Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia, is currently facing rapid urbanization and high population growth. Overall population is expected to grow from 3.2 million to 5.5 million inhabitants by 2020 and reach double figures within the next two decades. Car ownership is still significantly low in Addis Ababa, though rapidly increasing mainly due to economic growth and the introduction of low cost private vehicles into the local market. Non-motorised transport, and particularly walking, still dominates the modal split for daily trips in Addis Ababa with an approximate 62% of total trips, whereas public transport service is not adequate to accommodate the respective demand. As a response, the city government of Addis Ababa has recently adopted a city-wide transport plan in order to modernize public transport, support the use of non-motorized transport and tackle the congestion that is generated from the increasing use of private vehicles. The current transport plan includes the construction of seven BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) and two LRT (Light Rail Transport) corridors, as well as improvements in pedestrian facilities, non-motorized transport and parking management. This paper attempts an evaluation of the BRT demonstration corridor (Meskel square to Kaliti) in order to provide recommendations towards a full BRT implementation and set an example of BRT design that can be used as a reference for the future BRT systems in Ethiopia and East Africa. The evaluation takes into consideration aspects such as BRT infrastructure, accessibility, road safety, operational efficiency, traffic and parking management, and integration of non-motorized transport features.


Solar electricity from photovoltaic (PV) panel is the important source of renewable energy and it is being popular all over the world due to enhancement of solar PV technology. There are sorts of PV panels having individually different solar performance features manufactured by different manufactures in different countries. Per watt cost, efficiency, life time etc are different for different types of PV panels. Due to difference in efficiencies, different panels require different amount of land usage for generation of same amount of electricity. Per unit electricity (kWh) generation cost is also different for different types of panels. It is an important concern to reduce land usage and per unit electricity cost. This paper deals with optimal selection of PV panel for grid tie PV power plant using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) algorithm. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is adopted as MCDA tool for optimal selection of PV panel considering land usage and per kWh generation cost criteria. Several investigations are performed for different weighing of the criteria. This study could be assumed as a powerful road map for decision makers, analysts and policy makers in context of Bangladesh.


AIM
We aimed to investigate the effect of Celiac disease on myocardial functions and aortic elasticity parameters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty children with Celiac disease and 30 healthy children were enrolled in the study. Both the groups were similar in terms of age and gender. Cardiac functions of all children in the patients and control group were evaluated using conventional transthoracic echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging. Aortic strain, distensibility, and stiffness index were calculated by M-mode echocardiography.

RESULTS
The demographic findings, height, weight, and body mass index of cases were similar among two groups. No statistical difference was found between E wave velocity for conventional transthoracic echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging measurements of the mitral valve; early diastolic flow peak velocity, A wave velocity; late diastolic flow peak velocity; and E/A ratio. Isovolumetric relaxation time and isovolumetric contraction time ratios were statistically different between the groups (p = 0.000, p = 0.000, p = 0.000). The myocardial performance index calculated according to the pulse Doppler measurement results was found to be statistically different between the groups (p = 0.000). There was no statistical difference between the groups in terms of aortic strain, distensibility, and stiffness index.

CONCLUSION
In this study, both conventional transthoracic echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging revealed the affection of the myocardial functions during systole and diastole in children with Celiac disease. Therefore, early follow-up and routine cardiac evaluation of celiac patients may be appropriate due to the increased risk of cardiac affection.


At the fall meeting, a finite difference solution to the acoustic wave equation for real pressure fields, its implementation, and several applications were presented. An improved differencing scheme developed by Cole et al. has subsequently been incorporated into this numerical model. Using this method runtimes and memory usage for cw problems have been reduced by factors of 10 and 5, respectively, with no loss of accuracy or computational parallelism, making its computational requirements similar to other solution techniques. Because the weightings of various grid elements in this method are based on the source frequency, its usefulness in TD calculations with pulsed sources is limited. Despite this, some low‐frequency TD calculations are possible. Applications and limitations of the higher‐order method will be presented. [Work supported by ONR.]


In 1994, after the 1993 Constitution had been adopted, the Katz Commission questioned the constitutionality of some provisions of the Income Tax Act. The purpose of this article is, firstly, to follow up on the progress made in amending the provisions concerned and, secondly, to establish reasons for the lack of success achieved by taxpayers who attack the constitutionality of certain provisions. Some progress has been made, but in this article, the author argues that SARS should amend section 104(2) of the Act. The establishment of a specialist ombudsman's office is also proposed. Such an office that could assist taxpayers to enforce their constitutional rights against the Commissioner is the essential missing element.


The Klippel-Feil Syndrome (KFS) is characterized by congenital fusion of two or more vertebrae with hypermobile normal segment. According to this, a patient with KFS can be at risk of severe neurological symptoms after manipulation treatment. We had a KFS patient who suffered from neck pain and limited range of motion at cervical after manipulation treatment. The patient, 49-year-old woman was diagnosed as KFS through Cervical X-ray and MRI. The patient was treated by acupuncture therapy and SCENAR therapy. We measured neck pain by visual analog scale (VAS) and neck disability index (NDI) and checked range of motion at cervical before and after the treatments. After 8 times treatments, the patient`s pain decreased and the range of motion increased. From this case, we can recognize the risk of Chuna manipulation treatment for KFS patient. So, we suggest that radiological examination is needed before cervical Chuna manipulation treatment to avoid adverse reactions.


The article deals with the analysis of the personality in the modern informational world problem. The author based the theoretical analysis of this problem on the specifics of the current stage in psychological studies of mass communication. The author assumes that social constructivism, as a postmodernist approach and the theoretical basis of modern studies in mass communication, considers the way mass communication participants construct their idea of the world and its peculiarities. The concept of the "mosaic-resonance effect" is interpreted as the main feature of the nowadays mass media's messages. The author analyzes the discourse as an instrument used to examine the construction of one's idea of the world during mass communication. The main characteristics of the two models of mass communication: the discourse model by J.Fiske and the constructivist model by W.Gamson, are reviewed in detail. The empirical study outcomes have shown the perspectives of further studies of the mass media's psychological influence on the peculiarities of the person's way to construct the image of the world and one's means of interpreting communicative signals to be prospective. Our empirical study demonstrated that subjects referred to as TV-dependent (those who tend to spend a lot of time watching the TV content) are characterized by non-stable emotions, less considerate in linking and analyzing the details of the given information, its' non-critical perception. TV-dependent respondents mostly perceive the TV data non-adequately, paying attention to emotionally meaningful pieces of information, and tending to reconstruct their image of the event, so that it might be an illustration or general background of the TV content piece, or the information of the lower levels of semantic structure in terms of A.A.Bodalyov.


The current article presented appropriate models using a new parameter recently introduced by the authors to accurately predict the atomic transport coefficients, i.e. viscosity and self-diffusivity, of liquid metallic elements at their melting points. The models for both the meltingpoint viscosity and self-diffusivity are expressed in terms of well-known physical quantities; atomic mass, atomic volume, melting point, melting-point surface tension, and the new parameter T ξ . Moreover, the authors derived expressions for the temperature dependence of the atomic transport coefficients of liquid metallic elements in terms of melting point temperature. These two models give very good agreement with experimental data for various metallic liquids. Using the models, self-diffusivities were predicted for liquid aluminum, calcium, and magnesium.


Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE) has become a very popular tool for studying the evolution of microstructure and properties under severe plastic deformation. It is believed that the stress-strain characteristics are uniform in a cross-section of the billet and this uniformity of the stress-strain distribution ensures the uniformity of microstructure and mechanical properties in ECAE processed billet. However, some experimental data such as the fracture of the extruded billet, which is initiated at the inner surface of the sample, has caused doubts about uniformity of stress-strain distribution. This non-uniformity has been proved recently by Finite Element Simulation. In this paper the studies of the positive role of the applied back-pressure during ECAE are reviewed and the influence of a back-pressure on the uniformity of the stress-strain distribution, strain localisation, die corner filing, and the prevention of fracture is shown. The effect of back-pressure on grain refinement and improvement in mechanical properties is emphasized. The paper summarises our results from over seven years of work using a unique machine for ECAE with computer-controlled back-pressure and velocity of the backward punch.


The presence of particle-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated in mixed residential/light industrial, industrial and commercial zones in summer 2000 and winter 2001 in Tangshan, China. Thirteen PAHs were measured with the total average concentrations (ng/m^3) of PAHs ranged from 26.5 to 313.6 in summer and from 142.4 to 672.4 in winter. The average concentrations of ΣPAHs were 161.97 in summer and 326.80 in winter. PAH concentrations in mixed residential/light industrial zones were the lowest. Mixed residential/light industrial is a major land-use pattern in many cities in China. This study paid more attention to the source category in the mixed residential/light industrial zone. Particle PAH emissions may be contributed from industrial or domestic activities. Diagnostic ratio analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) show major sources to be crude oil (by industrial activities mainly) in summer; and coal combustion (by domestic activities mainly) in winter. In addition, coal combustion was a principal source in the industrial zone. Traffic (combustion engine) was an important source in commercial zones. Finally, analysis by coefficient of divergence got similar results.


BACKGROUND
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2) is a hereditary syndrome characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), pheochromocytoma and hyperparathyroidism. MEN 2 is caused predominantly by germ-line mutations of the RET proto-oncogene. This study aimed to clarify the genotype-phenotype correlation in MEN 2 patients in Japan in order to modify the clinical management according to the genotype.

METHODS
Constitutive DNA of 64 MEN 2 patients (48 kindreds) were searched for mutations at exons 10, 11, 13, 14 and 16 of the RET proto-oncogene using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), direct sequencing and restriction enzyme digestion. The clinical characteristics of the patients were obtained from a previous nationwide questionnaire survey.

