Atherosclerosis in 64-year-old women with diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance The incidence of obesity and type-2 diabetes (t2D) is rising around the world. T2D is accompanied by an increased risk of macrovascular, atherosclerotic diseases. The timing of the disease process and exact mechanism underlying the association between diabetes and atherosclerotic disease are not known. High-resolution B-mode ultrasound is a non-invasive technique to measure very early atherosclerotic disease as the intima-media thickness (IMT) and to assess occurrence, size and echogenicity of atherosclerotic plaques in superficial arteries such as the carotid arteries. Remodelling, i.e a change in vascular diameter in response to atherosclerosis may also be examined. The overall aim of this thesis was to examine the occurrence of early atherosclerosis in t2D and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Our hypothesis was that there is a gradual enlargement of IMT and an increased occurrence of plaques, especially echolucent plaques, with worsening glucose tolerance, accompanied by a remodelling that might be visible already in subjects with IGT. In order to summarise current knowledge a systematic reviews were made in order to identify cross-sectional studies using the ultrasound method. The differences between IMT in t2D or IGT and control subjects were calculated. Meta-analysis using random-effects model was used to calculate summary measures. In a cross-sectional study, the entire cohort of 64 years old women in Goteborg were invited to take part in a screening examination. Of these, 2595 participated and underwent anthropometric measurements and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) that was repeated within two weeks. Ultrasound examinations were made in a cohort of women with known (n=99) and new diabetes (n=106), IGT (n=205) and NGT (n=188). In the systematic review of 23 studies we found that t2D was associated with an 0.13 mm increase in IMT compared to controls. There was a considerable heterogeneity between the studies that complicated the interpretation of the meta-analysis. This difference can be interpreted as if the diabetic patients were ten years older than the control group and that they had an elevated risk for stroke and myocardial infarction. In patients with IGT, the increase in IMT was about 25% of that observed in diabetes. The screening examination showed that 10% of the women had diabetes of whom half were newly detected. Without repeated OGTTs 37% of the new diabetes would have been missed. The women with t2D had larger IMT and plaqueareas compared to women in IGT and NGT groups. The plaques were most frequenty echolucent. In the IGT group, no increase in atherosclerosis was observed, but the result was within the confidenceinterval of the meta-analysis, indicating that IGT is associated with a small increase in IMT in the CCA (0.03mm). Carotid vascular remodelling with enlargement in IMT and lumen diameter had however occurred already in the women with new t2D. This remodelling process was seen only in women with atherosclerotic plaques and was not associated to t2D per se. In conclusion, already in screening detected diabetes sub-clinical atherosclerosis with IMT enlargement and occurrence of plaque with vascular remodelling are observed, indicating that a powerful intervention must be initiated in such cases. Keywords; systematic review, atherosclerosis, type-2 diabetes, IMT, vascular remodelling, IGT. ISBN 978-91-628-7179-6


In the area of biped robot research, much progress has been made in the past few years. However, some difficulties remain to be dealt with, particularly about the implementation of fast and dynamic walking gaits, in other words anthropomorphic gaits, especially on uneven terrain. In this perspective, both concepts of center of pressure (CoP) and zero moment point (ZMP) are obviously useful. In this paper, the two concepts are strictly defined, the CoP with respect to ground-feet contact forces, the ZMP with respect to gravity plus inertia forces. Then, the coincidence of CoP and ZMP is proven, and related control aspects are examined. Finally, a virtual CoP-ZMP is defined, allowing us to extend the concept when walking on uneven terrain. This paper is a theoretical study. Experimental results are presented in a companion paper, analyzing the evolution of the ground contact forces obtained from a human walker wearing robot feet as shoes.


The indices of population health exhibit tendency to deteriorate with age. The high level of morbidity, prevalence of chronic diseases, polymorbidity, atypical course of disease, continuous rehabilitation period, frequent complications and exacerbations are specific for individuals over able-bodied age. The purpose of study is to analyze dynamic, structure and characteristics of morbidity of population over able-bodied age in the Russian Federation. The study established specific features in dynamics and structure of morbidity of elderly population during 2012-2018. They are associated with high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, diseases of musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. Furthermore, there is variety in morbidity rates of neoplasms, endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases, mental and behavioral disorders, diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism, diseases of the eye and adnexa, diseases of ear and mastoid process and also symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not classified in other rubrics. The analysis of indices of primary and common morbidity of pneumonia in elderly population of different regions of the Russian Federation was carried out.


The weed is a major constraint of dry-direct seeded rice (DDSR) due to change in establishment methods and shifting weed flora towards competitive grasses and sedges. To minimize the weed density, its species and dry weight with brown manuring and for optimizing the yield of DDSR, the experiment was conducted during monsoon season of 2014 at Chitwan, Nepal. The experiment was done using a strip plot design to find the optimum seed rate and killing date of Sesbania under rice-Sesbania co-culture. Among different seed rates (60, 80, 100 kg ha-1) and knocking down days (21, 28, 35 & 42 DAS) of Sesbania, the optimum seed rate of Sesbania was 102 kg ha-1 and killing date was 32 days. The individual plot size was 5 x 4 m2. The growing of Sesbania with 100 kg seeds ha-1 along with its knocked down at 28 DAS was seen best to minimize the weeds having better performance of rice. The experiment clearly demonstrated the importance of brown manuring on effective control of weeds and on grain yield of rice under dry direct seeded rice.
Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 6(4): 359-365


Male athymic "nude" mice (ANM) of the USC colony manifest spontaneous fasting hyperglycemia and reduced glucose tolerance; it has been proposed that they may represent a model of nonobese non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Following the recent demonstration that insulin secretion from the isolated, perfused pancreas of the male ANM appears to be hypersensitive to glucose, the function of individual pancreatic islet beta cells was investigated by measuring the membrane potential electrical activity. Initial studies demonstrated that the cyclic pattern of electrical activity in isolated female ANM islets is indistinguishable from that in control mouse islets. In contrast to control and female ANM beta cells, in which 11.1 mM glucose evoked approximately 50% maximal electrical activity, this concentration evoked almost 80% maximal activity in male ANM beta cells (p < 0.01). Investigating electrical responses at different glucose concentrations demonstrated that this increased sensitivity to glucose extends across the concentration range 2.8 to 22 mM. Assuming that in these islets, as in normal islets, electrical activity is associated with insulin release, these data indicate that the glucose-versus-insulin secretion dose-response is shifted to lower glucose concentrations at the level of the individual beta cell. Although this study demonstrates that altered beta-cell function occurs in the isolated islet of the male ANM, further investigation is under way to determine how the observed beta-cell glucose hypersensitivity is related to the hyperglycemia and impaired glucose tolerance that develop in these animals in vivo.


A model of group decision-making is studied, in which one of two alternatives must be chosen. While group members differ in their valuations of the alternatives, everybody prefers agreement to disagreement. Our model is distinguished by three features: private information regarding valuations, varying intensities in the preference for one outcome over the other, and the option to declare neutrality in order to avoid disagreement. We uncover a variant on the 'tyranny of the majority': there is always an equilibrium in which the majority is more aggressive in pushing its alternative, thus enforcing their will via both numbers and voice. Under general conditions, however, an aggressive minority equilibrium inevitably makes an appearance, provided that the group is large enough. The notable exception is the special case of unanimity rule: we show that aggressive minority equilibria may never exist irrespective of group size. Aggressive minority equilibria invariably display a 'tyranny of the minority': it is always true that the increased aggression of the minority more than compensates for smaller numbers, leading to the minority outcome being implemented with larger probability than the majority alternative. We fully characterize the asymptotic behavior of this model as group size becomes large, and show that all equilibria must converge to one of three possible limit outcomes.


We consider the process dYt = ut dt + dWt , where u is a processnot necessarily adapted to F Y (the filtration generated by the process Y)and W is a Brownian motion. We obtain a general representation for thelikelihood ratio of the law of the Y process relative to Brownian measure.This representation involves only one basic filter (expectation of u conditionalon observed process Y). This generalizes the result of Kailath and Zakai[Ann.Math. Statist. 42 (1971) 130â€"140] where it is assumed that the process uis adapted to F Y . In particular, we consider the model in which u is afunctional of Y and of a random element X which is independent of theBrownian motion W. For example, X could be a diffusion or a Markov chain.This result can be applied to the estimation of an unknown multidimensionalparameter I¸ appearing in the dynamics of the process u based on continuousobservation of Y on the time interval [0,T ]. For a specific hidden diffusionfinancial model in which u is an unobserved mean-reverting diffusion, wegive an explicit form for the likelihood function of I¸. For this model we alsodevelop a computationally explicit Eâ€"M algorithm for the estimation of I¸. Incontrast to the likelihood ratio, the algorithm involves evaluation of a numberof filtered integrals in addition to the basic filter.


In 1912 the RMS Titanic (Titanic) sank; in 1985 Dr. Robert Ballard and the Institute of France for Research and Exploration of the Sea discovered the Titanic, and in 1994 the legal battles began. The stories of the Titanic sinking are just the tip of the iceberg — this article presents the rest of the story. This article studies the legal efforts to preserve the Titanic, evaluates the issues surrounding shipwrecks in international water, and analyzes what can be learned from this effort to help preserve other shipwrecks. There have been legislation, treaties and guidelines enacted to protect the Titanic. International treaties and US statutes and guidelines recognise the historical importance of the Titanic and seek to preserve the Titanic and her artifacts, to keep the artifacts together as a collection, to exhibit the collection to the public and to disseminate the information to the public. Much litigation has consumed the issue of which court has jurisdiction to adjudicate rights to the Titanic and who has those rights, however, as the Titanic is in international waters. One complicating factor is the different attitudes and law of states involved towards underwater cultural heritage. In the United States, the Fourth Circuit had declared that it has in rem jurisdiction over the Titanic in the United States and that R.M.S. Titanic, Inc (RMST), had salvor-in-possessor status in the United States. After RMST's status was fully litigated, the district court in the Eastern District of Virginia crafted a salvage award for RMST. The court determined that RMST was entitled to 100 per cent of the fair market value of the salvaged objects and gave title of the artifacts to RMST. Since then, RMST has announced its intentions to sell the salvaged Titanic artifacts — leaving the Titanic and her artifacts in peril once again. If the most famous shipwreck in the world has encountered these obstacles to preservation, then what hope do the lesser known shipwrecks have?


