This study investigated the trends in students' achievement in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in Physics in Ekiti State of Nigeria between 2007 and 2012 years. The study adopted a survey research design of ex-post facto type, the design centered on looking back at the performances of the students in Physics. The sample comprised of all Physics students in 141 public secondary schools in Ekiti State that registered and sat for SSCE Physics between 2007 and 2012 years. The investigation of the study reveals that there is neither significant fall nor significant students' academic achievement in Physics in West African School Certificate Examination results over the year of study (that is, it shows fluctuation in the performance over the period of study). Two research questions were answered in the study. Data were analysed using frequency counts and percentages. It is recommended among others that the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) of the state should endeavour to provide opportunities for refresher courses for Physics teachers for them to be better informed about how to improve the academic performance of their students in the subject for technological advancement of the nation. And the Ministry of Education ditto the School Principals should ensure adequate and effective supervision of the teaching of Physics in Secondary Schools in the Ekiti State. Government should also provide modern science laboratory equipments to schools and information communication technology centre to all the schools.


Advances in molecular biology tools have made it possible to make progress in terms of therapeutics by acting specifically on the molecular mechanisms involved in the virulence of pathogens or in the development of the disease. In the case of cancer, new therapeutics have been developed thanks to these advances. This is called targeted therapy. Targeted therapy molecules specifically act as a molecule, or a molecular pathway involved in the development of the tumor. The use of targeted therapy drugs therefore requires molecular characterization of tumors. In developing countries, the reference tool is high-throughput sequencing, but due to the high cost, this strategy remains inaccessible for the majority of African populations. It is remains necessary to implement alternative molecular diagnostic tools in order to reduce the disparities currently observed in access to cancer care. The High-Resolution Melting analysis (HRM) method is based on real-time PCR and is described as a simple, rapid and specific method for the detection of somatic mutations predictive of anti-tumor therapeutic response. We demonstrated in this study that this method could be implemented in a lower middle-income country like Côte d'Ivoire, and we used it to detect KRAS mutations in colorectal cancer patients for the first time in Cote d'Ivoire.


This paper shows that the problem of designing one-dimensional (1-D) variable fractional-delay (VFD) digital filter can be elegantly reduced to the easier subproblems that involve one-dimensional (1-D) constant filter (subfilter) designs and 1-D polynomial approximations. By utilizing the singular value decomposition (SVD) of the variable design specification, we prove that both 1-D constant filters and 1-D polynomials possess either symmetry or anti-symmetry simultaneously. Therefore, a VFD filter can be efficiently obtained by designing 1-D constant filters with symmetrical or antisymmetrical coefficients and performing 1-D symmetrical or antisymmetrical approximations. To perform the weighted-least-squares (WLS) VFD filter design, a new WLS-SVD method is also developed. Moreover, an objective criterion is proposed for selecting appropriate subfilter orders and polynomial degrees. Our computer simulations have shown that the SVD-based design and WLS-SVD design can achieve much higher design accuracy with significantly reduced filter, complexity than the existing WLS design method. Another important part of the paper proposes two new structures for efficiently implementing the resulting VFD filter, which require less computational complexity than the so-called Farrow structure.


FIGURE 4. MSC-derived EVs activate NFB and Notch signaling to promote HSPC differentiation. A, diagrammatic representation of the lentiviral vector design used to generate the NFB enhancer-luciferase reporter cell line. Stably transduced and sorted SIM-A9 microglial cells were used for EV exposure followed by luciferase assay. The SIM-A9-NFB-Luc cells were exposed with MSC EVs and incubated for 48 h followed by luciferase assay. Non-treated SIM-A9-NFB-Luc and LPS-treated SIM-A9-NFB-Luc cells were used as negative and positive controls, respectively. Luciferase activity was measured as relative fluorescence units (RFU). Data represent n 4 independent experiments; error bars depict S.D. All p values have been calculated using two-tailed Student's t test. B, quantitative mRNA expression of NFB and Notch-1 signaling and downstream targets involved in cell proliferation in MSC EV-exposed HSPCs. Data represent n 3 independent experiments; error bars are S.D. C, we next tested a candidate panel of canonical TLR4 responsive cytokines for both transcriptional activation and secretion, either after EV or S100 exposure. Transcriptional analysis of EV-exposed HSPCs reveals an up-regulation of several known TLR4-responsive cytokine genes (IL6, TNFa, Stat1, and EGFR) in WT but not MyD88 / HSPCs. Data represent n 3 independent experiments; error bars are S.D. D, TLR4 signaling was specifically inhibited in WT MSC-EV-exposed HSPCs using TAK-242. Transcriptional analysis of EV-exposed HSPCs with and without TLR4 inhibitor showed down-regulation of the same TLR-responsive genes described above. Data represent n 2 independent experiments; error bars represent S.D. E, cytokines released by HSPCs after 48 h co-culture, with MSC EVs compared with S100, were measured using a Luminex assay, whereby error bars are S.D. and p values are an indication of the variance across three technical replicates in this screening panel. THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY VOL. 292, NO. 8, p. 3541, February 24, 2017 © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. Published in the U.S.A.


To determine whether off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) increases mid-term major adverse cardiovascular (and cerebrovascular) events MACCE over on-pump CABG, we performed a meta-analysis of exclusive large randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched through October 2013 using Web-based search engines (PubMed and OVID). Eligible studies were RCTs of off-pump vs on-pump CABG enrolling >100 patients in each procedure and reporting MACCE at the time of >1 year follow-up. Mixed-effects meta-regression analyses were performed to determine whether the effects of off-pump CABG on MACCE were modulated by the prespecified factors. Eight RCTs enrolling 10 954 patients were identified and included. A pooled analysis demonstrated no statistically significant difference in off-pump and on-pump CABG (hazard ratio, 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 0.93-1.29; P = 0.27). In general, exclusion of any single study from the analysis did not substantially alter the overall result of our analysis. There was no evidence of significant publication bias. Meta-regression coefficients were not statistically significant for mean age, proportion of men and that of diabetes. In conclusion, off-pump CABG appears not to increase mid-term MACCE over on-pump CABG.


This article reports a commentary on the methodology surrounding the exploratory development and study efforts regarding a published article on the viability of a novel "going-in light" or Going Light medical component in support of US Army Pacific (USARPAC) Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) missions, namely, a BLU-MED® incremental modular equipment package along with a Rapid Deployment Medical Team (RDMT). There was an unreported and "untold story" in terms of the Going Light study, specifically, Capabilities Based Assessment going on in the background. This was really the consequence of Soldiers on the study group auto-performing in accordance with their training. Details on how the CBA process proceeded and deviations in the sequencing of that process are reported in detail as well as how the process was integrated in the Oracle Delphi.


Recent developments in Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies have opened doors for ultra high throughput sequencing mRNA (mRNA-seq) of the whole transcriptome. mRNA-seq has enabled researchers to comprehensively search for underlying biological determinants of diseases and ultimately discover novel preventive and therapeutic solutions. Unfortunately, given the complexity of mRNA-seq data, data generation has outgrown current analytical capacity, hindering the pace of research in this area. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel statistical methodology that addresses problems related to mRNA-seq data. This review addresses the common challenge of the presence of overdispersion in mRNA count data. We review current methods for modeling overdispersion, such as negative binomial, quasi-likelihood Poisson method, and the two-stage adaptive method; introduce related statistical theories; and discuss their applications to mRNA-seq count data.


This study evaluated the blood pressure effects and cardio-protective function of ginger and garlic extracts in laboratory animals. Wistar rats of both sexes were assigned into the following groups: Group I: Served as control + distilled water; Group II: 20 mg/kg of garlic; Group III: 40 mg/kg of garlic; Group IV: 20 mg/kg of ginger; Group V: 40 mg/kg of ginger; Group VI: garlic 10 mg and ginger 10 mg/kg; Group VII: garlic 20 mg and ginger 20 mg/kg. Animals were euthanized after four weeks of treatment. Blood samples were collected and serum separated for lipid profile assay. The effect of extracts on perfused rabbit heart was also investigated. Moreover, the effect of extract on blood pressure was tested in anaesthetized cats. The results obtained in the study showed a statistically significant decrease (p<0.05) of serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride and low density lipoprotein-cholestero (LDL-C) levels at all single and combined doses of the extract when compared with the control group. The extract single and combined doses significantly increased (p<0.05) serum high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) level in the treated animals when compared with the control group. The results showed a significantly decreased rate and force of contraction at the combined doses when compared with the baseline line control level (p<0.05). The study also revealed that the administration of only garlic at dose of 0.1 and 1 mg/ml produced a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the diastolic blood pressure. There was a statistically significant decrease (p<0.05) in diastolic blood pressure in all single doses of garlic as well as the combined doses of garlic and ginger extract administered. The result obtained showed that administration of only single doses of ginger produced a significant decrease in p < 0.05. Administration of single doses of garlic (0.1 and 1 mg/ml) produced significant reduction (P < 0.05) in mean arterial pressure (MAP) when compared with control group. In conclusion, the findings suggest that the extract as well as its combination improved lipid profile and may have a cardio-protective effect.


