Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether angiotensin II (ANG II) affects the protein and mRNA expression of the mitochondrial antioxidant peroxiredoxin-3 (Prx-3) in cardiac fibroblasts, thereby contributing to the oxidative stress in the myocardium. Method: Cardiac fibroblasts (passage 2) from normal male adult rats were cultured to confluency and incubated in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium for 24 h. The cells were then preincubated with(out) the tested inhibitors for 1 h and further incubated with/without ANG II (1 &mgr;mol/l) for 24 h. Results: ANG II increased (P < 0.001) the mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species in cardiac fibroblasts from 187.8 ± 38.6 to 313.8 ± 30.6 a.u./mg mitochondrial protein (n = 15). ANG II decreased (P < 0.01) the mRNA and protein expression of Prx-3 by 36.9 ± 3.0% and 29.7 ± 2.7% (n = 4), respectively. The ANG II-induced decrease in mRNA expression of Prx-3 was prevented by the angiotensin type 1 receptor blocker, losartan but not by the angiotensin type 2 receptor blocker, PD 123 319. Conclusion: Our data indicate that ANG II-stimulated mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production in rat cardiac fibroblasts is accompanied by a reduction in the expression of the mitochondrial antioxidant Prx-3, and thereby potentially contributing to oxidative stress in the myocard.


This paper builds on previous work of the author in assessing policies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) based on 20 elements. The elements are based on international conventions, codes of conduct and industry best practice. In a second survey of current priorities for CSR among large listed companies, the paper examines the written policies of companies in 15 countries in Europe, North America and Asia. The second survey demonstrates an increased emphasis on ethics, bribery and corruption and increased policies among companies on child labour compared with the first survey. It shows that one cannot assume that Asian countries are less developed than their Western counterparts and points to a growing trend of CSR in Japan, in particular. Nevertheless, it is demonstrated that there is a link between the development of CSR and the economic development of countries and that many CSR policies are based on localised issues and cultural traditions at a country level. Supply chain aspects of CSR are growing in importance, particularly among countries with a strong trading tradition. l Corporate social responsibility


A hierarchical sampling design was used to describe scales of genetic structuring of Hediste diversicolor (Polychaeta: Nereididae) along the North Adriatic coast of Italy and investigate possible relationships with patterns of heavy metal contamination. Analyses of a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) gene yielded 10 different haplotypes showing that the genetic structuring at this locus is more complex than previously hypothesised. Both COI and allozyme data suggest that most of the total genetic variance is due to genetic differentiation among (1) sites within estuaries and (2) individuals within sites. These results suggest that within estuaries H. diversicolor does not form contiguous panmictic populations, but rather is structured in frag- mented populations isolated at small spatial scales. Sediment concentrations of Zn, Cu and Ni in sed- iments were above effects range-low (ERL) guideline values at several of the investigated sites. Yet, we did not observe any relationship between heavy metal concentrations of metals and either the estimators of genetic diversity in H. diversicolor or the distribution of Aldolase genotypes expected from previous toxicity tests. These results suggest that, within North Adriatic estuaries, populations of H. diversicolor are structured by chaotic genetic patchiness and that stochastic processes (e.g. genetic drift or sweepstake recruitment) have a major role in promoting small scale genetic struc- turing.


The Cross of Caravaca and Cross of Lorraine IUDs with double horizontal bar design were developed in an attempt to reduce expulsion and removal rates for pain and bleeding encountered with other IUDs. The devices were manufactured in radio-opaque plastic bearing copper wire or sleeves on the top arm. The Cross of Lorraine has the upper arm shorter than the lower arm whereas in the Cross of Caravaca the shorter is the lower arm. 748 women had insertion of the Cross of Caravaca and 412 had insertion of the Cross of Lorraine. For the Cross of Caravaca 486 women completed 1 year of use, 392 completed 2 years and 310 completed 3 years. For the Cross of Lorraine, 268 women completed the 1st year, 205 the 2nd, and 150 women completed 3 years of use. The combined number of observed months of use for the 2 devices at the end of 3 years was 24,963. Accidental pregnancy rates at the end of 3 years were 1.13% for Caravaca and 3.48% for Lorraine. Expulsion rates at the end of 3 years were nil for the Cross of Lorraine and 1.16% for the Cross of Caravaca. Pain and bleeding were the most common causes of termination for medical reasons, bleeding accounting for termination in 1.66% of Lorraine users at the end of 3 years of use and 2.75% of Caravaca users. Pain accounted for termination in 3.14% of Caravaca users and 2.02% of Lorraine users. Incidence of infection was 0.42% and nil for Caravaca and Lorraine users respectively. Total discontinuation rates at the end of 3 years were 25.39% for Caravaca and 16.67% for Lorraine.


Inuit Canadians are on average about 20 years younger and have a 10-year lower life expectancy than other Canadians. While there have been improvements in Inuit health status over time, significant health disparities still remain. This paper will review the peer-reviewed literature related to Inuit child, youth, and maternal health between 2000 and 2010, investigate which thematic areas were examined, and determine what proportion of the research is related to each group. Establishing areas of research concentrations and scarcities may help direct future research where it is needed. We followed a systematic literature review and employed peer-reviewed research literature on child, youth, and maternal health which were selected from 3 sources, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and the Circumpolar Health Bibliographic Database. The resulting references were read, and summarized according to population group and thematic area. The thematic areas that emerged by frequency were: infectious disease; environment/environmental exposures; nutrition; birth outcomes; tobacco; chronic disease; health care; policy, human resources; interventions/programming; social determinants of health; mental health and wellbeing; genetics; injury; and dental health. The 72 papers that met the inclusion criteria were not mutually exclusive with respect to group studied. Fifty-nine papers (82%) concerned child health, 24 papers (33%) youth health, and 58 papers (81%) maternal health. The review documented high incidences of illness and significant public health problems; however, in the context of these issues, opportunities to develop research that could directly enhance health outcomes are explored.


Reaction/response times are important in most sporting activities. It is hypothesized that by enhancing eye/ hand abilities there will be a corresponding change in specific visual and visually-guided skills related to peak athletic performance. A visual enhancement training program utilizing the EyeSpan, an eye-hand coordination training device, was evaluated for its effect on eye/body reaction time (RX), motor response time (MR) and total response time (RP). The RX's, MR's and RP's of 48 subjects were measured under identical conditions before and after a training program. Twenty-four experimental subjects participated in a three week training program involving a minimum of fifteen 5-minute sessions with the EyeSpan. The other twenty-four subjects served as the control for the study. After the training program, results indicated a significant difference (P< .003) between control and experimental groups in eye/body response time ( a measure of overall quickness). This corresponds to a 4% improvement in experimental subjects' response time following training. It appears that by enhancing eye/hand abilities there is to some degree a transference to another visually guided process, eye/body response time.


Abstract This review is concerned with nanoscale effects in highly transparent dielectric photonic structures fabricated from optical fibers. In contrast to those in plasmonics, these structures do not contain metal particles, wires, or films with nanoscale dimensions. Nevertheless, a nanoscale perturbation of the fiber radius can significantly alter their performance. This paper consists of three parts. The first part considers propagation of light in thin optical fibers (microfibers) having the radius of the order of 100 nanometers to 1 micron. The fundamental mode propagating along a microfiber has an evanescent field which may be strongly expanded into the external area. Then, the cross-sectional dimensions of the mode and transmission losses are very sensitive to small variations of the microfiber radius. Under certain conditions, a change of just a few nanometers in the microfiber radius can significantly affect its transmission characteristics and, in particular, lead to the transition from the waveguiding to non-waveguiding regime. The second part of the review considers slow propagation of whispering gallery modes in fibers having the radius of the order of 10–100 microns. The propagation of these modes along the fiber axis is so slow that they can be governed by extremely small nanoscale changes of the optical fiber radius. This phenomenon is exploited in SNAP (surface nanoscale axial photonics), a new platform for fabrication of miniature super-low-loss photonic integrated circuits with unprecedented sub-angstrom precision. The SNAP theory and applications are overviewed. The third part of this review describes methods of characterization of the radius variation of microfibers and regular optical fibers with sub-nanometer precision.


Purpose: To use the 2010 to 2011 data collected by structured chart review to provide a detailed up-to-date description of the epidemiology and microbiology of the sepsis syndromes. Methods: Prospective observational study conducted at a university-affiliated urban teaching hospital and level-1 trauma and burn center. All adult patients who triggered a Code Sepsis in the emergency department (ED) between January 2010 and December 2011 were included. Results: One hundred eighty four patients presented with a verified sepsis syndrome and triggered a Code Sepsis in the ED during the studied time period. The mean hospital and intensive care unit length of stays (LOSs) were 15.4 (interquartile range [IQR] = 14) and 6.7 (IQR = 5) days, respectively. The total inpatient mortality was 19% (n = 35). Patients with an unspecified source of infection and those without an isolated pathogen had the highest inpatient mortality, 42.1% (n = 8) and 23.3% (n = 10), respectively. Conclusion: Hospital mortality and hospital LOS of sepsis are similar to those reported in other observational studies. Our study confirms a decline in the mortality of sepsis predicted by earlier longitudinal studies and should prompt a resurgence of epidemiological research of the sepsis syndromes in the United States.


