The simulation of a series HEV (hybrid electric vehicle) is suggested by using the energetic macroscopic representation (EMR). Simplified models are used in a first step. They lead to the simulation of an overall HEV with its control. The system is decomposed in two parts: the charge and traction subsystems. Simulations with Matlab-Simulink/sup /spl trade// are provided for the simplified system. These first simulations can now be improved by using more complex models of some devices. Indeed, the EMR organizes systems as interconnected components, that leads to modularity and flexibility.


The engineering of the spatial and temporal properties of both the electric permittivity and the refractive index of materials is at the core of photonics. When vanishing to zero, those two variables provide new knobs to control light-matter interactions. This perspective aims at providing an overview of the state of the art and the challenges in emerging research areas where the use of near-zero refractive index and hyperbolic metamaterials is pivotal, in particular light and thermal emission, nonlinear optics, sensing applications and time-varying photonics.


In modelling and understanding the contact and friction behaviour of human skin, the elastic modulus of the skin is an important input parameter. For the development of design rules for the engineering of surfaces in contact with the skin an expression that describes the relation between the elastic modulus of the skin and the size of the contact is essential. Although an exact description of the mechanical behaviour of the skin requires an anisotropic, nonlinear, viscoelastic model, in this study it was found that for contact modelling involving relatively small deformations, the mechanical behaviour seems to be accurately described by a single parameter: the effective elastic modulus. The effective elastic modulus is shown to decrease several orders of magnitude when the length scale increases, which is the consequence of the rather complex anatomy of the skin. At an indentation depth of 10 µm, the effective elastic modulus was shown to decrease from 0.15 to 0.015 MPa when the radius of curvature of the indenter increases from 10 µm to 10 mm. The variation of the elasticity is explained by the variation in the composition and properties of the different skin layers. This study shows that for the contact modelling of human skin, a closed-form expression based on the anatomy of the skin exists, which yields the magnitude of the effective elastic modulus of the skin as a function of the length scale of the contact depending on variables such as age, gender and environmental conditions.


This article reflects on the progress of international forest law since 1992 and makes suggestions for related areas of international environmental law, based on insights gained from the international forest regime. To do this, it explores principles of forest law that have emerged since 1992 and analyzes the relationship between national and international law in the context of the forest sector. It then discusses compliance with international forest agreements, concludes that agreements that include incentives for all parties to comply are more likely to be successful than those that do not, and draws from this lessons for lawmakers engaged in the development of related areas of international environmental law, such as international law on biodiversity and habitat protection. In particular, it emphasizes the importance of strengthening the rule of law, improving the implementation of existing agreements and including in new agreements incentives designed to ensure compliance by all parties.


Quantitative confocal fluorescence microscopy imaging without scanning is developed for the study of fast dynamical processes. The method relies on the use of massively parallel Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (mpFCS). Simultaneous excitation of fluorescent molecules across the specimen is achieved by passing a single laser beam through a Diffractive Optical Element (DOE) to generate a quadratic illumination matrix of 32×32 light sources. Fluorescence from 1024 illuminated spots is detected in a confocal arrangement by a matching matrix detector consisting of the same number of single-photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs). Software was developed for data acquisition and fast autoand cross-correlation analysis by parallel signal processing using a Graphic Processing Unit (GPU). Instrumental performance was assessed using a conventional single-beam FCS instrument as a reference. Versatility of the approach for application in biomedical research was evaluated using ex vivo salivary glands from Drosophila third instar larvae expressing a fluorescently-tagged transcription factor Sex Combs Reduced (Scr) and live PC12 cells stably expressing the fluorescently tagged mu-opioid receptor (MOPeGFP). We show that quantitative mapping of local concentration and mobility of transcription factor molecules across the specimen can be achieved using this approach, which paves the way for future quantitative characterization of dynamical reaction-diffusion landscapes across live cells/tissue with a submillisecond temporal resolution (presently 21 μs/frame) and single-molecule sensitivity.


Though largely unknown, the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) has been successful in many areas. The treaty remains in force today and has helped to regulate many types of weapons, including landmines, incendiary weapons, and blinding laser weapons. Additionally, it has helped to clarify terms important for international legal norms, such as "unnecessary suffering" and "military necessity." The CCW was the first treaty to regulate conventional weapons in more than 70 years. Why is this seemingly useful treaty relatively unfamiliar compared with other laws of war treaties, remembered only by humanitarians who occasionally invoke it to denounce it for being conservative or even a "humanitarian failure"? This article shows that besides "humanitarian politics," Cold War politics had a major and underappreciated impact on conventional weapons treaty negotiations from the late 1960s through the 1980s. In particular, Cold War politics established the different sides in the negotiations (West, East, and South), which had a far-reaching impact on the conduct and tone of the negotiations, determined the weapons and issues under discussion, and ultimately affected implementation of the 1980 CCW following its ratification. By tracing the history of conventional weapons negotiations from 1968 to 1980 and examining the key impact of Cold War politics on the process, this article sheds light on the politics of conventional weapons negotiations today.


Sucrose:sucrose fructosyltransferase (SST) and fructan:fructan fructosyl-transferase (FFT) activities from crude extracts of tuberous roots of Viguiera discolor growing in a preserved area of cerrado were analyzed in 1995-1996. SST activity was characterized by the synthesis of 1-kestose from sucrose and FFT activity by the production of nystose from 1-kestose. The highest fructan-synthesizing activity was observed during early dormancy (autumn), when both (SST and FFT) activities were high. The increase in synthetic activity seemed to start during the fruiting phase in the summer, when SST activity was higher than in spring. During winter and at the beginning of sprouting, both activities declined. The in vitro synthesis of high molecular mass fructans from sucrose by enzymatic preparations from tuberous roots collected in summer showed that long incubations of up to 288 h produced consistently longer polymers which resembled those found in vivo with respect to chromatographic profiles. Correspondence R.C.L. Figueiredo-Ribeiro Seção de Fisiologia e Bioquímica


Data structures and algorithms is an important subject in Computer Science curriculum and builds upon the programming concepts learned by the students in their earlier courses. However, the abstract nature of the concepts can often be difficult for students to grasp. This problem becomes aggravated in an international setting with students from diverse academic backgrounds, resulting in some students losing interest and failing to follow along. This paper describes our novel approach to teach data structures for Computing undergraduates from 30 African countries at African Leadership College (ALC) in Mauritius in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University, UK. The blended learning program uses a student led "flipped classroom" approach, requiring students to view lecture and supporting material online prior to engaging in on-campus seminar session with the tutor. Peer instruction is a key component of the flipped approach. In seminars, students worked on group based problem-solving activities in data structures supported by the tutor. The students devised their solutions on white boards taking ownership of the problem, became motivated to discuss their ideas freely, and to select a group solution. The group solutions were then shared with the other groups and peer reviewed, led by the tutor. This collaborative learning environment was observed to facilitate discussions, and students' contributions and performance in later assessments offered evidence of understanding of core subject concepts.


For each nonempty integer partition $\pi$, we define the maximal excludant of $\pi$ as the largest nonnegative integer smaller than the largest part of $\pi$ that is not itself a part. Let $\sigma\!\operatorname{maex}(n)$ be the sum of maximal excludants over all partitions of $n$. We show that the generating function of $\sigma\!\operatorname{maex}(n)$ is closely related to a mock theta function studied by Andrews, Dyson and Hickerson, and Cohen, respectively. Further, we show that, as $n\to \infty$, $\sigma\!\operatorname{maex}(n)$ is asymptotic to the sum of largest parts over all partitions of $n$. Finally, the expectation of the difference of the largest part and the maximal excludant over all partitions of $n$ is shown to converge to $1$ as $n\to \infty$.


Artificial neural networks (ANN) are computational models inspired by the neural systems of living beings capable of learning from examples and using them to solve problems such as non-linear prediction, and pattern recognition, in addition to several other applications. In this study, ANN were used to predict the value of the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) for the tomato late blight pathosystem. The AUDPC is widely used by epidemiologic studies of polycyclic diseases, especially those regarding quantitative resistance of genotypes. However, a series of six evaluations over time is necessary to obtain the final area value for this pathosystem. This study aimed to investigate the utilization of ANN to construct an AUDPC in the tomato late blight pathosystem, using a reduced number of severity evaluations. For this, four independent experiments were performed giving a total of 1836 plants infected with Phytophthora infestans pathogen. They were assessed every three days, comprised six opportunities and AUDPC calculations were performed by the conventional method. After the ANN were created it was possible to predict the AUDPC with correlations of 0.97 and 0.84 when compared to conventional methods, using 50 % and 67 % of the genotype evaluations, respectively. When using the ANN created in an experiment to predict the AUDPC of the other experiments the average correlation was 0.94, with two evaluations, 0.96, with three evaluations, between the predicted values of the ANN and they were observed in six evaluations. We present in this study a new paradigm for the use of AUDPC information in tomato experiments faced with P. infestans. This new proposed paradigm might be adapted to different pathosystems.