ABSTRACT. Naloxone has been shown to reverse the hemodynamic sequelae of experimental septic shock in adult animal models. Its effectiveness in the newborn has not been studied. To further investigate the efficacy of naloxone, we instrumented 18 piglets for continuous measurement of mean arterial pressure, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, central venous pressure, heart rate, left ventricular pressure, contractility, cardiac output, and O2. Oxygen consumption, systemic vascular resistance, and pulmonary vascular resistance were calculated. Following a stabilization period, group B β-hemolytic Streptococci were infused over 30 min. Following the infusion, naloxone (1 mg/kg) was given followed by a continuous infusion of 1 mg/kg/h in nine treatment animals. Nine control animals were given an equal volume of saline. Both groups developed significant increases in mean pulmonary arterial pressure followed by a return to baseline. Oxygen consumption, cardiac output, contractility and mean arterial pressure decreased in both groups. Treatment with naloxone was associated with a cessation in the fall in the mean arterial pressure and the contractility. The difference in mean arterial pressure and contractility between groups was significant. The naloxone group had significantly improved 5–h survival. We speculate that naloxone may reverse some of the hemodynamic sequelae and improve survival in newborns with septic shock.


Abstract Knots (i.e., branch bases inside tree stems) in spruce trees contained remarkably higher concentrations of lignans and oligolignans than the adjacent stemwood. The amount of lignans in some knots exceeded 10% (w w−1) and some knots contained hundreds of times more lignans than the heartwood in the same tree. However, there were large variations between different species and even between different knots in the same tree. 7-Hydroxymatairesinol was the predominant lignan in knots of Picea abies, P. glauca, P. koraiensis, P. mariana, and P. omorika, while liovil and secoisolariciresinol dominated in P. sitchensis and P. pungens. The lignans occur in free form in knots and are easily extracted with polar solvents. In addition to the true lignans, especially the knots contained large amounts of lignan-related oligomeric aromatic substances, here called oligolignans, consisting of three or four phenylpropane units. 7-Hydroxymatairesinol, but also other lignans, could be extracted in large scale from spruce knots at pulp and paper mills. Other potentially important lignans could be produced from 7-hydroxymatairesinol by semisynthesis. The ready availability of large amounts of lignans and oligolignans now enables research to assess their bioactivity and provide the basis for applications in medicine and nutrition or as natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents in a variety of technical products.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Long-term propagation of human colonic epithelial cells (HCEC) of adult origin has been a challenge; currently used HCEC lines are of malignant origin and/or contain multiple cytogenetic changes. We sought to immortalize human colon biopsy-derived cells expressing stem cell markers and retaining multilineage epithelial differentiation capability.

METHODS
We isolated and cultured cells from biopsy samples of 2 patients undergoing routine screening colonoscopy. Cells were immortalized by expression of the nononcogenic proteins cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (Cdk4) and the catalytic component of human telomerase (hTERT) and maintained for more than 1 year in culture.

RESULTS
The actively proliferating HCECs expressed the mesenchymal markers vimentin and alpha-smooth muscle actin. Upon growth arrest, cells assumed a cuboidal shape, decreased their mesenchymal features, and expressed markers of colonic epithelial cells such as cytokeratin 18, zonula occludens-1, mucins-1 and -2, antigen A33, and dipeptidyl peptidase 4. Immortalized cells expressed stem cell markers that included LGR5, BMI1, CD29, and CD44. When placed in Matrigel in the absence of a mesenchymal feeder layer, individual cells divided and formed self-organizing, cyst-like structures; a subset of cells exhibited mucin-2 or polarized villin staining.

CONCLUSIONS
We established immortalized HCECs that are capable of self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. These cells should serve as valuable reagents for studying colon stem cell biology, differentiation, and pathogenesis.


This paper describes the design of a study of visitors to a science museum who are equipped with wirelessly connected handheld devices. The museum exhibits are augmented with information and services in the form of web pages, and the users can access those pages conveniently when in the proximity of the exhibits as well as from their desktops outside the museum. The goal of the study is to examine use of technologies for 'bridging the physical and virtual worlds'. We describe the museum setting and the technologies deployed. We outline a layered model for describing the user's activities and a methodology that we propose for our analysis. We explain how the notion of combined virtual and physical navigation is central to the study, which we have just begun.


BACKGROUND
Tissue tumor mutational burden (TMB) has emerged as a potential biomarker predicting response to anti-programmed cell death-1 protein receptor (PD-1)/programmed cell death-1 protein ligand (PD-L1) therapy, but few studies have explored using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) TMB in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 136 patients with NSCLC with ctDNA testing were retrospectively evaluated from a single institution, along with a validation cohort from a second institution. ctDNA TMB was derived using the number of detected mutations over the DNA sequencing length.

RESULTS
Higher ctDNA TMB was significantly correlated with smoking history (p < .05, chi-squared test). Among patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (n = 20), higher ctDNA TMB was significantly correlated with shorter progressive free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS; 45 vs. 355 days; hazard ratio [HR], 5.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-24.6; p < .01, and OS 106 days vs. not reached; HR, 6.0; 95% CI, 1.3-27.1; p < .01, respectively). In a small independent validation cohort (n = 12), there was a nonsignificant numerical difference for higher ctDNA TMB predicting shorter OS but not PFS. ctDNA TMB was not correlated with RECIST tumor burden estimation in the subset of patients treated with immune checkpoint blockade.

CONCLUSION
The findings indicate that higher ctDNA TMB, at the current commercial sequencing length, reflects worse clinical outcomes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Biomarkers to identify patients who will respond to immune checkpoint blockade are critical. Tissue tumor mutational burden (TMB) has emerged as a viable biomarker to predict response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy, but few studies have explored the meaning and potential clinical significance of noninvasive, blood-based TMB. Here, we investigated circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) TMB and present data demonstrating that current ctDNA TMB may reflect tumor burden and that ctDNA panels with a greater number of mutations may be necessary to more accurately reflect tissue TMB.


In this study the application of high performance air filtration was tested in seven educational buildings in Northwestern Europe, mainly primary schools. This study shows that high performance air filtration can reduce exposure to traffic-related air pollution of school children at hot spot locations.Filtration is only effective, however, if filters are frequently replaced and the ventilation system properly maintained. We encountered a variety of maintenance related problems, which may result in air filtering posing health risks from inadequate ventilation. If a filter is applied and proper maintenance is guaranteed, F9 is the best choice. Siting schools away from busy roadways is always the preferred option, however.


Previous linkage analyses of families with multiple cases of schizophrenia by us and others have confirmed the involvement of the chromosome 11q22-24 region in the etiology of schizophrenia, with LOD scores of 3.4 and 3.1. We now report fine mapping of a susceptibility gene in the 11q22-24 region, determined on the basis of a University College London (UCL) sample of 496 cases and 488 supernormal controls. Confirmation was then performed by the study of an Aberdeen sample consisting of 858 cases and 591 controls (for a total of 2,433 individuals: 1,354 with schizophrenia and 1,079 controls). Seven microsatellite or single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers localized within or near the FXYD6 gene showed empirically significant allelic associations with schizophrenia in the UCL sample (for D11S1998, P=.021; for rs3168238, P=.009; for TTTC20.2, P=.048; for rs1815774, P=.049; for rs4938445, P=.010; for rs4938446, P=.025; for rs497768, P=.023). Several haplotypes were also found to be associated with schizophrenia; for example, haplotype Hap-F21 comprising markers rs10790212-rs4938445-rs497768 was found to be associated with schizophrenia, by a global permutation test (P=.002). Positive markers in the UCL sample were then genotyped in the Aberdeen sample. Two of these SNPs were found to be associated with schizophrenia in the Scottish sample (for rs4938445, P=.044; for rs497768, P=.037). The Hap-F21 haplotype also showed significant association with schizophrenia in the Aberdeen sample, with the same alleles being associated (P=.013). The FXYD6 gene encodes a protein called "phosphohippolin" that is highly expressed in regions of the brain thought to be involved in schizophrenia. The protein functions by modulating the kinetic properties of Na,K-ATPase to the specific physiological requirements of the tissue. Etiological base-pair changes in FXYD6 or in associated promoter/control regions are likely to cause abnormal function or expression of phosphohippolin and to increase genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia.


BACKGROUND
Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is widely recognised as an important cause of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in children. Pulmonary manifestations are typically tracheobronchitis or pneumonia but M. pneumoniae is also implicated in wheezing episodes in both asthmatic and non-asthmatic individuals. Although antibiotics are used to treat LRTI, a review of several major textbooks offers conflicting advice for the use of antibiotics in the management of M. pneumoniae LRTI in children.

OBJECTIVES
To determine whether antibiotics are effective in the treatment of childhood LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae infections acquired in the community.

SEARCH STRATEGY
We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 1, 2005), which contains the ARI Group's specialised register of trials; MEDLINE (1966 to February 2005); and EMBASE (1980 to December 2004).