RESULTS
Overall, 62 (96.9%) out of 64 patients had a germ-line point mutation at the hot spots. MTC and pheochromocytoma occurred equally in every genotype except C630S. Specific genotype had a correlation between tumor size and age at the operation for MTC or extent of MTC, i.e. C618S developed late onset type of MTC as compared with that of C634R, C634Y and M918T. Small MTC in C634R may be less aggressive than those in C634Y and M918T.

CONCLUSIONS
DNA testing has good clinical implications for the management of patients with MEN 2 and the timing and operative procedures of thyroidectomy can be modified according to the genotype.


A terthiophene-based quinodimethane, 3',4'-dibutyl-5,5' '-bis(dicyanomethylene)-5,5' '-dihydro-2,2':5',2' '-terthiophene (1) was synthesized and crystallized. Compound 1 has a planar quinoid geometry that is stabilized by dicyanomethylene groups at each end of the molecule. In the crystal each molecule is part of a dimerized face-to-face pi-stack, with intermolecular spacings of 3.47 and 3.63 A, respectively. Cyclic voltammetry showed that 1 could be reversibly reduced and oxidized in methylene chloride solution. Thin film transistors (TFTs) were prepared by vacuum evaporation of 1 onto SiO2(300 nm)/Si substrates, followed by evaporation of Ag source and drain contacts. The doped Si substrate served as the gate electrode. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy indicate the films are polycrystalline, with the long axes of the molecules approximately perpendicular to the substrate. The TFT measurements revealed n-channel conduction in films of 1, with room-temperature electron field effect mobilities as high as 0.005 cm2/Vs. The butyl side chains give 1 appreciable solubility in a range of common solvents, and preliminary TFT results on films cast from chlorobenzene show electron mobility as high as 0.002 cm2/Vs. These results indicate that pi-stacked quinoidal thiophene oligomers are a promising new class of soluble n-channel organic semiconductors.


Helium is an invaluable element as it is widely used in industry such as cryo-genics and welding due to its unique properties. However, helium shortage is expected in near future because of increasing demand and the anxiety of sup-ply. Consequently, helium production has attracted the attention of industry. The main source of He is natural gas and extracting it from LNG end-flash is considered as the most promising way of producing crude helium. Thus, many process suppliers have proposed process configurations for this and there are mainly three types of helium extraction process, flashing-based, distillation-based and the integration of flashing and distillation. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to conduct a comparative evaluation of the proposed helium extraction processes for LNG plants and give a guideline for a proper selection. This evaluation was performed by simulating each process through Aspen HYSYS. The simulation result was then analysed, focusing on various criteria. The result indicates that all the helium extraction process studied could ex-tract most of helium contained in feed gas except the Technip Distillation process. Regarding LNG production, the integration of the Re-boiled Distilla-tion and a LNG process gives the lowest LNG production specific power. In terms of fuel gas, only the APCI Distillation process could generate fuel gas having less than 40 mole% N2, which is upper limit for industrial gas turbines, even with He and thus N2 rich feed gas. Between others, only the Technip Distillation and the ExxonMobil Integration process could produce liquid N2 and the amount was enough to be used for further processing of crude helium. Concerning freezing of impurities such as CO2, the ExxonMobil Integration process displayed an excellent performance, recording the warmest working temperature. When considering complexity, the APCI Distillation process was the simplest one, while the two integration-based processes from Linde and ExxonMobil required a lot of equipment. Finally, economic evaluation showed that all the integrations of each the helium extraction process studied and a LNG plant create more economic value than a LNG plant alone. Nevertheless, the difference was just ca. 1 % with current helium price. The selection of the most suitable helium extraction process for a LNG plant completely depends on the situation as each process possesses its own charac-teristic. Thus, proper technical choices have to be made to achieve a successful helium extraction project.


This essays looks at Sorry Meniscus Excursions to the Millennium Dome (Profile Books, 1999), by I Sinclair. The book collects two ";;Expeditions to the building site on Bugsby's Marshes";;, made in 1997   and 1999 and commissioned by the London Review of Books . The two resulting essays were published first separately, on the review, and  then in a volume by Profile Books. The booklet is a curious meditation on the metropolis that is the sinclairian life-project, and it focuses on the most recent urban enterprise that can be labelled  as an experiment in selling fake history for a fake political credit, giving voice to a fraud born and thriving in the fairyland of Blair's New Labour. Sinclair's journey also  shows how any urban imagination, when applied to London, tends to become curiously self-directed: it acquires its own life, and, as the creature of Frankenstein, it claims its own right to narrate its story. Sinclair proves to be very good at listening to this story, and even better at re-narrating it, trying not to intrude too much and keeping the voice of the city as clean as possible. And in this case, it is the voice of an alien.


The involvement of histamine H3 receptors (H3Rs) in memory is well known, and the potential of H3R antagonists in therapeutic management of neuropsychiatric diseases, e.g., Alzheimer disease (AD) is well established. Therefore, the effects of histamine H3 receptor (H3R) antagonist E159 (2.5–10 mg/kg, i.p.) in adult male rats on dizocilpine (DIZ)-induced memory deficits were studied in passive avoidance paradigm (PAP) and in novel object recognition (NOR) using pitolisant (PIT) and donepezil (DOZ) as standard drugs. Upon acute systemic pretreatment of E159 at three different doses, namely 2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg, i.p., 2.5 and 5 but not 10 mg/kg of E159 counteracted the DIZ (0.1 mg)-induced memory deficits, and this E159 (2.5 mg)-elicited memory-improving effects in DIZ-induced amnesic model were moderately abrogated after acute systemic administration of scopolamine (SCO), H2R antagonist zolantidine (ZOL), but not with H1R antagonist pyrilamine to the animals. Moreover, the observed memory-enhancing effects of E159 (2.5 mg/kg, i.p.) were strongly abrogated when animals were administered with a combination of SCO and ZOL. Furthermore, the E159 (2.5 mg)-provided significant memory-improving effect of in DIZ-induced short-term memory (STM) impairment in NOR was comparable to the DOZ-provided memory-enhancing effect, and was abolished when animals were injected with the CNS-penetrant histamine H3R agonist R-(α)-methylhistamine (RAMH). However, E159 at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg failed to exhibit procognitive effect on DIZ-induced long-term memory (LTM) in NOR. Furthermore, the results observed revealed that E159 (2.5 mg/kg) did not alter anxiety levels and locomotor activity of animals naive to elevated-plus maze (EPM), demonstrating that improved performances with E159 (2.5 mg/kg) in PAP or NOR are unrelated to changes in emotional responding or in spontaneous locomotor activity. These results provide evidence for the potential of drugs targeting H3Rs for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, e.g., AD.


In this paper I will discuss a system which uses vision to guide a mobile robot through corridors and freespace channels. The system runs in an unmodified office environment in the presence of both static and dynamic obstacles (e.g. people). The system is also among the simplest, most effective, and best tested systems for vision-based navigation to date. The performance of the system is dependent on an analysis of both the task and the environment in which it is performed. I will describe both of these and discuss how they simplify the computational problems facing the robot, as well as the performance of the resulting system. Finally, I will briefly discuss work in progress regarding place recognition and point-to-point navigation. 1


Thermonuclear fusion is a potentially clean and limitless energy source that can substantially change the current global electricity generation mix, which is highly dependent on limited fossil fuels. This thesis contributes to the development of fusion energy with experiments on the TCV tokamak, addressing power exhaust in the divertor, which remains a major issue for a fusion tokamak reactor. A large fraction of the heating power needed to keep the plasma at the parameters required for fusion reactions, is continuously transported by the plasma across closed magnetic surfaces into a thin layer with open field lines surrounding the plasma, the Scrape-Off Layer (SOL), where it follows magnetic field lines towards the divertor targets. Unmitigated target peak heat fluxes in a fusion reactor are projected to greatly exceed available material limits. While acceptable target conditions may be possible by operating the divertor in a detached regime, a degradation of core plasma performance may ensue. A unification of a performant core and a detached divertor may be possible using alternative magnetic configurations to the standard Single-Null (SN). This thesis assesses the power exhaust properties over an unprecedented range of alternative magnetic configurations with the goals of both reducing the power exhaust challenge through divertor geometry modifications and improving the current understanding of SOL transport physics. TCV's infrared thermography systems are extensively used to measure divertor target heat fluxes, fitted to extract the SOL heat power width λq,u and the spreading factor Su. Power sharing between divertor targets significantly varies with the plasma and/or divertor geometry, mostly interpreted as the effect of parallel electron heat conduction. The λq,u is found sensitive to properties of the plasma core, shape of the plasma and the divertor, and is consistent with empirical cross-machine scalings. The dependence on plasma current can be mostly understood with a model based on the competition between parallel and perpendicular diffusive transport. Poloidal asymmetries and field direction effects indicate that more physics is needed. The Su scales with the inverse of the target flux expansion. In the Low-Field-Side Snowflake Minus configuration, the secondary x-point enhances cross-field transport in the divertor, consistently with turbulence simulations. At the Lto H-mode transition, cross-field transport reduces in the main and divertor SOL, suggesting that the edge transport barrier propagates into the SOL. The upstream λq,u between Type-I ELMs agrees with cross-machine scaling predictions only with the toroidal magnetic field as regression parameter, revealing that this field dependence is vital. A comparison of the ELM power deposition duration


We describe a new animation technique for supporting interactive exploration of a graph. We use the well-known radial tree layout method, in which the view is determined by the selection of a focus node. Our main contribution is a method for animating the transition to a new layout when a new focus node is selected. In order to keep the transition easy to follow, the animation linearly interpolates the polar coordinates of the nodes, while enforcing ordering and orientation constraints. We apply this technique to visualizations of social networks and of the Gnutella file-sharing network, and discuss the results from our informal usability tests.