Homogeneous adenine deaminases (EC 184.108.40.206) from the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe and a putative ADA (adenosine deaminase; EC 22.214.171.124) from Arabidopsis thaliana were obtained for the first time as purified recombinant proteins by molecular cloning of the corresponding genes and their overexpression in Escherichia coli. The enzymes showed comparable molecular properties with well-known mammalian ADAs, but exhibited much lower k(cat) values. Adenine was the most favoured substrate for the yeast enzymes, whereas the plant enzyme showed only very low activities with either adenine, adenosine, AMP or ATP. Interestingly, the yeast enzymes also hydrolysed N6-substituted adenines from cytokinins, a group of plant hormones, cleaving them to inosine and the corresponding side chain amine. The hydrolytic cleavage of synthetic cytokinin 2,6-di-substituted analogues that are used in cancer therapy, such as olomoucine, roscovitine and bohemine, was subsequently shown for a reference sample of human ADA1. ADA1, however, showed a different reaction mechanism to that of the yeast enzymes, hydrolysing the compounds to an adenine derivative and a side chain alcohol. The reaction products were identified using reference compounds on HPLC coupled to UV and Q-TOF (quadrupole-time-of-flight) detectors.The ADA1 activity may constitute the debenzylation metabolic route already described for bohemine and, as a consequence, it may compromise the physiological or therapeutic effects of exogenously applied cytokinin derivatives.


1. Phosvitin extracted from domestic hen's-egg yolk was resolved on Sephadex G-100 into two phosphoprotein components. 2. The major component has a molecular weight of about 3.4x10(4) and alanine as an N-terminal residue. Glucosamine is present, but tyrosine is virtually absent. 3. The minor component has a molecular weight of about 2.8x10(4) and lysine as an N-terminal residue. Missing residues are glucosamine, methionine and leucine. Lysine, histidine, threonine, glycine, phenylalanine and tyrosine contents differ significantly from those of the major component. 4. Sephadex G-100 also removes small amounts of an impurity with a much higher molecular weight.


G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) sense a wide variety of stimuli, including lipids, and transduce signals to the intracellular environment to exert various physiological responses. However, the structural features of GPCRs responsible for detecting and triggering responses to distinct lipid ligands have only recently begun to be revealed. 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (14,15-EET) is one such lipid mediator that plays an essential role in the vascular system, displaying both vasodilatory and anti-inflammatory properties. We recently reported multiple low-affinity 14,15-EET-binding GPCRs, but the mechanism by which these receptors sense 14,15-EET remains unclear. Here, we have taken a combined computational and experimental approach to identify and confirm critical residues and properties within the lipid-binding pocket. Furthermore, we generated mutants to engineer selected GPCR-predicted binding sites to either confer or abolish 14,15-EET-induced signaling. Our structure-function analyses indicate that hydrophobic and positively charged residues of the receptor-binding pocket are prerequisites for recognizing lipid ligands such as 14,15-EET and possibly other eicosanoids.


Background: Although principled responsibilities are on dentists to prescribe and communicate prosthodontics information and requirements to dental technician, studies reveal a lack of communication. Moreover, skills and techniques that students develop during their clinical education are profoundly become attitudes. Aim: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to inspect and observe the quality of prosthodontics instructions and information submitted for both fixed and removable prosthodontics cases immediately at the end of each students' clinical session. Methods: Research ethical committee approved this study. A paper-based examination designed to find out the quality of instructions and nature of information. A self-structured questionnaire was constructed which included general data; year of study, age and gender of the dental student, information of the case type itself, and the clarity and correct instructions. Written instructions and the drawings were categorized as satisfactory and clear, a guide, unsatisfactory and poor, and none, outcome of treatment recorded at the delivery/cementation appointments. Results: Only 36.5% of the whole study samples were satisfactory and clear. Moreover, 37.4% were considered as a guide, 22.8% were unsatisfactory and poor, and 3.3% were without instructions. There was a statistical significance difference between the groups. Results showed that only 42.3% of prosthodontics cases approved on the intended day for delivery and/or cementation with minor adjustments. Nearly 14.6% rejected and unapproved (Redo). Only 9.75% of written information indicated disinfection. Conclusion: This study indicates weakness in communication between senior dental students (SDSs) and the laboratory dental technicians. SDSs are not competent in writing prosthodontics forms. The significance of acceptably completing the forms must be stressed throughout students' education.


We, the authors Raluca-Ioana Stefan-van Staden, Ileana Stefanescu, Jacobus F. van Staden and Marius Enachescu, hereby wholly retract this Analyst article. Due to confidentiality reasons and possible conflict of interest we cannot provide at this stage more data to support the conclusions of the article. Signed: R. I. Stefan-van Staden, J. F. van Staden, National Institute of Electrochemistry and Condensed Matter, Bucharest, Romania, and I. Stefanescu, M. Enachescu, University "Politehnica" Bucharest, Romania. This retraction is endorsed by May Copsey, Editor. Retraction published 6th September 2012.
 Editor's Note: Significant concerns have been received from members of the community regarding the extent of the conclusions that have been drawn in the above Analyst article based on the data presented in the article. May Copsey, Editor.


Acoustic signaling is an important means by which animals communicate both stable and labile characteristics. Although it is widely appreciated that vocalizations can convey information on labile state, such as fear and aggression, fewer studies have experimentally examined the acoustic expression of stress state. The transmission of such public information about physiological state could have broad implications, potentially influencing the behavior and life-history traits of neighbors. North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) produce vocalizations known as rattles that advertise territorial ownership. We examined the influence of changes in physiological stress state on rattle acoustic structure through the application of a stressor (trapping and handling the squirrels) and by provisioning squirrels with exogenous glucocorticoids (GCs). We characterized the acoustic structure of rattles emitted by these squirrels by measuring rattle duration, mean frequency, and entropy. We found evidence that rattles do indeed exhibit a "stress signature." When squirrels were trapped and handled, they produced rattles that were longer in duration with a higher frequency and increased entropy. However, squirrels that were administered exogenous GCs had similar rattle duration, frequency, and entropy as squirrels that were fed control treatments and unfed squirrels. Our results indicate that short-term stress does affect the acoustic structure of vocalizations, but elevated circulating GC levels do not mediate such changes.


Over the most recent couple of years, much consideration has been centered around research to plan new age of Poly (para – subbed styrene), and to examine the illumination, warm and plasticization impacts on steadiness of these new polymers. The photodegradation of lighted strong movies was concentrated by utilizing UV – Visible, Fluorescence, FT - IR and TLC spectroscopic strategies. Lighted unadulterated and mixed Poly (para – subbed styrene) strong movies indicated a continuous increment in the ingestion power of the fundamental band with the expansion in the measure of mixed plasticizers and increment in the illumination time just as the arrangement of new groups at longer frequencies. The fluorescence spectra of lighted polymers in strong movies and in arrangements of various extremity, demonstrated a misshapening in the fluorescence fundamental band and the presence of new groups at longer frequencies, sign the interruption of polymer chains and the development of new photograph items through the arrangement of free extreme responses. The FT – IR spectra of lighted unadulterated and mixed strong movies, demonstrated an expansion or lessening of the polymer vibration frequencies, just as an adjustments in various construed groups forces. The expansion in the forces of the broke down extents is ascribed to the development of carbonyl, hydroxyl, and aliphatic ketones and to the increment in the quantity of polyene structures that came about because of hydrogen reflection during photodegradation responses. The investigation of the Fourier-change infrared spectra of the illuminated and nonirradiated tests indicated an observable arrangement of another wide band focused at (1,727 cm−1, C=O), relegated to the development of aliphatic ketones once in the past from the response of receptive alkoxy radicals. Its force was found to increment with the expansion in light time and furthermore with the expansion in the measure of included Terephthalate and phthalates plasticizer, showing an expansion in the productivity of the photograph corruption process. The examination of sections that came about because of the photograph light examples of PSP in arrangement, utilizing electrospray ionization-particle trap (ESI) . Where the division and assurance of the sections which came about because of debased polymer were concentrated by LC–ESI-MS in positive mode, and gave the best explicitness and affectability for their identification. The positive particle (ESI-MS) spectra indicated five fundamental pinnacles of the all out particle chromatogram (TIC). All the exacerbates that were come about because of the photodegradation of the illuminate polymer arrangement gave the protonated particles [M + H+] after ionization in the electro shower source. The discontinuity particles indicated the development of monomer, dimmer and oxygenated natural mixes. Some energy work was applied to the outcomes on fluorescence force of the excimeric outflow to assess the extinguishing efficiencies and photograph extinguishing rate steady by applying Al Ani – Hawi condition. Electrophilic replacement, for example, (Cl, and Br) in the para position of the polymer spine should less soundness towards UV – Irradiation, while, necluophilic replacement, for example, ( - H, - CH3, - OCH3, - OC2H5, - C6H5, α – CH3, α – OCH3, Phenyl and – C (CH3)4 should higher security towards illumination of plasticization. Among the para-subbed polystyrene, Poly (4-fluorostyrene) should an extremely high dependability towards light and plasticization that all polymers utilized in these examinations. It is much more steady than polystyrene, The system of the photodegradation of these lighted polymers was found to begin from deliberation of α – hydrogen iota from the phenyl bunch followed by an irregular chain scission in the polymer spine. Proposed component for the photodegradation of para-subbed styrene in strong movies and in arrangement depended on the decline or increment in the utilitarian gatherings that shows up from the FT – IR spectra of illuminated strong movies.