Many inadequacies have been identified in the delivery of palliative care in the acute hospital setting and in the provision of palliative care education. The provision of such education has tended to be sporadic and uncoordinated. Recently, more structured courses for nurses have been available. However, little attempt has been made to evaluate the outcome of formal teaching in this area. This study explores the perception of outcome of registered nurses who have undertaken the Professional Studies II Course in Care of the Terminally Ill Patient. Questionnaires, semi - structured interviews and the Critical Incident Technique were used to collect data on the application of learning and factors which influenced this. Most participants considered that the course was very beneficial to their own personal development and to their clinical practice. The confidence derived from their perception of enhanced knowledge of symptom control and communication skills were the main enabling factors. They perceived an increased ability to respond to and cope with the expression of intense emotion. They also acquired the confidence to act as an advocate for patients and relatives. As such they were able to ensure that symptoms were more adequately controlled and that information needs were met. Factors which limited their ability to apply learning and influence practice were mainly related to lack of interest and support in the work environment. The ability to argue their case from a sound knowledge base succeeded in swaying the opinion of some medical staff. However, in some respects there was more resistance from nursing colleagues. The study concludes that the impact of Continuing Professional Education in Nursing could be enhanced by: 1. identification of a 'facilitator' in the work environment. This person could ensure that the objectives of the potential candidate and the institution were compatible and help to prepare the candidate for attendance. They could also provide support and encouragement to apply and share their learning on return from courses; 2. development of closer links between the facilitator or manager and these course providers; 3. more preparation of the participants by the course providers to institute change and cope with conflict.


Planning under uncertainty using Markov decision processes (MDPs) requires a model of the environment specifying the probabilistic effects of the actions that the agent is able to execute. The optimal policy of the agent is then computed from such model. As such, when planning, the agent assumes the environment may only change as the direct result of its actions. In this thesis we consider lifting that assumption, and allow the agent to reason over the counterfactual "What if the world were different?" Effectively, we allow the agent to reason over other possible configurations of the world, where more rewarding optimal policies may exist, and over the cost required in shifting the original environment to these modified worlds. Our goal is to endow the agent with the ability to plan over the possibility of actually operating in such configurations of the world, if beneficial. We introduce Counterfactual MDPs, a new class of MDPs that allows the agent to reason and plan over the aforementioned counterfactual. Solving a Counterfactual MDP consists in the maximization of the expected value/cost trade-off over possible changes to the world. In the context of MDPs, the dynamics of the world are described in terms of transition probabilities. Our approach is thus to formulate the problem as a jointoptimization of the transition probabilities and optimal policy of the MDP. We analyze the complexity of the resulting problem, and formally prove it is NP-Hard. We then derive two gradient-based approaches for solving the problem. These approaches culminate in the contribution of an iterative gradient based algorithm, PITERATION, for solving Counterfactual MDPs. Additionally, we discuss methods for scaling up this algorithm to larger problems. We demonstrate the applicability of Counterfactual MDPs and the performance of the algorithms proposed in multiple scenarios. We show, in particular, significant performance improvements that arise from allowing the agent to reason and plan over other possible worlds, and corresponding optimal policies. In the process we realize, however, that Counterfactual MDPs implicitly assume that the specific world configuration the agent envisioned will be necessarily materialized. However, in many real-life scenarios there exists an underlying uncertainty in the outcome of applying changes to the world. We extend the Counterfactual MDP model to allow the agent to reason over this uncertainty, and dub the resulting model Stochastic Outcomes Counterfactual MDPs. This new model assumes the uncertainty associated with changes to the world follows a probabilistic distribution with parameters the agent can reason over and control, resulting in a new optimization problem. We show the gradient of this new optimization problem can be computed by solving an expectation, and thus propose a sampling based method for computing it. This allows us to extend P-ITERATION to this new class of problems with stochastic outcomes. In the end we demonstrate the applicability of the new model in multiple scenarios with uncertainty in the outcome of changes to the world. We show that by reasoning over this uncertainty the agent is able to find more valuable world configurations.


A microscopic photothermal lensing measurement under two-color continuous-wave laser excitation was performed to investigate a signal enhancement owing to the transient absorption by photoexcited solute molecules in liquid solutions. An intensity-modulated 409 nm laser beam and an un-modulated 532 nm laser beam were used for excitation, and a 670 nm probe beam was used for detecting the modulation amplitude of thermal lensing signals generated with a microscopic objective lens focusing laser beams into a capillary flow cell of 0.1 mm optical path length. The amplitude of the modulated signal increased as the power of the un-modulated laser beam increased, and a 143-times magnification was observed for an iso-propanol solution of naphthacene having 4.6 × 10^−4 absorbance at 409 nm and a negligible absorbance at 532 nm. A four-level model explaining the signal enhancement is proposed, and an important role of the transient absorption by photoexcited molecules is discussed.


Predictive conceptual models help us frame research questions, interpret results, and guide clinical practice. Although numerous models have appeared in the assistive technology (AT) literature, none has been shown to predict AT usage. The lack of a valid predictive model indicates the need for development of new approaches to modeling AT outcomes. This article proposes a user-centered conceptual model that predicts AT usage as a function of the perceived relative advantages of AT. Device usage is not modeled as a one-time, all-or-nothing proposition, but as a decision process recurring over time. The influence of parallel interventions working concurrently with, or as an alternative to, AT is a central consideration that ultimately drives AT usage. Usage is shown as a proximal influence on AT impact, and AT impact is shown to be a predictor of future use. Research is cited supporting various elements of the new model.


Accurately predicting disease course at diagnosis is critical to facilitate personalized therapy in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). PredictSURE IBDTM is a whole blood qPCR assay that was developed to predict prognosis in newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve IBD patients – classifying them into IBDhi (high-risk) or IBDlo (low-risk). The current recommendation is that PredictSURE IBDTM should not be used in those who have commenced steroids. In this study, we aimed to determine the impact of steroid therapy on the performance of PredictSURE IBDTM.

 Whole blood was serially taken from patients admitted with severe IBD requiring intravenous (IV) steroids (pre-steroid, day 3, day 5; n=10, cohort 1) and from patients receiving oral steroids as outpatients (pre-steroid, week 1, week 6; n=10, cohort 2). An independent cohort of 43 IBD patients, all within 3 months of diagnosis and on corticosteroid treatment (41 systemic and 2 topical, cohort 3) was recruited. RNA was extracted and analyzed with PredictSURE IBDTM (PredictImmune, UK). Patients were prospectively followed and treated according to routine clinical management by physicians blinded to the test results, and clinically stratified according to one of the original definitions used to construct and validate the test (need for step up to immunosuppressive or biological therapy or surgery).

 In cohorts 1 and 2, both oral and intravenous steroids affected the PredictSURE IBDTM result: misclassification as IBDlo occurred in 5/8 IBDhi patients receiving oral, and 5/7 IBDhi patients receiving IV, steroids. In 60% this change was detectable early (within 1 week of oral steroids and 3 days of IV steroids). Steroids did not affect the classification of IBDlo patients. Consistently, the prognostic accuracy was limited in patients already receiving steroids (cohort 3). After a median follow-up of 31.8 [IQR 18.7 - 42.1] months, 35 (81%) patients required step-up therapy. PredictSure IBDTM correctly classified only 23 (54%) patients with accuracy of 0.53 (sensitivity: 0.51, specificity: 0.63, positive likelihood ratio: 1.38, negative likelihood ratio: 0.77). Seventeen (80%) of the misclassifications were clinically high-risk patients who were predicted as IBDlo. Time to treatment escalation was similar between patients classified as IBDhi or IBDlo after starting steroid therapy (p= 0.47) (Figure 1).

 The prognostic accuracy of PredictSURE IBDTM is limited if performed after steroid therapy has begun, most likely because of the misclassification of high-risk patients as low risk. Therefore, the test should only be performed in patients with active disease who are not receiving steroid therapy, as currently recommended.


This paper describes an experience of collaborative project development using Second Life (SL) as the interaction media. SL is a virtual environment in which people can interact with each other through avatars [1]. The group task involved the elaboration, planning and production of 1-minute movies. The task was conducted within a graduate course during two months. Participants were graduate students without previous experience in Second Life and in cinema techniques. Analysis based on the 3C collaboration model [2][7] permitted a better understanding of advantages, limitations and challenges for collaborative work in 3D environments. Our observations included group meetings for definition and elaboration of the screenplay, creation and characterization of the characters, setting and description of the scenes, filming, editing, sound recording and documentation.


Increased automation is one of the main changes foreseen by SESAR in ATM. This will pose new challenges including possible automation degradation. The premise for the SPAD project is that degradation of systems automation is unavoidable due either to internal (e.g. human, software or system failure) or external (e.g. weather, strikes, malicious behaviors) events (or both). There is thus a need to understand, monitor and manage how automation degradation of a single system may propagate to the overall ATM system, and to define ways to confine and absorb degradation problems, with and without human contribution. There is also a need to estimate the implications of degradations for the overall ATM system performances. These aspects will be investigated by SPAD, which has the following aims: 1) understanding, modelling and estimating the propagation of automation degradation in ATM; 2) estimating the consequences of automation degradation on ATM performances; 3) supporting an effective intervention for the containment of automation degradation. This paper presents the early findings by the SPAD project after 6 months of work and presents the investigations that will be carried out in the next months.


Medium energy ion scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements have been performed on thermally grown SiO2 layers on 4H silicon carbide. The data suggest the presence of a layer at the oxide–SiC interface consisting of both disordered Si and C. The infrared data indicate that the oxide layer is denser than fused silica. The thickness of the oxide layers as measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry agrees well with the values obtained from ion scattering.


Managed mental health companies are gaining tremendous power in the delivery of behavioral health services. Contracts can literally shift market share from one facility to another in a matter of weeks. For most inpatient providers, managed mental health bodies ill in the forms of fewer admissions, shorter lengths of stay, and lower service fees. The first section of this article explains some of the factors driving the growth of managed mental health care. The second cites the benefits of developing a hospital-based managed mental health service.


