Thousands of preadolescents and adolescents are using social networking sites, and especially Facebook, on a daily basis. Given the public nature of most user profiles, as well as of the many social connections established online by young students and adolescents, it becomes obvious that integrating the richness of information provided by these websites into the pedagogical and counseling practice is currently a must. This paper intend to look at how the public "walls" of Facebook allow parents, teachers or counselors to develop further awareness on the evolution of a particular students or a group of students. Facebook's rich information allows a better understanding of students thinking and behaviors, since specific attitudes are openly expressed in their own words, or rather with "likes", or "dislikes" kind of labeling, while their interests and concerns became apparent by by analyzing the content they disseminate. Facebook virtual "walls" also provide further information on student skills (technical, artistic), or personality characteristics (sociability, narcissism, extraversion, openness to experience, lack of taboos, agreability), or creativity (as demonstrated by the original web contend they generate). Their involvement in volunteering activities (social activism), or their skills in developing relationships with peers (that one can appreciate by the size of their personal social networks) and their strategies in exchanging information (i.e., sharing photos with friends) provides also important data that may support the educational work. Representations of youth identity, in the post-modern sense of identity construction, can be assessed based on the self-presentations available on Facebook, by observing the types of photographs made public, or the frequency of profile information updates. Nevertheless, protecting the integrity of students' personal and social spaces, disregarding they are real or virtual, denouncing any "invasion" of unwanted or dangerous friends, establishing rules of ethics in teacher-student communication, and detection of particular problems in youth life (depression, anxiety, irritability or other kind of adolescentin "emergencies") are important lines of action for the education counselor. Moreover, the concept of "pedagogical web" shows that the special relationship that teens and adolescents have with new media can be further capitalize on in the educational and/or counseling process in order to support a harmonious development of students personality.


Abstract This is a single institution nonexperimental study intended to analyze the therapeutic efficacy of topical diazepam in treating symptoms of chronic anal fissures. Anal fissures are a common cause of anal pain. Conventional treatments include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, topical creams, such as nitroglycerin and nifedipine, and surgery. However, these treatments are usually suboptimally efficacious or have deterring side effects. Patients at an outpatient community center with a diagnosis of a chronic anal fissure were prescribed either topical 2% (n = 19) or 4% (n = 18) diazepam cream between January 2013 and February 2015. We retrospectively analyzed their responses to treatment. All 19 patients using 2% diazepam cream experienced a positive response in pain, whereas 47.4% experienced a complete response, with a numerical rating scale (NRS) score of 0 (0–10). Eighty-eight percent of patients using 4% dose had a positive response in pain, whereas 23.5% experienced a complete response. Ninety-four percent of patients using 2% dose had a positive response in anal bleeding, whereas 68.8% experienced a complete response with an anal bleeding score (ABS) of 2 (2–9). Ninety-four percent of patients using 4% dose had a positive response in anal bleeding, whereas 64.7% experienced a complete response. Only 1 patient reported a side effect from diazepam cream—perianal pruritus. Both 2% and 4% topical diazepam provided significant pain and bleeding relief from chronic anal fissures that were refractory to conventional therapies. There were insignificant differences when assessing independent comparisons for pain and bleeding between the doses.


The Illinois Precipitation Enhancement Project/Precipitation Augmentation for Crops Experiment (PEP/PACE) illustrates some of the more important issues requiring consensus-building in weather modification. PEP/PACE shows how project leaders can build support among key interests within a state. In terms of debate and differing perspectives, it points up disagreements between proponents of basic and applied science, and between federal and state perspectives in developing a new technology. There are lessons for how administrators of large-scale R&D projects must seek to balance scientific and political values generally, if those projects are to run the gauntlet of pressures they face over years. This essay is written from the state perspective, since the moving force for PEP/PACE over the years was a state science organization. The problems faced by those seeking to forward weather modification in lllinois illuminate issues in developing and applying the technology generally at the state level. To the extent there were mistakes made, proponents of weather modification can learn lessons. But there are lessons also from the achievements, particularly in keeping a program going many years under sometimes adverse circumstances.


By integrating a genetic algorithm (GA) with a nonlinear interior point method (IPM), a novel hybrid method for the optimal reactive power flow (ORPF) problem is proposed in this paper. The proposed method can be mainly divided into two parts. The first part is to solve the ORPF with the IPM by relaxing the discrete variables. The second part is to decompose the original ORPF into two sub-problems: continuous optimization and discrete optimization. The GA is used to solve the discrete optimization with the continuous variables being fixed, whereas the IPM solves the continuous optimization with the discrete variables being constant. The optimal solution can be obtained by solving the two sub-problems alternately. A dynamic adjustment strategy is also proposed to make the GA and the IPM to complement each other and to enhance the efficiency of the hybrid proposed method. Numerical simulations on the IEEE 30-bus, IEEE 118-bus and Chongqing 161-bus test systems illustrate that the proposed hybrid method is efficient for the ORPF problem


Among frequency drift islanding detection methods, Sandia frequency shift (SFS) is considered as one of the most effective methods in detecting islanding conditions for grid connected photovoltaic (PV) inverters. The performance of the SFS method during an islanding condition and its non-detection zone (NDZ) depends to a great extent on its parameters. Furthermore, the capability of the SFS method to detect an islanding condition deteriorates with multiple PV inverters. A mathematical formula is derived to aid protection engineers in determining the optimal setting of the SFS islanding detection parameters with multiple inverter-based distributed generation (DG), such as PV systems, to eliminate the NDZ. The derived formula is applied to multiple DG systems equipped with the over frequency/under frequency protection, active frequency drift and SFS islanding detection methods and is verified through NDZ analysis and simulation results on PSCAD/EMTDC. The derived formula provides an effective guideline for designing frequency drift methods in multi-inverter-based DG systems.


The canonical attributes of old-growth forests, their importance for management approaches fostering the development of structurally complex conditions are reported. The relict presence of primary forests led to withdraw from the regular silvicultural management patches of forests and assign them to a non-intervention regime. They have been referred to as "unmanaged forest reserves". In this context, at mid 1900, A. Pavari established a network of 24 permanent plots at the purpose of "saving from anthropogenic disturbance and studying the natural evolutive pattern of different forest types to establish wellgrounded rules of management". Most of plots set up by Pavari have nowadays lost their effectiveness because of various occurrences. Five plots are described here as for their numerical, structural and compositional dynamics. The recorded parameters draw systems that, even if far from equilibrium, show the occurrence of positive evolutive patterns. Differences to natural forests are, basically, the heritage of the previous multiple uses of forest soil and stand as well. On this basis, the component species have modified their presence in term of richness, evenness and dominance, depending on their auto-ecology,resistance or resilience. The long-term monitoring of primary forests and secondary systems left to the natural evolution finds out manifold, sound reasons today. The practice of ordinary management has been reduced greatly and the foreseeable trend is to increase further over the next period. According to its progress, many forests are experiencing a prolongation of the prearranged rotations and a post-cultivation phase is becoming the rule; stands are therefore getting older. Findings by old-growth forests and unmanaged forest areas monitoring will provide references for managing this diffuse condition.


Joint species distribution models (JSDM) are increasingly used to analyse community ecology data. Recent progress with JSDMs has provided ecologists with new tools for estimating species associations (residual co‐occurrence patterns after accounting for environmental niches) from large data sets, as well as for increasing the predictive power of species distribution models (SDMs) by accounting for such associations. Yet, one critical limitation of JSDMs developed thus far is that they assume constant species associations. However, in real ecological communities, the direction and strength of interspecific interactions are likely to be different under different environmental conditions. In this paper, we overcome the shortcoming of present JSDMs by allowing species associations covary with measured environmental covariates. To estimate environmental‐dependent species associations, we utilize a latent variable structure, where the factor loadings are modelled as a linear regression to environmental covariates. We illustrate the performance of the statistical framework with both simulated and real data. Our results show that JSDMs perform substantially better in inferring environmental‐dependent species associations than single SDMs, especially with sparse data. Furthermore, JSDMs consistently overperform SDMs in terms of predictive power for generating predictions that account for environment‐dependent biotic associations. We implemented the statistical framework as a MATLAB package, which includes tools both for model parameterization as well as for post‐processing of results, particularly for addressing whether and how species associations depend on the environmental conditions. Our statistical framework provides a new tool for ecologists who wish to investigate from non‐manipulative observational community data the dependency of interspecific interactions on environmental context. Our method can be applied to answer the fundamental questions in community ecology about how species' interactions shift in changing environmental conditions, as well as to predict future changes of species' interactions in response to global change.


Tall rescue (Festuca arundinacae) was seeded into dormant Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.), fertilized at five levels of N, and clipped at 5.1 and 10.2 cm over a 3-year period to evaluate the influence of these factors on its persistence in competition with Coastal. The experiment was conducted at two adjacent locations, with one irrigated and the other not irrigated. Tall rescue persisted and contributed to yield at N levels up to 420 kg N/ha per year at the 5.1-cm clip height, and at N levels up to 560 kg N/ha per year at 10.2-cm clip height. Nitrogen fertilization decreased rescue content, whereas, the higher clipping increased rescue content of the harvested forage. Fescue content was high in the spring and fall and low in summer. Fescue growth during summer was better at the irrigated location. High N fertilization gave the highest yields, with little rescue in the harvested forage. Tall fescue-Coastal associations have potential in grazing systems for cow-calf operations where even seasonal distribution of forage may be important.