Hydrostatic pressure testing is the most widely accepted approach to verify the integrity of assets used for the transportation of natural gas. It is required by Federal Regulations 49 CFR §192 to substantiate the intended maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) of new gas transmission pipelines. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with Docket No. PHMSA-2011-0023 [1], proposes an additional requirement for MAOP verification of existing pipelines that: i) do not have reliable, traceable, verifiable, or complete records of a pressure test; or ii) were grandfathered into present service via 49 CFR §192.619(c). To meet this requirement, the NPRM proposes that an Engineering Critical Assessment (ECA) can be considered as an alternative to pressure testing if the operator establishes and develops an inline inspection (ILI) program. The ECA must analyze cracks or crack-like defects remaining or that could remain in the pipe, and must perform both predicted failure pressure (PFP) and crack growth calculations using established fracture mechanics techniques. For assets that cannot be assessed by ILI, however, the implementation of an ECA is hindered by the lack of defect size information.
 This work documents a statistical approach to determine the most probable PFP and remaining life for assets that cannot be assessed by ILI. The first step is to infer a distribution of initial defect size accumulated through multiple ILI and in-ditch programs. The initial defect size distribution is established according to the as-identified seam type, e.g. low-frequency electric resistance weld (LF-ERW), high-frequency electric resistance weld (HF-ERW), flash weld (FW), single submerged arc weld (SSAW), or seamless (SMLS). The second step is to perform fracture mechanics assessment to generate a probabilistic distribution of PFPs for the asset. In conjunction with the defect size distribution, inputs into the calculation also include the variations of mechanical strength and toughness properties informed by the operator's materials verification program. Corresponding to a target reliability level, a nominal PFP is selected through its statistical distribution. Subsequently applying the appropriate class location factor to the nominal PFP gives the operator a basis to verify their current MAOP. The last step is to perform probabilistic fatigue life calculations to derive the remaining life distribution, which drives reassessment intervals and integrity management decisions for the asset. This paper will present some case studies as a demonstration of the methodology developed and details of calculation and establishment of database.


This paper presents a sub-mW ASIC for multimodal brain monitoring. The ASIC is co-integrated with electrode(s) and optodes (i.e., optical source and detector) as an active sensor to measure electroencephalography (EEG), bio-impedance (BioZ), and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) on scalp. The target is to build a wearable EEG-NIRS headset for low-cost functional brain imaging. The proposed NIRS readout utilizes the near-infrared light to measure the pulse oximetry and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2 ). While traditional photodiodes are supported, the readout also allows the use of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) as optical detectors. The SiPM improves optical sensitivity while significantly reducing the average power of two LEDs to 150 μW. On circuit level, a SAR-based calibration compensates maximum 40 μA current from ambient light, while digital DC-servo loops reduces the baseline static SiPM current up to 400 μA, leading to an overall dynamic range of 87 dB. The EEG readout exhibits 720 MΩ input impedance at 50 Hz. The BioZ readout has 3 mΩ/ (Hz) impedance sensitivity by employing dynamic circuit techniques. When EEG, BioZ, and NIRS are enabled at the same time, one ASIC consumes 665 μW including the power of LEDs.


Freezing tolerance is an environmental adaptation that significantly influences plant geographical distribution. Since differences in winter survival among saltgrass ecotypes have been observed in the field at Fort Collins, CO, the objective of this study was to determine the relative freezing tolerance, seasonal changes in the freezing tolerance, and winter survival of six accessions of saltgrass [Distichlis spicata var. stricta (L.) Greene]. Saltgrass accessions A65 and A29 were originally collected from Denver, CO, while C66 was from Humbolt Sink, NV, 32 from Wanship, UT, 55 from Hereford and 48 from Farmingdale, SD. These accessions were established in a field nursery at Fort Collins, CO. Rhizomes were sampled at monthly intervals from October 1999 through April 2000 and from October 2000 through April 2001 and subjected to laboratory freezing tests. Cold hardiness of the saltgrass accessions increased gradually during the fall with maximum hardiness occurring at midwinter. During midwinter, freezing tolerance was significantly different among accessions. Ranking of accessions for subfreezing temperature resulting in 50% mortality [LT 50 (°C)] during January 2000 was A29 = 48 (-20.0) < 55 (-17.0) ≤ 32 (-15.5) ≤ A65 = C66 (-14.0). In January 2001, they were ranked with 48 = 55 (-26.0) < A65 = 32 (-23.0) < A29 (-20.0) = C66 (-18.5). In December and January sampling dates of the first season, accessions A29, 48, and 55 exhibited the highest relative regrowth when exposed to temperatures -20.0°C. In midwinter of the second season, accession 55 showed the highest regrowth after being subjected to temperatures -25.0°C. Accession C66 had the lowest regrowth potential after freezing treatments in both seasons. Winter survival in the field correlated negatively with LT 50 value, with accessions 48, A29, and 55 demonstrating greater winter survival while C66 had the lowest percentage survival. The difference in freezing tolerance among accessions is in part associated with their origin-inherited adaptation. This information is useful for defining the potential adaptation range of saltgrass and in saltgrass breeding projects to select and develop freezing tolerant saltgrass.


A simple calculation shows that the K ions about to leave the nerve during excitation form a monolayer at the surface of the resting nerve and are not hydrated. The same applies to the Na ions which replace the K ions. This may be taken as an indication of the existence of a reversible ad- and desorption phenomenon.


Moderator Duncan: I should like to begin by asking Dr. Palmer to say a few words about the importance of the prepregnancy examination of the diabetic woman. Dr. Palmer: I have always felt that the diabetic woman in the childbearing age should not become pregnant by accident. I believe that we can gain that objective by proper education of these women as they learn more and more about the diabetic life. From the professional standpoint, there are definitely some diabetic women who should not become pregnant. If diabetic women do become pregnant, when pregnancy is contraindicated, then we are faced with the problem of deciding on therapeutic abortion or possibly, against our better judgment, being forced to permit the pregnancy to go on with the frequent result of a miscarriage or premature stillbirth. Further damage to the diabetes without accomplishing the desired results of a pregnancy may, and often does, occur. Therefore, we try to teach diabetic women that they should electhely become pregnant; that they should use contraception until such time as they have consulted their doctors and found they are physically fit to become pregnant.


A considerable body of folklore and scientific research alludes to the efficacy of the vernacular environment to influence both aesthetic experience and general well-being. To examine explicitly whether stress recovery and/or immunization varies as a function of the roadside environment, 160 college-age participants, both male and female, viewed one of four different video-taped simulated drives through outdoor environments immediately following and preceding mildly stressful events. Overall, it was anticipated that participants who viewed artifact-dominated drives, relative to participants who viewed nature-dominated drives, would show greater autonomic activity indicative of stress (e.g. elevated blood pressure and electrodermal activity), as well as show altered somatic activity indicative of greater negative affect (e.g. elevated electromyographic (EMG) activity over the brow region and decreased activity over the cheek region). In addition, it was expected that participants who viewed nature-dominated drives would experience quicker recovery from stress and greater immunization to subsequent stress than participants who viewed artifact-dominated drives. The overall pattern of results is consistent with both hypotheses and the findings are interpreted to support postulating a sympathetic-specific mechanism that underlies the effect of nature on stress recovery and immunization.


We introduce a family of generalized-method-of-moments estimators of the parameters of a continuous-time Markov process observed at random time intervals. The results include strong consistency, asymptotic normality, and a characterization of standard errors. Sampling is at an arrival intensity that is allowed to depend on the underlying Markov process and on the parameter vector to be estimated. We focus on financial applications, including tick-based sampling, allowing for jump diffusions, regime-switching diffusions, and reflected diffusions. Copyright The Econometric Society 2004.


In order for a robot to be a generalist that can perform a wide range of jobs, it must be able to acquire a wide variety of skills quickly and efficiently in complex unstructured environments. High-capacity models such as deep neural networks can enable a robot to represent complex skills, but learning each skill from scratch then becomes infeasible. In this work, we present a meta-imitation learning method that enables a robot to learn how to learn more efficiently, allowing it to acquire new skills from just a single demonstration. Unlike prior methods for one-shot imitation, our method can scale to raw pixel inputs and requires data from significantly fewer prior tasks for effective learning of new skills. Our experiments on both simulated and real robot platforms demonstrate the ability to learn new tasks, end-to-end, from a single visual demonstration.


Upon the stimulation of extracellular cues, a significant number of proteins are synthesized distally along the axon. Although local protein synthesis is crucial for various stages throughout neuronal development, its involvement in presynaptic differentiation at developing neuromuscular junctions remains unknown. By using axon severing and microfluidic chamber assays, we first showed that treatment of a protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, inhibits agrin-induced presynaptic differentiation in cultured Xenopus spinal neurons. Newly synthesized proteins are prominently detected, as revealed by the staining of click-reactive cell-permeable puromycin analog O-propargyl-puromycin, at agrin bead-neurite contacts involving the mTOR/4E-BP1 pathway. Next, live-cell time-lapse imaging demonstrated the local capturing and immobilization of ribonucleoprotein granules upon agrin bead stimulation. Given that our recent study reported the roles of membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) in agrin-induced presynaptic differentiation, here we further showed that MT1-MMP mRNA is spatially enriched and locally translated at sites induced by agrin beads. Taken together, this study reveals an essential role for axonal MT1-MMP translation, on top of the well-recognized long-range transport of MT1-MMP proteins synthesized from neuronal cell bodies, in mediating agrin-induced presynaptic differentiation.


This paper studies the role of non-uniqueness in the Acoustic-to-Articulatory Inversion. It is generally believed that applying continuity constraints to the estimates of the articulatory parameters can resolve the problem of non-uniqueness. This paper tries to find out whether all instances of non-uniqueness can be resolved using continuity constraints. The investigation reveals that applying continuity constraints provides the best estimate in roughly around 50 to 53 % of the non-unique mappings. Roughly around 8 to 13 % of the non-unique mappings are best estimated by choosing discontinuous paths along the hypothetical high probability estimates of articulatory trajectories.