High-speed injection of frozen hydrogen isotope pellets is considered by many to be the most effective method of fueling tokamak plasmas. In the plasma environment the pellet disintegration time could be extremely small, placing stringent requirements on the injection speed and the technology of fuel injection. Several models concerning the composition and spatial extent of the ablation cloud surrounding the pellet have been employed, and they have produced widely varying results for the ablation rate. Most, if not all, of these models have relied on spherical geometry to represent the ablation cloud, although in some instances the effects of the magnetic field on the energy flux reaching the pellet have been taken into account and have resulted in an adjustment of the ablation rate by a ''flux reduction factor.'' The geometric effects on ablation are examined by assuming the ablation surfaces to also be magnetic flux surfaces. Such an assumption is perhaps most natural for nonspherical geometry especially since there is some basis for it in the experimental observations. It is found that such geometric considerations could lead to sizable reductions in the ablation rate. It is also confirmed that the effects of the magnetic field on the ablation ratemore » are not particularly significant.« less


Saline water bodies are critic, often extreme habitats with a small number of species. The small number of species can, however, be organized in different assemblages typical of the salt category dissolved into the water. For the first time a wide faunal study has been conducted (from 2002 to 2006) on hypersaline lakes of the Crimea peninsula (Ukraine) allowing us to recognize a total of 40 categories of zooplankton from 10 lakes in representation of the whole lake habitat of the peninsula. The only lake with water evidently influenced by the sea hosted the highest number of categories (20). The lowest number of categories (5) has been found in the lake which showed the highest salinity concentration. Apart the lake conditioned from sea water, other two categories of lakes were recognized: thalassohaline and atalassohaline on the basis of the species composition.


This paper presents a novel workspace for sharing a virtual space among multiple users with tangible interfaces and multiple perspectives. The multiple users can share a virtual space such as a spatial design through first-person perspectives (FPPs) and third-person perspectives (TPPs), and can discuss it while switching between the FPPs and TPPs. The workspace, named the Intermediation Family, is composed of box-shaped movable tangible interfaces, a fixed large display, a simple removable HMD and a computer that makes a virtual space. Since the tangible interface plays as both a user's avatar and a camera object for the FPP in the virtual space, the user can observe the virtual space from the FPP on a display mounted on the tangible interface while moving it. When the user wants a more immersive experience, she/he can also use the HMD. Moreover, the users can observe the entire virtual space through the TPP on the fixed large display. The multiple users can share the spatial design by switching their perspectives and exchanging the tangible interface and the HMD one after another. In this paper, two applications were implemented to hear opinions of some users. One is a virtual walk-through application, the other is a hands-on room layout application.


Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables non-invasive depth-resolved investigation of laryngeal tissue. However, with conventional systems, OCT cross-sectional images of vibrating vocal cords always suffer from motion artifacts. This is the case even at low phonation frequencies of about 100 Hz. Motion artifacts of predictable repetitive movements can be avoided with carefully timed acquisitions. Irregular, non-repetitive movements, e.g. disturbed vocal cord vibration caused by laryngeal disorders, require different strategies, such as the use of high frame rates. We present a novel concept for dynamic vocal cord imaging with a high speed 1.6 MHz swept-source OCT system. Due to the high image rate, a graphics processing unit (GPU) based signal processing software has been developed in order to obtain real time OCT images. To demonstrate the feasibility of our approach on vibrating samples, we present a laboratory setup which includes a MHz swept source for OCT. To enable the transfer of our setup to clinical applications a concept for a curved rigid laryngoscope design, integrating the optical components for high-speed OCT, is proposed.


: Urethral polyps are a rare pathology that is usually diagnosed in childhood hematuria and obstructive urinary symptoms are the most common findings and transurethral resection is the best choice of the treatment. We report three cases, a 6-years-old boy and 9-years-old boy diagnosed and treated of posterior urethral polyp after showing hematuria and obstructive urinary symptoms, and a 2-years-old girl that showed to prolapse of urethral polyp.


Human-induced biodiversity loss has been accelerating since the industrial revolution. The climate change impacts will severely alter the biodiversity and biogeographical patterns at all scales, leading to biotic homogenization. Due to underfunding, a climate smart, conservation-prioritization scheme is needed to optimize species protection. Spatial phylogenetics enable the identification of endemism centers and provide valuable insights regarding the eco-evolutionary and conservation value, as well as the biogeographical origin of a given area. Many studies exist regarding the conservation prioritization of mainland areas, yet none has assessed how climate change might alter the biodiversity and biogeographical patterns of an island biodiversity hotspot. Thus, we conducted a phylogenetically informed, conservation prioritization study dealing with the effects of climate change on Crete's plant diversity and biogeographical patterns. Using several macroecological analyses, we identified the current and future endemism centers and assessed the impact of climate change on the biogeographical patterns in Crete. The highlands of Cretan mountains have served as both diversity cradles and museums, due to their stable climate and high topographical heterogeneity, providing important ecosystem services. Historical processes seem to have driven diversification and endemic species distribution in Crete. Due to the changing climate and the subsequent biotic homogenization, Crete's unique bioregionalization, which strongly reminiscent the spatial configuration of the Pliocene/Pleistocene Cretan paleo-islands, will drastically change. The emergence of the 'Anthropocene' era calls for the prioritization of biodiversity-rich areas, serving as mixed-endemism centers, with high overlaps among protected areas and climatic refugia.


Background: People with mental illness and substance abuse are in great need of care and treatment. To increase the chances of recovery, both diagnoses need to be identified. Mental illness and substance abuse are perceived as deviant in society and among caregivers, with the result that the person is not seeking care and likely to deteriorate in their health. The nurse is obliged to use his/hers understanding in a fair and unprejudiced way, and deal with the person with respect and understanding regardless of the disease. For nurses in the municipal health care responsibilities for people with comorbidity leads to a higher workload and stress. Previous research shows that nurses lack skills in psychiatric nursing, causing uncertainty in health care meeting. Aim: The purpose of the study is to describe nurses' experiences of people with mental illness and substance abuse in municipal health care.Method: A qualitative method with individual interviews were used. The sample consisted of seven nurses, three psychiatric nurses, a district nurse and three general nurses. Participants were six women and one man, between twenty-five and fifty-two years old. The collected material was analyzed by qualitative content analysis. Result: Three categories are presented in the outcome - Patient needs that are difficult to master, Conditions for a good care relationship and Organizational shortcomings create role confusion. These categories created a theme: Comorbidity - multifaceted and difficult to master. Conclusion: We need greater knowledge of psychiatry in the municipal health service. For this to happen, we need understanding from the top of the organization regarding the illuminated phenomenon and understanding of psychiatric nurses' skills. Further research on how the organization can be improved could contribute to greater understanding and thereby improve patient situation.


One of the key problems in copper-diamond composites is the interface between the metal matrix and the diamond reinforcement. In order to take advantage of the high thermal conductive diamond filler in a composite the design of the interface is crucial. One approach to minimize the thermal contact resistance between metal and diamond reinforcement is to coat the diamonds with functional layers, e.g. Mo or W. For coating of diamonds PVD and CVD have been used followed by characterization of coating thickness by different methods. The coated diamonds were used for composite manufacturing and the thermal diffusivity of the compacted materials was measured.


This paper describes a way to develop magneto-optical waveguides via sol-gel process. They are made of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles embedded in a silica/zirconia matrix. Thin films are coated on glass substrate using the dip-coating technique. Annealing and UV treatment are applied to finalize sample preparation. Therefore, planar waveguides combining magneto-optical properties with a low refractive index (≈1,5) are obtained. M-lines and free space ellipsometry measurements show a specific Faraday rotation of 250°/cm and a modal birefringence of 1×10−4 at 820 nm. Thus, the mode conversion efficiency can reach a maximum value around 56%.


Developing policies to promote and increase levels of cycling requires proper understanding of the determinants of bicycle use. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential factors that can influence bicycle commuting in the city of Dar-es-Salaam. The study is designed to explore the relationships between bicycle commuting and potential motivators, barriers and interventions in the different stages of change of cycling behaviour. Results show that the top rated potential cycling motivators consistent among all stages of change of cycling behaviour are: provision of bicycle lanes, low bicycle prices and direct routes; top barriers are: car driver attitude and behaviour, social (in) security and lack of safety on the road; whereas top interventions are no bicycle import tax. From logistic regression modelling, the following factors had the most influence on the likelihood of bicycle commuting regardless of the stage of change of cycling behaviour: motivators; low bicycle price, safe parking at home and work, quality of bicycle and cycling training. Barriers include; weather, social status, social (in) security and no cycling skills. Interventions include: no bicycle import tax. These results contribute to an improved understanding of the factors that can influence bicycle commuting in Dar-es-Salaam and may provide a stronger empirical basis for designing policy and programs to promote cycling.


Backround:  This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of fibromyalgia syndrome in patients with chronic renal failure  and evaluate the association of this syndrome with gender, age, hemodialysis , and laboratory parameters.
Patients and Method: The study was designed as cross-sectional prospective clinical study. A total of 135 patients with chronic renal failure were included in the study; 65 of the patients participating in the study were randomly selected from the ones who were diagnosed with grade 3–4 chronic renal failure and were under clinical follow-up.
Results: Of the 135 patients who participated in the study, 74 (55.8%) were female and 61 (45.2%) were male. Eighteen of the seventy (25.7%) patients who were diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome were in the hemodialysis group and 12/65 (18.4%) were in the predialysis group. The Fibromyalgia impact questionnaire  result was 66.2 ± 15.01 in the dialysis group (N = 18) and 65.45 ± 4.17 in the predialysis group (N = 12). In the predialysis group, low vitamin D (p= 0.000), high acute-phase reactant (p= 0.00) and high uric acid levels (p=0,001) were detected. Statistically significant high thyroid-stimulating hormone and aspartate aminotransferase values were found with the presence of  fibromyalgia syndrome in both the groups. The logistic regression analysis (analysis of variance) revealed that vitamin D had a high predictive value for the presence of fibromyalgia syndrome in the predialysis group (beta = 0.42, p= 0.001, confidence interval 0.41).
Conclusion: Systemic disorders such as hypothyroidism, vitamin D deficiency, and inflammation may also contribute to the development of fibromyalgia syndrome in chronic renal failure patients.

