Jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjvO2) measures the balance between cerebral oxygen delivery and cerebral oxygen consumption. Abnormalities that increase oxygen consumption (e.g., fever or seizures) or that decrease oxygen delivery (e.g., increased ICP, hypotension, hypoxia, hypocapnia, or anemia) can decrease SjvO2. Measuring SjvO2 continuously in the ICU in 177 patients with severe head injury, jugular venous desaturation (SjvO2 < 50%) was identified at least once in 39% of the patients. Approximately half of the episodes of desaturation were due to intracranial hypertension and half were due to systemic causes. The occurrence of one or more episodes of desaturation was strongly associated with a poor outcome, suggesting that the reduction in oxygen delivery identified with the SjvO2 monitoring contributed to the neurological injury. In the operating room, jugular venous desaturation was identified in 6 of 8 patients who were monitored during emergency evacuation of a traumatic intracranial hematoma. The lowest SjvO2 observed was 28%. In all 8 cases, the SjvO2 increased, from 47 +/- 10% to 63 +/- 5% after evacuation of the hematoma. Additional data supporting the hypothesis that these secondary insults identified with the SjvO2 monitoring contribute to the patient's neurological injury come from measurement of the extracellular concentrations of lactate and excitatory amino acids in the brain using microdialysis. Lactate concentration increased from 0.9 +/- 0.3 to 2.4 +/- 0.5 mumol/L and glutamate increased from 11.5 +/- 8.5 to 55.0 +/- 10.4 mumol/L during 8 episodes of jugular venous desaturation in 7 of 22 patients monitored with microdialysis. SjvO2 identifies global reductions in cerebral oxygenation due to a variety of causes, and is useful as a monitor for secondary insults in patients with severe head injury.


2011 marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of George Cuthbert Mura M'Gonigle and John Kirkby's groundbreaking study Poverty and Public Health (1936).1,2 It was one of the first major texts to reflect the emerging ideas of social medicine3 and a forerunner of post-war investigations into health and social conditions such as the Black Report.4 However, unlike similar publications, such as Rowntree's study of York,5 Poverty and Public Health is now largely forgotten, except by historians.6 This editorial attempts to correct this neglect by paying tribute to M'Gonigle as a public health pioneer. It outlines his life and summarizes his classic work. It concludes by highlighting lessons that are relevant to public health policy and practice today.
Born in Monkwearmouth near Sunderland in 1889, M'Gonigle studied medicine and then public hygiene at the University of Durham Medical School (Newcastle). He worked as the School Medical Officer for County Durham before serving in the First World War. He then became the Medical Officer for Health in Stockton-on-Tees from 1924 until his death in 1939.7 His campaigning (particularly about child and maternal health) and his 'public health advocacy' meant that he was held in great regard by the local population who called him the 'Housewives' Champion'.7
Poverty and Public Health describes the health of the urban poor in the North East of England in the 1930s, with a particular focus on the town of Stockton-on-Tees. The book initially summarizes the national state of …


BACKGROUND
Prompt antibiotic administration, oxygenation measurement, and blood cultures are generally considered markers of high-quality care in the inpatient management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, few studies have examined the relationship between prompt achievement of process-of-care markers and outcomes for patients with CAP. We examined whether antibiotic administration within 8 hours of hospital arrival, a blood culture within 24 hours, an oxygenation measurement within 24 hours, or performing blood cultures before giving antibiotics was associated with the following: (1) reaching clinical stability within 48 hours of hospital admission, (2) a decreased length of hospital stay, or (3) fewer inpatient deaths.

METHODS
A retrospective medical record review identified 1062 eligible patients discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of CAP between December 1, 1997, and February 28, 1998, among 38 US academic hospitals. We assessed the independent relationship between each process marker and the 3 clinical outcomes, controlling for the Pneumonia Severity Index on admission. We also examined the relationship of pneumonia severity on admission to process marker achievement and clinical outcomes.

RESULTS
Overall, there was no consistent or statistically significant relationship between achieving process markers and better clinical outcomes (P>.40 for all). We did observe that performing blood cultures within 24 hours was related to not achieving clinical stability within 48 hours (odds ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-2.33). However, this finding likely reflects residual confounding by severity of illness, since increasing pneumonia severity on admission was associated with blood culture performance (P =.009) and with shorter times to antibiotic administration (P =.04).

CONCLUSIONS
Achieving process-of-care markers was not associated with improved outcomes, but was related to the severity of pneumonia as assessed on admission. Our results highlight the difficulty in demonstrating a link between process-of-care markers and outcomes in observational studies of CAP. Randomized studies are needed to objectively evaluate the impact of process-of-care markers on CAP outcomes.


This essay examines narrative negotiations of intersex in contemporary US science fiction literature. Intersex is understood as a highly contested concept as well as the lived realities of intersex people. The intelligibility of intersex people is constantly negotiated in and through cultural norms and practices, with literature serving as one major cultural playing field of renegotiation. This article seeks to close a perceived gap in the analysis of literary representations of intersex: Discussions so far have focused solely on realist fiction; science fiction has hitherto not been included. I am therefore going to analyze Ursula K. Le Guin's seminal novel The Left Hand of Darkness in search for instances in which intersex intelligibility is prohibited, interrupted, or challenged in ways distinctive of the novel's genre. In this contribution, I argue that intersex is a productive, yet previously neglected term of analysis that lays open conceptualizations of sex, gender, and sexuality in Le Guin's science fiction novel.


1. Trait differences among plant species can favor species coexistence. The role that such differences play in the assembly of diverse plant communities maintained by frequent fires remains unresolved. This lack of resolution results in part from the possibility that species with similar traits may coexist because none has a significant fitness advantage and in part from the difficulty of experimental manipulation of highly diverse assemblages dominated by perennial species. 2. We examined a 65-year chronosequence of losses of herbaceous species following fire suppression (and subsequent encroachment by Pinus elliottii) in three wet longleaf pine savannas. We used cluster analysis, similarity profile permutation tests and k-R cluster analysis to identify statistically significant functional groups. We then used randomization tests to determine if the absence of functional groups near pines was greater (or less) than expected by chance. We also tested whether tolerant and sensitive species were less (or more) likely to co-occur by chance in areas in savannas away from pines in accordance with predictions of modern coexistence theory. 3. Functional group richness near pines was lower than expected from random species extirpations. Wetland perennials with thick rhizomes and high leaf water content, spring-flowering wetland forbs (including Drosera tracyi), orchids, Polygala spp., and club mosses were more likely to be absent near pines than expected by chance. C3 grasses and sedges with seed banks and tall, fall-flowering C4 grasses were less likely to be absent near pines than expected by chance. Species sensitive to pine encroachment were more likely to co-occur with other such species away from pines at two of the three sites. 4. Results suggest that herb species diversity in frequently-burned wet savannas is maintained in part by a weak fitness (e.g., competitive) hierarchy among herbs, and not as a result of trait differences among co-occurring species.


Several methods have been adopted in studies involving household poverty but very few focused on structural causes and constraints to poverty. Women being most times the homemaker occupy a very important position in the household. This study employed Women Asset Approach to assess household poverty in South-West Nigeria.  Data collected from 363 respondents sampled through a multistage sampling procedure were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Probit Regression analysis. The average age of women sampled in study was 45 years while the average income was ₦33,158 (about $195 as at the time of the study). The Asset which had the highest value in the PCA reduction was mobile phone (0.4548) and the lowest Asset Value was black and white television (-0.0430). The mean of the poverty quintile which represented the poverty line was 1.6574. The Logit regression result revealed that education, marital status and income were significant determinants of poverty status in the study area. The study recommended that governments at all levels should enact and enforce policies which will make female education compulsory. Implementation of effective women empowerment programme should be embarked upon in order to encourage alternative sources of income and vocations thereby reducing household poverty.


The liberalization of the economy following WTO agreement paved the way for significant changes in the edible oil economy. The paper has shown that the impact of the trade liberalization has led to integration between domestic and international edible oil markets. The consequences of this integration on price stability, and production dynamics have been examined. It has been observed that India has tried to balance the interests of both producers and consumers while fixing the import tariffs. The impact of imposition of tariff analyzed in a partial equilibrium framework has revealed that the net impact will be negative, given the current demand-supply parameters of domestic edible oil economy. The implications of these finding include an increase in research investments in oilseed to reduce the need for protecting domestic sector and to create a buffer stock of edible oils to tide over the short-term international price volatilities.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this research study was to determine the effectiveness of an innovative online COVID-19 educational module among community health nursing students.

DESIGN
Mixed-methods study.

METHODS
The sample (N = 86) consisted of prelicensure and postlicensure community health nursing students, who completed a pretest, COVID-19 educational intervention, and posttest.

FINDINGS
The majority of participants' scores increased from pretest to posttest, and most participants strongly agreed that the COVID-19 educational module was effective. Strategies to address vaccine hesitancy, information learned and found most helpful, and plans for application and utilization of this knowledge were revealed.

CONCLUSIONS
An online COVID-19 community health nursing educational intervention was effective at improving participants' knowledge, confidence, and attitudes regarding COVID-19.

CLINICAL EVIDENCE
Online COVID-19 community health nursing education was an effective strategy for increasing preparation for this pandemic and the format can be useful to utilize for future public health emergencies.