Guided by an ecological theoretical model, the authors used a series of multilevel models to examine associations among children's individual problem behavior, the classroom behavioral context, and school readiness outcomes for a cohort of low-income children (N = 3,861) enrolled in 229 urban Head Start classrooms. Associations were examined between early problem behavior (overactive and underactive behavior) at the child and classroom level and three dimensions of school readiness: cognitive skills, social engagement, and coordinated movement, assessed at the end of the preschool year. At the child level, younger children, boys, and underactive and overactive problem behavior were associated with lower school readiness skills. At the classroom level, classroom contexts early in the preschool year characterized by high levels of underactive behavior (e.g., social withdrawal among children) were uniquely and additively associated with lower school readiness skills. Contrary to hypotheses, there were no significant associations between classroom behavioral contexts characterized early in the preschool year by high levels of overactive behavior (e.g., socially disruptive or dysregulated behavior among children). Findings extend prior research in Head Start. Implications for early identification and intervention are discussed.


Generalizability is applied by researchers in an academic setting. It can be defined as the extension of research findings and conclusions from a study conducted on a sample population to the population at large. While the dependability of this extension is not absolute, it is statistically probable. Because sound generalizability requires data on large populations, quantitative research -experimental for instance -provides the best foundation for producing broad generalizability. The larger the sample population, the more one can generalize the results. For example, a comprehensive study of the role computers play in the writing process might reveal that it is statistically probable that students who do most of their composing on a computer will move chunks of text around more than students who do not compose on a computer.


Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipoatrophy (BSCL) is characterized by near total fat atrophy, associated with the progressive development of metabolic complications. BSCL type 1 (BSCL1) is caused by mutations in AGPAT2, encoding 1-acylglycerol-3phosphate-O-acyltransferase β (recently renamed lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase beta), which catalyzes the transformation of lysophosphatidic acid in phosphatidic acid, the precursor of glycerophospholipids and triglycerides. BSCL1 is an autosomal recessive disease due to AGPAT2 pathogenic variants leading to a depletion of triglycerides inside the adipose organ, and to a defective signaling of key elements involved in proper adipogenesis. We herein investigated the characteristics of two AGPAT2 variants in Caucasian Italian patients with Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipoatrophy. The first patient exhibited a novel homozygous nonsense c.430 C > T AGPAT2 mutation (p.Gln144*) predicting the synthesis of a truncated enzyme of approximately half of the proper size. The second patient harbored a homozygous AGPAT2 missense variant (p.Arg159Cys), never described previously in BSCL1 patients: the segregation of the disease with the mutation in the pedigree of the family and the in silico analysis are compatible with a causative role of the p.Arg159Cys variant. We remark that BSCL1 can be clinically very heterogeneous at presentation and that the associated complications, occurring in the natural history of the disease, reduce life-expectancy. We point to the necessity for medical treatments capable of reducing the risk of cardiovascular death. In BSCL1 patients, the assessment of cardiovascular disease with conventional diagnostic means maybe particularly challenging.


Further evidence is presented to show that the interpretation of some Ogo 6 retarding potential analyzer (RPA) results in terms of ambient Fe+ ions is correct. The Fe+ ions are observed only within dip latitudes of ±30°, and the reason for this latitudinal specificity is discussed in terms of a low-altitude source region and F region diffusion and electrodynamic drift. It is shown that the polarization field associated with the equatorial electrojet will raise ions to 160 km out of a chemical source region below 100 km but it will do so only in a narrow region centered on the dip equator. Subsequent vertical E × B drift, coupled with motions along the magnetic fields, can move the ions to greater heights and greater latitudes. There should be a resultant fountain of metallic ions rising near the equator that subsequently descends back to the E and D layers at tropical latitudes. Even if the metallic ions do have access to the lower F region at higher latitudes, the downward plasma flow at the F peak will restrict their access to the upper F region.


Our perception of sound relies on frequencies of waves in the air. Certain frequencies and combinations of frequencies are interpreted by our brains as musical, whether concordant or discordant. In this workshop, we will explore different aspects of mathematics as it relates to pitch perception, including different tuning systems with 12 or more pitches to the octave and the "missing fundamental" effect. We will use both audio and visual aids in our explorations.


Dissertations are a common feature of final year undergraduate study, but there has been little research into their impact on student performance and satisfaction (Hammick and Acker, 1998; Webster et al., 2000; Pathirage et al., 2004), and even less into the perceptions and attitudes of their academic supervisors. The research reported in this paper is part of the project entitled: 'Dissertation in the Business and Management Undergraduate Curriculum: Value Adding and Value for Money?' The second phase of the project complements a quantitative study of student achievement (see Anchor et al., 2009), by investigating perceptions of the undergraduate dissertation by members of staff. The data for this part of the project was collected by means of a questionnaire survey sent to staff within the Departments of Leadership & Management and Strategy and Marketing at the University of Huddersfield Business School; a sample for follow-up interviews was also self-identified in the responses to the questionnaire survey. Issues focused upon in the questionnaire and interviews include whether students have the capacity to undertake a dissertation, their perceptions of its values and impact upon their results, and staff views of the demands that dissertation supervision places upon them. This paper focuses particularly on staff perceptions of value. The main findings are that the dissertation still has currency today, but needs to be evaluated to ensure that it is meeting the needs of different stakeholders. Further, that despite the perceived academic rigor of the dissertation, the lecturers believed that it gave students the ability to reach a level whereby they become autonomous learners.


Background: providing support to a family member with dementia often comes at a cost to the quality of life (QoL) of the carer (caregiver), giving rise to current and future unmet needs for health and social care and support themselves. These have important implications for costeffective health and social care support services and pathways. This article summarises the findings of a scoping review of the literature on QoL measures for carers of people with dementia that was commissioned by the Medical Research Council to address what is 'state of the art' in measurement and identification, any gaps in the evidence base, and challenges for further research. Method: a scope of the literature using Medline and Psychlit (all years) as these are particularly relevant to health psychology was undertaken in March 2013, using combinations of the following keywords: quality of life, measure, scale, caregiver (including carer), chronic illness (the term long-term condition is generally captured under this phrase), dementia, cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease. Results: there is a dearth of carer-reported QoL measures, in contrast to the existence of proxy scales for carers which are used to measure the patient's/client's QoL (prevalent in relation to dementia). Several methodological challenges were identified. Conclusion: caring for people with dementia often has both negative and positive consequences which need inclusion in measures but these may vary by individual and over time. The lack of consensus about what to measure and how in QoL of carers of people with dementia does not help practitioners or service funders. Measures need to be appropriate for younger and older carers, type of carer and caring tasks, and be sensitive to cultural and sociodemographic differences.


This study presents preliminary themes surfaced from an ongoing ethnographic study. The research question is: how and where do cultures influence the cataloging practices of using U.S. standards to catalog Chinese materials? The author applies warrant as a lens for evaluating knowledge representation systems, and extends the application from examining classificatory decisions to cataloging decisions. Semantic warrant as a conceptual tool allows us to recognize and name the various rationales behind cataloging decisions, grants us explanatory power, and the language to "visualize" and reflect on the conflicting priorities in cataloging practices. Through participatory observation, the author recorded the cataloging practices of two Chinese catalogers working on the same cataloging project. One of the catalogers is U.S. trained, and another cataloger is a professor of Library and Information Science from China, who is also a subject expert and a cataloger of Chinese special collections. The study shows how the catalogers describe Chinese special collections using many U.S. cataloging and classification standards but from different approaches. The author presents particular cases derived from the fieldwork, with an emphasis on the many layers presented by cultures, principles, standards, and practices of different scope, each of which may represent conflicting warrants. From this, it is made clear that the conflicts of warrants influence cataloging practice. We may view the conflicting warrants as an interpretation of the tension between different semantic warrants and the globalization and localization of cataloging standards.


Current energy economy measures are estimated to be saving the NHS 30 m pounds a year. It is believed that at least another 30 m pounds at today's prices can be saved without affecting direct patient care or general comfort levels in hospitals. This article by V.E. Skegg, superintending engineer, DHSS, outlines the nature of the problem and the steps being taken. It also emphasises the need for the active co-operation of all staff, both administrative and other disciplines, particularly in the use of electricity, if the amount and cost of energy is to be contained.


The VALD database of atomic and molecular data aims to ensure a robust and consistent analysis of astrophysical spectra. We offer a convenient e-mail and web-based user interface to a vast collection of spectral line parameters for all chemical elements and in the future also for molecules. An international team is working on the following tasks: collecting line parameters from relevant theoretical and experimental publications, computing line parameters, evaluating the data quality by comparison of similar data from different sources and by comparison with astrophysical observations, and incorporating the data into VALD. A unique feature of VALD is its capability to provide the most comprehensive spectral line lists for specific astrophysical plasma conditions defined by the user.


