Introduction Risk perception is a key component of behaviour change and underpins effective public health messaging, which for sexual health includes promoting safer sex and STI testing. We examined associations between reported perceived risk of STIs and sexual behaviour in the British general population. Methods A probability-sample survey undertaken 2010–2012 (Natsal-3) using a combination of computer-assisted personal- and self- interviewing (CAPI/CASI). Participants rated themselves as 'greatly', 'quite a lot', 'not very much' or 'not at all' at risk of getting an STI (excluding HIV) given their current sexual lifestyle. We analysed weighted data on risk perception and behaviour from sexually-active individuals aged 16–44 (3391 men, 4966 women), and used multinomial regression to calculate relative risk ratios (RRRs) for rating oneself as greatly/quite a lot or not very much at risk (both compared with not at all at risk). Results Most participants (64% of men, 73% of women) rated themselves as 'not at all at risk' of STIs, 30% of men and 23% of women as 'not very much at risk', and 6% of men and 4% of women as 'greatly/quite a lot at risk'. After adjustment for age, increasing risk perception was associated with reporting risk behaviours in the past year (RRRs for men presented for illustration, associations for women were generally similar): 1 new condomless partner (RRR 5.97 [4.24–8.40] for 'greatly/quite a lot' and 2.60 [2.08–3.25] for 'not very much', both compared with 'not at all at risk'), same-sex partners (RRR 19.85 [8.56–46.03] for greatly/quite a lot, 7.11 [3.99–12.66] for 'not very much'), and concurrent partners (RRR 16.21 [10.27–25.59] for greatly/quite a lot, 5.77 [4.10–8.11] for 'not very much'). However, these behaviours were also reported by a substantial proportion of those not rating themselves as at risk. For example, 27% of men and 26% of women who self-rated as 'not very much at risk', and 10% of men and 9% of women who self-rated as 'not at all at risk' reported 1 new unprotected partner in the past year. Similarly, 18% of men and 12% of women who self-rated as 'not very much at risk' reported concurrent partnerships in the past year. Conclusion Most participants did not perceive themselves as being at risk of STIs, however many of these people reported sexual behaviours that are strongly associated with STI acquisition. Health promotion efforts should take account of mismatches between perceived and actual risk.


A number of fracture failure of the light rail vehicles folding coupler hooks occurred during service in Hong Kong. And the leakage of the main reservoir pipe air connection is more than the requirement. It has threatened the operation of the Mass Transit Railway. The modifications of the hook and air connection were proposed in the new vehicles design. By macroscopic analysis of the fracture surface and the test of the leakage, the modifications were adopted. The coupler functions and performance after the optimization was achieved as design according to the requirement of Particular Specification.


"The Encyclopedia of Security Management" is a valuable guide for all security professionals, and an essential resource for those who need a reference work to support their continuing education. In keeping with the excellent standard set by the First Edition, the Second Edition is completely updated. The Second Edition also emphasizes topics not covered in the First Edition, particularly those relating to homeland security, terrorism, threats to national infrastructures (e.g., transportation, energy and agriculture) risk assessment, disaster mitigation and remediation, and weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives).Fay also maintains a strong focus on security measures required at special sites such as electric power, nuclear, gas and chemical plants; petroleum production and refining facilities; oil and gas pipelines; water treatment and distribution systems; bulk storage facilities; entertainment venues; apartment complexes and hotels; schools; hospitals; government buildings; and financial centers. The articles included in this edition also address protection of air, marine, rail, trucking and metropolitan transit systems. It is completely updated to include new information concerning homeland security and disaster management. It features convenient new organization groups related articles for ease of use. It brings together the work of more than sixty of the world's top security experts.


By the end of the last decade, 24/7 primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (PPCI) for patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) had been established as the default therapy across most of the UK and represents one of the major success stories of British cardiology. In parallel with this development, the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) and the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) have collaborated in the production of an extremely comprehensive annual audit report documenting the activity and outcomes of almost all the UK interventional cardiology centres. The dataset collected for each procedure includes detailed information on treatment times for patients undergoing PPCI. In their Heart publication, Varcoe et al on behalf of BCIS and NICOR have used this treasure trove to generate an analysis of the influence of treatment time delays on 30-day mortality in a cohort of 16 907 consecutive patients in England and Wales undergoing PPCI in 2011, all of whom had call-to-balloon (CTB) times of <6 hours.1 The investigators chose to focus mainly on CTB as the performance indicator most reflective of the efficiency of the complete patient pathway from first call for help to first device use (balloon inflation or aspiration) in the infarct-related artery.

The median CTB time in the whole cohort was 111 min with 81% of patients being treated within 150 min of their initial call for help. In a multivariable analysis, a number of factors were shown to predict a longer CTB time but only by a few minutes. These included increasing age, female gender, diabetes, preprocedural cardiogenic shock, better preprocedural Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow and femoral access. The latter is notable as some previous …


In this paper, we present an approach to learn multilingual sentence embeddings using a bi-directional dual-encoder with additive margin softmax. The embeddings are able to achieve state-of-the-art results on the United Nations (UN) parallel corpus retrieval task. In all the languages tested, the system achieves P@1 of 86% or higher. We use pairs retrieved by our approach to train NMT models that achieve similar performance to models trained on gold pairs. We explore simple document-level embeddings constructed by averaging our sentence embeddings. On the UN document-level retrieval task, document embeddings achieve around 97% on P@1 for all experimented language pairs. Lastly, we evaluate the proposed model on the BUCC mining task. The learned embeddings with raw cosine similarity scores achieve competitive results compared to current state-of-the-art models, and with a second-stage scorer we achieve a new state-of-the-art level on this task.


In this paper the performance of the Adaptive Averaging Channel Estimator (AACE-LS) which is a modified Least Square (LS) estimator and the AACE-LMMSE which is a modified Linear Minimum Mean Error (LMMSE) estimator, are compared with respect to the conventional LS and the LMMSE estimators. The AACE is an estimator which is based on the averaging of the last N Scattered Pilots (SP) from the DVB-T2 model carried in the received OFDM symbols. The proposed method could in general be applied to any pilot based estimator. The noise introduced by the channel is considered as Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) with zero mean and thus an averaging process is used to eliminate it. The estimator adaptively follows the fluctuations of the amplitude envelope in the time domain and adapts the size of the buffer N, with respect to the coherence time (Tc). Finally, based on the averaged estimated channel, the LS or the LMMSE equalizer is applied to the received signal in the frequency domain. Simulations clearly show that the performance of the AACE-LS is superior to the conventional LS estimator and is near to the performance of the LMMSE with no need of a prior knowledge of the statistics and the noise of the channel and thus if the channel is unknown to the receiver, the AACE is a good choice.


In this paper we consider attempts to transform economic mechanisms of culture that have been made since the recent years of the Soviet era with the purpose to achieve a reasonable balance between the freedom of the initiative of cultural goods producers and the public control of their activities. We highlight the main stages of the reforms in respect to the tasks set in them: the first stage dates back to the period between the end of 1980s and the beginning of 1990s; the second stage is 1990s; the third stage is 2000-2010 years. Having characterized each of the stages, the author has come to the conclusion that the tasks being solved within their frames virtually have remained the same, i.e. enlarging the economic rights of cultural institutions, increasing the validity of the budget funding volumes allocated for them, primarily, through implementing the normative approach and developing alternative sources of financing cultural activities in the country. An analysis of the situation showed that attempts to solve the tasks had failed and the economic mechanisms of culture turned out to be at their start level. Thus, it is suggested that the motion in a circle should be unlikely to avoid till the attempts to preserve the inviolability of the public sector are still being made and all reforms are being focused on adjusting organizational and economic terms of functioning of its institutions. The major trends of future reforms are seen to be privatization of a part of the state institutions and their transformation into the status of non-state non-profit organizations (with the state participation being possible), development of competitive mechanisms of budget financing and giving grants.


The Na+ K+ pump is an electrogenic transmembrane ATPase first discovered in 1957 and situated in the outer plasma membrane of the cells; on the cytosolic side. The Na+ K+ ATPase pumps 3 Na+ out of the cell and 2K+ that into the cell, for every single ATP consumed. The plasma membrane is a lipid bilayer that arranged asymmetrically, containing cholesterol, phospholipids, glycolipids, sphingolipid, and proteins within the membrane. The Na+K+-ATPase pump helps to maintain osmotic equilibrium and membrane potential in cells.The sodium and potassium move against the concentration gradients. The Na+ K+-ATPase pump maintains the gradient of a higher concentration of sodium extracellularly and a higher level of potassium intracellularly. The sustained concentration gradient is crucial for physiological processes in many organs and has an ongoing role in stabilizing the resting membrane potential of the cell, regulation of the cell volume and in the cell signal transduction. It plays a crucial role on other physiological processes, such as maintenance of filtering waste products in the nephrons (kidneys), sperm motility, and production of the neuronal action potential. Furthermore, the physiologic consequences of inhibiting the Na+-K+ ATPase are useful and the target in many pharmacologic applications. Na, K-ATPase is a crucial scaffolding protein that can interact with signaling proteins such as protein kinase C (PKC) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K).


The article examines the popular notion that liberalism, or liberal theory of contract, is committed to a particularly rigid conception of the freedom of contract. The article argues that this notion is mistaken, and seeks to identify its roots in certain misconceptions of modern liberalism and its implications, and in a certain misunderstanding concerning the nature of contract. Neutral political concern, the value of personal autonomy, and finally the belief that contracts are identical to promises in terms of their significance for personal autonomy, are analysed and rejected as bases for the association of liberalism with commitment to a minimally limited freedom of contract. Instead, it is shown that such considerations are compatible with, and in some cases directly recommend, various forms of intervention in the freedom of contract, and an active role for the state in shaping and regulating contractual activity.