There are few motifs more ubiquitous in Renaissance and Baroque poetry than those that link falling in love to the eyes. Based at least in part on Theophrastus, as Halstead has pointed out (11320), this notion of love describes a process by which one is captivated by looking at the object of desire, prompting an exchange of humors or spirits. If the love is returned, both lovers feel complete and satisfied, but if the object of desire does not reciprocate, one feels empty because one has given one's soul to another while receiving nothing in return. Garcilaso's Soneto VIII is a splendid illustration of this relationship between love, eyes, and the soul:


Abstract Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death today. Many of the biochemical alterations associated with the pathophysiology of CVD can be modified by adequate intakes of bioactive nutrients through a correct diet or supplementation. Recently, there has been growing public and clinical interest in cocoa polyphenols (CPs) and omega-3 (ω-3) fatty acids. A plethora of nutritional intervention trials and experimental studies demonstrates that consumption of these bioactive food compounds is beneficial to promote cardiovascular health. The purpose of this review is to summarize the major cardioprotective effects of CPs and ω-3 fatty acids, providing a scientific rationale for incorporating the combination of these molecules as a nutritional intervention in the prevention of CVD. Although several studies have shown the individual cardioprotective nature of these compounds, a combination treatment with CPs and ω-3 fatty acids may be a promising approach to enhance the preventive value of these molecules and reduce cardiovascular risk factors associated with aging. Therefore, this article also reviews some of the key studies on the interaction between CPs and the metabolism of ω-3 fatty acids.


Abstract Actualistic comparison of size-frequency distributions (SFDs) of life and death assemblages of the brachiopod Terebratalia transversa from the San Juan Archipelago, Washington State, USA, revealed significant differences in the fidelity of SFDs between hard-bottom and mixed-bottom habitats. In relatively shallow (36–55 m), high-energy, and hard-bottom settings with pebbles and cobbles, the SFD of death assemblages is shaped primarily by taphonomic processes and its compositional fidelity is very low. Juvenile specimens are absent, probably due to winnowing and mechanical destruction. In deeper (64–84 m), low-energy, and mixed-bottom settings with a high proportion of soft substrata, population dynamics have a greater influence on the SFD of death assemblages; compositional fidelity is relatively high and original between-habitat variations in the population structure are preserved. Shell maceration probably is an important destruction process in both settings. In addition to environmental factors, intrinsic factors involving postmortem durability and population dynamics (related to timing and frequency of dead-shell production) are important in influencing preservation potential and fidelity of brachiopod death assemblages. There is differential preservation between small and large specimens. Smaller specimens are always characterized by better preservation and probably are dominated by cohorts that died most recently. Without continual input of juveniles, these soon will disappear from the death assemblage. More durable, larger specimens are characterized by higher taphonomic damage. These data point to size-selective taphonomic processes, leading to disharmonious time-averaging with respect to the relative abundance of size classes. Based on the assumption of short-term variations in population structure and evidence about high rate of destruction of juveniles and differential postmortem durabilities of juveniles and adults, high fidelity of SFDs of death assemblages in deeper, mixed-bottom settings is also the consequence of limited time-averaging. In contrast to previous studies of SFDs of death assemblages, it is emphasized that in addition to extrinsic factors, the interplay of inherent durability and frequency of dead-shell production is important in understanding their fidelity. A simple deterministic model predicts that on a short time scale, subtle differences in rate of destruction and recruitment frequency (related to rate of dead-shell production) lead to quite different probability of preservation of juveniles, even with the same mortality and growth rate. In settings comparable to the San Juan Archipelago, preservation potential of punctate brachiopods will depend on the rate of burial. This fact has a significant implication for distribution pattern of fossil punctate brachiopods, because unless rapidly buried, their distribution patterns can be strongly biased.


Background Several ocular problems had been found in association with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), including vision threatening and non-threatening disorders. Aim to identify the magnitude and predictors of vision-threatening and non-threatening ocular complications of OSA. Methods 80 patients above 30 years diagnosed with moderate to severe OSA at the sleep clinic of Mansoura University Hospital and 20 controls were assessed for the presence of ocular complications at Mansoura Ophthalmic Center. The OSA was diagnosed after full night polysomnographic study and its severity based on apnea hypopnea index. The ophthalmic examination includes, uncorrected visual acuity measurement, best-corrected visual acuity measurement, slit-lamp examination of the anterior segment and anterior segment photography, dilated fundus examination, intraocular pressure measurement, fundus photo and fluorescein angiography, and automated perimetry. Results OSA patients were observed to be at greater risk of conjunctival hyperemia and dry eye (OR=3.77, 4.36, respectively). Also, 28 (35%), 24 (30%) and 4 (5%) OSA patients had senile cataract, glaucoma, and retinal ischemia respectively with an overall prevalence of 45% and 7 times greater risk (OR=7.36) of vision threatening disorders. On multivariate logistic regression, the lowest oxygen saturation index was the only significant predicator negatively associated with vision-threatening disorders (OR=0.84). Conclusion the risk of vision non-threatening disorders (conjunctival hyperemia and dry eye) and vision-threatening disorders (cataract, glaucoma, and retinal ischemia) are higher among OSA cases. OSA treatment to keep optimal lowest oxygen saturation index together with eye follow up are recommended to protect vision.


A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a collection of mobile nodes that forms a provisional network dynamically without the aid of any predetermined infrastructure. The salient nature of ad hoc networks renders them vulnerable to numerous types of security attacks. The dynamic feature of ad hoc networks makes enforcement of security become an extremely challenging issue. The main problem of many proposed routing protocols for ad hoc networks is that these protocols have critical susceptibilities to security attacks. Effective operation of ad hoc networks depends on the maintenance of correct routing information of the network. Nevertheless, securing routing protocols without securing network transmissions is not enough. As a result, our major focuses are to secure the routing protocol and likewise to protect data transmission. In this paper, we present the secure routing protocol (SEROP), which achieves data confidentiality and secures the routing protocol for mobile ad hoc networks without demanding any unrealistic assumptions.


The application of the reported armchair transition-metal dichalcogenide (MoS2, MoTe2, MoSTe and WS2, etc.) nanotube is hindered for the optoelectronic devices due to the indirect band gap. By using first-principles calculations, the electronic structures of MoS2-xSex single-wall armchair nanotubes with respect to different diameters are investigated. The MoS2 armchair nanotube exhibits an indirect band gap as a function of nanotube diameters from 10 Å to 50 Å, whereas MoSSe and MoSe2 exhibit a surprising diameter-induced indirect-direct band gap crossover at the diameters of 25 Å and 33 Å, respectively. We also find that the optical properties of MoS2-xSex armchair nanotubes are anisotropic and strongly depend on the diameter.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


Knowledge on the contact condition at the tool/workpiece interface is essential for understanding many aspects of FSW. In the present study, FSW experiments were conducted using aluminium alloys followed by metallographic examination focusing on the tool shoulder-workpiece interface region. It was observed that an interfacial intermetallic layer and hence metallurgical sticking/soldering readily formed. Temperature measurements have suggested the presence of interface liquid, hence suggesting a mechanical sliding contact condition dominant. This has been supported by the observation on material flow within the shear layer.


Abstract Background The aim of this study was to examine how gender, age and education, regional prevalence of male and female risky drinking and country-level economic gender equality are associated with harms from other people's drinking. Methods 24,823 adults in 10 countries were surveyed about harms from drinking by people they know and strangers. Country-level economic gender equality and regional prevalence of risky drinking along with age and gender were entered as independent variables into three-level random intercept models predicting alcohol-related harm. Findings At the individual level, younger respondents were consistently more likely to report harms from others' drinking, while, for women, higher education was associated with lower risk of harms from known drinkers but higher risk of harms from strangers. Regional rate of men's risky drinking was associated with known and stranger harm, while regional-level women's risky drinking was associated with harm from strangers. Gender equality was only associated with harms in models that did not include risky drinking. Conclusions Youth and regional levels of men's drinking were consistently associated with harm from others attributable to alcohol. Policies that decrease the risky drinking of men would be likely to reduce harms attributable to the drinking of others.


Citizens and developers are gaining broad access to public data sources, made available in open data portals. These machine-readable datasets enable the creation of applications that help the population in several ways, giving them the opportunity to actively participate in governance processes, such as decision taking and policy-making. While the number of open data portals grows over the years, researchers have been able to identify recurrent problems with the data they provide, such as lack of data standards, difficulty in data access and poor understandability. Such issues make difficult the effective use of data. Several works in literature propose different approaches to mitigate these issues, based on novel or well-known data management techniques. However, there is a lack of general frameworks for tackling these problems. On the other hand, data governance has been applied in large companies to manage data problems, ensuring that data meets business needs and become organizational assets. In this paper, firstly, we highlight the main drawbacks pointed out in literature for government open data portals. Eventually, we bring around how data governance can tackle much of the issues identified.


