A great deal of research has been conducted on fear of crime (FoC) over last six decades. Most of this inquiry has, however, focused on the study of FoC among the general public, as such, much less is known about the nature and impact of this fear upon immigrants. For decades in the UK, the subject of immigration has continually divided public opinion, a fact that the tabloid media and the political-right have sought to capitalize upon through the use of sensationalist anti-immigration rhetoric. Based upon the accounts of twelve A2 and A8 European migrants, this study assesses the effect that anti-immigration media and political rhetoric has on Eastern-European migrants' fear of crime and the factors that aggravate and mitigate its impact.
A key finding of the study was that the majority of participants were not fearful of crime at all and did not believe that a risk of harm is exacerbated by hostile media or political rhetoric. For those who were fearful of crime, however, it was the experience of previous victimization that was most related to their fears. For these participants, hostile rhetoric was more threatening though not the main basis of their fears. For the majority of the participants, there were a number of mitigating (or protective) factors in their FoC, such as, their own understanding of their ethnicity, their English proficiency, the demographic of their local area, and their detachment from the groups that they saw as the target of the rhetoric. The study concludes that the rhetoric-FoC nexus is not linear and is subject to a multitude of individual and environmental factors that inform migrants' perceptions of vulnerability, experience of FoC and the perceived aggravating role of rhetoric.


Over the past five years, behavioural economics has been rapidly propelled from the margins of economic analysis towards the policy mainstream. In this context, this study offers an international review of the initial applications of behavioural economics to policy, with a particular focus on regulatory policy. It describes the extent to which behavioural findings have begun to influence public policy in a number of OECD countries, referring to a total of more than 60 instances, the majority of which concern regulatory policy.


The report from 2008 Evidence-based practice in social services – to the benefit of the operator (SOU 2008: 18) states that the knowledge base in the social services in Sweden are undeveloped and that social service is not enough conducted on the basis of knowledge of the effect of different actions, approaches and methods. This report, among other reports and studies, has formed a starting point for a far-reaching effort to develop social work that is now taking place in Sweden. This effort towards a strengthened knowledge development and a so-called "evidence-based practice" (EBP) in Swedish Social Work practice are stated by the Swedish government (Social Ministry) and the organization for Local Authorities and Regions (SKL).In a study conducted during 2009-2011 this intervention is studied. The study includes interviews and informal discussions with actors at national and regional level, involvement in and observations of conferences, meetings and seminars as well as text and document analysis.The study analyzes how the Swedish government (Social Ministry) and the organization for Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) carry out the implementation of "the new" knowledge based practice of Social Work. The study tries to clarify ideas, structures and underlying aims of the implementation. The study also stresses questions about how the Swedish social work will develop.The research shows that how the Social Ministry would like the development is not always what is happening in the local practice. The local practice has it´s on logic and showes a complexity in the understanding and use of knowledge. The use of knowledge for example always seems to depend on its (discursive) context.The Swedish social work, both in practice and scientifically, are chancing. This reflects today's changing conditions (both organizational and relational, between the individual and society) for welfare production. This situation can be understood as a social phenomenon and as a social construct created by political, economic and social conditions where different groupings with great power and influence has a significant role. This research gives us knowledge about human services organizations and their internal logic and the connection between knowledge, power and control, and today's society with its liberal overtones (cf. NPM and audit society).In special focus in this paper are to discuss how local social work organisations and professionals understand and carry –out the aims of this implementation of "the new" knowledge based practice of Social Work in Sweden. A second aim of this paper is to discuss if and if so how different kind of Practice Research can support and strengthen this efforts.


Baratova Marina - Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Law, National Research University Higher School of Economics, LLM (Private Law). E-mail: email@example.com: National Research University - Higher School of Economics, 20, Myasnitskaya str., Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation.This article features an extended analysis of legal categories family member and residence as a family member. The analysis has been performed on the basis of legal regulation and materials of case practice. Currently, the Russian legislator applies the concept of family member in various legislations including civil, inheritance, family, tax, social security etc. An extensive case practice on housing disputes confirms the relevance of the issue. Our analysis of the legislation and case practice in our country as to family member shows that one should declare the absence of a single concept family member which could be used in various branches of law. Moreover, RF housing law lacks the definition of the concept. A person who may represent the concept differs depending on the area. Hence, one should state the presence of legal ambiguity applying this concept. The article also studies the problem of the concept indisputable and disputable family members. The list of indisputable family members in housing law is complete and this category of persons entitles them to the use of facilities by default. The list of persons belonging to disputable family members is not specified in the RF legislation and is subject to interpretation. Persons from this category do not acquire the right to use facilities by default. The analysis allows making a conclusion that the legislators formulated this legal definition to recognize people relating to the category of disputable family members: a person is entitled to (under RF housing legislation) to claim a legal status of a family member only after the person has been dwelled into the facilities as a family member.


Various parts of Gardenia ternifolia (leaves, roots and stem bark) have been reported by traditional healers as a remedy against malaria fever. The aerial parts are coated with shiny materials rich in flavonoid aglycones. The crude acetone wash of the aerial parts showed anti-plasmodial activity of IC50 values 1.06 and 0.94 μg mL -1 against chloroquine-resistant (W2) and chloroquine-sensitive (D6) strains of Plasmodium falciparum, respectively. Bioassay guided chromatographic separation of the crude extracts afforded five flavonoids; (naringenin-7-O-methylether, quercetin-4, 7-O-dimethylether, kaempferol-7-O-methylether, 4, 5-Dihydroxy-6, 7-dimethoxyflavanone, naringenin-4, 7-O-dimethyl-ether) and two steroids; (stigmasterol, β-sitosterol). The same crude acetone surface extract as well as the pure isolates showed moderate larvicidal effects against 2nd instar Ae. aegypti larvae. Naringenin-7-O-methyl-ether was the most potent principle.


South Africa is a mineral-rich country with a diverse geology and a long history of mining. The rich history of mining activities includes the extraction of coal from the Ecca Group Sediments of the Karoo Supergroup (250 Ma), gold and uranium from the Witwatersrand Supergroup (2900 Ma), as well as platinum, uranium, tin and lead from the layered Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) (2150 Ma). The extraction of gold, copper, tin, lead and rare earth minerals also took place in the Archean rocks of Swazium age (3500–3000 Ma). The historical mining records have either not been accurately recorded or have been lost over time. This has resulted in significant geohazard risk during infrastructure development, especially in and around historical mining towns, such as Johannesburg and Ermelo. These geohazard risks require careful appraisal and quantification prior to any infrastructure design or construction. This case study aims to set out the development aspects of the Multi-Faceted Geophysical Modelling Systems approach, which was used by the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) during an investigation of undermined ground for the historical coal-mining town of Ermelo in South Africa. The N11/N2 ring road was planned to go around Ermelo to ensure mobility between major routes, whilst still maintaining town access. The systems approach used a combination of airborne geophysics (Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic System (VTEMTM) and magnetics), generally used in mining exploration, land-based and borehole geophysics, borehole water testing, and ground-truthing. The approach was continuous and iterative, building on the data at hand and reducing unnecessary investigations while eliminating the possibility of anomalies being missed, as in the case of conventional discrete drilling. The investigation ensured that 100% of the route was comprehensively investigated with a high confidence in the geological and geophysical data, and concomitant mitigation of infrastructure risk. The Multi-Faceted Geophysical Modelling Systems approach was successfully used to identify a previously unknown 1 × 1 m mining stope cavity at 90 m depth and a 3 × 5 m access tunnel at 24 m depth in a timely and cost-effective manner. Seven reverse-circulation percussion boreholes confirmed the structural integrity of these underground cavities, as well as the structural geology along the centreline. Based on the great success achieved in identifying shallow anomalies, this Multi-Faceted Geophysical Modelling Systems approach is now being considered for field trails on the dolomitic formations and the Wild Coast greenfields road project where there are large historical slumps and many fault lines. Thematic collection: This article is part of the Ground-related risk to transportation infrastructure collection available at https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/Ground-related-risk-to-transportation-infrastructure


This paper presents a 5-Gb/s dual-loop clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit with a compact quarter-rate linear phase detector (PD). The proposed PD not only reduces the complexity of the circuit structure but also employs an UP pulse-widening technique to circumvent the problem of existing narrow UP pulses. Meanwhile, it has the least number of output signals among all the other linear PDs with UP pulse-widening technique. It also provides a data recovery circuit to de-multiplex the input data with no systematic phase offset. An unbalanced charge pump (CP) is also proposed to compensate the unbalanced pulse-width of UP and DN pulses as well as the unequal number of signal between UP and DN pulses. A detailed propagation delay analysis and a set of equations to predict the characteristic curve of the proposed PD is given. In addition, a lock detector with hysteresis property is implemented to ensure proper switching of the loops. Fabricated in 0.18- μm CMOS technology, the circuit shows that the peak-to-peak jitter of the recovered clock is 30.4-ps and it consumes 71.9-mW from a 1.8 V supply.


Coffee is a popular and widely consumed beverage worldwide, with epidemiological studies showing reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancers and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, few studies have investigated the health effects of the post-brewing coffee product, spent coffee grounds (SCG), from either hot- or cold-brew coffee. SCG from hot-brew coffee improved metabolic parameters in rats with diet-induced metabolic syndrome and improved gut microbiome in these rats and in humans; further, SCG reduced energy consumption in humans. SCG contains similar bioactive compounds as the beverage including caffeine, chlorogenic acids, trigonelline, polyphenols and melanoidins, with established health benefits and safety for human consumption. Further, SCG utilisation could reduce the estimated 6–8 million tonnes of waste each year worldwide from production of coffee as a beverage. In this article, we explore SCG as a major by-product of coffee production and consumption, together with the potential economic impacts of health and non-health applications of SCG. The known bioactive compounds present in hot- and cold-brew coffee and SCG show potential effects in cardiovascular disease, cancer, liver disease and metabolic disorders. Based on these potential health benefits of SCG, it is expected that foods including SCG may moderate chronic human disease while reducing the environmental impact of waste otherwise dumped in landfill.