Variability in the execution time of computing tasks can cause load imbalance in high-performance computing (HPC) systems. When configuring systemand application-level parameters, engineers traditionally seek configurations that will maximize the mean computational throughput. In an HPC setting, however, high-throughput configurations that do not account for performance variability could result in poor load balancing. In order to determine the effects of performance variance on computationally expensive numerical simulations, the High-Performance LINPACK solver is optimized by using multiobjective optimization to maximize the mean and minimize the standard deviation of the computational throughput on the HighPerformance LINPACK benchmark. We show that specific configurations of the solver can be used to control for variability at a small sacrifice in mean throughput. We also identify configurations that result in a relatively high mean throughput, but also result in a high throughput variability.


BACKGROUND
In our competitive health care environment, measuring the experience of family members of patients in the intensive care unit to ensure that health care providers are meeting families' needs is critical. Surveys from Press Ganey and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are unable to capture families' satisfaction with care in this setting.

OBJECTIVE
To implement a sustainable measure for family satisfaction in a 12-bed medical and surgical intensive care unit. To assess the feasibility of the selected tool for measuring family satisfaction and to make recommendations that are based on the results.

METHOD
A descriptive survey design using the Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit 24-item questionnaire to measure satisfaction with care and decision-making.

RESULTS
Forty family members completed the survey. Overall, the mean score for families' satisfaction with care was 72.24% (SD, 14.87%) and the mean score for families' satisfaction with decision-making was 72.03% (SD, 16.61%). Families reported that nurses put them at ease and provided understandable explanations. Collaboration, inclusion of families in clinical discussions, and timely information regarding changes in the patient's condition were the most common points brought up in free-text responses from family members. Written communication, including directions and expectations, would have improved the families' experience.

CONCLUSION
Although patients' family members reported being satisfied with their experience in the intensive care unit, there is room for improvement. Effective communication among the health care team, patients' families, and patients will be targeted for quality improvement initiatives.


A 26-year-old Indian man who presented with a long history of vomiting, upper abdominal pain and dysphagia is described. The dysphagia had been largely overlooked and investigation delayed. The diagnosis of dystrophia myotonica (DM) was apparent on clinical examination and his symptoms responded well to phenytoin therapy. The cause of his symptoms is discussed and the importance of recognizing dysphagia and other gastro-intestinal manifestations of DM is emphasized.


We introduce MultiSoft, a multilayer soft sensor capable of sensing real-time contact localization, classification of deformation types, and estimation of deformation magnitudes. We propose a multimodal sensing pipeline that carries out both inverse problem solving and machine learning tasks. Specifically, we employ an electrical impedance tomography (EIT) for contact localization and a support vector machine (SVM) for classifying deformations and regressing their magnitudes. We propose a deformation-aware system which enables maintaining a persistent single-point contact localization throughout the deformation. By updating a time-varying distribution of conductivity change caused by deformations, a single-point contact localization can be maintained and restored to support interaction using both contact localization and deformations.We devise a multilayer structure to fabricate a highly stretchable and flexible soft sensor with a short sensor settlement after excitations. Through a series of experiments and evaluations, we validate both raw sensor and multimodal sensing performance with the proposed method. We further demonstrate applicability and feasibility of MultiSoft with example applications.


Depending on the type of strabismus, the surgical goal may vary between accurate alignment, undercorrection, or overcorrection.1 The amount of under or overcorrection compatible with a good anatomical and functional result is fairly specific.' 2 The long term sensory and motor result depends on a number of factors.3 Most importantly the eyes need to be placed in alignment if the potential for fusion is to be best realised. When indicated, achieving accurate alignment with strabismus surgery is critical to success. The prospective multicentre study of the accuracy of surgery for horizontal strabismus that appears in this issue of the journal (p 10) sets out to examine the current level of accuracy representative of the strabismus practice patterns in the United Kingdom. The definition of accuracy is expressed with reference to a preoperative surgical goal and is perhaps a better measure than the usual 'within 5-10 prism dioptres of straight.' This definition should be well received. Using this definition (within 10 prism dioptres of the surgical goal), success was obtained in over 90% of cases. Despite the short term follow up, this might appear to be a good result, and a standard against which other surgeons might compare their own results. However, does the evidence in this paper justify the conclusion that there is no difference in the outcome of surgery performed by a specialist in strabismus surgery and a general ophthalmic surgeon? There are a number of reasons why this conclusion should be accepted with caution. It is true that Student's t test used to compare accuracy of alignment achieved by specialists with non-specialists showed no difference. However, to be convinced that there is no difference one must consider the power ofthe study to detect a difference. Were there sufficient numbers in each group studied? For example, considering grade 1 alignment in the esotrope group, there was an inaccuracy rate of 36% among specialists. Therefore, to detect say a 20% difference between specialists and non-specialists would require approximately 925 patients in each group.4 To detect even a 50% difference would require at least 133 in each arm of the study. If we consider grade 1 and 2 together the rate of inaccurate alignment among specialists is 8% and therefore the number of patients needed to detect a 20% inaccuracy would be about 4300 in each group. The logistics of such a study are clearly daunting, and would require a much larger database than may be available to the limited number of centres that contributed to this study. Although there are strong reasons not to accept the conclusions of the authors, their paper is important in that it draws attention to the question of the accuracy of strabismus surgery performed by general ophthalmologists in comparison with specialists. This is not only important in terms of audit but also in terms of deciding what should be core surgery for the general ophthalmologist and is applicable to other surgical subspecialty disciplines. It must be a concern of ophthalmologists and the professional colleges of ophthalmology to define what is core surgery for the general ophthalmologist and what cases should most appropriately be referred initially to those whose subspecialty training fits them to manage the more complicated cases. F A BILLSON University of Sydney, Department of Ophthalmology, Sydney Eye Hospital, c/o Save Sight Institute, PO Box 493, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, 2010, Australia


The author presents an analysis of the Exceptions, Merits and Reparations regarding the Radilla Pacheco vs. Mexico case, brought before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, whose judgment was published on November 23, 2009. In each of the sections, the author shows the arguments that the Representative of Mexico submitted to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the non-acceptance of them and the arguments that the Court itself had to refute them. Finally, in the annex, is the text of the judgment.


Based on the von Kármán classical nonlinear plate theory, nonlinear axisymmetric vibrations of a clamped thin circular plate subjected to transverse harmonic load are investigated. Effects of static deformation on the vibration responses are considered. Harmonic motion is assumed. The time variable is eliminated and the partial differential equations are converted into a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations by employing a Kantorovich time averaging method. The resulting nonlinear ordinary differential boundary-value problem is solved numerically by using shooting method. Effects of static-dynamic load on the transverse deflection, frequencies and amplitudes are examined in details. The resonance phenomenon is discussed emphatically.


This work was carried out by the Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience (HI-AWARE) consortium under the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) with financial support from the UK Government's Department for International Development and the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.


Molecular simulations have been widely used in biomolecular systems such as proteins, DNA, etc. The search for stable conformations of proteins by molecular simulations is important to understand the function and stability of proteins. However, finding the stable state by conformational search is difficult, because the energy landscape of the system is characterized by many local minima separated by high energy barriers. In order to overcome this difficulty, various sampling and optimization methods for the conformation of proteins have been proposed. In this study, we propose a new conformational search method for proteins based on a genetic algorithm. We applied this method to an α-helical protein. We found that the conformations obtained from our simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results.


WHILE RESEARCH HAS REPEATEDLY shown the benefits of participation in extracurricular activities for adolescents, few studies have focused on very young children. Extracurricular activities afford children opportunities for development and can also influence their behaviour. Children's behaviour is an important predictor of their future successes or failures. This study investigated the relationship between behaviour and participation in extracurricular activities in children aged between five and eight years. Mothers of children (n = 906) in Prep to Year 3 from seven schools in middle- to high-SES areas from a regional city participated in the study. Mothers gave details of their child's extracurricular activities and used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (Goodman, 1997) to measure their child's behaviour. Low scores on the SDQ indicate normal behaviour while high scores indicate borderline or abnormal behaviour. Participation, number of activities, and duration of activities were all associated with children's behaviour. Children who participated in extracurricular activities had lower behaviour scores than those who did not. The results suggest that children benefit from participating in two or more activities for 80–90 minutes per week.


Extracted from text ... 6 Civil Engineering | October 2006
THE COnTRACT FOR the Municipal
Infrastructure Development zone 1, Phase
1 for the Coega IDz was started in January
2005 and is due for completion in October
2006, four months ahead of the anticipated
completion date.
Rumdel Construction, in joint venture
with BEE company zingisa Construction,
secured the contract in november 2004.
An important facet of the contract
are aspects such as health, safety and the
environment. Work was allowed to start
only after the contractor's health and
safety plan, as well as his environmental
plans, had been approved by the relevant
authorities.
Health, safety ..


Data from the METRIC trial (PMID:29914843) has shown that small bowel ultrasound (US) has very good diagnostic accuracy for disease extent, presence and activity in Crohn's Disease (CD), is well tolerated by patients and is cheaper when compared to MRI. However, Uptake of US in the UK is limited

 We designed and conducted an online survey to assess the current usage of US throughout the UK. The survey was undertaken by BSG IBD group members between 9 June 2021 - 25 June 2021. Responses were anonymous, respondents were able to skip questions.