Studies are made on the methods of cell handling using dielectrophoretic (DEP) force in a newly developed device called a fluid integrated circuit (FIC), where all cell-handling components are integrated into one substrate with photolithography techniques. Cell passages and driving electrodes can be fabricated in arbitrary two-dimensional shape, allowing great flexibility in design. Through analytical study, it was found that a careful tailoring of field pattern is essential in realizing cell motions. Methods for detailed field analysis were worked out, and based on the analysis, cell handling components were developed. One is an FIC cell shift register, a device in which cells are stored and electrostatically transported one by one, just as bits are shifted in digital-logic shift registers. The other is an FIC cell deflector, where a cell fed from the inlet can be dielectrophoretically deflected to either of the bifurcating branches. The devices have been fabricated and their functions were experimentally confirmed. >


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a chronic intracerebroventricular administration of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) on energy balance of male and female rats. One week after their delivery to the laboratory, both male and female rats were divided into two groups. One group in each sex was treated with human/rat CRF, while another group was infused with the vehicle. Chronic administration of CRF was accomplished by means of miniosmotic pumps connected to a cannula that was stereotaxically directed into the third ventricle. Food intake and body weight were measured each day during the study. After 14 days of treatment, the rats were killed by decapitation. Energy, fat, and protein contents of the carcasses were quantified. Serum testosterone and estradiol were assayed in males and females, respectively. Administration of CRF significantly reduced body weight gain and food intake in male rats. No significant difference in those variables was observed between female rats treated with CRF and their controls infused with saline. Similarly, metabolizable energy intake and body energy gain were reduced in male rats infused with CRF, whereas no difference was observed between female animals treated with CRF and those infused with saline. In male rats, body fat and body protein contents were lower in CRF-treated than in saline-infused rats. In female rats, CRF did not affect body composition. Serum testosterone in male rats and serum estradiol in female animals were reduced after chronic infusion of CRF.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


It can be argued that as an effective teaching approach, service learning can contribute significantly to improvement of the proficiency of learners of English as a foreign Language. This paper reports on the findings of a quasi- experimental study on the effect of service learning on EFL student-teachers English language proficiency in pre-service teacher education program at Sultan Qaboos University. The findings of the study reveal that the student teachers in the experimental group outperformed those in the contrast group in all language components tested by the TOEFL and the Oral test. These findings clearly indicate an overall improvement in the language performance of the student teachers as a result of the service-learning intervention. Comparison of the experimental group results in both tests between pre and post intervention reveals a significant improvement which can be attributed to the service learning experience.


We present a new image search and ranking algorithm for retrieving unannotated images by collaboratively mining online search results which consist of online image and text search results. The online image search results are leveraged as reference examples to perform content-based image search over unannotated images. The online text search results are utilized to estimate the reference images' relevance to the search query. The key feature of our method is its capability to deal with unreliable online image search results through jointly mining visual and textual aspects of online search results. Through such collaborative mining, our algorithm infers the relevance of an online search result image to a text query. Once we obtain the estimate of query relevance score for each online image search result, we can selectively use query specific online search result images as reference examples for retrieving and ranking unannotated images. We tested our algorithm both on the standard public image datasets and several modestly sized personal photo collections. We also compared our method with two well-known peer methods. The results indicate that our algorithm is superior to existing content-based image search algorithms for retrieving and ranking unannotated images.


Compressed Sensing based Terahertz imaging (CS-THz) is a computational imaging technique. It uses only one THz receiver to accumulate the random modulated image measurements where the original THz image is reconstruct from these measurements using compressed sensing solvers. The advantage of the CS-THz is its reduced acquisition time compared with the raster scan mode. However, when it applied to large-scale two-dimensional (2D) imaging, the increased dimension resulted in both high computational complexity and excessive memory usage. In this paper, we introduced a novel CS-based THz imaging system that progressively compressed the THz image column by column. Therefore, the CS-THz system could be simplified with a much smaller sized modulator and reduced dimension. In order to utilize the block structure and the correlation of adjacent columns of the THz image, a complex-valued block sparse Bayesian learning algorithm was proposed. We conducted systematic evaluation of state-of-the-art CS algorithms under the scan based CS-THz architecture. The compression ratios and the choices of the sensing matrices were analyzed in detail using both synthetic and real-life THz images. Simulation results showed that both the scan based architecture and the proposed recovery algorithm were superior and efficient for large scale CS-THz applications.


This Writing-PAD discussion forum and workshop event is designed to stimulate collaborative conversations and exchanges, in and around the archive, with a view to developing a clear set of concepts and approaches, abstracts and ideas, contributing towards a guest edited issue in the Journal of Writing in Creative Practice. A call for issue will be formulated as part of this event, based on the ideas generated out of the forum.

As a way to stimulate re-writings of the archive, the forum will provide an opportunity for you to bring your own archival experiences to the table for discussion. We invite you to join us if you are keen to explore different approaches and styles of writing that resonate with the 'archival' as a concept and as a practice.

This collaborative event will shape and form the directives of the guest-edited issue.
Resources on the topic of the archive and workshop activities will be provided.
Themes for exploration:
Writing with and through the archive, expanding the field of the archive as a creative concept, experimental uses of the archive in art and design making, material engagements with the past and formations for the future, geographic site as archival resource, fictions of the archive and storytelling, digital platforms, coding and de-coding materiality, creative systems of classification, co-creation in the archive, design innovations through the use of company archives, exploring relationships between copyright, intellectual property and appropriation, archival interplays between materials and things, the public archive versus the domestic archive, the studio as archive, making histories and futures through creative practice, identifying archival inheritances in art and design, working with art education archives, teaching archival interventions within the context of art, design and architecture, and fostering inter/multi/trans-disciplinary encounters in the archive.


The concentration and glycosylation of α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) alter significantly during inflammation. A definitive physiological role for AGP remains elusive and is the subject of extensive investigation. This study investigated the influence of AGP on the activity of collagenase-3, an important mediator of cartilage destruction in rheumatoid arthritis. AGP was isolated from normal and rheumatoid plasma. Fucosylation was determined by high pH anion-exchange chromatography; sialylation was assessed following enzymatic digest. Rheumatoid AGP displayed elevated fucosylation and sialylation compared with normal. The influence of each sample on collagenase-3 activity was measured fluorometrically. AGP influenced collagenase-3 catalysis and collagen binding, with catalytic activity correlating with fucosylation. Rheumatoid AGP exhibited less efficient inhibition than normal plasma AGP. It is hypothesized that AGP within rheumatoid synovial fluid may be inadequate to prevent excessive cartilage destruction and hence may exacerbate the disease process. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Gives examples of several types of heroism: the survival-hero, whose heroism is a reaction to a hostile environment; the destiny-hero, who has been chosen to fulfill a task beyond his normal capabilities; the honor-hero, motivated by a desire for reputation and fame; and the ethic-hero, whose self-respect demands he act when circumstances arise that require it. Describes the moral framework of Middle-earth as one that constantly presents opportunities for heroic action, which in turn influences and supports later heroic actions through providing examples to emulate, clues to effective action, or heirloom objects that assist later heroes. In this framework, all heroic actions against evil are valuable and have


Transposition of the great arteries (TGA) is one of the most common congenital cardiac anomalies resulting in cyanosis. Various atrial-level physiological procedures were developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the Senning and Mustard procedure. In 1975, Jatene et al. reported the first successful arterial switch procedure in a patient with d-TGA and ventricular septal defect. In 1977, Yacoub et al. introduced a two-stage repair comprising initial pulmonary artery banding to retain the left ventricle, supplemented by a systemic-pulmonary artery shunt, thereby potentially expanding the arterial switch procedure to a much wider population of patients. In 1983, the concept of the primary neonatal arterial switch procedure was introduced by Castaneda et al. Since then, the primary artery switch procedure in neonates and early infants has become the standard for the treatment of TGA. This is due to the fact that the only the arterial switch procedure allows complete anatomical repair. In Japan, 102 neonates with simple TGA underwent the arterial switch procedure, with hospital death occurring in 21 (20.6% mortality rate) according to the 1998 annual report. In Okayama University Hospital, 48 neonates, underwent the arterial switch procedure, with 1 hospital death (2.1% mortality rate) and no late deaths since 1991.


A sender-receiver paradigm, in which a master and slave node exchange timing packets to estimate the clock offsets of the slave node and other nodes located in the common broadcast region of master and slave nodes, is adopted herein for synchronizing the clocks of individual nodes in a wireless sensor network (WSN). The maximum likelihood estimate of the clock offset of the listening node hearing the broadcasts from both the master and slave nodes was derived, assuming symmetric exponential link delays. This paper advances those results in two directions. First, some improved estimators, each being optimal in its own class, are derived for the clock offset of the listening node and mean link delays. Second, the results are generalized by addressing the more realistic problem of clock offset estimation under asymmetric exponential delays. The results presented in this paper are important for time synchronization of WSNs, where these techniques can be utilized to achieve accurate clock estimates with reduced power consumption.


Purpose: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to identify genes that have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC), and the risk factors associated with these genes for cancer prevention. CRC is the third leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. Epidemiological studies have shown that 70-90% of all cancers are related to the environmental behavioral factors and may have implications for cancer prevention. Two genes identified through the genome application framework, and well published in the literature, are methylenetetra-hydrofolate reductase (NAD(P)H) (MTHFR) and UDP glucuronosyltransferase 1 family, polypeptide A1 (UGT1A1). Previous meta-analyses on this topic published 2-3 years ago were based on less than or about 1,000 cases, more focused on identifying the CRC genes. Since then, at least 30 times more cases with controls have been published in the literature, further identifying the potential risk factors for the application of cancer genome and CRC prevention. Procedure: On-line literature were searched from PubMed (PM), PM Central, PM Health databases for systematic reviews and meta-analyses by using a variety of combinations of key words about CRC genes, cancer prevention, human models, and clinical trials. For this analysis, 51 studies that have been published within the last 10 years, published with data containing both control and CRC cases of human samples were identified. These papers were then evaluated with the criteria for the quality of studies. With exclusion of repeated data, 50 studies were included, 46 and 4 studies focused on MTHFR and UGT1A1 respectively. Summary of Data Findings: Preliminary analyses included 31,674 CRC cases and 30,543 controls associating the MTHFR with CRC in 46 studies; and 938 cases and 866 controls associating UGT1A1 gene with CRC in 4 studies. Risk factors identifying the potential benefits of folate and vitamin B's and C are included in the 35 studies that have associated MTHFR with CRC. These studies included samples of all races and many ethnicity groups, and both genders. They have been published across various continents worldwide. While there are inconsistent findings for the association of these genes with CRC, two major single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for the MTHFR associated with CRC are MTHFR C677T (rs 1801133) and MTHFR A1298C (rs 1801131). The SNP variants in MTHFR have been associated with the prognosis and treatment efficacies of CRC. For prevention, enzyme pathways for folate and vitamin B's or C intake and metabolic mechanisms have been associated with the prognosis and treatment effects of CRC. While folate and associated vitamins have benefits, alcohol intake increases the risks of CRC. Additionally, while a fiber rich diet including cruciferous vegetables and polyphenols from fruits may be beneficial for CRC prevention, smoking may increase the risk and worsen the prognosis. Conclusion: Following analysis of these studies, it can be recommended that primary prevention of CRC could include having a diet rich in fiber, high in folate and vitamin B's and C content, and avoid smoking and heavy alcohol use. Meta-analysis of these studies has important impact for health habits and screening. The most common risks for CRC are preventable with life style changes, such as taking nutritional diet and creating healthy behaviors to help the human epigenetic in-vivo environment free from cancers. Citation Format: Amanda Lie, S. Pamela Shiao, Melissa J. LaBonte, Ching-Yi Chiu, Linda H. Chiang, Rose Sakamoto. Meta-analyses of MTHFR and UGT1A1 genes as risk factors for colorectal cancer prevention. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B01.