In this thesis I explore the personal experiences and memories of a group of
Furneaux Island women during the period 1910 to 1960. The most important
sources I access are the voices of the women who agreed to provide oral
evidence. I use their voices to tell a story within a broader island story. Where
possible and appropriate, I have supplemented their oral testimony with
documentary evidence.
Part One provides an historical overview of the early arrival of women and
the establishment of households in the islands as well as an analysis of the
connections between family history and a sense of place. For many women
island history is interwoven with family history. I argue that it is this fact,
coupled with multiple island kinship ties, that has led to a powerful sense of
identification with the islands - the site of the family narrative. In Part Two I
use a chronological format to research the daily lives of island women at
different life cycle stages. First, I explore the lives of daughters within the
family home, and particularly their relationships with their mothers. This is
followed by an examination of influences from outside the home upon girls,
and I describe how young women move away from the family to set up their
own households. In Part Three I change from a chronological approach to
one that analyses, topically, the physical and emotional responsibilities of
adult women within the home and the wider island community.
It is from this examination of women's lives at different stages and in
different settings that the primary concerns of the thesis - feelings of isolation
and a sense of place - emerge. It is in the remembering of everyday life that
the effects of isolation and a sense of place become most apparent.. On a
broad level I argue that physical and emotional isolation have several results.
These include, a close and mutual dependence among women within the
family, the development of an extensive community social life and,
ultimately, active efforts to overcome the potential for cultural isolation


Introduction: Disorders of communication, including aphasia (mainly post stroke) caused by the left hemisphere brain damage, is a major community health issue. The prevalence of aphasia after stroke is 25% in Pakistan in which Broca's aphasia is predominant in stroke patients who have anterior lesion in the frontal lobe of the left hemispheres. The verbal expressive skills management programme (VESMP) is the software which developed augmented management for patients to enhance verbal expressive skills for patients with severe Broca's aphasia from different geographic areas. Moreover, the software increases the independencies which are not observed in other traditional techniques. This study is the pathway for maintaining and improving the functional life of patients. Objectives: The main objective was to develop the verbal expressive skills management programme (VESMP) to enhance verbal expressive skills of patients with severe Broca's aphasia. Methodology: Initially a pilot study with eight cases is carried out. The nonprobability purposive sampling technique was used to recruit the patients with severe aphasia who received therapy through VESMP programme on their smart phones. It contains seven domains: spontaneous speech, comprehension, naming, reading, writing, imitation, and automated speech. The programme was developed in Urdu language and its content was selected from grade three Urdu Punjab text books. The program was then updated with the help of guidance and feedback received from five experts of the relevant field. The patients scoring is recorded for each domain on basis of correct responses. The study was conducted in YUSRA general hospital and Pakistan Railway Hospital, Rawalpindi. The study includes patients that are 40+ years old, and have three months of post stroke with diagnosis of chronic Broca's Aphasias, patients with severe cognitive impairment were excluded from the study. The pre-and post score was recorded for each domain for the measurement of change. The treatment protocol for each patient lasts for 8 weeks that includes 4 VESMP sessions per week with each session being 30-45 minutes long. Data for each patient was analyzed based on their pre-and post-intervention scores. Results: The scores were computed in terms of mean and standard deviation. The pre-and post-scores of each patient compares separately through which remarkably improvement in all domains. The results also illustrate significant difference (p=0.05) between the preand post-scores on each domain of the programme and show the vital improvement in verbal expressive skills of patients with severe Broca's aphasia. Conclusion: It is concluded from the results that the development of VESMP programme improved verbal expressive skills of patients with severe Broca's aphasia.


Technology has become one of society's everyday functional tools, changing rapidly and providing widespread mobility. In South Africa alone, the number of Internet users grew from 8,5 million to 24,9 million in only three years (2011-2014). Currently, 90 per cent of these users access this facility from their mobile devices. Statistics illustrate that South Africans are moving towards a continuously connected lifestyle, a situation in which information and communication technology (ICT) seems to have become ubiquitous. Given the rapid growth of ITC technology and its absorption into people's lives (both personally and professionally), the general aim of the present research was to investigate the use of ICT among employees and how it affects their work-life interaction (WLI). The researcher employed a qualitative research approach in accordance with which a sample of 25 employees was interviewed. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and processed by means of thematic analyses. Three themes with corresponding sub-themes were extracted: use of ICT (i.e. in both work and family domains); challenges that ICT use presents; and the way in which employees manage their WLI by means of ICT. The participants experienced WLI as mostly negative. However, they also mentioned two different approaches that helped them manage interaction between their work and family domains. These approaches entail 1) applying limits to their use of ICT, and 2) using ICT to create flexibility. This article advises that organisations should consider adopting ICT to assist their employees in the management of these two domains. This could be done in two ways. First, organisations could implement a code of conduct or provide guidelines for eliminating the intrusive and excessive use of ICT, especially after working hours. Secondly, organisations could pilot or implement flexible working hours and possible telecommuting initiatives.


It is important to determine the assembly configuration of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) because assembly configuration influences their fate and transport behavior in the aquatic environment. Aggregated particles are more subject to segregation upon changes of environmental conditions (and vice versa) than agglomerated particles. As a strategic tool for investigating the time-resolved reversible segregating and assembling behavior of ENMs and thus estimating their assembly configuration, a controlled sonication process was proposed. It was hypothesized that the unique colloidal response of ENMs to sonication, with respect to changes in size, might be their intrinsic property associated with assembly configuration. As a model ENM, three different TiO 2 particles with unique properties (commercial P-25 and UV 100 and home-made (HM) TiO 2 ) were examined with programmed sonication processes under various environmental settings. When they were dispersed in water, all TiO 2 particles tested obviously assembled to form much larger clusters. Size of P-25 decreased immediately upon sonication and did not change under the subsequent quiescence step while sizes of UV 100 and HM gradually decreased and then slowly recovered back to their initial sizes. The trend was generally observed in all conditions tested. The unique colloidal response of TiO 2 could be explained by its properties associated with assembly configuration.


Iron deficiency (ID) is often a neglected condition in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), even though it is one of the most common extraintestinal manifestation. Our questions were the follows: If iron deficiency is part of the T2T management as CRP or fecal calprotectin and requires optimisation of the current therapy, how does this affect the medium-term outcome of the disease and the effectiveness of IV iron replacement? If the disease is active, does optimisation of therapy is sufficient to manage iron deficiency or iv. iron supplementation is also necessary?

 Patients with ID defined by the ECCO guideline (Figure 1.) were randomly included in our prospective one-center, four arms study. Patients were divided into an active (A) and a remission (R) group. Activity was defined by CRP ≥10 mg/l or clinical activity scores CDAI ≥150, pMayo ≥3. Therapy optimisation was performed in the active group, further randomisation was performed into two subgroups: therapy modification alone (A1) or modification with iv. ferric-carboxymaltose (A2). All patients received iron supplementation in the remission group with (R2 – iron T2T group) or without therapy optimisation (R2). Every two months laboratory parameters and clinical activities were assessed until 6 months.

 65 patients were included (CD 83.4%). Average follow-up was 3.9 months. Number of patients per group: A1:17, A2:23, R1:16, R2:9. Based on our results, iv. iron supplementation with modification in treatment was more efficient, than therapy optimisation alone, as the difference in increase in haemoglobin (p<0.001), haematocrit (p<0.001) and ferritin (p<0.05) was significant after 2 and 4 months the enrollment. In the remission group iv. iron supplementation with therapy optimisation was more effective, than iv. iron alone, based on transferrin saturation (p<0.05), serum iron (p<0.05) and CRP (p<0.05) during the 2 months period. After that period, no further significant difference was measured. Iv. iron seems to be equally effective both in the active and in the remission group, as no significant difference was measured during the 6-month period. No adverse event was observed.

 Our results suggest, that therapy optimisation in addition to iron replacement is more effective in patients with remission and therefore biomarkers of IDA should be involved in the thight monitoring algorhytm to react T2T. However, therapy optimisation has to be associated with iv iron replacement in IBD with IDA and activity without the risk of worsening disease activity. Based on our results, ferric-carboximaltose is an effective and safe therapeutic method in the treatment of IDA associated with active or inactive IBD.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To examine predictors of perceived access to care and reported barriers to care of patients with cancer actively seeking treatment.
.

DESIGN
Retrospective secondary data analysis.
.

SETTING
U.S. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a national survey with questions about healthcare coverage and access.
.

SAMPLE
1,170 adults with cancer actively seeking treatment.
.

METHODS
A retrospective analysis of data. Bivariate tests for significant association between individual characteristics and low perceived access to care were conducted using a chi-square test.
.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
The dependent variable was perceived access to care. The independent variables included sex, age, race, poverty status, education level, marital status, cancer site, comorbidities, and insurance status.
.

FINDINGS
Those with Medicaid insurance or no health insurance had significantly lower perceived access to care compared to those with Medicare. Institutional barriers to treatment, such as financial or insurance, were the most common reported barriers.
.

CONCLUSIONS
Most adults with cancer reported adequate access to medical care and medications, but a small yet vulnerable population expressed difficulties in accessing treatment.
.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
To effectively advocate for vulnerable populations with Medicaid or no insurance, nurses may require specialized knowledge beyond the scope of general oncology nursing.