Integration of mobile computing devices and high-speed wireless networks into the tactical domain provides the warfighter with unprecedented access to information on the battlefield. Challenges in information delivery for these handheld computers can be solved by optimizing content through transcoding services. Employing commercial software, video and Web content can be dynamically customized to meet the unique processing, storage and network requirements for mobile devices. Transcoding can be applied to current operational systems to provide content to the mobile warfighter. A prototype transcoding platform was built to demonstrate the integration of global broadcast service (GBS) streaming video and wireless handheld devices. VLC media player was used to transcode high quality 1.6 Mbps MPEG-2 video received over GBS into low bitrate MPEG-4 for playback on wireless handhelds. This prototype used commercially available tools to optimize operational resources for mobile devices and demonstrates how GIG net-centric services can be extended to tactical edge users


Thermal and acoustic insulation samples were prepared from white Portland cement. The paste of recycled paper and water was suitable to form secondary roofs, walls, and use as a non-traditional construction materials. The paste made by (paper: water) with different weight ratios) 4:1( )2:1) )1:1). These samples were reinforced by hemp as a natural fibers with weight ratios (10% and 30%), both Physical, thermal, and acoustic insulation properties was studied for the insulation samples. There results reveal decreasing thermal conductivity and increasing acoustic insulation. When the paste (paper: water) at ratio (1:1). At last, the addition of Hemp fibers at ratio (30%) to insulation samples effect on some properties, Thermal conductivity decrease to (0.2W/Mk). While the acoustic insulation increase when the acoustic level decrease to (90dB), bending and diametrical strengths increase with this addition, Finally these composites materials have a combustion resistance, no emitted toxic gas led this material can be an eco-friendly materials


Summary: Lobohedleolide ( 1 ) has been isolated from a soft coral, Sarcophyton sp., as one of three responsible substances for observed inhibitory activity against TNF-a production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophage-like RAW 264.7 cells. During the examination of other inflammatory cytokines, we found that only 1 induced the production of interleukin (IL)-8 in LPS-stimulated human monocytic THP-1 cells, while the other two compounds did not affect the production of IL-8. Although 1 showed an inhibitory effect on nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kB) activation, this compound induced IL-8 promoter activity, which led to the induction of IL-8 production in LPS-stimulated THP-1 cells. Industrial Relevance: Marine organisms are a rich resource of biologically active secondary metabolites. Two marine natural products and two derivatives of marine sponge compounds have been utilized for medical treatment, and marked numbers of marine natural products and their derivatives are now in clinical and pre-clinical trials. Therefore, marine natural products are attractive sources of medicines and their lead compounds, and elucidation of new bioactivity and the mechanism of action of marine natural products are also a very important study for drug discovery. This report describes a new bioactivity of a diterpene previously obtained from an Indonesian soft corral.


The motion of an autophoretic spherical particle in a simple fluid is analyzed. This motion is powered by a chemical species which is absorbed or emitted by the particle and which diffuses and is advected in the surrounding fluid. The transition from the nonmotile to the motile state occurs if the Péclet number Pe (defined as the ratio of the solute emission rate over the solute diffusion rate) is sufficiently large. We first analyze the axisymmetric case (restricting the particle to a unique direction). In this case, we find that the motion of the particle transits from a motionless to a directed motion at a given critical Pe. Increasing Pe, we find a second critical value where the particle becomes stagnant in a symmetric flow. A further increase of Pe leads to a recovery of motile motion. When Pe is increased even further, the particle shows a periodic motion undergoing a subharmonic cascade before entering chaos. In this regime, the mean-square displacement behaves quadratically with time (a ballistic regime). When the axisymmetry constraint is relaxed, allowing the particle to freely move in three-dimensional space, we find that at a small Pe the particle moves in a straight manner. There exists a critical value where the particle exhibits an oscillatory motion with a meandering trajectory. Increasing Pe further leads to chaotic bursts for some time, before entering fully into chaos via the intermittency scenario at a critical Pe number. In this regime, the particle shows run-and-tumble–like dynamics: The trajectory is then characterized by a ballistic swimming nature at a short time and a diffusive nature at a long time.


Leadership formative experiences (LFEs) are those experiences that make a high impact on leaders resulting in learning relevant to their leadership. This intervention was designed to capture LFEs through bi-focal lenses of leadership research (explore the process by which leaders build and share knowledge) and development (raise participants' awareness of self and others to shape effective leadership interventions). Senior leaders participating on a leadership development programme recounted LFEs in peer groups to surface their learning. Most LFEs occurred in adulthood (76%) identifying `self-improvement' (40%), `coping with struggle'(33%), `personal relationship/role model' (13%) and `parental/symbolic relationship' (5%) sensemaking categories. Only 8 per cent addressed a `natural process'supporting a `born leader' view and 1 per cent involved identification with a cause. Experiences powered `from within' in pursuit of self-development were more effective in extracting lessons from LFEs than where learning occurred through coping with adversity. The research details LFE impact located in the social construction process embedded in micro-interactions of leaders with those they help develop.


This article outlines a policy research agenda based on the analysis of administrative data. Computerized records of client characteristics and their related shelter utilization patterns offer researchers a rich source of longitudinal data that makes possible a wide range of investigations and can be analyzed by using an array of multivariate statistical tools. Specifically, this article discusses the contributions administrative data can make to (1) enumerating and determining the characteristics of the homeless population, (2) understanding the effect of homelessness on related public systems, (3) gauging the effect of policy interventions on the use of homeless services, (4) evaluating the effectiveness of system-level delivery of homeless services, and (5) measuring the performance of individual homeless service providers. The article concludes by commenting on several issues that policy makers might consider regarding the implementation of automated information systems among homeless service providers.


Evaluations of screening tests for bacteriuria have traditionally compared the test results with those of quantitative urine cultures. However, many patients with symptomatic urinary tract infections can have <105 CFU/ml in their urine. Therefore, the results of urine culture and three screening tests (Bac-T-Screen, Chemstrip LN [which tests for leukocyte esterase and nitrate reductase], and Gram stain) were correlated with the clinical classification of urinary tract infection. The Bac-T-Screen test detected 98, 93, and 100% of the infections classified as probable, possible, and asymptomatic, respectively. In contrast, the Gram stain, leukocyte esterase, and nitrate reductase tests were all insensitive screening tests for infection. Additionally, only 45% of the patients with probable infections had -105 CFU/ml. Thus, the majority of infected patients would not have been detected if quantitative urine cultures were used alone.


Crop plants are adversely affected by a variety of environmental factors, with air temperature being one of the most infl uential. Plants have developed a number of methods in the adaptation to air temperature variations. However, there is limited research to determine what impact air temperature has on the production of secondary plant compounds, such as carotenoid pigments. Kale (Brassica oleracea L.) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) have high concentrations of lutein and β-carotene carotenoids. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of different growing air temperatures on plant biomass production and the accumulation of elemental nutrients, lutein, β-carotene, and chlorophyll pigments in the leaves of kale and spinach. Plants were grown in nutrient solutions in growth chambers at air temperatures of 15, 20, 25, and 30 °C for 'Winterbor' kale and 10, 15, 20, and 25 °C for 'Melody' spinach. Maximum tissue lutein and β-carotene concentration occurred at 30 °C for kale and 10 °C for spinach. Highest carotenoid accumulations were 16.1 and 11.2 mg/100 g fresh mass for lutein and 13.0 and 10.9 mg/100 g fresh mass for β-carotene for the kale and spinach, respectively. Lutein and β-carotene concentration increased linearly with increasing air temperatures for kale, but the same pigments showed a linear decrease in concentration for increasing air temperatures for spinach. Quantifying the effects of air temperature on carotenoid accumulation in kale and spinach, expressed on a fresh mass basis, is important for growers producing these crops for fresh markets.


A set of genetically engineered isogenic cell lines is developed to express either folate receptor alpha or mesothelin, and a control cell line negative for both antigens. These cell lines also express fluorescent and bioluminescent reporter transgenes. The cell lines are used to authenticate specificity and function of a T‐cell biofactory, a living vector that is developed to express proportionate amounts of engineered proteins upon engaging with disease cells through their specific antigenic biomarkers. The engineered cell lines are also used to assess the cytolytic function and specificity of primary T cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors; and the specificity of monoclonal antibodies. The strategy described can be used to generate other cell lines to present different disease‐specific biomarkers for use as quality control tools.


This paper reports on the human emotion recon- ignition using different set of electroencephalogram (EEG) channels using discrete wavelet transform. Emotion recognition could be done from the text, speech, and facial. In the past few days, many studies have been done on emotion recognition. Anderson utilized facial expressions to recognize emotion. However, these signals shared the same disadvantage. They are not reliable or perfection is not there to detect emotion, especially when people want to conceal their feelings. In this paper, The EEG-based emotion recognition algorithm based on spectral features and neural network classifiers is proposed. In this algorithm, spectral, spatial and temporal features are selected from the emotion-related EEG signals by applying wavelet transform. We concentrate on recognition of "inner" emotions from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals as humans could control their facial expressions or vocal intonation. We observe the different brain position as Left Hemisphere and Right Hemisphere to recognize the significance according to different moods. The powers of alpha are more alert during National, Happy, Romantic mood as compared to Sad mood. We have used wavelet function for deriving a set of conventional and modified energy based features from the EEG signals for classifying emotions.


EAST-ADL is an architectural description language dedicated to automotive embedded systems design, with focus on structural and functional modeling. The current architectural notations lack support for modeling and analysis of resource-usage, and therefore it is not possible to reason about resource requirements. In this paper, we describe our work towards filling the gap between EAST-ADL language and formal modeling and analysis of system's resource usage, by extending the EAST-ADL language with embedded resources, such as storage, energy, communication and computation. To formalize this approach and provide a basis for rigorous analysis, we show how to analyze EAST-ADL models using the framework of priced timed automata and weighted CTL. We report our experiences from applying this approach for integrating resource-wise analysis into EAST-ADL.