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised controlled trials comparing antibiotics commonly used for treating M. pneumoniae (i.e. macrolide, tetracycline or quinolone classes) versus placebo, or antibiotics from any other class in the treatment of children under 18 years of age with community acquired LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
The authors independently selected trials for inclusion and assessed methodological quality. Relevant data were extracted and analysed separately and any disagreements were resolved by consensus.

MAIN RESULTS
A total of 1352 children were enrolled from six studies. The number of children from one study was unavailable. Data interpretation was significantly limited by the inability to extract data that specifically referred to children with M. pneumoniae. Clinical response did not differ between the children randomised to a macrolide antibiotic and the children randomised to a non-macrolide antibiotic. There were no studies comparing relevant antibiotics with placebo.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
This review found insufficient evidence to draw any conclusions about the efficacy of antibiotics for LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae in children. The use of antibiotics for M. pneumoniae LRTI has to be individualised and balanced with possible adverse events associated with antibiotic use. There is a need for high quality, double-blinded randomised controlled trials to assess the efficacy and safety of antibiotics for LRTI secondary to M. pneumoniae in children.


The rendering procedure used by neural radiance fields (NeRF) samples a scene with a single ray per pixel and may therefore produce renderings that are excessively blurred or aliased when training or testing images observe scene content at different resolutions. The straightforward solution of supersampling by rendering with multiple rays per pixel is impractical for NeRF, because rendering each ray requires querying a multilayer perceptron hundreds of times. Our solution, which we call "mip-NeRF" (à la "mipmap"), extends NeRF to represent the scene at a continuously-valued scale. By efficiently rendering anti-aliased conical frustums instead of rays, mip-NeRF reduces objectionable aliasing artifacts and significantly improves NeRF's ability to represent fine details, while also being 7% faster than NeRF and half the size. Compared to NeRF, mip-NeRF reduces average error rates by 17% on the dataset presented with NeRF and by 60% on a challenging multiscale variant of that dataset that we present. Mip-NeRF is also able to match the accuracy of a brute-force supersampled NeRF on our multiscale dataset while being 22× faster.


Arginine methylation mediated by protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) has been shown to be an important posttranslational mechanism involved in various biological processes. Herein, we sought to investigate whether PRMT5, a major type II enzyme, is involved in pathological angiogenesis and, if so, to elucidate the molecular mechanism involved. Our results show that PRMT5 expression is significantly upregulated in ischemic tissues and hypoxic endothelial cells (ECs). Endothelial-specific Prmt5-KO mice were generated to define the role of PRMT5 in hindlimb ischemia–induced angiogenesis. We found that these mice exhibited impaired recovery of blood perfusion and motor function of the lower limbs, an impairment that was accompanied by decreased vascular density and increased necrosis as compared with their WT littermates. Furthermore, both pharmacological and genetic inhibition of PRMT5 significantly attenuated EC proliferation, migration, tube formation, and aortic ring sprouting. Mechanistically, we showed that inhibition of PRMT5 markedly attenuated hypoxia-induced factor 1-α (HIF-1α) protein stability and vascular endothelial growth factor–induced (VEGF-induced) signaling pathways in ECs. Our results provide compelling evidence demonstrating a crucial role of PRMT5 in hypoxia-induced angiogenesis and suggest that inhibition of PRMT5 may provide novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of abnormal angiogenesis-related diseases, such as cancer and diabetic retinopathy.


A solid-state zero-field maser oscillator has been experimentally investigated to determine the power, stability, and spectral purity which may be expected in this type of device. The maser operates in a zero-field configuration and uses the ferric ion substituted as an impurity in an aluminum nitrate host crystal. Single-crystal and powder samples were used in the experiments, and a comparison between the sample configuration is given.


The Earth's oceans host an enormous range of natural resources, over 90 billion kg of fish and shell fish are caught each year (WorldOceanReview, 2011). The oceans play an overriding role in climate regulation, removing vast quantities of carbon from the atmosphere. It is believed phytoplankton could account for more than half the earth's oxygen production (ConsciousAlliance, 2011). Monitoring these biological and chemical characteristics offers an invaluable insight into the way our oceans work, which can then be used to generate and verify reliable models of the global ecosystem. In-situ sensors have been identified as the way forward, due to the ever changing properties of the world's oceans in terms of chemistry and biology. The sensors will have to overcome harsh working conditions and process large quantities of data, whilst using as little power as possible. The work undertaken for this thesis aims to develop ultrasonic standing wave particle manipulation techniques for use in an oceanographic environment. Ultrasonic particle manipulation techniques are generally confined to ceramic devices, which are incompatible with oceanographic sensing on a large scale deployment. This work has bridged that gap and developed fresh approaches to ultrasonic techniques in polymer devices. In addition to this, novel manufacturing methods have been developed to improve the robustness of the devices or to make the technology more compatible with cheaper, quicker and easier manufacturing techniques. A specific problem in oceanographic sensing is biofouling – the build up of microorganisms in and around the sensor. This project has investigated the feasibility of using ultrasonic techniques to reduce this build up, in particular, the formation of biofilms within sensors. The use of ultrasonics to reduce biofouling has been investigated by others, but it generally focuses on acoustic streaming techniques which induces mixing and has high power requirements incompatible with remote sensing (Sankaranarayanan et al., 2008). This work was carried out in conjunction with the Centre for Marine Microsystems in Southampton. The centre is developing robust high performance metrology systems for use in oceanographic science. Four distinct class of sensors will all be looked at, Chemical, Physical, Nucleic acid sensors and a ?-flow cytometer (UniversityOfSouthampton, 2011). To assist in the development of oceanographic ultrasonic sensing platforms, one dimensional and two dimensional modelling was carried out in Matlab (R2014b) and ANSYS (12.0). The models were used to design new devices as well verify experimental results. In particular, ANSYS was used to investigate the mechanism behind standing wave particle manipulation devices. The modelling investigated the robustness of such a device and their suitability for scaling up and integration into an oceanographic sensor. Once the computational modelling had been carried out, devices were built using a variety of manufacturing techniques. As required, the techniques were adapted and optimised for the production of ultrasonic oceanographic sensors. The work went on to qualitatively and quantitatively analyse the affects of ultrasonic techniques in an oceanographic sensor. In particular, the formation of biofilm within a polymer sensor was analysed. Image processing software was optimised for the experiments then used to identify the effects of ultrasonic standing wave techniques. The work shows that it is possible to reduce the build up of biofilms within polymer devices over substantial time periods using ultrasonic standing wave techniques. The devices used differ from conventional ceramic devices in that less than an exact half wave was set up across the fluid channel. This means there are non zero forces acting at the polymer/fluid boundary which is beneficial for the reduction of biofilm formation. The work also identifies a mechanism for the alignment of particles within a microfluidic device through the use of surface acoustic waves, though it was not possible to verify the computational results experimentally. A novel manufacturing technique using spin coating was developed that would allow easier construction of surface wave devices. In addition to this, a new type of device was developed utilising the transparent properties of lithium niobate in a bulk acoustic wave configuration. In the process of carrying out this work an experimental method has been developed allowing the depth of particles within devices to be ascertained through long exposure images. The length of the particle streak allows the position of the particle relative to a solid/fluid boundary to be inferred, and the data can be presented in such a way to build up a picture of the device characteristics.


Argument aggregation is the problem of combining argumentation frameworks. An argument aggregation procedure takes as input an argument framework for each agent in a system, intuitively representing the beliefs of that agent with respect to a disputed domain of discourse; the output is an argumentation framework that represents the social position on the domain of discourse. There are clear analogies between argument aggregation and the well-known preference aggregation problem, which has been extensively studied in the social choice community. The first contribution of this paper is to apply some of the methodology developed in social choice theory to argument aggregation. After recalling the basic framework of Dung's abstract argument systems, and introducing the argument aggregation problem, we motivate and formally define a collection of axioms that specific argument aggregation procedures might or might not satisfy. The second contribution of the paper is to consider the analysis of argument aggregation procedures with respect to these various axioms. We consider a natural representation for argument aggregation procedures, based on Boolean circuits. We then investigate the problem of verifying whether an argument aggregation procedure, presented in this way, does or does not satisfy a number of the axioms we introduced.


This paper analyzes collective bargaining using Spanish firm level data. Central to the analysis are the joint determination of wage and strike outcomes in a dynamic framework and the possibility of segregate wage equation for strike and non-strike outcomes. Conditional to strikes taking place, we confirm a negative relationship between strike duration and wage changes in a dynamic context. Furthermore, we find selection in wage equations induced by the strike outcome. In this sense, the possibility of wage determination processes being different in strike and non-strike samples is not rejected by the data. In particular, wage dynamics are of opposite sing in both strike and non-strike equations. Finally, we find evidence of a 0.33 percentage points wage change strike premium.


Ten South Dakota soils were investigated to determine the effect of prolonged storage under air-dry conditions on the accumulation of nitrate nitrogen during subsequent laboratory incubation. Each soil was sieved and spread out in a drying cabinet where there was forced air circulation at room temperature. While the soils were still moist, as they occurred in the field, a sample of each soil was leached free of nitrate and incubated in a humid chamber for 14 days. Nitrate nitrogen which accumulated during the incubation period was determined. Similar incubations were made after soils had been stored at room temperature for 3, 6, 9, 18, 24, 34, and 50 weeks. Results showed the nitrification rate of freshly-collected soil was high compared to that after air-drying and 3 weeks of storage prior to incubation. Subsequent incubations showed a progressive increase in the nitrification level. The precision of results among replicates improved with the length of storage. Prior to 18 weeks of storage the amount of nitrate nitrogen accumulated during incubations was not correlated with oat yield responses to nitrogen fertilization. Incubations made after 18 weeks of storage, however, yielded results which correlated with the response of oats to nitrogen fertilization.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Protease-activated receptors (PARs) are expressed in the enteric nervous system. Excessive release of proteases has been reported in functional and inflammatory bowel diseases. Studies in several animal models indicate the involvement of neural PARs. We studied the actions of different PAR-activating peptides (AP) in the human submucous plexus and performed comparative studies in guinea pig submucous neurons.

