R. AALEN and W. BLIX GUNDERSEN: Gene products from recombinant plasmids containing pBR322 and phenotypically cryptic plasmids from Neisseria gonorrhoeae (poster presentation) Two phenotypically cryptic plasmids (p31788K and pG5449K) with slightly different restriction endonuclease patterns, from two different strains of N. gonorrhoeae, have been integrated in the Hind111 site of pBR322 and transformed into the minicell strain E. coli DS410. The protein profile of two ApTcS-transformants with recombinant plasmid (pTA9, pTA11) containing p31788K, and one transformant with a plasmid (pTBe) containing pG5449K, have been investigated by the minicell method. p31788K and pG5449K are integrated in the same orienta-tion in pBR322. In addition to pBR322-coded proteins (mature and pre-mature betalactamase), the strains with the recombinant plasmids all express proteins of 25,000 and 10,020 dalton. The strain with pTBe expresses two additional proteins of 22,300 and 10,070 dalton. It is reasonable to suppose that the difference in protein profile reflects differences in DNA sequence between the two gonococcal plasmids. influence on the radiation-induced frequency of chromo- somal aberrations. reduced the ?T-induced depression in mitotic activity. The theobromine, in contrast to the other MOPS tested, are capable of increasing the TT-induced aberration frequency without reducing the mutagen-induced mitotic inhibi- tion shows that these two effects are not always related, even after treatments with chemical mutagens. In conclusion, our data show that a correlation does not necessarily exist between the ability of (G,-treatments with) MOPS to enhance mutagen-induced chromosome damage and to counteract the induced mitotic inhibition. children matched for age, sex and residence. The cytosta- tic treatment involved vincristine, prednisone, l-asparagi-nase, methotrexate, 6-mercaptopurine for two to three years, and, in a few cases, cyclophosphamide, daunomy-cin and cytosinearabinoside. No irradiation was given. Chromosome breakage and sister chromatid exchange were not increased at one to five years after end of therapy. More cells with cytologically stable aberrations (transloca-tions, deletions) were found among the patients although an unexpected amount of aberrant cells was also observed in the reference group. of of the a frequency of Six species of the group have species-specific sounds, which can be distinguished by the of in a sound pulse, by the length of an interpulse interval (ipi) and/or by the number of pulses in a pulse train. The of the other six species of the group consist of dense pulse trains being very similar to each other or differing by the number of pulses in train. in the the of severas F,s and backcross hybrids of D. virilis and other species of the group and of the having similar sounds. The important" sound traits, the number of cycles in a pulse, the length of an ipi and the number of pulses in a train seem to vary quite independently within the sounds of the species studied. Also differences between species in these traits seem to be determined, at least partly, by different genetic factors, the first two traits being affected by genes on the X chromosome and the autosomes, and the last trait, by autosomal genes. The male courtship sounds do not seem to be very important in mating for the females of most species of the D. virilis group, as the females of these species accept the courtship quite easily even without any sounds. The males seem to be, in many cases, mainly responsible for maintaining the sexual isolation between the D. virilis group species. If the species-specific courtship sounds have evolved for strengthening the sexual isolation between species, the role of the males and the females in maintaining sexual isolation must have changed during the evolution of the isolating mechanisms. The genetic control of adult life span has been studied in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, by investigating mortality mutations which markedly decrease life span. The present study is limited to X-linked genes which bring about life-shorting. Two strains of D. melanogaster were used: yellow and Basc (Muller-5), the latter being a mutant strain commonly employed to the detection of X- linked lethal mutations. after transformation of a galK- host. The galK+ colonies are easily distinguished from galK- bacteria on galactose-containing indicator plates. By these procedures we have isolated several promoter-containing fragments and obtained a prelimina- ry map of functional promoter activities of P4. One of the regions containing a promoter activity which is likely to reflect the P4 intgene promoter has been analysed in detail bv DNA seouencine. About 40 to 50% of the endosperm of cereal grains are prolamin storage proteins. They are therefore one of the quantitatively most important group of proteins in our agriculture biosphere and they also influence the quality of cereal grain. We have classified the prolamins of the Triticeae into three major groups: the sulphur-rich, the sulphur-poor and the high molecular weight prolamins. We have mapped the loci encoding these proteins in barley and rye. We have further investigated the nature of these by isolating cDNA and genomic DNA clones related to each of the major sub-groups of proteins from either barley, rye or wheat. Southern blotting has shown that each group is encoded by a multigene family. Sequencing of the DNA clones allied to direct sequencing of the prola- min polypeptides has revealed that each family is made up of genes that contain within them a number of repeated sequences. The relationships between the families and some speculations regarding the origin of the genes will be presented. Involvement of a site- and strand-specific topoisomerase activity in regulation of gene expression in eukaryotic cells An enzyme activity resembling the eukaryotic type of topoisomerase I has been detected in the protozoan Tetra-hyrnena thermophila. The enzyme has been found to cleave the non-coding strand of the spacer regions flanking the rRNA genes at DNase hypersensitive sites. Three cleavage sites were mapped at position -1000, -600 and -150 relative to the transcription initiation point, and a fourth cleavage site immediately down-stream of the transcription termination point. By sequence analysis the enzyme was found to have a specific 16 bp recognition sequence. The finding that all cleavages are confined to the non-coding strand demonstrates a strong polarity of the putative topoisomerase with the DNA at the hypersen- sitive sites. The location of the cleavage sites in regions framing the coding sequences indicates a function of the enzyme in the transcriptional process, perhaps by provi-ding a swivelling mechanism conferring rotational fre- edom to the transcribed DNA segment. Comparative reconstitution studies using topoisomera- se extracted from human cells and the strand- and site-specific topoisomerase from Tetrahymena show that the same enzyme activity is present in human cells. Computer analyses or published DNA sequences have shown the presence of the specific 16 bp sequence in regions flanking a number of genes in various eukaryotic organisms including man. Considered together the pieces of information indicate a possible general A rat pituitary adenoma cell line (GH4C,) produces and secretes the polyeptide hormone prolactin (PRL). The level of PRL mRNA and the rate of PRL synthesis are increased when thyroliberin (TRH) and/or estradiol (E2) is added to the culture medium. In cytosol from cells that are cultured with 3sSS-methionine in the presence or absen-ce of 'TRH and E2. immunoprecipitable 35S-PRL forms of 80, 65, 55, 40 and 24 kilodalton (K) are demonstrated. Pulsc chase experiments show a shift in the specific radio- activity from the big molecular forms to the intact 35S-PRL of 24 K. TRH and E2 increase the synthesis of all these precursor-like PRL forms. immuno-precipitated 14s K Interest has been focused on genetic effects of different management strategies of wildlife populations. In Norway, the reindeer, Rangifer tarandus L., are separated into a number of both wild and semi-domestic populations. The semi-domestic animals are selectively bred to improve different traits as for example body weight and tameness. Among the wild reindeer, the population size and composition is almost completely controlled by man through the regular hunt. One aim of this study is to test possible genetic effects of different management strategies of reindeer. Blood samples of both semi-domestic and wild populations of reindeer were analyzed for transferrin variability by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A total of 12 alleles were detected, and in all populations the numbers of alle- les were high. ranging from eight to eleven. The pattern of allele frequency distribution indicates high degree of gene- tic heterogeneity in the transferrin locus. In a hierarchical approach, almost half the heterogeneity between popula- tions was explained by dividing into semi-domestic and wild animals. The results suggest that the different selec- tion strategies in the management of semi-domestic and wild reindeer influence the transferrin allele frequencies. expression and electrophoretic addition, in order to isolate maternal effects as well as background mutations in the homozygous lines, seeds from F, (M1508 X Bomi), F, (M527 x Bomi), B, (M527/1508 x M1508) and B, (M527/ 1508 x M527) kilobases transposon to trimethoprim and streptomycin/spectinomycin. This transposable element is spread among the enteric bacteria and is commonly found in trimethoprim resistant clinical in most parts of the world. The two resistance genes carried byTN7were by restriction enzyme analysis closely mapped within the left third of the transposon, and their transcripts by RNA-DNA hybridization. The allelic state of the rho gene of the host the expression of dihydrofolate reductase fro


The treatment of patients with cardiac phobias includes several therapeutic procedures following different indications. Determining are the various needs of the patients. This concept attempts to overcome the myth of universality which consists in the assumption of an unique therapeutic proceeding for different neurotic disorders (10). Heterogeneous aspects of treatment like relaxation, partner-therapy, exposure in vivo, cognitive behaviour therapy (attributions, expectancies) as well as orthopaedic-physical methods are taken into consideration. In that way the therapeutic principles go beyond the limitations established by the various theories of neurotic behaviour. Certainly by doing so the degree of comparison generally is reduced. For that reason the various teams involved in these therapeutic problems should make every effort to come to an optimal treatment program by controlled studies for cardiac phobic patients.


Multispectral scanner data, collected by ERTS-1 from an area in northeast Texas underlain by structurally simple cretaceous sedimentary rocks, were analyzed using several automatic data processing techniques. Training areas for the computer analysis were selected in three ways using: (1) an unsupervised classifier, (2) the unsupervised classifier to further refine training areas, and (3) available ground information. The first two methods utilize the capability of the unsupervised classifier to the unsupervised classifier to group resolution elements with similar spectral properties. With the imagery produced by these procedures, several geologic features can be identified. The most easily recognizable features are streams and other water bodies. The approximate location of contacts between several rock units can be mapped.