Keywords: Fibromyalgia, chronic renal failure, hemodialysis
cystosarcoma phyllodes


Background: Radiation shielding properties is an important for a material wish can be used the photon attenuation coefficients of clay produced using different rate of boron have been measured for the purpose of radioactive waste disposal. Materials and Methods: The measurement has been performed using gamma spectrometer contains NaI (Tl) detector at the photon energies of 662, 1173 and 1332 keV. The mean free path and transmission rate of the samples were also obtained. Results: From the measurement of linear attenuation coefficients it was found that using boron in the clay increased the linear attenuation coefficients. Conclusion: It can be concluded from this work that the boron is effective to shield radiation and it can be used for storing of nuclear waste. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2011; 9(1): 3740


Abstract. To gain better understanding of auroral processes in Saturn's magnetosphere, we compare ultraviolet (UV) auroral images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) with the position of the open-closed field line boundary in the ionosphere calculated using a magnetic field model that employs Cassini measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) as input. Following earlier related studies of pre-orbit insertion data from January 2004 when Cassini was located ~ 1300 Saturn radii away from the planet, here we investigate the interval 12–15 February 2008, when UV images of Saturn's southern dayside aurora were obtained by the HST while the Cassini spacecraft measured the IMF in the solar wind just upstream of the dayside bow shock. This configuration thus provides an opportunity, unique to date, to determine the IMF impinging on Saturn's magnetosphere during imaging observations, without the need to take account of extended and uncertain interplanetary propagation delays. The paraboloid model of Saturn's magnetosphere is then employed to calculate the magnetospheric magnetic field structure and ionospheric open-closed field line boundary for averaged IMF vectors that correspond, with appropriate response delays, to four HST images. We show that the IMF-dependent open field region calculated from the model agrees reasonably well with the area lying poleward of the UV emissions, thus supporting the view that the poleward boundary of Saturn's auroral oval in the dayside ionosphere lies adjacent to the open-closed field line boundary.


As a latent transcription factor, nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) translocates from the cytoplasm into the nucleus upon stimulation and mediates the expression of genes that are important in immunity, inflammation, and development. However, little is known about how it is regulated inside the nucleus. By a two-hybrid approach, we identify a prefoldin-like protein, ubiquitously expressed transcript (UXT), that is expressed predominantly and interacts specifically with NF-κB inside the nucleus. RNA interference knockdown of UXT leads to impaired NF-κB activity and dramatically attenuates the expression of NF-κB–dependent genes. This interference also sensitizes cells to apoptosis by tumor necrosis factor-α. Furthermore, UXT forms a dynamic complex with NF-κB and is recruited to the NF-κB enhanceosome upon stimulation. Interestingly, the UXT protein level correlates with constitutive NF-κB activity in human prostate cancer cell lines. The presence of NF-κB within the nucleus of stimulated or constitutively active cells is considerably diminished with decreased endogenous UXT levels. Our results reveal that UXT is an integral component of the NF-κB enhanceosome and is essential for its nuclear function, which uncovers a new mechanism of NF-κB regulation.


In approximately 30 % of patients with epilepsy, seizures are refractory to medical therapy, leading to significant morbidity and increased mortality. Substantial evidence has demonstrated the benefit of surgical resection in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, and in the present journal, we recently reviewed seizure outcomes in resective epilepsy surgery. However, not all patients are candidates for or amenable to open surgical resection for epilepsy. Fortunately, several nonresective surgical options are now available at various epilepsy centers, including novel therapies which have been pioneered in recent years. Ablative procedures such as stereotactic laser ablation and stereotactic radiosurgery offer minimally invasive alternatives to open surgery with relatively favorable seizure outcomes, particularly in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. For certain individuals who are not candidates for ablation or resection, palliative neuromodulation procedures such as vagus nerve stimulation, deep brain stimulation, or responsive neurostimulation may result in a significant decrease in seizure frequency and improved quality of life. Finally, disconnection procedures such as multiple subpial transections and corpus callosotomy continue to play a role in select patients with an eloquent epileptogenic zone or intractable atonic seizures, respectively. Overall, open surgical resection remains the gold standard treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy, although it is significantly underutilized.While nonresective epilepsy procedures have not replaced the need for resection, there is hope that these additional surgical options will increase the number of patients who receive treatment for this devastating disorder— particularly individuals who are not candidates for or who have failed resection.


A nanostructured surface layer with a gradient microstructure was produced on a Cu plate by means of the surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). Diffusion of Ni in the nanostructured layer was investigated by the radiotracer technique at temperatures from 383 to 438 K. The measured diffusion profiles consist of two distinct sections with different slopes, the steep one corresponding to the top surface layer with the grain size of 10 to 25 nm and the shallow one corresponding to a subsurface layer with a grain size of 25 to 100 nm. The effective diffusivities derived from both sections are more than 2 orders of magnitudes higher than the grain boundary diffusivities in coarse-grained Cu. The significantly accelerated diffusion rates are expected to be associated with the "non-equilibrium" states of interfaces in the nanostructured surface layer induced by SMAT. The difference between the diffusivities in the top and sub- surface layer might result from the fact that most interfaces developed from twin boundaries in the former while produced by dislocation activities in the latter.


This article reviews the roles and importance of trading benchmarks in transition management, with particular reference to their use in the attribution of implementation shortfall (IS). It begins with a review of the need for finer detail in IS reporting. Next, the role of, and the factors influencing, the choice of trading benchmark precedes a critical appraisal of commonly used benchmarks. The insights from this appraisal are then used to present a conceptual framework for determining the optimal execution schedule for orders where alpha capture is not a relevant consideration. In the concluding section, this framework is applied to formulate new benchmarks, based on participation rates, for evaluating the quality of execution and the measurement of market impact, namely, the negligible impact participation rate (NIPR) and the optimal trajectory participation rate (OTPR). Finally, the often overlooked issue of unobserved (latent) market impact is broached, along with suggestions for how this can be incorporated into a full attribution of IS.


The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) surveys United States' and Puerto Rico's agriculture for the purpose of making estimates on crops, livestock, production practices, farm economics, etc. One of these surveys is the annual June Area Survey. The survey requires field enumerators to physically go to sampled land areas (segments) designated on aerial photos and collect information on agricultural activity within the land area. Sometimes these land areas are difficult to find due to similarity in geography and missing road signs. In 2005, NASS researched whether handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers would be helpful in locating the sampled segments. All aerial photos contained the latitude and longitude coordinates of the centroid of the segments for the enumerators to compare with their readings on the GPS receivers. Field enumerators could then tell if they were in the general location of a segment or miles away.


Given the nature of the development at Belmont Road / Huntershill Court, including new methods of construction and technologies such as MVHR, GHA have commissioned a process of Building Performance Evaluation. This supports the additional funding received for the Greener Homes Innovation Scheme to undertake an independent evaluation of the measures undertaken here. This report summarises the approach and the findings.


We report a case of a 21 years old woman, pregnant (14.1 weeks of gestation), and with 24 hours of abdominal pain received at the emergency room. During examination we found gravid uterus and a mass in the right inguinal area and flank, independent from uterus, painful and with no uterine activity. We perform an obstetric ultrasound with this results: 13 weeks pregnancy and right adnexal cystic tumor with 15 x 14 cm. Patient undergo to emergency exploratory laparotomy, with previous application of indomethacin end progesterone. During surgery performance we observe a bilateral adnexal masse, right side affecting the complete ovary (salpingactomized), and left side extirpated leaving functional tissue ovary. Three days after, patient leaves the hospital without any complication. Pathology reports a bilateral mature teratoma.


The importance of context specific ICT4D innovation has been highlighted in Information Systems research by the short‐comings of a‐contextual innovation. This has often been accepted without due understanding of how to develop context specific interventions. There is therefore a need for a framework that elucidates ICT4D contextualisation and guides the development of context specific interventions. This should be useful to practitioners that are constantly advised to develop context specific artefacts without any clarity of how to do so. Using evidence from Zimbabwe this paper proposes the use of livelihood profiles for identifying the livelihood issues that matter in a particular locality and Sen's Capability Approach for assessing the opportunity freedoms to exploit the local livelihoods. This is presented as a systematic way of establishing the context under which ICT4D interventions will be deployed. The study uses focus groups under an interpretivist paradigm to investigate contextual issues in Zimbabwe Highveld Prime Communal livelihood zone. The study found a politically polarised contextual setting characterised by poor agricultural finance, ineffective crop and livestock markets, unrewarding labour markets against a good agricultural climate that is affected by cyclical droughts. As a result the study posits that ICT4D innovations for the zone must be designed to operate under these realities and limitations.