Abstract:The recent globalization of tourism has connected international consumer and local artisan directly and more intensively. As foreign buyer and artisan seller interact, a variety of payment options and mechanisms may be considered, including cash transfers in the buyer's home currency. In this article, we report the findings of a June 2012 survey (n = 97) of U.S. dollar acceptance within inland artisanal markets in Guadalajara, Mexico. Even though the Mexican regulatory environment for U.S. dollar usage in Mexico has thickened since 2010, we find that a majority of Mexican firms located in traditional artisanal zones in the Guadalajara metropolitan area willingly accept the U.S. dollar in retail transactions. These small-scale artisanal enterprises accept U.S. dollars in payment, on occasion substituting the U.S. dollar in place of the local Mexican peso for transactions, because U.S. dollar acceptance drives higher sales volumes and the opportunity to earn a premium on the currency exchange. We find that the determinants of Mexican firm-level U.S. dollar acceptance include business maturity, higher levels of foreign patronage, and focused artisanal production.


The paper studies the role of first line managers as strategic leaders in Bangladesh ensuring successful implementation of efficient performance management system (PMS), in high performance work systems (HPWS). In this paper, importance of PMS in HPWS has been discussed briefly with the light of previously done scholarly works. Then the paper draws attention on Bangladesh's perspective of first line managers' role as strategic leaders in major telecommunication companies, (which are considered as HPWS) in implementing PMS. To do this, quantitative data from handful of major telecommunication companies operating in Bangladesh have been collected and the whole concept has been explained with aid of a model.


Adopting mixed policy objectives (economic and non-economic) introduces a divergence to the 'economic based model' currently advocated as the basis for competition law convergence. One area of competition law where mixed policy objectives are prominently featured is merger control. South Africa is a leading example of a jurisdiction that embraces mixed objectives of competition law. In this article, we look at competition law enforcement in South Africa focusing on large mergers in the past fifteen years. The article goes beyond the conceptual, pros & cons discussion of the inclusion of public interest considerations in competition law to identify the analytical process followed in a merger situation and empirically examines the impact these considerations have had on the final decision, in comparison to other considerations usually taken into account, i.e. efficiencies/consumer welfare. The article also addresses administrability issues and challenges arising from this model. This should in turn, engage the academia in critical examination of this model, assist policymakers in making an informed policy choice and benefit practitioners in understanding how merger analysis functions in this mode


Political quiescence among low-income Americans is well documented but its causes are not well understood. This study explored the hypothesis that a self-stigmatized identity in low-income individuals is associated with a reluctance to participate in democratic activity. We engaged in participant/observation at nine mealtimes to analyze the discourse of guests of our local community "soup kitchen" and also administered a survey to investigate their perceptions of the poor, their beliefs about causes of poverty, and their knowledge of the demographics of recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. We then offered respondents to the survey the opportunity to sign a petition, write a letter, or both to communicate to their Congressional representatives their position on the question of whether SNAP program funding should be cut. We found that low-income guests with stigmatized attitudes toward the poor were significantly less likely to sign petitions or write letters. We also noted that distancing, embellishment, and embracement were prevalent among the discourse of these guests, all phenomena associated with the struggle to negotiate an identity of value in a stigmatized individual. Our findings suggest that a self-stigmatizing sense of identity is a barrier to participation in civic activity.


combined with antibiotics given i.v. or orally. Successful treatment we defined as a patient in good health after 3 months, without clinical symptoms or laboratory signs of infection. Unsuccessful treatment we defined as relapse of TOA in less than 3 months or patients that had surgery in the form of laparoscopy or laparatomy for abscess/organ removal in less than 3 months. Results: The immediate success rate according to our definition was 94% for the whole material. If however, we compare the period 1986 to 1990 (5 years) with 2000 to 2002 (3 years) we see an improved success rate from 88 % to 97 %. The rate of success was not influenced by age, parity, earlier PID, size of abscess or universus bilateral abscess. As for the longterm outcome, 8% have had a new episode of TOA, which in almost all cases have been successfully treated in the same way as the first. In patients operated on more than 3 months after successful treatment, no rest of abscess was found. 25% of patients under 40 years have become pregnant after treatment. Conclusion: This method of treating TOA is simple, cheap and safe. We have had no major complications. With respect to the immediate success and longterm outcome, we recommend this as the method of choice for treatment of TOA.


The United States is the largest coffee consuming country worldwide. Recently, in addition to cup quality, the focus on health promotion has increased significantly in the country, with launching of many brands with health claims, mainly highlighting the antioxidative and stimulating properties of the beverage. On the other hand, mycotoxins and, to a lesser extent, acrylamide, have raised concerns among consumers and health authorities. This study investigated the contents of the main bioactive compounds (caffeine, chlorogenic acids and their 1,5-γ-quinolactones, and trigonelline) in health performance coffees and compared them to those of conventional roasted coffees available on the U.S. market. The following categories were compared by ANOVA at p ≤ 0.05, followed by Fisher's test: 1 - health performance, 2 - gourmet and 3 - traditional, totaling 127 samples. As complementary results, the contents of acrylamide and ochratoxin A were evaluated in part of the samples (n = 58). The mean contents (g per 100 g) of bioactive compounds for categories 1 to 3, respectively, were 1.09, 1.11 and 1.07 for caffeine; 1.75, 1.88 and 1.34 for chlorogenic acids/lactones, and 0.63, 0.64 and 0.56 for trigonelline. The mean contents (μg kg-1) of acrylamide for categories 1 to 3, respectively, were 82, 71 and 85. Only about 7% of the evaluated samples presented quantifiable amounts of OTA and all of them were within the maximum limits established by health authorities. In general, the contents of bioactive and potentially harmful compounds were not consistently different among categories, with high and low individual amounts in all of them. Most health claims on labels related to the amount of bioactive compounds in health performance coffees were unjustified, suggesting the need for improvement in coffee labeling regulation in the U.S.


Aggressive or improper toothbrushing techniques may have a detrimental impact on the gingiva. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between chewing sticks (Miswak) and gingival recession. Gingival recession was measured on the mid facial surfaces of the incisors, canines, and premolars in 238 patients presenting for routine dental appointments. All patients had been interviewed previously regarding their oral hygiene habits and use of Miswak. Patients were divided into three groups: Miswak group, toothbrush group, and Miswak/toothbrush group. The Miswak users had significantly more (P less than or equal to .05) sites gingival recession than did the toothbrush users. Furthermore, the severity of the recession was significantly more (P less than or equal to .05) pronounced in the Miswak users than it was in the toothbrush users.


Disease-initiating mutations in the transcription factor RUNX1 occur as germline and somatic events that cause leukemias with particularly poor prognosis. However, the role of RUNX1 in leukemogenesis is not fully understood, and effective therapies for RUNX1-mutant leukemias remain elusive. Here, we used primary patient samples and a RUNX1-KO model in primary human hematopoietic cells to investigate how RUNX1 loss contributes to leukemic progression and to identify targetable vulnerabilities. Surprisingly, we found that RUNX1 loss decreased proliferative capacity and stem cell function. However, RUNX1-deficient cells selectively upregulated the IL-3 receptor. Exposure to IL-3, but not other JAK/STAT cytokines, rescued RUNX1-KO proliferative and competitive defects. Further, we demonstrated that RUNX1 loss repressed JAK/STAT signaling and rendered RUNX1-deficient cells sensitive to JAK inhibitors. Our study identifies a dependency of RUNX1-mutant leukemias on IL-3/JAK/STAT signaling, which may enable targeting of these aggressive blood cancers with existing agents.


Natural habitats on private lands are potentially important components of national biodiversity conservation strategies, yet they are being rapidly lost to development. Conservation easements and other means of protecting these habitats have expanded in use and will be most effective if they target private lands of highest biodiversity value and risk of loss. We developed a Biodiversity Conservation Priority Index (BCPI) based on ecological value and risk of habitat loss for remaining areas of natural vegetation cover (NVC) in the northwestern U.S and addressed two questions: (1) Which remaining NVC on private lands is the highest priority for biodiversity conservation based on ecological value and risk of development?; and (2) Are conservation easements in NVC placed preferentially in locations of high biodiversity conservation priority? Drawing on the concept of ecological integrity, we integrated five metrics of ecological structure, function, and composition to quantify ecological value of NVC. These included net primary productivity, species richness, ecosystem type representation, imperiled species range rarity, and connectivity among 'Greater Wildland Ecosystems'. Risk of habitat loss was derived from analysis of biophysical and sociodemographic predictors of NVC loss. Ecological value and risk of loss were combined into the BCPI. We then analyzed spatial patterns of BCPI to identify the NVC highest in biodiversity conservation priority and examined the relationship between BCPI and conservation easement status. We found that BCPI varied spatially across the study area and was highest in western and southern portions of the study area. High BCPI was associated with suburban and rural development, roads, urban proximity, valley bottom landforms, and low intensity of current development. Existing conservation easements were distributed more towards lower BCPI values than unprotected NVC at both the study area and region scales. The BCPI can be used to better inform land use decision making at local, regional, and potentially national scales in order to better achieve biodiversity goals.