Outsourcing of integrated circuit (IC) fabrication to external foundries has lead to many new security vulnerabilities, including IC piracy, overbuilding, and reverse engineering. In this regard, logic locking (LL) was introduced to protect intellectual property from such threats. In this paper, we evaluate the strength of various LL techniques, including earlier works, such as random LL (RLL) and fault analysis-based LL (FLL), against power-based side-channel attack. We have developed attacks where at least 60% of the key bits can be successfully recovered for 60% of the circuits for both RLL and FLL using a 32-bit key. However, the success rate reduces to 45% and 35% for RLL and FLL, respectively, when using a 64-bit key. We demonstrate the practicality of our proposed attack by mounting it against RLL and FLL implementations of ISCAS'85 and MCNC benchmark circuits on Spartan-6 FPGA platform. Further, we present differential power analysis (DPA) results on mutual information analysis on LL techniques that capture any dependence between the intermediate data and the captured power traces. We also formally establish that resilience to satisfiability-based (SAT) attack implies resilience to DPA attack as well for an LL technique. We validate this further via experiments on Spartan-6 FPGA on SAKURA-G development board for a recent LL technique that is known to thwart the SAT attack.


Metastatic renal cell carcinoma with sarcomatoid histology (SmRCC) is associated with poor survival. No data is available from randomized trials on the efficacy of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors in SmRCC. We identified SmRCC patients from a single institutional database. To identify predictive and prognostic biomarkers, immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis was performed on the tumor samples for downstream targets of VEGF and mTOR pathways. Survival outcomes were stratified by IHC analysis, extent of sarcomatoid component, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), and Heng risk criteria. Twenty-seven patients with SmRCC were included. First line therapy included targeted therapy (n = 19), immunotherapy (n = 4), cytotoxic chemotherapy (n = 1), and no treatment (n = 3). Median OS was 8.2 months (95% CI 3.8–14.2 months). Median survival in months, based on MSKCC and Heng risk groups, was favorable 89.3 versus 84.5, intermediate 9.5 versus 12.7, and poor 3.9 versus 5.1. None of the IHC markers predicted outcomes of treatment with VEGF or mTOR inhibitors. Only tumor IMP3 expression was associated with inferior OS, although not statistically significant (IMP3 negative 14.2 versus IMP3 positive 4.9 months; HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.16–1.21; P = 0.12). The study was limited by small sample size.


This article critically evaluates Proudman, J's recent decision in Hunt v. Yearwood-Grazette [2009] and Mr Registrar Jaques' recent judgment in Freeburn v Hunt [2010]. These personal insolvency cases revolve around the remuneration of a Trustee in Bankruptcy. During the course of her judgment Proudman, J makes reference to, inter alia, the 2004 Practice Statement on Officeholder Remuneration. These cases constitute one of the few occasions when the Practice Statement has been examined at High Court level. Proudman, J's comments in Yearwood-Grazette and use of the Practice Statement, and some industry based critical evaluation of the Practice Statement are examined. In Freeburn, Mr Registrar Jaques more detailed consideration of what constitutes a proportionate amount of information that an IP should submit in support of his remuneration is considered.


In less unusual times, the European Union's Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy would have been received as merely the latest iteration of the main tenets and ambitions of EU external action – this time with an enhanced dose of pragmatism to respond to a more challenging international environment. However, with 'Brexit' looming large and one and a half years into the Trump Presidency in the United States, the Global Strategy has acquired a new level of significance. This article argues that while meant to express a largely uncontroversial 'Western' consensus, it now needs to be re-contextualized as a distinctive vision in the face of trends of antiglobalism and Euroscepticism. This concerns in particular the Strategy's emphasis on rules-based global governance. Challenged by both President Trump's 'America First' policy and the British government's course for a 'hard Brexit', the Global Strategy now represents a contested blueprint and rallying point for a continued pursuit of a liberal world order based on the rule of law.


During normal aging there is a decline in cognitive functions that includes deficits in oral discourse production. A higher level of education and more frequent reading and writing habits (RWH) might delay the onset of the cognitive decline during aging. This study aimed at investigating the effect of education and RWH on oral discourse production in older adults. Picture-based narratives were collected from 117 healthy adults, aged between 51 and 82 years (68.6 ± 6.38) with 0–20 years of formal education (10.1 ± 5.69). Measures of macro, microlinguistic and modalizations were computed and entered as dependent variables in hierarchical regression analyses that included age, education and RWH as regressors. Results revealed that higher education explained a better performance at the macrostructure and microstructure dimensions. Higher frequency of RWH explained the production of fewer modalizations. These results demonstrate the positive effect of education and RWH in oral discourse production in older adults. Therefore, higher attention should be given to these social factors.


Membrane filtration was investigated at field scale in order to assess its effectiveness for reusing municipal effluents in agriculture. The study was started on April 2002 and ended on September 2007, as part of a national R&D project (AQUATEC). Preliminary results, which we already reported elsewhere, concerned the first two project years while this paper refers to the subsequent period. Three different crops (processing tomato, fennel and lettuce) were grown in rotation at a test field located in Apulia (Southern Italy) and irrigated with membrane filtered municipal secondary effluents. The quality of the reclaimed water was monitored chemically and microbiologically, and compared with conventional water pumped from a local well. Both water sources were used in parallel for irrigating two plots of the test field. The results showed that the microbiological quality of the treated wastewater was comparable to or even higher than that of the conventional source. Protozoan (oo)cysts were experimentally identified as effective indicators of possible failures of the filtration system. Moreover, long term heavy metals accumulation trends were monitored in soil and crops, showing that despite some lead and copper accumulation in the soil, no measurable increase of these metals was observed in the edible parts of the crops.


Ycf1p is the prototypical member of the yeast multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) subfamily of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. Ycf1p resides in the vacuolar membrane and mediates glutathione-dependent transport processes that result in resistance to cadmium and other xenobiotics. A feature common to many MRP proteins that distinguishes them from other ABC transporters is the presence of a hydrophobic N-terminal extension (NTE), whose function is not clearly established. The NTE contains a membrane spanning domain (MSD0) with five transmembrane spans and a cytosolic linker region (L0). The goal of this study was to determine the functional significance of the NTE of Ycf1p by examining the localization and functional properties of Ycf1p partial molecules, expressed either singly or together. We show that MSD0 plays a critical role in the vacuolar membrane trafficking of Ycf1p, whereas L0 is dispensable for localization. On the other hand, L0 is required for transport function, as determined by monitoring cadmium resistance. We also examine an unusual aspect of Ycf1p biology, namely, the posttranslational proteolytic processing that occurs within a lumenal loop of Ycf1p. Processing is shown to be Pep4p dependent and thus serves as a convenient marker for proper vacuolar localization. The processed fragments associate with each other, suggesting that these natural cleavage products contribute together to Ycf1p function.


In many of the application areas for reasoning about knowledge, it is important to reason about the possibility of certain events as well as the knowledge of agents. This paper introduces the concept of belief degree of an agent with respect to a fact at a given point. Moreover, based on the belief degree of agent i , a pseudo metric on the set of agent i's graded knowledge are established. Lastly, two kinds of models for approximate reasoning are proposed, which provides a possible framework for an agent to develop approximate reasoning at a given point by using its graded knowledge.


How to get workplace social dialogue started at the bottom of Global Value Chains remains a difficult question. Drawing from institutional work literature, we investigate how local unions, supplier and buyer worked together to start the process of social dialogue in the anti-union context of pineapple plantations in Costa Rica. The process unfolds along four phases each involving specific sets of institutional work. The study highlights the evolving brokerage role of the international buyer and the importance of balancing compliance and commitment approaches to build the foundation for workplace social dialogue.


Warnings used on cigarette packages differ among countries. These differences are related to the intensity of fear appeal and chosen visuals. Researches on fear appeal show that there is a positive linear relationship between message acceptance and fear arousing conditions. The aim of this research is to assess the most effective fear intensity level of cigarette warnings. An experimental research is conducted on 126 Turkish young adults. They are separated in three groups according to developed visual cigarette packages with varied fear intensity. Their affective responses, recognition ranks and intentions to quit smoking were compared. The results indicate that there is surprisingly no statistically difference between visuals in terms of intensity of fear appeal whereas visual warning with higher fear intensity is perceived as more effective on eliciting intention to quit smoking than others. According to subjects' statements, this result may be explained by the fact that fear intensities of all visual warnings are comparatively rather higher than Turkish local cigarette warnings.


An integrated desalination system with a combination of electrical heating by power supply and solar heating by Fresnel lens with the sun tracking system was investigated in this study. The experiments were carried out under the climatic conditions of Kaohsiung City (22 deg36′58″ N, 120 deg18′47″ E), Taiwan. With only solar heating by the Fresnel lens, the temperature of the seawater is strongly dependent on the position of the seawater tray and climatic conditions, and seawater evaporation is not stable. To maintain the uniform evaporation of seawater, an electrical heating plate was also used to provide energy for the desalination process. The results indicate that there are two desalination processes: evaporation on the surface of the seawater and boiling inside the seawater. The production of distilled water is greatly improved with this solar/electrical desalination system, especially at the boiling temperature. The results indicate that the energy efficiency and recovery efficiency of this desalination system increase rapidly as electrical power increases. In this study, the commercial energy efficiency of the system can reach 85%, and the recovery efficiency can approach 56.52%. Additionally, a higher annual productivity (6036 l) is obtained, and the cost per liter of distilled water is about 0.152 (US$/l).


Abstract Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for problematic hoarding is an effective treatment, but further research in diverse, naturalistic settings is needed to see whether this treatment is effective across settings and in smaller doses. The current study investigated the outcome of a 12-session group CBT for hoarding offered in an outpatient hospital setting. Sixty-four participants completed therapy, and 38 participants completed posttreatment assessments. Results demonstrated statistically significant improvements in hoarding symptom severity, saving cognitions, and self-reported distress tolerance. Effect sizes for changes in saving cognitions were generally large. However, effect sizes were modest for most other outcome variables, and only 4 of 38 participants achieved clinically significant change in hoarding symptom severity. These results suggest that 12 sessions of group CBT for hoarding is associated with significant change in saving cognitions, but less meaningful change in other indicators of symptom severity.