Two procedures are described for the extraction of autolysins from whole cells. One method uses 5 M LiCl at 4 C. The amount of enzyme obtained by this method is six times more than that obtained by autolysis of cell walls and fourteen times more than that obtained by extracting cell walls with LiCl. With the other method, cells are extracted with 2% Triton X-100. This is less efficient than the LiCl method but yields about one-half the amount of enzyme obtained by cell wall autolysis and about the same amount as obtained by extracting cell walls with salt. Both procedures yield autolysin with multiple pH optima. Autolysins can be extracted from several bacterial species by either the LiCl or the detergent method. The data suggest that these techniques have sufficient sensitivity to detect small differences in autolytic activity among mutants and various organisms and are also suitable for large-scale isolation of autolysin for purification and characterization studies.


Intricacy and complexity of ballistic missile and aerospace parts makes WEDM an essential machining process. The current study aims to formulate an ANFIS model for Wire-EDM of ballistic grade aluminium alloy. The experimentation has been conducted with four input variables namely pulse on time (Ton), pulse off time (Toff), peak current (Ip), and servo voltage (Vs). Material removal rate (MRR) is employed as process performance evaluator. The values predicted by the developed model are found closer to experimental outcome and thus ensures the model suitability for prediction purpose and intelligent manufacturing. Machined surfaces are also examined by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) to obtain better insight of the process.


This study investigated the effects of synchronous and asynchronous CMC on the development of linguistic features of learners' speech in Japanese. Using learners from fourth-semester Japanese classes, the following research questions were examined: (a) Does CMC have positive effects on the development of oral proficiency among learners of Japanese? and (b) Are there any relationships between language use in CMC and the development of oral skills? The participants were divided into three groups: two CMC groups (synchronous and asynchronous) and one face-to-face group. They engaged in weekly discussions over the course of a semester, and the gain scores in terms of language output, linguistic complexity, accuracy, and cohesive devices between the pretest and the post-test were compared. In addition, the relationship between language use in both types of CMC and the gain scores on the oral tests was examined, using Pearson correlation coefficients. The present study did not find any significant differences among gains in the linguistic indices. However, it found that CMC language use was correlated positively with the gain scores in several indices, and a relationship between CMC language use and the development of oral proficiency was observed.


Current climatic changes, mostly triggered by global warming, influence broad parts of the northern latitudes all over the world, and reliable assessments of present and past vegetation are highly relevant to predict the future development of Arctic ecosystems. The northernmost Siberian arcto-boreal treeline areas in the Taymyr lowlands may be particularly affected by climatic changes, with latitudinal shifts of the treeline ecotone and resulting vegetation changes from tundra to taiga. Obtaining reliable information about present vegetation composition in such remote arctic locations is difficult, as vegetation surveys in the field can typically only be carried out during brief visits, and the flowering season is short. Although these techniques are time consuming, methods like vegetation assessment by ground surveys or palynological analyses are common tools to evaluate floral composition and provide valuable, complimentary information. While vegetation surveys mainly provide information about the status quo, pollen analyses also allow investigation of vegetation back in time. In recent years, sedimentary DNA has emerged as an additional and effective tool to improve knowledge about past vegetation. DNA metabarcoding of lake sediments and sediment cores has become more and more relevant as a tool for such research, but an explicit assessment of lake sediment DNA data in comparison to data obtained from pollen and vegetation surveys is still lacking. Here, we present a study comparing these three vegetation assessment methods for 31 lakes within a 300 km transect in arctic Siberia, reaching from Tundra, through the treeline area, to the light Taiga. Surface sediments of lakes were taken, subsampled for DNA and pollen analyses and processed in the respective laboratories. Together with six representative vegetation surveys, we present results of this comparative study. Our results show that taxa assigned by DNA sequence analyses are comparable to those found in the pollen and vegetation analyses. Overall, the DNA provides a higher taxonomical level of identification, while the pollen grains mainly identify to genus level. Compared to the vegetation survey, pollen and DNA provide more information, as they are able to track vegetation elements, which could not been surveyed at the time of the year the surveys were carried out. The results show that the combination and comparison of pollen, DNA and vegetation seems to serve as a calibration set for future investigations of such remote and highly dynamic ecosystems. Our investigation draws a multidisciplinary, comprehensive image of the current composition of the Siberian lowland vegetation by combining well established and promising, newly emerging methods.


We use data from the 2007 National Immigrant Survey to study the transitions to endogamous and exogamous marriages by Moroccan immigrants in Spain who were single at their time of arrival. First, we contextualise our analysis by examining the immigrants' marital status at their time of arrival and the years elapsed between migration and marriage. Second, we use discrete-time multilevel logistic regression models to examine the influence of selected individual and structural variables on the transition to marriage. Our results show that, compared to women, men are more likely to be single at the time of migration and spend more time in the destination country before marriage. Conversely, women are more likely than men to marry within the first year of arrival, regardless of their husband's country of birth. Men with tertiary education and women who are educated to at least the primary level are more likely to enter into exogamous marriages than those with lower education. Migrants whose migration decision was influenced by a relative or an acquaintance having the same country of birth are more likely to enter into an endogamous marriage. Albert ESTEVE, Research Scientist, Centre d'Estudis Demografics, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 SPAIN. E-mail:  firstname.lastname@example.com . Xiana BUENO, Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre d'Estudis Demografics, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193 SPAINT. E-mail:  firstname.lastname@example.com .


The reactions of molecules containing E-H functionalities (E = Group 15 or 16 element) and pentaphenylborole were investigated revealing diverse outcomes. For aniline and water, protodeborylation ring opening reactions occurred via the N-H or O-H bonds. Pentaphenylborole reacted with water in a 1 : 1 or 2 : 1 ratio to yield the corresponding boroxane and diboroxane, respectively, whereas aniline reacted strictly in a 1 : 1 ratio. Interestingly, 1-naphthalenethiol reacted to produce a 1-bora-cyclopent-3-ene heterocycle. The reaction with a primary phosphine generated an adduct which was resilient, even at elevated temperatures. DFT calculations provide support for the observed reaction products, and identify the initial adduct as a key intermediate in determining the final product. In particular, ring opening may be linked to the lability of the hydrogen in the initial adduct. Collectively, these reactions provide insight into new reaction pathways, the stability of boroles, as well as mechanistic insight into previously reported transformations.


This article introduces in detail the genesis of Egypt's first participation in the São Paulo Biennial (1953-1954). The story begins with a spontaneous application from a Swiss painter settled in Egypt after having lived in Brazil: Irmgard Micaela Burchard Simaika (1908-1964). Her request soon leads to the project of composing an official delegation to represent the country, at a time when Egypt was going through a period of political change, as the republic was proclaimed in June 1953. Within an artistic landscape deprived of specialized administration, the exhibition's preparation was associated with several debates to establish who had the skills and legitimacy to select the artworks to be sent to São Paulo. The final list of artists reflects the reality of the Egyptian art worlds in the first half of the 1950s, in which academic personalities mix with a new generation keen to produce art which would stand as modern and authentically national, and with members of foreign elites well integrated into local society. This "group of modern Egyptian art painting, in the words of Burchard, includes a third of women and stands out as one of the most gender balanced pavilions in the Biennial. It thus reveals the important contribution of women to the development of modern art in Egypt and its promotion worldwide.


Previous studies have shown that population aging has severe consequences for public spending. However, in welfare states with a federal budget structure, population aging will affect the levels of government to differing degrees. This article focuses on the impact of population aging on the fiscal system of the Federal Republic of Germany. The analysis draws upon profiles for public transfer flows by single years of age to illustrate the impact of age structure changes on the cost and revenue structures at the different levels of government. The results show that Länder and local governments are likely to achieve cost reductions while the federal budget and social security will face higher expenditures because of the increasing number of elderly people. This study provides valuable information on the age utilization of public flows and on the need for restructuring the allocation rules for government revenues and expenditures across levels of government.


This study was conducted to investigate some moisture dependent physical and mechanical properties of green laird lentil grains namely, grain dimensions, thousand grain mass, surface area, projected area, sphericity, bulk density, true density, porosity, terminal velocity, static coefficient of friction against different materials. The average diameter and thickness were 6.72 and 2.58 mm, at a moisture content of 11.36% d.b., respectively. In the above moisture range, the arithmetic and geometric mean diameters increased from 5.340 to 5.685 mm and from 4.879 to 5.260 mm, respectively, while the sphericity decreased from 0.727 to 0.744. In the moisture range from 11.36-25.08% d.b., studies on rewetted green laird lentil grains showed that the thousand grain mass increased from 72.00 to 73.90 g, the projected area from 36.98 to 55.60 mm2, the true density from 1170 to 1420 kg m(-3), the porosity from 29.91 to 55.63% and the terminal velocity from 5.90 to 7.10 m s(-1). The bulk density decreased from 820 to 630 kg m(-3) with an increase in the moisture content range of 11.36-25.08% d.b. The static coefficient of friction of green laird lentil grains increased against surfaces of six structural materials, namely, rubber (0.51-0.58), aluminum (0.48-0.57), stainless steel (0.38-0.44), galvanized iron (0.42-0.50), glass (0.35-0.40) and MDF (medium density fiberboard) (0.31-0.36) as the moisture content increased from 11.36-25.08% d.b.