METHODS
We used voltage- and calcium-sensitive dye recordings to study the effects of PAR1-AP, PAR2-AP, PAR4-AP, the PAR1 activator thrombin, and the PAR2 activator tryptase on neurons and glia in human and guinea pig submucous plexus. Human preparations were derived from surgical resections. Levels of mucosal secretion evoked by PAR-APs were measured in Ussing chambers.

RESULTS
PAR1-AP and thrombin evoked a prominent spike discharge and intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca](i)) transients in most human submucous neurons and glia. PAR2-AP, tryptase, and PAR4-AP caused significantly weaker responses in a minor population. In contrast, PAR2-AP evoked much stronger responses in enteric neurons and glia of guinea pigs than did PAR1-AP or PAR4-AP. PAR1-AP, but not PAR2-AP or PAR4-AP, evoked a nerve-mediated secretion in human epithelium. The PAR1 antagonist SCH79797 inhibited the PAR1-AP, and thrombin evoked responses on neurons, glia, and epithelial secretion. In the submucous layer of human intestine, but not guinea pig intestine, PAR2-AP evoked [Ca](i) signals in CD68(+) macrophages.

CONCLUSIONS
In the human submucous plexus, PAR1, rather than PAR2 or PAR4, activates nerves and glia. These findings indicate that PAR1 should be the focus of future studies on neural PAR-mediated actions in the human intestine; PAR1 might be developed as a therapeutic target for gastrointestinal disorders associated with increased levels of proteases.


The piezoelectric potential generated in a bent ZnO nanorod cantilever is analyzed by means of the first piezoelectric effect approximation. The results show that the piezoelectric potential in the nanorod is proportional to lateral force but is independent along the longitudinal direction. And the electric potential in the tensile area and that of compressive area are antisymmetric in cross section of the nanorod, which makes the nanorod become a "parallel plated capacitor" for piezoelectric nanodevices, such as nanogenerator. The investigation of the carriers influence on the piezoelectric potential in a bent ZnO nanorod reveals that the positive piezoelectric potential in stretched side of the bent nanorod is significantly screened by the carriers and the negative potential in compressed side is well preserved when considering a moderate carrier concentration of


The World Health Organization has described poverty as the greatest cause of suffering on earth. This article considers the direct and indirect effects of relative poverty on the development of emotional, behavioural and psychiatric problems, in the context of the growing inequality between rich and poor. The problems of children in particular are reviewed. Targets to reduce inequality have been set both nationally and internationally.


topics. The clinical chapters on recurrent abdominal pain, asthma and obesity carefully review the field without over-stating the claims for behavioural inter vention. The chapters on elevated blood pressure, hospitalisation, cigarette smoking, and compliance in paediatric populations deal more with community issues, but are the less valuable for that. This book lays solid foundations for interventions in child health which are appropriate and well focussed. The whole book is impressive in this respect. I would like to see the various chapters as being useful foundations for those clinically involved in the fields concerned. Perhaps tighter editing would have improved the chapters on elevated blood pressure and cigarette smoking, but there is an excellent chapter on paediatric treatment compliance. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those who work in the child health field, paediatricians, psychiatrists or psychologists.


The value of archives (records) to society defines the value of archival enterprise. When a columnist compares archivists to a fictional person who takes ultimate professional delight in studying feces, it is time to look at the ways that archivists describe the material with which they work. The author criticizes the current glossary definition of archives and offers significantly different definitions, both formal and informal, that archivists can use to improve the public's perception of the value of archives.


Cigarette smoke (CS) is the major cause of lung cancer and contributes to the development of other malignancies. Attempts have been made to construct reduced toxicity cigarettes, presumed to have diminished genotoxic potential. One such product on the market is the tobacco and nicotine free (T&N-free) cigarette type made from lettuce and herbal extracts. We have recently developed a sensitive assay of the genotoxicity of CS based on cytometric analysis of induction of the DNA damage response (DDR) in normal human pulmonary endothelial or A549 pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells. In the present study, we observed that exposure of A549 cells to CS from T/N-free cigarettes induced a smoke-dose dependent DDR as evidenced by phosphorylation (activation) of the Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein kinase and of the histone H2AX (γH2AX). The extent of DDR induced by T&N-free smoke was distinctly greater than that induced by comparable doses of CS from reference cigarettes (2R4F) containing tobacco and nicotine. The pattern of DDR induced by T&N-free smoke was similar to that of 2R4F cigarettes in terms of the cell cycle phase specificity and involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The data also imply that similar to 2R4F exposure of cells to T/N-free smoke leads to formation of double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs) resulting from collapse of replication forks upon collision with the primary ssDNA lesions induced by smoke. Since DSBs are potentially carcinogenic our data indicate that smoking tobacco and nicotine-free cigarettes is at least as hazardous as smoking cigarettes containing tobacco and nicotine.


Soybeans of the Hardee variety planted at 20 inches X 3 1/2 inches yielded over 40 bushels per acre when planted from mid-February to mid-September. The highest yields, exceeding 60 bushels per acre, were obtained from May and June plantings and the lowest, about 20 bushels per acre, from December and January plantings with 90,000 plants per acre in all cases. Yields can be increased markedly during the winter by increasing populations to about 200,000 plants per acre. Higher yields were obtained with 20-inch X 3 1/2-inch than with 30- inch X 2 1/3-inch or 40-inch X 1 3/4-inch spacings. Bean size and protein and oil contents were unaffected by plant spacing or season of the year. It is possible to produce two crops of soybeans yearly in Puerto Eico with a combined yield of over 100 bushels (6,000 pounds) per acre containing about 2,500 pounds of dry protein and 1,300 pounds of oil. Three crops with a total yield of 160 bushels per acre yearly are theoretically possible.


An interesting integrated configuration in a thermochemical conversion biorefinery that is producing dimethyl ether (DME) is to use a small fraction of the BioDME for dewatering of the solid biomass feedstock. Therefore, the use of liquid BioDME was investigated in this study for pressurized dewatering of biomass at room temperature. Water was removed in liquid form from wet sawdust and wet wood chips using liquid DME in a laboratory-scale batch unit. Both the sawdust and the wood chips could be dewatered in a short time (minutes) to a moisture content of 15% (w/w) from an initial content of approximately 55% (w/w). Longer DME treatment times (hours) lowered the moisture content even further down to 8% (w/w), indicating that the transport phenomena in the porous biomass and the solubility of DME in water influence the dewatering characteristics. The DME dewatering performance, 12–22 g DME per g water removed, was similar to literature data on coal dewatering using liquid DME. The present study showed that DME dewatering of the solid biomass feedstock has potential as an energy-efficient dewatering process, especially in an integrated thermochemical conversion biorefinery.


Detection of false or misleading green claims (referred to as "greenwashing") within company sustainability disclosures is challenging for a number of reasons, which include the textual and qualitative nature, volume, and complexity of such disclosures. In recent years, notable progress made in the fields of artificial intelligence and specifically, large language models (LLMs), has showcased the capacity of these tools to effectively analyse extensive and intricate textual data, including the contents of sustainability disclosures. Transformer-based LLMs, such as Google's BERT architecture, were trained on general domain text corpora. Subsequent research has shown that further pre-training of such LLMs on specific domains, such as the climate or sustainability domains, may improve performance. However, previous research often uses text corpora that exhibit significant variation across topics and language and which often consist of heterogeneous subdomains. We therefore propose a conceptual framework for further pre-training of transformer based LLMs using text corpora relating to specific sustainability subdomains i.e. subdomain specific pre-training. We do so as a basis for the improved performance of such models in analysing sustainability disclosures. The main contribution is a conceptual framework to advance the use of LLMs for the reliable identification of green claims and ultimately, greenwashing.
Keywords: greenwashing, artificial intelligence, sustainability, sustainability reporting, sustainability disclosures.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the prevalence and intensity of musculoskeletal pain and to estimate probability of developing playing-related musculoskeletal disorders, depending on risk factors, including gender, years of playing the musical instrument, frequency of practice (number of days per week), average daily practice time, and habitual physical activity level, in young instrumentalists.

METHODS
A total of 225 instrumentalists aged 10-18 years, including 107 string-players, 64 keyboardists, and 54 wind-players, were investigated. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) together with a numerical visual-analogue pain intensity scale (VAS) was used to assess the participants' musculoskeletal pain.

RESULTS
The young instrumentalists most often complained of pain located in the neck (60.4%), wrists (44.4%), and upper (41.7%) and lower back (38.2%) areas. Girls complained of musculoskeletal pain significantly more often than the boys. A probability of the pain symptoms was increased with each consecutive year of practice (OR 1.135; 95%CI 1.021-1.261).

CONCLUSIONS
Musculoskeletal pain in various body parts had already commenced at a young age in our sample of music students, and there was a gender difference (girls were more often affected). Results of our study suggest that an early prophylaxis of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders is needed among young musicians playing the various instruments.