A well-managed Technology Transfer (TT) project is acknowledged as a means to transform research from universities into high added value products and enhance the innovative capabilities of collaborating companies to support regional clusters. Nevertheless, a TT project is a particular innovation process in which the technological dimension is predominant and multiple autonomous but interrelated stakeholders are involved during a limited period of time. For this reason, the conventional tools of project management are not always adapted to monitoring a TT project. As a consequence, there is a need for new tools and metrics to ensure optimal deployment and results. Based on a comprehensive literature analysis and a long-term field observation of five transfer projects, the contribution of the present paper is twofold. First, a conceptual model for a TT process between a Technology Transfer Centre (TTC) and Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) is proposed. Second, a definition is given for a set of indicators to monitor the TT projects after gathering observable facts throughout the collaborative projects. The level of knowledge materialization turns out to be the most important indicator of a TT project defined here, as the IOT (Intermediary Object of Transfer).JEL codes: O31, 032, L24


This article examines Russo-Chinese investment cooperation in China's Belt and Road Initiative (originally the Silk Road Economic Belt). At the same time, it also studies bilateral agreements, as well as investment and mechanisms. Another focus is the impact of the BRI in Central Asian countries on Russian interests in the region. Research is based on an analysis of the history of joint Russian and Chinese initiatives for economic development to determine the feasibility of cooperation in the BRI. Meanwhile, the authors discuss the BRI's impact on the economic and foreign policy of the two partners, as well as the risks and opportunities for Russia. The article is based on content and statistical analysis combined with a historical approach. It concludes that Russia and China are actively developing investment cooperation in the framework of the BRI, including the Silk Road Fund. The principal elements of the partnership involve the economy and processing and transporting energy resources. Its objective is to attain both regional economic stability as well as maximizing economic and political independence.


Oliver Wells, naturalist, writer, ethnographer, farmer, and stock breeder, was born in 1907 at the pioneer farm established by his family three generations before in the valley of the Chilliwack River. The name of this farm, Edenbank, echoes the rich heritage and idealist aspirations of the pioneer family who came to the valley to establish a new way of life in this new land. Their neighbors were the Chilliwacks, the native Canadians who live in the area. In the 1950s, sensing that the people with whom his family had shared the land for generations were on the threshold of losing their culture and traditions in the face of ever-growing pressure of settlement in the area, he began work on preserving, with the Native community, their way of life and their history. While Wells was not a trained ethnographer, he brought to his work a vitality possible only for a man who can draw on generations of intimacy and wide-ranging friendships within the community. With tape recorder, notebook, and sketch pad, he began recording the lives and memories of his friends in exhaustive detail. He did not record this information as an "outsider"--he took an active part in an attempt to actually revitalize the culture and traditions of his friends. He is credited, for example, with reviving the Salish weaving techniques of the community which are now famous throughout the world. A representative selection of Wells's transcribed conversations with his Native friends is presented in this volume. Together with articles, legends, photographs, and a naturalist's guide to the area, the interviews offer an intimate, thoughtful and informed introduction to the Chilliwacks and their neighbors.


A family of organonickel complexes has been prepared, fully characterized, and tested for their antiproliferative activity against estrogen-responsive human breast cancer cells (MCF7). The three SCS-type pincer ligands HL1, HL2, and HL3 and their corresponding Ni(ii) complexes NiL1, NiL2, and NiL3 have been synthesized and fully characterized, including by single crystal diffraction studies for the complexes. The complexes possess square planar geometry with two symmetrical 5-membered nickellacycles. Fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism measurements, molecular modeling, colorimetric based assay and tumor transplantation studies were used to evaluate the protein binding and antiproliferative activities of these organometallic complexes both in vitro and in vivo. Fluorescence quenching was used to investigate bovine serum albumin (BSA) interaction at different temperatures (293, 303 and 313 K), and the results were analyzed using the classical Stern-Volmer equation, allowing us to propose a dynamic quenching mechanism. Studies in vitro on the antiproliferative activity of the three organonickel complexes against estrogen-responsive human breast cancer cells (MCF7) showed promising antitumor activity for NiL1 containing pyrrolidine fragments. In vivo administration of this compound significantly inhibits tumor growth in estrogen-dependent MC4L2 cancer cells in female BALB/c mice.


Charts displayed on mobile devices was verified in comparison to standardized ETDRS charts. Such method of visual acuity assessment is characterized by stabile brightness and contrast. Moreover the ability to dynamically display random optotypes eliminates the problem of memorizing the contents of charts, making measurements more reliable. Our tests showed that the VA measured with mobile device and the VA tested using standardized printed charts are not significantly different. Full Text: PDF References B. Shneiderman, Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies (Boston, MIT Press 2002). A. Holzinger, M. Errath, "Mobile computer Web-application design in medicine: some research based guidelines", P. Univ. Access Inf. Soc. 6, 31 (2007). CrossRef R. K. Lord et al., "Novel Uses of Smartphones in Ophthalmology", Ophthalmology 117, 1274 (2010). CrossRef M. D. Crossland, R. S. Silva and A. F. Macedo, "Smartphone, tablet computer and e-reader use by people with vision impairment", Ophthalmic Physiol. Opt. 34, 552 (2014). CrossRef E. Zvornicanin, J. Zvornicanin and B. Hadziefendic, "The Use of Smart phones in Ophthalmology", Acta Inform. Med. 22, 206 (2014). CrossRef S. Tofigh et al., "Effectiveness of a smartphone application for testing near visual acuity", Eye 29, 1464 (2015). CrossRef C. Perera et al., "The Eye Phone Study: reliability and accuracy of assessing Snellen visual acuity using smartphone technology", Eye 29, 888 (2015). CrossRef Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study: Manual of Operations. (Baltimore, U.S. Department of Commerce 1985). F. L. Ferris et al., "New Visual Acuity Charts for Clinical Research", Am. J. Ophthalmol. 94, 91 (1982). CrossRef W. F. Long, G. C. S. Woo, "Measuring Light Levels with Photographic Meters", Optometry Vision Sci. 57, 51 (1980). CrossRef F. L Ferris, R. D. Sperduto, "Standardized Illumination for Visual Acuity Testing in Clinical Research", Am. J. Ophthalmol. 94, 97 (1982). CrossRef Ch. Dancey, J. Reidy, Statistics Without Maths for Psychology (Harlow, Prentice Hall 2011). N. Balakrishnan, Methods and applications of statistics in the life and health sciences (New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons 2010). ISO 8596:2009 Ophthalmic optics - Visual acuity testing - Standard optotype and its presentation (2009). S. Koenig et al., "Assessing visual acuity across five disease types: ETDRS charts are faster with clinical outcome comparable to Landolt Cs", Graefes Arch. Clin. Exp. Ophthalmol. 252, 1093 (2014). CrossRef A. Glasser, M. W. C. Campbell, "Presbyopia and the optical changes in the human crystalline lens with age", Vision Research 38, 209 (1998). CrossRef P. K. Kaiser, "Prospective Evaluation of Visual Acuity Assessment: A Comparison of Snellen Versus ETDRS Charts in Clinical Practice (An AOS Thesis)", Trans. Am. Ophthalmol. Soc. 107, 311 (2009). DirectLink L. Hyvarinen, R. Nasanen and P. Laurinen, "New Visual Acuity Test For Pre-School Children", Acta Ophthalmol. 58, 507 (1980). CrossRef M. Schuster, "Speech Recognition for Mobile Devices at Google", Lecture Notes in Computer Science 6230 (2010). CrossRef M. Werner, M. Kessel and C. Marouane, "Indoor positioning using smartphone camera", IPIN, International Conference on. IEEE (2011). CrossRef


The first part of this paper presents a coalition formation method for multi-agent systems which finds a Pareto optimal solution without aggregating the preferences of the agents. This protocol is adapted to problems requiring coordination by coalition formation, where it is undesirable, or not possible, to aggregate the preferences of the agents. The second part proposes an extension of this method enabling dynamic restructuring of coalitions when changes occur in the system.


The low frequency lapping motion of a separated shear layer over a backward facing step received an increasing amount of attentions recently. The frequency of the flapping motion fH/U was typically less than 0.04, an order of magnitude smaller than that of the shear layer frequency, here H is the step height and U is the freestream velocity. The cause of the flapping motion is still unclear despite the amount of investigation emerged recently. In this paper, we are going to present the experimental results of the flow fields downstream of a backward facing step with a Reynolds number of Re_H= 200 to 8000 performed (some parts will be performed) in a water tunnel using a time-resolved stereoscopic PIV system. The field-of-view was perpendicular to the incoming flow to capture the three velocity  components in the yz plane. The laser sheet can be traversed from x/H=0.5 to 8.0. Flow fields at a typical location (e.g. x/H=2.0) for a range of Reynolds numbers will be analyzed in details, including computing the instantaneous location of the shear layer Ys(z,t) and decomposing Ys(z,t) using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition which will give the modal compositions of the spanwise undulating motions in the shear layer. Preliminary measurements of a shear layer with a laminar initial boundary layer and a Re_H of 2000 suggested that the lower POD modes had a characteristic frequency similar to that of the flapping motion reported in the literature, therefore this paper may give an evidence linking the original of the flapping motion to a spanwise instability of the shear layer.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common cancer that affects one in three men and one in four women worldwide. Late-stage detection is associated with significantly lower 5-year survival rates. Although it is well established that CRC mortality rates have decreased in the past several decades, adoption of routine screening continues to lag behind screening for other common cancers such as cervical and breast cancer. The decrease in overall rates has been attributed, in part, to improved primary and secondary prevention efforts, including smoking prevention and cessation programs, nutritional counseling, and the use of evidence-based screening protocols, as well as access to better treatment. Despite the increased screening rates, it is estimated that at least one-third of eligible people do not receive appropriate screening. The objective of this review is to describe the current epidemiology of CRC and to demonstrate effective primary and secondary prevention strategies for the primary care provider.