Event extraction is challenging due to the complex structure of event records and the semantic gap between text and event. Traditional methods usually extract event records by decomposing the complex structure prediction task into multiple subtasks. In this paper, we propose Text2Event, a sequence-to-structure generation paradigm that can directly extract events from the text in an end-to-end manner. Specifically, we design a sequence-to-structure network for unified event extraction, a constrained decoding algorithm for event knowledge injection during inference, and a curriculum learning algorithm for efficient model learning. Experimental results show that, by uniformly modeling all tasks in a single model and universally predicting different labels, our method can achieve competitive performance using only record-level annotations in both supervised learning and transfer learning settings.


We search for standard model single-top-quark production in the W-gluon fusion and W* channels using 106 pb -1 of data from pp collisions at √s=1.8 TeV collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We set an upper limit at 95% confidence level (C.L.) on the combined W-gluon fusion and W* single-top cross section of 14 pb, roughly six times larger than the standard model prediction. Separate 95% C.L. upper limits in the W-gluon fusion and W* channels are also determined and are found to be 13 and 18 pb, respectively.


We address the possibility of realising successful leptogenesis from dark matter annihilations in the scotogenic model of neutrino masses to explain the same order of magnitude abundance of dark matter and baryons in the present Universe. After showing that the minimal model in this category can not satisfy all these requirements, we study a minimal extension of this model and find that the scale of leptogenesis can be as low as 5 TeV, lower than the one in vanilla leptogenesis scenario in scotogenic model along with the additional advantage of explaining the baryon-dark matter coincidence. Due to such low scale, the model remains predictive at dark matter direct detection and rare decay experiments looking for charged lepton flavour violating processes.


Oh TH, Brumfield KA, Hoskin TL, Kasperbauer JL, Basford JR: Dysphagia in inclusion body myositis. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2008;87:883–889. Objective:To evaluate the clinical features, treatment strategies, and outcome of dysphagia in patients with inclusion body myositis. Design:Retrospective review of all 26 patients (20 women, 6 men, mean age of 72.2 yrs) with inclusion body myositis-associated dysphagia seen in 1997–2001 at our institution. Results:Twenty-four patients (92%) had a dysphagia evaluation. Cricopharyngeal muscle dysfunction was noted in all nine patients who had barium swallow studies. Eighteen patients (69%) underwent one or more interventional procedures: cricopharyngeal myotomy (10), pharyngoesophageal dilation (6), percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (6), and botulinum injection of the upper esophageal sphincter (2). Dysphagia tended to worsen with time. Symptomatic improvement was noted with cricopharyngeal myotomy (63%) and pharyngoesophageal dilation (33%). The Mendelsohn maneuver seemed helpful in maintaining oral intake in the three patients in whom it was recommended. Thirteen patients died during follow-up at a mean age of 81 yrs. The cause of death was identified in eight and in all cases was because of the respiratory complications of aspiration. Conclusions:Dysphagia is a progressive condition in patients with inclusion body myositis and often leads to death from aspiration pneumonia. Treatment targeting cricopharyngeal muscle dysfunction, such as the Mendelsohn maneuver, will benefit from further investigation.


This paper explains observed morpheme accuracy orders on the basis ofa model of morpheme classification,the 4-M model proposed by Myers-Scotton and Jake(2000). It argues that the adult second language morpheme acquisition order is determined by how morphemes are projected from the mental lexicon. Four types of morphemes are identified: content morphemes,early system morphemes, and two types of late system morphemes. Early system morphemes are indirectly elected at the same time that content morphemes are directly elected by the speaker's intentions. Late system morphemes are activated later in the production process as required by the grammatical frame of the target language. This paper claims that there is variation within individual lexical categories and that the distinction between particular types of morphemes is not a lexical category-defining feature. That is, the classification of morphemes is based on how morphemes are activated. Interlanguage data from early adult Chinese and Japanese learners of English as a second language indicate an implicational hierarchy of morpheme acquisition: content morphemes are acquired before any system morphemes,and early system morphemes are acquired before late system morphemes. Reported in this paper are the learners' production of English determiners and pronouns relevant to testing the categorization of morphemes as specified in the 4-M model. The accuracy/frequency count of the learners' acquisition of the types of morphemes provides statistical evidence for the 4-M model and the hypotheses of the study.


Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Objectives: Establish simultaneous focal and regional corrective guidelines accounting for reciprocal global and pelvic compensation. Methods: 433 ASD patients (mean age 62.9 yrs, 81.3% F) who underwent corrective realignment (minimum L1-pelvis) were included. Sagittal parameters, and segmental and regional Cobb angles were assessed pre and post-op. Virtual postoperative alignment was generated by combining post-op alignment of the fused spine with the pre-op alignment on the unfused thoracic kyphosis and the pre-op pelvic retroversion. Regression models were then generated to predict the relative impact of segmental (L4-L5) and regional (L1-L4) corrections on PT, SVA (virtual), and TPA. Results: Baseline analysis revealed distal (L4-S1) lordosis of 33 ± 15°, flat proximal (L1-L4) lordosis (1.7 ± 17°), and segmental kyphosis from L2-L3 to T10-T11. Post-op, there was no mean change in distal lordosis (L5-S1 decreased by 2°, and L4-L5 increased by 2°), while the more proximal lordosis increased by 18 ± 16°. Regression formulas revealed that Δ10° in distal lordosis resulted in Δ10° in TPA, associated with Δ100 mm in SVA or Δ3° in PT; Δ10° in proximal lordosis yielded Δ5° in TPA associated with Δ50 mm in SVA; and finally Δ10° in thoraco-lumbar junction yielded Δ2.5° in TPA associated with Δ25 mm in SVA and no impact on PT correction. Conclusions: Overall impact of lumbar lordosis restoration is critically determined by location of correction. Distal correction leads to a greater impact on global alignment and pelvic retroversion. More specifically, it can be assumed that 1° L4-S1 lordosis correction produces 1° change in TPA / 10 mm change in SVA and 0.5° in PT.


Dermal sinus is a congenital lesion more frequently presented in the lumbar area. Produces tethering of the spinal cord and its presence increases the risk of infections of the CNS. The only treatment of those lesions should be neuro-chirurgical: the goal of the surgical procedure is to remove the lesion and to free the spinal cord from its attachment to the surrounding layers. Magnetic resonance is the ideal diagnostic procedure. We report two cases of children of ten months and one year old harboring a congenital dermal sinus complicated respectively with intramedullary and subdural abscess. Prompt surgical treatment allowed regression of the symptoms. The MR images are detailed.


A comparison of contact forces between the constrained gripper and the under-constrained gripper to grip the same work-piece is analyzed. The new type heavy forging grippers with constrained rods are designed to improve the contact status. The main difference between the new grippers with constrained tongs and the traditional grippers with under-constrained tongs is that the constrained gripper has constrained rods to keep the two tongs parallel. A gripping model has been presented in which the gripping operation is equivalent to the grasp of multi-fingered robot hands with friction contact point model. The models for calculating contact forces with constrained tongs and under-constrained tongs are presented with different constraint functions based on gradient flow optimization algorithms, and the constraint functions describe the definite state of the tongs during forging operation. By comparing the simulation and experiment results of the contact and gripping forces, it shows that the contact forces are different when the gripping in different rotation angles and the contact forces with constrained tongs is much smaller than that with under-constrained tongs, especially in the vertical position.


Global energy consumption is dramatically increasing due to our quest for a higher standard of living and the increasing world population. Most of our energy comes from fossil fuels, and burning these fuels causes environmental problems, and in particular, the global warming problem. Global warming raises the sea level; brings drought in tropical regions near the equator; increases hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods; and causes the spread of diseases. The consequences are serious and have the potential to bring tremendous unrest in the world. Various measures to solve or mitigate the global warming problem have been outlined in this article. This article particularly highlights the impact of power electronics in solving this problem. Power electronics will play a very important role in clean energy generation, bulk storage of electricity, and efficient energy utilization, and eventually, it will be a key element in the energy policies of nations. It has been estimated that the widespread energy efficiency improvement by power electronics and other methods with the existing technologies can save 20% of the global energy demand, and another 20% can be saved by preventing waste, i.e., by various conservation methods. Finally, the global warming problem is solvable by the united effort of humanity.


As reported by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA; 2009), 19.6% of French teenagers show difficulties in reading. To deal with these readers better, it is essential to identify the fundamental processes involved in the reading that they are deficient in. This critical review of literature proposes to synthesizing the data on reading at the middle-school normal reading abilities from the general theoretical framework of Gough and Tunmer (1986). It contained two parts: the predictors of reading comprehension and the predictors of written words identification.


The inhibiting effect of Ca on non-haem-Fe absorption is well established. Presentstudies showed that Ca inhibited haem-Fe absorption to the same extent when the same amount of Ca (165 mg Ca as CaCl2) was added to a meal. Attempts were made to examine the mechanism for this inhibition in the present studies. Meat is the only known dietary factor influencing haem-Fe absorption. The present studies were designed to examine whether Ca interfered with the enhancing effect of meat on haem-Fe absorption. We found that the inhibition was the same whether biosynthetically radio-Fe-labelled haemoglobin wasgiven in meals with or without meat. The haem-Fe absorption ratio with: without added Cawas 0.59 (SE 0.07) when Ca was added to a hamburger meal, and 0.052 (se 0.03) when added to a wheat roll. These values were not significantly different (t 0.95; P = 0.35). The inhibition of haem-Fe absorption by Ca is, thus, a direct effect on theabsorption of haem-Fe and not an indirect counteracting effect of the well-known enhancing effect of meat on haem-Fe absorption. Control studies were conducted to ensure that haem-Fe had not been degraded to non-haem-Fe during preparation of the foods. Since Ca inhibits the absorption of haem- and non-haem-Fe to the same extent, the present results strongly suggest that Ca interferes with the transport of Fe through the mucosal cell, andata late stage, is common for haemand non-haem-Fe transport. The observations that Ca strongly interferes with the absorption of both haem- and non-haem-Fe have important nutritionalimplications.