2 copies. Summarizes goals achieved to date; struggle not between "haves" and "have-nots," but a conflict of ideologies; major dictatorships have reverted to doctrine of force and might as opposed to international morality and would impose their doctrine on whole world; completely new political, social, and economic order established by dictatorships based on idea of self-sufficiency and bilateral agreements always to benefit of stronger state; dictators know economic and industrial structures they have set up have no hope of permanence unless they can impose their will on the rest of the world; if democracies, including U.S. do not defend their political, social, and economic views now by all peaceful means at their command, only question of time when they must defend them with force; if lawless nations continue to gain ends through force or threat of force, and if concessions to them continue, catastrophic war is inevitable; U.S. the ultimate object of attack, when other democracies have been cleared away and U.S. is standing alone; so far Western Hemisphere has been spared acts of force by the dictators, but U.S. knows what to expect; Gen. [Wilhelm] Faupel recently declared in Berlin that Lima Conference was attempt to stop German penetration of Latin America; not only territory at stake, but basic ideas and principles; plan conceived by National Socialist Government is (1) complete control of Germany through coordination of public opinion forming means and control by Party of every aspect of German life, (2) absorption of Austria and Czechoslovakia, (3) political, social, and economic hegemony over Southeastern Europe, (4) acquisition of Ukraine, (5) isolation of Russia, (6) weakening of France through breakdown of Soviet alliance, (7) acceleration of disintegration of British Empire, and (8) with England weakened, way would be open to U.S.; fear of war is paralyzing action by democratic states, and Germany is capitalizing on this fear; in meantime democracies are increasing their armaments; a poker game, with great stake - the stake of saving civilization; Americans now beginning to realize they cannot remain aloof and find shelter behind neutrality legislation.


Elopements from psychiatric units are a frequent but usually low-grade risk. However, they are sometimes followed by harmful consequences, for which the psychiatrist and the hospital may be held liable. We describe management methods developed to reduce such liability. These include a structured observation system and procedures to return elopers to the hospital or to refer them for community-based treatment. Data on 105 elopers and 360 controls were gathered and analyzed. Acceptance of some risk of elopement is inevitable on wards that follow the principle of treatment in the "least restrictive alternative."


The present work reports the oxidation of copper nanowires via microwave irradiation under wet conditions. Structural characterization of the nanowires has been carried out by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled with focused ion beam, electron backscatter diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The copper nanowires were essentially monocrystalline with 〈110〉 axes, albeit growth twins have also been observed. Oxidation of the metal nanowires resulted in the growth of polyhedral Cu2O crystals arranged in twinned configurations around the nanowire axis. The crystallographic orientation of the twin variants is compatible with a cube-on-cube orientation relation originating from the epitaxial growth of Cu2O from pure Cu.


My aim in this thesis is to develop an account of the powers that are fundamental to
human agency, by drawing out the similarities between human agency, the agency of
non-human animals, and the agency of inanimate objects. Many accounts
characterise our actions in terms of mental capacities unique to human agents. But
focusing on what human agency has in common with agency of other kinds provides
a novel perspective from which we can investigate the features of our agency that
receive less attention in the literature.
I develop the account by answering two closely related questions, both of which
provide the opportunity to draw out the connections between human agency, the
agency of non-human animals and the agency of inanimate objects. The first
question is: what are the similarities and differences between dispositions and
abilities? The second question is: what are the similarities and differences between
human agency and agency of other kinds?
I argue against the idea that the difference between dispositions and abilities lies in
the former powers being necessitated to manifest in certain conditions. Rather, what
distinguishes dispositions and abilities is that the exercise of ability involves selfmovement
on the part of the agent. In light of this distinction, I argue that all
human actions are exercises of bodily abilities of a kind possessed by many nonhuman
animals. Possession of these abilities does not require high-level mental
capacities, but only that the agent possesses a conscious perspective. There are many
ways in which the things that we do require uniquely human mental capacities, but
our agency is grounded in powers of a kind held in common with non-human
agents.


Background Current NICE Guidelines recommend that acute hospitals should provide access to face to face specialist palliative care assessments, 9 am–5 pm, 7 days per week. Continuity of specialist palliative care input is also highlighted in the End of Life Care Strategy. Tertiary cancer centres are often considered to have higher levels of palliative care skills among medical and nursing staff. The impact/need of a 7 day week specialist palliative care service is unclear. Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology, a tertiary cancer centre, has provided a 7-day service by Clinical Nurses Specialists (CNS) since April 2011. Aim To evaluate the impact of 7 day face-to-face access to specialist palliative care, and to explore how the service is valued and used by oncology staff. Method A questionnaire was sent to 120 medical and nursing staff. Results The response rate was 48%.Two-thirds of staff had used the service, with 95% finding it very helpful. Pain management was the most common reason for requesting advice (35 occasions). Further common reasons for referral included opioid toxicity, agitation and care of dying patients. Other reasons included chest secretions, vomiting, psychological/spiritual care, and family/carer support. The service was used 1–5 times by 80% of staff, and 6–10 times by 11% of staff. However, 6% of staff used the service on more than 10 occasions. All staff found the CNSs to be accessible (very=88%, quite=12%). The service was considered to be very important or important by 96% of staff. Qualitative information demonstrated that the service was seen as crucial, excellent and was highly valued. Conclusion This survey demonstrated the need for the service in a regional oncology centre and that it was valued by both medical and nursing staff. The survey also provided information for areas requiring further educational input.


The Transportation Security Administration safeguards all United States air travel. To do so, they employ human inspectors to screen x-ray images of carry-on baggage for threats and other prohibited items, which can be challenging. On the other hand, recent research applying deep learning techniques to computer-aided security screening to assist operators has yielded encouraging results. Deep learning is a subfield of machine learning based on learning abstractions from data, as opposed to engineering features by hand. These techniques have proven to be quite effective in many domains, including computer vision, natural language processing, speech recognition, self-driving cars, and geographical mapping technology. In this paper, we present initial results of a collaboration between Smiths Detection and Duke University funded by the Transportation Security Administration. Using convolutional object detection algorithms trained on annotated x-ray images, we show real-time detection of prohibited items in carry-on luggage. Results of the work so far indicate that this approach can detect selected prohibited items with high accuracy and minimal impact on operational false alarm rates.


Abstract This study contrasted the effects of an enhanced group intervention program against a standard group intervention, with specific reference to the influences of group cohesion on changes in health-related physical activity of older adults. Older adults (N = 122) took part in a 12-week intervention with repeated post-intervention follow-up (6 & 12 months) assessing physical activity behaviour and perceptions of group cohesion. Results indicated significant positive change (p< 0.05) across time, but a non-significant difference between groups, for physical activity behaviour. For group cohesion, results indicated a significant negative (p< 0.05) change across time and similar to physical activity behaviour, a nonsignificant difference between the intervention groups. Further research is needed to understand the mechanism that fosters group cohesion in order to develop future interventions aimed at increasing physical activity behaviour and adherence in older adults.


The application of IUCN criteria and Red List Categories was done for ornamental plants. Main sources of the study were Glen's book, Cultivated Plants of Southern Africa (Glen, 2002) and the Red List of Threatened Plants, IUCN (2001). About 500 threatened ornamental plants could be found and presented in respective lists. Rare ornamental plants with 209 species is the largest group followed by Vulnerable (147), Endangered (92), Indeterminate (37), Extinct (6) and finally Extinct/Endangered groups with 2 species. A weak positive correlation (r = +0.36 ) was found between the number of threatened species and the number of threatened ornamental species within the families.


GAAS vs. GAGAS: HOW TO REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROLS SAS no. 63 goes beyond both SAS no. 60 and the yellow book in setting audit report requirements. The new director of finance for the Agency for Art Endowment was perplexed. "When I was chief financial officer of Trans-Global Enterprises, we always got a very simple one-page internal control report from our auditors. Now I'm in the public sector, and the equivalent report is twice as long. Is this because your firm is doing more work on internal controls than would be the case for a private enterprise?" "Actually, no," replied the audit partner. "The procedures relating to the internal control structure for a generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) audit are the same as those for an audit conducted under generally accepted government auditing standards, or GAGAS. Only the report is different." "Why's that?" asked the finance director. "It's largely a function of the different audience these reports are intended for. You see, government reports generally become part of the public record. As such, they may be read by those less knowledgeable about the audit process and the auditor's role and responsibilities than a private sector audit, which is read by members of management and the audit committee, who have direct knowledge about the audit engagement." NEW STANDARDS FOR REPORTING ON INTERNAL CONTROLS The finance director's uncertainty is understandable. At first glance, two such different-looking reports might reflect different levels of performance by the auditor--yet that's not the case. In this article, we'll try to clear up some of the mystery surrounding this subject and provide a working knowledge of the reporting requirements under * Statement on Auditing Standards no. 60, Communication of Internal Control Structure Related Matters Noted in an Audit. * Government Auditing Standards, commonly known as the yellow book, issued by the U.S. General Accounting Office. * SAS no. 63, Compliance Auditing Applicable to Governmental Entities and Other Recipients of Governmental Financial Assistance. However, we won't be covering the section of SAS no. 63 concerning performance and reporting under the Single Audit Act of 1984. IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS Over the past several years, one of the major objectives of the auditing standard setters has been improving communications between auditors and the users of their services. To this end, early in 1988 the American Institute of CPAs auditing standards board issued several new SASs, some of which were aimed directly at enhancing auditor communications. During the same period, increased public attention was being focused on audits of government entities. Thus, while the new SASs were being finalized, the GAO was revising GAGAS, as set forth in its yellow book. Like the related AICPA standards, the yellow book includes requirements for auditor communications. The yellow book is effective for audits beginning on or after January 1, 1989. One of the communication areas addressed in the yellow book is the auditor's responsibility for communicating internal control structure matters noted during the course of the audit. This responsibility was addressed for GAAS audits in SAS no. 60. However, although the yellow book does not provide any specific examples of the communications of matters related to internal control structure, its requirements in some respects are more extensive than GAAS. Therefore, to further help auditors apply GAAS in government audits, the ASB developed SAS no. 63, which provides guidance on how auditors should modify SAS no. 60 reports on the internal control structure to satisfy the requirements of the yellow book. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE YELLOW BOOK AND SASs nos. 63 AND 60 Exhibit 1 Features of the internal control structure report compares the requirements of the yellow book and SASs nos. …


