a broad range of psychological problems, anxiety disorders included, although the empirical evidence for the latest is limited yet. In the present paper, we present a review of the basic research sustaining the use of ACT for anxiety disorders in general and panic disorder in particular. First, panic disorder is conceptualized as an instance of experiential avoidance. Then, the basic processes of change in ACT are analyzed, emphasizing those which have been studied in relation to anxiogenic or panicogenic events. Subsequently, the application of ACT to anxiety and panic disorder is described. Finally, some key future research directions are offered to the light of the basic research available.


The study sought to determine the moderating effect of asymmetric information on the relationship between household demographics and four owner-occupied apartment housing decisions that is choice of neighbourhood, choice of location of apartment house, source of financing and size of house. Using two-stage cluster sampling, 196 owner-occupied apartment households were studied in Nairobi County, Kenya though a sample size of 226 households had been initially selected to participate in the study. Questionnaires were used as the data collection method in an exercise that took place in August 2014. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to achieve the study objective of testing for moderator effects of asymmetric information. Preliminary statistical tests were performed and the same were, to a great extent, in the affirmative. The study found that asymmetric information had a moderating effect on the relationship between demographics and the four housing decisions but the moderation was not statistically significant in explaining any of the four relationships hence the implication that the owner-occupied housing market in Nairobi County, Kenya could be efficient to the extent of the scope of this study. Hence, there was no sufficient evidence to reject the four null hypotheses of the study in view of a significance level of 0.05. The study cites limitations encountered and recommends areas for further study in view of the study findings.


Background and Objectives: The purpose of our study is to evaluate the incidence of cervical recurrence after laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy for ovarian cancer debulking or staging. Methods: From a prospective surgical database, we identified 51 cases of laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy for ovarian cancer debulking or staging. No cases were excluded. Results: From 2009 to 2012, 51 patients were identified. The median age was 62 years (range, 32–83 years), and the median body mass index was 29 kg/m2 (range, 16–41 kg/m2). Medical comorbidities were present in 40 patients (78%), and 53% had prior abdominal surgery. The median operative time was 2 hours (range, 1–3.5 hours), and the median blood loss was 200 mL (range, 50–900 mL). The median length of stay was 1 day (range, 0–12 days). The stage was I in 12 patients, II in 6, and III/IV in 33. At a median follow-up time of 1.7 years (range, 0.3–2.6 years), 20 patients (39%) had recurrence of cancer, with a median time of recurrence of 1.1 years (range, 0.3–2.3 years). All recurrences were in the abdomen or pelvis except for 1 axillary node recurrence and 1 recurrence in the distal vagina. There were no recurrences in the remaining cervical stump. No patient had a postoperative vaginal cuff infection. Among the 104 cycles of intraperitoneal chemotherapy, there was no vaginal leakage of intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Conclusion: Laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy for ovarian cancer debulking or staging does not result in cervical recurrence.


Public markets and supermarkets are one of the largest solid waste generators in Mexico City. Based on Mexican regulations, markets and supermarkets should have an efficient solid waste management system. However, currently there are not waste management plans; wastes are routinely mixed and separation is scarce. For that reason, the goal of this research was to propose a Solar Drying Systems for treatment fruits and vegetables before they are a waste or arrive at the trash can due to its decomposition, to prolong their availability on the markets and supermarkets. Likewise, an unconventional technology was proposed for treating organic wastes. There are 329 public markets and 332 supermarkets in Mexico City with no waste management strategies, the biggest problem being the temporary storage of the wastes. The most common solid wastes were: food residues, cardboard, paper and plastics, while metals, Styrofoam and rubber represented the smallest part of solid wastes. Citrus wastes were the most suitable to be treated with unconventional technologies. Wastes treated in solar dryers at a temperature of 40 degrees, 900 W/m 2 of solar radiation, permitted to obtain a highly nutritious product containing 93% of dry matter, without bacterial life, appropriate for use as animal feed for cattle and sheep. Therefore, it can be said that the solar dehydration is a viable, economic and option that can be used by public market and supermarket  so as not to waste the organic matter, it is recommended to do studies to see if it can be used for pet food.