Simulation-based inference plays a major role in modern statistics, and often employs either reallocating (as in a randomization test) or resampling (as in bootstrapping). Reallocating mimics random allocation to treatment groups, while resampling mimics random sampling from a larger population; does it matter whether the simulation method matches the data collection method? Moreover, do the results differ for testing versus estimation? Here we answer these questions in a simple setting by exploring the distribution of a sample difference in means under a basic two group design and four different scenarios: true random allocation, true random sampling, reallocating, and resampling. For testing a sharp null hypothesis, reallocating is superior in small samples, but reallocating and resampling are asymptotically equivalent. For estimation, resampling is generally superior, unless the effect is truly additive. Moreover, these results hold regardless of whether the data were collected by random sampling or random allocation.


The combined interactions of mode and tempo on emotional responses to music were investigated using both self-reports and electroencephalogram (EEG) activity. A musical excerpt was performed in three different modes and tempi. Participants rated the emotional content of the resulting nine stimuli and their EEG activity was recorded. Musical modes influence the valence of emotion with major mode being evaluated happier and more serene, than minor and locrian modes. In EEG frontal activity, major mode was associated with an increased alpha activation in the left hemisphere compared to minor and locrian modes, which, in turn, induced increased activation in the right hemisphere. The tempo modulates the arousal value of emotion with faster tempi associated with stronger feeling of happiness and anger and this effect is associated in EEG with an increase of frontal activation in the left hemisphere. By contrast, slow tempo induced decreased frontal activation in the left hemisphere. Some interactive effects we...


OBJECTIVE
To compile, consolidate, and analyze information obtained in surveys conducted by the MEASURE DHS [Demographic and Health Surveys] program, concerning obstetric care and pregnancy complications for women in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the five years before the survey.

METHODS
This exploratory study utilized data from demographic surveys carried out in the 1990s in seven countries of Latin America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Peru. The study describes the characteristics of the women who were interviewed and of the obstetric care that they received in the five years before the respective survey, and it also estimates the occurrence of prolonged labor and of hemorrhagic, hypertensive, and infectious complications in those five years.

RESULTS
The median number of prenatal consultations ranged from 4.7 in Bolivia to 6.6 in the Dominican Republic. More than 40% of deliveries in Guatemala, Peru, and Bolivia were attended by traditional midwives, relatives, or other persons without formal training. The highest rates of deliveries performed in health care facilities (> 90%) were in the Dominican Republic and Brazil. In Guatemala, Peru, and Bolivia more than 45% of deliveries were at home. The highest rate of cesarean delivery was in Brazil (36.4%), and the lowest rates (< 12%) were in Peru and Guatemala. The rate of pregnancy complications reported by the women surveyed was 16.7% in Brazil, 17.9% in Guatemala, 42.1% in Colombia, 42.5% in Nicaragua, 43.0% in the Dominican Republic, 51.7% in Bolivia, and 51.8% in Peru.

CONCLUSION
The reported occurrence of severe pregnancy complications in the surveys we examined was well above the 15% rate reported in other scientific literature, suggesting that these complications may have been overestimated in the MEASURE DHS surveys. Prior validation of the questionnaires used for data collection is extremely important in the generation of high-quality data.


An important aim for improving TB treatment is to shorten the period of antibiotic therapy without increasing relapse rates or encouraging the development of antibiotic-resistant strains. In any M. tuberculosis population there is a proportion of bacteria that are drug-tolerant; this might be because of pre-existing populations of slow growing/non replicating bacteria that are protected from antibiotic action due to the expression of a phenotype that limits drug activity. We addressed this question by observing populations of either slow growing (constant 69.3h mean generation time) or fast growing bacilli (constant 23.1h mean generation time) in their response to the effects of isoniazid exposure, using controlled and defined growth in chemostats. Phenotypic differences were detected between the populations at the two growth rates including expression of efflux mechanisms and the involvement of antisense RNA/small RNA in the regulation of a drug-tolerant phenotype, which has not been explored previously for M. tuberculosis. Genotypic analyses showed that slow growing bacilli develop resistance to isoniazid through mutations specifically in katG codon Ser315 which are present in approximately 50–90% of all isoniazid-resistant clinical isolates. The fast growing bacilli persisted as a mixed population with katG mutations distributed throughout the gene. Mutations in katG codon Ser315 appear to have a fitness cost in vitro and particularly in fast growing cultures. Our results suggest a requirement for functional katG-encoded catalase-peroxide in the slow growers but not the fast-growing bacteria, which may explain why katG codon Ser315 mutations are favoured in the slow growing cultures.


Utterances that are input from a distance are one of the ma-jor causes of performance degradation in speaker verification systems. In this study, we propose two frameworks for deep speaker embedding enhancement and specifically focus on distant utterances. Both frameworks input speaker embeddings extracted from front-end systems, including deep neural network-based systems, which widen the range of applications. We use speaker embeddings that are extracted by inputting raw waveforms directly into a deep neural network. The first proposed system, skip connection-based selective enhancement, adopts a skip connection that directly connects the input embedding to the output. This skip connection is multiplied by a value between 0 and 1 , which is similar to the gate mechanism where the value is concurrently determined by another small deep neural network. This approach allows the selective application of enhancements, thus, when the input embedding is from a close-talk, the skip connection would be more activated. On the other hand, when embedding from a distance is input, the deep neural network would be more activated. The second proposed system, i.e., a selective enhancement discriminative auto-encoder, aims to find a discriminative representation with an encoder–decoder architecture. The hidden representation is divided into two sub-spaces with the objective to gather speaker information into one subspace by adding additional objective functions and letting the other subspace contain subsidiary information (e.g., reverberation and noise). The effectiveness of both proposed frameworks is evaluated using the VOiCES from a Distance Challenge evaluation set and demonstrates a 11.03 % and 15.97 % relative error reduction, respectively, compared to the baseline, which does not employ an explicit feature enhancement phase.


A field trial was carried out in a Maasai group ranch to assess the use of odour-baited traps for suppression of a population of the tsetse fly Glossina pallidipes Austen. In January, 1987, local people made 100 NG2B traps in their homesteads. These were then deployed within the suppression zone of about 100 km 2 , primarily in the areas of woodland where flies aggregate in the dry season. Traps were baited with acetone (ca. 150 mg/h) and cow urine (ca. 1000 mg/h) and checked at monthly intervals in order to replenish odours and repair damage. A further 90 traps were added between October and December to enlarge the suppression area slightly and to strengthen the trap barriers. The population was monitored using biconical and NG2B traps as well as by mark-release-recapture estimates of population size. By October the number of G. pallidipes in the suppression zone was reduced by 98–99% relative to the number 3 km outside the suppression zone. Some reinvasion, mainly of parous females, occurred in November during the short rains but these flies were rapidly trapped out again. Average mortality rates due to trapping were estimated at 4–5% per day, which, combined with the natural mortality, reduced the adult population at a rate of about 2.6% per day during the dry season. The traps had less effect on the smaller population of G. longipennis Corti but still gave a reduction of up to 90% in the dry season. The use of this low technology approach offers good prospects for future community-based tsetse control operations.


Drug delivery to the back of the eye following topical administration remains an unmet need for the scientific community. Treatment of posterior segment diseases requires localized and long-term drug delivery to the retina, choroid, and Bruch's membrane. Until the last decade, there was limited evidence from large clinical trials that demonstrated the usefulness of pharmacotherapy compared to laser therapy or other vitreoretinal surgical techniques for the treatment of retinal diseases. This paradigm has shifted in recent years, with strong evidence demonstrating superior efficacy of ophthalmic drugs compared to previous gold standards. However, ophthalmologists are left with no options other than administering the therapeutics via implants and intravitreal injections, which are highly invasive and associated with patient non-compliance. A non-invasive topical therapy would enhance patient compliance and minimize the side-effects associated with intraocular implants and intravitreal injections. In an attempt to enhance patient compliance, the focus of research has shifted to the development of novel small molecule-based eye drop formulations. This review article discusses the relevant patents and summarizes the resurgence in the treatment of posterior segment eye diseases through topical drug administration.


Hydra littoralis uses stenotele nematocysts for prey-killing. Unused stenoteles are retained when prey-killing ceases. This inactivation results from an accumulation of soluble factors in the surrounding medium, and ends when hydra are placed in fresh culture solution. The inactivation factors are most probably released from the hydra during nematocyst discharge since stenotele activity is reduced by KCl solutions containing nematocyst factors and is enhanced by prey homogenate.


It is generally acknowledged that health is a form of human capital and a critical factor in the economic growth process. In turn, health production is a major determinant of health outcomes. While the former relationship has been explored extensively for the developed countries, there are very few studies that have attempted to examine this relationship in developing countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Furthermore, very few studies have examined the relationship between determinants of health, health outcomes and economic growth in SSA. This study takes up the challenge of examining this tripartite relationship for SSA countries. Using the Arellano-Bond Dynamic GMM technique for 40 SSA countries, alcohol consumption, urbanization and carbon emission were found to be statistically significant determinants of child mortality, while all these variables and food availability are significant determinants of life expectancy. On the other hand, none of the health indicators are significant determinants of economic growth in the region, pointing to the need to improve health outcomes for it to have a significant effect on growth. The findings should provoke immediate policy actions that will help control the deleterious effects of alcohol consumption on health, promote urban health infrastructure, and improve health indicators to better stimulate health-led economic growth in SSA.