Standardized assessments test our children, our teachers, our schools--and increasingly, our patience. Your child is more than a score. But in the last twenty years, schools have dramatically increased standardized testing, sacrificing hours of classroom time. What is the cost to students, teachers, and families? How do we preserve space for self-directed learning and development--especially when we still want all children to hit the mark? The Test explores all sides of this problem--where these tests came from, their limitations and flaws, and ultimately what parents, teachers, and concerned citizens can do. It recounts the shocking history and tempestuous politics of testing and borrows strategies from fields as diverse as games, neuroscience, and ancient philosophy to help children cope. It presents the stories of families, teachers, and schools maneuvering within and beyond the existing educational system, playing and winning the testing game. And it offers a glimpse into a future of better tests. With an expert's depth, a writer's flair, and a hacker's creativity, Anya Kamenetz has written an essential book for any parent who has wondered: what do I do about all these tests?


Veterinary toxicology is the specialty of veterinary medicine dealing with the study, diagnosis and treatment of effects of natural and man-made chemicals, forms of energy, and gasses in the animal kingdom. Historically, veterinary toxicology has been narrowly defined as the diagnosis and treatment of poisoning in domesticated animals and poultry, but the profession has grown to include food safety and environmental toxicology. Veterinary toxicology is most well-developed and recognized as a specialty in North America where professional societies and specialty board certification exist. In many parts of Africa, perhaps with the exception of South Africa, veterinary toxicology has not evolved in more than 40 years. The importance of veterinary toxicology in the modern era can not be over emphasized. This report examines the status of veterinary toxicology in Africa at the beginning of the 21st century and offers arguments why it is important for African governments to devote more resources to strengthen it.


Few studies have looked at the consequences of standardized writing tests to students' understanding of what it means to be a competent writer. Using research techniques drawn from performance studies and art therapy, this qualitative study of middle class, honors students invited them to explore their understanding of what it means to be a high scoring writer on the SAT. The theoretical framework of the study is situated at the intersection of three fields: cultural production theory, New Literacy Studies and object relations theory. The study has two related strands. In the first, I perform a socio-historical analysis of the setting, Yankee City, and its schools from the Great Depression when James Conant first identified the SAT as a vehicle to a classless society to the current era when neo-liberal policies assert that standardized testing will ensure that all students receive the education necessary to succeed in life. I argue that standardized testing has done more to normalize the belief that society distributes its rewards fairly than to provide opportunities for social mobility. In the second strand, I explore the tensions my seven participants experienced between agency and structure, creativity and compliance, as they imagined the writers of high scoring SAT essays. Drawing from the object relations theory of D. W. Winnicott, I consider the consequences of taking up the discourses of standardized testing to my participants' capacity for creative and critical engagement with their social worlds. Participants' demonstrated substantial variation in the discourses of schooling and gender they took up as they imagined an SAT prompt writer and two high scoring essay writers. The girls imagined the testing environment as authoritative and hostile and described high scoring SAT writers as abstract, objective and compliant. The boys imagined a testing environment peopled by fellow human subjects and high scoring SAT writers who imagined contexts for writing that subverted positions of power in the testing context. Findings suggest that a regime of high stakes, standardized writing tests will work to perpetuate the compliance of society's most vulnerable writers.


Non-reciprocal translocations, in which one chromosome is a pure donor and another is a pure recipient, have found abundant uses in genetics, molecular biology, and cytology (Perkins 1997Advances in Genetics 36:239-398). Our original aim was to prepare a strain carrying a chromosome truncated in both arms, with the idea that such a small chromosome would be easily purified by pulsed field electrophoresis and would be a good preliminary substrate for genomic sequencing. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. This brief note is available in Fungal Genetics Reports: http://newprairiepress.org/fgr/vol47/iss1/26


STUDY OBJECTIVE
To determine the optimal staging evaluation at the time of initial diagnosis of mycosis fungoides or the Sézary syndrome.

DESIGN
Retrospective review of a uniformly staged inception cohort.

SETTING
Single-institution tertiary care center.

PATIENTS
152 consecutive patients who had mycosis fungoides with or without the Sézary syndrome within 6 months of the initial definitive diagnosis.

INTERVENTION
A detailed staging evaluation including physical examination, routine laboratory studies, chest roentgenogram, lymphangiogram, peripheral blood smear, lymph node biopsy, bone marrow aspirate or biopsy, and liver biopsy in selected patients.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Univariate adverse prognostic features at initial diagnosis in patients with mycosis fungoides included (P less than 0.01) one or more cutaneous tumors or generalized erythroderma, adenopathy, blood smear involvement with Sézary cells, lymph node effacement, eosinophilia, and visceral involvement. Important, independent prognostic factors in a multivariate analysis are the presence of visceral disease and type of skin involvement.

CONCLUSIONS
A staging system based on histopathologic evaluation of skin, lymph nodes, blood, and visceral sites provides more comprehensive prognostic information than clinical evaluation of skin disease and adenopathy. Patients may be divided at initial presentation into three prognostic groups: good-risk patients, who have plaque-only skin disease without lymph node, blood, or visceral involvement (median survival, greater than 12 years); intermediate-risk patients, who have cutaneous tumors, erythroderma, or plaque disease with node or blood involvement but no visceral disease or node effacement (median survival, 5 years); and poor-risk patients, who have visceral involvement or node effacement (median survival, 2.5 years).


Abstract Background There is a dearth of literature on how different domains of sitting time relate to other health behaviours. Therefore, this study aimed to explore these associations in a sample of office workers. Methods 7170 Northern Irish Civil Servants completed an online survey which included information on workday and non-workday sitting time in five domains (travel, work, TV, computer-use, leisure-time), physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. An unhealthy behaviour score was calculated by summing the number of health behaviours which did not meet the current guidelines. Multinomial regressions examined associations between unhealthy behaviour score and each domain of sitting time. Results ≥7 hours sitting at work and ≥2 hours TV viewing on a workday both more than doubled the odds of partaking in ≥3 unhealthy behaviours [Odds ratio, OR = 2.03, 95% CI, (1.59–2.61); OR = 2.19 (1.71–2.80)] and ≥3 hours of TV viewing on a non-workday nearly tripled the odds [OR = 2.96 (2.32–3.77)]. Conclusions High sitting time at work and TV viewing on a workday and non-workday are associated with increased odds of partaking in multiple unhealthy behaviours. Interventions need to focus on these domains and public health policy should consider sitting time as an important health behaviour.


The main focus of this thesis is how an institution for elderly people provides a sense of home for those who live there. In the thesis I raise the following main research question; In what ways is the institution a home for the residents? Based in the main question, three subquestions were raised: What is a home for the residents? What is required for the residents to call the institution a home? Can a feeling of home be strengthened at the institution?Fieldwork was undertaken during the summer of 2011, when I worked as an assistant caretaker at an institution. I undertook qualitative interviews with and participant observation of the residents while also being an employee at the institution. To be an employee gave me the opportunity to also be a researcher during work hours. This provided invaluable insights into the daily life and home making practices at the institution.The theoretical framework consists of theories related to ideas about home, institutions as homes and how elderly people mobilize senses of home at an institution. Crucially, these needs to be seen as connected. To analytically answer the research questions, then, this study draws on of theories from critical geographies of home. Home is a complex concept, which contains different meanings and aspects for humans. The meaning of home is connected to more than a physical building. Home is a place filled with ideas, symbolism, and is often a place for gend er roles. Human's ideas of home are not separate from the context in which they exist.Empirically the study shows that to have a place to live is not the same as having a home. One of the most formidable challenges for the care sector is to provide the elderly with a place they identify as their home. Unfortunate some will not experience this because of their mental or physical condition, their longing for their former homes, and a lack of a lack of individuality within the structures of an institution.