This paper presents a closed-form solution to estimate space-dependent transport parameters of a linear one dimensional diffusion-transport-reaction equation. The infinite dimensional problem is approximated by a finite dimensional model by 1) taking a frequency domain approach, 2) linear parameterization of the unknown parameters, and 3) using a semidiscretization. Assuming full state knowledge, the commonly used output error criterion is rewritten as the equation error criterion such that the problem results in linear least squares. The optimum is then given by a closed-form solution, avoiding computational expensive optimization methods. Functioning of the proposed method is illustrated by means of simulation.


Integrating approaches based on belief-desire-intentions (BDI) logics with the more recent developments of distributed POMDPs is today a fundamental challenge in the multiagent systems arena. One common suggestion for such an integration is to use stochastic models (POMDPs) for generating agent behaviors, while using the BDI components for monitoring and creating explanations. We propose a completely inverse approach, where the BDI components are used to generate agent behaviors, and distributed POMDPs are used in an analysis mode. In particular, we focus on teamoriented programs for tasking multiagent teams, where the team-oriented programs specify hierarchies of team plans that the team and its subteams must adopt as their joint intentions. However, given a limited number of agents, finding a good way to allocate them to different teams and subteams to execute such a team-oriented program is a difficult challenge We use distributed POMDPs to analyze different allocations of agents within a team-oriented program, and to suggest improvements to the program. The key innovation is to use the distributed POMDP analysis not as a black box, but as a glass box, offering insights into why particular allocations lead to good or bad outcomes. These insights help to prune the search space of different allocations, offering significant speedups in the search. We present preliminary experimental results to illustrate our methodology.


The simulation of an auditory environment is audio signal processing depending on an acoustical model method and a given scene model. For signal processing we use a set of signal processing objects which can be glued to a signal processing network. The object structure depends on the requested acoustic model method in consideration of real-time aspects of an interactive virtual reality (VR). The final processing is executed on a common computer system. In this paper I would like to briefly show the inner structure of this signal processing tool for 3D-audio and the communication interface to the visual animation tool. I outline the structures and the generation of the signal processing network depending on two acoustical model methods for the simulation of an auditory environment. Furthermore concepts for some improvements of these basic structures are shown considering the limited processing resources in real-time systems.


OBJECTIVES
To compare the needs and issues faced by breast cancer survivors (BCSs) who received chemotherapy as part of their treatment with those who did not and assess satisfaction with a specialist breast care nurse-led survivorship clinic.

SAMPLE & SETTING
BCSs who attended a specialist breast care nurse-led survivorship clinic at a Western Australian private, not-for-profit hospital.

METHODS & VARIABLES
A multimethod evaluation included surveys, quality-of-life assessments, and reviews of wellness plans.

RESULTS
A total of 68 BCSs participated; the majority had received chemotherapy as part of their treatment and were female. BCSs experienced a diverse range of issues. Significant differences were found between chemotherapy and nonchemotherapy groups for financial difficulties (p = 0.002), body image (p = 0.017), future perspective (p = 0.022), and arm symptoms (p = 0.007). Participants indicated that the specialist breast care nurse-led clinic was appropriately timed and highly valued.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Specialist breast care nurse-led clinics can identify and address BCSs' ongoing needs.


Although 2G systems quite adequately cater for voice communications, today demand is for high-speed access to data centric applications and multimedia. Future networks have been designed to provide higher rates for data transmission, but this will be complemented by higher speed access to services via hotspots using secondary wireless interfaces such as Bluetooth or WLAN. With a wide range of applications that may be developed, a growing number of short range wireless interfaces that may be deployed, and with mobile terminals of different capabilities, a means to integrate all these variables in order to facilitate provision of services is desirable. This paper describes an architecture involving the use of middleware that makes software development independent of the specific wireless platform


Based on intensive village study this paper tries to show that the rapid agricultural growth in West Bengal since the 1980s is mainly attributable to the development of private shallow tubewell irrigation, rather than the agrarian reforms. Large farmers mainly invested in tubewells, but it does not mean that they monopolize agricultural profit as the so-called 'waterlords'. On the contrary, water sales business became less profitable as the number of tubewells increased in the village, and the real water charge declined through the changes of contractual arrangement in the groundwater market. It also comments on the current situation of irrigation subsidy relating to state-operated DTWs and power subsidy given to electrified tubewells, as well as their effects to irrigated farming. Lastly, it points out the large difference in factor shares in rice production between West Bengal and Bangladesh, arguing that West Bengal agriculture is much more equitable in favor of landless laborers.


There is an increasing concern on promoting healthy lifestyle which is a quality, safe and affordable way to prevent many diseases. However, college students do not adopt healthy lifestyles and have poor knowledge of risk factors of lifestyle diseases. And there is lack of evidence to demonstrate that traditional Chinese medicine educational course could promote healthy lifestyle. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing traditional Chinese medicine using a general education course in "Health Maintenance and Food Therapy in Chinese Medicine (HMFTCM)" class to promote the healthier lifestyles for college students. Items from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System related to HMFTCM were selected to test students' lifestyle before and after the course. The experimental group of this study was HMFTCM students (n=120), and the students of another health-related course "Disease and Medicine (DM)" (n=98) was used as control group.Upon completion of HMFTCM, students became more physically active, changed their diet and spent more time on sleeping. In contrast, DM students did not change these habits in daily lives. The results demonstrate that a traditional Chinese medicine health education program, could be effective to improve the health-related behaviors.


We report the results of continuous and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements on type-II GaSb quantum rings embedded within GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs quantum wells. A range of samples were grown with different well widths, compensation-doping concentrations within the wells, and number of quantum-ring layers. We find that each of these variants have no discernible effect on the radiative recombination, except for the very narrowest (5 nm) quantum well. In contrast, single-particle numerical simulations of the sample predict changes in photoluminescence energy of up to 200 meV. This remarkable difference is explained by the strong Coulomb binding of electrons to rings that are multiply charged with holes. The resilience of the emission to compensation doping indicates that multiple hole occupancy of the quantum rings is required for efficient carrier recombination, regardless of whether these holes come from doping or excitation.


ABSTRACT This article examines how unaccompanied minors from Afghanistan experience migration as a space of both freedom and loneliness situated between competing moral frameworks: family projects, neoliberal discourses of independence, and a quest for new ways of being. While migration is devised as a family strategy to financially sustain the household, it also creates new desires for young people: to study, to have fun, and to fulfil individual goals. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the UK, I analyse how youth find themselves caught in moments of moral crisis as both an ethical dilemma and an experience of self-transformation – caused by the tensions between family expectations, social policies, and a search for independence. I argue that young people often struggle to find the moral ground to exercise freedom and to make the good choice, without the guidance of their parents and within neoliberal politics of self-governance. This article considers youth's aspirations and imaginaries of 'good life' within different communities of belonging, and it highlights the importance of the role of kinship for understanding how youth conceptualise their future, and ultimately exercise choice.


Type 2 diabetes disproportionately affects the Chinese population yet there are no structured diabetes education programs specifically designed for this community in Australia. This project aimed to develop and evaluate a pilot type 2 diabetes group education program designed specifically for Chinese migrants living in Australia. A non-randomised pre- versus post-intervention trial was conducted between March 2017 and November 2018. A culturally tailored group education program (Not Scared of Sugar™) was developed and piloted with Melbourne-based Cantonese-speaking people with type 2 diabetes. Program teaching styles were aligned with the Confucian cultural process of learning and incorporated culturally specific strategies to promote healthy behaviour change. Thirty-four individuals (35% male) attended five education sessions over ten weeks, delivered by a Cantonese-speaking facilitator and multidisciplinary clinicians. Data were collected from participants at baseline, on program completion and at 6 months follow-up. Mean (SD) participant age was 69 (9) years, with a mean time of 25.7 (10.8) years in Australia and a median duration of diabetes of 10 (IQR = 2.8-20.5) years. At program completion, mean participant waist circumference (90.5 versus 89.2 cm, p < .001) and waist-to-height ratio (0.574 vs. 0.566, p < .001) was significantly reduced and both were further reduced at 6-month follow-up (p < .05). There was a significant increase in the median frequency of diabetes self-care behaviours undertaken, with American Association of Diabetes Educators Questionnaire Score: 30 (22-32.3) versus 33 (29.8-35.0), p < .001 at 6-month follow-up. Diabetes-related distress assessed by PAID-C was also significantly reduced at 6-month follow-up (p < .05). Mean HbA1c was unchanged after 6 months; 51 (7.9) versus 50 (7.8) mmol/mol, p = .316. Program attrition was 6%. Not Scared of Sugar™ successfully reduced waist circumference, increased diabetes self-management behaviours and reduced diabetes distress in Cantonese-speaking Australians, which may positively impact long-term risk of vascular complications.