High sensitivity and high resolution have been pursued as some of the most important research goals for preclinical Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging. PETbox4, a new, fully tomographic bench top PET scanner dedicated for mouse imaging, was designed and developed in this work. The aim of the PETbox4 scanner is to achieve very high sensitivity and produce high quality PET tomographic images for molecular imaging based biomedical research. Performance of the prototype PETbox4 system was characterized using the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU 4-2008 standards. Due to the different characteristics caused by the compact geometrical factors, PETbox4 requires data acquisition protocols that differ from those optimized for conventional large diameter ring systems. In this work the energy window for data acquisitions with PETbox4 was optimized using the Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission (GATE) simulation. A lower level discriminator (LLD) of 350 keV was proposed as the optimized energy threshold. Pulse pileup is a common problem in multiplexed scintillator detectors readout by resistor divider networks. In this work, a new pileup rejection method named position shift rejection (PSR) is introduced. The PSR method is based on the detection of position shifts on event location as the signal is being integrated. Both simulations and physical measurements show that PSR performs more accurate rejection and avoids erroneous rejection and loss of sensitivity compared to the conventional leading edge rejection (LER) method.A new phoswich DOI Detector with crystal scatter identification capability is being designed and developed for implementation in a next generation small animal PET system at UCLA. Both simulations and measurements were performed to evaluate the characteristics and benefits of the proposed design. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that the proposed detector is feasible and can potentially lead to a high spatial resolution, high sensitivity and DOI PET system.


Income tax systems are multi-dimensional, and ignoring their non-rate aspects can introduce bias into cross-country empirical estimation of the impact of taxation. We analyze 10 non-rate tax system aspects, codified based on recent OECD reports. We find that a single factor (which we call Dispersed Responsibility), related to the role of taxpayers and third parties in tax collection, can reasonably summarize the cross-country covariation, and offer it as a parsimonious measure of non-rate tax system dimensions for future empirical analysis. We also ascertain that a standard measure of trust in government is positively associated, holding other determinants constant, with greater administrator coverage and administrative assessment, as well as more serious sanctions for non-compliance. Ethnic heterogeneity, individualism, and a history of external conflict also can explain certain aspects of tax systems. We find that countries with greater trust in government score lower on Dispersed Responsibility. Finally, we find that adding a measure of the number of tax authority employees can eliminate the otherwise significant positive estimated coefficient of GDP per capita on the tax level, and attracts a significant positive correlation itself, suggesting that the extent of tax administration and enforcement is part of the story that explains the enduring statistical regularity between tax levels and per capita income. JEL classification: C72, M41


Solar energy is a clean and natural energy source. The solar radiation on earth – including at Arctic latitudes – is so large that it is possible to utilize solar energy on a large scale. Using solar energy means reducing the use of fossil fuels. The use of solar energy varies from country to country, as does the design of the solar heating systems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the solar radiation potential in Greenland, and to investigate how a solar heating system for Greenland should be designed. In the Arctic several conditions must be taken into account in terms of solar radiation at these latitudes. The sun is positioned low on the sky, which means that the optimum tilt angle of a receiving surface will increase. Also most solar radiation appears in the summertime, where there, at latitudes above the Arctic Circle, is solar radiation 24 hours a day and radiation from all directions. The reflection from the snow will increase the solar radiation on tilted surfaces. The potential of utilizing solar radiation is evaluated based on measurements from several different climate stations in Greenland. An investigation of solar radiation models and their suitability for locations in Greenland is carried out. The investigation analyses the diffuse correlation methods developed by 'Erbs et al.' and 'Orgill and Hollands'. The results show that the two correlations both underestimate the diffuse radiation and overestimate the beam radiation, with 'Orgill and Hollands' as the most accurate. Further an investigation of four different radiation models is carried out and shows that they are not suitable for the conditions in Greenland. Of the four models the 'Liu and Jordan' model the simple isotropic model is the most accurate. In Sisimiut measurements of the total radiation and the ground reflected radiation have been carried out since 2003. This data provides the basis for an investigation of the reflection coefficient for the ground for periods with and without snow. The measurements show that snow reflects solar radiation like a mirror. The effective albedo is therefore given as a function of the difference between the solar azimuth and the surface azimuth. Equations for the effective albedo is determined for each month of the year based on the measurements, and can be used as input for simulation models. The solar heating systems respectively in the Low Energy House and at the Knud Rasmussen Folk High School in Sisimiut have both provided practical experience of operation and performance of solar heating systems in an Arctic climate. Experience from the installation and repair of the systems showed that trained installers are of vital importance to insure a good performance of the systems. The operation of the solar heating system at the Low Energy House showed that thermosyphoning was a problem during the cold winter months. This is now prevented by a magnetic valve controlled by the pump in the solar collector loop.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the frequency and diagnostic significance of alveolar hemorrhage (AH) in HIV-infected patients.

DESIGN
A 3-year prospective cohort study.

SETTING
A university hospital in Paris, France.

PATIENTS
Two hundred forty-three HIV-infected patients undergoing 273 BAL procedures during the study period.

METHODS
AH was assessed by using the Golde score. Data on the patients treated and observed in our institution were collected, as well as on their survival rate 12 months after undergoing BAL. Risk factors for AH were sought by comparing patients with AH (cases) and those without AH (control subjects).

RESULTS
AH frequently occurred but usually was subclinical and cytologically mild. AH did not alter the 12-month survival rate. AH always was associated with at least one specific AIDS-related pulmonary disorder, and the following four independent risk factors were identified in a stepwise forward logistic regression model: pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma (KS; odds ratio [OR], 5.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8 to 16.7; p = 0.003), cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonia (OR, 9.8; 95% CI, 1 to 100; p = 0.05), hydrostatic pulmonary edema (OR, 16.4; 95% CI, 1.8 to 142; p = 0.01), and platelet count < 60,000 cells/microL (OR, 5.6; 95% CI, 1.5 to 20; p = 0.009).

CONCLUSIONS
AH is frequently diagnosed during BAL in HIV-infected patients. Its presence may point to an underlying cause, such as pulmonary KS, CMV pneumonia, or hydrostatic pulmonary edema, or to triggering factors such as thrombocytopenia.


Members of National Association of Branch Campus Administrators (NABCA) have spent three years crafting a survey instrument for assessing the leadership abilities and skills of branch administrators. In pursuit of the goal to investigate four leadership dimensions: diagnosing, implementing, visioning, and entrepreneurial, a pilot survey was distributed at the 2010 NABCA conference in the official packets for attendees. Results show predictive relationships between many activities and tasks, paving the way for fature analysis and refinement of the assessment instrument.


The initialization of real-time centimeter-accuracy GPS (i.e., based on carrier phases) can be performed while in motion. Although included results are postprocessed, the algorithms are currently being implemented for real-time navigation, and the results will be essentially the same. The goal of the initialization procedure is to determine the double-difference carrier phase integer ambiguities.

This paper reports the benefit to the initialization procedure of additional knowledge or constraints. As an example, it shows the speedup (meaning fewer epochs, not computational speed) of the initialization procedure and increased reliability using a priori knowledge of the average ellipsoidal height of the antenna phase center on a marine platform. As another example, it shows the benefit of prior knowledge of one or two double-difference integer biases, either alone or coupled with a priori knowledge of the ellipsoidal height of the antenna phase center.


Author(s): McKinney de Royston, Maxine Ramona | Advisor(s): Suad Nasir, Na'ilah | Abstract: Discussions about gaps in achievement and opportunity, educational debts, and educational inequities, point to the lingering salience and pernicious role of race in schools (Hilliard, 2003; Ladson Billings, 2006; Noguera, 2003). Yet, reforms are often characterized by a "quick-fix mentality and single-solution approach" (Lee, 2008, p. 208) that do not explicitly address racism nor attempt comprehensive shifts in approaches to education or schooling. Racial inequalities and racism, however, are historical issues African American youth and families have struggled with relative to education (Ladson Billings, 2006; Morris, 2002; Wells a Crain, 1997). In a post-Brown v. Board of Education context the periodic emergence of African American private, independent, and charter schools, and the myriad of reasons why African American families attend them and opt out of traditional public school options, should be a call to educators and educational researchers to rethink the "problems" of education, reconsider the impacts of schools on African American students' educational and non-educational well-being, and more deeply consider what types of social change are and are not possible through schools.Culturally relevant pedagogies and curriculum (i.e. Afrocentric) claim to address issues of access, inclusion, and racism in schools by empowering "students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes" (Ladson Billings, 1992, p.382) to cultivate a strong academic base, and foster students' positive self-worth and racial and cultural identities (Asante, 1991; Ladson Billings, 1992; Mudhabuti a Mudhabuti, 1991); protective factors believed to help children cope with and combat racism (Boykin a Toms, 1985). This study examines the enactment and perceived impacts of such an approach through an in-depth examination a 31 year-old African American elementary school that has a racially diverse teaching faculty and over an 80% college-going rate by alumni. Using ethnographic observations, surveys, and interviews, this study analyzes: 1) What are the pedagogical philosophies and practices within this school that are intended to challenge racism?; 2) How does racial socialization occur at this school?; and 3) What are alumni and parents' perceptions about the school's attempts to challenge racism and socialize students into positive racial identities? The analytical lenses of African-centered pedagogy (Lee, 2008) and racial socialization (Boykin a Toms, 1985) are employed to highlight the politically relevant pedagogical philosophies and practices enacted at this northern California school. Findings indicate that parents and alumni positively evaluate the schools' philosophies of teaching to the "whole child," to the teaching style, and to the school's commitment to an expansive notion of Education. Specifically, parents and alumni perceived the greatest impact of the school as fostering a nurturing community, cultivating student responsibility and accountability, developing students' positive racial identities and tools to handle racism, elements perceived as affecting alumni's educational success and personal development. This study can help to inform the process of preparing and mentoring more culturally competent and politically relevant teachers and school leaders (King, 1991; Tatum, 1992); revolutionize policies around education and schooling; and more fully build upon the innate capacity and desire to learn of all children, particularly those who have been disserved by schools and society.


