In this work, we explore the application of PLATO-2 on various dialogue systems, including open-domain conversation, knowledge grounded dialogue, and task-oriented conversation. PLATO-2 is initially designed as an open-domain chatbot, trained via two-stage curriculum learning. In the first stage, a coarse-grained response generation model is learned to fit the simplified one-to-one mapping relationship. This model is applied to the task-oriented conversation, given that the semantic mappings tend to be deterministic in task completion. In the second stage, another fine-grained generation model and an evaluation model are further learned for diverse response generation and coherence estimation, respectively. With superior capability on capturing one-to-many mapping, such models are suitable for the open-domain conversation and knowledge grounded dialogue. For the comprehensive evaluation of PLATO-2, we have participated in multiple tasks of DSTC9, including interactive evaluation of open-domain conversation (Track3-task2), static evaluation of knowledge grounded dialogue (Track3-task1), and end-to-end task-oriented conversation (Track2-task1). PLATO-2 has obtained the 1st place in all three tasks, verifying its effectiveness as a unified framework for various dialogue systems.


In the USA, breast cancer accounts for approximately 30% of all cancers diagnosed in women and is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. An understanding of the molecular genetic events governing breast cancer lead to both prevention and intervention strategies in an attempt to reduce mortality and morbidity from breast cancer. The last three decades of medical research examining the molecular pathogenesis of cancers have provided compelling evidence for the universal disruption of the cell cycle in human tumors. The importance of cell cycle control in human cancer was recognized by the recent award of the Nobel Prize to Drs Nurse and Hartwell for their discovery of the cyclins. More recent studies have demonstrated a critical interface between hormonal signaling and the cell cycle. In parallel, epidemiological studies have identified as being associated with breast cancer important dietary and environmental components that regulate hormonal signaling. This review describes the intersection of these two fields of study, which together imply a role for dietary prevention and intervention in human breast cancer perhaps through altering cell cycle components.


The purpose of this review is to present information from different
experiments that supports the proposal that brain systems are able to predict,
in a short-term interval, certain characteristics about the next incoming
stimuli. This ability allows the subject to be ready for the stimuli and be
more efficient in completing the required task. Evidence is presented from
different sensory-motor experiments, such as the central cueing Posner
paradigm; Contingent Negative Variation (E1-E2), spectral modulation
during expectancy and Lateralized Readiness Potential during the first-order
sequential effect. Some cases from motor experiments are also presented,
such as express saccades, the manual gap paradigm and ocular smooth
pursuit movements. All these data support a neurocognitive model that can
be related to neuroanatomical structures whose connections have been wellestablished.
In the final section, a possible algorithm that explains the
selection of a preparatory set among the alternatives is discussed.


The duality map between gauge theories and strings suggests that when the gauge theory is in the weak coupling regime the dual string tension effectively tends to zero, $\alpha' \to \infty$. This observation of Sundborg and Witten initiates a fresh interest to the old problem of tensionless limit of standard string theory and to the description of its genuine symmetries. We approach this problem formulating tensionless string theory by means of geometrical concept of surface perimeter. The perimeter action uniquely leads to a tensionless string theory.


Contractarian business ethics (CBE) is in great vogue in the present study of corporate morality. Its stated ambition is to provide better practical guidance than the more general ethical theories of business ethics, such as Kantianism, pragmatism, utilitarianism, virtue ethics or the stakeholder model. But how good is this new trend in business ethics theorizing? This article aims to assess CBE's credentials as a social contract argument. For this purpose, it embarks on a comparative analysis of the use of the social contract model in two earlier domains: political authority and social justice. Building on this comparison, it then develops four criteria for any future CBE. To apply the social contract model properly to the domain of corporate morality, it should be: (1) self-disciplined, i.e. not aspire to results beyond what the contract model can realistically establish; (2) argumentative, i.e. provide principles that are demonstrative results of the contractarian method; (3) task-directed, i.e. it should be clear what the social contract thought-experiment is intended to model; and (4) domain-specific, i.e. the contractarian choice situation should be tailored to the defining problems of corporate morality.


Information and communication technologies (ICT) are increasingly seen as key enablers for climate change mitigation measures. They can make existing products and activities more efficient or substitute them altogether. Consequently, different initiatives have started to estimate the environmental effects of ICT services. Such assessments, however, lack scientific rigor and often rely on crude assumptions and methods, leading to inaccurate or even misleading results. The few methodological attempts that exist do not address several crucial aspects, and are thus insufficient to foster good assessment practice. Starting from such a high-level standard from the European Telecommunication Standardisation Institute (ETSI) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), this article identifies the shortcomings of existing methodologies and proposes solutions. It addresses several aspects for the assessment of single ICT services: the goal and scope definition (analyzing differences between ICT substitution and optimization, the time perspective of the assessment, the challenge of a hypothetical baseline for the situation without the ICT solution, and the differences between modelling and case studies) as well as the often-ignored influence of rebound effects and the difficult extrapolation from case studies to larger populations.


A new hyperbolic shear deformation theory for flexure of deep beams, in which number of variables is same as that in the hyperbolic shear deformation theory, is developed. The noteworthy feature of theory is that the transverse shear stresses can be obtained directly from the use of constitutive relations with efficacy, satisfying the shear stress free condition on the top and bottom surfaces of the beam. Hence, the theory obviates the need of shear correction factor. The cantilever isotropic beam subjected to varying load is examined using the present theory. Results obtained are discussed critically with those of other theories.


to find that my little daughter, aged 51 months, had a temperature of 1040 and well-marked bronchopneumonia. She was at once given an ampoule of omnadin and the more usual treatment for her condition. Next morning her temperature was normal and remained so, and we never had the least further trouble with her. If Dr. Julian's assertion that this was due to suggestion is correct, I can only say that at that tender age she was more susceptible to suggestion than she has proved since. (Incidentally, if the action of these drugs is due to suggestion, how is it that they act equally. well if given when the patient is asleep?) Dr. Julian will, however, find proof of the evil done that day in the fact that nearly three years later she developed an acute appen-dix. The abundant fluid found -in the abdominal cavity at the operation was undoubtedly that which we so summarily drove out of her chest three years before. This theory, however, does not explain why she should have been so amazingly well in the meantime. Yet Dr. Julian will at least admit that to produce such results it must have been a powerful drug, and here I am entirely at one with him 'that these things need to be used with great care and discrimination. That is why -" guinea-pigs and cats " are used so that, by giving overdoses, we may find where harm is likely to show itself, and so avoid damage in therapeutic work. Incidentally, the reason we do not give medicines, as he suggests, to normal men is because our object is not to make men ill, but to make them well. I do not for one moment suggest that the newer therapeutic remedies have come to stay. Far from it. Most of them only point the way to better things. But that there has been an enormous advance in therapeutics recently I think no unprejudiced person can deny. All honour, therefore, to those firms who are providing remedies, many of which they know will soon be superseded. And may we as doctors do our best with what we have got, instead of croaki-ng because we have not got what we believe may come in ten or fifteen years' time.I am, etc.,


Can we make a famous rap singer like Eminem sing whatever our favorite song? Singing style transfer attempts to make this possible, by replacing the vocal of a song from the source singer to the target singer. This paper presents a method that learns from unpaired data for singing style transfer using generative adversarial networks.


In this paper we show the benefits of regional connectivity and specialization to growth. Starting with one region we show how welfare measured by utility per head increases as the number of connected regions increase. We assume a common connectivity infrastructure implemented by satellite, through which the 'Great Connector' (GC) is able to add new regions to the pool of connected regions by taking a tax form those already connected. We find that increasing production costs leads to faster transitions towards the steady state whereas increasing transportation and communication costs tends to lengthen the transition. The results point to reductions in transportation and communication costs in particular as a suitable vehicle to speed up growth. The results also show a strong positive effect of reductions in the cost of making new connections. This has a significant impact on both the steady state growth rate and on transitional growth, while significantly reducing the transition period.


Metal hyperaccumulation is an unusual trait involving the uptake and storage of high concentrations of metals in the aerial tissues of plants. A number of hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of the metal hyperaccumulation trait, of which the hypothesis that accumulated metal provides a defence against herbivores or pathogens has received most attention and support. Metal hyperaccumulation requires a range of physiological adaptations that enable plants to take up, transport, sequester and tolerate high concentrations of metal. Such adaptations may confer a fitness cost, and it has been suggested that metal hyperaccumulator plants may compensate for this cost by reducing investment in other traits such as induced disease resistance. This is supported by recent work that shows that metal hyperaccumulators such as Noccaea spp. show reduced or altered production of key components of induced disease resistance. However, an alternative explanation exists, which is that the physiological adaptations involved in metal hyperaccumulation require alterations to, or compromise, functional aspects of plant defence mechanisms. Here, the evidence for trade-offs between metal hyperaccumulation and disease resistance mechanisms is reviewed, and the nature of the physiological adaptations involved in metal hyperaccumulation and their potential to impact other forms of plant defence is discussed. It is suggested that defensive trade-offs may have been key to the evolution of the metal hyperaccumulation trait, resulting in increased dependence upon the protection conferred by metals.