Objective: To measure the correlation between emotional intelligence (EI) and job satisfaction (JS) among teaching faculty of Foundation University Medical College.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Study was carried out at Foundation University Medical College (FUMC), Islamabad, from Mar to Apr 2021.
Methodology: Participants were recruited through survey sampling using "Google Forms."Faculty members with a total teaching experience of more than 05 years in FUMC were included in the study. EI was measured using Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence scale- Short version (WLEIS), while JS was measured using Brayfield and Rothes scale on a 5-point Likert scale. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 17. The WLEIS score was correlated to the JS score using Pearson r correlation.
Results: Total 89 faculty members had a teaching experience of more than 5 years. Survey had a response rate of 76.4%. Study included 68 faculty members; 26 (38.2%) were from basic sciences and 42 (61.8%) were from clinical sciences. The mean EI score was 3.22 ± 0.70; and the mean JS satisfaction score was 3.05 ± 0.86. All facets of emotional intelligence as well as overall emotional intelligence scores showed significant positive correlation with job satisfaction scores; which were statistically significant; p<0.05.
Conclusion: There was a statistically significant positive correlation between all components of emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. Hence, it is important for the medical colleges to concentrate on those practices that promote emotional intelligence among their teaching faculty.


This study is investigated for probiotication of tomato and spinach juices using Lactobacillus acidophilus and Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus acidophilus was added to dairy formulations and yoghurts both for its flavour and also for probiotic effect and  one of  the most commonly used  Lactobacillus species for dietary use. Probiotics have many well- established health benefits, including the ability to balance the gut, improve digestion and alleviate the uncomfortable side- effects of harsh antibiotics. Lactobacillus acidophilus and Saccharomyces boulardii  isolated on the  MRS agar plates and Yeast peptone dextrose agar media (YPD).  The viability of probiotics used before and after encapsulation was approximately 11.4- 11.6 CFU/ml or g of beads, which had an average diameter of 1.5-1.8 mm. The viability of free cells and encapsulated cells examined periodically after 1 day storage at 4oC. High reductions of viable counts were found in free cells (1.6-5.2 logs) in both vegetable juices, which significantly higher than encapsulated cells (0.8-2.7 logs). Dairy-based matrix  used to produce a range of probiotic foods. There is great potential to deliver bacteria using non-dairy-based food matrices and to develop new innovative probiotic products.


Due to its high purity, favourable surface chemistry and huge specific surface area, fumed silica nanoparticlesare suitable inorganic nanoscopic templates for organic modification and nanocomposite studies. Polypropylene offers good properties with low or moderate cost for many technical applications, such as for solid dielectrics. Polypropylene and hydrophilic silica nanoparticles have inherently dissimilar surface chemistries and organic modification of the silica is usually needed to achieve good mixing and nanocomposite properties. Thetarget is to study robust grafting methods which can be up-scalable without complicated process steps. In thiswork nanosilica particleshave been modified by grafting to method using equimolar amounts of various chain lengths of vinyl functional polyisobutene (PIB) oligomers (molecular weights 320 g/mol, 920 g/mol and 2300 g/mol, determined by material supplier), further functionalized by epoxidation and subsequent reaction with organosilane.The glass transition temperature, viscoelastic properties and crystallization behaviour of the PP compositeswith PIB grafted silicas (4.5 wt% silica) were altered. Especially the PIB2300 grafted silica composite showed improved low temperature fracture toughness, significantly (14°C) lower glass transition measured by DMA and higher crystallization temperature compared to the pure polypropylene.


The standard time-varying VAR workhorse suffers from overparameterization, which is a serious problem as it limits the number of variables and lags that can be incorporated in the model. Read also: CPB Discussion Paper 271 ' Time variation in the dynamic effects of unanticipated changes in tax policy '. As a solution for the overparameterization problem, we propose a new, more parsimonious time-varying VAR model setup with which we can reliably estimate larger models including more variables and/or more lags than was possible until now. The new model setup implies cross-equation restrictions on the time variation that are empirically supported, theoretically appealing, and make the Bayesian estimation procedure much faster.


The pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR) consists of a complex patch-work of factors correlated and independent on one another at the same time. It is therefore difficult to find pharmaceuticals able to produce different, or even mutually contrasting effects. Another difficulty are the intrinsic characteristics of the disease which after developing to a "critical" stage, evolves with independent mechanism to the most advanced stages. In spite of that, a great deal of medicaments has been suggested so far, all providing therapeutical logic to interfere with one or more pathogenetical stages of the lesions. Although several clinical trials have been performed, survey and follow-up are still limited and insufficient to draw conclusion on the effectiveness of medical therapy. In recent times new types of medicaments such as aldose-reductase inhibitors and carbonic anhydrase-inhibitors have been suggested. The preliminary results present encouraging perspectives for their use, although caution, until long-term results are available with greater surveys and longer follow-up periods, is advised.


A nanosized cobalt-based alloy containing 20 wt % Fe was synthesis by electroless chemical reduction method using alkaline tartarate bath and sodium hypophosphite as a reducing agent . The powder was investigated by optical microscope, SEM and XRD to identify the powder shape, size and the chemical composition. The prepared powder has a spherical shape with a particle size of about 200 nm. The investigated powder was cold compacted at 600 MPa and then sintered in hydrogen atmosphere at 1050 0C. Metallographic, physical, magnetic and electrical properties investigations were carried out for the prepared powder and its sintered compacts. The prepared powder has 2.5% phosphorus content which was liberated by heating the compacts to the sintering temperature in hydrogen atmosphere. From the results of the density measurements we can observe that the prepared sintered FeCo material had a relative density about 96% to the theoretical. But the results of the electrical properties measurements give an indication of the decreasing in the electrical resistivity than the materials produced by the traditional methods. On the other hand the magnetic measurements, of the FeCo powder has a lower specific saturation induction, Bs, than the sintered one which was due to the presence of the paramagnetic metal phosphides in the powder but after rising the temperature to sintering the, Bs, values is increased due to the conversion of the phosphides to the metallic state and the phosphorus was liberated, but the coercive force was decreased by sintering of the powder compacts by lowering the porosity of the materials with sintering and the formation of the soft magnetic materials Fe-Co solid solution which was investigated by XRD having the highest specific saturation induction value. Also the magnetic permeability of the prepared sintered material was increase with increasing the applied field until 50 Oe which has the highest value and decreased with increasing the field more than 50Oe. From the magneto-resistance measurements, it was shown that the sintered material has a positive magneto-resistance in the field direction but a negative one in the direction perpendicular to the current and the field.


The present study aimed to determine optimum values of the process factors to obtain a standard method of preparation with best quality of dockounou. Several samples of dockounou were prepared with different proportions (75 to 95%) of senescent plantain, cooking time, fermentation time and temperature of oven. Sensorial characteristics of the samples were investigated. Optimal values (scores) of both boiled and baked dockounou prepared with maize or rice flour were identified through tasters' evaluation. Hence, the best scores were recorded with 90 and 85% of plantain paste proportion, respectively with maize and rice flours. Concerning cooking time, optimal values were registered at 60 minutes with maize-dockounou, and at 75 minutes with rice-dockounou flour. About fermentation time, the best sensorial characteristics were obtained at 4 hours for rice or maize-dockounou, but at 0 hours for the boiled rice one. Results revealed moreover that 160 °C would be the optimal baking temperature. The optimized maize-dockounou would be better than the rice one on sensorial basis. Optimized maize-dockounou uses a larger quantity of plantain paste than optimized rice dockounou. This optimized dockounou uses shorter fermentation time than the traditional one. In general, the optimized dockounou is better than the traditional. It presents better characteristics and is more appreciated. Thus, optimized-dockounou is a real opportunity to convert rejected senescent plantains into foodstuff to help to feed the populations. That could be a way of food security.


Iron is an essential nutrient for most bacteria. It is a crucial metal of many metalloenzymes and functions m important biological systems mamly as the cofactor of redox enzymes Bacteria must acquire iron from the environment where the metal is mainly found in the fem e iron state, which is very insoluble. In addition, they must maintain iron homeostasis. One mechanism used by bacteria for the acquisition of iron is the production of siderophores, which are low molecular weight chelators with affinity and specificity for ferroc iron and which are formed and secreted under iron deplete conditions.

The regulation of iron was studied in Sinorhizobium mehloti, which is a free-living Gram-negative bacteria found in soil and also as an endosymbiont o f Medicago sativa (alfalfa). A homologue of the ferric uptake protein (Fur), which regulates the uptake of iron in most Gram-negative bacteria, was identified and characterised However, the results suggest that in S mehloti, Fur does not function as an iron response regulator but actually regulates manganese uptake. Another protein, the homologue of the transcriptional iron regulator RirA in Rhizobium legummosarum was identified and characterised in S mehloti as the new general regulator of iron responsive genes. Results showed that RirA, under iron replete conditions, downregulates the rhizobactin 1021 siderophore biosynthesis genes and also the gene encoding the outer membrane receptor of the chelator. In addition, RirA was found to downregulate and upregulate respectively smc02726 and d ppAl, genes involved in haem acquisition, indicating that the regulator can function both as an activator and a repressor. Also, results showed the upregulation o f rhbG, a putative rhizobactin 1021 siderophore gene by luteohn, a flavonoid produced by alfalfa, under iron deplete and also under iron replete conditions.