The quest for new information is an inborn human trait and has always been quintessential for human survival and progress. Novelty drives curiosity, which in turn drives innovation. In Natural Language Processing (NLP), Novelty Detection refers to finding text that has some new information to offer with respect to whatever is earlier seen or known. With the exponential growth of information all across the Web, there is an accompanying menace of redundancy. A considerable portion of the Web contents are duplicates, and we need efficient mechanisms to retain new information and filter out redundant information. However, detecting redundancy at the semantic level and identifying novel text is not straightforward because the text may have less lexical overlap yet convey the same information. On top of that, non-novel/redundant information in a document may have assimilated from multiple source documents, not just one. The problem surmounts when the subject of the discourse is documents, and numerous prior documents need to be processed to ascertain the novelty/non-novelty of the current one in concern. In this work, we build upon our earlier investigations for document-level novelty detection and present a comprehensive account of our efforts toward the problem. We explore the role of pre-trained Textual Entailment (TE) models to deal with multiple source contexts and present the outcome of our current investigations. We argue that a multipremise entailment task is one close approximation toward identifying semantic-level non-novelty. Our recent approach either performs comparably or achieves significant improvement over the latest reported results on several datasets and across several related tasks (paraphrasing, plagiarism, rewrite). We critically analyze our performance with respect to the existing state of the art and show the superiority and promise of our approach for future investigations. We also present our enhanced dataset TAP-DLND 2.0 and several baselines to the community for further research on document-level novelty detection.


Adaptive T-cell immunotherapy holds great promise for the successful treatment of leukemia, as well as other types of cancers. More recently, it was also shown to be an effective treatment option for chronic virus infections in immunosuppressed patients. Autologous or allogeneic T cells used for immunotherapy are usually genetically modified to express novel T-cell or chimeric antigen receptors. The production of such cells was significantly simplified with the CRISPR/Cas system, allowing for the deletion or insertion of novel genes at specific locations within the genome. In this review, we describe recent methodological breakthroughs that were important for the conduction of these genetic modifications, summarize crucial points to be considered when conducting such experiments, and highlight the potential pitfalls of these approaches.


From 1985 to 1993, five male patients with posterior urethral valves were treated at our hospital; they included three newborns, a 32-month-old and a 10-year-old child. On initial examination, all patients showed severe bilateral hydronephrosis and hydroureter on sonographic findings, dilatation of the prostate urethra and trabeculation of the bladder wall in the voiding cystourethrogram; only one patient showed vesicoureteral reflux. Type I urethral valves were present in all patients. Retrograde transurethral ablation of the valves was performed in four patients with good preoperative renal function. The postoperative courses were smooth except for vesicoureteral reflux in one patient and systemic fungus infection in another. Reimplantation of the ureter was done for the vesicoureteral reflux, and the fungus infection was treated by amphotericin B. Cutaneous vesicostomy was performed for a newborn since the urethral orifice was small. He presented with poor renal function and ascites. Delayed antegrade ablation of the valves per vesicostomy and closure of the vesicostomy were done three months later after restoration of the renal function. Renal function returned to normal after operation in all patients, but the function of the upper urinary tract and bladder continence need long-term follow-up.


Layering on solar cell power and stability Solar cells made from carbon-based polymers are helpfully flexible. However, there's been a frustrating tradeoff between cell stability and efficiency when converting solar power to electrical power. Page et al. offer a strategy to partially resolve this dilemma by inserting a layer of polar organic compound (a fullerene derivative) between the cathode (the positive pole in the circuit) and the rest of the cell. Aluminum is an efficient cathode material but is prone to oxidative degradation. The easily applied polar layer enables the use of more stable metals, such as silver and copper, for the cathode, while counteracting their tendencies to diminish power conversion efficiency. Science, this issue p. 441 A polar fullerene derivative layered on the cathode of a polymer solar cell fosters simultaneous stability and efficiency. A major challenge in organic solar cell design is the trade-off between oxidative stability and work function of the metal cathode. We found that in single-junction polymer solar cells, this problem can be surmounted by solution-based incorporation of fulleropyrrolidines with amine (C60-N) or zwitterionic (C60-SB) substituents as cathode-independent buffer layers. Specifically, a thin layer of C60-N reduced the effective work function of Ag, Cu, and Au electrodes to 3.65 electron volts. Power conversion efficiency values exceeding 8.5% were obtained for organic photovoltaics independent of the cathode selection (Al, Ag, Cu, or Au). Such high efficiencies did not require precise control over interlayer thickness, as devices prepared with C60-N and C60-SB layers ranging from 5 to 55 nanometers performed with high efficiency.


The study aimed at investigating Jordanian EFL teachers' assessment practices relating to the test construction through self-reported frequencies of using the procedures of preparing, correcting, analyzing, interpreting an achievement test, and discussing its results with students. To achieve this, a 31-item questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was administered to 118 basic stage EFL teachers after establishing its validity and reliability. The results showed that EFL teachers claimed to always or usually practice appropriate procedures of preparing the test, discussing the results with students and evaluating and assessing short-answer tests. However, they were found to sometimes practice appropriate procedures for analyzing test results and evaluating and assessing open-ended questions. In light of the findings, it is recommended that educational institutions should pay more attention to educating teachers to analyze and interpret test results, and evaluate and score open-answer questions.


Recent developments in wireless sensor networks have inspired applications which require high accuracy localization. Impulse radio ultra wide-band technology has a fine time resolution, allowing accurate determination of the time of arrival at the receiver, making it a serious contender for accurate ranging, in comparison to narrow-band technologies. In this paper, we present a UWB based 3D real-time indoor positioning system with 802.15.4a compliant wireless nodes. Results from measurement campaigns reveal that for line-of-sight (LOS) scenarios 11 cm accuracy and 2 cm precision without any postprocessing (i.e. filtering) are possible, hence demonstrating the capability of accurate UWB-based localization using trilateration, resulting in a fast and non-complex algorithm that provides high precision positioning. The proposed system presents an initial step in developing a high precision system for localization in industrial applications.


Purpose The bradykinin 1 receptor may be important in inflammatory retinal vascular leakage in diabetic macular edema. BI 1026706 is an antagonist of bradykinin 1 receptor that has demonstrated efficacy in preclinical studies. Boehringer Ingelheim trial 1320.22 (NCT02732951) was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The pharmacodynamics, safety, and tolerability of oral BI 1026706 for 12 weeks were evaluated in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus and mild visual impairment owing to center-involved diabetic macular edema. Methods Patients (n = 105) were randomized to receive either oral BI 1026706 100 mg twice daily (morning and evening) or placebo for 12 weeks. The primary end point of the study was week 12 change from baseline in central subfield foveal thickness (CSFT) by spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Additional end points included absolute CSFT values, safety, and pharmacokinetics. Results After 12 weeks of treatment, there was no meaningful change from baseline in the adjusted mean CSFT in either treatment group (BI 1026706, 10.3 µm; placebo, –6.2 µm; adjusted mean treatment difference, 16.5 µm [95% confidence interval, –16.2 to 49.1]). There were also no differences in best-corrected visual acuity outcomes between treatment groups. Most reported adverse events were of mild or moderate intensity, and were balanced between treatment groups. Conclusions BI 1026706 was not superior to placebo in CSFT week-12 change from baseline. Therefore, BI 1026706 does not reduce CSFT, a morphologic sign of diabetic macular edema. Translational Relevance Kinin-kallikrein inhibition effects may not be apparent over 12 weeks for bradykinin 1 receptor inhibition alone.


Soft robotics is attractive for wearable applications that require conformal interactions with the human body. Soft wearable robotic garments hold promise for supplying dynamic compression or massage therapies, such as are applied for disorders affecting lymphatic and blood circulation. In this paper, we present a wearable robot capable of supplying dynamic compression and massage therapy via peristaltic motion of finger-sized soft, fluidic actuators. We show that this peristaltic wearable robot can supply dynamic compression pressures exceeding 22 kPa at frequencies of 14 Hz or more, meeting requirements for compression and massage therapy. A large variety of software-programmable compression wave patterns can be generated by varying frequency, amplitude, phase delay, and duration parameters. We first demonstrate the utility of this peristaltic wearable robot for compression therapy, showing fluid transport in a laboratory model of the upper limb. We theoretically and empirically identify driving regimes that optimize fluid transport. We second demonstrate the utility of this garment for dynamic massage therapy. These findings show the potential of such a wearable robot for the treatment of several health disorders associated with lymphatic and blood circulation, such as lymphedema and blood clots.


The art of winemaking, like that of brewing, is undergoing a rapid metamorphisis in the 20th century. As more and more of the technical details influencing quality are brought under the control of the wine maker the art of winemaking will gradually become the science of winemaking. A variety of reasons may be given for this transformation. The scientific skills necessary for converting the industry have only been developed within the past 100 years and are by no means fully understood today. Even where the process variables were recognized the necessary instrumentation for their automatic measurement and control were not available. However, the great progress in the antibiotic industry has shown how far the fermentation industries can be brought under strict control. A second reason is our desire, and need, for uniformity. The intuitive type of control produced some very fine products but also some very poor ones. Efficiency is another reason for these developments. The cost of the raw material and the labor overhead have gradually become so great that we must control their efficient utilization. Competition alone requires efficient controlled operation. This point of view was sumarized by Silox and Lee (1948) as follows: "Although fermentation is one of the oldest processes and has important economic significance due to its widespread use in industry, it must still be classified as an art rather than a science. This is in part due to the complex nature of fermentation and the large number of independent and dependent variables that affect the evaluation of results. Secondly, although fermentation involves difficult interrelated problems in biology and engineering, men in these two fields have worked independently until recent years." Of the three primary factors influencing the final quality of a wine we normally consider variety, fermentation procedure and aging in a decreasing order of importance. Actually, no fine wine can result when any of these three are neglected, so that in studying controlled fermentations there is no intention of minimizing the importance of the other two. Furthermore, there is an interrelation between the three which complicates their separate study. For example, a white grape requires a different fermentation procedure and method of aging than a red. A high acid must will ferment better and with less care than a low acid must and the wine will be more stable—other factors being equal.