The biochemical method for determination of cetyltrimethyl ammonium or cetylpyridinium, both being nitrogenated cationic surfactants, has been devised by using horse blood serum butyrylcholinesterase as analytical reagent. The method streams from the fact that surfactants tested are inhibitors of butyrylcholinesterase hydrolysis of butyrylcholin, a cationic substrate, but in this case they activate enzymatic hydrolysis of 1-naphthylacetate, a neutral substrate. Presence two opposite effects enlarges reliability to identifications. Use the sensitive fluorimetric method to registrations of activation of hydrolysis a substrate 1-naphtylacetate vastly to reduce the threshold of determination of surfactants above.


This thesis is an original play consisting of two acts. Using the traditional structure and plot constructs of a murder mystery, the thesis also incorporates elements of comedy to create a unique work. A young couple on their honeymoon hears a strange noise from the room next door and attempts to find an explanation. As they search for a satisfactory conclusion, Emma and Peter meet some of the other guests at the hotel, making new friends and encountering new challenges along the way. This thesis attempts to answer the question "can an actor tell a good story with her own words?" and present a solid working draft of a play that tells such a story.


Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease that is characterised by the formation of antibodies against acetylcholine receptors in the postsynaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction. The course of the disease cannot be predicted during pregnancy. A subtype of MG with positive muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase (anti-MuSK) antibodies exhibits more localised clinical characteristics and a poor response to treatment compared with the disease subtype that involves positivity for acetylcholine receptor antibodies. Myasthenic crisis is more frequently observed in anti-MuSK-positive myasthenia patients. Anti-MuSK-positive myasthenic crisis management is very difficult and a risky situation during pregnancy. The reported case was 30 years old, female, 9 weeks pregnant and musk antibody positive. She stopped her treatment without asking her doctor because she was planning pregnancy in the 6-month period before her hospitalization. She was intubated for a long time in the intensive care unit due to myasthenic crisis and was very resistant to treatment. During this period, her pregnancy was terminated due to fetal anomaly. Plasmapheresis, IVIg and immunosuppressive treatments were applied. Our patient was discharged after a period of about 10 weeks. We share our treatment management.


Changes in mean circulatory filling pressure (MCFP) after hemorrhage reflect the whole-body response of the peripheral circulation to restore the driving force for venous return. In this study, changes in MCFP were measured for 15 min following a rapid 8 ml/kg hemorrhage. Three groups of rats were studied: 1) conscious, untreated; 2) conscious, ganglion blocked; and 3) pentobarbital anesthetized. In all three groups, hemorrhage decreased MCFP approximately 2.6 mmHg immediately after hemorrhage. In the conscious untreated rat, MCFP recovered 1.3 mmHg in 15 min; 83% of this recovery was complete within 2 min, and over 50% was complete by 30 s posthemorrhage. With ganglionic blockade, recovery was slowed to about 70% of that in the conscious, untreated animal during the first 5 min after hemorrhage. MCFP recovery was substantially depressed by pentobarbital, averaging only 42% of that in the untreated animal 5 min after hemorrhage. The results demonstrate that peripheral changes can quickly restore nearly 50% of the MCFP decrease occurring immediately after mild hemorrhage and that about one-third of this response is mediated by the sympathetic nervous system. Pentobarbital anesthesia greatly inhibits recovery, although its repressive mechanism is not known.


The Digital Mammography Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST), conducted under the auspices of the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN), is a clinical trial designed to compare the accuracy of digital versus screen-film mammography in a screening population [E. Pisano et al., ACRIN 6652-Digital vs. Screen-Film Mammography, ACRIN (2001)]. Part I of this work described the Quality Control program developed to ensure consistency and optimal operation of the digital equipment. For many of the tests, there were no failures during the 24 months imaging was performed in DMIST. When systems failed, they generally did so suddenly rather than through gradual deterioration of performance. In this part, the utility and effectiveness of those tests are considered. This suggests that after verification of proper operation, routine extensive testing would be of minimal value. A recommended set of tests is presented including additional and improved tests, which we believe meet the intent and spirit of the Mammography Quality Standards Act regulations to ensure that full-field digital mammography systems are functioning correctly, and consistently producing mammograms of excellent image quality.


This study was triggered by our experience on electrophoretic deposition (EPD) with different suspension systems showing evidence of a particle concentration threshold, below which no deposit was formed. In this study, the role of particle concentration in the mechanism of EPD was investigated with a model system, consisting of isopropanol suspensions with TiO2 nanosized particles (d50 = 130 nm). The investigated concentration range was 0.01 - 0.4 vol% TiO2. Constant voltage EPD tests with variable particle concentration were performed for 1 min under different applied voltages (25 - 300 V corresponding to 62.5 - 750 V/cm). A longer deposition time (30 min) was tested for a lower concentration value (0.003 vol% TiO2). The deposition process was evaluated in situ by means of the current measured during EPD. The deposits obtained were characterized by weight and profile measurements and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results confirmed the finding of a lower limit value of particle concentration, determining a threshold in the formation of an EPD coating. Above this threshold, proportionality between deposited mass and particle concentration was observed, in agreement with the equation of Hamaker. Below this threshold, the proportionality was lost with evidence of a lack of coating formation. A possible interpretation for this experimental finding was provided.


The endogenous gonadal steroid 17beta-estradiol (E2) plays an important role in the development, maturation, and function of a wide variety of reproductive and nonreproductive tissues, including those of the nervous system. The actions of E2 at target tissues can be divided into 1) long-term "genomic" actions that are mediated by intracellular estrogen receptor-induced changes in gene expression and 2) rapid actions that modulate a diverse array of intracellular signal transduction cascades. Environmental estrogens are compounds present in the environment that can mimic, and in some cases antagonize, the effects of endogenous estrogens. As a result of these actions, there is currently much interest within the scientific community regarding the relative benefits or threats associated with exposure to different environmental estrogens. Within the general public there is considerable acceptance of the benefits associated with increased use of "natural" estrogens as a component of a healthy diet and in postmenopausal women as an alternative to estrogen replacement therapies. First, this review will focus attention on the role of estrogens in the central nervous system by briefly discussing some of the known mechanisms through which estrogen's effects are mediated, focusing on rapid intracellular signaling mechanisms during neurodevelopment. Second, with the hope of bringing attention to an area of study that until recently has received little consideration, we will briefly discuss phytoestrogens and suggest that these compounds have the potential to influence rapid E2-induced mechanisms in the nervous system in ways that may result in modified brain functions.


OBJECT
Postoperative C-5 palsy is a significant complication resulting from cervical decompression procedures. Moreover, when cervical degenerative diseases are treated with a combination of decompression and posterior instrumented fusion, patients are at increased risk for C-5 palsy. However, the clinical and radiological features of this condition remain unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to clarify the risk factors for developing postoperative C-5 palsy.

METHODS
Eighty-four patients (mean age 60.1 years) who had undergone posterior instrumented fusion using cervical pedicle screws to treat nontraumatic lesions were independently reviewed. The authors analyzed the medical records of some of these patients who developed postoperative C-5 palsy, paying particular attention to their plain radiographs, MRI studies, and CT scans. Risk factors for postoperative C-5 palsy were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The cutoff values for the pre- and postoperative width of the intervertebral foramen (C4-5) were determined by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

RESULTS
Ten (11.9%) of 84 patients developed postoperative C-5 palsy. Seven patients recovered fully from the neurological complications. The pre- and postoperative C4-5 angles showed significant kyphosis in the C-5 palsy group. The pre- and postoperative diameters of the C4-5 foramen on the palsy side were significantly smaller than those on the opposite side in the C-5 palsy group and those bilaterally in the non-C5 palsy group. Risk factors identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis were as follows: 1) ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (relative risk [RR] 7.22 [95% CI 1.03-50.55]); 2) posterior shift of the spinal cord (C4-5) (RR 1.73 [95% CI 1.00-2.98]); and 3) postoperative width of the C-5 intervertebral foramen (RR 0.33 [95% CI 0.14-0.79]). The cutoff values of the pre- and postoperative widths of the C-5 intervertebral foramen for C-5 palsy were 2.2 and 2.3 mm, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with preoperative foraminal stenosis, posterior shift of the spinal cord, and additional iatrogenic foraminal stenosis due to cervical alignment correction were more likely to develop postoperative C-5 palsy after posterior instrumentation with fusion. Prophylactic foraminotomy at C4-5 might be useful when preoperative foraminal stenosis is present on CT. Furthermore, it might be useful for treating postoperative C-5 palsy. To prevent excessive posterior shift of the spinal cord, the authors recommend that appropriate kyphosis reduction should be considered carefully.


Recently, Jin [4] studied lightlike hypersurfaces of an indefinite Kaehler manifold with a quarter-symmetric metric connection. In this paper, we study further the geometry of this subject. The object of this paper is to study two types of lightlike hypersurfaces of an indefinite Kaehler manifold with a quarter-symmetric metric connection. Mathematics Subject Classification: 53C25, 53C40, 53C50


Industrial usage of code analysis tools based on semantic analysis, such as the FRAMA-C platform, poses several challenges, from the setup of analyses to the exploitation of their results. In this paper, we discuss two of these challenges. First, such analyses require detailed information about the code structure and the build process, which are often not documented, being part of the implicit build chain used by the developers. Unlike heuristics-based tools, which can deal with incomplete information, semantics-based tools require stubs or specifications for external library functions, compiler builtins, non-standard extensions, etc. Setting up a new analysis has a high cost, which precludes industrial users from trying such tools, since the return on investment is not clear in advance: the analysis may reveal itself of little use w.r.t. the invested time. Improving the usability of this first step is essential for the widespread adoption of formal methods in software development. A second aspect that is essential for successful analyses is understanding the data and navigating it. Visualizing data and rendering it in an interactive manner allows users to considerably speed up the process of refining the analysis results. We present some approaches to both of these issues, derived from experience with code bases given by industrial partners.