Between August 1991 and August 1993, 75 patients (42 male) with Wolff Parkinson White syndrome (43 concealed) were subjected to radiofrequency ablation of accessory pathways at our institution. 55 had left, 8 postero septal, 2 anteroseptal and 10 right accessory pathways. A retrograde aortic technique with placement of the ablation catheter in close proximity to the mitral annulus was used for most of the patients with left accessory pathways and for some with posteroseptal pathways. The right, anteroseptal and some posteroseptal pathways were ablated using a right heart approach placing the ablation catheter in the tricuspid annulus. Ablation was successful in 61 patients (81%). One subject developed a fatal cardiac tamponade after a transeptal catheterization and was unrelated to the ablation per se. It is concluded that radiofrequency ablation of accessory pathways is a curative procedure for a great majority of patients with Wolf Parkinson White syndrome.


The main objective of this study was to estimate the efficiency of resource use and to determine the optimum crop mix that would maximize the farmer returns in the rain-fed sector in Sinnar, State, Sudan. The study depended mainly on primary data that was collected by field survey. A multi-stage stratified random sample technique was used for classifying the farmers and assist in determining the sample size. A total of 173 households was chosen (104 households representing the traditional farmers and 69 households representing the semi-mechanized farmers). Data was collected through personal interviewing the selected farmers about all their farming aspects related to farming season 2011/12 using a structured questionnaire. Linear programming technique was used for analyzing the parameters of the study. The entire was firstly classified into two categories: Traditional farmers and semi-mechanized farmers, and secondly the semi-mechanized farmers were further classified into three categories based on farm size; namely small farmers with farm size of less than 500 hundred hectares, medium farms with farm size of 500 to 1000 hectares, and large farms with farm size greater than 1000 hectares. The technical efficiency of resource use indicated that the resource in both sectors for the production of all cultivated crops was not used efficiently. The results revealed that operating capital in the traditional sector was underutilized and labor and seeds were over-utilized. In the semi-mechanized sector operating capital and herbicides were underutilized, while labor and seeds were over utilized. The farmers basic plans showed that the traditional farmers cultivated a combination of sorghum, sesame, pearl millet, cowpea and groundnut, while the semi-mechanized farmers cultivated a combination of sorghum, sesame, pearl millet, and sunflower. The allocative efficiency analysis has revealed that the optimum cropping pattern for the traditional farmers is by cultivating sorghum and cowpea. The optimum cropping pattern for the semi-mechanized farms is by cultivating: only millet for the small farms, sesame and sunflower for the medium farms and sorghum and sunflower for the large farms. This optimum cropping pattern has increased the income of farmers by 43%, 31.3%, 24.7%, and 24.2 for the traditional farmers, semi-mechanized farmers, semi-mechanized large farmers, and semimechanized small farmers, respectively. The study suggested that the government is facilitate timely provision of necessary financial resources to farmers for improving the efficiency of resource use. The Agricultural Extension Department is to educate the farmers about the optimum use of inputs.


Over the past two decades, statistical and other quantitative concepts, models and methods have been increasingly gaining importance and interest in all areas of linguistics and text analysis, as well as in a number of neighboring disciplines and areas of application. The term "quantitative linguistics" comprises all scientific and technical approaches which use such terms and methods in the analysis of or work with language(s), texts and other related subjects. The 71 articles in this handbook, written by internationally-recognized experts, offer a broad, up-to-date overview of the scientific-theoretical principles, the history, the diversity of the subject areas studied, the methods and models used, the results obtained thus far and their applications. The articles are divided up into thirteen chapters: the first chapter includes contributions on the basic principles and the history of the field, nine additional chapters are dedicated to individual descriptions of the levels of linguistic research (from phonology to pragmatics) as well as typological, diachronic and geolinguistic questions. The next two chapters include a description of important models, hypotheses and principles; selected areas of application; and references to neighboring disciplines. The last portion of the handbook is an informative contribution, with information about publication forums, bibliographies, major projects, Internet links, etc. This handbook is useful not only for researchers, teachers and students of all branches of linguistics and the philologies, but also for scientists in neighboring fields, whose theoretical and empirical research touches on linguistic questions (for instance, psychology and sociology), or for those who want to make use of the proven methods or results from quantitative linguistics in their own research.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the vasodilator effect and the endothelium-dependent mechanism of oroxylin A in thoracic aorta isolated from rats.

METHODS
Thoracic aorta was isolated from Wistar rats. After pretreatment with norepinephrine or KCl, the effects of oroxylin A at different concentrations were detected on isolated vascular rings prepared from rats' thoracic aorta. The response of thoracic aortic ring was evaluated in the presence and absence of endothelium, and NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a specific inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase.

RESULTS
Oroxylin A (10 and 100 μmol/L) caused vasodilation on endothelium-intact aortic rings pretreated with norepinephrine (1 μmol/L) and KCl (60 mmol/L) compared with the control (P<0.05, P<0.01). The vasodilation function of 10 and 100 μmol/L oroxylin A on the endothelium-denuded aorta rings was significantly lower than that on the endothelium-intact aorta rings (P<0.05, P<0.01). L-NAME pretreatment significantly attenuated the effect of 100 μmol/L oroxylin A on endothelium-intact aorta rings (P<0.05, P<0.01).

CONCLUSION
Oroxylin A can induce the relaxation of the aorta ring in endothelium-dependent manner. Nitric oxide may be involved in the endothelium-dependent effect of oroxylin A.


In 1896, Marfan1described the syndrome that would come to bear his name in a 5½-year-old girl with severe connective tissue disease. Her condition was not unlike that seen in two young girls whose identical mutations of the fibrillin type 1 gene were recently described by Dietz et al.2In these two unrelated, sporadic cases of the Marfan syndrome, the diagnosis was suspected at birth because of severe arachnodactyly, lack of subcutaneous fat, and typical facial appearance. The patients were first seen at ages 4 and 2½ years for an ocular evaluation, and both had microspherophakia with marked iridodonesis, but the lenses were in the pupillary axis. Both girls had myopia ( − 31.00 OD and −30.00 OS in one, and − 18.00 OD and −16.50 OS in the other). Axial length measurements were 26.4 mm OD and 26.4 mm OS, and 23.9 mm OD and 23.2 mm OS


IL-17–secreting T cells (Th17 cells) play a pathogenic role in multiple autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), and dendritic cell (DC)-derived cytokines play pivotal roles in promoting the differentiation of naive CD4+ T cells into Th cell subsets (Th1 and Th17). Therefore, small molecules blocking the key cytokines produced by DCs will be beneficial in MS. In this article, we report that betaine treatment ameliorates MS pathogenesis by inhibiting DC-derived IL-6 production and Th17 differentiation. Using experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a widely used mouse model of MS, we found that, compared with the vehicle-treated group, betaine-treated mice exhibited less severe experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis symptoms, including lower clinical scores, reduced leukocyte infiltration, and less extensive demyelination in the CNS. Moreover, a significantly lower percentage of Th17 cells, one of the major pathogenic effector cells in MS progression, was observed in the peripheral immune system and in the CNS. Interestingly, in the in vitro Th17-differentiation assay, no significant change in Th17 cells was observed between the vehicle- and betaine-treated groups, whereas in the in vitro DC culture experiment, betaine treatment significantly decreased DC-derived IL-6 production. In the DC–T cell coculture experiment, a significantly decreased Th17 differentiation was observed upon betaine treatment. All of these data demonstrated that betaine inhibited Th17 differentiation indirectly by reducing IL-6 production by DCs. In brief, our findings demonstrated the pivotal roles of betaine in modulating MS pathogenesis and suggested that it may serve as a potential novel drug candidate for the treatment of MS.


We present vNurse, a system based on a smartphone platform that permits comprehensive, secure and modular patient remote monitoring outside a clinical environment, e.g. in the home. Using both virtualisation of the phone OS and virtual mobile networks of sensors with full Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, we enable real-time remote sensor readings of patient Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) to be stored, processed and forwarded securely to healthcare practitioners based at clinical sites, while patients are remote or mobile.


This study argues that a subtle shift in the primary independent variable of the commercial peace literature—from trade to free trade—provides an opportunity to respond to the some of the strongest criticisms of this research program. Free trade, and not just trade, promotes peace by removing an important foundation of domestic privilege—protective barriers to international commerce—that enhances the domestic power of societal groups likely to support war, reduces the capacity of free-trading interests to limit aggression in foreign policy, and simultaneously generates political support for the state often used to build its war machine. A series of statistical tests demonstrates that higher levels of free trade, rather than trade alone, reduce military conflict between states. Moreover, contrary to conventional wisdom, these arguments suggest how the puzzling case of World War I may confirm, rather than contradict, the central claims of commercial liberalism.


Abstract Hosts can alter their strategy towards pathogens during their lifetime; that is, they can show phenotypic plasticity in immunity or life history. Immune priming is one such example, where a previous encounter with a pathogen confers enhanced protection upon secondary challenge, resulting in reduced pathogen load (i.e., resistance) and improved host survival. However, an initial encounter might also enhance tolerance, particularly to less virulent opportunistic pathogens that establish persistent infections. In this scenario, individuals are better able to reduce the negative fecundity consequences that result from a high pathogen burden. Finally, previous exposure may also lead to life‐history adjustments, such as terminal investment into reproduction. Using different Drosophila melanogaster host genotypes and two bacterial pathogens, Lactococcus lactis and Pseudomonas entomophila, we tested whether previous exposure results in resistance or tolerance and whether it modifies immune gene expression during an acute‐phase infection (one day post‐challenge). We then asked whether previous pathogen exposure affects chronic‐phase pathogen persistence and longer‐term survival (28 days post‐challenge). We predicted that previous exposure would increase host resistance to an early stage bacterial infection while it might come at a cost to host fecundity tolerance. We reasoned that resistance would be due in part to stronger immune gene expression after challenge. We expected that previous exposure would improve long‐term survival, that it would reduce infection persistence, and we expected to find genetic variation in these responses. We found that previous exposure to P. entomophila weakened host resistance to a second infection independent of genotype and had no effect on immune gene expression. Fecundity tolerance showed genotypic variation but was not influenced by previous exposure. However, L. lactis persisted as a chronic infection, whereas survivors cleared the more pathogenic P. entomophila infection. To our knowledge, this is the first study that addresses host tolerance to bacteria in relation to previous exposure, taking a multi‐faceted approach to address the topic. Our results suggest that previous exposure comes with transient costs to resistance during the early stage of infection in this host–pathogen system and that infection persistence may be bacterium‐specific.