textabstractThis study explores the interlinkages between civil war and communal violence
which conflict literature has endeavoured to categorise as two significantly
different types of intra-state warfare typologies. A lot has been written
about civil wars, but their connections with other conflict categories have so
far been under-researched. This is especially true of the connection between
civil war and communal violence, which this study explores in the context of
northern and north-eastern Uganda. Much quantitative conflict research uses
statistical data as the basis for arriving at conclusions about typologies and
categories. However, quantitative approaches in conflict studies are usually
based on secondary sources, which sometimes have little regard for the complexities
of the changing dynamics of violent conflicts in specific locations
like Uganda. This study combines a qualitative and interpretative approach
with reflections on the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) data sets.
Empirical data collected from interviews and focus group discussions with
various key actors was combined with reflections on dataset measurements
of civil war and communal violence in Uganda, and a range of scholarly documents.
This study looked closely at quantitative measures of these two conflicts,
in northern and north eastern Uganda, questioning the typologies and
quantitative indicators used, as well as the key actors identified in the UCDP
and PRIO (Peace Research Institute Oslo) databases. Through two distinct
case studies from within Uganda, this research examines the complex interconnections
between the civil war in northern Uganda and what is often
termed communal violence in north eastern Uganda. The study examines the
causes as well as the actors involved and how these conflicts changed course
and direction, and what implications this has for the conceptualisation of
these conflicts.


This article documents a case study of a cohort-based MBA program with an accounting concentration. This ethnographic study used interviews, observations, and document review to examine the students' experiences. Data were analyzed via grounded theory techniques. Results indicate that the cohort program provided students with knowledge about important sociallylearned dimensions of the accounting profession. The interpersonal and group work skills needed in the accounting workplace are developed in a cohort program. However, the cohort model's cooperative agenda could not eliminate individualistic, competitive tendencies. Finally, students found that their cohort experiences prepared them to handle certain informal facets of the accounting workplace, for example, office politics, grapevines and cliques.


: 58 out of 69 patients after open operation for osteochondritis dissecans (OD) of the upper ankle joint were reexamined retrospectively. In 44 cases the medial talar edge was concerned, in 15 the lateral one. Pain in activity resisting conservative treatment led to the operations. 31 excisions, 16 drillings, 10 autogenous bone graftings (2 external) and 2 diagnostic arthrotomies had been carried out. Medial malleolar osteotomy had to be performed in 22 cases, mainly concerning excisions and graftings to maintain sufficient survey of the lesion. Follow-up examination took place an average 67 months postoperatively. The results were obtained through a new scoring system with special regard to subjective and clinical criteria. 13 excellent, 29 good, 10 fair and 7 bad results were obtained. Results depended mainly on operative approach, location of the lesion and in lateral OD time of operation. Medial malleolar osteotomy frequently led to local osteoarthritis and less favourable clinical findings. No significant difference could be realized for size of the lesion and the applied operative technique. Stage and age at time of operation did not clearly influence the outcome. The indication for operation must be made dependant on individual complaints. Even in the era of arthroscopy medial malleolar osteotomy sometimes is necessary, but goes along with higher morbidity and worse prognosis. Operations have to be carried out according to stage and followed by proper rehabilitation to render proper assessment. Lateral lesions result from sprains and should be operated early.


BACKGROUND
In most national health systems, especially when universal coverage is provided, family physicians act as gatekeepers, because most healthcare services are only delivered if there is a formal prescription provided by a primary care physician. Although the consumption of healthcare resources is initiated by prescriptions coming from family physicians, studies that evaluate their performance, especially those using a consolidated methodology (e.g.quality and efficiency) are limited in the literature. The specific aim of this paper is to propose a method for assessing primary care performance.

METHODS
The novelty of the proposed model is twofold. First, physician performance is assessed following a clinical pathway that focuses on homogeneous groups of patients, in this case, diabetes patients. Second, we argue that performance should not be limited to efficiency, but should encompass clinical effectiveness. Performance assessment is not based on the physician practice as a whole, but on a single disease, in this paper, diabetes. Data were collected from a sample of family physician practices in Italy, and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to evaluate their efficiency performance.

RESULTS
We found that 35 of 96 practices were efficient based on the standard DEA model. The number of efficient practices decreased based on three restricted models that explored various behavioural preferences of physicians in relation to patient visits, medication administration and referrals to hospitals.

CONCLUSION
The efficiency assessment is completed by a post-hoc evaluation of effectiveness, which in this study is defined as patient care adherence to the prescribed guideline. This study identified best practices both in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The methods used in this paper are generalisable and could be applied to many other chronic conditions, which may constitute the prevalent activities within the primary care.


Microgravity has a profound effect on cardiovascular function, however, little is known about the impact of microgravity on progenitors that reside within the heart. We investigated the effect of simulated microgravity exposure on progenitors isolated from the neonatal and adult human heart by quantifying changes in functional parameters, gene expression and protein levels after 6-7 days of 2D clinorotation. Utilization of neonatal and adult cardiovascular progenitors in ground-based studies has provided novel insight into how microgravity may affect cells differently depending on age. Simulated microgravity exposure did not impact AKT or ERK phosphorylation levels and did not influence cell migration, but elevated transcripts for paracrine factors were identified in neonatal and adult cardiovascular progenitors. Age-dependent responses surfaced when comparing the impact of microgravity on differentiation. Endothelial cell tube formation was unchanged or increased in progenitors from adults whereas neonatal cardiovascular progenitors showed a decline in tube formation (p<0.05). Von Willebrand Factor, an endothelial differentiation marker, and MLC2v and Troponin T, markers for cardiomyogenic differentiation, were elevated in expression in adult progenitors after simulated microgravity. DNA repair genes and telomerase reverse transcriptase which are highly expressed in early stem cells were increased in expression in neonatal but not adult cardiac progenitors after growth under simulated microgravity conditions. Neonatal cardiac progenitors demonstrated higher levels of MESP1, OCT4, and brachyury, markers for early stem cells. MicroRNA profiling was used to further investigate the impact of simulated microgravity on cardiovascular progenitors. Fifteen microRNAs were significantly altered in expression, including microRNAs-99a and 100 (which play a critical role in cell dedifferentiation). These microRNAs were unchanged in adult cardiac progenitors. The effect of exposure to simulated microgravity in cardiovascular progenitors is age-dependent. Adult cardiac progenitors showed elevated expression of markers for endothelial and cardiomyogenic differentiation whereas neonatal progenitors acquired characteristics of dedifferentiating cells.


We can create Virtual Reality (VR) interactions that have no equivalent in the real world by remapping spacetime or altering users' body representation, such as stretching the user's virtual arm for manipulation of distant objects or scaling up the user's avatar to enable rapid locomotion. Prior research has leveraged such approaches, what we call beyond-real techniques, to make interactions in VR more practical, efficient, ergonomic, and accessible. We present a survey categorizing prior movement-based VR interaction literature as reality-based, illusory, or beyond-real interactions. We survey relevant conferences (CHI, IEEE VR, VRST, UIST, and DIS) while focusing on selection, manipulation, locomotion, and navigation in VR. For beyond-real interactions, we describe the transformations that have been used by prior works to create novel remappings. We discuss open research questions through the lens of the human sensorimotor control system and highlight challenges that need to be addressed for effective utilization of beyond-real interactions in future VR applications, including plausibility, control, long-term adaptation, and individual differences.


Previous research has suggested that men are more engaged as citizens than are women. Yet, little is known about gender cleavages across a variety of citizenship norms. To what extent do men and women define citizenship differently? To address that question, this study examines the importance men and women assign various citizenship rights and responsibilities using 2004 ISSP data from 18 Western, industrialized nations. Using a disaggregated approach to understanding definitions of citizenship, we examine political, civil, and social rights and responsibilities. After controlling for a variety of demographic and attitudinal influences, we find that men and women are not different in their views regarding the importance of political responsibilities. However, women do view political rights as significantly more important than do men. Further, in comparison to men, women view both civil and social responsibilities and rights domains as significantly more important.


We consider an economy with three cities producing different outputs. Two cities produce intermediate goods, a type 1 producing an intermediate "agricultural" good with capital and labor only, and a type 2 producing an intermediate "industrial" good with capital, labor and human capital, and the last type 3 city produces the final good which is obtained from the two intermediate goods and labor. The asymmetric introduction of human capital allows us to prove that the three cities experience at the equilibrium heterogeneous endogenous growth rates which are proportional to the growth rate of human capital. We show that the "industrial" type 2 city is characterized by the larger growth rate while the "agricultural" type 1 city experiences the lower growth rate, and thus the type 3 city is characterized by a growth rate which is a convex combination of the two formers. This implies that the relative size in terms of output of the "agricultural" city decreases over time. This property allows to recover the empirical fact that most nonagricultural production occurs in growing metropolitan areas. But, simultaneously, as we prove that total labor employed in each city is proportional to the total population, the relative population size distribution of cities is constant over time as shown in empirical studies.


With the development of the rapid prototyping manufacturing for ceramic parts, it is possible to shorten the manufacturing period of ceramic parts and improve the enterprise's productivity efficiency. The development situation of the machine tools about rapid prototyping manufacturing for ceramic parts was introduced. A new-style device about rapid prototyping manufacturing for ceramic parts, which is based on the technology of laminated coalition and rapid concrete prototyping for ceramic parts, is designed. The basic constitutions, technical processing and working principle of the paving stock mechanism of the device have also been described. The PLC (programmable logic controller) is applied in the paving stock mechanism for controlling and runs well, which meets the requirements of automatic manufacturing for ceramic parts and improves the efficiency.