This research examines how political connectedness influences the corporate governance disclosure practices of listed companies. The research also explores the process of preparation of annual reports and seeks explanations on decision making, regarding the level and nature of corporate governance disclosure. This research uses annual report data from companies listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange from 2009-2013. The research utilises qualitative content analysis for the study of the disclosure practices of politically connected and non-connected firms. An in-depth analysis of silence has been conducted focusing on the incidence of the lack of information on corporate governance. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews have been conducted in order to seek deeper insights into the research phenomena and the triangulation of findings. The findings of the qualitative content analysis indicate that non-connected firms disclose a higher level of voluntary, as well as mandatory corporate governance information, in comparison with politically connected firms. However, the variation in the level of voluntary disclosure is found to be higher when compared with mandatory disclosure. The results of the analysis of silence indicate that politically connected firms stay silent on a diverse range of voluntary disclosure items and provide notably limited disclosure. The findings of interview data analysis are consistent with the findings of qualitative content analysis and the analysis of silence in annual reports. To make sense of the findings the research has called upon the dual perspectives offered by agency theory and rational choice institutionalism. In assessing the implications of disclosure/non-disclosure practices it is found that the decision to disclose information is driven by the self-interest and opportunism of politically connected members of the board who avoid voluntary disclosure of information. However, it is also found that rationality plays an important role and while the firms are operating in a tight regulatory environment, politically connected firms provide better mandatory disclosure.


According to the principle of forecast feed forward compensation Dynamic Matrix Control (DMC) and regarding its low calculating accuracy, bidirectional decoupling DMC is presented and applied in random long delay multi-input and multi- output (MIMO) Networked Control System (NCS) in this paper. This algorithm, therefore, expands the using field of DMC and resolves control problems in random long delay NCS. The feasibility and validity were finally demonstrated by the results of simulating experiments.


A variety of pathologic lesions associated with seizures are described in this article. Because of concerted efforts of workers in the field, remarkable progress has been made in the early detection, resection, and characterization of previously poorly defined pathologic processes. It is hoped that with further advancement of the neurosciences, most of the cryptogenic cases may be categorized so that the epileptogenic mechanism in individual lesions can be better understood.


Abstract syntax notation one (ASN.1) has been widely used in international standard specification: its transfer-syntax, the basic encoding rules (BER), is used as the external data representation. A BER implementation called the ED library is presented. The ED library includes a number of encoding and decoding routines that may be used as primitive functions to compose encoders and decoders for arbitrarily complicated ASN.1 data types. Based on the ED library an ASN.1-C compiler, called CASN1, is designed and implemented to free the protocol implementers from the arduous work of translating protocol-defined data-types and constructing their encoders and decoders. Given an ASN.1 protocol specification, CASN1 automatically translates the input ASN.1 modules into C and generates the BER encoders and decoders for the protocol defined data-types. The CASN1 design principles, user interface, and some example applications are discussed. The performance of the ED library and generated CASN1 code is also measured and discussed. >


Background The CORONIS trial reported diff erences in short-term maternal morbidity when comparing fi ve pairs of alternative surgical techniques for caesarean section. Here we report outcomes at 3 years follow-up. Methods The CORONIS trial was a pragmatic international 2 × 2 × 2 × 2× 2 non-regular fractional, factorial, unmasked, randomised controlled trial done at 19 sites in Argentina, Chile, Ghana, India, Kenya, Pakistan, and Sudan. Pregnant women were eligible if they were to undergo their fi rst or second caesarean section through a planned transverse abdominal incision. Women were randomly assigned by a secure web-based allocation system to one intervention from each of the three assigned pairs. All investigators, surgeons, and participants were unmasked to treatment allocation. In this follow-up study, we compared outcomes at 3 years following blunt versus sharp abdominal entry, exteriorisation of the uterus for repair versus intra-abdominal repair, single versus double layer closure of the uterus, closure versus nonclosure of the peritoneum, and chromic catgut versus polyglactin-910 for uterine repair. Outcomes included pelvic pain; deep dyspareunia; hysterectomy and outcomes of subsequent pregnancies. Outcomes were assessed masked to the original trial allocation. This trial is registered with the Current Controlled Trials registry, number ISRCTN31089967. Findings Between Sept 1, 2011, and Sept 30, 2014, 13 153 (84%) women were followed-up for a mean duration of 3·8 years (SD 0·86). For blunt versus sharp abdominal entry there was no evidence of a diff erence in risk of abdominal hernias (adjusted RR 0·66; 95% CI 0·39–1·11). We also recorded no evidence of a diff erence in risk of death or serious morbidity of the children born at the time of trial entry (0·99, 0·83–1·17). For exteriorisation of the uterus versus intra-abdominal repair there was no evidence of a diff erence in risk of infertility (0·91, 0·71–1·18) or of ectopic pregnancy (0·50, 0·15–1·66). For single versus double layer closure of the uterus there was no evidence of a diff erence in maternal death (0·78, 0·46–1·32) or a composite of pregnancy complications (1·20, 0·75–1·90). For closure versus non-closure of the peritoneum there was no evidence of a diff erence in any outcomes relating to symptoms associated with pelvic adhesions such as infertility (0·80, 0·61–1·06). For chromic catgut versus polyglactin-910 sutures there was no evidence of a diff erence in the main comparisons for adverse pregnancy outcomes in a subsequent pregnancy, such as uterine rupture (3·05, 0·32–29·29). Overall, severe adverse outcomes were uncommon in these settings. Interpretation Although our study was not powered to detect modest diff erences in rare but serious events, there was no evidence to favour one technique over Other considerations will probably aff ect clinical practice, such as the time and cost saving of diff erent approaches.


Bordetella bronchiseptica produced tracheobronchitis when administered in aerosol to specific pathogen-free dogs. Clinical signs appeared to be directly related to numbers of bacteria in the trachea. Electron microscopic examination revealed that each bacterium was close to one or more tracheal cilia and that a fibrillar material was radiating from the bacterial cell wall. B. bronchiseptica required 14 weeks to be cleared from the tracheas of infected dogs; in contrast, other organisms commonly isolated from the respiratory tracts of dogs were cleared within one to three days. Strains of high and low in vitro passage and strains representing three different morphotypes were of equal pathogenicity. Local immunity was observed after infection and appeared to be of primary importance in recovery from the infection. Presumably this response involves prevention of bacterial attachment and reattachment to cilia.


Based on the unsatisfying situation for all stakeholders on the Austrian inland navigation market the research question of this paper is derived: Are there any universally valid inland navigation success factors? Which are they? Four European inland navigation systems are chosen, analysed and finally compared with the Austrian inland navigation system. The variations which derive from this arrangement are examined more closely. Those which have a positive effect on the progress of the inland navigation system will be designated as success factors. In this diploma thesis eleven success factors could be diagnosed. In the final part of this paper a recommended course of action for the Austrian inland navigation system is provided. However, the first step to improve the situation is to cause a positive change in the attitude of the government and the industry which is using this mode of transportation. Without this elementary transformation the implementation of the success factors would not have any positive impact. It is crucial for the survival of inland navigation in Austria that action must be taken. This is the only chance that waterborne transport remains as an attractive option beside rail and road in the long run. Without taking action inland navigation will keep losing its share in the Austrian modal split and eventually become of no relevance for the industry when choosing the mode of transport for their goods. (author's abstract)


(PRODUCT)RED™ (hereafter RED) is a cobranding initiative launched in 2006 by the aid celebrity Bono to raise money from product sales to support The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In this paper we argue that RED is shifting the boundaries of 'causumerism' (shopping for a better world) by enrolling consumers in ways that do not rely on accurate knowledge of the products or specific understanding of the cause that The Global Fund engages but, instead, rely on a system of more general, affective affinity between the 'aid celebrities' who are behind RED (such as Bono) and the consumers who buy iconic brand products to help 'distant others'. While in many other forms of causumerism, labels or certification systems 'prove' that a product is just, in RED, aid celebrities provide the proof. From the consumer point of view both labels and celebrities provide a similar simplification of complex social, economic, and environmental processes. At the same time, we argue that there are important distinctions as well—labels and certifications are ultimately about improving the conditions of production, whereas RED is about accepting existing production and trade systems and donating a proportion of sales income to help distant others in Africa. The iconic brands sitting under the RED umbrella also play an important role as they offer a consistent and known venue for channeling consumer affect. We argue that celebrity validation, backed up by iconic brands, facilitates at least three shifts in the realm of causumerism: from 'conscious consumption' (mainly based on product-related information) to 'compassionate consumption' (mainly based on the management of consumer affect); from attention to the product and its production process toward the medical treatment of the 'people with the problem' (AIDS patients in Africa); and from addressing the causes of problems to solving their manifestations.


Introduction Throughout history, Jewish communities have been exposed to collectively experienced traumatic events. Little is known about the role that the community plays in the impact of these traumatic events on Jewish diaspora people. This scoping review aims to map the concepts of the resilience of Jewish communities in the diaspora and to identify factors that influence this resilience. Methods We followed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. Database searches yielded 2,564 articles. Sixteen met all inclusion criteria. The analysis was guided by eight review questions. Results Community resilience of the Jewish diaspora was often described in terms of coping with disaster and struggling with acculturation. A clear definition of community resilience of the Jewish diaspora was lacking. Social and religious factors, strong organizations, education, and communication increased community resilience. Barriers to the resilience of Jewish communities in the diaspora included the interaction with the hosting country and other communities, characteristics of the community itself, and psychological and cultural issues. Discussion Key gaps in the literature included the absence of quantitative measures of community resilience and the lack of descriptions of how community resilience affects individuals' health-related quality of life. Future studies on the interaction between community resilience and health-related individual resilience are warranted.