The study examined the perceived capacities of public extension personnel for climate information dissemination to farmers in Cross River State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 72 extension agents. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and were analysed using a multinomial logistic regression at 5% level of significance. Some of the climate information disseminated were information on appropriate measures to take to prevent water shortage due to adverse weather conditions (75%) and early warning signs on events such as drought, flooding etc. (70.8%). Radio and/or television (68.1%), and the Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources (68.1%) were the main sources of climate information. Respondents perceived that they had low capacities for producing and airing radio and television messages on climate change (15.3%) and carrying out impact analysis of climate change effects on farmers (18%). Results of the multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that years of experience (x2 =6.244; p = 0.044); and highest educational qualification (x2 =11.021; p = 0.088) had positively significant effects on capacity to disseminate climate information. Extension staff should be encouraged to go for specialized studies on climate change and be trained to interpret and disseminate agro-meteorological data and information.


Land subsidence is one of the most prominent geological disasters in Xi'an, China. A review of the occurrence and development of land subsidence in Xi'an in past 50 years is given in this article. The characteristics of land subsidence in Xi'an were analyzed from time-space distribution, the development of subsidence center and its relationship with the withdrawal of groundwater. The development and characteristics of land subsidence indicate that the withdrawal of groundwater especially the confined groundwater is the major cause of land subsidence in Xi'an. Shutting down the private wells and reducing groundwater exploitation have very apparent effect on decelerating subsidence development. Limiting the exploitation and making reasonable exploitation program of groundwater are effective measures to prevent the land subsidence.


Background: Argatroban is a direct thrombin inhibitor used in the treatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). No study has evaluated the safety and efficacy of a nurse-managed argatroban dosing protocol. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 151 total admissions (129 patients) in which argatroban infusions were administered before and after protocol implementation. The preprotocol and postprotocol groups consisted of 69 and 68 admissions, respectively. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they were $18 years old and received an argatroban drip for any reason in the 2 years prior to or following protocol implementation. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of clinically overt bleeding (primary study safety endpoint) between groups. There was no difference between groups in the primary efficacy endpoints, the mean number of partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) assessments per day, and dose adjustments. The mean number of sub- and supratherapeutic aPTTs during treatment was higher in the preprotocol group when utilizing the specified range in the preprotocol group and the protocol's aPTT range (45-90 s); the preprotocol and postprotocol groups had an average of 3.4 and 1.04 subtherapeutic aPTTs, respectively (P 5.008). Similarly, the preprotocol group had an average of 4.98 supratherapeutic aPTTs, while the postprotocol group had 1.84 (P , .001). There was no difference in duration of argatroban infusion in the preprotocol group compared to the postprotocol group with regard to duration of infusion or final infusion rate. Conclusions: This nurse-managed argatroban adjustment protocol provides similar safety and efficacy outcomes and decreased monitoring when pre and post implementation were compared.


This study was conducted to evaluate okra pods' quality to reduce the pesticides' residues of indoxacarb, fenarimol, acetamiprid and chlorfenapyr by using different processes such as water washing, boiling, steaming and chemical solution for 3, 5 and 7 min. After that, the treated okras were cooked. Chemical analyses were done in okra pods raw okras after different processes. The mineral contents were determined in okra pod as raw materials. Peroxidase, color, percent of penetration depth (firmness) and zinc retention were assayed in okra after the treatments. Moreover, sensory properties and color were estimated in okra after cooking. Finally, a hazard assessment of pesticide residues in okra pods was determined after and before the cooking. The findings illustrated that the highest amount of protein and crude fiber (18.62 and 13.85%) followed by ash content and total fat were 7.21 and 2.64% respectively in okra pod as raw material. Moreover, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, and Sulphur were higher than Sodium and Iron. The chemical composition of okra was decreased after the processing (boiling, steaming and chemical solution). These decreases might be caused by the physiological and metabolic activities within the cells of the okra pods, and at the same time due to proteolysis which was the breakdown of protein, and also the crude fiber content converted the fiber cellulose to carbohydrate. Most of the processing treatments, particularly cooking, significantly decreased the pesticide residues. Hazard index (Hi) before processing treatments ranged from 1500 to 2400. Although, Hi values were decreased after the processing treatments to reach 300, 360, 8.6 and 80, and the adverse health effects on consumers were potential. Also, the effect of the treatments on the quality characteristics of okra fruits was tested. Boiling and chemical solution improved the quality of okra pods; RAPID percentage significantly decreased to reach 3.96%; and greenness, firmness, and Zinc intake were significantly enhanced in chemically blanched okra. From the results, it could be recommended that the boiling and chemical solution treatment of okra pods to reduce the pesticide residues of indoxacarb, fenarimol, acetamiprid, and chlorfenapyr give the best results than the steaming treatment.


An axiomatic approach to signal reconstruction is formulated, involving a sample consistent set, defined as a set of signals sample-consistent with the original signal, and a given guiding set, describing desired reconstructions. New frame-less reconstruction methods are proposed, based on a reconstruction set, defined as a shortest pathway between the sample consistent set and the guiding set, where the guiding set is a closed subspace and the sample consistent set is a closed plane in a Hilbert space. Existence and uniqueness of the reconstruction set are investigated. Connections to earlier known consistent, generalized, and regularized reconstructions are clarified, and new and improved reconstruction error bounds are derived.


Electric mobility is beginning to enter East African cities. This paper aims to investigate what policy-level solutions and stakeholder constellations are established in the context of electric mobility (e-mobility) in Dar es Salaam, Kigali, Kisumu and Nairobi and in which ways they attempt to tackle the implementation of electric mobility solutions. The study employs two key methods including content analysis of policy and programmatic documents and interviews based on a purposive sampling approach with stakeholders involved in mobility transitions. The study findings point out that in spite of the growing number of policies (specifically in Rwanda and Kenya) and on-the-ground developments, a set of financial and technical barriers persists. These include high upfront investment costs in vehicles and infrastructure, as well as perceived lack of competitiveness with fossil fuel vehicles that constrain the uptake of e-mobility initiatives. The study further indicates that transport operators and their representative associations are less recognized as major players in the transition, far behind new e-mobility players (start-ups) and public authorities. This study concludes by identifying current gaps that need to be tackled by policymakers and stakeholders in order to implement inclusive electric mobility in East African cities, considering modalities that include transport providers and address their financial constraints.


Researchers collect large amounts of user interaction data with the goal of mapping user's workflows and behaviors to their high‐level motivations, intuitions, and goals. Although the visual analytics community has proposed numerous taxonomies to facilitate this mapping process, no formal methods exist for systematically applying these existing theories to user interaction logs. This paper seeks to bridge the gap between visualization task taxonomies and interaction log data by making the taxonomies more actionable for interaction log analysis. To achieve this, we leverage structural parallels between how people express themselves through interactions and language by reformulating existing theories as regular grammars. We represent interactions as terminals within a regular grammar, similar to the role of individual words in a language, and patterns of interactions or non‐terminals as regular expressions over these terminals to capture common language patterns. To demonstrate our approach, we generate regular grammars for seven existing visualization taxonomies and develop code to apply them to three public interaction log datasets. In analyzing these regular grammars, we find that the taxonomies at the low‐level (i.e., terminals) show mixed results in expressing multiple interaction log datasets, and taxonomies at the high‐level (i.e., regular expressions) have limited expressiveness, due to primarily two challenges: inconsistencies in interaction log dataset granularity and structure, and under‐expressiveness of certain terminals. Based on our findings, we suggest new research directions for the visualization community to augment existing taxonomies, develop new ones, and build better interaction log recording processes to facilitate the data‐driven development of user behavior taxonomies.


The next patient was a girl, aged one year and two months. She had had symptoms for about five weeks which the parentshad attributed to a fall on the head. During the two or three days prior to admissionthe child had becomeirritable and fretful and had retraction stiffnessof the neck and vomiting had developed. There had been no symptomsof disturbanceof the gastro-intestinal tract and the throat and chest had been found to be normal. After considerabledifficulty a specimenof urine had been obtained. The urine had containedpus cells, a few red blood corpusclesand somebacteria. Improvementhad occurred in responseto treatmentwith alkalies.