The conditions for increasing bacterial yields in cultures of Bacteroidaceae by the use of stirred fermentors and pH control were investigated by means of three representative species: Sphaerophorus necrophorus, Bacteroides fragilis, and B. melaninogenicus. A medium containing tryptone, yeast extract, and glucose or sucrose was used. Horse serum had to be added to obtain substantial growth of B. melaninogenicus. The optimal pH for growth rate and yield was 7.0 to 7.2. Lysis of the bacteria occurred when the glucose (or sucrose) was exhausted. The rate of lysis was very high in cultures of S. necrophorus, less so in B. fragilis and B. melaninogenicus. Pleomorphism, manifested as large sperical forms of the bacteria, was observed in the late logarithmic phase of S. necrophorus. Great differences in the length of the lag phase and of the mean generation time were found among the three bacterial species. The yield in static cultures of the three species without pH control was approximately 0.4 g of dry cells per liter, but was increased, in stirred fermentors with pH control, to 3.5 g (S. necrophorus), 2.7 g (B. fragilis), and 4.3 g (B. melaninogenicus) per liter. With an inoculum density of 5 to 10 mg (dry weight) per liter, these yields were obtained in approximately 10 (S. necrophorus), 25 (B. fragilis), and 35 hr (B. melaninogenicus), respectively.


The recent passing of Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela from 1999 till 2013, produced a juncture in the nation's imaginary that immediately sparked numerous and diverse commemorative practices. This article explores this sudden demand for a coherent and enduring memory of the late president by analysing different official postures and commemorative strategies. These are initially placed in the context of key historiographical tropes of the Bolivarian Revolution, and then analysed in light of such tropes. Specifically, the discussion identifies a thirst for 'documents', used in the broad sense proposed by Jacques Le Goff, which converged on the presidential body, the social body and public space as potential stimuli for memory. In this context, the initial possibilities of embalming Chávez's body, free tattoos of his signature and its use to decorate government buildings, appeal to the archive as a source of authority and as the commencement of history, as Jacques Derrida has it, while extrapolating the president's signature as a mobile and reproducible image of power to seek the eternal presence of the 'líder eterno' (eternal leader) as an anchor for political unity.


Between 2014 and 2018, the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower recorded 89,625 cases of work accidents, and 1,193 of them resulted in death. During this period, 34,075 companies were reported for alleged work safety crimes. From the 2,074 cases, only four have been sentenced to prison. The most interesting issue is that the victims of work safety crimes do not get any kind of restitution or even compensation. This article aims to investigate the legal protection for victims of work safety crimes from the criminal law perspective. The method used is normative qualitative research on primary data, such as work safety legislation, the Criminal Code, and criminal court decisions. As a result, the work safety law stipulates that the purpose of law enforcement on work safety is recovery for victims, repairs and prevention. They are carried out to protect the public interest. Work safety regulations also regulate the qualifications of actions categorized as work safety crimes. Unfortunately, the regulation does not provide a mechanism for resolving work safety crimes. So that the settlement of work safety crimes relies on the general criminal justice system that adheres to retributive objectives in law enforcement. The purpose of law enforcement on work safety cannot be applied because victims do not get restitution or compensation. Thus, to obtain legal protection in accordance with the objectives of law enforcement on work safety, the alternative solution is a criminal policy to establish a special criminal mechanism for the settlement of work safety crimes.


Chronic immune activation is a key factor in HIV-1 disease progression. The translocation of microbial products from the intestinal lumen into the systemic circulation occurs during HIV-1 infection and is associated closely with immune activation; however, it has not been determined conclusively whether microbial translocation drives immune activation or occurs as a consequence of HIV-1 infection. In an important study in this issue of the JCI, Kristoff and colleagues describe the role of microbial translocation in producing immune activation in an animal model of HIV-1 infection, SIV infection of pigtailed macaques. Blocking translocation of intestinal bacterial LPS into the circulation dramatically reduced T cell activation and proliferation, production of proinflammatory cytokines, and plasma SIV RNA levels. This study directly demonstrates that microbial translocation promotes the systemic immune activation associated with HIV-1/SIV infection.


Water, electrolyte and free amino acid content of the crystalline lens were estimated in patients with nuclear cataract and in immature, mature and hypermature cortical cataract groups. Wet weight/dry weight and sodium/potassium ratios were calculated. Sodium, potassium ratio was significantly higher in immature cortical cataract when compared with the nuclear cataract. With maturation of the cortical cataract, the lens was found to be more hydrated and there was accumulation of sodium. However, free amino acid content of the lens decreased. A hypothesis has been proposed for alterations in the active transport pump of the crystalline lens during the maturation of the cortical cataract.


Based on models like the Uppsala model and on literature dealing with the ways of in- ternational market access, this article has as objective to show the process of internationaliza- tion of the spanish magazine Zara. The proposal has the goal of verifying the stages of interna- tionalization and the distinct ways of entrance used in various countries where it operates. It is conduct an exploratory research with primary and secondary data including semi-structured in- terviews realized in Zara headquarter at Arteixo, and data of its internationalization process. The research, to recognition of market and compromising decisions, validates the Uppsala Model. In relation to the psychic distance, the enterprise follows the Uppsala Model, in the beginning of its process of internationalization, but the market relevance becomes more important with the pro- cess of internationalization and growth in the number of countries. The various formats, own subsidiaries, franchising, and joint ventures, are used to the Zara internationalization strategy in function of the importance, complexity or risk of the host country. As a conclusion, to Zara ma- gazine, the Uppsala Model can be proved in its internationalization process and in the knowled- ge/compromising relation.


Probiotics are collections of live bacteria that are meant to be ingested for beneficial purposes. Many different preparations are widely available over-the-counter and used to improve or stabilize gastrointestinal flora. Studies have shown promise for probiotic use in a number of gastrointestinal diseases, treating medication side effects, and in healthy individuals with minor GI upset. Investigators continue to evaluate the effects the gastrointestinal microbiome has on homeostasis and methods by which probiotics may beneficially influence the microbiome. Long term efficacy, choice of species, dosage, and concentration of available preparations also remain areas of evolving study. This article will discuss probiotic regulation and formulations, review current understanding of mechanisms of action, and summarize recent study data in regards to clinically relevant GI disorders.


Alfvén waves are a particular class of magnetohydrodynamic waves relevant in many astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. In partially ionized plasmas the dynamics of Alfvén waves is affected by the interaction between ionized and neutral species. Here we study Alfvén waves in a partially ionized plasma from the theoretical point of view using the two-fluid description. We consider that the plasma is composed of an ion–electron fluid and a neutral fluid, which interact by means of particle collisions. To keep our investigation as general as possible, we take the neutral–ion collision frequency and the ionization degree as free parameters. First, we perform a normal mode analysis. We find the modification due to neutral–ion collisions of the wave frequencies and study the temporal and spatial attenuation of the waves. In addition, we discuss the presence of cutoff values of the wavelength that constrain the existence of oscillatory standing waves in weakly ionized plasmas. Later, we go beyond the normal mode approach and solve the initial-value problem in order to study the time-dependent evolution of the wave perturbations in the two fluids. An application to Alfvén waves in the low solar atmospheric plasma is performed and the implication of partial ionization for the energy flux is discussed.


The present invention relates to an eco-friendly electrolytic process for the production of aluminum from fused salts such as alumina dissolved in cryolite melt. This eco-friendly electrolytic process for the production of aluminum involves single step electrolysis of alumina to give aluminum metal and pure oxygen gas, which can be concentrated and sold as a valuable co-product along with the primary product, that is aluminum metal. Presently aluminum is produced using consumable carbon anodes. Hitherto during the production of aluminum from alumina, green house gases such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are evolved. The present invention mitigates this, by the use of cermet anode at which only pure oxygen is evolved. Thus the process is eco-friendly not only by the elimination of CO2 and CO during the electrolysis but also enhances the environmental hygiene by the addition of pure oxygen gas. The electrolysis can be carried out in closed electrolysers to give higher space time yield. The process of the invention enables the production of aluminum metal by a green process. The purity of the product is of the order of 99.4% at an average current efficiency of 85% and an energy consumption of 13.4 Kwh per Kg of aluminum.