Session at the 2020 US2TSTopicReusable software tools and librariesType of SessionPartly presentation, and partly break-out discussions. Specifically, if we can only get one 90 minute slot allocated,  we will use at least 60-70 minutes for lightning talks presenting domain-agnostic tools (see "Speakers"), and use the remaining time for an interactive facilitated brainstorming discussion about actionable steps to improve the ecosystem. If we can get two 90-minute slots, we will fill one with lightning talks, and use the second for facilitated brainstorming and breakout discussions to identify major shortfalls of the ecosystem, and major actionable opportunities for improving it.DescriptionOne of the most deciding factors for how widely and quickly a data and information standard is adopted is the strength of its surrounding ecosystem of reusable, interoperating, and openly available software components. With an ecosystem programmers might call "awesome", most or all problems unspecific to a particular application can be solved readily and confidently by combining components drawn from the ecosystem, similar to LegoTM blocks. For a software ecosystem to achieve this level of maturity, far more than the mere existence of problem-solving code or tools is required. As has been recognized for some time, the software ecosystem surrounding the semantic web technology stack is decidedly not awesome. Nevertheless, a plethora of software resources does exist, including tools that are widely used, highly mature, and that power major data resources.In this session, we aim to highlight and raise awareness of some of the strengths of the semantic web software ecosystem, and identify major gaps, as well as actionable steps around which the community can coalesce to make the ecosystem more awesome. For example, the Awesome Semantic Web list enumerates hundreds of software resources, including databases, reasoners, and reusable programming modules, most of which open-source and freely available. Yet, it also suggests some of the major gaps, such as programming languages popular for building applications with only spotty support for the semantic web stack, and in general poor support for semantic web technologies beyond RDF and triple store databases.This session will include short presentations of reusable  tools and libraries solving problems across the semantic web technology stack, including in particular ones that, even though they are domain agnostic, are largely unknown outside of the field or domain in which they were created. For identifying major gaps and actionable steps the community can rally around, we will facilitate brainstorming and discussion activities to surface obstacles, unmet needs, and other issues preventing awesomeness when developing for the semantic web.SpeakersWe will call for lightning talk-length (\(\le 5\) minutes) submissions describing reusable, openly available domain-agnostic software tools and libraries supporting one or more pieces of the semantic web technology stack. Examples include reasoners, parsers, format converters, pattern instantiating tools, etc.Expected participationThe session is aimed primarily at developers and users, those developing components for the ecosystem, and those looking to peruse them, whether for building their own applications or as end users.


Abstract Immigration in the Arabian Gulf is governed by the kafāla (sponsorship) system, which provides the legal basis for the residency and employment of foreign workers across the region. Despite mounting economic, political and social costs, the system remains entrenched with little prospect for reform. The following paper takes up this puzzle, asking the simple question, why has vital reform been so difficult to achieve? In answering this question, we explore the complex political and economic interests that underlie public support for the kafāla system. Drawing on data from a nationally representative survey experiment in Qatar, we disentangle the effects of various interests on attitudes toward immigration reform. When primed to consider blue-collar workers, citizens strongly support the status quo and oppose reform. Heterogeneous treatment effects further suggest that a powerful coalition of economic interests (uniting business owners, workers and the wealthy) is the most supportive of the current policy, underpinning its persistence and representing a major challenge to reform.


Potassium and cerium co‐doped Bi_4Ti_2.86W_0.14O_12 ceramics with a formula of (K_0.5Ce_0.5)_ x Bi_4− x Ti_2.86W_0.14O_12 (abbreviated as KC_100 x ‐BITW, x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.1) were prepared by a conventional solid‐state reaction method. The effect of (K_0.5Ce_0.5) complex doping amount on the structure, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties of the KC_100 x ‐BITW ceramics was investigated. X‐ray diffraction results indicated that the KC_100 x ‐BITW ceramics are Aurivillius‐type phase with the bismuth layer structure. (K_0.5Ce_0.5) complex addition first increases and then decreases the grain size which can be observed by scanning electron microscopy. With the increase of (K_0.5Ce_0.5) complex doping amount, the Curie temperature ( T _C) was slightly decreased from 632 to 608 ^oC. The dielectric and piezoelectric properties were optimized in KC_100 x ‐BITW ceramics with x = 0.08 as follows: d _33 = 24 pC/N, k _p = 8.2%, Q _m = 6766, ε_r = 135 (@100 kHz), tanδ = 0.28% (@100 kHz), T _c = 611 ^oC, and resistivity ρ = 2.9 × 10^6 Ω cm at 500 ^oC, indicating that the KC_100 x ‐BITW ceramics are suitable for high‐temperature piezoelectric sensing applications.


I. IS THE CASE OPERABLE? In opening this subject I fear that I have little to give that is new or even interesting. The question whether a case is operable must be decided from three standpoints—that of the general health of the patient, the condition of the eye and its surroundings and the state of the cataract itself. There has been, as far as I know, but little recent change in the accepted views on these points. Chronic heart, lung and kidney disease and diabetes are no longer considered bars to operation, provided the patient is put into the best general condition which his disease will permit, and also provided, of course, that this condition justifies the operation. Coughing reduced by treatment to a minimum, the inability to lie down in bed and other necessary concomitants of the diseases mentioned are not as important as the estimate of the general


This study investigates the effect of uncertainties as ociated with pollutant wash-off dynamics in the context of stormwater management practices mode lling. A formal Bayesian approach is adopted for the calibration and the uncertainty analysis of a commonly used wash-off model, under (1) the unverified assumption of homoscedastic, independent and normally distributed residuals and (2) using a more correct heteroscedastic and autoregres sive error model. The results obtained for each of these approaches are compared and the uncertaint y associated with water quality modelling is later propagated through a conceptual Best Manageme nt Practices (BMP) model, for various stormwater management scenarios, so as to assess th e effect of this uncertainty for BMP modelling and clarify the benefits of a robust description of error structure. This study indicates that the violation of the statistical asumptions about the r esiduals may result in unreliable estimation of model parameters and total predictive uncertainty. The effect of the uncertainty in the intra-event variability of concentations in runoff is however f ound to have only a limited effect on the outputs of the BMP model, regadless of the error model adop ted for calibration.


Abstract Pb(1-x)Lax [(Zr0.6Ti0.4)(1-x)(Mn1/3Sb2/3)x]O3 ceramics with x = 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.05 were synthesized by using a conventional solid state reaction route. The influence of La, Mn, and Sb contents on phase structure, microstructure, and electric properties were investigated. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) show that the phase structure of the ceramics transforms from rhombohedral phase to tetragonal phase. However, the minority pyrochlore phase appears on the micrographs of XRD and SEM if the doping concentration is greater than 2 mol%. The grain size of the ceramics gradually increases (from 1.36 μm to 1.57 μm) with increasing doping. The dielectric properties of the ceramics have been measured as a function of temperature in the range of 20 °C to 430 °C at 1 kHz. The results indicate that the transition temperature and the maximum dielectric constant decrease with increasing PL-PMS content in the system. These results clearly show the significance of PL-PMS in controlling the dielectric behavior of the PL-PMS-PZT system.


The present study was conducted to study the variability in soil properties in relation to landforms, in the present investigation, two transects that is, Aravalli mountain ranges and Malwa plateau, were selected in the Pratapgarh district having eight landforms namely hill, pediments, valley, and plain in the Aravalli Mountain ranges and Malwa plateau, respectively. Total eight pedons were examined in the field and investigated in the laboratory using standard laboratory procedures. The soils on hill top and pediment were shallow, gravely sandy loam to clay loam single grain in texture with medium coarse weak sub angular blocky structure and exhibited dark yellowish brown to dark reddish brown colour. The soils of valley were deep, sandy loam to loam and silty clay loam to clay loam in texture with medium coarse weak sub angular blocky to medium fine moderate sub angular blocky structure and exhibited dark yellowish brown to dark reddish brown colour. The soils of plain were found deep, silty clay in texture with medium moderate to strong angular structure (angular and sub angular) and exhibited dark brown to very dark grayish brown colour. The available water capacity were recorded higher in the plain soils as compared to soils of other landforms as well as in Aravali mountain ranges and Malwa plateau. The pH was relatively higher in the soils of Aravali mountain ranges than Malwa plateau but EC was relatively lower in the soil of Aravali mountain ranges then Malwa plateau. Distribution of organic carbon was low in soils of all pedons but comparatively higher in soils of Malwa plateau. Base saturation was comparatively lower in the soils of lower topographic position. Cation exchange capacity was found positively correlated with clay and increases as clay increased down the slope as well as with depth.  Concentration of exchangeable bases was in order of Ca 2+ >Mg 2+ >K + >Na + in all the pedons soils.


It is 1923 and Evangeline English, keen lady cyclist, arrives with her sister Lizzie at the ancient Silk Route city of Kashgar to help establish a Christian mission. Lizzie is in thrall to their forceful and unyielding leader Millicent, but Eva's motivations for leaving her bourgeois life back at home are less clear-cut. As they attempt to navigate their new home and are met with resistance and calamity, Eva commences work on her book, A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar...

In present-day London another story is beginning. Frieda, a young woman adrift in her own life, opens her front door one night to find a man sleeping on the landing. In the morning he is gone, leaving on the wall an exquisite drawing of a long-tailed bird and a line of Arabic script. Tayeb, who has fled to England from Yemen, has arrived on Frieda's doorstep just as she learns that she is the next-of-kin to a dead woman she has never heard of: a woman whose abandoned flat contains many surprises - among them an ill-tempered owl.