We give an overview of interactive methods developed for solving nonlinear multiobjective optimization problems. In interactive methods, a decision maker plays an important part and the idea is to support her/him in the search for the most preferred solution. In interactive methods, steps of an iterative solution algorithm are repeated and the decision maker progressively provides preference information so that the most preferred solution can be found. We identify three types of specifying preference information in interactive methods and give some examples of methods representing each type. The types are methods based on trade-off information, reference points and classification of objective functions.


The Braconidae are a megadiverse and ecologically highly important group of insects. The vast majority of braconid wasps are parasitoids of other insects, usually attacking the egg or larval stages of their hosts. The ovipositor plays a crucial role in the assessment of the potential host and precise egg laying. We used light- and electron-microscopic techniques to investigate all inherent cuticular elements of the ovipositor (the female 9th abdominal tergum, two pairs of valvifers, and three pairs of valvulae) of the braconid Habrobracon hebetor (Say, 1836) in detail with respect to their morphological structure and microsculpture. Based on serial sections, we reconstructed the terebra in 3D with all its inherent structures and the ligaments connecting it to the 2nd valvifers. We examined the exact position of the paired valvilli, which are bilateral concave structures that protrude into the egg canal. In H. hebetor, these structures putatively divert the egg ventrally between the 1st valvulae for oviposition. We discuss further mechanical and functional aspects of the ovipositor in order to increase the understanding of this putative key feature in the evolution of braconids and of parasitoid wasps in general.


The argument of this paper was the subject of a conference
held at the Arzachena (Sardinia) middle school, as part of a
Health Education program.
After a brief introduction and some historical notes, the Author illustrates the composition of tobacco smoke, the substances whose biological action has definitely recognized, the damage they produce and their of acting.
Special emphasis is given to the damage on the cardiovascular apparatus and to the definite connection between smoking and cancer, not only that on the respiratory apparatus, given that, among the substances present in smoke, many have a mutagen and cancerous action.
A separate chapter is dedicated to so-called «secondhand smokers», among whom the most damaged is certainly the fetus during the smoking mother's pregnancy.
As regards the prophylaxis on smoke damage, the Author recalls, as well, that less harmful cigarettes, with a filter and ventilated have been produced, but even so, not such as may be considered ideal cigarettes.
Finally, the Author shows a certain scepticism about the usefulness of advertising papers, conferences and, in general, about Health Education iniziatives against smoking, it probably being more useful to make the existing law respected rigorously, which would, at least, serve to protect non-smokers from damage caused by others' smoking.


About five per cent of all malignant lesions of the skin are malignant melanomas. The poor prognosis associated with this malignant lesion emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis. A large proportion of malignant melanomas arise in preexisting lesions such as junction nevi, precancerous melanoses and, much more rarely, blue nevi. Early malignant changes in these precursor lesions include increasing pigmentation, enlargement, thickening, crusting, bleeding, ulceration, tumor formation, and development of satellite lesions. Many pigmented, and some non-pigmented, lesions of the skin must be differentiated from malignant melanoma. Since even with radical surgical treatment the prognosis of malignant melanoma is poor, junction nevi which are subject to continual trauma or have signs of probable malignant degeneration should be prophylactically excised.


In the early years of the Charter, the Supreme Court of Canada pledged to interpret the section 8 right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure restrictively — the Constitution "does not itself confer any powers, even of 'reasonable' search and seizure, on … governments" (Hunter v. Southam (1984)). Two decades later, without government advancing statutory authority, the Court recognized, in effect created, an investigative detention power as an integral and necessary aspect of street policing and exception to the arbitrary detention protection of section 9 of the Charter (R. v. Mann (2004)). This police-initiated detention, effectively a warrantless seizure of the person, in turn raises issues of search of the detainee, questioning of the detainee on occasion amounting to a search, and the exercise of incidental powers raising section 8 Charter issues.
The investigative detention power, immersed in a matrix of search and seizure issues, but currently analyzed exclusively in section 9 Charter language, might more purposively be measured for compliance with constitutional principles through section 8 analysis with the onus upon government to justify circumstances of warrantless detention/seizure of the pedestrian or driver. With the low visibility of investigative detention, the absence of effective administrative review of its exercise, and its disproportionate impact on the young, the poor and visible minorities, the courts, in the absence of Parliamentary action, must discharge their duty to bring greater clarity, if not accountability, into the process.


The notion of law of nature has been a major focus on the recent philosophical debate on science. In the attempt of determining what is the modal status of laws, whether they are necessary (as for necessitarianism) or contingent (as for contingentism), the recent debate has largely focused on the relationship between laws and natural properties. This contribution aims at defending a particular view on property individuation known as structuralism. According to structuralism, roughly, properties are individuated by their nomological/causal roles, and so by their relationships with the other properties and with the laws. In specific, I will defend a version of structuralism as a counterpart theory of property. Structuralism implies necessitarianism on laws of nature, and so this paper can be seen as a defense of this view as well.


This thesis presents the research work that was carried out on the development,
characterization and analysis of broadband Erbium doped silica fiber amplifier (B-EDF).
Erbium doped fiber amplifiers provide advantages over regenerative repeaters
as well as other amplification systems. For example, better crosstalk characteristics,
higher power operation, lower insertion loss than semiconductor laser amplifiers, higher
efficiency than Raman amplifiers and low noise figure than Brillounamplifiers. In addition,
EDFAs are the only amplifier, that can be used as both distributed and lumped
amplifier in telecommunications.
Currently, optical communication technology is moving from point-to-point systems
to optical networking. The exponential growth in data communications and the
internet places urgent demands on high-capacity communication networks. To increase
the total capacity, amplifier bandwidth has commanded much attention. However, the spread and expansion of dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems
are keeping pace with various technology developments of optical amplifiers and, in
particular, the bandwidth broadening of EDFAs. For this thesis, a novel EDFA structure
is developed to increase the amplifier bandwidth by combining the conventional
band and long wavelength band (C+L). This will offer more efficient use of optical fiber
networks and it will satisfy the demand of higher transmission capacity.


Developmental exposure to the endocrine‐active compound bisphenol A (BPA) has been linked to epigenotoxic and potential carcinogenic effects in rodent liver, prostate, and mammary glands. A dose‐dependent increase in hepatic tumors in 10‐month mice perinatally exposed to one of three doses of BPA (50 ng, 50 µg, or 50 mg BPA/kg chow) was previously reported. These tumors represent early‐onset disease and lack classical sexual dimorphism in incidence. Here, adult epigenome‐wide liver DNA methylation profiles to identify gene promoters associated with perinatal BPA exposure and disease in 10‐month mice with and without liver tumors were investigated. Mice with hepatic tumors showed 12,822 (1.8%) probes with differential methylation as compared with non‐tumor animals, of which 8,656 (67.5%) were hypomethylated. A significant enrichment of differential methylation in Gene Ontology (GO) terms and biological processes related to morphogenesis and development, and epigenomic alteration were observed. Pathway enrichment revealed a predominance of hypermethylated neuronal signaling pathways linked to energy regulation and metabolic function, supporting metabolic consequences in the liver via BPA‐induced disruption of neuronal signaling pathways. Hypothesis‐driven pathway analysis revealed mouse and human genes linked to BPA exposure related to intracellular Jak/STAT and MAPK signaling pathways. Taken together, these findings are indicators of the relevance of the hepatic tumor phenotype seen in BPA‐exposed mice to human health. This work demonstrated that epigenome‐wide discovery experiments in animal models were effective tools for identification and understanding of paralagous epimutations salient to human disease. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 57:435–446, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Fe2B is a kind of typical intermetallic compound, which has good corrosion resistance in molten zinc. However, the fatal intrinsic brittleness limits its further application in the Hot-Dip Galvanizing Industry. Therefore, it is worthwhile to improve the toughness of Fe2B phase. In this study, the fracture toughness property of Fe2B phase with and without micro-addition chromium is investigated. In comparison with pure Fe2B phase, the intrinsic brittleness of Fe2B phase with chromium is lower. In addition, the valence electron structure of Fe2B containing various chromium content is calculated by the method of bond length difference (BLD). The results show that, in the (Fe1-x Crx)2B phase, the number of covalent electron pairs and the weaker bond energy are increased by the substituting atom-Cr. The calculated results are in good agreement with experimental observations.


Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown a great potential for cell‐based therapy and many different therapeutic purposes. Despite the recent advances in the knowledge of MSCs biology, their biochemical and molecular properties are still poorly defined. Ecto‐nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases (E‐NTPDases) and ecto‐5′‐nucleotidase (eNT/CD73) are widely expressed enzymes that hydrolyze extracellular nucleotides, generating an important cellular signaling cascade. Currently, studies have evidenced the relationship between the purinergic system and the development, maintenance, and differentiation of stem cells. The objective of this study is to identify the NTPDases and eNT/CD73 and compare the levels of nucleotide hydrolysis on MSCs isolated from different murine tissues (bone marrow, lung, vena cava, kidney, pancreas, spleen, skin, and adipose tissue). MSCs from all tissues investigated expressed the ectoenzymes at different levels. In MSCs from pancreas and adipose tissue, the hydrolysis of triphosphonucleosides was significantly higher when compared to the other cells. The diphosphonucleosides were hydrolyzed at a higher rate by MSC from pancreas when compared to MSC from other tissues. The differential nucleotide hydrolysis activity and enzyme expression in these cells suggests that MSCs play different roles in regulating the purinergic system in these tissues. Overall MSCs are an attractive adult‐derived cell population for therapies, however, the fact that ecto‐nucleotide metabolism can affect the microenvironment, modulating important events, such as immune response, makes the assessment of this metabolism an important part of the characterization of MSCs to be applied therapeutically. J. Cell. Biochem. 115: 1673–1682, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


This work addresses expressive queries over encrypted data by presenting the first systematic study of multi-attribute range search on a symmetrically encrypted database outsourced to an honest-but-curious server. Prior work includes a thorough analysis of single-attribute range search schemes (e.g. Demertzis et al. 2016) and a proposed high-level approach for multi-attribute schemes (De Capitani di Vimercati et al. 2021). We first introduce a flexible framework for building secure range search schemes over multiple attributes (dimensions) by adapting a broad class of geometric search data structures to operate on encrypted data. Our framework encompasses widely used data structures such as multi-dimensional range trees and quadtrees, and has strong security properties that we formally prove. We then develop six concrete highly parallelizable range search schemes within our framework that offer a sliding scale of efficiency and security tradeoffs to suit the needs of the application. We evaluate our schemes with a formal complexity and security analysis, a prototype implementation, and an experimental evaluation on real-world datasets.