High-resolution multichannel seismic reflection profiles confirm that middle–late Miocene continental slope canyons off New Jersey are rare, in contrast to their prevalence on the slope today. Localized canyon incision occurred in two physiographic settings bounded by declivity breaks: steeper clinoform fronts and more shallowly dipping regions seaward of clinoform toes. Canyons incising Miocene clinoform fronts are U and V shaped, relatively small, closely spaced, and localized along strike. They apparently developed independently of known fluvial inputs, although rivers probably discharged sediment near paleo-shelf edges (clinoform breakpoints) during Miocene relative sea-level lowstands. However, not all clinoform fronts are incised; nonchannelized downslope sediment transport also appears to have been a common process. V-shaped canyons are the most common type recognized seaward of clinoform toes; occasional amphitheater-shaped failures also occur. Rare canyons with partly aggradational banks may reflect either overbank and/or levee or contour-current deposition. Many Miocene canyons definitely incise sequence boundaries; they may all do so. This implies that canyons formed during relative sea-level lowstands, in accord with the classic sequence stratigraphic model of siliciclastic depositional systems. However, depth of incision on clinoform fronts decreases downslope, whereas seaward of toes it decreases upslope; development of canyon systems in the two settings is not linked by a single set of processes. Therefore, the presence or absence of canyon incision on this margin must be dictated not only by fluctuations in sea level, but by subtle changes in local conditions or regime variables. These include the efficiency of downslope sediment transport, rate of sediment supply, grain size, and possible slope collapse related to fluid escape.


Background: Exercise for persons suffering from osteoporosis is widely known to have positive effects. The type of exercises that influences; a) Bone mineral density (BMD); b) Balance; and c) Quality of life (QOL) is still questionable. Objectives: To determine the effects of different exercise types on; a) BMD; b) Balance; and c) QOL in osteoporotic elderly women. Search method: PubMed; Cochrane Library; OvidMEDLINE; and EMBASE (01.01.200025.01.2010); and reference list of articles. Selection criteria: Randomized controlled trials comparing exercise and control groups and/ or comparing different types of exercise. Criteria for the subjects in the selected studies were women aged 65-85 diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis (using the World Health Organization (WHO) definitions). Main results: Thirteen studies involving 553 subjects were included. Two studies, involving 258 subjects, investigated the effects of exercise on BMD. No significant increase in BMD was found in any exercise type. Ten studies, involving 553 subjects, investigated the effects of exercise on balance. Improvement was found in; weight bearing exercise; resistance exercise; osteoporosis specific exercise; and balance exercise. Two studies, involving 178 subjects, investigated the effects of exercise on QOL. Resistance exercise and weight bearing exercise improved QOL. No improvement was found in osteoporosis specific exercise. Conclusions: None of the exercise types showed increase in BMD in elderly women with low bone mass. Resistance exercise; weight bearing exercise; osteoporosis specific exercise; and balance exercise improve balance. Resistance exercise; and weight bearing exercise improve QOL.


The integrated fiducial cross-section and unfolded differential jet mass spectrum of high transverse momentum $Z\rightarrow b\overline{b}$ decays are measured in $Z\gamma$ events in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV. The data analysed were collected between 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$. Photons are required to have a transverse momentum $p_{\mathrm{T}}>175$ GeV. The $Z\rightarrow b\overline{b}$ decay is reconstructed using a jet with $p_{\mathrm{T}}>200$ GeV, found with the anti-$k_{t}$ $R = 1.0$ jet algorithm, and groomed to remove soft and wide-angle radiation and to mitigate contributions from the underlying event and additional proton-proton collisions. Two different but related measurements are performed using two jet grooming definitions for reconstructing the $Z\rightarrow b\overline{b}$ decay: trimming and soft drop. These algorithms differ in their experimental and phenomenological implications regarding jet mass reconstruction and theoretical precision. To identify $Z$ bosons, $b$-tagged $R = 0.2$ track-jets matched to the groomed large-$R$ calorimeter jet are used as a proxy for the $b$-quarks. The signal yield is determined from fits of background templates extracted from the data to the different jet mass distributions for the two grooming methods. Integrated fiducial cross-sections and unfolded jet mass spectra for each grooming method are compared with leading-order theoretical predictions. The results are found to be in good agreement with Standard Model expectations within the current statistical and systematic uncertainties.


Three dimensional models of both single-chip and multiple-chip power sub-modules were generated using ANSYS in order to simulate the effects of various substrate materials, heat fluxes, heat transfer coefficients, and device placement configurations on temperature and thermal stress contours. Alumina, aluminum-nitride, and CVD diamond were compared as substrates. Heat fluxes of 100 to 500 watts/cm2 resulted in SiC device junction temperatures in the range of 350 to 650 K. The predicted maximum operating temperature for a chip, to which 300 watts/cm2 of heat flux was applied, would be 239°C (512 K). In the applied heat flux range, the minimum and maximum Von Mises stress of a simulated single SiC device sub-module was between 1.2 MPa to 2.4 GPa. The maximum shear stress at 300 watts/cm2 was predicted to be 243 MPa. Both the maximum and minimum chip temperature decreased with increasing heat transfer coefficient from 25 to 2500 watts/m2 K. With modest cooling, represented by a heat transfer coefficient (hconv) of 250 watts/m2 K, SiC chips operated at 300 watts/cm2 power density maintained junction temperatures Tj < 400 K. If consistent with simulation results, CVD diamond integrated substrates should be superior to those comprised of AlN or Al2O3. Asymmetric device placement in the multi-chip module proved more effective at avoiding potential hot spots than the symmetric configuration.


The chemical modification of RNA bases represents a ubiquitous activity that spans all domains of life. Pseudouridylation is the most common RNA modification and is observed within tRNA, rRNA, ncRNA and mRNAs. Pseudouridine synthase or 'PUS' enzymes include those that rely on guide RNA molecules and others that function as 'stand-alone' enzymes. Among the latter, several have been shown to modify mRNA transcripts. Although recent studies have defined the structural requirements for RNA to act as a PUS target, the mechanisms by which PUS1 recognizes these target sequences in mRNA are not well understood. Here we describe the crystal structure of yeast PUS1 bound to an RNA target that we identified as being a hot spot for PUS1-interaction within a model mRNA at 2.4 Å resolution. The enzyme recognizes and binds both strands in a helical RNA duplex, and thus guides the RNA containing the target uridine to the active site for subsequent modification of the transcript. The study also allows us to show the divergence of related PUS1 enzymes and their corresponding RNA target specificities, and to speculate on the basis by which PUS1 binds and modifies mRNA or tRNA substrates.


Cofilin is an actin filament severing protein necessary for fast actin turnover dynamics. Coronin and Aip1 promote cofilin-mediated actin filament disassembly, but the mechanism is somewhat controversial. An early model proposed that the combination of cofilin, coronin, and Aip1 disassembled filaments in bursts. A subsequent study only reported severing. Here, we used EM to show that actin filaments convert directly into globular material. A monomer trap assay also shows that the combination of all three factors produces actin monomers faster than any two factors alone. We show that coronin accelerates the release of Pi from actin filaments and promotes highly cooperative cofilin binding to actin to create long stretches of polymer with a hypertwisted morphology. Aip1 attacks these hypertwisted regions along their sides, disintegrating them into monomers or short oligomers. The results are consistent with a catastrophic mode of disassembly, not enhanced severing alone.


Acute or chronic lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) may be secondary to labial fusion in menopause. Early detection and treatment may help prevent progression of the condition. A 61-year-old, nulligravida, postmenopausal woman without sexual experience presented with partial labial fusion accompanying urinary tract infection and urinary retention. There was no follow up and five years later, when a transurethral catheterization failed during surgery for head and neck cancer, complete labial fusion and involuntary urine loss were observed in the patient. Uniquely, she had a sequence of different micturition symptoms over time. Surgical separation of the labial fusion, followed by use of topical estrogen, successfully restored the anatomy and voiding function in the postoperative two-year follow-up period. This case reminds us to examine postmenopausal patients with LUTS early, to review associated risk factors, and to treat these patients with multimodal strategies. Surgery in conjunction with topical treatment could be effective in elderly patients with labial fusion.


Health Psychology was first described by Matarazzo, and it is a relatively new field of psychology aiming at the reduction of illnesses and related dysfunctions and "via psychotherapy" promoting the development and maintenance of health. The increasing frequency of chronic illnesses throughout life, the understanding of the impact of psychological factors as well as the biological and physiological factors on diseases, increasing the body of research and the involvement of psychologists in health services have been all become important factors in the emergence of health psychology. Health psychologists can do preventive work (women's health, eating disorders, smoking cessation units), or they can work at various clinical departments in hospitals (oncology, pain management, dialysis units) or in rehabilitation and pain centers Pain Rehabilitation Center (PRC). They can conduct behavioral evaluations, clinical interviews and psychotherapeutic interventions. They can contribute to public policy studies to develop and maintain health. They can work in departments of psychology at universities as researchers and educators in Faculty of Medicine or Health Sciences. Especially in the USA, a standardization is being tried to be established in health psychology education. Although not very common in Turkey, master degree programs and doctoral studies of Health Psychology have been tried. Due to increasing research and health psychologists' contribution to health at different levels, the interest in the field is also increasing.


A mathematician and a textile practitioner both with an interest in textile knotting and a focus on research in textile design have collaborated to analyze textile practice and realize novel knot designs through mathematical characterization. The design process has made use of century-old drawing techniques used to represent knots and braids. This paper demonstrates how the manipulation of these diagrams was utilized as a design tool to generate and visualize novel patterns.


Abstract The objective of this work is to show the potential of construction materials development by valorizing industrial coproducts, mainly waste from the manufacture of cork panels used for the insulation of buildings and calcareous sand waste from quarries. Physico-mechanical and thermal characteristics were chosen as criteria to assess the feasibility of these types of materials. Results show the significant effect of cork aggregates on lightness and consequently in improving the thermal performance of the developed concrete. A decrease in the rate of the thermal conductivity is recorded up to 89% for a maximum cork dosage relative to the referential concrete. Otherwise, there is a decrease in mechanical strength depending on the content of cork aggregates.