Programming is undoubtedly one of the most important skills needed in the field of information technology as the use of IT requires applications that can only be developed through programming. However, the number of programmers in Malaysia is still low. Most often, Malaysia imports programmers from abroad such as Indonesia and India to serve its need in system development. This occurs because even for students who are studying IT or computer science, programming is not a career option. To overcome this problem, the government of Malaysia has taken the initiative to introduce the subject of ICT and Computer Programming courses in schools. The initiative however is still unable to attract the desired number of students to programming. Thus Embedded Systems Programming (ESP) module is developed to attract students to programming. ESP module is not much different from the existing modules for C programming, but it uses electronic components, such as LED, LCD, 7-segment display and motors as output. Testing on the effectiveness of the modules was conducted at four schools that comprise the overall participation of 71 students. Students were taught three days modules and learning outcomes were assessed based on quizzes, survey questions and observations by the instructors. The results received were positive by looking at the students' achievements and commitment in learning this subject.


This study investigates the usefulness of public opinion survey in China for political research. Using data from the World Values Survey and from several Chinese public opinion surveys, my central inquiry consists of three separate but interrelated issues: are public opinion survey data from China truthful, meaningful, and comparable? I frame these questions in a comparative perspective and in the transitional contexts of China. By examining the issues of item-nonresponse, norm-seeking response, and cross-national comparability, I show that the validity of survey response in Chinese opinion surveys is mainly influenced by the respondents' cognitive ability, political interest, media exposure, and cultural difference. Political control is present in the form of response effect and information control, but it should not be a serious concern about the use of Chinese survey data.


The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 calls for science to support policy move toward more holistic solutions to disaster risk. This paper outlines an original framework to promote inter-disciplinary research into disaster causation, identifying the basis for holistic solutions. The PEARL Risk Root Cause Analysis framework responds to limits identified in the established FORensic INvestigations of disasters (FORIN) approach to root cause analysis. The paper documents a systematic review of the FORIN approach as a starting point for the development of the PEARL framework. The proposed PEARL framework offers a broad and adaptable conceptual, methodological and practical approach. In particular, we demonstrate the centrality of governance, including the role of disaster risk management in risk creation, of bringing historical insights into contemporary and future scenarios planning and of integrating research methods. These core elements can assist in repositioning science to better support the goals of the Sendai Framework.


My remarks will cover three main points: 1. The clashing norms of international law enmeshed in the topic of statehood; 2. An examination of why international law has stagnated on issues pertaining to secession as evidenced in two recent International Court of Justice cases: the Kosovo advisory opinion (2010) and the Italy v. Germany case (2012); 3. Suggestions about necessary developments before this area of law can move forward, particularly as it relates to self-determination and secession. THE CLASHING NORMS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ENMESHED IN THE TOPIC OF STATEHOOD There are two sets of international law norms that come into play in the statehood arena. These norms are often opposed to each other. On one side are the norms of sovereignty, equality of states, territorial integrity, political independence, non-intervention, and the right of states to choose any form of government they wish. To this might be added the right of a foreign state to help a government put down rebels when so requested by that government, and the prohibition on foreign governments assisting rebels in other states. These last two norms can be seen in the ICJ's Nicaragua case (1986, Merits), although the recent Security Council authorizations with respect to Libya tend to cut against this older set of norms. On the other side is the whole of the human rights movement emphasizing individual and group rights, and sometimes responsibilities, and moving away from the state-centered version of international law. These rights include, among other things, the right to participate in government; the right not to be discriminated against by one's government on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, culture, language, gender, or disability; and various rights to due process, including the right not to be tortured; and finally the much discussed responsibility to protect, which, in some of its iterations, would permit intervention by other states when certain fundamental norms are violated by the state or when the state is unable to prevent the violation of such norms. These two sets of international law norms vie for superiority when we examine the creation of new states arising out of claims based on self-determination, particularly claims of secession which lie at the far end of the spectrum of self-determination. The early movement on the norms connected with the creation of new states came with the anti-colonial movement, so that now it is uncontroversial to assert that colonially governed peoples have the right to rule themselves as an independent state. The fight to independence is also evident in the much recited right of people suffering alien occupation, subjugation, or exploitation to separate and become independent, although courts and scholars seldom give examples. Beyond that, the norm of secession has stagnated. The few examples of successful secession, such as Eritrea or East Timor, are not considered sufficient to create a customary norm endorsing secession in similar circumstances. AN EXAMINATION OF WHY INTERNATIONAL LAW HAS STAGNATED ON ISSUES PERTAINING TO SECESSION Two recent ICJ cases exemplify the stagnation of international law relating to secession. First, the Kosovo advisory opinion (2010): having been asked by the UN General Assembly whether the declaration of independence by the provisional institutions of self-government in Kosovo were in accordance with international law, the Court first decided to issue an opinion. It then asked states for their views and received 37 briefs, further comments by 14 states, plus Kosovo, and oral statements by 28 states, plus Kosovo. The Court stated that the group that issued the declaration was merely an ad hoc group of citizens and that there is no international law with respect to ad hoc groups declaring independence. Hardly what one would call an enlightening opinion! The Court refused to examine the legal consequences of the declaration or "the validity or the legal effects of the recognition of Kosovo" by many states. …


To elucidate the role of the fusion peptide in influenza hemagglutinin (HA)-mediated fusion, we compared pH-dependent conformational changes and fusion mediated by wild-type and a mutant HA in which Glu residues at positions 11 and 15 of the fusion peptide are substituted for valine. The pH dependence of conformational changes and kinetics of fusion with erythrocytes was the same for both forms of HA. The time for commitment and the temperature dependence of HA-mediated fusion were also the same. However, striking differences were observed between wild-type and mutant fusion peptides in their interactions with lipid membranes at neutral and acidic pH. Since elimination of the negatively charged residues allows the exposed fusion peptide to penetrate the bilayer at pH values closer to neutral, but does not affect conformational changes and fusion activity in intact HA, we conclude that conformational changes are tightly coupled to fusion peptide insertion in the overall HA-mediated fusion cascade.


This study investigates the imprints of early Paleogene sea level changes on biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental conditions at Gebel Falig in North Sinai. Biostratigraphic analysis has allowed the recognition of 17 planktic biozones (Pa–E5) ranging from Early Danian to Ypresian, representing continuous sedimentation despite the absence of Zone PO. Based on%P, four sea-level transgression cycles of the 3rd order have been recognized, the first cycle, spanning from Pa to P3a, is bounded by shallowing phases at the K/Pg andD/S boundaries, where sea level reached amaximum at the P1c/P2 subzonal boundary with a minor eurybathic shift in the upper part of subzone P1a. A gradual buildup of the faunal community in this cycle occurred within oligotrophic conditions. The second cycle includes subzone P3b, representing a middle neritic environment with a recovery of the benthic community and return of oligotrophic conditions. The third transgressive cycle extends from the upper part of Subzone P3b to Zone P5.Carbonate dissolution obliterated most of the benthic and planktic forms within Zone P5, but the occurrence of Kolchidina paleocenica within this interval may suggest a shallow marine environment. The Paleocene oligotrophic conditions ended abruptly with the extinction of Angulogavelinella avnimelechi at the P/E boundary. The last cycle extends from the base of Zone E1 to Zone E5. It is characterized by high %P and very low benthic diversity, which may have been due to environmental stress. It is concluded that shallowing and surface eutrophication due to upwelling are the main factors controlling the development of diagnostic Early Eocene assemblages in the study area and at other sites on the southern Tethys margin.


Globally-constrained classical fields provide a unexplored framework for modeling quantum phenomena, including apparent particle-like behavior. By allowing controllable constraints on unknown past fields, these models are retrocausal but not retro-signaling, respecting the conventional block universe viewpoint of classical spacetime. Several example models are developed that resolve the most essential problems with using classical electromagnetic fields to explain single-photon phenomena. These models share some similarities with Stochastic Electrodynamics, but without the infinite background energy problem, and with a clear path to explaining entanglement phenomena. Intriguingly, the average intermediate field intensities share a surprising connection with quantum "weak values", even in the single-photon limit. This new class of models is hoped to guide further research into spacetime-based accounts of weak values, entanglement, and other quantum phenomena.