Education is an important aspect of care for diabetic patients. This study aimed to compare the effect of education by health care provider and peer on self-care behaviors among Iranian patients with diabetes. In this clinical randomized control trial, we enrolled 120 patients with type 2 diabetes who were referred to the Diabetes Clinic at a university medical center hospital in an urban area of Iran. Participants were randomly allocated into three groups. Patients in care provider group (CPG) received additional education provided by a nurse, other than routine education in a Diabetes Clinic. Patients in peer education group (PEG) received education given by a peer. Patients in control group (CG) received the routine education in accordance with the usual procedures at the Diabetes Clinic. Data collected at baseline and 12 weeks (3 months) were demographic variables and diabetes self-care activities. Self-care behaviors post intervention differed significantly by group; PEG patients demonstrated the greatest improvement. CG patients' self-care behaviors did not change significantly and were significantly lower than scores by CPG and PEG patients. In line with the World Health Organization recommendations, future studies are warranted to confirm the effectiveness of peer-led education among diabetic patients in the Iranian culture.


The characteristics of 86Rb+ fluxes through K+ channels in luminal-membrane vesicles isolated from the pars recta of rabbit proximal tubule were studied. In KCl-loaded vesicles from the pars recta, transient accumulation of 86Rb+ is observed which is modestly inhibited by BaCl2 and blocked by CdCl2. The isotope accumulation is driven by an electrical diffusion potential, as shown in experiments using either these membrane vesicles loaded with different anions, or an outwardly directed Li+ gradient with a Li+ ionophore. The vesicles containing the channel show a cation selectivity with the order K+ greater than Rb+ greater than choline+ greater than or equal to Li+ greater than Na+. The CdCl2-sensitive 86Rb+ flux is dependent on intravesicular Ca2+. Increasing concentrations of Ca2+ gradually decreased the 86Rb+ uptake and at 1 microM-Ca2+ the CdCl2-sensitive isotope flux is nearly abolished.


The human monocyte and macrophage Fc receptor that binds human IgG with high affinity is a surface glycoprotein with a relative molecular mass of approximately 70 kDa. This receptor (Fc gamma RI) has been partially characterized using mAb 32 which binds outside the Fc binding domain of the receptor, but nonetheless triggers Fc receptor-dependent functions. In this study, we describe the properties of four new antibodies with specificity for Fc gamma RI. Based on additivity and cross-blocking studies, we conclude that two of these antibodies (mAb 22 and 44) define a third epitope which is distinct from the binding sites for both mAb 32 and the Fc portion of human IgG. Each Fc gamma RI-specific hybridoma was selected for stable sublines expressing high levels of mAb on the cell surface, and then tested for the ability of this surface mAb to trigger antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity. All sublines were killed by human monocytes when used as targets in a 51Cr-release assay, whereas hybridomas specific for myeloid Ag other than Fc gamma RI were not killed. We conclude that Fc receptor function is triggered through binding to each of the three epitopes of Fc gamma RI that we have defined. These mAb will be useful for additional characterization of Fc gamma RI, and may, when incorporated into tumor-directed heteroantibodies, enhance tumor cell killing by human monocytes and macrophages.


Impact, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Tarride); Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Tarride); ICES, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Paterson, Anvari); Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Paterson); Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Paterson); Division of General Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Anvari); Centre for Minimal Access Surgery, St Joseph's Healthcare, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Anvari).


Peptide and protein drug are commercially available as therapeutics and are prepared by various biotechnology processes.As they lack drug stability during their delivery, so protein structures are modified to maintain pharmaceutical properties of proteins. Various approaches for delivery of protein and peptide drugs are used for proper formulation of drugs. In addition, various advancements in protein and peptide drug delivery have try to overcome the issues during delivery of these therapeutics like increased stability, low toxicity level and increased resistance to proteolytic inactivation, bioavailability, efficiency and improve circulation period. There is a need to develop multifunctional drugdelivery systems and advance technologies that allow production of high quality products at affordable cost. The study was conducted to check various approaches and recent advances in protein/peptide drug delivery system to improve patient compliance when compared with conventionalmethods for drug delivery.


Ectoparasitic infestation of humans is of particular interest because some species
can act as vectors of pathogens resulting in wide-ranging pathogenic effects.
Identification of ectoparasites using morphological keys is not applicable in some
instances, especially if the ectoparasite specimen is damaged or in an immature state of
development. DNA barcoding serves as an alternative technique to identify ectoparasite
specimens to species by using a fragment of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI)
mitochondrial gene as an identification key. Similarly, isolation of pathogens from
ectoparasites is tedious and time-consuming, therefore a molecular approach is
preferred as it offers rapidity, specificity and sensitivity. The main objective of this
thesis is to determine the genetic diversity of medically-important ectoparasites and
their associated pathogens in welfare homes from two different geographical areas of
Peninsular Malaysia. People living in welfare homesare prone to ectoparasitic
infestation as they live in densely packed institutions, often with unhygienic practices,
therefore identification of ectoparasite species and any pathogens these ectoparasites
might harbour is crucial to avoid transmission of diseases among occupants. The
identification of arthropod specimens, submitted to the Department of Parasitology,in
medical case reports was also attempted and discussed. A total of 900 head lice and 26
bedbugs were collected from 15 welfare homes across Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang
Valley (KL/KV) and 832 head lice were collected from 10 welfare homes across Kedah.
Pediculosis infestation rates ranging from 13.0% to 100% and 34.3% to 100% in
Greater KL/KV and Kedah, respectively. DNA barcoding identified the head lice,
Pediculus humanus capitis collected from both areas as belonging to three clades
corresponding with three Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) in the Barcode of Life
Datasystems (BOLD): Clade A (41%) (=BOLD: AAA1556), Clade B (2%) (= BOLD:
AAA1557) and Clade D (57%) (=BOLD:AAW5034). Nine welfare homes in Greater
iv
KL/KV and seven welfare homes in Kedah had head lice from multiple clades. Head
lice of Clade B and Clade D were found living on the same human head at Pusat Jagaan
Nuri welfare home in Kuala Lumpur. DNA fromAcinetobacter spp. wasdetected in 52
(20%) head lice belonging to clade A and D and were identified as Acinetobacter
guillouiae (8.5%), Acinetobacter junii (6.2%), Acinetobacter baumannii (3.8%), and
Acinetobacter nosocomialis (1.5%). In addition, DNA from Serratia marcescens was
detected in five (1.9%) head lice and DNA from Staphylococcus aureus was detected in
20 (7.7%) head lice. DNA barcoding confirmed the bedbugs collected from a single
welfare home in Kuala Lumpur as beingCimex hemipterus (BOLD ID:BBCH001-16).
DNA barcoding identified arthropod specimens presented to the Department of
Parasitology in three medical case reports as ticks of the genus Dermacentor, larvae of
filter fly Clogmia albipunctatus and larvae of cigarette beetle Lasioderma serricorne.
This is the first report on the genetic diversity of head lice in Malaysiathrough DNA
barcoding; as well as the first to provide molecular evidence on the type of bacteria
occurring in head lice, suggesting potential transmission of these pathogens to
Malaysian populations. The data obtained provide fundamental data so that necessary
planning, funding and control measures can be undertaken by the health authorities to
prevent the occurrence of head lice infestations in welfare homes. It is anticipated that
the DNA barcoding technique used in this study is able to provide rapid and accurate
identification of arthropods especially of the medically-important ones.


This paper presents an innovative approach for quality engineering using the Eigenvector Dimension Reduction (EDR) Method. Currently industry relies heavily upon the use of the Taguchi method and Signal to Noise (S/N) ratios as quality indices. However, some disadvantages of the Taguchi method exist such as, its reliance upon samples occurring at specified levels, results to be valid at only the current design point, and its expensiveness to maintain a certain level of confidence. Recently, it has been shown that the EDR method can accurately provide an analysis of variance, similar to that of the Taguchi method, but is not hindered by the aforementioned drawbacks of the Taguchi method. This is evident because the EDR method is based upon fundamental statistics, where the statistical information for each design parameter is used to estimate the uncertainty propagation through engineering systems. Therefore, the EDR method provides much more extensive capabilities than the Taguchi method, such as the ability to estimate not only mean and standard deviation of the response, but also the skewness and kurtosis. The uniqueness of the EDR method is its ability to generate the probability density function (PDF) of system performances. This capability, known as the probabilistic "what-if" study, provides a visual representation of the effects of the design parameters (e.g., its mean and variance) upon the response. In addition, the probabilistic "what-if" study can be applied across multiple design parameters, allowing the analysis of interactions among control factors. Furthermore, the implementation of the probabilistic "what-if" study provides a basis for performing robust design optimization. Because of these advantages, it is apparent that the EDR method provides an alternative platform of quality engineering to the Taguchi method. For easy execution by field engineers, the proposed platform for quality engineering using the EDR method, known as Quick Quality Quantification (Q3 ), will be developed as a Microsoft EXCEL add-in.Copyright © 2007 by ASME