A familiar pass-the-buck pas de deus in deal meetings occurs when the accountant says, after an impasse, "that's a legal problem" while the lawyer says "that's an accounting problem." The truth is, both are right; the trouble is, as Enron shows, prevailing professional cultures create a crack between law and accounting that resolute fraud artists exploit, not cultures that emphasize the intersection of law and accounting that should foil would-be fraudsters. As policymakers rush to respond to Enron, this perspective on law and accounting should be appreciated, as should Enron's place in soecity's parade of corporate debacles. At Enron's core are accounting chicanery related to off-balance sheet financing and related party transactions, but in its penumbra are also colossal examples of governance, audit, and regulatory failure. Even in its accounting aspects, Enron is both an isolated example of fraud and epitome of systemic failure in the financial reporting and disclosure regime. It is another accounting scandal added to the sum of accounting scandals that evidences a broader dysfunction. While not in the league of the LBO, BCCI, or S&L debacles, Enron as an accounting scandal is the straw that broke the accounting camel's back. Among possible regulatory responses are wresting the standard setting function from the profession of accounting and rendering accounting rules and standards matters of law, as is done in many countries. While such a bold move would surely constitute a huge power shift from accountants to lawyers, the effect on the competent business lawyer's practice would be more modest. Competent business lawyers already treat accounting principles as an important tool in their professional toolbox, even if by virtue of the manner and source of their present promulgation they are better understood as facts rather than law. Despite the increasing role accounting plays in business law practice since the mid-1970s, accounting teaching in law schools has declined. First taught in 1950, professors at top schools rapidly published impressive books and the number teaching the subject gradually increased through 1975, its peak, and has decreased as steadily since. In 1975, 150 full-time law professors taught accounting while today only 96 do, a drop of 36% during a period when the number of law schools increased by 19% and the number of full-time law professors increased by 35%. So beginning when accounting rose in practical importance to lawyers, the academy began to demote its significance in the law school curriculum. Reasons for the decline include the rising intellectual influence of modern finance theory. This theory's efficient market hypothesis discounts the relevance of accounting data in a world where financial analysts pierce the form of accounting reports to discover fundamental values wholly apart from accounting choices. In law schools, modern finance theory became the centerpiece of a rival course, corporate finance. The string of accounting debacles culminating in Enron show the folly and fantasy of ECMH and modern finance theory. When coupled with the practice of business lawyers, questions beyond pedagogy arise, particularly the professional ethics of business lawyers. It suggests that the ethical duty of competence should require knowing some accounting. The professional literature concerning legal ethics offers a more equivocal answer. Yet all lawyers know that just because something is legal doesn't mean it is right. In the area of legal ethics, just because a duty can be technically discharged in a painless way, doesn't mean client interests are served.


The coupling noise immune electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection network is becoming a critical design requirement for preserving the performance of high-speed analog circuits. In this paper, we present a noise-aware design of ESD power protection with diode structures in highly integrated high-speed CMOS ICs. We thoroughly characterize the noise coupled from the ESD power protection network and experimentally verify its generation and impact on the performance of analog circuitry being protected. A noise-aware design technique is proposed to achieve superior noise isolation while improving ESD reliability. The estimation of peak overvoltage on power/ground busses in digital circuits adaptively finds the optimum feature of protection circuits subject to noise constraints. The design is validated with measurements from a test chip fabricated in a 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology.


Abstract. The ability to monitor, understand, and predict the dynamics of the terrestrial carbon cycle requires the capacity to robustly and coherently synthesize multiple streams of information that each provide partial information about different pools and fluxes. In this study, we introduce a new terrestrial carbon cycle data assimilation system, built on the PEcAn model-data eco-informatics system, and its application for the development of a proof-of-concept carbon "reanalysis" product that harmonizes carbon pools (leaf, wood, soil) and fluxes (GPP, Ra, Rh, NEE) across the contiguous United States from 1986–2019. We first calibrated this system against plant trait and flux tower Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) using a novel emulated hierarchical Bayesian approach. Next, we extended the Tobit-Wishart Ensemble Filter (TWEnF) State Data Assimilation (SDA) framework, a generalization of the common Ensemble Kalman Filter which accounts for censored data and provides a fully Bayesian estimate of model process error, to a regional-scale system with a calibrated localization. Combined with additional workflows for propagating parameter, initial condition, and driver uncertainty, this represents the most complete and robust uncertainty accounting available for terrestrial carbon models. Our initial reanalysis was run on an irregular grid of ~500 points selected using a stratified sampling method to efficiently capture environmental heterogeneity. Remotely sensed observations of aboveground biomass (Landsat LandTrendr) and LAI (MODIS MOD15) were sequentially assimilated into the SIPNET model. Reanalysis soil carbon, which was indirectly constrained based on modeled covariances, showed general agreement with SoilGrids, an independent soil carbon data product. Reanalysis NEE, which was constrained based on posterior ensemble weights, also showed good agreement with eddy flux tower NEE and reduced RMSE compared to the calibrated forecast. Ultimately, PEcAn's carbon cycle reanalysis provides a scalable framework for harmonizing multiple data constraints and providing a uniform synthetic platform for carbon monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) and accelerating terrestrial carbon cycle research.


As academics increase their use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) to deliver content to their students, the needs of visually impaired students are being overlooked. The incorrect usage of VLEs is resulting in many visually impaired students being disadvantaged. This is happening despite the emphasis on equal access for all to higher education. If the electronic content that is uploaded onto Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) is intended to be used by students about whom no presumptions of visual ability can be made, then accessibility must be guaranteed for all users. This paper shows that the majority of accessibility problems that exist for visually impaired students result from academics not using the guidelines that are available. The reasons as to why academics do not follow any guidelines are probed. This paper is based on the quantitative analysis of a survey conducted on 52 academics from nine Irish Institute of Technology in November 2009.


The first in vitro study testing the effect of a natural mixture extract of quality elk velvet antler (QEVA) on the development of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is reported. To examine cellular responses, MSCs were seeded on gold-coated glass surfaces and grown in a medium supplemented with QEVA extract or with the osteogenic agent dexamethasone (Dex), or in unsupplemented medium as control. The MSCs were analyzed by light microscopy and confocal Raman microspectroscopy at different time intervals in the culture. The microscopy revealed that the proliferation, up to day 4, of cells treated with QEVA is higher than that of cells treated with Dex or of the control group. Raman spectroscopy revealed deposition of hydroxyapatite (HA) mineral by cells exposed to QEVA and HA precursors in cells treated with Dex, but no mineralization in the control group. The extent of mineralization for MSCs treated with QEVA increased systematically with time, up to day 14. These results indicate that QEVA enhances proliferation and promotes differentiation toward osteogenic fate more effectively than Dex, suggesting that addition of QEVA to culture media might be advantageous to bone-tissue-engineering implications. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Background: A hyperlactemia may occur in the presence of tissue hypoperfusion, in diseases affecting metabolism and in cases of malignant neoplasm. However, the factors affecting the serum lactate levels in patients submitted to craniotomy for the resection of an intracranial tumor have been investigated only marginally. Here, we assessed the factors possibly affecting the levels of serum lactate in intracranial tumors and carried out a thorough literature review on this topic. Methods: All patients submitted to elective craniotomy from January 2017 to August 2018 for the resection of a glioblastoma (GBM; 101 cases) and a benign meningioma (WHO I; 105 cases) were included in this study. The sex, age, histological diagnosis, body mass index (BMI), and diabetes were assessed as possible factors affecting the level of the preoperative and postoperative serum lactate in these patients. Results: We found that preoperative hyperlactemia (> 2 mmol/l) was more frequent in patients with GBM than in patients with meningioma (P = 0.0003). Moreover, a strong correlation between a preoperative lactemia and postoperative lactemia (P < 0.0001) was observed. On univariate analysis, we found increased preoperative serum lactate levels in GBM patients (P = 0.0022) and in patients with a BMI ≥30 (P = 0.0068). Postoperative serum lactate levels were significantly higher in GBM patients (P = 0.0003). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, a diagnosis of GBM was an independent factor for higher level of preoperative (P = 0.0005) and postoperative (P < 0.0001) serum lactate. Conclusion: The malignant phenotype of GBM is the strongest factor associated with a pre- and postoperative hyperlactemia in patients submitted to craniotomy for the resection of an intracranial tumor.


In recent years, there has been a desire by vehicle manufacturers to reduce the in-cab noise of vehicles, in order to improve driver comfort and enhance the enjoyment of in-vehicle entertainment systems. This reduction of in-cab noise is accompanied by policy initiatives to reduce transport related noise by implementing low noise road surfaces. However, it is not known how such reductions in the availability of auditory cues affect drivers' ability to judge speed, and there is a danger that drivers will increase their speed, to compensate for the absence of auditory cues. In this study, drivers were required to maintain speed at 30 and 70 mph, in the absence of a speedometer, with and without accompanying vehicle noise. Results showed that drivers' ability to maintain the correct speed profile was much more variable in the absence of accompanying vehicle noise and this variation was found to be higher when drivers were asked to travel at higher speeds of 70 mph. Drivers were also found to travel faster than the required speed in the absence of vehicle noise, although their ability to maintain speed was generally worse at 70 mph, even in the presence of auditory cues.


A very simple and rapid spectrophotometric method using measurements at zero-crossing wavelength is described for resolving binary mixtures of riboflavine (E-101) and sunset yellow (E-110) in a powder drink. The assay procedure for E-110 and E-101 involves the extraction of the colorants from the powder drink with pH 4.5 acetate buffer, filtration, appropriate dilution, and measurement of the first derivative absorbance values (denoted as 1D). Calibration graphs are linear up to 25.0 m g.mL-1 for E-101 and 40.0 m g.mL-1 for E-110. The sensitivity and reproducibility of the method were determined by using the synthetic mixtures in different ratios prepared by us, and the proposed method was applied to a commercially available powder drink. The relative standard deviations obtained are 1.39% and 1.15% and the average percentage recoveries are 101.0% and 102.8% for E-101 and E-110, respectively.