"If 'Anne' thinks she is going to get the position of director of the Interfaith Recovery just because she has been doing it for the last six weeks, she is mistaken. She is not a professional and she does not have the education. As a board member I can't support her." This was spoken not at a board meeting but along the banks of a river. Dick was fishing for salmon (and having no luck). Kris was doing a different kind of fishing — and they were biting. The 'bait' had been taken and the fight was to begin…. "They have just left us black folks out," said 'Beatrice' about the white interfaith recovery organization. 'Beatrice' and women from the black community told Kris, "Can you help us?" Kris who carries a community organizing tackle box with everything in it said…


Electric vehicles and photovoltaic power generation are two of factors that are increasing the demands on the electrical grid. To cope with these challenges and to improve grid stability, the development of a transformer monitoring system as a fundamental part of the smart grid is necessary. Dissolved hydrogen in the transformer oil can serve as a primary indicator of the transformer health. Depending on the hydrogen concentration and rate of increase the transformer can be diagnosed.  The goal of this thesis was to develop a highly sensitive hydrogen sensor for online health monitoring of transformers.  The developed sensors are based on palladium and fiber Bragg gratings (FBG). Palladium expands with hydrogen absorption and this expansion is measured with an FBG. Detailed guidance for optimizing the sensor design is given. First, the selection of the working temperature is discussed. Second, the influence of the palladium geometry on the sensitivity is elaborated: by varying the cross-sectional area ratio of palladium to fiber the sensitivity can be tuned. Two different options to attach palladium are discussed: vapour deposition of palladium and adhesive bonding of palladium foils. The sensitivity of the palladium foil sensors was improved by improved manufacturing processes. The foil sensor have a sensitivity of up to 295 pm/% hydrogen and a resolution of 0.006% hydrogen in gas atmosphere at 90◦C and 1060 mbar.  To further increase the hydrogen sensitivity two concepts for amplification of the signal are presented. One relies on palladium silver foils, which have an increased hydrogen solubility and therefore expansion compared to pure palladium, which achieved an increase in sensitivity of a factor of 17. This leads to sensitivity of over 4500 pm/% hydrogen, which is the most sensitive hydrogen sensor reported so far. The other concept relies on a novel concept for strain concentration using a pre-strained palladium foil and FBG, which achieved an amplification of a factor of 2.5.  The sensors were characterised in gas and oil environment in a newly developed setup which is stable in pressure, temperature and gas concentration. In gas the sensors were tested at 60, 75, 90, 105, and 120◦C and for a hydrogen concentration range of 0.01 (100 ppm) to 5%. In oil the sensor was tested at 90◦C and for a hydrogen concentration range of 5- 4000 ppm dissolved hydrogen. Furthermore, the influence of carbon monoxide (CO) on the hydrogen sensitivity was examined. A slowed response could be observed, but CO had no impact on the precision of the sensor.  Finally, the hydrogen calibration of the sensor is discussed by investigating the strain transfer between expanding palladium and fiber. Three different methods are elaborated to determine the coefficient of strain transfer: (a) via hydrogen measurement, (b) via temperature measurement, and (c) via strain measurement. Methods (a) and (b) were applied directly on the hydrogen sensor, and gave similar results. Method (c) was applied on a reference structure and used to verify method (b).  A hydrogen sensor suitable for transformer health monitoring has been developed and characterised, and is currently being implemented in a transformer in the New Zealand network.


New Zealand white rabbits (n=6) were challenged with the South Indian local strain of Trypanosoma evansi. Each animal was infected with 5x105 trypanosomes subcutaneously. Animals were daily examined for the development of clinical signs using wet blood-films sampled from the ear veins. Clinically, intermittent pyrexia, undulating parasitaemia, anorexia and emaciation were predominant. Three months post infection, rabbits were sacrificed, detailed postmortem examination was carried out and representative tissue samples were fixed. Gross pathological changes including paleness of visceral organs, gelatinization of fat, congested and oedematous lungs,mucoid enteritis, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly were noticed. Histopathologically, internal organs elucidated clear changes consisted of severe hepatic fatty change, pulmonary congestion with thickened interstitial spaces and emphysema, degeneration of the renal epithelium associated with cystic tubular formation and congested red pulp.


We present a way finding system that uses a range camera and an array of vibrotactile elements which we built into a helmet. The range camera is a Kinect 3D sensor from Microsoft that is meant to be kept stationary, and used to watch the user (i.e., to detect the person's gestures). Rather than using the camera to look at the user, we reverse the situation, by putting the Kinect range camera on a helmet for being worn by the user. In our case, the Kinect is in motion rather than stationary. Whereas stationary cameras have previously been used for gesture recognition, which the Kinect does very well, in our new modality, we take advantage of the Kinect's resilience against rapidly changing background scenery, where the background in our case is now in motion (i.e., a conventional wearable camera would be presented with a constantly changing background that is difficult to manage by mere background subtraction). The goal of our project is collision avoidance for blind or visually impaired individuals, and for workers in harsh environments such as industrial environments with significant 3-dimensional obstacles, as well as for use in low-light environments.


Green marketing is a phenomenon which has developed particular importance in the modern market. This concept has enabled for the re-marketing and packaging of existing products which already adhere to such guidelines. We all know what actually green marketing is but in recent trends "Digital Eco Marketing" has emerged as an important concept in India as in other parts of the developing and developed countries. It is a new revolution in India in late 1990's .There is a radical change in consumer preferences and life styles. There has been a change in consumer's attitude towards a Digital Eco lifestyle.  Additionally the development of green marketing has opened the door of opportunity for companies to co-brand their products into separate line lauding the green-friendliness of some while ignoring that of others. Such marketing techniques will be explained as a direct result of movement in the minds of the consumer market. This paper discusses how businesses have increased their rate of targeting green consumers and how digitalization has impacted green marketing India and other counties. The paper also examines the present trends of green marketing in India and will also discuss the concept of "Digital Eco Marketing" describes the reason why companies are adopting it and future of green marketing and concludes that though their initiatives are different but goals are similar.


A 43-year-old male patient was diagnosed as having hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein thrombosis and arterioportal shunts. Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) with high focal dose was given to the left portal venous area. Shrinkage of the tumour and thrombus, disappearance of the arterioportal shunts and restoration of the hepatopedal flow of the portal vein was noted 3 months after treatment. The patient received further transarterial embolisation and achieved successful tumour control. No serious complications were encountered. 3DCRT is technically feasible and effective to treat a small volume of liver tissue with a high dose of radiation in this advanced disease.


Isolated abdominal aortic dissection is a rare clinical entity. We report a single-center experience with six patients with acute isolated abdominal aortic dissection managed during a period of seven years. The patients' median age was 62 years and they were predominantly male. All patients presented acutely with abdominal pain, one with hypovolemic shock due to aortic rupture, two with acute lower limb ischemia and one with buttock necrosis. Interestingly, one major symptom was astasia observed in four patients that resolved postoperatively. Computed tomography scan of the thoracic and abdominal aorta was the main diagnostic tool in all patients. Treatment consisted of open repair in three cases and endovascular repair with stent-graft deployment in the remaining three patients. One patient died postoperatively from multiorgan failure. Although natural history and treatment strategies of isolated abdominal aortic dissection have not been well defined, accurate clinical diagnosis and prompt management are essential to prevent adverse complications. Moreover, sudden development of astasia should alert the physician about this pathologic entity. 2009 Published by European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.


Monastery of Stoudios, dated back to the reign of Eastern Roman Empire, is known to be the oldest surviving –albeit partially- religious building in Istanbul. During sixteen centuries, the building has been exposed to several earthquakes, fires and other minor disasters which have caused considerable damages and partial destruction in some of its sections. As a part of a general master plan for the structural condition assessment of historical buildings and monuments of Istanbul, this study aims to evaluate the seismic resistance of the monastery against future excitations. The expected failures and corresponding preventive/controlling repairs and strengthening measures will also be discussed in the article.


Bracing describes a tongue posture in which the tongue is in contact with the vocal tract surface . Lateral bracing, in particular, refers to when the sides of the tongue contact the roof of the mouth, along either the upper molars or hard palate. Previous research has found evidence of lateral bracing in six native speakers of different languages [Cheng et al. 2017.  Canadian Acoustics ,  45 (3), 186-187]. The current study examines lateral bracing cross-linguistically at a larger scale using ultrasound technology to image tongue movement. We tracked and measured the magnitude of vertical tongue movement at three positions (left, right, and middle) over time using Flow Analyzer [Barbosa, 2014. J Acoust Soc Am, 136(4), 2105-2105]. Preliminary results across all six languages, including Cantonese, English, French, Korean, Mandarin and Spanish, show that the sides of the tongue are more stable than the center and stays at a relatively high position in the mouth. The magnitude of movement at the sides are significantly smaller than the center of the tongue. Further, releases of the sides vary in frequency for different languages. Taken together, this gives evidence that bracing is a physiological fact about speech production irrespective of the language spoken.


The shifted 1/N expansion method is used to study the spectral properties of two interacting electrons confined in a QD, under influence of a uniform magnetic field of arbitrary strength. We give explanation to the transitions in the spin and angular momenta of the QD ground state as the magnetic field sweeps. The electron addition energy is also calculated. Based on different comparisons , the shifted 1/N expansion method gives very good result against various methods used to study the spectra of a two electron QD.


Cellular signal transduction involves a transport step from the plasma membrane towards the nucleus, during which the signaling molecules are partly deactivated in control loops. This leads to a gradient in the concentration of active signaling molecules. The low number of molecules introduces spatio-temporal fluctuations and the asymmetric cellular architecture further increases the complexity. We propose a technique to represent this pattern in a continuous three-dimensional concentration map. The local concentration is computed and visualized with volume rendering techniques at interactive frame rates and is therefore well-suited for time-dependent data. Our approach allows the transition from the nano-scale of single and discrete signaling proteins to a continuous signal on the cell level. In the application context of this paper, we employ an agent-based Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the actual particle positions depending on reaction and transport parameters in the cell. The applicability of the proposed technique is demonstrated by an investigation of the effects of different transport parameters in Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling.