We describe a Digital Advertising System Simulation (DASS) for modeling advertising and its impact on user behavior. DASS is both flexible and general, and can be applied to research on a wide range of topics, such as digital attribution, ad fatigue, campaign optimization, and marketing mix modeling. This paper introduces the basic DASS simulation framework and illustrates its application to digital attribution. We show that common position-based attribution models fail to capture the true causal effects of advertising across several simple scenarios. These results lay a groundwork for the evaluation of more complex attribution models, and the development of improved models.


In this study, we analyze patterns of digital media, earned media, and paid media performance among major-party candidates in competitive U.S. Congressional districts in the 2010 (N=112) and 2012 (N=120) election cycles. Based on standard concentration indices, we analyze the distribution of (1) interest from internet users ("digital media"), (2) visibility in news coverage ("earned media"), and (3) campaign expenditures (as an indicator of "paid media" like direct mail, television advertising, and online marketing) across a strategic sample of 464 candidates engaged in competitive races for the House of Representatives. We show that most of these forms of campaign communication are highly concentrated. A minority of candidates draw far more supporters, more news coverage, and raise more money than the rest. Contrary to the view that the internet may help "level the playing field", we find that popularity on digital media like Facebook is in fact far more concentrated than both visibility in mainstream news media and money raised and spent during the campaign. By 2012, the most popular candidate in a district drew on average almost nine times as many social media supporters as her direct rival, compared to three and a half times as many local news stories and about four times as many dollars spent. The differences in terms of digital media and paid media had both increased since 2010, while the differences in terms of earned media had decreased. Thus, while success on the internet might occasionally benefit challengers and outsiders in US major-party politics, the overall competitive environment on the web is far from a level playing field and may in some ways exacerbate inequalities between resource-rich and resource-poor candidates. As digital media become more important parts of the overall communication environment, we may thus be moving towards a more uneven playing field.


Information technologies, in general, and information systems, in particular, are fast becoming the prime enablers of success and survival in business organisations. These technologies, on one hand, enrich economic, social, and cultural environment of organisations, and on the other hand enhance their competitiveness. For asset managing engineering enterprise, information systems not only help in capturing, storing, and exchanging information, but also enable an integrated view of asset lifecycle management through integration and interoperability of lifecycle information. The variety of systems and the range of objectives associated with these systems demand that organisations need to take stock of their capabilities, resources, and aspirations to enable informed choices regarding Information systems investments. This paper tackles the issue of performance management of information systems utilised in asset lifecycle management, by providing a performance evaluation framework. The framework institutes a generative learning based continuous improvement regime for asset lifecycle management. It provides a cyclical approach to performance measurement such that it assesses and informs the role of Information systems in translating and informing the asset management strategy in a single cycle, thereby enhancing competitiveness of asset managing engineering enterprises.


fetal profile) significantly improved the classification of IUGR by using perinatal morbidity and mortality as the gold standard. However, more recent analyses indicated that the advantages of the customized classification (vs a simple ultrasound-based standard without adjustment for maternal and fetal characteristics) are rather limited. Methods: We use data from a large, prospective randomized clinical trial in a low risk, predominantly White population in the U.S. where both ultrasound findings and birthweight data are available. A total of 14,803 singleton low risk pregnancies with certain LMP gave births at 30 weeks or later. Among them, 8,129 had ultrasound confirmed gestational age before 20 weeks and scans at 30 weeks or later. We assessed whether IUGR cases classified by the customized standard (adjusting for race, parity, fetal sex, pre-pregnancy weight and height) in utero or at birth have a higher perinatal mortality and morbidity, in comparison to cases classified by a simple ultrasound standard. Results: The table shows that for fetuses in utero, the customized standard classified a similar number of IUGR cases as a simple ultrasound standard. The former did not improve prediction of adverse outcomes. At birth, the customized standard classified fewer IUGR cases but only slightly improved the prediction of adverse outcomes. Conclusions: The customized standard does not provide substantial advantages over the simple ultrasound standard in identifying IUGR in a low risk, predominantly white population.


We propose a novel method for instance label segmentation of dense 3D voxel grids. We target volumetric scene representations, which have been acquired with depth sensors or multi-view stereo methods and which have been processed with semantic 3D reconstruction or scene completion methods. The main task is to learn shape information about individual object instances in order to accurately separate them, including connected and incompletely scanned objects. We solve the 3D instance-labeling problem with a multi-task learning strategy. The first goal is to learn an abstract feature embedding, which groups voxels with the same instance label close to each other while separating clusters with different instance labels from each other. The second goal is to learn instance information by densely estimating directional information of the instance's center of mass for each voxel. This is particularly useful to find instance boundaries in the clustering post-processing step, as well as, for scoring the segmentation quality for the first goal. Both synthetic and real-world experiments demonstrate the viability and merits of our approach. In fact, it achieves state-of-the-art performance on the ScanNet 3D instance segmentation benchmark.


Signaling from the EGF receptor (EGFR) can trigger the differentiation of a wide variety of cell types in many animal species. We have explored the mechanisms that generate this diversity using the Drosophila peripheral nervous system. In this context, Spitz (SPI) ligand can induce two alternative cell fates from the dorsolateral ectoderm: chordotonal sensory organs and non-neural oenocytes. We show that the overall number of both cell types that are induced is controlled by the degree of EGFR signaling. In addition, the spalt (sal) gene is identified as a critical component of the oenocyte/chordotonal fate switch. Genetic and expression analyses indicate that the SAL zinc-finger protein promotes oenocyte formation and supresses chordotonal organ induction by acting both downstream and in parallel to the EGFR. To explain these findings, we propose a prime-and-respond model. Here, sal functions prior to signaling as a necessary but not sufficient component of the oenocyte prepattern that also serves to raise the apparent threshold for induction by SPI. Subsequently, sal-dependent SAL upregulation is triggered as part of the oenocyte-specific EGFR response. Thus, a combination of SAL in the responding nucleus and increased SPI ligand production sets the binary cell-fate switch in favour of oenocytes. Together, these studies help to explain how one generic signaling pathway can trigger the differentiation of two distinct cell types.


Background Gastrointestinal mesenchymal or stromal tumors (GIST) are lesions originated on digestive tract walls, which are treated by surgical resection. Several laparoscopic techniques, from gastrectomies to segmental resections, have been used successfully. Aim Describe a single center experience on laparoscopic GIST resection. Method Charts of 15 operated patients were retrospectively reviewed. Thirteen had gastric lesions, of which ten were sub epithelial, ranging from 2-8 cm; and three were pure exofitic growing lesions. The remaining two patients had small bowel lesions. Surgical laparoscopic treatment consisted of two distal gastrectomies, 11 wedge gastric resections and two segmental enterectomies. Mechanical suture was used in the majority of patients except on six, which underwent resection and closure using manual absorbable sutures. There were no conversions to open technique. Results Mean operative time was 1h 29 min±92 (40-420 min). Average lenght of hospital stay was three days (2-6 days). There were no leaks, postoperative bleeding or need for reintervention. Mean postoperative follow-up was 38±17 months (6-60 months). Three patients underwent adjuvant Imatinib treatment, one for recurrence five months postoperatively and two for tumors with moderate risk for recurrence . Conclusion Laparoscopic GIST resection, not only for small lesions but also for tumors above 5 cm, is safe and acceptable technique.


Purpose: Different approaches have been used for preventing biofilm-related infections in health care settings. Many of these methods have their own de-merits, which include chemical-based complications; emergent antibiotic resistant strains, etc. The formation of biofilm is the hallmark characteristic of Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis infection, which consists of multiple layers of bacteria encased within an exopolysachharide glycocalyx. Nanotechnology may provide the answer to penetrate such biofilms and reduce biofilm formation. Therefore, the aim of present study was to demonstrate the biofilm formation by methicillin resistance S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin resistance S. epidermidis (MRSE) isolated from wounds by direct visualisation applying tissue culture plate, tube and Congo Red Agar methods. Materials and Methods: The anti-biofilm activity of AgNPs was investigated by Congo Red, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) techniques. Results: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was found to be in the range of 11.25-45 μg/ml. The AgNPs coated surfaces effectively restricted biofilm formation of the tested bacteria. Double fluorescent staining (propidium iodide staining to detect bacterial cells and fluorescein isothiocyanate concanavalin A (Con A-FITC) staining to detect the exopolysachharides matrix) technique using CLSM provides the visual evidence that AgNPs arrested the bacterial growth and prevent the glycocalyx formation. In our study, we could demonstrate the complete anti-biofilm activity AgNPs at a concentration as low as 50 μg/ml. Conclusions: Our findings suggested that AgNPs can be exploited towards the development of potential anti-bacterial coatings for various biomedical and environmental applications. In the near future, the AgNPs may play major role in the coating of medical devices and treatment of infections caused due to highly antibiotic resistant biofilm.


Researchers have recognized the importance of classifying personality through discourse for many years. However, this line of research tends to focus almost exclusively on the personality categories known as the Big Five factors. Though this information is certainly valuable, it may also be useful to categorize personality based on the Leary's Inter- personal Circumplex model which emphasizes a predictive function. In this paper we construct the data set for personality annotation among six dimensions (based on a coding scheme developed from Leary's Interpersonal Circumplex) for players using a chat interaction in an epistemic game, Land Science. Our results indicate that overall personality annotation is reliable (Average Kappa = 0.65) with the highest reliability for the competitive dimension and the lowest reliability for the leading dimension.