The precise pathogenesis of cluster headaches is unknown, but a hypothalamic generator has been postulated as the cause of the disorder.1 In two patients with typical cluster headaches, sexual activity alleviated the episodes. This association may shed some light on the pathogenesis and treatment of this incapacitating disorder.

Patient 1 : A 61-year-old, previously healthy man presented with excruciating, left-sided orbital headaches appearing in bouts that lasted for 10 weeks. The pain occurred nightly at around 22:00 h, and was associated with ipsilateral ptosis, lacrimation and rhinorrhoea. Neurological examination and brain imaging were normal and he was diagnosed with cluster headaches, according to International Headache Society (IHS) criteria.2 The headaches always lasted for 90–150 min, except for instances when the patient had sexual intercourse, which at the point of orgasm resulted in instant dramatic improvement in the pain, with complete relief always being achieved within several minutes and no recurrence until the next evening. Orgasm occurred on six occasions between 5–30 min after the onset of the episode …


We explored properties of whole brain networks based on multivariate spectral analysis of human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) time-series measured in 90 cortical and subcortical subregions in each of five healthy volunteers studied in the (no-task) resting state. We note that undirected graphs representing conditional independence between multivariate time-series can be more readily approached in the frequency domain than the time domain. Estimators of partial coherency and normalized partial mutual information φ, an integrated measure of partial coherence over an arbitrary frequency band, are applied. Using these tools, we replicate the prior observations that bilaterally homologous brain regions tend to be strongly connected and functional connectivity is generally greater at low frequencies [0.0004, 0.1518 Hz]. We also show that long-distance intrahemispheric connections between regions of prefrontal and parietal cortex were more salient at low frequencies than at frequencies greater than 0.3 Hz, whereas many local or short-distance connections, such as those comprising segregated dorsal and ventral paths in posterior cortex, were also represented in the graph of high-frequency connectivity. We conclude that the partial coherency spectrum between a pair of human brain regional fMRI time-series depends on the anatomical distance between regions: long-distance (greater than 7 cm) edges represent conditional dependence between bilaterally symmetric neocortical regions, and between regions of prefrontal and parietal association cortex in the same hemisphere, are predominantly subtended by low-frequency components.


A living cell has numerous proteins, only a few thousand of which have been identified to date. Cell-free protein synthesis is a useful and promising technique to discover and produce various proteins that might be beneficial for biotechnological, pharmaceutical, and medical applications. For this study, we evaluated the performance and the general applicability of our previously developed microreactor array chip to cell-free protein synthesis by comparisons with a commercially available system. The microreactor array chip comprises a temperature control chip made of glass and a disposable reaction chamber chip made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). For evaluation of the microreactor array chip, rat adipose-type fatty acid binding protein, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, cyclophilin, and firefly luciferase were synthesized from their respective DNA templates using a cell-free extract prepared from Escherichia coli . All these proteins were synthesized in the microreactor array chip, and their respective amounts and yields were investigated quantitatively.


This work in progress research to practice paper contains a report on the effects of a STEM PBL activity, designing and building an electric bicycle, on a diverse and underrepresented group of eighth grade students. The traditional methods for engaging students in science, engineering, and mathematics activities have proven insufficient for fostering equitable engagement among students from underrepresented populations. Therefore, there is a critical need for innovative approaches that foster equity, diversity, and inclusion in engineering fields that may increase the number of students from underrepresented populations in the engineering pipeline. Based on this need, the design and scope of this study is grounded in the following question: What effects does the STEM PBL activity of building an electric bicycle have on building an engineering identity among underrepresented students? Students participating in this study will be selected at random from 8th grade students to engage in a one-day workshop led by STEM professionals where they will convert a traditional bicycle into an electric bicycle using engineering design process. The implications of this study include the infusion of innovative strategies in STEM curriculum and pedagogy that encourage greater participation of students from diverse and underrepresented populations in STEM fields.


Since 2009, Ireland has experienced a deep economic recession and despite some recent fiscal recovery, the effects of financial cutbacks continue to be felt. The recession did not impact on all individuals equally, however, and families with young children were particularly disadvantaged due to unemployment, housing problems and decreased income. This paper presents an overview of the key contribution of the public health nursing service as articulated in policy and research evidence over this time. While the implementation of the service in recent years has been hampered by challenges arising as a consequence of this recession, there is some evidence that the public health nursing service continues to have strong commitment to their work with children and families. Funding however, needs to be aligned with the explicit and stated commitments and this means ensuring the child health workforce is adequately resourced and funded to undertake this important work.


We use ultra-resolving terahertz (THz) near-field microscopy based on THz scattering at atomic force microscope tips to analyze 65-nm technology node transistors. Nanoscale resolution is achieved by THz field confinement at the very tip apex to within 30 nm. Images of semiconductor transistors provide evidence of 40 nm (λ/3000) spatial resolution at 2.54 THz (wavelength λ = 118µm) and demonstrate the simultaneous THz recognition of materials and mobile carriers in a single nanodevice. The mobile carrier contrast can be clearly related to near-field excitation of THz-plasmons in the semiconductor regions. The extraordinary high sensitivity of our microscope provides THz near-field contrasts from less than 100 mobile electrons in the probed volume.


The main objective of the present work is to describe the results of the treatment with ascorbic acid in thirteen patients with refractory chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (CITP) and to compare its results with those informed in the literature. The patients received ascorbic acid 2 g/day, orally, in the morning during at least eight weeks. At the end of the period of control there were only four partial responses (30%); the remaining patients did not experience any kind of favorable reaction. Previous publications informed mean partial and complete responses of 11 and 19% respectively. According to such results and those of the present work, and taking into account the generally transitory duration of the response it is concluded that ascorbic acid is of no use in the treatment of CITP.


Script recognition systems for various languages have gain importance in recent decades and are the area of deep interest for many researchers. English Character Recognition (CR) has been extensively studied in the last half century and progressed to a level, sufficient to produce technology driven applications. But same is not the case for Indian languages which are complicated in terms of structure and computations. Indian scripts present great challenges to an OCR designer due to the large number of letters in the alphabet, the sophisticated ways in which they combine, and the complicated graphemes they result in. Devnagari(Hindi) being the national language of India, spoken by more than 500 million people, should be given special attention so that document retrieval and analysis of rich ancient and modern Indian literature can be effectively done. This article is intended to serve as a guide and update for the readers, working in the Handwritten Devanagari Script Recognition (HDSR) area. An overview of HDSR systems is presented and the available HDSR techniques are reviewed. The current status of HDSR is discussed and directions for future researches are suggested.


In this paper, we elaborate on the distinction between classic approaches towards brain machine interface (BMI), that is Biomimetic and Biofeedback, and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. For biomimetic BMI, we briefly report results of a novel constrained Kalman filtering-optimization mechanism for prediction of myoelectric signals from neural spike recordings in a behaving macaque monkey. For the Biofeedback BMI, we review early works on operant conditioning and our recent results on emulating BMI by a myoelectric control interface.


The Law of One Price suggests a simple arbitrage relationship that links prices of Treasury bonds when issued by the same issuer in different currency denominations. This relationship was widely violated during the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis. In this paper, we use international cross-sectional data on this phenomenon to learn about the relative importance of different models of limits to arbitrage. A key source of information is a unique dataset that provides details on the cost of borrowing and the inventory of lendable bonds at brokers-dealers. We focus on four main explanations of limits to arbitrage: (i) Liquidity risk, (ii) Short-selling constraints, (iii) Leverage constraints and funding costs, (iv) Institutional frictions in the context of a large macro demand and wealth shock. We find that bond specific liquidity costs and short-selling constraints have only a limited ability to explain the observed elevated basis. Instead, we find stronger evidence of an interaction between leverage constraints and funding costs in the presence of a large macro shock reducing the supply of risk capital. In addition, we find that the geographical distribution and concentration of bank holdings of these bonds help to explain cross-sectional differences in the Basis. Finally, we quantify the extent to which monetary policy interventions helped to reduce these frictions.


ABSTRACT Evidence of intense naticid drilling predation occurs on turritelline prey from a turritelline-dominated assemblage (TDA) which lies below the K-T boundary sections in Rajahmundry, India. Previously, it was believed that drilling frequency (DF) on turritelline taxa was low during the Cretaceous. Data from the study area indicates that the Cenozoic level of predation on turritelline taxa already occurred by the Late Cretaceous in the study area. The paleobiogeography of naticid predation is extended from the western world to India, which was located in the southern hemisphere during the Cretaceous. In addition to the high drilling frequency, the Indian fossil record shows that many aspects of naticid behavior; for example, size and site stereotypy, which are characteristic features of Cenozoic predators, were also established by the Late Cretaceous. These data support previous views that the Mesozoic Marine Revolution had minimal influence on morphological change in Late Cretaceous turritelline gastropods and that turritelline gastropods may have developed behavioral and/or physiological antipredatory adaptations. TDAs in general may indicate tremendous fecundity that may act as a buffer against high juvenile mortality due to predation.