The phenomenon of male sterility has often been observed in investigations on the role of histone H1 in regulation of morphogenetic and cytological processes in transgenic tobacco plants. These changes were accumulated by disturbances in flower development, consisting in lengthening of the pistil style in relation to stamen heads. This prevented pollination and production of seeds. As similar abnormalities occurred also in the present investigations (depending on combination, the sterility% was 84.4 to 19.9, at only 8.1 in the control), the main problem of our investigations was an attempt to explain their reasons. It is commonly known that one of the conditions for formation of fertile pollen is the properly functioning tapetum. Here, we carried out observations of ultrastructure of anther tapetum control cells in respect of abnormalities which occurred during microsporogenesis of transgenic plants with inactivated expression of two major (A, B) and two minor (C, D) histone H1 variants. The investigations were carried out on the following groups of plants: (1) control group with a full set of histone variants (K), (2) with inactivated A and B variants (-AB); (3) with inactivated A, B, C and D variants (-ABCD), (4) with inactivated C and D variants (-CD). It was found that tapetal development was normal in all the investigated groups of plants, and the sequence of changes was similar as in the control. However, certain ultrastructural differences appeared when tapetum functioned as secretory tissue, and in the degeneration phase. In tapetal cell cytoplasm, with participation of rER, lipid bodies were formed, which, having penetrated to the cell surface and to locules, took part in formation of pollen grain sporoderm. Both in the control and in the remaining combination, excluding -ABCD, these bodies looked similar: they were grey, homogenous and surrounded by black jagged deposits. In -ABCD plants, these bodies were more translucent, slightly rarefied, and not surrounded by the deposits. Moreover, in -CD plants, large lipid deposits were frequently observed between remainders of degraded tapetal cells. They did not occur in the control and the remaining combinations.


H-2 heterozygous marrow stem cells, lymphoid progenitor cells, and leukemia/lymphoma cells do not express hemopoietic or hybrid histocompatibility (Hh) antigens, which are important transplantation antigens recognized during the rejection of normal or neoplastic hemopoietic cells. The Hh-1b determinant of the H-2b haplotype maps to the D region of H-2. We have tested the hypothesis that gene(s) at or near H-2D of the H-2d haplotype down-regulate the expression of Hh-1b in the trans configuration. We used Abelson leukemia virus-transformed pre-B lymphoma cells (ACCb) of BALB/c X BALB.B (H-2d X H-2b) origin, as well as variant lines of ACCb, which were selected for resistance to monoclonal anti-H-2 antibodies plus complement. B6D2F1 (H-2b X H-2d), C3B6F1 (H-2k X H-2b), or B6 (H-2b) mice were infused with inocula of 5 X 10(6) B6 bone marrow cells (BMC). Proliferation of donor-derived marrow cells was judged in terms of DNA synthesis by measuring the splenic incorporation of 5-iodo(125I)-2'-deoxyuridine (IUdR) 5 days after cell transfer. B6 BMC grew much better in B6 than in F1 hybrid host mice, an expression of "hybrid resistance". As observed previously, the injection of EL-4 (H-2b, Hh-1b) tumor cells prior to infusion of B6 (H-2b, Hh-1b) BMC enhanced the growth of B6 BMC in F1 hybrid mice. Therefore, this in vivo "cold target cell competition" type of assay can be used to detect the expression of Hh-1b antigens. Unlike EL-4 (H-2b) cells, hybrid resistance was not affected by prior infusion of (H-2b X H-2d) heterozygous ACCb cells. In contrast, three ACCb variant cell lines, H-2d-, Ld-Dd-, and Dd-, enhanced the growth of B6 BMC in F1 hosts. The ACCb H-2b- cell line did not affect hybrid resistance to B6 BMC. The loss of gene expression on the H-2d chromosome at or very near the H-2Dd locus is correlated with the appearance Hh-1b, as determined by the in vivo cold target competition assay. These results support the hypothesis that heterozygous cells possess trans-acting, dominant, down-regulatory genes mapping near H-2D that control the Hh-1 phenotype of lymphoid tumor cells.


The purpose of this paper is to propose a new approach to empirically analyze the existence of strategic interactions of taxation between state governments (horizontal) and between state and federal governments (vertical) using gasoline and cigarette taxation in the U.S. I explicitly estimate the structural parameters of consumer's utility and state government fs objective functions. The slopes of the reaction functions, which represent the strategic interactions of state government taxation policies, are then computed given the estimated structural parameters. Empirical results show that contrary to the existing literature, there is very little horizontal tax interaction in both the gasoline and cigarette cases. On the other hand, there is a moderate positive vertical tax interaction for both gasoline and cigarette taxes and the scale is larger in the case of cigarette taxes. Furthermore, the value and sign of the slopes of the reaction function are very different across states. This suggests a new policy implication: as state governments respond differently to federal government fiscal policy, uniform fiscal policy is not appropriate for welfare maximization of the nation.


An increased morbidity and mortality due to infectious disease has been noted in the ageing. Two alternative explanations may account for this. Changes in the immune system and inflammatory responses with age or an increase in age-related diseases may underlie the increased susceptibility. A review of studies of healthy older individuals demonstrates changes in the immune system with ageing but minimal change in the inflammatory response. Investigations of severe infection in older nursing-home patients requiring hospitalization indicate that infection as a cause of admission and death is significantly more common in individuals who are bedridden because of serious cardiovascular or neurological disease and require urinary catheterization. The evidence indicates that underlying disease, not the senescence of host resistance, leads to severe infection in the ageing.


Recent successes in mapping the human genome have raised both hopes for medical breakthroughs and fears of the misuse of genetic information. Motivated by the specter of a "genetic underclass," advocates and policy makers have called for legal protections, including a ban on genetic discrimination in employment analogous to existing prohibitions on race and sex discrimination. This Article argues that although the analogy to race and other traditionally forbidden forms of discrimination is appealing, genetic discrimination differs in critical ways. Unlike race or sex, disease-linked genetic traits are not readily observable, socially salient characteristics, nor have they historically been the basis for stigmatizing or marginalizing identifiable groups of people. And unlike race or sex, genetic information may be relevant to predicting an employee's future job performance. In addition, the anti-discrimination model may be ineffective in preventing employer use of genetic information because of its focus on employer intent. Proving discriminatory intent is difficult and costly, and typically requires the use of comparative evidence to build a circumstantial case. In the case of genetic discrimination, building such a case would often require discovering or revealing the genetic status of other employees, thus, ironically, increasing the availability and salience of genetic information. This Article argues for an alternative approach. It asserts that employer use of genetic information primarily threatens the value of individual autonomy, and that a privacy rights paradigm therefore offers a more appropriate model for addressing these concerns. Such a perspective is more consistent with the nature of genetic data, which is highly individual, not easily observed, and can reveal traditionally private facts, such as information about medical risks and intimate family relationships. Developing an effective set of privacy protections for employees will involve certain practical challenges and difficulties. However, sustained attention to these challenges is more likely to produce policies capable of truly protecting employees from the misuse of their genetic information than falling back on a familiar, but ill-fitting civil rights model that requires proof of employer motivation.


This article presents the system "Neural Connect 4", a program that plays the game Connect Four. This system employs the multilayer perceptron architecture which learns through the supervised backpropagation algorithm. The required knowledge for training comes from saved games. After a short introduction to the game itself, the symbolic algorithms used for training and evaluation are described. Comparisons are made within a connectionist approach: effective and ineffective learning techniques are shown, and the results are discussed. "Neural Connect 4" proves that artificial neural networks are completely adequate for learning Connect Four, given that certain principles are observed.


Abstract In an explorative study on German oral corpus data we investigate recognitional use of proximal demonstratives as a means of explicit speaker-hearer interaction shaping the discourse structure. We show that recognitionals mark tentative reference acts in that speakers suggest - or pretend - mutual knowledge of the referent, at the same time appealing to the hearers to accept the reference. Hearers may tacitly or explicitly accept the referential act or deny it asking for clarification, in the latter case making speakers change the intended local discourse topic. On these grounds we argue against a differentiation between recognitional and indefinite demonstratives, subsuming both as kinds of recognitional use under 'pretended' cognitive proximity.


In this thesis, a numerical simulation of the linear behavior of a turbine blade subjected to a rotation with large displacements has been carried out by the use of a specialized code. A finite element formulation of the problem has been considered in order to to develop a realist model and examine the vibration of the blade undergoing a rigid body rotation. In or-der to achieve this goal, the dynamics of the multibody rotor blade system has been studied by the use of the Floating Frame of Reference Formulation [1] applied to the case of a de-formable body, the blade, connected to a rigid body, which represents a rotor rotating at a constant angular velocity.
The second part of the thesis focuses on the non-linear dynamics of a system consisting of two blades with a underplatform damper between them. Turbine blades frequently reach the resonance conditions due to the high speed of rotation in working environment with the consequence of an increased amplitude of vibration which can cause fatigue failure of the structure. The presence of an underplatform damper can help to dissipate a part of the en-ergy at resonance through frictional contact between the blades platform and the damper, increasing the fatigue life of the blades.


The article presents data based on the results of experimental studies on the external ballistics parameters and the nature of changes in the trajectory of the kinetic energy of four types of pistol cartridges bullets 9 × 21 IMI (9 × 21 mm.), which were shot from two samples of carbines with different lengths of the rifled part of the barrel.
Of particular interest are data on the nature of the shell interaction and expansive bullets of cartridges of the indicated caliber with the tissues of a biological object, the imitation of the interaction with which was carried out using ballistic testing backing material (ballistic clay). The use of a simulator of biological tissues of the human body made it possible to determine the features of the shock-contact interaction of shell and expansive bullets with them, as well as to establish the nature of the behavior of these bullets in the thickness of a viscoelastic medium. It was experimentally found that under certain conditions, 9 mm jacketed bullets are capable of inflicting through wounds to the human body at firing distances up to 25 m inclusive, while the bullet, after breaking through the barrier, has energy characteristics that are sufficient to inflict a penetrating injury of varying severity on another biological object. Due to the use of ballistic clay, it became possible to visualize the maximum amount of damage caused by shell and expansive bullets, as well as to determine the features of the formation of exit wounds, taking into account the destabilization of shell bullets in the thickness of the obstacle.
It should be noted that at firing distances up to 5 m inclusive, shell bullets, due to the loss of gyroscopic stability in the tissues of a biological object, which have a sufficiently large thickness, are capable of inflicting wounds, the volume and severity of which are comparable to or exceed the corresponding parameters of wounds caused by expansive bullets.
The obtained results of measurements of the velocity of the of shell bullets after overcoming an obstacle in the form of a viscoelastic medium can later become the basis for calculating the contact speed of a bullet with a known length of the channel of the inflicted wound. The article for the first time presents the calculated data on the parameters of the flight path of shell and expansive bullets of pistol cartridges 9 × 21 IMI (9 × 21 mm.) at firing distances up to 100 m. The presented results of experimental studies and calculated data will allow experts in the field of forensic ballistics and forensic medicine to solve the tasks set by the pre-trial investigation authorities.
Key words: ballistic clay, biological object, elements of the trajectory of a bullet flight, carbine, pistol cartridge, wound, wound channel, damaging properties, damage.