During a malacofaunistic survey in the environs of Sąpolno (Pomeranian Lakeland, NW. Poland) 16 species of Pisidium were found within an area of 2.5×2.0 km: P. amnicum (O. F. Müller), P. casertanum (Poli), P. crassum (Stelfox), P. globulare Clessin, P. henslowanum (Sheppard), P. hibernicum Westerlund, P. milium Held, P. moitessierianum Paladilhe, P. nitidum Jenyns, P. obtusale (Lamarck), P. personatum Malm, P. ponderosum (Stelfox), P. pseudosphaerium Schlesch, P. pulchellum Jenyns, P. subtruncatum Malm and P. supinum A. Schmidt. The number of offspring during the reproductive season depended on the species and on the parent's size. The most fecund species was P. ponderosum, with up to 75 juveniles released at once. The offspring of P. amnicum were the largest (mean shell length 2.05 mm), but relatively small compared to the parent's shell (mean 26.1%). The smallest juveniles were produced by P. moitessierianum (mean shell length 0.59 mm). The juvenile shells of the studied species were more or less elongated, with the height/length ratio ranging from 0.75 (P. amnicum, P. ponderosum, P. henslowanum) to 0.83 (P. subtruncatum, P. hibernicum). Distinct differences were observed in the reproduction of P. casertanum and P. ponderosum. However the differences between the reproductive parameters of P. ponderosum and the form described as P. casertanum var. humeriformis were rather small. key wordS: ovoviviparity, fecundity, infra-specific differences, shell of offspring


Conflicts are inevitable in romantic relationships. Couples sometimes choose the pro-relationship strategy of relational sacrifice to address such conflicts. Previous research established that examining sacrifice motives (i.e., approach and avoidance) is meaningful in understanding relationship quality. Using interdependence theory and 14 days of diaries with 110 heterosexual couples, we extend previous research by testing how sacrifice motives predicted both mean levels and volatility of daily relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction, commitment, intimacy, passion, trust, and love). Specifically, we examined actor and partner reports of sacrifice motives as individuals' average levels (trait; between-person differences) and daily levels of sacrifice motives on a specific day (state; within-person differences) in predicting relationship quality. When predicting mean levels of relationship quality, individuals' own (actor) trait and state approach and avoidance motives predicted most relationship quality variables. Results were less robust for partner effects, especially for partner trait and state approach motives. When predicting volatility (within-person variability across 14 days) in relationship quality, patterns were more robust for both approach and avoidant motives and for both actor and partner effects. For approach sacrifices, and for all six relationship quality variables, individuals' trait approach motives predicted lower volatility, whereas avoidance motives predicted higher volatility. For partner effects, individuals reported lower volatility in satisfaction, intimacy, passion, and trust when their partners were higher in approach motives, whereas they reported higher volatility in satisfaction, commitment, intimacy, and trust when their partners were higher in avoidance motives. We discuss the importance of studying dyads and testing the associations between sacrifice motives and daily relationship quality—both levels and volatility.


Background: Infants with ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow may undergo palliation with either a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) stent or a modified Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt. A balanced multicenter comparison of these 2 approaches is lacking. Methods: Infants with ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow palliated with either a PDA stent or a BT shunt from January 2008 to November 2015 were reviewed from the 4 member centers of the Congenital Catheterization Research Collaborative. Outcomes were compared by use of propensity score adjustment to account for baseline differences between groups. Results: One hundred six patients with a PDA stent and 251 patients with a BT shunt were included. The groups differed in underlying anatomy (expected 2-ventricle circulation in 60% of PDA stents versus 45% of BT shunts; P=0.001) and presence of antegrade pulmonary blood flow (61% of PDA stents versus 38% of BT shunts; P<0.001). After propensity score adjustment, there was no difference in the hazard of the primary composite outcome of death or unplanned reintervention to treat cyanosis (hazard ratio, 0.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52–1.23; P=0.31). Other reinterventions were more common in the PDA stent group (hazard ratio, 29.8; 95% CI, 9.8–91.1; P<0.001). However, the PDA stent group had a lower adjusted intensive care unit length of stay (5.3 days [95% CI, 4.2–6.7] versus 9.19 days [95% CI, 7.9–10.6]; P<0.001), a lower risk of diuretic use at discharge (odds ratio, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.25–0.64; P<0.001) and procedural complications (odds ratio, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2–0.77; P=0.006), and larger (152 mm2/m2 [95% CI, 132–176] versus 125 mm2/m2 [95% CI, 113–138]; P=0.029) and more symmetrical (symmetry index, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.8–0.89] versus 0.77 [95% CI, 0.75–0.8]; P=0.008] pulmonary arteries at the time of subsequent surgical repair or last follow-up. Conclusions: In this multicenter comparison of palliative PDA stent and BT shunt for infants with ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow adjusted for differences in patient factors, there was no difference in the primary end point, death or unplanned reintervention to treat cyanosis. However, other markers of morbidity and pulmonary artery size favored the PDA stent group, supporting PDA stent as a reasonable alternative to BT shunt in select patients.


ABSTRACT As efforts for restoring Olympia oyster Ostrea lurida populations have expanded, there is an increased need to understand local factors that could influence the long-term success of these projects. To address concerns over potential limitations to recruitment at a restoration site in northern Puget Sound, WA, a study was developed to characterize physical processes governing larval transport in conjunction with larval abundance and environmental factors. Larval presence was not associated with tide cycle, season, or a combination of tide cycle and season. In terms of location, larvae were more likely to be present at offshore and intertidal sites versus the estuarine lagoon, where the adult population resides. Larval density was higher during late summer ebbs versus early summer floods. Across sampling dates and locations, larval sizes ranged from 184 to 263 µm, indicating that larvae were released into the water column throughout the reproductive season and retained in the embayment for at least ∼16 days. Throughout different tidal cycles in Skagit Bay, acoustic Doppler current profilers were used to measure current direction and velocities, concurrent with plankton sampling. Surface currents in the study area alternated between a clockwise and a counterclockwise gyre during initial ebb and flood tides, respectively. Larvae exported from the source population during initial to midebbs are swept into a northward gyre and potentially retained at intertidal sites alongshore. These results will provide resource managers attempting to restore native bivalves with the ability to expand populations by identifying optimal areas for habitat enhancement through natural recruitment.


Driving task-related factors by definition are 'directly and causally contributing to the accident occurrence, very specific and detailed, are short-term lasting or dynamic in nature, and refer to the actual conditions of the components'. The aim was to analyse specific driving task-related factors to investigate how these type of factors affect the driver undertaking their tasks within driving. A selection of driving task-related factors were chosen and analysed using two types of analysis; by a statistical method and by an in-depth methodology developed in TRACE. Typical characteristics of these accidents were identified, and for a number of factors, typical failure generating scenarios were also identified. From this, a list of possible countermeasures were defined with the aim of preventing such accidents occurring. These included driver education, in-vehicle technologies and design issues. Finally, benefits and limitations of the analysis undertaken are given, with recommendation for future work on driving task-related factors. driving task level, accident causation, contributing factors, attention, speed, sudden health problems, mobile phone use, sudden technical defects, dazzling sunshine, logistic regression, TRACE Work Package 5 methodology


Diversification of real estate portfolios has historically been accomplished by utilizing a geographic and/or property-type strategy. More recently, a number of economically based diversification categories have been proposed by industry researchers (see Hartzell, Shulman and Wurtzebach, 1987 and Wurtzebach, 1988). This study tests the efficiency of the existing geographic and geographic/economic strategies currently in the literature against an economically based diversification strategy using straightforward government SIC code categories. The three strategies used include: the NCREIF four geographic regions; the Solomon Brothers eight regions (a combination of economics and geography); and a purely economic grouping of the 316 MSAs in the United States using the nine major government SIC code categories. This study finds that the addition of economic underpinnings to a geographically constrained model, as developed by Hartzell et al. (1987) creates a higher risk/return efficient frontier than the purely geographic NCREIF diversification model. However, shedding geography altogether and diversifying along purely economic lines provides an even better efficient frontier during real estate cycle recovery and growth periods. This new strategy provides the real estate portfolio manager with the opportunity to increase risk-adjusted returns with a strategy that is easily understood and applied.


The process of reading a topographic map requires users to recognize and learn the cartographic symbols of the key (or legend) while interpreting the territory as depicted on the map at a given level of abstraction (the form and nature of features, their saliency and relationships). We present the results of an empirical user study that aims to identify and assess the main graphical characteristics that are used by map users to recognize the design principles which constitute the topographic mapping style adopted by IGN (Institut National de l'Information Géographique et Forestière), France. Our results suggest that 91% of the participants were able to recognize an IGN-France topographic map amongst other topographic map products. We also determine which graphical characteristics play a role in the recognition of this cartographic style, either by visual memory or by visual perception, and identify the representation of relief, including contour lines and shaded relief, as one of the major graphical characteristics of the topographic mapping style of IGN-France. Moreover, the participants of our study considered the representation of touristic POI (points of interest), toponymy, typography, the main roads network, the individual buildings and the forests, to be essential for stylistic recognition.