Based on nonlinear inelastic dynamic analysis of Single Degree Of Freedom systems (SDOF), this work investigates the effect of different parameters on the seismic response of these systems. Generalized SDOF systems that present both short and long period structures are subjected to two sets of synthetic ground motions according to the site condition; stiff rock site and stiff soil one, each contains three records. The structural period vary from (0.1 to 2) seconds and the post yielding stiffness ratios vary from (0.0 to 0.2) with two hysteresis models. Modified Clough and Bilinear models have been utilized in the analysis to illustrate the effect of stiffness degradation. The relationship between the force modification factor (R) and the global ductility demand (μ) tends to be more affected under different post yielding stiffness ratios in the structures of short period more than long period structures, where the effect is negligible. Furthermore, while the post yielding stiffness ratio increases, the ductility demand of the structure decreases under all different periods and models. The effect of hysteresis models at all ranges of period is observed while the modified Clough model shows a higher ductility demand than the force modification factor in comparison with the bilinear model. The site condition influence indicates that short period structures have higher ductility demand in stiff soil sites. However, long period structures have higher ductility demand in stiff rock sites.


Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is one of the most chemosensitive solid tumors. Unfortunately, a majority of patients will experience relapse of their disease within 1 year of completing treatment. Median survival for patients with relapsed disease is dismal at about 5–6 months even with best available therapy. Good performance status and sensitivity to first-line chemotherapy are significant prognostic factors of survival in patients treated for relapsed SCLC (1). Therapy options for relapsed SCLC remain limited, due to poor efficacy of most chemotherapy regimens and the poor performance status of many of these patients at relapse. Currently, topotecan is the only FDA-approved agent for the treatment of relapsed SCLC based on a phase III trial that demonstrated improvement in survival and quality of life (QOL) compared to best supportive care (2).


Author(s): Stella, John Christopher | Abstract: In the Central Valley of California, Populus fremontii ssp. fremontii, Salix gooddingii, and Salix exigua dominate the near-river forests. Historically, seedling recruitment for these disturbance-adapted species coincided with spring floods. Changes in flow timing and magnitude due to river regulation have decreased the success of seedling cohorts and contribute to the decline of pioneer riparian tree populations.In order to address gaps in our understanding of these species and their potential restoration strategies, I rigorously quantified and field-calibrated a conceptual model of seedling recruitment using field and laboratory studies. Results indicate that these species do not maintain a seed bank and that vegetation competition does not limit seedling recruitment in the first year. Abundance was correlated with soil moisture and with low bank elevation. However, overwinter mortality was nearly complete.Results of my 3-year study of seed dispersal timing found that P. fremontii releases seeds earlier than the two willow species; a degree-day model robustly predicts interannual differences in timing; and early-season temperature likely drives andcoordinates both annual seed release and the spring snowmelt runoff pulse.Experimentally-imposed water table decline had strong effects on riparian seedling survival and growth. High stage decline rates ( ≥6 cm d-1) induced full mortalityfor all species. S. gooddingii seedlings survived better and grew faster than Populusseedlings at more moderate rates (0-3 cm d-1); this increased performance was correlated with higher seasonal water use efficiency as determined by carbon isotope ratios.I integrated these results into a process-based recruitment model that generates point estimates of seedling density and elevation based on inputs of site hydrology, seed dispersal timing, and seedling desiccation thresholds. I compared these predictions against independent field data for the same time period. Model predictions captured basic patterns of interannual and species-level differences in recruitment. Both predicted and observed seedling densities were highest in 2004 and lowest in 2003. The model correctly predicted that Salix exigua recruitment would be less extensive than for the twotree species. The successful pattern replication conducted in this work is a first step toward developing analytical tools to implement numerous riparian restorationapproaches, including flow releases and floodplain rehabilitation.


Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) play a key role in many physiological and adaptive responses in bacteria. Faced with rapidly changing environments, it is more advantageous for bacteria to use sRNA-mediated responses than regulation by protein transcriptional factors, as sRNAs act at the post-transcriptional level and require less energy and time for their synthesis and turnover. The use of RNA deep sequencing has provided hundreds of sRNA candidates in different bacterial species that interact with plants. Here, we review the most recent results for the involvement of bacterial sRNAs in beneficial as well as deleterious plant–bacteria interactions. We describe the current view for the role of sRNAs, which are suggested to improve competition for both niches and resources in plant-interacting bacteria. These sRNAs also help plant-associated bacteria individually adapt to the rapidly changing conditions to which they are exposed, during different stages of this interaction.


The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole has measured the diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux up to ~PeV energies and is starting to identify first point source candidates. The next generation facility, IceCube-Gen2, aims at extending the accessible energy range to EeV in order to measure the continuation of the astrophysical spectrum, to identify neutrino sources, and to search for a cosmogenic neutrino flux. As part of IceCube-Gen2, a radio array is foreseen that is sensitive to detect Askaryan emission of neutrinos beyond ~30 PeV. Surface and deep antenna stations have different benefits in terms of effective area, resolution, and the capability to reject backgrounds from cosmic-ray air showers and may be combined to reach the best sensitivity. The optimal detector configuration is still to be identified. This contribution presents the full-array simulation efforts for a combination of deep and surface antennas, and compares different design options with respect to their sensitivity to fulfill the science goals of IceCube-Gen2.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the implications of positive cytology for malignant cells (positive results) from peritoneal washings in the management of patients with pancreatic cancer.

DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING
Referral practice in a university hospital.

PATIENTS
A total of 32 consecutive pancreatic cancer patients with positive results from peritoneal washings during a 4-year period, 17 with visible biopsy-proven intraabdominal metastases at the time of laparoscopy or laparotomy and 15 without visible metastases. A treatment-matched control group of 30 patients was randomly selected from a group of 105 patients with negative cytology for malignant cells (negative results) from peritoneal-fluid cytology.

INTERVENTIONS
Eight of 17 patients with visible metastases underwent treatment with chemotherapy, radiation, or both; 13 of the 15 patients with no visible metastases underwent further treatment, including pancreatic resection in 2 patients and external beam radiation in 13 patients (3 with intraoperative radiation therapy).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Time to metastases and mortality.

RESULTS
Median survival among patients with and without visible metastasis was 7.8 months and 8.6 months, respectively (P=.95), despite the fact that patients without visible metastases received more treatment. Patients without visible metastases at presentation were found to have metastatic disease as documented by computed tomographic scan or subsequent laparotomy at a median time of 2.9 months. The survival of treatment-matched patients with negative cytology was significantly longer (median, 13.5 months; P=.04).

CONCLUSIONS
Pancreatic cancer patients with peritoneal micrometastases have a dismal outcome even without macroscopic metastases. Since these patients do not benefit from local therapy, the finding of a positive result from peritoneal-fluid cytologic testing contraindicates further irradiation or surgery, except for specific complications.


: The predominance of English-only online health information poses a serious challenge to non-English speakers. To overcome this barrier, we incorporated cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) techniques into a fully functional prototype. It supports Spanish language searches over an English data set using a Spanish-English bilingual term list (BTL). The modular design allows for system and BTL growth and takes advantage of English-system enhancements. Language-based design decisions and implications for integrating non-English components with the existing monolingual architecture are presented. Algorithmic and BTL improvements are used to bring CLIR retrieval scores in line with the monolingual values. After validating these changes, we conducted a failure analysis and error categorization for the worst performing queries. We conclude with a comprehensive discussion and directions for future work.


Human. Cyborgization is the process of combining man and machine, which is accompanied by substitution of natural body functions and human mind. Technological media have become integral human prostheses, and their loss leads to disability of a human and poses a threat to his\her identity. Understanding the impact of technology on a human being a representative of the information community is supposed to begin with rejecting an approach based on their neutral attitude to a person. There are three main trends in modern technology. The first one is the complete denial of the latter and is deemed as completely hostile to a person (neo-luddism), the second one is based on the maximum convergence of human and machine intelligence (transhumanism), and the third one is the intermediate position which dwells upon "peaceful" coexistence of human and technology, and development of mechanisms to adapt to the technological reality of the information society. The author wonders whether M. Heidegger's idea that technology has become a European man's destiny and challenge of being can help us find the possibility to avoid fatal scenarios of developing relationship of extremely technologically extended human and extremely humanised machines. Finding an answer to another question whether it is possible to make a person happy with the merging of technologies is the key to understanding further development of technological extension of humans. There can be only one conclusion: remaining an enigma for its incomprehensible nature or a dream of percieving it and submission of technological advances, the technology and a human being always remain separated.


New PCM (Portable Conformable Mask) method for excimer laser lithography has been developed. It consists of RD2000N (Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd) as the top imaging layer, and PMGI (Poly-dimethyl glutarimide, Shipley Co., Ltd) as the bottom planarizing layer. In order to evaluate several kinds of deep UV resists and to search for a suitable resist process, we constructed an excimer laser exposure system, which is composed of a KrF excimer laser emitting at 248 nm with a bandwidth of 0.005 nm, and all quartz projection optics with a numerical aperture of 0.30, and a reduction ratio of 1/5. The excimer laser can produce about 100 mJ per pulse in the narrow bandwidth region. Spectral narrowing was accomplished by inserting etalons within the laser optical cavity. The reticle pattern was transferred to the wafer through the reduction lens. The energy density was about 15 mJ/cm2 at the wafer. From the evaluations of resist materials using the exposure system, it has been shown that RD2000N has high sensitivity and high resolution capability at the wavelength of KrF excimer laser. In the experiments of the PCM method, 0.5 μm thick RD2000N top layer was exposed and developed with an aqueous developer. RD2000N has very strong absorption in deep UV region, so can function as an adequate contact mask for the PCM method. After the top layer was delineated, that pattern was transferred to 1.0 μm thick PMGI as the bottom layer with deep UV flood exposure and subsequent developing of PMGI. With the PCM method, we have achieved 0.5 μm line and space resist patterns with aspect ratio of 3. The method is free from RIE treatment and thought to be more practical than a typical tri-layer resist which needs oxygen RIE for the bottom layer patterning.