In the last decade, driven also by the availability of an unprecedented computational power and storage capabilities in cloud environments, we assisted to the proliferation of new algorithms, methods, and approaches in two areas of artificial intelligence: knowledge representation and machine learning. On the one side, the generation of a high rate of structured data on the Web led to the creation and publication of the so-called knowledge graphs. On the other side, deep learning emerged as one of the most promising approaches in the generation and training of models that can be applied to a wide variety of application fields. More recently, autoencoders have proven their strength in various scenarios, playing a fundamental role in unsupervised learning. In this paper, we instigate how to exploit the semantic information encoded in a knowledge graph to build connections between units in a Neural Network, thus leading to a new method, SEM-AUTO, to extract and weight semantic features that can eventually be used to build a recommender system. As adding content-based side information may mitigate the cold user problems, we tested how our approach behaves in the presence of a few ratings from a user on the Movielens 1M dataset and compare results with BPRSLIM.


The legacy of Ronald Reagan is mixed. Admired by some, vilified by others. Ardent Democrat turned impassioned Republican. Dedicatedunion president turned union buster. Champion of smaller government who increased the size of the federal government during hispresidency.Vociferous spokesman for reducing the national debt who tripled the national debt. Some Americans idolize the man. Othersdisagree. What is the enduring legacy of Ronald Reagan? How will history remember the 40th President of the United States? This paperargues the case for caution in lionizing the man. It presents evidence that casts doubt on the legacy, evidence that suggests the most enduringaspect of the Reagan presidency may be his philosophy that "greed is good," that poor people are lazy, useless to society, parasitic,and deserve no help from others, especially not from government. It is a philosophy that runs counter to the teachings of every majorreligion, including that of the Christianity that Reagan professed. The paper compares and contrasts Reagan's "Gospel of Greed" withwhat Andrew Carnegie called "The Gospel of Wealth." The legacy of Ronald Reagan is that one should get as much as one can, that lifeis a zero-sum game, that the best socio-economic system is one based on social Darwinism, "survival of the fittest." This is the enduringlegacy of Ronald Wilson Reagan.


Neutrophil dysfunction in alcoholic hepatitis is associated with endotoxemia and an increased incidence of infection, but the mechanism is unclear. We aimed to investigate the role of Toll-like-receptors (TLR)2, 4, and 9 in mediating neutrophil dysfunction in alcoholic hepatitis. Neutrophils from healthy volunteers were incubated with alcoholic hepatitis patients' plasma (n = 12) with and without TLR2, 4, or 9 antagonists and with and without human albumin. TLR2, 4, and 9 expression, neutrophil oxidative burst, phagocytosis, and CXCR1+2 expression were measured by FACS analysis. Patients' plasma increased oxidative burst, decreased CXCR1+2 expression, and decreased phagocytosis of normal neutrophils in association with increased expression of TLR2, 4, and 9 and depletion of ATP. Inhibition of TLR2, 4, and 9 prevented the increase in oxidative burst and the decrease in CXCR1 and CXCR2 expression but did not prevent phagocytic dysfunction. Incubation with albumin completely prevented the patient plasma induced neutrophil dysfunction. Increased expression of TLR2, 4, and 9 is associated with neutrophil dysfunction, endotoxemia, and energy depletion. TLR2, 4, and 9 inhibition does not improve phagocytosis, indicating that TLR overexpression may be the result and not the cause of neutrophil activation. Albumin, an endotoxin scavenger, prevents the deleterious effect of patients' plasma on neutrophil phagocytosis, resting burst, and TLR expression.


Bangka Island is an important tin producer in Indonesia, mostly from the secondary tin deposits. However, the secondary tin deposit is depleting, causing further exploration shifted to the primary tin mineral. The purpose of this study is to make a mineralization model of primary tin deposit in Bangka Island. Methods that implemented in this study are petrographic analysis, mineragraphic analysis, XRD (X-Ray Diffraction), and XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) analysis. The studied rock samples that consisted of granite, meta-sandstone, and sandstone. Some of the rocks are altered rocks with varying intensity. Petrographic and mineragraphic analysis show the presence of minerals that indicate the primary tin deposits, such as cassiterite, tourmaline, topaz, sericite, pyrite, and sphalerite. XRF analysis shows data about the value of Sn elements so that they can be classified into two classes, very high grade (> 800 ppm), and low grade (100–200 ppm). XRD analysis is necessary to do to determine the type and intensity of alterations that occur in the study area. The results of each analysis will provide supporting information regarding the primary tin mineralization process in Bangka Island.


The observed atmospheric spectrum of exoplanets and brown dwarfs depends critically on the presence and distribution of atmospheric condensates. The Ackerman and Marley methodology for predicting the vertical distribution of condensate particles is widely used to study cloudy atmospheres and has recently been implemented in an open-source python package, Virga. The model relies upon input parameter f sed, the sedimentation efficiency, which until now has been held constant. The relative simplicity of this model renders it useful for retrieval studies due to its rapidly attainable solutions. However, comparisons with more complex microphysical models such as CARMA have highlighted inconsistencies between the two approaches, namely that the cloud parameters needed for radiative transfer produced by Virga are dissimilar to those produced by CARMA. To address these discrepancies, we have extended the original Ackerman and Marley methodology in Virga to allow for non-constant f sed values, in particular, those that vary with altitude. We discuss one such parameterization and compare the cloud mass mixing ratio produced by Virga with constant and variable f sed profiles to that produced by CARMA. We find that the variable f sed formulation better captures the profile produced by CARMA with heterogeneous nucleation, yet performs comparatively to constant f sed for homogeneous nucleation. In general, Virga has the capacity to handle any f sed with an explicit anti-derivative, permitting a plethora of alternative cloud profiles that are otherwise unattainable by constant f sed values. The ensuing flexibility has the potential to better agree with increasingly complex models and observed data.


In this thesis, I present my study on the impact of multi-group network structure on the performance of consensus building strategies, and the preliminary mathematical formulation of the problem on improving the performance of the National Airspace system (NAS) through long-term investment. The first part of the thesis is concerned with a structural approach to the consensus building problem in multi-group distributed sensor networks (DSNs) that can be represented by bipartite graph. Direct inference of the convergence behavior of consensus strategies from multi-group DSN structure is one of the contributions of this thesis. The insights gained from the analysis facilitate the design and development of DSNs that meet specific performance criteria. The other part of the thesis is concerned with long-term planning and development of the NAS at a network level, by formulating the planning problem as a resource allocation problem for a flow network. The network-level model viewpoint on NAS planning and development will give insight to the structure of future NAS and will allow evaluation of various paradigms for the planning problem.


A novel microwave sensor system for real-time monitoring of turbine blade vibrations is reported. The self-calibration of the sensor modules, a key feature of the implemented concept, is based on adaptive frequency tuning of the microwave source. By using this calibration, degradation of the measurement performance caused by temperature drift and dirt deposit is compensated. During pilot runs with a 65 MW gas turbine the microwave system proved to give excellent measurement results.


Unsupervised domain translation has recently achieved impressive performance with Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) and sufficient (unpaired) training data. However, existing domain translation frameworks form in a disposable way where the learning experiences are ignored and the obtained model cannot be adapted to a new coming domain. In this work, we take on unsupervised domain translation problems from a meta-learning perspective. We propose a model called Meta-Translation GAN (MT-GAN) to find good initialization of translation models. In the meta-training procedure, MT-GAN is explicitly trained with a primary translation task and a synthesized dual translation task. A cycle-consistency meta-optimization objective is designed to ensure the generalization ability. We demonstrate effectiveness of our model on ten diverse two-domain translation tasks and multiple face identity translation tasks. We show that our proposed approach significantly outperforms the existing domain translation methods when each domain contains no more than ten training samples.


Background The BRAFV600E mutation is the most common genetic alteration identified in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Because of its costs effectiveness and sensitivity, direct Sanger sequencing has several limitations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of immunohistochemistry (IHC) as an alternative method to detect the BRAFV600E mutation in preoperative and postoperative tissue samples. Methods We evaluated 71 patients who underwent thyroid surgery with the result of direct sequencing of the BRAFV600E mutation. IHC staining of the BRAFV600E mutation was performed in 49 preoperative and 23 postoperative thyroid specimens. Results Sixty-two patients (87.3%) had PTC, and of these, BRAFV600E was confirmed by direct sequencing in 57 patients (91.9%). In 23 postoperative tissue samples, the BRAFV600E mutation was detected in 16 samples (70%) by direct sequencing and 18 samples (78%) by IHC. In 24 fine needle aspiration (FNA) samples, BRAFV600E was detected in 18 samples (75%) by direct sequencing and 16 samples (67%) by IHC. In 25 core needle biopsy (CNB) samples, the BRAFV600E mutation was detected in 15 samples (60%) by direct sequencing and 16 samples (64%) by IHC. The sensitivity and specificity of IHC for detecting the BRAFV600E mutation were 77.8% and 66.7% in FNA samples and 99.3% and 80.0% in CNB samples. Conclusion IHC could be an alternative method to direct Sanger sequencing for BRAFV600E mutation detection both in postoperative and preoperative samples. However, application of IHC to detect the BRAFV600E mutation in FNA samples is of limited value compared with direct sequencing.