The two wanderers begin an unlikely friendship as their worlds collide, and they embark on a journey that is as great, and as unexpected, as Eva's.

A stunning debut peopled by unforgettable characters, A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar is an extraordinary story of inheritance and the search for belonging in a fractured and globalised world.


BACKGROUND
Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by proliferation of one or more myeloid lineages. Polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET) and primary myelofibrosis (PMF) are classical Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative MPN that have a Janus Kinase 2 (JAK2) mutation, especially JAK2V617F in the majority of patients. The major complications of Ph-negative MPNs are thrombosis, hemorrhage, and leukemic transformation.

OBJECTIVE
To study clinical manifestations including symptoms, signs, laboratory findings, and JAK2V617F mutations of Ph-negative MPN (PV, ET and PMF) as well as their complications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
All Ph-negative MPN (PV, ET and PMF) patients who attended the Hematology Clinic at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital from January, 1 2003 through December, 31 2013 were retrospectively reviewed for demographic data, clinical characteristics, complete blood count, JAK2V617F mutation analysis, treatment, and complications.

RESULTS
One hundred and fifty seven patients were included in the study. They were classified as PV, ET and PMF for 68, 83 and 6 with median ages of 60, 61, and 68 years, respectively. JAK2V617F mutations were detected in 88%, 69%, and 100% of PV, ET and PMF patients. PV had the highest incidence of thrombosis (PV 29%, ET 14%, and PMF 0%) that occurred in both arterial and venous sites whereas PMF had the highest incidence of bleeding (PMF 17%, ET 11%, and PV 7%). During follow up, there was one ET patient that transformed to acute leukemia and five cases that developed thrombosis (three ET and two PV patients). No secondary myelofibrosis and death cases were encountered.

CONCLUSIONS
Ph-negative MPNs have various clinical manifestations. JAK2V617F mutations are present in the majority of PV, ET, and PMF patients. This study confirmed that thrombosis and bleeding are the most significant complications in patients with Ph-negative MPN.


Dependency cohesion refers to the observation that phrases dominated by disjoint dependency subtrees in the source language generally do not overlap in the target language. It has been verified to be a useful constraint for word alignment. However, previous work either treats this as a hard constraint or uses it as a feature in discriminative models, which is ineffective for large-scale tasks. In this paper, we take dependency cohesion as a soft constraint, and integrate it into a generative model for large-scale word alignment experiments. We also propose an approximate EM algorithm and a Gibbs sampling algorithm to estimate model parameters in an unsupervised manner. Experiments on large-scale Chinese-English translation tasks demonstrate that our model achieves improvements in both alignment quality and translation quality.


Systems Philosophy has played a central role in the development of Western philosophy in general and systems of philosophy have abounded and moved on beyond Systems to consider alternative schemas as has Systems Science. The history of Systems Philosophy is complex and interesting and should be taken into account by Systems Scientists. We build on an account already given from the Greeks to Hegel and offer an account that surveys more recent Continental Philosophy and attempts to identify the cutting edge of Advanced Systems Philosophy.


Aim: To assess and compare the effect of surface treatments in a simulated oral environment through thermocycling on tensile bond strength of silicone soft liner with acrylic resin base. Settings and Design: In Vitro Comparative and SEM analytical study. Materials and Methodology: 120 samples of heat cured acrylic resin (DPI) and silicone soft liner (Molloplast B) with desired dimensions were fabricated using customized brass flask. 120 samples were divided into 1 control group (untreated) and 3 test groups (treated) consisting of 30 samples each. 3 test groups were divided based on surface treatments of resin samples to adhere to silicone soft liner to them via acid etching (36% phosphoric acid), air abrasion (50 μm Al2O3) and laser treatment (Er-YAG). All the 4 groups (1 control and 3 test groups) were subdivided into two subgroups based on their subjection to thermocycling i.e., 15 samples of each group were not subjected to thermocycling (before) and remaining 15 samples of each group were subjected to thermocycling (after). Statistical Analysis Used: All the samples were evaluated for tensile bond strength using universal testing machine. Obtained values were statistically analyzed with student paired T test, one way ANOVA and post HOC Tukey B test to compare, identify significant differences and also to arrive at order of groups. The effects of surface treatments and silicone liner on the surface of denture base resin were examined with scanning electron microscopy. Results: The tensile bond strength was significantly different between control and test groups and also among test groups before and after thermocycling (P < 0.05). The specimens of acid group had higher bond strength values followed by laser treated and abraded groups. Thermocycling had decreased bond strength values. SEM observations also revealed that, surface treatments modified the surface of the denture base resin with variability. Conclusions: Surface treatments increased the bond strength values while thermocycling had decreased them. Among all the groups tested, acid etching group of samples exhibited higher bond strength values of all test groups before and after thermocycling followed by laser, abrasion and control groups. Bond strength values of all test groups before and after thermocycling were still higher than 0.45 MPa, which is clinically acceptable bond strength level.


We present a study exploring a systematic effect on the brightness of Type Ia supernovae using numerical models that assume the single-degenerate paradigm. Our investigation varied the central density of the progenitor white dwarf at flame ignition, and considered its impact on the explosion yield, particularly the production and distribution of radioactive 56Ni, which powers the light curve. We performed a suite of two-dimensional simulations with randomized initial conditions, allowing us to characterize the statistical trends that we present. The simulations indicate that the production of Fe-group material is statistically independent of progenitor central density, but the mass of stable Fe-group isotopes is tightly correlated with central density, with a decrease in the production of 56Ni at higher central densities. These results imply that progenitors with higher central densities produce dimmer events. We provide details of the post-explosion distribution of 56Ni in the models, including the lack of a consistent centrally located deficit of 56Ni, which may be compared to observed remnants. By performing a self-consistent extrapolation of our model yields and considering the main-sequence lifetime of the progenitor star and the elapsed time between the formation of the white dwarf and the onset of accretion, we develop a brightness–age relation that improves our prediction of the expected trend for single degenerates and we compare this relation with observations.


Blast injury to the brain is one of the major causes of death and can also significantly affect cognition and physical and psychological skills in survivors of blast. The complex mechanisms via which blast injury causes impairment of cognition and other symptoms are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of varying degrees of primary blast overpressure (BOP; 80 and 200 kPa) on the pathophysiological and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes and neurocognitive performance as assessed by the monkey Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (mCANTAB) in non-human primates (NHP). The study aimed to examine the effects of neurobehavioral and histopathological changes in NHP. MRI and histopathology revealed ultrastructural changes in the brain, notably in the Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum and pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus, which were most vulnerable to the blast. The results correlated well with the behavioral changes and changes in motor coordination and working memory of the affected monkeys. In addition, there was white matter damage affecting myelinated axons, astrocytic hypertrophy, and increased aquaporin-4 (AQP-4) expression in astrocytes, suggesting cerebral edema. Increased apoptosis appeared to involve astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the animals following blast exposure. The small sample size could have contributed to the non-significant outcome in cognitive performance post-blast and limited quantitative analyses. Nevertheless, the study has provided initial descriptive changes for establishing a primary BOP threshold for brain injury to serve as a useful platform for future investigations that aim to estimate brain injury potential and set safe limits of exposure.


Background Patients often pay for specialty intraocular lenses (IOLs) for cataract surgery covered by universal insurance. This practice creates the potential for inequitable pricing where the medical service provider is also the retailer. We measured the variation in prices between cataract surgeons for the same IOL and associated testing. Methods We telephoned every cataract surgeon in Ontario, Canada, and asked their price for the most common type of specialty IOL as a prospective patient. We measured the total prices quoted and variation between providers. Results We contacted 404 ophthalmologists. There were 256 that performed cataract surgery but 127 offered the most commonly employed specialty IOL and would provide a price to patients over the telephone. We obtained prices from all 127 ophthalmologists. Prices for the same lens and associated testing varied substantially between ophthalmologists from $358 to $2790 (median $615, interquartile range $528–$915). There was variation in all components of the total out-of-pocket price, including the price for the IOL itself, charges for uninsured eye measurements, and non-specific supplemental fees. Conclusion Although cataract surgery is covered by public health insurance, some ophthalmologists charge much more than others for the same specialty IOL and associated testing. Greater access to price information and better regulatory control could help ensure patients receive fair value for out-of-pocket health expenses.


Differentiation among malignant tumors, benign tumors, and normal tissue is highly important in the diagnosis and treatment of many malignancies. We have proposed a dynamic schema for noninvasive characterization of pressure-induced changes in solid tumors. Our hypothesis has been that the altered neovascularization processes within cancer-bearing tissues may significantly increase vascular resistance and cause a much slower response of hemoglobin concentration during a dynamic compression stimulus. This hypothesis was tested by the evaluation of data generated from human tumor clinical testing and from animal tumor model testing. In the human tumor clinical testing, a unified diagnostic criterion was derived that integrated the relative characteristics of tumor oxygen, hemoglobin, and hemoglobin dynamics. By applying such a unified criterion, we were able to differentiate benign breast lesions and malignant breast tumors with high sensitivity and specificity within a subset of 14 suspicious breast lesions with similar size and depth characteristics. In the animal testing, a stepped compression load was applied to the subcutaneous tumor deposit on an athymic NU/NU nude mouse model with subcutaneous xenograft BxPC-3 cancer. Characteristic differences were observed between the premortem tumor and the postmortem tumor in terms of pressure-induced tumor structural and functional changes.