Sol-gel coatings of mixed TiO2-SiO2 had been deposited on ceramic substrates by spraycoating technique to study their hydrophilic and photocatalytic behavior on exposure to sunlight or ultraviolet illumination. The range of the films heat-treatment temperature is from 300°C to 500°C. AFM and XRD analysis were used to characterize the crystal structure and surface morphology of these coatings. Hydrophilic property was evaluated by water contact angle measurement under sunlight illumination condition, and photocatalytic activity by decomposition rate of aniline blue under ultraviolet illumination. Attrition resistance experiment was also carried out to test the hardness and adherence strength of these films. The experimental results demonstrate that this coating possesses high photo-activity and excellent adhesion to ceramic substrates.


Recent advances have greatly increased the capabilities of large language models (LLMs), but our understanding of the models and their safety has not progressed as fast. In this paper we aim to understand LLMs deeper by studying their individual neurons. We build upon previous work showing large language models such as GPT-4 can be useful in explaining what each neuron in a language model does. Specifically, we analyze the effect of the prompt used to generate explanations and show that reformatting the explanation prompt in a more natural way can significantly improve neuron explanation quality and greatly reduce computational cost. We demonstrate the effects of our new prompts in three different ways, incorporating both automated and human evaluations.


Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have achieved promising performance in various real-world applications. However, recent studies have shown that GNNs are vulnerable to adversarial attacks. In this paper, we study a recently-introduced realistic attack scenario on graphs---graph injection attack (GIA). In the GIA scenario, the adversary is not able to modify the existing link structure and node attributes of the input graph, instead the attack is performed by injecting adversarial nodes into it. We present an analysis on the topological vulnerability of GNNs under GIA setting, based on which we propose the Topological Defective Graph Injection Attack (TDGIA) for effective injection attacks. TDGIA first introduces the topological defective edge selection strategy to choose the original nodes for connecting with the injected ones. It then designs the smooth feature optimization objective to generate the features for the injected nodes. Extensive experiments on large-scale datasets show that TDGIA can consistently and significantly outperform various attack baselines in attacking dozens of defense GNN models. Notably, the performance drop on target GNNs resultant from TDGIA is more than double the damage brought by the best attack solution among hundreds of submissions on KDD-CUP 2020.


In some areas, the payoff of a petaflops computer—more than 1000 times faster than the fastest existing machine—will be surprisingly modest: only a sixfold increase in spatial and temporal resolution in climate models and other three-dimensional simulations. Buta petaflops also marks a threshold where other kinds of computation will become feasible or practical for the first time. They include time-critical problems such as computational support for surgery and applications combining many different kinds of simulations in a computational world, in which multiple users could run simultaneous experiments


There are several basic characteristics of mass spectrometry that are not always fully appreciated by the science community. These characteristics include the distinction between relative and absolute isotope abundances, and the influence of isotope fractionation on the accuracy of isotopic measurements. These characteristics can be illustrated in the field of nuclear physics with reference to the measurement of nuclear parameters, which involve the use of enriched isotopes, and to test models of s-, r-, and p-process nucleosynthesis. The power of isotope-dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) to measure trace elements in primitive meteorites to produce accurate Solar System abundances has been essential to the development of nuclear astrophysics. The variety of mass spectrometric instrumentation used to measure the isotopic composition of elements has sometimes been accompanied by a lack of implementation of basic mass spectrometric protocols which are applicable to all instruments. These metrological protocols are especially important in atomic weight determinations, but must also be carefully observed in cases where the anomalies might be very small, such as in studies of the daughter products of extinct radionuclides to decipher events in the early history of the Solar System. There are occasions in which misleading conclusions have been drawn from isotopic data derived from mass spectrometers where such protocols have been ignored. It is important to choose the mass spectrometer instrument most appropriate to the proposed experiment. The importance of the integrative nature of mass spectrometric measurements has been demonstrated by experiments in which long, double beta decay and geochronological decay half-lives have been measured as an alternative to costly radioactive-counting experiments. This characteristic is also illustrated in the measurement of spontaneous fission yields, which have accumulated over long periods of time. Mass spectrometry is also a valuable tool in the determination of neutron capture cross-section measurements and the application of such determinations in Planetary Science.