In most semi-conductor processing ion implantation is a key technology. The drawback of ion implantation is that a great deal of lattice defects, such as vacancies, interstitials, anti sites and complexes, are introduced. The annealing behaviour of these defects is important for the viability of ion implantation as a commonly used method. In SiC a defect that is only seen after ion implantation and not after irradiation with neutrons or electrons is the D-II defect. The use of Si or C as implanted species have made it possible to investigate the D-II photoluminescence (PL) intensity dependence on an excess of either of the two constituents in SiC. The effect of performing a hot implant at 600degreesC compared to a room temperature implant was also looked into. The D-II PL intensity was measured after a 1500degreesC anneal. When the implantation was performed at room temperature the C implanted samples showed a significantly higher D-II luminescence than the Si implanted. This makes it tempting to assume that a surplus of C and likely C interstitials are involved in the defect formation. However, when the implantation is done at 600degreesC the difference between Si and C implanted samples almost disappears and a slightly higher D-II intensity can be seen in the Si implanted samples. This effect may be due to the mobility of C interstitials at temperatures above 500degreesC. This clearly demonstrates the effect of hot implantation that there is a major change in D-II PL intensity even after a 1500degreesC anneal.


The Atlantic salmon depend on successful migration between essential habitats in freshwater and the ocean. However, during both downstream and upstream migration the fish encounter natural or manmade obstacles which can block or delay their migration and migration through hydropower turbine can cause severe mortality. This PhD-study has focused the salmon migration challenges, upstream and downstream, based on studies in Norwegian rivers, and the results are presented in four scientific papers. A study of all the 344 Atlantic salmon fishways in Norway was conducted to investigate the state and function of the fishways and to identify links between passage efficiency and physical characteristics of the construction and the river site. The results showed that 66 % of the Norwegian fishways were passing fish effectively. No correlation was found between fishway functionality and their height, length or technical design. Functional fishways were found at river sites with larger discharge than dysfunctional fishways and efficiency was better among fishways passing man-made obstacles. These findings indicate that fishways in smaller rivers and fishways without supervision and funding from hydropower companies suffer from lack of sufficient attention. While entrance design problems are reported to be a main challenge in many fish pass projects, this was not the same situation among Norwegian fishways. On the other hand, many fishways were not functional because of long time lack of maintenance or damages from physical strain. Downstream migration of juvenile Atlantic salmon past a hydropower intake in a Norwegian river was studied by use of radio tagged fish during three spring seasons. The results showed that it was possible to create models for both the smolt timing and for the route choice at the intake, where the fish could enter the intake or choose a bypass section. Route choice was controlled by both total river discharge and proportion of discharge in the bypass. Additionally, a model could be developed to describe the effect of strobe lights at the intake. This model demonstrated that more fish chose the bypass when the strobe lights were on during night, while no such effect was found during daytime. Further, a hydropower simulation model was calibrated for the same river. By use of this model, it was shown that river discharge and partition could be optimized to increase bypass migration according to the route choice model. Both reservoir manipulation and manipulation of discharge partition at the intake was simulated and showed that bypass migration could be increased from 20 to 80% in selected years. The use of models to describe downstream migration represents a useful tool for planning of fish-friendly hydropower production and the methods are most likely applicable to other rivers and regions. In a case study of man-made weirs on a residual flow river reach the delaying impact from the weirs on upstream migration was studied. Adult Atlantic salmon were enumerated in an upstream fish ladder before and after removal of two concrete weirs. The point of time for peak migration was more than one month earlier after the removal, indicating that even small obstacles may imply significant migration delay. Additionally, the weir removal changed the physical habitat from a lake habitat to a riverine habitat. Consequently, a large increase in spawning and subsequent juvenile densities was observed immediately after restoration.


Large polyaromatic molecules, including synthetic graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), are the subject of considerable interest for a variety of electronic applications. For GNRs in particular, functional groups can be bonded along the ribbon edges to modify their dispersibility, self-assembly behavior, and electronic properties. However, these side chains are usually chosen in a "trial and error" fashion, without an underlying molecular-scale picture of the conformations they will adopt in solution and the resulting influence of such structures on macroscopically observable phenomena, particularly aggregation. In this study, we use molecular dynamics (MD) to predict the behavior of various side chains in different solvents as a means to understand how this influences aggregate morphologies and binding energies. Specifically, oligomeric PEG and n-alkoxy chains of varying lengths and grafting densities are examined in vacuum, water, and N-methylpyrrolidone. Examining the binding energies and side chain dispositions that occur with different sets of parameters allows us to suggest a combination of these variables that will minimize aggregational tendencies for the GNRs. The results underscore the value of molecular-scale computational techniques to understand the aggregational tendencies of 2D materials and guide the design of future polyaromatic edge modifications.


This article presents the texture evolution and the ductility improvement of the cold-rolled foils of boron-free Ni3Al during the recrystallization and the subsequent grain growth. The cold-rolled foils had sharp {110} textures. After the recrystallization at 873K/0.5h, the texture was disintegrated with several texture components. Interestingly, most of them had a single rotation relationship. i.e. 40˚ around <111>. With the progress of the grain growth, however, the texture returned to the sharp, cold-rolled textures. This two-stage texture evolution, called as "Texture memory effect", was explained assuming a high mobility of the grain boundary with the 40˚<111> rotation relationship. The texture returning was highly effective to improve the ductility of the foils.


A structure with "changeable boundaries", changed from construction stage to service stage, is a new design idea used in long span spatial structures. The inner force distribution will be more reasonable and the structure self-weight will be lighter, if the idea is adopted. Adoption of the idea enables the inner force distribution of the structure changing from the construction stage to the service stage. Although the time of the inner force changing is much short, it has a significant influence on the loading behavior and the construction cost of the structure. As an example, a simple beam with different boundaries (unchangeable and changeable), under uniformly distributed lateral loads, is analyzed in this paper. Through static analysis, the loading behavior of the beam under three different boundaries, including simple support, fixed support and changeable boundary, is compared. The linear buckling behavior of the beam with changeable boundaries is also investigated. The critical equilibrium equation is derived subsequently for computing the critical stability load. A new computation method for the beam with changeable boundaries is proposed.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technical treatment quality and the status of apical pathology of endodontically treated teeth, as well as apical periodontitis (AP) prevalence, in a Turkish population using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The CBCT images obtained between January 2018 and April 2020 were retrospectively examined. The quality of the endodontic treatments and the related periapical inflammatory lesions were classified according to the periapical and endodontic status scale (PESS). The data were statistically analysed using logistic regression, crosstabs and chi-square tests. AP was detected in 41% of 429 endodontically treated teeth. The prevalence of AP was significantly higher in teeth with inadequate root canal treatment compared with those with adequate treatment, 70.8% and 29.3%, respectively. Inadequate canal length and homogeneity, and complications were significantly associated with the prognostic periapical status scores of higher risk.


Information resources in whatever forms and format exist for people and not the reverse. The rapidly evolving information landscape has demonstrated a need for education methods and practices to adopt and adapt more virile and responsive strategies. Educational methods and practices, within our increasingly infor-centric society, must facilitate and enhance the librarians' and students' ability to harness the power of information which is crucial life skill and a basis for lifelong learning. To survive in this information society, workers and students in Nigerian Universities will need to possess skills beyond those of reading, writing and arithmetic. This study reviewed five (5) information literacy models which include: Kulthau's Information Search Process (ISP) Model, 8Ws Johnson and Lamb Model, NSW DET Information Skills Process Model, The Big6 Model, and Herring's PLUS Model. The study recommends the adoption of Herring's PLUS Model by Nigerian Universities because of their peculiarities and enormous benefits accruable to them by the Model.


The characteristics of classification of remotely sensed data using artificial neural networks are investigated. The training method of neural networks consists of a generalized delta rule (GDR) and a conjugate gradient (CG). The GDR is divided into two methods, data adaptive and block adaptive. The effects of the number and order of input data and learning rate were analyzed in the training. Data adaptive and block adaptive methods showed similar trends of error convergence in the GDR. The CG especially with a small data set had faster error convergence than the GDR. The CG having low error in the training didn't show good accuracy in the testing stage because of the overtraining effect.


The article refl ects on the impact of the 2009 dengue epidemic in Argentina, with 26,000 infected and six deaths. The impact could have been greatly reduced through dialogue between epidemiology and public health policy. Lack of preparation, poor coordination of the response and the impact on the population confi rm the gap between scientifi c evidence and decision-making. Epidemiology and health policy have different priorities, different times and different values scales. The lessons of the 2009 epidemic should serve to improve collaboration between these two pillars of public health for the benefi t of the community, which is ultimately the shared objective.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to determine the incidence and clinical significance of renal infarcts after fenestrated endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (FEVAR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
All patients who underwent FEVAR with unenhanced and contrast-enhanced CT angiography during a 4-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Two staff radiologists reviewed pre- and post-FEVAR CT examinations for the presence of renal infarcts. Pre- and postoperative serum creatinine levels were examined to determine statistical significance. The incidence of renal infarct and percentage of renal volume reduction were calculated.

RESULTS
Ninety patients were included for analysis. All patients had a mild progressive increase in serum creatinine level after FEVAR. Twenty-three patients (26%) had a renal infarct identified on post-FEVAR CT, nine (39%) of which were secondary to intentional exclusion of an accessory renal artery and 14 (61%) of which were presumed to be embolic. Two patients with presumed embolic infarcts and three with exclusion of an accessory renal artery had an increase in serum creatinine level of greater than 0.3 mg/dL at 1 month after FEVAR.

CONCLUSION
Although renal infarcts are common after FEVAR, the clinical relevance of these events appears to be limited, with less than one-quarter of patients with renal infarcts experiencing a decline in renal function.


Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia (representing 60-70% of all cases of this pathology) and an increasingly common cause of dependence and mortality in the elderly. Progressive loss of memory and cognitive functions are the major features of AD. Although the scientific community has shown a lot of interest and many studies have been carried out, no effective therapy has been discovered yet. According to the amyloid hypothesis, the most probable cause of AD is the progressive accumulation and deposition of amyloid in the central nervous system due to aging. As this accumulation is increasing, other complex pathogenic mechanisms that aggravate the illness are promoted, such as: the increase in tau phosphorylation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation in the nervous system, causing, ultimately, a dysfunction of the central nervous system and the neuronal death. On the other hand, in recent years, there are many studies in vitro and in vivo that demonstrate the potential of resveratrol, a polyphenol present in wine and other plants, to improve many of these dysfunctions that were mentioned associated with the AD. Specifically, this work has focused on making a bibliographic review of the potential of resveratrol to alleviate or eliminate the two most distinctive factors of AD in relation to other diseases: the accumulation of Aβ protein and the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein. Hence, it has described the different molecular mechanisms most supported by the different in vitro and in vivo studies that have been carried out and the research of this drug has been contextualized. The diversity in protocols and poor bioavailability offered by resveratrol in the studies in vivo seems to be the main obstacle to the efficacy of the drug. Therefore, further studies are needed to determine what is the best way of supplying the drug, in order to transfer the benefits that have been obtained in many tests, in humans.


Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular financing instrument. Research in the field of crowdfunding mainly focusses on broadening access to finance for businesses, in particular young and innovative companies and SMEs. Our study looks beyond the potential of crowdfunding for businesses and focuses on crowdfunding as a digital government strategy. Applying insights from the literature on relationship marketing, donation behavior and crowdfunding, we develop a structural model which contains trust towards a city, commitment towards a city and the intention to fund a crowdfunding project initiated by a city as its core elements. Based on an online survey, we find that trust towards a city has a positive impact on commitment towards a city and that commitment towards a city has a positive impact on the intention to contribute to a city's crowdfunding campaign. Certain benefits individuals perceive during a crowdfunding campaign (demonstrable, familial and societal benefits) have a positive impact on the commitment towards a city. Finally, communication has a positive impact on trust towards a city. Our study contributes to the literature on digital government, crowdfunding and relationship marketing and has practical implications. From our results, we derive specific recommendations for cities.


We present a method to first laterally position microparticles inside droplets by acoustic forces and then split the droplet into three daughter droplets to achieve a 2+fold enrichment of microparticles inside the center droplet. We show that acoustic forces can be applied to both manipulate polystyrene beads (5 μm) and red blood cells inside droplets. The presented technology opens up for development of droplet operations used for medium exchange and particle concentration in droplet-based cell assays.


A major biomedical advance from recent years was the finding that gene expression and phenotypic traits may be shaped by potentially reversible and heritable modifications that occur without altering the sequence of the nucleotides, and became known as epigenetic changes. The term 'epigenetics' dates back to the 1940s, when it was first used in context of cellular differentiation decisions that are made during development. Since then, our understanding of epigenetic modifications that govern development and disease expanded considerably. The contribution of epigenetic changes to shaping phenotypes brings at least two major clinically relevant benefits. One of these, stemming from the reversibility of epigenetic changes, involves the possibility to therapeutically revert epigenetic marks to re‐establish prior gene expression patterns. The strength and the potential of this strategy are illustrated by the first four epigenetic drugs that were approved in recent years and by the additional candidates that are at various stages in preclinical studies and clinical trials. The second particularity is the finding that epigenetic changes precede the appearance of histopathological modifications. This has the potential to facilitate the emergence of epigenetic biomarkers, some of which already entered the clinical arena, catalysing a major shift in prophylactic and therapeutic strategies, and promising to fill a decades‐old gap in preventive medicine.


The Bavarian composer Johann Nepomuk von Poissl was regarded by many in the second decade of the nineteenth century as German opera's greatest hope. Though neglected by
later musicology, in his day Poissl was a central figure in the aesthetic discourses surrounding opera, being prominent as a composer, librettist, translator, journalist and
director of the Munich Court Theatre. He was also a profoundly ideological artist, expressing in his operas a distinctive vision of Bavarian nationhood and of the wider
German identity.

This thesis represents the first substantial study of Poissl's operatic oeuvre. It is based on a detailed reading of his thirteen surviving operas, all unpublished. It uses many previously untranscribed and untranslated sources. It shows how Poissl, in his prose writings as well as his operas, addressed what he and his contemporaries saw as the fundamental aesthetic values of opera. It also shows that several of Poissl's works were a response to specific
political, ideological and cultural issues. These include the Franco-Bavarian alliance, the post-Napoleonic settlement and the Catholic restoration of Bavaria under King Ludwig I.

These threads are drawn together in a case study of Poissl's opera Athalia (1814). This considers not only the literary and musical form of this piece but also its ideological content. It shows how Poissl's particular vision of nationhood and faith was embedded not only in Athalia's text but also in its music. It clarifies the dialogue-based form in which the opera was originally performed. It suggests that Poissl's later addition of recitatives to Athalia not only obscured the dramatic and musical strengths of this particular work, but also gave rise to musicological misconceptions which have distorted and restricted our view of Poissl's oeuvre as a whole.


Realistic models in VR training applications are considered to positively influence presence and performance. The experimental study presented analyzed the effect of simulation fidelity (static vs. animated audience) on presence, perceived realism, and anxiety in a virtual speech anxiety training application. No influence on presence and perceived realism was shown, although an animated audience led to significantly higher effects in anxiety during giving a talk.


In 1930 Szent-Gyorgyi 1 demonstrated conclusively that the hexuronic (cevitamic) acid isolated from the adrenal glands and crystalline vitamin C are identical. This discovery aroused much interest in the relation between vitamin C and the adrenals. Many workers 2 agreed that the adrenals of various animals are among the organs of the body richest in this vitamin. It was a logical step, then, to study the role of vitamin C in diseases associated with marked pathologic changes in the adrenals. Prominent among these maladies is diphtheria. It has been known since 1889 that the adrenals suffer in severe diphtheria. Roux and Yersin 3 at that time showed that intense congestion of the adrenal glands can be brought about in guinea-pigs by means of experimental diphtheria. Wybaw, 4 Oppenheim, 5 Moltschanow 6 and others studied the pathologic picture of the adrenals in diphtheria, describing hemorrhagic and degenerative lesions. Oppenheim made extensive


High-quality time series provided by space instrumentation such as CoRoT and Kepler, allow us to measure modulations in the light curves due to changes in the surface of stars related to rotation and activity. Therefore, we are able to infer the surface (possibly differential) rotation rate. However, instrumental perturbations can also produce artificial modulations in the light curves that would mimic those of truly stellar origin. In this work we will concentrate on Kepler observations in order to review an optimal way to extract reliable surface rotation rates.


Objectives. We explored the benefits of using community health worker (CHW) encounter forms to collect data on patient interactions and assessed the effectiveness of these forms in guiding and directing interactions. Methods. A 1-page standardized encounter form was developed to document topics discussed during visits with diabetes patients. A portion of the form was designed to be used as a script to guide the interaction and assist patients in setting appropriate self-management goals. Data were also collected via CHW work logs and interviews with CHWs and their supervisors to validate findings. Results. Data were collected for 1198 interactions with 540 patients at 6 community health centers. Self-management goals were set during 62% of encounters. With respect to the most recent self-management goal set, patients who had set a challenging goal were more likely to be in the action stage of change than in other stages. Work logs revealed that CHWs engaged in a number of activities not involving direct patient interactions and thus not captured on encounter forms. Conclusions. Evaluating and monitoring CHWs' daily activities has been challenging. Encounter forms have great potential for documenting the work of CHWs with patients. (Am J Public Health. 2012;102:e70‐e75. doi:10.2105/


Introduction: The complexity of working conditions in organizations, including employees' distrust, and challenging working conditions combined with a negative feeling, has led to a sense of frustration in organizations, which can be due to the conditions regarding the community and the organizational climate. The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between organizational cynicism and job burnout with mediating role of organizational silence in lifeguards of Tehran municipal pools.
Methods: The research method was causal, and applied in terms of purpose.A survey approach was used to collect data. Tools of collecting data were Kalagan Organizational Skepticism Questionnaire (2009), Dain et al.'s Organizational Silence Questionnaire (2003) and Maslach Questionnaire (1985) for Job Burnout. The statistical population of this study included 436 active lifeguards in Tehran municipal swimming pools. Sampling method was simple random. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data, and LISREL 8.8 software was used for modeling structural equations.
Results: Results demonstrated that organizational cynicism through organizational silence, affects job burnout among lifeguards in Tehran municipal pools. The effect was estimated to be 0.56 (z=4.96, ρ≤0.01). It seems that negative attitude of lifeguards, due to their fewer roles in decision-making and lack of information in the organization, causes them to react through silence, and the consequence of such silence, leads to job burnout
Conclusion: As a result, the attitude of lifeguards towards their workplace can be negatively accompanied by unpleasant feelings, helplessness and anger, which seriously affects their performance Therefore, it is suggested that management, along with the presence of lifeguards in organizational decision-making processes and transparency, reduce burnout regarding this vital profession.