Background: Personalised nutrition (PN) aims to improve dietary intake and the health of individuals and to minimise the risk of chronic disease.
Aims: To develop and validate a web-based food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) suitable for Kuwait. This was incorporated into a PN app (eNutri), to investigate the efficacy of web-based PN compared to identical face-to-face PN and online population advice (EatWellQ8 study). A UK version of the eNutri app was previously used to assess the diet of UK adults (EatWellUK study) and baseline dietary data from these studies were compared.
Methods: Free-living adults were recruited from Kuwait for validation of the EatwellQ8 FFQ (n=99) which was compared with a 4 day-weighed food record (WFR) and a paper-form FFQ (PFFQ). To assess the effectiveness of delivering online PN advice using the eNutri app in Kuwait, participants (n=320) were randomised to web-based PN, face-to-face PN or generalised advice control groups for 12-weeks. Diet quality was assessed using a modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index (m-AHEI) at 0 and 12 weeks. Effects on the m-AHEI components, foods and nutrients were analysed using generalised linear models (GLM), as were comparisons between baseline data from the EatWellQ8 and EatWellUK studies.
Results: The EatWellQ8 FFQ was reproducible and had moderate agreement with the PFFQ and a 4-day WFR for measuring energy and nutrient intakes. After 12 weeks of the EatWellQ8 study (n=100), m-AHEI scores increased significantly in both PN intervention groups (face-to-face PN 19%, web-based 12%) compared to controls (4%) (P<0.01). BMI (-0.5 kg/m2) reductions were only significant in the face-to-face PN (P<0.01). Compared to baseline data from EatWellQ8 (n=208), EatWellUK (n=309) participants' overall m-AHEI score was significantly higher (P<0.01).
Conclusion: Kuwaiti diets were less healthy than the UK. PN is more effective at improving dietary change than population-based advice in Kuwait. Future work should focus on delivery of PN advice in larger, longer-term trials including more heterogenous populations.


Nowadays many health institutions need a computer-based patients' medical record system. At the same
time, when the number of patients and complexity of data increase, the demand for data to support hospital
activities other than the direct handling of patients also increase. This subsection is also experienced in the
Obstetric-Gynecology subsection at the hospital. The goal of this final project is to generate an online application
that can meet the needs of the hospital in Obstetric-Gynecology subsection which can be accessed by a PC (web)
and mobile devices (WAP).
The electronic medical record (computer based medical record) is the storage of electronic information
on health status and health services throughout the patient's lifetime, can be stored in such a way to serve a
variety of medical record users who need it. The methods which have been used are analysis and design methods.
The application is built using Apache as a web server, PHP as the server side language, MYSQL as the database
system, and XHTML which is used by the mobile devices.
The result of the this final research is an Electronic Medical Record application of the Obstetricgynecology,
which is the part of a greater hospital information system, which is accessible through a web browser
from the desktop computer (PC) or via mobile devices such as PDAs and Smartphone. This application can
display partograph which is used to monitor patient progress during labor, and produce reports in PDF form.
Keywords: medical record, web, WAP, partograph


This study is an investigation of paperless language learning in the context of the United Arab Emirates. The purpose of this study was to examine Emirati level 1 English language learners' attitudes towards the iPad use as a means of language learning. It was done through a cross-sectional survey questionnaire, wholly composed of fixed-choice questions, and through weekly reflective journals that were written by the teachers teaching the groups. The survey collected data through a questionnaire from 80 students who had been exposed to paperless language learning for a duration of 80 teaching periods. The data collected showed positive student attitudes towards iPad implementation as a language learning tool in terms of learner satisfaction, motivation, perceived tool usefulness and learning effectiveness. Reflective journal analysis showed that the digital world presents the students with a direct link between the effort taken and the reward received, whereas the feedback or the reward given by the teachers in the traditional classroom was either too nebulous or too slow to motivate students to keep the pace of progressive learning. Published : 9 February 2018 Citation : Research in Learning Technology 2018,  26 : 1937 -  http://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.1937


Abstract. A new ADA phenotype which is particularly susceptible to phenotypic changes following storage was observed. Family studies indicate that this type may be due to a new allele, ADA7. The phenotype observed was classified as ADA 7–1.


Understanding the interplay between climate and land-use dynamics is a fundamental concern for assessing the vulnerability of Amazonia to climate change. In this study, we analyse satellite-derived monthly and annual time series of rainfall, fires and deforestation to explicitly quantify the seasonal patterns and relationships between these three variables, with a particular focus on the Amazonian drought of 2005. Our results demonstrate a marked seasonality with one peak per year for all variables analysed, except deforestation. For the annual cycle, we found correlations above 90% with a time lag between variables. Deforestation and fires reach the highest values three and six months, respectively, after the peak of the rainy season. The cumulative number of hot pixels was linearly related to the size of the area deforested annually from 1998 to 2004 (r2=0.84, p=0.004). During the 2005 drought, the number of hot pixels increased 43% in relation to the expected value for a similar deforested area (approx. 19 000 km2). We demonstrated that anthropogenic forcing, such as land-use change, is decisive in determining the seasonality and annual patterns of fire occurrence. Moreover, droughts can significantly increase the number of fires in the region even with decreased deforestation rates. We may expect that the ongoing deforestation, currently based on slash and burn procedures, and the use of fires for land management in Amazonia will intensify the impact of droughts associated with natural climate variability or human-induced climate change and, therefore, a large area of forest edge will be under increased risk of fires.


On-demand platforms (e.g., Uber, Lyft) often rely on independent workers, who are not directly under the platform's control, to be available at the "right" time and locations to serve consumers at short notice. To manage fluctuating demand across market locations (zones), on-demand platforms share market forecasts with workers to inform them where they should be available, and use surge pricing—wherein the price at a particular zone is temporarily raised above the regular price. We analyze these platform strategies in an on-demand marketplace where independent workers can move between adjacent zones, explicitly accounting for the strategic interaction in their moving decisions. We show that, contrary to conventional wisdom, surge pricing can be useful even in zones where supply exceeds demand. Specifically, because workers are strategic agents facing costs to move and competition from other workers who move, simply informing workers where they should be available may not ensure that enough workers move to that zone. Interestingly, more workers can be made to move from a zone with excess supply of workers by strategically using a surge price to throttle demand in that zone. Such strategic surge pricing can increase total platform profit across zones, and even be more profitable than offering workers bonuses to move. Surge pricing in a zone with excess supply can also be useful to credibly communicate the need for more workers to move. In other instances, such surge pricing may be useful to avoid too many workers from moving. Our analysis offers insights for effectively managing on-demand service with independent workers.


Obstetric fistulas are childbearing injuries that present a major public health issue, especially in the developing context. This study brings together the literature on the causes of these injuries in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as suggested interventions aimed at its prevention. Furthermore, it also aims to identify gaps in the research that need to be addressed. A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus identified that extensive research has been carried out on the factors causing this injury, the main factors being complications during labour, three phases of delay, and culture. Nonetheless, there remains a dearth of literature detailing preventive measures. While few studies discussed preventive interventions that had been implemented, the literature does well to suggested preventive interventions. Suggested preventive measures target the community, as well as healthcare facilities. The literature also highlights the need for increased governmental support, as a means of preventing the development of fistulas. Using narrative review methods, we identify that the research focus remains primarily on the causes of obstetric fistula and ways of managing the injury, while paying less attention to means of preventing this injury. We therefore recommend further exploration of preventive measures.


To examine the impact of gender on survival after myocardial infarction, we performed a retrospective cohort study of 332 women and 790 men. Women who had a myocardial infarction were older and more often had hypertension, diabetes, previous heart failure, and impaired left ventricular function on admission. Cumulative 3-year mortality and in-hospital mortality rates were significantly higher in women than men, but mortality among hospital survivors was similar. After multivariate adjustment for baseline differences, mortality rates were not significantly different between women and men for in-hospital deaths, and mortality at 3 years among hospital survivors tended to be lower among women. We conclude that higher observed mortality rates following a myocardial infarction in women are related to differences in known risk factors for subsequent mortality and that gender should not be considered an independent risk factor for mortality after myocardial infarction.