Abstract : The post-Cold War international environment is being shaped by forces of integration and disintegration. The civil war in Somalia is an example of the challenges that will confront the U.S. as it seeks to exercise leadership both unilaterally and in multinational forums. Somalia is the first case after the Cold War in which U.N. forces were committed to enforce peace under Chapter VII of the Charter. However, the transition from a humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping mission to peace enforcement was made abruptly, without the benefit of thoughtful discussion of all of the elements that created the conflict. Consequently, U.S. force was used inappropriately to achieve ill defined objectives, resulting in the loss of American troops and the decision to effect a complete withdrawal from Somalia. There are many excellent lessons to be learned from the U.S.'s involvement in Somalia. Principal among these is that in today's increasingly anarchic international environment, prudence dictates that the decision to send U.S. forces in harm's way should be the result of deliberate, thoughtful discussion at the highest level of our government However, to continue to exercise its world leadership role, the U.S. must not let Somalia be the defining experience in the use of force after the Cold War.


Abstract Aims End-stage renal disease (ESRD) treated by chronic hemodialysis (HD) is associated with poor cardiovascular (CV) outcomes, with no available evidence-based therapeutics. A multiplexed proteomic approach may identify new pathophysiological pathways associated with CV outcomes, potentially actionable for precision medicine. Methods and results The AURORA trial was an international, multicentre, randomized, double-blind trial involving 2776 patients undergoing maintenance HD. Rosuvastatin vs. placebo had no significant effect on the composite primary endpoint of death from CV causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction or nonfatal stroke. We first compared CV risk-matched cases and controls (n = 410) to identify novel biomarkers using a multiplex proximity extension immunoassay (276 proteomic biomarkers assessed with OlinkTM). We replicated our findings in 200 unmatched cases and 200 controls. External validation was conducted from a multicentre real-life Danish cohort [Aarhus-Aalborg (AA), n = 331 patients] in which 92 OlinkTM biomarkers were assessed. In AURORA, only N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP, positive association) and stem cell factor (SCF) (negative association) were found consistently associated with the trial's primary outcome across exploration and replication phases, independently from the baseline characteristics. Stem cell factor displayed a lower added predictive ability compared with NT-ProBNP. In the AA cohort, in multivariable analyses, BNP was found significantly associated with major CV events, while higher SCF was associated with less frequent CV deaths. Conclusions Our findings suggest that NT-proBNP and SCF may help identify ESRD patients with respectively high and low CV risk, beyond classical clinical predictors and also point at novel pathways for prevention and treatment.


The increasing use of mice models in cognitive tasks that were originally designed for rats raises crucial questions about cross-species comparison in the study of spatial cognition. The present review focuses on the major neuroethological differences existing between mice and rats, with particular attention given to the neurophysiological basis of space coding. While little difference is found in the basic properties of space representation in these two species, it appears that the stability of this representation changes more drastically over time in mice than in rats. We consider several hypotheses dealing with attentional, perceptual, and genetic aspects and offer some directions for future research that might help in deciphering hippocampal function in learning and memory processes. WIREs Cogn Sci 2016, 7:406-421. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1411 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.


ABSTRACT Improvements in understanding glacial extents and chronologies for the southeastern slope of the western Nyaiqentanglha Shan on the Tibetan Plateau are required to understand regional climate changes during the Last Glacial cycle. A two-dimensional numerical model of mass balance, based on snow–ice melting factors, and of ice flow for mountain glaciers is used to assess the glacier sensitivity to climatic change in a catchment of the region. The model can reproduce valley glaciers, wide-tongued glaciers and a coalescing glacier within step temperature lowering and precipitation increasing experiments. The model sensitivity experiments also indicate that the dependence of glacier growth on temperature and/or precipitation is nonlinear. The model results suggest that the valley glaciers respond more sensitively to an imposed climate change than wide-tongued and coalescing glaciers. Guided by field geological evidence of former glacier extent and other independent paleoclimate reconstructions, the model is also used to constrain the most realistic multi-year mean temperatures to be 2.9–4.6°C and 1.8–2.5°C lower than present in the glacial stages of the Last Glacial Maximum and middle marine oxygen isotope stage 3, respectively.


Rural landscapes have long stimulated nostalgia for a simpler time and place. In contemporary Japan, real economic and social problems in the countryside have brought new attention to the role of rural communities in the formation of Japanese identity. In this paper I introduce Kurokawa, a hot springs resort that has spent the past three decades emulating the rural idyll through what it calls fūkeizukuri, or "landscape design," en route to becoming one of Japan's best known rural tourist destinations. I contextualize Kurokawa's adoption of a themed landscape in the mid-1980s, and explain the design choices that have gained Kurokawa so much attention, including those found in the built and natural environment. Here, I emphasize the role local actors have played in creating and enacting the landscape. I conclude by showing how the village's adoption of a nostalgic rural theme has strengthened its status as not only an exemplar of the idealized aesthetics and social relations of the past, but also a rare rural community successfully adapting to the present.


Background Knowledge of the inhalable particulate matter components responsible for health effects is important for developing targeted regulation. Objectives In a double-blind randomised cross-over trial of controlled human exposures to concentrated ambient particles (CAPs) and their endotoxin and (1→3)-β-D-glucan components, we evaluated acute inflammatory responses. Methods 35 healthy adults were exposed to five 130-min exposures at rest: (1) fine CAPs (∼250 µg/m3); (2) coarse CAPs (∼200 µg/m3); (3) second coarse CAPs (∼200 µg/m3); (4) filtered air; and (5) medical air. Induced sputum cell counts were measured at screening and 24 h postexposure. Venous blood total leucocytes, neutrophils, interleukin-6 and high-sensitivity C reactive protein (CRP) were measured pre-exposure, 3 and 24 h postexposure. Results Relative to filtered air, an increase in blood leucocytes 24 h (but not 3 h) postexposure was significantly associated with coarse (estimate=0.44×109 cells/L (95% CI 0.01 to 0.88); n=132) and fine CAPs (0.68×109 cells /L (95% CI 0.19 to 1.17); n=132), but not medical air. Similar associations were found with neutrophil responses. An interquartile increase in endotoxin (5.4 ng/m3) was significantly associated with increased blood leucocytes 3 h postexposure (0.27×109 cells/L (95% CI 0.03 to 0.51); n=98) and 24 h postexposure (0.37×109 cells/L (95% CI 0.12 to 0.63); n=98). This endotoxin effect did not differ by particle size. There were no associations with glucan concentrations or interleukin-6, CRP or sputum responses. Conclusions In healthy adults, controlled coarse and fine ambient particle exposures independently induced acute systemic inflammatory responses. Endotoxin contributes to the inflammatory role of particle air pollution.


Implicit skill learning occurs incidentally and without conscious awareness of what is learned. However, the rate and effectiveness of learning may still be affected by decreased availability of central processing resources. Dual-task experiments have generally found impairments in implicit learning, however, these studies have also shown that certain characteristics of the secondary task (e.g., timing) can complicate the interpretation of these results. To avoid this problem, the current experiments used a novel method to impose resource constraints prior to engaging in skill learning. Ego depletion theory states that humans possess a limited store of cognitive resources that, when depleted, results in deficits in self-regulation and cognitive control. In a first experiment, we used a standard ego depletion manipulation prior to performance of the Serial Interception Sequence Learning (SISL) task. Depleted participants exhibited poorer test performance than did non-depleted controls, indicating that reducing available executive resources may adversely affect implicit sequence learning, expression of sequence knowledge, or both. In a second experiment, depletion was administered either prior to or after training. Participants who reported higher levels of depletion before or after training again showed less sequence-specific knowledge on the post-training assessment. However, the results did not allow for clear separation of ego depletion effects on learning versus subsequent sequence-specific performance. These results indicate that performance on an implicitly learned sequence can be impaired by a reduction in executive resources, in spite of learning taking place outside of awareness and without conscious intent.


This paper discusses the architecture, protocol, analysis, and experimentation of optical packet switching routers incorporating optical-label switching (OLS) technologies and electronic edge routers with traffic shaping capabilities. The core optical router incorporates all-optical switching with contention resolution in wavelength, time, and space domains. It is also capable of accommodating traffic of any protocol and format, and supports packet, flow, burst, and circuit traffic. The edge router is designed to achieve traffic shaping with consideration for quality of service and priority based class-of-service. Simulation results show packet loss rates below 0.3% at load 0.7 and jitter values below 18 /spl mu/s. The traffic shaping reduces the packet loss rate by a factor of /spl sim/5 while adding negligible additional latency. The OLS core routers and the electronic edge routers are constructed including the field-programmable-gate-arrays incorporating the wavelength-aware forwarding and contention resolution algorithms. The experiment shows optical-label-based packet switching with a packet loss rate near 0.2%.


Convolutional Sparse Coding (CSC) has been attracting more and more attention in recent years, for making full use of image global correlation to improve performance on various computer vision applications. However, very few studies focus on solving CSC based image Super-Resolution (SR) problem. As a consequence, there is no significant progress in this area over a period of time. In this paper, we exploit the natural connection between CSC and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to address CSC based image SR. Specifically, Convolutional Iterative Soft Thresholding Algorithm (CISTA) is introduced to solve CSC problem and it can be implemented using CNN architectures. Then we develop a novel CSC based SR framework analogy to the traditional SC based SR methods. Two models inspired by this framework are proposed for pre-/post-upsampling SR, respectively. Compared with recent state-of-the-art SR methods, both of our proposed models show superior performance in terms of both quantitative and qualitative measurements.