The authors extend previous literature on variations in mobility rates across local housing markets by examining the linkage of mobility rates at the household level to the structure of local housing markets. The results suggest that residential mobility rates differ widely across local housing markets, substantiating the view that residential relocation is intimately intertwined with conditions at the local level. Local housing-market conditions also have different effects on mobility rates for renters and owner-occupiers. The results suggest that variation in residential mobility rates across housing markets can be in part explained by level of urbanization, the tenure structure, the degree of government intervention, and the size of the housing market. Remarkably, these differences in local housing markets cannot be seen to be related to housing-market features only. The results suggest that these differences can also be attributed to the behavior or attitude of households with respect to housing.


SUMMARY The reflection and transmission of plane P- and S-waves by a laterally homogeneous band is discussed. A dyadic representation of a 'plane wave Green's tensor' is derived, which is used to describe the reflection and transmission of plane waves by a thin homogeneous layer in the first Born approximation. From this, the reflection and transmission by an arbitrarily thick continuously stratified band is derived using invariant imbedding. We derive an exact set of matrix Ricatti equations which describe the reflection and transmission of plane waves by the laterally homogeneous band. These equations remain regular at turning points, and incorporate both homogeneous and inhomogeneous waves within the heterogeneity. It is not necessary for the band to be stratified; the density and the elasticity tensor of the band may have an arbitrary depth dependence. It is shown that in case the band is a smooth heterogeneity without turning points, its only effect is a phase shift of the transmitted wave. In a numerical example for the analogue case of 1-D scattering in quantum mechanics the behaviour of homogeneous and inhomogeneous (tunneling) waves is illustrated.


A common research process in visualization is for visualization researchers to collaborate with domain experts to solve particular applied data problems. While there is existing guidance and expertise around how to structure collaborations to strengthen research contributions, there is comparatively little guidance on how to navigate the implications of, and power produced through the socio-technical entanglements of collaborations. In this paper, we qualitatively analyze reflective interviews of past participants of collaborations from multiple perspectives: visualization graduate students, visualization professors, and domain collaborators. We juxtapose the perspectives of these individuals, revealing tensions about the tools that are built and the relationships that are formed — a complex web of competing motivations. Through the lens of matters of care, we interpret this web, concluding with considerations that both trouble and necessitate reformation of current patterns around collaborative work in visualization design studies to promote more equitable, useful, and care-ful outcomes.


OBJECTIVE
To identify variables that best predict a team's decision of driving ability in stroke patients from a predriving assessment.

DESIGN
Retrospective study of a 2-year predriving evaluation.

SETTING
Belgian Institute for Road Safety.

PARTICIPANTS
One hundred four patients with sequelae of first stroke.

INTERVENTIONS
Predriving assessments and road test.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The suitability to resume driving based on a team decision and performance in the road test.

RESULTS
Forty-one patients (39.4%) were judged suitable, 45 (43.3%) not immediately suitable, and 18 (17.3%) not suitable to drive. Correlation coefficients and comparisons between groups revealed that most variables had significant individual relationships with the team decision and performance on the road test. After logistic regression analysis, side of lesion, kinetic vision, visual scanning, and a road test led to the best model in predicting the team decision (R(2) =.53). The road test was the most important determinant (R(2) =.42). Multiple regression analysis showed that the combination of acuity of left and right eyes and the figure of Rey was the best subset to predict the road test (R(2) =.28).

CONCLUSION
The predictive accuracy of the team's decision is limited, and the road test is even lower. Inclusion of more real-road-related tests in the predriving assessment is necessary.


The principle of operation of force sensors most commonly used in machining processes and the trends of this technology arepresented in this paper. Force sensors are needed because measuring cutting forces during machining processes is the mostimportant and basic step to determine and control the conditions under which the machine, the tool, and the workpiece are performing.In the majority of applications the measurement of cutting forces during machining is done using dynamometers basedon either strain gages or piezo-electric transducer with quartz sensors. Recently, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) arebeing designed and constructed using polysilicon beam resonators to measure forces. These sensors relate the force that is beingmeasured to the frequency of vibration of the resonator. In recent research projects and studies, there is a tendency to transferthe force sensor signals by wireless technology.


We propose a robust method to distinguish isolated single gold nanoparticles (AuNP monomers) and their dimers under Brownian motion, a key for ultrasensitive homogeneous bioassays, including AuNP sandwich assays. To detect dimers and distinguish them from a larger number of monomers in aqueous solution, single-particle polarization microscopy was performed. For the accurate detection of individual particles, the optical anisotropy and rotational diffusion time are measured because a dimer is much more anisotropic than the nearly spherical monomer and the rotational diffusion time of a dimer is four times that of a monomer. By employing an autocorrelation analysis, we defined a measure of distinguishing that simultaneously enables high detection probability and low error probability. The detection platform offers homogeneous DNA hybridization assays and immunoassays at the subpicomolar level.


Background The identification of interventions for rehabilitation and related evidence is a crucial step in the development of World Health Organization's (WHO) Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation (PIR). Interventions for rehabilitation may be particularly relevant in schizophrenia, as this condition is associated with a high risk of disability, poor functioning, and lack of autonomy. Aiming to collect evidence for the WHO PIR, we conducted a systematic review of Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) on interventions for rehabilitation of schizophrenia. Methods Methods for the systematic identification and critical appraisal of CPG were developed by WHO Rehabilitation Programme and Cochrane Rehabilitation under the guidance of WHO's guideline review committee secretariat. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation Instrument (AGREE II) was used to evaluate the methodological quality of identified CPG. Results After full text screening, nine CPG were identified, for a total of 130 recommendations. Three were excluded because their total AGREE-II scores were below cut-off. Six CPG were approved by the Technical Working Group and included for data extraction. Only one CPG with specific focus on rehabilitation of schizophrenia was retrieved. Other CPG were general, including some recommendations on rehabilitation. Some CPG gave no indications on the assessment of rehabilitation needs. Discrepancies were detectable, with different CPG emphasizing different domains. Most recommendations addressed "symptoms of schizophrenia," while "community and social life" was targeted by few recommendations. International CPG were often conceptualized for high-income countries, and CPG accounting for their implementation in lower income contexts were scarce. Quality of evidence was high/moderate for 41.54% (n = 54) of the recommendations, and very low only in two cases (1.52%). N = 45 (34.62%) were based on experts' opinion. Conclusions The concepts of recovery and rehabilitation in schizophrenia are relatively new in medical sciences and somewhat ill-defined. An unbalanced distribution in the domains addressed by available CPG is therefore understandable. However, the need for more focus in some areas of rehabilitation is obvious. More clarity is also required regarding which interventions should be prioritized and which are more feasible for global implementation in the rehabilitation of schizophrenia.


Generating static novel views from an already captured image is a hard task in computer vision and graphics, in particular when the single input image has dynamic parts such as persons or moving objects. In this paper, we tackle this problem by proposing a new framework, called CycleMPI, that is capable of learning a multiplane image representation from single images through a cyclic training strategy for self-supervision. Our framework does not require stereo data for training, therefore it can be trained with massive visual data from the Internet, resulting in a better generalization capability even for very challenging cases. Although our method does not require stereo data for supervision, it reaches results on stereo datasets comparable to the state of the art in a zero-shot scenario. We evaluated our method on RealEstate10K and Mannequin Challenge datasets for view synthesis and presented qualitative results on Places II dataset.


since it seems to me quite clear that they are all equally misfits in the present context. For, as Badham long ago {Mnemosyne, 1874, p. 389) observed, 'quidad rem paucorum imperil mentio ubi Segestanos cum Lacedaemoniis comparat? TU>V ev SiKfXla dixisse videtur, ut Ionginquum esse bellum significaret.' He accordingly conjectured Si' oXiyou, and this emendation was accepted by Gertz in his Danish translation of Thucydides. But while Si' 6\iyov gives just the sense that the context calls for, the corruption of okiyov into oktyapxias is hard to account for. I believe that Thucydides wrote S 1 dyxia-Tov, and that later an explanatory oXry(ov) was written over dy^icrrov by some reader. If it be objected that the adjective ayxurros is foreign to prose, it may be replied that Si' dyxlcrrov is an 'adverbial expression,' equivalent in force to the adverb ayxurra, which is common enough in Ionic prose. And cf. Si' eyyvrdrov ( — eyyvTara) in Thuc. VIII. 96, 3. I would add that, while Si' dyxl<rrov is opposed to iv SiKtXiq, the expression dvbpwv fiapfidpav perhaps finds its antithesis in v6\iv.