AbstractRespiratory exposures to solvents and metalworking fluids in relation to chronic health outcomes: strategies for reducing bias within conditional modeling approachesbyStella Fay BeckmanDoctor of Philosophy in EpidemiologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyProfessor Ellen A. Eisen, ChairBackgroundOccupational injury and illness are significant contributors to the global burden of disease, with more than 2 million deaths caused by work-related hazards estimated to occur worldwide each year. The goal of occupational epidemiology is to identify and characterize the causes of work-related injury and illness in order to inform workplace health and safety interventions. While occupational groups provide opportunities to study exposures at higher levels than those seen in the general population and with well-characterized exposures, studies of chronic diseases among workers are subject to a unique form of bias: the healthy worker effect. This results in downward bias, which can even make a truly hazardous exposure appear protective, under two circumstances: 1) when workers, who are overall healthier, are compared to the general population and 2) when workers with more robust health (survivors) remain in highly exposed jobs and accrue more exposure than those who leave work. While causal inference techniques are required to fully address this effect, there are approaches that may mitigate the bias within a standard conditional model.MethodsIn this dissertation, I explore the associations between occupational exposures and health outcomes with particular attention to bias caused by the healthy worker effect. In the second chapter, I estimate the association between acquired color vision defects and past exposure to n-hexane in a cross-sectional study of active and retired automobile repair workers in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Color vision defects are hypothesized to be an early indicator of neurotoxicity caused by n-hexane. In the third and fourth chapters, I consider exposure to metalworking fluid (MWF) in a large cohort of machinists. I investigate the association between MWF and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mortality in chapter three, using indirect adjustment for confounding by cigarette smoking status as well adjustment for cardiovascular disease mortality as a potential competing risk. In chapter four, I estimate the association between mineral oil-based MWF and mortality due to natural causes and cardiopulmonary disease in weighted Cox proportional hazards models, using inverse probability weights to address informative censoring and selection bias in a cross-sectional sample of the cohort. I contextualize all findings in within subject matter literature and discuss limitations of the methods chosen to address bias due to the healthy worker effect.ConclusionThe chapters of this dissertation explore the associations between common industrial exposures (solvents and metalworking fluid) and health outcomes occurring many years after exposure. I find an elevated, though not statistically significant, association between n-hexane exposure and acquired color vision defects among automobile repair mechanics exposed to levels of n-hexane below current regulatory limits. For exposure to MWF, I find elevated risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with 95% confidence intervals excluding 1 when adjusted for cardiovascular disease as a competing risk in Cox proportional hazards models. I report modestly but inconsistently elevated risks of natural cause and cardiopulmonary disease mortality with exposure to mineral oil-based MWF in models weighted to adjust for informative censoring and sample selection. Given the evidence of residual downward bias due to elements of the healthy worker survivor effect that can only be addressed with causal inference methods, these results taken as a whole suggest that current occupational safety and health regulations are not sufficiently protective of worker health, and should be reconsidered in light of this evidence.


Ultra-thin TiN films were grown on MgO(1 0 0) substrates by high power impulse magnetron sputtering at growth temperatures of 35 °C–400 °C. Epitaxial TiN films were obtained when a metallic substrate holder is used, while only textured films were achieved for the films grown by HiPIMS using a substrate holder with a ceramic shadow mask. For the entire range of growth temperatures, the epitaxial films are denser and exhibit a higher growth rate compared to the textured films. Also, chemical composition analysis reveals that all the epitaxial TiN films are N-deficient sub-stoichiometric. As the growth temperature increases, the surface roughness of both epitaxial and textured films decreases, however the epitaxial films generally show less roughness than the textured films. In comparison to epitaxial films previously grown by dc magnetron sputtering, the HiPIMS grown epitaxial films are sub-stoichiometric and according to x-ray measurements, they are in a higher strain state whilst presenting higher film density and atomically smoother surfaces. A HiPIMS-induced negative charging of the TiN islands formed on top of the insulating mask is concluded to be the main reason for the growth mode transition from two dimensional Stranski–Krastanov to three dimensional Volmer–Weber when the shadow mask is used. Acceleration of the ionized species of the HiPIMS plasma including Ti+ , N+ , and Ti2+ toward the substrate when they approach the substrate holder is the reason for the observed changes in the film densities, growth rates, and surface roughness.


Industrial-scale processes currently developed make use of chemical catalysis processes that are highly efficient but require very complex product purification steps. Enzymatic catalysis through plant lipases as biocatalysts is an alternative which, in contrast to chemical catalysis processes, appeared simple to perform, and can be done at low investment cost. Although microbial lipases have been extensively studied, little research has been focused on the use of plant lipases namely plant latex lipases. The present article outlines the most advanced knowledge concerning plant latex characterization in order to show how plant latex can be a promising alternative to catalyze transesterification for biodiesel production. This paper provides an overview regarding the main aspects of latex, such as the reactions catalyzed, physiological functions, specificities, sources and their industrial applications.

 Key words: Plant latex, lipase, Transesterification, purification, biodiesel.


Public spaces had been central to Cape Town's colonial planning and spatial order, but became marginalised in the twentieth century under modernist planning and apartheid policy. As apartheid came towards its close, architects and planners began to champion public space as a way of addressing the city's deficiencies. Books, articles, and policy documents were written celebrating public space as a humanist device and vehicle for democracy. The City of Cape Town's emerging Urban Design Branch instituted a major public space program: the Dignified Places Programme. This paper traces the history of public space as a terrain through which political aspirations, whether of domination or contestation, have been asserted in Cape Town. The paper will argue that at the end of apartheid, a public space turn occurred which reflected the specificities of post-apartheid democracy, in both its aspirations and limitations.


Eribulin mesylate, a nontaxane, completely synthetic microtubule inhibitor, has recently been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as third-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer refractory to anthracyclines and taxanes. Eribulin is a synthetic analogue of halichondrin B, which inhibits microtubule polymerization by a mechanism distinct from other available antitubulin agents. Eribulin significantly increased overall survival (OS; median OS for the eribulin-treated group was 13.1 months versus 10.6 months for the group treated by investigator's choice) in a heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer population. Eribulin has a manageable side-effect profile, notably neutropenia and fatigue, and a relatively low incidence of peripheral neuropathy. The mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, preclinical antitumor activity, and clinical trials of eribulin in the metastatic breast cancer setting are reviewed here. Clin Cancer Res; 17(21); 6615–22. ©2011 AACR.


Transformers have emerged as the cornerstone of state-of-the-art natural language processing models, showcasing exceptional performance across a wide range of AI applications. However, the memory demands posed by the self-attention mechanism and the large feedforward network in Transformers limit their ability to handle long sequences, thereby creating challenges for tasks involving multiple long sequences or long-term dependencies. We present a distinct approach, Blockwise Parallel Transformer (BPT), that leverages blockwise computation of self-attention and feedforward network fusion to minimize memory costs. By processing longer input sequences while maintaining memory efficiency, BPT enables training sequences up to 32 times longer than vanilla Transformers and 2 to 4 times longer than previous memory-efficient methods. Extensive experiments on language modeling and reinforcement learning tasks demonstrate the effectiveness of BPT in reducing memory requirements and improving performance.


Most chemical reactions result in numerous by-products and side-products, apart from the intended major product. While chemists can predict many of the main process impurities, it remains a challenge to enumerate the possible minor impurities and even more of a challenge to systematically predict and track impurities derived from raw materials or those that have propagated from one synthetic step to the next. In this study, we developed an AI-assisted approach to predict and track impurities across multi-step reactions using the main reactants, and optionally reagents, solvents and impurities in these materials, as input. We demonstrated the utility of this tool for a simple case of synthesis of paracetamol from phenol, and provide a generalized framework that covers most chemical reactions. Our solution can be applied to enable (1) faster elucidation of impurities, (2) automated interpretation of data generated from high-throughput reaction screening, and (3) more thorough raw materials risk assessments, with each of these representing key workflows in small molecule drug substance commercial process development.


Aim and objectives. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes of the posterior dentition during Class II correction with the crown Herbst appliance (cHerbst) and intermaxillary Class II elastics. Sample. Class II patients were divided into 2 groups: those who were treated with the cHerbst appliances (n=40, mean age 14.1±1.3) and those who were treated with fixed appliances and Class II elastics (n = 20, mean age 16.7±2.7). Materials and methods. The scans of preand post-treatment casts the patients were superimposed and registered using the freeware Blender 2.67. The linear measurements in the anteroposterior, transversal and vertical planes along with the rotation angles of the first molars were assessed. Results. In the cHerbst group clinically significant derotation (13.8±5.0°) and distalization (3.2±1.2 mm) of the upper first molars were recorded compared to the intermaxillary Class II elastics group (4.2±5.5°, -0.3±1.5, respectively). In the cHerbst group the second and first premolars followed the distal movements of the upper first molars. The premolars expanded slightly more than the molars in both groups. The posterior teeth extruded in both groups, except the molars in the cHerbst group. Conclusions. The crown Herbst appliance is significantly more effective in molar derotation and distalization than intermaxillary Class II elastics.