 103 responses were included in the data analysis Responses came from 14 different regions of the UK, from 66 individual NHS trusts. 99.03% (n=103) respondents reported that they currently have an MRI service for Crohn's disease, where only 30.1% (31) had access to US service. Numbers of MRIs per month was reported as an average of 15.14, with a range of 3–75. The average number of US undertaken was reported as 7.67 per month, with a range of 0–50. Average time for results to be reported for MRI scans was reported as between 4–6 weeks, with a range of 2 days to 28 weeks. The average time for an US to be reported was stated as 1–4 weeks, with a range of 0–8 weeks. 48.51% of respondents reported that they were 'very confident' when using MRI data to make clinical decisions. 25.24% were 'extremely confident', 22.33% were somewhat confident and 2.91% were not so confident. 11% of respondents stated they would be extremely confident in using US to make clinical decisions, 22% stated they would be very confident, 27% somewhat confident, 20% not so confident and 20% not at all confident. Of those respondents who did not have access to an US service, 92.31% (72) stated that they would be interested in developing an US service.

 There is an appetite for the uptake of US in the UK for assessment of CD, however there remains a significant number of UK centres with little or no access to an US service. There is a difference in the levels of confidence that clinicians have in using US as a diagnostic tool in the UK. Further research is necessary to understand why this is the case. Results from this survey will go on to inform our future work in developing an implementation package for US in the UK in the NHS.


Rabbits were immunized with a group A or a group B togavirus and challenged 6 weeks later with a related togavirus from a different subgroup. IgG antibodies in antisera cross-reacted broadly at all times in hemagglutination-inhibition tests with group B viruses whereas within group A they were specific for the primary virus until challenge after which they reacted with both primary and challenge viruses. In contrast, IgM antibodies were clearly specific within both groups for the most recent immunizing virus; however, IgM memory was expressed when the challenge and primary viruses belonged to the same antigenic subgroup. The antigenic composition of both groups of togaviruses is discussed in relation to their envelope proteins, and hypotheses are proposed to account for the antibody specificities of the observed immunoglobulin responses.


Risky prospects can often by disaggregated into several identifiable, smaller risks. In such cases, at least two modes of insurance are available: either (i) the disaggregated risks can be insured independently or (ii) the aggregate risk can be insured as one. We identify (ii) as risk bundling prior to insurance and (i) as separate, or unbundled, insurance. We investigate whether (i) or (ii) is preferable among consumers, insurers and the insurance market as a whole using numerical simulations. Our simulations reveal that separate contracts provide the socially optimal form of insurance when the insurer is able to charge the profit-maximising premia and has perfect information. Under asymmetric information with respect to consumers' risk aversion, we find that separation is again the dominant method of insurance in terms of the market share it represents.


Production of knowledge relies on peer effects and interactions between researchers. However, little is known on how much policies may stimulate these peer effects. In this paper we shed light on this question, and show how a public "research cluster" policy, which funds local networks of researchers working on a common theme, affects the organization of research within these clusters and the productivity of its members. Using data from a large scale financing program in France, and relying on an identification strategy based on grades awarded by reviewers, we show that members of financed clusters increase by up to 30% the research collaborations they have with other members of the cluster, compared to researchers of non selected proposals. This very large reorganization of the research network translates into a more modest positive effect on research productivity. Paradoxically, those who benefit the most from the financing, are those who were not at the core of the research topic, i.e. were not cited in the bibliography of the research proposal, who significantly increase their links with core members and their total publication counts. Consistently, the policy reduces inequality in publication outcomes within the cluster. It stimulates peer effects to the benefit of periphery members.


Abstract 2907 Early clinical trials with small molecule inhibitors that target kinases in the B Cell Receptor (BCR) signaling pathway have demonstrated promising activity in B cell malignancies. These kinases include PI3K delta, Bruton9s tyrosine Kinase (BTK) and spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK), with clinical validation demonstrated by the inhibitors GS-1101 (CAL-101), ibrutinib, and fostamatinib respectively. The clinical observations with GS-1101 and ibrutinib include rapid lymph node shrinkage and high lymph node response rate in refractory CLL as well clinical activity in indolent NHL and MCL, and in DLBCL for ibrutinib. In addition to B cells, PI3K delta is expressed in other hematopoietic cells such as T cells, mast cells and neutrophils, and plays a role in cellular signals transmitted by immunoreceptors such as FceR, FcγR, and chemokine receptors. Therefore, inhibitors of PI3K delta may have utility in diverse hematological malignancies, in addition to those in B cells. PWT143 is a highly selective PI3K delta inhibitor that has been selected as a development candidate. PWT143 exhibits low nanomolar potency in cellular phosphorylation assays against PI3K delta. PWT143 exhibits cellular selectivity of 2200-, 30- and 700-fold against the alpha, beta and gamma isoforms, with no activity against approximately 500 other kinases tested, including mTOR. Low nM potency has also been demonstrated in a whole blood functional assay of basophil activity which is encouraging for translation to the clinic. The activity of PWT143 has been profiled in survival and proliferation assays in a panel of 12 human hematological malignancy cell lines, and compared to GS-1101, ibrutinib, and fostamatinib. The cell lines included DLBCL, Burkitts lymphoma, and lymphoblastic leukemias. PWT143 IC50s ranged from 30 nM to 4 μM with the majority approximating 1μM, while the comparator molecules exhibited higher IC50values: 250 nM to > 10 μM for GS-1101, 250 nM to 9.5 μM for ibrutinib, and 400 nM to > 10 μM for fostamatinib. Viability/proliferation assays were also performed in peripheral blood cells freshly isolated from patients with various hematological malignancies. In CLL samples, PWT143 displayed IC50 values 10 μM for the majority of these samples tested. Potent activity was also observed for PWT143 in primary AML samples with IC50s in the 100 nM range or lower for 3 of 5 cases tested, but generally > 1 μM for GS-1101 or Ibrutinib. In previously frozen CLL and AML patient samples procured from commercial sources, PWT143 similarly exhibited several-fold lower IC50values than GS-1101 or ibrutinib. These data suggest increased sensitivity of CLL and AML patient samples to PWT143. The lack of activity of GS-1101 and ibrutinib at low micromolar concentrations in the primary cell assays is consistent with the published mechanism of action. Rather than a direct inhibition of tumor cell viability, the major axis of clinical activity is inhibition of stromal-tumor interactions mediated by BCR "inside-out" signaling which normally maintains tumor cells in the lymph node. Accordingly, the clinical activity of GS-1101, ibrutinib and fostamatinib is associated with marked lymphocytosis due to release of tumor cells from the lymph nodes into peripheral blood, observed in the initial weeks of treatment and often persists for many months. The direct inhibition of viability by PWT143, as well as the established stromal-mediated mechanism of action of PI3K delta inhibitors, may translate to increased clinical activity for PWT143. PWT143 is a potent and selective PI3K delta inhibitor, and preclinical data indicate that it is an attractive candidate for clinical development. Disclosures: O9Farrell:Pathway Therapeutics: Employment, own equity as a Pathway employee Other. Ventura:Pathway Therapeutics: Employment, own equity as a Pathway employee Other. Tai:Pathway Therapeutics: Consultancy. Tyner:Pathway Therapeutics: Research Funding. Loriaux:Pathway Therapeutics: Research Funding. Mahadevan:Pathway Therapeutics: Research Funding. Morales:Pathway Therapeutics: Research Funding. Brown:Pathway Therapeutics: Consultancy. Matthews:Pathway Therapeutics: Employment, Own equity as a Pathway employee Other.


BACKGROUND
Using data from the 2006 Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey, the prevalence of 6 forms of bullying (physical, verbal, relational, sexual, cyber, and racist), and the role of smoking and drinking in bullying was examined among Italian adolescents for this study.

METHODS
The sample was composed of 2667 Italian middle and secondary school students (49.9% girls) randomly selected. The revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was used to measure physical, verbal, relational, sexual, cyber, and racist forms of bullying. For each form, 3 categories were created and compared with students "not involved in bullying": bully, victim, and bully-victim. Logistic regressions were applied to test the connections among the 3 forms of involvement in different types of bullying and smoking and drinking.

RESULTS
Prevalence of having been bullied or having bullied others at school at least once in the last 2 months was 11.6% for physical, 52% for verbal, 47.9% for relational, 18.5% for sexual, 19.4% for cyber, and 9.4% for racist bullying. Compared to girls, boys were more likely to be involved in physical bullying; moreover, boys were more involved as bullies in verbal, sexual, cyber, and racist bullying. In contrast, girls were more likely to be victims of verbal, relational, sexual, and cyber bullying than were boys. Logistic regressions showed the connection between the different forms of involvement in bullying and smoking and drinking.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that all forms of bullying behavior are associated with legal substance use. Implication for prevention program was discussed.


In human vocal production, the lungs produce energy for the voice, the vocal folds have a function of a sound source, and the vocal tract functions as a resonator. Birds have the syrinx for the sound source, but they do not have the vocal folds. In birdsong, the syrinx had been thought to act alone in song production, and vocal tract played no role. However, when a bird sings in helium, harmonic overtones emerge [Nowichi (1989)]. For this reason, it is suggested that the vocal tract may play an important role as a vocal filter in birdsong production. In this study, beam movements were measured in the Bengalese finches while they were singing, and the correlation between fundamental frequencies in the song and the beak gape was examined. This correlation was significantly high (r=0.890), the wider beak gape corresponding to a higher fundamental frequency. The result suggests that in Bengalese finches beak movement formulas a dynamic filter which modifies the frequency composition of the syringeal output. T...


This Environmental Regulatory Update Table (July 1991) provides information on regulatory initiatives of interest to DOE operations and contractor staff with environmental management responsibilities. The table is updated each month with information from the Federal Register and other sources, including direct contact with regulatory agencies. Each table entry provides a chronological record of the rulemaking process for that initiative with an abstract and a projection of further action.