Attachment of conidia on leaves is a critical first step in the life cycle of aquatic hyphomycetes in streams. In a first series of microcosm experiments, attachment success of three common aquatic hyphomycete species differing in conidial shape (compact, filiform and tetraradiate) was determined on two leaf species, black alder and downy oak. Fungal species identity and leaf surface structure significantly affected conidial attachment after 24 h. The lower sides of oak leaves with extensive tufts trapped 2.4-8.8 more conidia than the upper sides of oak leaves and both sides of alder leaves. In a second experiment with seven fungal species, attachment success of two species with tetraradiate conidia was much greater than that of two other tetraradiate and three compact conidia, which all had similar attachment success. The species with the largest spores was also the most successful, but this pattern was not consistent across the size range of tested conidia. These results highlight the importance of leaf surface structure, possibly conidial shape and size and additional properties of aquatic hyphomycete conidia in determining attachment success on leaves and they point to the potential role of these factors in structuring fungal communities on decomposing leaves in streams.


Paraphrase identification consists in the process of verifying if two sentences are semantically equivalent or not. It is applied in many natural language tasks, such as text summarization, information retrieval, text categorization, and machine translation. In general, methods for assessing paraphrase identification perform three steps. First, they represent sentences as vectors using bag of words or syntactic information of the words present the sentence. Next, this representation is used to measure different similarities between two sentences. In the third step, these similarities are given as input to a machine learning algorithm that classifies these two sentences as paraphrase or not. However, two important problems in the area of paraphrase identification are not han-dled: (i) the meaning problem: two sentences sharing the same meaning, composed of different words; and (ii) the word order problem: the order of the words in the sentences may change the meaning of the text. This paper proposes a paraphrase identification system that represents each pair of sentence as a combination of different similarity measures. These measures extract lexical, syntactic and semantic components of the sentences encompassed in a graph. The proposed method was benchmarked using the Microsoft Paraphrase Corpus, which is the publicly available standard dataset for the task. Different machine learning algorithms were applied to classify a sentence pair as paraphrase or not. The results show that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art systems. (cid:1) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


Objectives: To determine whether the expression of specific molecular markers in the rectal cancer biopsies prior to treatment, can correlate with complete tumor response to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) as determined by the pathology of the surgical specimen. Methods: We retrospectively examined pretreatment rectal biopsies of patients aged 18 years or older with locally advanced rectal cancer who had been treated with neoadjuvant CRT and surgical resection in our tertiary-care, university-affiliated medical center, between January 2001 and December 2011. Samples were analyzed for expression of B-cell lymphoma 2, P53, Ki67, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, and the tumor regression grade after CRT and radical surgery. Results: Forty-seven patients were included in the final analysis. Main outcome measures were the correlation between the expression of the molecular markers tested in the pretreatment biopsy, and complete tumor response. Complete pathologic response after CRT was attained in 27% of the patients. Percentage of cells expressing EGFR in the pretreated biopsies of patients having complete pathologic response after CRT and surgery was 33.08±7.87% compared to 19±15.36% (P=0.38), 6.66±2.83% (P<0.003), and 12.5±4.93% (P=0.033) in patients with partial response and tumor regression grades of 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The other molecular markers tested in the pretreatment biopsy did not corresponded with complete pathologic response. Conclusions: EGFR expression pattern in the pretreatment biopsies of rectal tumors can assist in identifying patients who will benefit from neoadjuvant CRT.


Introduction Recent research has investigated the use of ultrasound (US) for confirming endotracheal tube (ETT) placement with varying techniques, accuracies, and challenges. Our objective was to evaluate the accuracy of a novel, simplified, four-step (4S) technique. Methods We conducted a blinded, randomized trial of the 4S technique utilizing an adult human cadaver model. ETT placement was randomized to tracheal or esophageal location. Three US experts and 45 emergency medicine residents (EMR) performed a total of 150 scans. The primary outcome was the overall sensitivity and specificity of both experts and EMRs to detect location of ETT placement. Secondary outcomes included a priori subgroup comparison of experts and EMRs for thin and obese cadavers, time to detection, and level of operator confidence. Results Experts had a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI = 72% to 100%) and specificity of 100% (95% CI = 77% to 100%) on thin, and a sensitivity of 93% (95% CI = 66% to 100%) and specificity of 100% (95% CI = 75% to 100%) on obese cadavers. EMRs had a sensitivity of 91% (95% CI = 69% to 98%) and of specificity 96% (95% CI = 76% to 100%) on thin, and a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI = 82% to 100%) specificity of 48% (95% CI = 27% to 69%) on obese cadavers. The overall mean time to detection was 17 seconds (95% CI = 13 seconds to 20 seconds, range: 2 to 63 seconds) for US experts and 29 seconds (95% CI = 25 seconds to 33 seconds; range: 6 to 120 seconds) for EMRs. There was a statistically significant decrease in the specificity of this technique on obese cadavers when comparing the EMRs and experts, as well as an increased overall time to detection among the EMRs. Conclusion The simplified 4S technique was accurate and rapid for US experts. Among novices, the 4S technique was accurate in thin, but appears less accurate in obese cadavers. Further studies will determine optimal teaching time and accuracy in emergency department patients.


After some introductory remarks and after some comments on the contributions in this thematic issue, I am playing with the word 'relativity', in order to show that human enhancement is only relatively new, that some claims in this area (for instance those of the so-called Transhumanists) should be put into perspective, that human enhancement should be seen in relation to (the far-reaching impact on) society, in relation to global problems such as climate change, food and water, and in relation to religious belief(s), since technology is the incarnation of our hopes, desires and ideals. From a Christian point of view, it would be interesting to relate human enhancement to concepts like resurrection of the body, kenosis, theiosis, sin and imago Dei.


The Medicaid program and mental health care are inextricably related. Unfortunately, this relationship is not well understood by many professionals and advocates of either program. Despite increased sophistication in both the Medicaid and mental health policy arenas, misunderstanding and poor communication still occur, and periodically lead to problems in access to care, quality, and accountability. It may not be too much of an exaggeration to describe the disconnect between mental health and Medicaid as a kind of cross-cultural problem. So many of the basic characteristics and "rules" vary between the systems that misunderstandings are common, even when not obvious. At its worst, this can lead to bad patient care and fiscal abuses. Even when these "worst case" problems are avoided, working relationships between the systems can be difficult. And for providers having to deal with both payor systems, the different expectations, payment methods, and requirements can be frustrating. Yet there are signs of change and improvement in the relationships between federal and, especially, state-level Medicaid and mental health leaders. Some of these changes may relate simply to more experience with collaboration. Other reasons for change may include a growing awareness within health care generally of the scope, impact, and costs of mental disorders. Behavioral Health Issues There is an increasing recognition of the significant impact of behavioral health problems across health care and in Medicaid. Part of this increase may reflect a growing recognition that mental illnesses are indeed illnesses - with a substantial prevalence, high social and economic costs, poor access to care, and availability of treatments that are both efficacious and underutilized (National Advisory. Mental Health Council, 1993). There is also a growing awareness of the high levels of disability associated with mental illnesses such as depression, an awareness bolstered by the World Health Organization's finding (Murray & Lopez, 1997) that behavioral problems were half of the top ten causes of disability worldwide in 1990. There is also a growing awareness of the significance of behavioral health problems especially mental illness - in Medicaid policy circles. The development of new, effective, and well-marketed psychiatric medications has certainly had a disproportionate impact on Medicaid pharmacy costs. These medications include new treatments for prevalent conditions like depression and anxiety disorders and more effective treatments for the less prevalent but sometimes almost permanently disabling illness of schizophrenia. By 1997, for example, six of the top ten medications by cost in Ohio's Medicaid program were psychiatric drugs (Ohio Department of Human Services, 1998). Concern about formulary limitations to address the rising costs of these medicines-despite their utility - led to the unusual step of letters on their effectiveness being sent from Medicaid's director of state operations and the director of the National Institute on Mental Health to state Medicaid directors. This action by itself signaled the increased significance of mental health issues in Medicaid. Other emerging mental health issues in Medicaid include the growing awareness of how untreated or poorly treated mental illnesses (especially depression) lead to significant increases in the use of other health care services, concern about poor recognition and treatment of depression in primary care settings (Wells et al., 1989) and questions about how to better manage Medicaid costs (including mental health) for disabled eligible persons, including those with mental illness. Medicaid is an even more significant concern for mental health officials. The main reason for this is the dominant role of Medicaid funding among the various revenue sources of the public mental health system. The causes and dynamics of these funding patterns will be discussed, but they are illustrated by the fact that Medicaid revenues constitute an estimated 30 to 50 percent of all revenues in state mental health systems. …


The ventral visual cortex has a modular organization in which discrete and well-defined regions show a much stronger response to certain object categories (e.g., faces, bodies) than to other categories. The majority of previous studies have examined the response of these category-selective regions to isolated images of preferred or nonpreferred categories. Thus, little is known about the way these category-selective regions represent more complex visual stimuli, which include both preferred and nonpreferred stimuli. Here we examined whether glasses (nonpreferred) modify the representation of simultaneously presented faces (preferred) in the fusiform face area. We used an event-related fMR-adaptation paradigm in which faces were presented with glasses either on or above the face while subjects performed a face or a glasses discrimination task. Our findings show that the sensitivity of the fusiform face area to glasses was maximal when glasses were presented on the face than above the face during a face discrimination task rather than during a glasses discrimination task. These findings suggest that nonpreferred stimuli may significantly modify the representation of preferred stimuli, even when they are task irrelevant. Future studies will determine whether this interaction is specific to faces or may be found for other object categories in category-selective areas.