Oxidative stress has been established as a key event in initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), F₂₋isoprostanes (F₂₋iPs), and malondialdehyde (MDA) are biomarkers reflecting the status of oxidative stress. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) is protective against atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease (CHD), but its association with oxidative stress is not well established. Studies have indicated that 40-60% of the variation of HDL-c concentration is genetically determined. Extensive literature search indicates that mutation in lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) gene is reported to be associated with lowering of HDL-c concentration. However, there is scarcity of such data amongst the Asian population particularly in a Malay-dominated community. Thus, this study aimed to a) compare the concentration of oxidative stress biomarkers between low HDL-c subjects and normal controls, b) examine the correlation and association between HDL-c and these biomarkers, c) investigate whether HDL-c concentration is an independent predictor for these biomarkers and d) determine the genetic variants of LCAT. A total of 207 low HDL-c subjects and 215 normal controls were recruited for the biochemical aspect of the study. For genetic studies, 70 subjects with the lowest deciles of HDL-c and 140 normal controls were selected from the recruited samples. All exons of LCAT were PCR amplified and sequenced in both groups. For both studies, the groups were matched for age, gender, ethnicity, smoking status, diabetes and hypertension. It was found that oxidative stress biomarkers were higher in low HDL-c group compared to normal controls. There were negative correlations and association between HDL-c concentration and some of the biomarkers. HDL-c was not an independent predictor for the biomarkers. All exons sequencing of LCAT gene revealed no variant found in the subjects studied. In conclusion, HDL-c concentration is strongly associated and correlated with status of oxidative stress, which in part explains the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis associated with low HDL-c. However, it is conceivable to speculate that the role of LCAT variation in HDL-c concentration may be minimal in our population.


California and the nation are at the crossroads of a major shift in school accountability policy. At the state level, California's Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) encourages the use of multiple measures of school performance used locally to support continuous improvement and strategic resource allocation. Similarly, the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reinforces this local control, requiring more comprehensive assessment of school performance and a less prescriptive, local approach to school support. These changes represent a major cultural shift for California schools and districts. Ahead of the curve, six California districts, known as the CORE waiver districts, have implemented an innovative measurement system and supports for school and district improvement under an NCLB waiver, and thus provide a unique opportunity to examine and learn from the enactment of a system supported by accountability policy in this new era. This report examines the early implementation and effects of the CORE reform and seeks to inform the ongoing efforts within CORE as well as the development and implementation of future accountability policy in other states and districts.


Abstract Objectives. To evaluate correlations between symptom severity and daily functioning in adults with ADHD. Methods. In the 5-week, double-blind LAMDA study, 401 adults with ADHD were randomly assigned to Osmotic-Release Oral System (OROS) methylphenidate (MPH) 18, 36 or 72 mg/day, or placebo. The primary variable – investigator-rated Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS:O-SV) – has been presented previously. Secondary endpoints included the self-reported version of CAARS (CAARS-S:S) and Clinical Global Impression – Severity (CGI-S). Daily functioning and quality of life were assessed using the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) and Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q). Relationships between symptom and functional outcomes were evaluated in post-hoc Pearson partial correlation, multivariate regression and mediator analyses. Results. Improvements in CAARS-S:S, CGI-S and SDS scores were significantly greater in each OROS MPH arm versus placebo (P < 0.01 for all comparisons). Correlations between symptom and functioning scores were significant for all comparisons (P < 0.0001). In regression analyses, CAARS Hyperactivity/Impulsivity subscale and CGI-S were correlated with SDS (P < 0.05). CAARS Inattention was correlated with the SDS Family Life domain (P < 0.05). In a mediator analysis, the impact of treatment on SDS scores was fully mediated by improvement in CAARS:O-SV score. Conclusions. OROS MPH 18–72 mg/day was associated with significant improvements in ADHD symptoms, which correlated with improved daily functioning and health-related quality of life.