On 24-25 June 2010, the BIS held its Ninth Annual Conference, on "The future of central banking under post-crisis mandates" in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event brought together senior representatives of central banks and academic institutions who exchanged views on this topic. This volume contains the opening address by Stephen Cecchetti (Economic Adviser, BIS), a keynote address by Baron Alexandre Lamfalussy, and the contributions of the policy panel on "Do central bank governance arrangements need to be altered?". The participants in the policy panel discussion, chaired by Jaime Caruana (General Manager, BIS), were Mark Carney (Bank of Canada), Andrew Crockett (JPMorgan Chase International), Stefan Ingves (Sveriges Riksbank), Lucas Papademos (former Vice-President, ECB) and Duvvuri Subbarao (Reserve Bank of India). The papers presented at the conference and the discussants' comments were released as BIS Working Papers 326 to 331.


Introduction: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (lupus) and its unpredictable flares have lowering the patients' quality of life significantly. Precipitating factors' exposures need to be reduced by doing preventive behaviors to reduce the frequency of lupus flare. This study aimed to analyze the correlation between precipitating factors and preventive behavior in lupus patients. Method: This is a cros-sectional study. Population was all lupus patients doing regular check-up in Rheumatology Unit of Dr. Soetomo Public Hospital, Surabaya. Sample was lupus patients who did regular check-up in the period of October-December 2014 and matched to sample's criteria. Sample size was 36 enrolled by means of total sampling. Independent variabel: precipitating factors of lupus flare; dependent variable: knowledge of lupus, attitude (self-efficacy) and preventive action towards exposures. Instruments used were questionnaire of lupus precipitating factors and ODAPUSHEBI (part 1,2,3). Data analysis used Spearman Rho correlation with α<0.05. Result: Most respondents are late adulthood, get married, high school graduates and actively working. The majority had lupus for 1-2 years. Precipitating factors were mostly physical stres (66.7%). Symptom of lupus that most often relapse was joint pain. Knowledge of lupus in all respondents was high, as for attitude mostly were high and most respondents doing optimal preventive action. There was no correlation between the precipitating factors of lupus flare with lupus knowledge (p=0.342) and attitude (p=0.651). There was a weak but significant correlation between the precipitating factors with preventive action (r = 0.360; p=0.031). Discussion: Precipitating factors of lupus flare vary among patients so that preventive actions taken adjust to the type of exposure. The preventive action taken optimally could minimize the recurrence of lupus flare. There is a correlation between the precipitating factors of flare with preventive action in lupus patients.


Stock market plays an important role in the economic development of a country. A number of studies have been investigated on the causal relationship between macro-economic indicators and stock exchange prices. But in the context of Pakistan, not many studies can be traced in literature, moreover this study has used the set of macro-economic indicators which has not been previously used by researchers in Pakistan. It has examined the causal relationship between macro-economic indicators and stock market prices in Pakistan. The data from June 1990 to December 2008 have been used to analyze the causal relationship between various macro-economic variables and stock exchange prices. The set of macro-economic indicators includes; inflation, exchange rate, balances of trade and index of industrial production, whereas the stock exchange prices have been represented by the general price index of the Karachi Stock Exchange, which is the largest stock exchange in Pakistan. The statistical techniques used include unit root Augmented Dickey Fuller test, Johansen's co-integration and Granger's causality test. The study found co-integration between industrial production index and stock exchange prices. However, no causal relationship was found between macro-economic indicators and stock exchange prices in Pakistan. Which means performance of macro-economic indicators cannot be used to predict stock prices; moreover stock prices in Pakistan do not reflect the macro-economiccondition of the country.

  Key words: Macro-economic indicators, causality, exchange rate, index of industrial production, inflation, money supply, Pakistan.


This paper tests some of the predictions of recent advances in trade theory that have focused on different trade patterns of firms within the same sector. Helpman, Melitz and Yeaple (2005) develop a model in which innate productivity differences between firms determine the degree of international engagement of firms: The least productive firms produce for the domestic market, better performers engage in export activities, and the top firms establish foreign subsidiaries. Using German firm-level data from 1996 to 2002, we test this prediction using non-parametric methods, by examining the distribution functions of the three subsets of firms for stochastic dominance. Rather than just comparing first moments, this technique allows us to compare productivity over the entire distribution. Our results show robust support for the prediction from theory.


Background: This study provides population-based study of cancer incidence, mortality and survival rates for women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), and evaluate the prognostic factors of EOC patients survival in Brunei Darussalam. Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with EOC between 1st January 2007 and 31st December 2017 in Brunei Darussalam. Crude, age-specific, age-standardized incidence and mortality rates per 100,000 women were calculated. Kaplan-Meier method was used to determine the overall 5-years survival rate. Log-rank test was used to examine the differences in survival between groups. The multivariable Cox Proportional Hazard regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratio for overall survival and to identify the prognostic factors. Results: A total of 207 patients were included in the study. The crude incidence and mortality rates were 9.7 and 3.6 per 100,000 respectively while the age-standardized incidence and mortality rates were 11.3 (95% CI: 9.7,12.9) and 4.5 (95% CI: 3.4,5.6) per 100,000 respectively in the period 2007-2017. The overall mean age at diagnosis was 48.4 (standard deviation=15.3) years. The overall survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years for EOC patients were 79.7%, 69.7%, and 61.4% respectively. Age at diagnosis, cancer stage, and histology were significant prognostic factors for patients' survival. Older age at diagnosis (≥70 years vs <40 years), regional or advanced stage (vs localized stage) and having undifferentiated or other epithelial ovarian (vs serous carcinoma) were associated with having higher hazard of death. Conclusion: Early detection of disease should be emphasized through public education and raising awareness to improve survival rates of patients with EOC.


Abstract Previous studies in patients receiving interferon-α (IFN-α) therapy and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus have demonstrated that elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of IFN-α are associated with cognitive dysfunction. We measured IFN-α levels in CSF and blood by ELISA in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with ( n = 21) and without ( n = 23) dementia and HIV-negative controls ( n = 48). IFN-α was significantly elevated in the CSF of HIV-positive patients with dementia compared to those without dementia and controls. An increasing amount of IFN-α in the CSF was correlated with the clinical parameter of increasing Memorial Sloan Kettering scores; although these correlations were not statistically significant, they further suggest an association of increased CSF IFN-α with neurocognitive dysfunction in AIDS. Immunocytochemical staining of brains demonstrated IFN-α-positive macrophages and astrocytes in frontal cortex and white matter and IFN-α mRNA was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, further indicating that IFN-α is made by cells within the brain and suggesting that the significant increases of IFN-α protein found in the CSF of patients with HIV-associated dementia complex are derived from intrinsic brain cells such as macrophages and astrocytes. Increased local production of IFN-α during HIV infection may contribute directly or indirectly to the pathogenesis of HIV-associated dementia.


Staphylococcus aureus is the emerging and prevalent pathogen causing serious infections in community and hospital associated diseases. S. aureus resistant to methicillin is nowadays a big and expanding problem of concern in India. Amongst the different pathogens, S. aureus is being studied for prevalence of infections and drug resistance behavior. The present study describes the dominance of Staphylococcus aureus prevalence in the clinical samples of TMU, Moradabad, India. The study showed the isolation of 450 cultures of S. aureus from different samples. Amongst which, 234 isolates of S. aureus were from pus, 164 isolates were from blood, 15 isolates were from respiratory fluid samples, 33 isolates were from urine samples and 04 isolates were from ear swabs and nasal swabs. These strains of S. aureus were screened for characteristic coagulase assay. The strains were found to be coagulase positive and coagulases negative both. It was observed that, amongst, 450 isolates of Staphylococci, 185 (41.11%) strains were coagulase positive and 265 (58.88%) were coagulase negative. A total of 142 (76.75%) of the coagulase positive staphylococci strains shows resistance to methicillin and 202 (76.22%) coagulase negative strains showed methicillin resistance. Methicillin resistance was consistent when tested with other antibiotics in coagulase positive strains but when studied about coagulase negative strains, about 12.5% strains showed sensitivity with other antibiotics although they were found resistant when checked with methicillin. It was determined that, on an average, 85 (18.88%) Staphylococci strains were resistant.


Doctors, like other professional people, are expected to exercise proper care in their work. If they neglect to do so and their patients are harmed they can expect to be criticised. Over the past decade, this criticism has increasingly taken the form of civil action against the doctor by patients or their families who seek financial recompense. More rarely, a patient dies as a result of alleged negligence and the Crown Prosecution Service considers that a criminal charge of manslaughter is justified. Up to 1990 these cases were very rare. In 1970, Leahy Taylor wrote that it was "unlikely in the extreme" that any doctor would face a charge of criminal negligence.1 He was aware of only two cases, those of Dr Percy Bateman, who had been convicted of manslaughter after an obstetric patient died, but was later pardoned on appeal,2 and a Dr Wight, who had been sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment for performing a forceps delivery while he was under the influence of chloral hydrate, as a result of which the mother died. In 1867 a Dr Spencer was acquitted of manslaughter after a medication error in which strychnine was dispensed to a patient instead of bismuth.3 This article focuses on errors in administering anaesthetics and in prescribing and giving medicines since these are the most common mistakes described in published reports.