FibroTest has been validated as a biomarker of fibrosis in patients with chronic viral hepatitis, with a similar prognostic value as biopsy. The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic and prognostic values of FibroTest versus the recently patented biomarkers, FibrometerA, and Hepascore. A total of 218 consecutive patients with ALD and available liver biopsy examination were included. Biomarkers were compared using univariate area under the ROC curves (AUROC) and multivariate analysis (logistic regression and Cox). The median follow‐up was 8.2 years. Eighty‐five patients died, including 42 deaths related to liver complications. The diagnostic values of FibrometerA and Hepascore did not differ from that of FibroTest for advanced fibrosis (all AUROC = 0.83 ± 0.03) and cirrhosis (FibroTest and FibrometerA = 0.94 ± 0.02, Hepascore = 0.92 ± 0.02), and were significantly greater than those of nonpatented biomarkers (APRI, Forns, FIB4; P < 0.01). In multivariate analysis the most significant was FibroTest (P = 0.001), without independent diagnostic value for FibrometerA (P = 0.19), and Hepascore (P = 0.40). The prognostic values of FibroTest (AUROC for survival or non liver disease‐related death = 0.79 ± 0.04), FibrometerA (0.80 ± 0.04), Hepascore (0.78 ± 0.04), did not differ from that of biopsy fibrosis staging (0.77 ± 0.04). In multivariate analysis the most significant were FibroTest (P = 0.004) and biopsy (P = 0.03), without independent prognostic values for FibrometerA (P = 0.41) and Hepascore (P = 0.28). In patients with alcoholic liver disease, FibrometerA and Hepascore did not improve the diagnostic and prognostic values of FibroTest. (HEPATOLOGY 2009;49:97‐105.)


A formal model for defining transformations of languages of designs in terms of the grammars which generate them is described in detail. First, a normal form for grammars is presented which distinguishes two basic determinants of the compositional structure of designs in a language: spatial relations and the order in which they are employed to generate designs. These two constructive mechanisms are used to specify each rule in a normal form grammar. An internal formal property of a normal form grammar called its recursive structure is also characterized. Rules of transformation are then defined which map the rules of a given normal form grammar onto rules of new grammars by changing independently the two components of rules in the original grammar. The new grammars produced specify new languages of designs. Of particular interest are those transformations which preserve the recursive structure of the original grammar.


Older adults are at an increased risk for motor-vehicle collisions (MVCs) once distance driven is considered, a finding that is partly attributed to a decline in attention related processes associated with age. MVCs typically occur in highly specific areas, suggesting a role of the complexity of the driving environment contributing to the occurrence of MVCs. The goal of this thesis was to explore the attentional demands of simulated driving events of varying complexity among young, mature and older drivers. In the present studies, attentional demand associated with driving was assessed through the peripheral detection task (PDT), a method in which a stimulus unrelated to the driving task is presented and drivers manually respond immediately upon its detection; latency to respond is recorded. The complexity of the driving environment was operationalized in terms of vehicle handling and of information processing elements. In the first study, inexperienced drivers completed a series simulated driving scenarios that varied according to their information processing and vehicle handling demands. The results showed a reduction in PDT performance at intersections where information processing is increased as well as when handling maneuvers behind a lead vehicle were required. Building on these findings, the second study employed the identical protocol as the first but examined differences in attentional demand between mid-aged and older drivers. The results indicated that when information processing demands were increased through the addition of traffic, and buildings, all participants exhibited greater workload regardless of age. The third study presented young, mid-aged, and older drivers with a simulated driving assessment course and administered several cognitive tasks. The results of the third study supported the hypothesis in that complex driving situations elicited greater attentional demand among drivers of all ages. Older adults showed greater attentional demand in comparison to young and mid-aged adults even after controlling for baseline response


Coaxial connectors are frequently the dominant contributors to passive intermodulation (PIM) distortion in high-frequency networks. This paper reports on a circuit model enabling estimation of PIM distortion by coaxial connectors in the design of high-frequency networks. A method of modeling the effect of multiple point sources of PIM is applied to coaxial connectors, allowing the prediction of the PIM of networks with several connectors. Typical ranges of PIM produced by common connectors in a two-tone test are reported. The stability and repeatability of PIM produced by a single connector is examined. Nonlinear current-voltage curves for coaxial connectors are given that predict the PIM distortion output by coaxial connectors over a broad range of input powers. An experimental verification is given showing that PIM of a system can be predicted if the characteristics of the individual components are known.


Literature on women, development and environment is abundant. The relationship between women and ecology has been analyzed by various disciplines, by specialists from the North as well as the South. This book offers a new perspective, specifically to challenge the assumption that women have a special affinity with the Earth and therefore a historic mission for the care of the environment. The book explores spiritual, religious and philosophical beliefs concerning women and ecology, and whether women are truly "sacred custodians" of the Earth. This concept has evolved from ideas developed by eco-feminists. Whether and how different belief systems can be put to use to create an awareness to protect, preserve and improve ecological conditions is discussed. The collection of papers demonstrates the complexity of the issues and the variations and vulnerability of the assumed relationship between women and the environment in different cultural and political contexts. The book challenges policy solutions which are devised to be on a global scale and to create unrealistic global aspirations, and the value of targeting women in a particular attempt to achieve environmentally sustainable development.


The rapid growth of real-time and high-priority traffic over IP networks makes network survivability more critical. Several MPLS-based recovery mechanisms have been proposed to ensure continuity of service following network impairments. These approaches, however, suffer from the transient effects that negatively impact the traffic that is being rerouted onto the protection paths. Packet loss and reordering are the most significant negative effects resulting from protection switching. In conventional MPLS networks, the detection and retransmission of out-of-order or lost packets is left to the higher layers, which in effect, degrades the overall performance. This paper proposes a signaling mechanism to minimize the impact of protection switching on packet loss and reordering. The proposed signaling protocol is general and independent of the particular MPLS protection mechanism. The signaling protocol uses the existing queues on the nodes to buffer incoming traffic and hence reduce loss of data and packet reordering during recovery operations. Easy to implement calculations are used by the nodes to estimate the required queue sizes and to control the signaling procedure. The protocol has been implemented and studied in the three MPLS protection mechanisms under consideration. The results of our simulation study show that, with the implementation of the proposed signaling scheme in the basic protection mechanism, the number of packets reordered is significantly reduced while maintaining or improving packet loss without imposing much overhead on the nodes in the network.


Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy and robustness of averaging 4‐D images to determine the internal target volume (ITV) for small lungtumors during breathing. Method and Materials: A Philips Brilliance 16‐slice CT simulator (CT‐sim) obtained axial cinematographic (cine') images (512×512 pixels, 480mm FOV) of a phantom that moved with known distance and velocity in both the longitudinal and axial planes. The CT‐sim recorded 25 cine' images in each of 16 slices, 1.5mm thick to create a 24mm slab of data at different times during a motion cycle. The images at each slice position were averaged to produce composite slices. Composite slices were assembled longitudinally to produce a composite slab. Concatenated composite slabs are called an Averaged 4‐D (4‐DAvg) image set. Patients were scanned using the protocol above. Gross tumor volume (GTV) appearing in the 4‐DAvgimage set was contoured to produce an mGTV (ITV minus the margin for sub‐clinical disease) before superposition on beam's‐eye‐view DRRs and transferred to an on‐line electronic portal imager (EPI) for comparison of the mGTV position to that of the GTV as observed during treatment. Results: Phantom measurements showed key factors which govern the ability of the 4‐DAvgimage set to accurately represent the location of objects during motion: slice thickness, cine' duration relative to the period of motion and the sampling frequency of the cine' relative to the duration of motion at its extremes. We determined the position of objects undergoing a 0.2Hz movement over 20mm to within approximately 1.0mm. Similar results were obtained for a patient in the stereotactic body frame using an EPI. Conclusion: For tumors with motions having a frequency about 0.2Hz over a 20mm range, one can obtain positional accuracy within approximately 1mm using the 4‐DAvg technique outlined above. Conflict of Interest: Partly funded by Elekta, Inc., Norcross, GA.


The interview was recorded in Windhoek, Namibia,on March 9, 1999.The Interviewer was Jean Krasno.

Moses Ngesuako Katjiuongua, founding member of the South West Africa National Union (SWANU), first joined the political party in 1961, after he went into exile in 1959. He returned to Namibia in 1982 and was elected as SWANU President that same year. In 1983, Mr. Katjiuongua was the leader of the SWANU delegation in the Multi-Party Conference and became Minister in Namibia's Interim Government. He was elected into the Constitutional Assembly for the Namibia Patriotic Front (NPF) in 1989. From 1990 until 2000, he was a Member of the first and second Namibian National Assembly. In 2003, he joined the Congress of Democrats (CoD) party.

The interview was given on 9 March 1999 and focuses on the political climate in Namibia pre- and post- independence. A Member of the Namibian National Assembly at the time of the interview, Mr. Katjiuongua also touches upon the success of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG), the country's first elections and the liberation of Angola.


This paper examines utilization rates of Minnesota's earned income tax credit program by households on welfare from 1992 through 1999. We examine urban and rural differences in the rate of filing an income tax return and receiving the earned income tax credit. Tabulations show that urban areas have the lowest utilization rates, but are catching up in both income tax filing rates and earned income credit receipt rates. Regression analyses identify correlates to urban-rural differences. A modeling exercise examines how urban and rural households might respond to a 10 percent increase in the credit. Finally, policy suggestions are offered, which are relevant to urban and rural areas and are appropriate for other states.