Reverberation poses a problem to the active robot audition system. The change in speaker's face orientation relative to the robot perturbs the room acoustics and alters the reverberation condition at runtime, which degrades the automatic speech recognition (ASR) performance. In this paper, we present a method to mitigate this problem in the context of the ASR. First, filter coefficients are derived to correct the Room Transfer Function (RTF) per change in face orientation. We treat the change in the face orientation as a filtering mechanism that captures the room acoustics. Then, joint dynamics between the filter and the observed reverberant speech is investigated in consideration with the ASR system. Second, we introduce a gain correction scheme to compensate the change in power as a function of the face orientation. This scheme is also linked to the ASR, in which gain parameters are derived via the Viterbi algorithm. Experimental results using Hidden Markov Model-Deep Neural Network (HMM-DNN) ASR in a reverberant robot environment, show that proposed method is robust to the change in face orientation and outperforms state-of-the-art dereverberation techniques.


Normal human urine contains a substance which, like the antipernicious anemia principle in liver, is reticulocytogenic for the pigeon, rat and guinea pig. 1 An extract of normal human urine prepared by a method basically that used for liver extracts has been found to be reticulocytogenic for the pigeon. 2 Decastello 3 reported that normal human urine administered intramuscularly or rectally is effective in the treatment of pernicious anemia, and McCann 4 found that kidney given by mouth is effective. These findings suggested the possible identity or similarity of the reticulocytogenic principle in urine and the hemopoietic principle in liver. In view of the nonspecificity of the pigeon, rat and guinea pig bioassay methods for the hemopoietic principle in liver, the possibility of urinary excretion of the principle was studied by administering the urine extract previously mentioned orally and intramuscularly to patients with pernicious anemia. A preliminary report of the effect of intramuscular injections of


Background: Annually over 4,000 new cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are being diagnosed in the UK. Overall survival of HCC patients is poor with less than 30% alive at one year. Prognosis is best for patients who receive a liver transplant. The emergence of liver transplantation as a curative option for HCC has resulted it now being the most common indication for liver transplantation. This development has increased the disparity between the number of patients waiting for transplantation and the availability of suitable livers. In response, livers from donation after circulatory death (DCD) are increasingly being used to expand the donor pool, although outcomes have been previously proven to be worse than with livers from donation after brain death (DBD). The overall aim of my research was to use linked large-scale electronic health care data to improve the current evidence base on the best strategy for using liver transplantation in patients with and without HCC. Methods: In this thesis, national datasets were linked at patient level and analysed to investigate outcomes of patients following liver transplantation. The Standard National Liver Transplant Registry (SNLTR) was used to identify the donor and recipient characteristics of patients with and without HCC and the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset was used to capture information on clinico-sociodemographic characteristics that included deprivation status, co-morbidity, treatments and length of hospital stay. Throughout the thesis, posttransplant mortality and graft failure for HCC and non-HCC patients were analysed in distinct posttransplantation time-periods ('epochs'). Stepwise case mix adjustment for recipient and then donor factors was used to ascertain determinants of post-transplant outcomes. Multiple imputation methods were used to handle missing data items. The analyses in this thesis were split into three related clinical areas; DCD livers, pre-transplant performance status (PS), and the administration of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) on the transplant waiting list. Results: In the last two decades, mortality after liver transplantation in the UK has more than halved for HCC patients despite the increased and preferential use of DCD livers in these patients. However, one in four HCC recipients still die within five years compared to only one in six non-HCC patients. Improvements in survival for HCC and non-HCC recipients has been driven by significant improvements both in short-term mortality and in improvements in outcomes of patients who receive a DCD liver. In fact, mortality in recipients of a DCD liver is now comparable to those receiving a DBD liver. In non-HCC recipients, impaired PS at the time of transplantation was found to be associated with posttransplant mortality whilst in both HCC and non-HCC recipients poorer PS was also associated with an increased incidence of major post-transplant complications and length of hospital stay. However, the impact of PS on each of the measured post-transplant outcomes was limited only to the early post-transplantation timeperiod. In the final analysis, 40% of HCC recipients in the UK received at least one treatment of TACE prior to their transplant. However, there was no evidence that TACE increased the risk of post-operative complications or affected the risk of post-transplant mortality or graft failure. These results did not depend on the number of TACE treatments, the type of donor organ (DBD or DCD), or the time-period after transplantation. Conclusions: Improvements in peri-operative care and in the use of DCD livers has led to significant improvements in posttransplant mortality for HCC and non-HCC patients. Countries who experience high waiting list mortalities should now consider increasing their utilisation of DCD livers. Measurements of PS scores can improve the ability to predict post-transplant survival, post-transplant complications and length of hospital stay, which may contribute to the assessment of the suitability of HCC and non-HCC patients for transplantation. The use of TACE in HCC patients prior to transplantation does not increase the risk of post-operative complications nor does it improve post-transplant mortality. The benefit of TACE is therefore restricted to its impact on modulating tumour growth before transplantation.


THE current lists of the vitamin contents of various foodstuffs do not display a satisfactoryconsistency. One reasonfor this is that there is constant improvement in the methods for quantitative determination and in consequencesuccessivecorrection of the values previously reported. On the whole the figures supplied give fairly well the relative standingof various foods with respectto their vitamin components;thus black currant,parsley,rose hip, pickled walnut and lucerne remain at the top of the list for vitamin O. Still there has arisen the disturbing considerationthat the vitamins in any foodstuff may vary according to soil, aspect,climate and season. It has been known for some time that tomatoesforced in winter have a much lower vitamin a content than those cultivated in summer. Bleaching as in celery or in the hearts of cabbageand lettuce lowers the vitamin A percentage,but this is an artificial condition imposedon the plant. In the eating of fruit we are aware of wide differences in appearance, texture and tasteaccordingto locality, season and variety, and it is highly likely that there may be correspondingdissimilarities in the amountsof the various vitamins present. The results of a most interesting researchconductedby a Russian,V. D. Kostenko, have been published this year by the Soviet Academy of Science.' Both cultivated and wild plants were investigatedin the Pamir plateau from elevations rising to 3,860 metres. It was found beyond any possibility of doubt that there is a progressiveincrease of vitamin a from lower to higher altitudes. Some of the figures, such as 4,000 milligrammes per centum for wild rosehips, are truly remarkable. Beyonda certain practical importance in countries which can boast fertile land at the altitudes investigated this researchhas a theoretical interestof a high order. As Kostenkopoints out, the rise in vitamin a content is probably associated with the increasing difficulties of photosynthesisarising, we may suppose,from the fall in temperatureand the diminution in the mass of available carbon dioxide. Just what the vitamins are doing in the plants where they are developed is an intriguing question, and a study of this problem could well help in giving information concerning their functions in the human consumer. Certainly the proved ability of vitamin a to act as a carrier of hydrogen in the respiratoryenzymesystemcan explain a ·lot in both plant and animal, and is more convincing from the standpoint of comparative physiology than the alleged function of maintainingthe intercellularground substancein capillary walls, connective tissues, bone and dentine.


: This is a cross sectional study with aim of assessment and comparison between parents and female adolescents' attitudes about the role of peers in decision making of adolescent in Tehran. In this study 160 mother, 160 father and 160 female adolescents participated. With random selection 160 female adolescent with 14-19 years old from North, South, East and West of Tehran were selected and their parents invited to participate in this study. Data collection tool was a questionnaire that prepared by the researcher. With presence of researcher in high schools distributing and collecting questionnaires was carried out. Results showed that age, level of education, job, number of children and geographical location of her parents' house had no effect on their attitudes. Also age, field of education, number of close friends, birth order, location of house, had no effect on adolescents' attitude. There were some differences in comparison between attitudes of mothers and fathers with adolescents. According to findings attitudes of adolescents about the role of peers in decision making differed from their parents.


Paramedics are the primary providers of prehospital care to children in an emergency. However, they deal with children's emergencies infrequently, and consistently report a lack of confidence in this area. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health standards state that clinicians with Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) training or equivalent must be available at all times to deal with emergencies involving children. While APLS is widely recognised as the gold standard in paediatric training, it focuses on in-hospital providers of paediatric life support, so may not adequately meet the needs of prehospital providers. The Paramedic Advanced Resuscitation of Children (PARC) course attempts to condense the most important aspects of APLS for paramedics into a simulation-based programme that is practical and cost effective. Evaluation of the views of the eight paramedics who took part in the pilot revealed that they felt more confident in managing children's emergencies after attending the course. The PARC course may be a simple, cost-effective method to improve paramedics' confidence in dealing with emergencies involving children.


The initial margin requirements for a portfolio of derivatives are typically calculated using a risk model. Common risk models are procyclical: margin requirements for the same portfolio are higher in times of market stress and lower in calm markets. This procyclicality can cause liquidity stress whereby parties posting margin have to find additional liquid assets, often at just the times when it is most difficult for them to do so. Hence regulation has recognised that, subject to being adequately risk sensitive, margin models should not be 'overly' procyclical. There is, however, no standard definition of procyclicality. This paper proposes two types of quantitative measure of procyclicality: one that examines margin variation across the cycle and one that focuses on short-term margin increases. It then studies, using historical and simulated data, various margin models with regard to both their risk sensitivity and the proposed procyclicality measures. It finds that models which pass common risk sensitivity tests can have very different levels of procyclicality. The paper recommends that CCPs and major dealers should disclose the procyclicality properties of their margin models, perhaps by reporting the proposed procyclicality measures. This would help derivatives users to anticipate potential margin calls and ensure they have adequate holdings of or access to liquid assets.