Callus formation and adventitious shoot regeneration in vitro from mature stored seed were evaluated in eight ornamental cherry (Prunus) taxa: P. campanulata Maxim, P. maackii Rupr., P. sargentii Rehd., P. serrula Franch., P. serrulata Lindl., P. subhirtella Miq., P. virginiana L., and P. yedoensis Matsum Several portions of the embryo (cotyledons and hypocotyl sections) and nine combinations of growth regulators (BA, 2,4-D, IBA, NAA, and TDZ) were compared. Effects of embryo portions and growth regulator treatments were generally small within taxa, but shoot formation differed among taxa. About 20% to 50% of the embryos from P. virginiana and P. serrula and 5% to 30% of those from P. maackii produced shoots. The other taxa generally did not produce shoots. Regeneration from mature stored seed in the responsive taxa represents a potential system for genetic transformation. Chemical names used: 6-benzyladenine (BA); 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D); indole-3-butyric acid (IBA); α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA); thidiazuron (TDZ).


The Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 (BSTO) ceramics were prepared by a traditional electrical ceramic method. Effects of co-doping low dielectric constant oxides Al2O3 and MgO on microstructure and dielectric properties of Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 ceramics were investigated. The results show that BSTO/MgO/Al2O3 (BMA) ceramics can be sintered at 1300°C. The main crystal phases are cubic perovskite structure Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 and face-centered-cubic spinel structure MgAl2O4. Al3+ is easier to enter Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 lattice in the replacement of Ti4+ than Mg2+. When Al2O3 content exceeds 20wt%, Al2O3 would react with BaAl2O4 to generate a new phase of BaAl12O19. Proper amount of Al2O3-MgO can reduce the dielectric constant of BSTO ceramics and result in the higher tunability. There is obvious frequency dispersion characteristic in BMA ceramics and the curie temperature of ceramics decreases with the increase of Al2O3. The BMA ceramics with 20 wt% Al2O3 exhibit good dielectric properties, with εr of 1314, tanδ of 0.003 at 10 kHz, and the dielectric constant tunability of 35.2% under a dc electric field of 1.0 kV/mm, which are useful for potential tunable device applications.


Flaxseed (FS) has a breast tumor-reducing effect, possibly because of its high content of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) lignan. Sesame seed (SS) is rich in the lignan sesamin (SES) but is non-protective. Both lignans are metabolized to estrogen-like enterodiol and enterolactone. The objective of this study was to differentiate the effects of SDG and SES on established human estrogen receptor-positive breast tumors (MCF-7) in athymic mice with high serum estrogen to help explain the different effects of FS and SS. Mice were fed for 8 wk the basal diet (BD, control) or BD supplemented with 1 g/kg SDG or SES. SES reduced palpable tumor size by 23% compared to control, whereas SDG did not differ from SES or control. Both treatments reduced tumor cell proliferation, but only SES increased apoptosis. SDG and SES reduced human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and endothelial growth factor receptor expressions, but only SES reduced downstream pMAPK. Neither treatment affected IGF-1R, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2, Akt, pAkt, or MAPK of the growth factor signaling pathway. Thus, at high serum estrogen levels, SDG may not account for the tumor reducing effect of FS. SES was more effective than SDG in reducing breast tumor growth, but its effect may have been lost when consumed as a component of SS.


We attempt a new variant of the scheduling problem by investigating the scalability of the schedule length with the required number of processors, by performing scheduling partially at compile time and partially at run time. Assuming infinite number of processors, the compile time schedule is found using a new concept of the threshold of a task that quantifies a trade-off between the schedule-length and the degree of parallelism. The schedule is found to minimize either the schedule length or the number of required processors and it satisfies: A feasibility condition which guarantees that the schedule delay of a task from its earliest start time is below the threshold, and an optimality condition which uses a merit function to decide the best task-processor match for a set of tasks competing for a given processor. At run time, the tasks are merged producing a schedule for a smaller number of available processors. This allows the program to be scaled down to the processors actually available at run time. Usefulness of this scheduling heuristic has been demonstrated by incorporating the scheduler in the compiler backend for targeting Sisal (Streams and Iterations in a Single Assignment Language) on iPSC/860. >


Image mining presents special characteristics due to the richness of data that an image can show. Effective evaluation of results of image mining by content requires that the user point of view is used on the performance parameters. Comparison among different mining by similarity systems is particularly challenging owing to the great variety of methods implemented to represent likeness and the dependence that the result present of the used image set. Other obstacle is lag of parameter for comparing experimental performance. In this paper we propose an evaluation framework for comparing the influence of THE distance function by image mining by color and also a way to mine an image from its name. Experiments with color similarity mining by quantization on color space and measure of likeness between a sample and the image results have been carried out to illustrate the proposed scheme. Important aspects of this type of mining are also described. KeywordsBased Image segmentation, Deviation Factor, Image comparison, Clustering, Text Based Mining.


This paper evaluates the impact of the ECB's unconventional policies on bank and government borrowing costs. We employ event-based regressions to assess and compare the effects of asset purchases and exceptional liquidity announcements on money markets, covered bond markets, and sovereign bond markets. The results show that (i) exceptional liquidity measures (three-year loans to banks and setting the ECB deposit rate to zero) significantly reduced persistent moneymarket tensions and that (ii) asset purchases were the most effective in lowering refinancing costs of banks and governments in the presence of high sovereign risk. Moreover, we show that the ECB asset purchases fed through into other asset prices: bank covered bond purchases diminished sovereign spreads, while sovereign bond purchases reduced covered bond spreads.


Between Alienation and Citizenship traces the history of the Black West Indian immigrant society in Panama from 1914 to 1964. Originally brought to Panama by the Americans and French as labor for the building of the Panama Canal, many of the workers stayed behind after completion of the canal to work for the Americans. Buffeted and battered by racism and prejudice from the Americans and xenophobia and chauvinism from the Panamanians, they created a thriving and even occasionally flourishing subculture and society. During much of the 50 years encompassed in this study, the Panamanian Black West Indian society existed in a kind of no man's land. The Panamanians were unwilling to accept them as full citizens even though many were born in Panama, and the Americans treated them as second-class citizens. The immigrants, also known as 'nowhereans,' faced this crisis of identity and homelessness with a steely determination and tenacity to survive. They established institutions, schools, churches, businesses, and profoundly changed the life and culture of Panama in ways that are still evident today. Between Alienation and Citizenship is a story of survival, tenacity, determination, and courage.


Traditionally river systems have been a source of economic prosperity, but also the cause of devastating floods. In the Netherlands centuries ago the first flood defence systems were constructed. Since the 1950s Dutch flood defence policy has been based on fixed standards for maximum allowable flood frequencies. With the growing population and increasing economic capital behind the dikes, the risk of economic damage and casualties has increased. During the past few years the insight has therefore grown that flood policy should be based on flood risk reduction. Flood risks can be reduced by reducing the flood
frequency, but also by reducing the potential economic damage and number of casualties. In several national and international conferences scientists and politicians have reflected on the topic and there appears to be a widespread common notion on the necessity of flood risk policies. The discussion on how to implement the new thinking on risk management is still going on. During the NCRdays a workshop has been devoted to the practical and scientific questions and dilemmas in implementing flood risk strategies.


The German-American anthropologist Franz Boas (1858–1942) was one of the most protean and influential anthropologists of the twentieth century. In part based on his book Primitive Art (1927), this essay considers his theory of the beholder's share in constructing the significance of visual form and in interpreting its meaning. Boas's analysis of what he called "contradictions" between his indigenous informants' exegeses of form lay at the heart of his conclusion that individual agents "read-in" to form some of the most crucial aspects of social experience that are most salient and specific to them. "Reading-in," I argue, is the verbal speaking of visual "seeing-as," and it infuses visual form with the diversity and particularity of a speaker's grammatical choices undertaken within their natural human language(s). This model might now seem self-evident. At the time, however, it opened up the possibility of an "anthropology" of art and, to an extent as yet unrealized, the possibilities of its sociology and history. The essay evaluates Boas's model in relation to other well-known accounts of the beholder's share in art history, philosophy, and elsewhere and concludes with a discussion of the uptake of his idea in the "structuralism" of Roman Jakobson and Claude Levi-Strauss.


Congenital erythropoietic porphyria is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of porphyrin metabolism in which the genetic defect is the deficiency of uroporphyrinogen III cosynthase (UIIIC). Deficiency of this enzyme results in an accumulation of high amounts of uroporphyrin I in all tissues, leading to hemolytic anemia, splenomegaly, erythrodontia, bone fragility, exquisite photosensitivity, and mutilating skin lesions. We discuss a female infantile case who was admitted for jaundice; bullous lesions appeared on her trunk during phototherapy in the neonatal period. The skin biopsy findings were consistent with epidermolysis bullosa. Due to persistent hepatosplenomegaly and cholestasis, metabolic tests and liver biopsy were performed. During the follow-up, hemolytic anemia and red urine were detected. The levels of porphyrin metabolites were determined at high concentrations in plasma, stool and urine analysis, which were suggestive of congenital erythropoietic porphyria.


Introduction. We report three patients with ischemic stroke as initial manifestation of left atrial myxomas. Cases reported. Case 1: man with difficulty in speaking for 15 minutes at the age of 33 years and dysarthria, right hemiparesis and hemisensory loss at the age of 36. Case 2: woman aged 29 with facial weakness and left limbs weakness for an hour. Case 3: woman with transient vertigo and paresthesia in right hemiface and upper limb for a month at the age of 35 years and difficulty for speaking, weakness of right limbs and loss of vision in left eye at the age of 40 years. The three patients had an atrial myxoma diagnosed by transthoracic or transesophageal echocardiography. Conclusions. The three patients had ischemic stroke at a young age. The initial manifestation of the myxoma was a transient ischemic attack in two of them. Diagnosis was delayed more than 3 years in two of the patients. The second episode of the third patient affected all the left internal carotid territory including the posterior cerebral artery arising from the internal carotid and branches of the central retinal artery. Comparing the magnetic resonance with the previous one, new hyperintense images on T2 with gadolinium enhancement were found in the left hemisphere consistent with subacute infarcts that had stabilized 5 months later.