Compressive torsion combined loading that uses relatively low compressive pressure has a great advantage of microstructure refinement of cylindrical metal blocks without changing their shape while processing. In the present work, effects of processing temperature and rotation times on homogeneity of the refined microstructure were investigated for Al-5%Mg alloy. Although lower processing temperature was effective to obtain fine grains, it was difficult to obtain homogeneous refinement at lower temperature. Higher processing temperature was favorable to obtain homogeneous microstructure, for instance, in the cylindrical specimen of φ25×10 mm the homogeneous refinement could be obtained at higher temperatures than 373K. Increasing rotation times was also effective to obtain homogeneous refined microstructure for thicker specimens.


Conversions resulting from UV-irradiation of 5-bromouracil DNA of T4 phage were studied. The use of immunological and sedimentation techniques revealed that UV dose ranging from 1.4.10(2) to 1.4.10(3) erg/mm2 induced unwinding and single-stranded breaks in 5-bromouracil DNA which are not accompanied by debromination. Beginning with 4.10(3) erg/mm2 debromination but not degradation of DNA is detected. Doses higher than 4.10(3) erg/mm2 lead to extensive degradation of 5-bromouracil T4 DNA.


: Computed tomography can accurately distinguish a bulging disc with intact annulus from a herniated nucleus pulposus in most patients. A bulging annulus should be diagnosed when CT scans demonstrate generalized extention of the disc margins beyond the adjacent vertebral body margins. A herniated nucleus may be diagnosed by a CT scan when there is focal protrusion of the disc margin beyond the vertebral body margins. However, correlation between clinical and CT findings remains a critical factor in determining the significance of an abnormality detected by a CT scan.


This Introduction foreshadows the main themes of this special issue on spiritual landscapes of Southeast Asia. Throughout Southeast Asia, links exist between spirit beings or potent energies and particular sites in the landscape, including trees, mountains and rivers. These are highlighted in this collection of papers via the notion of 'spiritual landscapes'. This concept also broadens anthropological approaches to the religious significance of the landscape, by problematising the separation of 'natural' and 'cultural' environments while sidestepping the implication that something called 'sacred geography' can be separated from the pragmatic activities of daily life. Following an ethnographic overview of spirit-places and environmental forces in the region, I discuss our need to take more seriously the claims of many Southeast Asian people that their landscapes have agency. In the context of religious conversion, the agency of the landscape often becomes a central concern, as reformers and missionaries seek to 'purify' the environment of such spiritual power. However, in addition to 'purification', ongoing conversion may also involve new forms of conversation with the landscape, including re-enchantments, religious syntheses or reassertions of the landscape's potency.


: Proteins released by mouse spleen nuclei under conditions of limited hydrolysis with DNase I and micrococcal nuclease were compared. Analysis of these proteins by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of SDS revealed the essential similarity in the qualitative composition of released proteins. Characteristics of the most prominent component were studied in both cases and it was shown that this component is identical. It has a molecular weight of 25 500 according to electrophoresis data and 2300 as determined by equilibrium sedimentation. Amino acids composition and N-terminal amino acid were studied. It was shown that its N-amino acid is arginine.


This article reviews a method for placement of full dentures in completely edentulous maxillary and mandibular arches. The selection of a maxillary central incisor is discussed along with the facial/tooth measurement, incisal papilla as a landmark in the maxilla, the midline, and the positioning of the remaining maxillary anterior teeth. The "S" position of the mandibular incisors, occlusion, and the verti-centric dimension are reviewed. The four basic tints of the denture bases are listed, and precision processing is recommended in fabricating the final dentures from information gained from the provisional restorations.


Rechovot ha-nahar, Uri Zvi Greenberg's great book of lamentation over the destruction and loss of European Jewry, follows an ancient tradition of lamentation over the destruction and persecution of the Jewish people which has developed in Hebrew poetry since the era of the piyyut and medieval poetry. In this book Greenberg uses a new poetic language, including concepts and expressions such as kosef ('yearning'), nigun ('melody') and nofim ('landscapes'), which appear for the first time in this book but will reappear in other contexts in later texts. In this sense, Rehovot ha-nahar is a constitutive text, which introduces a new poetic and linguistic code.  The design of kosef as a central poetic code in the book is based on 140 occurrences and many variations of the term. Mapping of the appearances in the light of their various contexts and tracing their combination with or separation from fixed semantic clusters permits a different reading of the poems, leading to a complex world of meanings and spiritual modes, in a constant state of flux. The semantic shifts of the term kosef reflect the multiple aspects of human existence after the destruction of European Jewry.


This book contains solutions to the questions and problems that appear at the ends of chapter in the sixth edition. The questions and problems have been designed to help readers study on their own and test their understanding of the material. They range from quick checks on whether a key point is understood to much more challenging applications of analytical techniques. At the beginning of each chapter of the Solutions Manual and Study Guide there have been included a summary of the main points in the chapter and suggested ways readers should approach studying the material in the chapter. Students should find these summaries useful both when they first cover the material in the chapter and when they are studying for exams.


Observations of fair weather currents and suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) were made using an acoustic Doppler current profiler and two YSI turbidity sensors over a neap to spring time cycle at a site near the inner mouth of a semi-enclosed mesotidal-macrotidal embayment (Jiaozhou Bay) to examine the influence of tidal dynamics on concentration and transport of suspended sediment. During the investigation, SSC varied from about 3 to 16 mg L –1 at the surface and about 6 to 40 mg L –1 close to the bed, while the current velocity reached 79 cm s –1 at the surface and 61 cm s –1 near the bed. SSC was tidally cyclic. The near-bed instantaneous SSC was closely related to current velocity with almost no time lag, indicating that the variability of SSC was governed by current-induced settling/resuspension. At the surface, however, instantaneous SSC was poorly related to instantaneous current velocity because the peak SSC tended to occur around ebb slack water. This suggests that the surface SSC was controlled by horizontal advection from landward higher concentration areas. Both at the surface and near the bed, on the other hand, tidally-averaged SSC was well correlated to tidal range and current speed. Current velocity and SSC were flood-dominated for all the tides investigated, which resulted in significant landward residual suspended sediment transport at the study site. The observed flood dominance was mainly attributed to the location of the study site on the landward side of the bay's inlet where flow separation is favoured during flood tide. It was concluded that tides are the dominant hydrodynamic component controlling the variability of SSC during fair weather at the study area.


In pace with the high-speed development of real estate, green building has a good prospect in China. As a rising concept, green building is accepted by more and more Chinese people. There are too many standards in the market, whether overseas or internal. As time goes on, the development of green building will be stagnated. The biggest obstacle is lacking a suitable evaluation system for green building. Too many new buildings need a authoritative assessment. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to evaluation system of green building. The paper introduces some evaluation systems for green building and analyze them in China especially, and then makes some recommendations to solve the problems of evaluation system of green building, and discusses how to promote the green building.


Article 162 EC Implementing regulations relating to the European Regional Development Fund shall be taken by the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.


Women's genital responses measured with a vaginal photoplethysmograph (VPP) demonstrate relatively low cue-specificity for gender/sex cues—the diff erence in genital responses between sexual stimuli with male or female content is relatively small compared to that of men. Cue-specifi city for gender/sex cues is particularly low for androphilic women. It is common practice to compare responses to sexual stimuli (typically 60–120 s film clips) using a mean or peak (highest) value. Th is approach overlooks the continuous and dynamic nature of sexual responding during a stimulus. Recent results suggest that cue-specificity of genital response may increase throughout the duration of a sexual stimulus. We tested this possibility in a sample of 18 androphilic women. Sexual stimuli consisted of 240 s audiovisual film clips depicting male and/or female partnered sex or solitary masturbation. Gender/sex cue-specificity, assessed using vaginal photoplethysmography, did not vary across time: Th e degree of cue-specificity and the magnitude of genital response were established by approximately 60–90 s and were consistent throughout the stimulus duration. Low cue-specificity for genital response was observed despite variation in self-reported sexual arousal across stimulus categories. Th e findings are discussed within the context of initial- and later-occurring aspects of the sexual response, according to the information processing model of sexual arousal. Th e results also suggest that 90–120 s stimuli are of sufficient duration to capture vaginal photoplethysmographic responses to audiovisual stimuli in sexual psychophysiological research.


Early diagenetic dissolution removed aragonitic molluscan debris which served as nuclei for ooids in the Jurassic Twin Creek Formation in northwestern Wyoming. The resulting hollow elliptical shells were subsequently crushed during burial and compaction to produce the crushed ooids typical of this Jurassic unit. Alternatively, ooids with nuclei composed of calcite in the form of crinoidal, foraminifera, and molluscan debris remained intact and were unaffected during this early burial event. Precompactional dissolution of aragonitic ooid nuclei is indicated by flattened ooids and confirmed by the orientation of fractures developed in the cortical coatings. Hollow colds were flattened by tensional microfracturing of the cortical exterior in planes oriented parallel and perpendicular to bedding. Boring by microendoliths preceding and accompanying ooid formation provided additional permeability for carbonate diffusion from ooid interiors during their dissolution. Cortices of Twin Creek ooids are now composed of radial calcite. Textural evidence suggests that both the fabric and mineralogy of the radial calcite are primary. This evidence supports the postulate of Sorby (1879) and Sandberg (1975) that radial fabric in many ancient calcite oolites is primary and not related to postdepositional diagenetic modification.