Type I and type II errors are the two classic pitfalls in statistical analysis: finding a difference when there is none (type I) and failure to find a true difference (type II). There is, in addition, another important error that regularly appears in scientific journals. This error, the type III error , 1 occurs whenever the conclusions drawn are not supported by the data presented. In recent years, type III errors have been increasing in prevalence. Some illustrations drawn from recently published articles should serve to define my point. I have deliberately omitted citation of sources because my intent is to illustrate, not embarrass. EXAMPLE 1 In this study, dietary fiber intake was recorded in a group of patients with appendicitis and in age- and sex-matched controls without appendicitis. The mean fiber intake in 31 patients with appendicitis was 17.4 ± 7.7 g/d, with a range of 10.65 to 31.92 g/d.


One of the drawbacks of using household surveys to investigate macroeconomic issues has been a lack of a dataset that contains both adequate household expenditure data and comprehensive household wealth and income data. This paper compares alternative methods of imputing household expenditures in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)—that of Blundell et al. (2006) and Cooper ( 2009). It also analyzes the additional expenditure questions included in the PSID starting in 1999 and expanded in 2005. The paper finds that the Blundell et al. (2006) method works well for imputing households' nondurable expenditures between 1980 and 2007. The results further show that the imputation method in Cooper (2009) dominates that of Blundell et al. (2006) for generating data on households' total expenditures. The decision of which imputation approach to use or whether to use the actual PSID expenditure data from 1999 to 2007 will depend on the user's research question(s) and analysis goals.


Objective: To analyze potential benefits with regards to infectious complications with combined use of mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) and ABP in elective colorectal resections. Background: Despite recent literature suggesting that MBP does not reduce infection rate, it still is commonly used. The use of oral antibiotic bowel preparation (ABP) has been practiced for decades but its use is also controversial. Methods: Patients undergoing elective colorectal resection in the 2012 to 2015 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program cohorts were selected. Doubly robust propensity score–adjusted multivariable regression was conducted for infectious and other postoperative complications. Results: A total of 27,804 subjects were analyzed; 5471 (23.46%) received no preparation, 7617 (32.67%) received MBP only, 1374 (5.89%) received ABP only, and 8855 (37.98%) received both preparations. Compared to patients receiving no preparation, those receiving dual preparation had less surgical site infection (SSI) [odds ratio (OR) = 0.39, P < 0.001], organ space infection (OR = 0.56, P ⩽ 0.001), wound dehiscence (OR = 0.43, P = 0.001), and anastomotic leak (OR = 0.53, P < 0.001). ABP alone compared to no prep resulted in significantly lower rates of surgical site infection (OR = 0.63, P = 0.001), organ space infection (OR = 0.59, P = 0.005), anastomotic leak (OR = 0.53, P = 0.002). MBP showed no significant benefit to infectious complications when used as monotherapy. Conclusions: Combined MBP/ABP results in significantly lower rates of SSI, organ space infection, wound dehiscence, and anastomotic leak than no preparation and a lower rate of SSI than ABP alone. Combined bowel preparation significantly reduces the rates of infectious complications in colon and rectal procedures without increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection. For patients undergoing elective colon or rectal resection we recommend bowel preparation with both mechanical agents and oral antibiotics whenever feasible.


Abstract. We have developed an algorithm that retrieves the size, number concentration
and density of falling snow from multifrequency radar observations. This
work builds on previous studies that have indicated that three-frequency
radars can provide information on snow density, potentially improving the
accuracy of snow parameter estimates. The algorithm is based on a Bayesian
framework, using lookup tables mapping the measurement space to the state
space, which allows fast and robust retrieval. In the forward model, we
calculate the radar reflectivities using recently published snow scattering
databases. We demonstrate the algorithm using multifrequency airborne radar
observations from the OLYMPEX–RADEX field campaign, comparing the retrieval
results to hydrometeor identification using ground-based polarimetric radar
and also to collocated in situ observations made using another aircraft.
Using these data, we examine how the availability of multiple frequencies
affects the retrieval accuracy, and we test the sensitivity of the algorithm to
the prior assumptions. The results suggest that multifrequency radars are
substantially better than single-frequency radars at retrieving snow
microphysical properties. Meanwhile, triple-frequency radars can retrieve
wider ranges of snow density than dual-frequency radars and better locate
regions of high-density snow such as graupel, although these benefits are
relatively modest compared to the difference in retrieval performance between
dual- and single-frequency radars. We also examine the sensitivity of the
retrieval results to the fixed a priori assumptions in the algorithm, showing
that the multifrequency method can reliably retrieve snowflake size, while
the retrieved number concentration and density are affected significantly by
the assumptions.


The four subclasses of IgG are distinct in structure, function, and degree of participation in the antibody response to complex antigens. Looking for differential responsiveness of potential pathogenetic significance, we have analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively the filaria-specific IgG subclass responses of 20 patients with lymphatic filariasis presenting either with chronic lymphatic obstructive pathology and elephantiasis (CP) or with asymptomatic microfilaremia (MF). Subclass-specific monoclonal antibodies were used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to study IgG filarial antibodies quantitatively and in immunoblot analyses to determine qualitatively the subclass antibody specificities. Quantitatively, the most significant differences among patient groups were in levels of IgG4, which were more than 17 times higher in MF patients (geometric mean, 64.7 micrograms/ml) than in those with CP (mean, 3.7 micrograms/ml). When qualitative analyses were done on the same sera, major differences were noted, particularly in the recognition profiles of the IgG1, IgG3, and IgG4 responses. IgG1 and IgG3 responses to antigens were seen especially to antigens with m.w. greater than 68,000 in all patients with elephantiasis, whereas MF patients showed most of their reactivity to antigens less than 68,000. For IgG4, the MF patients showed prominent recognition of antigens throughout the entire range of m.w., whereas those with CP had very little IgG4 recognition of antigens of any m.w. Interestingly, this relationship was essentially reversed in the IgG3 antibody responses (especially to antigens greater than 68,000) and, to a lesser extent, the IgG1 responses. These findings demonstrate correlations of potential cause/effect significance between IgG4 antibody responsiveness and the immunomodulated asymptomatic MF form of clinical filariasis and between IgG3/IgG1 antibody responsiveness and the clinical presentation of CP.


This paper considers whether short-period deterministic cycles can exist in a class of stationary overlapping generations models with long- (but finite-) lived agents. It shows that if agents discount the future positively, then as life spans get large, nonmonetary cycles will disappear. Further, neither constant monetary steady states nor stationary monetary cycles can exist. It also shows that if agents discount the future negatively, then there are robust examples in which constant monetary steady states as well as stationary monetary cycles (with undiminished amplitude) can occur no matter how long agents live.


Crohn's disease [CD] is characterized by severe transmural inflammation with subsequent destruction of the intestinal barrier. Recent works suggest that bacterial infiltration across this leaky gut facilitates access to the mesenteric fat and the development of a subsequent inflammatory reaction in the surrounding adipose tissue named creeping fat [CF]. Dysbiosis in CD patients has been associated with an increase in succinate-producing bacteria and a decrease in succinate-consuming bacteria. In fact, elevated succinate levels have been found in the intestinal and faeces of CD patients. Succinate has been classically considered as a marker of hypoxia and tissue damage, assisting as a pro-inflammatory signal that triggers immune activation. However, recent observations support potential additional functions of succinate. We and others have shown that succinate plays a key role in fine-tuning of the inflammatory response, acting both as an alarmin and resolving molecule. Our hypothesis is that succinate, a microbiota-derived metabolite, is a new determinant of adipose tissue dysfunction in CD.

 A well-characterized cohort was used to obtained mesenteric adipose tissue biopsies including a) 10 subjects with active CD that require surgery for their underlying pathology b) 10 subjects with inactive CD and c) 10 healthy controls undergoing surgery for non-acute process (herniorrhaphy, cholecystectomy for lithiasis, etc.). The groups were comparable in age, sex, and body mass index. We studied the effect of exogenous succinate in adipose tissue explants, adipose-stem cells (ASC), and adipose tissue macrophages (ATM) isolated from adipose tissue biopsies of CD patients with different clinical activity. Circulating succinate levels and inflammatory variables including hs-CRP and faecal calprotectin were also measured.

 We observed an increased expression of SUCNR1 in CF, including ASCs and ATMs, mainly in patients suffering from an active disease (figure 1A). Furthermore, succinate appears to elicit a different response in adipose tissue from CD patients, when activity status is considered. Thus, our results indicate that in an inflammatory local and systemic environment, such as occurs in CD active patients, succinate triggers a pro-inflammatory response in VAT depot, while when subjects are in a remission period, the response of VAT explants to succinate is similar to than the observed in healthy subjects, promoting an anti-inflammatory expression profile (Figure 1B). Interestingly, we found elevated circulating succinate levels in active CD patients but those decrease drastically in patients in remission of the disease (Figure 1C).

 Succinate has a relevant role in adipose tissue dysfunction in CD.


Abstract : For a stationary wave field, spectral models represent the surface wave motion sufficiently accurately. There are however two drawbacks in using nonlinear spectral models: a) The computational time involved when simulating the random wave field; the number of operations needed is O(N2) (N is the number of frequency components). b) Spectral models are usually one-equation reduction of the two-equation time domain model, which does not then have the same characteristics of the original model. Here we explore two approaches to solve these problems. First, we use the hybrid FFT technique (Bredmose et al. 2004) both to speed up the calculations and to incorporate higher order nonlinear terms. Second, we look at frequency domain transformation without reducing the model to one equation. Significant improvement in computational speed was obtained with the hybrid FFT approach. The models also show good agreement to the data reported by Mase and Kirby (1992).