Objectives: Application of vitamin K to the skin has been used for suppression of pigmentation and resolution of bruising. However, in rats, no study was reported on its effect regarding wound healing. Thus, the present study was designed to examine the healing effects of creams prepared from vitamin K1 on full-thickness wound in rats. Materials and Methods: For inducing full-thickness wound in rats, the excisional wound model was used. Five groups consisting of 8 rats each were used. Vitamin K cream (1% and 2%, w/w) was prepared in eucerin base and applied on the wound once a day until complete healing had occurred. Healing was defined by decreased wound margin (wound contraction), re-epithelialization, tensile strength and hydroxyproline content. Histopathological examination was also done. Results: The effects produced by the topical vitamin K showed significant (P < 0.01) healing when compared with control group in parameters such as wound contraction, epithelialization period, hydroxyproline content and tensile strength. Histopathological studies also showed improvement with vitamin K. Conclusions: Topical vitamin K demonstrates wound healing potential in full-thickness wound model.


Given a set of receivers and their end-to-end quali ty of service ( QoS ) demands in a multicast session, QoS requirements have to be divided among the participating links so that c d admission control can be applied and resources reserved. We characterize the optimal solution for a static multicast session by partial first derivative test (PFDT) and propose an iterative algorithm to divide the end-t-d QoS optimally. Each node in the multicast tree is assigned a cumulative QoS (CQoS) value and is adjusted in eadi iteration untiI no more resource c m be decreased. Each iteration attempts to optimize locally witk a virtual source and receivers and can be done fiom the source to the receiver or vice versa. The proposed algoritkm can also be implemented distributively. Two properties at optimal allocation were revealed as the result of the characterization. A simple resource allocation policy that increases the joining probability of new receivers is given. The optimal and the proposed simple dgorithm are compared against a recently reported Equal Allocation with Reclaim (EAR) algorithm. Finally, simulation studies are also done for evaluating the performance.


Rabbit antibodies specific for human γE released histamine from the leukocytes of atopic patients, whereas antibodies specific for the other immunoglobulin classes did not. Antibodies specific for the light chains of immunoglobulins also released histamine. The results indicated that the histamine release is a reversed type allergic reaction. The concentration of anti-γE required for 50% histamine release from leukocytes varied, depending on the donors. This concentration roughly correlated with the minimal concentration of the same antibody required to induce erythema-wheal reactions in their skin but was unrelated to the γE concentration in their sera. The sensitivity of leukocytes to anti-γE was increased by passive sensitization of the cells with reaginic serum containing a high concentration of γE. The results showed that γE is present on/in leukocytes and that γE antibodies on the cells are responsible for histamine release by allergen.


Recently, the novel cytokine IL-18 (IFN-gamma-inducing factor) has been described as a growth and differentiation factor for Th1 cells. Epidermal keratinocytes (KC) are known to direct T cell education by production of cytokines. Therefore, expression of IL-18 was sought in KC. Epidermal RNA was analyzed following stimulation with contact sensitizers or controls for IL-18 mRNA expression by semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR. Constitutive expression of IL-18 mRNA was low in untreated epidermal cells (EC), but early up-regulation of IL-18 mRNA signals was detected following application of a contact allergen in vivo. The peak strength of IL-18 signals was observed within 4 to 6 h following stimulation with an allergen. Application of an irritant (benzalconiumchloride) or solvents did not result in increased signal strength. To determine the cellular origin of IL-18 mRNA in EC, depletion experiments were performed. IL-18 signals were not affected by depletion with anti-CD3 (T cells) or anti-MHC class II mAb-coupled beads identifying KC as a major source of IL-18. These results were confirmed by analysis of mRNA derived from the KC cell line PAM 212. Strong IL-18 signals could be detected by reverse transcription-PCR. To delineate whether IL-18 protein was produced by EC/KC, a sandwich ELISA was used to assay for IL-18 production. Supernatants from allergen-stimulated EC and KC showed production of IL-18 protein. To confirm that IL-18 protein was functional, EC or KC supernatants were tested for their ability to induce IFN-gamma production. Significant amounts of IFN-gamma were detected in supernatants of allergen-treated cells. In aggregate, our data indicate that murine KC are a source of both IL-18 mRNA and functional protein.


The notion of nudge effects was investigated in two field experiments which focused on influencing customers' purchases by manipulating the location and availability of food in a University canteen setting. Study 1 manipulated the location of fruit and confectionary. Study 2 restricted the types of bread (i.e. brown only not white) that customers could choose for their sandwiches. The results of the Study1 showed that the fruit sales increased when positioned away from the checkouts. The majority of interviewed customers bought fruit intentionally but those who bought confectionary did it on impulse. In the Study 2, a restricted choice of baguettes did not reduce sales, with customers simply buying more brown baguettes. This increase did not persist after the intervention. Simple changes in the location and availability of food items can nudge the customers' purchases towards the choice of healthier options. There may be different processes that guide the purchase of fruit (intention/deliberation) and confectionary (impulse/reflex).


In this Perspective Article we assess the usefulness of Google's new word frequencies for word recognition research (lexical decision and word naming). We find that, despite the massive corpus on which the Google estimates are based (131 billion words from books published in the United States alone), the Google American English frequencies explain 11% less of the variance in the lexical decision times from the English Lexicon Project (Balota et al., 2007) than the SUBTLEX-US word frequencies, based on a corpus of 51 million words from film and television subtitles. Further analyses indicate that word frequencies derived from recent books (published after 2000) are better predictors of word processing times than frequencies based on the full corpus, and that word frequencies based on fiction books predict word processing times better than word frequencies based on the full corpus. The most predictive word frequencies from Google still do not explain more of the variance in word recognition times of undergraduate students and old adults than the subtitle-based word frequencies.


ABSTRACT Generally, people have a good understanding of their local areas. Hence, encouraging them to share this tacit knowledge with local authorities, urban designers and city planners could help improve the quality of public space design significantly. However, persuading people to share their concerns/ideas about their areas, especially through a digital platform, presents a real challenge. One of the main barriers is a lack of trust in the public feedback system. Thus, this research investigates relationships between online trust and service design in order to provide a guideline on how to design the feedback system that addresses users' practical and emotional requirements. A mixed-methods approach was employed to identify key factors affecting online trust and their implications on service design. Six key factors affecting online trust were identified and combined to form a basis for service design guidelines. The outcomes show that service design can support all components required to build trust.


Background and Objective: Some studies have shown that different exercises reduce pain in different levels by affecting the levels of opioid. Therefore, we investigated the effect of exercise on pain and morphine-induced analgesia in the formalin test in male mice. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 120 mice were randomly divided into 8 groups according to three different training sessions and uae of  received morphine or saline. The training program was conducted on a treadmill for 30 minutes on the speed of 0.3 meters per second with different slopes. Thirty minutes before starting each exercise, 5 mg of morphine per kg of the animal weight was injected intraperitoneally. Finally, all groups were tested using the formalin test. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test. Results: A significant reduction was found in response to painful stimuli in the acute phase (0-5 minutes) among the morphine receiving groups (p=0.001). On the other hand, the response to painful stimuli in the chronic pain phase (16-60 min) showed a signification reduction for the morphine receiving groups as well as the exercise group with a positive slope (p=0.015).  Conclusion: If the intensity of exercise can reach the threshold level required to stimulate the endogenous opioids, it is likely to reduce the feeling of pain. Furthermore, the effect of morphine can not be influenced by the kind of exercise. Key words: Acute pain, Chronic pain, Exercise, Formalin test, Morphine Funding: This research was funded by Shiraz University. Conflict of interest: None declared. Ethical Approval: The Ethics Committee of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences approved the study. How to cite this article: Jafari H, Daryanoosh F, Zarifkar A, Ghiasi E, Mohammadi M. The Relationship between Job Effect of Exercise on Pain and Morphine-Induced Analgesia in the Formalin Test in Male Mice, 2013. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2014 13(2): 97-108 [Farsi]


This case report illustrated a progressive prolapse of a left ventricular (LV) lead into the right ventricle and pulmonary artery for more than 2 years in a 33-year-old woman with a history of congestive heart failure secondary to nonischemic cardiomyopathy and left bundle branch block that underwent implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator with cardiac resynchronized therapy. This phenomenon's mechanism might have been reverse reel or ratchet syndrome. This phenomenon could be missed because the LV lead tip was fixed with unchanged pacing measurements and the course of the thin LV lead could not be easily identified on chest radiographs.


Categorization is a common human behavior and it has many social implications. While categorization helps us make sense of the world around us, it also affects how we perceive the world, what we like and dislike, who we feel comfortable with and who we fear. Categorization is affected by our family, culture and education. But we can take responsibility for our own perceptions, misperceptions can be pointed out and sometimes changed. But what about categorization imposed outside of us that affects us. Should that be allowed? How is that determined? How can it be changed? These are difficult issues. For information aggregators and information analyzers, the guidelines for appropriate behavior are not always clear, nor is the responsibility for outcomes as a result of errors, bias and worse … When errors and bias are commonly held, this can be reflected in the information ecology. The tipping point need not be a majority, truth or based on ethics. It's easy enough to identify cases of mis-categorization, but when do you do something about it? What can you do about it?


Persistent high unemployment in Europe has led to renewed interest in Active Labour Market Policy. However, most existing theory suggests that its effects are ambiguous at best. We argue that job search assistance and wage subsidies are more appropriately modelled as a transition rather than the state-based approach of existing theory. This eliminates the ambiguity. We present two main models, one in which negative duration dependence in unemployment arises from state dependence, the other where it is due to heterogeneity. In both cases policy is unambiguously effective provided it is targeted on those who are, or are most likely to become, long-term unemployed. Some crude estimates suggest that Active Labour Market Policies could have a significant, though not spectacular, effect in reducing unemployment.