The New Orleans Museum of Art is New Orleans" oldest art institute and is the premier art institute of the Gulf South. From September through December 2009, I served as an intern in the Development Department at NOMA and then went on to fill the role of Interim Grants Officer from December through the time this document was written. I also have covered for the Special Events Coordinator during her leave of absence beginning January 4, 2010 through the present. NOMA has strengths and weakness internally, and opportunities and threats to functioning exist as well. Through a thorough examination of this institution, a consultant"s report was compiled based on examination of NOMA and the best practices of comparable institutions and museum management standards.


Objective: To determine the association of systemic diseases, as well as smoking and alcohol with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in adults over 40 years age. Method: A revision of the records of patients older than 40 years aged who had been diagnosed with glaucoma, which were selected at the outpatient care dept. Information was obtained through the automated hospital information system, which included socio-demographic and clinical variables. Data base was created and was processed by SPSS V20 program. Results: 1,020 patient, 548 (53.7%) with a diagnosis of POAG, mean age of patients 73.2 ± 11.16 years, of which 193 (35.2%) were male and 355 (64.8%) female. A significant relationship was found between POAG and increasing age (p = 0.000), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.056) and hypertension (p = 0.098). While no relationship was found between POAG and cancer, smoking and alcohol intake was found. Conclusions: These results display the need of carrying out more specific studies of causal type to establish best possible partnerships and thus carry out prevention programs for early diagnosis.


Precoding has been extensively studied for point-to-point communications, including the problems of constructing the precoding codebook and selecting the best precoder. This paper investigates precoding for a multicast channel in which a base station is sending the same information to all users and each user sends back the index of its best precoding matrix. It is assumed that users do not collaborate and that no channel state information is known at the base station. Optimization problems are formulated to reduce the packet drop rate. A set of probabilistic algorithms that effectively reduce the average package drop rate are presented. It is shown numerically that these new schemes lead to significant improvements.


From the north-west midlands, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dates from the second half of the 14th century. Gawain, a knight in Arthur's court, takes up the challenge of the Green Knight, and cuts off his head. The Knight informs Gawain he will have his revenge. Journeying to the Knight's abode to receive his lot Gawain takes thehospitality of a Lord, and endures the advances of his wife. The Lord is the Green Knight and, when the time comes, merely nicks Gawain's neck for his infidelity and dishonour. Is Gawain a failure, or a hero?


The learning of more than two languages in the school context is becoming very common-place all over Europe, especially in the many places where a minority language is spoken. The situation of the Basque educational system is a very good case in point, as, apart from Basque and Spanish, English is also learnt at school. This study examines the attitudes of 1,097 university students towards the aforementioned three languages, using Baker's (1992) questionnaire on attitudes as the main instrument of the survey. In a previous study carried out with a smaller sample (133 students) in which the majority were Basque Philology degree students, it was observed that the participants' L1 had a clear impact on their attitudes. In fact, those students who had Basque as their L1 viewed the two international languages (Spanish and English) less favourably. In the case of the present sample, it was expected that students would not show such a negative attitude, as the range of degree courses being followed is much wider. Because the Basque language does not form the central core of the participants' studies, their attitudes towards Spanish and English will be more positive and farther from what Baker calls a bunker attitude.


Objectives To assess within-player change in injury risk and between-player subsequent injury risk associated with concussive and common non-concussive injuries in professional rugby union. Methods This prospective cohort study in Welsh professional male rugby union analysed within-player and between-player injury risk for five common injuries: concussion, thigh haematoma, hamstring muscle strain, lateral ankle sprain and acromioclavicular joint sprain. Survival models quantified within-player injury risk by comparing precommon (before) injury risk to postcommon (after) injury risk, whereas between-player subsequent injury risk was quantified by comparing players who had sustained one of the common injuries against those who had not sustained the common injury. HRs and 95% CIs were calculated. Specific body area and tissue type were also determined for new injuries. Results Concussion increased the within-player overall injury risk (HR 1.26 (95% CI 1.11 to 1.42)), elevating head/neck (HR 1.47 (95% CI 1.18 to 1.83)), pelvic region (HR 2.32 (95% CI 1.18 to 4.54)) and neurological (HR 1.38 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.76)) injury risk. Lateral ankle sprains decreased within-player injury risk (HR 0.77 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.97)), reducing head/neck (HR 0.60 (95% CI 0.39 to 0.91)), upper leg and knee (HR 0.56 (95% CI 0.39 to 0.81)), joint and ligament (HR 0.72 (95% CI 0.52 to 0.99)) and neurological (HR 0.55 (95% CI 0.34 to 0.91)) injury risk. Concussion (HR 1.24 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.40)), thigh haematomas (HR 1.18 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.34)) and hamstring muscle strains (HR 1.14 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.29)) increased between-player subsequent injury risk. Conclusion Elevated within-player injury risk was only evident following concussive injuries, while lateral ankle sprains reduced the risk. Both concussion and ankle injuries altered head/neck and neurological injury risk, but in opposing directions. Understanding why management of ankle sprains might be effective, while current concussion management is not at reducing such risks may help inform concussion return to play protocols.


The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), working through a Task Force appointed from Technical Committee 6.7, Solar Energy Applications, has completed and is now ready to distribute Proposed Standard 93-P, "Method of Testing for Rating Solar Collectors Based on Thermal Performance". This document is based on an earlier draft prepared in 1974 by J. E. Hill and Tamami Kusuda of the National Bureau of Standards for the National Science Foundation which then was the Federal agency responsible for solar energy research. The Hill-Kusuda proposal was carefully reviewed by competent groups drawn from ASME, ASHRAE and the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) and a number of changes were made by the authors before their proposed test procedure was published in December, 1974 as NBSIR 74-635. This proposal has already been used widely and specifications are being written requiring that it be followed in testing collectors that are being offered for sale to government agencies. However, NBSIR 74-635 is not an officially adopted standard and it will undoubtedly be superceded by ASHRAE Proposed Standard 93-P which is the subject of the following paper. 93-P, prepared by a group of specialists drawn from universities, government agencies, private testing laboratories, manufacturers and users, provides for outdoor testing under the sun and indoor testing using a solar simulator. It also covers methods of determining collector time constants and incident angle modifiers. It is equally appropriate for use with concentrating and with flat plate collectors. It is anticipated that the new Standard will be issued early next year, following the usual review procedure, bearing the identifying number 93-77 to designate that it is the 93rd ASHRAE Standard and that its year of adoption is 1977.


The utility of the generalized assignment problem GAP is well known in regard to resource allocation problems arising in the areas of production planning, scheduling, and facility location. This paper introduces an important generalization of the GAP, which is called the 0-1 generalized assignment problem with nonlinear capacity constraints NLGAP and which allows for capacity interaction among tasks assigned to the same agent. For example, NLGAP can be used to model the hierarchical production planning problem involving the assignment of product families to production facilities in the case where process changeover gives rise to nonlinear capacity interaction among product families assigned to be produced at the same facility. Other applications of NLGAP occur readily throughout the areas of production planning and scheduling.

We define a branch-and-bound algorithm for the NLGAP. This algorithm draws upon the underlying structure of the problem by combining in a novel manner recent advances in both nonlinear 0-1 programming and bounding techniques for the GAP. A heuristic for obtaining approximate solutions to NLGAP is also defined. We discuss computational experience with both the exact algorithm and the heuristic. The computational results demonstrate that the heuristic is extremely effective in obtaining near-optimal solutions and that the branch-and-bound algorithm can solve to optimality NLGAPs with 5 agents, 20 tasks, and over 1000 nonlinear terms per constraint.


Background: Motor signs (MOSIs) are common in Alzheimer disease (AD) and may be associated with rates of cognitive decline, mortality, and cost of care. Objective: To describe the progression and identify predictors of individual MOSIs in AD. Methods: A cohort of 474 patients with AD at early stages was followed semiannually for up to 13.1 years (mean 3.6 years) in five centers in Europe and the United States. MOSIs were rated using a standardized portion of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Overall, 3,030 visits/assessments of MOSIs (average 6.4/patient) were performed. Prevalence and incidence rates were calculated, and cumulative risk graphs were plotted for individual non-drug-induced MOSI domains. Rates of change over time taking into account potential covariates were also estimated. With use of each MOSI domain as outcome in Cox models, predictors of MOSI incidence were identified. Results: At least one MOSI was detected in 13% of patients at first examination and in 36% for the last evaluation. Total MOSI score increased at an annual rate of 3% of total possible score. Rates of annual change for speech/facial expression (4%), rigidity (2.45%), posture/gait (3.9%), and bradykinesia (3.75%) were of similar magnitude, and their occurrence increased from first (3 to 6%) to last (22 to 29%) evaluation. Tremor was less frequent throughout the course of the disease (4% at first and 7% at last evaluation) and worsened less (0.75% increase/year). Conclusions: Most motor signs occur frequently and progress rapidly in Alzheimer disease. Tremor is an exception in that it occurs less frequently and advances at slower rates.