OBJECTIVE To establish a detailed pattern of the nature and extent of illnesses and injuries among construction workers in Ireland which cause temporary absence from work, and to identify diseases and disabilities which lead to premature retirement from the industry on health grounds. METHODS The population base for the study consisted of construction workers who were members of the Construction Federation operatives pension and sick pay scheme. Records of sickness absence since 1981, stored on computer disks, and records of early retirement on health grounds since 1972, stored on microfiche film, were examined. Pertinent data were extracted and transferred to a database; after cleaning and the exclusion of unvalidated data, records of 28 792 absences and 3098 records of early retirement were available for analysis. Data were analysed with Access 97 and Epi Info. RESULTS Over the period of the study the mean annual absences were 7.8/100 workers. Three quarters of absences were among younger workers; however, the rate of absence increased with age, as did the mean duration of absence. Injury was the most frequent reason for absence, followed by infectious disease, then musculoskeletal disorders. The mean annual rate of early retirement on health grounds was 5.3/1000 workers. The median age at retirement was 58 years. Cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal disorders each accounted for nearly one third of the conditions leading to permanent disability on the grounds of which early retirement was granted. During the period of the study, over 677 000 working days were lost due to sickness absence, and over 24 000 potential years of working lives were lost due to early retirement on health grounds. CONCLUSIONS The study has shown patterns of sickness absence and early retirement on health grounds in the Irish construction industry which will contribute to the further development of health promotion strategies for construction workers.


Land treatment of wastewater involves the use of plants and the soil to remove unwanted constituents. Removal of phosphorus is particularly important to avoid excessive biological activity in water systems receiving the treated wastewater. This research examines the phosphate adsorption desorption behavior of two soils: Charlton silt loam, a typical acid soil from New England which is being used in experimental wastewater treatment, and Tujunga coarse sandy loam from a wastewater land treatment facility located at Manteca, California, which has failed to remove phosphate from wastewater efficiently. The effects of changing the pH and phosphate content of municipal wastewater on adsorption and desorption were determined. Sorption isotherms were determined for each soil using wastewater as the equilibration solution. Phosphate was added to the wastewater to obtain the concentration range necessary for the isotherms. After 96 hour equilibration periods, radioactive phosphorus was added to the suspensions. Measurements of the redistribution of the P-32 were used to determine the exchangeability of the sorbed phosphate. Radioactive phosphorus-32 was used to follow the adsorption and desorption rates in suspensions of soil and wastewater. Parallel experiments were conducted in which phosphate concentrations were determined by conventional spectrophotometric analysis. Effluent from a conventional secondary treatment facility and the whole soil (all particles < 2 mm) were used in these studies to model the normal situation in land treatment facilities. Concentration changes of solution phosphate or P-32 were measured over 46 hour equilibration periods. After this period, soil samples were separated from the suspension, treated to remove interstitial solution, and dried at room temperature. The dried soil samples were resuspended with either a fresh portion of effluent or 0.005 M NaCl solution. Resuspension with effluent mimics a repeat application of wastewater to a treatment field. Suspension in sodium chloride solution allows determination of phosphate desorption in the absence of exchange reactions. The complementary use of P-32 and non-radioactive phosphate permitted the evaluation of adsorption and desorption of freshly sorbed and native phosphate independently as well as the amount of exchange occurring. Charlton soil sorbed large amounts of phosphate with a capacity of over 1000 mg P/g soil. At concentrations typical of wastewater, complete removal of phosphate from solution was rapid. When small amounts (< 100 mg/g) were sorbed, phosphate was bound in very stable forms which were largely unavailable to exchange. Sorption was slightly less complete in suspensions at pH 8.0 as compared to pH 5.0 and 6.5. At higher loadings of phosphate, an increasing amount of exchangeable phosphate was sorbed on the Charlton soil. However, at a single pH, the proportion of exchangeable phosphate to sorbed phosphate was constant at all amounts of sorbed P studied. Tujunga soil capacity for phosphate was much lower than Charlton soil. Sorbed phosphate was susceptible to a large amount to exchange as well as net desorption. Efficiency of sorption decreased with a decrease in pH-This dissertation is available at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/1266 opposite to the trend observed with the Charlton soil. A three step mechanism of P sorption was used to explain the results of these studies. Determination of relative concentrations of Fe (II) and Fe (III) by Mossbauer spectroscopy was examined. Mossbauer spectra were obtained which demonstrate the successful application of the technique to the study of reduced iron in soils.


The Cameroon Political Story is a long journey through the eyes and actions of the author himself. It is a mix between Mbile's memoirs, a bit of his biography and the Cameroon political story, heavily weighted in favour of that part of the Republic formerly identified as Southern Cameroons, later West Cameroon, now South West and North West Regions. The story is told in the interest of the Cameroonian youth and scholar who have often complained of the inadequate recording by political leaders of the life and deeds of their times. It is the story of an African boy of humble village beginnings who rose to participate in the making of a modern political community. It is hoped the book provides useful knowledge on the history, growth and constitutional evolution of Cameroon, a country which after more than a century of administrative metamorphosis settled to its present statehood in 1961, a Cameroon reborn.


The chemical bonding and morphology of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond films exposed to thermal (~0.04 eV) and hyperthermal (5 and 7.5 eV) atomic oxygen (AO) were studied by using high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), atomic force microscopy, and theoretical simulations. Although exposure to thermal AO caused subtle changes to the surface morphology, hyperthermal AO resulted in selective etching of the diamond facets: (100) facets remained essentially unaffected, whereas (I I 1)-oriented and other facets were severely etched. HREELS reveals that hydrogen is removed from the diamond surfaces during both thermal and hyperthermal AO exposures. By using isotopic labeling in the CVD growth procedure, it is observed that exposure to ambient conditions after the AO exposure leads to adsorption of adventitious hydrocarbons on the surface. The high background in the HREEL spectrum of samples exposed to hyperthermal AO suggests the presence of a graphitic layer. Simulations of the interaction between hyperthermal AO and (100) and (111) diamond surfaces were conducted by using direct dynamics based on density-functional-based tight binding methods, in an attempt to elucidate relevant reaction mechanisms. They suggest mechanisms for the partial graphitization of the (111) surface and for etching of this surface by way of CO 2 desorption. Such damaged graphitic layers have been previously shown to erode easily when exposed to a hyperthermal AO beam. The simulations also suggest that the (100) surface, fully covered with ketones, is inert to carbon removal upon exposure to hyperthermal oxygen atoms, which scatter inelastically from this surface without reaction. The simulations suggest that a nearly full ketone coverage is the steady-state configuration for a ( 100) diamond surface exposed to AO.


Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography procedures were developed for the analysis of pyrimidine-based drugs bropirimine and its derivatives (2-N-acetyl- and 2-N-propanoyl-) and for pyrimethamine and its 2/4- substituted derivatives (2, N-propanoyl and 2,4-N, N-dipropanoyl-) and its 6- substituted (methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- and isopropyl- carboxylates) analogues. Stability studies indicated that these derivatives were not sufficiently labile to act as potential prodrugs. Solubility-pH profiles were constructed from which the dissociation constants were calculated. The physicochemical properties of these compounds were studied and attempts were made to increase the poor aqueous solubility of bropirimine (35μg/mL) by prodrug synthesis, solvate formation (acetic acid, N, N-dimethylformamide and N-methylformamide) and the use of co-solvents and additives. The first two methods proved to be fruitless whereas the latter method resulted in an intravenous formulation incorporating 32mg/mL of bropirimine. An in-vitro method for the detection of precipitation was developed and the results suggested that by using low injection rates ( 500mL/hr) precipitation could be minimised. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that bropirimine debrominates in the presence of a number of additives commonly used in formulation work but the temperature at which this occurred were usually > 200oC. In-vitro work gave encouraging results for the possibility of rectal delivery of bropirimine but in-vivo work on rabbits showed considerable variations in the resulting plasma levels and pharmacokinetic parameters.


Abstract Considering the potential factors that might generate economic growth, a target for any economy, this paper identified some determinants of economic growth in the countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE countries) that are member states of the European Union. The foreign direct investment was the most important determinant of economic growth in most of the countries (Bulgaria, Slovenia, Estonia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania) in the period 2003-2016, according to Bayesian bridge regressions. The indicators related to the level and the quality of labour resources proved to be insignificant in explaining the economic growth in these countries. Moreover, in Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, the government expenditure on education had a negative effect on economic growth.


Subject
 Police protests.

 Significance
 Federal Police (PF) officers on July 3 launched protests against President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO)'s plans to integrate its members into the new National Guard and other policing roles. Hundreds of officers broke into the PF headquarters in Mexico City and blocked major roads around the capital in demonstrations that continued until July 9. AMLO and Security Minister Alfonso Durazo accused the protesters of trying to destabilise the country, suggesting corrupt individuals with vested interests might be behind the action. The government plans fully to dismantle the PF within 18 months.

 Impacts
 Discontent among public servants affected by the government's administrative changes and austerity measures will fuel polarisation.
 PF abolition would confirm the AMLO administration's commitment to continuing old militarised security strategies.
 Claims of FP corruption will compound public mistrust in security bodies, including the National Guard, which will absorb many FP officers.