Cross-sectional structures of a Re-based diffusion barrier coating on Nb as ultra high temperature material were investigated in order to verify the crystalline structure and composition of the coated layer. Three types coating specimens were prepared by electroplating Re from an aqueous solution on an Nb substrate, followed by Cr-pack cementation in vacuum. The coating process produced three distinct layers; an outer Cr(Re) layer, an intermediate Re-Cr-Nb layer, and an inner Nb(Re) layer. A crystal structure of Cr(Re) and Nb(Re) layers possess similar single crystal bcc structure. The Re-Cr-Nb layer expected to act as a diffusion barrier between the substrate and the outer reservoir layer was comprised of cubic c phase and hexagonal Laves C14 phase. Moreover, several crystal defects such as dislocations and stacking faults as well as voids and cracks are observed in the coating specimen.


The Quarterly Model of Banco de Espana (MTBE, Modelo Trimestral del Banco de Espana), is a large-scale macro-econometric model used for medium term macroeconomic forecasting of the Spanish economy, as well as for performing scenario simulations. The model is specified as a large set of error correction equations, and, especially in the short run, is mostly demand driven. This paper presents an update of the model, estimated with data from 1995 to 2014. In this iteration, a big revamp to the econometric techniques used in estimation has been implemented. Despite that, changes in coefficients and simulation results with respect to the previous version of the model are smaller than what we saw in earlier updates. Compared with MTBE-2014, this new version (MTBE-2017) shows less response of demand to interest rates and stock market prices but more to credit, less response of GDP to world demand but more to world prices and to the price of oil, more positive effects to output and employment from price and wage moderation, and slightly faster and bigger fiscal multipliers for some shocks (government consumption and investment, direct taxes to households) but smaller for others (indirect taxes, direct taxes to firms).


Background
In Ontario, there is no clearly defined standard of care for staging for distant metastasis in women with newly diagnosed and biopsy-confirmed breast cancer whose clinical presentation is suggestive of early-stage disease. This guideline addresses baseline imaging investigations for women with newly diagnosed primary breast cancer who are otherwise asymptomatic for distant metastasis.

Methods
The medline and embase databases were systematically searched for evidence from January 2000 to April 2019, and the best available evidence was used to draft recommendations relevant to the use of baseline imaging investigation in women with newly diagnosed primary breast cancer who are otherwise asymptomatic. Final approval of this practice guideline was obtained from both the Staging in Early Stage Breast Cancer Advisory Committee and the Report Approval Panel of the Program in Evidence-Based Care.

Recommendations
These recommendations apply to all women with newly diagnosed primary breast cancer (originating in the breast) who have no symptoms of distant metastasis Staging tests using conventional anatomic imaging [chest radiography, liver ultrasonography, chest-abdomen-pelvis computed tomography (ct)] or metabolic imaging modalities [integrated positron-emission tomography (pet)/ct, integrated pet/magnetic resonance imaging (mri), bone scintigraphy] should not be routinely ordered for women newly diagnosed with clinical stage i or stage ii breast cancer who have no symptoms of distant metastasis, regardless of biomarker status. In women newly diagnosed with stage iii breast cancer, baseline staging tests using either anatomic imaging (chest radiography, liver ultrasonography, chest-abdomen-pelvis ct) or metabolic imaging modalities (pet/ct, pet/mri, bone scintigraphy) should be considered regardless of whether the patient is symptomatic for distant metastasis and regardless of biomarker profile.


Although positive interactions among plants are believed to be common in primary succession, they have rarely been demonstrated on glacial moraines. In Patagonia, the prostrate shrub Empetrum rubrum is dominant in early succession in recently deglaciated valleys, eventually being replaced by the small tree Nothofagus antarctica. This study experimentally evaluates the effects of E. rubrum shrubs on density, biomass, growth and survival of N. antarctica seedlings. The initial density of the seedlings was significantly higher under the canopy of Empetrum than in open areas. A removal experiment was performed to evaluate the influence of Empetrum on survival and growth of seedlings that germinated naturally beneath the canopy of this species. The shrub cover was removed from half of a sample of randomly selected seedlings, and left intact above the remainder. One year later, seedlings with an intact cover of E. rubrum showed significantly higher survival, growth and leaf number than seedlings which had been exposed. The results suggest that the presence of E. rubrum facilitates the establishment of N. antarctica in post-glacial succession, mainly as a result of more favourable microclimatic conditions under the shrub canopy.


Studies suggest that fiscal multipliers are currently high in many advanced economies. One important implication is that fiscal tightening could raise the debt ratio in the short term, as fiscal gains are partly wiped out by the decline in output. Although this effect is not long-lasting and debt eventually declines, it could be an issue if financial markets focus on the short-term behavior of the debt ratio, or if country authorities engage in repeated rounds of tightening in an effort to get the debt ratio to converge to the official target. We discuss whether these problems could be addressed by setting and monitoring debt targets in cyclically-adjusted terms.


While speakers tailor referring expressions to the knowledge of their addressees, they do so imperfectly. Our goal here is to provide an explanation for this type of pattern by extending a probabilistic model introduced to explain perspective-taking behavior in comprehension. Using novel production data from a type of knowledge mismatch not previously investigated in production, we show that production patterns can also be explained as arising from the probabilistic combination of the speaker's and the addressee's perspectives. These results show the applicability of the multiple-perspectives approach to language production, and to different types of knowledge mismatch between conversational partners.


TO THE EDITOR: I read with interest the recent article by Wachter and colleagues (1). An additional consequence of policies from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been the disruption of local pneumonia guideline processes. The 2007 American Thoracic Society–Infectious Disease Society of America pneumonia guideline (2) recommended that "locally adapted guidelines should be implemented to improve process of care variables and relevant clinical outcomes." In addition, "CAP [community-acquired pneumonia] guidelines should address a comprehensive set of elements in the process of care, rather than a single element in isolation." A guideline was implemented in the Intermountain Healthcare System (Utah and Idaho) beginning in 1995, with a demonstrated decrease in 30-day all-cause mortality and pneumonia admission rates (3, 4). As part of multiple care elements, Intermountain's guideline recommends specific antibiotics (for example, ceftriaxone plus azithromycin for admitted patients) and recommends that antibiotics be administered at the site of initial care as soon as the diagnosis of pneumonia has been confirmed. With initiation of public reporting of CMS criteria, a competing focus developed within Intermountain Healthcare to achieve antibiotic administration within a 4-hour, and now 6-hour, window instead of our previous standard. In addition, the CMS list of acceptable antibiotics is broader than our local guideline, leading physicians at Dixie Regional Medical Center (St. George, Utah) to rewrite the local guideline to include CMS-accepted antibiotics, such as ertapenem. Compliance at Dixie Regional with Intermountain's guideline as measured by initial antibiotic prescribed decreased from 90% in January 2005 to only 55% in January 2008 (Compliance rate for community-acquired pneumonia for Dixie Regional Medical Center. Intermountain.net. Internal system Web site). Although Intermountain Healthcare System has more than 90% compliance with the CMS antibiotic timing measure, the focus of internal processes has shifted to meeting these performance measures instead of reinforcing the use of the local guideline. An earlier consequence of CMS payment policies was to reduce payments to Intermountain Healthcare for patients with pneumonia by approximately $500 000 per year (5). Our guideline recommends treating more patients with pneumonia at home, which resulted in revenue loss under CMS payment policies because reimbursement for care of a hospitalized patient with pneumonia was much higher than care of a similar patient at home. Unlike CMS pneumonia performance measures, our guideline has been shown to improve patient outcomes. Unlike reporting of specific care elements, severity-adjusted measures of outcome, such as survival to discharge home, time to return to usual activities, and 30-day mortality rate, would support local guideline development and implementation. Real improvement in pneumonia outcomes would probably result instead of what we are seeing from well-intended but flawed performance measures.


Software evolution analysis provides a valuable source of information that can be used both to understand a system's design and predict its future development. While for many program comprehension purposes, it is sufficient to model a single version of a system, there are types of information that can only be recovered when the history of a system is taken into account. Logical coupling, the implicit dependency between software artifacts that have been changed together, is an example of such information. Previous research has dealt with low-level couplings between files, leading to an explosion of the data to be analyzed, or has abstracted the logical couplings to the level of modules, leading to a loss of detailed information. In this paper, we present a visualization-based approach that integrates logical coupling information at different levels of abstraction. This facilitates an in-depth analysis of the logical couplings, and at the same time, leads to a characterization of a system's modules in terms of their logical coupling. The presented approach supports the retrospective analysis of a software system and maintenance activities such as restructuring and redocumentation. We illustrate retrospective analysis on two large open-source software systems.


The contents of the mediastinum take part in a different degree in its inspiratory longitudinal expansion: Heart, pulmonary root, and the bifurcation of the trachea – all of them connected with the diaphragm by pericardium or membrana bronchopericardiaca -move caudad proportional to the sinking of the diaphragm. Compared with the corona cordis the planum cardiacum moves further caudad according to its distance from the upper apertura thoracis. So the heart necessarily has to compensate for this difference by taking an upright position and by rotation to the right. The arcus aortae, however, fixed in the neck by its three main branches cannot perform such a proportional excursion. A significant distance of the left pulmonary root from the aortic arch is the result. At the same time a subaortal space, the 'spatium subaortale mediastini', unfolds into which a bulge of the pleura mediastinalis moves. This bulge is filled with tissue of the upper lobe of the left lung.