Signaled intersection of Pahlawan steet and Raden Saleh Sarif Bustaman street is one of the main streets in Bogor. This intersection has 3-arm approaches namely Pahlawan Street at East, Raden Saleh Sarif Bustaman Street at North, and Empang Street at West. Highest traffic on weekend is 11653 units/hour or 5087 SMP/hour which occur between 5.20-7.20 pm. Pahlawan - Raden Saleh Sarif Bustaman street obtained inconsistent time cycle of APILL and size of approach dimension which resulted in intersection with high saturated degree. The saturation degree of the intersection of the eastern approaches was 0.75 which meant that this value was same with the standard value in MKJI 1997 which is 0.75. This meant that the performance of intersection capacity was already saturated. The high saturation degree of the intersection resulted in a low level of service level and was classified as, service level E with the intersection delay 45 seconds/SMP. Scenario II is the best alternative scenario for intersections, with the addition of road or lane widening, so the intersection capacity of the eastern, northern and western approaches were 3931, 5066 and 4562 SMP/hour respectively. The average intersection delay became to 9 seconds / SMP, and classified as service level B.Key words: capacity, intersection, intersection delay, service level


In view of the inherent limitations of classical Hough transform in the detection of line, an improved algorithm of randomized Hough transform is offered in this paper. The feature point sets are segmented based on the connected component labels in this algorithm. The elements of various point sets are stored in sequence so as to reducing the invalid samples. By using a valid line detection area and a dynamic storage management, the temporary storage units are gradually reducing with the iterative process. The speed of the line detection and the accuracy of identification can be improved, the storage space can be reduced, the computational complexity can be cut down and some unnecessary calculations can be avoided by using this algorithm. However, it still has the characteristics of the classical Hough transform that it is not sensitive to noise. The line edge where the cutting tool is on can be pinpointed. To achieve the vision-based mode of tool wear state, it can accurately detect rake and flank face of the cutting tool, and can effectively remove the influence to the tool wear detection from the BUILT-UP EDGE in cutting process. By the validation of testing examples, the algorithm has high speed, low memory occupation and high accuracy.


"I go to the hospital with my mother when she is sick. I can't go to school and leave her in so much pain. I won't concentrate." Millions of adolescents live with AIDS-affected parents or primary caregivers. Little is known about educational impacts of living in an AIDS-affected home, or of acting as a "young carer" in the context of AIDS. This study combined qualitative and quantitative methods to determine educational impacts of household AIDS-sickness and other-sickness. Six hundred and fifty-nine adolescents (aged 10-20) were interviewed in high-poverty areas of urban and rural South Africa. Qualitative findings identified three major themes of missing school, being hungry at school, and concentration problems due to worry about the sick person. In quantitative analyses, living in an AIDS-affected home predicted all these three outcomes (p < .001) compared to homes affected by other sickness and to healthy homes, and independent of sociodemographic cofactors. This study demonstrates that familial AIDS-sickness is associated with negative educational impacts for adolescents. It is important that policies are developed to support young people in these circumstances to continue with their education.


Nanomedicine is an emerging field, which constitutes a new direction in the treatment of cancer. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) can circumvent vascular tissue to concentrate at the site of the tumor. Under the influence of an external, alternating magnetic field, MNPs generate high temperatures within the tumor and ablate malignant cells while inflicting minimal damage to healthy host tissue. Due to their theranostic properties, they constitute a promising candidate for the treatment of cancer. A critical review of the type, size and therapeutic effect of different MNPs is presented, following an appraisal of the literature in the last 5 years. This is a multibillion dollar industry, with a few studies moving to clinical trials within the next 5 years.


We propose a novel method that arbitrates the control between the human and the robot actors in a teaching-by-demonstration setting to form synergy between the two and facilitate effective skill synthesis on the robot. We employed the human-in-the-loop teaching paradigm to teleoperate and demonstrate a complex task execution to the robot in real-time. As the human guides the robot to perform the task, the robot obtains the skill online during the demonstration. To encode the robotic skill we employed Locally Weighted Regression that fits local models to specific state region of the task based on the human demonstration. If the robot is in the state region where no local models exist, the control over the robotic mechanism is given to the human to perform the teaching. When local models are gradually obtained in that region, the control is given to the robot so that the human can examine its performance already during the demonstration stage, and take actions accordingly. This enables a co-adaptation between the agents and contributes to a faster and more efficient teaching. As a proof-of-concept, we realised the proposed robot teaching system on a haptic robot with the task of generation of a desired vertical force on a horizontal plane with unknown stiffness properties.


Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation of cooling coils controls biofouling that increases airflow resistance and decreases heat transfer coefficient. Though lower in power than air disinfection systems, coil ultraviolet germicidal irradiation systems should provide some collateral air treatment benefit. This benefit is estimated through monetization of simulated nonfatal illness spread in a group of commercial buildings. Benefits were quantified using appropriate metrics for each building type: work-loss days for office buildings, hospital acquired infections for healthcare facilities, and disability adjusted life years for schools. The pre-ultraviolet germicidal irradiation annual cost of occupant illness was the same order of magnitude as annual energy cost. Area-normalized cost was similar in magnitude for all buildings. The collateral air disinfection of coil surface ultraviolet germicidal irradiation reduced baseline illness costs by 3.5% or less, but the resulting cost savings exceeded the energy cost to operate the coil ultraviolet germicidal irradiation systems by as much as a factor of 20. The effectiveness of air cleaning methods already in place, such as ventilation and filtration, directly influences the incremental benefit of additional air cleaning measures.


This thesis uses a case study to investigate the impact on a whole school community of a special focus on citizensbip. It begins by exploring conflicting meanings attributed to
citizenship and citizenship education. It goes on to adopt an understanding of citizenship as involving a set of relationships between rights, duties, participation and
identity. The discourse about globalisation and the debate as to whether it represents a new reality or a continuation of existing trends is explored. The thesis contends that
globalisation. poses important challenges and threats which make citizenship education an urgent necessity in the twenty-first century. It recommends a transformative,
creconstructive' approach and explores the extent to which this is feasible in the context of government policies affecting schools and society in England during the
period 1999 - 2003. It suggests that there are factors in these policies which promote and factors which hinder an empowering approach to school citizenship.

The study uses a framework developed by Wenger (2001) to analyse the school as a community of practice for citizenship. It draws on his idea that communities of
practice are characterised by the way they manifest:
1) Meaning
2) Practice
3) Community:
4) Identity

The analysis draws on school documents, surveys of student opinion and interviews with students and teachers. Over 100 students' written responses to questions about
'making a difference'were also analysed. For purposes of triangulation, the study also takes account of observations and comments in reports made by inspectors who visited
the school twice during the time of the project.

The study found that students had begun to see citizenship education as being useful from a global and multicultural perspective, a local perspective, as democratic representation,as participative learning, for developing economic awareness and for challenging racism. In addition, the project had shown its potential to transform
relationships within the school so that it was beginning to become a community of practice for citizenship. Significantly, it had affected the young people's sense of
identity and promoted their notion of agency.


To test the hypothesis that Tibetans do not increase their haemoglobin concentration with increasing altitude, haemoglobin concentrations of children aged 6 to 72 months were analyzed. The mean haemoglobin concentrations in the different age groups are significantly lower than the mean concentrations expected at this altitude. Histograms and tests for normality show that the haemoglobin distributions are Gaussian. The probability plots confirm the coefficients of skewness, which indicate a superimposed subpopulation towards the lower range of haemoglobin values. A mixed distribution analysis identifies that the curvilinear deviation found in the probability plot encompasses 10 to 12% of the studied population. Together with the normality of the haemoglobin distributions, we are led to suppose that this is the anaemic population. These figures are considerably lower than those found using recommended cut-off values for this altitude; 40 and 46%. Two possible explanations are put forward : 1) the whole population in submitted to the same factor and hence the whole population should be considered anaemic, 2) Tibetans react differently to altitude than other mountain people and have adapted themselves without increase in haemoglobin.


The present paper studies the growth, welfare, and efficiency consequences of tax-favored retirement accounts in a general equilibrium overlapping generations model with idiosyncratic lifespan and labor income uncertainty. We focus on the implicit differential taxation of savings motives and the mandatory annuitization of withdrawals after retirement. The simulations performed for the German economy indicate that the differential taxation of savings motives has only modest efficiency effects but especially low-income households benefit. On the other hand, mandatory annuitization improves overall economic efficiency significantly by about 0.4% of aggregate resources, but future generations are hurt due to intergenerational income effects from reduced accidental bequest.


Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) lineage identification and typing of clinical isolates in general is performed only retrospectively. The results are rarely linked to drug susceptibility testing (DST) or patient data. Consequently, the association between Mtb lineage, (multi)drug resistance and treatment history is not fully explored at the local level. Here we evaluated a new SNP based typing assay. We furthermore assessed the added value of genotyping of Mtb isolates for epidemiological purposes and guidance of tuberculosis (TB) control. Mtb lineage, DST profile and treatment history were determined for 399 samples at the National TB Reference Laboratory (NRL) in Tbilisi, Georgia by local staff. Data was shared electronically and analysis was performed remotely. Out of 399 isolates, 74 (74/399, 18.5%) were at least multidrug resistant (MDR)-TB, of which 63 (63/74, 85.1%) were members of three different Mtb Beijing lineages. Previous treatment was reported in 38/74 (51.4%) MDR(+) patients. The availability of this data allows associations with lineages. Notably, multidrug resistant TB was more strongly associated with the Beijing lineage than treatment history. Of all MDR-TB Beijing strains 56.7% (42/74) were members of a genetic cluster. This is most easily explained by (ongoing) MDR-TB transmission rather than drug resistance amplification. This knowledge is useful when designing intervention strategies for MDR-TB. Our study provides an example that on-site integrated Mtb genotyping is realistic and could support TB control activities.