Wind turbine blades often present complex distributions of their stiffness, mass and inertial properties along the span. We propose a method to estimate such physical parameters so as to match given experimental observations. The procedure can be used to understand the nature of possible discrepancies between designed and manufactured blades and to provide updated high fidelity mathematical beam models to be used in aero-elastic simulations. The formulation is based on the constrained optimization of a maximum likelihood cost function and a noisy measurement fusion approach whereby the data of multiple experiments are used simultaneously in a single estimation process. The proposed method is demonstrated first using simulated data and then in the identification of two real small wind turbine blades. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We consider exact solutions generated by the inverse scattering technique, also known as the soliton transformation. In particular, we study the class of simple real pole solutions. For quite some time, those solutions have been considered interesting as models of cosmological shock waves. A coordinate singularity on the wave fronts was removed by a transformation which induces a null fluid with negative energy density on the wave front. This null fluid is usually seen as another coordinate artifact, since there seems to be a general belief that this kind of solution can be seen as the real pole limit of the smooth solution generated with a pair of complex conjugate poles in the transformation. We perform this limit explicitly, and find that the belief is unfounded: two coalescing complex conjugate poles cannot yield a solution with one real pole. Instead, the two complex conjugate poles go to a different limit, what we call a "pole on a pole". The limiting procedure is not unique; it is sensitive to how quickly some parameters approach zero. We also show that there exists no improved coordinate transformation which would remove the negative energy density. We conclude that negative energy is an intrinsic part of this class of solutions.


Environmental governance is extremely urgent facing the severe environmental pollution, ecosystem degradation and resource constraint in China. Chinese government attaches great importance to it and integrates it into national development strategies. Eco-budget is a comprehensive environmental governance instrument successfully piloted in some European and Asian countries, and has great enlightenment and reference for China s environment governance. Ecological environment in Beijing especially needs more effective control and protection. The goal of this paper is to design eco-budget scheme and pilot in Beijing combined with field research and official announcement data, using the method of completing an eco-budget cycle including budget preparation, budget implementation and budget evaluation. The result is to provide suggestions for improving eco-budget, help Beijing government evaluate the performance and make decisions on environmental governance, achieve strategic goals for sustainable development.


In this research, we analyse information technology (IT) outsourcing decisions involving multiple vendors and apply modelling techniques to systematically evaluate such outsourcing decisions. We take costs of in-house production, outsourcing, and coordination into consideration simultaneously. Further we also consider the performance of vendors. To make our work more adaptable, we make different assumptions on the interaction of different jobs. For a case considering the interaction of a pair of jobs at a time, a linear model is formulated. An example problem is solved using a practical spreadsheet based optimiser and the managerial use of this model in decision support is emphasised. For a case considering multiple-way interactions among jobs, we formulate a non-linear model. We discuss how to reformulate and solve an equivalent linearised model. An example problem is also presented for illustrative purposes.


Human responses to mechanical vibrations delivered to the surface of the skin are given for frequencies between 0.4 and 500 Hz. Vibrotactile response characteristics are given for the threshold of detectability, suprathreshold measurements and for a number of subject variables, including gender and age. Also presented will be the linkage between psychophysical results and underlying neural mechanisms that mediate mechanoreception in cutaneous tissue. [Work supported by grants from NIH, NIDCD.]


Abstract. Crop information and quality are not only fundamental for experts using spatial decision support systems but also have many applications in irrigation management, economic analysis for import or export, food safety, and achieving sustainable agriculture. Remote sensing is a cheap and fast way of reaching this goal. Full polarimetric SAR unlike optical sensors is an all-weather system providing geometrical and physical properties of the earth's surface events. Due to the dynamic changes in crop properties through their phenological stages, crop type mapping has been challenging. As a result, accurate, reliable, and cost-effective crop type mapping using minimum data and processing has been the goal of the remote sensing and precision agriculture community. In this study, a new method based on time series analysis of full polarimetric SAR data combined with radar indices, polarimetric decompositions followed by the three αs extracted from H/A/α decomposition, and unsupervised H/α/Wishart classification bands as features generated from only 5 dates of RADARSAT CONSTELLATION MISSION 2 data were used for classification of crops. Applying random forest and cat boost algorithm as classifiers an accuracy of 87.4% and 75% was respectively achieved. indicating that both algorithms have promising results. Although the random forest algorithm had better results, the cat boost algorithm had less noise in each field and more homogenous farms were detected.


Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been proposed for a multitude of location-dependent applications. To stamp the collected data and facilitate communication protocols, it is necessary to identify the location of each sensor. In this paper, we discuss the performance of a novel received signal strength indicator (RSSI) positioning scheme, which uses a generalized geometrical location algorithm to achieve an accurate estimation based on mean received signal strength measurements. In order to improve the network performance and address limitations of static WSNs position estimation, mobile sensors are utilized effectively and an attractive movement strategy with mobile elements is designed. The effectiveness of our approach is validated and compared with the traditional RSSI method by extensive simulations.


In this study, we demonstrate the use of techniques associated to a newly-developed fractal statistics in the analysis of data roughness of climate risk indices across the country as these induce a consequent ruggedness in the tourism industry indicators. Fractal dimensions and roughness correlation are used to show relationship while Pearson r correlation analysis to show association of the variables, climate risk index (as X variable), travel and tourism competitiveness, tourist arrival, tourism income and GDP per country(as Y variable). It is found out that climate risk condition is a cause of the decreases of the tourism activity and income of the country. The result lends proof thatn the weather patterns of a country, specifically climate risk condition, has considerable effects on tourism industry. Changing climate and weather patterns at tourist destinations and tourist generating countries can significantly affect the tourists' comfort and their travel decisions. Influx in international tourist arrivals in response to climate risk affects all countries across the globe. However, developing countries are more vulnerable as theyhave less resources and mechanisms to mitigate the impacts.


BACKGROUND
Ascariasis is the infestation by the largest intestinal nematode of man, a common problem in the tropics attributed to poor hygienic and low socioeconomic conditions. The aim of this research is to analyse the presentation, diagnosis and management of bowel obstruction caused by Ascaris lumbricoides, with special emphasis on the role of conservative management.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This is a single centre, two consultant based 5 year retrospective study of childhood intestinal obstruction due to worms. Diagnosis in the suspected patients was based on history of passage of worms per mouth or rectum and on x-ray and ultrasonography findings. Only the patients of intestinal obstruction with documented evidence of roundworm infestation were included in the study and were followed for one year.

RESULTS
One hundred and three children with intestinal obstruction due to Ascaris lumbricoides were treated in the past five years at our centre. Abdominal pain was the most common presentation seen in 96 children followed by vomiting in 77 children. 20 children had history of vomiting worms and another 43 had history of passing worms in stool. Abdominal tenderness was present in 50 children, 48 had abdominal distension of varying degree, 50 had abdominal mass due to worm bolus, and 16 had or developed abdominal guarding or rigidity. All the children were managed as for acute intestinal obstruction along with hypertonic saline enema. The aim of management was "to starve the worm and hydrate the patient". 87 patients (84.47%) responded favourably and were relieved of the obstruction by the conservative management, 16 children (15.53%) had abdominal guarding or rigidity and underwent emergency exploration.

CONCLUSION
Roundworm obstruction should be considered in the differential diagnoses of all cases of intestinal obstruction in children. Clinical history and examination along with X-ray and ultrasonography are very helpful for diagnosis of this surgical emergency. Most cases of intestinal obstruction due to Ascaris can be managed conservatively; however emergency surgery is needed in patients with abdominal guarding and rigidity.


Medieval Douai was one of the wealthiest cloth towns of Flanders, and it left an enormous archive documenting the personal financial affairs of its citizens-wills, marriage agreements, business contracts, and records of court disputes over property rights of all kinds. Based on extensive research in this archive, this book reveals how these documents were produced in a centuries-long effort to regulate-and ultimately to redefine-property and gender relations. At the center of the transformation was a shift from a marital property regime based on custom to one based on contract. In the former, a widow typically inherited her husband's property; in the latter, she shared it with or simply held it for his family or offspring. Howell asks why the law changed as it did and assesses the law's effects on both social and gender meanings but she insists that the reform did not originate in general dissatisfaction with custom or a desire to disempower widows. Instead, it was born in a complex economic, social and cultural history during which Douaisiens gradually came to think about both property and gender in new ways.


The emerging WiFi Round Trip Time measured by the IEEE 802.11mc standard promised sub-meter-level accuracy for WiFi-based indoor positioning systems, under the assumption of an ideal line-of-sight path to the user. However, most workplaces with furniture and complex interiors cause the wireless signals to reflect, attenuate, and diffract in different directions. Therefore, detecting the non-line-of-sight condition of WiFi Access Points is crucial for enhancing the performance of indoor positioning systems. To this end, we propose a novel feature selection algorithm for non-line-of-sight identification of the WiFi Access Points. Using the WiFi Received Signal Strength and Round Trip Time as inputs, our algorithm employs multi-scale selection and Machine Learning-based weighting methods to choose the most optimal feature sets. We evaluate the algorithm on a complex campus WiFi dataset to demonstrate a detection accuracy of 93% for all 13 Access Points using 34 out of 130 features and only 3 s of test samples at any given time. For individual Access Point line-of-sight identification, our algorithm achieved an accuracy of up to 98%. Finally, we make the dataset available publicly for further research.


The charged controlled model is presented as an effective method to simulate junction barrier schottky (JBS) silicon carbide diodes. Proven as a valuable approach for silicon devices, this model can also account for wide bandgap energy semiconductors. The model was implemented in Oread's SPICE software package using analog behavioral modelling. The simulation combines the efficiency of a traditional static model with an improved charge controlled model representing transient characteristics of the semiconductor due to stored charge in the depletion layer. The result is an enhanced model that simulates in short period of time. Parameter extraction methods are used to help identify saturation currents, capacitance, resistance, voltages, and modelling coefficients. The simulation results in a close fit to the data taken during reverse recovery of a JBS SiC diode


Statistical studies are reported in this article for an active galactic nuclei sample of different type of active galaxies Seyferts 1, Seyferts 2, and Quasars. These sources have been selected from a Catalogue for bright X-ray galaxies. The name of this index is ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue (RBSC) and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). In this research, multi-wavelength observational bands Radio at 1.4 GHz, Optical at 4400 A0, and X-ray at energy 0.1-2.4 KeV have been adopted in this study. The behavior of flux density ratios has been studied ,  with respect to the absolute magnitude . Furthermore, the Seyfert1 and Seyfert 2 objects are combined in one group and the QSOs are collectest in another group. Also, it has been found that the ratios , are increasing towards fainter optical absolute magnitude especially in Quasars.