Factor that causes student participation under communication in social science study (IPS) still internel study process in teacher, monotonous study,  and impress a little stiff, so that make student inclined feel tense and satisfied in learn. potencial student to think, critical,  and ask, take outside opinion doesn't bloom well, so to increase student participation in study, teacher be  demanded to use strategy that can involve student mobilety. Teacher success in teach doesn't quit of teacher know-how use and choose media and method in study. Watchfulness internal issue formulation how does class student participation enhanced IV in study IPS by using card media at country elementary school. Aim from this watchfulness describes student participation enhanced in study ips pass card media in class IV. country elementary school. Hypothesis that proposed in this watchfulness with card media can be increased class student participation IV in study IPS at country. Watchfulness method that applied class action watchfulness method. Subjek watchfulness class student IV SD. Watchfulness result data student participation data and teacher activity during study in class. In hypothesis testing is used student participation percentage enhanced in study execution in use card media. Data analysis result data is got average participation percentage in my cycle I is 42,56% and cycle II 74,47% happen student participation enhanced from my cycle to cycle ii as much as 25%. Inferential with card media can be increased class student participation IV country elementary school. Conection with watchfulness result that got above so as suggestion in increase student participation, teacher can use card media in study IPS


Increasing human exposure to brominated flame retardants (BFRs), including the widely used polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), raises concern about possible neurotoxicity in humans, particularly through developmental exposure. Recently, also several hydroxylated PBDEs (OH-PBDEs) have been detected in human serum and cord blood. The aim of this research was to investigate mechanisms underlying previously observed behavioral impairments in rodents after neonatal exposure to BFRs. Effects of neonatal exposure to the environmentally relevant BDE-47 on a form of hippocampal synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation (LTP), were investigated in mice. After exposure to BDE-47, LTP and several hippocampal postsynaptic proteins were reduced, without presynaptic effects. Nonetheless, modest increases of vesicular catecholamine release as well as basal and depolarization-evoked intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) were observed in PC12 cells when acutely exposed to a high concentration of BDE-47, by using amperometry and imaging of the fluorescent Ca2+-sensitive dye Fura-2, respectively. To investigate differences in neurotoxic potential, acute in vitro effects of PBDEs and metabolites as well as HBCD on vesicular catecholamine release and basal and depolarization-evoked [Ca2+]i were also investigated. No effects on basal or depolarization-evoked [Ca2+]i were observed during exposure to BDE-49, BDE-99, BDE-100, BDE-153 or methoxylated BDE-47. Acute exposure of PC12 cells to 6-OH-BDE-47 induced vesicular catecholamine release, which coincided with a transient increase in [Ca2+]i observed shortly after the onset of exposure. To investigate possible structure-activity relationships, the effects of other OH-PBDEs on [Ca2+]i were also investigated in PC12 cells. All OH-PBDEs induced Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, although with different lowest-observed-effect concentrations (LOECs). It was found that the major intracellular Ca2+ sources were either endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or both ER and mitochondria. Lower LOECs were observed for some OH-PBDEs when investigating fluctuations in [Ca2+]i. OH-PBDEs and HBCD dose-dependently inhibited depolarization-evoked [Ca2+]i. For OH-PBDEs, this inhibition was potentiated by preceding increase in basal [Ca2+]i. The inhibition appeared more sensitive to Ca2+ release from intracellular stores than to influx of extracellular Ca2+, suggesting involvement of Ca2+-dependent regulatory processes close to voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. In a heterogeneous in vitro model for neurodevelopment, human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs), BDE-47 and 6-OH-BDE-47 also increase [Ca2+]i. In these cells, LOECs of both BDE-47 and 6-OH-BDE-47 are an order of magnitude lower compared to in PC12 cells, suggesting a higher sensitivity for disturbance of [Ca2+]i in hNPCs. In summary, a reduction of LTP together with changes in postsynaptic proteins in the mouse hippocampus could be related to the neurobehavioral effects of PBDEs. OH-PBDEs are more potent in disturbing [Ca2+]i and neurotransmitter release compared to BDE-47 or methoxylated BDE-47. Shielding of the OH-group on both sides with large atomic groups lowers the potency of OH-PBDEs. Besides increasing basal [Ca2+]i, OH-PBDEs inhibit depolarization-evoked [Ca2+]i, depending on preceding basal [Ca2+]i. HBCD inhibits depolarization-evoked [Ca2+]i and neurotransmitter release. The findings in this research indicate that bioactivation by oxidative metabolism adds considerably to the neurotoxic potential of PBDEs, raising concern for the developing brain. Therefore, oxidative metabolism should be included in the risk assessment for (developmental) neurotoxicity by PBDEs in humans


Background: Employing a knowledge broker (KB) is one way to transform ideas into action, especially in relation to the development of a specialized hospital. This study aimed to explore the concept of knowledge brokering intervention in the development of a specialize hospital in Indonesia.
Methods: A descriptive qualitative method was applied in this study to collect detailed, rich data from a small number of participants. A snowball sampling approach was chosen to recruit 17 participants from various backgrounds who have worked with KB of a specialized hospital. The data analysis was performed using a content analysis method to identify the themes and categories.
Results: Five themes and 14 categories were constructed for developing the knowledge brokering intervention in the development of a specialized hospital in Indonesia. The themes included characteristics of KB, the role of KB, demand brokering, various perceptions of specialized hospitals, and challenges in developing the specialized hospital.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that the framework of the knowledge brokering intervention consisted of individual and interpersonal capabilities. Characteristics of KBs should be introduced that are trained in all development settings to boost the achievement of the goals in the health sector. The researchers suggest that the concept of KB should be considered for realizing national projects, as this will escalate the health development of the country. This study contributes to the identification and connection of indicators on health knowledge brokering in translating science into practice at specialized hospital in Indonesia.


The wintering mixed flocks of tits (Paridae) and associated birds, are good objects for studying ecological niche division. In this respect the mixed species flocks on the Asian continent are poorly studied in comparison to European and North American ones. In this report we describe spatial distribution of foraging sites of eight bird species in 39 winter flocks near Seoul, Korea: Varied tit – Parus varius Temminck & Schlegel, Great tit – P. major Temminck & Schlegel, Marsh tit – P. palustris Bianchi, Coal tit – P. ater Buturlin, Long-tailed tit – Aegithalos caudatus Clark, Nuthatch – Sitta europaea Swinhoe, Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker – Dendrocopos kizuki Taka-Tsukasa, and Goldcrest – Regulus regulus Blakiston. Foraging sites (in coniferous and mixed forests) were classified into five height layers: on the ground, <1.5 m above the ground, 1.5–4 m, 4–7m, and > 7m. Trees were divided into three horizontal zones depending on the distance from trunk: crown interior, intermediate zone, and external twigs. Species differed significantly in the use of height layers: P. major foraged mostly on the ground, P. ater and A. caudatus foraged mostly in the highest forest layer, P. palustris was often seen in bushes, and P. varius occurred in the middle tree layer. There was no clear correlation between height of foraging and species body size. However, body size played an important role for segregation in horizontal zones, and two species, the larger P.major and the smaller P. ater differed significantly in the mean distance from trunk. Species of large body size like P. varius and P. major, foraged mostly in the interior of the tree crown, while the smaller species, P.ater and A. caudatus, foraged mostly in the external zone; the intermediate in size, P. palustris, foraged equally often in each of the three zones. The sites used most often by Korean populations of three tit species, P. major, P. palustris and P. ater, were similar to the sites used by European populations of the respective species. These results represent one of a few quantitative studies on mixed species flocks in continental Asia.


1. The following compounds were glucuronidated in the presence of UDP-glucuronic acid and a microsomal preparation made from guinea-pig liver: (14)C-labelled 3-O-methyladrenaline, 3-O-methylnoradrenaline, 3-methoxytyramine and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenethanol, as well as unlabelled harmalol and harmol. 2. [(14)C]Homovanillic (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylacetic) acid was not a substrate for the microsomal glucuronyltransferase. 3. The K(m) values for harmalol and harmol were 0.69x10(-4)m and 0.50x10(-4)m respectively. 4. The K(m) values for UDP-glucuronic acid, in the presence of (14)C-labelled 3-O-methylnoradrenaline, harmalol and harmol as aglycones, were 0.57x10(-4)m, 0.44x10(-4)m and 2.20x10(-4)m respectively. 5. Mg(2+) added at 2.5-10mm activated glucuronyltransferase, with harmalol as substrate. Concentrations above 10mm inhibited the enzymic activity. 6. The overall, or net, transglucuronidating activity of microsomal preparations of the liver, with harmalol as substrate, was greatest for guinea pig, and very much lower for rabbit, mouse and rat.


The structure of aldose reductase, a monomeric enzyme of 314 amino acids which crystallizes in space group P1 with four monomers per asymmetric unit, has been solved using a combination of single isomorphous replacement (SIR), solvent flattening and local symmetry averaging. The self rotation showed evidence of 222 local symmetry. The map calculated from the original single isomorphous replacement phases showed a clear solvent envelope but was uninterpretable. A first averaging attempt failed because the molecular envelope obtained from the SIR map weighted with monomer correlation was too small and the averaging was biased by low-resolution truncation. A second attempt with an enlarged envelope and including low-resolution reflections succeeded in refining phases at 3.5/~, resolution but failed to extend them correctly. Rigidbody refinement of a partial model based on the 3.5 /~, map calculated from refined phases showed significant departures from the 222 symmetry. A third averaging attempt using the improved symmetry succeeded in producing a clear map with phases extended to 3.07 /~ resolution. This map revealed a (~//o08 fold, not previously found in NADPH-dependent enzymes. This work shows the importance of mask definition and local symmetry elements accuracy for averaging, and describes a method for improving these parameters.