Tissue repair is a response reaction to lesions and aggressions that constitutes a dynamic process to maintain the integrity of the organism. Wound healing experiments have used several approaches in order to assess and compare treatment methods, and these discrepancies hamper comparisons among assays. This study assessed three different methods of wound measurement commonly used in healing assays: clock method, graph paper method, and computer-assisted image analysis. We used 30 Wistar rats, kept in appropriate conditions for animal well-being. After anesthesia, and using an eight-millimeter punch, two lesions were made in the back region of each rat. The wounds were assessed on days four, seven, and 14 after infliction. At four days, all methods generated similar results. By day seven, the clock method had lost precision, likely due to wound shrinkage, and yielded greater means compared to the other two methods. On the last assessment, the computer-assisted method appeared to have more precise results, with the other two generating statistically higher means. Computer-assisted image analysis seems to have maintained wound measuring precision throughout this experiment, even when faced with small lesions. Considering these results, the authors recommend the use of computer-assisted measurements in future experiments.


Artificial pollination management strategies are a potential solution to improving the livelihoods of smallholder cacao farmers by increasing crop productivity in situations when pollination services are limiting. However, field-based research trials evaluating the yield benefits of artificial pollination management strategies within intensified cacao systems are lacking. Thus, in an intensively managed cacao system, we evaluated the effects of artificial pollination condition (i.e., pollen genotype, pollination intensity, and pollination synchrony) on fruit development and yield in three high-yielding cacao clones. Artificial pollination, regardless of intensity, significantly increased fruit set and yield. Pollination synchrony had a significant effect on cherelle survivorship; older cherelles had greater survival rates across all developmental stages than younger cherelles. Yield differed between genotype crosses and varied according to the pollen donor used, highlighting the importance of understanding self- and cross-compatibility when selecting clones for cultivation. Pollination intensity had no significant effect on harvested yield, indicating that more rigorous research is needed to identify the pollination intensity required for optimized yield under artificial pollination conditions. We conclude that strategies to enhance flowering, pollination rates, and pollination synchrony while ensuring adequate tree nutrition may increase productivity in cacao. Future research evaluating numerous cacao clones across multiple years and locations may help us to understand the region-specific effects of intensive management strategies on the long-term sustainability of enhancing cacao tree productivity.


Introduction: Essential hypertension is associated with altered pulmonary function. Antihypertensive medication and lung function are also associated. Losartan (angiotensin II receptor blocker) and atenolol (beta blocker) are commonly used antihypertensive drugs. Objective: To evaluate the effects of antihypertensive drugs on lung function status in patients with essential hypertension. Methods: This prospective observational study was carried out in the Department of Physiology of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Shahbag, Dhaka, from July 2012 to June 2013 on 100 newly diagnosed essential hypertensive patients who had not received any antihypertensive medications. They were selected from the Out Patient Department (OPD) of Cardiology unit, BSMMU, Dhaka. The study sbujects of age between 30-55 were allocated in group B. Based on prescribed treatment, these study subjects were divided into two groups - B1 and B2. B1 included 50 patients who received losartan 50mg daily and B2 included 50 patients who received atenolol 50mg daily. Again basing on duration of treatment group B1 was divided into B1a (newly diagnosed hypertensive patients before treatment), B1b (after 3 months of medication with losartan) and B1c (after 6 months medication with losartan). Similarly group B2 was divided into B2a, B2b, and B2c. For assessing lung function status, FVC, FEV1 and PEFR were measured with acomputer based Spirometer. Age, sex and BMI matched 50 apparently healthy normotensive subjects were also studied as control (group A). Data were compared among subjects of different groups. For statistical analysis independent sample 't' test and paired sample 't' test were performed. Results: Mean systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher and mean FVC, FEV1 and PEFR were significantly lower in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients in comparison with that of healthy normotensive subjects. Mean FVC and FEV1 were found significantly higher in the group taking losartan for 6 months when compared to newly diagnosed hypertensive patients but lower than those of controls. In addition, mean FVC and FEV1 were found significantly lower in the group taking atenolol for 6 months when compared to newly diagnosed hypertensive patients and those of controls. Conclusion: Reduced lung function occurs in newly diagnosed essential hypertensive patients which improves by treatment with losartan but decreases after treatment with atenolol. Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh Vol.10(2) 2014


Large software systems require decompositional mechanisms in order to make them tractable. Traditionally, MILs and IDLs have played this role by providing notations based on definition/use bindings. In this paper we argue that current MIL/IDLs based on definition/use have some serious drawbacks. A significant problem is that they fail to distinguish between "implementation" and "interaction" relationships between modules. We propose an alternative model in which components interact along welldefined lines of communication -- or connectors. Connectors are defined as protocols that capture the expected patterns of communication between modules. We show how this leads to a scheme that is much more expressive for architectural relationships, that allows the formal definition of module interaction, and that supports its own form of automated checks and formal reasoning.


Today it is not easy to think in the society without the impact (and influence) of digital technologies. The relevance of digital devices and associated indicators are used as proxies to measure the development of societies today. In that context, both top-down and/or bottom-up technology in education initiatives seek to promote different forms of incorporating digital technologies in educational contexts. There are many successful experiences around the world to implement digital technologies in school contexts. However, it is critical to analyze the mismatch between the expectations and the reality but also to enquire how to provide better evidence and analysis to deepen and expand the knowledge in the field of education and technology from the Top-Down and Bottom-Up initiatives. Keeping that in mind, an international call for papers was launched that finally 14 contributions from 12 countries were included in this special issue. The articles shed light about two important aspects: (1) how good technical solutions cannot ignore the context in which these digital technologies are being used or adopted. (2) how the access to technologies can simply amplify the existing inequalities within a society (as well as between different societies) if additional (in most cases non-technical) components are not being carefully considered.


The health performance of Gujarat viewed in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI) portrays it as a medium performer in the country. However, the index of health component for Gujarat is found to be positively contributing to the HDI ranking of the state. It is, therefore, crucial to review the status of health performance of Gujarat among the other states for improving its relative standing in human development. In this context, the present article attempts to identify the gaps in performance of the health-related outcome, output and input indicators from the best performers in each indicator. Moreover, the article also reviews the trends in health performance of Gujarat over time and also estimates the effectiveness of the state in converting its health inputs to outputs and outputs to outcomes. The results indicate that the outcome indicators have improved in the absolute sense but have high performance gaps except the maternal mortality rate (MMR). Majority of the output and input indicators, however, show poor absolute performance and high performance gaps that have been expanding over time. The effectiveness of conversion of health indicators in Gujarat suggests that while the state has moved above average in conversion of outputs to outcomes, it has moved at a slightly below-average level in converting its inputs to outputs over time. Improving the health status of Gujarat requires targeted efforts in specific areas such as controlling neonatal deaths, improving coverage of children under immunization and addressing malnourishment. Additionally, building adequate health infrastructure and employing the required manpower are also relevant.


Background In Mexico, as in other low and middle income countries, the use of motorcycles has become a popular and increasing mean of transportation. During 2009, 1.2 million motorcycles were registered. This represents 1114 motorcycles per 100 000 inhabitants, figure that has tripled in the last decade. Objective To estimate the prevalence of helmet use and the prevalence and factors associated to non-standard helmet use (NSHU) among motorcyclists of Cuernavaca. Methods A cross-sectional study that included observations on public thoroughfare and a survey in a sample of motorcyclists stopping at petrol stations was performed by researchers of the National Institute of Public Health. Data were collected on a daily basis, during daylight hours in February–March 2009 and March 2010. Results 1286 motorcyclists were observed. Prevalence of helmet use was 78%. Helmet use was higher in drivers (84%) than passengers (37%) and amongst males (81%) compared to females (42%). From the 493 motorcyclists interviewed, prevalence of NSHU was 64.8%. Compared to those with bachelor or higher studies, those with secondary school (OR=1.80, 95% CI 1.01 to 3.19) and those with elementary or less school (OR=3.48, 95% CI 1.14 to 10.50) showed more NSHU. Travelling for leisure activity or riding for pleasure (OR=0.25, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.51), travelling in a <500 cc motorcycle (OR=4.14, 95% CI 2.12 to 8.06), and not owning the motorcycle (OR=0.53, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.82) also showed association. Significance Current legislation does not require helmets to be 'standard'. Given the lack of information about actual security and protection provided by non-standard helmets, the high prevalence of non-standard helmet use found raises the need to change Mexicans laws.


Introduction Previous studies have shown that Early Service Leavers (ESL) are at increased risk of adverse socio-economic outcomes such as unemployment, homelessness and crime, as well as poor mental health. The Scottish Veterans Health Study enabled exploration of long-term health outcomes in relation to length of service. This paper presents a comparison of the health of ESL with both longer-serving veterans and with non-veterans, and explores implications for transition. Methods Retrospective cohort study of 57,000 veterans and 173,000 people with no record of service, born between 1945 and 1985 who were resident in Scotland, matched for age, sex and geographical region, and stratified by length of service for veterans, followed up for up to 30 years. Health outcomes were compared using survival analysis methodology (Cox proportional hazards). Results The veteran cohort included 14,000 ESL, of whom 6,000 failed to complete initial training. People who were older at recruitment were more likely to become ESL. ESL were at higher risk of smoking-related disease than either longer-serving veterans or non-veterans. For alcohol-related outcomes, the risk was only increased in ESL who completed training. ESL were not at increased risk of drug misuse. The highest risk of PTSD was in ESL who did not complete training, whilst veterans with the longest service were at lower risk than non-veterans. Conclusion The Scottish Veterans Health Study has confirmed the poorer health outcomes of ESL reported in earlier studies. It is unlikely that military service is causal, and it is more likely that it represents a selection effect. The early weeks of training may act as a filter for those who are unsuited to military service, resulting in a 'less healthy leaver effect' which mirrors the 'healthy worker effect' in longer-serving people. Ensuring that ESL transition into new employment may help to minimise adverse outcomes.