---This is a development research of a learning source based on APOS theory. The role of APOS theory is to facilitate framework constructions of an action, process, object, and scheme. This research aims to evaluate the existence of the learning material based on APOS theory and tests its validity and practicability based on the readers' responses. This is a Research and Development study. The stages consisted of 5 steps: analysis, plan, development, implementation and evaluation. The subjects consisted of the teachers, the parents, and the learners of Primary Schools, Junior High Schools, and Senior High Schools in Lingga Municipality. The variables consisted of the learners' autonomies and mathematics connections. The quality of the module was obtained from observation, interview guidance, and questionnaire. The findings showed the current learning source existence had not been oriented to APOS theory. The same thing also occurred in the action, object, and scheme stages. The findings also asserted that the develop module was valid and practical. The module had high validity, and an excellent criteria. The responses of both the parents and the teachers showed that the module could be used as a learning reference. The learners responded positively about the module since it was concluded that the module was applied for Primary School until Senior High Schools learners as the learning reference.


Importance: To develop a practical program in the early phase after nerve repair for more rapid return of function. Objective: To investigate the effects of touch-observation and task-based mirror therapy on the sensorimotor outcomes of patients with nerve repair. Design: An assessor-blinded study with a randomized controlled design. Setting: University hospital. Participants: We recruited 12 patients with median or ulnar nerve repair between the level of midpalm and elbow referred by the plastic surgeons. Intervention: The patients were randomized into touch-observation and task-based mirror therapy or control groups, and both groups received training for 12 wk. Outcomes and Measures: The Semmes–Weinstein monofilament (SWM) test, two-point discrimination test, Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT), Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test (MMDT), and pinch-holding-up activity test were assessed at pretreatment, immediately after treatment, and 12 wk after the last treatment. Results: The experimental group showed greater improvements in the results of the pinch-holding-up activity test and the PPT Unilateral Pin Insertion, Bilateral Pin Insertion, and Assembly subtests. However, change on the SWM test revealed no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions and Relevance: Touch-observation and task-based mirror therapy is an effective but low-cost treatment protocol to optimize sensorimotor control and functional capability of the upper limb in patients with peripheral nerve injury.


Molecular dynamics simulations of barnase have been conducted both in water and in 8 M urea solution for 500 ps at 25 degrees C and for 2000 ps at 85 degrees C. The final structure of the aqueous simulation at room temperature matches closely the structure obtained by NMR and the experimentally observed protections from isotopic exchange. The comparison of the structures generated by the aqueous simulation at 85 degrees C reveals a trajectory composed of groups of geometrically related structures separated by narrow regions of rapid change in structure. The first of these regions displays changes in backbone rmsd to the crystal structure and solvent-accessible area suggestive of a transition state, while the properties observed during the final 300 ps of the simulation are consistent with a stable intermediate. These assignments were confirmed by calculation of the "progress along the reaction coordinate" phi-values using an empirical equation based on a linear response method. The pathway of unfolding defined in this fashion agrees well with the experimental results of site-directed mutagenesis in terms of secondary structure content of the transition state and the intermediate and reproduces the relative stability of the different elements of secondary structure. The results of the simulations in urea suggest a mechanism at the molecular level for its well-known enhancement of the denaturation of proteins. The analysis of radial distribution functions shows that the first solvation shell of the protein is enriched in urea relative to the bulk solvent. The displacement of water molecules allows greater exposure of hydrophobic side chains, as witnessed particularly in the analysis of solvent-accessible surface areas at the higher temperature. Almost all urea molecules in the first shell form at least one hydrogen bond with the protein. They provide a more favorable environment for accommodation of the remaining water molecules, and they facilitate the separation of secondary structure elements by acting as a bridge between groups previously forming intraprotein hydrogen bonds.


Site-specific dance performance encompasses a number of presentational forms and choreographic practices that present artists and audiences with opportunities to engage with real-world locations differently, through the medium of dance. Choreographic processes differ greatly from one artist to another, however a common thread of devising and employing movement scores as an investigative and curatorial tool can be witnessed in the work of many contemporary site-dance practitioners. In the wider field of contemporary dance practice, movement scores are employed by artists in a myriad of ways and a number of resources such as the on-line; www.motionbank.org featuring score-based work developed by artists such as Jonathan Burrows, Deborah Hay and William Forsythe and a recent edition of the journal Choreographic Practices that includes a re-print of Anna Halprin's RSVP cycles and reflexive writing by dance artists on scores and their implications, provide tangible examples of this type of approach. Whilst these examples present a range of differing score-based methodologies, the artists engaging with this way of working share a common interest in opening up movement possibilities from a clear framework that belies an artistic / choreographic curiosity or a specific question such as; how might I know more about……………….how can I explore…………….what approach might work here?
This chapter is not concerned however with movement scores and dance notation systems such as Benesh and Labanotation that are frequently employed as tools for documenting, recording and subsequently re-constructing dances for performance. Movement scores in this context refer to sets of instructions employed within sited dance improvisation tasks and exploratory dance 'episodes' that either exist as movement experiences in their own right or function as a mechanism for explorations that develop and produce material to be included within a dance composition at a later stage.

I explore here approaches to designing and utilizing improvised movement scores within site-specific dance making. Drawing on my own practice-based research and the work of site-dance choreographers and movement/performance artists associated with processes of 'scoring', I consider the nature of improvisatory scores and their creative potential when applied in the site-dance context. In particular, the chapter explores how score-based improvisational practice imposes creative restraints and through doing so, guides movement exploration towards 'things in particular' in a phenomenological sense. Through doing so, the chapter questions what scores 'do' in the site-dance context and considers how they are designed, applied and managed by practitioners. Furthermore, I explore how scores might lead us toward and divert us away from specific site components and question how they facilitate the management of architectural, spatial and sensory 'data' in site-dance processes.


Fault interrupting tests on high-voltage circuit breakers confirmed the problems of breaking a short-circuit current, which can occur in substations with shunt capacitor banks. Research was conducted on the behavior of different extinguishing media. Tests show that all types of circuit breakers (including the restrike-free breakers) have reignitions after the interruption of faults in the vicinity of a shunt capacitor bank. This is caused by the low rate of rise of the recovery voltage which gives the circuit breaker an opportunity to clear at short arcing times. Reignitions occur because of the low dielectric withstand capability of the small contact gap. Both tests and computer calculations show high overvoltages when the circuit breaker interrupts at one of the superimposed high-frequency current zeros which are created after reignition. Some breakers interrupt at a high-frequency current zero and thus create overvoltages. Other breakers do not interrupt at a high-frequency current zero and wait for a current zero of the power-frequency current, thus prolonging the arcing time. The overvoltages in three-phase circuits are higher than in single-phase circuits. >


We demonstrate how to identify monetary policy under fixed exchange rates in a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) using Denmark as a case study. The identifying restrictions are compared to SVARs for flexible exchange-rate regimes. Our basic model generates a plausible central-bank reaction function, and the responses to monetary shocks are in accordance with theory. We extend the basic model and econometric approach to incorporate the central bank's interventions on the foreign-exchange market.


A 19-years-old Turkish woman had recurrent attacks of abdominal pain. She underwent numerous diagnostic procedures and an appendectomy. In addition, imminent pethidine addiction developed. It was only after the patient presented with a swollen painless wrist, some years later, that the correct diagnosis was made: C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency. Early recognition may prevent a prolonged course and is mandatory as the disease is potentially life-threatening.


As of 2005, U.S. individuals had an estimated $7.4 trillion invested in IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement accounts. Many retirees will thus face the difficult problem of turning a pool of assets into a stream of retirement income. Purchasing an immediate annuity is a common recommendation for retirees trying to maximize retirement spending. The vast majority of retirees, however, are unwilling to annuitize all their assets. This research demonstrates that a "longevity annuity," which is distinct from an immediate annuity in that payouts begin late in retirement, is optimal for retirees unwilling to fully annuitize. For a typical retiree, allocating 10–15 percent of wealth to a longevity annuity creates spending benefits comparable to an allocation to an immediate annuity of 60 percent or more.


A total of 201 schizophrenic men were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) standard hospital care with discharge at physician's discretion and normal VA care; (2) accelerated hospital care for 21 days and treatment by the same staff on an outpatient basis for one year; and (3) standard hospital treatment followed by the aftercare program given group 2. The brief-treatment group showed as much sustained improvement as those who stayed longer. The longer-stay groups tended to be more symptomatic than the brief-treatment group after three weeks but less symptomatic at their discharge. Both intensified aftercare groups manifested less pathological disturbance at 12 months. The short-stay group did not demonstrate a greater incidence of readmission or a shorter mean time out of the hospital prior to first readmission. There was little evidence of the superiority of one group over another with respect to community adjustment. ONE OF the more significant trends in modern psychiatric treatment involves moving the hospitalized patient out as soon as socially disturbing symptoms are under control. The availability of psychotropic agents and vast experience in their use, accompanied by a reinvigorated concept of the therapeutic role of the hospital, have made it possible to provide treatment in such fashion. A profusion of aftercare facilities reflect the increased attention being paid to outpatient care as a support for posthospital adjustment. 1,2 A priori, a short hospital stay allows the patient to maintain his ties to the outside world.