Introduction: There is adequate evidence on the dearth of medical specialists in public sector hospitals along with other support staff in India and there are best cost-effective alternative approaches to address the issues. However, the understanding and interest of policy actors and policy decision-making processes may affect the adoption of sustainable alternative options. Further, it is not clear that why policy actors do not promote potential policy options for human resources for health (HRH) to have sustainable universal health coverage (UHC). This policy analysis may illumine the potential options for improvement of medical specialists' attraction and retention in divergent actor's environment.
Materials & Methods: We used the qualitative research method for policy analysis based on primary data collection supplemented with documents review. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 key informants.
Results: The study findings show several interesting features in terms of policy actors experiences, interpretations, which may potentially influence DNB course promotion in public sector hospitals at the district level. The key facilitators include: available good infrastructure, a high number of patients inflow into government hospitals for exposure to post-graduate training, established DNB postgraduate curriculum and monitoring mechanisms, the eagerness of health administrators. The key barriers include limited teaching support system, the high workload for senior practitioners and limited time to teach trainees, lack of library and academic environment and a dearth of government pro-activeness to improve the working environment and higher medical education.
Conclusion: This paper unlocks a debate about how to move forward with twin initiatives of universal health coverage and human resources for health. The paper argues not only to adopt low cost best available medical specialists' attraction and retention strategies through DNB courses in district hospitals but also facilitate the current attempts to promote UHC in a sustainable fashion.

Keywords: Medical education, DNB program, health system, Universal Health Coverage.


For artistic purposes, we modify a unusual model for pattern formation derived from simulating transport networks using virtual ants. More specifically, by suitably coloring the pheromone trails produced by the virtual ants that form the transport networks, and by overlaying a series of such networks, we obtain abstract pieces that have interesting depth and color interactions. Moreover, because of the way they are formed, these patterns also tile the plane. The elegance and simplicity that results is contrasted with the complexity of the underlying simulation — a central theme which informs our work.


The aim of this thesis was to use cosmogenic exposure dating to investigating whether highly weathered landscapes in the Northeast Greenland fjord zone have developed during prolonged ice free conditions or have been preserved beneath cold-based ice. Previous work along the Northeast Greenland coast has presented two conflicting hypotheses for the extent of the Greenland Ice Sheet during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Land-based investigations have suggested that low gradient outlet glaciers were restricted to fjord troughs and terminated at the inner continental shelf. In contrast, marine studies have recently indicated that the margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet reached the outer shelf during the LGM.
Results from cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al exposure dating show that during the LGM, local cold-based ice-caps covered and preserved weathered interfjord plateaus in the Northeast Greenland fjord zone, whereas fjord troughs were filled up with dynamic ice draining the Greenland Ice Sheet. The dynamic ice reached at least 250 m a.s.l. at the mouth of Scoresby Sund at the southernmost end and probably ~600 m a.s.l. at the northernmost end of the fjord zone, indicating that there was a N-S gradient in glacial style presumably reflecting regional differences in topography of the coastal areas. The results presented in this thesis reveals a dynamic picture for the northeastern sector of the Greenland Ice Sheet suggesting that LGM ice margins were substantially more advanced than indicated by earlier reconstructions from the terrestrial record.


The L3+C experiment, taking advantage of the L3 muon magnetic spectrometer, measured the spatial tracks of charged cosmic ray particles to obtain rigidity as well as velocity. One possible low velocity exotic particle is observed. The existing uncertainties are discussed, and the flux upper limit of the low velocity exotic particles from this observation is deduced based on the assumption of a null observation. The result is 6.2×10-10 cm-2·s-1·sr-1 at 90% confidence level in the velocity range from 0.04c to 0.5c.


Population explosion in urban settings usually exerts enormous pressure on existing water supply systems. The result is that overall water demand is usually not satisfied. This study evaluated the performance of Wadata sub-zone water distribution system with respect to pressure, velocity, hydraulic head loss and nodal demands using WaterCAD and Epanet. There was no statistical difference between the results of Epanet and WaterCAD, however, Epanet produced slightly higher results of pressure and velocity in about 60% of all cases examined. About 19 percent (18.52%) of the total number of nodes analyzed had negative pressures while 69 percent (69%) of the nodes had pressures less than the adopted pressure for the analysis. These negative pressures indicate that there is inadequate head within the distribution network for water conveyance to all the sections. About 88 percent (87.7%) of flow velocities in the pipes were within the adopted velocity while around 12 percent (12.3%) of the velocities exceeded the adopted velocity. These excess velocities are partly responsible for the leakages and pipe bursts observed at some points within the system. The results in this study revealed that the performance of the water distribution system of Wadata sub-zone under current demand is inefficient.


Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is a serious complication of radiation therapy for thoracic tumors. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and its receptors LPA 1/3 were reported to participate in the processes of inflammation. We tested the hypothesis that LPA and its receptors LPA 1/3 , take part in the pathogenesis of RP. In our study, irradiation increased LPA levels in the lung and expression of LPA 1/3 . To further determine the role of LPA 1/3 , we performed pharmacological knockout of LPA 1/3 by a specific antagonist, VPC-12249. On day 60 post-irradiation, RP was significantly alleviated in a dose-dependent manner in mice treated with VPC-12249, as shown by H&E staining, malondialdehyde (MDA, an indicator of oxidative damage) assay in lung, and concentrations of proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines in plasma, including IL-1ss, TNF-α, and TGF-ss1. Additionally, VPC-12249 administration decreased the phosphorylation of IκB-α (the initial event that activates the NF-κB signal way), and expression of TGF-ss1, CTGF, and α-SMA mRNA. Our findings suggest that LPA and LPA 1/3 may play a pivotal role in RP, and LPA-LPA 1/3 may serve as novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of RP.


long distances. At the time Cajal was embarking on his microanatomical studies the origins of motor fibres were known, but the central connections ofcentripetal fibres, and between neurons, were not. This small volume, first published in Spanish then French in 1894, and now pleasingly translated into modem English thanks to MIT, shows how he resolved many problems of this nature. As a short account of his work it is essentially an embryonic form of Cajal's later, monumental survey of vertebrate neurohistology published in French from 1909-11. The volume under review is beautifully produced, as befits a valuable, classical text. There are chapters on the spinal cord and brain, the olfactory mucosa, retina and internal ear, on the Golgi method and on the "spider cells". Convincing camera lucida drawings and diagrams are employed throughout, obtained from numerous vertebrate species, occasionally from man. Cajal's most important contribution was to show that nerve cells do make connections through dendritic plexuses, but without the cytoplasmic continuity believed in at that time. His work was widely known and admired; he shared the Nobel prize in Medicine in 1906, ironically enough, with his rival Golgi, for their views were nearly always diametrically opposed. This is a book for the bedside, to be dipped into and kept, and never lent. DGF HARRIMAN of TIAs, and a trial of anticonvulsants is justified ifEEG abnormalities are found and other measures fail. In cerebral embolism, if clinical examination indicates that the embolus is lodged in the extracranial circulation, ultrasonography is followed by angiography immediately preparatory to emergency surgery. In cerebral embolism, anticoagulants are to be given as rapidly as possible. In subarachnoid haemorrhage and the succeeding chapter on aneurysms, the incidence and clinical features of individual aneuerysms are plainly portrayed, but the crucial problems of surgical morbidity and mortality of surgical management are given only in outline. Many will agree with these views and with a variety of other debatable topics. It is refreshing to see so much data condensed and lucidly presented with clear diagrams and illustrations. Many sections, in a rapidly changing field ofmedicine, will soon be out of date; but the basic material about strokes will survive as a valued source of reference and of didactic opinion. I hope its purchasers will include general physicians as well as medical and surgical neuroscientists. JMS PEARCE


BACKGROUND
This study set out to explore whether there are systematic differences in unmet needs for rehabilitation services and resources as identified by disabled people and nominated key professionals.

METHODS
A cross-sectional interview survey of 87 pairs of community-dwelling disabled people (aged 16-65) and their nominated key professionals was conducted in southern England. The Southampton Needs Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ) was used to examine unmet needs and the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) Disability and Severity Scale to examine level of disability.

RESULTS
Eighty-seven pairs of disabled people and their nominated key professionals participated. People were severely disabled (median OPCS score 8; interquartile range 6-9). Disabled participants reported significantly more unmet needs than did professionals. There was zero concordance on identified unmet needs between disabled participants and professionals in 56 per cent of cases. Concordance between disabled participants and professionals was significantly better if the disabled participant had reported more unmet needs. There was a trend for general practitioners to be poorer at reporting disabled participants' needs than other professionals. There was fair agreement between disabled participants and professionals in five areas of unmet need only (in descending order): adaptations, physiotherapy, equipment, assistance with 'non-care' activities and the use of a day centre. In all the other areas of unmet need the agreement was poor.

CONCLUSIONS
Needs for rehabilitation services and resources (for disabled people) are perceived differently by disabled people and professionals. Until we know who is right about rehabilitation needs, it is important to determine both users' and providers' views when planning and commissioning services.


The imagination of Walt Disney (1901-1966) is still seen in theme parks throughout the world bearing his name, on numerous live-action films and television specials, on toys and assorted merchandise, and on an international corporation known both for the high quality of its creative output and its ubiquity. Walt Disney: Conversations collects interviews and profiles of the man who created Mickey Mouse, and produced such full-length animated classics as Snow White, Cinderella, Fantasia, Bambi, The Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio, along with countless short cartoons. Bringing together over twenty pieces from the late 1920s to the late 1960s, this book traces Disney's career from the early classic Steamboat Willie to the construction of Disneyland, and the live-action ventures The Mickey Mouse Club and Mary Poppins. Walt Disney: Conversations shows how Disney saw his productions as shapers of popular culture and reveals how firmly he understood the issues of his time. Featuring an interview conducted by producer Cecil B. DeMille, Disney's testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), and rarely seen pieces from the Disney corporation's archives, Walt Disney: Conversations reveals a complex visionary whose impact on animation, live-action film, television, and theme parks has never been equaled.