As recent work continues to demonstrate, the study of relativistic scattering processes leads to valuable insights and computational tools applicable to the relativistic bound-orbit two-body problem. This is particularly relevant in the post-Minkowskian approach to the gravitational two-body problem, where the field has only recently reached a full description of certain physical observables for scattering orbits, including radiative effects, at the third post-Minkowskian (3PM) order. As an historically instructive simpler example, we consider here the analogous problem in electromagnetism in flat spacetime. We compute for the first time the changes in linear momentum of each particle and the total radiated linear momentum, in the relativistic classical scattering of two point-charges, at sixth order in the charges (analogous to 3PM order in gravity). We accomplish this here via direct iteration of the classical equations of motion, while making comparisons where possible to results from quantum scattering amplitudes, with the aim of contributing to the elucidation of conceptual issues and scalability on both sides. We also discuss further extensions to radiative quantities of recently established relations which analytically continue certain observables from the scattering regime to the regime of bound orbits, applicable for both the electromagnetic and gravitational cases.


Poverty has turned out to be a great global social and economic problem. In Ethiopia, it is multifaceted and deep rooted. The strategies aimed at reducing poverty need to identify and analyze the factors that influence poverty. In this regard, this study was conducted to identify and analyze the extent and determinants of urban poverty in the case of Debre Berhan town. The study made use of cross-sectional household survey data collected from total of 333 randomly selected households in three urban Kebeles of the town. The collected data were analyzed using FGT index and logistic regression. The binary logit model was fitted to identify determinants of poverty. In this case the probability of a household being poor is taken as a dependent variable whiles the set of demographic and socio economic variables were explanatory variables. Using cost of basic needs approach the study found that total poverty line (food and non-food poverty line) of the area using the price deflated national average poverty line is 5,220 birr per year per adult equivalent. Using this poverty line as bench mark the study indicated that 62 percent of sample households are poor. The head count ratio, poverty gap, and severity indices of the survey households were 0.62, 0.14 and 0.30, respectively. Econometric results of the binary logit regression model revealed that age of household head, education, saving, access to credit, and remittance were found to be as theoretically expected, have negative and significant effect on the probability of a household being poor whereas age square of head of household and dependency ratio alone were found to have positive and significant effect on poverty. Since most of the poor are concentrated around the poverty line as we observe from the poverty gap, policies should focus on absolute poverty rather than relative poverty among the poor. Promoting adult education and saving habit of households, and ensure better access to formal credit through micro credit financing and banks, are indispensable policy interventions to better target urban poverty. Keywords: Urban household poverty, Per Capita Consumption, Determinants, Logistic Regression. DOI : 10.7176/JPID/50-03 Publication date :June 30 th 2019


Targeting tumor specific neoantigens through personalized therapeutic vaccination is a promising approach to induce T cell immunity against a variety of tumors. Current vaccine formulations induce CD8 T cell responses against a limited subset of pre-selected neoantigens. We developed a novel vaccine platform to enhance the breadth and magnitude of CD8 T cell responses by chemically coupling synthetic neoantigen peptides to a synthetic polymer containing a toll-like receptor-7/8 agonist that self-assembles into nanoparticles (termed SPP-7/8a). To test the efficiency of the SPP-7/8a platform for inducing antigenic breadth, 173 transcribed non-synonymous single nucleotide variants were identified in a mouse melanoma tumor line (SB-3123). Mice were vaccinated twice with a random set of 96 SB-3123 neoantigens with SPP-7/8a. The binding affinity was predicted for each neoantigen using the Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (IEDB.org) Consensus algorithm, which ranged from the 0.15 to 3.05 percentile. Overall, CD8 T cell responses were detectable at frequencies ranging from 0.1% to 16% of total CD8 T cells against 10 of the 96 neoantigens (~10%). However, by stratifying the 96 neoantigens according to high affinity binders (Consensus < 0.5), 7/14 (50%) induced CD8 T cell responses. These data show that the SPP-7/8a platform efficiently induces CD8 T cell using peptides that have high binding affinity. Ongoing studies will determine whether the increased breadth of CD8 responses following SPP-7/8a vaccination confers protection against established tumors.


Expanding applications of cDNA microarrays such as fine needle aspiration biopsy and laser capture microdissection necessitate the ability to perform arrays with minute starting amounts of RNA. While methods for amplifying RNA have been advocated, the fidelity of array results using amplified material has not been fully validated. Here we demonstrate preserved fidelity in arrays using one or two rounds of mRNA amplification, validated by downstream real-time quantitative PCR. In addition, the quality of the array data was superior to that obtained using total RNA. Based on these results, we recommend routine mRNA amplification for all cDNA microarray-based analysis of gene expression.


United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): World Investment Report 2000: Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions and Development United Nations, New York and Geneva 2000. 1. Capsule Summary of the Book and Its Review The World Investment Report, published annually by UNCTAD, is celebrating this year its 10th anniversary. Over the years these publications have established themselves an important position within the FDI literature, contributing towards a better understanding of the role of FDI in the world economy and to the ongoing discussions on globalisation and its impact on firms and countries. They provide valuable insights into the activities of TNCs and its consequences for their home countries and for the countries that host them. This review focuses on the recently published World Investment Report 2000: Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions and Development. It starts by briefly describing the structure and content of this report, highlighting the main issues addressed in each of its sections, and assessing its specific contribution to the existing FDI literature. The review continues by examining some new features of this year's report and by suggesting possible additions and improvements that might be included in future reports. 2. Objective and targeted audience This year's report, like its predecessors, seeks to reach a wide audience interested in FDI-related issues, ranging from academics, national and international policy makers -- notably those with interests in and responsibility for developing countries -- and also, increasingly, practitioners. For this audience, it is a rich and most valuable source of different kinds of information (theoretical, anecdotal, and not least -- data!) on FDI. It adds an important dimension to the growing literature on FDI by contributing to filling a gap between purely academic and otherwise anecdotal research on FDI, and it reflects key aspects of the research agenda on TNCs. 3. Structures and Contents The first part of the report -- like its predecessors -- is devoted to a survey of general FDI developments over the last year at the global and the regional level, and to a description of the activities of the leading TNCs worldwide. In this part, the report documents the large increase in FDIs, which have reached new record in 1999 at $865 billion, an increase of 27% over the previous year. This increase is also presented via the growing number of TNCs world-wide, where about 63,000 parent firms are controlling an estimated 690,000 foreign affiliates. UNCTAD's report is the only source of FDI data which provide this latter kind of information, and in considerable details (broken by countries and regions). Documented is also the country breakdown of 1999 FDI, notably the lead of outward investment being taken this year by the UK, the continued, and rapidly growing, lead of the US as the largest, by far, host country for FDI. Another notable characteristic of the geographic distribution of FDI is the growth of inward flows to Japan, with the ratio between inward and outward becoming far more balanced than ever before. At the regional level, the report highlights the position of the EU as the world's most important source of FDI. The report emphasises the continued trend towards liberalisation of FDI regimes, as countries recognise its economic value for their economies, and seek to attract it. Most interesting is the analysis of the largest TNCs (by the value of their foreign assets), which comprises three parts - the top 100 worldwide, the 50 largest from developing countries and the 25 largest from Central Europe. The report provides illuminating information regarding the geographical and industrial distribution of these firms, in absolute (foreign assets) and relative (transnationality index) terms, and over time, covering the whole 1990s. The report emphasises that the driving force behind the 1999 increase of FDI activity continued to be cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). …


The incentive to investigate the origin of meat products and their related consumer atti-tudes have shown to be a serious and debated topic especially after receiving a lot of focus in media. The specific origin discussed in this thesis lies within the suggestion of introducing an EU origin marking or what also can be referred to as "Made in EU" labelling. During the investigation of whether this creates a negative or positive attitude many factors are needed to be considered. The nationalistic feelings that still exist within the member states is one of the major obstacles but also information and consumer awareness concerning what EU stand for. The focus is on Swedish consumers' perspective and the effects of implementing "Made in EU" are considered solely on the Swedish market.The theoretical framework is constructed around the central concept of country of origin (COO) that can be noted as of key relevance when investigating consumer behaviour. An analysis model is also introduced to give a deeper understanding of the connections between findings and the theoretical concepts. The fundamental methodology that was cho-sen in order to investigate these attitudes was found to be through the use of focus groups. These were carried out in combination with a secondary data analysis for the clarification of knowledge concerning the topic.What results shown from this study and the connected conclusions can be summarised in a few lines. First, Swedish consumers had generally a negative attitude towards introducing this label. The reason was that the consumers on one hand could not associate the origin as EU at the same time as Swedish consumers prefer to buy Swedish meat which is related to the Swedish model. Secondly, the factors brought forward that were influencing the COO shows what the attitude consist of, for instance stereotypes and perception. Thirdly, this research has managed to bring together new findings, previous COO studies with theoretical concepts and thereby created knowledge about Swedish ethnocentrism and cultural and economical aspects the Swedish consumers use when evaluating meat. Finally, the research method and theoretical concepts can be applied to other areas such as different products or countries.