Miliary tuberculosis is a rare but severe form of TB often due to hematogenous spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It represents less than 2% of tuberculosis in our context. We conducted a retrospective study of 48 cases collected in our Respiratory Diseases department between 2003 and 2010. Female cases were predominant with 60%. The mean age was 35 years old. The history of tuberculosis and tuberculosis contagion were found in 10 cases each, the postpartum in 3 cases, trisomy-21 in 1 case, diabetes and HIV seropositivity in 3 cases each. The clinical setting was dominated by health impairment in all the cases and fever in 40 cases (83%). Chest X-ray spotted out miliary aspect in all the cases, cardiomegaly in 2 cases, pyopneumothorax in 5 cases, and excavated opacities in 4 cases. The intradermal tuberculin test performed for all the cases was positive in 20 cases. Bascilloscopies were positive in 15 cases. The spread assessment found out a cerebro-meningeal affection in 5 cases with cerebral tuberculomas in 1 case, pericarditis in 3 cases, mediastinal and peripheral lymph nodes in 6 cases; choroidal tubercle was found in 5 cases and a medullar affection in 2 cases. Antibacillary treatment according to the 2SRHZ/7RH regimen was started in emergency in 32 cases, 2RHZE/7RH in 3 cases and according to 2RHZE/4RH regimen in 5 cases. Evolution was good in 36 cases (75%), 9 patients were lost for follow up, and 3 deaths were deplored. Throughout this work we emphasize the severity of miliary tuberculosis and the need for urgent and early therapeutic management.


Particle dispersion from a high chimney is considered and an expression for the subsequent concentration of the particulate deposited on the ground is derived. We consider the general case wherein the effects of both diffusion and convection on the steady state ground concentration of particulate are incorporated. Two key parameters emerge from this analysis: α, the ratio of diffusion to convection, and λ, the nondimensionalised surface mass transfer rate. We also solve the inverse problem of recovering these two parameters given the boundary concentration profile and provide an estimate of the concentration flux above the chimney stack.


The objective of this report is to identify existing regulatory restraints to competition in key sectors and the economy as a whole and use them to design an effective competition policy for the Philippines. The report builds on Product Market Regulation (PMR) indicators and the WBG's Markets and Competition Policy Assessment Tool (MCPAT) applied to the Philippine markets to (i) develop the main aspects of the advocacy role of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) against current market features; (ii) map regulatory restrictions to competition and classify them according to their effects; (iv) contextualize competition restraints within each sector to offer a set of policy recommendations; and (v) quantify the potential impact of a more pro-competitive regulatory environment for the Philippines' economy. As the country did not have a competition law until 2015, the recently created PCC faces a challenging environment in which to implement its mandate. The two-year transitory period to start enforcement, as well as the potential to grant broad exemptions from the law under the forbearance clause, have hindered the ability of the PCC to prevent anticompetitive conduct of market players, either public or private. In this context, the advocacy role of the PCC offers a critical mechanism to address those regulatory conditions that may be enabling anticompetitive behavior. Limited market competition can stem from restrictive regulations or discretionary application of the regulatory framework that render entry and operation of new firms difficult. Ensuring government policies and regulations do not generate barriers to entry or distort the level playing field is necessary to enhance private sector participation and unlock investment opportunities.


Pavement construction, maintenance and rehabilitation have considerable impacts on environment, society, and economy. These impacts can be minimized by implementing lean construction strategies that focus on reducing wastes and improving performance, as well as increasing the overall value of the facility to the end users. The objective of this study is to identify the adverse effects of work-zones activities for pavement projects, and demonstrate how lean construction techniques can provide sustainable solutions. For example, 5S's can help reducing the waste which is a cause of environmental degradation. The last planner technique can be used to prevent schedule delays and to accelerate the construction process, and assist in reducing the excess emissions due to unstable traffic around the work-zones and from heavy equipment. It can also minimize vehicle operating costs due to congestion and improve the mobility of work-zone. Increased visualization approaches such as speed advisories, delay advisories; regulatory speed limit changes merge control and alternate route guidance, can further enhance safety and mobility. Other impacts such as noise pollution; and reduced accessibility to businesses and emergency facilities can be minimized using phased scheduling which allows the selection of construction time and duration suitable for the surrounding community.


Ejectors are common devices used across many industries, however, they are often plagued by the presence of low frequency pressure pulsations causing both broadband and tonal noise. This thesis presents a theoretical and experimental investigation into the acoustics of an ejector-silencer combination with the emphasis placed on silencer design. More specifically, the noise generated by jet noise, the diffuser and natural modes are explained and estimated. The noise generation mechanisms of impingement tones and edgetones are presented but accurate predictions are found to be hard to make. An outline of the experimental facility is followed by the mechanical, acoustical and aerodynamic design details of the roughly 70:1 ejector scale model. A detailed analysis on the primary nozzle control and calibration is presented before diving into an aerodynamic and acoustic characterization of both the ejector and the wind tunnel facility. From experimentation, it is found that the placement of a perforated


This thesis is concerned with providing further statistical development in the area of space-time modelling with particular application to disease data. We briefly consider the non-Bayesian approaches of empirical mode decomposition and generalised linear modelling for analysing space-time data, but our main focus is on the increasingly popular Bayesian hierarchical approach and topics surrounding that. We begin by introducing the hierarchical Poisson regression model of Mugglin et al. [36] and a data set provided by NHS Direct which will be used to illustrate our results through-out the remainder of the thesis. We provide details of how a Bayesian analysis can be performed using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) via the software LinBUGS then go on to consider two particular issues associated with such analyses. Firstly, a problem with the efficiency of MCMC for the Poisson regression model is likely to be due to the presence of non-standard conditional distributions. We develop and test the 'improved auxiliary mixture sampling' method which introduces auxiliary variables to the conditional distribution in such a way that it becomes multivariate Normal and an efficient block Gibbs sampling scheme can be used to simulate from it. Secondly, since MCMC allows modelling of such complexity, inputs such as priors can only be elicited in a casual way thereby increasing the need to check how sensitive our output is to changes to the prior. We therefore develop and test the 'marginal sensitivity' method which, using only one MCMC output sample, quantifies how sensitive the marginal posterior distributions are to changes to prior parameters


Quad Flat No-Lead or QFN is able to provide lighter, thinner and higher performance packaging requirement with its exposed pad and leads at the package bottom for better heat dissipation. However, QFN packages possess certain weaknesses. QFN package failures are related to crack and delaminating, such as die cracking, moulding compound and solder mask interfacial delaminating. From previous projects, the epoxy thickness and die thickness plays an important role in reducing failures in QFN package. The objective of this project is to observe the effects of die and epoxy thickness. The effects on QFN are measured in the die and lead frame part. Stress towards the die is also measured: including thermal, first principle and Von Misses stress. The structural optimization is based on the Finite Element Analysis (FEA). By using ANSYS 10.0, six models were constructed, where three models were built to analyse in thickness of epoxy, and another three to study the effects on die thickness. The effect was measured by the value stress (first principle stress and Von Misses stress) and thermal strain effect, which will lead to a result of how the dimensions of the packaging will give a better tolerance towards stress.


An integrated heart surgery system is under development. The system is the successor of two previous home-build generations of automatic charting systems for the anaesthetist and the perfusionist during heart surgery. The system can be used to collect, present and archive all important physiological parameters, the medical events, and the medical and administrative data. The system is connected to the monitoring system, our custom-build heart-lung system and the servo ventilators. It includes access to the hospital information system, and the departmental information systems of the Thoraxcenter. The first preliminary version of this system will be introduced into our operation rooms in the summer of 1996.


Simultaneous profiling of single-cell gene expression and lineage history holds enormous potential for studying cellular decision-making beyond simpler pseudotime-based approaches. However, it is currently unclear how lineage and gene expression information across experimental time points can be combined in destructive experiments, which is particularly challenging for in-vivo systems. Here we present moslin, a Fused Gromov-Wasserstein-based model to couple matching cellular profiles across time points. In contrast to existing methods, moslin leverages both intra-individual lineage relations and inter-individual gene expression similarity. We demonstrate on simulated and real data that moslin outperforms state-of-the-art approaches that use either one or both data modalities, even when the lineage information is noisy. On C. elegans embryonic development, we show how moslin, combined with trajectory inference methods, predicts fate probabilities and putative decision driver genes. Finally, we use moslin to delineate lineage relationships among transiently activated fibroblast states during zebrafish heart regeneration. We anticipate moslin to play a crucial role in deciphering complex state change trajectories from lineage-traced single-cell data.


Important Findings Commercial chickens with a high level of maternal antibodies for Newcastle disease were vaccinated when newly hatched with Queensland V4 or Ulster 2C Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strains by nebulization. The exposure time to a fine aerosol of vaccine produced with an ultrasonic nebulizer was 60 sec. The chickens were challenged oculonasally with virulent NDV strain Texas GB in weekly intervals up to the 49th day of life. Although protected for several weeks by maternal antibody, they were sufficiently protected thereafter by active immune response to the vaccines. Vaccinal reactions were not observed. Queensland V4 produced higher titers than Ulster 2C and provided better protection to challenge.