Abstract Disaster taxa are long-ranging opportunistic generalists that briefly proliferate in the aftermath of mass extinctions, invading vacant ecospace until forced to return to more marginal settings through competition with specialist taxa returning from refugia. Lowermost Triassic (Griesbachian) strata worldwide have been noted for a brief 'proliferation of Lingula', a classic 'living fossil', which through its long fossil record typically has occurred in shoreface and dysoxic settings. The abundance of Lingula relative to other taxa in the Griesbachian Dinwoody Formation of southwestern Montana and western Wyoming (USA) has been quantified and the results placed into a paleoenvironmental context. Lingula dominates the fossil assemblage in the Dinwoody Formation across several facies deposited on an oxygenated, storm-dominated, mixed carbonate/siliciclastic shelf. A study of preservational state and quality further indicates that these results are not due to taphonomic bias. Lingula, therefore, behaved as a disaster taxon during the biotic recovery from the end-Permian mass extinction, much like relatively common Early Triassic normal marine stromatolites, that have been interpreted as disaster forms. Thus, while the fundamental rules of geology and biology have not changed, during biotic recoveries from mass extinctions organisms may behave and interact with their environments very differently than do their modern or fossil equivalents in "normal" times.


Hemophilus pertussis vaccine injected into normal rat skin produced local edema lasting several days. Four to 6 days later the injected site became severely inflamed. When uninjected skin was challenged 5 to 28 days after the initial injection, severe inflammation developed at the site of challenge within 12 to 24 hours. This secondary hypersensitive response was elicited by a dose of vaccine which produced little or no initial or delayed inflammation in a normal rat. Specific cutaneous hypersensitivity to a particulate antigen (i.e. typhoid vaccine) or a soluble antigen (human or rabbit gamma globulin) developed when rats were injected with a mixture of the antigen and pertussis vaccine. Pertussis vaccine mixed with typhoid vaccine did not enhance circulating agglutinin formation to typhoid vaccine. Cutaneous hypersensitivity to pertussis vaccine was passively transferred to normal rats by lymph node cells but not with serum from hypersensitive rats. Sensitization with pertussis vaccine did not enhance the edema-producing activity of histamine, serotonin, or 48/80 given subcutaneously. Mast cells in areas of hypersensitive inflammation were not damaged appreciably. The hypersensitive inflammation was not inhibited by treatment with anti-serotonin and antihistaminic drugs. Hypersensitive rats "depleted of mast cells" responded to challenge with pertussis vaccine with severe inflammation though their response to 48/80 was depressed. Hypersensitive rats treated with x-irradiation showed decreased hypersensitive inflammation though they responded normally to 48/80 and histamine. These studies failed to demonstrate a role for circulating antibody in the cutaneous hypersensitive inflammation produced in the rat by pertussis vaccine. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the cutaneous hypersensitive inflammation is not mediated by tissue serotonin and/or histamine.


Brian Sorrells covers a remarkable amount of ground in this concise yet comprehensive examination of the longbow. It's all there, from history to bow design to shooting. This book should be required reading for anyone needing an initial introduction to the longbow, but experienced longbow enthusiasts will learn from it too. The book's real strength lies in Sorrells's ability to explain the practicalities of the longbow without compromising its romantic tradition.--E. Donnall Thomas Jr., Co-Editor, Traditional Bowhunter Magazine"I have read and enjoyed every word of Brian Sorrells's Guide to the Longbow. Here is an experienced and successful archer and bowhunter who not only knows the ropes of his chosen pastime top to bottom, but relays his wealth of information in clean, entertaining prose. I sure wish I'd had this book when I first took up archery nearly sixty years ago."--David Petersen, author of Going TradAdvice on all aspects of selecting and shooting a longbow, including buying custom and choosing arrows. Learn proper shooting form and tips for improving accuracy Exercises to develop strong technique for target and stump shooting, 3D archery, and hunting Explores the history of the longbow as well as its modern appeal"


Cactophilic Drosophila species provide a valuable model to study gene–environment interactions and ecological adaptation. Drosophila buzzatii and Drosophila mojavensis are two cactophilic species that belong to the repleta group, but have very different geographical distributions and primary host plants. To investigate the genomic basis of ecological adaptation, we sequenced the genome and developmental transcriptome of D. buzzatii and compared its gene content with that of D. mojavensis and two other noncactophilic Drosophila species in the same subgenus. The newly sequenced D. buzzatii genome (161.5 Mb) comprises 826 scaffolds (>3 kb) and contains 13,657 annotated protein-coding genes. Using RNA sequencing data of five life-stages we found expression of 15,026 genes, 80% protein-coding genes, and 20% noncoding RNA genes. In total, we detected 1,294 genes putatively under positive selection. Interestingly, among genes under positive selection in the D. mojavensis lineage, there is an excess of genes involved in metabolism of heterocyclic compounds that are abundant in Stenocereus cacti and toxic to nonresident Drosophila species. We found 117 orphan genes in the shared D. buzzatii–D. mojavensis lineage. In addition, gene duplication analysis identified lineage-specific expanded families with functional annotations associated with proteolysis, zinc ion binding, chitin binding, sensory perception, ethanol tolerance, immunity, physiology, and reproduction. In summary, we identified genetic signatures of adaptation in the shared D. buzzatii–D. mojavensis lineage, and in the two separate D. buzzatii and D. mojavensis lineages. Many of the novel lineage-specific genomic features are promising candidates for explaining the adaptation of these species to their distinct ecological niches.


This thesis includes four self-contained essays:ESSAY I search for structural breaks in the financial sector share of seven major OECD countries and relate them to changes in GDP growth and savings. The event pattern of these macro series are classified and weighted by typicities. The findings suggest that the financial sector share in the largest OECD economies exhibits level shifts that are related to decreases in the savings ratio.ESSAY II investigates the extent to which local government consumption in Sweden is determined by permanent rather than current resources. Evidence from a panel of municipalities indicates that at least 90 percent of local government spendings on non-durable goods and services is related to permanent resources. This result contrasts sharply with the common view that local governments do not smooth consumption across years.ESSAY III uses a non-linear fuzzy logic procedure to empirically investigate the links between the real interest rate and aggregate investments in Sweden from 1950 through 1990. The economic environment is characterized by multivalued logic and an indicator for the economy-wide investment climate is derived strictly from the interest rate. It turns out that the fuzzy logic approach reveals empirical regularities that are not recognized by conventional linear regressions.ESSAY IV examines detailed Swedish manufacturing firm-level data on output and factor inputs from 1979 through 1994. Panel regressions show that an increase in aggregate output and inputs appears to raise firms' output beyond private marginal returns, a result. consistent with external economies. The essay also considers potential specification and data problems, and finds that the results cannot easily be explained by unmeasured variations in factor utilization rates. However, external economies arestatistically rejected in favor of productivity shocks. This finding provides support either for real business cycles or time-varying effects of external economies.


Abstract Background: We aimed to investigate whether there was a high incidence of young Japanese mothers being underweight (pregravid body mass index [BMI] < 18.5 kg/m2) and if they delivered infants who were small for gestational age (SGA). Materials and methods: Our study was carried out from 2013 to 2017 and included adolescent women (maternal age at delivery: <20 years old; n = 94), women in their early twenties (maternal age at delivery: 20–24 years; n = 479), and controls (maternal age at delivery: 25–34 years; n = 2061). Results: In both the adolescent and early twenties groups, the incidence of being underweight, based on prepregnancy BMI, was significantly higher than controls (p < .0001 and p < .05, respectively). In both groups, gestational weight gain (GWG) was significantly higher than controls (p < .0001). There were no notable group differences in the incidences of SGA. Conclusion: The incidence of being underweight was higher in younger mothers than in controls. However, the risk of SGA did not increase in younger mothers, possibly because their GWG overcame the influence of their pre-pregnancy body composition.


Problem In the territory of the South American Division (SAD), the rate of rotation of leaders in the secretariat area is high, when compared with presidency and treasury. According to the corresponding minutes of the executive committees and constituency meetings of Unions and Fields of the SAD, during the period of 2015-2020, at the Field level, 39% of the changes corresponded to the secretariat, and, at the level of Union, this indicator rises to 47%. In addition to this, there is the challenging reality that the secretariat's spectrum of action is wide and specialized, and consequently, different from the pastoral or departmental work. This leads to the need of an adequate process of training to those chosen to serve in this responsibility, as part of their development as leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Methodology The research method employed in the design of this project was a qualitative one. Under this perspective, a training program was drawn up and implemented with experiential focus, where it was sought to offer knowledge that is directly related to the experiences of the participants in the work environment. This program was organized in four weekly modules and developed in the month of February 2021, through e-Learning modality. Twenty-nine executive secretaries from the Unions and Fields of the SAD, who were chosen for this role between January 2020 and January 2021, participated in the program. Finally, the evaluation of the training program was conducted using the Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) questionnaire, and the results obtained were analyzed. Results A wide majority (82.6%) of the participants of the training program consider that the pedagogical resources and methods used are like those used in the work environment, which facilitated the learning process. On the other hand, 91.3% consider that the trainers used practical examples that facilitate the application of the contents to the work environment. Finally, it is worth noting that all the participants expressed their motivation and confidence to apply the training in their work and believe that it will increase their personal productivity and help them to do their current job better. Conclusion The evaluation's results of the training program implemented in this thesis show that it was highly relevant and effective, due to its high connection with the issues that the participants experienced in their work environment and its contribution to productivity and work performance. Consequently, the program contributed to the development of the participants as leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.