#### Summary points

If a doctor is grossly negligent and the patient dies as a result, the doctor can be charged with manslaughter

The numbers of doctors charged with and convicted of manslaughter have increased appreciably in the past decade

Blaming one or a few people for an error that may be the result of difficulties at many stages in a complex process is dangerous

This action encourages secrecy and inhibits system changes that would reduce …


The diterpenoid natural product taxol, first discovered in the
1960's has proved to be the most important new anticancer drug
introduced in the last ten years. A brief history of taxol's
development from laboratory curiosity to blockbuster drug is followed by a
summary of its chemistry, including an overview of the six completed
syntheses of taxol. The review concludes with a discussion of its
bioactivity as a promoter of tubulin polymerization and as a drug.


The ethanol extract of the root bark of Terminalia sericea yielded an unreported stilbene glycoside, 3'5'-dihydroxy-4-(2-hydroxy-ethoxy) resveratrol-3-O-beta-rutinoside (1) together with known compounds resveratrol-3-beta-rutinoside glycoside (2), 3',4,5'-Trihydroxystilbene (resveratrol) (3), triterpenoic acid arjungenin and a mixture of beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol. Structure determination of the isolated compounds was achieved on the basis of spectroscopic measurements.


Given the need for every company to be cost-effective, it comes as no wonder that
Management does not wish to allocate many resources to information security while on the same
time demands a perfect and exhaustive coverage of its infrastructure and applications. This paper
will deal with possible ways to maximize the efficiency of a Security Operations Center (SOC), a
specialized team responsible to centralize and manage the totality of security operations regarding
an IT infrastructure, in order to protect proactively and respond, in real time, to security events.
Using a fully operational network of a company as the base for the experiments, multiple real
life attack scenarios were reproduced in order to study the results, adapt the defensive mechanisms
using the acquired feedback and present the gained experience. These results can be used as an
exhaustive guideline for anyone interested in setting up efficiently a Security Operations Center.
Through the best practices proposed by the paper, a security analyst will be able to adapt and fine
tune a SOC to the specific context of the organization in question, while making sure that no critical
elements are overseen or forgotten. Moreover, this paper will give answers about how to provide to
the upper-management layers of an organization a service that will minimize security risks and
mitigate security events while being cost-effective and efficient. Detailed descriptions of the
necessary tools for the centralization, monitoring and resolution of security events as well as how
should they be configured and fine tuned are also included.
Even though the description of all the procedures is exhaustive, through the conducted
experiments it was made clear that in order to have an efficient SOC, which translates to a constant,
realistic and reacting monitoring and protection of an IT infrastructure, a continuous and systematic
procedure needs to be implemented in order to update, adapt and fine tune the techniques
employed by the SOC, depending on the evolution of the demands, the needs, and all kind of
changes associated to the organization in question. Therefore, there are no plug and play solutions
that can be deployed and then forgotten, no matter the cost. Human expertise is always required
and plays a crucial role to the whole procedure of protecting the IT infrastructure.


In recent years, interest in the welfare levels of ancient economies has increased considerably, partly in a quest to find the origins of present-day income differences. A popular method for calculating income differences is the use of subsistence ratios that indicate whether the wage of an unskilled male labourer is sufficient to purchase enough products and services to maintain his family. In this paper, we present new estimates for the southeastern part of Han China and modify existing estimates for the eastern half of the Roman Empire (Egypt and Syria) and Babylonia to make them comparable. We find that the agricultural regions of Egypt and Babylonia experienced substantially lower subsistence ratios than Syria and southeastern Han China. We find that the main reason for the difference was that unskilled male workers belonged to the higher income brackets in southeastern Han China and Syria. This finding can be explained by the small group of free wage workers in these societies, combined with excess demand for this type of labour in the Eastern Roman Empire and southeastern Han China.


A [100] 45° twist plus 7.5° tilt grain boundary in aluminium prepared by cold rolling and annealing has been studied by high-resolution electron microscopy. The direct interpretability of the image features in terms of atomic column positions allows structural models of the grain boundary to be developed. The boundary exibits a high concentration of steps due to the 7.5° tilt from a perfect [100] 45° quasiperiodic misorientation. Occurrence of co-incidence and pseudo co-incidence of atomic planes across the interface appears to play an important role in the formation of steps along this boundary. Local relaxation of atoms resulting from the perturbation of the [100] 45° twist bi-crystal determines the boundary structure


This thesis sets the opposition to the First World War in Wales in the context
of the country�s tradition of activism in favour of peace and against a
background of initial enthusiasm in favour of the War. It provides a critical
assessment of the academic interpretation of Wales�s attitudes towards War,
assesses the development of opposition to the continuation of the War from
Autumn 1914 onwards, and describes the range of anti-war activity and
analyses the sources of political and religious opposition to the War.
It provides an analysis of the composition of opposition to the War on religious
grounds in Wales, and considers the significance of the Christian pacifist
organisation, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, together with a review of the
extent of the opposition to the War within Nonconformist denominations. The
significance of key individuals such as Principal Thomas Rees and key Welsh
publications such as Y Deyrnas are highlighted, and particular consideration
is given to the role of millenarian sects within the anti-war movement.
The politically based anti-war movement in Wales is examined primarily
through an analysis of the activities of the Independent Labour Party and its
impact in two of its local strongholds, in Briton Ferry and Merthyr Tydfil. It also
considers the role of the National Council for Civil Liberties and the No-
Conscription Fellowship and those involved in industrial agitation against
conscription in south Wales, and the extent to which this featured as part of
the anti-war movement.
This thesis provides an analysis of the numbers of conscientious objectors in
Wales, their grounds for objection, their geographical distribution and their
political and religious allegiances. It considers how the State dealt with the
challenge of conscientious objection and how successful the anti-war
movement was in challenging military conscription and support for the war in
Wales.


The main result is a two-dimensional identity in law. Let (B t ,L t ) and (β t ,λ t ) be two independent pairs of a linear Brownian motion with its local time at 0. Let A t =∫ 0 t exp(2B s )ds. Then, for fixed t, the pair (sinh(B t ),sinh(L t )) has the same law as (β(A t ),exp(-B t )λ(A t )), and also as (exp(-B t )β(A t ),λ(A t )). This result is an extension of an identity in distribution due to Bougerol that concerned the first components of each pair. Some other related identities are also considered.


Contributing to multidisciplinary studies of human population history, this paper presents an analysis chain to comprehensively model the historical travel environment in Finland, based on a study of spatial patterns of overall accessibility within the country. We created a spatial historical travel environment model over the whole country using high-quality terrain and landscape spatial data, combined with information from historical sources that characterize the landscape in terms of travel effort given the environmental and human-related factors current up until the late 19th century. Spatial analyses of historical travel effort based on the travel environment model indicate travel speeds for different parts of the country, ranging from 0.6 to 5.3 km/h. This is nearly a tenfold range, potentially highly significant for studies relying on historical travel effort and contacts between population groups in Finland. The results show that the overall travel effort in southern Finland is significantly smaller than in the north: almost all areas in southern Finland have average travel speeds above 3 km/h, whereas the average travel speeds below 2.5 km/h are typical in the north. A more detailed study using random 100 km transects highlights the variability of the least-cost routes in different landscapes and between different source data combinations in each cost surface. The paper identifies great potential in combining the existing spatial data archives with archaeological, linguistic, and genetic data in a GIS analysis, to study the travel effort and its impact on the observed spatial patterns of languages, genetic traits, and archaeological findings.


Color blindness is a condition where a person cannot distinguish colors that are of similar contrast. This paper reports an attempt to develop a mobile phone application that can run on any Android or Windows smart phone. The developed application/software tool is able to assist color blind people by converting an image with low contrast to an image with high contrast. The objective of the proposed work was to develop a program on the LabVIEW platform to i) acquire the image whose information should be processed, ii) develop an algorithm to display a high-contrast crisp image of the actual dull image, and iii) identify the colors and characters present in the dull image for messaging to the user's phone. The work was implemented on the LabVIEW platform making use of various image processing tools to identify the color and text from the sign board that otherwise cannot be identified by color blind persons. The implementation was tested with several inputs to validate the performance of the proposed method. It was able to produce accurate results for more than 97.3% of the test inputs.


This is a prospective analysis of 610 patients admitted for abortion at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya, between May and October 1981. 60% of the acute gynecological beds are occupied by abortion seekers, and 62.3% of the total abortion admissions are induced or likely to be induced. Abortion is more common among single adolescent girls who had no knowledge of contraception--43% are adolescent girls; 79% are unmarried; and 60% school girls or unemployed women. 64% of the patients were aware of family planning, but only 20% had used any form of contraception within the previous 12 months. Others were either unaware of, or did not have access to contraceptive devices. In most cases abortion is an alternative to contraception. 25% of the cases are performed by nonmedical personnel using dangerous methods. Such abortions lead to complications, both immediate and long-term. Maternal mortality rate in this study is 3 abortion deaths/1,000 admissions. Mean hospital stay in the induced group is 98 hours, as compared with the 32 hours in the case of the non-induced group. This paper urges that unwanted pregnancies must be prevented through health, family planning and sex education, and effective contraception.


A widely-applicable method for iterating knots is described. This method relies on substitution of portions of a knot with smaller copies of the entire knot. A starting knot is first arranged as a patch of tiles that contains individual tiles similar in shape to the overall patch. Iterative substitution leads to the creation of complex knots that are often esthetically pleasing, particularly for knots possessing a high degree of symmetry. The iteration process is designed to allow repetition ad infinitum; i.e., an infinite number of iterations leads to a unicursal fractal that is, therefore, a (wild) knot.