OF DISSERTATION The Krylov Subspace Methods for the Computation of Matrix Exponentials The problem of computing the matrix exponential e arises in many theoretical and practical problems. Many methods have been developed to accurately and efficiently compute this matrix function or its product with a vector, i.e., ev. In the past few decades, with the increasing need of the computation for large sparse matrices, iterative methods such as the Krylov subspace methods have proved to be a powerful class of methods in dealing with many linear algebra problems. The Krylov subspace methods have been introduced for computing matrix exponentials by Gallopoulos and Saad, and the corresponding error bounds that aim at explaining the convergence properties have been extensively studied. Many of those bounds show that the speed of convergence depends on the norm of the matrix, while some others emphasize the important role played by the spectral distribution. For example, it is shown in a recent work by Ye that the speed of convergence is also determined by the condition number for a symmetric negative definite matrix. Namely the convergence is fast for a well-conditioned matrix no matter how large the norm is. In this dissertation, we derive new error bounds for computing ev for nonsymmetric A, using the spectral information of A. Our result is based on the assumption that A is negative definite, i.e., the field of values of A lies entirely in the left half of the complex plane, such that the underlying dynamic system is stable. The new bounds show that the speed of convergence is related to the size and shape of the rectangle containing the field of values, and they agree with the existing results when A is symmetric. Furthermore, we also derive a simpler error bound for the special case when A is skew-Hermitian. This bound explains an observed convergence behavior where the approximation error initially stagnates for certain number of iterations before it starts to converge. In deriving our new error bounds, we use sharper estimates of the decay property of exponentials of Hessenberg matrices, by constructing Faber polynomial approximating exponential function in the region containing the field of values. The Jacobi elliptic functions are used to construct the conformal mappings and generate the Faber polynomials. We also present numerical tests to demonstrate the behavior of the new error bounds.


Author(s): Senel, Gonca | Advisor(s): Ohanian, Lee | Abstract: In these essays, I examine (i) international finance and its effects on the economies (ii) immigration and its effects on labor markets. The first chapter explores whether the intervention of a lender of last resort (LLR) with seniority improves the welfare of the countries that are solvent but illiquid. In a model with information asymmetries and incomplete contracts I find that depending on the initial parameters, LLR intervention may or may not help these countries in overcoming this problem since an LLR intervention decision with seniority incorporates a trade-off between higher levels of intervention and lower liquidation. Results of my simulation analysis show that there exists some conditions under which LLR intervention creates lower level of welfare and is not preferable. On the other hand, if the conditions are such that LLR intervention is preferable, given some restrictions, I find that LLR intervention should be conducted without the seniority requirement. Second and third chapters analyze the effect of immigration on welfare through endogenous technological choice of firms. In the second chapter, I empirically test whether immigration of different types of labor (skilled vs. unskilled) affects technology choice of firms differently. Specifically, I test whether firms change their technology in such a way that they will increase the productivity of the labor type that has become more abundant. In order to achieve this, I use census data between years 1970 and 2006 and use instrumental variable technique. Regression results show that high skilled immigration has a strong and positive association with the high-skilled intensive production technology choice of firms while low skilled immigration has a strong negative association with the high-skilled intensive production techniques. In other words, there is a strong association between immigration and endogenous technological choice of firms. In the third chapter, I analyze how immigration affects the long-run welfare of immigration through endogenous choice of firms. Existing theoretical models predict that immigration would depress the wages. However, empirical literature finds that immigration effect on wages is either positive or insignificant. In order to match the theory with these empirical findings, I embed endogenous technological change in a model similar to Auerbauch and Kotlikoff (1987). The results show that the standard model underestimates the effect of immigration to native skilled workers by 95% while it overestimates the effect on native unskilled workers by 31%. Comparing the fiscal effects of immigration in terms of burden of an immigrant through net present discount value (NPV) calculations existing models overestimate NPV of an additional low skilled immigrant approximately by 35% and underestimate the value of an additional high skilled immigrant by 15%


This paper concerns with 17 cases of chronic cholecystitis with various granulomatous changes of the wall. All materials were obtained from patients who underwent cholecystectomy for various complications of gallstone disease. The only significant sign attributalbe to the granulomas was a palpable nodular induration in the wall at operation in several cases, and this led to a suspicion of neoplasm in one. Pathologically, these lesions were characterized principally by nodular proliferation (0.5–3.0 cm in size) of various forms of histiocytic cells, including lipid‐containing histiocytes (foam cells), PAS positive brown pigmented cells, and multinucleated giant cells. Deposition of bile pigment and/or cholesterin crystals were found deeply in the areas of granulomatous reaction in about two‐thirds of the cases. This finding supports a bile‐induced granulomatous process of these lesions. The granuloma in one of our series contained typical Michaelis‐Gutmann bodies seen in a case of malakoplakia. It is suggested that bile materials, which are capable of eliciting intense phagocytic reaction, may also act as an initiating factor in formation of malakoplakic lesions.


The 'Beyond GDP' approach considers GDP (Gross Domestic Product) insufficient to capture the multidimensional nature of progress and promotes the use of alternative indicators in policy. Although commonly used as an indicator of well-being, GDP is a measure of economic performance, reflecting production expressed in monetary terms. It does not account for social and environmental costs, nor does it reflect social and territorial inequalities. The recent crisis revealed that GDP figures alone can mask problems accumulating in the economy. Alternative indexes can enhance monitoring and guide policies towards balanced economic, social and environmental goals. The choice of indicators matters, as this has an impact upon policy design, monitoring and evaluation. To date a variety of alternative indicators have been developed by international organisations, statistical offices and NGOs (for instance, the Human Development Index and the Ecological Footprint) and are increasingly being used in policy-making, including at EU level. At the regional level, versions of global indexes exist alongside regionally designed indexes, but the availability and reliability of data requires improvement. In the EU context, the 'Beyond GDP' debate has been re-ignited in connection with the current reflection on the post-2020 cohesion policy framework. Additional regional indexes, such as the EU Regional Social Progress Index released in October 2016, can help support result-orientation, improve monitoring performance and enable a more comprehensive assessment of territorial development.


Online-Therapy is an excellent quality of treatment, introduced in 1993. There is still a lack of proof concerning the better survival of these patients, as there will be up today a positive selection of the online-HDF-treated patients. There are several important points to make sure in order to reach the sufficient convective target volume in post-dilution (23 L), with has supposed at first in the ESHOL study. To reach this target (>proven longer survival), it will be reasonable to keep the conditions of this extraordinary treatment not at the absolute minimum. This will comprise the following points.


We establish a new local well-posedness result in the space of finite Borel measures for mild solutions of the parabolic-elliptic Patlak-Keller-Segel (PKS) model of chemotactic aggregation in two dimensions. Our result only requires that the initial measure satisfy the necessary assumption $\max_{x \in \Real^2}\mu(\set{x}) < 8\pi$. This work improves the small-data results of Biler and the existence results of Senba and Suzuki. Our work is based on that of Gallagher and Gallay, who prove the uniqueness and log-Lipschitz continuity of the solution map for the 2D Navier-Stokes equations (NSE) with measure-valued initial vorticity. We refine their techniques and present an alternative version of their proof which yields existence, uniqueness and \emph{Lipschitz} continuity of the solution maps of both PKS and NSE. Many steps are more difficult for PKS than for NSE, particularly on the level of the linear estimates related to the self-similar spreading solutions.


Estimates of climate change impacts are often characterized by large uncertainties that reflect ignorance of many physical, biological, and socio-economic processes, and which hamper efforts to anticipate and adapt to climate change. A key to reducing these uncertainties is improved understanding of the relative contributions of individual factors. We evaluated uncertainties for projections of climate change impacts on crop production for 94 crop–region combinations that account for the bulk of calories consumed by malnourished populations. Specifically, we focused on the relative contributions of four factors: climate model projections of future temperature and precipitation, and the sensitivities of crops to temperature and precipitation changes. Surprisingly, uncertainties related to temperature represented a greater contribution to climate change impact uncertainty than those related to precipitation for most crops and regions, and in particular the sensitivity of crop yields to temperature was a critical source of uncertainty. These findings occurred despite rainfall's important contribution to year-to-year variability in crop yields and large disagreements among global climate models over the direction of future regional rainfall changes, and reflect the large magnitude of future warming relative to historical variability. We conclude that progress in understanding crop responses to temperature and the magnitude of regional temperature changes are two of the most important needs for climate change impact assessments and adaptation efforts for agriculture.


Objectives: To determine the longitudinal relationship between changes in body composition and selected metabolic risk factors (abdominal obesity and BP) among adolescents from the Tlokwe Municipality in the North West Province of South Africa Methods: 289 adolescent boys and girls aged 14.9 ± 0.76 years participated in the study. Body composition was measured following the International Society of the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) standard procedures. Abdominal obesity was determined using the waist circumference measurements (WC) measurements and resting BP was determined by Omron MIT Elite Plus. Results: Significant mean changes were found for stature, body mass index (BMI), body mass, WC, systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) over the measurements period (p < 0.05). Pre-hypertension increased by 5% for the total group (from 5% in 2011 to 10% in 2013) with boys having higher percentage scores of 14% in 2012 (compared to 5% for girls) and 18% (compared to 4% in girls) in 2013. Overweight increased (5%) from 13% to 18% for the total group, with girls being more overweight (9%) compared to the boys (1.9%). BMI for the group was significantly related to WC (p = 0.01) and SBP (p < 0.05). BMI among the boys, was significantly related to abdominal obesity (p < 0.01) and positively but non-significantly related to BP. In girls, BMI was significantly related to WC. (p < 0.01) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in 2012 (p = 0.05). Conclusion: Overweight (among the girls), BP and abdominal obesity (among the boys) are on the rise among the adolescents. BMI is significantly related to selected metabolic risk factors (BP and abdominal obesity). BMI is predictor of abdominal obesity in boys while in girls, BMI is a predictor of both WC and are SBP.


Carborane acid is the strongest Brönsted acid presently known, possessing unusually high acidity greater than fluorosulfuric acid. Protonation by a carborane acid have proceeded effectively towards the weakest bases such as benzene, fullerene, alkanes, and even carbon dioxide, producing corresponding reactive cations as salts with the least coordinating carborane anion. This short─review highlights recent reports on structural elucidations of several important cations using a carborane acid.