Purpose: Develop, validate and apply noninvasive ultrasoundelasticityimaging (UEI) of the human posterior tibial tendon (PTT) as a potential tool to diagnose different stages of PTT disorders and guide treatment of PTT dysfunction in the clinic.Methods: We have developed ex vivo and in vivo platforms to develop UEI of the PTT. Healthy PTTs from four cadaveric feet were dissected at the proximal end and attached to a materials testingsystem (MTS) for controlled force/stroke production and measurement. Longitudinal ultrasoundimages of the tendon were collected at 80 Hz using a 14 MHz clinical ultrasound probe and scanner (Zonare MedicalSystems) during force production up to 60 kg. Displacement maps between successive ultrasound frames were obtained using 2D phase sensitive cross—correlation tracking. Mechanical properties of each tendon were estimated from both MTS and ultrasound measurements. This system complements our in vivo platform for UEI of the human PTT. Results: In the ultrasound movies, the PTT can be easily distinguished from superficial soft tissue and malleolus. Young's modulus of PTT was found to be similar across specimens and range of loads tested. The average Young's modulus was found to be 0.24 ± 0.05 GPa for the MTS and 0.62 ± 0.15 GPa for the ultrasound measurements. This difference was expected because the MTS measurement included properties of support material in series with the tendon. We have also extended our platform for in vivo and noninvasive ultrasound strain imaging of the PTT in human volunteers. Initial results suggest that this approach is a potentially powerful tool to diagnose and identify stages of PTTD for helping determine optimal treatment strategies. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the feasibility of using ultrasound to noninvasively track mechanical properties of the PTT. Further studies are needed to compare the elastic properties of diseased versus healthy tendon. Department of Radiology, University of Arizona; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Arizona.


Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles were prepared on photocatalytic TiO2-coated glass substrate by a photodeposition process and the optical hydrogen sensing properties were examined at room temperature. The TiO2 coatings were prepared on a non-alkaline glass substrate by a sol-gel process and hot water treatment. Pd nanoparticles were deposited on the TiO2 film by photodeposition using UV light. The obtained Pd/TiO2 thin film showed remarkable optical transmittance response to hydrogen gas at room temperature. The normalized transmittance of the Pd/TiO2 thin film at a wavelength of 640 nm decreased to 0.9 on exposing the film to hydrogen gas for only 5 s. This transmittance decrease is considered to be due to a gaschromic effect of the TiO2 photocatalytic coating.


In 2009 the transport company of city Gdynia
(Poland) introduced in the operation trolleybuses fitted
with traction batteries. This solution was designed for
emergency situations, such as: damage of overhead lines
or power loss. Transport company also considering the use
of batteries in regular use. The article presents
the operational experiences gained during the current
operation. Furthermore, there are presented new trends in
traction batteries technologies


Herein, a new colorimetric strategy based on polymer nanoparticles (PNPs) and Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) is developed to detect heparin (Hep). The cationic PNPs can directly induce the aggregation of AuNPs, which are stabilized by negatively charged coating of citrate ions, and hence the absorption peak of AuNPs moves to 675 nm corresponding with a color change from wine red to blue. However, the negatively charged Hep competes with AuNPs and binds to PNPs, hindering the interaction between PNPs and AuNPs. As a result, the absorption band of AuNPs blue shifts and the color turns to red again. The reaction can be completed within 10 min, and the color variation produced by 150 nM of Hep can be distinguished by the naked eye. In addition, this strategy also shows good selectivity and sensitivity, and the linear range of Hep is from 10 to 400 nM with detection limit of 2.5 nM. Finally, this colorimetric assay has been applied to measure Hep in Hep sodium injection and human serum samples with satisfactory recoveries.


Graphical techniques have become important tools to show results of maize ( Zea mays L.) breeding experiments in current literature. The present study compared different graphical techniques to determine the best parental lines and cross combinations for yield and kernel quality traits in maize breeding experiments. We measured single plant yield, protein content, oil content, carotenoid content, oleic acid, and linoleic acid in a 5 × 2 line × tester design. Genotype + genotype × environment (GE) biplot, principal component analysis (PCA) biplot, and polar plot were used to analyze data and compare them with conventional line × tester analysis. In the conventional analysis, parents with high means and positive general combining ability (GCA) values were A680 and HYA for single plant yield, IHP for protein content, IHO and HYA for oil content, A680 and Q2 for carotenoid content, IHP for oleic acid content, and A680 for linoleic acid content. The B73 tester exhibited positive GCA values for most investigated traits. The HYA × B73 combination was the best cross in terms of single plant yield, protein, and oil contents. Results showed that biplot methods had both advantages and disadvantages. The PCA biplots can be used alone while the GGE biplot and polar plots are both useful for combining ability, heterosis, and gene action analysis in a line × tester design. Overall, graphical analysis results were very similar to conventional analysis. Consequently, it was assumed that the graphical methods used could be useful to analyze/present data from maize breeding experiments carried out with a line × tester design. mays . ABSTRACT


DC brushless motors are widely adopted for their simplicity of control, even in sensorless configuration, and their high torque density. On the other hand, induction motors are very economical due to the absence of permanent magnets; for the same reason they can easily be driven in the flux-weakening region to attain a wide speed range. Nevertheless, high dynamic induction motors drives, based on field-oriented (FOC) or predictive control, require large amounts of computing power and are rather sensitive to motor parameter variations. This paper presents a simple DTC induction motor control algorithm based on a well-known BLDC control technique, which allows to realize a high dynamic induction motor speed control with wide speed range. The firmware implementation is very compact and occupies a low amount of program memory, comparable to volt-per-Hertz- (V/f-) based control algorithms. The novel control algorithm presents also good performance and low current ripple and can be implemented on a low-cost motion control DSP without resorting to high-frequency PWM.


The paper reviews the methods used for radio spectrum management as applied to mobile radio. The newest approach is spectrum trading, which will start in the UK before the end of 2004. Over time, market forces should move suitable spectra from lower value to higher value use. Mobile radio would expect to benefit from such an outcome.


The purpose of this paper is to analyze in detail a special nonlinear partial differential equation (nPDE) of the second order which is important in physical, chemical and technical applications. The present nPDE describes nonlinear diffusion and is of interest in several parts of physics, chemistry and engineering problems alike. Since nature is not linear intrinsically the nonlinear case is therefore the general. We determine the classical Lie point symmetries including algebraic properties whereas similarity solutions are given as well as nonlinear transformations could derived. In addition, we discuss the nonclassical case which seems to be not solvable. Moreover we show how one can deduce approximate symmetries modeling the nonlinear part and we deduce new generalized symmetries of lower symmetry. The analysis allows one to deduce wider classes of solutions either of practical and theoretical usage in different domains of science and engineering.


In 2007 Lyons suggested that decoupling the volunteering and tourism aspects of volunteer tourism might circumvent some of the more negative aspects of this niche tourism sector. This paper provides a personal account of an adventure philanthropy event as a means of investigating the proposal made by Lyons and Wearing. Adventure philanthropy is a form of tourism that combines fundraising/charity work with adventure travel, an activity in which participants first engage in volunteer fund raising before undertaking an adventure tourism trip. In this case the event was the Hospital Foundation's Cardiac Challenge, a three day cycling event from Cairns to Cooktown. Findings based on participant observation and auto‐ethnography suggest that this type of adventure philanthropy event has many of the same characteristics as volunteering, tourism and volunteer tourism. The research results provide insights into the decreased role of ambiguity and better defined outcomes that this type of tourism offers over more traditional volunteer tourism. It suggests therefore that the proposal by Lyons (2007) (and subsequently, Lyons and Wearing, 2008) does have merit and concludes that more rigorous research into this topic would be beneficial.


This study's objectives were to clarify the standing of apparel import intermediaries (AIIs) and to obtain an immediate, deeper understanding of them in real-life settings from the perspective of industry experts with years of immersion in apparel industry phenomena. Based on interpretive analysis of qualitative in-depth interviews with 13 corporate executives of AII firms in New York City, the authors critically evaluated AIIs' views of their environment, development, and functions. Findings indicated ambivalent reactions to the hyperdynamic environment that has resulted from the global reordering of the apparel industry and described two development paths of AIIs, transformation or birth. Results also showed that this hyperdynamic environment has shaped firms' functional responses, leading AIIs to implement design, marketing, sourcing, and service activities in unique ways. The study explicates the critical role that classification systems and terminology play in firm identity, the tracking of economic data, and policy development within the U.S. apparel industry.


Persons with severe functional disabilities are the highest users of health care services. Caring for the needs of this population represents a significant percentage of our national health care costs. A growing body of research has demonstrated the efficacy of self-management strategies and caregiver engagement for effective long-term care for individuals with chronic medical conditions. Economic forces over the past decade have led to new challenges and resulted in major changes in health care delivery resulting in shortened length of inpatient stays and greater limits on the length of outpatient treatment. Telehealth is an innovative method for health care delivery and a means of meeting this new challenge. This article highlights the findings of 3 pilot studies on the use of telecommunications technologies in promoting self-care management and enhancing health care outcomes in persons with severe disabilities and their family caregivers. The importance of matching technology to the needs of this population, lessons learned from these investigations, and future directions for research are addressed.